Movies

Paul Walker died as a result of speeding and not mechanical problems.

A source connected with the CHP -- which did the speed analysis -- tells TMZ ... Roger Rodas, the driver, was going between 80 and 93 MPH when he lost control going around a curve and crashed.

The Associated Press quotes a source from the L.A. County Sheriff's Dept. -- the agency that conducted the mechanics analysis -- who says the crash was NOT the result of mechanical failure. Speed was the trigger for the fatal accident.

Investigators also noted the tires were 9 years old. Shortly after Paul died ... law enforcement sources told us they were the original tires on the car and they had hardened ... which means it lost traction on the road.

TMZ broke a story in December ... Porsche had issued a memo to its dealers 9 years ago warning them the 2004 Porsche Carrera GT could be dangerous to an untrained driver. The memo says the road surfaces need to be smooth, like a race track. The car is so sensitive, the memo says, "This vehicle cannot drive over a Foster beer can that is lying on its side."

Investigators say there was no evidence a second car was involved in the collision.

They also said an after-market exhaust system had been installed, which would have increased the engine's horsepower. According to investigators, the coroner's office determined neither Walker nor Rodas had alcohol or drugs in his system at the time of the crash.

TMZ broke the story ... Walker and Roger Rodas died Nov. 30 from a combination of the impact and fire.

During the investigation, German Porsche mechanics flew to L.A. to examine the car .... analyzing the Carrera GT's brakes, engine, body and a tire that wasn't destroyed in the fire.

There are some things a hug cannot fix ... like a broken leg.

That's the lesson learned by "Entourage" star Kevin Connolly, who broke his leg on the set of the movie last week while trying to catch a pass from Seattle Seahawks QB Russell Wilson.

According to our sources, Connolly tripped on a sprinkler while trying to make the play, which resulted in Jerry Ferrara falling on his leg.

We're told it was a pretty clean break -- think of how bad it would have been pre-weight loss Turtle -- and that filming was not interrupted at all by the injury.

Way to take one for the team, E.

Anne Hathaway did not want her photo taken this weekend in Miami ... so she went to RIDICULOUS lengths to make sure the paps did not get their shot.

Hathaway was in town to promote her new movie, "Rio 2," when she took a little time to hit the beach and tan her pale skin with hubby Adam Schulman.

But when it came time to leave, the couple used a slew of guys to escort them off the beach ... using a makeshift traveling towel blockade to shield them from the paparazzi.

The move was almost as outlandish as the time at LAX when she sat in a stranger's car for 30 seconds rather than have her picture taken.

The homeless woman who filed legal docs to force Disney execs to read her 2,000 page script says she took legal action because it was the only way she could get Hollywood's attention.

TMZ broke the story ... Jo Anne Vandegriff wrote the Civil War mini-series -- which she estimates would require a 6-month run -- and hoped to get Halle Berry, Amanda Bynes and Armie Hammer in starring roles.

We tracked down Vandegriff in Santa Monica -- and she says she filed with the court because Disney doesn't accept unsolicited scripts ... and her hail mary is getting a judge to force the studio bigwigs to look at it. Kinda brilliant.

She also thinks Disney needs to produce her mini-series because it's severely lacking roles for Blacks and Hispanics.

Check out the video ... Vandegriff is an interesting woman. When she's not writing or panhandling she's taking computer programming, web design and database management classes at Santa Monica College ... which she attends for free because she's low income.

So, we gotta ask ...

Nearly TWENTY of the biggest athletes in the world have cameos in the upcoming "Entourage" movie -- at least, that's all we know of so far (there could be even more!).

Chris Hemsworth and his wife are at Cedars Sinai Medical Center right now giving birth to twins ... TMZ has learned.

It's ultra-high security in their hospital suite ... we're told 2 security guards are standing at the door. Chris is strolling the hallway and is being escorted with a guard.

Chris and his wife Elsa Pataky already have one baby -- India Rose Hemsworth who is now 22 months old. She's about to have a couple new siblings.

Charlie Sheen is BLASTING John Mayer for claiming he was defrauded by someone who sold him counterfeit Rolexes ... saying Mayer made a fortune off the watches and now just has a bad case of buyer's remorse.

TMZ broke the story ... Mayer is suing Bob Maron, a leading watch dealer, who sold the singer $5 million worth of watches ... and Mayer claims some had counterfeit parts.

Sheen says Mayer is hiding something -- that he re-sold a number of the watches for a HUGE profit. Charlie -- also a big-time watch collector -- tells TMZ, "WAIT!! Mayer spent $5M with Maron and is crying about $600K?!? Ask him how he did on the $4.4M...! Sorry that 7 of your 100 watches aren't to your liking! boohoo!! "

TMZ also reported Mayer posted on a Rolex message board back in 2007 that he was specifically looking for Rolexes with counterfeit parts, and Maron's lawyer says this is PROOF the singer is lying through his teeth when he claims he didn't know what he was buying.

John Mayer knew EXACTLY what he was getting when he bought Rolex watches that he now claims are fakes ... because he actually boasted on a message board he knew they were fakes ... this according to the lawyer for the watch dealer he's suing.

TMZ broke the story ... Mayer is suing Robert Maron, claiming he bought $5 million worth of Rolexes from him and some had counterfeit parts.

