Movies

Sandra Bullock's boyfriend, Bryan Randall, has died, after a private battle with ALS ... TMZ has confirmed.

Bryan's family tells us, "It is with great sadness that we share that on August 5th Bryan Randall passed away peacefully after a 3 year battle with ALS."

They say Bryan decided to keep his struggle with ALS a private matter, adding, "Those of us who cared for him did our best to honor his request."

They add, "We are immensely grateful to the tireless doctors who navigated the landscape of this illness with us and to the astounding nurses who became our roommates, often sacrificing their own families to be with ours."

People was first to report the news.

Sandra and Bryan first met back in 2015 when he photographed a birthday party for her son, Louis -- they went public later that year. Despite keeping things between them mostly under wraps, she called him the "love of my life" in 2021 during her time on "Red Table Talk."

She even said at the time that they shared her 2 kids together -- 13-year-old Louis and 10-year-old Laila, both of whom she adopted.

There were reports that the couple was on the rocks and were allegedly living separately last year ... although his battle with ALS could've contributed to living apart.

Bryan was 57.

William Friedkin, the famed filmmaker who directed "The Exorcist," has died.

The news was confirmed Monday by his wife, Sherry Lansing, who says he passed in L.A. -- but the exact details of his death have yet to be revealed. It's a big hit to the film community -- as Friedkin was an influential force behind some of the 20th century's most iconic movies.

While he might best be remembered for his work on the 1973 horror flick -- which, by all accounts, changed the genre forever -- WF had several other notable credits to his name ... including the Oscar-winning "French Connection," which he also directed.

Other films he helmed included ... "The Brink's Job," "Sorcerer," "Cruising," "To Live and Die in L.A.," "Rampage," "Deal of the Century," "The Guardian," "Blue Chips," "12 Angry Men," "Rules of Engagement," "The Hunted," "Killer Joe" and lots of others.

He also directed a handful of episodes for memorable TV shows ... like "Tales from the Crypt," "The Twilight Zone," "Rebel Highway," "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour," "CSI" and more.

Friedkin was a diverse director ... dabbling in all types of flicks, from horror to drama, and even comedy. While some of his work is more well-known than others, he was respected in all regards -- and certainly carved out his own corner in pop culture.

The last time we saw him, he was out here in L.A. signing autographs and talking "Get Out."

Friedkin was 87.

RIP

"Barbie"s worldwide box office domination has expecting parents thinkin' plastic when it comes to baby names ... because folks are interested in naming their kids after the popular dolls.

BabyNames.com tells TMZ ... their site has seen a 300% uptick in searches for "Barbie" in the month of July. "Ken" has also blown up, with searches increasing by 200% in the same month.

Not as much as Barbie, but that holds up -- he's just Ken.

We're told a handful of users are also adding the titular names to their favorites list. According to the website, Barbie means "stranger," while Ken means "handsome." Barbie peaked in popularity in 1964, while Ken peaked in 1963.

As we reported, the Greta Gerwig flick has been crushing it in theaters -- it pulled over $162 mil in the U.S. alone in weekend one ... and it's already passed $1B worldwide.

The fan-favorite character, Allan -- played by Michael Cera -- has had a positive outcome on the Mattel reseller game ... because eBay listings for the rare doll have skyrocketed after the movie's release.

Sadly, we're told there's been no search increase for the name "Allan" when it comes to baby names. Sorry, dude.

Greta Gerwig achieved something pretty great in showbiz this weekend -- she's now the sole female director to have crossed the billion-dollar line ... and it's because of "Barbie."

Indeed ... the inevitable happened Sunday, with "Barbie" raking in over a $1 billion at the worldwide box office and once again taking the top spot here domestically. That's 3 weeks in a row that the flick has dominated, and at this point ... there's no sign of it slowing down.

Now, as for Greta ... like we said, she stands alone (as a woman) in this billion-dollar club -- which is a historical feat, and something that hasn't been done before "Barbie" came along.

Yes, there are other female directors who are technically in that 10-figure category -- including Jennifer Lee and Anna Boden, who co-directed the "Frozen" and "Captain Marvel" movies, respectively, alongside men -- but GG's in a league of her own now as a standalone.

There's a very large gap between Greta and the other solo female directors with box office hits -- #2 on the list is Patty Jenkins' "Wonder Woman," which made around $412 mil through its run. There's an even bigger drop-off with the next tier of films/directors ... Betty Thomas' "Alvin and the Chipmunks" ($219M); Catherine Hardwicke's "Twilight" ($192M); Elizabeth Banks' "Pitch Perfect 2" ($184M); Cate Shortland's "Black Widow" ($183M) ... and so on.

