Awards / Awards Shows

Law enforcement is on extra-high alert for tonight's Oscars ... given the wave of gun violence across the country ... various law enforcement sources tell TMZ.

The LAPD's official position is that they are always vigilant at Oscar ceremonies and security is tight. But multiple law enforcement sources tell us ... there is "an extra knot" in security this year because of all the shootings that have made big news in the U.S..

One LAPD honcho tells us ... the general climate right now is intense: "When someone from the city gets fired, the city manager of the department calls because they're scared the person who was fired will go postal." The source adds, "People are going crazy with fear."

On the stalker front ... we're told the LAPD gives a private security company -- Security Industry Specialists (SIS) -- an information packet of stalkers who are harassing stars who are attending the Oscars. The packets include pictures of the stalkers, which are distributed to security in the field.

The Oscars are here again ... and TMZ users are split on their value. Are the Oscars still relevant? We gotta ask ...

While the votes are in for the 85th Academy Awards, there is still one vote that has yet to be cast ... and the winner's fate is in your hands!

We're guessing Oscar, Hollywood's man of the hour, is dying a little inside today ... because somebody invited 18 42-year-old trainwreck Courtney Stodden to one of his pre-parties.

Yes, Tara Reid was busy.

U.S. Customs treated Oscar-nominated Palestinian director Emad Burnat like a NATIONAL THREAT last night at LAX -- putting him and his family in an isolated room and ordering him not to use his cell phone -- so says the director ... but law enforcement says he's exaggerating.

You'll recall ... Burnat's friend Michael Moore flipped out while Burnat was detained at the airport, tweeting like mad about the injustices of U.S. Customs and Border Protection ... and today, Burnat joined us on TMZ Live to discuss his experience.

Burnat -- whose documentary "5 Broken Cameras" is up for an Academy Award -- told us, he was stopped by immigration upon his arrival in the States ... and what followed was nightmarish.

Burnat says the customs officers did not believe him when he told them he was an Academy Award-nominated director ... so they put him and his family into an isolated room to question them, threatening to deport them back to Palestine.

Burnat says he tried to show the agents the email he received from the Academy -- which contained his Oscar invite -- and even tried to show his hotel reservation ... but they weren't having it.

When he tried to text and email friends for help, Burnat says he was instructed not to use his phone. Luckily, Burnat says he was able to slip a message to Michael Moore informing Michael of the situation ... and Michael sounded the alarms, notifying Academy officials who then contacted their lawyers.

Burnat says he was detained for roughly an hour-and-a-half total -- and when he was finally released, he was never given an apology.

But law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Burnat is embellishing the story ... and that he was only sent to a secondary screening area simply to answer questions ... and was only detained for 25 minutes, total.

Director Michael Moore is outraged ... claiming his friend -- a Palestinian director whose film is nominated for an Oscar -- was detained at LAX last night because officials didn't believe the man was REALLY in town for the Academy Awards.

Moore tweeted a play-by-play of the incident ... claiming his friend, Emad Burnat -- whose film "5 Broken Cameras" is nominated for Best Documentary Feature," was held for an hour-and-a-half while officials grilled him about his visit.

Moore tweeted, "Emad, his wife & 8-yr old son were placed in a holding area and told they didn't have the proper invitation on them to attend the Oscars."

He continued, "Although he produced the Oscar invite nominees receive, that wasn't good enough & he was threatened with being sent back to Palestine."

"Apparently the Immigration & Customs officers couldn't understand how a Palestinian could be an Oscar nominee. Emad texted me for help."

"I called Academy officials who called lawyers. I told Emad to give the officers my phone # and to say my name a couple of times."

"After 1.5 hrs, they decided to release him & his family & told him he could stay in L.A. for the week & go to the Oscars. Welcome to America."

"'It's nothing I'm not already used to,' he told me later. 'When u live under occupation, with no rights, this is a daily occurrence.'"

Moore concluded ... "He was certain they were going to deport him. But not if I had anything to do about it."

Justin Bieber isn't taking too kindly to being told he doesn't deserve a Grammy -- going after the Black Keys drummer who insulted him ... saying, the drummer "should be slapped around."

Bieber added "haha" at the end of his statement -- which he posted on Twitter -- like he was joking.

