As for Valenti, he says he has had at least four meetings with studio executives during the past year over the issue. In any case, he disputes that Hollywood is handling smoking irresponsibly. Meanwhile, there are signs that smoking in movies is continuing to flourish. Critics decry the movie for its portrayal of cigarette-smoking by its young stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, whose character lights up in defiance of her stuffy fiance. Working against the antismoking groups is Hollywood's fear that knuckling under to antismoking forces could open up the door to other crusades.
Liman bristles at the incursions of antitobacco activists in the creative process.
I would feel like that was censorship. At least one well-known director, Curtis Hanson, intentionally avoids using cigarettes. The statement mirrors one offered by the Tobacco Institute in 1990, when it announced voluntary restrictions on cigarette companies' marketing practices, including the end of paid tobacco product placements in films.