With Greta's milestone here ... it proves that women are pretty damn bankable, not just as actresses -- but behind the camera as well. Full circle, really, for the themes of 'Barbie.'

Considering her indie background, you could argue Greta's has had a meteoric rise over the past 5-6 years. And like we previously reported, there's currently no active plans for a sequel at this point -- which, if you know studios, is unheard of when this sorta success is had.

There's a report saying WB actually tried brokering a deal for Greta to direct 'Barbie 2' months before the film came out -- but her agents shot that down and insisted on waiting to see how it actually performed. Smart move in hindsight ... Greta can fetch a fortune now.

BTW ... Greta actually turned 40 a couple days ago, and Ryan Gosling surprised her with a flash mob performance full of Kens, complete with his signature song from the movie.

Jamie Foxx felt he had to apologize for his controversial social media post, but many in Hollywood are saying there was no need to do that ... and it's stirring a massive debate.

As you know ... Jamie's IG sparked outrage ... especially from people who felt Jamie's statement was antisemitic -- seeing how, on its face, it seemed to refer to a trope about Jews being responsible for the death of Jesus Christ. That's how many took it anyway.

Amid the mounting backlash, Jennifer Aniston distanced herself from Jamie's post, which she appeared to like.

Eventually, Jamie said he was sorry and that he meant no harm ... but like we said, there are a ton of folks who think he was forced into an apology that wasn't even warranted, as some are arguing that his language wasn't in any way aimed at Jewish people.

This comes down to cultural differences -- and there's a lot of takes referencing AAVE when breaking this down -- but the bottom line here is ... people are defending Jamie and lamenting the fact he was seemingly cajoled into a clarification -- including a lot of stars.

Among the famous faces who are standing in his corner ... Winnie Harlow, Waka Flocka, Jay Pharoah, and others -- all of whom explicitly questioned why he was apologizing at all.

TBH, this is part of a larger conversation relating to marginalized groups and the levels of outrage/reverence some feel are mustered among certain identities versus others. We'll leave that discussion for the internet to fight over, though.

FWIW, the Anti-Defamation League welcomed Jamie's apology with open arms.

Paul Reubens was a busy man before his sudden passing this week -- as he privately battled cancer, the guy was hard at work almost right to the end ... and there'll be something to show for it in the near future.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... the 'Pee-wee Herman' star had been actively involved in various different film/TV projects in the final months of his life, including an upcoming HBO documentary (focused on his titular character) that was announced in 2021.

The doc is being helmed by the Safdie brothers, and we're told producers were able to get all of the interviews and insights from Paul himself before he died Monday.

Our sources say Paul had good and bad days toward the end, but when he was feeling up to it ... he was able to get quite a bit done ... spending upwards of 40 hours on interviews he did for the HBO doc. Between that and other interviews from over 25 different friends/collaborators, our sources say the 'Pee-wee' doc has over 1,000 hours of footage.

In addition to this documentary ... we're told Paul was working on his memoir ... a first draft of which Paul completed prior to his death. So, yes ... we'll get to hear his story from his POV somewhere down the line.

Ryan Gosling's still in Ken-mode amid 'Barbie's' continued success -- he took his real-life brood to the sandy shores of Cali ... and was leaning heavily on the matriarchy, it seems.

The actor hit up a beach near Santa Barbara Friday, and the whole Gosling household was in tow -- including his partner, Eva Mendes, and their 2 daughters. There were other adults tagging along, however ... including what appears to be somebody's mother or grandmother.

Eyewitnesses tell us Ryan was actually very focused on this older woman, helping her get through the sand in her walker ... and carefully assisting her down to the actual water.

Again, we're not sure who this woman was exactly -- but it could very well be Eva's mother, Eva Perez Suarez, who's been in ailing health of late ... according to her own daughter, anyway. We know Eva is incredibly close with her family, and also values privacy.

As for the other 2 adults ... no idea, but they were certainly rolling with Eva and Ryan, and keeping a watchful eye over the kids. Speaking of the two girls ... we're told they had paddleboards with them. And with Mama and Papa Bear -- they chatted, but no PDA.

Anyhoo, this really is an example of life imitating art. If you haven't seen 'Barbie' yet ... there's a running joke about Ken (played by RG) and his job, described as just "beach."

