AP - John McCain told David Letterman that "I screwed up" by canceling a "Late Show" appearance three weeks ago, then faced a sharp round of questioning about Sarah Palin and his campaign tactics.

E! Online - • Steve Carell's got a Napoleon complex. The Get Smart star is dumbing down to play the title character in The Adventures of Brigadier Gerard, per Variety. The comedy (what else?) centers on a Clouseau-like buffoon in the French army during the Napoleonic Wars and is written by the guys behind Blades of Glory and inspired by stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

E! Online - • Amy Adams is ready to enchant screens again, targeting the rom-com Leap Year as her next flick, per the Hollywood Reporter. She plays a woman who travels to Dublin to propose to her beau on Leap Day, Feb. 29, only to have things go horribly wrong.

AP - A judge in Los Angeles has ordered a former friend of Rodney Dangerfield not to distribute video footage of the late comedian taken during the final years of his life.

AP - A witness at Phil Spector's murder retrial will be allowed to testify that the record producer used incendiary language about women and once stated that they should be shot, a judge has ruled.

AP - Late-night TV show hosts found humor in the presidential campaign. A sampling from Thursday night:

Reuters - Paramount Pictures is fiddling with its holiday release plans at the eleventh hour, delaying the wide release of true-life drama "The Soloist," starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Foxx, and the Daniel Craig-toplined Nazi escape film "Defiance" until the first quarter.

Reuters - Colombian pop star Juanes was the big winner at the 2008 MTV Latin America awards on Thursday, scooping up four trophies to add to his ballooning collection as one of the region's best-selling artists.

AP - It was "Born to Run" meets "New York State of Mind" — with a little bit of "Hail to the Chief" thrown in for good measure.