Movies

Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly may or may not be riding together until the wheels fall off -- but on the heels of their possible breakup, they're at least driving around together.

Megan and MGK were spotted in his Escalade Tuesday morning ... he was behind the wheel while she rode shotgun as they left his L.A. area home.

It's significant because it's not any ol' Tuesday -- the engaged couple is spending  Valentine's Day together just a couple days after Megan strongly hinted on social media they're done.

You'll recall, she dropped a series of photos over the weekend, where she appeared to be burning something, and wrote, "You can taste the dishonesty it’s all over your breath" ... a caption she snatched from Beyoncé's song "Pray You Catch Me".

This obviously set off alarms for fans, considering that song is from Bey's Lemonade album, which is allegedly all about Jay-Z cheating on her.

MF also unfollowed all but 3 people -- Timothee Chalamet, Harry Styles, and Eminem, who has major beef with MGK ... before deleting all posts with her fiance, and then her IG page altogether.

The two got engaged back in January 2022 and seemed to be getting on just fine ... at least, up until their Super Bowl weekend in AZ.

Sharon Stone is tearfully paying tribute to her late brother who just passed away this weekend ... and it has her reflecting on the "tremendous loss" her family's endured recently.

The actress confirmed Patrick's death, posting a video Monday evening with the caption "Godspeed Patrick Joseph Stone." In the short clip, she says he did, in fact, suffer a fatal heart attack ... and noted he's the father of the late River Stone.

River was Patrick's 11-month-old son who died in 2021 after his organs failed -- and Sharon tearfully expresses how difficult these past couple years have been for her family.

SS says she's thankful for all the love and support during this time, and appreciates the condolences she's received as well ... adding that the loss they've endured is just here on earth.

Remember, Sharon lost her grandmother and godmother in 2020 to COVID-19. As she copes with all that death, she's encouraging people to continue being kind to one another.

TMZ broke the story ... Patrick went into cardiac arrest Sunday in Pennsylvania, and for now -- his death is being attributed to heart disease.

As Sharon pointed out, he's survived by his wife and 2 children. Patrick was 57.

Danny Trejo is filing for bankruptcy -- but it's not because the dude is broke or anything ... he's just got a nagging bill with the IRS that would best be resolved this way.

The legendary actor tells TMZ ... he's filing Tuesday for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which mostly has to do with reorganizing his assets to help deal with this debt he owes Uncle Sam -- which he says is about $2 million in taxes.

Part of the reason he fell into this hole ... Danny says he was mistakenly claiming deductions over the years that caught up with him. He even jokingly tells us he now realizes that dog grooming isn't a legit expense you can write off. 😅

A quick note -- while Danny is personally filing for bankruptcy, his many businesses -- including his record label, his coffee/donut shops and, of course, his famed Trejo's Tacos -- are doing just fine ... and aren't affected by this.

Those enterprises are owned by corporations and LLCs he's created to run them, and we've been assured his own financial woes are not a reflection of how those are producing. On the contrary, all indications suggest Danny's doing swimmingly in the free market.

Blockbuster Video's making people be kind and rewind once again -- the company ran a new ad on Super Bowl Sunday that resulted in a massive spike in sales, and it didn't cost 'em an arm and a leg.

Sandi Harding, General Manager of the last remaining Blockbuster in Bend, OR, tells TMZ ... on Monday morning they saw twice the number of online merch orders than all of last week combined -- which she directly credits to their Sunday night ad.

While "Blockbuster" may be a recognizable brand, the video store operates just like a mom-and-pop, and the majority of their sales are driven from merch -- stuff like trucker hats and sweatpants.

The surge in sales is huge for the biz ... we're told it's a slow time of year for the store, as summer's when they rely on tourists to check out their store and buy merch. Customers can still rent DVDs like old times -- but they're obviously not selling like the good ol' days.

For those who missed it, the retro ad kept things funny while promoting the store -- joking the last Blockbuster will survive even an apocalypse.

The average cost for a 30-second spot on the Super Bowl broadcast on Fox was about $7 million this year -- so, wisely, Blockbuster opted instead to drop its ad on social media during halftime. Sandi says they had a slim production budget and got help from an NYC ad agency that donated time and resources to make it happen.

