Despite revenue for Paramount Pictures rising by 20 percent, thanks to its acquisition of DreamWorks, Viacom showed second-quarter profits that were nearly flat with last year's. Net income fell .08 percent to $434 million versus $437.3 million during the same quarter a year ago. Paramount became the first studio this year to see box-office revenue pass $1 billion. "The film unit is starting to look up," James Goss, an analyst with Berrington Research in Chicago, told Bloomberg News.

The Walt Disney Co. said Wednesday that its third-quarter profit increased 4.7 percent to $1.18 billion from $1.13 billion during the same period a year ago. The better-than-expected lift in earnings came despite a 20-percent plunge in profits at the company's movie studio. Complying with accounting requirements, the company had to report the full cost of its animated Ratatouille but could include profits from the film for only the final two days of the quarter, when the film opened. Reflecting the continued decline of the dollar against foreign currencies, Disney saw a 13 percent rise in ticket sales at its theme parks as overseas visitors poured into the country. Profits at its broadcasting division, which includes the ABC radio and TV networks and the ESPN Radio and Disney radio networks, and its cable channels, including ESPN and the Disney Channel, increased about 9 percent.

Independent filmmakers, civil libertarians, independent film journalists and tourists are joining to oppose proposed regulations drafted by the New York Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting that would require a permit and proof of liability insurance for any type of filming or photography involving two or more people at a single site for 30 minutes or more. The rules would also apply to five or more people using a tripod for more than 10 minutes. The proposed regulations have inspired a rap protest video from a comedy group called Olde English, which contains the lyrics: "Make no mistake these rules are heartless/Everyone knows they just target artists/ The video bloggaz at protest marches/And kidz making vids for the YouTube contests/It's garbage! Let's tell the people in power/We wanna film for more than half an hour!" The bloggers have also found support from the conservative New York Sun, which wrote in an editorial, "It would be a sad day if New York became a place where a family has to get a permit before making a home video." The new rules have also provoked an online petition campaign at http://www.pictureny.org/petition/index.php.

France, which hosts a slew of annual film festivals, including the most prestigious of them all, at Cannes each year, may issue regulations that would require films shown at the festivals to be submitted first to the French Commission for Film Classification (Commission de Classification Cinématographique) to be rated. The Commission asked the culture ministry to end the ratings certificate exemption that applies to film festivals. The request came as part of the commission's annual report, which observed that of 1,087 films submitted during the past year, all but 56 were categorized as suitable for all audiences (Tous Publics (Universal)). Thirty-nine films were categorized as forbidden to minors under 12 (Interdit Aux Moins de 12 Ans) and 16 to those under 16. Only one film (Saw III) was forbidden to those under 18.

China has confirmed a report that first appeared in the Asian edition of Variety this week that Hong Kong star Jackie Chan's Rush Hour 3 won't be shown in China. Although Variety had noted that Chinese censors had objected to some of the film's racial humor as well as the depiction of a Chinese organized crime family, the vice president of China Film Group merely stated that "the market for the movie is relatively weak." The government group did not ask for changes to be made in the film.

Although it was initially presumed that News Corp's purchase of the Wall Street Journal and its parent company Dow Jones would face no serious regulatory hurdles at the FCC, an FCC commissioner said Wednesday that he's not so sure. In a statement, Commissioner Michael Copps, a Democrat, suggested that the rule barring media companies from owning a newspaper and a TV station in the same city might very well apply to the deal. Ordinarily it would not if the Journal is defined as a national, not a local, paper. But Copps, an opponent of efforts to eliminate the so-called cross-ownership ban, said in his statement: "Not so fast! This deal means more media consolidation and fewer independent voices, and it specifically impacts the local market in New York City. ... I hope nobody views this as a slam-dunk." Some analysts pointed out that Wall Street, after all, is located in New York.

Analysts were continuing to speculate Wednesday on what role the Wall Street Journal will be able to play in the creation of the Fox Business Network cable channel, which is due to launch in October. In a letter to clients, Merrill Lynch medial analyst Jessica Reif Cohen observed, "News Corp. will not be able to leverage the Wall Street Journal brand or content in launching the Fox Business Channel (sic) given the paper's agreement with CNBC, which lasts through 2012." She suggested, however, that the channel might very well produce content that could be used in the newspaper. Still other analysts wondered how the Journal could continue to cooperate effectively with a mortal rival of the Fox Business Network. They also questioned how CNBC would be able to cope with a potential fifth column in its midst. Some suggested that the solution might be for Murdoch to buy up the remaining four years of the contract

TV and newspaper reporters were once again being accused of uncritically publishing administration comments about the progress of the war in Iraq. On its website Wednesday Editor and Publisher magazine noted that the media recently ran numerous reports quoting administration sources as saying that American deaths in Iraq declined noticeably during July and suggested that the lower casualty rate meant that the surge was working. In fact, the trade publication observed, U.S. fatalities in Iraq have declined in July ever since the war began, and the number of confirmed deaths, 78, made it the worst July ever, topping the previous high of 54 in 2004 and 2005.

Josh Rushing, the former U.S. Marine captain who served as a military spokesman in Iraq and is now a military analyst for Al Jazeera International, maintains that President Bush has falsely depicted the Arab news channel as a "mouthpiece for Osama bin Laden." In an interview with the CBS blog Public Eye, Rushing observed that "Al Qaeda has called Al Jazeera 'pro-Zionist' and 'pro-westerners.' They've called for attacks against Al Jazeera in Qatar. And that's both bin Laden's Al Qaeda and Al Qaeda in Iraq." While serving as Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld called Al Jazeera's coverage of the war "vicious, inaccurate and inexcusable." But Rushing said, "Most of the reasons people don't like Al Jazeera are based on [myths]. Take the myth that Al Jazeera broadcasts beheadings -- they've never done that."

The announcement Wednesday that Whoopi Goldberg had been selected to replace Rosie O'Donnell on ABC's The View received prompt approval from O'Donnell herself. In a statement, O'Donnell said Tuesday, "Whoopi is fantastic in every way. She's perfect for the job. She's amazing and one of my favorites." In an interview with today's (Thursday) New York Times, Goldberg said that she did not expect to engage in the kind of on-camera feuds that punctuated O'Donnell's tenure on the show. "We can have those discussions, and do it in a way people can talk," she said. "Sometimes you get excited, but you move on. You move it forward. You go on to the next thing. You don't harbor any ill will. ... I don't think it's necessary to fight with people over long periods of time. Life is way short."