ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT REPORTS FROM THE TIMES, NEWS SERVICES AND THE NATION’S PRESS.

POP/ROCK

Madonna Wedding Confirmed: It looks like Madonna will indeed marry British director Guy Ritchie in Scotland on Dec. 22 as has been speculated. The registrar in Dornoch, a northern Scottish town famous for its sandy beaches and spectacular mountainous scenery, published an official proclamation Thursday listing the couple’s intended marriage. The notice, required for all Scottish weddings, read that Guy Stuart Ritchie would marry Madonna Louise Ciccone on Dec. 22. It provided no further details, inviting speculation as to whether the nuptials would be in the 13th century Dornoch Cathedral or at Skibo Castle, with its 7,500 acres of private grounds. A New York-based spokeswoman for the pop star refused comment. Business owners in the town of 2,500 people said the announcement of Madonna’s wedding already was attracting customers. Some hotels that normally close during the quiet winter season planned to open. Others said they were already full.

MOVIES & TV

Could Oscar Be Shared?: In an unusual twist on the annual jockeying for Oscar nominations, Paramount Classics is launching an ad campaign in the Hollywood trades asking Academy Award voters to consider “Sunshine” stars Rosemary Harris and Jennifer Ehle for a shared best supporting actress nomination. The actresses--mother and daughter in real life--play a family matriarch in older and younger stages of life. A spokesman for the film--which was named Wednesday as one of the year’s 10 best by the National Board of Review--noted that some movie critics had already suggested that the duo could share acting honors. Though there’s no known incidence of a previous shared nomination, Paramount Classics, the spokesman said, has talked to the film academy about the issue “and they haven’t said, ‘No,’ so it’s up to the acting branch when they do the nominations.” In a further Oscar bid, meanwhile, “Sunshine,” originally released in June and also starring Ralph Fiennes, reopens tonight at Laemmle’s Music Hall.

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Downey’s Legal Strategy: Robert Downey Jr.’s attorney said late Wednesday that the actor will enter not-guilty pleas at his Dec. 27 arraignment on expected drug charges stemming from his arrest last month at a Palm Springs hotel. Attorney Robert Waters, who helped secure Downey’s release from prison on previous drug charges in August, also said that he has enlisted two additional lawyers--Daniel F. Brookman and Thomas Eckardt--to help keep the actor from going back to jail. “We intend to vigorously defend Robert against all the charges,” Waters said.

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PETA vs. Rosie: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has sued Rosie O’Donnell for defamation, claiming she said on her talk show that retailer the Gap uses leather approved by PETA. She was apparently referring to the Gap’s decision to stop using Indian and Chinese leather after a PETA campaign about alleged industry abuses in those countries. “There’s no such thing as PETA-approved leather,” a spokeswoman for the animal rights group said. The lawsuit seeks an on-air retraction and $350,000 in damages. A show spokeswoman said she was unaware of the suit and could not comment. O’Donnell, meanwhile, will do a live Web chat Monday at 5 p.m., on the issue of child adoption. Questions for O’Donnell, who is doing the chat as part of National Adoption Month, can be submitted now on the site at https://discuss.washingtonpost.com/zforum/00/odonnel121100.htm.

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DGA Study: Ethnic directors of both film and television are still working only a small fraction of the time, according to a just-released study by the Directors Guild of America. The report found Latino film and television directors worked only 1.1% of the total days worked by guild directors in 1999, a significant decline from the 1.9% from the year before. The employment level among black directors of TV shows, meanwhile, hit its lowest employment level since 1990; last year, they worked just 2.4% of the total days worked by DGA directors in 1999, down from 6% in 1998. That decline “more than offset” the 4.2% increase in total days worked by black film directors, the report said. Only one statistic on female directors offered what the report called “some small hope in the overall dismal 1999 statistics”: Female directors of television programs worked 22.3% of the total days, up from 15.8% in 1998.

QUICK TAKES

Julie Andrews is scheduled to be at Pasadena’s Target store (777 E. Colorado Blvd.) on Sunday from 3:30 to 5 p.m. to promote her children’s books, “Dumpy the Dump Truck” and “Dumpy Goes to School.” . . . Bob Hope is releasing his vast library of TV specials on video over the Web at https://www.BobHopeVideos.com. Two specials are on sale now, but plans call for all 256 NBC specials featuring Hope to eventually be made available. . . . Director Wolfgang Petersen will do a Q&A; with the ticket-buying audience at tonight’s 7:30 p.m. showing of the re-release of “The Perfect Storm” at Burbank’s AMC Media Center 6.. . . NBC’s “Ed” drew an average of 12 million viewers in its new Wednesday 8 p.m. time slot this week, improving its November sweeps averages by 14%. . . . Director Robert Zemeckis (“Forrest Gump,” “Cast Away”) will receive the American Cinema Editors’ Golden Eddie Filmmaker of the Year Award on Feb. 25 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.