The Oscars

Keegan-Michael Key believes Jordan Peele's Oscar victory will spawn more filmmakers of color that inevitably will lead to better movies.

We got Keegan leaving Spago in Bev Hills Sunday night and wanted to get his take on his buddy, Jordan, bringing home the Best Original Screenplay statue for "Get Out." For the uninitiated ... Jordan's the first African-American to bring home the award in that category in the 90-year history of the Academy Awards.

Guillermo del Toro didn't let his wins for Best Picture and Best Director at Sunday's Oscars go to his head as he hit the after-party circuit in Hollywood.

We got the 'Shape of Water' director heading into the 20th Century Fox & Fox Searchlight Party at TAO with his statues in tow. On his way out, the director wandered across the street to take pictures with fans, many of who were Latinos.

7:51 PM PT -- Taraji told People that her comment to Ryan was "misconstrued" and that she was only trying to "keep his chin up" in light of an awkward situation, despite him being cleared by E!'s investigation. She also says she "absolutely" supports Seacrest.

Ryan Seacrest's Oscars red carpet show was business as usual except for the appearance of Taraji P. Henson.

Henson talked to Seacrest about the usual stuff, but at the end said the Universe has a way of taking care of good people ... and then she caressed his chin. So ... was this a show of support or shade? Watch and you decide.

Seacrest has been scrutinized after a woman who worked as his stylist at E! accused him of sexual misconduct between 2007 and 2010.

As TMZ reported, the woman did not file a police report or lawsuit -- presumably because the statute of limitations has run out -- but before she went to the media her lawyer contacted Seacrest and his lawyer, read them a press release with her allegations and demanded $15 million in return for tearing up the release. They told the lawyer to take a hike and he reduced the demand to 7 figures, but they sent him packing.

The woman's lawyer acknowledged to TMZ there was indeed a draft of a press release but says the demand was not $15 million.

Jennifer Lawrence might not have been up for an Oscar this year, but that didn't stop her from crackin' open the vino and pouring herself a glass ... or two, or more perhaps.

J Law was on the move Sunday at the 90th Academy Awards -- climbing over chairs, fixing the strap on her dress and, most notably, hugging just about everyone down in the seats ... all while holding a clutch glass of white wine that looked a bit more than half full.

Truth be told, we don't know how many she had -- but it certainly seems like Lawrence was enjoying herself at the show. And on the heels of a less than stellar box office opening for her new flick "Red Sparrow" ... why not go for the booze, right?

There's other famous folks up in here, too -- Meryl Streep, Armie Hammer, Frances McDormand, the fish monster from "The Shape of Water," and on and on.

Jimmy Kimmel came out with his gloves on to open the 90th Academy Awards ... beating on Harvey Weinstein and Vice President Mike Pence.

Kimmel -- who's hosting the Oscars again this year -- dove straight into the #TimesUp and #MeToo controversies to kick of the award show Sunday, taking aim at Weinstein and the VP in a blistering monologue.

He compared HW's expulsion from the Academy to another that was much less scandalous ... Carmine Caridi, who got kicked out for sharing screeners. He also joked that the cleanup in Hollywood now only left women vulnerable to harassment literally everywhere else.

The comedian also went in on Pence -- joking that Timothee Chalamet's nominated film "Call Me By Your Name" didn't get made for money, but rather "to upset Mike Pence." The film's about a summer fling between a male teen and young man in Italy.

The Oscars are in full swing, but the award show isn't just bringing out gold statues and celebs in Hollywood ... herpes are also running amok.

According to a rep from HerpAlert -- an online diagnosis and treatment website for the STD -- there's been a spike in folks looking to get treated for herpes this weekend ... which just so happens to fall in line with the 90th annual Academy Awards.

HerpAlert's been in business since last summer, with doctors issuing prescriptions to pharmacies after people submit photos of their herpes and they're reviewed. The turnaround time is about 2 hours.

We're told that that the site has seen a huge surge in folks seeking prescriptions for herpes over the past 72 hours ... a whopping 60 cases a day since Friday in the Hollywood and Bev Hills neighborhoods compared to their usual 10-case a day load.

Sources say the the submissions so far have been 80 percent genital herpes. The last spike HerpAlert saw was during NBA All-Star weekend last month, when they got about 30 cases a day from people requesting prescriptions in the L.A. area.

3:42 PM PT -- Looks like the Trump/Stormy Oscars gag is a go ... sources close to Stormy tell us she's approved of the award show using the old photo of her and Trump.

And this year's Oscar for Best Performance by a Future President and a Porn Star, allegedly, goes to ...

We doubt that's how it will come up, but TMZ has learned Oscars producers want to make Donald Trump and Stormy Daniels' alleged affair part of Sunday night's ceremony.

Sources connected to Stormy tell us someone from the Academy of Motion Pictures production team reached out to her late last week. We're told the person wanted permission to use the now infamous 2006 pic of Trump and Stormy partying in a golf clubhouse.

It's unclear if the image would be part of Jimmy Kimmel's monologue, or part of a Trump attack later in the show. Remember, the #TimesUp and #MeToo movements will get a moment to shine during the ceremony ... so, there's a good chance the Prez could be mentioned then, too.

We're told Stormy's camp had questions about how the photo would be used -- like whether it would be a direct shot at her -- but up until Sunday morning, the Academy had not responded.

A slew of celebs descended on Madeo restaurant in Beverly Hills Saturday night for a pre-Oscar party.

