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Ben Affleck and Matt Damon transformed into Phil Knight and Sonny Vaccaro for the first time on Monday ... and the moment was apparently so big, Jennifer Lopez had to pop by to show her support.

The A-list actors officially kicked off the first day of filming for their new Vaccaro biopic this week in Burbank, Calif. ... with both donning costumes to get into their roles.

Affleck -- who's playing Knight in the untitled movie -- wore a wig and a button-down shirt, while Damon got into Vaccaro character by poppin' on a polo and some khakis.

J Lo, meanwhile, was seen on set supporting her man and his best buddy ... looking on during filming and hanging with Ben during breaks.

As for the movie itself ... it's got no official release date yet, but it promises to tell the story of Vaccaro, Knight and Nike's pursuit to sign Michael Jordan to a shoe deal back in the 1980s.

If you're unfamiliar, Vaccaro -- a sneaker salesman -- ultimately helped Nike land Jordan through a relentless chase of the hoops star ... paving the way for the apparel company to become the giant in the shoe industry that it is today.

Orangutans are known for being aggressive, especially with humans, but one animal was clearly pissed off ... and one guy learned just how strong the great apes really are.

Check out the video -- the guy gets too close to the cage -- and the orangutan quickly grabs him by the shirt, pulling him closer and closer, and possibly trying to bite the man.

From there, it's a tug of war between the ape and the man's friends ... and his friends are losing.

At one point, the animal grabs the man's leg, and he's totally horizontal ... the strength is incredible. Unclear exactly when and where the vid was taken, but supposedly the man was ok in the end.

As you might imagine, the insane video is sending social media into a frenzy. One user wrote, "Google people who have been attacked by apes. They are strong enough to rip you to pieces. And they go for your face and your hands first."

Turns out Pete Davidson and Saint West's day of bonding -- without Kim Kardashian -- goes much deeper than a fancy mall excursion because they also explored the wonderful world of Walmart together!

Pete and Saint headed to a Walmart in Woodland Hills Saturday for some more shopping ... no word on their full haul, but at the very least we know a big tub of cheese puffs was on the menu for the family.

We're told Pete got the true stepdad experience when 6-year-old Saint wanted to wander around the store, as kids do, instead of staying by Pete's side.

He finally had to remind him mama bear Kim would be pretty pissed if he lost her child in a Walmart.

Of course, this was just the first stop on what now seems like a busy day for Saint and his mom's bf. As we reported, Pete also went to The Grove in L.A. where he was seen holding Saint's hand while strolling around the outdoor mall.

Travis Scott has accomplished a lot of "firsts" lately since Astroworld ... but his latest accomplishment might be the most important indicator his career is back in full force.

Sources close to Travis Scott tell TMZ, he's been booked at the Day N Vegas Festival in Las Vegas. The date for 2022's edition of the festival is slated for September 2-4 weekend.

While the rest of the lineup hasn't been announced, we're told TS will be there ... this news comes on the heels of a few wins for the rapper, including a shoe deal with Nike that got over a million people gunning for them in under 30 minutes.

Travis also had a comeback TV performance at the Billboard Music Awards last month ... fans seemed to love it, and the crowd cheered as he was introduced, and was roaring when finished up.

He also teased a collab with Dior on his Instagram story Monday ... so clearly, there's a lot in the works for Travis.

Safe to say the rapper's moving back into public life little by little these past few months ... although it's gotta be hard to shake off the events at Astroworld that went down last year.

As we reported, Travis still has a lot of litigation his legal team is dealing with regarding Astroworld, but it appears TS is full steam ahead on everything else.

Harvey Weinstein is blaming Chrysler for being relegated to a walker in recent years ... going after the vehicle manufacturer for what he says was a shoddy braking system in a new lawsuit.

The disgraced movie producer just filed suit against the car manufacturer, claiming that in August 2019 ... he was involved in a nasty wreck near Bedford, NY while riding in one of their Jeeps -- which he says the company provided so it could make an appearance in one of his films he was working on at the time. Unclear which flick it might've been.

Anyway, per the docs -- obtained by TMZ -- Weinstein says he was driving the Jeep when he had to swerve to avoid hitting a deer on the road. Weinstein claims that when he attempted to miss the deer, the brake system failed him ... and sent the car rolling.

