Paul McCartney ‘not retiring’
Sir Paul McCartney has slammed reports his next tour in 2010 will be his last.
The Beatles legend was reportedly in negotiations to set up a series of concerts across the globe to mark his retirement from the road.
He was scheduling stops at China's famous Tiananmen Square and Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin, Germany - the famous crossing point of the Berlin Wall when the country was divided during the Cold War - on the route next year, according to the tabloid rumours.
But McCartney has hit back at the claims, insisting he plans to play live for as long as he can.
He says, "All I can say is that I'm not retiring. It's like 'Paul is dead'. 'No, I'm not,' is all I could say. I did talk about retirement in one sentence in one story and only to say 'No way, Jose.' But someone must have only read part of that one sentence.
"As long as people want to come and hear me, I’ll probably be doing this. It's just so easy to start rumours."
Passchendaele leads directors guild award nominations
Paul Gross's Canadian war epic Passchendaele has received five nominations for the Directors Guild of Canada Awards, including best feature and best direction.
Gross wrote, directed and starred in the movie about the Canadian experience during the First World War.
Deepa Mehta's Heaven on Earth, Gary Yates's marijuana comedy High Life and Michael McGowan's road movie One Week also are nominated for best feature, the DGA said Tuesday.
Heaven on Earth, about an abused Indian bride living in Canada, also earned a nod for sound editing.
Gross is vying for the best director's honour with Kari Skogland for Fifty Dead Men Walking, Patricia Rozema for Kit Kittredge: An American Girl and McGowan for One Week.
Fifty Dead Men Walking, which just had its commercial release, is about a man recruited by the British to spy on the Irish Republican Army during the so-called Troubles in Northern Ireland.
Documentaries to be recognized include The Most Interesting Group of People You'll Ever Meet by John Houston, Air India 182 by Sturla Gunnarsson, Malls R Us by Helene Klodawsky and Prom Night in Mississippi by Paul Saltzman.
CBC's The Border has a total of four nominations in the television drama categories, including best drama.
Other CBC productions to get nominations include Little Mosque on the Prairie for best comedy, Booky's Crush for best family TV film and Heartland for best family series.
Murdoch Mysteries, Flashpoint and Capture of the Green River Killer also have multiple nominations.
The awards will be handed out Oct. 24 at a gala hosted by comedian Shaun Majumder in Toronto.
Fox confirms Paula Abdul is leaving 'American Idol'
Paula Abdul has announced on her Twitter feed, and Fox has confirmed to Entertainment Weekly, that she will not return to American Idol for another season.
Here is the full statement from Abdul:
“With sadness in my heart, I’ve decided not to return to IDOL. I’ll miss nurturing all the new talent, but most of all being a part of a show that I helped from day 1 become an international phenomenon. What I want to say most, is how much I appreciate the undying support and enormous love that you have showered upon me. It truly has been breathtaking, especially over the past month. I do without any doubt have the BEST fans in the entire world and I love you all.”
Here is the full statement from Fox:
“Paula Abdul has been an important part of the American Idol family over the last eight seasons and we are saddened that she has decided not to return to the show. While Paula will not be continuing with us, she’s a tremendous talent and we wish her the best.”
Beyonce, Lady GaGa, Britney Dominate MTV VMA Noms
Pop stars Beyonce and Lady Gaga on Tuesday each earned nine nominations for next month's MTV Video Music Awards, more than any other artist, while Britney Spears continued her musical comeback with seven nods.
All three will compete for the honor of video of the year, with Beyonce earning a bid for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It), Lady Gaga for "Poker Face" and Britney Spears for "Womanizer."
They square off against rappers Kanye West with "Love Lockdown" and Eminem for "We Made You" in the video of the year race. Honors will be given out at New York's Radio City Music Hall on September 13 in a show hosted by British prankster Russell Brand.
Beyonce has enjoyed a hugely successful solo career since leaving the all-female group "Destiny's Child." Her third solo album, "I Am ... Sasha Fierce," had the No. 1 hit "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)."
"I've been blessed this year to have 'Single Ladies' become a video people really connected with and responded to," Beyonce said in a statement released by MTV.
The annual awards are one of the cable TV channel's most-watched programs, as much for the celebrity antics and performances as the awards themselves.
At the height of Spears' early career in 2003, she and Madonna famously kissed on the show. Later her personal life veered out of control and her father took control of her business affairs. But recently she has rebounded.
Spears is currently on tour and her video for the song "Circus" was nominated for best choreography.
New Yorker Lady Gaga's 2008 debut album, "The Fame," included the hit single "Just Dance" and was among the top five CDs in countries including the United States, Britain and Germany.
"Poker Face" earned Lady Gaga not only a video of the year nomination but also a nod for best female video, a category that pits her against Katy Perry with "Hot N Cold," Beyonce with "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)," Kelly Clarkson with "My Life Would Suck Without You," Taylor Swift with "You Belong With Me" and Pink with "So What."
Lady Gaga thanked MTV "for being our video flagship, and for supporting this bunch of inspired kids, who love to get wasted and make art, together."
