All has changed, thanks to Joe Eszterhas' life-threatening battle with throat cancer. He announced in "The New York Times" that he and Hollywood had blood on their hands and now Eszterhas is crusading to stop Hollywood's glamorization of smoking.
Joe EszterhasI worry that we are approaching a time when that which is shocking is squeezed out by the Stalinism of political correctness.
Joe EszterhasNo one is going to tell a movie star to smoke or not smoke because they can do whatever they want.
Joe EszterhasI started making a point earlier that women's cancer rates are skyrocketing, and we have some women movie stars, young women movie stars, who are smoking in many of their movies.
Joe EszterhasThere are some young women movie stars who are doing it everywhere, smoking in every movie, sometimes even with placements with a pack of cigarettes.
Joe EszterhasI was very skeptical when he began, and there have been moments where I think he's shown absolute leadership, and I think the jury is out, still out. I haven't made any final decisions on him, but I've been surprised at times. I agree with him about one thing absolutely - George W. Bush said recently that he believed in prayer and exercise. So do I.
Joe Eszterhas