Curtain Up on Act 2 of Congress vs. Hollywood

The entertainment industry, still black and blue from last year’s culture war with Washington, is facing for another round as the new government continues to scrutinize Hollywood’s marketing of adult-rated fare to children.

With Congress narrowly divided, some in the industry fear that beating up on Hollywood might emerge as one of the few political activities with bipartisan appeal. The spotlight this time could fall on the recording industry, which is seen by some lawmakers as too slow in responding to calls for more explicit labeling of music with mature themes.

“The new policy here is trust but verify,” said David Crane, spokesman for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), one of the industry’s staunchest critics. “They will be monitored every step of the way.”

The Bush administration has yet to weigh in. But Congress wasted no time putting Hollywood on notice that it must do more to keep violent movies, music and electronic games out of children’s reach.

McCain asked the Federal Trade Commission this week for two reviews of Hollywood’s marketing practices--follow-ups to last year’s scathing findings that children were used in focus groups for R-rated films and violent entertainment was being advertised everywhere from morning cartoon shows to Girl Scout groups.

One study, due in the spring, would review movie trailers, Web sites and other “popular teen media” to assess whether mature-rated products were still peddled to youngsters. A second, more extensive review in the fall would directly question industry leaders about marketing strategies.

The reports could spawn hearings similar to last September’s in the Senate Commerce Committee, which McCain chairs. Those sessions, which forced eight studio chiefs to defend their marketing practices before national television cameras, were among the most publicized events of the 106th Congress.

Although such strategies are aimed less at producing legislation than at publicly shaming Hollywood, one bill was resurrected this week by Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.). That measure--strongly opposed by the industry--would relax antitrust laws to allow media giants to collaborate on a universal ratings system and code of conduct.

“What does it take for the entertainment industry and its licensees and retailers to stop exposing children to poison?” Brownback told a news conference Thursday in a sign that the rhetoric is already ratcheting up.

Entertainment leaders said they were not surprised by the early display of congressional vigilance.

“We fully expected it,” Jack Valenti, president of the Motion Picture Assn. of America, told Times reporters and editors. “I am very confident and relaxed about it. . . . The blatant [marketing] aberrations they found . . . won’t be located this time.”

But Valenti bristled at the notion that the film industry could go much beyond the 12-point plan it released in response to the FTC findings. That plan promised more-detailed explanations of film content and banned trailers for R-rated films before family movies.

Some studios have gone further. Universal Pictures encouraged theater managers to remove the trailer for “The Mummy Returns,” which is PG-13, from screenings of the PG-rated “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” And some lawmakers have suggested other studios should follow that lead.

But Valenti was skeptical, comparing the task of forging agreement on a base code of marketing behavior to “cleaning the Augean stables”--one of the labors of Hercules from Greek mythology.

The video and computer game industry, meanwhile, received praise Thursday from the National Institute on Media and the Family in Minnesota, which concluded it was “more responsible than the other major media industries” in addressing public concerns about violence.

But there has been scant praise for the recording industry, which some lawmakers believe has made little progress in providing parents with more adequate information about content and restricting sales to minors.

Hilary Rosen, president of the Recording Industry Assn. of America, strongly disagreed, noting the music establishment was the only one of four entertainment genres that offered its own solutions before the FTC report was released.

“We are working on appropriate ways to make lyrics accessible,” she said. “We certainly take this stuff seriously. I think, unfortunately, there is always going to be a record that upsets people.”

Although the 107th Congress was quick to make clear its approach to Hollywood, the Bush White House remained a question mark. Some entertainment leaders wonder how a pro-business administration will look upon attempts to restrain an industry that accounts for almost 5% of the gross domestic product and is vigorously protected by the 1st Amendment.

Whereas Democrats Al Gore and Joseph I. Lieberman regularly attacked Hollywood’s morals from the stump, the Bush campaign was far less pointed in its criticism.

Valenti said he could only “surmise” how relations would unfold, adding: “I don’t know what lies latent inside.”

One clue might lie in Lynne Cheney--wife of Vice President Dick Cheney--who has long been a critic of violent entertainment and took time off the campaign trail to testify at one of McCain’s hearings.

Still, the relationship between Washington and Hollywood is not solely contentious. At the same time the entertainment industry has done battle with Congress over cultural issues, industry leaders have turned to Capitol Hill for help in protecting intellectual property, fighting piracy and increasing access to foreign markets for their products.

Valenti said he is focusing on a strong defense against copyright infringement--an issue that has become a top priority for entertainment industries under siege by technology and the Internet.

“A lot of what we are able to do,” he said, “will depend on whether or not Congress understands clearly and unambiguously the unbelievable worth of intellectual property.”