Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward has said he will not participate in the British heavy metal band’s reunion recordings and tour unless he is offered a ‘signable’ contract. The statement on his website casts further doubt on the much-hyped return of the veteran rockers, who announced last November that the original line-up were getting back together to write and record their first album in more than 30 years.
The Super Bowl is still two days away but some advertisers already are looking like winners as their yet-to-be-aired commercials score millions of hits online and rack up pre-game buzz. A teaser for Volkswagen’s ad has drawn more than 11 million viewers on YouTube. The campaign features a pack of dogs barking out a ‘Star Wars’ song, repeating a theme from the company’s well-received ad during last year’s Super Bowl.
Director Zalman King, best known for erotic film ’9 1/2 Weeks’ and television series ‘Red Shoe Diaries,’ died on Friday in Santa Monica, California, after a long battle with cancer. He was 69. ‘Zalman was an extraordinary man and artist, more complex and humane than those who knew him only from afar could possibly imagine,’ said Allison Burnett, King’s son-in-law.
J.C. Penney Co Inc said on Friday it fully backs its partnership with chat show host Ellen DeGeneres after a conservative group urged the retailer to reconsider hiring DeGeneres as a spokeswoman because she is a lesbian. A spokeswoman for the retailer declined further comment on the issue but did say in an e-mail to Reuters, ‘jcpenney stands behind its partnership with Ellen DeGeneres’ and added that its announcement of the agreement last week sums up the company’s view of the popular TV personality.

