Here are some links so that you can explore the work of Christopher Buckley, who will join us October 20 as we open the Film Festival with a screening of the film Thank You For Smoking, adapted from his novel of the same title.

Wikipedia entry, with biographical and bibliographical information:
Link

Amazon.com’s stock of Buckley’s works:
Link

Internet Movie Database (IMDB) entry for Thank You For Smoking:
Link

Please comment if you know of any other useful resources!

Here are a sample of post-screening conversation topics for each of the films featured at the Film Festival:

“Thank You For Smoking”: Many jobs require conduct that do not violate the law but yet, in many ways, depend on immoral behavior to achieve success. Why is it that the law so often tolerates behavior that is clearly immoral but yet is ultimately lawful? Shouldn’t the standards be the same?

“12 Angry Men”: Would the film be less or more dramatic if the jurors initially believed that the accused was innocent and then, in their angry deliberations, ultimately found him guilty?

“The Accused”: What statement does this film make about the process and moral legitimacy of plea bargains? Why is it that the prosecutor believed that making sure that the accused were sent to jail should have been enough for the victim, and what does the prosecutor ultimately learn about what victims really need and want from the criminal justice system?

“A Time to Kill”: Is there such a thing as a time to kill, or is vengeance and revenge never permissible on either moral or legal grounds?

“A Civil Action”: What does this film say about the limitations of money as a solution to a civil lawsuit?

“Judgment at Nuremberg”: Why were the judges during the Third Reich prosecuted as if they themselves had committed crimes against humanity? Is complicity the same thing, legally and morally, as the direct involvement in mass murder? Should it be?

“In the Bedroom”: How does the legal system expect crime victims to go home and live their lives when the law fails to do what is just and allows the guilty to go free?