Movies

A high-profile film set used in the hugely successful "Downton Abbey" and "Peaky Blinders" series is currently engulfed in flames ... after a massive fire broke out in Yorkshire.

Reports say the fire broke out midday Thursday at the historic Dalton Mills building in Keighley, West Yorkshire. Video from the scene shows the scope of the inferno, and there are allegedly more than 100 firefighters on hand to battle the blaze.

As for the actual building, it was once the largest textile mill in Yorkshire, but fans of the show have come to recognize it as the backdrop for the feature film "Downton Abbey" and the Netflix show "Peaky Blinders".

The first episode of "Peaky Blinders" aired in 2013, and the series is currently on its 6th season.

The set was also used for the historical drama film, "Downton Abbey", which was released back in September 2019.

Helen Mirren thinks the internet is jumping the gun over a possible film based on the war in Ukraine ... saying it's way too premature, because we don't know how the story ends.

We got Helen at LAX on Wednesday ...  and talked to her about the prospects of a film about Ukrainian President Zelensky and his bravery during the Russian invasion.

"Culture always responds to what is happening in the world," she tells TMZ. "The end of that story, we don't know yet, clearly."

Helen also weighed in on Jeremy Renner playing Zelensky -- it's making the rounds on social while she says she's not the one to make that call, she notes Renner is quite the actor -- more than capable for the challenge.

Helen mirrors the sentiment of her fellow actors -- supports Ukraine and the artists that have been affected by the conflict.

"Tick, Tick...BOOM!" star Andrew Garfield is looking to celebrate with Lin-Manuel Miranda after winning Best Actor at the HCA Film Awards ... by tripping on shrooms!

Andrew was on stage Monday night at the Hollywood Critics Association's prestigious awards ceremony ... giving thanks after being awarded "Best Actor". During his speech, he looked to  TTB director Lin-Manuel Miranda ... heaping praise on him for his direction on the project.

"That's f****** crazy ... that we get to be here while you're breathing," Andrew said to the "Hamilton" playwright.

He ticked off what they'll do together to celebrate ... notably, mushrooms! He says they'll take some caps while watching "Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar" ... quite the combo.

Andrew was up against some tough competition this year ... with Benedict Cumberbatch, Nicolas Cage, Peter Dinklage, and Will Smith nominated for the same category. In the end, his riveting portrayal of "Rent" playwright Jonathan Larson took home gold -- and rightfully so.

Matthew McConaughey is taking offense to a surgeon who claimed to have restored Matt's luscious locks via hair transplant ... the actor says it's all a big, fat lie!

Matt fully acknowledges in the '90s he had to shave his head because his hair was getting super thin. Something happened, because when he grew his hair back his mane was enviable.

Matt insists it was NOT the result of surgery. He says he was able to grow his hair back in full force by rubbing topical ointment on his head ... every day.

“I was fully committed, I was fully committed to it — no Propecia, no nothing, it was just manual labor", Matt says in his memoir, "Greenlight.." In fact, he says he's been using the ointment for 20 years.

Mr. McConaughey is ticked off at a Los Angeles surgeon who's taking credit for the hair restoration, claiming Matt went under the knife.

As you can see, the change is quite remarkable. So much so, Mathew reveals ... one surgeon, in particular, noticed and took credit for it.

There were lots of stories that Matt got a transplant, and when he bumped into a different doctor he did a quick once over and agreed with Matt ... he never had a transplant.

South African actor Kagiso Kuypers was only 14 years old when he shot to stardom after being cast as the young Sierra Leone student Dia Vandy -- who gets separated from his family, then gets brainwashed and turned into a dangerous young soldier by the Revolutionary United Front ... or RUF -- in the 2006 Academy Awards nominated film "Blood Diamond."

