AMBULANCE CHASER It would seem a uniquely grim tale -- a decent guy loses himself in the high-pressure world of ambulance driving, descending into depravity and searching for salvation.
Actually, it's loosely the plot of two films -- Martin Scorsese's Bringing Out the Dead, which hits theaters Oct. 22, and Broken Vessels, slated to hit video stores a month later. While such piggybacking is nothing new, in a jaw-dropping display of hubris Vessels distributor A-Pix Entertainment has aped the Dead theatrical poster on its vid box and even touted Vessels as being ''in the action tradition of...the upcoming Martin Scorcese [sic] film.''
''It was more or less a coincidence,'' says Steven DeMille, A-Pix senior VP of marketing. Paramount and Scorsese declined to comment, but A-Pix remains sheepish about the similarities. Says DeMille: ''I will say this -- our film will probably receive more benefit from them than they will from us.'' -- Daniel Fierman
MARKETING WIZARD Ozphiles may be shaken to their slippers by the latest rerelease of The Wizard of Oz (coming Oct. 19 from Warner). Why? The film was released on video by MGM/UA in 1996, backed by an ad campaign that included billboards stating: ''Available on video for the last time this century!'' Yet now, just three years later, it's about to be marketed again. What gives? ''We had every intention of not rereleasing the film this century,'' says Steven Wegner, executive director of publicity and promotions for MGM Home Entertainment, ''but Warner Bros. got the rights and can do what they like.'' So why couldn't Warner just wait a few months? ''To tell you the truth, we didn't really think about it all that much,'' says Tom Lesinski, the label's senior VP of worldwide marketing and development. ''It would be a great story if MGM still owned it. [But] they made that commitment, not us.''
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