Seems like Ryan took that theme right off the script and manifested it in the real world -- only here, he's much more reverent of the women in his life ... unlike his onscreen character.

BTW, 'Barbie' is expected to cross the billion-dollar mark at the worldwide box office this weekend -- not to mention three-peating as the #1 movie folks are flocking to see. The crazy thing is ... there's no sequel in the works just yet, which is unheard of in this day and age.

Interestingly, Ryan and Margot Robbie didn't sign a deal for movie #2 in their OG contracts with Warner Bros. -- so if they do agree to do it at this point, they're in for a fat payday.

Jamie Lee Curtis seems to be walking that line of unwavering support for the SAG-AFTRA strike and taking an ambivalent stance on it ... you can be the judge on where she lands.

The actress made a bunch of remarks about the strike Thursday, when she showed up to a charity event in L.A. and was asked for her thoughts on it. Here's what she said, in part, to Variety, "I’m hopeful that we can all see all sides. I’m more Switzerland. I’m not a polarized person here. I don’t like the rhetoric on both sides."

She adds, "Any settlement means nobody’s happy. So there will be a settlement and not everyone will be happy. I don’t like the them vs. us. The fact that there’s a them and an us bothers me. It’s one industry and I hope that all of the sides can recognize the oneness of our industry, and that we are interdependent, and that AI is not interdependent, that human beings are and at the end of the day our interdependency with each other will prevail."

In a video interview with Reuters, she echoed that ... saying she's hoping she can be "Switzerland" in all this, and that both sides can see the benefit in continuing conversations.

That same day, she said this to Collider ... "Streaming completely eviscerated that old idea, and the new idea has taken place and people are making fortunes on it, and denying the artists a chance to make a living. That's where we are. It is a crossroads. We have hit it."

JLC continues ... "And this dual Writers' Guild and Screen Actors Guild strike is to say we are taking this stand now, for the future. So our sacrifices today are for the future of the industry, future of artists, future of other storytellers. And it's just crucial."

This last remark is much less equivocating, and comes across as clear support/solidarity for SAG -- but based on what she said to other outlets, it's clear she has mixed feelings about the whole thing -- the same way Stephen Amell also does ... which he, too, expressed.

His sentiments, by and large, weren't received well, and even though he clarified ... it still didn't sit right with certain folks. So far, Jamie isn't receiving the same level of backlash.

Taylor Swift is no stranger to signing huge deals, and we've learned there's another one on the horizon ... with camera crews following her "Eras" Tour journey throughout the world.

Camera crews have been present at just about every "Eras" Tour show thus far -- getting plenty of shots of Taylor, her fans and some behind-the-scenes content. It might seem standard for tours these days, but the scope of the crews with Taylor show she's got something more in the works.

We've spoken to sources who say there's not yet a plan for the project -- whether it'll end up on streaming or in theaters. It could be a multi-million dollar deal with Netflix, a company with which she has history.

While the details are sparse on how the footage will be used, you can bet Taylor's fans will eat it up ... especially those who couldn't attend "Eras" in person.

As we reported, plenty of stars came out for the first two of 6 L.A. shows -- and Taylor had a super sweet moment Thursday night with Kobe Bryant's daughter, Bianka, when she presented her with a hat and a hug in the middle of the show.

Meghan Markle's 42nd birthday came and went Friday without so much as a peep publicly from the Royal Family and we found out why.

Here's the deal ... The Duchess of Sussex celebrated her bday with friends by going to see the hit film, "Barbie," at a theater in Santa Barbara, California, but her hubby, Prince Harry, didn't tag along.

At Buckingham Palace in England, King Charles, Queen Camilla, Prince William and Princess Kate all stayed mum about Meghan's big day.

A Palace rep explained why, telling TMZ ... They don't mark every birthday for every member of the Royal Family. But they tend to mark birthdays for working Royals -- and currently, Harry and Meghan don't fit that profile.

Of course, we can't be sure if the Royals didn't privately call Meghan or send her an email or text message, wishing her a happy birthday. But given the icy relationship between the Royals and Meghan/Harry, that seems a bit farfetched.

Last year, though, for Meghan's 41st celebration, Prince William and Kate tweeted a photo of Meghan with a caption that read, "Wishing a happy birthday to The Duchess of Sussex!"

Tiffany Haddish's rap career is no joking matter ... so claims Fivio Foreign, who's telling us he saw her raw talent for himself after being tapped for a feature.

