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The made-in-Atlanta "Stomp the Yard" may be about black fraternity brotherhood and the campus tradition of steppin', but at least one large Greek-letter organization made a concerted effort not to be a part of the film.

Alpha Phi Alpha, the oldest African-American fraternity, lobbied local filmmakers Will Packer and Rob Hardy, both members of the fraternity, to remove the organization's trademark symbols from the movie. Extras in the film had worn clothes with the fraternity's symbols, but those have now been digitally removed from the movie.

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Bill Nighy as Davy Jones in 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.'
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"The fraternity prefers not to be associated with a movie that juxtaposes gang activity with that of black Greek life," fraternity General President Darryl R. Matthews Sr. wrote in a November letter to the filmmakers and their distributor, Sony's Screen Gems.

Packer and Hardy then had the fraternity's symbols digitally removed.

"It's something we did without legal compulsion. It was just a courtesy," Packer says, adding he was disappointed that his fraternity chose not to associate with what he feels is ultimately a positive depiction.

After the physical changes were made, Alpha Phi Alpha issued another letter in late December that stated, in part, "After several weeks of meaningful and productive discussions with the executive leaders of Sony and Screen Gems, the film has been revised to the satisfaction of the fraternity."

"PIRATES" NAMED DVD TREASURE: The Los Angeles-based Digital Entertainment Group has named "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" the best theatrical DVD of 2006. Among the group's other winners, announced at the Las Vegas International Consumer Electronics Show:

• Best catalog DVD: "Superman: The Ultimate Collection"

• Best TV DVD: "The Twilight Zone: The Complete Definitive Collection"

• Best direct-to-DVD: "Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (Special Edition)"

• Best music DVD: "Neil Young: Heart of Gold"

• Best Blu-ray Disc: "Black Hawk Down"

• Best HD DVD: "Batman Begins"

DEG reports that 12.5 million HDTVs were bought by American consumers in 2006, while some 750,000 hi-def players (including Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD) and game consoles were sold last year.

Those numbers still pale in comparison to total DVD penetration, which resulted in $32.66 million in traditional DVD hardware sales last year. U.S. consumers spent $24.1 billion on DVD sales and rentals in 2006, the highest total ever.

MAKEUP GOLD: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has short-listed the seven films eligible for the best makeup Oscar: "Apocalypto," "Click," "Pan's Labyrinth," "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," "The Prestige," "The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause" and "X-Men the Last Stand."

On Jan. 20, the Academy's nominating committee for the makeup award will screen 10-minute excerpts from each film and winnow the list down to three eligible for the trophy. (Mojo's favorites are "Labyrinth" and "Pirates.") Oscar nominations will be announced at 8:30 a.m. Jan. 23.

LINE LESSONS: Most people don't go to movies for wisdom. But the folks at Reel Life Wisdom blog spot have assembled what they believe are 10 of the smartest lines about moving ahead through this world from movies of 2006.

They include "The Departed" ("I don't want to be a product of my environment. I want my environment to be a product of me") and "A Prairie Home Companion" ("Every show's your last show. That's my philosophy").

To see all the quotes: www.ReelLifeWisdom.com.

REARING "CHILDREN": A fan of Alfonso Cuarón's "Children of Men" — one of Mojo's faves of 2006, and a shameful omission from the Directors Guild of America's list of five best films — is trying to spread some love for the drama, aimed at Oscar voters. A handmade YouTube.com trailer features some eye-popping clips from the movie, as well as raves from national reviews. (One of them is from AJC critic Bob Longino.)

To see it yourself: www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lfs1UIKALQ