Latest news

Arnie: Don't stub out movie smokes

Arnold Schwarzenegger says children need to be warned often about the dangers of smoking, but Hollywood should not feel pressured to ban cigarettes and cigars from films aimed at youngsters. Despite research that shows scenes of tobacco use can tempt kids to light up, the Terminator star-turned California governor said film-makers needed artistic freedom, particularly in historical settings. He scoffed at the notion that someone would play Winston Churchill without his trademark stogie in hand.

"I personally don't believe that we should erase cigarettes in movies. I don't believe that we should erase it when someone smokes a cigar in a movie. I think that we should remind people and kids all the time about the dangers of smoking," the Republican governor said. "To suddenly tell actors not to smoke a cigarette in a movie when they portray a character is ludicrous. I think this is going too far."

The governor's comments came at a news conference where major studios announced they would include anti-smoking announcements on millions of youth-rated DVDs of motion pictures that included smoking scenes. Disney began including anti-smoking messages on certain DVDs earlier this year. Other studios joining in are Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, 20th Century Fox, Universal Pictures and Warner Bros. The agreement involving the studios and the state of California was brokered by the Entertainment Industry Foundation - a philanthropy. The state developed the 30-second announcements for the DVDs, which will appear in the opening minutes.

Source: The Sentinel, 15th July 2008
Article link

> back to latest news index