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Hollywood's biggest movie stars mixed, mingled and munched at a famous hotel ahead of the upcoming Academy Awards ... and there was a heavy "Barbie" contingent.

Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling were among the "Barbie" stars in attendance Monday at the annual Oscar nominees luncheon at The Beverly Hilton.

Billie Eilish and Finneas were also representing "Barbie" in Bev Hills ... the musicians are up for the Oscar for Best Original Song for "What Was I Made For?" and they seem to be the team to beat after their song won twice at the Grammys

"Barbie" director Greta Gerwig was there too ... rubbing elbows with other famous directors like Steven Spielberg and "Oppenheimer" honcho Martin Scorsese.

Steven's nominated for his work as a producer on Bradley Cooper's Leonard Bernstein biopic "Maestro," which is nominated for seven Academy Awards.

Bradley directed and starred in the film and he's up for Best Actor ... so naturally he made sure to chat with some of the other stars in his category, like "American Fiction" leading man Jeffrey Wright.

This year's spread ... wild mushroom risotto.

Check out the gallery ... it's loaded with big names like Emma Stone, Paul Giamatti, Sterling K. Brown, Marlee Matlin, Diane Warren, Brittany Snow and Hailee Steinfeld.

Margot Robbie made Warner Bros. a ton of cash last year -- so they signed her production company to a movie deal, something she and other celebs went out to celebrate.

The actress was among a handful of stars who showed up to Delilah in WeHo Monday night -- this on the heels of the big news that her LuckyChap production company had inked a first-look deal with the studio ... promising she'll have another crack at some big movies.

The contract she signed with WB amounts to a multi-year agreement to collaborate on future feature films -- this, of course, on the heels of "Barbie," a bona fide money-maker for them.

To ring in the big news ... MR hosted a huge bash, where her fellow A-listers rolled through to congratulate her. Just to name a few ... Glen Powell, Michelle Rodriguez, America Ferrera, Rose Byrne, Pierce Brosnan, Steven Yeun, Zooey Deschanel, Jonathan Scott, Shailene Woodley, J.J. Abrams and others.

BTW, Margot's company -- which she heads up alongside her husband, Tom Ackerley, and Josey McNamara -- has already produced a number of great films ... and has acquired the rights to others.

LuckyChap has been behind movies like "I, Tonya," 'Birds of Prey,' "Promising Young Woman," "Saltburn" ... and even some TV shows too. And yes, they helped produce "Barbie" too.

There's a new 'Spider-Man' movie out this week that's all about the ladies -- the premiere for which runs the risk of getting you stuck on our page ... 'cause they were oozing sex appeal.

Of course, we're talking about "Madame Web"-- which stars Dakota Johnson, Sydney Sweeney, Emma Roberts and other female actors who lead the charge in fighting bad guys on the big screen. In front of cameras, though ... they were also leaving a mark.

Sydney, specifically, looked gorgeous ... with a body-hugging dress that was web-themed, and which fit her like a glove. Yeah, she was kinda pouring out of this thing -- tastefully, that is.

Dakota herself also turned heads with her outfit -- she had on this mesh/see-through gown that made it seem like she was completely naked underneath ... even though, she really wasn't. On the contrary, she had on a skin-colored leotard beneath her main dress.

Still, she was definitely allowing people's imagination to run wild ... and on both counts -- between Sydney and Dakota -- they certainly made a splash for their superhero flick.

Other cast members showed off their sweet duds as well ... Celeste O'Connor, Isabela Merced, Tahar Rahim, Adam Scott, Zosia Mamet and more. Everyone was dressed to the nines.

And, while everyone looked stunning ... it bears repeating, SS and DJ stole the show here.

Anyway, "Madame Web" hits theaters starting Wednesday -- but the box office projections for the movie are looking a little grim from the outset ... word is, it very well may flop.

Calling all movie buffs ... this one's for you! Props worn by the likes of Audrey Hepburn, Michael J. Fox and Olivia Newton-John are expected to fetch more than $8 million during the largest film and TV memorabilia auction ever.

Propstore, one of the nation's leading prop auction sites, will be auctioning off 1,700 rare and iconic lots this March, and if you've got seriously deep pockets, you can get your hands on some super cool vintage film mementos.

For instance, every Star Wars fan would leap at Anthony Daniels' light-up C-3PO head from 1983's "Return of the Jedi" -- but, it could go for a whopping $1 million. Like we said, deep pockets, baby!

