Movies

Mel Gibson has a passion for the story of Judah Maccabee, one of the greatest Jewish heroes of all time, but is not doing the movie as an act of contrition.

Sources very close to Mel tell TMZ ... Gibson does not feel the need to bridge a gap between himself and the Jewish community, because he doesn't believe a gap exists. They say Mel is adamant -- he does not hate Jews, noting that his lawyers are Jewish, his publicist is Jewish, and he has many Jewish friends and employees.

As for Mel's anti-Semitic rant during his 2006 DUI arrest, Mel has written two public letters of apology and also met with numerous leaders in the Jewish community to discuss where he went wrong.

Mel Gibson is facing criticism from some members of the Jewish community who think it's a travesty for him to do a movie about Judah Maccabee, a famous Jewish hero. Now that Warner Bros. has signed on, we gotta ask:

The British rapper who dropped $37,500 on the badass new Marty McFly kicks tells TMZ, he wasn't planning to buy them at last night's L.A. auction -- he just got caught up in the moment.

Tinie Tempah tells us, "It was a total spur of the moment decision. I was really touched in the moment by the presentation and next thing I knew I owned these iconic sneakers."

Tinie -- a longtime sneaker-collector -- says he's also a HUGE fan of "Back to the Future" ... so the shoes "were an all-around great purchase that will go on to help [The Michael J. Fox Foundation]."

So ... what kind of a person drops $37,500 on a pair of crazy "Back to the Future" shoes??? A 22-year-old British rapper named Tinie Tempah ... that's who.

TMZ spoke with Tinie's rep ... who told us the London native is a serious shoe collector ... and he simply fell in love with the Marty McFly sneakers at the charity auction in L.A. last night.

We're told Tinie -- whose new song "Written In the Stars" has become a worldwide hit -- is on his way to South Africa at the moment.

No word if he's actually wearing the shoes on the plane ... but he should be.

Two powerful Jewish organizations are lashing out against the decision to hire Mel Gibson to produce a movie about biblical Jewish hero Judah Maccabee ... TMZ has learned.

The Anti-Defamation League has released a statement -- demanding Warner Bros. pull Gibson off the flick immediately ... saying, "As a hero of the Jewish people and a universal hero in the struggle for religious liberty, Judah Maccabee deserves better."

The statement adds, "It would be a travesty to have the story of the Maccabees told by one who has no respect and sensitivity for other people’s religious views."

TMZ also spoke with Rabbi Marvin Hier -- founder and Dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center -- who tells us putting Mel Gibson work on a movie about a Jewish hero is "like having a white supremacist portray Martin Luther King Jr."

GREAT SCOTT!!!!!!!

The very first pair of the Nike Air Mag -- the Marty McFly shoe from "Back to the Future II" was auctioned off in L.A. last night ... and the winning bidder dropped $37,500!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The auction -- co-hosted by Joel McHale -- went down at the Montalban Theater ... and after an INTENSE stand-off between two shoe-a-holics ... the winner was eventually crowned.

Along with the shoes, the winner also received a "plutonium case" where he can store his "McFly's"

Oh, and McHale also promised to throw in a puppy ... we'll find out if he REALLY meant it.

So far, the identity of the buyer remains a secret ... we're guessing it won't be for long.

FYI -- all of the proceeds from the auction benefit the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research.

The time has come ... Nike is FINALLY selling Marty McFly's futuristic high-tops from "Back to the Future II" ... 4 years before they're supposed to exist.

Here's the catch -- Nike is only releasing 1,500 pairs of the Nike Air Mag ... a shoe that Marty rocked in the year 2015 in the movie.

Nike has announced that all of the pairs will be auctioned on eBay ... with all of the proceeds going to the Michael J. Fox Foundation ... which helps fund research on Parkinson's Disease.

According to NiceKicks.com, the shoe contains an LED panel -- just like in the movie -- and is fully rechargeable ... with each charge fueling around 5 hours of awesomeness.

The shoes are great and all ... but seriously, WHERE THE HELL IS THE HOVERBOARD ALREADY?!

Michael J. Fox went on Letterman last night and talked about the shoe -- reminding people that the $$$ from the sale goes towards a good cause.

File this under ironic and interesting ... Mel Gibson is producing a movie that triumphs the Jewish struggle against tyranny ... a movie about the greatest Jewish hero of all time.

