Movies

Ice Cube knows ... you can't have a "Friday" movie without John Witherspoon to punish the bathrooms.

TMZ has learned ... Cube has already reached out to the actor to reprise his role as his burrito-eating, dog-catching father, Willie Jones, in the next "Friday" movie.

We spoke to Witherspoon ... who tells us, "I said, 'HELL YEAHHHH! I am ready to do this!"

Witherspoon says nothing is in stone yet ... but he's very confident everything will be worked out.

TMZ broke the story ... Cube has also been in talks with Chris Tucker and Tiny Lister about reprising the roles they made famous in the 1995 hit.

WItherspoon says he's excited to work with all his old pals -- but he's more fired up about the women ... telling us, "One thing for sure that I do look forward to seeing on the set is pretty girls."

Blood was trickling down Arnold Schwarzenegger's forehead yesterday -- after the 64-year-old actor got "banged up" on the set of his new movie ... and of course, he tweeted about it.

Arnold -- who's shooting "The Last Stand" in New Mexico -- explained, "Got a little banged up on set today. Thanks to the medical staff who got me back in action an hour later!"

So far, no word on exactly how Arnold split his melon.

Chris Tucker's money problems could be the best thing to ever happen to his movie career ... because the actor has been in serious talks with Ice Cube about reprising his role as SMOKEYYYYY ... so says the guy who played DeBo in the "Friday" series.

Tiny Lister was chillin' last night outside Pueblo Viejo in Hollywood -- when the scariest man in Hollywood told us ... Tucker flew him out on his private jet recently to discuss the possibility of getting the ORIGINAL "Friday" crew back together.

FYI -- Tucker shot into superstardom playing pot-obsessed Smokey in the original "Friday" back in 1995 ... and then refused to appear in any of the sequels, citing religious reasons.

But now, Lister tells us ... Tucker and Cube have a big pow-wow set for next week to discuss a 4th "Friday" film ... adding, "This is gonna be the big one."

Lister told us he and Tucker also talked about doing a sequel to the 1997 hit, "The Fifth Element."

Mel Gibson's secret dinner date with Azita Ghanizada had everything to do with her good looks -- but not because Mel wants to date her ... he wants to cast her.

According to our sources, Mel met Azita a few weeks ago and he was taken aback by her beauty and unique ethnicity (born in Afghanistan, grew up in Virginia). We're told the two talked for a while that night and Mel asked her out to dinner to discuss possibly working together.

TMZ obtained photos of the pair at that dinner last week ... where we're told Gibson discussed his much-hyped upcoming movie about Judah Maccabee. Our sources say Ghanizada was hip to the idea, but so far no official deal has been made.

Despite how the pics may appear, we're told the dinner was just business.

The world is spiraling out of control, and Mark Ruffalo believes there's only one way to save it -- telling TMZ, he already has a shockingly specific plan to create millions of jobs ... with his "genius" sidekick friend.

There's nothing like a good Italian meal to bring friends together -- per esempio, Brian Grazer and Brett Ratner.

Grazer is replacing Ratner as producer of the 2012 Oscars ... after Ratner resigned in the wake of criticism over a homophobic remark he made at a recent screening.

TMZ has obtained an excerpt of a never-before-seen documentary starring Dr. Conrad Murray -- in which the good doc reveals some very intimate details about the singer ... some of which are not flattering.

The documentary -- titled, "Michael Jackson and The Doctor: A Fatal Friendship" -- was shot while Murray awaited trial for manslaughter ... and features a shockingly candid look at the preparation of the trial, which includes intense fighting between Murray's lawyers.

The movie is being distributed by a company called Zodiak Rights ... which says it's already pre-sold the rights to air the documentary to "major broadcasters around the world."

Sources tell TMZ ... NBC is one of the broadcasters ... and will air the doc in the United States.

Kim Kardashian has already lost one man in her life this week, but she won't be losing another -- Tyler Perry is keeping her in his new film ... despite a serious outcry for him to divorce her from the project.

It was announced last month Kim would have a role in the movie "Marriage Counselor" -- which became even more ironic when announcing her split from Kris Humphries a week later.

Perry's fans have flocked to his web site, begging him to reconsider Kim. One post reads, "... why are you even considering putting no talent, show everything Kim K in a movie. I will not support that movie ..."

But Perry is standing strong, telling TMZ any rumors that say she's out are false. He added, "She is scheduled to work as planned."