Captain Picard's 'Stark Trek' command chair is estimated to go for $100,000, while Sandy's "Grease" drive-in costume is expected to rake in up to $50K.

The screen-matched stunt leather jacket from "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" -- which was worn by Vic Armstrong AKA, the world's greatest stuntman -- could go for between $200,000 and $400,000.

Vintage items from other movies such as 1969's "Easy Rider," 1985's "Back to the Future" and 1967's James Bond flick "You Only Live Once" will also be up on the auction block.

The most recent movie prop featured will be Harry Potter's wand from "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban."

Brad Pitt knew Bradley Cooper was gonna be a star ... not because of his Oscar-nominated performances -- but because of a more comedic role.

The 60-year-old actor hit the stage at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival Thursday to give his 49-year-old compadre the Outstanding Performer of the Year Award for his part as Leonard Bernstein in "Maestro" -- a movie he also directed and co-wrote.

It's a top honor at the event ... and it gave BP the opportunity to talk about Cooper's work through the years -- including the moment he knew BC was gonna be big.

"Maestro" is the fifth performance for which Cooper received an acting Academy Award nod BTW ... but Pitt didn't point to any of those performances -- instead he heaped praise on Cooper for his role in "The Hangover."

Pitt pointed out the subtle intricacies of Cooper's performance -- saying so many of the moments Cooper makes great have very little to do with him ... improving the film from the side of the screen in a sense. Pretty impressive for a movie where one of the main characters is a tiger!

The Oscar-winner didn't just talk about "The Hangover" though ... he also brought up Cooper's "A Star is Born" performance and direction -- noting Cooper somehow balanced emotional drunk acting scenes while also keeping an eye on the crew to make sure he's getting the perfect shot.

Brad added, "To do that really, really well is nothing short of perfect."

Hopefully, the Academy feels the same way ... Cooper's up for Best Actor for his role in the movie at this year's Oscars -- an award he's 0-for-3 on so far.

Don Rickles can't record new lines for "Toy Story 5" -- but his daughter's hoping Disney has more archived audio to use, 'cause she wants her dad in the flick ... TMZ has learned.

ICYMI ... the fifth installment of the beloved animated franchise got a 2026 release date, announced Wednesday. We don't have cast details yet, but Rickles -- who played Mr. Potato Head in the first four installments of the franchise -- passed away in 2017.

We spoke to Mindy Rickles -- the daughter of the late great actor and comedian -- and she tells us ... Disney or Pixar has not yet reached out about a plan to use Don's voice, which is interesting considering Potato Head is a huge character in the franchise.

In fact -- MR was so in the dark, she says, that she didn't even know "Toy Story 5" was announced ... and doesn't have a clue if they plan on using his voice, or recasting MPH.

With that said ... Mindy tells us she's giving the franchise two thumbs up to use her dad's vocals via footage they might have left over and stashed away in the vault over the years -- but it's gotta really be him ... because she says AI's a no-go for her.

This isn't a new concept ... "Toy Story 4" came out in 2019 -- about two years after Don passed away and he hadn't recorded a single line of dialogue for the movie at the time.

The 'TS4' team got creative and cherry-picked unused lines he recorded for the first three movies, theme parks, associated video games, and even the 'Disney On Ice: Toy Story' show to piece together his part. That's exactly what Mindy tells us she wants to happen now.

It's unclear exactly how much more dialogue Disney might have from Don ... but with Mrs. Potato Head actress Estelle Harris' death in 2022, the creatives behind 'Toy Story' might just say the couple's moved on to another family -- like Wheezy the singing penguin and Bo Peep between the second and third movies. Of course, they could just get new voice actors too.

The Michael Jackson biopic is in full swing on the production -- and you can tell, 'cause Colman Domingo and Nia Long are already on set ... in character as MJ's parents.

The 2 actors showed up in full costume/makeup Wednesday in L.A., where cameras were rolling for "Michael" -- which is the first official film to tackle the late, great entertainer's life on camera ... and already, Colman and Nia are dead ringers for Joe and Katherine Jackson.

Check out the pics ... CD and NL are virtually unrecognizable as Michael's mom and dad -- and BTW, it wasn't just them who were arriving on set to shoot ... child actors, who are presumably playing the young versions of the Jackson 5, also showed up ready to film.

Just like Colman and Nia, child actor Juliano Valdi is nailing the look as a young Michael Jackson ... he's got the afro going and a blue robe.

Shoutout to the casting department ... 'cause everyone looks fantastic here in character.

