Paramount and DreamWorks garnered "incentives" valued at $150 million to agree to release their films in high-definition home video exclusively in the HD DVD format, the New York Times and Daily Variety reported today (Wednesday), citing no sources. Both publications said that the HD DVD camp had agreed to "promotional considerations" amounting to $50 million for Paramount and $100 million for DreamWorks over the next 18 months. The Times indicated that an undisclosed amount of cash also exchanged hands. Variety's revelation was buried in an article about director Michael Bay's flip-flop over the two film companies' decision. Bay had originally posted a message titled "Paramount pisses me off!" on his personal website in which he remarked: "I want people to see my movies in the best formats possible. For them to deny people who have Blu-ray sucks!" He vowed not to direct Transformers 2 if it would not be released in the competing Blu-ray format, which currently outsells HD DVD by three to one. By the end of the day, however, Bay had backtracked, writing, "I overreacted. I heard where Paramount is coming from and the future of HD. ... I like what I heard." Fellow director Steven Spielberg remained unconvinced, balking at the Paramount/DreamWorks deal (as he did with Universal's exclusive deal with the HD DVD camp). A spokesman indicated that his films will continue to be released exclusively in the Blu-ray format, regardless of the studio for which they are made. DreamWorks marketing chief Marvin Levy said Tuesday that Spielberg continues to be a "big supporter of Blu-ray."

A 19-year-old Czech youth living in a small village in south Bohemia faces a possible five-year prison sentence and a fine of almost $250,000 for allegedly camcording The Simpsons Movie at a local theater last month and uploading it onto the Internet. Word of the young man's arrest -- his name was not included in published reports -- follows a similar report about the arrest of an Australian youth on charges of uploading another copy of the movie before it even appeared in theaters elsewhere. (Australia is a day ahead of much of the world.)

A lawyer representing 11 extras who were injured in Germany while filming a scene for the Tom Cruise movie Valkyrie has threatened to sue Cruise, United Artists and the film's producers. "Those responsible on the set displayed inhuman indifference in playing with the health and the lives of the extras," lawyer Ariane Bluttner told Agence France Press Tuesday. She said that she intends to take legal action against the production company "unless it un-bureaucratically and rapidly compensates the injured." Only one of the extras suffered serious injuries. Dressed as German WWII soldiers, the extras were riding in a military panel truck when the incident occurred. Bryan Singer is directing the film.

Movie Gallery, whose shares have fallen from $5.29 in January to $.30 in mid-day trading today (Wednesday) may see its shares falling right off the NASDAQ list. The company said Tuesday that it had received notices from NASDAQ that its stock has dropped below the $1-per-share minimum over a 30-day period that is required to maintain a listing on the stock exchange. Movie Gallery -- the second-largest movie renter behind Blockbuster -- has recently been unable to make payments on its debt, largely incurred as a result of its recent acquisition of the Hollywood Video chain and last week extended until August 27 a forbearance agreement with lenders.

NBC's America's Got Talent got No. 1 on the Nielsen ratings list last week, tying with CBS's 60 Minutes but edging out the news magazine in total number of viewers and beating it handily in the key 18-49 adults category. The show drew 10.83 million viewers. However, had cable shows been included in the list, the Disney Channel's High School Musical 2, which drew 17.2 million viewers on Friday -- the largest audience ever to watch a show on basic cable -- would easily have come out on top. Overall, CBS continued to chalk up wins for drawing more viewers to its primetime summer schedule than any other network. However, all of the networks remained in the summer doldrums for the week. CBS averaged only a 4.5 rating and an 8 share. Fox placed second with an average 3.8/7. NBC was close behind with a 3.5/6, while ABC trailed with a 3.0/5.

The top ten shows of the week according to Nielsen Research: 1. America's Got Talent, NBC, 6.6/12; 1. 60 Minutes, CBS, 6.6/12; 3. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CBS, 6.4/11; 4. Without a Trace, CBS, 6.3/11; 5. Two and a Half Men, CBS, 6.1/10; 6. So You Think Can Dance (Thursday) , Fox, 5.9/10; 7. NCIS, CBS, 5.8/10; 7. Singing Bee, NBC, 5.8/10; 9. CSI: Miami, CBS, 5.7/10; 9. CSI: NY, CBS, 5.7/10; 9. Hell's Kitchen, Fox, 5.7/9.