More heartbreak for Sharon Stone and her family ... her brother Patrick died suddenly over the weekend.

Patrick died early Sunday morning in Pennsylvania. A rep for the coroner's office tells us his death is being ruled as sudden cardiac death due to heart disease. It's unclear if he was hospitalized at the time of his death.

Pat's wife Tasha shared the devastating news with friends, writing, "My heart feels like it’s been ripped out of my chest. Patrick went to be with our sweet River ... I don’t know what else to say, he was my world."

She continued, "I’m not sure what life is supposed to look like without my husband by my side and quite honestly I don’t want to, but I will of course. I just hope that you always stay by my side watching over Hunter, Kaylee and I."

River was Tasha and Patrick's son who died in 2021 at just 11 months ... at the time, Sharon announced River's organs had failed.

Tasha continued, "Until we meet again I will forever hold you and our wonderful (and some not so wonderful but just as important) memories close to my heart and will visit those memories always. I love you honey babe. My wish through all of this is that now at least River has his daddy with him and I hope the two of you are having the best time."

Patrick was only 57.

Things are getting pissy on the set of the upcoming "Joker" sequel ... we're told extras are angry over the lack of bathroom access, causing tension with production.

Sources on set tell TMZ ... extras for the movie have been complaining about working for over 2 hours nonstop and not being allowed to use the bathroom or drink water during filming at Warner Bros Studios in Burbank.

We're told the potty problems are mainly cropping up when extras are on set for camera setups, which often last between 20 minutes to an hour. The background actors fear repercussions if they ask higher-ups to use the loo ... that's because they say some extras have already been berated.

Our sources say one extra had to use the bathroom "terribly" between camera setups, but in order to do so, they first had to "state their case" to the assistant director as to why it was really an emergency.

When the extra was on their way back to set after using the bathroom, we're told they grabbed a cup of water and an assistant director said to them, "Why are you drinking more water? So you have to go pee again?"

We're told another A.D. was overheard saying, "I've never had to go to the bathroom this much. What do they even do in there? Cause they definitely aren't using them."

With the shoot tentatively scheduled for 5 weeks, there's a lot of money and regular work on the table for extras during a normally slow period in Hollywood, which is why some don't want to ruffle any feathers over bathroom breaks.

We've learned SAG received a complaint about a break time violation and they investigated and spoke to production. We're told production's been cooperative and SAG will continue to follow up and monitor the set.

"Joker: Folie à Deux" is set to be released in 2024 ... and it's starring Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga. Filming began in December.

It's the second time there have been bathroom issues on a "Joker" movie set ... as we first told you, during filming for the first movie back in 2018, extras were locked in a Brooklyn subway car for more than 3 hours and started peeing on the tracks.

The Super Bowl gets some of the best commercials of the year, but one was a little too good ... because it had millions of viewers losing their minds, thinking they were missing the big game!!!

The Tubi commercial aired during Sunday night's big game and if you missed it -- consider yourself lucky 'cause it had households across the country reaching for their remotes and freaking out.

The ad, officially called "Interface Interruption", featured Fox sports commentators Kevin Burkhardt and Greg Olsen -- y'know the guys calling the actual Super Bowl -- so, most fans figured they were really welcoming everyone back from a commercial break.

But then, while the 2 guys were talking, the screen looked like someone was messing around with the remote and scrolled to the Tubi app to watch "Mr. & Mrs. Smith".

Of course, the ad made fans everywhere think someone in their house was fumbling with the remote to watch the flick during the intense Super Bowl game😂

By the end, you could tell it was just an ad for the streaming service (owned by FOX, BTW) -- not some kid sitting on the remote -- and fans were returned to the real game with Kevin and Greg really calling the action.

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck have FINALLY found their dream house ... TMZ has confirmed they're in escrow to buy an incredible property in the L.A. area.

The mansion is in the Pacific Palisades area of L.A. -- a super exclusive neighborhood only for the uber-rich.

It's listed for $34,500,000 ... we do not know the agreed-upon price, but it's a good bet it's not far off from the listing price.

The house was built just last year. The seller calls it a Hamptons-style traditional, with 7 bedrooms and 13 bathrooms.  It sits on an acre, which is HUGE for the area.

