IBT Staff Reporter

Colin Firth has signed on to star as Ron Lax, the private investigator whose detective work helped get three men who had been convicted of murder released from prison in Arkansas, the producers of the Devil's Knot told TheWrap Wednesday.

Qualcomm Inc's quarterly profit easily beat Wall Street forecasts and the wireless chip leader raised its full-year financial targets due to growing demand for smartphones such as Apple Inc's popular iPhone.

Qualcomm Inc's quarterly profit easily beat Wall Street forecasts and the wireless chip leader raised its full-year financial targets due to growing demand for smartphones such as Apple Inc's popular iPhone.

Kristen Wiig will present Judd Apatow with an award for comedy writing at the 2012 Writers Guild of America's East Coast Awards show, the WGA East announced on Wednesday.

Showtime gave the green light to new seasons of its Sunday night series Shameless, Californication and its new offering House of Lies on Tuesday, with production of the series to begin later this year.

Endgame Entertainment and 1984 Private Defense Contractors have agreed to finance Steven Soderbergh's Bitter Pill, the companies said Tuesday.

CBS President and Chief Executive Officer Les Moonves testified that the network would have paid millions more than NBC for the TV rights for the Golden Globe Awards.

Don Cornelius, creator of the iconic TV music and dance show Soul Train that helped introduce Americans to black pop culture, died on Wednesday after shooting himself in the head, Los Angeles officials said.

A former Los Angeles area teacher accused of taking bondage-style photos of students, some with cockroaches on their faces, was ordered held on $23 million bail on Wednesday as authorities said more possible victims had come forward.

Sony Pictures Classics has picked up North American, Latin American and Eastern European rights to Jacques Audiard's Rust and Bone, the company said Wednesday.

Eastman Kodak eased away from the Hollywood spotlight on Wednesday, asking to have its name removed from the theater that hosts the Oscars.

Mexico's competition watchdog blocked a $1.6 billion telecoms deal that would have linked the empires of two of the country's richest men, sources briefed on the ruling said on Wednesday.

Kevin Bacon is now zero degrees of separation from Kevin Williamson.

Yum Brand Inc's Taco Bell chain has been linked to a Salmonella outbreak that sickened 68 people in 10 states late last year.

It may be time for Madison Avenue to reconsider all those car and beer ads run during the Super Bowl.

Electronic Arts' told investors on Wednesday that its highly anticipated Star Wars game was off to a strong start and dismissed reports that players were leaving the new Internet game in droves, and its shares rose 6 percent after the market closed.

Electronic Arts' told investors on Wednesday that its highly anticipated Star Wars game was off to a strong start and dismissed reports that players were leaving the new Internet game in droves, and its shares rose 6 percent after the market closed.

Lawmakers are considering a bid to force President Barack Obama's administration to blacklist Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in an effort to thwart Tehran's nuclear capabilities, a congressional aide said on Wednesday.

JPMorgan Chase & Co has agreed to drop almost all of a $710 million claim against Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc's bankruptcy estate, freeing up more money to be distributed to creditors, Lehman said on Wednesday.

Manufacturing growth accelerated in January to its highest level in seven months, though a measure of employment faded and private-sector employers added fewer jobs than expected, data showed on Wednesday.

Lawmakers are considering a bid to force President Barack Obama's administration to blacklist Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in an effort to thwart Tehran's nuclear capabilities, a congressional aide said on Wednesday.

JPMorgan Chase & Co has agreed to drop almost all of a $710 million claim against Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc's bankruptcy estate, freeing up more money to be distributed to creditors, Lehman said on Wednesday.

At least 75 people were killed and scores of others were grievously injured when fans went berserk at the Egyptian capital's Port Said Stadium following the home team's surprise win over one of the country's most popular clubs. The death toll is likely to rise further.

Factory activity rose in China, the United States and Germany in January, and the three manufacturing superpowers drove gains in global output even as Europe struggles with fallout from its festering debt crisis.

GT Advanced Technologies posted quarterly profit above analysts' estimates for the ninth time in a row, partly helped by better performance at its polysilicon segment, but it cut the upper end of its full-year earnings outlook.

Facebook filed on Wednesday to raise a targeted $5 billion in a hotly anticipated initial public offering, setting the stage for Silicon Valley's biggest-ever IPO.

Business software company Open Text posted a 28 percent jump in second-quarter profit on Wednesday on solid demand from services, technology and financial customers.

AMR Corp, the parent of bankrupt American Airlines, wants to slash 13,000 jobs and terminate employee pension plans as part of a cost-cutting strategy the carrier says is necessary to compete with rivals.

Business software company Open Text posted a 28 percent jump in second-quarter profit on Wednesday on solid demand from services, technology and financial customers.