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Jimmy Kimmel took some light-hearted shots during his opening Oscars monologue -- but the highlight was probably his reflection on the strikes last year ... for a variety of reasons.

The recurring host -- who was back for yet another gig this year -- kicked things off Sunday by actually running a little bit late ... but once he got going, he was ready to make some jabs and crack some jokes ... most of which landed fairly well with the star-studded crowd.

Jimmy mentioned the fact that Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig were snubbed this year -- chiding the audience who seemed to agree, since a lot of them are voters -- and he even poked fun at Robert Downey Jr. at one point ... referencing his previous drug use.

Jimmy referenced an old dog-themed movie RDJ was in -- and said if he was ever to remake it ... he know the perfect candidate ... highlighting the dog from 'Anatomy of a Fall.'

The guy hopscotched around in his monologue, but eventually landed on the SAG and WGA strikes -- which consumed much of entertainment in 2023 ... and which created a lengthy work stoppage in Hollywood as labor union honchos and studio execs negotiated new deals.

Jimmy sounded sincere in shouting out everyone who remained on picket lines through that difficult period -- but, of course, he eventually gave kudos in a funny, backhanded way.

Check it out ... Jimmy says the strikes taught everyone a good lesson about what they were made of -- namely, a lot of guts ... even though he said no one would ever be able to pick up a shovel. Jimmy also used a lot of colorful descriptors in patting everyone on the back.

You gotta see it to understand what we mean ... it was both graceful, and pretty insulting.

Jimmy ended on a high note, though, when he brought out a bunch of crew members who work behind the scenes ... saying he appreciated their support through the strikes. Looks like everyone else felt the same way -- 'cause all the production people got a standing O.

Miriam Margolyes says people who are still diehard 'Harry Potter' fans as fully functioning adults worry her a bit -- and she's got a clear message for them ... grow the hell up!

The actress -- who played Professor Pomona Sprout on two 'HP' films back when those were still a thing -- did a recent interview with New Zealand's 1 News, where she was plugging a new project of hers ... and she was quite candid on how she feels about this topic.

Check it out ... Miriam says people that are still obsessed with the 'Harry Potter' movies -- or, god forbid, the even older books -- concern her ... 'cause they're still acting like lil' kids.

She says she'll still get asked about 'Harry Potter' stuff to this day -- and goes on to say she's startled to hear people are doing whole ass 'HP'-themed events ... including weddings. Miriam jokes that she wonders what the first night of fun would be for 'HP' newlyweds.

As Miriam puts it, 'Harry Potter' is for children, and the adults still clinging to their childhood nostalgia need to get over it. MM hits the point home by definitively saying ... "It's over!"

Yes, it's a bit harsh -- but you can tell Miriam just doesn't understand the years-long fandom.

The director of 'The Holdovers' is being accused of ripping off another Hollywood creative, who claims the guy hijacked his own years-old script in what he calls outright plagiarism.

Simon Stephenson -- whose story/writing credits include 'Luca,' 'Paddington 2' and other big hits -- levied a heavy plagiarism allegation against Alexander Payne earlier this year with none other than the WGA ... and his claims are just now coming to light publicly.

According to Variety -- which has reviewed and published emails from this whole ordeal -- Stephenson hit up some WGA honchos to complain that Payne's script/story for 'The Holdovers' was a "brazen" ripoff of a script he wrote back in 2013 called 'Frisco.'

Not only are the plots nearly identical, Stephenson alleges, but he goes on to claim there is "line-by-line" replication ... adding he has proof Payne reviewed his screenplay in years past.

Stephenson wrote in one of his emails to WGA, "I’ve been a working writer for 20 years -- in my native U.K. before I came to the U.S. -- and so I’m very aware that people can often have surprisingly similar ideas and sometimes a few elements can be ‘borrowed,’ etc."

He adds emphatically ... "This just isn’t that situation. The two screenplays are forensically identical and riddled with unique smoking guns throughout."

