· AMC and Loews agree to merge their movie theaterc chain to better compete with the larger Regal Entertainment, and hopefully gain enough influence to squeeze a bigger share of box office cash out of the studios. This, you may have guessed, is a slow news day. [Variety]

· Alyson Hannigan, Eddie Griffin, Fred Willard, and Jennifer Coolidge will star in an untitled Regency spoof of romantic comedies. Eddie Griffin (black) plays the father of Alyson Hannigan (white). This is all you need to know before you are crippled by the ensuing waves of hilarity. [THR]

· Ridley Scott will follow up the triumphant Kingdom of Heaven (you’re only as good as your last bomb, right?) by directing/producing Shadow Divers, the story of a German U-boat found off the coast of New Jersey in 1991. [Variety]

· NASCAR helps Herbie: Fully Loaded feature the same kind of sponsor-driven sensory assault as a typical NASCAR race. [THR]

·Howard Stern will no longer spackle the hindquarters of Scores strippers with condiments on E!, and is now looking to take his cable show to another network. Spike TV preemptively starts training its editors in the fine art of pixilating breasts. [Variety]