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Cate Blanchett's star-making role in "Lord of the Rings" wasn't as glamorous as one would imagine ... as the actress admits she was paid practically nothing for the fantasy flick.

The A-lister made the confession during her appearance on "Watch What Happens Live" Wednesday, where she left host Andy Cohen shocked when she hinted at her minimal paycheck for the 'LOTR' franchise.

Cate confessed she and her castmates weren't "paid anything" to appear in Peter Jackson's trilogy back in the early '00s.

Hollywood actor Gabriel Olds -- known for his roles in "NCIS: Los Angeles" and "The Eyes of Tammy Faye" -- is behind bars, and facing multiple sexual assault charges.

LAPD says officers took Olds into custody Wednesday in response to the L.A. County D.A.'s office hitting him last month with 7 felony sexual assault charges.

Authorities say, in January, a woman came forward claiming the actor sexually assaulted her at her L.A. home ... and then 2 more adult victims came forward with similar stories dating back to 2013.

Tim Walz has power with people from his past ... 'cause he's changed the mind of a former player he mentored decades ago when he was a Minnesota high school athletics coach.

Walz -- the current Minnesota governor and Kamala Harris' VP choice -- was the football coach at Mankato West High School in Mankato, MN, for several seasons in the '90s -- and he took a student named Dan Clement under his wing.

TMZ caught up with Dan on Wednesday and asked about his experiences with Walz as a teenager. Dan told us Walz had such an impact on his life that he went from an undecided vote to the Harris/Walz Democratic ticket in the upcoming presidential election.

Kourtney Kardashian is giving everyone a sneak peek into her fun-filled summer, which also includes breastfeeding!

Kourt posted a carousel of photos Wednesday, showing her and her fam living it up in various destinations.

Several images captured Kourt and hubby Travis Barker hugging. Others depicted Kourt hanging out with her kiddos, Mason, Penelope and Reign, all of whom she shares with ex Scott Disick.

Canadian pole vaulter Alysha Newman had an all-time celebration after securing a bronze medal at the Olympics ... busting out a quick twerk in front of the entire stadium!!

The epic moment went down on Wednesday ... after the 30-year-old cleared the crossbar at 4.85 meters -- a new record for her country.

Newman initially faked an ailment after hopping off the mat ... before putting her hands on her knees and shakin' it for all to see.

Hulk Hogan can't be happy Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are doing a movie on what we're told is the "darkest period of his life," and if Ben and Matt cross the line, he's ready, willing and able to take legal action ... TMZ has learned.

B&M are producing a flick on the lawsuit the WWE legend filed and won against Gawker, after the site posted a sex tape video of Hogan and the wife of a friend. A racial epithet was captured on the vid. Hulk sued Gawker for invasion of privacy and in 2016 won a whopping $140 million verdict ... which eventually tanked Gawker.

Sources connected to Hulk tell TMZ he has no involvement whatsoever in the film project and is currently "indifferent" about it. HOWEVER, if the movie treads into territory that a jury already found was protected by his right to privacy, Hulk will not hesitate to pursue legal options ... which he's clearly done before.

Kamala Harris was heckled by pro-Palestinian protesters during her rally in Michigan Wednesday night – but she kept her cool and took charge.

The Democratic presidential nominee was onstage delivering a stump speech in front of a large crowd in Detroit when the demonstrators started chanting, "Kamala, Kamala, you can't hide ...we won't vote for genocide."

The objectors were pissed about how Kamala -- the current VP -- and President Joe Biden have handled the war between Israel and Hamas, the terrorist group ruling the Palestinians in the Middle East. Kamala and Joe have caught a lot of flack at home from Palestinian groups for their support of Israel.

Former NFL defensive lineman Brandon Mebane -- who helped the Seahawks win Super Bowl XLVIII -- says he got screwed over in a deal to buy a Los Angeles mansion ... and now, he's suing to try to rectify things.

