ASK & DISCUSS INDEX

11 years, 11 months ago - Nicky Akmal

I think, if a Character is a smoker - if it makes sense, they should smoke, if everything starts being taken out of screenplays we are going to end up have boring 2 dimensional characters. Take Requiem for a dream - if Ellen Burstyn's character wasn't allowed to smoke - it wouldn't have had the same effect. Or reality bites, the list can go on and on.

11 years, 11 months ago - Bill Hayes

I think it far worse to murder someone than to smoke tobacco. Why would that be more acceptable? Yet a huge proportion movies have a murder at the heart of the story. If what we see if film influences our nbehaviour that easily, then without tobacco we may live a longer and healthier life in a more violent society.

If you do shoot a smoking scene do make sure it is outside or you might get the local council come round and fine you for putting your crew's health in danger in the work place.

Could youadd a cigar in a scene for me please?

11 years, 11 months ago - Dan Selakovich

Sorry, Marlom, but what the hell does smoking say about a character? I know tons of smokers, from all walks of life, and there isn't a common trait among them except that they smoke.

11 years, 11 months ago - Nicholas Hughes

I've never worked on a film where a producer has said "we can't have the characters smoke". On the contrary, directors, producers and writers seem to want to put lots of smoking into their movies even though in real life the amount of smokers is declining. Some directors I've worked with have their heads filled with film school theory about the psychology of characters smoking, how they hold cigarettes, when they smoke, what smoking says about that character...I find that to be mostly nonsense and it's an old established cliché that needs to be left alone for a while. I'm a non-smoker and I find them to be dirty and smelly so I avoid writing or directing scenes featuring it. I know a few non-smoking actors who have to grimace their way through herbal cigarettes because a director is falling back on using the tired old motif as well.

11 years, 9 months ago - Vasco de Sousa

Look at a few scripts of films with smoking characters, and see how other writers deal with it.

To Nicolas Hughes' comment, I've seen that theory in one French book on screenwriting. That same French author found coffee drinking boring, but smoking interesting. I personally think it's usually boring.

Personally, I think smoking is boring if it's mentioned all the time. Like a twitch, mention it when needed. Like in the recent "The Hobbit" film, part 1, smoking was part of the story at the start. But in a lot of scripts, it's just a waste of space. Usually, the actor or director can add touches like that as "business."

11 years, 11 months ago - Dan Selakovich

Wow, Nicholas, I went to film school and not once was smoking mentioned as theory, much less a motif.

Heather, I've been through the MPAA rating many times. They are basically a group of house wives with too much time on their hands, and love having a bit of power (not to shit of housewives here. My mom was one). They are not film experts or historians by any stretch of the imagination. If you're an indie film, you will be treated much differently than if you're a studio film. They say it's not true, but it's very true. Once they rate your film as an indie, there is no way to find out why you got that R rating--which can be the kiss of death at the box office. But if you're a studio, they absolutely do share why they rated the film the way they did. AND you can get away with a lot more with a studio feature. So studios have it easier: they just recut the offending scene. As an indie, you have to guess, recut, then pay to have it viewed again--often with the same results. And with each viewing, you gots to pay! And it ain't cheap.

There are a few things we know, like language, full frontal nudity, or nude men have it harder than nude women... stuff like that will get you an R or NC17. If a studio picture, you can kill as many people as you want, and still get a PG rating. If you're an indie and murder someone, you're in for a slog of a guessing game. And you can't compare. You can't say, "But Paramount killed 300 people, and got a PG. We killed one, and it's an R?" There are some things that are even between studios and indie, like sex or nudity. Chop somebody's head off with a Samurai sword, you'll be ok. Show a love scene with a woman's breasts... forget it. R rating. America is really fucked up.

You absolutely can release a film without a rating. But here's the rub: some newspapers will not let you advertise (even if it's just the movie, where it's playing and the show times) without a rating. And there are some theatre chains that will not show an unrated film.

But as a writer, I wouldn't worry about it. If you sell it, the producer will say "on the re-write, can you take out all of the swearing?" It's not something you have to worry about now. There are all sorts of things that you'll have to change, and not for story reasons, but budget reasons, rating reasons, etc. About a year ago, a producer wanted to buy a script I'd written where Los Angeles was very much a character "But can you re-write to shoot in Croatia?" I've been to Croatia. It's a beautiful country, but I simply didn't know how to make it work. I just didn't. The reason he wanted to shoot there? Croatia gives huge tax incentives. On this particular script, the kickback to the producer would have been about 400,000 dollars.

