ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, September 3, 1996 TAG: 9609040052
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES
SOURCE: JENNIFER BOWLES ASSOCIATED PRESS
It's Sunday morning and all is quiet in Hollywood, except for a darkened sound-stage at one of the smaller studios.
There, Brooke Shields, one of NBC's newest recruits, has plunked herself down on an oversized chair, lights and a camera aiming right at her.
``Make yourself comfortable,'' the director says.
The statuesque actress and former model swings her legs over the chair's left arm, then to the right before settling on crossing her legs in front.
``Is this OK?'' she asks.
A scene for ``Seinfeld,'' or her new show ``Suddenly Susan?''
Actually, it's a far more sought-after role - hip, happening ... and gratis.
It's a spot for NBC's ``The More You Know'' public service campaign - you know, those highly stylized 10- and 30-second spots showing some of the network's hottest stars sitting on chairs or standing up against a black, sometimes white, background.
With punchy, staccato lines, they warn viewers about drugs and sexually transmitted diseases or simply encourage kids to do their homework.
Now entering its eighth season, the campaign has collected a bevy of awards, including a prestigious Peabody in 1993 and just last week, a Public Service Announcement Emmy Award for spots that focus on violence prevention.
More importantly, the campaign has carved out an identity for itself unlike any other public service campaign on TV. Only MTV's ``Rock the Vote'' comes close, but that doesn't address the wide range of issues tackled by ``The More You Know.''
There's teacher appreciation, staying in school and doing homework. But there's also date rape, drugs, drunken driving and domestic violence.
``I think the campaign is done in such a thoughtful, classy way that I think people are attracted to doing them,'' says actor Jere Burns as he's being brushed with makeup before his turn before the camera.
``It's sort of nice when constructive, thoughtful things become hip.''
Each year, spots for an entire season are filmed in one weekend, during marathon sessions lasting sometimes 14 hours each day. This late August weekend, stars such as Jonathan Silverman, Courteney Cox, Eriq La Salle and Gloria Reuben are pitching in. Matt LeBlanc was a last-minute cancellation due to a shoulder injury.
``One tends to read and hear so much about the tragedies that occur in Hollywood and how selfish the various players are, and this is an opportunity to showcase some good being done,'' said Silverman, who taped segments about substance abuse and teacher appreciation.
In one of her spots, Shields urges parents to read to their children.
``We all know that parents are overburdened and the last thing we want to do is be preachy,'' explains Rosalyn Weinman, NBC's senior vice president of broadcast standards and practices, the mastermind behind the project.
``We want to be helpful,'' she says. ``So the challenge in every spot is making sure the spots are caring rather than pontificating.''
Last year, several spots featured stars urging victims of domestic violence to get help while flashing an 800-number for the National Domestic Violence Hotline.
Typically, the hotline gets 228 calls a day. But after spots featuring ``ER's'' Julianna Margulies and ``Mad About You's'' Leila Kenzle aired last spring during prime time, the calls immediately tripled and even quadrupled, said Gail Phillips, director of public relations for the nonprofit hotline group.
``We just think they're excellent,'' Phillips said of the spots. ``They're very well done and powerful. Just the production of it, there's not a lot of distracting things going on. Just women telling you about domestic violence and an 800 number.''
The campaign didn't really begin that way.
During its first season, one spot featured ``L.A. Law'' actors Jill Eikenberry and Michael Tucker sitting at a kitchen table, a scene Weinman now recalls as looking more like a Folger's commercial than anything else.
``We were setting them up so they looked like real sets and rooms and I think the messages were getting lost'' by blending into the commercials, she says.
With that in mind, award-winning commercial director David Cornell took the helm last year.
Cornell speaks to the stars almost like it's a modeling shoot: ``OK, we're coming in close.'' ``Put your chin down for this one.''
Sometimes, he takes the camera in hand and stalks the actors as they meander about, spouting their messages.
On average, he'll shoot about 30 takes of each spot, then piece them together during the editing process.
The most difficult task, it seems, is to get the actor to end it at 25 seconds, thus allowing five seconds for that NBC peacock logo at the end.
After Gloria Reuben reads several takes of a teacher recruitment spot, someone yells ``25.''
``Yes,'' she screams, flashing a thumbs-up sign and a wide grin.
LENGTH: Medium: 92 linesby CNB