An ‘Echo’ of Earlier Days

Will Tom Petty’s “Echo” resonate with fans? That’s the title of the new album from Petty and the Heartbreakers and the early critical appraisals call it a return to the jangling rock roots of the veteran rock outfit. Will that also mean a return to strata of multimillion-unit sales? The release got off to a somewhat sluggish start, according to Scott Levin, a music marketing executive for the Musicland national chain, who described it as “the strongest release--of a very weak week.” Other retailers said they expected the album to debut stronger after the band’s recent performances on “Saturday Night Live” and “Late Night With David Letterman,” but all agreed it would likely pick up steam when the group kicks off its first tour in five years this summer. “[Music aimed] at his audience doesn’t hit as hard as some of the youth stuff, especially some of rap stuff, but it has longevity,” said Bob Feterl, regional manager for Tower Records. Watch this week for an announcement of the band’s tour dates--early word from the Petty camp is the Los Angeles-area shows will be in August.

MTV Films Hopes for ‘Election’ Winner

If there is any movie production company around that should be attuned to America’s youth--and Hollywood’s recent teen movie craze--it’s MTV. So, the question this week is whether MTV Films will bag another hit with its latest teen movie, “Election.” The film is being released by Paramount Pictures, which, like MTV Films, is part of the Viacom corporate empire. But MTV Films has had more success than many fledgling film production units. Its first movie, the animated feature “Beavis & Butt-head Do America,” came out in 1996 and went on to gross $62.8 million domestically. This year, MTV struck gold again when the modestly budgeted teen film “Varsity Blues” debuted at No. 1, going on to make $53 million to date. The only bump in the road has been “200 Cigarettes,” which has grossed about $7 million in limited release. This summer, MTV will deliver its fourth movie for Paramount, called “The Wood,” a look at three friends reminiscing about growing up in Inglewood during the 1980s hip-hop era. MTV’s latest film, “Election,” revolves around a popular teacher and student government advisor (Matthew Broderick) who realizes he is not happy about his job, his wife and his life. He takes his resentment out on the school’s ultimate overachiever (Reese Witherspoon), who believes she has a clear shot at becoming student body president until Broderick decides to throw an obstacle in her path.

High Honor . . . Low Viewership

The American Film Institute’s annual career-achievement award, which this year went to Dustin Hoffman, is one of the film industry’s most prestigious honors; however, the event hasn’t received commensurate respect in recent years as it rotates among the major TV networks. ABC will air the ceremony Thursday--a thankless assignment even against a rerun of NBC’s “ER.” Yet that’s an improvement compared to last year, when NBC televised director Robert Wise’s tribute on a Sunday in June--after an NBA playoff game and opposite the Tony Awards. The telecast drew a mere 4.8 million viewers--about a million fewer than CBS delivered when Martin Scorsese was honored in 1997--and ranked 91 out of 93 programs broadcast that week on the four networks. An AFI spokesman said the organization has sought to create an entertaining TV special but its foremost concern remains recognizing artists worthy of the honor. As for scheduling, he said, “The networks make decisions based on their needs at the time, and we understand that.” ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox have committed to broadcasting the award show through 2001. The AFI can take consolation knowing it still ranks ahead of some televised award shows, among them the Television Academy Hall of Fame induction ceremony, which drew 2.1 million viewers last month on UPN.

--Compiled by Times staff writers and contributors