The house has all the bells and whistles ... a screening room, a gym, pool, wine cellar.  it's also got a health spa -- not sure how that differs from a gym, but apparently, it does.

As we reported, JLo just listed her Bel Air home for $42.5M. Their plan was to upgrade that home, but apparently plans changed and they're movin' west.

Bob Iger is on a mission to make Disney profitable again -- so, for the Mouse House's centennial ... he made the entire company fall into formation to telegraph his vision.

As you might've heard by now, this year marks a big milestone for the mega-corporation... they're 100 years old, and BI -- who's the newly reinstated CEO once again -- whipped up a nifty little Super Bowl spot that's set to air during the game, which he also released early.

In an accompanying caption to the minute-and-a-half clip, Bob writes ... "Today I want to share this video, which celebrates the @WaltDisneyCo's 100-year milestone. We are enormously grateful to our storytellers, our cast members and our fans. Thank you and enjoy. #Disney100."

As for what's in the spot itself ... a highlight compilation reel full of snippets and stills from their massive vault of content over the years, which is mixed with footage of fans (especially little kids) dressed up as their favorite Disney characters and enjoying the parks.

It's a cool tribute to what Disney's offered/accomplished -- but what's even more striking (at least for the Twitter users of the world) is seeing just how big the Disney umbrella actually is ... as just about every single Disney-owned subsidiary tweeted this same video out.

They all also feature the exact same caption ... "You made this dream come true." All official Disney accounts -- touching everything from Marvel to Star Wars and Disney Animation to Pixar, as well as the different parks around the world -- have posted this, all in unison.

If you scroll through the #Disney100 trend, you'll see just how many properties Disney owns ... it's upwards of at least a couple dozen, which puts Disney's reach into perspective. It also makes ya realize how big a load Iger's got on his plate when it comes to righting the ship.

ICYMI ... Iger was tapped once more late last year after Bob Chapek was pushed out -- this after the Board of Directors apparently felt he wasn't serving the company's best interests.

Since then, Iger has made some big business decisions to get the stock price back up ... including laying off thousands of employees and shifting the structure of the company to focus on creative storytelling from the ground up, while looking for more savings.

Iger has also hinted at the possibility of Hulu potentially getting the boot in a would-be sale -- so it sounds like he's considering any and everything to shore up cash ... this after a few years of Disney struggling to reap significant profits.

And don't get us started on all the culture war stuff Disney's been mired in of late -- that's another headache they've been dealing with ... and will probably continue to battle. Not to mention a proxy war he's in with overzealous board members -- a whole other problem.

At any rate, it's pretty clear where Iger's focus is with this SB spot here ... he wants to get back in touch with the creators, fans and workers, who kinda make this thing go 'round.

James Cameron is facing off against James Cameron for the third spot on the list of highest-grossing movies of all time -- with two of his offerings within inches of one another for the honor.

Here's the deal ... we already know JC's newest flick, "Avatar: The Way of Water," has been steadily climbing these past few months -- blowing past film after film on the all-time box office record chart ... that is, until it hit a snag with "Titanic," which was securely at #3.

That briefly changed this weekend, with 'Avatar 2' replacing Cameron's crown jewel for the third spot ... if only for a day or so. As of Sunday, however, "Titanic" reclaimed its position.

In other words, the 2 movies (obviously, both Cameron's) were flip-flopping in ranking -- but for now, it looks like "Titanic" is holding firm at #3, and 'Avatar 2' is still #4 ... with the latest projections through the weekend for both movies being about $2.217B and $2.214B, respectively.

Although "Avatar" made more money than "Titanic" this weekend ... "Titanic" has still made more money long-term, but it's expected 'Avatar 2' will overtake it again in the coming days.

BTW, if you're wondering why we're saying "Titanic" was in theaters this weekend (as if it's 1997 all over again) ... that's because it was. The film is celebrating its 25th anniversary and got re-released, which means more ticket sales ... even in 2023. 😅

Three of Cameron's films are now all-timers. The first "Avatar" is still king with $2.92 billion, "Avengers: Endgame" is 2nd at $2.79 bil ... and you know the rest, for the time being.

