Movies

Quentin Tarantino says he's sick and tired of talking about the connection between movie violence and real violence ... and ERUPTED on a British news reporter who asked about it during an interview about "Django Unchained."

Tarantino was sitting down with Krishnan Guru-Murthy -- a self-proclaimed "fan" of Q's movies -- when he asked, "Why are you so sure that there's no link between enjoying movie violence and enjoying real violence?"

A flustered Tarantino replied, "Don't ask me a question like that ... I'm not biting ... I refuse your question."

When Guru-Murthy asked "why" ... Q explained, "Because I refuse your question. I'm not your slave and you're not my master. You can't make me dance to your tune. I'm not a monkey."

Quentin explained that the interview was supposed to be a "commercial" for his movie -- and he has no obligation to explore the topic of real-life violence.

KGM shot back -- "Well, look ... this is a news program, not a film program, so we explore serious themes."

The two went back and forth in a pretty heated exchange for several minutes.

Lindsay Lohan admits ... she was a bit of a pain in the ass on the set of "The Canyons" ... but she's adamant she did NOT drink and drive.

Sources close to the actress tell TMZ ... Lohan is well aware of the article published in the New York Times chronicling the madness that went down during the production of the movie.

Lohan is telling friends ... most of the stories in the article are TRUE -- she was late a few times, she was nervous about getting naked and she argued with producers ... but LiLo says stuff like that happens all the time on movie sets, so it's no big deal.

But we're told Lindsay says the allegations that she boozed on set and got behind the wheel of a car afterward are totally bogus. She claims she's not that stupid and irresponsible.

When there WAS booze on the set, sources close to Lohan say it was provided by the director Paul Schrader -- who would often pour vodka shots for the crew at the end of a shooting day. Lindsay swears she didn't partake in the alcoholic festivities.

In the end, Lindsay says she's not mad about the article -- and still has a good relationship with everyone she worked with, including producers, co-stars and even the director -- who she claims has already approached her about a new project.

The feeling's mutual for 'Canyons' producer Braxton Pope -- who called TMZ Live yesterday, and did verbal backflips to say how "excellent" Lindsay was ... and claimed the benefits of having her in the film "far outweighed" the challenges.

Sean Penn was born to play famed gangster Mickey Cohen in "Gangster Squad" -- so says one of Cohen's famously well-endowed ex-girlfriends, who tells TMZ, Penn and Cohen have more in common than you might think.

84-year-old Tempest Storm -- one of L.A.'s most famous burlesque dancers -- dated Cohen back in the late 1950s ... and according to her, producers nailed it when they picked Penn to fill Cohen's shoes in the film.

Tempest -- who reportedly got her breasts insured for $1 million during her career -- tells TMZ, "Behind the rough exterior, Mickey was a nice guy ... and Sean Penn seems the same way."

She adds, "I like Sean Penn and think they got someone with a good amount of street experience to play the part."

And now what you've all been waiting for -- an old video of Tempest Storm taking her clothes off.

Lindsay Lohan was an utter disaster on the set of the movie "The Canyons" ... this according to a writer embedded with the production, who says he saw a seemingly drunk LiLo get into her car and drive off the set after a boozing session.

The man who wrote article is Stephen Rodrick -- who says he was allowed to chronicle the project from start to finish.

According to Rodrick, Lohan was a mess who was initially fired after blowing off two days of filming. Rodrick says Lohan showed up to the director's hotel room, pounded on the door while hysterically crying and begging for her job back.

Rodrick says Lohan stayed in the hallway sobbing for 90 minutes before finally leaving.

Eventually, she was hired back to the production -- and things got worse ... with Lohan constantly criticizing producers and her co-stars.

But the most concerning part, Rodrick says Lohan had been drinking before a scene in which she would be simulating a 4-way sex scene with some real-life porn actors.

After the scene, producers offered Lindsay a hired car to drive her home ... but she refused ... and drove off in her Porsche. Rodrick says producers "all hoped they would still have a lead actress in the morning."

In the article, Rodrick says Lohan also freaked out before a sex scene in which she was supposed to get naked ... and locked herself in a closet. Rodrick says the director had to beg her to do the scene ... and eventually stripped naked himself to show her it was no big deal.

The gimmick worked -- Lohan eventually dropped her robe and shot a 14-minute sex scene.

According to the report, Lindsay once partied with Lady Gaga until 5:30 AM ... when she had a 6:00 AM call time. She eventually showed up to the set at 9 AM, but left soon after a doctor said she was too sick to film.

Gaga posted a picture of her night with Lindsay on her website last July, along with the caption, "I love to stay up late and take pictures of beautiful celebrities."

The people who select the Oscar nominees clearly HATE Ben Affleck, 'cause he didn't get a Best Director nod for "Argo" this morning ... but it WAS nominated for "Best Film."

So, did Ben really get snubbed??? Depends who you ask -- here's how the argument is breaking down in the TMZ newsroom:

Matt -- Yes, Ben was snubbed ... "Argo" was as good as the other movies that were nominated. As a director, "Argo" was very well done. I think he was snubbed because of who he is.

Kelly -- No, Ben did NOT get snubbed ... sometimes you're nominated, sometime's you're not ... Ben has a long career ahead of him. He'll be fine.

