A look inside Hollywood and the movies. : REBIRTH : Does This Mean the Video Isn’t Coming Out Soon?

Nope, it’s not a mistake. MGM-Pathe’s October release schedule includes Mel Brooks’ “Life Stinks”--the same “Life Stinks” that opened this summer to mixed reviews and mediocre box office.

The dark contemporary comedy, in which a rich man (played by Brooks) makes a bet that he can survive among the homeless without any of his assets, was considered somewhat of a departure for Brooks (“Blazing Saddles,” “Young Frankenstein”). But after “Life Stinks” performed well in Europe, MGM-Pathe decided to try the U.S. again, this time with a limited opening and less fanfare--no expensive TV commercials, just simple newspaper ads that read: “Good News For Mel Brooks Fans: ‘Life Stinks’ is back.” The film re-opens Friday at an 85-seat screen at the Beverly Center Cineplex.

“What happened the first time is that MGM needed money and threw out almost 1,000 prints and tried to compete with ‘Terminator 2’ and all the other big films, which was crazy,” Brooks says. When the film opened July 26, it collected a dismal $2 million at 865 theaters in its first weekend. “It was a total mistake. They should’ve opened it in three theaters in three different cities. It could’ve gathered some steam and then they could’ve broken it in September or October. They’re apologizing to me by trying it that way now.”

Brooks says that audiences were confused by the film’s marketing campaign, and he takes part of the blame himself. “The biggest mistake I made was calling the film ‘Life Stinks.’ I assumed that America understood irony, since it’s an ironic title. I was wrong. Of course, it’s too late to change the title.”

Brooks also says that the film’s trailer “was a dreadful mistake. It only showed comic highlights, which betrayed the essential substance and texture of what this movie is about. The audience was expecting another ‘Spaceballs.’ ”

Greg Morrison, MGM’s worldwide president of marketing, agrees that the studio might have made a mistake. “I think we could’ve done things differently,” he admits. “There was a real glut of material out there and the film did get lost in the shuffle.” Morrison points out, though, that the film was originally scheduled for a less-crowded April release, but that MGM, then strapped for cash, ran out of money for distribution.

What are MGM’s plans for the film if it performs well? “We’ll hotfoot it to New York and Chicago and other cities that have been bastions of Mel’s success,” says Morrison. “This is an experiment with a picture that we all love that stumbled. We hope it works.”

Adds Brooks: “I don’t think we missed the bus. I don’t think a good movie ever misses the bus.”