TMZ broke the story ... BK drummer Patrick Carney mocked Bieber's Grammy snub after the awards on Sunday -- telling TMZ, "He's rich, right? ... Grammys are for music, not for money ... and he's making a lot of money."

Grammy count -- Black Keys 7 ... Bieber 0

The moron who crashed the stage at The Grammys -- only to get kicked off stage by Jennifer Lopez on live TV -- was arrested for trespassing directly following the awards show ... and it's not the dumbest stunt he's ever pulled.

The idiot who wound up in handcuffs is Vitalii Sediuk ... the same dumbass who got slapped in the face by Will Smith last year (and rightfully so) when he tried to surprise the actor with a kiss on the lips on a red carpet.

During the Grammys, Sediuk somehow weaseled his way backstage ... and when Adele was announced as the winner for Best Pop Solo Performance ... Vitalii rushed to the podium and tried to grab the mic from presenter Jennifer Lopez.

Sediuk managed to get out a few words ... saying, "Thank you, Adele. You’re my inspiration” ... but Lopez quickly ripped the mic back and shooed him offstage.

Directly following the show, cops arrested Sediuk for trespassing -- and he spent the night in a jail cell ... this according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Sediuk told THR he's just a prankster and meant no harm -- adding, "I’m not a crazy guy. I just think differently."

Chris Brown had another Grammy weekend filled with drama -- but at least no one was arrested this time ... or beaten. Baby steps.

Katy Perry's giant TA-TA's ... Alicia Keys' underboobs ... Kelly Rowland's twins ... turns out they were all given the stamp of approval from CBS -- despite the network's previously harsh warning to keep the nakedness to a minimum.

Despite these revealing outfits -- and several more -- a rep for CBS tells TMZ, "All wardrobe selections passed our standards, if only barely."

You'll remember … CBS issued a memo urging everyone in attendance to cover up or else -- saying in part: "Please be sure that buttocks and female breasts are adequately covered. Thong type costumes are problematic. Please avoid exposing bare fleshy under curves of the buttocks and buttock crack."

If this is the music biz covering up ... count us in!

Rihanna and Chris Brown's new romance has already gone to pot -- the couple celebrated CB's zero Grammy wins by hitting up a Hollywood nightclub last night ... and lighting up what appears to be a joint.

Chris and Rihanna -- who won her 7th Gram last night for her "We Found Love" music video -- dropped by Supperclub for a private party ... and according to sources inside the venue, the whole place was filled with pot smoke.

It's the first time the couple's been together on Grammy day since 2009 ... and we all know what happened then.

And there's this -- Chris was shot driving away from the club with Rihanna in the passenger seat at around 3:20 AM ... which would be a big issue if he's driving under the influence of pot -- a big issue because he's on probation for beating his passenger to a pulp.

Justin Bieber has no business winning Grammys -- at least according to a guy who cleaned up at the award show last night ... Patrick Carney from The Black Keys.

Patrick was swarmed by fans outside Chateau Marmont when we asked if Bieber should feel snubbed -- seeing as how he didn't get a single Grammy nomination this year -- and he simply said, "He's rich, right?"

Then the Keys' drummer threw a major jab, adding ... "Grammys are for like music, not for money ... and he's making a lot of money. He should be happy."

He might have a point -- Justin's never won a Grammy, and does seem pretty happy ... with his Ferraris, Lamborghinis, and such.

Chris Brown handled his Grammy defeat to Frank Ocean last night with dignity and class ... KIDDING!!! ... he was totally disrespectful.

Ocean edged out Brown and Miguel to capture the award for Best Urban Contemporary Album. While most people stood and applauded Ocean ... Brown stayed in his seat -- which just happened to be front row and center, in clear view of the cameras.

It's worth noting ... Miguel didn't stand to congratulate Ocean either.

Chris Brown and Rihanna got nice and close during Sunday night's Grammy Awards.

There's supposed to be some epic Bonding at the Oscars -- the buzz is ... all 6 actors who have played James Bond may appear on stage. But now we're hearing one of them may be a no-show, and shockingly ... it could be Pierce Brosnan.

Brosnan confessed yesterday in Malibu, "Well, they'll be missing one."

It's unclear, but his tone and body language seems to suggest he is the one that wants no part of it.