Movies

Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction" '65 Chevy has been through the wringer since it was stolen nearly 2 decades ago ... but it's no worse for the wear ... because the current owner spent more than $20,000 to restore it!

TMZ broke the story ... the red Chevy that Vincent Vega drove on his "date" with Mia Wallace in the 1994 movie -- was stolen from outside Q's L.A. home back in May 1995. The car was finally recovered last week after the arrest of a suspected classic car thief.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... the Chevy was in mint condition when it was jacked ... then went AWOL for several years before being passed around a couple of collectors.

At one point the car was abandoned in Oakland ... but the VIN number had been tampered with, so officials couldn't connect the car back to Quentin.

A collector in Northern California bought the car roughly 10 years ago ... and has had it ever since, completely unaware of its stolen past.

When cops came a-callin', after the arrest of a suspected classic car thief, the collector told cops the ride was in rough shape when he bought it ... and he's spent more than $20k to make it pretty again.

We're talkin ... new wheels, new tires, new top, fresh paint job, new chrome and plenty of interior work ... clearly it didn't get the TLC a classic car deserves.

Authorities say Tarantino should get his old rig back in the next few weeks.

The current owner should be able to make an insurance claim ... but it's unclear if he'll be reimbursed for a mint '65 Chevy ($$) ... or a mint '65 Chevy that was in 'Pulp Fiction' ($$$$$$$$$$).

Stay tuned ...

Brad Lesley -- who played a few years of Major League Baseball before appearing in a slew of '90s sports movies -- passed away this weekend. He was 54.

Lesley's ex-wife, Chiho Svimonoff, tells TMZ ... Lesley had been suffering from kidney problems and had been living in a nursing home for the past seven months, where he was receiving dialysis.

Svimonoff says Lesley was rushed to a hospital in Marina Del Rey on Saturday night and ultimately died from kidney failure.

Lesley played for the Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee Brewers from 1982 to 1985 before switching to acting. In the '90s, he appeared in "Mr. Baseball," "Space Jam" ... and, of course, he played that angry pitcher with the goatee in "Little Big League."

R.I.P.

DON'T INVEST IN CRAPPY MOVIES ... a hard lesson learned by a single mother who's suing to recover $10,000 from the director of an epic flop.

The woman is going after director Chris Stokes in small claims court, claiming she loaned him $10K to complete "Battlefield America" ... a flick about an underground dance competition. She says she was promised she'd get the $$$ back within 30 days.

But shocker, the movie flopped -- making a pathetic $172,000 in theaters -- and she says she hasn't seen a penny. The woman, Crystal Wade, says she's made repeated demands for repayment ... to no avail.

Our calls to Chris weren't returned ... a trial's been set for next month.

The real slap in the face ... Crystal says Chris has since raised significant capital for his new film ... without repaying his old investors.

The famous '65 red Chevy in "Pulp Fiction" that was stolen nearly 2 decades ago has been RECOVERED ... TMZ has learned.

The car was stolen from the movie's director, Quentin Tarantino ... outside of his house and there's been no trace of it ... until this last week.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... cops zeroed in on a man suspected of classic car auto theft and arrested him in Southern California on Tuesday. He was NOT arrested for allegedly stealing Quentin's Chevy, but we're told the investigation led cops to the Oakland, CA area, where they found the Chevy.

Our sources say someone had changed the VIN number on the car, but they say it's definitely the legendary Chevy where John Travolta's character crashes the car into his drug dealer's house.

And get this ... we're told cops have been trying to get in touch with Quentin to tell him the car has been retrieved ... but they haven't been able to get through. So Hollywood.

Sources say the man who was arrested will NOT be charged with stealing the Chevy. In fact, we're told no one will be arrested because the statute of limitations on auto theft has long since run out.

Prince William and Prince Harry bow down to someone else other than the Queen ... the Dark Knight.

The Royal brothers -- along with pregnant Kate Middleton -- went batty acting like little kids checking out props from "The Dark Knight" trilogy at the opening of the new Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden in London on Friday.

Tyler Perry's 'Temptation' has been called everything from "beyond dumb" to "flamboyantly bad" -- yet a small-time screenwriter is suing, claiming Perry jacked the universally panned script from him.

It's the classic Hollywood sob story ... a man from Gary, Ind., says Perry stole his idea for "Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor," which didn't wow critics, but did rake in $49 million.

In the suit, William James says the plot is similar to "Lovers Kill," which he wrote in 2009. The lawsuit is light on details ... it just says both films center on a married couple ... the wife is tempted by another man, and the affair ruins the marriage.

Apparently James hasn't seen "Unfaithful" ... "Legends of the Fall" ... "The English Patient" -- need we go on?

But here's the best part: James doesn't even know for sure that Perry ever saw his screenplay -- in the suit, he claims he gave a copy to "an associate" of Oprah Winfrey, hoping it would make it to Perry.

