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The organisers of Britain’s Download Festival decided against booking METALLICA as this year’s (11) headline act because they are convinced the rockers have become "boring" by touring too often.
The band took centre stage at the rock event in 2004 and 2006, but is absent from the lineup of the upcoming event in June (11).
Organiser Andy Copping admits he chose Def Leppard to take the slot instead, and has no regrets over not pursuing the metal giants - insisting fans needs a break from the Enter Sandman hitmakers.
He tells NME.com, "I booked Def Leppard because they deserve it, because they are big enough to do it… Metallica are a great band but if they went away for three or four years then came back then they’d be even bigger. When they keep coming back they become boring.
"Metallica have toured extensively and have been here for seven of the last eight summers. For me that is definitely overdoing it." The festival takes place between 10 and 12 June at the U.K.’s Donington Park, with headline acts Def Leppard, System Of A Down and Linkin Park.

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Former GUNS N’ ROSES star DUFF MCKAGAN has decided to donate the proceeds from his latest LOADED songs to help war veterans following a number of emotional visits to military hospitals.
The rocker will hand over the money made by the band’s latest tracks, Fight On and We Win, to a treatment centre near Seattle, Washington called the Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Healthcare System.
McKagan reveals he was inspired to get involved with veterans charities by his friend Tim Medvetz, a former Hell’s Angel who bounced back from a near-fatal motorcycle crash in 2001 to climb Mount Everest.
He tells AOLNews.com, "I got inspired by my friend Tim Medvetz. Tim really opened my eyes to how important it was to help the soldiers, no matter how I might feel about the war. So I visited some military hospitals, including the (Veterans Affairs) Puget Sound Healthcare System near Seattle. I was really struck by these young men and women. What they had been through, their stories - it affected me deeply, and it’s something I can imagine being a part of for a long time. We’ve had some really amazing visits…
"It’s the least we can do (by handing over the song profits). These men and woman do so much for us that many of us will never see or be aware of. The song Fight On was actually inspired by the soldiers coming home. So if it can help in any way, I’m proud to contribute the proceeds."

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Rapper LUPE FIASCO fell into a deep depression after record label bosses gave his track NOTHIN’ ON YOU to B.O.B. and admits he felt "suicidal" over the snub.
The hip-hop star wrote and recorded verses for the song in 2009, but the chairman of Atlantic Records told him his performance was no good and handed the track to another artist.
And Fiasco reveals he hit rock bottom after losing the song, which went on to become a global smash for B.o.B. and score three Grammy Award nominations.
He tells Britain’s The Guardian, "That was the tipping point. It was less about the bruised ego but more the audacity of it. It was mentally destructive. I say it with a certain laissez-faire now because I’m past it, but back then, hearin’ that s**t, it f**ked me up.
"I was super-depressed, lightly suicidal, at moments medium suicidal - and if not suicidal, willing to just walk away from it all completely."

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LARRY HAGMAN blames boredom for his heavy drinking while filming DALLAS, admitting alcohol helped cure the "tedium" of long shoots.
The actor guzzled champagne on set while playing scheming oil baron J.R. Ewing in the long-running drama series, but he was forced to give up booze after developing liver disease.
Hagman is now preparing to begin work on the upcoming Dallas revamp, and admits it’ll be a completely "different" experience playing his character without a buzz.
He says, "It’ll probably feel different being sober on the set of Dallas but I’ve had 15 years’ experience of sobriety. Maybe the booze made me a better actor but I’ll be fine without it.
"It was boredom that drove me to drink, the tedium during those long waits between takes while the next shot was being set up. Now I’ve learned to fill those breaks with friends, with charity work, with phone calls, so it’s not so bad.
"I did miss drinking for a while but sobriety isn’t hard when you consider the alternative. Doctors had given me two months to live when they cut me open. When they looked inside they found I had only two weeks left."

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MAD MAX director GEORGE MILLER has reassured fans the next installment in the film franchise is not in jeopardy despite heavy rainfall in Australia delaying the project until 2012.
The fourth movie in the series, Mad Max: Fury Road, is a remake of Mel Gibson’s original 1979 action picture, with British actor Tom Hardy taking on the lead role.
Film bosses chose the outback town of Broken Hill for shooting because of its baron landscapes, but unusually high rainfall last year (10) turned the desert setting into a "wonderful flower garden".
Filming has been pushed back until early 2012, sparking fears the movie may never happen - but Miller insists studio bosses and castmembers are all committed to the venture.
He tells Sydney’s Daily Telegraph, "We’ve built the vehicles. We’ve designed the movie. The principal cast is locked in. The film is funded. It’s all ready to go. We just wait.
"All the contracts are signed. It’s a locked-in film. It has been for 18 months now. We will restart pre-production later this year and begin early next year - weather permitting." Charlize Theron and Nicholas Hoult also star in the movie.