As you're probably well aware by now ... Antoine Fuqua is directing the film, which aims to tell the story of a "brilliant yet complicated man." This movie has the blessing of Michael's estate -- which has raised eyebrows, but been embraced as great news by others.

MJ's real-life nephew, Jaafar Jackson, is portraying the King of Pop ... and from all the shots we've seen of him so far -- he's a dead-on doppelgänger for his late uncle. Michael's family is also on board with this production ... so by all accounts, it'll be the official Michael story.

Whether it tackles the controversial issues that haunted him in his life ... we'll see.

The biopic is due out in theaters in 2025 ... so it's gonna be a while before we see everyone on the big screen. For now, people/MJ fans get to enjoy this sneak peek.

Mo'Nique made a lot of claims on Shannon Sharpe's podcast -- but one she followed up on with receipts includes a story about on-set movie trailers that she claims "blew up."

The comedian/actress told this alleged anecdote on "Club Shay Shay" Wednesday about the 2016 film 'Almost Christmas' that she filmed alongside Danny Glover, Omar Epps, JB Smoove, Kimberly Elise, and others ... a production she insisted was rife with danger.

Long story short ... Mo'Nique suggested producer Will Packer -- a Hollywood big shot behind tons of comedies/shows in recent years -- was cutting corners and ignoring warning signs during production of 'AC' -- even alleging he turned a blind eye when someone notified him the cast had been smelling gas near some of their trailers, where they got dressed, etc.

Obviously, it's a major allegation -- and in the moment of her recounting it on the pod ... she promised she'd post "evidence" of it afterward, which she then did later in the day.

Mo'Nique threw up a clip Wednesday that seems to show exactly what she was talking about -- namely, a movie set trailer all burnt up and damaged with firefighters surveying the scene. She didn't provide more details/info on whose trailer, specifically, this was ... or what exactly led up to the destroyed trailer, but on its face -- it appears to back up her story.

She writes, "HEY MY SWEET BABIES HERE ARE OUR TRAILERS FROM ALMOST XMAS THAT I SPOKE ABOUT ON CLUB SHAY SHAY DON’T TAKE MY WORD, SEE FOR YOURSELF. I LOVE US 4REAL." Based on the comments, it sounds like folks believe her.

This is just one of MANY allegations Mo'Nique floated on 'CSS' ... which dredged up old feuds between herself, Oprah, Tyler Perry, and others that she's been involved in for years.

Unclear if she's going to post more "evidence" -- like an alleged audio recording of TC that she says she has -- but ya gotta imagine she's ready to drop stuff at a moment's notice.

Brad Pitt showed up to the Bob Marley movie premiere in L.A. this week -- and it ain't just 'cause he's a fan of the legend ... the guy's one of the producers on the film.

The actor was all smiles at the Regency Theater Tuesday at the debut screening of the new Bob Marley biopic, 'One Love,' ... and he was hobnobbing with the cast and others, totally down to pose for pics too.

Pitt posed with Bob's son Ziggy and the movie's star Kingsley Ben-Adir ... flexing that easy grin and low-key energy we've come accustomed to seeing from the 60-year-old A-lister.

The reason he was even there ... his production company, Plan B, helped make the movie behind the scenes -- so a Brad appearance for a movie this big certainly makes sense.

Other stars at Tuesday night's premiere ... Stevie Wonder, Shaggy, Lilly Singh, RZA, Talani Rabb, Kylie Minogue, Mystic Marley, Daymond John, and a whole lot more.

As for Brad ... he normally serves as the star, but he seems comfortable playing producer too.

Kumail Nanjiani says that movie critics were so harsh on his Marvel movie from a few years ago that he thought it'd be best to get on the couch and see a shrink about it ... yep.

The actor -- who played one of the leads in 2021's "Eternals" -- told the tale on the "Inside of You" podcast with Michael Rosenbaum ... where he explained that the work he put into it didn't match the reaction, at least in his eyes.

KN said the reviews were terrible, and he was a little too aware of it -- going on to explain that he was reading each think piece about his movie, which apparently bothered him a lot.

He also notes that it was affecting his home life, adding ... "It was really hard, and that was when I thought it was unfair to me and unfair to [my wife] Emily, and I can’t approach my work this way anymore. Some s*** has to change, so I started counseling. I still talk to my therapist about that."

Even now, Kumail thinks he's still suffering from the experience -- saying ... "Emily says that I do have trauma from it. We actually just got dinner with somebody else from that movie and we were like, 'That was tough, wasn’t it?’ and he’s like ‘Yeah, that was really tough.'

