Netflix

Hidden behind this rearranged face is an on-screen actor who journeyed to America when he was just 19 years old and soon after appeared in a Netflix film. Use the discreet clues in order to stay out of deep water!

He's vocal when speaking about his idols ... Heath Ledger being a big one! And, standing at 6 feet 5 inches, it's hard not to miss this guy when he's out and about!

Bradley Cooper's portrayal of Leonard Bernstein has drawn a lot of criticism -- but in Italy this weekend ... it drew more applause than outrage, especially from the latter's children.

Netflix's new film, "Maestro," received a standing ovation Saturday at the Venice Film Festival ... where it was screened in front of a select audience, without any of its cast members around to enjoy it. Obviously, that's because of the actors' strike going on right now.

Still, the rest of the crew was on hand to hear all the cheers ... and based on reports, this applause lasted for quite a while -- around 7 minutes or so of people on their feet.

By most accounts ... Bradley's a front-runner for Best Actor after his performance in this.

The other notable part about this reaction here is the fact that the late conductor's adult kids were in the crowd as well -- and they seemed thrilled by what they saw on the screen. Check out what they did ... on top of just clapping for BC, they seemed to cry too.

Jamie, Alexander and Nina were even seen enthusiastically fake-conducting along to Bernstein's music when the credits rolled ... so yeah, they appear to have loved it.

Of course, the backdrop of all this is the controversy this film landed in -- namely, some accusing Brad of "Jewface" ... on account of his extended nose prosthetic in the movie.

LB's children publicly spoke out in support of Brad ... saying they're fine with how he looks on camera, noting their father did indeed have a large nose. Sounds like they might be even more on board after having seen 'Maestro' for themselves.

Before this cute kid hanging in the game aisle turned into an actor, he was just a '90s kid rockin' the bowl cut, growing up in Fairfax, Virginia and studying biomolecular & chemical engineering before making the switch to acting.

If you turn on Netflix, you can watch him as Zach Dempsey alongside actor Dylan Minnette. Other notable shows he's been on include "Riverdale," "K.C. Undercover" and he was in the superhero film "Shazam" with Zachary Levi.

You can tune in to his exciting adventures on Instagram, where he shows off his ripped bod and love for the water!

Billy Porter has three things for the Hollywood studios, producers and executives he blames for the strikes ... venom, rage and a little bit of grace.

The actor was at LAX Friday when a photog asked him about the unnamed studio exec who was quoted as saying studios are purposefully delaying negotiations with the writers and actors "until union members start losing their apartments and losing their houses."

Billy unloads ... he says he's already losing his home, and his financial situation is why there are strikes in the first place ... though he's not quite going full Ron Perlman here.

Getting emotional, Billy says the strikes aren't a game ... and he's trying to have some grace about the situation he and others in Hollywood find themselves in.

At the same time, Billy says he's tried to bite his tongue because he knows all that's going to come out of his mouth is venom and rage, which he fears will not be useful to the strike's end goal.

Billy also seems to reference some of his recent interviews, like the one where he slammed Harry Styles' Vogue cover and called Anna Wintour a bitch.

For Billy, he says he's just telling the truth and is getting dragged as a result of keeping it real.

Nev Schulman wants to play matchmaker for a pair of folks who got catfished by people pretending to be Katy Perry and "Stranger Things" star Dacre Montgomery.

We got the "Catfish" star at Aces Pizza in New York City Friday, and our photog asked him about the Kentucky woman who divorced her husband and got swindled out of $10,000 by someone pretending to be the Netflix actor.

Nev says the newly single mother, McKayla, would make a great match for a guy from his old MTV show ... Spencer.

As Nev explains, Spencer infamously got catfished by a woman masquerading as the "Dark Horse" singer ... and their awkward meeting was featured on his show.

Needless to say, Nev thinks Spencer and McKayla have enough in common to strike up a relationship.

While lots of folks are dragging McKayla for thinking she actually had a shot with a celeb, Nev says not so fast ... and he tells us why it's not that extreme of a premise.

Still, Nev cautions anyone going online in search of love to beware of some big red flags ... like when your potential partner starts asking for money. Nev says that's a dead giveaway.

It's funny ... Nev thinks he's actually being catfished here in some ways ... as we reported, McKayla detailed her saga on a YouTube channel called "Catfished."

A woman's life turned upside-down when she sent a bunch of money to one of the stars from "Stranger Things" ... and even divorced her husband because the "actor" told her to.

McKayla, a single mom from Kentucky, claims she was catfished and scammed out of $10k by someone who claimed to be Dacre Montgomery -- known for playing heartthrob-turned-villain, Billy Hargrove, in the Netflix series.

She shared her wild experience on the YouTube channel, Catfished, saying the 2 met on an online forum and chatted for a year before he asked her to be his girlfriend -- for reference, McKayla was still married, but claimed her relationship with her husband was toxic.

