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Taylor Swift may be making a run at an EGOT, because she's apparently gunning for an Oscar during this award season ... all over her short film, which qualifies.

The singer's 14-minute video treatment -- which is part music video and film, starring Sadie Sink and Dylan O'Brien -- is eligible to be nominated for an Academy Award at the 95th annual ceremony next year ... in the Best Live Action Short, no less, according to THR.

The outlet reports TayTay and co. are actually consulting with a firm to guide the awards campaign -- so yeah, it seems she/the team behind the film do, in fact, want it considered.

There's more though ... THR says the short film might've actually been up for Best Picture, technically, had it come out in 2022 -- but because it was released in late 2021, it misses that window ... although, Best Short is still in play. 'ATW' was screened in an AMC theater in Lincoln Square for a week straight last year, and because of that ... it can get a nod.

Taylor may also be in the running for another Oscar nomination, potentially, because of an original song she did for 'Where the Crawdads Sing' -- but time will tell if it makes it in.

Still, it's just the latest signal that TS is pivoting toward movies. Remember, she did a whole Q&A at the Tribeca Film Festival earlier this year to talk about 'All Too Well' ... and she's also starring in some serious flicks that are in the works -- stuff where her chops will be tested.

R. Kelly was once prosecuted for allegedly abusing a minor -- an infamous case from 2008 in which she never testified ... but that's all about to change now as he heads to trial anew.

The disgraced singer, who's already been convicted of sex crimes in New York and faces 30 years behind bars, has another day in court ahead of him. Come Monday, his federal trial in Chicago -- for which he's facing similar charges and sentencing -- is going to begin.

On top of the 4 accusers in this Chicago case -- all of whom will testify -- the woman who Kelly was accused of urinating on on tape at just age 14, among other heinous crimes, is set to take the stand as well ... to speak on the '08 case and her experience with him in general.

Per new court filings, cited by AP, prosecutors say the unidentified alleged victim from back then -- now in her 30s -- will address claims that R. Kelly rigged the 2008 case in an attempt to obstruct justice ... including allegedly paying off/threatening this woman at the time.

Many will recall ... Kelly was acquitted and went free, largely because the alleged victim refused to cooperate and testify. Now, it appears she'll explain why that happened, from her perspective, for the first time ever. Her identity has remained hidden all these years.

There's more ... these new filings say prosecutors plan to play that same VHS tape from '08 in court again as this current trial fires up. In addition to that, there are reportedly going to be at least 3 other videos presented as evidence in court. Unclear if they all pertain to 2008.

Prosecutors claim that R. Kelly had sex with/recorded the 2008 alleged victim hundreds of times between 1998 and 2000, a period when she was as young as 13 years old. They also acknowledge that some of these sex tapes had been stolen and peddled on the street.

Ben Affleck has a tendency to turn himself into hilarious memes -- and as he jets off with Jennifer Lopez and their kids to celebrate his birthday ... he seems to be reprising a classic.

The newlyweds boarded a private plane Saturday at the Van Nuys Airport in L.A. with some of their kids in tow, it seems. We recognize two of BA's children here, but it's unclear if Jen's young ones are already inside or even there at all. In any case, this trip is a family affair.

No word on where they'll ring in the big 5-0 for Ben -- his actual born day is on Monday -- but we're sure we'll find out soon enough. In the meantime ... what's with the long face???

Take a gander at Ben here ... who, in a majority of these shots, appears quite stern in his demeanor -- if not just outright bummed. Of course, him looking sorta sad here doesn't necessarily mean he's not excited for the festivities -- he probably is -- but it's funny to see this is how he looked just as he was getting ready to take in a huge milestone of life.

J Lo herself wasn't looking all that peppy either ... just matter-of-factly getting their crap from the car and making sure everyone/everything made its way up the steps on time.

Granted, these moments are the not-so-fun part of travel ... all the lugging and boarding and checking to see that all is in order before a major vacay, so that could be what's going on here. Still, though ... with Ben's history of appearing downtrodden, it's noteworthy.

