Dole’s Attacks Fail to Curb Hollywood on Sex, Violence : Media: Two months later, most of the industry is still pushing the limits. But subtle signs of a chill can be found.

Even as Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole continues his attacks on Hollywood over sex and violence in movies, television and records, the U.S. entertainment industry is once again pushing the envelope.

Next month, Time Warner will put on sale a rap album--called “Dogg Pound”--that is rife with raw lyrics.

In September, MGM will release the NC-17-rated movie “Showgirls,” a racy look at the world of Las Vegas strippers, showing more nudity than any other major studio film in recent history.

And this fall CBS will unveil a new drama about young professionals set in New York City called “Central Park West,” which its creator hopes will “push boundaries” in terms of nudity and sexuality on network television.

These projects arrive at a time when Dole and others are complaining about gratuitous violence and sex in movies, television shows that lack traditional family values and rap songs that glorify killing and degrade women.

Hollywood has had two months to digest Dole’s initial broadside. It’s clearly business as usual for most of TV, movies and music. What’s less obvious are the hints of a ripple-down effect in some business and creative corners.

Some of that chill was evident when scores of Hollywood’s elite turned down requests to discuss the issue for this story. Several explained through representatives that they don’t wish to become targets of the religious right.

“There is a theory out there right now that if the Republicans take office, there will be a blacklist of people who spoke out against them,” said the director of one public relations agency.

Still, a broad spectrum of people in entertainment did speak, revealing that while virtually all voice opposition to government-imposed censorship of the arts, they are cognizant of their impact on society and believe some self-imposed limits are necessary.

Director Oliver Stone, whose film “Natural Born Killers” was targeted in Dole’s Hollywood speech, said the Republican senator missed the point. His satirical tale of two serial killers on a rampage, he insists, was meant to expose the violence in our society--not exploit it.

“Dole called the movie depraved, but it was meant to reflect our depraved culture,” Stone said. “By categorizing things, we are able to dismiss them. You don’t want to listen to the message? Kill the messenger. . . . [Still,] when all is said and done, Dole had a point. We all agree that on-screen violence debases our culture. We just disagree on the methods of preventing that.”

The problem with Dole’s attacks is they have put Hollywood on the defensive, Stone said, specifically mentioning Time Warner, which has produced movies and music criticized by Dole and even its own stockholders.

“Dole isn’t proposing censorship or passing legislation--but, then, neither did [the late Sen. Joseph] McCarthy,” Stone said. “By creating a climate of paranoia, they create a chilling effect. Time Warner fired [its domestic music chairman and rap music supporter] Doug Morris. They’ve postponed the video release of the unrated director’s cut of ‘Natural Born Killers.’ . . . Dole’s poison is working.”

Warner Music Group spokesman Richard Plepler responded, “There is absolutely no connection between Doug Morris’ situation and Sen. Dole or the rap music controversy.”

When asked if Dole’s offensive had any impact on filmmakers he knows, director John Landis responded bluntly: “For all practical purposes, of course not, because it was a clear, blatant, hypocritical bit of sophistry that was solely, solely for political purpose.”

What Dole has done, Landis said, is raise the specter of censorship, “and that must be dealt with strongly.”

TV Tries to Police Itself

Nowhere is that more clear than in television, the object of legislation Congress is pounding out that would require the industry to rate its TV entertainment programs. Manufacturers also would be required to install technology in every TV set that would enable parents to lock out programs with objectionable content.

Even without such legislation, television is taking pains to police itself. A recent incident happened after CBS screened a new fall supernatural drama called “American Gothic” for its affiliates last month. Many station owners were shocked by the opening segment showing a demented father bring a shovel down hard upon the head of his possessed young daughter.

When the small-town sheriff arrived on the scene and found the girl still alive--he finished the job, twisting the girl’s neck with a sickening crunch.

“This is too weird,” one station owner said, aghast.

Last week, before screening the series for a national gathering of TV critics, CBS decided to change the opening, re-editing the scenes to soften them while removing the grotesque sound effects.

“It was graphic at points where I felt it went a little over the top,” said Leslie Moonves, president of CBS Entertainment, acknowledging that the sensitive political climate played a part in his decision. “I can’t deny that governmental pressure affects us.”

The TV industry has been at the center of an ongoing debate over violence and sex that began long before Dole launched his offensive. Throughout the 1990s, Sen. Paul Simon (D-Ill.) has waged a personal crusade to pressure the broadcast networks to reduce gratuitous violence.

In 1992, a nonpartisan group called the Center for Media and Public Affairs in Washington conducted a survey on a “day in the life” of television for TV Guide.

