Thank You for Smoking (2005)

Director:

Jason Reitman

Writers (WGA):

Jason Reitman (screenplay)
Christopher Buckley (novel)

Release Date:

14 April 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

America is living in spin

Plot:

Satirical comedy follows the machinations of Big Tobacco's chief spokesman, Nick Naylor, who spins on behalf of cigarettes while trying to remain a role model for his twelve-year-old son.

Plot Keywords:

Tobacco | Lobbyist | Spin | Reporter | Gun

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 9 wins & 16 nominations

Cast

Joan Lunden	...	Herself
Eric Haberman	...	Robin Williger
Aaron Eckhart	...	Nick Naylor
Mary Jo Smith	...	Sue Maclean
Todd Louiso	...	Ron Goode
Jeff Witzke	...	Kidnapper
J.K. Simmons	...	BR
Marianne Muellerleile	...	Teacher
Cameron Bright	...	Joey Naylor
Alex Diaz	...	Kid #1
Jordan Garrett	...	Kid #2
Courtney Taylor Burness	...	Kid #3 (as Courtney Burness)
Jordan Del Spina	...	Kid #4 (as Jordan Orr)
Maria Bello	...	Polly Bailey
David Koechner	...	Bobby Jay Bliss
Kim Dickens	...	Jill Naylor
Daniel Travis	...	Brad
William H. Macy	...	Senator Ortolan Finistirre
Katie Winslow	...	Jeanette
Richard Speight Jr.	...	Trainee
Eric Maldonado	...	Tobacco Club Host
Robert Duvall	...	Captain
Renée Graham	...	Tiffany
Katie Holmes	...	Heather Holloway
Adam Brody	...	Jack
Timothy Dowling	...	EGO Assistant
Rob Lowe	...	Jeff Megall
Sam Elliott	...	Lorne Lutch
Connie Ray	...	Pearl
Dennis Miller	...	Himself
Terry James	...	Ski Mask #1
Marc Scizak	...	Ski Mask #2
Rachel Thorp	...	Flighty Girl
Karen Harrison	...	Nurse
Aaron Lustig	...	Doctor
Melora Hardin	...	Interviewer
Brian Palermo	...	FBI Agent (voice)
Michael Mantell	...	Dr. Meisenbach
Tonyo Meléndez	...	Mr. Herera (as Tonyo Melendez)
Spencer Garrett	...	Senator Lothridge
Earl Billings	...	Senator Dupree
Catherine Reitman	...	Reporter #1
Sean Patrick Murphy	...	Reporter #2
David O. Sacks	...	Oil Lobbyist
Nancy O'Dell	...	Herself (as Nancy Humphries O'Dell)
Roy Jenkins	...	Debate Moderator
Howard Weitzman	...	Gentleman #1
Bruce French	...	Gentleman #2
Robert L. Richards	...	Gentleman #3
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Christopher Buckley	...	Man at Metro Station (uncredited)
Michael Calder	...	Congressman (uncredited)
Dominick Cicco	...	Workman (uncredited)
Jacques Derosena	...	College Student (uncredited)
Karen Dyer	...	Flight Attendant (uncredited)
Jim R. Felton	...	Tobacco Lobbyist (uncredited)
Robert Malina	...	Peter (uncredited)
Neil Patil	...	Lab Technician (uncredited)
Aloma Wright	...	Gizelle (voice) (uncredited)
James Younan	...	Committee Attendee (uncredited)

Directed by
Jason Reitman

Writing credits (WGA)
Jason Reitman		(screenplay)
Christopher Buckley		(novel)

Produced by
Eveleen Bandy	....	associate producer (as Eveleen Anne Bandy)
Stephen Belafonte	....	associate producer
Michael Beugg	....	executive producer
David J. Bloomfield	....	co-executive producer
Daniel Brunt	....	co-producer
Alessandro Camon	....	executive producer
Daniel Dubiecki	....	co-producer
Max Levchin	....	executive producer
Mindy Marin	....	co-producer
Elon Musk	....	executive producer
Michael R. Newman	....	co-producer
Edward R. Pressman	....	executive producer
David O. Sacks	....	producer
John Schmidt	....	executive producer
Peter Thiel	....	executive producer
Mark Woolway	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Rolfe Kent

Cinematography by
Jim Whitaker		(director of photography) (as James Whitaker)

