This may be a silly question. In a lot of femme fatale movies, the ff a lot of times, is smoking cigarettes or cigars with a subtle sexual confidence in her body language. If I have a homme fatale, will making him a smoker have the same effect, or no?
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Question on how to write this type of character.
- Thread starter harmonica44
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You can see it either way.
Smoking is becoming more and more trendy and poshy as price are increasing and it is kind of "banned"
But on the other hand, every one know it gives a bad smell, not so credible for a "homme fatale"...
I would rather see him with a bluetooth headset ^^
Smoking is becoming more and more trendy and poshy as price are increasing and it is kind of "banned"
But on the other hand, every one know it gives a bad smell, not so credible for a "homme fatale"...
I would rather see him with a bluetooth headset ^^
Is the cigarette already in the screenplay as an element key to the story? Or just a plot device to establish his bad assedness?
Just write the story, and if the actor hired smookes - let him smoke if he wants.
Likely it doesn't matter, storywise.
Also, it depends upon what MPAA rating and context you're shooting for.
Your gritty, mouth fisting, twat torturing terrorist story? Gopherit.
Marvel adventures one-off action? Likely. (Captain Iron Lung: Origins)
Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Bums? Unavoidable.
When Harry Met Sally's Niece? Probably not.
Flicka Finds a Fag? Mmmm.... nope. I wouldn't.
Just write the story, and if the actor hired smookes - let him smoke if he wants.
Likely it doesn't matter, storywise.
Also, it depends upon what MPAA rating and context you're shooting for.
Your gritty, mouth fisting, twat torturing terrorist story? Gopherit.
Marvel adventures one-off action? Likely. (Captain Iron Lung: Origins)
Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Bums? Unavoidable.
When Harry Met Sally's Niece? Probably not.
Flicka Finds a Fag? Mmmm.... nope. I wouldn't.
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I'd say that the majority of smokers must have, at some point in their lives, believed that smoking was cool, or they'd never have started. I know I believed it, and a certain secret part of my brain still does.
As for sexiness... well, I'm no sociologist, but I think there's a cultural taboo around smoking, particular women smoking. I once watched a documentary about how marketing companies in the 40s and 50s created an association between smoking and women's liberation. Because only men smoked, then if a woman was to smoke, it would be akin to giving a woman her own penis. Or something. What was I talking about?
^^^ Brilliant!!! ^^^
Here in the UK, smoking in public is banned, so you have to go outside to smoke. If you find a girl outside the club smoking, you know you've got something in common. It's a great way to meet women!
Anyway, I'd say if the character smokes, he smokes. It wont make him sexy, but it could make him look cool, depending on how he's smoking. If he's not inhaling but still coughing his guts up, or looks as if he's hating every second of it, that's not cool. If he sparks one up, peers down the scope of a rifle, then takes his shot, all without taking the cigarette from his mouth, that could be cool.
Heh. I love that, and it's more or less my thoughts, too.
I smoke quite a bit, and sometimes it just happens to work itself into something I'm writing, but it's rarely "essential" to the story or character. I think it really just depends on the overall scene you're going for and what elements need to be in place in order for you to feel like you're creating that overall scene as you want to create it.
A strictly Freudian view is that the the cigar/cigarette is a penis over which she exercises total control. In a lot of older movies, men used it the same way. Whether conscious or not, if you watch smokers, the tension in their lips change and the 'mouth ornament' is a good gauge of interest and arousal. While older US movies had rich/successful guys smoke cigars--a heyday carryover of industrial age America--cigars now tend to take on different overtones. The Churchill/Daddy Warbucks cigar is replaced by thug cigar which is more brutal than glamorous. In the US, there is a strong downplay of smoking on screen. Those who smoke tend to fall into the loser/neurotic/scufflaw categories.
As others have rightly pointed out--is it necessary?
Smoking by itself does not exude sexual confidence. Psychiatric studies show a high correlation of psychotics smoking (though not vice versa--smokers are psychotics). In many older thrillers everyone who got nervous asked for cigarette to calm their nerves. Even the cliche smoking after sex is more a point of passe humor.
My contribution is that I think by writing it into the script without it being pivotal (trace DNA evidence, for instance), you step on the director, casting director, and actor's toes. The writing should allow the actor to exude the natural raw sexuality that allows him to seduce women. The casting director has more flexibility if they don't need to find an actor who smokes or is willing to smoke. Non-smokers come across very unbelievably on screen.
Actions and dress carry sexual confidence more powerfully for men. I'd suggest reading a few PUA sites (Pick-Up Artists) to see how alpha males work a room. Your character should be impeccably dressed and groomed. A few symbols of wealth. He should seat himself visibly and take of as much space as possible. Make his movement deliberate. Sexually assertive males tend to be dismissive of women to sort out those that want to fight for his attention. There are distinctive body language cues--the prolonged gaze, break away and the brush.
Now you don't incorporate all those elements into your script but un homme fatal--a sexually confident provocateur--comes across through action and dialogue. It is the ACTOR not the PROP that carries the message throughout the movie.
Well yeah, it's not the prop. So if the Sharon Stone character from Basic Instinct, was a man smoking then it would not have the same effect of sexual dominance or confidence then, and just look cool rather?
True, non smokers come across unbelievable on screen. However I could hire a non-smoker actor, who is willing to puff on cigars, because puffing, without inhaling, is pretty easy to do for a non-smoker.
I think it depends on the culture. Walking around Paris last month, I noticed 9 out of 10 people on the street smoking, and looking damn good doing it. And here in the US whenever I light up, I get funky looks, so I don't do it as much. I'd say, everything about your character (their idiosyncrasies, addictions, etc) should reflect on something intentionally. In a movie, there would be a big difference between having your character smoke habitually (owning their own pack), smoke occasionally (indifferently accepting from a friend), or refusing to smoke altogether.
I think cigars always convey power and wealth. Gangsters, CEOs, badass WWII veterans.. A cool, everyman won't smoke a cigar.
I think cigars always convey power and wealth. Gangsters, CEOs, badass WWII veterans.. A cool, everyman won't smoke a cigar.
Well the character is a bit of an everyman more so, but that would be a new spin on it.
Yes the fat ones look the best. And the sexiest for women lol.