Shevonne -- No, Ben's not that great.

Max -- I don't think he was snubbed because I know nothing about directing.

Harvey -- Yes, Affleck's being snubbed because people are fawning over him too much ... I think there's a lot of jealously in the Academy.

Van -- HUGE snub ... it was a well-directed film and it was enjoyable, one of his best. Incredibly well paced.

After dropping a ton of weight and wasting away to skin and bones for a movie role, a visibly heavier Matthew McConaughey looked more like his old self as he left a hotel in Tribeca on Tuesday.

The 43-year-old got scary skinny and lost about 40 lbs for his starring role in the upcoming movie "Dallas Buyers Club."

It won't be long before the shirtless wonder is back.

Director David R. Ellis -- the guy behind the epic action flick "Snakes on a Plane" -- was found dead early Monday morning in a hotel room in South Africa ... this according to his rep.

60-year-old Ellis was in Johannesburg to work on a remake of the film "Kite," a Japanese anime movie.

Details surrounding Ellis' death are unclear and no cause of death has been released.

To whoever stole $300,000 worth of wiring from the Atlanta set of "Anchorman 2" ...

You should probably find yourself a safe house or a relative close by ... lay low for a while ... because you're probably wanted for burglary.

Cops in ATL are on the hunt for the scumbag (or scumbags) who broke into a warehouse that's being used as a set for "Anchorman 2" late last month and made off with $300k of wire and some computers.

According to police, the burglary is just the latest in a string of break-ins in the area.

So far, no arrests have been made.

Al Roker's crazy pants-pooping hijinks have impressed the master of all things dung ... and now Johnny Knoxville says he's inviting the weatherman to SHART in the next "Jackass" project.

Knoxville -- who has featured several real-life crapping scenes in his "Jackass" flicks (including the infamous poo-cano) -- was in L.A. last night when we told him about Al's dirty little secret.

"That makes my day," Knoxville said ... adding, "If Al Roker ever wants to shart in 'Jackass,' he's more than invited."

Roker hasn't been shy about his little slip -- going on "Dateline" and "Today" to talk about the time he tried to fart at the White House ... and crapped himself instead.

In between getting out of jail and getting in the middle of a parking lot brawl, Katt Williams took the time to talk to TMZ about "Django Unchained" ... and threatened to beat the crap out of Quentin Tarantino if he gets the chance.

Williams didn't voice his opinion in a polite way like Spike Lee did. First he threatened to punch QT in the face, then told us, "Quentin Tarantino thinks he can say the N-word. But I checked with all of Ni**adom and nobody knows where he got his pass from. I hope he didn't get it from Samuel L. Jackson and Jamie Foxx cause they aren't going to help you when I see you."

When our photog tried to compare QT to Steven Spielberg (who made "Amistad" in 1997), Katt shot back, "Quentin Tarantino is no Steven Spielberg. Steven Spielberg doesn't wanna be black, Quentin Tarantino thinks he is. So when he meets a real ni**a, we'll see if he is or not."

Spike Lee is boycotting Quentin Tarantino's "Django Unchained" because the N-word is used 110 times. Interesting, since Spike has used the N-word in some of his flicks. So we gotta ask ...

Spike Lee needs to relax ... so says "Chappelle's Show" star Donnell Rawlings, who tells TMZ, the n-word-filled "Django Unchained" is a fun movie with a happy ending ... and THAT'S IT.

Rawlings was out in L.A. last night when he came to Quentin Tarantino's defense -- blasting Spike Lee for his criticism of Quentin's usage of the n-word in the film (110 times to be exact) ... which Spike called disrespectful to his ancestors.

Donnell said, "Spike Lee, I know you been talking a lot of sh*t. You don't like nobody's movies. You don't like Tyler Perry movies. You don't like Quentin movies. I don't even think you like YOUR movies."

Spike Lee is breaking a sacred rule by criticizing "Django Unchained" for its pervasive use of the n-word -- so says Sarah Silverman ... who tells TMZ, art is art ... and "you can't tell art what to do."

Sarah was out in L.A. when we asked about Spike's refusal to watch the new Quentin Tarantino flick, which features the n-word roughly 110 times. Spike criticized the film, claiming it mocks slavery and is "disrespectful to my ancestors."

Sarah -- a self-professed Spike Lee fan -- said, "[Spike's] got a lot of mishegas with a lot of art. I think you can't really tell art what to do."

James Franco is working on a top secret project with an up-and-coming female porn director, TMZ has learned ... and it turns out she has quite the reputation for being handy with her fist.

The woman in the photo is Princess Donna Dolore, who's featured in Franco's soon-to-be released film "Kink."

FYI -- Kink is a documentary about Kink.com ... a bondage website for the S&M community (like Rihanna) and also for people who enjoy peeing on each other (like R. Kelly).

Despite being in the film, Franco only met PDD for the first time in person last week ... and sources tell us, he has already locked her up to be a part of a future project he is working on.

During the encounter, PDD gave Franco an official Princess Donna Dolore shirt, which includes her trademark fist on the back.

James took it ... the shirt, that is ... and sported it proudly.