Movies

Maitland Ward says the adult film industry's awards show is far superior TV than anything the Academy Awards is offering ... and she thinks it boils down to who's doing the voting.

We got the former "Boy Meets World" actress-turned-porn star in Bev Hills and asked why she thinks traditional awards shows like the Oscars are losing interest and viewers.

Maitland says the folks voting for the Oscars are way too old and aren't in touch with the country ... and she thinks the nominations this year once again show a lack of diversity.

On the flip side, Maitland says porn is rife with female directors and performers from all walks of life ... and she thinks the AVN Awards does a better job reading the room and going with the most deserving candidates, with no politics involved.

While awards shows are mostly losing viewers year after year, Maitland has an idea for how the Academy Awards could get a shot in the arm and a ton more eyeballs with a new category ... yep, she wants to see someone win an Oscar for having sex on camera!!!

Maitland has won seven AVN awards since joining the porn industry in 2019, including Best Leading Actress this year.

Brendan Fraser's looks over the years are award-worthy!

Here is a 35-year-old version of the chiseled actor lookin' cool and casual at a movie premiere in Los Angeles back in 2004 (left). This was the same year he played the role of Rick Cabot in the film "Crash" ... which took home three Academy Awards!

And, 19 years later ... the now 54 year old suited up at this year's Oscars Nominees Luncheon at The Beverly Hilton hotel (right). Brendan is nominated for an Academy Award for his leading role in "The Whale" but will he snag the trophy?!

His charming looks have definitely been a huge win over the years, but the question is ...

Ke Huy Quan has just about everyone in Hollywood in his corner as he roars toward the Oscars -- not to mention his old 'Goonies' pals ... including one Corey Feldman.

The former child star -- who acted alongside Ke in the 1980s classic -- told Page Six that he'll be rooting for KHQ come Sunday, when he'll be watching from home and hoping his former costar can pull out a win for Best Supporting Actor, for which he's nominated.

He says, "I see Ke as a winner, he’s never stopped being one to me … The Goonies are family. People don’t really realize the depth of that blood, it runs deep."

Feldman goes on to say that he's kept up with Ke through the years, and notes that while he may have stepped back from acting for a time ... the guy stayed working in showbiz, even if it was just tangentially at times, and that he'd done great stuff in his own right.

Now that Ke Huy is back in the spotlight with his movie, 'Everything Everywhere All at Once,' Corey's all for it. He says he saw 'EEAAO' and knew it was special ... adding that he gave Ke some advice -- namely, "keep your head up and don’t let them get to you."

Welp, Ke Huy's taken that in stride ... winning just about everyone over with every award show appearance (and win) of late. He's also been taking a TON of selfies along the way, documenting his journey ... which most think will end with a statuette tomorrow.

BTW, other 'Goonies' stars have been wishing Ke well along the way -- Josh Brolin has chimed in via his reps, and so has Jeff Cohen (Chunk), Kerri Green and Martha Plimpton.

Olivia Wilde and Florence Pugh seem to have moved past their rumored movie set beef a year later -- 'cause they went to the same party this weekend ... but weren't together, per se.

The two actresses were among many celebs who attended CAA's pre-Oscars party Friday night in L.A. ... and while it's interesting to see them in the same space -- this after they reportedly squabbled while making "Don't Worry Darling" -- it's possible things are still icy.

Fact is, there isn't a photo of them posing together or even hanging around the same group of people at any given time during the shindig -- which was star-studded and packed. That kinda jibes with what they were doing at Venice last year ... namely, keeping distance.

It could mean nothing, of course. However, by the same token, it could also mean they're still not that cool with each other ... and choose not to fraternize, even now.

Not to kick up the Team Flo/Team Wilde camps again, but it was quite clear there was friction at the time.

In any case ... they seem to be able to play nice in the same building, which is all you can really ask for, we suppose. BTW, they were far from the only famous faces on the scene.

Other stars in attendance ... Pedro Pascal, Zoe Kravitz, Cate Blanchett, Allison Janney, Andrew Garfield, Halle Bailey, Rita Ora, Taika Waititi, Miles Teller, Chloe Grace Moretz, KiKi Layne, Elton John and husband David Furnish, Sandra Bullock and Brian Tyree Henry.

All the others ... Demi Moore, Antonio Banderas, Morgan Freeman, Maria Sharapova, Amy Adams, Vin Diesel, Hailee Steinfeld, James Corden, Richard Madden, Trevor Noah, Lily James, Paul Mescal, Jon Hamm, Zooey Deschanel, B.J. Novak, Danny DeVito, Simone Ashley, HAIM, Ana de Armas, DeWanda Wise, Eiza Gonzalez, Ariana DeBose and lots more.