There's the famous 'Batman v Superman' interview where he's stares off into space with a depressed gaze. Plus, his infamous bare-back beach stare-out ... and, of course, his eyes-closed cig moment from back then. The dude seems to channel gloom and doom a bit.

The FBI has concluded that Alec Baldwin must have fired the gun normally on the set of "Rust" -- which took Halyna Hutchins' life ... this according to a new report.

ABC News published a bombshell story Friday, claiming to have obtained a copy of the forensic analysis report recently completed by the Bureau ... which was examining all facets of the fatal accident in a broader investigation to see if criminal charges are warranted.

Per ABC, citing part of the FBI report, the feds found that the revolver in question -- a single-action .45 Colt caliber F.lli Pietta -- could not have been fired without someone pulling the trigger ... a determination they made after conducting accidental discharge testing.

Unclear if they did this testing with the same exact gun Alec used, or a separate but identical one -- but what the FBI notes in their reports is ... that gun, when working properly, will not release a bullet and primer simultaneously by just fiddling with the hammer alone.

That's what Alec said he was doing when the shooting occurred. You'll recall ... in a sit-down interview with ABC, he claimed all he'd done was pull the hammer back and pose it for the camera while Halyna coached him on positioning. When they were done, he released the hammer ... and says it fired without him pulling the trigger. The rest, of course, is history.

Well, that just doesn't make sense to FBI officials. Their report, per ABC, notes they set the hammer at varying angles and positions to see if they could make it fire without pulling the trigger ... but they say they couldn't. The only thing the hammer COULD do when de-cocked and then directly struck on its own (without pulling the trigger) was detonate the primer.

That essentially means it could set off the actual gunshot sound itself, without discharging a bullet, according to the FBI -- but that's obviously not what happened in AB's case.

Now, this conclusion doesn't necessarily mean Alec is in hot water quite yet -- again, we don't know if the testing they did here was with his gun or another ... it's totally possible the revolver he used that day did, in fact, malfunction and that he's telling the truth.

These findings have been sent off to law enforcement officials in New Mexico, who are still conducting their investigation dating back to October. One of the things they're still waiting on, per an official statement from the Santa Fe Sheriff's Office, is phone records from Alec.

Kim Zolciak-Biermann's daughter, Ariana, was arrested for DUI this weekend ... TMZ has learned.

The 20-year-old social media influencer and reality star was busted Saturday in Forsyth County, GA, and then booked on 3 separate charges ... misdemeanor DUI driving under the influence of alcohol, misdemeanor improper/erratic lane change and underage alcohol possession/purchase of alcohol -- this according to jail records and personnel.

We're told she bonded out the same day -- unclear what time of day this was, but we imagine it was early morning. There's no narrative yet on what exactly may have happened, but we do know her on-and-off boyfriend, 20-year-old Hudson McLeroy, was also arrested on alcohol-related charges this morning ... seemingly while he was with Ariana in the car.

He was also booked for DUI, plus furnishing/purchasing alcohol under 21 and violating his driving permit. Based on Ariana's charges, though, it would appear she was behind the wheel in this instance. Hudson has since been released on bond ... so they're both out.

The only other thing of note is that Ariana was processed with the surname Zolciak (her mom's maiden name), and not her adopted father's name, Biermann. Kroy Biermann adopted both Ari and Brielle back in 2013 -- but it's unclear who their biological father(s) are.

In any case ... she's got a court date ahead of her. And, she'll have company too, it seems.

L.A. cops have a dark culture when it comes to grizzly death scenes, keeping "ghoul books" with photos of famous people who met violent deaths.

As we reported, Vanessa Bryant is suing the L.A. County Sheriff's Dept. among others after learning 8 deputies took personal cellphone photos of the remains of Kobe and Gianna Bryant, and then passed them around to co-workers, family, friends and even strangers.

Deputy Doug Johnson testified he did not regret taking photos of the remains, claiming he was ordered to do so by a higher-up, even though that higher-up had said he gave no such order.

