ALL THAT 'GLITTER' NEW MOVIE HAD LOTS OF PRESS - NOT ALL GOOD - BUT IT FACES A TOUGH SELL AT THE BOX OFFICE.

They thought they had problems.

The people responsible for ``Glitter,'' the film that marks superstar songstress Mariah Carey's first big attempt at acting, were already in crisis mode following their leading lady's nervous breakdown five weeks before the movie's initially planned, Labor Day weekend release. The opening was pushed back three weeks to Sept. 21 in the hope that Carey would be sufficiently recovered by now to help promote the movie.

She wasn't. Reports of Carey returning to rest care at UCLA Medical Center abounded as high-profile television appearances were canceled earlier this month. All the film's distributor, 20th Century Fox, could hope was that the blizzard of gossipy stories about Carey's meltdown would generate interest in the picture, in which she plays an aspiring singer dealing with the pressures of the pop music business.

Now, of course, that equation has drastically changed again. In the wake of last week's devastating terrorist attacks, three other national releases - ``Big Trouble,'' ``Sidewalks of New York'' and ``Training Day'' - have been postponed, leaving ``Glitter'' in the enviable position of facing virtually no opening-weekend competition. But nearly a week's worth of commercial-free television has hindered efforts to advertise the film, and a U.S. counter-strike or another terrorist outrage could keep the entire nation away from theaters at a moment's notice.

Putting it in perspective''

``That just makes everything else sort of insignificant,'' says ``Glitter'' director Vondie Curtis Hall, himself a veteran actor and Broadway performer who has several New York friends on the missing list. ``When you talk about movies and what we do in the face of last week's events, everything sort of pales. Whether five people come to see this picture or the whole country does, it's insignificant compared to what's real.''

Amen. But since this particular show is going on, the extraordinary circumstances surrounding its presentation do require some consideration.

``The truth is that this movie was only postponed once in its life, and that was just for three weeks,'' notes veteran producer (``Jerry Maguire,'' ``As Good as It Gets'') and former studio executive Laurence Mark, who came on board after Carey's own production company, Maroon, initiated development of ``Glitter.'' ``I don't understand what all the fuss about that was, to be honest. Movies usually take about a year to come out, and the reason for its postponement was, obviously, that we were hoping that Mariah would be ready to share in the celebration of the opening.''

The 31-year-old singer's semi-public meltdown - which was reportedly brought on by a combination of overwork, insomnia, a lukewarm commercial reception for the ``Loverboy'' single from the ``Glitter'' soundtrack album (the first release in her $23.5 million per disc megadeal with Virgin Records) and the breakup of a relationship with singer Luis Miguel - was inarguably ``Glitter's'' primary, preattack challenge.

Lack of faith

But the very fact that it was scheduled for Labor Day weekend, which is considered one of the worst movie attendance frames of any given year, indicates a lack of studio faith in the film's artistic quality and entertainment value. So does Fox's decision to press screen the movie only once, late last Wednesday, too late for weekly and some daily print critics to file reviews in time for opening day (due to deadlines, this article was written before the film could be seen).

The decision to stick with today's tricky-timing release could also be interpreted as a way of dumping the product, although moviegoing last weekend - the first following the disasters - was, though still seasonally modest, up a healthy double digits over the same period last year.

Executives for 20th Century Fox declined to comment for this article.

For his part, Curtis Hall expresses pride in the final product. While noting that the movie cleaves to a basic ``Star Is Born'' formula, he feels he achieved an admirable level of behavioral realism in the performances - especially from relative acting novice Carey, whose only previous feature film experience was a quick cameo in the 1999 romantic comedy ``The Bachelor.''

``I didn't want to make the Spice Girls,'' says Curtis Hall, whose first feature, ``Gridlock'd,'' was a gritty urban comic thriller that starred the late rapper Tupac Shakur. ``I didn't want to make an extended music video, but a real movie that surrounded Mariah with really good actors, and have her come to bat and give everything she had, not sleep through it. And she wanted to do that. As an actor, she wanted to be real and serve the picture. And she got it.''

