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A star in the OG "Top Gun" is suing Paramount, claiming the movie company ripped off his image for the hit sequel.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Barry Tubb, who played Wolfman in the 1986 monster hit, says the term "sequel" was never mentioned or contemplated in his original contract. Therefore, they had no right to use his mug in "Top Gun: Maverick."

The scene in contention -- two of the sequel's main characters Hangman (played by Glen Powell) and Coyote (Greg Tarzan Davis) discover Rooster Bradshaw (Miles Teller) is Goose's surviving son.

Rooster points at the photograph of the Top Gun Class of '86 hanging behind him ... and when the camera zooms in, you see Wolfman sitting beside Goose, Iceman, and Maverick.

Tubb says they had no right to use that photo, never asked permission and never paid him a cent. He's asking for unspecified damages, but given that the flick has grossed nearly $1.5 billion, he wants a lot.

Jonathan Majors was quickly dropped by Marvel in the wake of his assault conviction -- but as it turns, the studio was already inclined to move on ... at least according to a new report.

As everyone knows, the actor was cut loose just minutes after word came down from a NYC jury in December that he was guilty on two of four counts -- including harassment and assault -- as it pertained to charges that he'd harmed his ex-girlfriend, Grace Jabbari.

Granted, he only ended up getting convicted on what happened outside of the car -- not inside, where prosecutors claimed he'd really roughed her up -- and yet ... Marvel immediately announced he wasn't working with them going forward. They didn't skip a beat.

Welp, per a new THR story ... Marvel is now in the cleanup process of their next chapter -- as they were originally planning on hitching their wagon to Majors' star as the new big villain ... but those plans changed once he got caught up in this DV case.

They say the next 'Avengers' movie -- which was going to be called 'The Kang Dynasty' -- is now not going to include Majors' character's name at all ... and they're rewriting the next slate of films to either cut out Kang altogether, or to seriously sideline him and make him a footnote in the larger plot. It's a heavy lift, but everyone expected that to be the case.

The more interesting tidbit here in this report is the notion that Marvel/Disney had apparently already made a decision in terms of where they wanted to go with Kang and Majors.

THR, citing sources, says Marvel was already making moves to minimize Kang's involvement in future movies -- and the apparent reason ... money. It sounds like Majors' appearance in 'Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania' wasn't a financial success (it definitely wasn't) and because of that ... they felt audiences just weren't in the mood for more Kang.

The movie made $476 million globally through its theatrical run ... but by superhero movie standards, that's pretty trash. So, on its face ... it sounds like Majors' fate was sealed.

Zendaya has been making a showstopping impact on the "Dune" promo tour so far ... and seems like her costar Timothée Chalamet wanted in on the action, 'cause he's copying her.

Check out what these costars were rockin' at the "Dune: Part Two" premiere in South Korea Wednesday ... they're literally two peas in a pod in matching leather jumpsuits, posing away in sync with their hands in their pockets and all. That's double the impact for ya!

TC opted for a gray version of the one-piece ... while Zendaya, true to her fashionista form, styled up her light peach version, wearing it slung off her shoulder and with towering matching heels.

Both getups are by Seoul-based designer Juun J ... and Zendaya gushed during a sit-down interview about how wonderful it was to support local designers.

Timothée also addressed their twinning during the same interview ... saying it was actually Zendaya's longtime stylist, Law Roach, who came up with the genius idea.

Of course, it comes as no surprise as LR was also behind Zendaya's incredible full vintage suit at the movie's London world premiere last week.

The pics spoke for themselves ... Zendaya literally hogged the spotlight with a metallic Thierry Mugler Fall '95 haute couture look, which only she could pull off.

Tony Ganios -- famous from "Porky's" and a ton of other cult classic films -- has died.

The actor's fiancée, Amanda, tells us Tony passed away Sunday at a NY hospital -- this after he was taken in on Saturday and was found to have been suffering a severe spinal cord infection. We're told he went into surgery, but suffered a fatal heart attack the following day as he was recovering.

Amanda says Tony was on his way to a dialysis treatment Sunday morning when he went into cardiac arrest ... and we're told he was experiencing organ failure too. Amanda says his death came so suddenly, and she's absolutely shattered right now ... explaining they were just planning their wedding last week. They'd been together for a couple for at least 9 years.

She posted a sweet tribute to Tony online, writing ... "The last words we said to each other were "I love you." Love is an understatement. You are everything to me.  My heart, my soul and my best friend. #I love you #tonyganios."

