The Oscars

Will Smith couldn't look happier to be back in the swing of things ... smiling during his latest gig since the infamous slap at the Oscars.

Will was on set Tuesday in Atlanta, filming "Bad Boys 4" and fully in character as Det. Mike Lowrey.

He's definitely grinning through the work, although, it's hard to say if that's Will smiling or his character.

It's not the first time we've seen WS doing movie star stuff since his infamous 2022 assault on Chris Rock. Will, Jada, and his whole fam first stepped out for the "Emancipation" film premiere last December -- and he's also been filming at least one other project.

As you you know Will was involved in one of the biggest moments in Oscars history ... when he stormed on stage and smacked host Chris Rock dead in the face.

DJ Drama is all for Suge Knight's pending plans to televise his life story ... but he feels Dr. Dre's narrative is even better suited for prime time!!!

We caught up with Mr. Thanksgiving outside iHeartRadio in NY, where he outlined the many platinum reasons why a Dre TV series could take off.

TMZ Hip Hop broke the story ... the incarcerated Death Row Records cofounder is prepared to begin casting for a Suge biopic series.

Obviously, Suge's saga would include Dre ... but Drama says he thinks the Doc's story is worth its own stand-alone series. As he put it, Dre's N.W.A, Death Row and Aftermath eras are all equally must-see TV!!!

Remember, Dre and the surviving N.W.A members previously told part of their story with 2015's "Straight Outta Compton" ... which won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.

Speaking of movies, Drama recently channeled Tupac Shakur from "Juice" to promote his new album, "I'm Really Like That," which dropped Friday and features Lil Uzi Vert, Jack Harlow, Rick Ross and Wiz Khalifa ... among others.

Rihanna's doing it all ... embracing motherhood while also working overtime on her career -- no easy feat when you consider the hours she's putting in, but her son's along for the ride.

Mama Rih was cradling her baby boy Thursday morning, fresh out of a photo shoot that lasted from 7 PM to 7 AM ... according to a photo agency. We're told she arrived the exact same way she left, with her sleeping child in her arms.

We don't know what the shoot was for, but it's possible the baby was included.

RiRi, who is expecting her second child, was also accompanied by another pal and her bestie Melissa ... so, looks like she might have some childcare assistance while on set.

TMZ broke the story ... Rihanna and A$AP Rocky welcomed their first child in May of 2022.

You'll recall, she made a surprising reveal for baby #2 during her Super Bowl Halftime Show performance.

She's had a busy year, professionally ... in addition to the Super Bowl, she recently performed her Oscar-nominated song from 'Wakanda Forever' during the 95th Academy Award.

Austin Butler's 'Elvis' movie went 0 for 8 at the Oscars -- and while it's unclear if the King himself is feeling down, we do know things have gone south (of the border) for him.

The actor was hanging in Cabo San Lucas with his GF, Kaia Gerber, last week -- photographed lounging poolside at their fancy hotel. They were in swimwear -- both looking smoking hot, no doubt -- but there doesn't seem to be too much heartbreak.

AB and Kaia looked fairly neutral as they took in the sunshine ... with just a little bit of PDA.

After a bit of R&R, Austin and Kaia hopped on a golf cart and rolled on over to another part of the resort ... paps snapped the model leaning her head on her boo thang's shoulder as he handled steering duties.

While we're sure Austin/Kaia are enjoying themselves, ya gotta imagine the guy is somewhat bummed about getting iced out of any statuette glory for the most important award show of his life. He had a lot of buzz and momentum behind him ... but so did Brendan Fraser.

Of course, the latter ended up taking home gold for his role in 'The Whale' ... and as we all saw, 'EEAAO,' swept just about everything else -- clearing the deck on all the big categories.

A$AP Rocky is not among those who have an issue with Tems blocking the view of the people sitting behind her at the Oscars ... his reaction is quite the opposite.

We got the rapper and a very pregnant Rihanna leaving lunch at Bottega Louie in West Hollywood on Wednesday and we asked the parents about Tems' controversial outfit.

A$AP can only laugh at the people ripping Tems on social media for being rude ... and Rihanna seems to have similar feelings.

It's worth noting ... Tems was at the Oscars because of her musical work on 'Wakanda Forever' ... the Nigerian singer is a co-writer on a song RiRi performs for the movie.

So, there may be some bias here from Rihanna and A$AP.

Tom Sizemore's work on his last feature film before he died was much like a heavyweight champ giving it his all despite being past his prime ... so says his director on the project.

