Movies

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck know exactly how to stir the pot ... and getting all gooey-eyed for each other while standing in front of "Marry Me" signage had the desired effect.

The couple was all snuggled up with each other as they entered the screening for her upcoming flick Tuesday night at the Directors Guild of America in L.A. -- and let's keep it real ... everyone was thinking the same thing.

Yeah, we know it is just the movie's title, but it's also the topic everyone's raised since about 15 minutes after they reunited last year. J Lo was all smiles in a white lace dress while cozied up to Ben is only fueling that.

Hey, from the looks of it ... everything seems to be all peachy in BenniferVille right now. Maybe even more solid than when they were first engaged 18 years ago.

Of course, it would be way too on the nose for Ben to pop the question just as this movie's hitting theaters, and it's Valentine's Day. It's just too expected. Right?

Then again ... there's always reverse psychology!!!

Anthony Johnson died from years of hard drinking ... according to the medical examiner, and it's something his wife wanted people to know.

His autopsy report, obtained by TMZ, cites "chronic ethanol use" as the "Friday" star’s cause of death -- while also noting the manner of death was natural.

The doc states there was no alcohol or common drugs of abuse found in his system when officials ran a toxicology test. One other thing ... the coroner's office found he'd recently tested positive for COVID, although signs of pneumonia weren't detected.

His widow, Lexis, tells us Anthony’s legacy will live on through a foundation she’s creating in his name. She also says she wants the cause of death to be public knowledge as a warning to others about the lethal effects of alcohol.

Lexis is making it her mission now to teach youth about the dangers of alcohol, as she's volunteering at church to talk to teens. In addition to Anthony, Lexis has other close friends who lost their children due to alcohol. She now wants Anthony's legacy to inspire others to put the bottle down. BTW, we're told she told the ME about AJ's alcohol use.

As we reported ... Johnson was found lifeless last year in an L.A.-area store. He was rushed to the hospital and later pronounced dead.

Obviously, he was most famous for playing Ezal in the original "Friday" flick, but had a good handful of other parts under his belt as well, including in movies like "Menace II Society," "House Party," "The Players Club" and others.

Hollywood was in shock upon hearing the news, and none other than Offset helped to cover funeral costs for the family.

The key medic on "Rust" is now taking legal action against Hannah Gutierrez-Reed and Dave Halls ... suing them over the fatal shooting that killed Halyna Hutchins.

Cherlyn Schaefer filed suit against the movie's armorer and assistant director -- plus the production company and others -- claiming the defendants' alleged negligence caused her severe emotional distress in the aftermath of it all.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Schaefer claims she was the first one to provide medical assistance to Halyna after the shooting ... desperately fighting to save her life by applying pressure to her wounds, giving her oxygen and checking her vitals.

Schaefer also claims she was the one who called 911 and ordered a medical helicopter to airlift Halyna to the hospital ... where she eventually died.

In the suit, Schaefer claims she's since suffered "tremendous shock, trauma and severe emotional distress" ... and she's blaming the whole ordeal on the production's shortcomings with respect to safety issues.

Schaefer says she was regularly employed as a medic on film sets before "Rust" ... but now she claims she's so shaken she's medically prevented from returning to the profession or any other job.

Schaefer's suing Reed and Halls because she says they were responsible for Alec Baldwin being given the gun with a live round, which killed Halyna. Baldwin is not being sued.

She's also suing the movie's prop master, Sarah Zachry, claiming Zachry knew or should have known the gun contained live ammo.

Zachry's lawyer, William Waggoner, tells TMZ ... Zachry did not load the gun or handle the gun the day of the shooting, and "she did nothing wrong."

Schaefer is asking for unspecified damages.

Sandra Bullock should get deep in the real estate game because she just made hundreds of thousands of dollars from selling her condo!!!

Sandra owned a unit in a building that is packed with celebs -- Sierra Towers in WeHo. The apartment has 2 bedrooms and 2.5 baths, so it's not huge ... which makes it even more impressive that she sold it for $4.4 million.

She bought the pad back in 2014 for $3.55 mil and did some renovations, so even though she didn't make a killing ... she still made out pretty well.

Here's the thing ... this building has a marquis address, with celebs like Courteney Cox, Elton John, Adam Sandler, Kelly Osbourne, Cher and others who have populated the building over the years.

Fun fact ... Lindsay Lohan once lived there and her pipes burst when she was in New York and it absolutely flooded the apartment below. Thing is ... the person who owned the building directly below her was Harry Morton -- Lindsay's ex!!!