Weinstein says he was wearing his seatbelt but still suffered serious injuries and was "rendered paralyzed" as a result of the accident.

We'd been told back in late 2019 -- before HW went to trial, and was eventually convicted -- that the reason he was in a walker now and needed back surgery was because of some car accident he'd been in that summer ... and now, we know what exactly that incident is.

Weinstein was accused of playing sick and frail for the cameras -- but according to his suit here, he's anything but ... the man insists he got this way directly because of the Jeep's defects. So now ... he's suing and wants at least $5 million in damages.

Popular Atlanta rapper Trouble was murdered over the weekend ... prompting his accused killer Jamichael Jones to turn himself in after his own mother talked him into it.

Rockdale County Sheriff's Officers say they connected with Jones on the phone and they set up an arrest point in the parking lot of Clayton County hospital. The 33-year-old was denied bond and faces charges of murder, aggravated assault and home invasion.

Trouble, whose real name is Mariel Semonte Orr, was found at the Lake St. James Apartments Sunday morning suffering from a gunshot wound -- he was then transported to the hospital where he died.

According to investigators, Trouble was visiting a woman at the Conyers apartment complex when he was shot once in the chest. Police are describing it as a "domestic situation," as Trouble and Jones did not know one another but the woman and Jones have prior history.

Trouble was a beloved, standout figure in the hip hop community, stemming from his 2011 debut mixtape "December 17th" and his outspoken presence on social media that often offered jewels of wisdom.

Upon his death, he was mourned by dozens of fellow rappers including Gucci Mane, T.I., Boosie Badazz and Drake, who he collaborated with in 2018 when he signed to Mike WiLL Made-It's "EarDrummers" label imprint.

Trouble was 34.

Robb Elementary School teacher Arnulfo Reyes is mourning the deaths of every single student in his classroom, and is especially angry at police in Uvalde for standing by while they were massacred.

The 4th grade teacher, who was shot twice, is speaking out for the first time, recounting the horrifying moment the shooter entered his class. Arnulfo says his students heard gunfire and asked him what was happening ... he was unsure at first, but told the students to get under their desks and pretend they were sleeping -- just as they'd practiced in drills.

He told ABC News' Amy Rohrbach that's when he turned and saw the shooter ... the beginning of 77 minutes of carnage. When it was over all of Arnulfo's students were dead, in addition to 8 others and two of his fellow teachers.

Make no mistake, Arnulfo feels the police abandoned his students, and he spoke directly to them, saying ... "You have a bulletproof vest, I have nothing. You are supposed to protect and serve. There is no excuse for their actions, and I will never forgive them."

He tearfully added, "I feel so bad for the parents because they lost a child, but they lost one child. I lost 11 that day, all at one time."

He is now a man on a mission, vowing to be active in the national debate about gun control and demanding new legislation.

Alec John Such, the original bassist for Bon Jovi, knew something was wrong in the hours leading up to his death, asking a friend for help in the middle of the night, TMZ has learned.

It was around 2:15 AM Saturday when Alec woke up at his South Carolina home to use the bathroom. On his way back to bed, Alec called out to a friend who was staying with him, the friend helped Alec get back into bed and then left the room, when the friend came back later to check on John, he was dead ... according to Tamara Willard, Chief Deputy Coroner for Horry County.

We're told EMS was called to the scene and performed life-saving measures but couldn't revive Alec. It's believed he died of natural causes ... no accident or foul play is suspected.

As we've reported, Jon Bon Jovi announced the tragic news Sunday ... saying he was heartbroken about Such's passing. As Jon noted, Alec was largely responsible for Bon Jovi coming together in the first place and introducing everyone from the very beginning.

Alec played with the band from 1983 through 1994, including their heyday. And, of course ... he contributed to many of their big hits. He ended up leaving BJ in the '90s, but rejoined them for their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

Sen. Ted Cruz is sticking to his guns, literally and figuratively, when it comes to potential gun reform in the wake of so many mass shootings -- insisting any solution should disarm bad guys, and not the good.

Cruz was at Reagan International Airport Monday, when we asked about the Uvalde massacre and what the Senate intended to do about the rash of mass shootings in America. The Senator from Texas quickly rattled off the Robb Elementary School casualties, and then dug in his heels against any bans on firearms.