Reps for Perry and Lionsgate ... the movie distributor, also named in the suit ... had no comment.

Catherine Scorsese claims she's living proof ... even if you're a child of one of the biggest moguls in Hollywood -- you can still get screwed.

Catherine -- the daughter of "Goodfellas" director Martin Scorsese -- claims in a new lawsuit ... producers of "Campus Life" cut a deal with her to direct and produce an online movie with supernatural themes and gothic characters -- kind of like "Twilight."

Catherine says she used her juice to get Ray Liotta and her dad to provide services on the flick -- including acting in it -- which got it tons of media coverage.

Catherine says she was promised a big chunk of the profits, but she says the producers reneged.

Catherine is suing Jumpview Entertainment, Campus Life Productions and others for unspecified damages. She also wants the judge to block the producers from showing the film.

Two bars are always better than 1 ... especially when they look like Bar Refaeli and "Pain & Gain" stripper Bar Paly. So, the only real question here is -- who will be objectified more in this video?

She can't pee in a toilet ... and you probably can't milk her nipples ... but Internet cat sensation Lil Bub is still BFFs with Robert De Niro.

"The World's Cutest Cat" and De Niro hit it off earlier today at the Tribeca Film Festival in NYC ... Mr. Jinx be damned.

De Niro's been dying to meet Bub ever since he heard she'd be featured at the festival -- telling the Hollywood Reporter, he REALLY wanted to take a picture with the deformed feline ... and De Niro always gets what he wants.

(FYI, Bub suffers from several genetic mutations including dwarfism, polydactylism, and a deformed lower jaw.)

Now, a word from Jack Byrnes on why cats are better than dogs...

"Hunger Games" star Leven Rambin got screwed out of all that sequel money -- thanks to the damn tracker jackers -- but got sweet revenge with a new gig ... that doesn't involve fighting off oversized wasps.

The high-ly anticipated sequel for the cult classic "How High" is stuck in development hell ... Method Man tells TMZ ... but it's not up in smoke just yet.

The rapper and weed rights advocate was out in L.A. yesterday when we asked about the status of the franchise ... and Method cringed in frustration.

Method says the script is still in the works ... but if the public wants to see it made, they need to start voicing their support in a big way ... NOW.

Marlon Wayans isn't one to gloat -- except he's TOTALLY one to gloat ... especially when it comes to the demise of "Scary Movie 5," and he went on an epic rip session with us last night.

Marlon was walking out of Chateau Marmont when we asked if he'd taken in the debut of 'SM5' -- and his response: "Has anybody?"

Quick backstory ... Marlon's had a grudge ever since the studio behind 'SM' pushed him off the franchise. Marlon went on to write and produce "A Haunted House."

Last night, Marlon tried to give us his "most politically correct" answer possible ... but eventually couldn't resist, and let his true feelings fly.

For the record ... 'SM5' debuted with $15 million, and "A Haunted House" opened with $18 million -- but the 'Scary' budget was 7 times more than 'AHH.'

Marlon also took a cheap shot at his pal Kevin Hart for his DUI.

Stephen King's knack for terror crossed the line this week into reality ... when his TV adaptation of a fictitious gunfight sent terrified young students scrambling for cover.

CBS is calling lights, camera, action on "Under the Dome" -- a sci-fi horror show based on King's novel about a town that gets trapped under an invisible force field.

The script called for a gunfight with all the sights and sounds. Problem is, the midday Tuesday shoot was filmed in a park just a few hundred yards from the Pine Valley Elementary School in Wilmington, N.C. ... and it sent everyone there into a blind panic.

Students on the playground after lunch got the worst of it ... and hotfooted it inside the building. It seemed so real ... a deputy on duty at the school put students in lockdown for 20 minutes until the source of the "gunfire" became apparent.

Although producers had obtained the proper permits to shoot the scene, we've learned cops and school officials were not warned about the midday Tuesday barrage.

And how ridiculous to film a shooting scene next to an elementary school?

Stephen King ... still scaring the kids.

Tom Cruise has an enemies list -- just like Richard Nixon -- but instead of targeting Commies, Cruise is zeroing in on the anti-Scientology folks.

TMZ has learned .... Cruise put mags that have written scathing stories about Suri and/or L. Ron Hubbard's crew on the persona-non-grata list for the premiere of his movie, "Oblivion."

Banned from the red carpet this week -- US Weekly, Life & Style, In Touch and The Hollywood Reporter.

Cruise is particularly pissed at THR, which has written more than 20 unflattering Scientology stories in less than a year. As for the tabs, he's upset that they've been snarking at Suri.

As if making all those ridiculous "High School Musical" movies weren't grueling enough, Zac Efron's latest film role is turning out to be a major pain in the ... wrist.

The 25-year-old hunk was spotted with a heavily bandaged right hand on Thursday after falling and hurting his wrist on the L.A. set of his new flick "Townies."

Even with the injury, Zac appears to be lookin' fine ... as always.