Tobacco lobbyist Nick Naylor is trying to SAVE YOUR ASH!|Mar. 17, 2005|United States|92 Min.|R
Genre: Comedy;Drama
Description: Nick Naylor is a spokesperson for Big Tobacco, using research from the “Academy of Tobacco Studies,” an institution he serves as vice-president of. The lobby group denies any link between tobacco and lung disease. Nick and his friends, firearm lobbyist Bobby Jay Bliss and alcohol lobbyist Polly Bailey, jokingly refer to themselves as the “Merchants of Death” during their weekly meetings. As anti-tobacco campaigns grow and youth smoking declines, Nick’s boss, BR, sends him to Los Angeles to negotiate cigarette product placements in upcoming films. Nick brings his son, Joey, hoping to strengthen their bond. Later, he meets Lorne Lutch, a former Marlboro Man now battling cancer and campaigning against cigarettes. Nick successfully bribes Lutch to stay silent, witnessed by Joey.
Senator Finistirre, one of Nick’s fiercest critics, pushes a bill to add a skull and crossbones poison warning to cigarette packaging. Before Nick can testify against the bill in a Senate hearing, he is kidnapped and exposed to nicotine patches through a forced overdose. He survives due to his high nicotine tolerance but becomes hypersensitive to it, preventing him from smoking again. Meanwhile, Nick is manipulated by reporter Heather Holloway, who reveals his secrets in a damaging exposé, criticizing his career and accusing him of influencing his son’s moral compass. The fallout costs Nick his job.
Nick retaliates by exposing his affair with Holloway and clearing the names of those mentioned in her article. During the Senate hearing, he acknowledges the dangers of smoking but argues that additional warnings are unnecessary since public awareness is already sufficient.
Cast director: Jason Reitman
Cast actor: Aaron Eckhart, Maria Bello, Cameron Bright, Adam Brody, Sam Elliott, Katie Holmes, Rob Lowe, William H. Macy, Robert Duvall, David Koechner
Original name: Thank You for Smoking