Among the celebs attending ... Margot Robbie, Leslie Mann, Kristen Stewart, Jamie Dornan, Matthew Modine, Daniel Kaluuya, Edgar Ramirez, Tracee Ellis Ross, and Adrien Brody.

The dinner party was thrown by author Charles Finch ... he writes lots of mystery novels. It was also hosted by Chanel.

Margot has a serious chance to win Best Actress tonight for "I, Tonya."

The faces of the #NeverAgain movement won't appear at the Oscars Sunday, a decision that will surely keep their strong, pure message far far away from "Hollywood."

Oscar production sources tell us familiar faces like Emma Gonzalez, Jaclyn Corin, Alex Wing, Cameron Kasky and David & Lauren Hogg didn't get an invite to Sunday's big event ... for good reason.

People organizing the student marches tell us the kids would likely have turned down invitations to the Academy Awards ... it's just not the time or place given the importance of the movement.

TMZ broke the story ... George Clooney and Scooter Braun have been working behind the scenes organizing the March For Our Lives later this month in D.C. Our sources say the two Hollywood heavyweights have chosen to remain in the shadows to keep the focus on the kids.

From jam-packed celeb selfies and emotional speeches, to Best Picture announcement screw-ups -- Oscar's had some entertaining moments ... especially when they're not scripted.

We've gathered the Academy's most talked about moments over the past 90 years -- like that time Marlon Brando refused his Oscar, and when Jennifer Lawrence fell walking up the stairs to accept hers.

And, of course, we couldn't leave out Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway's infamous flub -- 'cause ya gotta relive that one before Sunday night. Did you hear they're getting a second chance to nail it?

Armie Hammer's wife is enraged that someone is using her name to get invites to the best party of the weekend -- the Vanity Fair shindig.

Elizabeth Chambers claims in a new lawsuit -- obtained by TMZ -- Diana Roque Ellis used an email address making it appear she was Elizabeth in an attempt to gain access to the party.

Chambers claims the emails fraudulently stated the sender was Elizabeth and asked if she and Armie could bring an extra guest. The Vanity Fair party planners wanted to know the name of the plus 1 ... and she emailed back Diana Ellis.

Elizabeth claims Diana got hold of her home address to make it look more authentic.

According to the suit, Vanity Fair smelled a rat because the emails said Diana would be arriving separately and asked that the invite be sent directly to Diana.

Elizabeth wants damages for "misappropriation of name." She also wants an injunction against Diana prohibiting her from using her name.

Joel McHale and Sarah Silverman are proof hilarious minds also think alike.

Joel and Sarah were part of the huge wave of celebs at Cadillac's Pre-Oscars bash Thursday night at the famed Chateau Marmont on the Sunset Strip. They both stopped to hang with fans, sign some autographs and dropped some self-deprecating humor.

Tiffany Haddish had some fashion tips for Oscar weekend, but honestly, as soon as we hear her voice ... we wanna crack up. Margot Robbie, Christa B. Allen, Will Arnett, Marisa Tomei, Allison Janney and many more get some face time in this video.

Brad Pitt's back in the Hollywood scene ... anything for Oscar.

Brad made a rare appearance at the Gersh Oscar Party at the famed Chateau Marmont on the Sunset Strip. He was flanked by his manager, Cynthia Pett-Dante, and was all smiles. Brad's kept a pretty low profile since splitting from Angelina Jolie.

The appearance comes on the heels of Brad signing on for Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" ... a film about a struggling actor who lives next door to Sharon Tate at the time of the 1969 murders.

After the real-life disaster at last year's Oscars, the Academy feels the best way to make sure the proper people accept the award for Best Picture -- bring back the ones who screwed it up ... because TMZ has learned Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway will do the honors again!!!

Our Oscar sources tell us Warren and Faye both just showed up at the Dolby Theatre and rehearsed the big moment. We're told they were shuffled onstage together very quickly to run through their bit. They went through their lines twice. She began by saying, "Presenting is better the second time around," Beatty followed up with, "The winner is 'Gone with the Wind.'"

We're told the writers are still putting finishing touches on their lines.

Alejandro Inarritu is going to bat for the creative team behind the Oscar nominated documentary about Syria ... posing one simple question for the feds.

We got the Academy Award-winning director Wednesday at LAX and asked if he'd heard about a hiccup the filmmakers of "Last Men in Aleppo" are having under Trump's travel ban.

We broke the story ... the directors and cinematographers of the film are trying to attend the Oscars after being nominated this year, but can't come because their country is on Trump's banned list. They're currently attempting to use party invites to gain passage.

Desperate times call for desperate measures -- creators of the Oscar-nominated film, "Last Men in Aleppo," are hoping party invitations will convince feds to approve their travel from Syria to the United States.

If you haven't heard ... producer Kareem Abeed, co-director Hassan Kattan and cinematographers Fadi Al Halabi and Thaer Mohamad are from Syria, and they're barred from coming to the U.S. for the Academy Awards due to President Trump's travel ban.

The filmmakers know exceptions can be made for unusual circumstances, and we're told their Hail Mary consists of securing as many Oscar party invitations as possible. They want to present the documents to local consulates Tuesday in Europe.

Their argument, we're told, will be that they have legitimate business reasons to be in L.A. before, during and after the Oscars.

Two of the guys, Hassan and Fadi, went through this last year when their documentary short, "The White Helmets" won an Oscar. They were not present to accept due to the travel ban.