Vernon Davis says he wouldn't be shocked if Tom Brady goes from hoisting Lombardi Trophies to picking up Oscars ... telling TMZ Sports he was impressed by the QB's role in "80 For Brady."

The former 49ers tight end -- who's turned himself into a super successful actor in his life after football -- told us out in Arizona this week that Brady legitimately showed him something in the new flick.

In fact, Davis said Brady did such a "great job" in the movie about a group of women who traveled across the country to catch him in Super Bowl LI -- he could envision the 45-year-old turning into a real-deal actor someday.

"I could see him having longevity," said the 39-year-old, who just recently worked with Morgan Freeman in the movie "Muti."

"He knows about discipline. He knows about hard work. He knows what it takes to be great at anything. So, with that, he can only go up."

The internet had good old George Clooney trending amid speculation he'd return as the Caped Crusader in James Gunn's DC Universe ... but the mastermind himself says it's BS.

The director and now-co-chief of all things DC shot down a rumor that started to pick up steam these past couple days ... namely, the notion that George could possibly come back and reprise his role as Batman in the new 'Batman' movie that was recently announced.

On Saturday, Gunn responded to a fan who flat out asked him if it was true he was going to cast GC in the 'Brave and the Bold' flick ... which features a much older Batman (and his son, Robin).

When someone pressed for further details -- asking if there was any truth to the idea he was going to cast an actor who'd previously played Batman, period -- Gunn again flatly denied that ... saying they were going in a completely new direction with a totally new actor.

The reason this began percolating at all is because a film journo claimed to have the inside scoop on DC's hopes when it came to who they wanted under the cowl in their latest reboot of the franchise ... suggesting it was either Clooney, Val Kilmer or Christian Bale, and that this person may even cameo in the new 'Flash' flick that's coming out this year.

She said she knew who the studio wanted -- noting a deal wasn't in place yet -- but refused to identify the alleged favorite in mind ... and Twitter handled the rest, making all 3 trend.

Considering plans for this new Bat-movie were literally just unveiled about a week ago, it's safe to say ... no one is cast until they're cast -- so it's probably best to just wait until this actually goes into production before diving head-first into conjecture.

Idris Elba is clearing up what he meant when he recently said he no longer calls himself a Black actor -- this after much debate online -- by now saying, my job ain't about race.

The actor's original quote showed up in an interview he did with Esquire magazine this past week, in which he said ... "I stopped describing myself as a Black actor when I realized it put me in a box."

IE added at the time, "As humans, we are obsessed with race. And that obsession can really hinder people’s aspirations, hinder people’s growth. Racism should be a topic for discussion, sure. Racism is very real. But from my perspective, it’s only as powerful as you allow it to be. We’ve got to grow. We’ve got to. Our skin is no more than that: It’s just skin."

His answer here sparked a lot of discourse, as many felt this was a controversial take ... seeing how it's in the same vein as what Morgan Freeman once said about Black History Month and racism -- namely, the best way to get rid of it was to stop talking about it.

Welp, Idris heard all the chatter ... and decided to set the record straight on how he feels about his Black heritage. On Saturday, he wrote ... "There isn't a soul on this earth that can question whether I consider myself a BLACK MAN or not. Being an 'actor' is a profession, like being an 'architect' ,they are not defined by race."

He added, "However, If YOU define your work by your race, that is your Perogative. Ah lie?"

In other words, Idris is saying that he finds it counterproductive to describe everything a Black person does -- especially as it pertains to work -- with a racial qualifier. Good of him to clarify, because -- for a minute there -- there were some who felt he was falling into the O.J. Simpson category.

Ben Crump doesn't just have a new law school named after him ... the institution's already getting jaw-dropping financial support from his very famous pals!

Will Smith was right by the famed civil rights attorney's side this week in Miami for the dedication of the Benjamin L. Crump College of Law at St. Thomas University -- and sources connected to the event tell us this was way more than a photo op.

We're told Will, funk music legend George Clinton and Bishop T.D. Jakes came together to raise a whopping $10 million for Ben's new school. As Will told the crowd ... he was honored to witness the historic event.