Kagiso shared the big screen of the thriller film with some awesome actors like Jennifer Connelly as the well-meaning reporter, Maddy Bowen, Djimon Hounsou as the determined and loving father, Solomon Vandy ... and of course Leonardo DiCaprio as the shady diamond smuggler turned good guy, Danny Archer.

Ned Eisenberg, famous for his work on "Law & Order: SVU" and most recently, "Mare of Easttown," has died after a battle with cancer.

Ned died over the weekend, his wife, Patricia, tells TMZ, "As Ned would say, he was attacked by two very rare assassins — cholangiocarcinoma and ocular melanoma. Over the course of two years, he bravely fought the cancers in private while continuing to work in show business to ensure that his medical coverage paid for himself and his family.”

Ned is known for playing Detective Hauser in the HBO drama "Mare of Easttown" alongside Kate Winslet. His work as defense attorney Roger Kressler in "Law & Order" and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" made him one of the series' most regular supporting characters.

While Ned's got a ton of TV credits to his name, he's also acted in a bunch of big movies ... including "Last Man Standing" with Bruce Willis, "Limitless," "Million Dollar Baby," "The Burning," "Flags of Our Fathers" and "A Civil Action" ... just to name a few.

Ned was born and raised in New York City, and started studying acting in high school ... getting his first film credit in 1980 and also touring on the Broadway play "Brighton Beach Memoirs." He also co-founded the Naked Angels Theatre Company in 1987.

Ned is survived by Patricia and his son, Lino. He was 65.

The actors who took center stage at Sunday night's SAG Awards leaned in hard to voice support for Ukraine, and condemn Russia for its unbridled aggression.

"Succession" star Brian Cox, whose show won for Best TV Drama Ensemble, launched into rousing support for the Ukrainians, and noted everyone in the room had a connection, because President Zelensky was himself an actor before being elected to head the country.

Leslie Odom Jr., Fran Drescher, Michael Keaton and others also had laudatory words for the Ukrainian people and their fighting forces.

Lady Gaga voiced her support for the Ukrainian people before the show began, saying, "I am just really honored to be here. This is a beautiful night where we all get to celebrate art together and celebrate each other. There's so much going on in the world and my heart goes out to Ukraine. I think tonight we should all really sit in the gratitude of this."

Michael Douglas wore a blue-and-yellow pocket square -- the colors of the Ukrainian flag, making it clear it was not a shout-out to the Los Angeles Rams.

This is a unique moment in Hollywood ... where actors typically take stands which are embraced by half the country but not so much the other half ... this felt like the unity following 9/11, where the sentiments reflected the sentiment of, dare we say, the entire country.

Jason Miller -- crew member on Alec Baldwin's "Rust" -- is still recovering from a gnarly spider bite he got on set ... but says he's made some great progress in his recovery.

Jason tells TMZ ... he's still dealing with severe pain. As we reported, he was bitten by a venomous brown recluse spider while in NM shooting the film. The bite sent Jason to the hospital, where doctors talked about amputation -- luckily that wasn't necessary.

Jason tells us he's taking huge steps towards recovery ... but there are still challenges. He can't lay down without his shoulder getting inflamed, making it hard to sleep at night.

He also has a problem with range of motion ... unable to raise his arm above his head or reach behind his back, making it pretty difficult to do everyday tasks.

A GoFundMe was created shortly after he was hospitalized -- currently sitting at $14,600. Jason says the money has been a huge weight off his back ... putting $3K towards renting a new home and the rest going to savings ... since it's uncertain when he'll work again.

Jason was able to get worker's comp from the insurance company associated with "Rust" ... something we previously reported was a point of contention.

Jonathan Rhys Meyers has cut a deal in his DUI case ... and he's going to get the same treatment as an average Joe -- no jail time, as long as he keeps his nose clean.

According to new legal docs obtained by TMZ ... the actor copped a plea deal and was sentenced to 1-year summary probation. He'll pay a $500 fine and must complete an alcohol ed and counseling program.

