Exclusive Details

10:30 AM PT -- Seth Rogen tweeted about the news, writing, "The people have spoken! Freedom has prevailed! Sony didn't give up! The Interview will be shown at theaters willing to play it on Xmas day!"

James Franco jokingly added, ""The Interview" starring Seth Rogen and James Flacco saved by President Obacco! I MEAN PRESIDENT OBAMA!!!!! Sorry!!!"

In a bizarre twist ... Sony has done an about face and it's green-lighting "The Interview" for theaters to run on XMAS day.

The CEO of Alamo Drafthouse Cinema tells TMZ .... Sony called Monday and said a copy of the film would be delivered Wednesday. The CEO -- was vague about extra security, but says it will run in more than 20 theaters, located in Texas, Colorado, Virginia, New York and more.

An Atlanta theater owner says he got a similar call and he plans on running it as well.

After months under the radar, Ray Rice is hitting the charity scene HARD -- bouncing from fundraisers to toy drives and other events (all on camera of course) ... in an effort to prove he's not a monster.

On Saturday, the couple hosted "Ray and Janay's Holiday Toy Drive" at Steiner Sports headquarters in New Rochelle, NY ... which happens to be Ray's hometown.

We're told the couple handed out more than 150 toys to kids ... and then donated $10k to the Evelyn Sachs Steiner Home for Girls and the Jerome Wagner Youth Residence for Boys.

Our sources tell us the event came together about a month ago.

After the event, Ray and Janay went to a nearby housing project where Ray grew up -- and a rep tells us the couple "surprised a young mother and her three daughters with a box full of presents."

The cameras were rolling (of course) ... and Janay posted the footage on her Instagram account.

Just a few days earlier, the couple attended a Toys for Tots drive organized by his ex-teammate Torrey Smith. Ray made sure to speak to the media and asked the public for forgiveness.

There's more ... Janay also posted a photo of Ray posing with a sick child during a recent hospital visit -- and included a message about how the running back is focused on "giving back."

Sources close to the couple tell us ... Ray has made it clear to friends and associates that he hopes his charity work will help to save his image and get him back into the good graces of the public.

Casey Kasem was finally laid to rest ... 6 months after he died.

It's the end of what turned into an international power struggle between Casey's wife, Jean, and his children.

We've learned the famed DJ was buried last Tuesday at the Vestre Gravlund, one of the largest cemeteries in Norway. We're told there was a small ceremony ... we don't know if Jean was there but we're told his kids were not. Casey's children didn't know he was even buried until Monday.

The burial is legally significant. The LAPD has been conducting an elder abuse investigation after Casey's kids filed a police report claiming Jean caused Casey to get a fatal infection during a wild, multi-state car ride.

The body has been rotting away for months -- for a long period of time it wasn't even embalmed. The decay and now the burial in a foreign land will make it virtually impossible for L.A. authorities to make a solid determination on whether the bed sores contributed to Casey's death.

RIP Casey ... finally.

Vanessa Bryant takes her Christmas card photo VERY SERIOUSLY -- so seriously in fact that Mrs. Mamba tapped one of the top designers from "Project Runway" to make her dress.

Kobe Bryant's wife called upon MTCostello -- who has designed clothes for huge stars like Beyonce and Ariana Grande.

They got together and picked out MTCostello's signature "Black Widow" gown -- which comes with a $6,500 price tag!!

Vanessa had flirted with a bronze version of the dress during an earlier fitting ... but ultimately, decided to go with black.

Sources close to the situation tell us ... Vanessa has always been passionate about Xmas cards. As one person put it, "She takes great pride and puts great thought into celebrating because she's very religious."

Patriots stud Rob Gronkowski isn't afraid to mix it up with football fans ... even when they're contestants on a reality show he's judging.

Gronk was a guest critic on this week's episode of "Top Chef: Boston" ... but not all the cooks were star struck ... 'cause chef George Pagonis tells TMZ Sports he got in Gronk's face and told him exactly how he felt about the Pats. Hint ... George is not a fan.

Chef P says, "I never really cared for any Boston teams. I've spent a lot of time in New York, and I'm a big Redskins fan."

Still, razzing Gronk when he controls your culinary fate doesn't seem wise. Pagans says ... "I couldn't let my team down and not speak up." He adds Gronk was totally cool with his verbal jabs.

Obviously, it didn't affect his judging because Chef Pagonis cooked the winning dish -- a pork and veal sausage.

LL Cool J and Canibus' rap feud is FINALLY OVER ... and we got video evidence to prove their on stage bro-down was totally legit.

Ladies Love told the crowd at the Barclays Center Friday night he's had a lot of beefs in his life ... but sometimes you've gotta be the bigger man -- and then brought Canibus on stage to a loud ovation.

For those of you who aren't hip hop heads ... the war started in the late '90s -- after Canibus threw an underhanded jab at LL while recording their duet "4, 3, 2, 1" ... the same track they performed last night during the reunion.

Sources tell us LL reached out to his former foe a few weeks ago to gauge the rappers interest ... and Canibus jumped at the chance to end their 17 year battle.

The two rappers hugged it out on stage afterward ... then the "NCIS: Los Angeles" star complimented Canibus' career -- even though it sounded a little backhanded.

Move over Monica ... there's a new controversial cigar in the White House -- a Cuban fingered by President Obama in a photo many thought was fake, but we've learned it's the real deal.

The original pic shows Obama Wednesday night ... sampling the aroma of what's alleged to be a Cuban cigar. It was posted on Reddit Thursday morning, and immediately the Internet started tearing it apart as a Photoshop job.

