Movies

Yuengling is using Harry Potter's famed butterbeer for its ice cream ... but it took a legal shortcut that could backfire in a huge way.

Yuengling's rolled out its new "butterbeer" flavor this week ... even though it never secured the legal right to market ice cream.

Yuengling's prez, David Yuengling, tells TMZ his company filed docs to trademark butterbeer ice cream 8 months ago, and he's hopeful he'll win approval.

Here's the problem ... J.K. Rowling created the fictional drink in her Harry Potter books, and Warner Bros. secured all the rights and produced the movies. So it's pretty clear ... Warner Bros. will be extremely territorial over one of it's most valuable franchises.

So far Yuengling's application for the right to use the name hasn't been decided ... but if it's rejected the company has a big problem on its hands, and Warner Bros. could go after it for all the loot its made selling the frozen delight.

We've reached out to Warner Bros. for comment ... so far, no word back.

'Harry Potter' actor Jim Tavaré is slowly recovering from the car accident that sent him to ICU for 2 weeks, and this week he got a dose of love from his pooch.

For the first time since the accident, Jim was taken outside of the hospital in a wheelchair to be reunited with his dog, Mr Kippy, who was more than ecstatic to see his master.

Mr Kippy had been in the car during Jim's head-on collision. Both miraculously survived ... the dog more unscathed than Jim, who is still mending from a broken neck and several other broken bones, as well as collapsed lungs.

He already looks better than he did weeks ago.

Hilary Duff thinks it's great there's a gay character in the new "Power Rangers" movie ... but when asked to elaborate on its meaning, she resorted to talking points.

We got Hilary on Melrose Ave. Tuesday, and she seemed genuinely surprised that Becky G's playing what appears to be the first openly gay superhero on the big screen.

But watch what happens when she's pressed as to what it means for the LGBT community. Hilary reaches deep for wisdom ... and pulls out a pretty kosher answer.

Awesome!

Robert Englund has a tip for all you horror fans who loved the movie "Get Out" ... and it involves a western.

We got Mr. Freddy Krueger at LAX and he gave Jordan Peele major props for his blockbuster horror flick, but there's another recent movie that really made him "ruin his underwear."

Rudy Youngblood -- best known for playing Jaguar Paw in "Apocalypto" -- was arrested for being drunk and obnoxious in a Miami casino.

According to the police report ... the actor reeked of alcohol and was slurring when cops responded to a call from security at the poker room at Miccosukee Resort & Gaming.

Youngblood was allegedly verbally abusive and threatening to other poker room patrons ... which means he probably spoke a lot more than Jaguar Paw ever did.

He was booked in January and charged with disorderly intoxication, but law enforcement sources tell us the charge was later dropped.

Noah Hathaway, who played Atreyu in the 'NeverEnding Story' films, is still plagued by a spinal injury from film rehearsals over 30 years ago that cost him nearly $1 million in surgeries.

Noah's been in and out of hospitals ever since he was 12, after a rogue horse crushed 2 of his lower vertebrae during a rehearsal for the movie. Noah somehow plowed through filming in great pain, but it's lingered for decades.

Noah's bills have amounted to $800k over the years. He's out of money and his latest spinal fusion surgery put him $184k in the red. His neighbor has set up a GoFundMe account, trying to raise $200k to cover his costs.

If Noah gets the full $200k, the $16k balance will go in part to his dog's vet. Cash the French bulldog has some serious cysts that need to be removed.

Jonathan Lipnicki just hit 2 big milestones -- starring in more movies as an adult than as a kid ... and being honest about his childhood demons.

We got the former child star -- who became famous as a kid star in "Jerry Maguire" and "Stuart Little" -- in Bev Hills Thursday, and he told us why he decided to open up about the bullying, anxiety and depression he's experienced.

Sounds like a huge weight's been lifted off his shoulders. Good for him.

Pierce Brosnan is ALL ABOUT the Fighting Irish on St. Paddy's Day ... telling TMZ Sports his fellow countryman, Conor McGregor, will DESTROY Floyd Mayweather if they actually square up.

Adrien Brody is sick over President Trump's proposal to eliminate funding for the National Endowment for the Arts.

We got the actor at LAX Thursday, where he broke his usual silence by telling our photog funding the arts is vital and doesn't really have an impact on the national budget.

If Eddie Murphy's "Coming to America 2" tweet was the smoke, then here's the fire -- there IS a plan to shoot a sequel!