TMZ broke the story ... Jonathan was arrested for misdemeanor DUI back in November 2020, after cops said he crashed his car in Malibu.

JRM was eventually hit with 3 charges — 2 DUI-related charges and 1 for reckless driving. As part of the deal, he ended up pleading no contest to the reckless driving charge, and the other two charges were dropped.

Jonathan's struggled with substance abuse problems over the years, going to rehab several times.

Ukraine got a mention during the SAG Awards this weekend -- but it was somewhat brief and fleeting ... as Hollywood seemed determined to keep things light for the show.

The crisis was quickly addressed Sunday during the opening few minutes, with presenter Leslie Odom Jr. saying they were all hoping for peace in Ukraine, before the categories got underway.

LOJ was part of the first group to come up and talk on stage -- he was up there with Lin-Manuel Miranda and Daveed Diggs ... none of whom talked Ukraine in the initial moments.

Eventually, after playing a quick montage of standout acting moments from the past year ... the camera panned back to Odom Jr., who said what he said -- which amounted to a few seconds of screen time.

Many suspect Ukraine would be a big topic of the night ... but so far, as the ceremony gets rolling, it doesn't seem too many of the hosts and winners are going out of their way to talk about it much.

The Ukraine crisis is still very much underway, and yet ... some are already opining about who could play Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a movie -- and Jeremy Renner seems to be it.

Twitter users are up in arms again over this one ... perhaps for good reason. Essentially, this is a debate about whether talking about a would-be biopic is appropriate when the situation is unfolding live -- let alone musing about which actor could star as Ukraine's president.

Of course, some Tweeters couldn't help themselves ... firing off takes about how Hollywood is already cooking up a flick behind the scenes, and how Renner may well be the top choice to portray VZ.

The reason ... well, they look high-key alike -- almost dead ringers, if we're being honest. Same type of facial structure and everything ... and they're especially similar in appearance when wearing fatigues and whatnot.

But even if they are doppelgangers of one another, the other question is ... what difference does it make??? A good majority of folks online argue -- *now* is NOT the time to be discussing a possible film about Zelenskyy or Ukraine, because it's a serious situation.

Indeed, people are dying and/or fleeing for their lives ... so it does seem like a bad time to be making light of things -- and publicly spit-balling about a possible biopic down the road certainly feels like that ... namely, it's too freakin' soon to even bring up as a topic.

Interestingly, those who are batting this type of thinking down are attributing it to a uniquely American mindset -- suggesting that U.S. citizens often seem to be more interested in entertainment than real-life lives that are actually at risk.

We'll leave that philosophical ball for the Twittersphere to kick around -- but here's one thing that can't be denied ... Renner and Zelenskyy do bear a striking resemblance, and yes ... Renner is a fantastic actor, proven time and again in his pre-Marvel days.

And yes ... there may even be a studio out there that has a script in mind -- that's certainly not outside the realm of possibility, as Tinseltown never sleeps on the next big thing, and Zelenskyy's life story alone is totally worthy of the movie treatment (objectively).

Still, it sounds like what's got people pissed off is, obviously, the timing of such discussions -- but also, the callousness and lack of thoughtfulness in cavalier posts like these.

Renner, meanwhile, is minding his own business out in the woods of Lake Tahoe ... so ya gotta figure he might be upset to hear how he's getting roped into this nonsense.

Zoe Kravitz's good looks have nine lives.

Here's a 19-year-old version of the actor ... and daughter of rock god Lenny Kravitz and looker Lisa Bonnet ... at an after-party during the Tribeca Film Fest in New York City back in 2008 (left). This was shortly after Zoe's acting debut in the film "No Reservations."

And, 14 years later, the now 33-year-old famous feline ... who has been traveling the globe to promote her puuuurfect role as the Catwoman in the new "The Batman" movie opposite Robert Pattinson in London earlier this week (right).

Meow!

The question is ...

