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Publicity-hungry politicians aren't the only ones clamoring for curbs on violence in entertainment. A vast majority of Americans also want their movies marked for death and destruction beforehand. According to a Gallup poll commissioned by Entertainment Weekly, 80 percent of Americans favor instituting a new ''V'' rating for violent flicks. In fact, while certain Hollywood icons remain untouched-Julia Roberts still reigns as the most popular star-public opinion often contradicts the prevailing winds: Although studios have sent several big-budget Westerns into production for 1994, Americans would prefer to see more comedies nearly 3 to 1. Here's how the populi voxed on that and other issues. * Do you think a separate ''V'' rating for movies, alerting moviegoers to violence in films, should or should not be instituted?
Should 80% Should not 18% Don't know 2% Although support is strongest among the least frequent moviegoers (88.5%), majorities in every demographic category favor the new rating.
* Who is your favorite movie actress working today? 1. Julia Roberts 2. Sharon Stone 3. Demi Moore 4. Meg Ryan/Meryl Streep Despite rare screen appearances, Roberts still boasts broad demographic support, though it's skewed toward the cheapskate end of the spectrum (those who wouldn't pay more than $5 to see her).
* Who is your favorite movie actor working today? 1. Clint Eastwood 2. Mel Gibson 3. Tom Cruise 4. Kevin Costner 5. Sean Connery Men go for Eastwood 2 to 1, women for Cruise 2 to 1, and Gibson's partisans split equally between the sexes.
* Which types of movies would you most like to see Hollywood make more of? Comedies33% Serious dramas17% Action films15% Thrillers or spy films13% Westerns 11% Romances 7% Other 2% So much for the new wave of Hollywood Westerns (which begins with December's Geronimo) and the return of the date movie: Frequent moviegoers would rather see comedies than Westerns by a margin of nearly 5 to 1, and prefer laughs to love 8 to 1.
* When you go out to see a movie, do you like seeing Previews of coming attractions80% Commercials for products 11%
* At the movies, are you somewhat/very much irritated when People talk around you86% Babies cry 76% People eat 12% People smoke 69% People come in late after the movie has started 36%
* Who do you think is the better actress? Whitney Houston 46% Janet Jackson 17% The more-exposed star of The Bodyguard has much greater crossover appeal: While nonwhites split in their opinion of the two divas, whites hold Houston (49%) in far higher esteem than Jackson (14%).
* Which one of these three sequels are you most excited about seeing? Sister Act 252% Robocop 321% Wayne's World 216% None 11% He shot, he scored, but don't look for WW2 to revive Mike Myers' sagging film career following the flop So I Married an Axe Murderer. Even among Wayne's 15- to-24-year-old core audience, his sequel comes in third.
