Sir Elton John just paid tribute to the late icon Brian Wilson at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Saturday night.

The Crocodile Rock hitmaker performed the Beach Boys’ God Only Knows as part of a tribute to the singer, who died in June aged 82, and also shared his memories of his former friend, including how terrified he was when they met for the first time in Los Angeles.

Speaking on stage at Los Angeles’ Peacock Theater, Sir Elton said: “We were scared s**tless because he was my idol. He was the one that influenced me more than anybody else when it came to writing songs on the piano. It was an evening we would never forget.”

“Meeting someone who was a true genius doesn’t happen very often,” the pianist added.

The 78-year-old star told the audience how he and Brian became friends over time and worked on each other’s records over the years.

He added: “We loved each other. I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather pay tribute than Brian Wilson and his family with this incredible song,” and then delivered a sentimental rendition of the Beach Boys classic.

When Brian passed away earlier this year, Sir Elton remembered his friend as the person who had the “biggest influence of my songwriting ever.”

“He sang Someone Saved My Life Tonight at a tribute concert in 2003, and it was an extraordinary moment for me. played on his solo records, he sang on my album, The Union, and even performed for my AIDS Foundation,” the Rocket Man singer wrote.

“I grew to love him as a person, and for me, he was the biggest influence on my songwriting ever; he was a musical genius and revolutionary. He changed the goalposts when it came to writing songs and shaped music forever. A true giant,” Sir Elton John concluded.

• Final draft awaits parliamentary body’s review outcome.
• PPP calls for restoring original Article 248 protections.
• PMLN agrees NAB should eventually be abolished.

ISLAMABAD: During the recent discussions between the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on the proposed 27th Constitutional Amendment, the PPP had come up with the demand for lifetime immunity for the president and abolition of the National Accountability Bureau.

Article 248 of the Constitution provides the president with immunity from criminal proceedings during the term of office, stipulating that “no criminal proceedings whatsoever shall be instituted or continued against the president or a governor in any court during his term of office.”

The PPP, however, had sought to extend this protection beyond the term, proposing lifetime immunity. It means if parliament approves it, no criminal proceeding, old or new, can continue against the president even after he leaves the office and during his lifetime.

The party had also demanded the abolition of NAB, an issue that was part of the Charter of Democracy (CoD) signed between the PPP and PML-N in 2006. 

The CoD had pledged to replace NAB with an independent accountability commission that would function transparently under parliamentary oversight.

The final draft of the amendment is expected to be shaped after the parliamentary body concludes its review and presents its report to the Senate and National Assembly.

PPP’s senior leader Murtaza Wahab, who was part of the party’s team that held discussions with the PML-N on the proposed 27th Constitutional Amendment, told The News that the PPP had sought to restore the original protection under Article 248 to the president, governors, prime minister, chief minister and ministers, which Iftikhar Chaudhry unconstitutionally removed.

He said the PPP also wanted the remaining unimplemented points of the CoD — including the abolition of the NAB — to be incorporated in the amendment.

Wahab explained that issues on which consensus was achieved between the ruling parties have been included in the draft 27th Amendment, while other proposals, such as the abolition of NAB, for which an agreement could not be reached yet, remain under discussion and have not been discarded.

He added that even the PML-N shares the view that NAB should eventually be abolished, in line with the commitment made by both parties under the Charter of Democracy.

Originally published in The News

Meryl Streep and Sigourney Weaver are all set to co-star in Useful Idiots.

The actresses will join forces for director Joseph Cedar’s upcoming thriller, which is based on a script he wrote with 60 Minutes producer Shachar Bar-On.

Streep will portray the role of a veteran New York property market journalist named Diane Castle, as she “covers the New York luxury property market, disillusioned with writing puff pieces about the wealthy elite, and feeling regretful that she may not have lived up to her potential”.

According to Variety: “When a record-breaking sale of a new penthouse hits her desk, Diane’s questions about the buyer’s identity lead to what could be the story of a lifetime… [Add in] a mysterious oligarch, whose influence stretches across Manhattan and beyond – protected by a network of fixers, enablers and a brilliant young strategist. Out of her depth, Diane digs deeper into the investigation, her determination to uncover the truth revealing a web of corruption and danger at the highest levels, ensnaring Diane, her family, and all those around her.”

Fifth Season will finance and produce with Closer Media’s Zhang Xin and Jonathan King, Academy Award-winner Bruce Cohen and William Horberg.

Graham Taylor, Christopher Slager, and Dan Guando will executive produce for Fifth Season.

This will mark the first time that Meryl Streep and Sigourney Weaver will be sharing the screen together.