Stephenson was reportedly told his gripes were not a guild issue, and that he might need to consider a lawsuit to address his concerns -- no word on whether he's done that yet.

As for Payne -- who's not a writer on 'Holdovers,' but who says he heavily supervised the script-writing process -- he's publicly said his flick is loosely inspired by a 1935 French film.

As Hollywood's rich and famous trickle in for the Oscars this weekend -- a massive protest is going down just a stone's throw away ... with folks hitting the streets to speak on Palestine.

A huge demonstration is unfolding about a mile away from the Dolby Theater in Hollywood Sunday -- at none other than the Dome Entertainment Centre, in fact -- where hundreds of people gathered with signage, megaphones and Palestinian flags ... while up in arms.

Of course, this is a pro-Palestine protest -- one that's been organized by groups like Writers Against the War on Gaza LA, Film Workers for Palestine, SAG-AFTRA Members for Ceasefire and others ... with their main message being, "No awards during a genocide!"

Another tagline being used for this protest ... "While You're Watching Bombs Are Dropping."

It goes without saying ... these folks are protesting against the ongoing war in the Middle East -- this as Gaza continues to be under siege as Israel seeks to eradicate Hamas.

As you can see ... tensions were high here, as people chanted and made their voices heard ahead of the biggest night in Hollywood. The Oscars are just about an hour from starting.

Unfortunately for these demonstrators, they won't be getting much closer to the actual Oscars venue itself -- the Dolby Theater is blocked off by cops, who've set a wide perimeter ... and who are standing guard with their riot gear ready to go in case things escalate.

Meanwhile ... the stars are getting ready for the big show -- lots of red-carpet arrivals are happening right now ... and they don't seem too worried about the ruckus up the block.

Y'know it's Oscars weekend when even the likes of Nicolas Cage are out on the scene ... in this case to honor "Killers of the Flower Moon" director Martin Scorsese and the cast of his Best Picture-nominated film.

TMZ got video inside the Bev Hills celebration, where Nic, himself an Oscar winner, and his wife Riko Shibata mingled at the Giorgio Armani-hosted party.

It's a rare sighting of Cage at showbiz events. He's more of a karaoke bar kinda guy, but, like we said, it's that kinda weekend in Hollywood.

Several other nominees were front and center ... including 'Flower Moon' star Lily Gladstone, who's up for Best Actress. She's already made history as the first Native American woman nominated for the award, and most critics say she's got a good shot to win Sunday night.

Her costar, and Best Supporting Actor nominee, Robert De Niro was there and looked to be in good spirits ... as he stopped to take a few snaps with folks. We also got shots of last year's Best Supporting Actor winner Ke Huy Quan, Olivia Munn and John Mulaney, Jane Seymour and Paris Jackson doing the small talk thing.

Other faces in the crowd -- Best Actor nominee Jeffrey Wright, Alessandra Ambrosio, Scott Eastwood and Callum Turner, who was not with his relatively new GF Dua Lipa ... unfortunate, for him, and everyone else there.

Jonathan Majors' Hollywood career isn't over yet -- even as his sentencing looms, he's going full gym rat, getting in shape for an upcoming film shoot ... and we got a glimpse of his routine.

Sources close to Majors tell TMZ … he was in L.A. for a week, hitting the gym hard and training for a possible gig before flying back to New York.

No word on what Jonathan's potential role might be, but we're told it would require him to be in incredible shape ... and that's why he was training so intensely.

Our sources say Jonathan's aiming to get shredded -- like superhero ripped -- and the video shows he's getting pretty close to that goal.

Remember, Jonathan was a Marvel star before the studio dropped him immediately after a New York jury found him guilty of misdemeanor assault and harassment for the now-infamous incident with his ex-GF, Grace Jabbari.

We're told Jonathan's working out with his regular trainers, who are getting him in tip-top shape.

