Imagine that billboards return for Lions Gate's Lennon biopic.

To promote a new John Lennon biopic, Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. has rented two billboards that will reproduce the famous "War Is Over! If You Want It" ads that were posted in 11 cities worldwide by Lennon and Yoko Ono in 1969.

"'The U.S. vs. John Lennon' is a film about what happened to the world-famous musician when he spoke out against an unpopular war and advocated for peace, thereby crossing a powerful and determined presidential administration (Richard Nixon was inaugurated that year) that did not take kindly to dissenters," said Tim Palen, co-president of theatrical marketing at Santa Monica-based Lions Gate. "However you view the parallels to today's political climate, John and Yoko's message of peace is just as meaningful now as it was then."

There's no need to go back to the Beatles for an example of a musical group's political stance affecting its career. Just ask the Dixie Chicks. Many country fans criticized the band after lead singer Natalie Maines told a London audience in 2003 on the eve of war in Iraq that the trio was "ashamed" President George W. Bush was from their home state of Texas. Country radio stations dropped them from their play lists and have been slow to welcome them back, even though their most recent album, "Taking the Long Way," spent several weeks at the top of the country albums chart and has sold more than 1 million copies.

Political films don't need to connect with the general public; the definition of a commercial cult film is a product that connects with a discrete segment of the population so deeply that they will pay to watch it again and again. It seems Lions Gate has a fair-sized segment of the U.S. market to mine for diehard anti-war moviegoers. According to political pollster Rasmussen Reports, only 31 percent of Americans rate Bush's handling of the Iraq war positively. And these anti-war types tend to cluster in large cities in blue (Democratic leaning) states, making it easy to target them.

To maximize the efficiency of its campaign, Lions Gate will put up only two billboards--one in New York, one in Los Angeles. The New York billboard went up Aug. 2. The Los Angeles billboard is scheduled to go up Aug. 15 on the north side of Sunset Boulevard at Cory Avenue, facing east.

Other elements of the retro anti-war blitz include 1960s-inspired T-shirts, buttons and stickers with the "War is Over!" mantra. "The U.S. vs. John Lennon," a co-production of Lions Gate and VH1 Rock Docs, opens in theaters on September 15.

BY JOEL RUSSELL

Staff Reporter