A look inside Hollywood and the movies. : FLACK ATTACK : Image Is Everything (Just Ask Them)

Guess who thinks they have an image problem?

Hollywood’s film and TV publicists, that’s who.

The lousy image is the result of “the periodic negative media attention given entertainment publicists,” says Publicist Guild President Henri Bollinger. He blames articles like “Flacks Fatales,” which appeared in the August issue of Los Angeles magazine, for making matters worse.

That article compared the tactics of show business flacks --a derogatory term for publicists--to those of Saddam Hussein. It used words like “rude, hormonal and power hungry” to describe such powerhouse publicists as PMK’s Pat Kingsley, Andrea Jaffe and Susan Geller in their pursuit of favorable publicity for their celebrity clients.

So what’s the Publicist Guild’s response?

In a press release--what else?--Bollinger says the guild will offer a series of courses in entertainment publicity through UCLA Extension beginning Tuesday.

The 12-week fall quarter class concerns publicity writing for film and television, and subsequent classes will delve into other areas. He says the course of study is “an attempt to set some standards” for newcomers to the field and for veterans to update their skills.

Publicists Guild certification is available to persons completing classes, and UCLA Extension credits are offered after all nine classes are completed.

If this approach doesn’t work, maybe the Publicists Guild will hire its own PR firm.