Return of the Flap?

After fading fast at the summer box office, George Romero’s “Monkey Shines” is due for videocassette release Dec. 29. And it’s coming complete with a new wave of ads--including one in the movie magazine Premiere--featuring the same text that sparked angry protests from the handicapped community last July. To wit: “Once there was a man whose prison was a chair. The man had a monkey, they made the strangest pair. . . . “

The flap over the marketing of the Orion chiller--about a disabled man using his simian attendant to take revenge on his enemies--led to wheelchair protests outside the Hollywood Pacific Theater. After meeting with leaders from organizations for the handicapped, Orion chief Mike Medavoy purged the offending ad copy.

But . . . Larry Hilford, chairman/CEO of Orion Home Entertainment, the company’s NYC-based video division, told us the new ads are aimed primarily at distributors and retailers. “We were not aware of any controversy.”

And: “I don’t know how much I can do at this point. It’s only a short verse--and most of the ads are out there already.”