Radio Play is What ‘Glitters’ for Mariah

Is all publicity good publicity? Well, yes and no, as Mariah Carey will find out when her new album, “Glitter,” hits stores Tuesday.

Carey, of course, is in well-publicized seclusion (and, according to sources in her camp, seeking care at UCLA Medical Center) to deal with what her spokeswoman describes as emotional distress and exhaustion. The singer’s face has been everywhere in recent weeks as her ordeals have been portrayed as sad or bizarre in news and gossip media. But does that help sell music?

“I honestly don’t think the coverage will have any bearing on her album,” says Scott Levin, a director of music marketing for the Musicland chain of stores. “Radio airplay--that’s what matters. If a song is flying on the radio, it’s Katie bar the door at retail. And right now Mariah is doing good, not great, at radio.”

The singer has abandoned promotional and public appearances that could stir up interest in the album and the tie-in film of the same title that stars Carey and hits theaters Sept. 21. And her album will get diminished exposure in newspaper and magazine advertising by retailers who feared the release would be postponed again, as it was last month, because of Carey’s condition, Levin says.

Still, the strength of Carey’s brand name--after all, she trails only Elvis Presley and the Beatles on the list of most No. 1 hits--and some curiosity about her current straits should propel the disc in the Top 5 of the U.S. album chart, according to Levin and other retailers. But the album could have been bigger with a star in healthy mode. “We have adjusted our forecasts after seeing everything that’s happened,” Levin says.

Filmmaking Spirit Lives in Silver Lake

In the nascent days of cinema, Silver Lake was a hotbed for the small studios that were churning out silent films. Following in that tradition, the Silver Lake Film Festival launches its second edition Sunday, its size doubled from its inaugural year.

The festival’s eight days will feature 46 programs, including series devoted to local filmmakers, political activism, feminism, indie distributor 7th Arts and nine collections of shorts.

Following a kickoff brunch at Vermont Restaurant in Los Feliz, the festival’s screenings begin Sunday evening with the West Coast premiere of “Elvira’s Haunted Hills.” Cassandra Peterson stars as her campy alter-ego in this independently financed hommage to Roger Corman’s Edgar Allan Poe films.

Peterson, along with veteran filmmaker Penelope Spheeris, whose Ozfest documentary “We Sold Our Souls for Rock ‘n’ Roll” will be the Sept. 20 Centerpiece gala feature, will receive the Spirit of Silver Lake Awards.

The festival’s most defining series may be “Locals Only: Filmmakers East of the Highland Curtain,” which, as the title indicates, focuses on homegrown, non-Westside product, including the recently released documentary “Chain Camera” by Kirby Dick, about (and shot by) students at John Marshall High School.

Other thematically linked programs include “Activism on Film: Stand Up and Fight,” “Red Gulch: Blacklisted in Silver Lake,” “Up Your Skirt: Naked Feminism Exposed,” “Dorothy Arzner: Film’s First Feminist,” “International Perspective: Silver Lake Is a State of Mind,” “SK8: A Subculture” and “Sin-ema: Late Night Erotica.”

Despite the festival’s Silver Lake moniker, a majority of the screenings actually take place at the Vista Theater and the Los Feliz Cinema 3 in Los Feliz. A variety of related events, including musical performances, readings and book-signings, take place in Silver Lake, Los Feliz and Echo Park.

Oprah’s Weekly Sessions With Dr. Phil

Oprah Winfrey and “Star Trek” may exist in two different universes, but she is incorporating the infamous tagline of the beloved science-fiction series to describe the launch of the 16th season of her top-rated daytime talk show today.

“We’re going where we’ve never gone before!” said Winfrey, promising that viewers will be treated to “raw and riveting” television-”the real deal!”

The season kickoff will focus on “Dr. Phil’s Get Real Challenge,” a five-day seminar conducted by life strategist Dr. Phil McGraw, who is a frequent guest on the syndicated show. McGraw led 42 participants in an “intense, confrontational, emotional experience” that forced them to address various issues in their lives. The sessions were conducted behind locked doors for as long as 10 hours.

Winfrey will discuss the seminar with McGraw on Monday and Tuesday. The “real-life” drama will continue each Tuesday in coming weeks. The segments might also be regarded as a preview of McGraw’s new syndicated series, which is scheduled to premiere next year locally on KNBC-TV at 4 p.m. “Oprah” airs on KABC-TV at 3 p.m.

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Compiled by Times staff writers