Movies

Henry Hill -- the former mobster whose life story became the basis for the movie "Goodfellas" -- died today at the age of 69 ... TMZ has learned.

TMZ spoke with Hill's girlfriend Lisa ... who told us Hill passed away in an L.A. hospital Tuesday after a long battle with an undisclosed illness.

Lisa tells us, "He had been sick for a long time ... his heart gave out."

We're told Hill had focused on mending relationships with estranged family members in recent years ... and Lisa tells us he had made tremendous progress before he died.

Hill leaves behind two children.

Hill was famously portrayed by Ray Liotta in the 1990 classic "Goodfellas."

Lindsay Lohan is so determined to prove she's no longer a slacker -- she's hiding extensive injuries she sustained during her massive car wreck yesterday ... just to keep shooting her new Liz Taylor movie.

Sources close to Lindsay tell us, the actress refused to let producers cancel yesterday's shoot because of the car accident -- bee-lining straight to the movie set once she was released from the hospital.

We're told Lindsay has several visible injuries on her body -- including bruises and scratches -- but she asked to cover them with makeup so she could keep shooting.

Sources tell us, Linds is so serious about nailing the Liz role -- she refuses to let the crash become a distraction.

The NAACP is demanding the removal of a Malibu teacher who allegedly used the movie "Bridesmaids" as inspiration to repeatedly slap a black student in class ... TMZ has learned.

TMZ broke the story ... Dionne Evans (above) -- a 9th grader at Malibu High School -- filed a police report last week, claiming the teacher slapped her in the face 6 times because Dionne forgot to bring her notebook to class.

According to the police report, the teacher made Evans stand in front of the room ... then asked, "Did you see 'Bridesmaids'?" before slapping her multiple times ... a reference to a scene in the movie where one character literally tries to slap some sense into another.

Now, the President of the Santa Monica branch of the NAACP tells us, the organization is looking into the incident -- and will attend a school district meeting tonight, insisting that the teacher be placed on administrative leave while the matter is investigated.

We're told Dionne's family and their lawyer Donald Karpel met with the NAACP on Tuesday for several hours to discuss legal options.

Little people across Hollywood are rising up against the producers of "Snow White and the Huntsman" -- for casting tall people in the role of Snow White's dwarfs -- and now, a prominent "midget" theater group plans to stage an over-sized protest.

The wee man leading the charge is a guy named Matt McCarthy -- a 4'1" self-described "midget" who works for Beacher's Madhouse at the Roosevelt Hotel, a theater troupe that features more than 20 little people.

Like Little People of America, McCarthy's pissed "midgets" weren't cast as Snow White's dwarfs in the new movie -- producers cast normal-sized actors instead, digitally resizing their limbs or transplanting their faces onto little people's bodies.

But McCarthy's not fuming in silence -- he just fired off a letter to Universal Chairman Adam Fogelson, informing him, "In response to and in protest of this incredible injustice and prejudice, the Beacher's Madhouse midgets and I are coordinating a 100-midget march to Universal's offices."

McCarthy adds, casting average-sized actors as Snow White's dwarfs "is the equivalent of Universal casting a white actor to play a role written for an African-American person and digitally changing the color of their skin."

So far, a date for the march hasn't been set.

While filming a fight scene for her Elizabeth Taylor Lifetime movie "Liz & Dick" in L.A. on Monday, Lindsay Lohan could hardly contain herself ... as she nearly popped out of her dress.

With Grant Bowler playing Richard Burton at her side, Lindsay's acting nearly got the best of her as she almost bared a lot more than her soul.

Hopefully wardrobe malfunctions will be LiLo's only on-set issues.

The producers of "Snow White and the Huntsman" passed over able-bodied little people to fill the iconic roles of Snow White's dwarfs -- casting big people instead -- and a prominent little people organization is pissed.

A rep for "Little People of America" tells TMZ, the entertainment industry should be actively casting little people.

The rep adds, "This means both casting people with dwarfism as characters that were specifically written to be played by little people ... and other roles that would be open to people of short stature."

In case you didn't know -- the dwarfs in the new movie are played by normal-sized actors, whose limbs were either digitally shrunk, or whose faces were digitally transplanted onto little people's bodies.

Calls to "Snow White" producers were not returned.

Lindsay Lohan is all dressed up and ready to take on the role of a lifetime -- and TMZ has obtained the first of photo of LiLo in full Liz Taylor wardrobe ... as she gets set to start filming her new movie.

Shooting on the movie starts this week with Grant Bowler from "True Blood" co-starring as Richard Burton.

You can add "Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth" to Spike Lee's legendary resumé ... because TMZ has learned the director will helm the one-man show when it comes to Broadway later this year.

Sources close to the boxing legend tell TMZ ... Lee is in final talks to join the production as it gets ready to debut on the Great White Way. Tyson did the show for a week in Las Vegas and we're told Lee and Tyson have been talking about what changes need to be made as they transition to the biggest stage of all.

Our sources say Lee brought in theater mogul Jimmy Nederlander Jr. who owns a slew of Broadway venues and is interested in bringing in the Tyson show ... hopefully by this summer.

Tyson was on TMZ Live this week, where he plugged the upcoming show and teased Lee's involvement.

Former President Bill Clinton is casting a movie on his life (not that anyone is making it yet) and has anointed the man who should play the Prez ... the most famous bachelor alive, George Clooney.

Bubba told Piers Morgan he would choose Clooney over Brad Pitt, saying that Pitt was just "too good-looking." And George isn't????

