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Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez have a lot of friends and family flying in this weekend to celebrate their marriage -- but one person won't be in attendance ... Casey Affleck.

Ben's younger brother, who's also a big-time actor, was spotted Saturday morning in L.A. on a Starbucks run ... where he looked pretty busy with his hands full. Of course, the obvious question that a pap posed to him was ... why aren't you in Georgia right now, man???

You can tell Casey wasn't really in the mood to chat much, but he does mumble something sorta telling as for why he isn't with BA today -- it sounds like he says he "fell asleep."

The cameraman tries clarifying to see if that's what CA actually said, but he doesn't respond further. In any case, it seems he's going to miss the festivities ... because just about everyone who's showing up is touching down in the Peach State as we speak.

Casey's been telegraphing this all week -- on Thursday, he was out with his girlfriend Caylee Cowan, and didn't appear that interested in talking about his sibling's big day this weekend.

Worth noting ... the Affleck brothers have seemed close over the years. But, they haven't been photographed together of late ... so who knows if they're all that tight these days.

Holden Caulfield is a whiny little brat who's more of a punk than he is a literary hero ... this according to Jahkara Smith, who's got one helluva hot take that's got Twitter fired up.

The "NOS4A2" star posted a video this week that analyzes the lead character from J.D. Salinger's "Catcher in the Rye" -- honing in on one scene in particular, where she says HC got what he deserved ... and that the kid actually sucks if you look at him big picture.

Jahkara explains Holden has idealistic views of women, but when it comes to getting busy, he's not actually up for it -- evidenced by an encounter with a prostitute, which he ends up paying for. JS POV ... serves him right, as he was wasting that working woman's time.

She goes on to suggest that he's actually the blueprint of a modern-day school shooter ... because as soon as he gets roughed up, he has visions of killing the hooker/pimp.

There's a lot more to her book review, so watch for yourself -- but let's just say, a handful on the bird app aren't taking too kindly to her analysis of what's considered an American classic. We'll spare you all the tweets, but basically ... some argue she's being simplistic in her breakdown of the character, and dissecting him without some much-needed context.

For starters, people are in her mentions defending Holden ... saying that he's obviously a troubled youth who's dealing with major trauma (death of brother) and likely sexual abuse.

Unclear if Jahkara processed that, but in any case ... she seems to think the novel just isn't all that it's made out to be. In fact, there are a decent amount of folks who actually agree with her -- saying the premise of this teen trying to preserve innocence is ... kinda lame.

The book has fallen under a lot of scrutiny in recent years -- with a lot of people claiming 'Catcher' is problematic at its core. That might be true ... under a 21st-century lens, that is. Remember, this thing was published in the '50s ... a very different time in America.

Gary Busey is facing criminal charges out of New Jersey after cops claim he made inappropriate contact with people, among other things.

The actor was hit with four charges Friday by the Cherry Hill Police Department -- two counts of criminal sexual contact, one count of criminal attempt/criminal sexual contact and one count of harassment.

Cops say this stems from a report of a sex offense during the weekend of August 12-14 at the Doubletree Hotel. They describe more than one incident that people reported during the Monster Mania Convention -- for which he was booked to appear -- but the details of any alleged acts are unclear at this point. CHPD didn't go into detail about what was reported.

There's no doubt Gary was in attendance for this thing BTW -- he took multiple photos with fans throughout the three days. Just check his tagged section on IG, and you'll see 'em all.

Unclear if Busey is still in town or not, or what the process will look like to have to answer for these charges in Jersey if he has, in fact, left the state. He, of course, lives in California ... and it doesn't sound like he was arrested there on the spot last week.

We've reached out to Gary's reps ... so far, no word back. TMZ has also reached out to Cherry Hill PD for more info on what this is all about -- but they haven't responded yet.

Tom Cruise keeps on winning -- his smash hit blockbuster movie, "Top Gun: Maverick," just reached new heights by tapping on the Marvel box office door ... and taking out Thanos.

The sky-high sequel hit a massive benchmark this week, topping "Avengers: Infinity War" to become the #6 highest grossing movie of all time with a total domestic haul of $679 million ... narrowly beating out 'IW' which was at $678M and holding down its spot for years now.

You'll recall ... it was just a couple weeks ago that 'Maverick' sunk "Titanic" to claim the #7 spot -- and now, it's continuing its snowball roll and gunning for #5, "Black Panther."

Another Marvel flick, obviously, and it clocks in at about $700 million ... so it might be a little while longer before TC and co. can potentially overtake it. But analysts say it's well within its reach, especially since the movie shows no signs of leaving theaters anytime soon.

People are still hitting cineplexes to catch it ... mostly because of a lot of natural buzz that's been generated and killer reviews. Indeed, it's one of this year's best -- without a doubt.

