A look inside Hollywood and the movies. : NO ‘END’ IN SIGHT : Is Sony’s Campaign Too Laid-Back?

“Howards End” director James Ivory and his producer partner Ismail Merchant are not exactly thrilled by the way Sony Classics has handled the advertising and release of their movie since it was nominated for nine Oscars.

While “Howards End” has returned to more theaters and performed modestly at the box office (its cumulative gross grew from $18 million to about $20 million as of last week), the real heat has been from fellow best picture nominee “The Crying Game” (from $13.8 million to more than $28 million in the same period).

“This seems to be the time they would hit with a campaign,” Ivory said, in answer to a question about how Sony has handled “Howards End.” “But they seem to be quite set in their ways.”

“Their ways” include, Ivory said, “a very canny knack of bringing the movie back to first-run theaters, after the film has been playing for a year.” But, Ivory said, they’ve also “chosen to do as little advertising as possible. We’ve moaned and groaned about the size of the ads.”

Last summer, in the wake of smashing reviews for “Howards End” but a low-key marketing approach, Merchant Ivory Prods. entered a distribution deal with the Walt Disney Co.

“The Crying Game” and “Howards End,” said Tom Bernard, co-president of Sony Classics, “just can’t be compared. It’s like comparing ‘Gandhi’ to ‘The Silence of the Lambs.’ It’s a film that is being sold as much more of an action film. ‘Howards End’ is just not that kind of film.”

This week marks the first-year anniversary of “Howards End.” “Had Sony pushed it harder, earlier, then ‘Howards End’ would not be playing anymore,” Ivory said. “Maybe it will really pay off.”