Movie Business

Evan Rachel Wood says the "Practical Magic" OGs basically cast an invisibility spell on her, claiming none of 'em reached out after she was replaced in the sequel ... instead she only heard from new addition Joey King.

Evan -- who played Kylie Owens in the beloved 1998 flick when she was just 11 years old -- praised Joey on Instagram Tuesday ... writing, "I really appreciated Joey King reaching out to me because no one who worked on the original film did. She’s a sweetheart."

Obviously, there's some shade embedded in Wood's message, too ... because she's ripping her former co-stars for not hitting her up after it was revealed she wasn't coming back.

Ben Affleck appears to be the mystery man behind the graffiti plastered across Aflac's insurance billboards in Los Angeles ... TMZ has learned.

TMZ has obtained photos of Ben tagging a billboard in an L.A. alleyway Tuesday ... appearing to spray-paint his name across the bright blue Aflac ad.

The images come one week after we obtained photos showing "BEN AFFLECK" scrawled in black, spray-paint-style lettering across Aflac's logo on billboards at several busy L.A. intersections.

Michael Bay says the first time he heard Peter Cullen speak as Optimus Prime, chills shot down his spine ... and decades later, losing him left Bay in tears.

The "Transformers" producer/director sat down with TMZ's Charlie Neff and recalled learning about Cullen's death last week ... saying he let the news sink in for about an hour before he cried.

Michael has since put together a tribute video honoring Cullen ... looking back at the man and the voice that defined Optimus Prime.

An executive producer for the hit 2025 film, "Obsession," says she got screwed out of her slice of the pie after she put the horror movie back on track ... and it raked in over $500 million, TMZ has learned.

Leonora Ann Darby filed the lawsuit Monday against Tea Shop Productions and two other producers, TSP cofounders James Harris and Mark Lane, for allegedly violating their agreement by failing to acknowledge her key role in the making of "Obsession" and treating her not as an equal.

As a result, Darby claims she was not paid her fair share of the profits even after the movie -- which was made on a reported budget of $750,000 -- made a killing at the box office.

Randy Quaid is putting the brakes on Anne Hathaway joining Tom Cruise in "Days of Thunder 2" ... calling her a "horrible choice" and saying Cruise should reunite with Nicole Kidman instead.

The actor -- who starred alongside Cruise in the original 1990 NASCAR flick -- went off on X after Hathaway was announced as Cruise's new costar ... blasting her as "leftist" and "woke."

Randy's argument is pretty simple ... he says the "Days of Thunder" audience is heavily MAGA and claims Hathaway is a bad fit for that crowd.

Tom Cruise is slamming his foot on the gas pedal again with a sequel to his ultra-popular 1990 NASCAR flick, "Days of Thunder," but this time around Anne Hathaway is coming along for the ride.

That's right ... Cruise will be driving the film, aptly titled, "Days of Thunder 2," with Hathway in the passenger seat and it's set to be released June 2, 2028. Cruise will reprise his role as NASCAR driver Cole Trickle and Hathaway will play a team owner and engineer.

The costars cut a promo for the sequel, which was posted on Instagram, and it begins with Cruise checking to see if the camera is on as a pregnant Hathaway stands nearby.

Ben Affleck and Aflac might have something brewing ... at least that's the theory behind a string of mysterious ads popping up across Los Angeles that make it look like there's a collab.

The bright blue Aflac postings feature "BEN AFFLECK" in black spray paint-style lettering across the company's logo ... and the same graffiti-style design has appeared at several locations, making it seem more like a marketing stunt than random vandalism.

Fans have spotted the ads near Jefferson and Centinela, Robertson and 3rd, La Cienega and Jefferson, Sunset and Argyle, and Melrose and Mansfield ... busy intersections that attract a lot of eyeballs.

Chris Hansen is kicking his feud with A24 up a notch ... purchasing ad space before every showing of the Robert Pattinson flick about his Dateline sex predator show ... all to promote his new pedo-hunting project.

Chris will use the ads to direct audiences to TruBlu ... his streaming network devoted to the child predator investigations that made him a pop culture staple, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

It seems Chris was toying with the idea of capping each ad with a line about the movie being "a Hollywood fantasy version" of that time in his life ... but thought better of it when mulling potential legal action from A24, the studio behind the movie.

Chris Hansen still has a bone to pick over the upcoming film based on his pedo-catching days ... and he shared a receipt to back up his claim that A24 was trying to do him dirty.

The former "To Catch a Predator" host sent TMZ a portion of an NDA he says the studio asked him to sign to attend a private screening of "Primetime" -- the new movie starring Robert Pattinson as him -- and he claimed the paperwork asked for him to sign away the rights to his life.