The late actor plays a police detective in Bruce Bellocchi's upcoming flick, "The Legend of Jack and Diane," in what turned out to be Tom's final movie role ... and TMZ got this behind-the-scenes footage of Tom on set.

As you can see in the clip, Tom's super engaged with the director and his costars as he prepares to shoot a scene as Detective Parker.

Tom was 60 when he filmed the movie, and Bruce says he looked much older than that, was often hunched over and looked very tired all the time. However, he adds ... "That being said, he was professional and I thought always gave his best."

The movie's about a young couple, Jack and Diane, in Indiana who are planning to move to L.A. when they suddenly discover secrets about the death of Diane's mother ... and once their worst fears are confirmed, they create a hit list to get revenge on everyone involved.

Tom's scenes were shot on location in and around L.A. and production wrapped in March 2022 ... about a year before Tom's death.

TMZ broke the stories ... Tom suffered a brain aneurysm at his home in February and was rushed to a hospital, where he was placed on life support. He never regained consciousness and his family ultimately made the difficult decision to remove him from life support.

He died on March 3.

The director says Tom called him a few months after production wrapped and apologized, saying he wasn't sure he gave his best work. But, Bruce says he assured Tom his performance was great.

Bruce summed up the experience with a vivid sports metaphor ... "It was like getting into the ring with the heavyweight champ and although you knew he was past his prime, it was still a surreal experience just to be able to share time together."

The director says he and Tom had a lot in common, telling us they "shared many nights in deep conversation about battling past demons and having the will to keep moving forward."

Bruce is upset the Academy omitted Tom from its 'In Memoriam' segment during the Oscars and believes they snubbed an actor who turned in some of the finest performances in modern cinema.

Brendan Fraser's Oscars celebration is now a full-fledged family affair ... after his fun night at a legendary Sunset Strip club where his son hopped onstage to jam out.

TMZ obtained video of Brendan and his son, Leland, having a ball Monday night at Whisky a Go Go in WeHo ... chilling in the green room and signing the performer's wall.

Brendan takes a few beats to find the perfect space to leave his John Hancock, with onlookers making a wisecrack about his handwriting ... and then Leland follows suit, and gets an earful too.

Folks who were there tell us Brendan and his son got to the venue around 9 PM and watched an '80s cover band perform ... with Leland even jumping on the stage to play guitar with the band at one point.

Leland's dad was a big hit at the Whisky, as tons of people came up to his table to congratulate him 24 hours after his Academy Award victory ... and we're told he didn't turn away anyone. Folks who met Brendan described him as very down-to-earth.

Robert Blake getting left out of the Oscars "In Memoriam" tribute was a big mistake on The Academy's part -- at least, according to the late actor's son, who's also pissed his dad's death was a punchline.

Noah Blake tells TMZ ... people are allowed to have their own opinion about his father -- which obviously many have -- but he says when it comes to an annually anticipated segment like the Oscars Memoriam, opinions shouldn't be a factor.

He also points out his dad wasn't the only one left out ... as you know, stars like Tom Sizemore, Anne Heche, and Paul Sorvino were excluded from the broadcast. It's something that seems to happen every year, and Noah thinks it once again wasn't handled well.

Noah also gave us his thoughts on Jimmy Kimmel's joke about whether or not to include Robert in the segment -- obviously, he found it to be in poor taste. He also says it landed flat, because he was confused if the "interactive portion" was legit or just a gag.

For what it's worth, the audience laughed ... clearly getting it was a gag.

He adds he doesn't usually believe in jokes being "too soon," but points out the fine line Jimmy was walking on when he poked fun at the actor.

Noah tells us he's going to go live on Instagram at 5:30 PM PST Tuesday to talk about his dad and his life.

Pauly Shore is pissed off at Jimmy Kimmel making him the butt of a joke during the Oscars ... saying it was gratuitous and hurtful.

The comedian/actor told Page Six how he felt when JK used him as a punchline while celebrating his 2 former costars from 'Encino Man' -- one of Pauly's cult classics from the '90s.

Turns out ... the jab left a wound. PS says, "We love to hate people when they’re on top. People wanted to smash me down and they did. I was always nice to everyone, always cool, I put my heart into all my films."

He adds, "You’re buying and selling a human being. Human beings have feelings, it’s not like selling real estate." He says he's quite happy for Brendan Fraser and Ke Huy Quan ... both of whom acted in 'Encino' and each of whom won their own statuette Sunday night.

