Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, July 1, 1993                   TAG: 9310080348
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES                                 LENGTH: Medium

NBC WAS CAUGHT IN THE HYPE MACHINE

In its opening weekend, ``Last Action Hero,'' which stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, shocked the industry by bringing in only about $15 million in box-office receipts, $5 million less than even the conservative prediction of Columbia Pictures, which released it. For a film that cost a reported $80 million to make, that's a hugely puny showing. In its second weekend, the grosses plunged to $8 million.

``Hero'' is now officially a disaster, living up to the nickname ``Arnold the Duck'' that it earned in advance (in honor of ``Howard the Duck,'' a quintessential costly flop of the '80s). And a well-deserved disaster, too, since the film is loud, violent and incredibly self-indulgent.

But in the days and weeks leading up to the premiere, TV talk shows treated the film as if it were going to be ``Gone with the Wind'' and ``Star Wars'' wrapped up in one. Arnold was everywhere, smiling his way through interview after interview. That's because the shows let themselves become part of the great hype machine. Producers of the programs are thrilled to get a big star like Arnold whether the movie he's plugging merits attention or not.

Executives at NBC's ``Today Show'' agreed with Columbia Pictures to give Arnold & Company four mornings' worth of exposure in the week prior to the opening of the film. Arnold himself appeared and even brought his young son on with him.

Steve Friedman, executive producer of the ``Today'' show, has no apologies for devoting so much time to what turned out to be a humongous dud. ``Listen, we did five days on `Ishtar,''' he says with a laugh, recalling another of Hollywood's most notorious bombs. ``You don't know when you commit to these things what the movie's going to be.''

Friedman says the ``Today'' show committed to four days of ``Last Action Hero'' interviews at least three months before the film's release. That means neither Friedman nor any of his producers saw the picture when the bookings were made. They have to plan well in advance, and they have to try to land the big stars so that ``Today'' competitors like ``Good Morning, America'' (ABC) and ``CBS This Morning'' don't get them first.

``We never get in a bidding war'' with the other programs, Friedman claims, but a kind of bidding does go on. The network morning shows are intensely competitive, so the one that makes the best offer on a picture like ``Last Action Hero'' - that is, the one that offers to spend the most air time on the film - is likely to be the first or only show to get the big star.

``Do you back out because the movie's no good?'' Friedman asks rhetorically. ``We heard rumors there were problems, but you hear lots of rumors on movies that then turn out to be hits. Besides, Arnold's always a great interview, no matter how good or bad the movie is. You never have to worry about Arnold coming to play.''

Friedman confesses that booking Arnold and his pals for four days of interviews makes ``Today'' complicit in hype. The interviews are not really ``reports'' on the film; they're publicity puff pieces. But all the shows do it; it's like magazines bidding on interviews with stars by promising to put the stars on the covers, or letting the stars have veto power over who does the interviewing.

``It makes us a part of the hype, yes,'' Friedman concedes, ``but the key element here is this: If we are buyers and they, the movie companies, are sellers, then the sellers have the big market right now, because there are so many alternatives for them, so many more shows they can go to. They're definitely in a better position in '93 than they were in '83 because of all the increased competition.''

At least co-anchor Bryant Gumbel kept his integrity intact. He did see the film shortly before the week of interviews began and when, on the air, Katie Couric asked him what he thought of it, Gumbel replied tactfully, ``I'll tell you after Arnold's gone.''

\ Washington Post Writers Group

NBC was caught in the hype machine