Movies

The Jeep that rolled backwards and killed 27-year-old actor Anton Yelchin was recalled because the shifting mechanism caused drivers to unintentionally leave it in the wrong gear.

TMZ broke the story ... the 'Star Trek' star was leaving his home sometime before 11 PM Saturday when he got out after clearing his security gate. The 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee -- which was on a steep incline -- rolled backwards, pinning him against the gate. His friends found him dead at 1 AM.

The 2015 Cherokee models were recalled because of the e-shift transmission. It lacks the grooves found in old school transmissions that allow drivers to feel the various gears. According to the recall notice, the e-shift provides "poor tactile and visual feedback to the driver," which makes unintended gear selection more likely. Translation: A driver could put a car in neutral thinking it was in park.

The 2016 models reverted to an old school shifter.

So far no word on whether the shifting device contributed to the accident.

Johnny Depp and the cast of "Alice Through the Looking Glass" -- along with hundreds of fans -- were exposed to a possible terrorist threat at the hands of a drone operator who flew his aircraft over the red carpet premiere ... this according to the LAPD.

A drone flew 50 feet above the crowd at the "Alice Through the Looking Glass" screening at the Dolby Theater on May 23rd in Hollywood. By law the drone must be 500 feet from the crowd and 400 feet in the air.

An LAPD chopper buzzed the area and spotted the 31-year-old drone operator in a nearby parking garage.

The man was arrested, but cops weren't satisfied. They got a search warrant -- obtained by TMZ -- which allowed them to seize the man's computers, cellphones, tablets, disks, hard drives, videos and other items, to determine if he had any terrorist connections.

Ron Lester -- the lovable heavyset man in "Varsity Blues" -- has died ... TMZ has learned.

The man famously known for playing Billy Bob in the 1999 football flick had been hospitalized in Dallas for roughly four months. His health had been in a steady decline but turned for the worst Friday.

We're told Lester requested to be taken off life support and passed around 9 PM central time. His fiancée was by his side.

Lester -- who also appeared in "Not Another Teen Movie" and "CSI: NY" -- battled with liver issues as far back as November. We're also told he suffered from kidney problems.

Chris Pratt ain't no punk -- dude can REALLY fight ... telling TMZ Sports he was a competitive wrestler for more than 10 YEARS before he became a world famous actor.

Ron Lester -- who famously played Billy Bob in "Varsity Blues" -- is hospitalized in critical condition and it doesn't look good ... TMZ Sports has learned.

We've confirmed the 45-year-old actor is hospitalized in Dallas. Multiple people connected to Lester tell us he's been there for roughly 4 months and his health has been in a steady decline.

Lester had revealed he was hospitalized back in November due to liver issues. We're told there were also problems with his kidneys.

He also reached out to TMZ back in January and told us he was having complications with his heart ... but seemed to be in good spirits and even joked about the situation.

Lester shot to fame as the lovable heavyset lineman in the 1999 football flick ... starring alongside James Van Der Beek, Paul Walker and Scott Caan. He also appeared in "Not Another Teen Movie" and "CSI: NY."

Lester battled weight issues for years -- reportedly weighing as much as 508 pounds before undergoing gastric bypass surgery in 2001. He lost nearly 350 pounds after that.

Quentin Tarantino called BS on stories that have been circulating that he was casting for real-life whores.

We got Quentin Thursday at LAX and he scoffed at reports attributing a Facebook casting call to him.

The Dalai Lama's favorite Richard Gere movie is not "Pretty Woman."

Our photog spotted His Holiness in Georgetown and pulled a fast one on the 80-year-old, asking him to pick his favorite Gere flick. The 2 have known each other for years ... Gere's a devout Buddhist.

So what would His Holiness pick?

Omar Mateen went ballistic during the BP oil spill, telling someone near the disaster the clean-up crews were only in it for the money.

Mateen was featured in a 2012 documentary about the spill, when he was working as a security guard near the disaster area.

'Hunger Games' star Josh Hutcherson says it's VITAL that Bernie Sanders stays in the race for the White House ... even if he has no chance in hell of actually winning.

It's a big issue with democrats -- a lot of dems feel Bernie is damaging the party by refusing to drop out and continuing to go after Hillary ... when the focus should be uniting against Trump.

