California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger says children need to be warned about the dangers of smoking, but Hollywood should not feel pressured to ban cigarettes and cigars from films aimed at youngsters.  “To suddenly tell actors not to smoke a cigarette in a movie when they portray a character [who smokes] is ludicrous.”   A source close to the governor added, “Yeah, smoking hurts people’s health, but so do other retarded things people do in movies, like running back into a building that’s engulfed in flames to save a photograph, or piloting a 747 when they have no training, or leaping from rooftop to rooftop, or getting in a fight with a guy who has KGB training while you’re both on motorcycles, or for that matter the movie clichés like standing up for what’s right when it’s just you against a bunch of heavily armed oaves in a parking lot.  And if you want health consequences, let’s talk about all those movies about guys having mid-life crises, movies that encourage people to “follow their heart” and leave a job as an executive to become a professional badminton player or horseshoes player or move to Montana and write a novel.  Danger?  Try telling your old lady ‘I’m not a CPA any more, I’m a surfer who writes poetry.’  The rear tire of her Tahoe will pop your head like a pimple before you’ve finished telling her about all the prize money you’re going to rack up.”  

Signs on San Diego