Stone Temple Pilots plan Ohio tour stops

April 9, 2008 at 12:00a.m.

LOS ANGELES — After a five-year breakup and nearly eight-year absence from the concert scene, Stone Temple Pilots will reunite for a North American tour, set to begin May 17 in Columbus, Ohio. The tour comes to Cleveland’s State Theater on May 20. On Monday, Singer Scott Weiland, guitarist Dean DeLeo, bassist Robert DeLeo and drummer Eric Kretz revealed the details of the 65-city tour. “The story’s not finished,” Weiland told The Associated Press. “There’s more to be revealed and more to be told.” DeLeo said the band plans to record a new album after the tour, which is set to wrap in November. Formed in 1992, the band has sold more than 35 million albums worldwide.

After Stone Temple Pilots’ split, Weiland formed the rock group Velvet Revolver. On April 1, his bandmates — Slash, Duff McKagan, Matt Sorum and Dave Kushner — announced that Weiland was no longer part of the group. “Among other things, his increasingly erratic onstage behavior and personal problems have forced us to move on,” Slash said in a statement. Two days later, Stone Temple Pilots announced their reunion.

Release pushed back for Tom Cruise’s ‘Valkyrie’

LOS ANGELES — United Artists said Tuesday it has pushed back the release of “Valkyrie,” starring Tom Cruise as a World War II German officer, from Oct. 3 until President’s Day weekend starting Feb. 13. It’s the second time the movie has been pushed back. It was originally slotted for June. The film, to be distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., is the second attempt by Cruise and producing partner Paula Wagner to revive the once-moribund United Artists. The studio’s first movie, the clunky thinkpiece on terrorism, “Lions for Lambs,” was a critical flop. It is estimated to have lost about $30 million.

MGM said the move was to take advantage of the holiday weekend. “When an opening became available for President’s Day weekend, we seized the opportunity,” Clark Woods, MGM domestic distribution president, said in a statement. “Having seen a lot of the film and how great it is going to play once it’s finished, moving into a big holiday weekend is the right move.” The movie, directed by Bryan Singer, is based on a real-life plot to assassinate Adolph Hitler.

Today’s birthdays

Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner is 82. Naturalist Jim Fowler (“Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom”) is 76. Actress Michael Learned (“The Waltons”) is 69. Country singer Margo Smith is 66. Country singer Hal Ketchum is 55. Actor Dennis Quaid is 54. Humorist Jimmy Tingle (”60 Minutes II”) is 53. Country guitarist Dave Innis of Restless Heart is 49. Actress-model Paulina Porizkova is 43. Actress Cynthia Nixon (“Sex and the City”) is 42. Singer Kevin Martin of Candlebox is 39. Singer Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance is 31. Actress Keshia Knight Pulliam (“The Cosby Show”) is 29. Guitarist Albert Hammond Jr. of The Strokes is 28. Singer-actor Jesse McCartney (“Summerland”) is 21. Actress Kristen Stewart (“Panic Room”) is 18. Actress Elle Fanning (“Because of Winn-Dixie”) is 10.