Late-night reruns put damper on movie campaigns

By Steven Zeitchik and Leslie Simmons

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - For film publicists who rely on the oxygen of late-night television to breathe life into their campaigns, the Writers Guild of America strike has been a punch to the gut.

Television networks this week have been busy tallying production casualties, but on the movies side, the studios have begun counting a different toll: lost bookings.

A fall season already difficult because of a crowded release calendar just became even more challenging. Movies due for release on Friday -- "Lions for Lambs," "Fred Claus" and "No Country for Old Men" -- will now join a scramble for other, sometimes less optimal, television slots.

They'll also be forced to seek out such shorter lead-time outlets as newspapers and radio.

Nearly every day in the coming weeks will bring a new victim. On Tuesday, for instance, MGM's "Lambs" lost a "Tonight Show With Jay Leno" booking for Meryl Streep.

"Late-night shows are cornerstones of a good campaign because a late-night audience is a moviegoing audience," said Amanda Lundberg, an independent publicist who is working on MGM's "Lambs" campaign. "And there is no replacement for the charisma of the actors reminding us why we like them."

Lundberg noted that on "Lambs," coverage from "Larry King Live," "Good Morning America" and Time magazine are filling the void -- somewhat.

And while specialty movies tend to rely less on the late-night bang, the strike has made few distinctions between size or type of picture.

Miramax has lost two "Leno" and one "Letterman" slots for "No Country."

And Warners will be dinged several times as "Claus" star Vince Vaughn and "Rush" A-lister Robin Williams won't take the couch on such shows as "Letterman" or "Jimmy Kimmel Live."

The five main late-night shows collectively gather as many as 20 million viewers. Those kinds of numbers are hard to reach through drivetime radio and local newspapers.

After making pit stops on such shows as "Live With Regis & Kelly" and "Charlie Rose," publicists are pursuing as many new avenues as they can, though a spokesperson for "Good Morning America" said that show had yet to hear a clamor for new bookings, as some publicists wait to see if the strike takes hold.

There were rumors earlier on Tuesday -- waved away by representatives for several shows -- that late night could return as soon as next week without writers or monologues. And that, in turn, fueled the hopes of the more optimistic that a publicity bonanza could be just around the corner. After all, if the shows came back, bookers would be forced to fill the hourlongs with celebrities and, well, more celebrities.

"If the shows stay off the air, we're going to have to shuffle a lot to figure out Plan B," said film consultant Jeremy Walker. "But if they come back, they could be open to new kinds of people who wouldn't normally get a guest spot."

On the other hand, if the shows stay in repeats, that could provide a boon for celebrities who've already appeared to thump for awards hopefuls. Tuesday night, for example, "Letterman" scheduled a replay of a recent visit by Viggo Mortensen talking up Focus' "Eastern Promises." The night before on "Leno," Jerry Seinfeld got to talk up "Bee Movie," yet again,