NO GUARANTEES

After Michael Rothstein and his family sat through “Ishtar” at the Northpoint Theater in San Francisco, he asked for a refund. When the manager refused to see him, Rothstein proceeded to tell people in line for the next screening that the film was a turkey.

Suddenly, the manager appeared and handed Rothstein not a refund but the address of Columbia, which produced and released “Ishtar.”

Rothstein wrote Columbia chief David Puttnam and insisted that the company “should be ashamed for foisting off the film on the public”--and asked for his $18 back.

Puttnam told us, “There isn’t a day that goes by that we don’t get a letter like the one from Rothstein either extolling or vilifying some Columbia film.” He said that he sent a prompt, “sympathetic” reply, but maintained that returning Rothstein’s money would set a dangerous precedent.

Instead, Puttnam sent a gift as a peace offering that he and Rothstein are keeping secret--plus the personal promise that Columbia’s next film, “La Bamba,” would be more to his liking.