My hands are bloody; so are Hollywood’s. My cancer has caused me to attempt to cleanse mine. I don’t wish my fate upon anyone in Hollywood, but I beg that Hollywood stop imposing it upon millions of others.
– famous Hollywood director Joe Eszterhas, in a New York Times editorial (free registration required to read NYT stories)
The rest of Eszterhas editorial is no less dramatic. His mea culpa for producing films which, as he bluntly admits, glamorized smoking… is both palpable and painful.
I may not agree with some of his dramatic comments, such as his suggestion that “smoking should be as illegal as heroin.” But I recognize and sympathize with his concern about the horrific impact of cigarettes on our society, and — in particular — on our society’s youth.
I wonder what impact his editorial will have on other Hollywood directors.
What do you think about his views?
