Some of the most moving segments of "That's Entertainment! III" involve the liquid dancing and mischievous percussion playing of the incomparable Fred Astaire, one of the huge stars in MGM's stable during its golden years and celebrated in the new film.
But moviegoers might easily have been denied the pleasure of seeing Astaire - not because of lack of interest of MGM in providing the footage, but because, sources say, Astaire's widow, Robyn, threw up legal roadblocks that only recently were overcome.Robyn Astaire already has proven intractable over use of her late husband's image: 1992's Kennedy Center tribute to the career of Astaire's longtime partner, Ginger Rogers, ultimately had to be televised without a single clip of the couple dancing together, because she demanded $15,000 per minute of footage used, a price the Kennedy Center said it could not pay. The refusal caused a furor, but Robyn Astaire did not back down.
To hear sources at MGM and co-producer Turner Entertainment (which owns the rights to the old MGM and RKO libraries, which include some of Astaire's finest performances), who asked not to be identified, tell it, securing rights to footage of Astaire was a monumental task that took several months. Robyn Astaire demanded a high sum of money and other specific perks, including a seat as prominent as that of MGM/UA chairman Frank Mancuso's at the May 6 premiere.
Officially, MGM says that there were no real problems and points to the finished product, which includes several clips of Astaire, as proof. They blamed the film's long delay - it was supposed to have been released last November - soley on technological snafus and restoration details, particularly in restoring the soundtrack into stereo.
Astaire, who died at 88 on June 22, 1987, was the only one of MGM's big contract stars of the '30s and '40s who later gained some control over negatives to some of his films.
Robyn Astaire did not return phone calls or faxed requests for an interview, but her representative, Thomas A. White, a Beverly Hills consultant on artists' rights enforcement, spoke on her behalf.
"Put this in context," he said. "Seating arrangements at a premiere are the most innocuous kind of benefit to give someone. Studios sharing the proper protocol for people who have been involved in the project, whether they be the stars, directors, producers or those who helped bring the project ot life . . . in this case one of the widows . . . should not be disregarded." White refused to discuss financial terms of the agreement.
He finds suggestions that his client is being greedy or difficult to be without merit.
"Mrs. Astaire is simply following her late husband's wishes. There has been so much propaganda about her and her business decisions. Fred Astaire was a very shrewd, intelligent businessman. He wanted his performances to be portrayed before the public in full form, not in bites like film clips." - JUDY BRENNAN
Product placements are nothing new in movies - but every once in a while, a film comes along that's so, well, enthusiastic in its use of brand-name products that you wonder if the filmmakers crafted a story that would fit around these subliminal commercials.
For some reason, sports movies seem most prone to this brand of commercialism. Last year, it was "Rookie of the Year"; this year, the new champ is "Major League II," a film that opened at the top of the box-office list its first week and now is at No. 5. The recognizable brands include almost a dozen visible on stadium billboards, plus several more we analyze below.
Product: Pepsi Cola.
Where it turns up: Everywhere - on machines, being consumed, on billboards at the stadium.
How long it's shown: Often enough to be considered the official drink of "Major League II."
Does it sell the product?: Looks like the soft drink of losers - oops, no, they're winners again.
Product: Evian.
Where it turns up: Being consumed by announcer Bob Uecker when the Indians are winning.
How long it's shown: Prominently featured in several scenes.
Does it sell the product?: Not if you have to dress like Uecker - who looks like Regis Philbin channeling for Liberace.
Product: Jack Daniels.
Where it turns up: Uecker drinks himself into oblivion in the booth when the Indians take a dive in the standings.
How long it's shown: You have time to read all that printing on the label.
Does it sell the product?: Only to people who believe that drinking will solve their problems.
Product: Right Guard Sports Stick.
Where it turns up: During the shooting of a commercial featuring Rick Vaughn (Charlie Sheen), in which he keeps blowing his lines.
How long it's shown: Product itself is shown at the end of the faux ad - upside down (it's a joke).
Does it sell the product?: Yes - because these folks obviously have a sense of humor.
Product: Gatorade.
Where it turns up: Emblazoned on the side of cups in the locker room.
How long it's shown: Each time the action moves indoors.
Does it sell the product?: No - because the Gatorade dispenser is sitting next to an espresso machine, which looks much more inviting.
Product: Sony products.
Where it turns up: As brand name on ultra-big-screen TV at the ballpark.
How long it's shown: Every time there's a shot of the field.
Does it sell the product?: You bet - you're tempted to watch it, rather than the movie. - TIMES STAFF
Universal Pictures' take on "The Flintstones" - the world's best-known modern Stone Age family - may be hitting bedrock, if people who have seen early screenings of the picture have anything to say about it.
They accuse the studio and producer Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment of skewing the dinosaur fable to an audience too young (10 and under) to relate to the characters, of building a movie on a script that seems to have been written by committee, and of riddling the whole thing with jokes that don't work.
"I think you could sum this picture up in two words: young and stupid," says one Universal source who saw the film. "The studio is banking on adults loving it, but guess what? Adults aren's that stupid - I think."
A Universal executive pinned the problem to the movie's being one long sight gag and having too many cooks in the kitchen. "this is no great script - but then what do you expect when you've got 32 writers contributing to it? Hell, they had eight writers and the director reworking the final draft.
Even John Goodman, who stars as Fred Flintstone, concedes that the plot is a little thin. "But we are talking about the Flintstones."