NEWSMAKERS

NEWSMAKERS

Voice problems cancel Duran Duran tour

LONDON

Veteran New Romantic band Duran Duran has called off its summer tour because frontman Simon Le Bon is recovering from voice problems.

The European tour had been due to start in Dublin next week and continue through mid-September.

Le Bon said Tuesday he had damaged muscles controlling his vocal cords, leaving him unable to hit top notes, and had been advised to undergo physical therapy. He said it was unclear how long he would take to recover.

Duran Duran became superstars in the 1980s with several hits, including “Wild Boys” and “Rio.”

The band’s latest album is “All You Need is Now.”

Actor Gordon-Levitt seeks tiny stories

NEW YORK

Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt is thinking small.

It Books is collaborating with Gordon-Levitt’s online production company hitRECord on “The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories.” It Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishing, announced Tuesday that a series of books are planned, featuring very brief stories and illustrations submitted by the public. The first volume is scheduled for December and potential contributors can make submissions to http://hitrecord.org. Royalties will be paid for published work.

Gordon-Levitt is known for such films as “Inception” and for the sitcom “3rd Rock from the Sun.”

Sheen is up next for comedy roast

NEW YORK

There should be no shortage of material.

Comedy Central said Tuesday that Charlie Sheen has agreed to be the subject of its next celebrity roast. It will be taped in Los Angeles and air Sept. 19.

That also happens to be the same night that Ashton Kutcher debuts as Sheen’s replacement in the CBS comedy “Two and a Half Men.” Sheen was thrown off the show after his hard partying forced a production shutdown.

The two programs won’t compete directly. The Comedy Central roast is 10 p.m., an hour after “Two and a Half Men.”

Sheen says: “You could say I’ve been providing kindling for this roast for a while. It’s time to light it up. It’s going to be epic.”

HBO to air film about Jeter’s 3,000-hit chase

NEW YORK

HBO will broadcast a documentary about Derek Jeter’s pursuit of career hit No. 3,000.

Major League Baseball Productions is following the Yankees captain for a one-hour special called “Derek Jeter 3K.” The network said Tuesday that Jeter agreed to let camera crews follow him at home and while he was rehabilitating a recent calf injury.

The documentary will include new interviews with family, friends, teammates and executives, Jeter’s girlfriend, Minka Kelly and Yankees managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner. It will air a few weeks after Jeter reaches the milestone.

The shortstop was at 2,994 hits after returning from the disabled list Monday and going hitless against Cleveland.

Vindicator wire reports