Movies

One half of Tha Dogg Pound is biting back -- Daz Dillinger is going to war with Sony over his music rights ... and it could impact his plans to make the unofficial sequel to "Straight Outta Compton."

Daz says Sony controls his catalog of music -- some of it made with Kurupt in Tha Dogg Pound -- and he says the company's been collecting royalties on his tracks, but he's not convinced it's been up front about how much. Daz says Sony's accounted for some of the dough, but he believes they've come up short.

Translation: It's time to pay the piper, Sony. He's suing for at least $75k in back royalties.

There's more than cash on the line ... Daz and Kurupt are forging ahead with a movie about Tha Dogg Pound, Snoop Dogg and Tupac called "Dogg Pound 4 Life" -- but he told us Sony could hold up the project over music rights. As promised, he's fighting back.

Meek Mill broke down on the stand ... pleading to the judge he's no gangsta, but it didn't sway her -- she found he had violated probation.

Meek testified in Philly for more than an hour, and during the testimony he got emotional a few times. Once, while describing how much it hurt not being able to go see his mom in NJ after she had surgery. All Meek's out-of-state travel has to be approved under terms of his probation.

He also apologized to the D.A. for calling her a "bitch" in his song, "The Ride."

But he really choked up when he addressed the judge directly, saying ... "I'm not a gangsta. I'm not a criminal." He added, "I have my queen, Nicki [Minaj] now. I'm trying to do better and feel like I can be the best rapper out there."

Judge Brinkley ruled he was in "technical violation" but didn't decide his punishment yet. She set sentencing for February and said Meek cannot leave a 5 county area around Philly before then.

Vivica A. Fox IS in next year's "Independence Day" sequel playing Jasmine ... her same character from the original.

She is NOT starring in "Orange Is the New Black."

Interesting.

Talk about living up to your nickname ...

UFC superstar Ryan "Darth" Bader (get it?) says he'd kick the living snot out of a Jedi in a street fight ... and he's even got a strategy to do it.

The clip is pretty funny ... especially since "Darth" says he's not even a real 'Star Wars' fan -- he just liked the nickname better than the other option, "Master" (get it?).

Carrie Fisher awakened her own dance force at the European premiere after-party in London Wednesday night.

The 'Force Awakens' star was goofing for cameras as she did something slightly vogue-ish while celebrating. Woulda been better in the slave girl costume, but still fun.

BTW, look at her right knee, because we gotta ask ...

"Star Wars: The Force Awakens" will not just dominate in the movie theaters ... it wants to take over the mayonnaise and window blind markets.

Baffling as it seems, Lucasfilm has filed legal docs to own products with the famous movie title, products that include:

- Mayo
- Window blinds
- Mattresses
- Mustard, ketchup and relish
- Frozen meals, consisting primarily of pasta or rice
- Tortillas
- Marmalades
- Veggie burger patties
- Bowling balls
- Bean bags
- Magic tricks
- Fishing tackle

The film company has filed hundreds of trademark applications.

It's world domination.

Someone has obtained footage from "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" and they are sending around video of a pivotal moment in the film.

Whoever's doing it just sent the video to TMZ. We will not post or describe it, but the scene is the OMG moment in the flick.

We have verified the authenticity of the footage from someone who has seen the film.

Disney honchos went to great lengths during the previews to protect what could become their most valuable asset -- 'Star Wars.'

Everyone who was invited to see the "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" was wanded when they entered the theater for any devices that might capture images or audio. They were all told to surrender their cell phones at the door.

Media reps all received an email before the event, which read in part, "In order to give audiences around the world the opportunity to enjoy Star Wars: The Force Awakens to its fullest and allow them to discover its surprises and plot twists in the cinema, we respectfully ask that you as press continue to be our partners on this journey, and we ask that you refrain from revealing spoilers and detailed story points in your coverage, including social media."

The Force really is with 'Star Wars' fans camping outside Hollywood's Chinese Theatre, some for almost a week now -- because LAPD's assigning extra officers to watch over them.

Law enFORCEment sources tell us, even though the big premiere event is over ... they're continuing to beef up patrols -- with uniformed and undercover cops on duty -- ahead of Thursday's midnight opening of 'The Force Awakens.'