In a single 18-hour day, on 10 channels representing all the major program genres, the center logged 1,846 separate scenes of violence, which translated into an average of more than 10 violent scenes per hour per channel all day long, said Robert Lichter, who headed the study.

The center repeated its study in 1994 with startling results. Lichter said that on the same channels, during the same amount of time, there were now 2,605 violent scenes--a 41% jump. He pointed out, however, that violence on the broadcast networks seems to have declined, which would leave cable channels and independent stations responsible for the overall increase. But he noted that the broadcast networks appeared to replace violence with more sex.

“Sex [that was] once considered deviant and still is by [conservative author/activist William] Bennett is now commonly seen,” Lichter said. “ ‘Picket Fences’ loves to do this stuff. They’ve done wet dreams, sexual fantasies.”

Interestingly, that dramatic show is downplaying its sexy story lines this fall, but its producers said it has nothing to do with Dole or any chilling effect his speeches may have had.

“I have a staff of six writers and we don’t talk about what’s going on with Dole,” said the show’s new executive producer, Jeff Melvoin. “I don’t hear it from CBS in relation to this show and I don’t hear it from 20th Century Fox [where it is produced]. Nobody is saying, ‘Play it down because they are on the prowl.’ ”

One new show that CBS hopes will turn up the heat in ratings is “Central Park West,” scheduled to air Wednesdays at 9 p.m.

“We are going to push the boundaries in terms of sexual situations [and] nudity,” said Darren Star, the show’s executive producer and creator.

But Star, who also created “Beverly Hills 90210” and “Melrose Place” for Fox, said he knows the limits of network television.

“I hope it does push the envelope in a sophisticated way, not in a titillating way,” he said.

One show Star said he admires is the risk-taking “NYPD Blue,” the ABC police drama that has used nudity--both male and female--and coarse language in a conscious effort to be unabashedly adult.

“Certainly there are limits,” Star said, “but I think ‘NYPD Blue’ pushed them in a really interesting way. I think that opens the way for us a little bit.”

While Star said CBS so far has given him great support, he nonetheless took it upon himself to film a potentially provocative scene two ways--one more revealing than the other.

“There is one scene where the character is surprised at home by a girl,” he said. “Their relationship is finished but she shows up in a trench coat in his apartment and drops her trench coat. She is basically naked underneath except for high heels. We shot that a couple ways.” Star has not yet turned in the rough cut of the scene, part of the show’s second episode. Once he does, CBS executives and its standards and practices department will carefully review the footage to decide which version will air.

Rap Fuels Controversy

While television has long been the target of critics for sex and violence, it is rap music that has most dramatically made waves in recent years.

The furor was intensified in 1989 when N.W.A.’s “F--- tha Police” infuriated the FBI and police officers, and in 1990 when 2 Live Crew’s “Me So Horny” led to the band’s members and record store owners being arrested in Florida on obscenity charges.

But both those rap bands were on independent labels, not major corporations that are subject to shareholder concerns, such as corporate giant Time Warner.

Ice-T’s 1992 “Cop Killer” brought the debate to another level, with such lyrics as: “I’m ‘bout to bust some shots off/I’m ‘bout to dust some cops off.” After that rap song was released by Warner Bros. Records, a firestorm of controversy erupted.

Ultimately, Ice-T did agree to reissue the album without the song in order to defuse the situation, but when it came time for his next album in 1993, “Home Invasion,” he and Warner Bros. Records parted ways, in what many see as a turning point for the company.

Since then, Time Warner has remained in the spotlight, in large part due to releases coming from Interscope, a co-venture between Time Warner and financier Ted Field.

Interscope has had great success with such acts as gangsta rappers Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dogg and hard rock’s Nine Inch Nails. But in the aftermath of Dole’s criticism, Time Warner appears to see those groups more as a liability than an asset. Industry insiders predict Time Warner will sever all ties with Interscope and let the lucrative property go to a rival.

That action could come any day now, especially considering the impending Interscope release of the debut album by Tha Dogg Pound, which will contain songs certain to bring the issue to a boil.

Staff at the Time Warner record labels report that no directives have been issued regarding tightening restrictions of content--other than memos instructing them not to discuss the matter with the press, on or off the record. A company spokesman said Michael Fuchs, chairman of both Warner Music Group and HBO, is studying the issue and drawing up an official policy.

One prominent artist manager, who handles rock and rap acts at several major companies, said there has been evidence of a chilling effect at Time Warner since Dole’s speech.