Sandra's unit was on the 22nd floor, and it has a sweeping, jetliner view of L.A.... from downtown L.A. to the blue Pacific.

Los Angeles local Travis Fine was in his early 30s when he locked down the role of the caring Nurse John -- who ultimately falls in love with Susanna but gets moved to the men's ward after acting on his urges -- in the 1999 drama "Girl, Interrupted."

Travis Fine shared the movie with some top-notch actors including Angelina Jolie as the rebellious patient, Lisa, Elisabeth Moss as the innocent cat enthusiast, Polly a.k.a. Torch ... and of course Winona Ryder as the young woman diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, Susanna.

Fine can also be spotted on other movies like "Child's Play 3" and "Any Day Now."

Tom Brady is the Greatest of All Time, and Kevin Bacon's here to make sure we all know it ... with a little message that's both literal and distracting!

The legendary actor took to TikTok Sunday with a tune he made up on his trusty ukulele -- performing it next to a bunch of his goats, no less, on a little farm he and his family own out in Connecticut.

Check it out ... the song isn't half bad at all, and neither is Kevin's pipes. The performance is especially impressive, considering he had two goats (plus a couple pigs) nibbling and needling him throughout the whole thing.

The song itself is all about TB12's retirement, and how amazed Kev seems to be by both the announcement ... as well as Tom's career at large. As captivated as he seems to be by the news -- his 4-legged friend next to him appeared even more dumbfounded by the show. 😅

BTW, this concert-from-the-farm thing is actually something Kevin does a lot. He regularly whips out an instrument and strums away with his farm animals by his side. They certainly seem to dig it ... and who wouldn't??? Kev and co. are actually pretty damn good.

Anyway, speaking of Tom Brady ... the guy himself had a bit of a message to share as well in the wake of him stepping away from football. He posted a video that talks about "Chapter 2" and how he's ready to embark on this journey.

Really, it was just a huge plug for his BRADY brand of clothing ... but the point is certainly made. Tom's diving into mogul mode, and based on the visual evidence -- he's locked in and ready to hawk some gear.

Awkwafina has been accused of trying to pose as a Black person in the past -- be it in song or on camera -- and now ... she's sorta owning up to it, but stopping short of an apology.

The actress/rapper/internet personality addressed a long-running criticism that's been years in the making -- acknowledging she's aware that folks have dogged her for using African-American Vernacular English ... but at the same time, denying any mal-intent.

Awkwafina took to Twitter Saturday -- her first post in nearly three years -- with a lengthy statement that touched on the fact that Black culture, including AAVE, is often hijacked and monetized by others ... and then passed off as general pop culture and/or modern slang.

She then says this ... "But as a non-Black POC, I stand by the fact that I will always listen and work tirelessly to understand the history and context of AAVE, what is deemed appropriate or backwards toward the progress of ANY and EVERY marginalized group."

Awkwafina adds, "But I must emphasize: To mock, belittle, or to be unkind in any way possible at the expense of other is: Simply. Not. My. Nature. It never has, and it never was."

She goes on to address her upbringing and how she's carved out her own American identity, and essentially says ... there's some learning she's gotta do in reflecting that publicly and in her day-to-day life ... as do Asian Americans at large, she contends.

Some gave Awkwafina props, while others didn't let her off the hook -- noting she never said sorry. In response, it seems she's putting the bird app up on the shelf for a while ... saying she's retiring from Twitter over what sounds like demands she kill herself. Yikes ...

If you're wondering where the AAVE evidence is, go watch her in "Ocean's Eight" and "Crazy Rich Asians," not to mention her earlier work on "Tawk with Awkwafina," among other works. Basically, many say she talks with a "Blaccent" when hamming it up for the cameras ... and as a result, comes off as a caricature -- and, by extension, disrespectful in some folks' eyes.

PETA is not a fan of the new "Jackass Forever" film, and is demanding prosecutors launch a criminal investigation, claiming the production violated animal cruelty laws.

A rep for Peta tells TMZ ... the Paramount Pictures movie, which appears to have been filmed at least partially in Los Angeles and San Luis Obispo County, likely broke state animal protection laws with scenes involving all sorts of critters.

PETA says a spider was "provoked" into biting an actor's chest, a turtle "harassed and goaded" to bite an actor's testicles, and a snake "harangued and provoked" into biting someone's nose.

But wait, there's more, allegedly ... a tarantula "trapped" in a tube, and a bull "deliberately agitated" into charging and injuring Johnny Knoxville.

PETA also claims Knoxville and Steve-O provoked honeybees into stinging Steve-O's penis, killing many bees in the process ... and a scorpion was put in the mouth of an unnamed jackass and repeatedly hit until it stung.

