So, Is It a Franchise or a Folly?

The buzz in Hollywood this week revolves around “The Avengers,” a $60-million special effects-laden action adventure film based on the hit 1960s British TV series about that wry secret agent Jonathan Steed and his jujitsu-kicking partner Emma Peel. Warner Bros. is scheduled to roll out the film Friday in 2,800 theaters, but just getting the movie completed in time has made for a mad dash to the finish line. A studio spokesperson said that as of last Friday, the filmmakers were still tinkering with the special effects on two reels. Meanwhile, there will be no gala premiere, even though the film was once viewed by many as a possible high-profile franchise for Warner Bros. A studio spokesperson said the three stars aren’t available for a premiere: Ralph Fiennes is in Budapest making a movie, Uma Thurman is in New York caring for her new baby, and Sean Connery is in London working on a film. The studio spokesperson also said it is “up in the air” whether a print will be available to allow advance screenings for the media--usually a red flag for critics. Directed by Jeremiah Chechik, “The Avengers” features Fiennes as Steed, the unruffled, elegantly clad British gentleman, and turns on the character of August Wynter (Connery), a deranged meteorologist who not only lusts after Emma (Thurman) but hopes to control the world by manipulating the weather. Two people who saw the film at a screening for exhibitors last week gave it mixed reviews. “It’s a lot like Batman meets 007,” one said. “It’s all style but not much substance. It was really fun to watch but at the same time it’s not something you remember when you leave the theater.” Another thought that Connery wasn’t in the film long enough to do much with his part and that it was difficult to tell when the movie takes place. “It has a ‘90s sensibility, but you look at how Uma Thurman is dressed and you think how Diana Rigg looked [as Peel] in the ‘60s,” the person noted.

How Loud Will His Bark Be?

SoundScan will likely report Wednesday that Snoop Dogg’s new album has duplicated the feat of his first two, entering the national pop album sales chart at No. 1. The question is, will first-week sales of the new collection, titled “Da Game Is to Be Sold, Not to Be Told,” top the initial-week number posted last month by the Beastie Boys’ “Hello Nasty,” which has held the No. 1 position for the last three weeks? The Beasties’ set sold nearly 682,000 copies during its first week in stores, the highest initial-week total this year and the eighth-highest debut of the SoundScan era, which started in 1991. Retailers say the Snoop album could surpass that number, with one predicting that first-week sales could reach as high as 850,000. That would make it one of the Top 5 first-week totals of the SoundScan era. Snoop already has two of the Top 20: His 1993 debut, “Doggystyle,” sold nearly 803,000 copies, No. 5 on the list, while his 1996 follow-up, “Tha Doggfather,” sold almost 479,000, which ranks 18th. “Sales couldn’t be better,” says Scott Levin, a marketing director for the Musicland Group, the nation’s largest retailer. “Did I think it was going to be a huge record? Absolutely. But it’s bigger than I thought it was going to be.”

TV Academy Wrestles With Pre-Emmy Strife

With preparations in full swing for next month’s 50th annual nighttime Emmy Awards telecast, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences--the nonprofit organization that presents the awards--finds itself grappling with internal strife that stems primarily from strained relations between its new president and certain longtime members and staff. Insiders say some of those issues will likely surface Wednesday at this month’s gathering of the group’s board of governors--their first meeting since the academy’s executive committee chose not to renew the contract of executive director James Loper, who has held that position since 1983. Opponents say Meryl Marshall, who became president 10 months ago, has sought to “micro-manage” academy activities, engineering Loper’s removal and spurring a near-rebellion by the paid staff. Thomas Sarnoff, who oversees the academy’s charitable foundation, objected specifically to the manner in which Loper’s release was handled, saying in a letter to Marshall that it “appeared to have been a setup, and I resent that approach.” A separate dispute, meanwhile, involves the accusation that a senior Disney executive “bought a ballot” to vote for the Emmy in animation by threatening to pull $12,000 in advertising from the organization’s in-house publication, Emmy magazine. (The executive later agreed not to cast a vote, but representatives of the academy’s animation branch say providing him a ballot at all raises a larger issue that has to do with maintaining the integrity of the awards process.) Interviewed Friday, Marshall said she hopes to clarify the voting rules after this year’s awards to prevent such situations from arising in the future. As for tensions within the academy, Marshall acknowledged that she is seeking to lead the academy in a new direction and that “change is always uncomfortable.”

--Compiled by Times staff writers and contributors