BTW, the real Dacre has been dating model Liv Pollock since 2017, but that bit of crucial info didn't seem to stop McKayla from thinking this was legit. He told her to choose between her husband and him ... and shockingly enough, she ditched her husband!

He also told her he couldn't access any of his bank accounts, saying they were all controlled by Liv ... which led to her sending the $10k of gift cards, crypto, and cash through payment apps over time.

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.

So Johnny Manziel walked into a bar ... 'cause he owns the place!!!

The former Texas A&M football superstar is getting into the hospitality industry ... opening up his very own watering hole in his old stomping grounds of College Station.

The place is called Johnny Manziel's Money Bar ... which is a clear nod to the famous nickname he was given after getting suspended for selling his autograph.

Of course, the business move makes perfect sense -- Johnny hasn't been shy about his love for having a good time ... and recently revealed in his upcoming Netflix project he once went on a $5 million bender.

"I thought I played better the harder I partied," Manziel said in the 'Untold' documentary.

He also previously opened up on his NFL experience ... saying he felt bad for losing the respect of his teammates for his off-field lifestyle during his time in Cleveland.

Manziel -- who had a stint in rehab in 2015 -- is content with how his career played out ... and appears to be in good spirits post-football.

Logan Paul says he was terrified his brother, Jake, would end his life over the incessant hate he got on the internet early in his career ... admitting he and his father were "both legitimately concerned" he was going to die by suicide.

The older Paul bro detailed his fear in the new Netflix doc, "Untold: Jake Paul the Problem Child" ... where he explained the backlash Jake faced after a multitude of controversies had him at an all-time low.

"I mean, both my dad and I felt worried for my brother's life," Logan said. "Jake's always been pretty emotionally unpredictable, and volatile."

"There was a point where we were both legitimately concerned that Jake was going to kill himself."

Jake was low-hanging fruit for internet trolls during the start of his YouTube fame ... getting backlash for wild pranks and outrageous stunts that led to pissed off neighbors and losing his role on Disney's "Bizaardvark," as well as lucrative endorsement deals.

"It was easy to rip me apart," Jake said. "It became a thing to hate Jake Paul."

"It's not easy to be hated by the whole entire world and it creates a very dark mental place."

But Jake found a new purpose through boxing ... which has led to increased popularity and respect from legends in the sport like Mike Tyson.

Jake has since racked up wins over former UFC stars like Ben Askren, Tyron Woodley and Anderson Silva ... and will enter the ring against Nate Diaz this weekend, where he looks to bounce back from the first loss of his career.

Toosii thinks Nicki Minaj was totally snubbed in Netflix's female rapper documentary trailer, and says you don't have to be a woman to appreciate her greatness ... he literally grew up on her music!!!

We caught the "Favorite Song" rapper out in Hollywood, and he weighed in on the uproar over the forthcoming "Ladies First" ... which touted virtually every prominent rapper except for Nicki (and surprisingly Missy Elliott) in the preview scenes.

Toosii proudly reps Gen Z and remembers Nicki being the only woman in hip hop popping when he was a kid -- a sentiment J. Cole literally just shared with Kevin Hart.

Lil Baby also agrees and recently proclaimed Nicki to be the G.O.A.T. when it comes to female rappers, as her accolades speak for themselves.

Sources close to the production of "Ladies First" relayed to us that Nicki does indeed appear in the 4-part docuseries, but Toosii says producers screwed themselves by leaving her out of the trailer. He says they should be so honored to have the queen.

Netflix is celebrating hip hop's 50th anniversary with a documentary dedicated to all the women of the culture -- well, almost every woman, as fans have peeped the trailer and noticed it excludes Nicki Minaj!!!

On Tuesday, Strong Black Lead pushed out the first look for "Ladies First: A Story of Women in Hip-Hop" ... which appears to be a gripping depiction of several female rappers' rise to stardom.

The trailer for the doc features commentary from a generations-spanning group of women -- Queen Latifah, Roxanne Shanté, MC Lyte, Coi Leray, Kash Doll -- while also highlighting content from Ice Spice, Young M.A., Latto, Saweetie and others.

However, the preview had zero sign of Nicki, and when her Barbz fanbase picked up on the snub they exploded on Twitter X.

Livid fans made Nicki the subject of several trending topics while accusing Netflix of intentionally trying to erase her from the history books.

The "Pinkprint" rapper is the highest-selling female rapper of all time by several miles with well over 100 million records sold, which you'd think would be enough for a prominent spot in the doc and its trailer. It's worth noting, the trailer opens up with a shot of Cardi B, so lines in the sand were probably drawn!!!

A miracle came down on behalf of one Hollywood show that can now continue to work with its actors amid the SAG-AFTRA strike ... and it benefits none other than Jesus, or at least fans of his story.

Showrunners for the popular Christian-based TV series "The Chosen" announced Sunday they'd gotten the green light to move forward with production ... including their main cast, several of whom are in the actors' union. It's the first show to catch this break.

The reason ... they received a waiver from the Screen Actors Guild, which essentially gives them an exemption to keep filming -- even though the rest of the major productions in town are shut down. Deadline was first to report the news.

