BOOKED Hollywood paparazzo Eric Ford was arrested Thursday for illegally eavesdropping on an angry phone conversation between Ubercouple Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman in February. Ford, who tapped into the conversation by scanner, sold his tale of the tiff to two tabloids: the Globe, and London's News of the World. He is being charged with the federal crime of illegally intercepting a wire communication, and for selling the info, and could face up to 15 years in prison.

BIG DEAL Seagram Co. officially bought Polygram Holdings yesterday for $10.4 billion. In the creation of this enormous entertainment conglomerate encompassing music, film, TV, and video, thousands of jobs may be lost. The Universal Music Group, which already encompassed the Geffen, MCA, and Interscope labels, among others, and will now account for nearly 25 percent of all record sales, will see the most damage, reportedly laying off around 3,000 employees. Most of the casualties will come from Polygram, which runs Hollywood, A&M, and Mercury Records. Plus, the New York Times reports that as many as 200 bands may have their contracts canceled.

TV SHUFFLES UPN has picked up the sitcom "Between Brothers" (which had been canceled last year by Fox) and will air it on Tuesdays at 9:30 p.m., starting Jan. 19. "Brothers" has an African-American cast, which is a sign that UPN is returning to its old goal of targeting black audiences that it unsuccessfully abandoned this season.... ABC is moving its struggling comedy-drama "Cupid" to Thursdays at 9 p.m. (opposite "Frasier") beginning Jan. 7. While in years past it would have been scheduling suicide to put an unproven show up against NBC's Must See lineup, "Frasier" is showing signs of weakness, and ABC is hoping that the critically acclaimed show will attract the young women who seem to be changing channels after "Friends."

DEVELOPMENTS David E. Kelley, the guru of "The Practice" and "Ally McBeal," is developing a new drama for ABC next fall about high-tech detectives. Maybe they're spying on Ally's coed bathroom right now.... Whit Stillman ("The Last Days of Disco") is venturing far from his usual WASP terrain in his next project: He's signed to adapt Anchee Min's memoir "Red Azalea," which chronicles the Chinese actress' youth during Chairman Mao's regime, when she was sent to a labor camp.

SELLING John Lennon is giving pitching a chance, 18 years after his death. Thanks to technically altered footage of his bed-ins with Yoko Ono, he now appears to be hawking cell phones in a British TV ad. Ono gave permission to use the images, but insists her payment went to a charity in England.

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