Tony will best be remembered for his lead role in the 1981 film, which went down as a fan-fave sex comedy flick and developed a cult following. "Porky's" also went on to churn out several sequels ... including "Porky's II: The Next Day" and "Porky's Revenge!" -- both of which he starred in.

Of course, fans know him as Meat Tuperello ... one of the guys trying to lose their V-cards at a brothel, and who ended up playing peeping Toms. The shower scene from the movie is probably one of the most iconic in the raunchy comedy category of movies.

While "Porky's" was arguably his biggest flick/franchise ... Tony was in a handful of other memorable films as well -- including 1979's "The Wanderers," in which he played Perry.

Other movies of his include "Back Roads," "Continental Divide," "Body Rock," "Die Hard 2," "Rising Sun," "The Taking of Beverly Hills" and more. TG had been in shows as well -- such as "The Ring of the Musketeers," "Wiseguy," "The Equalizer" and "Scarecrow and Mrs. King."

He appears to have left showbiz behind in the '90s ... but he certainly left his mark on pop culture. In fact, film producer Sean Clark had some kind words for Tony upon hearing about his passing.

SC wrote, "Sad to hear of the passing of Tony Gainos aka Meat from Porky's This photo is from 20 years ago with Tony and Porky's co-star Scott Colomby Although I had many business conversations with him over the years I would not say he was a friend."

He adds, "I did not know him well at all. However he was a nice guy and it's a shame he passed just 2 weeks away from the big Porky's reunion at Cult Classics Weekend in Bastrop TX in which he was supposed to attend. So with that said I'm sorry for OUR loss."

Amanda tells TMZ Tony had been working and active in the final years of his life. He was 64.

Dakota Johnson's new superhero movie bombed at the box office -- but she's not trippin' ... 'cause the water in Mexico is fine, especially with her boyfriend right next to her.

The actress stripped down to a white halter neck-style swimsuit as she cooled off with her man Chris Martin in the beachy waters of Puerto Vallarta Sunday -- continuing her IDC tour by proving not even a major film flop was gonna ruin her good time.

The couple could be seen recharging on a sunlounger ... before Dakota dried off with a towel after a refreshing dip in the ocean.

Now, some may argue that DJ, perhaps, fled to Mexico to avoid all the 'MW' noise after it tanked this weekend. However, given her unbothered promo tour -- where she even admitted she hadn't watched the film much to the dismay of comic book fans -- something tells us she probably didn't even register how poorly it was received ... by fans and critics alike.

Safe to say ... Dakota didn't really put her best foot forward promoting the film -- at least on the face of it -- and the figures speak for themselves. Whether she's to blame for any of it though ... well, that's anyone's guess.

The running total for the six-day holiday weekend -- beginning Valentine's Day and ending on President's Day -- was just $25.8 million domestically and about the same amount globally ... definitely not up to par for a major superhero flick opening.

In fact, The Hollywood Reporter put it down as the worst opening for a Sony movie featuring Spider-Man-related characters ... and the consensus seems to be the same across the board.

Major Beatles alert -- Sam Mendes will direct four different movies from each band member's perspective ... and all of them are apparently supposed to come out the same year.

The famed filmmaker was announced as being hired to helm what can only be called a massive undertaking in the movie biz -- namely, making four feature-length films ... with each one focused on a different Beatle, including Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon and George Harrison.

Sony is the studio getting behind this -- they'll finance and distribute these flicks -- and not just that ... but the two living Beatles and the families of the late members are all on board.

All 4 members/their estates have given Sam and Sony the life and music rights for the respective scripted films -- and what he says he'll do is intertwine all their stories in an intricate web of storytelling to bring the band's full legendary history to life on the big screen.

The craziest part ... Sam and co. plan on releasing all 4 films in 2027, which is crazy.

BTW, a multimedia company the Beatles started way back when -- Apple Corps Limited -- is going to be a partner in producing these ... so yeah, everyone's coming together for this.

It goes without saying ... this will be the first time the Beatles, at large, are depicted in a film as a unit that wasn't a doc. In other words -- the definitive Beatles biopic(s) has arrived.

Sylvester Stallone says he doesn't advise actors to do their own stunts in the movie biz ... and 7 surgeries oughta serve as a warning -- you listening, Tom Cruise???

The legendary action star made the revelation in an upcoming episode of his Paramount reality show, "The Family Stallone," where he said he'd undergone more than half a dozen back surgeries to deal with an injury he suffered on the set of "The Expendables" back in 2010.

