Digest

Putting each other in the hot seat

By TIMES STAFF and TIMES WIRES
Published January 10, 2007

Bill O'Reilly and Stephen Colbert, who has essentially based his Comedy Central Colbert Report character on the Fox News Channel host, will trade appearances on each other's programs Jan. 18. "I'm really looking forward to speaking to a man who owes his entire career to me," O'Reilly said in an Associated Press report. "I look forward to the evening," Colbert said. "It is an honor to speak face-to-face with a broadcasting legend, and I feel the same way about Mr. O'Reilly."

Adopting a new policy

Angelina Jolie, the mother of two adopted kids, is trying desperately to pull her foot out of her mouth after insulting Madonna in a French magazine over the latter's attempts to adopt a boy from Malawi. "Madonna knew the situation in Malawi, where he was born. In that country, there isn't really a legal framework for adopting. Personally, I prefer to stay on the side of the law," a French magazine reported Jolie as saying. But People magazine came back with a statement from Jolie saying she never meant to criticize and that "the article included many falsehoods." Jolie went on to say in the statement that she is "horrified" by the attacks made on Madonna about her adoption effort. "All that should count is the happiness of her little David."

The directors' choice

The Departed director Martin Scorsese got his seventh nomination for a Directors Guild of America Award on Tuesday, while the directors of four other films received their first. The other nominees for the award, being presented Feb. 3, were Bill Condon for Dreamgirls, Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris for Little Miss Sunshine, Stephen Frears for The Queen and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu for Babel. The prize has served as a barometer for the Academy Awards; 52 out of 58 winners have gone on to win the best-director Oscar.

Paris enters DUI plea

Paris Hilton pleaded not guilty Tuesday to misdemeanor drunken driving charges following her arrest last fall for allegedly weaving around a Hollywood street in her Mercedes-Benz. Hilton, 25, wasn't required to be in Los Angeles Superior Court. Her attorney entered the pleas on her behalf to driving under the influence and driving with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 or above, the AP reported. Judge Michael T. Sauer said the case must go to trial by Feb. 23. Hilton has said she drank only a single margarita at a charity event that evening. Police said she appeared intoxicated and failed a field sobriety test. Her publicist said she had a blood alcohol level of 0.08 percent.

No 'Jeopardy!' double

St. Petersburg native Jeremy Rasmussen won $28,001 on Jeopardy! on Friday, asking the right questions about poison, sheeps' hoofs and professional football. On Monday, he was bested by another contestant. Rasmussen, 39, lives in Lutz. A computer engineer with the Sypris Co. in Tampa, he occasionally writes about high school sports for the St. Petersburg Times' Tampa editions. Rasmussen is the son of Ron and Sherry Rasmussen of Pinellas Park. Sherry Rasmussen said the show was taped a couple of months ago, but contestants had to keep the results confidential until they were broadcast. The game show airs at 7:30 p.m. weekdays on WTSP-Ch. 10.

Mary Jane Park, Times staff writer

[Last modified January 10, 2007, 01:04:40]