``Mariah was smart to play a character that was dear to her heart but was, also, somewhat close to home,'' adds producer Mark. ``It was smart, for her first major role, to play a part to which she could bring a certain authenticity.''

But there was also an added risk factor to that: viewers' natural inclination to assume that ``Glitter's'' wholly fictional Billie Frank might be semi-autobiographically representative of the woman playing her.

``I was intent on showing her in a different light,'' Curtis Hall says. ``From the beginning, my platform was, 'Mariah, you have the opportunity to step away from any past image and bury yourself into a character.' And she would go as deeply as she could at the moment. You know, it's a scary thing being an actor. You have to shed everything. ... It's tough for me on a daily basis, so it's got to be really tough for someone who's concerned about her fan base, concerned about image and concerned about how much she will reveal in what comes out.''

If those concerns were eating at Carey, Mark and Curtis Hall claim not to have noticed it in her onset demeanor. They use phrases like ``down to earth'' and ``consummate professional'' to describe their experience with her, noting that she was always respectful of the cast and crew and ever willing to put in extra time and effort on the job. Both were impressed by her dedication to every aspect of the production, a workaholism often remarked upon during the eight-octave-range singer's reign as the top female recording artist of the 1990s.

Mark even marveled that Carey invariably showed up on time for work, a rare quality in night owl-oriented music folk who try to make the transition to the start-at-the-crack-of-dawn movie industry.

Early clues?

But naturally, inquiring minds want to know if any hints of Carey's subsequent breakdown were evident during production, which took place primarily in New York a year ago.

``Verbally, she expressed to me that she was really feeling overworked, that there were a lot of things that she wanted to do but just didn't have time to,'' says recording artist Eric Benet, who makes his acting debut in ``Glitter.'' ``She was feeling stressed and overworked, but at the time she mentioned it to me, I really didn't make much of it. When things are going good for you in the music business, when you've got a song on the charts, the label works you like a dog. So it's pretty much a staple response.

``But then you throw in this huge movie undertaking and the fact that her music status is on a level that only two or three other artists' are, and her degree of stress was in a whole other dimension,'' adds Benet, who has seen his own wife, actress Halle Berry, deal with a personal crisis or two in the public spotlight. ``I just had no idea that it was taking the toll that it was, but it's most understandable how it could happen.''

``Let's face it: Our lives today - and recent events prove it more than any other - do tend to get stretched rather tight,'' Mark observes. ``So in a way, I think folks can relate to the fact that Mariah stretched herself too tightly and finally snapped. All we could do was say, 'Take the time and relax,' but in keeping with her overzealous approach to things, she was like, 'No, no, I'll be OK.' And then indeed, that was like, 'Wait a minute, no, you won't.''

All that said and endlessly examined throughout the entertainment media, the question now is, will people go to ``Glitter''?

``Without question, I would have preferred to have had Mariah out there talking about the movie, which she was excited about, which she had every intention of doing,'' Mark says. ``I wish I knew the balance, though. I just don't know if the old adage 'all publicity is good publicity' holds here.''

Whatever the film's box-office fate, the makers of ``Glitter'' are united in their opinion that this troubled moment in history is as good a time as any to release their light, ultimately positive musical movie.

``Because the movie has always had uplifting themes - it's about somebody who doesn't let go of their dreams and who fights against all odds in the face of adversity - it's not inappropriate to be up and running,'' Mark reckons. ``You don't know if folks out there are interested in a little diversion. But maybe a little diversion is a good thing; I don't know the answer to that.''

CAPTION(S):

4 photos

Photo:

(1 -- cover -- color) Carey on

Mariah's new film, `Glitter,' finally comes out today, but will anyone feel like going to the movies?

(2) Carey, center, performs with her two backup singers, Louise (Da Brat), left, and Roxanne (Tia Texada).

(3) Singer Eric Benet, making his acting debut opposite Carey, said that, during production, ``she expressed to me that she was really feeling overworked, that there were a lot of things that she wanted to do but just didn't have time to.''

(4) 'I was intent on showing her in a different light. From the beginning, my platform was, 'Mariah, you have the opportunity to step away from any past image and bury yourself into a character.'

director Vondie Curtis Hall

on coaching Mariah Carey on her first starring role