For the next month or so, our sources say Jonathan will be shuffling back and forth between visiting Meagan Good in New York and training in Los Angeles.

What's unclear is when the movie shoot would begin -- if he lands it, time is of the essence ... assuming he'd have to get it done before he's sentenced.

The CAA Pre-Oscars shindig was the place to be ... with the best of the biz out to play at The Sunset Tower Hotel, gearing up for the glitz and glam to come on Sunday.

The legendary bash is known as one of the major Oscars warm-up events, and just like every year, Friday night's shindig featured a who's who in Hollywood with lots of the nominees -- like Best Actor hopeful Cillian Murphy -- in the mix and rubbing elbows.

Previous Oscar winners Viola Davis and Brendan Fraser were also part of the line-up -- along with Chris Rock and Sacha Baron Cohen. Of course, it's been 2 years since Chris was targeted by Will Smith onstage at the Oscars -- so, it's nice to see him back enjoying the festivities.

Some of the others mingling the night away were Danny DeVito, Demi Moore, Jeff Goldblum, Donald Glover, Sir Patrick Stewart, Best Actor nominee Jeffrey Wright, Chris Evans, Salma Hayek, Olivia Wilde, and Neil Patrick Harris.

The future of the movie biz was also on hand ... younger actors like "May December" star Charles Melton and Anya Taylor-Joy, "Top Gun: Maverick's Glen Powell and model Kaia Gerber.

Now, they're not big screen stars, but the hosts with the most Andy Cohen and Kelly Ripa kept the party vibes going strong at the bash, which had DJ Rashida and Lady Sha spinning the beats.

CAA reps some of the biggest names in the biz -- such as "Barbie" stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling -- and it hosts this pre-awards bash every year to celebrate clients, colleagues and peers.

Hollywood's elite are warming up for Sunday's Oscars with pre-parties every bit as celeb-packed as the main event will be ... as Usher, John Legend and Leo DiCaprio rallied in one of the town's more iconic mansions!

TMZ got this video inside the William Morris Endeavor talent agency's big bash in Bev Hills Friday night -- it was held at the Beverly Estate, sometimes referred to as the "Godfather" mansion, and it was absolutely swimming with A-Listers.

Check out these faces in the crowd -- Justin Timberlake, Tobey Maguire, Teyana Taylor, Busta Rhymes, Rob Lowe and, of course, the 3 aforementioned superstars ... all rubbing elbows, literally and figuratively.

Even the celebs themselves seemed starstruck at times ... you can see Justin, Usher and Teyana were posing together for a few snaps as they chatted and laughed.

After their little photo sesh, Justin chatted a bit with some of the other guests as Teyana walked around, mingling.

At one point, Teyana bumped into Busta and the two began to shoot the breeze. Rob was also spotted making the rounds.

Never one to miss a party filled with beautiful people ... Leo, along with his pal Tobey, popped in just as the music started pumping and everyone was hitting the dance floor.

By all accounts, Leo was in good spirits and not even hiding his face that much, as we usually see him.

As for John Legend ... Mr. EGOT got off his feet to do the small talk thing ... sitting on a couch to chat up some other guests.

By the way, the mansion where all this was going down is the spot where they filmed the famous horse's head scene for "The Godfather" flick.

A dog featured in a movie that's up for an Oscar this year reportedly ruffled feathers at an awards event last month -- where other contenders got pissed off for him being a good boy.

Back in mid-February ... the border collie from 'Anatomy of a Fall' -- whose real name is Messi but who goes by Snoop in the film -- made an appearance at the Oscars luncheon ... where he was a big hit with all the stars, especially with Ryan Gosling, who seemed pretty smitten with the pooch.

Nothing wrong with bringing the dog from the film to make a little cameo for a pre-Oscars powwow right??? WRONG!!!! At least that's how some felt about it behind the scenes.