That area of Hollywood Blvd is a well known tourist trap that attracts lots of petty crime and even assaults. Police want to make sure the 'Star Wars' faithful aren't easy targets ... of the Dark Side.

The stars of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" blew into London in the belly of R2-D2.

Harrison Ford, J.J. Abrams and crew chartered an ANA 787 Dreamliner jet which was wrapped as the famous robot.

The cast and crew crossed the Atlantic for the London premiere Wednesday night.

ANA, Japan's biggest airline, designed 3 Star Wars-themed jets ... all of which are in service.

Lots of hijinx inside the plane ... Chewbacca was creeping, while the flight attendant geeked out.

No word on whether the in-flight movie was "Air Force One," or whether they let Harrison fly.

Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne are going back to the well -- the BILLION dollar well they hope .. for the the action sequel "John Wick 2."

Neo and Morpheus reunited on a Brooklyn rooftop where they're shooting the action-adventure flick. The 'Matrix' trilogy duo haven't co-starred since 2003 when the last film of that franchise was released.

The first "John Wick" made a bundle, more than $80 mil worldwide -- so why bring in Laurence? He and Keanu hauled in more than $1.5 billion with their Matrix work!

J.J. Abrams might have a "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" mutiny on his hands if John Boyega, Harrison Ford and Daisy Ridley see this clip.

We got Alice Eve ... who played Carol in "Star Trek into Darkness" ... which, of course, was also directed by J.J. -- and she boldly answered the question every sci-fi fan must have for Abrams.

As the savior of both franchises, does J.J. have a favorite??? The answer is YES! According to Alice, anyway. Let the debate begin ...

Couldn't swing a ticket for the "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" premiere? No problem! Get your hands on some prized giveaways, and pretend you went ... if you've got the cash.

Items from the Hollywood premiere are starting to pop up on eBay -- and already causing a frenzy for 'Star Wars' memorabilia freaks willing to pay $40 for an official popcorn tub, or $50 for one of the all access passes to the event.

One item sure to get lightsabers at full attention -- the movie poster signed by stars like Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, and John Boyega. Of course, that's currently going for $1,300!

Vin Diesel stepped in to take care of 4 kids when their father -- one of Vin's longtime friends -- got busted for a domestic violence incident with his girlfriend.

Law enforcement tells TMZ ... Vin's pal, Valentino Morales, was arrested last week after allegedly pushing his girlfriend and hitting her in the face. Morales says his daughter immediately called Uncle Vin for help. We're told he stayed with the kids while Morales was taken into custody.

Morales was released and his girlfriend decided she would not press charges.

We're told Vin is the godfather of Morales' kids, and did a great job calming them down during the incident. See, "The Pacifier" actually was good for something.

Jennifer Lawrence's recent dig at Lindsay Lohan on the "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" has cost her at least one fan ... Lindsay's little sister.

J. Law admitted to Colbert last night ... she's been puking lately because her nonstop work ethic makes her suffer "Lindsay Lohan grade exhaustion, but without any drugs or alcohol."

Lindsay eventually caught wind of the situation and decided to take the high road quoting Maya Angelou -- but Ali Lohan was pissed and put Jennifer on notice.

We'd say that's one less 'Mockingjay' ticket sold, but the thing's already made a gazillion dollars.

Conor McGregor's movie career is officially ON -- 'cause we're told the UFC's 13 second knockout king has agreed to a role in the new 'xXx' movie.

The Irish superstar has said that Hollywood has been knocking on his door for a while -- and Vin Diesel is a huge fan when it comes to putting fighters in his flicks (like Ronda Rousey in "Furious 7").

In fact, Diesel posted on Instagram Monday suggesting Conor was on board for "xXx: The Return of Xander Cage."

Now, our sources connected to the situation tell us ... Conor HAS verbally agreed to play a role in the flick -- though it's unclear how big of a part it will be.

Of course, things happen in Hollywood and Conor could always pull out -- but for now, we're told it's a go.

As we previously reported, Mark Wahlberg is also interested in the Notorious one for an upcoming project.