While it's possible 'TGM' could topple 'BP,' chances are "Black Panther" might reclaim its throne as the sequel approaches in the fall. Many expect Disney to rerelease the OG to promote the new movie, and if people come out ... it'll help the box office numbers anew.

Quando Rondo got caught in the middle of a deadly shooting in broad daylight in L.A. on Friday ... triggering a freak-out from the rapper.

Videos circulating online show Quando CLEARLY upset while talking to a police officer in West Hollywood right after the bloodshed. In the videos, Quando appears very animated, flailing his arms and stumbling backward.

At one point, Quando sees the police drag a body out of a black Escalade and he promptly walks away, screaming in agony.

A rep for Quando tells us the rapper is "OK," but then clammed up on us.

Law enforcement tells TMZ ... several gunmen drove to a gas station in Beverly Grove and opened fire, hitting a young man.

His friends loaded him into the black SUV and drove about a mile to West Hollywood, where they were stopped by police officers responding to the shooting scene. This was where the videos of Quando were shot and it appears he's just a witness.

Cops gave CPR to the victim, who was breathing, but not conscious. An ambulance rushed the victim to the hospital, where he died.

The suspects fled in a white sedan.

Quando is no stranger to gun violence. He and his crew were shot at in Blackshear, Georgia, back in May 2021. One of his handlers was wounded in that attack.

Then, in November 2020, King Von was shot dead at an Atlanta hookah lounge following a confrontation between his crew and Quando's entourage.

A rescue mission unfolded to kick off the weekend for a handful of residents in Newport Beach -- where a woman somehow found herself and her car knee-deep in water.

Check out this wild scene from Friday evening in the Orange County beachside community ... drone footage shows a vehicle partially submerged after it apparently fell off the dock, part of which looks damaged.

Folks from nearby sprung into action, diving in to help the person inside -- who turned out to be a woman -- and you can see it was all hands on deck as they tried pulling her out.

At one point, you even see the trunk pop open -- which is something that one witness says ended up being the way they got her out ... not before smashing a couple windows, though, beforehand. Pretty dramatic stuff, and it all plays out on video with a bird's-eye view.

Ultimately, it sounds like everyone was okay ... including the driver.

Reports say Newport Beach PD is investigating this as a possible DUI. No word on how this person may have fallen in -- but if she was driving while impaired, there's your answer.

Johnny Depp has played many roles, but never a Moonman ... and that's all going to change at the upcoming MTV Video Music Awards with a planned surprise appearance from the movie star.

VMA production sources tell TMZ ... Depp's been in talks with show producers to dress up as the network's famous Moonman -- recently dubbed the Moonperson -- and show face at some point during the award show's broadcast on August 28.

Depp's won 5 MTV Movie Awards over the years, including Best Male Performance, Best Villain, Global Superstar and the Generation Award in 2012.

The surprise appearance comes on the heels of both the recent announcement of Johnny's return to film as well as his new deal with Dior. TMZ broke the story, the brand signed Depp to a multi-year, 7-figure extension to continue to be the face of the Sauvage fragrance line.

Akon is jumping to Kanye West's defense in a big way, telling all the critics they're hypocrites for blasting Ye for what they say is disrespecting the homeless ... yet doing nothing about it themselves.

Akon says Kanye owes zero apologies for the containers in Gap stores featuring his fashions. As you know, Ye's getting dragged by folks who believe the containers are garbage bags and it mocks the homeless when customers have to root around inside the bags for the perfect hoodie.

Fact is ... they're not garbage bags ... they're containers and it's a unique presentation that actually has customers venturing into Gap stores ... something done with less and less frequency these days.

Akon says Kanye has no reason to apologize or explain himself ... he's just a guy who happens to be really creative, and owes no explanation to anyone.

Kanye made that point clear to Fox Friday ... he's not explaining or offering any mea culpa.

Akon says Kanye's actually put a spotlight on the homeless problem, and if people are so concerned then they should roll up their sleeves and do something!

Donald Trump's troubles are undeniably deepening as the plot continues to thicken, and a big shindig at Ben's pad in Georgia to celebrate his marriage to J Lo. So we gotta ask ...

Bill Maher has a warning ... online shopping is taking a not-so-hidden toll on America ... and he makes a case that going OG shopping is better for your head and the planet.

The "Real Time" host went scorched earth on people who like to order 9 pairs of pants to find the one that fits just right ... only to return the other 8. Those boxes go somewhere ... yep, landfills, oceans ... not good.

The visual tells the story ... buy a small item, it comes in a big box. Buy 3 items ... you get 3 big boxes. When you add it up, it's kind of an environmental disaster.

