A light-hearted romp in homage to old-fashioned studio system

IT'S just another day in early-1950s Hollywood and Capitol Pictures' Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin) has plenty on his plate. As Capitol's chief "fixer" he wields enormous power on the studio lot, making decisions about movies in production, keeping tabs on his stars and ensuring that no whiff of scandal reaches the industry's gossip columnists.

Eddie is a vital cog in the Capitol machine but he's a man of faith and first, he needs to go to confession. His guilt stems from sneaking one cigarette …