Johnson said he took 25 photos, although another officer claimed it was more like 100.

The deputy admitted he took shots of Kobe's remains, although he says he didn't know at the time it was the famed basketball star. He also took pics of a body in a ravine near the crash site ... a body of a black child with long hair ... presumably Gianna.

Johnson stuck to his story, saying he would not have done anything differently.

Vanessa, who is suing for, among other things, emotional distress, broke down at times during the testimony.

Bill Maher made an incredibly strong case Friday night that Hollywood is ruining itself by pigeonholing actors into narrow lanes based on their heritage, sexual orientation, identity, etc.

The "Real Time" host made his case and, frankly, you gotta listen to it because it cuts to the core ... that casting directors now take their cues from the casting cops.

He lays out his case, beginning with John Leguizamo, who was incredulous James Franco was picked to play Fidel Castro, saying "No more appropriation Hollywood ... Boycott! This f'd up."  Bill noted John, a Columbian actor, ain't Venetian but he played one ... nor is he a little French man nor an Italian plumber ... but yeah, he played them too.

As he says, "People become actors so they can spend their lives not being who they are."

He notes Sean Penn snagged an Oscar for playing gay activist Harvey Milk ... that was once considered courageous ... now it's the opposite.

Eddie Redmayne played a transgender woman, but he now calls that a mistake. Bill asks if the logical conclusion to that is transgender people can only play transgender people, yet that's clearly not something they would want.

Ditto straight people playing gay people ... something Tom Hanks says he now regrets. So can gay people play a straight romantic role? The idea is to get rid of the prejudice, not the roles, and for that allies are necessary.

On on the subject of Hanks ... should he have played Forrest Gump, who was mentally challenged?

Kim Kardashian is a billionaire, in case you didn't know, and she's opened up her massive SKKN headquarters to remove any doubt.

Kim is showcasing her massive, 40,000-square-foot office space ... and gotta say ... it's pretty damn awesome.

The bells and whistles are impressive ... a massive kitchen, amphitheater, model glam room and private glam room, and on and on.

Kim didn't cheap out with decorators and designers ... Tommy Clements and Waldo Fernandez did the decor while Michele Lamy and Rick Owens designed the furniture.

Check out the glam room filled with robes, chairs for models and other stuff used for tailoring clothes.

Kim also gave a peek into her photo studio ... pretty cool. As for why she has a "private" glam room, she says it's where she kicks back and watches TV ... not a cord-cutter we guess.

Then there's the luxury shower with a chair inside so Kim's publicist Tracy Romulus can talk business with her while she washes down.

The L.A. Mission thinks Kanye West needs to turn his words into action, and the org. is frustrated he hasn't followed through on his vow to help the homeless get jobs and housing ... folks familiar with the Mission's struggles tell TMZ.

Kanye got all inspirational Friday, posting this on IG ...  "look to the homeless as the biggest inspiration for all design." It's unclear what he meant, but it resurfaces some of the promises the rapper made last year, when he visited the Mission and vowed to use his companies to help the homeless get jobs, education and housing.

Our sources say little if anything has been done since.

Kanye waxing philosophical isn't moving the ball forward for the homeless crisis in L.A.

As we reported, Kanye met with leaders of the org. last November, where he laid out ambitious plans on how to tackle City's biggest challenge -- the homeless crisis. We're told folks from the Mission have attempted to contact Ye several times since the meeting, to no avail.

Kanye has done some good for the homeless ... among other things, he donated 1,000 meals and spent time encouraging volunteers and L.A. residents to join in and help. He also held a Sunday Service at the Union Rescue Mission on Skid Row back in 2019.

We're told the L.A. Mission wants to work with Kanye, because he's a huge star with a megaphone and could do a lot of good.

Alicia Keys, Swizz Beatz and Meek Mill were high rollers Friday night in NYC's Rockefeller Center ... and it looked like a blast!

The "Girl on Fire" singer threw an awesome party for close friends and family, celebrating the release of "KEYS II" ... a deluxe edition of her double album "KEYS."