Wyatt Knight -- who played Tommy Turner in the "Porky's" movies -- was found dead in Maui last week ... and TMZ has learned cops believe his death was a suicide

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Knight's body was discovered on October 26 in an isolated area near a home where he had been staying.

We're told an autopsy has been performed on the body, but the results have not yet been released.

Knight was 56 years old at the time of his death.

Wyatt's wife tells TMZ, the actor killed himself to escape post-cancer pain. Click here to read.

Vincent Pastore must really look up to Christian Bale because the former "Sopranos" star just went ballistic on the set of a movie -- blasting the director's camera work and demanding his $1,000 paycheck!

TMZ obtained the explosive audio of Pastore giving the business to "Off Limits" director Sal Fusco. VP starts off bitching about Fusco's shots, saying, "I knew I needed a f**king closeup, and you weren't gonna f**king do it!"

The actor -- best known as "Big Pussy" -- was also fuming about not getting paid yet. Best of all ... sources on set tell us all this went down just 10 minutes after Pastore arrived on set!

Before the rant ... Pastore did manage to shoot one scene. Check out the video -- you can see the tension starting to build.

Vin Diesel's comeback as an ass-kicking ex-con from the future is on hold ... because production on the new "Chronicles of Riddick" movie has been shut down over some serious cash flow issues.

TMZ spoke with Michel Trudel -- the owner of the Montreal studio where the new movie is being shot -- who tells us he changed the locks and kicked everyone off the set Wednesday because the production company, One Race Films, has failed to pay up on time.

FYI -- One Race Films was founded by Vin Diesel ... who is also set to produce and star in the upcoming flick.

But Trudel isn't the only one griping about a paycheck -- sources connected to production tell us several members of the crew have not been paid in over 2 weeks ... and are very concerned about getting their money.

Trudel tells us he's confident the situation will be resolved soon ... and he's more than happy to let production resume ... as soon as he gets his money.

A stuntman was killed on the Bulgaria set of "Expendables 2" yesterday ... during a big stunt involving an explosion in a rubber boat.

A second stuntman was also injured during the incident ... and is reportedly in stable condition.

It's unclear if any of the big stars in the film -- including Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Bruce Willis and Jet Li -- were on set during the accident.

The production company behind the flick released a statement saying, "It is with great regret that we confirm this unfortunate accident."

It remains to be seen if Nadya Suleman can actually act -- but based on these pics from the set of her upcoming horror movie "Millennium" ... she sure can pull off the "looking crazy with a knife" thing.

Kim Kardashian had plenty of reason to celebrate last night in New York with hubby Kris Humphries -- not only was it her 31st birthday, but news broke she'll have a big role in the next Tyler Perry movie, "The Marriage Counselor."

Milla Jovovich claims there is a diabolical plot to torpedo her new movie, "The Three Musketeers" ... and she's pointing the finger at the company that produced the flick.

Jovovich is calling "SHAME" on Summit Entertainment ... accusing the production company of intentionally "sweeping [Musketeers] under the rug" ... and failing to properly promote it.

Milla went to Twitter this morning to unleash her fury ... saying, "'3 musketeers' opens in the US 2night! Do you think ppl know abt the movie?"

She explains, "I think 'summit' hve swept '3 Musketeers', a grt family adventure film, under the rug in the US. Shame on them. SHAME ON YOU 'SUMMIT.'"

Milla then suggests Summit made so much money off the "Twilight" flicks, they've lost their fire to properly promote anything else .... writing, "Are 'summit' promoting it as a family adventure movie? Or are they resting on their laurels from 'twilight' n making no effort? Let me know!”

John Singleton is suing Paramount Pictures and MTV Films, claiming they totally screwed him by reneging on their promise to finance and distribute 2 films -- especially galling because Singleton gave THEM the right to make untold millions by distributing "Hustle & Flow."

According to the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Singleton gave Paramount the right to distribute the flick back in 2005 and Singleton took a relatively small, $9 million fee. In return, Paramount promised to green light and finance 2 Singleton pictures in the future, provided the budgets of those films didn't exceed $3.5 million each. Based on this promise, Singleton also says he later gave the studio the right to distribute "Black Snake Moan."

The suit claims Paramount made a fortune off "Hustle & Flow," which won an Oscar for Best Song and was critically acclaimed. But when it came time for Singleton to get his movies made, he claims Paramount started placing unwarranted conditions which made it impossible to make the movies.

Singleton says he passed up all sorts of opportunities to make big deals with other companies when he signed on with Paramount, and he's pissed.