Most reviews for The Dukes of Hazzard are predictably scathing. "So loud, so long, so dumb," mourns Stephen Hunter in the Washington Post. How dumb? Well, Jack Mathews writes in the New York Daily News: "If the person who came up with the idea of a film version of the TV show The Dukes of Hazzard were caught in a bear trap, he'd chew off his foot to get free then wonder why one leg was shorter than the other. That is to say, he might have survival skills but not much sense." Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times merely dismissing it as "a lame-brained, outdated wheeze." But then, many critics observe that the original television show, which ran from 1979 to 1985, was hardly any role model. As Gene Seymour comments in Newsday: "A feather-headed, scruffy old TV show deserves nothing less than a feather-headed, scruffy movie version. And The Dukes of Hazzard meets such low expectations." A.O. Scott in the New York Times remarks that the movie serves as "the latest evidence that, for Hollywood studios at least, there can never be too much of a mediocre thing." Joe Morgenstern in the Wall Street Journal puts it this way: "The Dukes Of Hazzard turns a sow's ear into a bigger sow's ear." Chris Kaltenbach in the Baltimore Sun notes that there's not much of a script evident here and that in fact "the dominant line of dialogue" in the movie is "Yeeeeeee-haaaaaa." And Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, writing from Hazzard-land in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, sums up: "It's every bit as bad as you thought it'd be. Only worse."

Studios may be caught in a pincers movement by pirates on the one side and retailers on the other. The latter attack was underscored Thursday by Pixar Animation which reported that DVD and pay-per-view revenue for The Incredibles in the second quarter totaled $2.2 million versus $7.7 million for Finding Nemo in the comparable quarter in 2004 -- a 71.4 percent decrease. The company has blamed higher-than-expected returns, as retailers made space on their shelves for a plethora of new titles, including suddenly much-in-demand compilations of TV series. The company also stated that it had erred in May when it said that it had sold 17.7 million copies of The Incredibles; the actual number, it said, was 16.7 million. (Finding Nemo sold 40 million copies in the year-ago period.) Meanwhile, in a conference call with analysts, Pixar Chairman Steve Jobs indicated that things were going well in his negotiations with Disney. "I'm cautiously optimistic, but there are still several hurdles to cross," he said. He promised to conclude a distribution deal with Disney or another studio by the end of the year.

While "stupid" (or its synonyms) may be the most repeated adjective appearing in the reviews of the movie version of The Dukes of Hazzard, box office analysts are issuing reminders that stupid is as stupid does -- and, in this case, stupid appears set to make a killing. As the only new film opening wide this weekend, the film, which stars Johnny Knoxville, Seann William Scott and Jessica Simpson, is expected to earn $25-30 million. The weekend also will see March of the Penguins march into 1,827 theaters this weekend, up from 778 last weekend. The documentary has been making an impressive showing in its limited release and analysts figure it should capture a relatively sizable family audience.

Sumner Redstone said Thursday that he'll step down as CEO of Viacom but retain the company chairmanship when his media company splits in two. Co-presidents Tom Freston and Les Moonves will assume the CEO titles at the new companies, which will be named Viacom and CBS Corp. In discussing their individual roles with analysts and reporters during a conference call Thursday, both men indicated that they were looking to explore new "technological platforms," but it was not clear whether some, if not all, of those platforms are actually the same. Redstone himself remarked that the entertainment industry is moving into a "new era of rapid technological change and global competition," but made no reference to how the two companies would avoid cannibalizing each other in such competition. However, he maintained, "large is no longer in charge. ... We are creating two more-focused and nimble companies" Meanwhile, Viacom said that its net income in the second quarter was flat at $753.8 million.

As a result of a settlement in the class-action suit against Sony Pictures, moviegoers who saw any of the Sony movies that were touted by a non-existent critic in Sony's ads may apply for a $5.00 share of the settlement money. The movies include A Knight's Tale, Vertical Limit, The Animal, Hollow Man and The Patriot. Moviegoers may also apply for a like sum for up to one adult and two children who saw any of the movies with them. The applications may be obtained online at www.gilardi.com/rezec. There's a small catch, however. If more than 100,000 applications are received, all of the settlement money will be donated to charity.