The org fired off a couple of letters, obtained by TMZ, to the L.A. City Attorney and San Luis Obispo County D.A. ... urging them to investigate the production and take legal action.

PETA thinks an investigation could lead to charges against Knoxville, Steve-O, Chris Pontius, Eric André, director Jeff Tremaine, producer Spike Jonze ... and others, including those responsible for providing the animals used in the film.

PETA's Senior VP Lisa Lange tells TMZ ... "If Steve-O and Johnny Knoxville want to make a career out of nasty little boy fantasies, they're entitled to, as long as they don't stress, harm, poke, prod, scare, or bother animals who are used as living props for their idiocy."

Lange adds ... "PETA is reminding city and county prosecutors that no one is above the law and that while the rest of the world wants to save bees and recognizes animals as sentient individuals, these jackasses exploit and abuse them for fun."

As we first reported, Steve-O and Pontius are also being sued over a jet ski stunt that allegedly left a man badly injured.

Kevin Smith says there were 2 main factors in his decision to stop consuming animal products ... his near-fatal heart attack, and his daughter's master plan.

We got the director leaving Crossroads Kitchen in L.A. -- one of the most famous vegan joints in town -- and asked him if the vegan lifestyle is the secret to his vastly improved fitness.

Kevin's looking pretty good these days, and he explains how he made some big changes in his life after suffering that massive heart attack back in 2018.

He says after learning he had a full blockage in a major artery -- which caused the widowmaker heart attack -- he sat down with a nutritionist, and finally followed his daughter, Harley, to the vegan side.

Kevin, who initially thought he was having a reaction to spoiled milk when he had the heart attack, is only eating plant-based products these days and he tells us why he'd never followed Harley's lead before.

The way Kevin explains it ... she was pretty Machiavellian about it, but he's grateful she was.

Portland-based actor Andy Lindberg is best known for playing the conniving kid Davey "Lardass" Hogan -- who enters the Great Tri-County Pie Eat with the intention of creating a barf-o-rama amongst the viewers and his peers in Gordie's campfire story -- in the iconic 1986 coming of age film "Stand By Me."

Lindberg shared the big screen with some of the biggest stars in the '80s including Wil Wheaton as the pistol-wielding storyteller, Gordie Lachance, Jerry O'Connell as the safety first friend, Vern Tessio, Corey Feldman as the four-eyed companion with a looney dad, Teddy Duchamp ... and of course River Phoenix as the brave younger brother, Chris Chambers.

Rebel Wilson is getting court-ordered protection from a man she claims keeps showing up at her home, imagining they have a son together and leaving gifts and letters.

Rebel's lawyer, Susan Haber, beelined it to court for a temporary restraining order ... to protect the singer from a 39-year-old man she claims has been harassing her for months.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Rebel claims the guy somehow found her secluded Los Angeles home and dropped off a handwritten note falsely claiming they have a 20-year-old son together.

Rebel says the note described how they met at a club in 2001 and conversed, kissed and "we both know what happened thereafter" ... but Rebel says it's complete BS because she's never even met the guy.

In the docs, Rebel says the guy's also showed up at the home to leave behind handwritten notes to their fictional son ... as well as some strange gifts.

Rebel claims one of those gifts was a small, stuffed penguin with a card that says "love."

In the docs, Rebel says the man is "delusional by creating in his mind a fictitious history of a relationship he had, and wants to continue to have" with her ... and she fears for her safety, claiming he won't stop harassing her unless a court intervenes.

There's new alleged video proof that supports a man's claim he was injured during a Jet Ski stunt gone wrong involving "Jackass" stars Steve-O and Chris Pontius.

TMZ broke the story, Michael Vicens-Segura is suing the veteran stuntmen for an incident he says, left him badly injured, suffering a gash on the side of his head.

In the video, you can see Vicens-Segura in the water between the vessels just before they take off, once the Jet-skis moved, Vicens-Segura was allegedly struck by the cable connecting the two when it snapped.

The aftermath is intense, and Michael is clearly in a lot of pain.

Michael says the whole thing happened in Puerto Rico in 2018 when the two guys and movie producers planned to do some kind of "Jet Ski Tug of War" ... which basically meant two guys would operate the jet ski in opposite directions.

Michael's attorney, John Phillips, now says ... "We provide this video looking for witnesses and people who know about the creation and execution of this stunt. If you have information, please contact us."

Vicens-Segura says he had to get a metal plate in his head and his life has been completely changed by the incident ... he is asking for more than $12 mil in damages.

