Writer/director Jason Reitman would indeed like to thank you—in advance for going to see his hilarious feature film debut Thank You for Smoking.
With an all-star cast including Aaron Eckhart, Robert Duvall, Maria Bello, William H. Macy, Rob Lowe, Sam Elliott and Katie Holmes, Thank You for Smoking centers on Nick Naylor (Eckhart), a spin doctor for the tobacco industry. Claiming he’s only doing what it takes to pay the mortgage, Nick makes his living defending the rights of smokers and cigarette makers in today’s neo-puritanical culture. But the increased scrutiny of his son (Cameron Bright) and a very real death threat may force him to think differently.
Hollywood.com got to light it up with Reitman, Macy and Lowe and get the low-down on making this ballsy political satire that leaves no one unscathed.
Jason Reitman
“No one smokes in the film, that’s absolutely right. I didn’t want anyone to think this was a pro or anti-smoking movie. It’s neither. It’s a film about talk, about spinning. And if there were people smoking, everyone would miss the point. They’d just walk away thinking this was a movie about cigarettes when it’s a movie about more than that. It’s about freedom of choice. It’s a movie about taking responsibility for your actions. It’s about spin culture as a whole.” [Full Interview]
William H. Macy & Rob Lowe
Macy: “How do you play comedy? And I don’t know. I’ve taught a lot of classes for a lot of years, and I don’t think you can teach it. But I do know as a director, you’re in trouble if you get an actor who doesn’t know why it’s funny. Or where it’s funny.”
Lowe: “When I’m in the kimono [in the film], there’s absolutely nothing in it that makes it out of the ordinary. We don’t make a big deal – and it gets a huge laugh. There’s nothing different in the performance, nothing. That’s what’s funny about it.” [Full Interview]