The Return of a Rebel : Walter Yetnikoff Surfaces With a Biggie: Wesley Snipes as Miles Davis

Former record executive Walter R. Yetnikoff has re-emerged after a three-year hibernation with plans to produce a film titled “Million Dollar Lips.”

An autobiography? After all, Yetnikoff was once considered the most powerful man in the music industry, having worked closely with the biggest stars in the business and helped sell Columbia Records to the Sony Corp. Is “Lips” designed to sink ships?

Nope. The film is actually a biography of jazz legend Miles Davis starring Wesley Snipes, and it represents a return to the spotlight for the 59-year-old Yetnikoff, who has kept a very low profile since abruptly vacating his post as Columbia Records chief in September, 1990.

“I’m back,” Yetnikoff said in his first interview since resurfacing.

So what’s he been doing for the past three years?

“Plotting,” he joked. “I’ve been quiet but I haven’t had my eyes closed.”

Yetnikoff reportedly resigned under pressure from Sony, two years after the Columbia purchase. According to sources, it was Yetnikoff’s struggle with substance abuse and bitter feuds with executives inside and outside Columbia that eventually undermined his position with the Japanese conglomerate.

“I used to have this reputation as a bad boy in the music industry, as a rebel who didn’t like to play by the rules,” said Yetnikoff, whose volatile negotiating techniques and party-style image were legendary during his 15-year reign at Columbia. “But I think that’s one big advantage in moving into the film business: I don’t even know what the rules are.”

Yetnikoff has spent the past year negotiating a deal with Davis’ estate to acquire the movie rights to the famed trumpeter’s autobiography, “Miles,” as well as securing the right to license all music related to Davis’ life story--including songs in Columbia’s extensive catalogue.

Tentatively titled “Million Dollar Lips,” the project--which will cost Yetnikoff about $1 million of his own money in development funds--is expected to start production in early 1994. Director Spike Lee, who participated in early discussions related to the film, has since dropped out.

Yetnikoff declined to name who will direct the film or who will write the screenplay, but said veteran producers Preston Holmes and Fernando Sulichin have already committed to the movie and that several major studios are negotiating to finance and distribute the project. He is also seeking additional independent financing.

Reaction in the entertainment community was positive.

“Walter was one of the greatest executives in our business,” said Giant Records chief Irving Azoff, who tangled many times with Yetnikoff in the past. “I’ve talked to him recently and I think he’s calmer and healthier and more focused. I’m sure he’ll be successful.”

World Cup executive producer Joe Smith, a recording industry veteran who has locked horns with Yetnikoff on countless occasions, concurred.

“My guess is he’ll bring to the film world that same intensity he brought to the music business,” Smith said. “Walter is a very smart guy. Everybody’s been wondering what he’s up to.”

The former Columbia chief, who worked with Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen and the Rolling Stones, established a reputation for cultivating strong relationships with artists that helped boost his early music career and turn Columbia into one of the strongest record companies in the world.

He was also instrumental in orchestrating the $2-billion sale of Columbia to Sony in 1988, which set off an international buying spree that eventually redefined the global architecture of the music industry.

He also expanded the Japanese firm’s presence in Hollywood by persuading Sony to buy Columbia Pictures Entertainment and to hire producers Jon Peters and Peter Guber to manage the enterprise.

Yetnikoff said he has spent much of his hiatus working out in the gym and “getting healthy.” He also formed his own New York-based Velvel Corp., which has acquired the rights to several other film projects and is negotiating record deals with a handful of unknown musical artists.

“For me, this Miles movie is the top priority,” Yetnikoff said. “I’m really excited about it. I don’t want to come across like Don Quixote galloping into Hollywood tilting against the windmills, but I do intend to create a film with integrity that performs extraordinarily well at the box office. And, of course, one that also wins an Academy Award or two.”