The motion picture industry scored a major legal victory Thursday in its effort to prevent DVDs from being copied and distributed over the Internet. The win came as a federal judge made permanent an injunction barring Eric Corley who operates a hacker Web site, from posting the DeCSS code that decrypts DVD movies or linking to other sites that do. Dismissing the free-speech arguments of the defense as being "entirely without merit, " U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan wrote in his decision: "Computer code is not purely expressive any more than the assassination of a political figure is purely a political statement." He added: "There is little room for doubting that broad dissemination of DeCSS threatens ultimately to injure or destroy (the) plaintiffs' ability to distribute copyrighted products on DVDs." Yet numerous analysts observed that the decision would have little effect in blocking others from distributing the DeCSS code. In reporting on the decision today (Friday), the San Jose Mercury observed, "The software the Motion Picture Association of America wants banned can still be found using standard Internet search tools. While the MPAA has vowed to go after others who offer the software, in some cases, where the Web site is hosted in another nation and the operator has no assets in the United States, there is little chance that any order by an American judge will be taken seriously in many parts of the world." Corley himself said that while he will no longer provide links to such sites, he will provide the names of such sites and their Internet addresses "in non-linkable form." His attorneys, who had indicated earlier that they had expected an adverse decision, vowed to appeal the case to the Supreme Court. but Charles Sims, a partner of the law firm representing the studios, maintained in an interview with the online entertainment magazine Inside, "All the talk of appeals is a loud PR effort." And MPAA chief Jack Valenti, in an interview with the Washington Post, remarked: "This is a sweeping decision -- eloquent, lucid and most of all, non-ambiguous."

Seagram, the wine, liquor and entertainment company that is being acquired by the French conglomerate Vivendi, reported a narrower-than-expected loss for its fourth quarter, thanks to strong sales in its music business and a return to profitability by its Universal film studio, despite a major flop with Rocky and Bullwinkle that dragged down an otherwise strong slate of box office hits that included Erin Brockovich (2000), U-571 and Gladiator. Its net loss was put at $128 million versus a $129-million loss posted a year ago. Its EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) actually rose 70 percent to $441 million on revenue of $3.7 billion, but interest payment on its $6.6 billion debt submerged those results.

Thirteen-year-old Gabriel Thomson of London has won the much-sought-after role of Harry Potter in the film version of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, the Aint It Cool News Web site reported Thursday. Thomson appeared last year opposite Martin Landau in the critically trashed New Adventures of Pinocchio and in the role of Pip in a BBC production of Great Expectations.

Analysts are questioning whether studios will be able to complete some of the expensive, special-effects-laden projects that they have put on a fast track for completion before the SAG contract expires next June, the Wall Street Journal reported today (Friday). In particular, the newspaper indicated, they are wondering whether DreamWorks and Fox can finish Minority Report (2000), to be directed by Steven Spielberg and star Tom Cruise, which is not expected to start shooting until April. (The WSJ referred to it as "one of the most complicated films ever produced.") They have also expressed doubts about whether Men in Black 2, from Columbia and DreamWorks, can be completed in time. The newspaper also observed that many simpler films are being rushed into production, with many of their stars -- several of whom are barely known -- nailing down hefty salaries, presumably as an incentive to come to the set well prepared and to work long hours.

No doubt about it, critics agree, Cell, The (2000), in which the lead character, played by Jennifer Lopez, literally enters the mind of a serial killer, is visually stunning. They part company on virtually everything else about the movie. Lou Lumenick in the New York Post observes: "If looks could kill, this would be the best movie of the summer. But beneath the considerable eye candy ... Cell, The (2000) is an awfully generic variation on the overworked serial-killer genre." Writes Steven Rea in the Philadelphia Inquirer: "Never has a sick dude who kidnaps women and slowly drowns them in a giant tank before he has necrophiliac relations with them boasted reveries that looked so, well, arty." Too arty, says Bob Strauss in the Los Angeles Daily News: "When every shot in a movie is meant to wow you, none of them really does the job." Elvis Mitchell in the New York Times had this take on the film: "There is powerful and unforgettable imagery in The Cell, but it's nihilism under glass, reminiscent of the honeyed yet grim tableaus of a Nine Inch Nails music video." Tom Sime in the Dallas Morning News also takes note of the fact that the film's director, Tarsem Singh, comes from the world of music video. "This time, " Sime says, "This time, he's hawking not a song or a product, but schizophrenia. And it's a good pitch. ... Mr. Singh [tries] to get the feel of what a schizophrenic actually endures: a flood of hallucination indistinguishable from reality." And Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times concludes: "For all of its visual pyrotechnics, it's also a story where we care about the characters; there's a lot at stake at the end, and we're involved. I know people who hate it, finding it pretentious or unrestrained; I think it's one of the best films of the year." Kenneth Turan the Los Angeles Times critic is clearly one on those who hated the film: "Some movies make you sorry you've seen them, " he writes, "and Cell, The (2000) is one of those.