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American politician MIKE HUCKABEE has launched a scathing rant at pregnant actress NATALIE PORTMAN, accusing the Oscar-winner of encouraging impressionable youngsters to have children out of wedlock.
The Black Swan star, who recently picked up an Academy Award for her portrayal of a ballet dancer in the film, is expecting her first child with her choreographer fiance Benjamin Millepied, who she met on set.
But former Arkansas governor Huckabee isn’t happy with the example Portman is setting, telling radio host Michael Medved, "You know Michael, one of the things that’s troubling is that people see a Natalie Portman or some other Hollywood starlet who boasts of, ‘Hey look, you know, we’re having children, we’re not married, but we’re having these children,’ and they’re doing just fine.
"But there aren’t really a lot of single moms out there who are making millions of dollars every year for being in a movie. And I think it gives a distorted image that yes, not everybody hires nannies, and caretakers, and nurses. Most single moms are very poor, uneducated, can’t get a job, and if it weren’t for government assistance, their kids would be starving to death and never have health care. And that’s the story that we’re not seeing, and it’s unfortunate that we glorify and glamorise the idea of (out-of-wedlock children)."

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MIKE MYERS has married his longtime girlfriend in a secret ceremony in New York City.
The funnyman exchanged vows with Kelly Tisdale five months ago at a "beautiful" wedding in the Big Apple, the actor’s representative confirms to New York Post gossip column Page Six.
The Austin Powers star, 47, began dating Tisdale in 2006, shortly after he split from his first wife, writer/actress Robin Ruzan, following 12 years of marriage. Their divorce was finalised in 2007. Tisdale has previously dated dance music star Moby.

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KYLIE MINOGUE has taken aim at her record label, insisting she feels "let down" with the releases from her latest album APHRODITE.
The Aussie singer’s latest record hit the top spot in the U.K. last July (10) but the star admits she was disappointed by the chart performance of her most recent singles, Get Outta My Way and Better Than Today.
Minogue is convinced the marketing for the releases was to blame for their poor commercial success, saying, "I felt a little let down with my releases from Aphrodite. I was caught out like a lot of artists were, with record companies figuring out how to do single releases these days.
"I remember doing a promo for one of the last singles and it just felt really old-fashioned. I’m pretty computer-savvy, something didn’t feel right, but no one said anything to me." And she’s also urged her label bosses to let her fans download her tracks on the same day they hit airwaves, after seeing the success of Britney Spears and Lady Gaga’s latest songs.
She tells Perth Now, "You get Britney releasing Hold It Against Me and Gaga’s Born This Way available on iTunes the day you hear it first. That’s how it should be. And there’s me waiting for a mid-week chart figure like it’s 1989. I was a bit disappointed by that. I didn’t know how to gauge the success of the singles. How do you measure it now?"

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Tough girl actress MICHELLE RODRIGUEZ is ready to bare all onscreen if a good steamy role comes along - after playing it safe for a decade.
The Avatar star has started looking at sexier parts after her best pal joked about what a "prude" she is in front of camera.
She explains, "She was making fun of me… I was focused on being kind of like, an example for Latinas; I didn’t want them to be thinking that sexy is the only way to be powerful.
"But, y’know man, I’m gonna wrinkle up and lose it one day, and she reminded me of it, so I was like, ‘I might as well put it to some use and go do the sexy thing for a while. Why not?’" The star admits she wouldn’t do porn or anything too extreme, but she’s "open to some romantic comedy stuff".
But she won’t be giving up the action roles anytime soon: "It’s so much fun; I love me some destruction."

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COLIN FIRTH has been tipped for a knighthood in his native Britain after receiving a nomination for QUEEN ELIZABETH II’s Birthday Honours list, according to a U.K. report.
The actor has flown the flag for Britain with his portrayal the Queen’s father, King George VI, in acclaimed movie The King’s Speech.
He cemented his success by taking home the Best Actor Academy Award on Sunday (27Feb11) - and now he’s been linked to a new royal accolade.
Britain’s Daily Mail claims Firth is a favourite to be knighted when the Queen’s Birthday Honours list is officially revealed in June (11).
A source tells the publication, "Colin has been a great ambassador for Britain throughout his career and his sensitive portrayal of King George VI has won him much admiration among the Royal Family - and, of course, the film’s many fans."

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BURLESQUE star JULIANNE HOUGH is about to officially sign on to join TOM CRUISE in the movie adaptation of hit musical ROCK OF AGES.
The country singer and former Dancing with the Stars champion is in final negotiations to star as Sherrie in the film.
Cruise will play Staci Jaxx in the movie, which will begin shooting in Florida in May (11), according to Daily Variety.

