Lois Lane, chain smoker
I've seen Superman II a couple of times, but the fact that Lois Lane was chain smoking never registered with me. I'm guessing that cigarettes would have no effect on Superman. So he'd never bother to smoke. Although he mentions in the clip below that he never drinks when he flies. So evidently he can get drunk.
From Drugging the Poor: Legal and Illegal Drugs and Social Inequality, by Merrill Singer:
Source: Drugging the Poor (Google Books)
From Drugging the Poor: Legal and Illegal Drugs and Social Inequality, by Merrill Singer:
A noteworthy example of the tobacco commodification of a movie is Superman II, a film clearly targeted to young audiences that for years has been reshown on TV. In the movie, there are over 20 exposures of the Marlboro logo, for which Philip Morris is believed to have paid over $40,000. Moreover, although the character Lois Lane never smoked in the comic book on which the movie is based, she chain-smokes her way through the second Superman movie, and in the final climatic scene Supermn fights it out with his enemies in an urban landscape replete with Marlboro billboards.
Source: Drugging the Poor (Google Books)
Comments
Starting at 0:43:
"You really shouldn't smoke, y'know, Miss Lane."
"Don't tell me, lung cancer, right?"
We then see (through Superman's x-ray vision) Miss Lane's lungs as being all pink.
"Well, not yet, thank goodness."
So, at least there is a little bit of an anti-smoking message right there.
So far as I can tell Margot Kidder (age 69), who played Lois Lane, has had no problems with tobacco-related illness.
"You really shouldn't smoke, y'know, Miss Lane."
"Don't tell me, lung cancer, right?"
We then see (through Superman's x-ray vision) Miss Lane's lungs as being all pink.
"Well, not yet, thank goodness."
So, at least there is a little bit of an anti-smoking message right there.
So far as I can tell Margot Kidder (age 69), who played Lois Lane, has had no problems with tobacco-related illness.
Posted by Joshua Zev Levin, Ph.D. on 04/14/18 at 08:54 AM
I'm surprised at the $40,000 price tag. For a movie with almost guaranteed success and the number of appearances, I'd have thought it'd cost in the six figures.
I consistently rail against all the other tactics of the evil overlords of advertising, but product placement in movies never really bothers me. When it's done well, it actually helps establish the movie in a known environment. When it's poorly done, it's usually in movies (like this one) that are sort of slap-dash in many ways.
What does catch my eye and takes me out of the movie is a fake product whose shape/logo make me wonder what it's supposed to be. It makes a big difference if that box sitting on a character's nightstand is faux headache powders or pseudo condoms.
I consistently rail against all the other tactics of the evil overlords of advertising, but product placement in movies never really bothers me. When it's done well, it actually helps establish the movie in a known environment. When it's poorly done, it's usually in movies (like this one) that are sort of slap-dash in many ways.
What does catch my eye and takes me out of the movie is a fake product whose shape/logo make me wonder what it's supposed to be. It makes a big difference if that box sitting on a character's nightstand is faux headache powders or pseudo condoms.
Posted by Phideaux on 04/14/18 at 10:28 AM
It’s easy to forget how common smoking was as recently as 20 years ago. So yeah, a moviegoer at the time might not have seen anything remarkable about a central character being a chain smoker.
Posted by Brian on 04/14/18 at 03:20 PM
Well, yeah, and she was a journo. I've worked with a fair few of them, and they do tend to smoke like badly tended barbecues.
Posted by Richard Bos on 04/14/18 at 03:32 PM
I didn't notice this at first, but near the end of the second video, the Coca-Cola sign starts sparking before General Zod hits it. 😠
Posted by Joshua Zev Levin, Ph.D. on 04/14/18 at 07:18 PM
It's a phony-looking Marlboro truck. I never saw one like it.
Singer is wrong that it's the final climatic scene, so the $40,000 number is suspect, anyway.
Singer is wrong that it's the final climatic scene, so the $40,000 number is suspect, anyway.
Posted by Virtual on 04/16/18 at 04:08 PM
What a difference one month makes! (See my comment, above, from April 14.)
Sadly, Margot Kidder died three days ago, on May 13, cause of death not (yet) publicized.
Sadly, Margot Kidder died three days ago, on May 13, cause of death not (yet) publicized.
Posted by Joshua Zev Levin, Ph.D. on 05/16/18 at 07:03 AM
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Category: Movies | Advertising | Smoking and Tobacco