Hail Caesar! (2016)

Image
Frances McDormand
Image
 Josh Brolin
Image
Scarlett Johansson
Image
Ian Blackman
Image
Julie Cavanaugh
Movie

Hail Caesar! (Universal, PG-13) is a Sturges-style send-up of Hollywood under the Studio System, when crass movie moguls ruled the lives of stars and screenwriters alike. Produced, written and directed by Ethan and Joel Coen, whose films often leave deep tobacco footprints, Hail Caesar features eleven smoking actors and more than 225 tobacco incidents. The film delivered 855 million tobacco impressions to domestic moviegoers of all ages. It displays the Viceroy brand (Altria: Philip Morris). Big Tobacco actively engaged in cross-promotion with major Hollywood studios in the 1930s, '40s and '50s. In Hail Caesar, we merely see the cultural confusion that decades of tobacco deals have left behind. (For more on Hollywood's promotional partnership with Big Tobacco, revealed in tobacco industry documents, view this graphic.)