According to THR, production companies (and presumably studios) that have films up for Academy Awards apparently complained about Messi's presence at the luncheon ... griping that the dog being there and being so popular was giving his film an unfair advantage.

The dog showed up when Oscar voting was still going on -- and per THR, multiple companies with their hat in the ring complained to Academy honchos about it.

Fast-forward to today -- and the newest news is that Messi will be MIA from Sunday's ceremony ... a bummer, of course. Whether that decision has anything to do with the luncheon "scandal" ... jury's out. THR reports the luncheon thing had always been planned to be a one-off for Messi -- but if his being there angered that many people, who knows!

BTW, this dog is super talented -- and some have joked that it might actually be worthy of an Oscar nod itself. If you haven't seen 'Anatomy' yet ... there's a memorable scene with the dog, where it almost overdoses on aspirin ... and it plays out looking scarily real.

As it turns out ... that's because it was, meaning the dog was actually playing dead. A BTS look at how that came to fruition surfaced this week -- and it's pretty fascinating. Smart pup!

Alec Baldwin may look to enlist the help of other celebs when his manslaughter trial over Halyna Hutchins' death gears up this summer -- but there's a catch ... TMZ has learned.

Sources with knowledge of the case tell TMZ ... the actor's team is considering putting together a list of famous people to potentially testify on Alec's behalf during his trial in July -- but we're told these stars would be people who've already spoken out in Alec's defense.

Specifically, we're told Alec and his team would possibly be eyeing public figures who've weighed into the issue of whether an actor can be held responsible for weapons on set.

Worth noting ... our sources say this potential witness list hasn't come to fruition just yet -- remember, the trial is still months away -- and we're told nothing is set in stone either.

Still ... if this comes to pass, it'd be major news -- especially with the potential names.

So far ... Alec has received public support from a number of stars, all of whom have taken a firm stance -- namely, that it's crazy to go after Alec for something he wasn't tasked with checking in an acting capacity. Some of those names include Debra Messing, Mickey Rourke, DJ Qualls, Frances Fisher (who also starred in "Rust") and others.

Interesting to note ... some of these actors have already committed to being available in court if Alec should come to call on them -- including Mickey ... who tells us he's game to testify.

Mickey tells TMZ ... "Whatever Alec needs I’ll be there 100%. The armorer is 100% responsible for any gun handed to an actor. Especially, to an actor who didn't have experience with guns."

Rourke adds ... nobody from Alec's legal team has reached out to him yet.

As we reported ... Alec pled not guilty to an involuntary manslaughter charge in January ... over two years after he held the prop gun that went off and killed Halyna during a "Rust" rehearsal. Director Joel Souza was also injured at the time.

The armorer on set, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, was just convicted of involuntary manslaughter herself -- and while some feel that doesn't bode well for AB ... others disagree, arguing it only cements that the person responsible for weapons on set was found criminally liable.

Mike Epps is still feeling some sorta way about the Richard Pryor biopic that didn't happen -- and 10 years after he got the dream role, he's blaming Richard's widow for shutting it down.

Mike did his best to crack jokes about it as revealed the backstory to Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson on their "All the Smoke" podcast -- claiming things went south with Jennifer Lee Pryor because he refused to render certain services for her.

Call it the ultimate d**k move -- or lack thereof -- but Mike claims Jennifer wanted a little quid pro quo ... and when he refused to sleep with her, she yanked the role from him.

Mike claims he and Jennifer clashed harder at Richard's funeral in 2005, which he says doubled as a comedic event ... albeit not intentionally!!!

He threw the late Paul Mooney and Richard's other friends in attendance under the bus for not speaking at the funeral -- instead leaving Mo'Nique and George Lopez to pay their respects even though they didn't actually know the comedic legend.

You gotta see Mike paint the picture of how the funeral went down ... especially his Diana Ross impression.

But the jokes stopped when he talked about walking up to Jennifer to insist he was the man for the biopic role, because his legacy has outlived Richard's -- and all the kids know it!!!