Mel's publicist Alan Nierob tells TMZ ... Mel is teaming up with screenwriter Joe Eszterhas (right) -- who wrote the Jewish-themed movies "Betrayed" and "Music Box" -- to produce a movie about Judah Maccabee, the Jewish warrior who defeated the Greek-Syrian armies in the second century B.C.

Mel -- who famously directed the arguably anti-Jewish "Passion of the Christ" in 2004 -- has signed on with Warner Bros., which won out over several other studios that wanted the project.

Nierob says Gibson has been working on the Maccabee project for a decade, but now it's about to become real.

Evan Rachel Wood took a serious shot to the face last night in Europe -- in the form of a wild elbow that actually KNOCKED OUT one of her teeth ... TMZ has learned.

Sources close to Wood tell us, the actress was hanging out with some friends in Paris -- and decided to hit up some local spot with music and dancing.

We're told one of the dancers at the establishment got a little loose with the elbows -- and accidentally connected with Wood's mouth, knocking out a tooth ... and giving her one fat lip.

Wood -- who's traveling the world to promote her new movie "Ides of March" and her HBO miniseries "Mildred Pierce" -- will continue on the tour ... but sources tell us she's already meeting with a dentist to get a replacement tooth.

FYI -- it's Evan Rachel's birthday today. Happy birthday!!!

The Westboro Baptist Church has set its hateful sights on the movie, "Red State" -- which will be released in theaters later this month -- calling director Kevin Smith "a God-hating clown."

The Church spokesperson says, "God hates fags, God hates fag enablers, therefore God hates Kevin Smith."

The movie puts the spotlight on a fanatical church whose members kill "sinners" -- many say it bares a resemblance to Westboro.

As for Kevin Smith -- he's unfazed by Westboro's promise to disrupt the movie release.

Smith tells TMZ, "Well Jesus told ME he loved 'Red State.' He said it makes up for 'Cop Out.' He also said neither He nor His Heavenly Father have any affiliation with the Westboro Baptist Church."

Smith has more to say about God ... "He loves all the 'Dark Knight' footage he's seen so far on TMZ."

Smith also wants Westboro to know, "'Red State' is available now on VOD."

Check out our recent TMZ Live interview with the director himself below:

A bunch of people who worked for Master P on his 2003 movie "Uncle P" claim the former rap mogul wasn't bout it, bout it when it came to pay day -- and now they want their cash ... more than $240k!!

According to court documents obtained by TMZ, several members of the crew sued P back in 2005 and WON -- but P never forked over the dough.

Now, the class has taken their case to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in L.A. -- hoping they can finally squeeze some cash out of the man who was once reported to be worth $600 million.

Corey Feldman NEVER SHOWED UP to a horror film festival in Pennsylvania last year ... and believe it or not, people are actually upset about it.

Feldman -- who starred in a couple of "Friday the 13th" flicks back in the '80s -- had been sued for failing to appear at the 2009 Eerie Horror Film Festival ... AFTER he accepted a $5,000 payment.

Now, TMZ has learned the court ruled in favor of the EHFF -- and has ordered Corey to fork over $8,149 for the show fee, legal costs and interest.

Rapper/actress Teyana Taylor claims she and a movie director got into an all out bloody brawl ... because he ignored her pleas to be taken home while she dealt with an abscessed tooth.

Teyana and the director -- Jean-Claude La Marre -- were filming "Gang of Roses 2" last weekend outside L.A. ... when Teyana asked to be taken home because the pain was just too much to bear.

According to 20-year-old Teyana, she asked multiple times to be taken home by car service -- and when La Marre continually refused to allow that ... she got in his face and started shouting. Teyana claims La Marre shouted back, "Don't f**king scream at me bitch" ... and pushed her in the face, hitting her aching tooth.

La Marre claims he only defended himself ... AFTER Teyana "jumped on me and began swinging" -- but says he never hit her.

Whoever started it ... we're told several crew members had to separate them. Teyana says during the scrap her shirt was torn open (above), she got popped in the nose and mouth -- and the blood ended up on her denim shorts.

Teyana's people say they are considering legal action. La Marre says the only reason he didn't file charges is because "she's 20 years old and I'm 40 ... kids lash out."

By the way, La Marre is finishing the movie -- a western also starring Amber Rose and Claudia Jordan -- but with a twist. He's killed off Teyana's character.