BATTLE CONTINUES OVER CHAIN-SMOKING MOVIE CHARACTERS.

Byline: Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

The American Lung Association is alarmed over the marked increase of cigarette smoking on screen - particularly at a time when so many movies are being geared toward teens.

``They're making the statement that it's cool, that it's hip to smoke,'' says Paul Billings, deputy director of government relations of the ALA. ``You're seeing a disproportionate percentage of people in movies smoking - while smoking has decreased among the general public. Only one in four adults smokes today - one in five in California - but you certainly don't get that impression from a lot of features.''

You certainly would never get that impression from the two films Polygram has upcoming: ``Return to Paradise'' and ``Clay Pigeons.'' Both are terrific, both star hot, young leading men Vince Vaughn and Joaquin Phoenix - and both have lead characters smoking. And smoking. As one Hollywood wag put it, ``Lucky you can't get secondhand smoke through the screen.'' This doesn't bother ``Paradise'' director Joseph Ruben.

``I don't think movies need to be politically correct,'' he says. ``My responsibility is to the characters and to the film.''

But what about his responsibility to the young people to whom actors serve as role models?

``I don't think seeing guys in movies smoke makes any difference - the facts are so out there. And, in the case of Vince and Anne Heche (who co-stars in ``Return to Paradise''), both are smokers, and I felt smoking helped them with their roles. As I said, my first responsibility is to the characters.''

His man in Havana

Producer Mark Carliner, whose TNT ``George Wallace'' miniseries garnered seven Emmy nominations, reports he's concentrating his efforts now on ABC's upcoming miniseries covering the life of Cuban leader Fidel Castro. ``I'm writing the script with Marshall Frady, who wrote `George Wallace,' '' says Carliner.

Carliner tells this column he'd love to shoot the Castro biopic in Cuba, but he's not even going to approach Castro's camp until the script is finished. ``I believe Castro's people are aware of what we're doing, and I also know, for a fact, that he is extremely concerned with how he's going to be remembered - especially in the United States. But I don't want to put myself or ABC in the position of seeking permission. Cuba is where I'd like to shoot - that would certainly make it a major event - but I'm not prepared to pay the price of censorship to make it there,'' says Carliner, who also produced HBO's multi-Emmy Award-winning ``Stalin'' biopic. ``The objective is to make a picture about Castro that is as valid and historically truthful as were `Stalin' and `George Wallace.' ''

When hot is too hot

Country artist Steve Wariner is still amused over his recent misidentification in the Vacaville Reporter - which ran Steve's photo with a story about convicted arsonist John Orr. The irony is that Wariner's current single happens to be ``Burnin' Down the Roadhouse.'' That song, a duet with Garth Brooks, started out as a solo, by the way. Seems Capitol Records chieftain Pat Quigley asked Brooks one day in passing, ``What would you do to this swing song to make radio play it?'' And Garth's response was to drive over to Wariner's house that night and record the song with him. Later, Quigly said, ``Garth, I meant, what would you do to market the song?'' And Garth's response was, ``You asked me to fix it, and I did it the only way I know how.''

The big-screen scene

Dean Stockwell heads to the tall pine country of Big Bear on Aug. 10 to begin lensing a yet-untitled, low-budget big-screen thriller. The story has him playing a man off on a mountain getaway with his two sons when they're besieged by escaped convicts.

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3 Photos

Photo: (1) VAUGHN

(2) WARINER

(3) STOCKWELL