CBS on Tuesday defended itself against mounting criticism that the network may have violated child labor laws and placed children at risk during the production of the forthcoming reality show Kid Nation. Following a complaint by one of the 40 children who participated in the series -- in which kids create their own "society" in a town in New Mexico -- CBS sent a statement to the Los Angeles Times disputing the "course of action being taken by one parent in distorting the true picture of the Kid Nation experience." The statement insisted that CBS and the producers had instituted safety procedures "that arguably rival or surpass any school or camp in the country." The network has argued that child labor laws did not apply to the production because the children, ages 8-15, were not employees of the production company. "The cameras are following people through an experience," a CBS lawyer said, adding that the $5,000 that each of them received (plus additional amounts for competitions) was "not tied to specific output or tasks." Nevertheless, today's New York Times reported that the New Mexico attorney general's office sent a warning to producers while the show was being taped that they might be violating child-labor laws.

Writer Edward Klein's unauthorized biography of Katie Couric includes charges that she deliberately undercut colleagues on the Today show -- restricting Ann Curry's interview assignments and deliberately prolonging her own interviews so that they would eat into Matt Lauer's airtime. Unveiling excerpts from the book, Katie: The Real Story, due to be published next Tuesday, the New York Daily News said that it contains the allegation that Lauer threatened to quit Today if NBC renewed Couric's $65-million contract. The book also says that since the precipitous decline in the ratings for the CBS Evening News, Couric's editorial control over the program has diminished. Meanwhile, Couric's predecessor, Dan Rather, said during an interview on Fox News Tuesday that Couric's job is safe so long as Les Moonves remains the head of CBS. "Katie Couric was his hire and you can bet that he will play defense as hard as he possibly can," Rather said.

Hinting at a possible solution to the question of how to put television shows on the Internet and get viewers not to skip commercials, YouTube said Tuesday that it will begin offering professionally produced videos in which ads are overlaid on the bottom 20 percent of the picture. The ads will be featured on some user-generated videos as well, with the producers in all cases sharing the revenue with YouTube.

Fantasia Barrino has become the first American Idol contestant - and winner - to prove her worth on Broadway. Reporting on her success since taking on the role of Celie in the musical production of The Color Purple in April, the Associated Press observed today (Wednesday) that Fantasia has "revitalized" the show, "boosted a box office that had started to slump and, some say, improved a successful commercial production that was lacking critically." Scott Sanders, one of the show's producers, told the A.P.: "When you bring in someone who is a household name, it brings out the cynics who think that it is just stunt casting and those who actually understand that she is a very talented woman who is going to take a big leap. ... It's turned out to be an incredible win for everyone." Because she found playing her role so taxing, Fantasia told the wire service, she had been reluctant to sign on for an additional four months. She was persuaded to do so, she says, by the intervention of Oprah Winfrey, one of the show's producers. "She just began to tell me how much I touched her and all the things that she felt," she said.

As expected, Tribune Co. shareholders have approved the proposed $8.2 billion buyout of their company by financier Sam Zell. The company owns numerous newspapers, including the Chicago Tribune, the Baltimore Sun and the Los Angeles Times as well as 23 TV stations, including Los Angeles powerhouse KABC-TV. Shares of the company rose nearly $1 Thursday, closing at $27.98. The company's stock has been hit fiercely in recent weeks, dropping as low as $25.26. Zell's bid amounts to $35 per share. He said Tuesday that he expects to remain in the deal. "Despite the recent upheaval in the credit markets, my view of the company as an investment has not changed," Zell said in a statement.

Comedian Stanley Myron Handelman, a frequent guest on variety and talk shows in the '60s and '70s, and a fixture in Las Vegas for many years, died in Panorama City, CA on August 5 following a heart attack, Daily Variety reported today (Wednesday).