Alicia and Swizz showed off their rink skills, dancing and holding each other, taking smiling selfies and even smooching as they rolled along.

Alicia also got jiggy by herself ... busting moves just like back in the 70s!

And, then there was Meek ... he was having fun with a young woman, circling the rink as they held hands.

The Philly rapper was also cutting it up with Busta Rhymes off to the side. Guess Busta wasn't in the skating mood.

Metallica frontman James Hetfield and his wife of more than two decades are no more, TMZ has learned.

Sources close to the former couple tell us James filed divorce docs against Francesca Hetfield in Colorado earlier this year. Surprisingly, the filing was never reported, and the couple kept it out of the spotlight.

We're told the two are still in touch, as they have kids together.

James and Francesca met in 1992, and got hitched in 1997. They have two daughters and a son together. James credited Francesca over the years for helping him through tough times, including his anger management issues.

In one interview, James said Francesca once threatened to take the kids out of the house if he couldn't get his temper in check.

Francesca was Hetfield's first marriage ... she'd also join him on tour at times, visiting spots around the world.

Crazy week! Raids, custody wars and some really sad passings. So, we gotta ask ...

The Cowboys have a problem at wide receiver ... and it seems Antonio Brown is willing to help out -- telling TMZ Sports this week, "Tell Jerry Jones to call me!"

Dallas' receiver room took a big hit this month, when free agent acquisition James Washington injured his foot. With Michael Gallup already out while recovering from ACL surgery, the team now has just one truly proven player at the position ready to go for Week 1 -- CeeDee Lamb.

Brown appears to be down to change that in Big D -- saying out in Bev Hills that he wants the Cowboys owner to give him a shout ... presumably to talk about a contract.

Of course, it's unclear how serious Brown is about it all -- he's been extremely focused on his music career this offseason, and has even created a new dance for one of his songs that's since gone viral.

It's also unknown if Jones would want AB -- considering all of the baggage that he seemingly carries and drops off whenever he joins teams.

As for his last squad -- the one that cut him following his wild outburst at MetLife Stadium -- Brown told us he still misses the Bucs and their QB, Tom Brady.

"Tell him I miss the passes," he said of TB12. "I'm still open!"

Wiz Khalifa almost has his Los Angeles mansion off his hands, with an interested buyer about to pull the trigger.

Wiz is selling his Encino home for $4.45M, which turns out to be about $1M more than what he paid for it back in 2019, so it's a nice little profit.

The mansion is a modern beauty, with 6 bedrooms and 6 bathrooms, floor-to-ceiling glass doors, a home movie theater, a pool and a spa. Oh, and a waterfall to boot.

TMZ broke the story ... Wiz isn't moving too far away from his old crib, he'll be living it up, just a few miles down the street in a newly built $7.6 mil mansion.

Wiz's new mansion comes with a guesthouse and a gym.

The wet hair look has flooded your IG feed all summer long, but taking in all the slickness and so-called instant shots ... and while the source of the soggy stars may be the ocean, a pool or even a shower ... the soaked results never leave you high and dry!

Making her posed exit from the water, Kim Kardashian's hair just so happened to be flawlessly doused with beachy body, while a misted Heidi Klum looked back at it with her imperfectly perfect hair. And, Maluma kept the waterworks flowing and captured every last drizzle.

Willie Garson's former L.A. home is now officially off the market, his estate found a buyer nearly a year after his death.

The late "Sex and the City" actor's bungalow in Valley Village sold last week for $1.9 million, a jump from it's original $1.695 million listing price. The home was on the market for a month.

Willie bought the 3-bedroom, 2.5-bath home back in 2005 for just over a million dollars. The Spanish-style home features 10,399 square feet of living space and comes with a ton of charm.

The living room has beamed vaulted ceilings, built-in bookshelves and a fireplace. The backyard is very private, and the new homeowners can enjoy a pool and spa.

TMZ broke the story ... Willie -- who was famous for his role in the "Sex and the City" series and various movies -- died last September after a battle with pancreatic cancer.