Stars discuss cigarettes in entertainment

  Joe Marich Jr. explains his views on
tobacco in the film industry in Melnitz Hall Monday. He, along with
eight other actors, writers and publicists, were part of a panel
addressing the glamorization of smoking.

By Terry Tang
Daily Bruin Senior Staff

For the last month, Hollywood studios have taken a browbeating
in hearings on Capitol Hill for marketing movies with adult content
to youngsters. While Sen. John McCain’s charges focus on
films with sex and violence, cigarettes and tobacco are most likely
not too far down the list.

The portrayal of cigarette consumption in television and movies
seen by youths has been a subject of continuous debate between the
entertainment industry, government officials and parents.

Although there is no clear-cut compromise, it doesn’t hurt
to get the lines of communication open. Discussing the issue from
all sides is exactly what a panel discussion on campus hoped to
accomplish.

The discussion, titled “S.T.A.R.S. for the 21st Century:
Seeking Tobacco Alternatives with Realistic Solutions,”
attracted many aspiring film students to a Melnitz Hall
re-recording studio Monday afternoon.

  DAVE HILL/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Debra
Hill, a writer-producer-director, urges filmmakers to use
alternatives to cigarettes in their films when making characters
look sexy. The nine-person panel, made up of show biz actors,
writers, publicists as well as a cardiac surgeon, addressed the
complex arguments for First Amendment freedom and social
responsibility, amid concerns about the glamorization of smoking.
Lawrence Lebowsky, a former chairman of the American Lung
Association, moderated the 45-minute discussion.

Lebowsky started off the discussion by asking if movie scenes
with smokers should be a criterion for the film’s rating.
Some panelists were skeptical that an R-rating would really prevent
kids and teenagers from watching their favorite movie star take a
puff.

“By putting smoking in the same category as sex and
violence … that just sends up a red flag,” said Joe Marich,
president of Marich Communications. “Young people only want
to watch what they’re not allowed to see.”

Others on the panel also argued that the use of cigarettes
on-screen should really be determined by whether it was an integral
part of the character.

“As an actor, I get asked to do a lot of things.
It’s really a combination of personal tastes,” said
Dawnn Lewis, whose credits include “A Different World”
and “Hanging With Mr. Cooper.” “It’s also
about what really makes sense for the character. You should be true
to what it is you present as a filmmaker.”

Lebowsky also brought up the issue of whether using cigarettes
to create mood or character appeal is just “lazy
filmmaking.” Debra Hill, a writer-producer-director
(“Halloween,” “The Fisher King”), said
filmmakers can sometimes find alternative ways of making a
character look sexy or chic.

On the set of her most recent film, “Crazy in
Alabama,” Hill urged star Melanie Griffith, a smoker in real
life, that her character didn’t need to use cigarettes.

“I think you can make a sexy character in other
ways,” Hill said. “Once I got Melanie to see her
character doesn’t smoke, she found other things to
do.”

Marich, a veteran in PR for entertainment products, said that
advertising and mass media could not solely shoulder
responsibility. He used his own life as an example.

“Both my parents smoked. I was around it all the
time,” said Marich, who is currently trying to quit. “I
don’t think (the media) helped me start.”

He also added that not being exposed to images of smokers in the
mass media doesn’t help kids who are already addicted to
cigarettes.

In general, the entire panel agreed that parents need to take an
active role in teaching their children about the effects of
cigarettes.

“You can’t hide smoking from kids. You have got to
educate them,” said Brian Fox, president and CEO of an
advertising agency. “Kids will always do the opposite of what
you tell them.”

The panel also ruminated on the best approach to get kids, as
well as adults, to either not start smoking or to quit. Dr. Ismale
Nuño, Chief of Cardiac Surgery Service at the LAC+USC Medical
Center, commented that citing statistics from different studies was
not enough.

To prove his point, Nuño asked for a show of hands of how
many in the audience smoked. After several hands went up, he asked
how many knew smoking was hazardous and could lead to cancer. The
same people timidly raised their hands.

Marich agreed that all the data available was not enough to stop
cigarette addiction.

“All those figures sound like white noise to me. This
(panel) will have more of an impact than 10,000 fliers full of
facts and figures,” Marich said.

The panel was just one part of the S.T.A.R.S. Project, a program
coordinated by the American Lung Association of Los Angeles County.
Funded by a grant from state Proposition 99, an anti-tobacco
ordinance which raised taxes on cigarette and tobacco products,
S.T.A.R.S. is an advocacy program that strives to de-glamorize
smoking on screen. One way they are using the grant is by fostering
more dialogue between the motion picture industry and the public
about the use of cigarettes in mass media.

Aside from the panel, S.T.A.R.S. has other activities in the
works. They are in the process of shooting a documentary called,
“Where There’s Smoke There’s Ire,” which
features celebrities like Rob Reiner, Ted Danson and Sean Penn.

Coordinators have also recruited teenagers for a Young
Ambassadors program. Teens will perform skits about the effects of
media images of smoking for film executives.

They additionally hope to have more speakers’ bureaus like
this one. All the panelists were satisfied by the discussion and
would gladly participate in more of them.

“I think it was excellent. We should have more of
these,” Nuño said afterward. “It’s good that
the acting and medical industries come together and raise
awareness.”