CNN on Thursday suspended commentator Robert Novak after he blurted out the word "bullshit" and stormed off the set during the live "Strategy Session" segment of Inside Politics. "Bob Novak's behavior on CNN today was inexcusable and unacceptable," a CNN spokeswoman said afterwards. "Mr. Novak has apologized to CNN and CNN apologizes to its viewers for his language and his actions." Novak's blow-up came as Novak was debating liberal commentator James Carville about Republican Congresswoman Katherine Harris' plan to run against Democratic Senator Bill Nelson for his Senate seat in Florida. Carville had just remarked to host Ed Henry that Novak has "got to show these right-wingers that he's got backbone, you know." Then, to Novak, "The Wall Street Journal editorial page is watching. Show 'em you're tough." Novak replied, "Well, I think that's bullshit, and I hate that." In an interview with today's (Friday) New York Daily News, Novak said that Carville's remarks represented "an unacceptable questioning of my integrity. I overreacted ... I just got a little frustrated."

Republican Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania has accused Robert Novak of libeling his top aide, Bettilou Taylor, when he "falsely and maliciously" accused her in his syndicated column of orchestrating a Senate hearing that grilled Kenneth Tomlinson, chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, while her husband served as a consultant for the Association of Public Television Stations. "The hearing was my idea," Specter said in a statement. He added that if Novak had "taken the time to call me, the defamation could have been avoided; or, at least, the other side given. I know something about investigations, perhaps even about investigative reporting, which, as a matter of basic fairness, involves talking to both sides to find the facts."

The Golden Globes ceremonies have become the latest awards to get out of the way of Desperate Housewives. As expected, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which stages the awards, announced Thursday that it will abandon its usual Sunday-night slot next year and move to Monday, Jan. 16 instead. The group described the move as "only a one year deal." But, barring a ratings collapse on the new night, the awards show is expected to remain on NBC in the Monday time slot for the foreseeable future. The association also said that the deadline for entries has been moved to Nov. 4, with nominations due to be announced on Dec. 13. The ceremonies will again air from the Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills, CA.

Although Andrei Babitsky, the journalist who conducted the ABC Nightline interview with Chechen terrorist Shamil Basayev, is an employee of U.S.-backed Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Donald Jensen, a spokesman for Radio Liberty, said Wednesday that the U.S. station had not aired it and is currently "considering what use, if any, to make of it." As a consequence of ABC's decision to air the interview, Russia has barred all ABC reporters from the country. In an interview with the Russian news agency RIA Novosti, Jensen said that Babitsky was on vacation and not on assignment for RFE/RL at the time of the interview. "He took it on his own time with his own camera," Jensen said. He noted that content from RFE and RL as well as the Voice of America are by law prohibited from being broadcast on commercial TV outlets in the U.S.

Daily Variety columnist Army Archerd plans to discontinue the gossip column he has written since 1953 after September 1, the trade publication said in Thursday's edition. Editor in Chief Peter Bart said that no one would be hired to take over Archerd's column, "Just for Variety." (He later announced that Variety would begin to carry Liz Smith's syndicated column, which was dropped by the Los Angeles Times when its sister publication, Newsday, discontinued it earlier this year.) Archerd, 83, told today's (Friday) New York Times that he plans to concentrate on writing his memoirs. "I've got 50 years of showbiz to go through. I've got plenty to write about," he said. He also said that he plans to continue contributing occasional articles to the trade paper.

In its second week, Steven Bochco's new drama series Over There, about U.S. troops serving in Iraq and their families back home, lost 37 percent of its opening-week audience. On Wednesday night, the FX show, Bochco's first for basic cable, attracted 2.6 million viewers, down from 4.1 million the week before. FX observed, however, that adults 18-49 comprised a huge 58 percent of the total audience, making the show the highest-rated in that demo on Wednesday night.