Posted Today At 5:00am

Rob Shanahan/Universal RecordsTo Beatles fans who continue to hold on to the hope that the band's surviving members will reunite to perform at the London Olympics this summer, Ringo Starr has a message: "I am not going."  In a recent interview with CNN, the famed drummer insisted, "I will not be at the Olympics.  I have to be very definite about that because they will say, 'Oh, is he coming? Isn't he coming?'"

Starr explains that he'll be in America at that time touring with his All-Starr Band in support of his brand-new album, Ringo 2012.  The rock legend did send out a message to all the athletes who'll be participating in the international sports extravaganza -- "Peace and love!"

The rock legend says "the door is open" for him to play with Paul McCartney in the future, but he wants fans to understand that a Fab Four reunion is simply impossible.

"It is not going to be the Beatles, you know?" he maintains.  "[Fans] have those crazy ideas that maybe we could use [the late George Harrison's and John Lennon's] children.  It is never going to happen."

As for the current status of his relationship with McCartney, Starr says, "It's good.  After all of the time, everybody has ups and downs.  So we have ups and downs, but it is very up right now."

He adds that he's very happy about his old band mate's recent marriage to Nancy Shevell.

"We love Nancy," he says.  "[She's] very down to earth.  Very easy.  She mixes right in and she loves music, so it can't be bad.  And, you know, she is a very beautiful woman.  Regal is a great word."

Asked what his next project might be, Starr explains, "I think you tackle that as it comes along.  I am making records, I am going on tour, and then I am off to do whatever else I want to do.  So I have a very good life."

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

Posted Today At 8:37am

James Cameron (L) and Mike DeGruy during 22nd Annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival in Santa Barbara, California, United States. (Ray Mickshaw/WireImage(SYDNEY) -- Two National Geographic filmmakers, American cinematographer Mike deGruy and Australian television writer-producer Andrew Wight, died in a helicopter crash in Australia on Saturday, according to the company's website.

Wight, the owner and pilot of the Robinson R-44 helicopter, and deGruy crashed shortly after takeoff, according to a statement released by National Geographic. Police said Wight, 52, and deGruy, 60, took off from an airstrip in Jasper's Brush, about 80 miles south of Sydney, prior to the crash.

“We are grieving over the loss of these two extraordinary friends,” said Tim Kelly, president of the National Geographic Society. “Andrew and Mike were part of our extended family at National Geographic, and our hearts, prayers, and thoughts go out to their loved ones. They accomplished so much, but were taken too early, and our world is greatly diminished by their leaving it.”

The pair were in Australia working on a documentary film with award-winning director James Cameron.

Cameron released this statement: “Mike and Andrew were like family to me. They were my deep-sea brothers, and both were true explorers who did extraordinary things and went places no human being has been. They died doing exactly what they loved most, heading out to sea on a new and personally challenging expedition, having fun in the way they defined it for themselves, which was hardship and toil to achieve something never done before. They were passionate storytellers who lived by the explorer’s code of humor, empathy, optimism, and courage. Their deaths are a tremendous loss for the world of underwater exploration, conservation, and filmmaking.”

No further details relating to the crash were released.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio