Full Court Press

The Hoosiers loooooove their “Hoosiers.”

The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals laid the injunction on sales and rentals of the Indiana basketball adventure but vidstores seem reluctant to return copies while the legal wrangles wrangle on, possession being 9/10ths of the law.

“Platoon” is constrained in the same Hemdale-Vestron-HBO Video hassle over vidcassette distribution. In Indiana, the injunction stopped “Platoon.” But. . . .

“ ‘Platoon’s’ probably the big news in the rest of the country but not here,” said an employee of Indianapolis’ Mr. Video. “I understand why store owners would be real angry about not having it this fall. We’d feel the same way if it had been ‘Hoosiers.’ ”

Walter Wiseman, president of Indianapolis-based video distributor Major Video Concepts, has asked his stores not to sell or rent the film: “It’s been recalled but we haven’t received any copies. I don’t anticipate we’ll see any unless the injunction is upheld and the courts force us to comply with the decision.”

But Mike Spillman, general manager of Mr. Video, Indiana’s largest vidchain, said he hasn’t received legal notification concerning “Hoosiers”: “We have between 500 and 600 copies of the film in 40 stores and it’s our biggest renter.”