While the other companies are “ignoring it and moving on,” he said, “Time Warner is much more conscious of it.”

He cited a current soundtrack album project for the upcoming movie “White Man’s Burden” being compiled by Time Warner’s Atlantic Records, on which a song proposed by a rapper was rejected due to violent content.

“They ended up not doing the song,” said the manager, who asked that his name not be used. “[Atlantic] seemed more conscious of it than before.”

Ron Stone, president of the Gold Mountain management company, whose clients range from Bonnie Raitt to alternative-rock band Sonic Youth, noted, “People at Warner Bros. are traumatized by the whole experience.”

Another major record label decided three years ago not to handle gangsta rap. MCA Music in 1992 bowed to pressure from some of its own employees who were upset with misogynistic lyrics by the rap group FU2.

MCA Music Chairman Al Teller said he opposes government censorship, but added: “I don’t for a moment believe that any individual can abdicate defining . . . what music it wants to be associated with.”

Like popular music, the film industry has long been the focus of debate over content, resulting in numerous self-governing efforts over the decades. The voluntary movie rating system was established in 1968 by the Motion Picture Assn. of America, an industry trade group, to prevent local governments from forming rating boards--and possibly censoring movies--after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that they could.

“I do believe that it’s right and appropriate for any audiovisual work to give advance warning to parents so they can make judgments about what their children watch,” said MPAA President Jack Valenti, who recently came out in favor of a voluntary TV rating system to stave off a current government effort to legislate one. “But it ought to be done by the industry, with self-regulation.”

Film studios point out that they have long relied on family fare to help fill the seats and balance their schedules. In fact, some studios, including 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros., have separate family divisions. Peter Chernin, who took over the reins of 20th Century Fox’s movie division in the fall of 1992, agrees with Dole that there are cases of “inappropriate violence” in movies. But soul-searching rather than outside censorship is the answer, he said.

“Dole’s attempt to paint this industry as a moral swamp is silly,” said Chernin. “Most of us are moral and concerned about this society in which we live. While we continue to engage in self-examination, there has been no sea change in attitudes or campaign on the part of executives to sanitize movies.”

In fact, filmmakers say what the public may not realize is the self-censorship that goes on in Hollywood on almost a daily basis.

Allen and Albert Hughes, who made the 1993 critically acclaimed movie “Menace II Society,” voluntarily cut some pistol whipping scenes and a graphic depiction of a man getting shot.

“We wanted it to be brutal, but we’re not animals,” said Allen Hughes, who next teams up with his brother for Disney’s “Dead Presidents,” a violent story of a returning Vietnam veteran who locks horns with the law. Their film joins a slate of eyebrow-raising fall pictures. Castle Rock Entertainment’s yet-to-be-filmed “Striptease” is a black comedy centered around Florida’s strip clubs. Star Demi Moore has been paid $12.5 million for the lead role in the movie, which reportedly includes nudity.

“I don’t think a female star this big has done this kind of role,” said producer Mike Lebell. . . . She is going to be sexy and stripping.” But he added that the movie won’t be off-putting. “We’re not making a porno movie,” he said.

One upcoming movie already reaping publicity because of its sexual content is MGM’s “Showgirls,” about Las Vegas strippers, which reunites director Paul Verhoeven and writer Joe Eszterhas (the “Basic Instinct” team).

Although it was filmed before Dole’s criticisms of Hollywood were issued, “Showgirls” recently was given an MPAA rating of NC-17 for rampant “nudity, erotic sexuality throughout, graphic language and sexual violence.” Studios normally fight NC-17 ratings, asking directors to trim questionable scenes. In this case, MGM knew it was making an adult film and, in fact, embraced the rating.

“Showgirls” includes scenes of prostitution and sadomasochism.

Verhoeven describes it as “portraying sexuality in a more precise way than you normally do in American movies. . . . I like nudity and it’s basically my pleasure in nudity that has propelled me to use it. I think it’s beautiful.”

Coming sooner is shock master Clive Barker’s late August release, “Lords of Illusion.” Barker said the film contains more graphic scenes and genuine horror than anything he has done before, including the flesh-ripping sequences in “Hellraiser.”

“Lords of Illusion” was completed before Dole’s assault, but Barker said it wouldn’t have mattered.

“When I get up in the morning and work on writing a screenplay, the last thing in my head is Bob Dole,” Barker said. “I just don’t think any storyteller worth his or her salt cares what anybody outside of his or her imagination thinks. You just can’t do that.”

Times staff writer Elaine Dutka and correspondent Steve Hochman contributed to this report.

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