Clause 5 of Hansen's alleged NDA reads ... "Recipient hereby releases, Company and its parents, subsidy areas, affiliates, divisions, agents, representatives, employees, successor, and assigns, jointly and individual individually, from any and all claims and demands arising out of or in connection with the project, including recipients screening of the project."

Chris tells TMZ ... there was no way in hell he was going to sign that ... and he thinks A24 tried to pull a fast one on him.

Orlando Bloom dropped out of his recent movie at the last minute ... and the cast and crew who feel screwed over are especially pissed ... because without his star power to match Priyanka Chopra's ... the project might be toast.

Here's the deal ... Orlando was all set to star in and co-produce the upcoming indie survival thriller flick "Reset" alongside Priyanka -- and we hear he was onboard all through pre-production ... but peaced out just as cameras were about to roll.

Sources on "Reset" tell TMZ ... they feel it's a pretty f-d up situation ... Orlando is a bankable star, so the independent project got financed with him and Priyanka attached -- and it would've been way easier to secure an international distributor with him in the fold.

The Fab Four are back on Abbey Road ... well, sort of.

Harris Dickinson, Paul Mescal, Joseph Quinn and Barry Keoghan were spotted recreating The Beatles' legendary Abbey Road album cover, giving fans a first look at the actors stepping into the shoes of the iconic band.

Dickinson is portraying John Lennon, Mescal is playing Paul McCartney, Quinn is George Harrison and Keoghan is Ringo Starr in the highly anticipated Beatles film project.

Jared Leto apparently lost out on a major movie role last year ... with producers behind the political thriller "Assassination" ultimately passing on the actor as sexual misconduct allegations mounted.

Leto was deep in talks to join Barry Levinson's film before concerns about the accusations helped bring those discussions to an end ... according to Page Six.

The movie centers on journalist Dorothy Kilgallen's investigation into the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and her mysterious 1965 death. Jessica Chastain, Al Pacino, Bryan Cranston and Brendan Fraser are attached to star.

Leto's failed casting comes back into focus after even more allegations surfaced last week in the BBC documentary "Jared Leto: Hollywood's Dark Secret."

"Barbie" may not be getting a sequel after all ... because, according to a new report, Warner Bros. and the creators are down for a return to pink -- but aren't seeing eye to eye on the green.

Here's the deal ... the New York Times published a story Friday based on conversations with multiple anonymous sources ... who say David Zaslav -- the CEO and President of Warner Bros. -- blanched at the pricetags being commanded by stars like Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling.

According to NYT, Ryan specifically is looking for a salary in the range of $20 million ... but Zaslav "deemed the offers, including when participation in profits would kick in, too generous and would not sign off."

7/29, 10:37 AM PT -- MC has pumped the brakes on the possible “Home Alone” comeback ... commenting on a TMZ social media post ... Y’all are out of your mind. My favorite part of HA is when I’m watching it with my kiddos." Again, we heard there is something to the report he's had a conversation with Disney. Guess time will tell if the red sweat gets dusted off.

Macaulay Culkin has a solid idea for another "Home Alone" movie ... and he's started a conversation with Disney to potentially return as Kevin McCallister.

TMZ confirmed the report from Puck's Matt Belloni ... Macaulay recently had a sit-down with Disney head honchos at the Burbank studio and pitched his new 'Home Alone' project.

No details leaked on Macaulay's take for the modern-day Kevin -- but according to Belloni, Disney suits really dug what he'd cooked up for Kevin ... who the actor first played at 9 years old.

Evan Rachel Wood won't appear in "Practical Magic 2" ... and she finally shed some light as to why she was left without a broom for the upcoming sequel.

Here's the deal ... a follow-up to the hugely popular Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock '90s film was announced last year -- and, at the time, Evan said she'd been dumped, despite telling filmmakers she really wanted to reprise her role.

Fast forward to the "Spider-Man" premiere Monday night, when ERW was asked what happened ... and she graciously said the upcoming film goes a different direction from the book, which meant her character was SOL.

Jim Carrey is saddened by the sudden death of “The Mask” director Chuck Russell ... and he's explained why their connection was so profound.

Jim tells TMZ ... “I consider it a privilege to have worked with Chuck Russell, who, during the shooting of 'The Mask,' created an ebullient, childlike atmosphere of wonder and camaraderie on his set."

Jim continues ... "The entire cast and crew were touched and inspired by his playfulness. Every one of us has been many years blessed by that buoyant and timeless moment. I consider 'The Mask' one of the jewels of my creative life. Thank you, Chuck."