Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check

The Airlines:

Charging for carry-on bags is just the beginning. Reclining seats are a thing of the past on Spirit Air, the airline that's begun charging you for carry-on luggage.
   The airline says non-reclining seats weigh less and therefore burn less fuel plus they require less maintenance, all of which saves them money. They're installing the seats as we speak.
   Oh, they don't call them non-reclining but "pre-reclining." The seats come with a 30-degree pitch.
   Editor's note: Now that could be a reason to fly on Spirit (they're based out of Florida). Besides the 300-pounder taking up half my seat from the side, you've got the toad in front of you who reclines right into your lap. (So I just sneeze on his head.)
    --Wait'll next week when they introduce the next cost-cutting policy: The captain asking passengers to chip in for gas. (Maiman)

Looking for love in all the wrong places:

A Connecticut man has been arrested after posting a fake ad for group sex on Craigslist on behalf of his next-door neighbor.
   PHILIP CONRAN was charged with harassment and reckless endangerment after writing an ad titled "looking for lust" in the casual encounters section of the site and listing neighbor TERRY SHARP's address.
   According to the Smoking Gun, the ad was purportedly written by a "West Hartford soccer mom" who claimed to want to have sex with as many men as possible. Within two hours of posting the ad, 12 men showed up at Sharp's house.
   Yesterday's arrest makes Conran the second person to be busted in connection with the scheme. Authorities also took 29-year-old personal trainer RICHARD ZEH into custody after he turned up at the wrong house and reportedly sexually assaulted the 18-year-old inhabitant. Police say that Zeh interpreted the girl's protests as "playing hard to get" and even returned to the house after leaving and heading to Sharp's home.
   According to court documents, Zeh "acknowledged that the button on his shorts had 'fallen off'" and that his privates "could have been sticking out of his pants" when he returned to the first address.
   Conran is currently free on $75-thousand bail, and Zeh is being held on $250-thousand bail. (Maiman)

Broadcast, cable and video news:

Huge first day sales yesterday for "Avatar," the biggest selling movie ever. And that's just the 2D version of the flick, since TVs aren't made for 3D yet. The blockbuster sold a reported 1.5 million copies in the Blu-ray format and early estimates say JAMES CAMERON's flick sold another 2.5 million DVDs as well, which makes "Avatar" on track to become the year's top-selling release.
   So far, "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" is the year's best-selling disc, after selling 4 million units in its first two days alone. It's sold 6.5 million copies on DVD and Blu-ray to date.

Stars and their movies:

DJ AM is dead, but that won't stop him from appearing in "Iron Man 2." Director JON FAVREAU told the Los Angeles Times that ADAM GOLDSTEIN is in a party scene behind the turntables and the film's star ROBERT DOWNEY JR. says, "Adam, I need a fat beat." Rather than chop the footage out of the movie, Jon said he asked Adam's family if he could keep it in as a tribute to the club DJ who died from an accidental drug overdose. The end credits will also include a dedication to DJ AM. (Marino)

The Reel Deal:

Look for HELEN MIRREN to star opposite RUSSELL BRAND in Warner Brothers' upcoming remake of the DUDLEY MOORE film, "Arthur." Daily Variety magazine says the Oscar-winner will play his longtime nanny, instead of the butler played by Sir JOHN GIELGUD in the original, 1981 comedy.

Daily Variety magazine says there'll be a remake of the classic KURT RUSSELL film, "Escape From New York," and New Line Cinema already has a director in mind. JOHN CARPENTER did the original film in 1981, in which Russell's character, "Snake" Plissken, tries to save the President following the crash of Air Force One in gang-ruled Manhattan.