Direct to Video for Silverstone? As If. . . : Movies: Surprisingly, high-profile star's latest release won't be on the big screen, due to complex circumstances.

By DONALD LIEBENSON

Sept. 28, 1995 12 AM PT

SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

Coming soon: the new movie from “Clueless” sensation Alicia Silverstone. But don’t go looking for it at a theater near you. Instead, visit your neighborhood video store.

“The Babysitter” will be released Oct. 17 from Republic Pictures Home Video. Not that there is anything necessarily wrong with direct-to-video--it can be a profitably viable alternative for the theatrically challenged.

Still, one can appreciate that its backers, who include “Batman Forever” director Joel Schumacher, were hoping for something more, especially considering that their star has just been propelled from cult fave to one of Hollywood’s highest-profile media darlings.

“The Babysitter,” based on a short story by Robert Coover, unfolds during the course of an ordinary night in suburbia, filtered through its characters’ often lustful fantasies that are inspired by the unwitting character portrayed by Silverstone.

It was filmed in 1994 BC (Before “Clueless”) on a small budget by first-time director and screenwriter Guy Ferland, who had worked as Schumacher’s assistant.

“The Babysitter” was shepherded to the screen by Kevin Messick, president of Joel Schumacher Productions, who pursued it as the fledgling company’s first project; Steve Perry, whose producing credits include the “Lethal Weapon” series, “Under Siege” and “True Romance,” and Aaron Spelling, whose production company, Spelling Films International, financed it.

It was Spelling, Messick said, who suggested casting Silverstone, who at the time was best known for the low-budget thriller “The Crush” and as the muse of Aerosmith music videos. After she signed on, Ferland added, “everything was a go.”

From the beginning, Messick and Perry saw the film as a movie that would require special handling. Spelling Films International is not a theatrical distributor, so Messick worked with the company to shop the film to major studios as well as boutique houses that had expertise with independent and art house films.

“It was seen as too small or too quirky,” he said. “Some people liked it and some people didn’t.” “There wasn’t a solid awareness of Alicia’s box-office appeal,” Perry said, “and ‘The Babysitter’ fell into this kind of no-man’s-land.”

“The fact that no distributor wanted to release the film regrettably simplified our decision to release it straight to video,” said Mitch Horwits, senior vice president of Spelling Entertainment.

Meanwhile, the buzz was building on “Clueless,” which revived Messick’s hopes that “The Babysitter” might be released to theaters after all. The film had its supporters, not the least of whom was Silverstone, who talked about the film in interviews, and regards the experience as “a fun, challenging and interesting role in a very artistic movie.”

But Republic, the video arm of Spelling Entertainment, had already announced it would be releasing “The Babysitter” and had shipped screening copies to distributors and retailers the week “Clueless” opened.

Enter Miramax Films. The weekend before “Clueless” opened, according to Messick, the Disney-owned company offered $1.5 million to buy “The Babysitter.” Messick, who happened to be in New York the following Monday, visited Miramax, where he learned that the offer had been increased to $2 million. “I was thrilled,” Messick said. “Here was the best distributor of independent films interested in taking ‘The Babysitter’ out theatrically.”

But video rights had become an obstacle, said Horwits, “because Republic Pictures Home Video had already begun the release. We spent several days in negotiations to jointly solve the problem, but we couldn’t and didn’t want to give up the video rights.”

Thus, Republic finds itself in the enviable position of marketing a new title with Hollywood’s hottest star. The company has altered its trade advertising to distributors and retailers accordingly. The initial campaign was a sexy come-on (“A new reason to stay up late”). The current campaign trumpets “Alicia-Mania.”

As Silverstone’s star has risen, so have orders for the video. “She’s hot right now,” said Karen Peterson, the video buyer for Wherehouse Entertainment. “I originally ordered 150 copies for 260 rental stores, but then ‘Clueless’ was such a big hit, and we even saw a rental push on ‘The Crush,’ that I doubled my order to 300 pieces. I loved her in both films and she’s good in this. It’s going to rent because of her. A lot of 17-year-old boys are going to want this.”

So, it’s a happy ending of sorts, with “The Babysitter” poised for video success. But it’s a bittersweet one as well.

“I’m happy that it is at least coming out,” Messick said. “I’m frustrated that there was potential that couldn’t have been realized for the actors and the people who helped make the film. But I’m thankful to Aaron, who made this movie possible.”

And how does Ferland think he will feel when he sees his film on video store shelves? “To make a movie for $1.8 million and have the biggest star, and not have it on the screen is very ironic,” he said. “I’m resigned to it. The experience was good. I learned so much and had so much fun that I’m looking forward to the next one.”

“Clueless,” by the way, is scheduled for release Dec. 19 on Paramount Home Video.