As of the naming ceremony, we're told Crump is now the first practicing Black attorney in the U.S. to receive such an honor.

As you know, Ben has become a renowned attorney taking on many high-profile cases -- most recently, he's been representing the family of Tyre Nichols, who was severely beaten by Memphis cops before dying last month.

He's also stood up for Jacob Blake and the families of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd -- no wonder he's frequently called Black America's Attorney General.

Cody Longo, a young actor who made his mark in both film and television, including a role on "Days of Our Lives" has died ... TMZ has learned.

A family member tells TMZ Cody's body was found Wednesday in bed at a residence in Austin, Texas. We're told Longo's wife, Stephanie, was at work at a local dance studio and got an uneasy feeling when she couldn't reach him ... so she asked police to go and check on him.

Cops responded to the home, and when Longo didn't answer, they kicked the door down ... finding him dead in bed.

The family member tells us Cody struggled with alcohol abuse for years -- and went to rehab over the summer. At this time, an official time of death has not been released, but the family believes he relapsed and alcoholism is likely what killed him.

Longo appeared on 8 episodes of "Days of Our Lives" back in 2011, he was also in "Bring It On: Fight to The Finish" and episodes of "Nashville" in 2016. However, fans of "Hollywood Heights" will most remember him as Eddie Duran on the show ... he appeared on 78 episodes.

We spoke with Cody's wife, Stephanie, who tells us he was really working hard on himself to fight for his kids. She says, "He was an amazing father and the best husband. Our whole world is shattered."

He leaves behind his wife, a 7-year-old daughter, as well as a 5-year-old son and 1-year-old son.

Cody was only 34.

The family of the late "Street Outlaws: Fastest in America" star Ryan Fellows claims both TV networks and studios put his life at risk for financial gain by having him race on an unsafe stretch of road ... and now they're suing over his fatal crash.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the Fellows family is going after Warner Bros. Discovery and Lions Gate Entertainment ... accusing the media corporations of negligence they insist led to Ryan's death.

In the docs, the family says the area where 'Street Outlaws' filmed drag racing scenes was a dusty, weather-beaten, rough asphalt 55-mile per hour roadway in the Las Vegas desert, which didn't meet any of the industry safety standards for drag racing.

TMZ broke the story ... Ryan died back in August in a fiery crash during filming for his popular Discovery show. We were told Ryan was racing another driver when he lost control of his car near the finish line, with the vehicle rolling before catching fire.

In the docs, Ryan's family says the roadway where he crashed was only 12 feet wide instead of the industry standard of 30 feet. They also say the sides of the road featured broken asphalt and gravel shoulders with sheer drop-offs, instead of the industry standard concrete barriers.

Ryan's family claims there were numerous crashes during filming, including cars flipping, rolling and catching fire ... and they rip the media giants for filming life-threatening collisions and airing them on TV for profit.

The family claims the rough asphalt caused racecars to lose traction, the narrow lanes left drivers no room for corrections and the gravel shoulders and drop-offs sent racecars into out-of-control slides that only ended when the vehicles dug into the sand, flipped and rolled.

The Fellows say Warner Bros. Discovery knew it was extremely dangerous to hold races on the roadway ... and they claim it was an "extreme departure from what a reasonable careful person would do in the same situation to prevent harm to others."

It gets worse ... Ryan's family says Warner Bros. Discovery had multiple opportunities to move filming to a safer location after "numerous horrific crashes," but they say the network instead "sat back, flipped on the lights and cameras, and waited for the next inevitable crash."

That crash happened August 7, when Ryan's family claims his racecar lost traction on the roadway, slid off the road and flipped into a roll. The Fellows say Ryan's car rolled multiple times before coming to a rest upside down and catching fire, and they claim he hung upside down in the driver's seat on fire for more than 30 minutes before fire crews removed him from the car. By that time, the family says Ryan was horribly burned and dead.

The Fellows say after Ryan's death Warner Bros. Discovery moved the show to a dedicated 75-foot-wide drag strip at a professional California raceway ... and the family says the change "proves the availability and feasibility of a safer alternative to the unsafe desert roadway."

Ryan's family is now suing the media companies and they want punitive and compensatory damages because they say his death is causing suffering and loss of love and companionship.