Film Editing by
Dana E. Glauberman

Casting by
Mindy Marin

Production Design by
Steve Saklad

Set Decoration by
Kurt Meisenbach

Costume Design by
Danny Glicker

Makeup Department
Sherri Bramlett	....	key hair stylist: Washington, D.C.
Elisabeth Fry	....	makeup artist: Mr. Eckhart
John E. Jackson	....	makeup department head
Marsha Lewis	....	department head hair stylist
Maxine Morris	....	key hair stylist
Robin L. Neal	....	makeup artist: Mr. Duvall (as Robin Luce)

Production Management
Michael Beugg	....	unit production manager
Bob Dohrmann	....	production supervisor
Joe Fineman	....	post-production supervisor
Michael Toji	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Sonia Bhalla	....	second assistant director
Jason Blumenfeld	....	first assistant director (as Jason A. Blumenfeld)
Scott Brown	....	second second assistant director
Casey Mako	....	second second assistant director
Kurt Uebersax	....	second second assistant director: Washington DC
Xanthus Valan	....	second assistant director: Washington D.C.

Art Department
Mark Brooks	....	on-set dresser
Carl Catanese	....	lead man
Michael Crowe	....	construction coordinator
Oliver Doering	....	assistant property master
Casey B. Garrett	....	propmaker
Theresa Greene	....	art department coordinator
Paul Arthur Hartman	....	leadman
Eric Hunsaker	....	property master
Cindy Ingraham	....	assistant property master
Eddie Lin	....	storyboard artist
Greg O'Donohue	....	set dresser
Steven Samanen	....	assistant art director
Neal W. Zoromski	....	property master

Sound Department
Robert Althoff	....	sound recordist
Josh Bower	....	boom operator
Brad Bryan	....	cable utility
Barney Cabral	....	supervising adr editor
Craig Dollinger	....	boom operator
Paul Drenning	....	adr mixer
Richard Dwan Jr.	....	sound editor (as Richard Dwan)
Richard Dwan Jr.	....	supervising dialogue editor
Adam Jenkins	....	sound re-recording mixer
J. Stanley Johnston	....	sound re-recording mixer
Cynthia Merrill	....	foley artist
Steven Morrow	....	sound mixer
Nick Neutra	....	foley supervisor
Perry Robertson	....	supervising sound editor
Scott Sanders	....	co-supervising sound editor
Scott Sanders	....	sound re-recording mixer
Scott Sanders	....	supervising sound designer
Robert Sharman	....	utility sound
Melissa Sherwood Hofmann	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Melissa Hofmann)
Geordy Sincavage	....	foley mixer
Kevin Zimmerman	....	assistant sound editor (as Kevin A. Zimmerman)

Special Effects by
Larry Fioritto	....	special effects coordinator
Virgil Sanchez	....	special effects technician

Visual Effects by
Cosmas Paul Bolger Jr.	....	visual effects producer
Cosmas Paul Bolger Jr.	....	visual effects supervisor
Patrick Clancey	....	digital opticals
Heather Ignarro	....	visual effects coordinator
Natasha Leonnet	....	digital color timer (as Natasha Leonett)
Jack Lewars	....	digital film colorist
Robert Lukacs	....	compositor
Robert Malina	....	visual effects editor
Marco S. Paolini	....	digital compositor
Edward Quirk	....	senior 3D artist
Tommy Tran	....	compositor
Thomas Mathai	....	data manager (uncredited)

Stunts
Terry James	....	stunt coordinator
Rick Kain	....	stunt driver
Marc Scizak	....	stunt performer

Camera and Electrical Department
Stuart Abramson	....	key grip
Peter Albert	....	digital video assist operator
Tony Ayala	....	grip
Michael Baird	....	key digital video assist operator
Patrick Brennan	....	electrician
Donald Burghardt	....	first assistant camera: "a" camera
Tim Clarke	....	camera loader
Andy Colvin	....	Steadicam operator: Washington DC
Justin Deck	....	dolly grip
Mike Delnero	....	grip
Andy DePung	....	film loader
Brett F. Gates	....	second assistant camera
Tim Gillis	....	electrician
Joe Guzman	....	grip
Maurice Jordan	....	gaffer: re-shoot
Patrick Lennon	....	gaffer
Tommy Lohmann	....	Steadicam operator
Tommy Lohmann	....	camera operator
Tony Martinez	....	electrician
Charlie Newberry	....	additional second assistant camera
Daniel Nichols	....	camera operator
David Presley	....	camera operator: video camera
Alex Reilly	....	grip
Quinton Reilly	....	best boy grip
Dale Robinette	....	still photographer
Blake Santoro	....	grip
Lee Shapira	....	grip: Washington D.C.
Conrad Sigurdson	....	best boy electric
Shawn Stoddard	....	dolly grip
Rick Strodel	....	best boy grip: DC unit
Vladimir Tmayo	....	electrician
Wayland Twiston-Davies	....	video engineer
Nicole Hirsch Whitaker	....	director of photography: second unit, Los Angeles (as Nicole Hirsch-Whitaker)

