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Report: Conan and NBC ink $44M exit pact

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 21 (UPI) -- U.S. talk show host Conan O'Brien signed a $44 million deal early Thursday to leave NBC, a source close to the situation told The Wall Street Journal.

O'Brien, 46, is believed to be getting $32 million, while about $12 million will go toward severance packages for his staff, the Journal said.

"In the end, Conan was appreciative of the steps NBC made to take care of his staff and crew, and decided to supplement the severance they were getting out of his own pocket," Gavin Polone, O'Brien's manager, told the newspaper. "Now he just wants to get back on the air as quickly as possible."

The contract is said to include a clause preventing O'Brien from appearing on other shows or starring in a new one of his own for a specific period of time, although the length of that time is currently unknown, the Journal said.

NBC ousted beloved host Jay Leno as "The Tonight Show" host at the end of last season and gave the position to O'Brien to keep O'Brien from moving to another network. NBC then gave Leno his own nightly, hour-long, 10 p.m. chat series, "The Jay Leno Show." When the prime-time series failed to be a strong lead-in for local news broadcasts, however, NBC announced it would push Leno's show back to 11:35 p.m., shorten it to 30 minutes and air "Tonight" at 12:05 a.m.

However, O'Brien said last week he will not remain on "Tonight" if it is moved to 12:05 a.m. and had been locked in intense negotiations with the network since.

'Avatar,' 'Locker' up for best film BAFTA

LONDON, Jan. 21 (UPI) -- "Avatar," "An Education," "The Hurt Locker," "Precious" and "Up in the Air" have been nominated for the Orange British Academy Film Award for best picture.

In the running for the best director BAFTA are James Cameron for "Avatar," Neill Blomkamp for "District 9," Lone Scherfig for "An Education," Kathryn Bigelow for "The Hurt Locker" and Quentin Tarantino for "Inglourious Basterds."

The nominees for the leading actor prize are Jeff Bridges for "Crazy Heart," George Clooney for "Up in the Air," Colin Firth for "A Single Man," Jeremy Renner for "The Hurt Locker" and Andy Serkis for "Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll."

Shortlisted in the leading actress category are Carey Mulligan for "An Education," Saoirse Ronan for "The Lovely Bones," Gabourey Sidibe for "Precious," Meryl Streep for "Julie and Julia" and Audrey Tautou for "Coco Before Chanel."

Nominated in the supporting actor race are Alec Baldwin for "It's Complicated," Christian McKay for "Me and Orson Welles," Alfred Molina for "An Education," Stanley Tucci for "The Lovely Bones" and Christoph Waltz for "Inglourious Basterds."

Vying for the supporting actress statuette are Anne-Marie Duff for "Nowhere Boy," Vera Farmiga and

Anna Kendrick for "Up in the Air," Mo'Nique for "Precious" and Kristin Scott Thomas for "Nowhere Boy."

Competing for the title of best British film are "An Education," "Fish Tank," "In the Loop," "Moon" and "Nowhere Boy."

The winners are to be announced Feb. 21 at a ceremony in London.

Reid and Axtmann get engaged

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 21 (UPI) -- Tara Reid's publicist has confirmed the U.S. actress is engaged to marry her Internet entrepreneur beau, Michael Axtmann.

"Michael surprised Tara with a beautiful round brilliant cut ring (over dinner in Los Angeles Monday night)," Reid's representative told People magazine exclusively. "Tara was so happy, and the other patrons clapped and yelled out, 'Congratulations.'"

Reid, 34, has appeared in the movies "American Pie" and "Dr. T and the Women." She will soon be seen again on the big screen in the comedy "Last Call" and the psychological thriller "The Fields," People.com noted.

'TiK ToK' still No. 1 on U.S. record chart

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 21 (UPI) -- Ke$ha's "TiK ToK" is No. 1 on the U.S. record chart for a fifth consecutive week, Billboard.com reported Thursday.

Coming in at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 is Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance," followed by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys's "Empire State of Mind" at No. 3, Young Money's "BedRock" featuring Lloyd at No. 4 and Iyaz's "Replay" at No. 5.

Rounding out the top tier are David Guetta's "Sexy Chick" featuring Akon at No. 6, Train's "Hey, Soul Sister" at No. 7, Rihanna's "Hard" featuring Jeezy at No. 8, Owl City's "Fireflies" at No. 9 and Ludacris' "How Low" at No. 10.