The adage that there is no such thing as bad publicity is going to get a workout this month with the video releases of "Showgirls," "Priest" and "Kids."
They arrive in stores in the wake of tumultuous theatrical 1995 runs. Each generated passionate reactions that ranged from mostly critical scorn to protest and controversy. But retailers are hoping that what might be considered liabilities in the theatrical market could be a boon on the video side.
For the Record
Los Angeles Times Thursday January 4, 1996 Home Edition Calendar Part F Page F10 Entertainment Desk 1 inches; 24 words Type of Material: Correction
Video releases-- "Showgirls" and "Kids" are not Miramax Home Entertainment releases. Due to an editing error, a story in Tuesday's Calendar may have implied that they are.
"Showgirls," Paul Verhoeven's heaving Las Vegas saga, arrives in stores today on the MGM/UA Home Video label as one of the year's most vilified films and, at $20 million, a box-office bust. Compounding this was the film's NC-17 rating, which would as a matter of policy have kept it out of the biggest video chain, Blockbuster, a loss of more than 3,300 stores.
No problem. Bad word-of-mouth may keep people from paying full theater ticket prices but does not necessarily keep them from spending a couple of dollars to check it out on video. In a display of naked ambition, MGM/UA mounted an aggressive campaign to entice video retailers and distributors. (MGM/UA officials declined to be interviewed for this story.) "The most controversial film of the year is ready to perform on video," ads trumpeted, further noting the film's "phenomenal nationwide exposure."
In an unprecedented move to accommodate more conservative retailers, MGM/UA, with the participation of Verhoeven, created an R-rated version of the film, which Blockbuster, among others, has agreed to stock.
To some retailers, this turn of events is more offensive than anything in the film. "A video store is first and foremost a purveyor of videos," said Ken Dorrance, owner of Video Station in Alameda. "I don't think it is a video store's right to decide which videos customers should or shouldn't watch. You should not censor."
The decision by some stores to stock only the NC-17 version of "Showgirls" is part ideological. "We don't bring in edited versions of anything, just as we don't stock dubbed versions of subtitled foreign films," said Cynthia DiRuscio, manager of Vide-O-lympix in Huntington Beach.
It is also part business, a way to differentiate one's store from the competition. "We choose to bring in more controversial product because others in the neighborhood won't," DiRuscio added. "We let the customers choose what they want to watch."
Ironically, in the case of "Showgirls," what they want to watch is the original version of the film that was so maligned and quickly abandoned in theaters. "People are curious," said Karen Peterson, video buyer for Wherehouse Entertainment. "Many will rent what they won't go to see."
Whether this maxim holds true for "Priest," to be released Jan. 9 by Miramax Home Entertainment, remains to be seen. Antonia Bird's anguished British drama was met with predictable hostility and protest similar to what greeted another movie about religion, Martin Scorsese's "The Last Temptation of Christ."
"Priest" received fervent critical support and won film festival awards, and Blockbuster will carry the R-rated title. But retailers confess that the film's sensitive subject matter--a gay priest in moral and spiritual crisis--may put off customers.
Miramax, owned by the Walt Disney Co., is being "meticulously careful" in marketing the film, said one industry source. There has been nowhere near the amount of trade advertising being afforded other Miramax titles, particularly "Showgirls" and "Kids." (Miramax Home Entertainment officials declined to be interviewed for this story.)
"I haven't received anything at all," said Eddie Azim, manager of 20/20 Video on Sepulveda Boulevard in Los Angeles. "As soon as it comes out, we'll have a few people who are unhappy about it. It's about the church, about priests and about religion."
That's "Kids" stuff compared to Larry Clark's unflinching look at a day in the life of a group of amoral, drug-smoking, shoplifting, unsafe-sex-seeking New York skateboarders.
"Kids," available Jan. 30 on the Vidmark Entertainment label, was a cause celebre at the Sundance and Cannes film festivals and was released to theaters unrated. Blockbuster considers such titles on a "case-by-case" basis, said spokesperson Wally Knief. In this case, the film's graphic language and sexual content were deemed unsuitable, so it will not be stocked by the chain.
Vidmark is "passionate" in its support of "Kids." For starters, company officials agreed to be interviewed for this story. Unlike "Showgirls," there will not be an edited edition for home video. "Larry Clark totally believes in his vision of the movie," said Tim Swain, senior vice president of domestic distribution. "This is the movie he wanted to make and wants to be seen."
Vidmark has had experience in marketing commercially risky films on video. It previously released "Longtime Companion" and "The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover" and will release later this year Gregg Araki's "The Doom Generation."
