Quick Takes: Matt Damon says Steven Soderbergh may retire soon
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Matt Damon has been in Chicago working on âContagion,â the pandemic thriller directed by Steven Soderbergh, and the actor said heâs consciously tried to enjoy the experience because he doubts that he will have many more chances to work with the filmmaker.
âHeâs retiring, heâs been talking about it for years and itâs getting closer,â Damon said of Soderbergh, whose credits include âErin Brockovich,â âOceanâs Eleven,â âThe Informantâ and âSex, Lies, and Videotape.â Soderbergh turns 48 next month.
âHe wants to paint and he says heâs still young enough to have another career,â Damon said. âHeâs kind of exhausted with everything that interested him in terms of form. Heâs not interested in telling stories. Cinema interested him in terms of form and thatâs it. He says, âIf I see another over-the-shoulder shot, Iâm going to blow my brains out.ââ
Soderbergh told Esquire two years ago that heâd like to retire by the age of 51, which marks his 25th year as a filmmaker. âAfter this movie,â Damon said, âweâre doing âLiberaceâ next summer with Michael Douglas, and then he might do one more movie after that with George [Clooney], and then after that heâs retiring.â
It may sound like a hoax or gag, but Damon said he is absolutely serious â the only filmmaker nominated twice in the same year for the Academy Award for best director (for âTrafficâ and âErin Brockovich,â both released in 2000) is weary of moviemaking.
âGeoff Boucher
Love shown for âMichaelâ
Michael Jacksonâs first posthumous studio album was the top seller around the world during its first week of release, his label said Wednesday, but was held to a modest No. 3 debut in the United States.
The collection of unfinished recordings, titled âMichael,â took the No. 1 slot in Germany, Italy, Netherlands and Sweden, said Sony Corp.-owned Epic Records.
In Germany, âMichaelâ was the biggest debut of the year, selling 85,000 copies, Epic said. Its British start of 113,000 copies was the best for Jackson since 1991âs âDangerous.â
In the U.S., the worldâs largest music market, âMichaelâ sold about 228,000 copies during the week ended Dec. 19.
âMichaelâ was bested by Taylor Swiftâs âSpeak Now,â which returned to No. 1 for a third, nonconsecutive week with 259,000 copies, and former chart-topper Susan Boyleâs âThe Giftâ with 254,000 copies.
âReuters
Music sold by subscription
Sony on Wednesday unveiled a digital music subscription service, featuring a catalog of 6 million songs from Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, EMI Music and Sony Music Entertainment.
For now, the service is available only in the U.K. and Ireland, but Sony said it plans to expand it to the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Italy and Spain.
Called Music Unlimited, the service comes in two flavors. A basic plan, costing 3.99 euros a month, streams ad-free radio much like Pandora. A premium version lets listeners play songs on-demand and costs 9.99 euros a month.
It works on Sony devices, including the PlayStation 3 and Bravia Internet-connected TVs, but, alas, not the iPhone.
âAlex Pham
Abbey Road, what a site
The most famous pedestrian crossing in popular music, outside Abbey Road Studios in north London, was designated a site of national importance by the British government on Wednesday.
Beatles fans flock to the road to pose for photographs imitating the picture on the âAbbey Roadâ album cover, which shows Paul, John, George and Ringo strolling over the crossing.
John Penrose, Britainâs minister for tourism and heritage, declared the crossing a Grade II listed site on the advice of national preservation body English Heritage. This means the crossing can be altered but only with the approval of the local authorities, which would make a decision based on the siteâs historic significance, function and condition. Abbey Road Studios were listed Grade II in February.
âReuters
Spidey fall was âhuman errorâ
The Actorsâ Equity union says actor Christopher Tierneyâs fall Monday while stunt-doubling as the superhero in a sequence of Broadwayâs âSpider-Man: Turn Off the Darkâ was due to an unspecified âhuman error.â A safety review was conducted and performances are scheduled to resume Thursday. No show had been scheduled Tuesday; Wednesdayâs matinee and evening performances were canceled.
âPlaybill