Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, July 22, 1994 TAG: 9407270053
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By E. SCOTT RECKARD ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES LENGTH: Short
Paramount also should put a disclaimer at the end of the film about ATV stunts, similar to warnings Yamaha's own advertising is required to carry, the company said Tuesday
```Lassie' [is] going to be seen by a lot of kids, and we don't want them seeing ATVs doing wheelies,'' said Roy Watson of Yamaha USA.
``We are just insisting on the same guidelines that we have to follow. We have said in our manuals for years: `No wheelies.'''
Blaise Noto, a Paramount spokesman, said the studio was looking into the matter and would have a detailed response later.
``Lassie,'' which opens today, remakes the classic dog tale with a Baltimore family making a new start in the country. The obstacles include bad children who use ATVs to spook the family's sheep. One pulls the ATV's front wheels off the ground for an ominous moment as they roar down on the flock.
The highly regulated ATV industry fears lawsuits over injuries, the prospect of further restrictions or even an outright ban on ATVs. Consumer groups say the vehicles are too unstable, especially for children.
Watson said Yamaha got the original ``Lassie'' script changed. It had included the young villains firing BB guns while riding the ATVs. He said the reworked script hadn't mentioned wheelies, and Yamaha was surprised at the wheelie shot, which is shown for only a few frames in the 77-second trailer.
by CNB