Iran is up in arms about the new movie 300, calling it part of “efforts to expose Persians as violent…a US political plot implemented through Hollywood and the Warner Bros. company.” The movie rather fantastically re-creates (and some say revises) the tale of 300 Spartan warriors led by the ancient King Leonidas who fought off a massive horde of Persian warriors under King Xerxes, giving Greece time for a counterattack.

A new report by Media Matters for America claims that Sunday morning talk shows are “still dominated” by conservatives. Among the report’s claims are: * Only one show, ABC’s “This Week,” has been roughly balanced between both sides overall since the congressional majority switched hands in the 2006 midterm elections.* NBC’s “Meet the Press” and CBS’ “Face the Nation” have provided less balance between Republican and Democratic officials than Fox Broadcasting Co.’s “Fox News Sunday” despite the fact that “Fox News Sunday” remains the most unbalanced broadcast overall both before and after the election.* During the 109th Congress (2005 and 2006), Republicans and conservatives held the advantage on every show, in every category measured.

“New York Times” poetry critic David Orr posted a response taking “The New Yorker” to task over an article about The Poetry Foundation, in which Dana Goodyear and various poets allegedly lambasted the foundation as a “a culturally conservative, slightly tacky enterprise.” He calls some of the criticism “incoherent.” For the full read of this “New Yorker”/”New York Times” smackdown, go to http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/11/books/review/Orr.t.html

Environmental consciousness is slipping into Hollywood’s mainstream… this time, the wronged planet is the victim and the villains are, you guessed it, human beings. A diverse series of movies will tackle environmental themes, including M. Night Shyamalan’s The Happening, The Simpsons Movie, Transformers, a remake of Creature From the Black Lagoon, and James Cameron’s Avatar. And you thought Swamp Thing was scary.

U.S. Cellular introduce a Friday ban on emails…sick of his full inbox, U.S. Cellular’s president Jay Ellison announced a ban on emails on Fridays. Ellison sent out a memo that read, “”Get out to meet your teams face-to-face. Pick up the phone and give someone a call. … I look forward to not hearing from any of you, but stop by as often as you like.” Apparently, the policy was a success, leading to deeper working relationships and correct gender addressing of people with unisex names.

Television host and vocal stylist Regis Philbin announced that he’s going in for triple bypass surgery. Letterman bit back by saying, “You know what that means…facelift.”

Comedian Richard Jeni, a regular on the Tonight Show, shot himself in the face, and later died. The funny man was only 49 years old. His movie credits included The Mask, The Aristocrats, and An Alan Smithee Film: Burn, Hollywood, Burn.