Hollywood Reacts With Caution After Attack

The repercussions of Tuesday’s terrorist attack on New York’s World Trade Center rippled through the entertainment industry and in particular network television, as executives prepare to launch a new fall lineup laden with espionage-oriented dramas containing themes of intrigue and terrorism.

For an industry that specializes in fantasy and escapism, Tuesday’s events--which prompted indefinite postponement of this Sunday’s nighttime Emmy Awards ceremony, emptied studio lots and halted numerous film and television productions--also spurred a flurry of activity to blunt any appearance of insensitivity in terms of the programming and promotion on display.

One major feature film was also affected, as Disney officials abandoned plans to open the new Tim Allen comedy “Big Trouble” on Sept. 21, pushing back the release until next year. Although it is a comedy, a central plot point in the movie had to do with a nuclear device being smuggled inside a suitcase past airport security onto a plane bound from Miami to the Bahamas.

Any lingering impact the attacks will have on the introduction of new prime-time television schedules, set for later this month, remains unclear.

In what many saw as an effort to feed the public’s appetite for escapist entertainment, the networks have scheduled three new series focusing on the crime-fighting efforts of the Central Intelligence Agency: CBS’ “The Agency,” ABC’s “Alias” and Fox’s “24.”

Networks quickly began adjusting schedules Tuesday, however, with an eye on programs and especially advertising that might be ill-timed in light of the attack. ABC, for instance, pulled a scheduled broadcast this Saturday of the film “The Peacemaker,” which deals with nuclear terrorism.

In addition, promotional spots for “The Agency”--whose debut episode hinges on foiling a terrorist attack--and “Alias” have been suspended indefinitely. Both programs remain scheduled to premiere later this month.

Perhaps most uncomfortably, the first episode of Fox’s “24”--which chronicles the CIA’s efforts to prevent the assassination of a presidential candidate--contains a sequence in which a terrorist blows up an airplane. The show is scheduled to premiere in late October, and Fox has pulled promotion for that program as well.

“It would be insensitive to continue to run those promos in light of what’s happened,” said Scott Grogin, a spokesman for the Fox network.

Anya Guilsher, spokeswoman for the CIA, said the agency had no contact with the networks Tuesday, and entertainment division spokesmen said that in each case the decision to withdraw promotion was voluntary.

Eliminating on-air promotion is not insignificant for the networks, given that they rely on such advertising to build awareness for new programs, each of which represents a major investment.

Among other projects scheduled to air during the coming television season is a five-hour NBC miniseries spread across the three editions of its “Law & Order” franchise that focuses on an act of terrorism within the U.S., as does “The President’s Man: Ground Zero,” with action star Chuck Norris as a White House operative.

Historically, the intrusion of real-life tragedy hasn’t dampened interest in similarly themed movies and television shows, and concerns about releasing certain movies or TV shows passes quickly; still, it has prompted delays, including an episode of the WB network’s “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” pulled after the shootings at Columbine High School in 1999.

NBC’s White House drama “The West Wing,” meanwhile, is scheduled to begin its third season as planned next week. A representative for series creator Aaron Sorkin said the premiere has already been edited, making any changes in response to this week’s events impossible.

In addition to the film “Big Trouble,” the romantic comedy “Sidewalks of New York,” starring Edward Burns and Heather Graham, also had its Sept. 21 release date postponed. Officials at Paramount Classics said the film would likely be put off until late November.

Sony, meanwhile, recalled a trailer for its big-budget action film “Spider-Man” that contains a familiar image of the World Trade Center’s twin skyscrapers. A studio spokeswoman said the shot of the towers is not in the movie, which will open next year.

Battling terrorism has been a longtime staple of feature films, including the 1994 film “True Lies,” starring Arnold Schwarzenegger; “Black Sunday,” director John Frankenheimer’s 1977 thriller, in which terrorists commandeer a TV blimp to bomb the stadium during the Super Bowl; and the three “Die Hard” films, starring Bruce Willis.

Willis also co-starred with Denzel Washington in the controversial 1998 thriller “The Siege,” in which New York City--in the face of escalating terrorist attacks--is put under martial law, while Arabs and other foreigners are interned.

When the film was released, The Times’ Kenneth Turan wrote: “Helping ratchet the tension up is the unfortunate fact that a scenario involving a wave of terrorist bombings hitting New York City is far from out of the question. To watch ‘The Siege’ is to be aware to the point of discomfort that the film’s fatal explosions could appear as soon as tomorrow morning’s paper.”

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Times staff writers Robert Welkos, Susan King and Dana Calvo contributed to this story.