Movies

American actor Sean Patrick Thomas was 30 years old when he landed the role of Derek -- who grew up in the rough part of Chicago and falls in love with the new girl at school, Sara -- in the 2001 romance/dance film "Save The Last Dance."

Sean shared the big screen with Julia Stiles as the transfer student and ballerina who moves in with her absent father after her mom's tragic death, Sara, and Kerry Washington as the teen mom navigating her on-again-off-again relationship and Derek's supportive sister.

"You can do it put your back into it!"

James Earl Jones, one of Hollywood's most instantly recognizable voices for his roles in the 'Star Wars' movies and "The Lion King" ... is dead.

The actor's reps say he passed away Monday morning at his home in upstate New York, surrounded by family members.

James was widely respected for his decades-long career in stage, TV and film productions -- most notably, perhaps, he delivered the booming and menacing voice of Darth Vader in multiple movies in the 'Star Wars' franchise.

5:00 PM PT -- Tyrese was released from custody Monday after his attorney Tanya Mitchell Graham filed an appeal of the judge's ruling ... according to law enforcement sources.

We're told the appeal means Tyrese did not have to pay the $73K before he was released. That does not mean he no longer owes the back child support, it's just delayed, for now. It's the same legal maneuver Tyrese and his attorney made last year when the judge ordered him to pay up the child support.

Tyrese Gibson is in custody for failing to pay the amount of child support ordered by the court ... TMZ has learned.

The singer/actor -- and dad to 5-year-old Soraya with ex-wife Samantha Lee -- was in Fulton County court Monday morning to face the judge in the ongoing child support battle, and the hearing did NOT go well for Tyrese.

Judge Kevin Farmer was clearly fed up with Tyrese's refusal to pay the $10K/month Farmer ordered him to start paying way back in April 2023 -- so, today he held Tyrese in contempt of court, the bailiff put him in handcuffs and marched him out of the courtroom.

Jennifer Lopez is liking what she's seeing ... and what she's seeing is her toned abs in her reflection.

J Lo was checking herself out Sunday upon arrival at a Los Angeles airport ... giving herself a once-over in a reflective window after hopping off a private jet.

Casually dressed in sweatpants, Jennifer showed off her bare midriff in her return home from Canada ... landing in L.A. in the middle of a heatwave, which she's contributing to here.

Jennifer Lopez found some post-divorce comfort ... in none other than Ben Affleck's bestie, Matt Damon -- the two were spotted holding hands during what looked to be an emotional convo.

Good pals Jen and Matt's bond is drama-proof -- they took a break from J Lo's "Unstoppable" after-party at the Toronto International Film Festival Friday to catch up ... with sources saying they were engaged in a long, deep conversation.

They chatted for a good 20 minutes, according to PEOPLE ... Jen likely had a lot to unload, with Matt playing the supportive friend, holding hands, all ears!

Kick Kennedy and Ben Affleck are finding common ground ... they're both wicked pissed about the ongoing chatter over their rumored romance, which just won't go away.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s daughter was in Venice, Los Angeles Friday night when a photog asked her straight up if she was dating Ben.

It's the first time Kick's been asked about Ben directly -- but she's not jumping at the chance to set the record straight once and for all ... instead, she skirts the question entirely.

Angelina Jolie is used to life in the limelight ... so much so, she calmly fended off a swarm of overzealous fans, who broke through her security to make contact with the A-Lister.

The actress-filmmaker stopped by the Toronto International Film Festival Sunday evening, where she presented her new film, "Without Blood," which she notably directed. But, her evening was nearly derailed after a swarm of fans seeking autographs cornered her at the industry event.

Watch the video ... one overeager fan even ran past her security detail and hugged Angie ... which shocked others in the crowd. You can hear an audible gasp when the too-close-for-comfort fan encounter happens!

Before this Los Angeles native in her summer tank top turned into an actress and model, she was just posing and cheesing for the camera, growing up in the '80s and began her acting career at just 4 years old ...

