Glitz and Images : Fiery Show Debuts Amid Talk on Violence in Entertainment

UNIVERSAL CITY — Fiery explosions, punctuated by rhythmic bursts of gunfire, boomed across Universal Studios Hollywood on Thursday as the theme park unveiled its “WaterWorld” stunt show for an international press corps.

At the same time, in a hotel conference room at the edge of the theme park, more than 100 Hollywood insiders and executives met to wrestle with an equally fiery topic--violence and drug use in film and TV.

While stuntmen fell before the blaze of a fire-spitting Gatling gun, the nation’s drug czar, Lee Brown, pleaded with the industry to take account of the effect such images have on the viewing public.

“This is not a Democrat or Republican problem,” Brown said, “it is an American crisis.”

The juxtaposition of these events was unintentional. The theme park planned the attraction’s debut months in advance. The symposium was sponsored by the Entertainment Industries Council, an industry coalition created to forge a link with public policy-makers, recently critical of filmmakers.

But the juxtaposition was indeed ironic, observed Pancho Mansfield, a cable TV director attending the symposium.

And the news media made its preference clear. While dozens of shutters clicked and a bank of videotape cameras recorded the stunt show’s percussive special effects, only a handful of reporters listened to Brown and others discuss the impact of violence on entertainment.

*

Many of the symposium’s participants, who gathered at the Sheraton Hotel, suggested that Hollywood voluntarily reduce violence in film, TV and music. They set a goal to develop entertainment acceptable to most parents, politicians and Hollywood executives--shows that do not encourage children to use drugs or engage in violence.

“We are deeply concerned about the cultural environment that our children are being brought up in,” Brown said. “They are being desensitized about drugs and alcohol use, which is damaging to their minds and souls.”

His point may have been lost among the dozens of schoolchildren who attended the preview of “WaterWorld--A Live Sea War Spectacular,” scheduled to open Saturday. At a reported cost of $15 million, “WaterWorld” is the most expensive live production in Universal’s history, and a fitting sequel to the Kevin Costner film that was the costliest movie ever made.

Theme park executives worked to recreate a wide array of special effects from the film’s spectacular battle scenes. The audience was seated close enough to the action to feel the heat of the pyrotechnics and breathe the smoke of smoldering fires.

*

“By the time they get to age 18, most children will have spent more hours in front of the television than in a classroom,” Brown told the symposium. “And they will have witnessed more than 1,000 murders, rapes and assaults on television.”

During the 16-minute “WaterWorld” attraction, audience members saw 55 pyrotechnic detonations. Several characters were shot. The provocatively dressed heroine was chained to a dock. And when the villain entered the arena, accompanied by the strains of the old TV show theme song “Peter Gunn,” the crowd cheered.

Propane flames provided a backdrop to the action. A life-sized plane smashed through a wall, crashing into the water just a few yards short of the grandstand.

After learning of the stunt show premiere nearby, Mansfield, a creative director for Showtime Networks, said, “I hope people realize that it’s all fantasy.”

Some media experts disagree.

“People say that the audience knows we are just fooling, that the violence isn’t real. But the continuous depiction of violent acts desensitizes the audience,” said John Fauria Jr., a USC professor of cinema-television and former president of the Writers Guild of America. “The long-term effects are a poison on our society. He sees a public demand for a more restrained approach by film and TV producers.

“I hope that will happen, but the realist in me says that Hollywood needs to be constantly prodded,” Fauria said.

*

The symposium continued through the afternoon. At the end of the stunt show, however, the hero and heroine had no time to spare. Diving into a waiting boat, they escaped as a gas tank exploded and sent flames shooting toward the sky.

Once again, the crowd cheered.