One of Nicolas Sarkozy's most visible, and most controversial, attempts to transform the French way of life will take effect from 8pm tonight. Advertising will vanish from prime-time on all state-owned television channels as part of an attempt by the President to create, in his own words, a public television service to "rival the quality of the BBC".

Should there be a moratorium on Holocaust movies? Stuart Klawans, the film critic of The Nation, says so in the Jewish magazine Nextbook (but not, oddly, in The Nation), and Ella Taylor tentatively endorses the suggestion this week in The Village Voice. Since these are two of the movies' most thoughtful commentators, who happen to be Jewish, the proposal deserves consideration.

Viacom has asked for fee increases of between 22 percent and 36 percent per channel, an amount that could increase customers' cable bills, Dudley said. Viacom spokeswoman Kelly McAndrew said the requested increase was in the very low double-digit percentage range.

This World War II thriller isn't meant to amuse, of course. But what can the viewer do? Confronted by the piratical-looking Cruise, waxing faux-Teutonic, one is simply overcome by involuntary hysteria.

From Madonna’s quest to “neutralise radiation” to Tom Cruise’s dismissals of psychiatry, celebrities are seldom shy about expressing their views on health and science – even when they appear not to know what they are talking about.

A roll call of public figures such as Cruise and Delia Smith have offered bogus advice or “quackery” this year, according to scientists and doctors. The charity Sense About Science is concerned that celebrities mislead the public when they endorse theories, diets or health products while misrepresenting the science involved.

Jewish groups have condemned a Belgian public broadcaster for airing a show in which a standup comedian jokes about the Holocaust and the persecution of Jews.

The protest marked the third time in two months the VRT broadcaster was accused of gross insensitivity toward Jews. On Oct. 27, protests forced it to scrap a TV show about Adolf Hitler's supposed favorite dish — alpine trout in butter sauce — as part of a series about famous people's favorite foods.

Voting now will be delayed until after a January 12-13 emergency meeting of SAG's board, said labor officials, who the union's national board must meet first in order to present a united front before sending out strike ballots.

On Thursday, ABC announced a mid-season replacement show called "Homeland Security USA." From Arnold Shapiro, the Emmy-winning producer of such documentaries as Scared Straight," the network said the series will give viewers an unprecedented look at the work of the men and women at the DHS "while they use the newest technology to safeguard our country and enforce our law."

How deeply Jewish is Hollywood? When the studio chiefs took out a full-page ad in the Los Angeles Times a few weeks ago to demand that the Screen Actors Guild settle its contract, the open letter was signed by: News Corp. President Peter Chernin (Jewish), Paramount Pictures Chairman Brad Grey (Jewish), Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Robert Iger (Jewish), Sony Pictures Chairman Michael Lynton (surprise, Dutch Jew), Warner Bros. Chairman Barry Meyer (Jewish), CBS Corp.

Struggling US videogame maker Electronic Arts Inc. announced additional job cuts on Friday and plans to merge or close at least nine studios and publishing facilities.

The Redwood City, California, company said it was cutting its worldwide workforce by 10 percent, or 1,000 jobs, an increase of four percent over the six percent workforce reduction announced in October.

The Recording Industry Association of America said on Friday it had abandoned mass lawsuits against Internet users who steal music, and instead would work with Internet service providers to discourage piracy.

If your TV screen goes blank Wednesday afternoon, don't panic—it's only a test.

Anyone watching HBO's ongoing miniseries "House of Saddam" surely must be struck by the lead actor's resemblance to the late Iraqi dictator. Me? I was struck by something else: his Israeli accent. "Why does Saddam Hussein sound like my old grocer in Jerusalem?" I called out before checking the movie credits online. (Yes, an Israeli, but no, not my grocer.)

Telling a first contact story that involves rather heavy handed themes of a doomsday like prophecy, like most good science fiction movies big to small, The Day the Earth Stood Still retains a sense of wonder and mystique to its tale, particularly early on.

The return of the Speakeasy!

In her trademark raven bangs, spike heels and killer curves, Ms. Page was the most famous pinup girl of the post-World War II era, a centerfold on a million locker doors and garage walls. She was also a major influence in the fashion industry and a target of Senator Estes Kefauver’s anti-pornography investigators.

Daniel Hoevels, 30, slumped over with blood pouring from his neck while the audience broke into applause at the "special effect". Police are investigating whether the knife was a mistake or a murder plot. They are questioning the rest of the cast, and backstage hands with access to props; they will also carry out DNA tests.

Odetta, the transcendent folk singer who died on Tuesday. Her songs were at first difficult for my young ear: the power of her voice, and their unfamiliar rhythms. But in listening to Odetta, and asking my parents what her words were about, my eyes were opened to the crimes and tragedies embedded in American history.

The L.A. Weekly failed to report what happened at the end of the conversation. After the question about Building 7, security thugs stepped in, blocked the camera and proceeded to kick the protagonists out of the bookstore. There was no hostility or impoliteness on the part of the 9/11 truthers, but apparently Leary’s security thinks it necessary to physically eject anyone who expresses an opinion different to his.

And there's nothing more likely to earn an Oscar nomination than a film related to the Holocaust.

The true cost of the global warming hysteria.

Hollywood producers say nobody wants an actors strike, but that's exactly what could happen as members of the Screen Actors Guild threaten to walk off set.

The union's first contract talks with Hollywood studios in four months failed over the weekend, despite the help of a federal mediator.

On Sunday, the association representing the Hollywood studios owned by eight large entertainment companies criticized SAG of asking for better deals on new media distribution payments than other Hollywood unions got earlier this year.