Casting Department
Kara Lipson	....	casting associate
Betsy Royall	....	local casting
Tammy Smith	....	extras casting: Los Angeles
Ember Truesdell	....	casting associate
Dixie Webster	....	extras casting: Los Angeles

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Julie Glick	....	wardrobe supervisor
Laura E. Little	....	key set costumer (as Laura Liz Little)
Marta Villalobos	....	set costumer

Editorial Department
Yanosh Cuglove	....	editorial intern
Esther Lee	....	assistant digital intermediate producer
Jack Lewars	....	digital colorist: Efilm
Robert Malina	....	first assistant editor
Stephen M. Rickert Jr.	....	assistant editor
Stephen R. Sheridan	....	color timer (as Steve Sheridan)
Lorene Simpson	....	digital intermediate producer
Lisa Tutunjian	....	digital intermediate editor

Music Department
Peter Afterman	....	music supervisor
Stephen Coleman	....	music programmer
Trevor Gilchrist	....	music programmer: score
Alison Litton	....	music coordinator
Matt Messina	....	composer: additional music
Curt Sobel	....	music editor: temp music
Nick South	....	music editor
Greg Townley	....	scoring mixer
Alice Wood	....	assistant music editor
Margaret Yen	....	music supervisor

Transportation Department
Alex E. Burns	....	driver
Neil Chisholm	....	driver: honeywagon
Jon Cosham	....	driver
J. Armin Garza II	....	driver: camera car
Nathan Hardcastle	....	transportation clerk
Geno Hart	....	transportation coordinator
Dennis Janovici	....	transportation co-captain
Josh Sarfaty	....	personal driver: Mr. Eckhart
William Smallwood	....	driver: production van

Other crew
Noor Ahmed	....	production legal
Nino Aldi	....	production assistant
Debbie Axel	....	production legal
Gavin J. Behrman	....	production accountant
Paul Bock	....	assistant to cast
Paul Bock	....	production assistant
Paul Bock	....	production coordinator: re-shoot
Jen Buonantony	....	production assistant
Jennifer Lynn Buonantony	....	production assistant
Nicholas Carpenter	....	additional set production assistant
Tara Chang	....	assistant production coordinator
Michael Chickey	....	assistant location manager: Los Angeles
Tara L. Craig	....	assistant production office coordinator
Patrick Cunningham	....	key set production assistant
Joe Dornich	....	set production assistant
Michelle Ebert	....	medical advisor
Damiano Fusca	....	craft service
Christopher Geair	....	office production assistant: Washington, D.C. unit
Francis Hadinoto	....	production assistant
Lisa Hagenmeyer	....	assistant production coordinator: Washington, DC
Mike Hazlitt	....	production consultant
Steven Hora	....	assistant: Ed Pressman and Alessandro Camon
Alyssa Houze	....	office production assistant
Jeff Johnson	....	medic
Ashley Kravitz	....	script clearance
Dashiel Kulander	....	production assistant
John Latenser V	....	location manager: Washington D.C.
Jonathan Leeder	....	assistant to producer
Jenny Lee	....	title designer: main titles
Nathan Maruccio	....	craft service
Christopher Miller	....	location manager: Los Angeles
Phillip Montgomery	....	assistant: Mr. Reitman
Trey Murphy	....	production assistant
Matthew Dillon Noonan	....	location production assistant
Valarie Payne	....	assistant: Mr. Eckhart
Michyl-Shannon Quilty	....	assistant production coordinator
Sarah Ramey	....	assistant: Edward R. Pressman
Benjamin R. Reder	....	production legal
Jonathan Reich	....	assistant location manager: Washington D.C.
Errol Reichow	....	location scout: Los Angeles
Carlos Rodríguez	....	chef
Genaro Rodriguez	....	caterer
Ari Sachter-Zeltzer	....	title designer: main titles
Traceigh Scottel	....	production coordinator
Mary Anne Seward	....	script supervisor
Rony Shino	....	assistant location manager: Los Angeles
Gareth Smith	....	title designer: main titles
Amy Smolev	....	first assistant accountant
Eric J. Spiegelman	....	production counsel
Marc E. Spivey	....	insurance broker
Julie Stevens	....	studio teacher
Shawn Tanaka	....	assistant: William H. Macy
Joel Tokarsky	....	payroll accountant
Francisco Trujillo	....	chef
John Trujillo	....	layout board
Drew Vandervelde	....	production associate
Jeremy Walker	....	unit publicist
Jeffrey Wank	....	assistant: Mr. Sacks
Bob Weber	....	post-production accountant
Adam Zadikoff	....	assistant: Mr. Sacks, post-production
Matt Crabtree	....	adr voice (uncredited)
Adam Kahn	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Howard R. Schuster	....	financing (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Room 9 Entertainment
• TYFS Productions LLC
• ContentFilm

