Movies

Famed film critic Leonard Maltin has high praise for "Straight Outta Compton" ... and we're talkin' Oscars.

Maltin was leaving LAX Tuesday when our photog asked if the Dr. Dre flick will be a contender in 2016.

Leonard's a big deal in the movie biz ... he's a respected critic, so his opinion could have an impact.

Here's Shaq showing that no matter how bad he does something ... it's still pretty flippin' awesome.

The big fella teamed up with Randall Park -- star of ABC's "Fresh Off The Boat" -- and busted out a rendition of Katy Perry's "Firework." Shaq was shooting a cameo on the sitcom, and couldn't resist doing a reenactment of Randall's scene from "The Interview."

We'll refresh your memory, since almost no one saw the movie ... Randall played Kim Jong-un and sang the hit song with James Franco.

Check it out ... Shaq's vocal tour de force is at least as good as Franco's.

One of the 'Hobbit' villains got drunk, and knocked a guy out cold during a Comic-Con after-party, and ended the night in handcuffs ... according to cops and witnesses.

According to police docs, obtained by TMZ, Manu Bennett was hanging with a bunch of people in a San Antonio hotel room ... drinking and having a good time ... until he was asked to leave. Witnesses told police that Bennett -- who played Azog in the 'Hobbit' -- had too much to drink.

Before Bennett left the room he stared down the other guests, and when one of them dared to ask, "What?" ... witnesses say the actor unloaded a knockout punch to the guy's face.

The victim's nose was broken and bleeding. Cops showed up and went to Bennett's hotel room. At first he didn't remember the fight, but then claimed he was defending himself.

Bennett -- who also stars in "Arrow" and the "Spartacus" TV series -- was arrested and booked for assault.

Break time's over ... the 'Star Wars' crew is back to work on the next movie -- filming a destructive scene in London.

"Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" started shooting last week ... and looks like the first scene centers around a crash -- complete with dead storm troopers around the wreckage. Ummm ... spoiler alert?

8:30 A.M. PST -- It has been revealed the victims are American pilot Alan Purwin and Colombian pilot Carlos Berl. A third passenger, American Jimmy Garind was rushed to the hospital with serious injuries.

Two crew members from Tom Cruise's new movie "Mena" were killed on set Friday after a plane went down in Colombia.

Reports say the small twin-engine plane went down with 2 American pilots and a Colombian citizen on board. It has been used during production to transport crew members.

We do know Cruise was NOT on board. He had wrapped filming earlier in the day. There are reports the plane went down in bad weather near Medellin.

The movie is about a pilot who worked for drug lord Pablo Escobar.

Krysten Ritter is going to be burning up television screens soon when she stars in the Marvel series "Jessica Jones" ... but she was burning up the beach Friday in Cancun wearing a tiny bikini.

Marvel announced Thursday the show will premiere November 20.

Hopefully these photos will keep the fan boys at bay until then.

Stephen King has written more than 50 novels and most have become movies with huge actors ... yet he can pick a favorite.

Stephen was in D.C. Thursday to accept the National Medal of Arts, when our photog asked a question that by all rights is impossible to answer, yet Stephen did the impossible, choosing from:

-- Jack Nicholson, "The Shining"

-- Morgan Freeman, "Shawshank Redemption"

-- Kathy Bates, "Misery"

-- Michael Clarke Duncan, "The Green Mile"

-- Sissy Spacek, "Carrie"

-- River Phoenix, "Stand By Me"

There are many more, so who do you think Stephen picked?

Great news for Ronda Rousey -- one the stars of the original "Road House" says he's PUMPED the UFC champ will star in the remake ... saying it's the perfect way to honor Patrick Swayze.

We spoke with Marshall Teague -- who played Jimmy (the kung fu bad guy) in the 1989 flick. Jimmy was the guy who had his THROAT RIPPED OUT by James Dalton (Swayze) during the lake fight.

Now, with Rousey tapped to star in the reboot -- Teague says Ronda is the PERFECT lead.

"Adding Ronda is a great idea. You don't want to try to rebuild Patrick Swayze. He was a unique talent and can't be duplicated."

Teague adds, "Ronda knows it's not going to be easy. Fans of the original might question her, but we all know she will do great."

As for Ronda, she issued a statement saying, "It is a great honor to play a part in celebrating the life of a man that inspired so many. I couldn't be more grateful to have this opportunity to pay respect to the beloved Patrick Swayze."

