Movies

Scoring anything Janis Joplin owned would be cool, but an instrument that belonged to Janis AND Jimi Hendrix is a whole new level of rock memorabilia.

We're talking about a hand-painted mandolin that fetched a whopping $281,250 after 29 bidders battled it out. The history on this item is pretty cool, so that price could be considered a steal.

Up until now, it has never been up for auction, and had been a part of a private collection for 20 years after it was acquired from the Memphis Music Hall of Fame.

More importantly, guitar god Jimi was the last famous owner ... having received it from Janis as a gift.

Besides just being a cool instrument to own, the mandolin represents the friendship between 2 of the most iconic rock stars of all time. It's painted with flowers and phrases such as "love thy neighbor," "Janis Joplin & B.B.H.Co," and "Jimi Hendrix."

The new owner got themselves 2 Rock and Roll Hall of Famers for the price of one.

BTW, the Johnny Depp motorcycle from "Cry-Baby" was a part of the same auction ... but its reserve price wasn't met. Instead, GWS auctions say it has several museums interested and currently vying for it.

New York City local Rochelle Aytes was 28 years old when she was cast as Denise Porter -- a local New York news reporter, reporting at a charity fashion show in The Hamptons -- in the 2004 Comedy "White Chicks."

Rochelle shared the big screen with comedy brothers Shawn Wayans as Agent Kevin Copeland ... and Brittany Wilson, and Marlon Wayans as Agent Marcus Copeland .. and as Tiffany Wilson, Busy Philipps as the dancing and love-seeking friend, Karen and Terry Crews as the muscular pro-basketball player and lip singer, Latrell Spencer.

James Cameron has a message for folks who might complain about a long runtime for his new 'Avatar' movie -- pipe down and stop fussing ... unless you gotta wiz.

The esteemed director did a wide-ranging interview with Empire -- where he says, among other things, that he might not actually direct 'Avatar 4' or '5' ... but instead opt to pass the baton to other filmmakers, as he apparently has other stuff he wants to get to.

Cool, cool, cool ... but another even more interesting quote also surfaced in this sit-down -- namely, JC apparently getting preemptively irked about future viewers who might bitch about a likely 3-hour plus movie ... for which he has some words, and even a solution.

Cameron says in part, "I don't want anybody whining about length when they sit and binge-watch [television] for eight hours ... I can almost write this part of the review. 'The agonizingly long three-hour movie...' It's like, give me a f***ing break. I've watched my kids sit and do five one-hour episodes in a row."

He also adds this ... "Here's the big social paradigm shift that has to happen: it's okay to get up and go pee." This part doesn't actually make much sense, unless he's advocating for people to be willing to miss parts of his movie rather than just pee their pants.

Of course, we can't pause films in theaters ... so that seems to be what he's getting at. Now, one way to deal with this organically is to work in a hard intermission, like in the old days.

Even though his other really long movie, 'Titanic,' didn't have an intermission built into the theater screenings when it played in the '90s -- the VHS versions did indeed split the movie into 2 parts. Might not be too lousy of an idea if James is anticipating bladders bursting.

Bette Midler has embraced an argument some are invoking to address the abortion crisis in the country -- bringing up transgender people to make a point ... a lightning rod one at that.

The actress has been very active on Twitter these past couple days, blasting the Supreme Court for reversing Roe v. Wade -- mostly hitting out at Clarence Thomas, it seems -- and in the same breath ... she's speaking up on women's rights. Emphasis on that first part.

BM writes, "WOMEN OF THE WORLD! We are being stripped of our rights over our bodies, our lives and even of our name! They don’t call us 'women' anymore; they call us 'birthing people' or 'menstruators', and even 'people with vaginas'!"

She adds fervently ... "Don’t let them erase you! Every human on earth owes you!" Of course, that gets to trans/non-binary people ... and some are calling this POV transphobic.

Interestingly, her comment piggybacks on a now-viral op-ed published in the NYT this weekend, titled "The Far Right And Far Left Agree on One Thing: Women Don't Count" ... in which the author makes similar arguments about cisgender women being "erased" on the extremes of both sides of the aisle ... either for inclusivity's sake, or outright oppression.

While some might agree, others say it's a false equivalency to compare trying to be sensitive to trans people/using mindful language to what the GOP seems to be doing (banning abortions) ... suggesting one is clearly a far more serious and dire threat than the other is.

In any case, we know where Bette stands on the issue. She seems to be very much an old-school feminist who's pretty pissed off about all this. One crisis at a time, though, perhaps.