Some of Hollywood's elite hit up a pre-Oscars party Friday night ... and they celebrated in old-world style at a Bev Hills mansion where an all-time classic movie was shot.

Leonardo DiCaprio, Adam Sandler, Austin Butler, Travis Kelce, Brooklyn Beckham and Nina Dobrev were just some of the celebs on hand at "The Beverly Estate", where director Francis Ford Coppola filmed the famous horse's head scene for "The Godfather."

Check out the video, obtained by TMZ, showing the celebs mingling and chatting with drinks in hand at the William Morris/Endeavor soiree.

Leo, of course, went incognito with his baseball cap pulled down over his face. No surprise there.

Adam and Travis had a little convo off to the side.

Brooklyn was hangin' out with some people and just chillin'.

Nina stood out from the pack, looking glamorous in her red dress.

Bill Maher was more subtle than usual Friday night ... tipping his hat to evolutionary social change and asking everyone to chill if things aren't perfect RIGHT NOW.

The "Real Time" host used Oscars weekend to make his point -- that even in liberal Hollywood there's a learning curve on the scales of social justice.

He points to 1973, when Marlon Brando snagged the Oscar for "The Godfather" and sent a surrogate in his place to accept -- Sacheen Littlefeather, who got up onstage to talk about injustices against Native Americans. She was met with boos and even tomahawk chops from people in the audience.

Today, BM says, she'd clearly be met with cheers, not jeers ... and that, he says, is progress.

Bill then broadens out his point ... Reagan was late on AIDS, but he came around. Obama was late with gay marriage, but he too came around. And, Bill wishes, Biden or his successor will step up and advocate the legalization of weed.

Being late doesn't make people bad, Bill says. Progress tends to be evolutionary, but it happens.

Check out what he says about a very famous movie that was shot just a few years back -- populated by diehard liberals in Hollywood. If that movie were made today, they'd be skewered.

Versace's fashion show was an absolute hit -- despite a last minute call to move it up one day -- with some of the biggest names in Hollywood dressing to the nines to attend.

The fall/winter show wound up getting rescheduled from Friday to Thursday due to rain -- it was an outdoor event on the roof of the Pacific Design Center in WeHo. Based on the turnout ... everyone cleared their schedules.

Among folks in the building ... Dua Lipa, Miley Cyrus, Channing Tatum, Anne Hathaway, Lil Nas X, Allison Williams, Pamela Anderson, Matt Bomer, Ke Huy Quan, Lily James, Gabrielle Union and hubby Dwyane Wade, and Jeff Bezos and partner Lauren Sanchez.

Paris Hilton attended with her sister Nicky and mom Kathy ... as well as Demi Moore and  her daughter Rumer Willis -- and Elton John, Cher and her fiancé Alexander Edwards had front-row seats.

The models for the highly-anticipated show were also A-list ... Gigi Hadid opened the runway action, while Naomi Campbell, Emily Ratajkowski and Kendall Jenner also did their thing.

Jane Fonda's looking phenomenal months after announcing her cancer went into remission ... and she's giving us some hilarious advice on how to look as great as she still does.

We got the legendary actress Thursday in NYC as she was heading into "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" ... she said she's doing okay, and tossed up a peace sign for fans and photogs.

We asked the obvious question, in light of how great she's looking ... "What's the secret?" Newcomers gotta see this, because JF kept it 💯!!!

She told us all ya need is, "Good genes and a lot of money."

Yeah, you can tell her spirits are up after revealing last September she had non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. She underwent chemotherapy for 6 months, and then announced the cancer's in remission.

As she described the good news, at the time, "BEST BIRTHDAY PRESENT EVER!!!"

American actress Julie Michaels was only 19 years old when she was cast as the blonde beauty Denise -- who spends her nights dancing topless at The Double Deuce dive bar and in quarrels with her abusive boyfriend Jimmy -- in the 1989 spin-kicking Patrick Swayze action film "Road House."

While Julie's character sided with the crooked politics of Brad Wesley -- played by Ben Gazzara -- there were lots of good guys worth noting ... like Sam Elliott as the wily bar-brawling vet, Wade Garrett, Kelly Lynch as the quick-stitching love interest, Elizabeth "Doc" Clay ... and of course Patrick Swayze as the cool and calm bouncer with a hot bod, Dalton.

Take your best shot, Jake Gyllenhaal!

Robert Blake, the actor whose life was just as talked about off the screen as it was on, has died.

