Saying that News Corp's Fox Entertainment Group is "on a great streak," News Corp Chairman Rupert Murdoch said Tuesday that the company plans to increase production at its 20th Century Fox film studio and its Fox Searchlight Unit. The studio, which released 11 films during it last fiscal year, has been given the go-ahead to turn out 20-25 films in the current fiscal year, while Searchlight, which released 8, will raise its total to 11. Murdoch indicated that his decision to increase production was based largely on the performance of The Day After Tomorrow, which was responsible for $540 million in ticket sales worldwide, and I, Robot, which pulled in more than $314 million.

News Corp is likely to buy out the 18 percent of Fox Entertainment Group that it doesn't already own, its chairman, Rupert Murdoch, said Tuesday. He added that at Fox's current market price, about $5 billion, "Fox would be very cheap." However, Murdoch told the Goldman Sachs investors conference that News Corp is "not in a hurry" to accomplish the buy-out. It may be hinged, analysts said, to the success -- or failure -- of Murdoch's ability to win approval from Australian investors to move News Corp's corporate headquarters from Australia to the U.S.

Michael Eisner predicted on Tuesday that Disney will achieve success with computer-generated animation whether or not Pixar remains in the company's fold. Speaking at the Goldman Sachs investors conference, Eisner predicted that despite growing numbers of studios entering the field of CGI animation, "only the best and most inventive will succeed. Five years from now expect for only Disney and one or two others to be around." He said that Disney currently has more than 30 animation projects under development.

Fahrenheit 9/11 filmmaker Michael Moore says that he now believes Disney's relationship with Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, a principal stockholder in Euro Disney, may have been at the root of the company's refusal to distribute his movie. Originally, Moore told Video Store magazine, "my agent told me [Disney CEO] Michael Eisner told him he didn't want to upset [the President's brother and Florida governor] Jeb Bush because Disney was trying to get some tax breaks in Florida, plus he was having trouble with the [Disney] board and didn't want to stir things up. But then this Canadian reporter sent me these articles from 10 years ago about Euro Disney being bailed out of bankruptcy by the Saudi royal family, and that's when I realized the real reason. Prince Al-Waleed still owns 17 percent of the park. And then it all made sense." (Following the 9/11 attack, the Saudi billionaire offered to contribute $10 million to the city's survivor fund, an offer that was rejected by New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.) In the DVD package of Fahrenheit, released Tuesday, Moore includes a mini-documentary about Disney's decision.

The Michigan Republican Party has sent demands to the District Attorneys of four counties insisting that they file criminal charges against Fahrenheit 9/11 filmmaker Michael Moore for attempting to bribe voters. Moore, a native of Flint, has been traveling the country on what he calls "The Slackers Uprising Tour," in which he has been telling non-voters: "[I will] do whatever it takes to get out the vote. I will do your laundry, I will clean your house, I will give you a year's supply of beer nuts if you will commit to me to go to the polls." He has also offered them Ramen noodles and Tostitos, a favorite diet of the low-budget crowd. In addition, he has promised that at his speaking appearances "I will bring prizes and presents and clean underwear for all in need." The Michigan GOP noted in its letter to prosecutors that the state's election code bars a person from contracting with another for something of value in exchange for agreeing to vote.

Rodney Dangerfield, a nightclub comedian who, when he entered films in the 1980s, attracted an audience most of whom were young enough to be his grandchildren, died Tuesday in Los Angeles at age 82 following surgery in August for a heart condition. His films included Caddyshack, Back to School, and Meet Wally Sparks.

It has been axiomatic in the television business that it only takes one big hit to send the fortunes of a network soaring. That certainly appeared to be the case last week as ABC scored with two hit shows, Desperate Housewives and Lost, while NBC, after losing its biggest hit, Friends, dropped to third place in the ratings. "We knew we had good dramas in Desperate Housewives and Lost, but we had no idea they were going to premiere at the level they did. It is just phenomenal," Jeff Bader, executive vice president of ABC Entertainment, told today's (Wednesday) Los Angeles Times. Indeed, the two shows were developed by the previous ABC regime, ousted for failing to lift the network's ratings. The Associated Press observed Tuesday that although CBS drew the greatest number of viewers overall, ABC placed first among 18-49 year-olds, advertisers' most sought-after audience. "The last time ABC won in that category so early in a TV season was 10 years ago," AP reported. For the week, CBS averaged an 8.2 rating and a 13 share. ABC was second with a 7.1/12. NBC placed third with a 6.5/11, while Fox trailed with a 3.4/5.