Sources close to Eddie tell us he's in the early writing stages of the project. No word yet on which original cast members would return because he's still tinkering with the plot. So, it really could happen, but the mystery is how it ended up on Twitter.

The Wednesday night post simply said, "Coming to America sequel?" with a pic of Vanessa Bell Calloway in character. Eddie's camp tells us he doesn't tweet. Our sources say he has a social media team to do that stuff.

The tweet and Eddie's whole account have since been deleted. That's most likely because we're told there was a plan to post something like this, but it wasn't supposed to happen yet. As we said, Eddie's still writing.

The premature release caught fans and Princess Imani by surprise. Vanessa, who's barely aged in the nearly 30 years since the original film, told us she's ready to go.

So are fans, so someone just yell "Action!" already.

Elizabeth Banks was one of Hillary Clinton's most ardent supporters last year, and sounds like she's ready to mount up again if Hill stumps for mayor in NYC.

Our photog asked the actress/director at LAX what she thought of Hillary seriously considering a run for that office. Tougher question than ya think because many HRC loyalists could view the position as a major downgrade from the White House.

Nick Cannon and Birdman could be the next Ron Howard and Brian Grazer if they score a hit with their first big Hollywood production.

Sources close to Nick and Baby tell us they're teaming up to produce a basketball flick. We're told the end product will be like "Save the Last Dance" meets "Love & Basketball" ... with a twist of "Above the Rim."

Cash Money's honcho did a power dinner this week with Wack 100 and Frisco Chuck, who are funding and acting in the flick. We're told Nick wrote the treatment and presented the idea to Birdman. The duo will also appear on screen and word is The Game's also locked down a role.

9:58 AM PT -- Sources close to Gronk tell TMZ Sports his absence isn't personal, he's focusing on rehabbing his back after surgery.

We're told Gronk never did the movie as a serious stepping stone for his acting career, but rather as a favor for a friend involved in the production.

As one Gronk source put it, "Movie promotion is NOT a priority, his health and career are."

There is no lovefest behind the scenes of Rob Gronkowski's new movie -- with one of his co-stars RIPPING the NFL star for botching his lines on set ... and bailing on promoting the flick.

Joanna Krupa says she flew in from Poland for the premiere of "You Can't Have It" -- in which Rob plays a cop investigating a violent situation at a bar -- but Gronk's gone M.I.A. and she's pissed.

JK claims Gronk's done virtually no publicity and says, "To me, he's not a big team player."

We reached out to Gronk's camp for comment -- so far, no word back.

Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds are about to get a belated but pretty awesome public send-off.

The public memorial will be held March 25 at Forest Lawn, where the mother/daughter are buried. The ceremony will be held in a 1,200 seat theater at the cemetery.

One of the highlights will be the unveiling of a tribute song from James Blunt. James and Carrie were tight ... she was the godmother to his child. Blunt won't be performing, but Fisher's brother, Todd, tells us the track will debut over a photo montage.

Also on the program ... the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles, a dance tribute from the Debbie Reynolds dance school, and tons of costumes and memorabilia will be on display.

Fisher's daughter, Billie, will be present but won't make any speeches. She says it's just too emotional to address a crowd.

Carrie's beloved dog, Gary, will be front and center.

The event will be streamed live on Carrie and Debbie's website.

Samuel L. Jackson's got it twisted if he thinks a black British actor doesn't understand a brotha's struggle ... so says "American Gods" star Ricky Whittle.

The British actor was arriving at LAX Monday -- flanked by co-star Ian McShane -- and we asked him for his take after Samuel went on "Ebro in the Morning" on Hot 97 and wondered what "Get Out" would have been with an "American brother" instead of Daniel Kaluuya, a British actor.

Check it out ... Ricky doesn't lay into Samuel but does make a compelling case.

The teenager Casey Affleck watched over in this year's Oscar-nominated "Manchester by the Sea" had 2 girlfriends in the film ... but uncertain if that translates to real life.

We got Lucas Hedges -- who was nominated for Best Supporting Actor -- who tells our photog he can't really measure his love life in the wake of his hit movie quite yet. Something about how he's not a normal 20-year-old anymore ... whodathunkit?

He also speaks to the controversy over Casey winning Best Actor, despite being accused of sexual harassment by 2 women a few years ago. Sounds like Lucas has his back.