The Oscars

Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are back in action ... and we have the first images of the famous duo filming together for their upcoming 'Bad Boys' flick.

The actors were spotted Wednesday in Atlanta shooting a scene for "Bad Boys 4" ... and, the guys are fully in character -- Will as Det. Mike Lowrey and Martin as Marcus Miles Burnett.

As you can see, they were right in the thick of all the action ... it appears Will's character was talking Martin off an 8-story ledge, as he stood near the edge wearing a hospital gown.

You'll recall we saw Will on set of the new film, last month, but this is the first time we've seen him and Martin together in front of the cameras.

Will's fully back into the swing of his movie career since he infamously slapped Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars. While Smith is banned from attending the award show for 10 years ... it's not impacting his appeal as an A-list draw for Hollywood blockbusters.

This will be the 4th installment of their 'Bad Boys' franchise, which started way back in '95.

Richard Dreyfuss says the new rules mandating inclusivity for future Oscar nominations make him wanna barf -- and we mean that literally ... 'cause the dude says so himself.

The legendary actor, who's an Academy Award winner himself, made some eye-opening comments in a recent interview on PBS's 'Fine Line with Margaret Hoover' -- where she asked him what he made of these new rules that are going into effect next year.

Those new guidelines state that any Best Picture nominees must hire a certain percentage of talent (either onscreen or in the crew) from underrepresented minority groups in order to be considered eligible, among other criteria to achieve more representation at the Oscars.

Welp, RD didn't bite his tongue ... he says that whole idea makes him sick -- and when asked why ... he goes on this somewhat incoherent rant about artistry and sparing feelings.

He then goes on to talk about the role of Othello, and he says the last white actor to play the Shakespearean character was Laurence Olivier -- who did it in blackface ... something he seems to lament being over and done with. Dreyfuss says LO portrayed Othello brilliantly.

Roman Polanski and his child rape victim, who's now an adult, are telegraphing just how tight they are now by posing for a very cheery photo ... almost 50 years after he drugged and molested her.

The infamous director posed with Samantha Geimer in a pic that was shared over the weekend by his wife, Emmanuelle Seigner ... who actually interviewed Geimer in a piece that ran in the French publication Le Point, where Geimer says she's over the whole saga.

In the article, Geimer said Polanksi has "paid his debt to society." She also says the encounter with Polanski in '77 -- when she was just 13 -- was "never a big problem" for her, and she laments it dragging on as a scandal for this long.

This is something Geimer has repeated publicly for quite a while now -- however, she did sue Polanski over the rape back in the '90s, which was reportedly settled out of court.

In the years that followed, Geimer has said the rape doesn't define her ... nor does she think Polanski should continue to be dogged over it, let alone be wanted by the authorities here in the States. He's attempted to get the fugitive warrant revoked, but it hasn't worked out.

As you might know ... Polanski pled guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor at the time, but fled the country before he could be sentenced, and has never returned. He has won Oscars since then, though.

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who infamously survived a nerve agent 3 years ago, has reportedly fallen ill while behind bars ... and some on his team believe he's slowly being poisoned to death.

The Vladimir Putin nemesis was met with an ambulance over the weekend due to stomach pains, but his lawyer Vadim Kobzez tweeted that there was no diagnosis given after medics assessed him.

Anna Veduta, Vice President of Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation, told The Associated Press, "We believe he is slowly being administered low doses of poison” due to unidentified pills he's been given.

Veduta added ... Navalny lost 18 pounds in 15 days, and first became ill last week when he was let out of a punishment cell and into a regular one. He's reportedly been moved back into a punishment cell for 15 more days for unknown reasons.

Kira Yarmysh, Navalny's spokesperson, echoed the potential poisoning claims ... saying, "We do not rule out that all this time in prison he could have been poisoned with something to make his health deteriorate slowly but steadily."

As you know, the documentary "Navalny" won the Oscar for Best Documentary this year -- it followed the freedom fighter and former lawyer pushing back against Vladimir Putin and political corruption in Russia.

One of the frightening moments in the doc showed a near-fatal poisoning with a Soviet-era nerve agent in 2020 ... an incident for which Navalny squarely blames Putin.

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!!!