Amanda Bynes just took a huge step on the path to personal freedom ... because she officially filed to pull the plug on her conservatorship. And, it doesn't seem coincidental she's doing it on the heels of Britney Spears ending hers.

The former child star filed docs in L.A. Wednesday to end her 9-year conservatorship.

Amanda was placed under the conservatorship back in 2013 following a string of bizarre episodes ... including when she soaked her dog in gasoline while setting a neighbor's driveway on fire, which shed light on some of her struggles with mental health. She was committed temporarily to a psychiatric facility and once released, was cared for by her parents.

Amanda's move to end the conservatorship is interesting ... as we reported back in September, a judge signed off to keep it in place until March 2023.

She's mostly been staying out of the spotlight, pursuing other interests besides acting, dabbling in rap music and pursuing a design career while getting engaged. She also got a degree from the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, which certainly shows an ability to function.

There's definitely a movement to end conservatorships with young people where it runs indefinitely, so the judge's reaction will be both interesting and important.

Houston born hottie Shannon Elizabeth was only 25 years old when she was cast in her breakout role as the foreign exchange student Nadia -- who is illegally recorded changing by the creepy high school classmate Jim -- in the 1999 teen comedy "American Pie" and the 2001 follow up "American Pie II."

The high school movie was packed with notable actors including Alyson Hannigan as the flute enthusiast, Michelle Flaherty, Seann William Scott as the macho BFF, Stifler, Tara Reid as the timid virgin, Vicky ... and of course Jason Biggs as the inappropriate student with a streaming service, Jim Levenstein.

Sally Kellerman -- famous for playing Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan in 'M*A*S*H' -- has died.

The Oscar-nominated actress died early Thursday morning at an assisted care facility in Los Angeles, following a battle with dementia ... according to her son, Jack Krane.

We're told Sally was diagnosed with dementia around 2017 and wasn't doing well the last couple years. Her son says he last saw her Wednesday night, when it became clear to him it would be her last time seeing her, and he said his final goodbyes.

While Sally was most known for the husky voice she used to play a U.S. Army major on 'M*A*S*H' she was also famous for her singing chops ... releasing an album and even having a Grand Funk Railroad song written for her.

Sally also starred in "Back To School" as the love interest for Rodney Dangerfield's character ... and Trekkies will remember her for playing Dr. Elizabeth Dehner on the third episode of "Star Trek," when she sacrifices her life and has some last words for Captain Kirk.

The actress made a ton of guest appearances on TV shows back in the 1960s ... including "12 O'Clock High," "Ben Casey," "Mannix," "That Girl" and "The Outer Limits."

In addition to TV and movies, Sally also acted in plays and found success in soap operas as her career progressed ... getting a Daytime Emmy nomination in 2015 for her work on "The Young and the Restless."

Sally lent her voice to commercials and animation too ... doing voiceover work for Hidden Valley Ranch dressing and a few animated movies.

She was twice married ... first to "Starsky & Hutch" writer and director Rick Edelstein from 1970 to 1972 ... and then tying the knot in 1980 to "Face/Off" producer Jonathan Krane.

Sally was 84.

Sean Penn is in the thick of the Russian invasion of Ukraine ... and he's filming a documentary the Ukrainians say will tell the world the truth about what's going down.

Sean popped up Thursday in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, after the Russians invaded ... and Ukraine's government says Penn is there to capture the conflict on film.

The Office of the President of Ukraine says Sean is showing "courage and honesty" ... characteristics they say are lacking among many western politicians.

As you see, Sean sat in on a press briefing Thursday in Kyiv ... listening to government officials. The Ukrainians say Sean also spoke to journalists, the military to understand how the Ukrainians are mounting a defense.

Sean first arrived in Ukraine back in November, according to the government, preparing for his documentary by visiting with the Ukrainian military.

As we reported ... Russia is attacking Ukraine from all angles, dropping bombs and sending folks running from their homes.