TMZ has obtained several high-res pics of POTUS' run-in with the cigar -- and our photo/art experts say everything about them looks legit. Significant ... since Cuba and the U.S. just agreed to open embassies in each other's countries.

According to our D.C. sources ... the hand-off went down during the White House Hanukkah party -- when an invitee walked up and said, "Mr. President, here's a Cuban." Obama proceeded to give it a huge sniff and then held on to the gift. It's unclear if he pocketed it or handed it to the Secret Service.

Al Sharpton is willing to give Sony Pictures chief Amy Pascal a chance to prove she'll do the right thing for African Americans, but he says, "The proof is in the pudding and you don't know until you eat it."

Sharpton tells TMZ he met with Pascal for 90 minutes Thursday in NYC, and she admitted she was "wrong and silly" to engage producer Scott Rudin in speculation that Prez Obama only likes "black movies."

Sharpton says the head of the National Urban League was also on hand and told her they were "outraged" by her comments. She said it was "an isolated incident," but Sharpton retorted it was indicative of a bigger problem in Hollywood ... no blacks at the top.

Brandon Jay MClaren, who used to kick ass as the Red Ranger, ain't feeling so mighty right now -- his wife has filed for legal separation.

According to court docs, MClaren's estranged wife, Mieka Tennant, is seeking a split after nearly 3 years. They don't have any kids, but Mieka -- a big time Hollywood publicist -- is demanding spousal support during the separation.

MClaren's "Power Rangers S.P.D." days are long gone, but he's nabbed roles on "The Killing," "Falling Skies" and "Graceland."

Tennant will disagree, but BJ's still Zord of the Manor to us.

The "Vanderpump Rules" cast is pulling in big ratings, but most of them are still drawing small paychecks … TMZ has learned.

Several sources connected to the show tell us anyone NOT named Lisa Vanderpump only made $5K for the WHOLE first season -- but when ratings soared they all went looking for raisies.

We're told the cast wanted 2 things: more money and first class seats on flights. Bravo budged on the cheddar ... handing them each roughly $3K/episode for Season 2, and $5K/episode for Season 3.

But while LV's sipping free booze in first -- everyone else will still be in the pretzel and peanut set. They're stuck in coach.

Much of the cast believes Bravo denied their flight upgrades because execs don't want them losing that working class charm. Most of 'em are bartenders and servers, after all.

For the second night in a row, Floyd Mayweather decided to deal with the murder/suicide involving his friend Earl Hayes by sitting courtside at a NBA game.

Floyd -- along with model Liza Hernandez -- went to Staples Center and sat on the hardwood to watch the Lakers take on the Sacramento Kings ... laughing and smiling as if nothing was wrong.

Shocking ... considering Mayweather witnessed the horrific incident on FaceTime -- and you'd think a public place like a NBA game would be the last place he'd want to be.

As we previously reported, cops want to speak with Mayweather about the incident. We're told police have reached out to Floyd's people ... but they've been "less than willing" to cooperate.

Meanwhile, Kobe Bryant walked on to the court last night with a shirt that read "I Can't Breathe" ... as a tribute to Eric Garner.

Johnny Manziel's birthday cake game just went NEXT LEVEL ... 'cause the guy celebrated his big 22 with a 45-pound MONEY CAKE ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Johnny's friends hit up Colossal Cupcakes in Cleveland -- which has baked for stars like Kyrie Irving and Joe Haden -- and ordered up a custom dessert for the new Cleveland Browns starting QB.

We spoke with CC owner Kelly Kandah who tells us it took 2 days to sculpt the double chocolate fudge cake ... which included edible gold bars and gold coins.

Final bill for the 45-pound monster ... $600!

Money.

12:31 PM PT -- Cam suffered two "transverse fractures" in his lower back and will remain in the hospital overnight ... according to the Carolina Panthers.

Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton was hospitalized after his truck was flipped over in a car wreck Tuesday in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Officials say two cars were involved in the wreck ... Cam's truck and a sedan ... which collided on a bridge right in front of Bank of America Stadium where the Panthers play.

Cam was seen on his back on the side of the bridge where the accident took place ... grimacing in pain. Several people were seen tending to the 25-year-old QB.

We're told Cam kept trying to stand up after the accident ... but couldn't ... and eventually relented and waited for help to arrive.

Multiple emergency vehicles raced to the scene. Cam reportedly told paramedics he did NOT want to be transported to the hospital ... but eventually gave in.

He was placed on a stretcher and loaded into an ambulance which rushed him to a nearby hospital.

As for the condition of the other driver, officials tell us the person was also transported to the hospital -- but did not suffer any life-threatening injuries.

A witness at the scene tells TMZ Sports ... Newton was "t-boned" from the left side, swerved, and then flipped over.

The witness says he observed Cam crawling out of the back window of the truck ... he walked over to the curb and laid down.

The witness says, "Cam didn't blow any lights or stop signs" and believes Cam had the right of way through the intersection where he was struck.

Story developing ...

Elizabeth Taylor is headed to court -- even though she’s very dead -- because a famous gay club and its former employee are fighting over her iconic portrait.

TMZ broke the story ... The Abbey's former VIP manager Jesse Davis has been fighting the club to get back his painting of the late actress. He claims it was a personal gift from Taylor.

Now Davis is suing The Abbey because he says it refuses to hand over the Liz portrait. In the docs, Davis says at least one wasted barfly took the piece off the wall and danced with it. He's concerned the portrait -- which he says is worth $75K -- will be damaged.

Davis does NOT mention wanting the portrait. Instead, his lawsuit only seeks financial compensation -- including the value of the painting and then some.

The Abbey had no comment about the lawsuit.

Like Liz said, "It's not the having, it's the getting."