Basically, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin -- who's also in the movie -- was body-slamming Sly on set ... and the dude was actually absorbing the blows, going take after take after take.

He says, "I did stupid stuff. I was directing 'Expendables' and like an idiot I’m doing take ten, take whatever, and I remember one slam and I could actually feel one bang. Steve knew. I never recovered from Expendables 1. After that film, it was never physically the same."

Sly adds .. "I’ve warned people -- don’t do your own stunts."

SS fractured his neck and needed a metal plate inserted to stabilize things -- and as he jokingly notes ... his next role might be Quasimodo in a 'Hunchback' flick.

While he might be discussing it in jest on his show -- the injuries/surgeries are quite serious ... apparently, Sylvester's doctors have told him he might need artificial discs popped into his lower spine down the line, and his wife Jennifer Flavin says on the show it's tough on the family.

A BBC reporter is getting blasted as homophobic for grilling Andrew Scott over Barry Keoghan's nude scene in "Saltburn" -- questioning him at the BAFTA's, of all places.

BBC entertainment correspondent Colin Paterson thought it was cool to ask Andrew -- who's gay -- his reaction to Barry's naked dance sequence in "Saltburn" -- and you can see AS's uncomfortable response in the clip, which is cringe-worthy, to say the least.

Scott laughs and shakes his head at first ... trying to navigate around the awkward question by saying he doesn't want to spoil the movie for anyone who hasn't seen it yet. He does play along a little though, saying the scene was great.

But, Colin kept pushing it ... continuing to say, "There was a lot of talk about prosthetics ... how well do you know him?"

The insinuation behind the question proved too much for Andrew, who quickly stepped out from the camera shot ... with CP finally registering it was "too much." It took him that long to realize??!

CP's interview with AS had people fuming online, with one person writing on X: "This is frankly disgusting. Andrew Scott is there to support his multiple nominated film and THIS is what you ask? Then when he looks visibly uncomfortable the guy carried on. Truly horrid. #BAFTAs."

Another wrote ... "This is appalling: presenter Colin Paterson "interviewing" brilliant Andrew Scott, & asking about a fellow actor's genitals (in a film Andrew is not even in). Because Andrew is also Irish, like Barry Keoghan? Because he's gay? Baffling & insulting to both of these talented actors."

The BBC has yet to respond to the criticism ... and Colin also hasn't addressed his misstep.

As for Andrew, he clearly handled the off-guard moment with grace ... especially considering he was there to promote his movie "All Of Us Strangers" ... which sadly didn't win any of the 6 noms it was up for.

The People's Choice Awards and the BAFTAs weren't on the same page this year ... with such different winners, it just goes to show -- awards season is unpredictable as hell.

Margot Robbie strutted away with Best Actress for "Barbie" at the PCAs in L.A while Emma Stone snagged the same honor for "Poor Things" at the UK's BAFTAs -- both of which went down on Sunday, BTW.

Then we have Best Actor ... Ryan Gosling Ken-ergized his way to victory on the west coast, while across the pond, Cillian Murphy walked away with the prize for "Oppenheimer."

For Best Film, "Oppenheimer" won at BAFTAs, while "Barbie" stole the show at the PCAs.

Christopher Nolan's directing for "Oppenheimer" earned him a trophy in the British capital, but interestingly there wasn't a directing category at the PCAs -- but if there was, it's safe to say, it'd go to, drumroll please ... Greta Gerwig for "Barbie!!"

In fact, life in plastic was so fantastic for "Barbie" at the People's Choice that it walked away with most of the awards it was up for. But, the movie couldn't catch a break at the BAFTAs ... losing out on all five of its nominations and getting completely shut out.

Of course, the People's Choice winners are picked by average everyday folks -- a popularity contest, really -- in contrast to the academy members ... and given the record-breaking numbers "Barbie" pulled last summer, it's no surprise it reigned supreme at the event.

No one is living in a Barbie World over in the United Kingdom tonight ... 'cause "Barbie" just got shut out at the British Academy Film Awards.

The biggest blockbuster of last summer was up for five awards at the show Sunday -- Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Best Original Screenplay along with a couple other design awards.

Unfortunately, the film's creators are walking away without a single one -- going 0-for-5 at the ceremony that's usually a pretty good indication of the way Academy Awards voters are gonna lean.