TMZ Sports has learned ... the 39-year-old ex-nose tackle filed the lawsuit in L.A. County this week -- some five years after he purchased a property in Encino for $4.85 million.

Mebane says as part of the agreement he made to snag the home from the builders -- which included Roi Edery and Ofir Grushkovski -- they would handle all of the repairs he found following inspection.

Ben Stiller wishes he was Black, Kamala Harris and Tim Walz kick off their campaign and Lionel Messi has a mess at home ... all this on today's TMZ TV Hot Takes.

First up on "TMZ Live," Harvey and Babcock react to Ben's racial joke about Jewish guys wanting to be Black.

Before this pool-lovin' boy -- from Chicago, Illinois -- turned into a three-peat Olympic swimmer, he was just slipping into his float, hangin' in the shallow end and dreaming of going to the Olympics at just 7 years old!

He became known in the college swimming scene from 2014 - 2017 where he competed as a California Golden Bear!

While at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics, this dude dominated the backstroke events, taking home gold medals in the 100 and 200 meter races. You may also recognize him from his relay race with Michael Phelps.

Nelly's legal team is firing back at police after the rapper was arrested at a Missouri casino ... they say he was "targeted by an overzealous, out of line officer."

Nelly's attorney, Scott Rosenblum, tells TMZ ... Nelly had won a jackpot at the Hollywood Casino in St. Charles Wednesday morning when the arresting officer falsely told him they needed to run a background check before giving Nelly his money.

Rosenblum says Nelly knew this claim to be bogus because he had won bigger jackpots at the same casino, and in those instances, he received his winnings without a background check and no issues whatsoever.

President Biden is worried about how Donald Trump and his supporters might react if Kamala Harris wins the 2024 presidential election ... and it doesn't sound good.

In his first TV interview since bowing out of the race, Biden sat down with CBS News and was asked straight up if he was confident in the peaceful transfer of power when the next president is sworn in January after the election results are certified.

Biden's response ... "If Trump loses, I'm not confident at all."

Two astronauts stranded in space for more than 60 days may have to keep orbiting the Earth until early 2025 ... because their Boeing spacecraft appears unable to bring them home.

NASA is now saying Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams may need to be rescued from the International Space Station by a spacecraft from a rival company ... Elon Musk's SpaceX.

The pair took a Boeing Starline spacecraft to the ISS in June but the maiden voyage has been a disaster ... with helium leaks and thruster failures preventing them from taking the spaceship home.

Kanye West's former chief of staff is taking Ye's dentist to task, claiming the doctor has been supplying Ye with nitrous oxide for recreational use ... but the dentist says the chief made up the allegations for attention.

Milo Yiannopoulos -- Ye's chief of staff for two years before departing the company earlier this year -- submitted an affidavit to the California Dental Board claiming Ye's dentist, Thomas P. Connelly, provided Kanye with nitrous oxide for recreational use.

Yiannopoulos claims Connelly provided the gas for cash ... taking in upwards of $50K every month, even when the gas led to distressing signs from Ye -- including addiction to the substance.

Taylor Swift's concerts in Austria have been canceled due to government concerns about a planned terrorist attack ... despite TMZ confirming two men were already arrested for the alleged plot.

Authorities aren't fully confident they've caught all the terrorists involved in the planned attack. They say the threat has been "minimized," but there is still an "abstract" threat that looms.

Vienna police say they arrested 2 Austrian citizens after a bomb squad found bomb-making materials in the home of a 19-year-old suspect.

Tim Walz quickly hit pause on his speech at a campaign rally in Wisconsin after noticing an attendee wilting in the heat ... directing staff to get the person some H2O.

The Minnesota Governor was at the podium Wednesday in Eau Claire when things came to a screeching halt.

Kamala Harris' running mate was in the middle of a sentence when he stopped and said, "Can we get somebody to help? Somebody is hot." Walz pointed to someone in the crowd who was apparently dehydrated.