Lee Daniels was originally on board to direct the RP film in 2014 but jumped ship 2 years later, leaving Mike to portray Pryor in minor capacities as he did in HBO's short-lived "Winning Time" series ... potentially the last time he'll get to impersonate his idol.

Lindsay Lohan's renaissance is in full swing -- just take a look at the frenzy surrounding her in NYC this week while promoting her new movie ... it feels like 2004 all over again!

The actress was fully embracing her return to the spotlight Thursday while arriving at NBC Studios for an interview to plug her upcoming Netflix film "Irish Wish" -- which is set to start streaming on March 15 -- and if this doesn't scream A-list ... we don't know what does.

Check it out ... LiLo owned the moment as she signed autographs -- and let paps fire away for photos. She was even kind enough to speak with our photog to answer some questions.

We asked her how motherhood was treating her ever since welcoming her baby boy, Luai -- whom she shares with her hubby Bader Shammas -- and she actually gave us some insight into that ... telling our camera girl that she loves being a mom.

Lindsay's had her family with her while working here in the States lately -- even though she lives abroad. And with all these projects she's on these days ... it's clear she's ready to embrace the major stardom she once had in her youth.

It's pretty awesome to see, TBH ... sort of a full circle moment for her, and she seems more than ready to take it all on again.

Remember ... LL made a brief cameo/appearance in the recent "Mean Girls" remake and has also been confirmed for a "Freaky Friday" sequel ... so she's booked and busy.

Of course, she skyrocketed to fame as a child star in "The Parent Trap" and became an icon in teen/young adult movies thereafter -- but eventually, after some turbulence, she stepped away from the limelight and went overseas.

Hollywood is rolling out the red carpet for the Oscars this weekend ... and we mean that literally -- 'cause workers are already knee-deep in prep work for the big show!

The iconic awards show will kick off Sunday at the famed Dolby Theatre in Hollywood -- and it's pretty obvious it takes a few days to transform the Hollywood Walk of Fame into an A-list-ready red carpet ... as you can see, people were already hard at work starting Wednesday.

Crew members came together to roll out massive amounts of red fabric in order to cover up the star-studded walkway. It looks like red and gold will be the colors of the evening, if all the drapes that are going up are any indication. No surprise ... that's usually the Oscars' theme.

Of course, stencils of Oscar statuettes are heavily featured throughout the space ... as if we'd forget which awards show we're watching. Point is ... they're getting the joint ready to go!

They do this every year -- but it's always fascinating to see what goes into making the venue actor-ready once cameras start rolling later this weekend. Clearly, there's a lot of work BTS.

Superstars like Margot Robbie, Bradley Cooper, Emma Stone, Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Robert Downey Jr., Ryan Gosling and America Ferrera are expected to attend ... as they're all big nominees heading into Tinseltown's biggest night.

Safe to say ... this thing will be backed with A-listers -- similar to how the 2023 show was.

That's to be expected, of course. Last year's awards show featured the likes of Austin Butler, Ana de Armas, Angela Bassett, Jamie Lee Curtis and Cate Blanchett ... all of whom stepped out for the event and posed for cameras.

Adam Sandler and Margot Robbie were 2023's highest-paid actors -- but one is definitely making more than the other (and all the rest, too) with the difference being ... Netflix.

Forbes put out a list of all the big-shot actors who cleaned up last year -- and their ranking based on the numbers is interesting ... for a few different reasons, we suppose. For starters, the Sandman is king of the Hollywood money machine, having raked in $73 mil in '23.

If you're wondering where all that dough came from -- you can thank the biggest streamer in showbiz for lining his pockets ... Adam had 4 Netflix movies total that released last year.

Adam starred in "Murder Mystery 2," "You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah," "Leo" and "Spaceman" ... with that last one being released this year, although he already got paid for it.

