Jump to full article: New York Times, 2010-01-04
Author: MICHAEL CIEPLY
Intro: Stanton A. Glantz . . . said his Smoke Free Movies initiative would soon come out swinging with an informational campaign aimed at what he saw as the movie's pro-smoking message.
"This is like someone just put a bunch of plutonium in the water supply," Mr. Glantz said in a telephone interview last week. He was referring to scenes in which an environmental scientist played by Sigourney Weaver drags lovingly on a cigarette as she works to save the moon Pandora sometime in the 22nd century.
Scenesmoking.org, which monitors tobacco mentions in films, gave the PG-13 rated "Avatar" a rating of its own: A "black lung." Still, Mr. Cameron's movie, distributed by 20th Century Fox, is not the only holiday picture to earn that distinction, which indicates unacceptable depictions of tobacco.
"Sherlock Holmes" and "The Blind Side," which were distributed by Warner Brothers; "Nine," from the Weinstein Company; "Did You Hear About the Morgans?" from Sony Pictures; and "The Fantastic Mr. Fox," also from Fox, were similarly rated with a "black lung" for tobacco use, even though they carried a rating of PG-13 or PG from the film industry's Classification and Rating Administration.
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Quotes from this article:
This is like someone just put a bunch of plutonium in the water supply.
Stanton A. Glantz, director of the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education at UCSF, on Sigourney Weaver's smoking-in-space character.
I don't believe in the dogmatic idea that no one in a movie should smoke. Movies should reflect reality.
"Avatar" director James Cameron, on Sigourney Weaver's smoking-in-space character.
Nick Naylor: Now, what we need is a smoking role model, a real winner. . . . two packs a day. . . .
Jeff Megall: Sony has a futuristic sci-fi movie they're looking to make.
Nick Naylor: Cigarettes in space?
Jeff Megall: It's the final frontier, Nick.
Nick Naylor: But wouldn't they blow up in an all-oxygen environment?
Jeff Megall: [long pause] Probably. But, you know, it's an easy fix. One line of dialogue: 'Thank God we created the, you know, whatever device.'
Scene from "Thank You for Smoking"
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