As far as the smoking thing goes, and I've thought about it a bit, would be how others react to it. Or if a character smokes where smoking is not allowed--that says something about him. Or a character risks life and limb to get a pack because he's out. Nothing worse than an itch you can't scratch. And where would the general in "Dr. Strangelove" be without that huge cigar.

Not only do I think you shouldn't worry about it, but maybe you can find ways to use it.

11 years, 11 months ago - Heather Hampson

Thanks for the replies everyone. Dan - yeah I had heard about that MPAA thing, wondered if they'd had any influence.
Bill - it was actually a cigar I was thinking of! Yes, I agree Marlon, anything that isn't integral to the story should be taken out... maybe I phrased it wrong, as Dan says, I don't think it always says something about a character, it's more to create a certain atmosphere, in my case at least. Well, I'll allow them all a good ration of fags then based on these responses!

11 years, 11 months ago - Greg Wielgos

Well, smoking, and every habit we have always says tons about us, e.g. smoking is a way of dealing with stress, other people may choose eating chocolates or drinking, smoking is a way of life, a smoker's life is considerably different than that of a non-smoker, I can say a lot about it, I'm a non-smoker and last winter I worked on a documentary promoting my friend's book, he smokes a lot, I could see how this habit affects every aspect of his life, shopping patterns, friends he visits, what people remember him for etc, smoking tells us about his past, about his present and about his possible future, every single thing about the character is a characterization tool, okay, I'll stop right here otherwise I'm gonna end up writing an essay ;)

11 years, 10 months ago - Heather Hampson

Hey sorry for my tardiness in coming back to this thread I started! Been travelling. Anyway, thanks a lot for all your responses and the interesting asides that have been raised here. Now my issue is those extra lines of description that have to be added when X character has a fag.

11 years, 11 months ago - Paddy Robinson-Griffin

Further to Dan's post above - in the UK it is upto local authorities to allow/disallow exhibition of a film. You can show an unrated film, and the authorities generally follow the BBFC's guidance, but not always. http://metro.co.uk/2007/04/27/council-overturns-films-18-rating-332953/

In the UK, as a rule, smoking is not smiled upon, but if it's a part of the character's traits then so be it. Funnily enough, lighting up is commonly less acceptable than being halfway through a fag. Watch Eastenders - some characters smoke, but it's not glamorised, and that's what you'd want to steer away from.

11 years, 11 months ago - Dan Selakovich

This pisses me off to no end. What's next? We can't have a racist character? A morally bankrupt character? Heather, smoke 'em if you've got 'em, I say. There was a time here in L.A. that the fascist MPAA was thinking of giving any movie where the main character smoked, an instant R rating. But it died a sweet death, thank god. I'd be more worried if a character said "fuck"--you can't have more than one of those before the R rating kicks in. But these are things not to worry about now. If they don't buy your script, it won't be because a character chain smokes or says "fuck" a lot. Make them as "Mad Men" as you want to, and God Speed, sweet Heather.

11 years, 11 months ago - Steve Hope Wynne

all of the above and It helps to difuse the light

11 years, 11 months ago - Marlom Tander

The OP asks about tobacco use where "it's not integral to the story".

If a script has anything that's "not integral to the story" then it's time to tighten the script :-)

I personally couldn't imagine writing in any smoking UNLESS I wanted that to tell the audience something about that character / milieu.

11 years, 11 months ago - Peter Ward

Violence is way more acceptable than most things. The one time I used a consultant it was for a story in which the character's one potential chance for true love is with a drug addict. Once he discovers she's an addict it's a deal breaker for him. The consultant advised against inclusion of "tawdry scenes of drug use"--the film wasn't about drug use at all but about this guy's rigid moral hangup, and in fact the only scene of drug use is when she comes out of the bathroom high and he finally notices.

11 years, 11 months ago - Stephen Potts

It's not about whether they smoke, but about how, where, when, how often, with whom etc. As Dan says making a character a smoker tells you nothing about him. But look at Kevin Spacey's character in House of Cards. He smokes at the back window, furtively, late at night, when he's plotting his next move. It's his one visible vice. He's usually alone, but occasionally joined by his wife. It's where they share their closest moments. She finishes his cigarette then clears up after him. She's both Lady Macbeth and the dutiful wife. The way they smoke conveys this strongly.