"Barbie" isn't the only awards season darling that got snubbed tonight BTW ... Martin Scorsese's "Killers of the Flower Moon" lost all nine of its nominations while "Maestro" didn't win one of its seven awards.

But, the "Barbie" snubs feel the most significant ... given the firestorm that popped off after Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie weren't nominated for Best Director and Best Actress respectively.

Remember ... everyone from random X users to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton chimed in on "Barbie" not receiving those particular nominations.

Margot later broke her silence on Greta's snub ... even more poignant since GG was left off the nomination list for the BAFTAs as well.

Dakota Johnson's "Madame Web" had its strands snipped during its opening week ... tanking at the box office -- and recent interviews might deserve some blame.

The running total for the six-day holiday weekend -- beginning Valentine's Day and ending tomorrow on President's Day -- is just $25.8 million domestically and about the same amount globally ... an abysmal opening for a major superhero flick.

In fact, The Hollywood Reporter claims it's the worst opening for a Sony movie featuring Spider-Man-related characters ... and continues the trend of underperforming superhero movies from both Marvel and DC.

It's not just a case of people not showing up to the theater either ... 'cause most people who see "Madame Web" are trashing the film online.

'MW' now holds a 13% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes and only has a 55% audience score on the review aggregator .. neither living up to the usual superhero hype.

There are a whole lotta reasons why this movie's bombing ... bad reviews certainly chief among them -- though it seems Dakota didn't do the film any favors with her recent promotional tour.

As we previously reported ... Dakota said she hasn't seen the movie during an interview in the UK -- while also essentially saying she's got no plans to watch it any time soon.

When asked about Tom Holland's 'Spider-Man' movies, Dakota made a joke about their titles, including one she framed like a 'Harry Potter' title -- though it seems obvious she hadn't seen or researched them at all.

Basically, she gave some people the impression she really didn't care about the movie much -- a cardinal sin among committed comic book fanatics.

Granted, Madame Web isn't a big Marvel character, so the built-in audience for this movie doesn't seem to have been there ... but DJ's somewhat cringey interviews probably didn't help the movie either.

Russell Crowe may have given to the poor in "Robin Hood" ... but what he really needed was to take time off for himself -- 'cause he fractured both his legs on set!

The actor sat down with People for an interview published Saturday ... and, he revealed he suffered a pretty serious injury while filming the movie almost 15 years ago.

The way RC tells it ... he was performing a stunt where he jumped off a castle gate onto uneven ground. It was late, and Crowe said they probably rushed the prep before the stunt -- deciding not to bury a crash pad to land on.

Lo and behold, Russell landed and said he felt something akin to an electric shock shoot through his body ... but he managed to struggle through the scene since the epic battle sequence was already in full swing.

And, Russ said he didn't stop struggling on the movie ... saying he had trouble even walking over the final month of shooting for the action-adventure film, though he didn't take a day off.

Fast forward about a decade, and Crowe said some pain in his legs sent him to the doctor ... who X-rayed him and asked when exactly he'd broken his legs 'cause he could see the residual damage in his shin bones.

Crowe said he thinks a year off he took between finishing "Robin Hood" and training for "Man of Steel" let his legs naturally heal enough to overlook the pain ... proving the man's kinda superhuman himself.

Jennifer Lopez has the number 1 movie in the world ... or at least the top flick on Amazon Prime -- the streaming home of "This Is Me... Now: A Love Story."

Check out Amazon Prime right now ... the visual accompaniment to J Lo's first album in nearly a decade is outperforming the new "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" series as well as several other popular shows on Amazon Prime.

And, the movie's not the only project blowing up either ... with her new album reaching the top spot on the iTunes charts.

Worth noting ... iTunes charts are based on people who actually purchase music which isn't as large a market as it used to be -- but, it's also one of the top 50 streaming albums on Apple Music. So we know people are listening.

A couple major accomplishments no doubt, though Lopez is used to reaching this kind of rarefied air. Back in 2001, Lopez's album "J.Lo" debuted at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 200 ... and her rom-com "The Wedding Planner" topped the box office less than a week later.

So maybe J Lo's promotional tour for the project's got people listening ... as we previously reported, Lopez posed in front of billboards in Times Square to plug her new project. No shame in her face either -- she knows how to play the game!

Some people in L.A. probably did a double take Friday thinking they saw Michael Jackson walking around.

But it was actually the spitting image of the late "King of Pop" -- namely his nephew, Jaafar Jackson, who was on his way to shoot scenes for MJ's upcoming biopic, "Michael."