Move over "Empire" ... the biggest Round 2 has just been revealed ... the new cast of the follow up to "Straight Outta Compton" -- "Dogg Pound 4 Life."

We got these pics of the new cast, and take a look at who they're playing ... Daz Dillinger (played by Azad Arnaud - next to the real Daz), Dr. Dre (played by Dre's son Curtis), Suge Knight (played by Reggie Noble), The Lady of Rage (that's really her), Tupac (played by DaDa), and Kurupt (played by Melvin Jackson Jr. from "The Wire").

The pic below, showing all the actors, was shot over the weekend at an L.A. recording studio. Daz got them all together to shoot a scene, where Suge, Tupac and Daz record "Ambitionz Az a Ridah," and "I Ain't Mad at Cha" in a 24-hour period.

The Catalina Wine Mixer – the legendary scene from Will Ferrell's "Step Brothers" flick – is coming to life, and it's going to be just like the movie, right down to a helicopter landing.

The film company has given a Santa Catalina Island business the green light to recreate the scene in glorious detail for the event, which kicks off next week.

Just like the movie, The Dan Band is headlining, but the sweetest part ... they're planning on landing a helicopter on the lawn of the event, just like the movie finale!

No word if Ferrell or John C. Reilly will encore their “Por Ti Volare” and “Boats 'N Hoes” mash-up.

Johnny Depp made a splash in Venice, Italy as he arrived for the famous film festival ... to unveil a film that could be his best work ever.

Johnny's film, "Black Mass," is by all accounts incredible, and his performance may top everyone's this year. He plays Boston mafioso Whitey Bulger, who was indicted for 19 murders. Bulger, who disappeared for 16 years, was arrested in 2011 in Santa Monica.

Bulger was reputed to be an FBI informant at one time.

The makings of a great role.

He murders people in the octagon, but now UFC badass Conor McGregor says he's getting a bunch of "f**ked up" movie offers to slaughter the undead in African jungles.

Seriously.

Conor's doing some training out in L.A. (check out video below) -- and clearly, Hollywood's aware of his presence ... 'cause CG says he's been getting hit with a ton of offers to star on the big screen ... a la Ronda Rousey.

Conor says he's still in talks ... but says if it doesn't work out, "I don't give a f**k."

Gotta love this guy.

Amanda Peterson -- who starred in "Can't Buy Me Love" died from an accidental overdose of a deadly combination of drugs.

The 43-year-old disappeared just before the 4th of July and her body was found on July 5th.

According to the Weld County Coroner in Colorado, Peterson had a variety of prescription drugs in her system, including benzodizepines (anti-anxiety meds), opiates and phenothiazines (an anti-psychotic medication). She also had marijuana in her system.

One of the drugs in her system -- Gabapentin -- was prescribed for pain and the medical examiner said she had 6 times the normal level in her system.

The report says Peterson was "naive to opiates."

The toxicology report says a week before her death she told someone she ingested morphine medication she got from friends. The reports says she was self-medicating to control pain.

As for why she died, the report says it was because of a "morphine effect" ... which causes respiratory failure.

Aldis Hodge isn't letting his "Straight Outta Compton" success get outta control ... he still drives a Prius and puts money in the bank.

Hodge, who played MC Ren in the film, is like a walking 401k billboard.

Move over, Warren Buffett ...

Robert Griffin III is weighing in on the drama surrounding Will Smith's upcoming movie about the NFL and concussions ... saying he strongly believes the flick is going to piss a lot of people off.

The movie, "Concussion," has been getting a lot of heat since the trailer dropped this week -- with some saying the movie is sensationalizing a non-issue ... and others saying it will blow the lid off the diabolical way the league has handled head injuries over the years.

RG3 is an interesting person to ask considering he's currently sidelined due to a concussion he suffered during the NFL pre-season.

So, how does RG3 feel?

"I don't know what [the movie] is going to entail, but I'm sure it'll make a lot of people mad," Griffin says ... "Show 'em what it's REALLY about to have those kind of injuries."

The movie is set to open in December -- should be interesting to see what happens.

Sidenote -- check out the people lining up for pics with RG3. Seems he's still got some fans!

Wes Craven ... legendary horror director of "Nightmare on Elm Street" and "Scream," has died.

Craven passed away Sunday at his home in Los Angeles after battling brain cancer.

Along with creating one of the most feared movie monsters of all time -- Freddy Kreuger -- Craven is also known for horror classics like "The Hills Have Eyes" and "Last House on the Left."

He is survived by his wife, three children, and grandchildren. He was 76.