Movies

Richard Pryor Jr. has done a 180 and now feels Nick Cannon is the second most qualified guy to play his dad in an upcoming biopic ... second to him.

Pryor Jr. and his sister Rain previously told TMZ ... Cannon didn't have the chops to pull off the role. They thought Marlon Wayans was the right guy.

But Pryor Jr. just told our photog ,,, Cannon's passion for the role changed his mind and he now favors Cannon ... certainly over his step mom's choice, Terrence Howard.

Pryor Jr. also says the battle with stepmom Jennifer rages on.

Meg Ryan returned to the scene of the crime 25 years later ... the city where she first banged Harry.

As NYC delis were filled with people recreating the famous orgasm scene in honor of the 25th anniversary of "When Harry Met Sally" ... the 52-year-old actress strolled in relative anonymity outside her hotel.

Meg was the narrator of the pilot spinoff, "How I Met Your Dad." But we're told CBS passed on the show.

Sally is no longer with Harry. She's now banging John Mellencamp.

Richard Sherman knows about being "the best" ... so we had to ask the guy -- What's the best movie you've seen recently?

It's not "Transformers" ... or "Planet of the Apes" ... or "X-Men" ... it's something a little more animated.

Seth MacFarlane's now-famous teddy bear was lifted from a 2008 screenplay about an eerily similar furry creature who had a penchant for booze and prostitutes ... so claims the company that is suing Seth.

Bengal Mangle Productions claims it created a screenplay called "Acting School Academy" ... about a teddy bear named Charlie who lives in a human world. The screenplay became a web series that was a big hit on YouTube, FunnyorDie and others.

The Production company does NOT claim it had any dealings with MacFarlane, but alleges there's no way he didn't know about it since Charlie was such a hit.

The lawsuit claims Ted's characteristics are strikingly similar to Charlie's -- both hang out on the couch, smoke and drink beer, they have friends who are washed up child stars and they're both active on social media.

The suit also lists similar tweets.

-- Charlie: I don't like cocaine. I just like the smell of it July, 2009
-- Ted: Just acid, and coke, and ex and DMT. That's where I draw the lines June, 2012

-- Charlie: I'm a bear and my nose is at crotch level. What do women expect? March, 2009
-- Ted: I don't mind giving the ladies oral pleasure. I just Febreeze the s**t out of my snout after. April, 2012.

Ted's last line definitely wins.

Sacha Baron Cohen has pissed off people in the English town of Grimsby -- who say his new film depicts them as hooligans and low-lifes -- but town leaders tell TMZ ... angry residents need to chill.

Some Grimbarians are threatening to boycott the release of the flick, if Cohen doesn't re-edit the movie to fairly portray the townspeople. They believe Cohen's movie makes them look like the "Borat" portrayal of Kazakhstan.

But City Council members tell TMZ ... protesters should relax ... the film is a comedy -- not a realistic depiction of Grimsby. They say Cohen isn't even shooting in Grimsby.

The flick -- "Grimsby" -- features an English football hooligan (Cohen) who goes on a mission with his brother ... a British spy. Pics from the set show a trash-littered neighborhood populated with drunks and degenerates.

The intruder arrested inside Sandra Bullock's home came face-to-face with her ... right outside her bedroom ... TMZ has learned.

We've obtained the search warrant allowing cops to search for an arsenal of weapons owned by Joshua Corbett. TMZ broke the story ... cops found 7 guns at Corbett's home -- including assault rifles -- but they believe more are out there.

The search warrant outlines a chilling confrontation between Bullock and Corbett. At 1 AM she hears a loud banging inside the house. Bullock goes to her bedroom door to close and lock it and she sees Corbett right there in the hallway wearing dark clothing.

Bullock slams the door shut, locks it and calls 911. She told cops she had showered before going to bed, so he may have been there the whole time.

When the cops arrived, Corbett began screaming, "Sandy, I'm sorry. Please don't press charges."