TMZ Hip Hop chopped it up with Fivio at LAX this week ... the "City of Gods" rapper was in town filming the music video for her Lil Jon-produced song, "Party Til Da Club Close."

We broke the story back in June ... Tiffany premiered the song during the Hollywood Unlocked Impact Awards in June and Fivio's since been added to the track.

Fivio thinks Tiffany's a riot in person and says Dave Chappelle was also on hand for the video shoot ... making their collab destined to top the charts!!!

American-Canadian actor and dancer Raoul Trujillo was 51 years old when he took on the role of Zero Wolf -- the cold-hearted Mayan leader who plunders Jaguar Paw's village and sells them as human sacrifices -- in Mel Gibson's one-of-a-kind adventure film "Apocalypto" back in 2006.

Joining Trujillo in the action-packed film included Rudy Youngblood who putting his life on the line for his fellow villagers and family, Jaguar Paw, Dalia Hernández as the pregnant wife of Jaguar Paw, Seven and Jonathan Brewer who wanted nothing more than to have a family, Blunted.

Raoul was also in the sci-fi/action film "Cowboys & Aliens" alongside Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford.

Themba Gorimbo's days of living in the gym are over -- the UFC fighter now has his own place to call home ... thanks to an incredible gesture from his idol, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

The movie superstar and WWE legend surprised Themba at his gym in an emotional meetup last week ... holding up on a promise he made after hearing the mixed-martial artist's story about fighting with just 7 dollars to his name.

But, as it turns out, their interaction at the gym was just the beginning of their special time together ... 'cause Themba's hero had something else up his sleeve (even though he wasn't wearing any).

Here's how it went down -- The Rock initially said they were going to meet up with his friend, Jay, at his apartment in Miami ... but once they got to the pad, Themba would soon find out there was no "Jay."

After walking around and seeing framed family photos all over the place ... Themba quickly realized he was standing inside his new apartment!!

"I was so moved by your story," The Rock told Gorimbo. "When I found out you were sleeping on the couch in the gym ... now there's no more couch sleeping. This is your house. Welcome home!"

"Now you can bring your kids here, man, your family. This place is yours. You don't have to think about anything. The only thing you think about is your family, getting them over here, getting them with you, training, and becoming a champion."

Themba was overcome with emotion ... thanking Johnson for the act of kindness.

Megan Thee Stallion's music release hiatus hasn't kept her from working ... the "Savage" rapper has gone straight Hollywood with her feature film debut.

Fans got a glimpse of what Megan will bring to the table when A24 popped the lid off its trailer for "Dicks: The Musical" comedy on Thursday ... which stars Aaron Jackson and Josh Sharp as a pair of bumbling salesmen who soon discover they're long-lost twins.

Megan plays their business suit-wearing, potty-mouthed boss and makes use of her artistic talents ... even breaking off into a rap song at the point where she instructs the boys to munch on her male genitalia. 😬

Joey Fatone is NOT taking offense to the NSYNC dig tucked away in the "Barbie" movie -- in fact, it's quite the opposite ... he says the low blow makes the band all the more relevant.

We got Joey at LAX Thursday and our photog asked about the NSYNC reference in the Greta Gerwig flick.

It seems everyone's seen "Barbie," Joey included, so this shouldn't be a huge SPOILER ALERT ... but midway through the movie, NSYNC gets name-dropped ... and not in a positive way.

Michael Cera's character, the Allan doll, jokes ... "Not one person would care if Allan was in the real world, in fact, it's happened before. All of NSYNC -- Allan. Yes, even him."

Joey's rolling with the punches here ... he's the first to admit everyone in the band, including Justin Timberlake, have all had their Allan moments ... and he's all about self-deprecation, so he can laugh it off no problem.

What's more, Joey tells us the reference means NSYNC is still relevant in 2023 ... so he's taking it as a huge compliment.

Kylie Jenner and Timothée Chalamet are still a couple, despite reports claiming the two have called it quits ... TMZ has learned.

If you missed it, a report popped up Wednesday claiming Kylie'd been "dumped" ... a story we're told couldn't be further from the truth.

We've spoken to multiple sources close to the couple who tell us just because Kylie and the "Wonka" star haven't been seen together in public doesn't mean they've split. Our sources say everything is cool between the two, they're still an item, and "any reports that say otherwise are false." One source warned fans, "not to believe everything they read."

Of course, things have been pretty secretive between Kylie and Timothée, with reports first popping up they were dating early April.

As we reported -- Kylie was spotted at Timothée's place when the rumors started, and the two grabbed tacos around the same time.