Adam Hicks, the former child star of several Disney movies and TV shows, is living life on parole after doing time for second-degree robbery.

Hicks was arrested in 2018 for allegedly pulling a bunch of armed robberies in Burbank, CA -- and eventually, in July 2021, got sentenced to 5 years behind bars.

He caught a major break though, because the judge gave him credit for 1,460 days he served while awaiting sentencing, and he was released back in March.

TMZ broke the story ... Hicks, who starred in "Zeke and Luther," "Pair of Kings," and "Lemonade Mouth" and his girlfriend Danni Tamburo were arrested after cruising the Burbank area and pointing a gun at pedestrians -- taking their cellphones, money and other property.

While Hicks got 5 years in prison, his GF got off with 3 years of probation.

The actor had shown a history of violence before his arrest -- he once shot himself in the leg while hanging out with friends, and court docs said he was "very uncooperative" with police.

Tom Cruise wasn't born on the Fourth of July, but came close -- and on his special day, a filmmaking partner is honoring him by basically saying ... never change, you nutty bastard.

The actor turned 60 Sunday, and to ring in the milestone ... director Christopher McQuarrie posted a wild photo to celebrate TC and the death-defying stunts that he still carries out himself to this day ... including on the forthcoming 'Mission: Impossible' movie(s).

As you can see, there's Tommy dangling from the wing of an old-timey biplane ... without anyone in the cockpit, it seems. Just Tom hanging on solo, without much assistance.

McQuarrie didn't add much context to this pic -- other than wishing Tom a happy 60th -- but it's pretty obvious this is from either "Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One" or 'Part Two' ... both of which CMQ is helming with Tom in the driver's seat.

One description of this stunt -- which was reported on last year, as eyewitnesses saw Tom practicing in the U.K. -- explains he'll apparently slip out of the cockpit, make his way to the wing of the plane, hang there as the plane nosedives, and then do a barrel roll to boot.

Unclear if this will be featured in 'M:I 7' '8' ... but in any case, Chris seems to have thought its worthy to throw up as an homage to Tom -- who continues to live like a daredevil.

In fact, this plane thing is just a taste of what he'll do in the new flick -- as we learned from the teaser trailer last month, Tom is also going to jump off a cliff while on a motorcycle ... only to be saved by a parachute. Indeed, his reputation only gets cemented with each flick.

Lots of reasons to be happy if you're Tom Cruise today -- not only is it his born day, but his latest blockbuster, "Top Gun: Maverick," hit a huge benchmark that he's never achieved ... the film has grossed over a billion dollars worldwide at the box office. And, it's still rolling.

As for what the guy's up to today, he was actually spotted at the British Grand Prix ... where he did a stop-and-chat with Sky Sports' Martin Brundle and cheered on Lewis Hamilton.

Even on his bday, he's got time for an impromptu interview and is pleasant about it. Just one more reason we love Tom ... one of the last true iconic movie stars of this generation.

Michael Pena might be getting flashbacks watching this ... a cop throwing hands with an unarmed civilian, and losing his own gear to get on equal footing.

Check out this wild fight between a police officer and a regular schmoe from the streets ... where they both decide to square up and duke out whatever issue they're having. It's pretty nuts -- the cop actually takes off his vest (but still keeps his gun) to throw down properly.

They exchange minor blows for a good while, with the cop seeming to have the upper hand -- he's way bigger for starters -- and the dude in green coming back for more each round.

In the end, they appear to leave their differences right there on the pavement ... seemingly without further incident. Of course, many have pointed out that this doesn't look to have happened in the States -- where a civilian would surely be busted for scrapping with a cop.

Of course, the other observation here ... this is very much like a scene from the 2012 movie "End of Watch," in which both Pena and Jake Gyllenhaal star ... where they play wayward cops. At one point in the flick -- Pena's character, Mike Zavala, brawls with a perp.

Amber Heard wants a do-over in court, demanding a judge toss the verdict against her in the Johnny Depp defamation trial ... because of shoddy evidence and an alleged fake juror.

The actress's lawyers filed new docs this week in VA, asking the judge to either set aside the verdict in favor of JD entirely, dismiss the complaint or order a new trial. Take your pick!

The reasons they lay out are many, but essentially fall into 3 categories -- one, she argues there wasn't sufficient evidence presented on Johnny's side to convince a jury that her words had hurt his career/cost him roles ... and yet, they somehow decided she had anyway.