Of course, in the wake of Uvalde and Buffalo, many have renewed calls for Congress to pass stricter gun control measures ... starting with banning assault rifles like the ones the shooters used in both tragedies.

Cruz, however, tells our photog most of his Texas constituents don't think that's the right way to decrease casualties in mass shooting incidents. Instead, he argues, we ought to focus on ways to get firearms out of the hands of those who never should've had them to begin with ... like the Uvalde shooter, for instance.

He says he's proposed legislation that would enforce stricter background checks on would-be gun seekers -- something that he seems eye-to-eye with Dems. He also wants new measures to beef up law enforcement at schools, a position Cruz and others have championed since the Sandy Hook massacre ... and, keep in mind, there was an armed guard in Uvalde too.

Fact is, several polls have shown the majority of Americans support common sense gun reform, including a ban on assault weapons -- but Sen. Cruz pushed back at any such notion, telling us Texans feel otherwise.

Queen Elizabeth met her great-granddaughter for the first time over the weekend, but don't expect to see QE on any pages of Lilibet's baby book ... because she reportedly banned photos from being taken of the introduction.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's daughter, Lilibet, celebrated her first birthday -- which so happened to fall on the same weekend as the Queen's Platinum Jubilee -- but The Sun reports the Queen denied Harry and Meghan a photographer to capture the moment.

The report states Harry and Meghan were informed the intro would only be a private family meeting -- and there was a worry if photos were taken, they'd be passed around in America.

There was certainly a lot of tension between Harry and his family through the weekend as evidenced early on -- the photo above shows Prince William and Harry on opposite sides of the church during the National Service of Thanksgiving.

Harry and Meghan didn't stick around for the celebration's closing, either ... the Sussexes and their 2 children flew private from London to Cali. Of course, if they stayed, it's unlikely they'd have been allowed to stand beside the Queen when she appeared Sunday on her Buckingham Palace balcony.

Cops in NYC are looking for a man after this horrifying video surfaced of the guy throwing a woman onto subway train tracks -- an act of violence authorities are calling totally unprovoked.

This attack went down Sunday in the Bronx -- the video shows a guy grab a lady by the shoulders and shove her down to the ground, off the subway platform and onto the tracks. Chillingly, he casually walks away from the scene.

Law enforcement sources tell us the shove seems to have come out of nowhere, for no apparent reason ... and the woman suffered a broken collar bone and lacerations to her head.

NYPD is asking for assistance in identifying the man, who's so far gone uncaptured.

After the attack, the man is said to have fled without further incident, and people standing nearby helped the woman off the tracks. She was taken to a hospital in stable condition.

Farrah Abraham has jumped back into the dating pool, getting cozy with a musician who's busting out of the friend zone ... in a big way.

Farrah tells TMZ ... she's dating again -- a big step for her after leaving a treatment trauma center earlier this year -- and the lucky guy is a guitarist who goes by his stage name, Mack Lovat.

Farrah says Mack's band, Minus Gravity, is signed to Capitol Records and they've known each other ever since he slid into her Instagram DMs 2 years ago, and asked her out on a date.

We're told, they had a Covid date in a park, went to a basketball game together and then stayed in touch since then, but just as friends. As these pics of them out in Hollywood prove ... they've recently decided to upgrade to friends with benefits.

The "Teen Mom" star tells us it's nothing official, but they spent her birthday together in Hawaii ... along with her daughter, and just continued hanging out when they got back to L.A.

Regardless of labels, Farrah says she appreciates that Mack keeps a low profile away from drama, because it doesn’t negatively impact her 7 remaining months of outpatient therapy or her sobriety.

Of course, she had lots of drama back in January when she was arrested. You'll recall, law enforcement sources said Farrah allegedly slapped a security guard, which resulted in someone making a citizen's arrest. She has not been charged for the incident.

That incident prompted her decision to seek treatment for past traumas ... and with a new guy in her life, seems like life's finally trending positively for Farrah.

Dustin Johnson's days of playing on the PGA Tour are over -- at least for right now -- the golf superstar just announced he's resigning his membership in order to play full-time in the Saudi-backed LIV league.

DJ broke the news during a meeting with media members at Centurion Club near London on Tuesday ... just days before he's set to tee it up for the first time at a LIV Golf Invitational Series event.

