Caffeine And Nicotine

Yeah, funny how they do that same old trick. People were smoking centuries before there were any movies, so what instigated that? This is the old trick of the image reflected in the mirror is created by the mirror.

Anti-smoking groups claim that smoking in movies encourages kids to start.

What's next? What about alcohol? Sugar? Obesity? So we can't depict anyone eating fast food or eating a candy bar or having a drink. Even cigarettes alone--you know, I guess that means we have to wipe out the entire history of Japanese and French cinema. So where does this begin, the activities of human beings being restricted? I find this really an old trick. Movies reflect human activities, they don't cause them.

Your film doesn't exactly endorse smoking either, despite the title.

It shows all sides--it's not condoning nor condemning it. We have one character with a tracheotomy who is saying the tobacco companies, the undertakers, the hospitals are going to get rich off him. We have RZA and GZA [of the Wu-Tang Clan] saying nicotine and caffeine are strong drugs, they cause health problems. It's all in there.

Jack White says his favorite part of the segment he acted in is the 20 seconds of silence at the beginning--that silence can be as powerful as dialogue. What do you think?