Lindsay Lohan has gone to the dark side ... as she begins production on her new Liz Taylor film.

We got this pic of Lindsay taking a cigarette break during a pre-production photo shoot and lighting test.

Lindsay reluctantly had her hair cut and dyed to mimic Taylor.

The movie "Bridesmaids" apparently had a huge impact on a Malibu teacher ... and an even bigger impact on a student the teacher repeatedly slapped -- just like in the movie.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... 9th grade Malibu High School student Dionne Evans went to cops in the last few days, claiming her teacher slapped her 6 times in the face because Dionne didn't bring her notebook to school on May 22, as the teacher had required.

According to the police report, the teacher made Evans stand in front of the class -- then asked, "Did you see 'Bridesmaids'?" before slapping her multiple times.

The teacher was referring to the scene in which one character literally tries to slap some sense into another. Take a look.

We're told the teacher has already issued a written apology -- but Evans' family doesn't think it's enough ... so they hired legal eagle Donald Karpel, who we're told is looking at both criminal and civil options.

We've learned the L.A. County Sheriff's Dept. is currently investigating the incident.

Suck on THIS a-one time ... Pauly Shore tells TMZ he's in talks with Andy Dick about doing a sequel to their 1994 flick "In the Army Now."

Dick and Shore discussed the idea on Andy's Internet show yesterday ... with Dick saying, "I've always said we should do 'In the Army Again' ... We should rescue Katy Perry from a USO show gone bad or something."

Now, Shore tells us, "Andy has wanted to do it for awhile ... if they put up the money and the studio lets us do it ... I'm down to make it happen!"

Shore tells us ... there is a treatment for the movie (a detailed summary of the story) that's being circulated in Hollywood ... but Pauly hasn't read it yet.

FYI -- the original flick grossed more than $28 mil at the box office ... Shore's 3rd highest grossing film. But despite its cult following, the flick carries a 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Yeah, buddy.

The 26-year-old movie extra who was critically injured during a stunt for "Transformers 3" will receive an $18.5 million settlement from producers.

Gabriela Cedillo had sued Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Studios after she suffered a serious head injury during a stunt-gone-wrong in Indiana on Sept. 1, 2010.

Cedillo was driving her own car in the background of an action sequence ... when something went terribly wrong.

According to people on the set, a stunt car was being pulled by another car ... when the cable between the two vehicles snapped and whipped around ... slicing through Cedillo's windshield and striking her in the head.

Cedillo was airlifted to a nearby hospital where she underwent emergency surgery ... but the damage to her brain is permanent.

According to Cedillo's lawsuit, obtained by NBCChicago.com, Paramount and DreamWorks originally promised to cover medical costs ... which soared past the $350k mark ... only to do "everything they could to avoid payment."

But it seems the studios have stepped up with the cash -- and now a judge has signed off on the settlement.

Following the crash, the incident was investigated by Indiana safety officials ... who determined the studios did not violate any of their operational standards.

4:35 PM PT -- A rep for Paramount tells TMZ, "We are pleased that the Cedillo family has agreed to move forward with the settlement. This was a tragic accident and our thoughts and prayers remain with Gabriela."

1:45 PM PT -- Cedillo's people just released a photo of the 26-year-old following a recent surgery ... pretty gnarly.

They don't make 'em like they used to -- at least according to the guy who played James Bond in 1969, who's pissed the new Bond film has axed 007's signature martini ... in favor of a corporate-sponsored beer.

If you don't know ... the people behind Daniel Craig's next Bond flick "Skyfall" closed a reported $45 million deal with Heineken -- forcing the iconic character to drink beer in the movie, instead of a vodka martini ... Bond's famous drink of choice.

Bond orders the drink in practically every movie ever -- just check the clip below from "The World Is Not Enough."

Devoted Bond fans everywhere are pissed -- a list that includes former James Bond actor George Lazenby, who played 007 in "On Her Majesty's Secret Service."

Lazenby tells us, cutting the martini in favor of a Heiney breaks a sacred tradition -- and to add insult to injury, "It's not the best beer out there, either."

Rob Lowe is getting ready to re-try Casey Anthony ... in an upcoming movie about the infamous murder case ... and the actor tells TMZ he's VERY confident people are "gonna dig it."

Lowe was in Malibu yesterday when we asked about "Prosecuting Casey Anthony" -- a Lifetime flick in which Rob is set to play Jeff Ashton, the man who prosecuted Tot Mom for the alleged murder of her daughter Caylee Anthony.

Rob tells TMZ, "It's gonna be interesting ... I think people are gonna dig it ... great script."

The producer of "Chernobyl Diaries" is firing back at claims that his movie is exploiting the 400,000 victims of the nuclear disaster, telling TMZ another support group actually praised him for his efforts.

Oren Peli -- who also directed "Paranormal Activity" -- tells TMZ that his film was done with the utmost respect for the victims of the 1986 disaster ... so much so that the group Chabad's Children of Chernobyl wrote him a letter praising him with "admiration" and "kudos" for his creation.

In a statement Peli tells TMZ, "As for the claim that our film exploits anyone -- we could not disagree more vigorously. First of all, the criticism and accusations are coming from a group that has not seen the film, whereas conversely the praise for it is coming from those who have indeed seen it."

If you recall ... Friends of Chernobyl Centers U.S. previously bashed the film for sensationalizing the tragic event -- angry over the use of victims as violent mutants.

Peli -- who also wrote the film -- lashes back, telling us ... the villains of the movie are not mutated "victims" of the Chernobyl disaster and the dilapidated location is JUST a backdrop.