Internet users would have their connections terminated summarily on the whim of the film and TV industry should it win its landmark legal battle against iiNet, legal experts have warned.

Seven of the world's biggest film studios and the Seven Network last week filed suit against iiNet, Australia's third largest ISP, in the Federal Court.

They claim iiNet authorised copyright infringement by failing to prevent its users from downloading pirated movies and TV shows.

The Screen Actors Guild said Saturday it will ask its members to authorize a strike after its first contract talks in four months with Hollywood studios failed despite the help of a federal mediator.

The guild said it adjourned talks with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers shortly before 1 a.m. after two marathon sessions with federal mediator Juan Carlos Gonzalez.

SAG, representing more than 120,000 actors in movies, television and other media, said in a statement that it will launch a "full-scale education campaign in support of a strike authorization."

In 1974, Mel Brooks struck Box Office gold with 'Blazing
Saddles'. In this scene the townspeople of Rockridge
anxiously await the arrival of the new sherrif
(Cleavon Little). He's not quite what they expected.

Lindsay Lohan was pelted with a flour bomb over the weekend at a Paris nightclub for wearing a fur stole.

Nesson argues that the Digital Theft Deterrence and Copyright Damages Improvement Act of 1999 is unconstitutional because it effectively lets a private group -- the Recording Industry Association of America, or RIAA -- carry out civil enforcement of a criminal law. He also says the music industry group abused the legal process by brandishing the prospects of lengthy and costly lawsuits in an effort to intimidate people into settling cases out of court.

In this Bond film, it is very explicit that the United States under Bush has become the bad guy, that US intelligence is in league with rogue mercenaries and brutal, rapist-generals who plot coups against elected governments. Bond therefore has to take on the United States government. The good American in this film is the one willing to betray the US government to a more virtuous MI6 field officer.

Here's the scene that got ABC fined $1.43 million by the FCC. It's
from NYPD Blue five years ago. The scene, which the FCC branded
'indecent,' has been posted on the Internet and has become a viral
hit.

George Clooney, Bono, Wyclef Jean, Petra Nemcova and a half-dozen other celebs have founded charities that have some eyebrow-raising business practices, The Post uncovered in a sweeping review.

What brought Reagan, who served as President of SAG, (1947-52), and again in 1959, to do such a terrible thing? I think he was mostly a hollow type of man, vain, insecure and highly self- righteous. The record shows that to protect his rear end, he had become "a commie hunter;" he also carried a gun. The exact number of colleagues on whom Reagan ratted, will probably never be known. Once tagged as a Red "sympathizer," no matter how scanty the evidence, an individual was subjected to being "blacklisted" and barred from working in the Hollywood Industry.

The late comedian George Carlin — famous for those "Seven Words You Can Never Say on TV" — was honored Monday with the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, the only award he saw as a legitimate comedy prize.

THE ONLY NATIONAL SECURITY-RELATED MOVIES THAT HOLLYWOOD MAKES ARE THE ONES WITH AN APPROVED MESSAGE. GOVERNMENT PROPAGANDA AND DISINFORMATION PASSES FOR ENTERTAINMENT, JUST AS IT MASQUERADES AS THE “NIGHTLY NEWS.”

With critical plaudits and advertising dollars flowing to Hulu, the popular online hub for television shows and feature films, YouTube finds itself in the unanticipated position of playing catch-up.

On Monday, YouTube will move forward a little, announcing an agreement to show some full-length television shows and films from MGM, the financially troubled 84-year-old film studio.

Husband Todd offered $100,000 and a snowmobile if he'll co-star, says Florida adult film producer.

In this wonderful montage by Spike Lee, we see how racism is
constructed. The sadness of the images is that all this hate
came from all that laughter.

Given that Obama sold out before he is even on the shelf, I’d rather not talk about it at the moment but I do want to write something and since this is Petri Dish, I thought I’d talk about one of the biggest mucus smears to ever come down the pike and that is Madonna. There are some very interesting connections to Madonna and most of the nasty shit that we have had to endure these last however many years and I’m going to go into that a bit.

This year's installment, No. XIX, begins with political commentary more than political humor. Homer goes to the polls on Election Day 2008. At first he votes for John McCain on a touch-screen, then tries to change his vote to Barack Obama. The machine casts six votes for McCain instead before it eats Homer.

"This doesn't happen in America!" Homer says. "Maybe Ohio, but not America!"

Willie is the king. This clip proves he can cross over into all styles of music.Here in Texas when we die we don´t go to heaven we go to Willies house.

Miriam & Shoshana are hardcore gangster rappers. They also happen to be Orthodox Jews.

The Obama-mercial was fairly highly rated across the three broadcast networks (CBS, Fox and NBC) in the early metered market numbers. Between the three networks it scored an impressive combined 17.8/29 (household rating/share).

If ABC truly hoped that by being only scripted programming on broadcast for 8:00pm-8:30p, it would help out Pushing Daisies, that plan went awry. My guess is ABC was more likely just looking to burn off an episode. Daisies scored a 4.2/7, pretty much the identical rating it had a week ago up (4.2/6).

On October 15, Jon Stewart, host of Comedy Central's 'The Daily
Show with Jon Stewart' appeared on CNN's Crossfire. Many believe
his exchange with bow-tied Tucker Carlson led to the show's (Crossfire's) cancellation.

The truth is, Palin would make a kick-ass reality star.

"I think she could have her own show," Lorne Michaels recently told Entertainment Weekly.

And according to a recent piece in the Hollywood Reporter, some TV execs have already started contemplating her exit strategy.

With any luck, her schedule will free up, and she can start taping in early November.