Distributors

• ContentFilm International (2005) (worldwide) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Australia (2006) (Australia) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox (2006) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox de Argentina (2006) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox of Germany (2005) (Germany) (theatrical)
• A-Film Distribution (2006) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Budapest Film (2006) (Hungary) (theatrical)
• Fox Searchlight Pictures (2006) (USA) (theatrical)
• Frenetic Films (2006) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Haut et Court (2006) (France) (theatrical)
• ProRom-Romania Film (2006) (Romania) (theatrical)
• A-Film Home Entertainment (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD) (retail)
• Canvas (2009) (Belgium) (TV)
• Gativideo (2007) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Gativideo (2007) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Movie Bank (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD) (rental)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment Germany (2007) (Germany) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Digital Filmworks (digital film services)

Other Companies

• Act One Script Clearance  script clearances
• Act One Script Clearance  script research
• Avon Studio Transport  transportation
• BBC Motion Gallery  footage courtesy of
• C-SPAN Archives  footage courtesy of
• Cast & Crew Catering  catering
• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  dollies
• Corbis  photographs (as Corbis)
• DeLuxe Laboratories  color
• Digital Filmworks  digital film services (as Digital Film Works)
• EFilm  digital intermediate
• EarCandy  sound post-production
• Film Finance  completion guarantee
• J.L. Fisher  camera dollies
• Jeremy Walker + Associates  unit publicity
• Kodak  film stock
• Lakeshore Records  soundtrack
• Leonetti Company  lighting and grip equipment
• Magic Film and Video Works  negative cutting
• NBC News Archives  footage courtesy of
• NT Video  telecine
• On-Set Digital  video assist equipment
• Panavision Remote Systems  camera cranes
• Panavision  cameras and lenses
• Paws for Effect  animals by
• Pivotal Post  Avid editing equipment provided by
• Post Creations  foley recording
• Reder & Feig  production legal services
• Runway  post-production
• Sessions Payroll Management  extras payroll services
• Shadowplay Productions  main titles (as Shadowplay Studios)
• Shadowplay Studio  main titles
• Todd-AO Studios  re-recording stage (as Todd-AO)
• Travel Corps  travel services
• Westwind Media  adr recording

Also Known As:

Gracias por fumar (Argentina) (Spain) (Venezuela) [es]
Merci de fumer (Canada: French title) [fr]
Multumim ca fumati! (Romania) [ro]
Obrigado por Fumar (Brazil) [pt]
Thank You for Smoking (Germany) [de]
Thank You for Smoking (France) [fr]
Thank You for Smoking (Greece) [el]

MPAA:

Rated R for language and some sexual content.