Amber's attorneys argue that Johnny's career was already on the ropes -- including within the 'Pirates' franchise -- before her op-ed in Dec. 2018, and yet ... she was found liable for that. Furthermore, AH's team claims JD and co. failed to prove she acted with actual malice in the sense that there was little to no evidence offered up showing she ever believed she hadn't been abused by him and didn't believe every word uttered or written in the op-ed.

They're also harping on the fact that Amber never named Johnny in the piece, and more importantly ... insist that the defamatory lines in question were, in fact, true on their face.

There's also this ... Amber and her team claim that one of the jurors who decided her fate may not have actually been the person summoned to court, and that the court apparently missed it by not properly vetting them. It's Juror #15, whose birth year on paper is 1945.

Amber's team says they've done a quick search on this would-be imposter -- whom they say is clearly younger than that -- and it appears this person might've been born in 1970. As a result, they want the court to investigate the matter further. If it's found they did erroneously end up on the jury ... just another reason to scrap this whole thing and start from scratch.

Mind you ... this is NOT Amber's appeal of the case -- which she's vowed to carry out, even though it would cost her a fortune she apparently doesn't have. Because of that fact, this seems to be a roundabout way to achieve the same thing, sans throwing down any dough.

Hip-hop trailblazer and legendary dancer Bruno "Pop N Taco" Falcon has died ... this according to his loved ones.

His sister, Diana Wolgamott, tells TMZ ... the longtime Los Angeles-based breaker and choreographer passed away Saturday at his Long Beach home. She says she believes he may have died from a possible heart attack. We're told his death is considered natural, and no autopsy will be conducted.

Bruno was a staple in the dance scene throughout the '80s and '90s -- specifically, through a style he sorta carved out as his own in locking ... which he popularized in the cult classic film "Breakin'" where he played one of the main characters, Electro Rock 1 opposite Ice-T.

Speaking of, the rapper confirmed his death on Twitter ... replying to a fan who asked if he'd heard of Bruno's death and saying, "Yep, just got a text. He was to young. Smh."

The guy went on to act in other films such as "Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey," "Thumbelina" and even Michael Jackson's "Moonwalker." He actually had a pretty tight relationship with MJ ... having danced on and off with the superstar for years, even appearing in some music videos.

He might best be remembered as one of the dancers on "Smooth Criminal" who did the iconic lean dance sequence. Bruno is also said to have taught Michael a thing or two about popping and locking ... a style MJ employed often in his career. Bruno was with Michael during his HIStory tour in the '90s -- he appears to have served in a choreographer capacity.

Bruno has also danced with other Jackson family members including La Toya and Janet. He's also appeared in music videos for Lionel Richie and Chaka Khan, among other storied artists.

He was 58.

Keanu Reeves' onscreen need for speed became a reality this weekend -- he's in England taking in the Grand Prix race ... and seems to have an allegiance for one team in particular.

The actor was out and about Saturday at the Silverstone Circuit, where F1's British Grand Prix is underway ... surfacing at none other than the Aston Martin garage, where KR was watching the team's lead driver, Sebastian Vettel, take the wheel and zip around the track.

Keanu, who tends to be pretty private, was hard to miss ... and didn't seem to be shying away from the attention. At one point, he was photographed with raceway earmuffs while hanging out with AM crew members and staff -- who welcomed the guy with open arms.

In fact, he was kinda posing with whoever wanted a picture -- rocking his signature long hair and scruffy beard. Plus, his usual all-black getups ... which he didn't seem to mind having exposed to the rain.

Some shots of him on the actual grid -- while it was drizzling -- are making the rounds ... and, sure enough, there's Keanu with a vest on getting a closer look at the action. His blurry face has nothing to do with a glitch in the simulation ... just water on the camera. 😅

Martin Brundle from Sky News even landed an interview with Keanu, who apparently was digging the day's events. Sounds like John Wick's a real-life gearhead who nerds out on this kind of stuff ... who knew?!?

Lindsay Lohan could be a married woman ... you'd think that would be clear one way or the other, but it's not.

The 36-year-old posted a message on Instagram Friday, referring to Bader Shammas as her "husband." Her caption ... "🎂❤️🥰I am the luckiest woman in the world. You found me and knew that I wanted to find happiness and grace, all at the same time. I am stunned that you are my husband. My life and my everything. ❤️every woman should feel like this everyday 🙏💖"

Lindsay told the world last November she was engaged to Shammas ... calling him "My love. My life. My family. My future."

She had talked about doing some kind of destination wedding, but we haven't seen evidence of that, though it's possible it happened under the radar.

Nonetheless ... it seems she's now a married woman, but we've also seen before people have thrown out the "husband" and "wife" terms without actually tying the knot.