The top ten shows of the week according to Nielsen Research: 1. Desperate Housewives, ABC, 13.6/20; 2. CSI: Miami, CBS, 13.0/21; 2. NFL Monday Night Football, ABC, 13.0/22; 4. CSI: NY, CBS, 12.5/20; 5. Everybody Loves Raymond, CBS, 12.1/18; 6. Survivor: Vanuatu, CBS, 11.5/18; 7. Two and a Half Men, CBS, 10.9/16; 8. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Special(S), CBS, 10.8/17; 9. Lost, ABC, 10.5/17; 10. 60 Minutes, CBS, 10.2/17.

More people watched Tuesday night's vice-presidential debate on NBC than on any other network. The network averaged an 8.3/12, while ABC scored a 7.8/11 and CBS, a 6.2/9. The biggest debate loser appeared to be Major League Baseball (Minnesota Twins vs. New York Yankees) on Fox, which saw its ratings drop to a 6.8/10, down 18 percent from the comparable post-season night a year ago.

Although it had initially seemed like a "done deal," the joint bid by Time Warner and Comcast for bankrupt Adelphia Communications may be rejected by Adelphia's board, which may insist on separate bids, the Wall Street Journal reported today (Wednesday). According to the newspaper, which cited unnamed sources, Adelphia's board is likely to conclude that the joint bid stifles competing bids and will ask Comcast and Time Warner to submit separate offers. The Journal, citing people familiar with the situation, indicated that Comcast, already the nation's largest cable operator, may be reluctant to submit a bid on its own, given the strong possibility of regulatory disapproval, but that Time Warner may have little reluctance to do so. Neither company would comment on the newspaper's report.

New questions were raised Tuesday over the asserted "independence" of the panel investigating the discredited CBS 60 Minutes report about George W. Bush's National Guard service, after Viacom Co-president/CBS Chairman Les Moonves said that its final report would probably not be issued until after the election "so that it doesn't affect what's going on." Suggesting that members of the panel may have objected to Moonves's remarks, made at a Goldman Sachs conference, CBS later released a statement saying that "the timing of the panel's report will be determined by the panel." In an interview with today's (Wednesday) Newsday, Jay Rosen, chairman of the NYU journalism department, commented: "Why is Les even talking about it? It would be fairer and better for CBS to say, 'Hey, when we said hands off, we meant hands off, and that means when it comes out, what it says, how long it is. It's not up to us.'" The panel is headed by former U.S. Attorney General Richard Thornburgh and former Associated Press chief Louis Boccardi.

Microsoft on Tuesday unveiled a $200 device, the MSN TV 2, that will permit consumers to access their computers from their TV sets. The device was seen as a boon for Internet websites that permit users to download movies. Few people, besides travelers, analysts have noted, are interested in watching movies on PCs. For a monthly charge, the device will also permit people to access the Internet and send email from their TVs, boosting the potential for interactive advertising and entertainment. "They're not going to take over the market tomorrow with this," Ben Mendelsen, president of Santa Monica, CA-based Interactive Television Alliance, told today's (Wednesday) Los Angeles Times. "But they don't need to. They just need to grow and be prepared for a future where entertainment is distributed digitally."

A storm of criticism has arisen in Britain over a 10-minute sequence of the Channel 5 reality series The Farm, in which one of the show's participants was seen masturbating a pig, then collecting about 3/4 of a pint of semen in a flask to be used for inseminating sows. The show's participant was Rebecca Loos, soccer star David Beckham's alleged ex-lover. Today's Guardian newspaper cited some typical viewer reaction: "It was just vile. It was probably the worst thing I have seen on TV. I just couldn't believe it was on television." Another: "Are there not laws against this kind of thing." The channel said that it was merely depicting a normal part of life on a farm.