Continuing our leisurely morning stroll through the trades...

Yesterday, MPAA head Jack Valenti appeared in front of a Senate panel on the impact of smoking in movies. "I tell all of you, cigarettes are a very great threat to America's film industry. In my long life, I've been to countless movies, and have never once seen a cigarette buy even a single ticket. It's obvious that cigarettes are party to the rampant digital rape and plunder of our entertainment products."

When informed that the panel was investigating the impact that depictions of smoking in movies has on minors, Valenti said that the decision of whether or not actors have an on-screen puff is best left up to filmmakers. He then put his head down and took a nap.

• Valenti: Filtering smoking is filmmakers' call [THR]


• MPAA Chief Jack Valenti: Really, We Love This Inter-Thing [Defamer]


• Nerd Stumps Jack Valenti [Defamer]

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