Brad Pitt was a young and restless actor on the set of "Legends of the Fall" way back in the '90s -- so claims the director of that film ... who's painting BP as passionate to a fault.

Edward Zwick -- who helmed the famed romance epic -- which launched Brad into orbit as a heartthrob hunk and a mainstream A-list actor -- has this new book coming out called "Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions: My Fortysomething Years in Hollywood."

Vanity Fair obtained some excerpts from the forthcoming memoir ... and there's a fair amount of writing about Brad, who was the lead star of the movie as one of the Ludlow brothers, the free-spirited and wild-hearted Tristan.

As it turns out ... the character and the man playing him might've not been so different -- at least according to Zwick, who says Brad could be "volatile when riled" while they were shooting. Even from the jump EZ claims Brad wanted to quit after just the first table read.

Once they were able to get Brad to stay on, they would often clash when it came to getting the best takes out of Brad -- not to mention what each of them wanted from the character ... especially when it came to showing different sides of himself as an actor.

He writes that Brad would "get edgy whenever he was about to shoot a scene that required him to display deep emotion." Zwick says he wanted Brad to express himself more in portraying Tristan -- but he says Brad would challenge him and push back.

Zwick then says he once gave an acting instruction to Brad in front of the crew, and that they got into a heated argument ... which Zwick describes this way, "I don’t know who yelled first, who swore, or who threw the first chair. Me, maybe? But when we looked up, the crew had disappeared. And this wasn’t the last time it happened. Eventually, the crew grew accustomed to our dustups and would walk away and let us have it out."

In the end, they were able to work past their creative issues and finish the film -- with Zwick ending on a positive note about Brad ... calling him "forthright, straightforward" and "capable of great joy." Frankly, that's exactly what Tristan Ludlow himself was like!

It's also pretty funny that Zwick feels like Brad wasn't emoting enough on camera -- fact is, if you've seen this movie, you know Brad goes balls to the wall as a thespian ... and there are a lot of tears shed by his character.

The way Zwick characterizes things now -- makes you wonder if we only saw the raw emotion Brad showed on the big screen because the director truly pushed him to let it out.

Hollywood moves quickly ... Teyana Taylor's addition to Paul Thomas Anderson's new movie went down just a few days ago, but she's already on set with Leonardo DiCaprio.

TMZ obtained these clips of the pair making power moves in downtown Sacramento, where they were filming scenes on Saturday.

The duo was in business attire, and getting key guidance from Anderson ... right up until cameras rolled, and they made fierce strides into a high-rise.

You can also see it's being shot on a public sidewalk in broad daylight with a significant film crew presence, so there clearly wasn't a chance for passersby to get an up-close glimpse of Leo and Teyana. Admire from a distance only!!

The movie's plot has been shrouded in secrecy, and any scenes filmed so far have been low-key ... so the corporate setting might seem like a clue about the film's premise.

However, scenes of Leo looking worse for wear in a trench coat and disheveled beard ... shot earlier last week prove otherwise.

TMZ also got clips of Leo shooting with Regina Hall and a younger, unknown actress at a chill NorCal diner days later ... once again, keeping us on our toes about its plot.

Dua Lipa really stepped out of her comfort zone with her major role in the new movie, "Argylle" ... hopefully, she won't be too discouraged by box office numbers.

If you don't know ... "Argylle" centers on an author who writes secret agent novels -- and whose life becomes one after her latest book starts to reflect real-world events.

However, most of the buzz around the movie's centered less on the plot and more on the cast -- Henry Cavill, Bryce Dallas Howard, Sam Rockwell, John Cena, Ariana DeBose, Catherine O'Hara, Samuel L. Jackson, Dua ... the list just goes on and on.

But, even an army of stars can't seem to save "Argylle" from the dreaded box office bomb. The first weekend for the comedy-thriller's not going well according to The Hollywood Reporter ... which reports the film grossed just $5.6 million on Friday in the United States and it headed for an estimated $16.5 million domestic opening

The overseas numbers look just as bad for the flick ... with those markets expected to rake in just $16.9 million -- a poor opening for a movie with a blockbuster budget like "Argylle."

Multiple outlets report the film cost $200 million to make .. and, that's not including the marketing budget -- probably another huge sum given the massive commercial campaign the team at Apple launched.

As for what happened, that seems obvious ... early reviews of the movie weren't flattering and may have convinced prospective moviegoers to skip a trip to the cinema. The movie's currently got a 37% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes though audiences are rating it at 65%.

