The Oscars

Armie Hammer's wife is enraged that someone is using her name to get invites to the best party of the weekend -- the Vanity Fair shindig.

Elizabeth Chambers claims in a new lawsuit -- obtained by TMZ -- Diana Roque Ellis used an email address making it appear she was Elizabeth in an attempt to gain access to the party.

Chambers claims the emails fraudulently stated the sender was Elizabeth and asked if she and Armie could bring an extra guest. The Vanity Fair party planners wanted to know the name of the plus 1 ... and she emailed back Diana Ellis.

Elizabeth claims Diana got hold of her home address to make it look more authentic.

According to the suit, Vanity Fair smelled a rat because the emails said Diana would be arriving separately and asked that the invite be sent directly to Diana.

Elizabeth wants damages for "misappropriation of name." She also wants an injunction against Diana prohibiting her from using her name.

Joel McHale and Sarah Silverman are proof hilarious minds also think alike.

Joel and Sarah were part of the huge wave of celebs at Cadillac's Pre-Oscars bash Thursday night at the famed Chateau Marmont on the Sunset Strip. They both stopped to hang with fans, sign some autographs and dropped some self-deprecating humor.

Tiffany Haddish had some fashion tips for Oscar weekend, but honestly, as soon as we hear her voice ... we wanna crack up. Margot Robbie, Christa B. Allen, Will Arnett, Marisa Tomei, Allison Janney and many more get some face time in this video.

Brad Pitt's back in the Hollywood scene ... anything for Oscar.

Brad made a rare appearance at the Gersh Oscar Party at the famed Chateau Marmont on the Sunset Strip. He was flanked by his manager, Cynthia Pett-Dante, and was all smiles. Brad's kept a pretty low profile since splitting from Angelina Jolie.

The appearance comes on the heels of Brad signing on for Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" ... a film about a struggling actor who lives next door to Sharon Tate at the time of the 1969 murders.

After the real-life disaster at last year's Oscars, the Academy feels the best way to make sure the proper people accept the award for Best Picture -- bring back the ones who screwed it up ... because TMZ has learned Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway will do the honors again!!!

Our Oscar sources tell us Warren and Faye both just showed up at the Dolby Theatre and rehearsed the big moment. We're told they were shuffled onstage together very quickly to run through their bit. They went through their lines twice. She began by saying, "Presenting is better the second time around," Beatty followed up with, "The winner is 'Gone with the Wind.'"

We're told the writers are still putting finishing touches on their lines.

Alejandro Inarritu is going to bat for the creative team behind the Oscar nominated documentary about Syria ... posing one simple question for the feds.

We got the Academy Award-winning director Wednesday at LAX and asked if he'd heard about a hiccup the filmmakers of "Last Men in Aleppo" are having under Trump's travel ban.

We broke the story ... the directors and cinematographers of the film are trying to attend the Oscars after being nominated this year, but can't come because their country is on Trump's banned list. They're currently attempting to use party invites to gain passage.

Desperate times call for desperate measures -- creators of the Oscar-nominated film, "Last Men in Aleppo," are hoping party invitations will convince feds to approve their travel from Syria to the United States.

If you haven't heard ... producer Kareem Abeed, co-director Hassan Kattan and cinematographers Fadi Al Halabi and Thaer Mohamad are from Syria, and they're barred from coming to the U.S. for the Academy Awards due to President Trump's travel ban.

The filmmakers know exceptions can be made for unusual circumstances, and we're told their Hail Mary consists of securing as many Oscar party invitations as possible. They want to present the documents to local consulates Tuesday in Europe.

Their argument, we're told, will be that they have legitimate business reasons to be in L.A. before, during and after the Oscars.

Two of the guys, Hassan and Fadi, went through this last year when their documentary short, "The White Helmets" won an Oscar. They were not present to accept due to the travel ban.

James Franco's dealing with a friendlier wave in Hollywood these days -- not a backlash from Oscar voters ... just the kind under his surfboard.

The 'Disaster Artist' star caught some waves Monday with his girlfriend, Isabel Pakzad, in Venice. James was hanging ten on the same day this year's Oscar nominees posed for their group photo.

James showed zero signs of FOMO.

James, of course, won a Golden Globe and a Critics' Choice Award for Best Actor, but got the cold shoulder from the Motion Picture Academy amid multiple accusations of sexual misconduct.

Kobe Bryant got the All-Star treatment at the Oscars lunch on Monday -- getting the prime front row seat for the official group photo ... despite the fact he towers over EVERYONE there!

He's in front of huge stars like Margot Robbie, Saoirse Ronan, Mary J. Blige, Kumail Nanjiani, Guillermo del Toro, Laura Dern ... EVEN MERYL FRICKIN' STREEP!

Then again, she's been in like 50 Oscars lunch photos ... so, maybe they wanted to switch it up.

The Mamba's been nominated for Best Animated Short for "Dear Basketball" -- and he's clearly enjoying everything that goes along with being a nominee ... including free lunch!

Casey Affleck is backing out of presenting at the upcoming Academy Awards ... TMZ has learned.