But TMZ has gotten hold of a letter Maron's lawyer, Eric George, sent to Mayer's attorney before the lawsuit was filed. In the letter, George quotes a Mayer posting on a Rolex message board in 2007 stating he knew a certain type of Rolex -- called a Flat Dial -- contained "counterfeit" parts and some purists believed they were not true Rolexes.

But Mayer made it clear on the message board, he didn't care and wanted to snatch up as many flat dials as he could, saying, "Anyone who wants to sell me one of these watches can get these fake pieces off their hands and make a killing on it."

Mayer adds, "I will even accept a letter from you as a dealer releasing you from any liability in having sold me a counterfeit dial. I will be buying these as counterfeits."

The upshot ... George says Mayer went into his dealings with Maron eyes wide open, and claiming now that he had no idea the pieces had "counterfeit" dials is just B.S.

Paul Walker's mother just filed court documents asking for guardianship of Paul's 15-year-old daughter ... because the real mom has a serious drinking problem.

Cheryl Walker claims in her docs -- obtained by TMZ -- Meadow and her mom, Rebecca Soteros, are already living with her but Rebecca can't care for her daughter because of her alcoholism.

As we previously reported ... Rebecca has 2 DUIs -- one in 2003 and another last year. We're told Meadow moved from Hawaii -- where Rebecca lived -- to live with Paul 3 years before he died because of her mom's problems with alcohol.

Cheryl says she's more than qualified -- she's raised 4 kids, she's a registered nurse and is a loving person.

Paul had said in his will he wanted his mom to be Meadow's guardian ... so this is clearly in line with what he wanted.

Mr. Miyagi's gotta be rollin' in his grave ... because his finest pupil just TALKED SMACK about the legendary crane kick ... telling TMZ Sports the move would never work in a real fight.

Daniel LaRusso himself -- Ralph Macchio -- was out in NYC yesterday ... almost 30 YEARS after the "Karate Kid" was released in theaters ... when he dropped a truth bomb about the most iconic fighting move of all time.

Note to Cobra Kai -- sweeping the leg ... also generally ineffective.

George Clooney has met his match with what appears to be his new girlfriend ... and if he doesn't marry this one, it ain't happening, period.

George and Amal Alamuddin were leaving the ritzy Carlyle Hotel in NYC Tuesday night when a photog snapped this pic.

How to say ... this chick has credentials. She's a lawyer (schooled at Oxford and NYU School of Law) who specializes in international law and has represented WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. She is fluent in French and Arabic and co-wrote a book entitled, "The Law and Practice of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon."

So if George is looking for a babe -- check. lf he wants someone smart who can hold her own in a conversation -- check. If he wants someone who already has a career who isn't interested in becoming a star -- check.

Which brings us to the question ...

Drew Barrymore had a big scare Tuesday night ... a white van pulled up to her L.A. house while she was home alone with her child and the person inside seemed intent on getting her to answer the door ... repeatedly knocking ... and it triggered a panicked 911 call.

It sounded ominous ... but turns out it was one of your friendly AT&T service guys working in the neighborhood. The pregnant Drew didn't call for service and it's unclear why the dude was knocking, but after cops came and helicopters hovered, they found the van several blocks away, checked the guy out and all was ok.

Charlie Sheen has gone for Denise Richards' jugular ... cutting off her child support and kicking her out of her house ... TMZ has learned.

Denise was getting $55K a month in court-ordered support for their 2 kids -- Lola and Sam. We're told he only forked over half that amount for January and hasn't paid a dime in Feb or March.

As for the house ... as TMZ first reported, Sheen bought it for Richards back in 2011 so she and the kids would be close to him. But we're told Charlie has told Denise he's selling the house and wants her out STAT.

Charlie is not hiding his contempt for Denise or the fact that this is retaliation. Charlie believes Denise is keeping Sam and Lola from him. Sources close to Denise tell us ... she can't just race to give Charlie the kids when he feels like having them on a whim. She also wants to be present when he has the children.

Our sources say Denise is getting her legal ducks in a row to go after Charlie in court. Fact is ... when there's court-ordered child support, there's no such thing as a good excuse for not paying.

Lane Kiffin's loss is Vince Vaughn's gain ... because the "Wedding Crashers" star has been ID'd as the mystery buyer who paid $6.5 million for the Manhattan Beach pad Lane Kiffin sold when after he was fired from his gig at USC.

Don't feel bad for Lane ... he pocketed a cool $1 MILLION from the sale.

And don't feel bad for Vince either ... he gets to move in to one of the coolest mansions on the beach -- a 7,308-square foot palace with state-of-the-art everything and a kick ass backyard.

Everyone wins ... which wasn't happening when Lane was living IN the house.

Billy Crystal didn't need to shower his wife with fancy jewels on her birthday this weekend -- he took her on a scavenger hunt in Santa Monica instead ... along with Bette Midler and Rob Reiner ... and the video is hilarious.

It's called the Fantastic Santa Monica Race -- basically a fun scavenger hunt tour of the city -- and we're told Billy and co. did the whole shebang Sunday ... the trivia, other weird games, the cheerleading, an interactive mystery novel ... and the beer celebration at the end.

The best part -- at $89 a head, the Fantastic Race is a hell of a lot cheaper than renting out an expensive restaurant or lounging on some boring yacht ... and Billy had a blast.

Whattya know. Money really doesn't buy happiness.