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Morning News

Robert Downey, Jr., in Court Today

Aired December 27, 2000 - 11:01 a.m. ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to start with legal issues in this hour, as we await the arraignment, this hour, for actor Robert Downey, Jr.

He is charged with two felony drug counts and a misdemeanor.

Our Paul Vercammen is standing by outside the courthouse in Indio, California, very close to Palm Springs.

Paul, good morning once again.

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.

It's a bit frenzied here right now. If you look way behind me, you can see the front of the courthouse: That's courtroom 1A there. It's just jammed with members of the media and other onlookers.

Robert Downey, Jr., has entered that courthouse facility, although I don't believe the courtroom yet. His attorneys -- three of them, in fact -- arrived separately, and we're now just awaiting the beginning of his arraignment, momentarily.

Now, what is it that brought Robert Downey, Jr., here in the first place? Well, over Thanksgiving weekend, you mentioned the fact, Daryn, that he was, basically, charged by prosecutors of the two felonies: That was possession of cocaine and possession of methamphetamine, and being over the influence of a controlled substance.

He was found alone in a hotel room. This came after an anonymous 911 call, or a tip.

Today, when he enters the courtroom, he's expected to go before Judge B.J. Bjork and enter a plea in this arraignment. Also, they expected a pre-trial hearing date will be set.

Now, we think the prosecutor will talk to all of us after this arraignment. Also, Downey's attorneys may break their silence.

It's been a topsy-turvy time for Downey. Just last week, you may recall, he was nominated for a Golden Globe after re-jumping his career, restarting his career on "Ally McBeal." So Downey now finds himself, in one week, back in court and being a Golden Globe nominee -- the irony of Hollywood. Daryn, back to you.

KAGAN: Well, Paul, speaking of Hollywood, he appears to be a very respected man as an actor in that town, but after you watch his career off the screen, you have to wonder how many chances can one man get?

VERCAMMEN: Absolutely, I mean, he is considered a risk by many people who would employ him -- also though, he is considered a great actor, and he's forged a lot of alliances and friendships in Hollywood. He's got such a long list of films: He's been in movies with everyone from Annette Bening to Mel Gibson.

And Gibson is one of those guys that want to put Robert Downey in a stage version of Hamlet: It was going to be in January; they tell me now that that protect is still on, and this live theater version of Hamlet, directed by Mel Gibson and starring Robert Downey, Jr., is set for sometime in March.

So they've been meeting about that, according to both of their publicists, and that project has not been shelved entirely. So Downey still has a lot of contacts in Hollywood, and it's not that they're completely stepping away from him.

KAGAN: Paul Vercammen in Indio, California, we expect that arraignment to begin within the hour -- and as Paul mentioned, when it happens, you will see it live here on CNN.

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