The folks who run "The Chosen" Twitter account had actually been pleading with SAG to cut them some slack ... and luckily, it came in record time. They were worried they'd have to pause things in Utah -- where they're in the middle of shooting a new season -- unless they got the waiver ... and since they received it in just a few days, they're not totally off schedule.

Now, as for why they're getting the waiver while other productions have to wait in the wings ... it actually has nothing to do with what you may think -- namely, some kind of religious loophole. On the contrary, it has more to do with whether the show/movie is independent ... aka, not having major ties to a TV or movie studio as far as funding.

"The Chosen" certainly has a grassroots background -- it initially got off the ground via crowdfunding -- but has since kinda gone mainstream ... with licensing deals being struck among a number of major studios like Netflix, Amazon, CW, Peacock, and others.

Despite that, it'll be allowed to resume ... so, fans of the show gotta be stoked. Praise be!

Alex Murdaugh's two life sentences in prison are going by in a flash, and by that ... we mean the flash of a camera, 'cause the guy's apparently taking pictures of himself in the clink.

The convicted murderer -- who was found guilty of killing of his wife and son earlier this year -- has had selfies he's taken from inside his prison cell leaked to the public ... and they're quite something to look at, especially since a handful of them feature AM shirtless.

It appears he's using a smart tablet, which inmates in protective custody -- something he's been relegated to in a South Carolina maximum security facility -- get to use for leisure.

According to the YouTube account Phone Calls from Prison, which obtained these photos, Murdaugh appears to have snapped a number of selfies anytime he logged on to use the tablet ... and they run the gamut of cringe. There's a handful of ones where he's without a top -- and his bare chest is exposed -- and others where he's lying down making weird faces.

The pics are somewhat insightful into his current state of affairs ... his cell looks tiny, but it also seems he's made it his permanent home -- with homemade knickknacks hanging about.

Gotta say ... as far as prison goes, the guy appears to be quite cozy in his situation.

American actress Mary Elizabeth Winstead was 25 years old when she played the role of Ramona Flowers -- the sarcastic Amazon delivery gal with the capability of teleporting -- in the action/romance film "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" back in 2010.

Winstead shared the big screen with Michael Cera as the sweet and awkward Scott Pilgrim, Aubrey Plaza as the snarky and rude Julie Powers and Chris Evans as the antagonistic skateboarder who loves action movies Lucas Lee.

In March 2023, Netflix announced an animated version, "Scott Pilgrim The Anime", is in the works, and the OG cast will be reprising their roles.

Hollywood is officially shut down ... the union representing actors is now on strike, which means actors will join writers on the picket lines for the first time in more than half a century.

SAG-AFTRA's national board met Thursday morning and voted unanimously to strike after its contract ran out Wednesday night, following a 2-week extension at the end of June to keep negotiations with the studios going.

Both sides of the battle agreed Tuesday to have a federal mediator join negotiation talks in a last-ditch effort, but that failed to get the union and the studios on the same page.

You'll recall, roughly 98% of union members voted in favor of a strike last month if a deal wasn't struck ... and that vote came weeks after the Writers Guild stopped working.

SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher called the studios' responses to their demands "insulting and disrespectful" after the contract expired ... adding, “Until they do negotiate in good faith, we cannot begin to reach a deal.”

There are some pretty strict rules that come with this strike ... starting at midnight tonight, actors cannot work on film and TV projects across the globe -- actors also aren't allowed to do any promotions for upcoming projects ... which includes press junkets and premieres.

The big London premiere for "Oppenheimer" happened Thursday, and the studio pushed the event up an hour so stars like Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon, and more aren't going against union rules.

The massive cast stepped onto the red carpet, but they weren't present inside the theater -- with director Christopher Nolan saying they left to gear up for the strike.

Actors also can't participate in panel discussions, including those going down at the ultra-popular San Diego Comic-Con, which kicks off next week.

Actors and writers last joined forces on the picket line way back in 1960 -- for context, Ronald Reagan was the president of SAG at that time.

FYI, actors are asking for fair streaming residuals, improved working conditions, and increased minimum rates, among other things ... and as you know, the WGA began fighting for much of the same when it put pencils down at the beginning of May.

Disney CEO Bob Iger took a shot at writers and actors Thursday morning, saying they're demands aren't realistic -- adding the challenges they're adding to the industry are "very disruptive."

Adam DeVine's looks over the years are "Bumpin!"

Here is a 28-year-old version of the "Workaholics" comedian flashing his charming smile and throwin' a thumbs up at the "Pitch Perfect" premiere in Hollywood, California back in 2012 (left). This was just the beginning of his a cappella role as Bumper.

And, over a decade later Adam is still at it with his impromptu personality -- recently attending the premiere of Netflix's "The Out-Laws" in Los Angeles -- ditching the tie and opting for a more casual carpet look (right).

His ball and chain, Chloe Bridges, thinks he's "perfect,' but the question is ...