Pauly goes on to talk about a comeback of his own and how he wants to get back into acting. At the moment, he's touring and about to hit SXSW soon -- he also teases a possible TV show that might come about that focuses on his upbringing from the '70s and '80s.

It seems having a couple of his old costars swing back into the spotlight has him itching for some of that too. Pauly ends by saying, "I am not going to stop. I’m going to keep going. I know I’m going to get that call, and get that opportunity. That’s what it's about."

While Pauly might be craving mainstream success again ... he's actually been steadily working. Dude's got roles racked up for just about every year going back to the 2010s/'00s ... albeit, none of those projects are as memorable as what he did in the 20th century.

Chadwick Boseman got a lot of love at the Oscars ... something his family was well aware of and super appreciative to hear during the big night.

Allen Boseman, Chadwick's cousin and the attorney for the Boseman family tells TMZ ... "It's been incredible how Chadwick has been received by the entire Hollywood family and how his legacy continues to live on."

He goes on to say ... "Even though he's physically gone his spirit remains in the hearts and minds of his peers and fellow actors and actresses on Hollywood's biggest stage. While he was a figurative king in the movie, he appears to be a real king to many others, including those in our family."

ICYMI, Danai Gurira, who starred alongside CB in "Black Panther", paid homage to Chadwick before Rihanna performed "Lift Me Up".

Ruth E Carter, who took home Best Costume Design for "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" also made a moving tribute to Chadwick and her late mother during her acceptance speech ... saying "Chadwick, please take care of mom."

You'll recall Chadwick played King T'Challa in "Black Panther". He died in 2020 after a 4-year battle with colon cancer.

Ashley Graham rolled with the punches during her awkward Oscars exchange with Hugh Grant, and she's carrying on with just as much grace afterward ... take a look for yourself.

We got the model-turned-interviewer at LAX Monday morning, a day after her cringeworthy moment with the famed British actor ... who did not provide any easy answers on the red carpet for the relatively standard softball questions AG was lobbing his way.

Upon reflection, Ashley doesn't seem too bent out of shape ... telling our photog she simply followed some advice that had been passed down to her -- namely, kindness always wins.

In other words, she took the high road ... and you could argue Hugh didn't. Either way, Ashley's fine with how things played out -- she made her decisions, and he made his.

As our cameraman pointed out -- and Ashley agreed -- you can't control how someone else is going to react. All you can do is your job and try to get some engagement -- and she certainly attempted ... on that, everyone seems to agree.

Like we said ... Ashley isn't really trippin' about Hugh stonewalling her, but she is still hurting from something else Oscar-related. As she's learning, these gigs require a lot of standing.

Diana Ross pulled out all the stops in the name of Oscar Sunday ... giving people in attendance at Byron Allen's annual gala a night of endless love.

The former Supremes singer was havin' a blast headlining Byron's shindig at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, busting out some of her classics from the past 6 decades.

The 78-year-old icon performed for about an hour and had 3 costume changes over that period. Yes, Miss Ross still knows how to put on a show!

Believe it or not, Diana wasn't the only big event at this shindig -- attendees could also pay money, which went to Children's Hospital L.A., to get roasted by the famed roastmaster Jeff Ross -- and Chrissy Teigen's mom Vilailuck was one of the lucky donors.

Take a look, Jeff doesn't go easy on her, but we guess that's the best bang for your buck -- no pun intended. Howie Mandel MC'd the roast and threw in his 2 cents too.

Despite Jeff's harsh roasting of several folks who donated to the cause, not a single comedian was slapped!!!

Tems stood out at the Oscars, blocking the view of people sitting behind her ... and while the folks there were polite, Twitter gave her an earful.

The Nigerian singer -- who was on hand Sunday for her musical work on 'Wakanda Forever' -- had one of the more noticeable getups at the award show ... a massive white dress that was jutting out and upward at her shoulders, which made her look like a human flower.

The problem ... when she sat down, her 'fit sorta caused a big distraction -- both onscreen for viewers, and certainly for everyone else sitting in the rows behind her.

During the broadcast, there were several moments where you could see the people right behind Tems peering over her shoulder to get a glimpse of the stage or of Kimmel. It was pretty funny ... they were obviously challenged by her dress and had to do peek-arounds to see the action. It doesn't appear anyone said anything to her.

The same can't be said for the bird app ... 'cause a lot of users there were pretty angry at the fact that she wore something so big, and which would presumably cause some blind spots in the theater. A bunch called it "rude" ... others found it hilarious. Mixed bag.

