Developing Stories

Finally a member of the Jackson family is speaking out about the Michael Jackson movie "This Is It" -- up to now the family has either been silent or negative about the flick.

But Jackie Jackson -- who saw the movie on Thursday night -- liked it a lot, telling TMZ:

"My brother's movie 'This Is It' is truly riveting. Michael is electrifying! We get a glimpse of a true genius at work. His passionate message for healing the world, saving the planet and our children's futures is something he was always striving for in his lifetime."

So far Katherine Jackson is unmoved -- we hear she will not see the movie.

We're told Brad tried to maneuver his bike between a parked car and a car stopped at a red light, and his handlebars clipped the parked car.

We're told he lost control and fell over -- and everything is fine.

TMZ has learned Brad Pitt was involved in a minor motorcycle accident moments ago in Los Angeles.

A witness at the scene tells us Pitt was trying to weave in between cars while at a red light --- but he lost control and fell off the bike.

We're told he got up and moved the motorcycle to the side of the road then ran into an apartment building.

Our witness says he waited for someone to come pick him up and now he's no longer at the scene. Pitt left his motorcycle behind.

TMZ obtained the "Notice of Termination" Frank MAILED to his soon-to-be-ex wife Jamie -- who was fired from her job as co-CEO of the team the day before the Dodgers were eliminated from the playoffs. Mind you, this letter was sent just 2 weeks before the couple's 30th wedding anniversary.

The letter begins, "Dear Jamie -- This is to inform you that your employment with and positions as Chief Executive Officer and Vice Chairperson of Los Angeles Dodgers LLC, as well as any and all of the positions that you hold ... are hereby terminated effective immediately."

Though hard to believe, it gets even colder:

"Because your employment is held at-will, the Organization is not required to have cause to terminate your employment and may do so for any reason or no reason at all.

However, your actions, including, but not limited to, your insubordination, non-responsiveness, failure to follow procedures, and inappropriate behavior with regard to a direct subordinate, have made this decision necessary."

And for good measure, we've also learned Frank locked Jamie out of her office today. We're told Jamie called her assistant and asked her to open the office door -- she was informed her key no longer worked.

The 19-year-old who cops suspect is the ring leader of the Hollywood Hills Burglar Bunch is back on the streets.

Rachel Lee posted bail last night in Clark County, Nevada -- where she was arrested on Thursday for possession of stolen property.

As we first reported ... sources tell us when Lee was busted, cops seized a number of items that may have been taken from the homes of Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan and Rachel Bilson.

The photos were taken Oct. 10, after the NBA star and a female companion boarded a boat in Miami Beach during the Columbus Day Regatta. We called team officials for an explanation -- due to the fact that Beasley just emerged from a stint in substance-abuse rehab last month -- and boy did they give us one:

TMZ spoke with Miami Heat exec Tim Donovan, who told us it was all part of a "fishing trip arranged by the team ... Michael was not drinking at all ... except for water and purple Gatorade."

Donovan also claims Michael's counselor was with him on the trip and the woman sleeping next to him is just a friend.

TMZ has learned cops suspect 19-year-old Rachel Lee is the "master mind" of the Hollywood Hills Burglar Bunch.

Lee was arrested in Las Vegas yesterday -- and law enforcement sources tell us she is suspected of organizing a plan to steal cash, jewelry, clothing, luggage, purses and other personal items from several major Hollywood celebrities, including Paris Hilton, Orlando Bloom, Lindsay Lohan and Rachel Bilson.

We're told when Lee was busted, cops impounded a variety of items from her father's Las Vegas home -- including two laptops, photographs of a partially nude woman, photographs of Lee's friends, more than two hundred $100 bills, a Korean passport and a vial of marijuana.

Sources also tell us cops found a series of items that may have been taken from various celebrity homes. The items include a hat linked to Lindsay Lohan, jeans linked to Rachel Bilson and partially nude photographs linked to Paris Hilton ... no surprise there.

We've learned Lee told the arresting officers she discovered she was a "person of interest" in the case from "watching TMZ."

We've learned Sony reps gave 60 tickets to Katherine Jackson's assistant last night at a special screening for the movie. We're also told Jackie Jackson, along with some of Michael's nieces and nephews, also attended and enjoyed it.

No word on why it took so long for the Jackson's to get the tickets, because Sony had been saying for more than a week they had already been delivered.

We're told Katherine and La Toya have both said they're not going to see the movie. We're told Michael's 3 kids want to see it.

Take a look at this Google Map, isolating the Hollywood Hills home of Orlando Bloom (see yellow thumbtack). The Map was on a computer used by suspected burglar Nick Prugo. Bloom's home was burglarized on July 15 and hundreds of thousands of dollars in watches were stolen. Law enforcement sources tell us they believe the Burglar Bunch hit Bloom's home, in addition to a string of other celebs in the Hollywood Hills. The Map could be a smoking gun.

