Movies

Moments ago, the rep -- Alan Nierob -- confirmed that Neeson is all locked up to appear in the upcoming sequel ... but added, "Pending clearance of cast and crew background check."

Liam tells Variety -- "I just got a call to do a one day shoot on 'Hangover' as a tattooist in Thailand ... that's all I know about it" ... and the whole deal went through his "A-Team" pal, Bradley Cooper.

Multiple sources connected with the production tell TMZ ... director Todd Phillips cast Mel in the role of a tattoo artist a month ago and that the entire cast and crew knew about it and were simpatico.

The problem came three days ago, when a story leaked that Mel would be shooting a scene for the flick. Our sources say the friends of some of the cast and crew started putting pressure on them to lodge sudden, last-minute displeasure with Phillips' choice.

Our sources say some of the production people became belatedly upset because they were getting so much crap from friends, so they began objecting. One of the loudest, we're told, was Zach Galifianakis.

There were other people in the cast and crew who were also making noise about walking off the set if Mel showed up. Our sources say Bradley Cooper was not among the group who complained.

So the day before Mel was supposed to shoot, Phillips pulled the plug.

TMZ has been hearing about the discontent among cast members all day. We've been told Mel had been cut from the movie.

Warner Bros. went radio silence for most of the day and finally surfaced, saying through director Todd Phillips, "I thought Mel would have been great in the movie and I had the full backing of Jeff Robinov and his team. But I realize filmmaking is a collaborative effort, and this decision ultimately did not have the full support of my entire cast and crew."

Brow's murder is the subject of the film and, as TMZ first reported, the family is upset they were never consulted about the making of the movie. Allred -- along with Brow's grandson Taylor and Taylor's father Eugene -- caught a private screening of the film last night.

Taylor and Eugene both expressed how difficult the movie was to watch and Allred told us that seeing Katharina portrayed on screen, and having her name used throughout the film, just reiterates the idea that Hilary Swank (the star and executive producer of the film) should meet with the Brow's family.

But TMZ has learned that Brow's children, Melrose and Charlie, will not attend the screening because they say the film will bring back "very painful memories of their mother's murder." Instead Melrose's son and his father will be there with Allred.

Gloria held one of her famous news conferences earlier this week to express extreme displeasure over the fact that producers -- in particular Hilary Swank -- never consulted Katharina Brow's kids before shooting the movie. The film focuses on how the sister of the man convicted of murdering Brow in 1980 helped free him 18 years after the fact ... based on DNA evidence.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson told us something we didn't know. Wrestling is not as fake as you think, especially when you're on the receiving end of a steel chair.

Gloria just held a news conference with the children of Katharina Brow -- the woman whose 1980 murder is the subject of Swank's new movie "Conviction."

The movie focuses on Kenneth Waters -- who was convicted of Brow's murder and served 18 years in prison ... only to be released after his sister fought and ultimately got him released based on DNA evidence.

Allred will hold a news conference today at 11 AM PT, with "particularly strong words for Hilary Swank."

The movie is based on the story of Kenneth Waters, who was convicted of brutally murdering Katharina Brow in 1980. Waters was released from prison after serving 18 years when DNA showed the blood samples used to convict him were not a match.

The flick -- which opens Friday -- chronicles the steps Waters' sister took to free him, but Swank and company never contacted Brow's kids.

Allred says, "The murder victim's children feel that no proper respect or compassion has been shown by Ms. Swank for the murder victim and her family."

We'll be live streaming the news conference at Gloria's law office at 11 AM PT.

In a statement issued today, the family of 24-year-old Gabriela Cedillo said they were "deeply saddened and disappointed" that the Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration cleared Paramount simply because they used a licensed welder to set up a vehicular stunt on Sept. 1.

The family claims, "The mere fact that the welding was performed by a 'certified welder' ... does not in any way suggest that the weld was performed properly." The family continues, "In fact the evidence is clear that it was done in a slip-shod fashion."

A rep for the Indiana Occupation Safety and Health Administration tells TMZ ... an investigation into the September 1 accident -- in which a tow cable snapped and sliced through Gabriela Cedillo's skull -- concluded that producers operated by the book in coordinating the fateful stunt.

Instead, IOSHA tells TMZ the accident occurred "due to the failure of a weld connecting a car to a cable. The weld was made by a certified welder and all necessary safety precautions were in place."

The IOSHA rep added, "No citations or fines will be issued. This was an unfortunate and unforeseeable accident."

There was more trouble on the Washington D.C. set of "Transformers 3" today -- when a cop car drove through the movie's perimeter and collided with one of the movie's main stars ... bright yellow Autobot Bumblebee!

A nearby shop owner tells TMZ there was a lot of police activity in the area right at the time of the accident due to a bomb scare. It is unclear if the cop car involved in the accident was part of that investigation.

The trailer in question begins with Vince Vaughn telling a room full of people, "Ladies and gentlemen, electric cars ... are gay." Sources at Universal Pictures told Deadline Hollywood's Nikki Finke they showed the trailer to gay rights groups beforehand, including GLAAD, and didn't get any negative feedback.

But after Anderson complained on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," we're told the studio folded like a cheap suit.

A rep for Universal Pictures tells TMZ, "The teaser trailer for 'The Dilemma' was not intended to cause anyone discomfort. In light of growing claims that the introduction to the trailer is insensitive, it is being replaced. A full trailer, which has been in the works for some time, will post online later today."

Now if only they can make the movie seem funny.