Blue ‘Moon’?

“Moon Over Parador” is in a new (marketing) phase--and director Paul Mazursky’s howling.

Universal planned to open the comedy in July. The studio suggested--Mazursky agreed--that the picture might play better in the fall, and it’s now set for Friday. But Universal also sprung a new ad campaign on Mazursky.

“The studio told me that they were delaying the opening because they felt the movie’s sophistication would be better appreciated in the fall,” the director told us. “Then they came up with copy that makes it sound like a silly farce.”

The original print ad campaign had star Richard Dreyfuss--as an American actor thrust into the unlikely role of a Latin American dictator--hanging from a moon. The new ads feature Sonja Braga dangling from Dreyfuss’ neck.

The offending copy: The dictator was cold, the First Lady was hot, the people were revolting.

Universal marketing veep Si Kornblit said the new copy was merely an addition to the existing material: “Our test screenings revealed that audiences responded strongly to the relationship aspect, so we wanted to reflect that it was a romantic comedy.”

Mazursky sees it differently. “We’d talk, we’d come to an agreement, I’d leave, they’d do whatever they had intended to do before the meeting.”

He said that if it weren’t for one crucial thing, he might get violent: “No matter what they do, I’m convinced people will come because of Richard, the subject matter and the fact it’s a comedy. It feels like a hit to me.”