We all know the French are seemingly attached to smoking, but even in Paris there’s a lot less of it than, say, 20 or 30 years ago. It’s nonetheless striking how many festivalgoers this year are lighting up all over the place. Are they chipping because they’re here and it’s community party time so what the hell? Mainly young people because they think themselves bulletproof, but dudes of all ages, it seems.
Posted on 11.30.08: “You have to smoke in movies like you don’t give a damn, like you don’t need it, like you don’t care one way or the other if you have any on you, like your Zen-ness is rooted in your soul and not in the way you look when you light up, you desperate asshole.
“Once an actor looks as if he anxiously wants or needs a smoke to stabilize or enhance his currency with an audience, he’s a dead man. Once an actor pulls out a cigarette in order to have something to do during a scene (and you can always spot actors who do this), the man has permanently surrendered his cool. He’s finished, discredited.”