Johnny Depp's lawyer Camille Vasquez is gonna spend her birthday in style ... her time overseas with her beau is going to include spending some time with her famous client.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Camille's boyfriend has got a fun-filled trip planned for her 38th trip around the sun -- as we reported, she flew to London last week, where BF Ed Owen lives and is getting ready to party!

They're planning on heading to Wimbledon, which is super cool. They're also gonna see Elton John and The Rolling Stones at separate concerts. And ... they'll travel to Prague to see JD, where he's set to rock out with Jeff Beck.

The big question ... will Johnny call her out or even invite her on stage ... it would drive the crowd wild!

As we reported, Camille's been fielding offers from law firms ever since scoring a verdict in favor of Depp ... we're told she's speaking with agents and network execs about a bunch of projects ... like broadcasting roles, speaking engagements and even starting her own production company.

"Crash" director Paul Haggis will see his name removed from a city park in his Canadian hometown if he's found guilty of sexual assault ... and if the city council gets its way.

South London, Ontario honored the Oscar-winning filmmaker back in 2011 with the Paul Haggis Park, but since his recent arrest in Italy for allegedly forcing a woman to have sex with him at a bed and breakfast ... there's a growing movement to change that.

London City Council member Elizabeth Peloza, whose district covers Paul Haggis Park, tells TMZ ... she's closely following Paul's case, and if he's convicted she will file a motion to immediately remove his name from the park.

Peloza says the allegations against Paul are very serious and she's committed to creating a safe space for women and girls at the park ... which is why she would be in favor of scrubbing his name.

Paul's lawyer says his client is innocent of the allegations, and the reality is the director's probably way more concerned with maintaining his freedom than keeping his name on the park.

Khaby Lame, who just dethroned Charli D'Amelio as the top TikTok star, says acting's always been his ultimate goal ... and he hopes a movie with Will Smith is in his future.

We got Khaby with his project manager -- who translated his Italian -- in Beverly Hills where he told us TikTok fame has him looking for his break in acting, and yeah ... he wants to do it big Willie style.

He says "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" was an early inspiration for him, so a gig with Will would really bring things full circle.

About Will's Oscars slap from earlier this year, Khaby tells us he still respects him as an actor. He thinks people deserve second chances, and if Will wants a comeback, Khaby would be honored to be part of it.

The guy's gotten over 145M followers on TikTok, passing every other creator on the platform, despite the fact he doesn't speak in his posts. He explained why staying silent has actually played a big role in his success.

Gotta say, it's working for him -- Khaby's quiet comedy and universal body language makes millions laugh across the globe.

So, this is ironic ... Amber Heard lost Johnny Depp's defamation case in no small part because she lied about donating half her divorce settlement to the ACLU ... and now a judge has awarded the ACLU $38,000 ... and guess who has to pay -- NOT AMBER.

Here's the deal ... Johnny's legal team subpoenaed documents from the ACLU to prove Amber never anted up the cash. According to the ACLU, they had to produce 1900 documents and that took a lot of time. The org asked the judge to order Johnny to pay $86,000 for the time and expenses associated with the document production.

Johnny's lawyers called BS, saying the tab was "exorbitant and unreasonable."  The judge sided with Johnny and cut the bill pretty much in half ... so now Johnny has to pay $38,000.

As you know, Johnny won the case against Amber, so you might think she'd have to pay the costs that were incurred to reach a verdict ... a verdict squarely against her insofar as Johnny's defamation case is concerned. But, that's not the law, so Johnny has to pay.

Thing is ... it sounds like Johnny isn't going to take it to the mat and make Amber pay the $8.35M net judgment. So, even though he won, he's left holding the bag with the ACLU.

Richard Gere has a buyer for his impressive New York estate ... and while he ended up selling for under the original asking price, he's still walking away with a fortune.

The "Pretty Woman" star's 50 acres of property sold on Wednesday -- the buyer shelled out $24.15 million for the entire space out in Pound Ridge, about an hour north of NYC in Westchester County.

The compound includes 5 structures, a pool and some stables -- the area has rolling hills that are perfect for horseback riding, making those stables look like a necessity. The main residence alone is a whopping 11,600 square feet.

The compound also comes with its own private beach, an island you can reach by rowboat ... and there's even a soccer field, too. The surrounding area is incredibly lush -- over 4,300 acres of protected land circle the estate.

Richard listed the property back in October for $28 mil, and records show he bought the space 35 years ago for a measly $1.5M -- talk about a profit!!!