Sake is out; whiskey is in. The self-effacing Japanese have given way to a brash 39-year-old New Yorker who's just used a family fortune amassed over almost seven decades in the liquor business to elbow his way into the entertainment industry. *Hollywood's fault lines ripped open again last week when Japan's Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. sold a controlling 80 percent interest in the huge entertainment conglomerate MCA to Canada's Seagram Co. Ltd. for a stiff $5.7 billion. Overnight, Edgar Bronfman Jr., the Seagram scion who masterminded the acquisition after a month of clandestine meetings in Japan and America, became the town's newest tycoon-despite a short list of credits from an earlier, boyish foray into Hollywood that resulted in little more than song lyrics for Dionne Warwick and the 1982 Jack Nicholson flop he produced, The Border. But as Bronfman takes possession of MCA's extensive holdings, which include Universal Pictures, MCA Records, and the Universal Studios theme parks in Hollywood and Florida, he's learning his first hard lesson: Every move he makes will now be scrutinized, debated, and second-guessed. Will Bronfman sweep away the company's current executive team, headed by the venerable Lew Wasserman, 82, a Hollywood power player ever since he first molded the careers of Jimmy Stewart and Ronald Reagan, and his loyal lieutenant, Sid Sheinberg, 60, the president who discovered Steven Spielberg? Will he persuade Spielberg and his new partners, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen, to ally themselves with Universal, or will they take their new company, DreamWorks SKG, to a rival? Will Bronfman roll up his sleeves and run MCA himself? Or will he recruit a high-powered pal like superagent Michael Ovitz or free agent Barry Diller? And who will buy the 15 percent of Time Warner stock that Bronfman is now likely to sell? Suddenly, all the gossip surrounding Universal's troubled Kevin Costner movie, Waterworld, has been swept aside like so many minnows by the whale-size rumors about MCA. ''It's bad for Sid and Lew,'' predicts Bad Boys producer Don Simpson. ''There's no way they're going to report to a 39-year-old kid. It's all sort of sad.'' Not necessarily, insists Circle of Friends producer Frank Price, who says, ''It will take a few friendly meetings for the ruffled feathers to be smoothed out, but if he treats Lew and Sid with great respect, he can get them to stay.'' ''The good news for this company,'' insists one Universal executive who weathered the Matsushita years, ''is that we're trading owners-from people who didn't care to people who do. The bad news is that we're trading people who didn't get involved-Matsushita never second-guessed movies, they just never let the company grow-for the Seagram people, who do want to get involved.'' With MCA's future far from settled, Hollywood is proving that when it comes to spinning tales of the boardroom, its real creativity kicks into gear. Just consider these possibilities:
*The Richie Rich Scenario. ''Bronfman's a playboy,'' disses an executive at a rival studio. ''He's very charming, into heavy-duty living, jetting around, money, sports.'' MCA, goes the theory, could be just his newest plaything. But others say Bronfman, the third-generation heir to a family fortune begun in the days of bootlegging, has put his dilettante days behind him to become a shrewd entrepreneur. Reports Columbia TriStar marketing president Sid Ganis, who first met Bronfman when the still wide-eyed producer was making The Border: ''He's long gotten over his infatuation with Hollywood. He understands the entertainment business.'' Agrees producer Martin Bregman (Carlito's Way): ''Edgar can only be a plus. At least he's produced a movie. The interest in the business is really there.'' In addition to his title as CEO of Seagram, Bronfman is likely to assume the role of chairman of MCA. But just how hands-on he'll be is a matter for speculation. Says Andrew Gaty, who as an Australian film distributor worked with him years ago: ''I think he's too smart to get involved in the day-to-day operations, but I can't believe he will not have some sort of creative influence at the company.'' His supporters contend that he could model himself after the late Steve Ross, the masterful Time Warner chairman who enjoyed entertaining stars but left the running of his company to executives to whom he granted extraordinary autonomy. Which leads to:
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