Kendall Jenner and Bad Bunny are still going strong ... rolling their now-confirmed romance into one of the biggest nights in Hollywood, and once again telegraphing they're a legit couple.

The supermodel and Latin pop star were on the list for Jay-Z and Beyonce's Oscars after-party Sunday in L.A., and while it's unclear if they showed up as a unit ... they certainly left as one, getting into the same car at the end of the night.

Check it out for yourself ... the new couple slipped into the same waiting town car. They still managed to dodge photogs trying to get them in the same frame. Clearly, they're still trying to keep it on the DL, but failing more with each date night.

Kendall was covering her face as they drove off ... BB seemed a little more casual about it all. Fact is, we've seen them together already, and everyone knows what's going on.

Remember, we just saw Kendall and Bunny on a group date last week ... where they hit up a celeb hot spot in West Hollywood. They were caught on camera embracing each other as everyone parted ways.

Anyway, just further proof these 2 are the real deal and currently seeing each other ... on a somewhat serious level, at the very least.

Oh, and take a gander at all the other celebs who were at Bey and Jay's blowout. We'd say it's a who's-who -- but, frankly, the pie was split pretty evenly throughout the weekend. With that said, there was some talent on hand ... Bieber, RiRi, Tyler, just to name a few.

Just about everyone in Hollywood was at the Oscars on Sunday, and just about everyone else was at one of these two after-parties ... courtesy of Elton John and Vanity Fair.

These were the biggest shindigs in town post-award show -- and as you see, they were absolutely packed with star power. Not just actors, BTW, but musicians, comedians, models and socialites were dressed in their best getups.

Check out who showed up where ... over at the VF bash in Bev Hills, we saw faces like Jessica Alba, Jennifer Coolidge, Donald Glover, Trevor Noah, Naomi Watts, Tracee Ellis Ross, Dwyane Wade, Gabrielle Union, Michael Keaton, Queen Latifah, Olivia Wilde, Sarah Paulson, John Legend, Chrissy Teigen ... and even 2 politicos, Nancy Pelosi and Monica Lewinsky.

Meanwhile, out in WeHo, the Rocket Man himself was hosting an Oscars viewing party through his AIDS foundation ... and that, too, was flowing with glamorous A-listers.

Elton was able to get a solid crowd together himself ... people who swung by include Heidi Klum, Kathy Hilton, Christina Hendricks, Tiffany Haddish, Brooke Shields, Patricia Arquette, Smokey Robinson, Zooey Deschanel, Hilary Duff, Emma Watson and many more.

Of course, everyone there was also dressed to impress ... rocking gowns, suits, tuxes and everything fancy in between. Elton himself was in his traditional heart-shaped shades.

It's just the cherry on top for a pretty great night all around ... everybody seemed to be on their best behavior and was certainly having a ball as they celebrated filmmaking.

Like we told you, all the nominees were in quite the touchy-feely mood behind the scenes at the Dolby Theater itself -- but in a good and respectful way ... meaning, they were just bringing it in for hugs and kisses as they congratulated each other. No slaps or swings.

And, naturally, every person that made their big entrance in front of the cameras was also in their best Sunday 'fits ... with most everybody rocking fairly traditional, elegant outfits.

Not only were the nominees looking pristine ... but so were the presenters, all 40+ of 'em.

As for the highlights of the actual broadcast itself ... well, there were a lot. Ke Huy Quan (the kid from "The Goonies" and 'Temple of Doom') won an Oscar, as did Jamie Lee Curtis and Michelle Yeoh ... as did Brendan Fraser. They took home the top acting honors of the night.

Speaking of "Everything Everywhere All at Once," that movie swept just about every major category it was nominated in ... including Best Original Screenplay, Best Editing, Best Director(s) and Best Picture

Hugh Grant was borderline insulting to Ashley Graham on the red carpet before the Oscars ... barely answering her questions in a cringeworthy interview.

Grant, who later in the night referred to himself as a scrotum, seemed he could not be less interested as Graham peppered him with basic questions.

As for what he was wearing, everyone knows the drill ... Valentino, Mugler, Armani. Hugh's answer -- "Just my suit."

She also tried complimenting him on his cameo in Rian Johnson's "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery" -- and his answer was worse than an eye roll.

When Hugh got onstage before his peers, he seemed way more interested -- way more engaged.

Hugh presented the award for Production Design with his "Four Weddings and a Funeral" co-star Andie MacDowell.

He called himself a scrotum, but on the red carpet, he was scrotum adjacent.