The Academy tells us ... Affleck notified them he won't be presenting the Best Actress award at the Oscars on March 4, which is traditionally always presented by the Best Actor winner from the previous year.

According to our sources ... Casey has a lot of respect for the Oscars, and doesn't want the Best Actress category to be about him presenting. We're told he wants the attention to be focused on the nominees ... and doesn't want his presence to impact the winner's special moment.

As you'll recall ... Casey won at the 2017 Oscars for his role in "Manchester by the Sea," despite controversy surrounding past allegations of sexual harassment against him.

Byron Scott is ecstatic his old teammate Kobe Bryant was nominated for an Oscar -- and tells TMZ Sports he hopes people celebrate Mamba because people deserve 2nd chances in life.

Questions have been raised about how Kobe will be received at the Academy Awards on March 4 by a Hollywood crowd that's been cracking down on stars accused of sexual misconduct.

Obviously, Kobe has sexual misconduct allegations of his own in his past -- but Scott says he hopes people are able to forgive Kobe and let him move forward with his life.

Utah Senator Orrin Hatch is down with Ronald Reagan receiving a posthumous Oscar, but he concedes it would be an uphill battle.

We got the Republican Senator Tuesday on Capitol Hill and he thinks Reagan's CV is Oscar-worthy -- movie star, SAG President and Prez of the U.S.

There's a petition being circulated asking the Academy to honor Reagan -- as the only Academy member to become Prez.

The Senator -- who's retiring this year -- admits it's a tough road to hoe for any conservative to get love from members of the Academy.

BTW ... when Reagan first ran for Governor of California, his opponent campaigned against Reagan using his movie, "Bedtime for Bonzo" -- where Reagan chummed up to a chimp -- to argue he was unqualified.

James Franco's still getting by with a little help from his friends after Hollywood snubbed him for an Oscar nomination.

Franco did lunch with Jeff Garlin Tuesday at Joan's on Third. Based on their bro hug as they left, we'd say the "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and 'Goldbergs' star was supporting James ... hours after he, shockingly, did NOT get an Oscar nomination.

We're guessing the sexual assault allegations against Franco also came up over the meal, since it's pretty clear that's what swayed Motion Picture Academy voters.

A friend in need ...

James Franco getting shut out at the Oscars may have a simple explanation -- Academy voters are buying his accuser's story that he's been a sexual predator ... this according to Gloria Allred.

Gloria -- who btw never mentions James by name -- tells TMZ ...this is not a criminal case where people get a presumption of innocence. She says Academy voters can conclude whatever they want based on whatever evidence they believe.

Kobe Bryant was just nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film for his movie, "Dear Basketball" ... but it begs the question, Time's Up?

In a time where huge Hollywood stars are crushing people like Aziz Ansari, James Franco and others ... ya gotta remember, Kobe was formally charged with raping a woman back in 2003.

Remember, Bryant admitted having sex with a 19-year-old hotel staffer in Eagle, Colorado -- but insisted it was consensual.

By his account, things went south when Kobe asked the woman if he could ejaculate in her face during the sexual encounter. Kobe claims the woman denied his request and he stopped cold. The woman clearly saw things differently.

When approached by police, Kobe asked the cops if he could pay her off to make the situation go away.

Kobe was charged with sexual assault -- but the case was dropped when the accuser stopped cooperating with prosecutors. At the time, she claimed she was receiving hate mail and death threats.

She filed a civil suit against Kobe, which he later settled. There are reports he paid around $5 million, though Kobe claimed he never paid her a dime.

Kobe later released an apology saying, "I want to apologize directly to the young woman involved in this incident. I want to apologize to her for my behavior that night and for the consequences she has suffered in the past year."

Kobe added this part ... which sounds a lot like Aziz's explanation:

"Although I truly believe this encounter between us was consensual, I recognize now that she did not and does not view this incident the same way I did. After months of reviewing discovery, listening to her attorney, and even her testimony in person, I now understand how she feels that she did not consent to this encounter."

So, the big question ... how will Hollywood react if Kobe wins?

James Franco was not nominated for an Oscar, and there isn't a shadow of a doubt the reason is that 5 women have accused him of sexual misconduct.

It's a stunning statement ... Franco won the Golden Globe and the Critics' Choice Awards for Best Actor. The voting was partially completed before the allegations surfaced but obviously there were enough outstanding votes afterward to make a difference.

Here's what's interesting ... Kobe Bryant was nominated for Best Animated Short for "Dear Basketball." As you know, in 2003, Kobe was charged with raping a woman in Eagle, Colorado ... something he denied, claiming it was consensual. The case was dropped after the alleged victim refused to cooperate. Kobe settled a civil suit with the woman for a reported $5 million.

James Franco tried riding out the storm on a surfboard Monday -- but it didn't work ... 'cause he wiped out a day later.

Paps got James Monday in Malibu surfing with some pals, and he actually seemed pretty chipper ... but his mood probably changed Tuesday after missing out on a Best Actor nomination.

Lots of folks are claiming snub, especially since he won a Golden Globe and Critics' Choice Award -- he was also nominated for a SAG Award.

Looks like those accusations were simply too much for the Academy ... bummer, dude.