Pellicano: No apologies to those he spied on

Los Angeles — Hollywood private eye Anthony Pellicano said Tuesday he won’t apologize to the people he snooped on for his rich and famous clients but does takes responsibility for the investigative tactics that brought him a 15-year prison sentence.

In a phone interview from federal prison with The Associated Press, a cordial and relaxed Pellicano said he wasn’t surprised by the sentence he received Monday from U.S. District Judge Dale Fischer.

The 64-year-old said he got careless while spying on the rivals of his clients.

“I got a little careless, I regret that strongly,” Pellicano said. “Do I make apologies? No. I’m responsible for everything I’ve done.”

Prosecutors said the private eye ran a criminal enterprise that wiretapped stars such as Sylvester Stallone and bribed police officers to run names of people, including comedian Garry Shandling, through law enforcement databases.

Pellicano was convicted of a combined 78 counts, including wiretapping, racketeering and wire fraud, in two separate trials earlier this year.

Lynne Cheney plans Madison biography

New York — After eight years in Washington, Lynne Cheney plans to write about a politician she regards as “steady,” “reserved” and given to working “from behind the scenes.”

No, it’s not a memoir about her husband, Vice President Dick Cheney, but a biography of James Madison.

“I think of him as an intellectual and political genius,” she says during a recent interview. “It’s a rare combination.”

Cheney’s book, “Founding Genius: A Biography of James Madison,” will be published in 2011. Madison is a favorite of Cheney’s, dating back, she says, to her work in the 1980s on the Commission on the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution. Cheney sponsors an annual James Madison Book Award for historical writing for young people and has written several children’s best sellers about American history, including “A is for Abigail” and “When Washington Crossed the Delaware.”

Document: Peter Falk has Alzheimer’s

Los Angeles — A court document filed by Peter Falk’s daughter says the Emmy-winning actor is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.

Catherine Falk is seeking a court’s approval for a conservatorship of her 81-year-old father, who she claims no longer recognizes people. A hearing has been scheduled for late January.

Falk is familiar to most audiences as the star of the television series “Columbo,” for which he won four Emmys. He was also nominated twice for Academy Awards for movie roles in 1959 and 1960.

The petition filed Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court states Falk lives in Beverly Hills with his wife and recently had hip surgery and requires constant care.

A phone message left for Falk’s manager was not immediately returned Tuesday.

ABC loses Winfrey’s Harpo Films to HBO

New York — After a 15-year relationship with ABC, Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Films announced Tuesday that it was not renewing its deal with the broadcast network and would instead partner with HBO on scripted television series and films.

Harpo Films President Kate Forte said the move would allow the company, which produced the “Oprah Winfrey Presents” movies for ABC, to expand its repertoire.

“ABC was always incredibly supportive of us,” she said. “It’s much more about the opportunity that HBO affords us. There are natural limitations to being on network television, and that is certainly ratings-driven and commercial sponsorship, which HBO is not concerned with. … The measure of success for them is quality.”

Winfrey’s most recent project for ABC was the movie “Mitch Albom’s For One More Day,” which aired last year. Her movie starring Halle Berry, “Their Eyes Were Watching God,” was the most-watched television movie in six years at the time of its 2005 airing on ABC.

Directors Guild grants Ebert life membership

Los Angeles — Roger Ebert is becoming an honorary life member of the Directors Guild of America.

The announcement Tuesday from the top union representing Hollywood filmmakers says Ebert is receiving the honor at the guild’s Jan. 31 awards dinner.

“From the blockbuster to the tiny independent film, Roger Ebert has devoted his career to sharing his love of film with generations of moviegoers,” says guild President Michael Apted. “In doing so, he’s kept directors on their toes for more than 40 years.”

The Pulitzer Prize-winning critic for the Chicago Sun-Times has been host of TV’s “At the Movies” with Chicago colleagues Gene Siskel and later Richard Roeper.

The 66-year-old Ebert has battled cancer and undergone surgery that has left him unable to speak, but he continues to write film reviews.

Lil Wayne accused of copyright infringement

New Orleans — Lawyers for rapper Lil Wayne are seeking more time to turn over documents in response to a lawsuit that accuses the award-winning recording artist of copyright infringement.

A federal lawsuit filed in May claims Lil Wayne didn’t have permission to sample a song by singer Karma-Ann Swanepoel.

The suit says Lil Wayne’s record label, Cash Money Records, tried but failed to negotiate a license to use Swanepoel’s song “Once” before millions of people downloaded the rapper’s song “I Feel Like Dying.”