Runtime:

USA:92 min | Argentina:92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:M18 | Australia:M | Ireland:15A | Canada:14A (British Columbia) | UK:15 | Canada:14A | USA:R (certificate #42076) | Finland:K-11 | Norway:7 | Brazil:12 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Sweden:7 | Germany:12 | Netherlands:AL | Iceland:7 | Argentina:13 | Philippines:PG-13 | Portugal:M/12 | South Korea:15 | Malaysia:(Banned) (theatrical) | Malaysia:U (DVD) | New Zealand:M

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Room 9 Entertainment

Trivia:

One of Sam Elliott's conditions to do the part was to have him carry a rifle in a scene instead of the scripted shotgun. Jason Reitman agreed to change the script. When they were about to do the scene, Reitman realized that he had forgotten about the rifle and went to the prop wagon frantically hoping to find one. There were three guns laying on the tailgate, two shotguns and a rifle. When Elliott picked up the rifle, Reitman breathed a sigh of relief. He asked Elliott if he needed instruction on how to use it. Elliott declined and said that he knew how to use it because the rifle was his.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In one of the hospital scenes, Nick is shown with an IV hooked up to a machine on a pole behind him. The machine, however, is actually a tube feeding pump, not an IV pump. There also isn't any tubing on it, or feeding solution, or IV solution.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Joan Lunden: Robin Williger. He is a 15 year old freshman from Racine, Wisconsin. He enjoys studying history; he's on the debate team. Robin's future looked very, very bright. But recently he was diagnosed with cancer, a very tough kind of cancer. Robin tells me he has quit smoking, though, and he no longer thinks that cigarettes are "cool."

Movie Connections:

Featured in My Longest Day (2008)

Soundtrack:

The Joan Lunden Show Theme

A Nicotine Kick in satire and sarcasm

EDITED to omit reported 'spoilers'. And by spoilers I don't mean the "Bruce Willis is dead" type, but "Bruce Willis is bald" types. *sigh*

Some jobs are harder than others but Nick Naylor (Aaron Eckhart), tobacco industry spokesman, handles his with effortless skill. Along with two other spokespeople for the alcohol- and firearms industry respectively, he is part of the self-appointed M.O.D. squad ("Merchants of Death") whose main objective is to talk. To BS. To spin. To confuse and convince their opponent, and charm their audience. A job of such nature naturally requires a certain moral flexibility, and with smooth-talk and sex appeal, it is apparent that Nick is incredibly gifted in this area.

He goes on TV-shows, verbally battles U.S. senators, deems the Cancer Research Foundation "arseholes" – all the while trying to set an example for his 10-year-old son. This is naturally very difficult, doing what he does. So as Big Tobacco (for whom he is a lobbyist) launches a campaign to reinstate the "cool smoking" image into mainstream Hollywood, and sends Nick to work a producer for the proper product-placement, Nick decides to bring his son along for the ride, to see "how daddy works" in hopes to bond with him.

Good satires are hard to come by, but Reitman's "Thank You For Smoking" is so wet with sarcasm and dripping with humour that it is impossible not to enjoy. It navigates the fast-paced industry, the art of talking and spoofs the anti-smoking camp with their chiché "cancer-sick boy in a wheelchair" front (as seen in the opening scene of the film), and it explores the moral flexibility of Americans, without preaching too much in doing so. Only once does it fall prey to predictable moral messages, as when Nick starts reevaluating his work and has moral qualms following his kidnapping by an anti-smoking group, only to swoop down into tongue-and-cheek mode again and return twice as biting – and twice as funny.

Although the film is evenly peppered with fun one-liners and perfect delivery from its cast, the best scene is when the M.O.D. squad are at their usual restaurant hang-out at the end of the day and brag to each other and argue over whose business kills the most people per year. Nick: "How many alcohol-related deaths per day? 100,000? That's what... 270 a day? Wow. 270 people, tragedy. Excuse me if I don't exactly see terrorists getting excited about kidnapping anyone from the alcohol-industry." Maria Bello who plays the detached, funny Moderate Spokeswoman for alcohol has great in-your-face aptitude and attitude, "That's stupid arguing." Aaron Eckhart is also hilarious throughout in a shady businessman way (I now have a major crush on him). Out of all the cast, only Nick's little kid Joe chokes on the well-written lines.

In fact, even the cinematography is well-crafted in the film... just the way a scene cuts to another deserves credit, opening with a rapid-fire ironic note. Speaking of which, "Thank You"'s opening montage of cigarette packages as credits is a stroke of genius on Reitman's part. So are the various casting choices – the amount of respected actors that have been crammed into supporting roles in impressive (Robert Duvall, Sam Elliot, William H. Macy) and give rise to an almost familiar and "feel-good" tone in the film.

That said, I wouldn't call this "laugh-out-loud worthy" exactly and I didn't care for the ending but it is clear that a lot of thought has been put into Thank You For Smoking – every line is a well-articulated kick up the arse to something and delivered by the bucket-load. A very enjoyable little satire.

8 out of 10