George Clooney | Matt Damon

Is Director Steven Soderbergh Retiring or Not?

The rumors about Ocean's Eleven and Erin Brockovich director Steven Soderbergh's pending retirement from movie-making accelerated last month when Matt Damon told The LA Times that Soderbergh's retirement was "getting closer" to fruition.

He wants to paint and he says he's still young enough to have another career. He's kind of exhausted with everything that interested him in terms of form. He's not interested in telling stories. Cinema interested him in terms of form and that's it. He says, "If I see another over-the-shoulder shot, I'm going to blow my brains out."

Damon added that after finishing his next movie, the thriller Contagion, that Soderbergh would direct "Liberace next summer with Michael Douglas, and then he might do one more movie after that with George [Clooney], and then after that he's retiring."

• Contagion
• Haywire
• Liberace
• The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
• Steven Soderbergh
• Matt Damon
• Michael Douglas
• George Clooney

Stars Come Out for Presidential Conventions

A few weeks ago, John McCain famously called Barack Obama "the biggest celebrity in the world" and likened him to Paris Hilton. Which, if we're doing our celebrity math right, makes John McCain Nicole Richie, right? Soon, the two political glamourpusses will be headlining their respective party conventions, and everyone wants to know who else will be attending.

Well, you know how stars are -- they go where the stars are. According to the NY Daily News, the Democrats are getting George Clooney, Madonna, Matt Damon, Kanye West, Scarlett Johansson and a bunch of other Hollywood A-listers. And the Republicans are getting "Redneck Woman" singer Gretchen Wilson. And maybe Kid Rock. Meanwhile, eternal rebel Sean Penn is blowing off both Establishment Parties (and parties) to chant a few protest slogans and maybe knock back a few cold ones with Ralph Nader. Yeah, that should be fun.

• Paris Hilton
• Nicole Richie
• George Clooney
• Matt Damon
• Sean Penn
• Scarlett Johansson