A new Colin Kaepernick docuseries is promising to tell the former NFL star's story through his own words ... and Spike Lee has been tapped to direct it all.

ESPN Films announced the partnership and the plan on Wednesday night ... saying in a statement that production on the project has already begun.

No word yet on a title or how many hours/episodes it'll all end up being ... but ESPN officials promised the Lee-directed piece will tell a side of the Kaepernick story that has yet to be heard.

"Kaepernick, who has never given a full, first-person account of his journey, is collaborating closely with Lee who plans to use extensive new interviews and a vast never-before-seen archive to help Kaepernick tell his story from his perspective," ESPN said in a statement.

The two were spotted taking in a Knicks game at Madison Square Garden right around the time ESPN dropped the statement.

The director and the football player were seen chatting it up courtside -- and then they left the venue together as well.

The new docuseries, meanwhile, will be far from the first television project Kaepernick has been involved with ... you'll recall, his Netflix show, "Colin in Black and White," was released last year and received great reviews.

Steve-O and Chris Pontius are responsible for a 'Jackass'-style water stunt that left a man with a busted up head and a ruined life ... at least according to a lawsuit filed by the guy who claims he was injured.

The veteran stuntmen are being taken to court by Michael Vicens-Segura, who says he was approached by them back in 2018 to see if they could use his jet ski for a project they were filming in Puerto Rico.

Vicens-Segura insists the guys wanted to use it for a 'Jackass'-y feat -- where 2 guys are in the water on jet skis, facing opposite directions ... and attached to one another by a bungee cord, to see who would get yanked off first as they sped off.

Essentially, it's a jet ski tug of war ... and Vicens-Segura says the 'Jackass' guys have done something similar in the past -- in their movie, no less. It was called the BMX Tug of War.

Now, per the lawsuit, filed by attorney John Phillips and obtained by TMZ, Vicens-Segura was asked to hold one of the jet skis steady in the water because of the waves that day ... which he says he did. He claims, as Steve-O and Chris hit the gas, Steve's bungee cord snapped off the harness attached to his back ... which he says then flung in his direction and popped him hard on the side of the head, resulting in a massive gash.

Vicens-Segura says he had to be helicoptered to a hospital for emergency surgery, and even needed to be placed in a medically induced coma because he had a fractured skull and brain bleeding, among other things.

After several medical procedures, Vicens-Segura claims he was left in bad shape as he recovered ... and also had some pretty gnarly scars. He claims he's lost his ability to work, to think straight ... and continues to experience pain, suffering and agony because of what happened to him.

Of course, he's blaming Steve-O, Chris and others for the whole thing ... suing them for negligence and moreover the alleged incident. He's asking the court for more than $12 million in damages.

Well, well, well ... Jake Gyllenhaal seems to have found a scarf after all, and he's flaunting it!!! To be fair, he's getting paid to do that.

Brace yourself Taylor Swift devotees, but yes ... the actor's rocking a tan-ish/blue colored scarf on the set of “The Interpreter” in Spain. Interesting fashion, because you gotta believe the movie's wardrobe department knows all too well about T Swift's scarf beef with ex-bf, Jake.

As Swifties well know ... Taylor's hit song, "All Too Well" references the missing scarf. She sings, "Left my scarf there at your sister's house and you've still got it in your drawer even now."

Taylor's legion of fans have been on the search for the scarf ever since.

As you may know, Jake and Taylor dated from October to December, back in 2010. Now, here's the thing ... the music video for "All Too Well" shows a red scarf -- but, Swifties will tell ya the actual, real-life, scarf was mostly blue.

So, is Jake sending a message to Taylor with his wardrobe on the set? 🤔

"Friday" star Anthony Johnson is getting a fancy tombstone on his grave ... designed by the guy who honored Eazy-E and Nate Dogg with awesome grave markers.

Cemetery Tim, the man behind the cool celeb gravestones, tells TMZ ...  he got in touch with Anthony's family after the actor/comedian died back in September. The goal was to create and install the headstone for what would have been Anthony's 56th birthday.

The gravestone chronicles Anthony's career with images ... showing him as Ezal on "Friday," and another image of Anthony as E.Z.E. in "House Party." The inscription reads, "Don't cry for me, I lived and made your ass laugh ... tell me I'm lying!"

Cemetery Tim says Anthony's widow, Lexis Jones Mason, worked with him on the design ... which also includes the late actor's signature.

TMZ broke the story ... Anthony was found lifeless in an L.A. store and his family was scrambling to pay for his funeral before a bunch of celebs picked up the tab.

Cemetery Tim says all of his work on Anthony's gravestone was done free of charge.