And, then there's the human toll ... Americans don't leave their homes like they used to because it's easier to push a button than to start a car and drive to a mall. Thing is ... Americans have become way more isolated, and it's taking a mental toll, because we are social creatures who increasingly have stopped socializing.

Thing is ... Kanye West may have figured all of this out with his latest creation at Gap stores ... the containers in which you find his designs have attracted customers ... people who might otherwise just sit on their sofa and order away.

Ex-NBA star Caron Butler is using his personal experiences to help teach young kids with his new book ... telling TMZ Sports his close friend Kobe Bryant inspired him to share his real story.

Caron played alongside the late Hall of Famer on the Lakers from 2004-2005 ... and the two remained great friends up until the legend's tragic death in 2020.

The 2011 NBA Champ says Bryant -- who had a series of children's books of his own -- once gave him pointers on how he could use his authenticity to motivate the next generation ... which led him to write "Shot Clock," alongside Justin Reynolds.

"He did like a little moment with me prior to him passing," Tuff Juice tells us. "We connected and we talked about the writing process and how it's so tough to be authentic and clear and real, but it's exactly what the kids need."

"He always told me to 'Tell your truth, be brave and people gonna accept it or reject it, but be brave in that process,'" he added.

Butler says he made a promise to Kobe that his second act would be "far better, more profound" than his playing career ... a vow he also disclosed with Bryant's wife, Vanessa.

The book is deep ... and reflects what Caron really went through in life -- from traveling the world to run-ins with law enforcement and losing friends to gun violence.

"Selling Sunset" producers are racing to fill the void left by Christine Quinn's departure ... they need a new villain for the show, and they need to figure it out ASAP.

Production sources tell TMZ ... the folks who run the popular Netflix show are scrambling behind the scenes to figure out who is going to step into Christine's place as the bad girl, and they're hopeful holdover Chelsea Lazkani leans into the role in upcoming seasons.

We're told execs approached Chelsea about playing into the villain role once it became clear to producers in June Christine wasn't coming back, leading to conversations with Chelsea about embracing the role Christine played so well.

Our sources say producers understand Chelsea, a British real estate agent who joined the show in season 5, has big shoes to fill here ... but they're hopeful she can step up to the plate.

Other candidates, we're told, include newcomers Bre Tiesi and Nicole Young ... they're joining "Selling Sunset" for the upcoming seasons, and sources say there's a possibility producers will look to one or both to be the next Christine if Chelsea doesn't cut it.

Filming began this week, but we're told it's too soon to know if producers have their villain just yet.

TMZ broke the story ... Christine and the producers reached a mutual decision for her to leave the show and she's moving onto other projects, signing with IMG models.

Jason Oppenheim told our photog Thursday he's not stressed about Christine leaving, saying he has no concerns her exit will hurt the show.

NLE Choppa is all for innovation in the bedroom, saying he thinks there's a part of the body that's rarely explored that should be ... the armpit!!!

We caught up with NLE Friday at LAX, who's been on a raunchy rampage since his "Slut Me Out" single dropped ... and sharing with the world he licks his girl's pits, saying, "my saliva yo deodorant."

NLE dissects the meaning behind his tweet, telling us all sorts of things have become more common in the bedroom in recent years, so armpits should fall under the same category.

We also picked NLE's brain regarding the recent rapper face-tat boom ... brought forth by Drake and Cardi B -- who's yet to actually reveal hers.

Summer 2022 was the season to get your group of friends back in touch after the long-awaited break and celebrate those special friendships with a good ol' fashion get-together!

Amongst the summer squads are the Kardashian klan who made some extravagant plans with their close-knit posse, Dua Lipa rallied her bikini clique for some awesome adventures, Terrence J got the boys to bounce to Turks and Caicos ... and Ashley Tisdale and Hilary Duff rounded up a mom mob for some R&R at a resort in Southern California.

Emilio Rivera thinks there's something to the idea of busing migrants from the border to different parts of the country ... he says it might help lessen the load on everyone.

We got the "Sons of Anarchy" star at LAX and asked him about Texas Gov. Greg Abbot's controversial new policy to send migrants from the U.S.-Mexico border all the way to New York.

Emilio, who was born in Texas, says it's actually a really good idea because it spreads the burden, so it doesn't just fall on one area to figure out what to do with an influx of asylum seekers.

While Emilio says he's trying to look at the positive side of the situation, he admits it must be hard on the migrants' families and feels for them.

You should never count out a desperate housewife, because now they're wiping out liquor store shelves with their very own luxury booze, so put down your drink and see if you can spot the differences in these two modified shots of the legendary Eva Longoria in her tequila swag.

The beautiful actress and tequila brand owner has kept more than busy, but that didn't stop this hot momma from burning some iron at the gym ... and, of course she was repping her "Casa Del Sol Tequila" merch.

Can you take a shot at finding the mods?