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MATT DAMON has praised his best friend BEN AFFLECK for turning his career around after falling "out of favour" in Hollywood.
The pals wrote and starred in 1997’s critically-acclaimed Good Will Hunting, which won two Academy Awards.
Affleck’s private life quickly became headline-making news because of his glamorous girlfriends, including Gwyneth Paltrow and Jennifer Lopez.
Affleck and Lopez went on to co-star in 2003 flop Gigli, and Affleck saw his popularity wain further after starring in badly-received movies Surviving Christmas and Jersey Girl.
The star subsequently turned his attention to moviemaking and directed 2007 hit Gone Baby Gone, which scooped the Hollywood Film Festival Award for Breakthrough Director of the Year.
And Damon has applauded his pal for his Hollywood comeback, which was cemented with last year’s (10) crime drama The Town.
He tells CNN’s Piers Morgan Tonight, "Ben kind of fell out of favour, he got just a crushing amount of publicity in his personal life and that made people, I think, loath to work for him a little while there, he was kind of in the penalty box.
"He did what we did originally did… Gone Baby Gone, his directorial debut… he wrote that directed it and then with The Town, he couldn’t get a job as an actor that he wanted so he wrote it for himself and directed it."

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Former SPICE GIRLS stars EMMA BUNTON and MELANIE CHISHOLM have dismissed reports the bandmembers are feuding over a new album release.
A British tabloid alleged earlier this week (begs28Feb11) that Chisholm and Melanie Brown are keen to release a record of previously unheard material.
Bunton, Victoria Beckham and Geri Halliwell were said to be opposed to the idea - and now the former Baby Spice has spoken out to silence the rumours.
In a post on her Twitter.com page, Bunton writes, "The stories in the papers yesterday are absolute rubbish and I know our Spice fans don’t believe a word of it!!!" Chisholm adds, "Stories in UK papers about a Spice Girls album are complete nonsense. Bore off!! I am very proud to be a Spice Girl and always will be. It’s the false stories which are annoying."

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Best friends BEN AFFLECK and MATT DAMON opened a joint bank account before they found fame - using their shared funds to pay for audition trips.
The moviemaking pals have been close since they were young, and often pooled their cash in a bid to further their careers.
Damon tells Piers Morgan Tonight, "I started coming down here to New York by myself with money I had made in local commercials in Boston.
"Ben and I actually had a joint bank account and the bank account was money we had made from doing local commercials and we could only use it on trips to New York to audition.
"When I look back at that, a 16 and 14 year old, we were really young to be taking the bus by ourselves to New York and spending a day going to an audition - we were living adult lives as teenagers." Damon admits he’s glad he failed to gain his big break until after college - and insists he’d hate his daughters to follow him into the industry before they’re adults.
He adds, "I’m very fortunate I didn’t get a job then, because I did end up going to college. That’s what my parents wanted for me, they said, ‘Do theatre now but go to school, there’s plenty of time to be an actor’, and I think that’s the advice I’d give my girls. Your teenage years should be fun with your friends, not with a profession."

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The other side of CHARLIE SHEEN’s custody battle with his estranged wife BROOKE MUELLER is set to feature on PARIS HILTON’s new reality TV show.
The socialite has revealed her show is still filming and her friend Mueller’s battle to keep her twin sons will feature prominently.
Mueller filed a restraining order against Sheen on Tuesday (01Mar11), claiming the star had threatened her life, and took physical custody of the couple’s sons. The actor arranged for RadarOnline.com cameras to capture the emotion when he handed over his kids late on Tuesday night.
Mueller has remained silent throughout the saga, amid unconfirmed reports she’s currently in rehab battling her own demons.
And Hilton insists her show will unveil the truth.
Taping an Ellen DeGeneres Show, which will air on Friday (04Mar11) in America, she says, "Let’s just say there’s a lot of drama in the show… It’s really good. There’s a lot that happens."

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Irish singer RONAN KEATING is set to make his movie debut after landing his first big screen role.
The Boyzone star, who missed out on a part in Lord of the Rings prequel The Hobbit, is jetting to Australia next month (Apr11) to shoot scenes for a mystery new movie project.
He tells 2Day FM, "I’m coming down on April 7, because I’m shooting my first movie in Australia. I just gave you a world exclusive actually.
"I can’t tell you the title but I’m going to be on set on April 10 in Sydney. It’s an Australian movie… I’m very excited."

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Rocker ROB ZOMBIE has dismissed reports suggesting he has signed on to direct the movie adaptation of MOTLEY CRUE’s memoirs.
The band’s 2002 book, The Dirt: Confessions of the World’s Most Notorious Rock Band, is set to hit the big screen and Zombie was linked to the project earlier this week (beg28Feb11).
He has moved swiftly to dismiss the rumours, telling Undercover.fm, "No, I’m not doing the Motley Crue movie. I don’t know where that came from."

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Welsh soul singer DUFFY was delighted to land her film debut in romantic drama PATAGONIA - because American movie bosses always told her she "should be a porn star".
The singer stars opposite Matthew Rhys in the picture, which explores Y Wladfa - the Welsh colony in the South American region of Patagonia.
And the blonde beauty admits the role was a dream come true, especially after learning experts predicted she’d star in adult movies.
She tells Britain’s OK! TV, "I always felt quite disappointed because whenever I went to America and met anybody they never really said I was a great singer, they said ‘She should be a porn star!’ and I’d say ‘But what about the songs?’ I couldn’t escape it. I think I started at the right place with the part, with a connection to Wales."

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