Eminem ("We Made You") and Kanye West ("Love Lockdown") will square off in the best male video category against hip hop star Jay-Z with "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)," rapper T.I. (featuring Rihanna) with his "Live Your Life" and Ne-Yo with "Miss Independent."
First-time nominees include U.S. rockers Kings of Leon as well as rappers Drake and Asher Roth. Both rappers were nominated in the best new artist category.
Other categories include best hip hop video, best pop video and best rock video.
'G.I. Joe' not screening for most critics
LOS ANGELES - It's the biggest movie of the summer that practically no one has seen.
"G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" opens Friday, but Paramount Pictures isn't screening the blockbuster for critics beforehand. Only a select few writers from blogs and movie Web sites have seen it for review - such as Harry Knowles, the self-professed "Head Geek" from Ain't It Cool News - and their opinions have been mostly positive.
Instead, the studio says it's intentionally aiming the movie at the heartland, at cities and audiences outside the entertainment vortexes of New York and Los Angeles. Paramount held a screening Friday for 1,000 military service members and their families at Andrews Air Force Base; it's also focusing marketing efforts in places like Kansas City, Charlotte, N.C., and Columbus, Ohio.
While appealing to a sense of patriotism nationwide, the plan also is inspired by the disparity that existed between the critical trashing "Transformers: Rise of the Fallen" received and the massive crowds it drew at the box office.
"'G.I. Joe' is a big, fun, summer event movie - one that we've seen audiences enjoy everywhere from Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland to Phoenix, Ariz.," said Rob Moore, vice chairman of Paramount Pictures. "After the chasm we experienced with 'Transformers 2' between the response of audiences and critics, we chose to forgo opening-day print and broadcast reviews as a strategy to promote 'G.I. Joe.' We want audiences to define this film."
With a reported production budget of $175 million and a cast that includes Dennis Quaid, Channing Tatum, Sienna Miller, Marlon Wayans and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, "G.I. Joe" follows the adventures of an elite team using high-tech spy and military equipment to take down a corrupt arms dealer. It comes from director Stephen Sommers, whose previous films include "The Mummy" and "Van Helsing."
Long before anyone saw the completed product, though, "G.I. Joe" drew mixed buzz at best for its trailer, which premiered during the Super Bowl. Now it's the final action picture of the summer - and it has a lot in common with the highest-grossing film so far this year, the "Transformers" sequel. Both are effects-laden spectacles based on Hasbro toys and both are Paramount releases from producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura.
"Transformers" has gone on to gross more than $388 million in the United States alone since its opening six weeks ago, despite receiving just 20 per cent positive reviews on the Web site Rotten Tomatoes, a critical aggregator. The withholding of "G.I. Joe" from mainstream critics suggests that the studios believe they can succeed at the box office without them.
It's a tactic normally reserved for horror movies or other genre pictures with built-in fans who don't necessarily care about reviews - ones based on video games, for example - not summer blockbusters. Still, "G.I. Joe" has been tracking well because it represents the last big bang of the season, said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com.
"They don't need (to screen) it and there's no upside to negative reviews. The film is going to open well no matter what," Dergarabedian said. "They're being very strategic in who they show the movie to. If they can win over their core audience from these reviews, that's good for the movie."
Devin Faraci from the film Web site CHUD.com is one of the few writers who have seen it for review purposes, and not just for junket interviews. He's among the critics who've contributed to the movie's 88-per cent positive rating as tabulated by Rotten Tomatoes, saying: "If I was 10 years old, 'G.I. Joe' would be one of the best movies I had ever seen."
Faraci said he was in Toronto recently when he received a phone call at 8:30 a.m. Los Angeles time, asking if he could come to the Paramount lot that day for a "G.I. Joe" screening. He flew back, got off the plane and headed right over.
"It's silly. It's a film that plays on its own terms," he said. "I don't think reviews will kill it but I think it'll get a more positive response than they expect. It's a big, silly, pulpy, cartoony action film and it makes no apologies for being that way."
Granite quote in WA park sparks Cobain controversy
ABERDEEN, Wash. – The late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain is igniting a new controversy in his hometown of Aberdeen, Wash. This one involves one of the quotes attributed to him on a new granite marker at an unofficial neighborhood park honoring him.
Aberdeen city officials are upset about the quote that says, "Drugs are bad for you. They will f--- you up." The marker contains the full F-word.
The Daily World reports the property is considered a right of way for both Tori Kovach, who lives adjacent to the land and had the idea for the park, and the city, which also owns the nearby Young Street Bridge, where Cobain is said to have spent some time in his youth.
Cobain struggled with drugs and committed suicide in 1994.
Aberdeen Mayor Bill Simpson says the city Parks Board will consider the fate of the F-word on the stone marker.
Grays Harbor Monument donated the granite stone, which bears eight quotes; Kovach submitted the ones he wanted used.
Monument company Manager Jerry Myers said it would be easy to sandblast the offending letters. "In the granite industry, it'd be a bleep," he said.