The original Godzilla -- from Japan's Toho Studios -- is back, and the critical reaction to his resurrection is about what you'd expect. Clearly, Stephen Hunter in the Washington Post had more fun writing about the movie than most of his colleagues: "Yes, folks, the tallest, darkest leading man in all Japan is back. He is still big, has all eight of Santa's reindeer's antlers on his back, fission-powered halitosis (all that raw fish) and the look of a Komodo dragon crossed with Lassie. His skin is still green rubber. His eyes are still buttons. When he walks, the earth beneath the Toho back lot still shudders and he looks -- don't spread this around, I'd hate to disillusion the young and start rumors -- like a man in a bad monster suit." But Rick Groen in the Toronto Globe and Mail apparently found the movie no fun at all to watch, noting that fans of the old Godzilla flicks "will find a reason to guffaw heartily through much of the movie. The rest of us will settle for a mild chuckle or two in the early going, and then grow dead bored. In either case, we'll both agree that the deliberately pathetic Godzilla 2000 is a whole lot better than the inadvertently pathetic Godzilla 1998."

Getting the best reviews by far from the critics this weekend is Spike Lee's comedy concert film The Original Kings of Comedy, featuring Steve Harvey, D.L. Hughley, Cedric the Entertainer and Bernie Mac. Chris Vognar's review in the Dallas Morning News is typical: "The film has more genuine belly laughs than any comedy this year. ... No one will argue that the Kings are a match for Richard Pryor, or even Eddie Murphy in his stand-up prime. But together, they form a hilarious and even poignant conscience for a brand of black humor much deeper and wiser than what we've seen on screen this year. If these are indeed the voices of the old school, then maybe it's time to re-enroll." And Steve Murray concludes in his review in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "For the most part Kings is a rollicking good time, and one of the funniest movies you'll find in a summer that's a little low on laughs at the megaplex."

In a move that is certain to raise anew questions of the propriety of news personnel participating in entertainment programming, CBS said Thursday that Bryant Gumbel will host a one-hour special following next Wednesday's two-hour Survivor finale that will reunite all 16 members of the original "cast." In an interview with the Washington Post, Early Show producer Steve Friedman said that he supported the decision to use Gumbel on the special. "I'm all for it, " he said. "People at home are smart; they know that if you're doing a Survivor reunion show in primetime it's one kind of show and when you're interviewing Al Gore it's another kind of show." The special will also include a segment promoting the next Survivor series, currently being filmed in Australia and scheduled to air on CBS next winter, the network said. Meanwhile, it was reported that Dr. Sean Kenniff the latest Survivor participant to be booted off the island, has been hired as medical correspondent for the syndicated magazine show Extra.

In his acceptance speech at the Democratic convention Thursday night Al Gore indirectly indicated that he will support those (including his running mate, Senator Joseph Lieberman) who have been calling on the TV networks to increase their effort to make parents aware of V-chip technology and their ratings system. He declared: "I believe we must challenge a culture with too much meanness, and not enough meaning. And as President, I will stand with you for a goal that I know we share: to give more power back to the parents, so that you can choose what your own children are exposed to, and pass on basic lessons of responsibility and decency."

Joe Estevez, the younger brother of outspoken anti-gun advocate Martin Sheen, recorded the narration for a pro-gun TV commercial that has been running during both political conventions, the New York Daily News reported today (Friday). The newspaper, which commented that "Estevez sounds more like Sheen than Sheen does, " quoted Lawrence Keane of the Hunting and Shooting Sports Heritage Foundation, which sponsored the ad, as saying: "We wanted a recognized voice that would catch people's attention." Estevez' manager, Kurt Swansick told the newspaper, "Obviously, he did it for the money."

MasterCard has filed a $5-million lawsuit against Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader over his parody commercial of the company's "priceless" campaign, Advertising Age reported today (Friday) in its online edition. The commercial, in part, goes like this: "Grilled tenderloin for fund-raiser: $1, 000 a plate. Campaign ads filled with half truths: $10 million. Promises to special interest groups: over $10 billion. Finding out the truth: priceless. There are some things money can't buy. Without Ralph Nader in the presidential debates, the truth will come in last." MasterCard exec Larry Flanagan commented: "'Priceless' is a very valuable asset ... We're very concerned with consumer confusion." In a statement, Nader called the suit "an absurd and clumsy abuse of corporate power in an attempt to suppress political speech."

Analysts appear to be backing away from earlier predictions that News Corp's acquisition of the Chris-Craft TV stations will result in the death of UPN. "UPN is a pretty big operation, " Ruth Leaycraft of Katz Continental Television told Bloomberg News. "It's not some small little business on the corner you can just easily shut down." She noted that the network has hundreds of millions of dollars tied up in programming commitments. "I don't think Mel [Karmazin] is going to blow it up, " she added, "It's so hard to get viewers, and they've gotten some." Moreover, UPN's CEO Dean Valentine told Blomberg that he expects the network will be "profitable soon." He was not specific, but added: "Stations need programming. Fox needs programming. Viacom needs programming and that's what we are -- a programming service."

Wednesday night's final head count: Survivor, on CBS, at its peak between 8:30 p.m. and 9:00 p.m., 31 million viewers. Joseph Lieberman accepting the vice presidential nomination on ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, CNN, MSNBC and Fox News Channel at 10:00 p.m., 26 million.