Netflix and Adam have been in business for years now -- he's got an exclusive deal with them to produce a crap ton of flicks ... and he's certainly fulfilling his end of the bargain. In return, the guy's getting paid handsomely ... which is nuts considering these are streaming movies we're talking about here. Just goes to show ... this is the way of the future!

Margot, meanwhile, made $59 million last year ... obviously, most of that is "Barbie" money -- it made over $1 billion at the box office -- and she had a small cameo in "Asteroid City."

The difference between Margot and Adam -- aside from the $14 mil -- is that MR's an old-fashioned actress in the sense that her movies are strictly in theaters. Hmm ... interesting.

The rest of the list isn't all that surprising, as it includes a lot of big names -- including Tom Cruise ($45M), Ryan Gosling ($43M), Matt Damon ($43M), Jennifer Aniston ($42M), Leonardo DiCaprio ($41M), Jason Statham ($41M), Ben Affleck ($38M) and Denzel Washington ($24M).

The nuclear bomb test shown in "Oppenheimer" left a lasting legacy of radiation exposure and cancer diagnosis on generations of folks who helped build Los Alamos in New Mexico ... but people there say their problems are still being ignored by Hollywood and Congress.

Tina Cordova, co-founder of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium, joined us on "TMZ Live" Wednesday and told us why the world's first nuclear bomb test is still affecting families in New Mexico, decades after Robert Oppenheimer's nuke detonated in the desert.

"Oppenheimer" looks poised to win a bunch of Oscar statues at this weekend's Academy Awards, but Tina says filmmakers blatantly excluded all the people who made Los Alamos and the Trinity Test possible in the first place.

Remember ... the nuclear bomb test in July 1945 took place amid thunderstorms, resulting in toxic debris falling back to earth in the ensuing rain ... contaminating the landscape, water supplies and the food chain ... and exposing New Mexico residents to harmful radiation.

Tina, who helped make a doc about the fallout, tells us cancer has decimated her family ever since the bomb went off -- they lived only 15 miles from the blast -- with 5 generations being diagnosed with all sorts of cancers ... including lung, oral, skin, brain and thyroid.

She says filmmakers left this nuclear mess out of the film on purpose ... similar to how New Mexico residents were left out of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act back in the day, which provided financial compensation to Americans living near nuclear testing sites.

When folks living near the Trinity Test site were finally set to be included in RECA, potentially opening the door for payments, Tina says Republican leadership in Congress cut their funding because of budget concerns.

Now, with "Oppenheimer" gearing up for a big Oscars night and an upcoming Senate vote on reauthorizing and expanding RECA, Tina is banging the drum for the people of New Mexico.

Kristen Stewart stole the show at the premiere of her new movie in her sexy, skin-baring outfit ... and it's kinda on theme with what she's been rocking lately.

On Tuesday, the actress rocked a revealing, high-cut bodysuit as she hit the red carpet at the Fine Arts Theatre in Beverly Hills to attend the opening of her romantic thriller, "Love Lies Bleeding" ... and as you can see it was quite the getup.

Stewart's all-black ensemble included a teeny Chanel backless suit with spaghetti shoulder straps and a blazer wrapped around her arms. She also sported sheer pantyhose and a pair of pointed high-heeled shoes.

Costars Katy O'Brian, Jena Malone, Anna Baryshnikov -- and director Rose Glass also showed up for the event. While they all looked stylish ... none of them displayed the boldness of Stewart, who has a knack for dressing provocatively.

You may recall ... she recently caused a stir with her gender-bending photo shoot for the March issue of Rolling Stone in which she wore a jock strap with her hand stuffed down the front of it.

After posing for paparazzi photos, the cast "Love Lies Bleeding" went inside the theater to enjoy the film with other celebs such as Thora Birch, Jackson Rathbone, and Catherine Hardwicke.

In the flick, Stewart plays Lou – a lonely gym manager who falls for a female bodybuilder named Jackie portrayed by O'Brian.