Her claim to fame came in the late '90s from her role in "Eve's Bayou" alongside Samuel Jackson and Jurnee Smollett and just a few years later she landed on Nickelodeon where she played Bobby's bestie on "Cousin Seeker."

Need another clue? In one of her movies, she danced it out with Ne-Yo!

Leonardo DiCaprio had a titanically good time in NYC this weekend ... clubbing and chatting with a woman who looks like his girlfriend.

The actor hit a club in the Big Apple ... customary baseball cap pulled low over his eyes -- though he went sans facemask while on the dancefloor at least.

Leo's chatting up a lady in these vids ... and, though it's hard to tell who it is, it very well could be his GF, Vittoria Ceretti.

Kathy Bates is ending her acting career ... saying she's got one more TV show left in the tank -- though she nearly didn't make it at all.

The actress opened up about the end of her career during an interview with the New York Times ... admitting her new role on "Matlock" -- where she plays an older, gender-flipped version of the same character from the '80s drama -- is her last part.

The way Bates tells it ... she was considering moving on from acting -- telling her agent she was offically done after a poor experience on a movie set. She wouldn't say which one.

"It's Showtime" ... Beetlejuice and Lydia Deetz' looks over the years are scary hot!

Here is a 36-year-old version of a freaky and frazzled Michael Keaton playing the ghost with the most Beetlejuice ... and a 15-year-old version of actress Winona Ryder goin' full goth as wedding-ready Lydia Deetz back in 1988 (left).

And 36 years later, these two characters are being reprised for the Tim Burton follow-up film "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" with Keaton back with the recently deceased ... and Ryder's still "strange and unusual" rockin' her iconic spiky bangs (right).

An exorcism is bound to happen in the new film, so the question here is:

Sean Penn's not afraid of a little public PDA ... locking lips with his lady love on the sidewalk while looking head over heels in Spain.

The actor painted Madrid rojo this week ... enjoying a fun night filled with dinner, handholding and more than a few passionate kisses -- keeping the party going until the earlier morning hours, we're told.

We're also told he was hanging out with Valeria Nicov -- a Moldovan actress with credits in a few minor projects ... who couldn't help but snuggle up next to the star on the street.

Nicole Kidman's dealing with a tragedy in the family ... leaving the Venice Film Festival abruptly after her mother's death.

Halina Reijn -- director of Nicole's new movie "Babygirl" -- accepted the festival's best actress award on NK's behalf ... reading a prepared statement from the star.

Nicole's statement starts by revealing the tragic news about her mom, Janelle -- causing members of the audience to gasp -- and saying she needs to head home to be with her family.

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's son, Pax Jolie-Pitt was involved in a car accident about two months before he was badly injured in an e-bike crash, TMZ has learned.

The 20-year-old wrecked his Tesla before midnight on May 19 when he crashed into a parked box truck outside RED Studios Hollywood, according to the company's incident report.

Thankfully, Pax was not hurt in that collision ... but pictures and video from the scene show the Tesla was likely totaled.

Jennifer Lopez is not letting her divorce from Ben Affleck stop her from supporting a film they made together ... she just hit up the premiere, while Ben's skipping out.

J Lo arrived in style at Friday's big debut for her and Ben's movie, "Unstoppable," which is showing at the Toronto International Film Festival ... and she's showing lots of skin in a bejeweled dress.

Ben co-produced the movie alongside his BFF, Matt Damon -- it tells the true story of wrestler Anthony Robles, who was born with one leg and overcame major hurdles on his way to becoming an NCAA Division I champion at Arizona State University.

Rebel Wilson is giving her second Los Angeles home -- which she used as an office -- another shot on the market ... TMZ has learned she's relisted the home for $3.85 million.

The Aussie star first listed the 5-bed, 6-bath pad back in early June for $4.15 million. She bought the place in 2016 for $2.95 million.

The home, with over 4,000 square feet of living space, was never Rebel's primary residence in L.A. -- we're told Rebel used it for meetings and filming social media content.