But Josh says it's not about winning ... there's a much BIGGER issue at hand.

Yeah, she's got a Hollywood agent now ... but Holly Holm is refusing to "go Hollywood" -- in fact, she just turned down a role in a huge movie to focus on her upcoming fight.

Our sources tell us ... Holm was contacted to appear in a major studio movie -- but respectfully declined because the film dates interfered with her final fight prep for UFC on FOX in July, where she'll take on Valentina Shevchenko.

We reached out to Holm's rep, Lenny Fresquez, who wouldn't comment on the movie situation -- but did tell us that Holm has been receiving "an unbelievable amount of calls" from movie and TV producers.

Fresquez says Holm recently hired the APA agency to handle the non-fight related side of her career -- but insists that her main focus is still taking care of business inside the Octagon.

Leonardo DiCaprio's too busy jet-setting around the world to sit for a deposition ... at least according to the guy suing Martin Scorsese and Paramount for his portrayal in "The Wolf of Wall Street," -- and now he wants a judge to tell Leo he's gotta show up to get grilled.

According to legal docs, Andrew Greene, an ex-business partner of Jordan Belfort -- the real 'Wolf' -- says he'll fly to L.A. to meet with Leo if that's what the actor needs.

According to the letter, the studio's lawyers claim Leo's got a busy schedule and instead they've offered another witness -- an executive from the actor's production company.

Andrew's lawyers say that won't cut it, saying they've already deposed Scorsese, and the movie's screenwriter, Terence Winter. Now they want Leo.

Michu Meszaros, the circus star who played "ALF" for four seasons, has passed ... his longtime manager, Dennis Varga, confirmed to TMZ.

He'd been rushed to an L.A. hospital over a week ago after being found unresponsive at his home and had been in a coma since.

Michu was born in Hungary and began performing in the circus in his teens. He was only 33 inches tall coining him the unofficial title as "the smallest man on earth." He eventually joined Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey Circus in the '70s.

He was close friends with Michael Jackson after the pop star saw him perform. Michu was reportedly a regular at Neverland Ranch, present during MJ's courtship to Lisa Marie and even knew Michael's kids.

He landed the role of walkaround ALF in the '80s.

Varga has set up a GoFundMe page to help pay for funeral costs and medical bills.

Michu was 76.

Michu Meszaros -- the guy who played ALF in the '80s -- is fighting for his life after slipping into a coma ... TMZ has learned.

Michu's manager, Dennis Varga, tells us the 2'9" actor had been dealing with health issues after suffering a stroke 8 years ago.

Dennis says late last week he called 911 after finding 76-year-old Michu unresponsive in the bathroom.

Michu was taken to an L.A. area hospital where he remains in a coma ... and the prognosis is bad.

Dennis says Michu gave him strict instructions not to take him off life support.

Michu got his start at Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus before landing the role of ALF the alien. ALF was a puppet but Michu wore the costume when they needed walking/running shots.

Michu also did a cameo in "Big Top Pee-wee" ... and 2 Pepsi commercials with Michael Jackson.

UFC badass Ronda Rousey's secret is out ... she's a big softy at heart.

Check out the book Rousey was carrying Thursday as she left Glendale Fighting Club. It's Jojo Moyes' wildly popular romantic novel "Me Before You," which was made into a major chick flick that came out last week.

Yup ... sometimes fighters need a good cry too.

Here's Harrison Ford at the AFI Life Achievement Awards Thursday night in Hollywood.

He was there to honor legendary composer John Williams, but clearly had someone else in mind too.

The Wookie-envy is real.

Disney's "Finding Dory" is causing a rift in the exotic fish community ... which believes the movie could bring a financial boom -- but also massacre the fish population.

We called a bunch of fish dealers who say they've stocked up on blue tangs -- Dory's species -- expecting a rush once the movie premieres. The same spike happened for clownfish after "Finding Nemo."

Tangs ain't cheap -- one goes for $40 to $60 ... So there's big money to be made.

But many experts told us they're worried tons of blue tangs will die when parents flock to buy the fragile fish for kids because tangs require a very specific, exotic tank setup. As one enthusiast put it ... fish novices "will kill these creatures."

One store owner sounded like he had PTSD from the 'Nemo' craze, and said he's stocking ZERO blue tangs ... just to avoid the "screaming kids."

Shop wisely.