It's truly amazing how much Jaafar looks almost exactly like the world-famous singer, especially when he's in costume.

Check out these photos, obtained by TMZ, which show Jaafar on the movie set, sporting MJ's famous red varsity jacket next to a Tower Records pop-up shop and a huge ad promoting the entertainer's 1979 album, "Off The Walls."

As we reported ... Jaafar -- the son of Jermaine Jackson -- was spotted Thursday shooting scenes for the flick in LA's Encino neighborhood.

Jaafar was in total MJ mode from his hair to his makeup and clothes.

Actress Nia Long, who is playing Michael's mom, Katherine Jackson, also appeared on set Thursday. Colman Domingo wasn't there, but he snagged the role of MJ's dad, Joe Jackson, and has been spotted with the cast.

Sharon Stone claims LAPD officers came to her home during the O.J. Simpson chase and whisked her away -- but cops who were on the force back then don't have any such memory.

David Gascon -- who was a commander at the LAPD's Media Relations department during the O.J. years -- tells TMZ ... he's never heard of cops showing up to Sharon's crib on June 17, 1994, when officers were in hot pursuit of Simpson during that infamous televised low-speed chase.

Not only is Gascon personally unaware of it happening ... he says he'd never heard a single report of Sharon's involvement, at least not until she talked about it this past week.

Ditto for Tom Lange ... the lead LAPD detective on the O.J. case tells us he hadn't heard a peep about Sharon's claim cops ushered her to a hotel for safety reasons. In fact, Lange asks the obvious question ... why would O.J. go after Sharon at the time?

Lange insists, if Sharon's Simpson saga happened, he would've heard of it. As for Sharon's M.O. in telling it ... he suspects it might have to do with the 30th anniversary coming up in June.

Last, but not least, we spoke to a retired former LAPD officer -- who worked in the South L.A. division back in 1994 -- and he also says any Sharon-O.J. connection is news to him!

This retired officer questions how or why O.J. would have any reason to go to Sharon's house at the time ... especially with 20 patrol cars chasing him down the freeway.

The way Sharon put it in her new interview, her "Basic Instinct" fame from '92 is what supposedly spurred a bunch of officers to show up to her house to hide her at a hotel. Although, as many here have noted, she had no apparent connection to O.J. in those days.

Sharon has previously talked about how crazy it was for her in the '90s after her then-viral movie skyrocketed her to A-list status ... not to mention making her a bona fide sex symbol.

Again, the fact these former officers are taking her story with a grain of salt does not mean what Sharon is saying didn't occur -- but as far as they're concerned, it was never on their radar.

Dakota Johnson's trying to avoid a sticky situation ... saying watching her movies could land her in an existential crisis -- which is why she says she hasn't seen her own new movie yet.

The actress made the stunning confession about "Madame Web" -- the superhero flick which she leads, and which is out in theaters now -- during an interview with Magic Radio ... admitting she's more likely to sneak out the back of the theater than stay for her own premiere, which she apparently did this week ahead of the official release of her flick.

It's a move she's clearly put to good use ... 'cause DJ says she still hasn't watched 'MW,' even now -- and it doesn't seem there are any plans to peep in the near future.

And, it's not just watching herself on the big screen that seems to be an issue for Johnson either ... 'cause she doesn't even seem interested in watching the flick at home -- adding she might watch the movie "someday" ... but sounding thoroughly disinterested.

Dakota says she's watched some of her movies, but admits she doesn't really like to view them -- saying she feels she could get hit with an existential crisis while watching one of her movies ... and comparing avoiding her films to "self-care."

It's not totally uncommon for stars not to watch their movies ... Constance Wu, Jesse Eisenberg, Helena Bonham Carter and Adam Driver are just a few of Hollywood's best and brightest who pass on watching their movies.

Gwyneth Paltrow's famous for giving interviews where she's basically admitted to having no idea what's happening in the Marvel Cinematic Universe ... despite appearing in seven Marvel films -- so it doesn't seem to be a requirement for giving great performances.

BTW ... it might be a good thing Johnson avoids watching her movies or googling herself -- 'cause 'Web' is getting absolutely blasted by both critics and audiences.

The movie -- following clairvoyant Cassandra Webb (Johnson) who tries to protect three women from a mysterious adversary -- has a 14% critics score and a 55% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes ... numbers well below the typical Marvel film.