According to a statement released to the Associated Press on behalf of Blake's niece, Noreen Austin, Blake died Thursday from heart disease at home surrounded by loved ones.

Blake was infamously charged with the murder of his second wife, Bonny Lee Bakley, after she was found dead outside Vitello's restaurant in Los Angeles in 2001. Bakley had been shot in the head while sitting in Blake's vehicle.

Blake told investigators he had gone back inside the restaurant to retrieve a pistol when Bakley was shot and killed. It was later determined his pistol was not the murder weapon.

Blake's trial lasted about three months, but he was eventually found not guilty of murder and not guilty of one of the two counts of solicitation of murder ... the second solicitation of murder charge was also eventually dropped.

Blake's career in Hollywood spanned more than 50 years, starring in movies like "In Cold Blood," "Lost Highway" and "Treasure of the Sierra Madre." He also played Tony Baretta in "Baretta" ... a role that won him an Emmy in 1975.

The "Cocaine Bear" has company -- a wild big cat found and captured far from its natural habitat of Africa ... has cocaine in its system!!!

In a scene that sounds like a sequel script ... officials in Ohio say they responded to reports of a "leopard" stuck in a tree, and when they got there they found an African serval cat, which is illegal to own in the state.

Cincinnati Animal Care took in the animal for DNA and narcotics testing, and it tested positive for cocaine exposure!!!

The wild big cat, now known as Amiry, is getting treatment at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens. Unlike the big screen bear now in theaters ... there are no reports of the cat killing anyone.

The zoo says trainers are going to work with Amiry, and if things go well the zoo is going to keep him ... though he won't be visible to the public, at least not yet. Perhaps a rehab stint is in order?

Unclear how the cat got into cocaine, but authorities say they've found the animal's owner, who is cooperating with the investigation.

Julia Fox's dad and brother were reportedly taken away in handcuffs ... with cops finding ghost guns and materials used to manufacture drugs in their apartment.

According to NY Post, police conducted a raid at Christopher and Thomas Fox's Manhattan pad Wednesday ... all in part of a larger investigation regarding ghost guns.

Not only did cops find the weapons without serial numbers, but also a slew of chemicals -- including fentanyl, chloroform, heroin, formaldehyde, and other materials often used to craft explosives ... things like pressure cookers and other chemicals. Thousands of dollars worth of wine bottles were also spotted inside.

On top of that, police reportedly recovered 3D printers and unidentified pills at their apartment ... both of the were taken into custody, with charges currently pending according to The Post's sources.

A spokesperson for the NYPD confirmed an arrest at Christopher and Thomas' apartment building, saying the department seized equipment for pressing narcotic pills as well as the guns.

Before this darling gal in her Minnie and Mickey Mouse bib turned into a pageant queen and model, she was just growing up with her four (also adorable) siblings in Cranston, Rhode Island.

Within just one year, she was crowned winner of Miss Rhode Island USA, Miss USA and Miss Universe. And, if you haven't seen her on the field cheering on the San Francisco 49ers, you may have watched her home tour or perhaps one of her makeup tutorials.

Need one more hint? She made a cameo in the film "The Other Woman" with Cameron Diaz and Leslie Mann.

Hayden Panettiere is honoring her brother in a special way on the day of his funeral ... wearing a custom jacket he designed to the service.

The Panettiere family and friends gathered Wednesday at the Palisades Presbyterian Church in Nyack, New York to celebrate and remember the life of Jansen Panettiere. Hayden wore the colorful jacket as she walked inside.

Jansen posted a photo of the jacket February 2, just a few weeks before he suddenly died. He was an artist and designer who would often share his works on his social media.

TMZ broke the story, Jansen was found dead inside his apartment in Nyack in February. According to a police report, obtained by TMZ, a friend became alarmed after he was a no-call, no-show to a business meeting.

Hayden later came out and said her brother was believed to have died from an enlarged heart, coupled with aortic valve complications.

Cara Delevingne is finally speaking out about her struggles with substance abuse ... something she claims she's battling with the help of a support group.

The actress is on the April cover of Vogue and in an interview with the magazine says her world practically came crumbling down in the midst of the pandemic and her 30th.

She says she'd even lock herself in her house before realizing she desperately needed some help.

Cara explains the true wake-up call was pictures taken last year, showing her looking really bent out of shape. She says, "Sometimes you need a reality check, so in a way, those pictures were something to be grateful for."

Cara says she reached out to some of her closest friends in September after that -- with them coming over, crying, and telling her "You deserve a chance to have joy."

As we reported, Margot Robbie was spotted visibly distraught while leaving Cara's home the same month, although it's unclear if this was the same meeting.