"For right now," Johnson said, "I resign my membership from the Tour. I'm going to play here for now, and that's the plan."

The new league -- which is backed by the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia -- has been controversial, due to the country's past record of human rights violations.

Golfers who have defected to the league have been accused of taking loads of cash to play and effectively help the country "sports wash" that track record.

In addition, the PGA Tour has not been friendly about the rival league ... threatening suspensions and bans for golfers who accept the invite to play in it.

Johnson -- who reportedly received around $125 million to golf in the new league -- said the decision to leave the Tour ultimately came down to "what's best for me and my family."

Now ineligible for the Ryder Cup, Johnson said he was unsure if he'd be allowed to participate in golf's major events from here.

Other golf superstars, meanwhile, have joined in Johnson's decision to play in the league -- most notably, Phil Mickelson revealed on Monday he, too, has accepted the invite. He has not, however, formally resigned from the Tour yet.

Top golfers Louis Oosthuizen, Graeme McDowell, Kevin Na and Sergio Garcia have joined as well. Tiger Woods, however, reportedly turned down a "nine-digit" offer to play.

Cordell Crockett, the bass player for the rock band Ugly Kid Joe, says he was just trying to move when he got arrested for a felony ... cops say he was behind the wheel of a stolen rental van.

According to the Burbank Police Department, Cordell was arrested May 11 and booked for felony possession of a stolen vehicle. We're told cops pulled him over for driving a car that was reported stolen.

Police say Cordell told officers he borrowed a van from a friend to move items into a storage facility ... but cops say the van was a rental from Home Depot that had been reported stolen after it wasn't returned as scheduled.

Cops say Cordell told them he didn't know the van was stolen ... and he wasn't the one who rented it.

And, there's this ... we're told Cordell was also booked on an outstanding arrest warrant stemming from a ticket he got for allegedly driving on a suspended license.

Police tell us Cordell is no longer in custody ... he's been released, and next month he's due in court.

Blac Chyna's trying to pull the plug on a deal she made with her ex, Rob Kardashian, to end their legal war over revenge porn ... at least according to Rob, who now wants a judge to make her stick to the deal.

In new docs filed Monday by Rob's attorneys, he says his ex agreed to drop her lawsuit against him for revenge porn, IF he helped get her dropped from a separate lawsuit. As we reported, one of BC's exes, Pilot Jones, filed suit against Chyna and Rob, claiming they'd outed him as gay, and thereby exposed him to public threats.

According to Rob, the deal between Chyna and himself was that he would get her out of that Jones lawsuit without it costing her a cent ... and she would drop the revenge porn case. Rob says he accepted that deal last month, but now Chyna's trying to get cute.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, he says Chyna is threatening to push forward with a trial in the revenge porn case ... exactly what he had hoped to avoid when he struck the deal with her.

Rob says she needs to drop the case altogether, because he accepted the terms of the deal. As a result, he's asking a judge to enforce that contract.

Gotta imagine, Rob's really doesn't want another drawn-out public trial with the mother of his daughter ... having just gone through one over their reality show getting canceled.

Remember, the Kardashians soundly defeated Chyna in that one, but in the docs, Rob says she's itching for a second fight ... in court. The revenge porn trial is scheduled to begin next week.

The judge has yet to rule on Rob's request, but he wants an emergency hearing to address the matter.

More details are emerging about the burglary at Tito Ortiz's Southern California home ... cops say people at his residence claimed thieves "ransacked" the UFC legend's house, and stole a safe.

According to police documents, obtained by TMZ Sports, a caller reached the Huntington Beach Police Dept. at around 9:54 AM on Friday ... claiming Ortiz's home had been burglarized.

The docs show the person alleged the home was "ransacked" and that a "safe is missing." The person also said a window on Ortiz's balcony had been broken.

As we reported, multiple officers were seen at Ortiz's Huntington Beach home for hours on Friday investigating the scene.

No word yet on if any arrests have been made -- but we're told Ortiz was not home at the time of the incident, and is safe.

In the documents, cops say Ortiz's neighbors told them they would review their surveillance cameras with the hopes of helping them catch the culprits.

Ortiz -- who grew up in Huntington Beach and fought in the UFC under the nickname "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" -- provided us a short and sweet comment on the situation.