Nick Prugo and the other suspects used the computer to store photos and videos, showing off jewelry and possibly plotting various burglaries. The computer in question had been stolen from a Los Angeles businessman ... cops believe it was stolen by the Burglar Bunch. The LAPD seized the computer -- but it appeared to have been completely scrubbed so it was returned to the owner.

The owner, however, hired a computer expert who was able to recover a treasure trove of possible evidence linking the Burglar Bunch to various star victims.

In the document -- filed on August 20 in Connecticut -- Brooke claims while at a hotel back in July, Steve "bought me a strong drink and then cornered me ... trying to persuade me to come to his hotel suite to spend the night."

Brooke claims Steve called her hotel room until she agreed to see him, then "after the night he continued to text me on a regular basis with inappropriate things." Brooke says she "tried to get him to stop" but again agreed to meet up with him "a few times after work in the parking lot."

That line is extra interesting, because in the note Brooke left for Steve's wife the day before, she wrote, "I'm not just some random girl he had sex with in parking lots."

Brooke also claims Steve tried to ruin her career after word got out that they were sleeping together -- calling her a "slut" and saying he would get her fired if she spilled the beans to his wife.

Hundley withdrew the complaint September 15 -- that same day, she posted this on her Facebook page: "I've seen evil and he wears khaki pants and bright blue polos. Out of court, and back to basketball."

We asked a team rep if the Kardashian Klan's presence at Tuesday night's season opener is going to set off a firestorm of Laker loses, and here's what we got:

"Good luck? Bad luck? I don't know that I believe in luck but we¹ll be happy to have them there ... we're happy to have Lamar¹s new family members at the game as well as future games, and we welcome their support."

Easy to say when you have Kobe Bryant, Ron Artest and Pau Gasol wearing purple and gold.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ 18-year-old Courtney Ames and 19-year-old Diana Tamayo were both arrested today for felony burglary. They are believed to be connected to 18-year-old Nick Prugo -- who has already been charged with two counts of felony residential burglary.

Bail for both Ames and Tamayo has been set at $50,000.

Big mistake: Because when the judge found out the announcement had been made before the jury had come to a decision in the Travolta case -- the judge declared it a mistrial, believing someone in the jury could have been "communicating" with the lawmaker.

FYI -- Pleasant Bridgewater is a former Senator from the Progressive Liberal Party -- and the announcement was made at a PLP convention.

The PLP released the following apology for their monumental blunder:

"Last evening in the course of an address at our National General Convention, it was announced that former Senator Pleasant Bridgewater had been acquitted. The announcement was incorrect. We give an unqualified apology. This was not intended to interfere with the administration of justice."

Michael Jackson's 2002 will has a mistake in it, TMZ has learned -- but it looks like a case of no harm, no foul.

As we first reported, according to the will -- dated July 7, 2002 -- it was signed in Los Angeles. But Randy Jackson told TMZ Michael was in New York City on that date.

Randy thinks the signature on Michael's will is a forgery. But Howard Weitzman, the lawyer for the estate, tells TMZ the signature is valid and the witnesses saw Jackson put pen to paper.

We've now confirmed Jackson definitely signed the will in New York City on 7-7-02. So the reference to Los Angeles is clearly a mistake.

Our sources say the person who wrote "Los Angeles" is one of the witnesses to the will and simply forgot where he was.

This mistake will not invalidate the will. Ironically, if the will were declared invalid, the prior 1997 will would be probated. Just like the 2002 will, the 1997 will creates a trust. We've learned the '97 trust -- just like the 2002 trust -- leaves the same percentage to the same people: Katherine Jackson gets 40% for her lifetime, MJ's kids get 40% and the remaining 20% goes to charity.

By the way ... guess who one of the executors is in the '97 will? John Branca.

Sources close to the Kardashians tell us the grandmother of Kourtney's boyfriend -- Scott Disick -- died recently and left him a bunch of expensive jewelry. Scott gave the jewels to Kourtney -- who already had a bunch of bling lying around, including a $30,000 Cartier watch and vintage jewely left to her by her father, Robert Kardashian.

Kourtney and Scott were only away from the house -- which is in a gated community -- between 7 PM and 8:30 PM on the night of the buglary. So whoever ransacked their place had to know where all the jewels were stashed in order to pilfer so much stuff from the place in such a small amount of time.

The burglary is currently under investigation.

UPDATE 5:15 PM PT: Joe Jackson tells us he spoke with Katherine and the kids are fine.

TMZ has learned Michael Jackson's kids were involved in a car accident moments ago in Sherman Oaks.

According to police, Marni Phillips returned to her Connecticut home on August 19 and discovered Brooke Hundley -- an ESPN production assistant who worked with her husband -- dropping off a letter in which she confessed to having an affair with Steve.

In the call, Marni tells the dispatcher "I have a crazy woman who is involved with my husband and she's come to my house to harm me and my children."

Marni later told police that Brooke freaked out when she saw Marni, and "got in her car, put it in reverse and smashed the rear end of her vehicle into the stone column ... cut across our grass, avoiding the driveway completely, driving erratically over rocks and mulch beds to maneuver her vehicle down our hill."