Tuesday, January 10, 2012
NEWSMAKERS
Black Sabbath guitarist diagnosed with cancer
LOS ANGELES
Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi has cancer.
The band released a statement Monday saying the 63-year-old has been diagnosed with lymphoma and is working with doctors on treatment.
The news comes two months after the pioneering heavy-metal quartet’s original lineup announced it was working on its first album in 33 years with producer Rick Rubin in Los Angeles. The album remains set for a fall release and the rest of the group — vocalist Ozzy Osbourne, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward — will go to England to continue working with Iommi.
Scorsese, Allen earn Directors Guild honors
LOS ANGELES
“Hugo” filmmaker Martin Scorsese and “Midnight in Paris” creator Woody Allen are among nominees for top filmmaking honors from the Directors Guild of America.
Also nominated Monday for the 64th annual Directors Guild honors are David Fincher for “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”; Michel Hazanavicius for “The Artist”; and Alexander Payne for “The Descendants.”
The Directors Guild field is one of Hollywood’s most-accurate forecasts for who will be in the running at the Academy Awards, whose nominations come out Jan. 24. The winner at the Directors Guild almost always goes on to win the directing prize at the Oscars, too.
The guild will announce its winners at a Jan. 28 dinner, with Kelsey Grammer as host.
Jay-Z raps about new daughter
NEW YORK
Through a rap verse, Jay-Z has confirmed the birth of “the most beautiful girl in the world” — his newborn daughter.
The song “Glory” made its debut on his social website Life and Times on Monday — two days after his wife, Beyonc , reportedly gave birth to their daughter, Blue Ivy.
Representatives for the superstars declined requests to comment from The Associated Press about whether the birth had occurred, as first reported by E! News. But Jay-Z’s sweet song gives fans the details, and more: “You’re my child of a child from Destiny’s Child.”
In the song, Jay-Z talks about where the child was conceived (in Paris) and even reveals that Beyonc had a miscarriage at one point.
“Last time the miscarriage was so tragic/We was afraid you’d disappear/But nah baby you magic.” The sound of a baby’s cries ends the song.
It’s the first child for the power couple, who wed in 2008 in a private ceremony after a years-long courtship.
Rep: Hospital releases Cannon
new york
Nick Cannon is out of the hospital after battling what wife Mariah Carey called “mild kidney failure.”
The entertainer was hospitalized in Aspen, Colo., last week after he fell ill while the couple was on vacation there. He was transferred to a Los Angeles hospital a few days later. Carey said he was suffering from a form of kidney failure but no further details were released.
In a statement Monday, Cannon’s publicist Tracy Nguyen (WIHN) said he’s now “resting and recovering at home.”
Vindicator wire services