HOLLYWOOD HIGH ON BUSH INDUSTRY ISSUES OFTEN IGNORED BY CLINTON.

Byline: Bill Hillburg Washington Bureau

Bill Clinton may have had a more star-studded act, but entertainment industry lobbyists and lawmakers predict that Hollywood's clout on key issues will increase with Republican George W. Bush in the White House.

``The Clinton administration wasn't nice to us at all,'' said Jack Valenti, the film industry's star Washington lobbyist and president of the Motion Picture Association of America. ``Bill Clinton had a lot of friends in Hollywood who gave him money, but then he ordered a Federal Trade Commission investigation of our marketing. I think President Bush, more than Clinton, appreciates the value of copyright industries to our economy.''

Defending films and recordings from Internet piracy and other infringements tops the Washington agenda for Hollywood, which will also seek tax incentives to stem an exodus of production to Canada and other foreign locales. The industry will fend off new government efforts to censor and control content and marketing.

``Much of Clinton's support from Hollywood had nothing to do with industry issues,'' said Rep. Howard Berman, D-Mission Hills, Congress' leading expert on copyright protection. ``He was backed by well-known celebrities who shared his liberal views, not by top executives like Michael Eisner (chief executive officer of The Walt Disney Co.), and Rupert Murdoch (chief executive officer of News Corp., which owns the Fox network).

``Intellectual property rights are not an alien concept to Republicans,'' Berman added. ``And when it comes to regulatory issues, Republicans may actually be better.''

Berman, the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts and Intellectual Property, said that federal law, established in the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act, more than meets Hollywood's needs. The problem is enforcement.

``We need the Justice Department to vigorously enforce copyright law,'' said Berman, who plans to ask for more money for the understaffed agency. ``Infringement is as serious a crime as carjacking or embezzlement. This is theft.''

Efforts to clamp down on copyright violators will face opposition from an eclectic array of foes, ranging from Internet entrepreneurs to the nation's librarians, educators and student researchers.

Berman's views are shared by Mitch Glazier, senior Washington lobbyist for the Recording Industry Association of America, which represents most major music labels.

``We need more dollars for the Justice Department and we need to educate Congress on what's going on in the marketplace,'' he said.

Other key issues for the RIAA, along with artists' groups the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) and Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI), include securing and enforcing licensing and fees for Internet and other simulcasts of copyrighted works.

``The film industry has always had the ear of decision makers and I expect the Bush administration to be attentive to our interests on trade and open markets,'' said Jean Prewitt, president of the Los Angeles-based American Film Marketing Association, which represents more than 170 independent producers and studios.

Prewitt said AFMA's members are keenly interested in obtaining tax credits to stem runaway production. A Jan. 19 Department of Commerce study estimated that incentives offered by foreign countries, especially Canada, have lured away $10 billion worth of TV and movie production in recent years.

She said her group is also concerned that recent mega-media mergers, including that of America Online and Time Warner, could eventually curb Internet access for smaller movie and TV producers.

Canada offers tax incentives to producers and also boasts lower costs due to the sinking value of its currency. The exchange rate for the Canadian dollar, once on a par with the U.S. greenback, now averages 66 cents.

Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-Los Angeles, recently announced a 20 percent tax credit proposal that would apply to the first $20,000 in wages paid to crew members on productions costing between $2 million to $10 million. The limits are set to preclude participation by producers of low-cost adult films and to target projects like independent films and TV movies of the week.

Berman said he was confident that some tax relief will come Hollywood's way this year, probably as part of Bush's tax cut proposal. ``At least we've got a tax bill,'' Berman said. He noted that last year's effort died amid Clinton's vetoes of Republican tax measures that also included repeals of federal inheritance and marriage penalty levies.

Berman said that, despite safeguards, he still expects opposition from conservatives who fear giving a federal tax break to pornographers.

William Lyon, director of the Chatsworth-based Free Speech Coalition, the adult entertainment industry's lobby, said those fears are unfounded.

``We're not affected by runaway production and we aren't seeking tax breaks,'' Lyon said. ``More than 80 percent of our production has stayed right here in the Valley and the L.A. area.''