`ID4' PROMO TOO REAL FOR SPANISH TV VIEWERS.

Byline: Daily News Wire Services

A Spanish TV promotion for summer blockbuster ``Independence Day'' frightened hundreds of viewers, who were convinced a fictional news broadcast announcing the alien attack was the real thing. The display of panic was reminiscent of, but smaller than the one caused in the United States by Orson Welles in his 1938 radio dramatization of H.G. Wells' ``The War of the Worlds.''

In Spain, alarmed TV viewers jammed switchboards at radio and TV stations, newspapers and news agencies throughout the country following the ad campaign's first airing on Saturday. Unsuspecting viewers were apparently confused by seeing the face of the regular newscaster on network Tele 5 announce the alien threat. ``Many did not see the words `Tele-promotion,' which preceded the commercial,'' a Tele 5 spokesman said. ``Independence Day'' is scheduled to be released Friday in Spain.

`Collins' scores: ``Michael Collins,'' writer-director Neil Jordan's rousing drama about the fiery leader of Ireland's independence movement, took the Golden Lion for best film at the 53rd Venice International Film Festival on Saturday night.

The film's star, Liam Neeson, took home the festival's Volpi Cup for best actor for his performance in ``Collins,'' but he was not present to accept it. He is still recuperating in nearby Padua following surgery there last week for an intestinal blockage. Neeson had a statement read for him on stage, thanking ``the exceptional team of doctors and nurses in Padua'' for assisting him in his ``rapid recovery.''