Now, Dua's inclusion in the flick's specifically important here ... because she doesn't do much acting. This is really only her second role listed on IMDb where she's played a character -- she was also a Barbie in "Barbie" but so was half of H'Wood.

So, a box office blow in her first real major role may negatively impact her career prospects ... or maybe not. She's still one of the most popular singers in the world.

Sylvester Stallone is speaking on Carl Weathers' sudden death -- and it couldn't be more emotional and heartfelt .... yeah, this one's a tear-jerker.

The actor posted a video Friday just hours after news broke that his 'Rocky' costar had passed away the day prior -- and you can tell Sly is absolutely torn up about it ... fighting back tears as he honors his longtime friend and companion in the ring.

Sly says he owes so much of his career and success to Carl ... noting the man had a magnetism and energy about him that made him so special -- especially for the 'Rocky' franchise. SS recounts first meeting Carl ... and knowing right away, this guy's a star.

This video was actually filmed with Sly standing in front of the famous painting that was commissioned to recreate the end of 'Rocky III,' where they face off in the ring anew.

Sylvester ends his gut-wrenching remarks here with a special message for his good friend -- "Apollo, keep punching."

He also adds this of the late Weathers ... "We lost a legend yesterday. My life was forever changed for the better the day I met Carl Weathers. Rest in power."

We couldn't have said it better ourselves.

Olivia Newton-John was apparently a Swiftie -- at least that's what her rep says, telling us the late singer would've gotten a kick out of these Taylor Swift's 'Grease' throwback photos.

Michael Caprio, Olivia's publicist of 25 years and counting, tells TMZ ... Olivia "would be tickled" to see all the childhood pics of young Taylor playing Olivia's famous character in a school production of the hit musical ... which just surfaced earlier this week.

Olivia's publicist adds ... she "had the greatest respect for Taylor as an artist and she was a fan of her talent." So, the fact Taylor was paying homage to her in her youth is kismet.

As we reported ... some old photographs of Taylor in character as Sandy is making the rounds ... it's from June 2000, long before Taylor was the biggest star in music.

Funny enough, Olivia and Taylor actually crossed paths when ONJ was still alive ... Michael says Olivia took a group of girlfriends to see a Taylor concert in Miami in 2010, with Olivia raving about Taylor's performance.

Michael recalls Olivia telling him she thought "Taylor was such a sweet, talented and smart girl."

Sounds like the feelings are mutual ... Michael says Taylor's got a vintage concert t-shirt from Olivia's 1982 Physical Tour in her wardrobe. On its face, they were big fans of the other.

Jake Gyllenhaal came under a microscope this week after reports surfaced about alleged erratic behavior on a movie set ... but now, the film's director's clearing the air.

Here's the deal ... director Thomas Bidegain spoke with the French magazine Technikart last week where he discussed his movie "Suddenly" -- which, at one time, had Gyllenhaal and Vanessa Kirby attached before both allegedly dropped out during pre-production.

The interview detailed several alleged frenzied episodes involving Gyllenhaal ... like demanding a car that was neither "red or white," rehearsing in a ridiculous accent like the Pepé Le Pew accent, and stripping down to his undies before launching himself into the freezing ocean -- all of which was being mocked and widely discussed on social media.

Ultimately though, all of it might not be true -- 'cause while Bidegain refused to comment on the validity of those stories, he did tell Variety his issue came from creative differences with JG and VK rather than any unprofessional behavior.

TB explains it like this ... the film was still very early in the process, not shooting and not even in pre-production yet like Technikart suggested. This was in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic, so the creative team had only spoken over Zoom when Thomas pitched the idea of meeting as a group in Iceland for a week to work on the project.

The French director said he thought they all were on the same page, but quickly realized their visions weren't in sync when they started breaking down the script together ... Kirby and Gyllenhaal apparently had entirely different opinions on the story's meaning and themes.

Bidegain says he peaced out on the trip after four of the seven days when he realized it wouldn't be a fruitful partnership ... with Thomas noting he'd never worked with an actor-producer like Gyllenhaal before ... and that, he says, created challenges.

Vanessa later contacted Bidegain about purchasing the script, Thomas claims, but he wouldn't sell ... instead making the movie with French actors -- as they seemed more in tune with his vision.

Thomas is more diplomatic in his response now ... saying he wanted to make the movie his own way. We'll admit though ... what he's quoted as claiming against Jake in the OG article is ... a little wild. BTW, this movie of his finally came out last year.

In any case, it's all water under a bridge, it seems ... and there's a lesson in this.