Corbett was carrying a notebook with cut-out magazine pics of Bullock and multiple, handwritten notes. One of the notes said, "I will forever be thinking of you and Louie, my son, as you are my wife by law, the law of God and you belong to me and me to you."

Corbett also forgives Bullock for "anything you may have done" and then tries to compliment her, writing Bullock is "hot and intelligent, lissome and taught [sic]."

"Midnight Rider" director Randall Miller and the film's producer, Jody Savin, surrendered to police in Georgia following their indictment in the death of film crew member Sarah Jones in a freight train accident.

The two have been charged with involuntary manslaughter and criminal trespassing for organizing a shoot on a trestle back in February. Jones, a camera assistant on the Gregg Allman biopic, was killed when the train unexpectedly smashed through the set.

The Wayne County Sheriff’s Department tells TMZ Miller and Savin each posted $27,000 and were released after about an hour.

One of the actors in "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" may be on the verge of breaking out due to the film's box office success ... but he's got some learning to do.

Jocko Sims -- who plays Werner in D.O.T.P.O.T.A. -- took some of his friends to watch the flick at the Grove in Los Angeles ... and on his way out, admitted to snapping a pic of his name in the credits.

Justin Bartha will have to nurse any future hangovers somewhere else ... 'cause he just sold his Laurel Canyon crib, TMZ has learned.

Bartha bought the gated 1930s Spanish style home in 2007 for $1.25M ... and sold it this week for $1.385 -- slightly more than he was asking ... according to our real estate source's book of secrets.

Check it out ... the place is charming, but it's no palace -- just 1,416 sq ft with 2 bedrooms and 2 baths.

2:10 P.M. PDT -- Inyo County officials tell us ... an autopsy was performed and the cause of death is heat stroke.

One of the villains from the "Harry Potter" movies -- British actor Dave Legeno -- died while hiking in Death Valley ... TMZ has learned.

Legeno's body was found by a pair of hikers on Sunday in an area so remote ... a CHP helicopter had to be called in to remove it.

50-year-old Legeno played the werewolf Fenrir Greyback in the 'Potter' movies. He was also in "Snatch."

The Inyo County Sheriff's Department (in CA) tells TMZ it appears Legeno died of heat related issues ... and may have been dead for 3-4 days before his body was discovered. Summer temps in Death Valley are known to go over 120 degrees.

We're told the coroner still has Legeno's body while his family makes plans.

He has a daughter in her 20s.

The North Korean government is pleading with the United Nations to help block the release of Seth Rogen and James Franco's new movie "The Interview" ... calling the flick an act of war.

Ja Song Nam -- the North’s Ambassador to the United Nations -- filed a formal complaint with the U.N. saying the U.S. government should squash the film's release ... because the central storyline involves assassinating Kim Jong-un.

Nam explains, "To allow the production and distribution of such a film on the assassination of an incumbent Head of a sovereign State should be regarded as the most undisguised sponsoring of terrorism as well as an act of war."

So far, no response from Rogen ... but earlier this month when North Korea first complained, he tweeted, "People don't usually wanna kill me for one of my movies until after they've paid 12 bucks for it."

A critical scene for the upcoming "Fast & Furious 7" came to a screeching halt Thursday ... after studio suits pulled the plug because it was just too dangerous ... too risky.

Sources connected with the production tell TMZ ... the shoot was being prepped at the Willow Springs International Raceway near Palmdale -- 45 minutes from where Paul Walker tragically died.

Members of the crew tell TMZ ... producers brought in drivers who are "authentic street racers" for the scene, where a souped-up yellow Chevelle races another car and dramatically pops a wheelie, as bystanders stand right by the track and cheer. A similar scene appeared in the first F&F.

The scene was being prepped for several days. Vin Diesel and other stars were there. But just before filming, we're told the suits from Universal abruptly cancelled the shoot, saying it was too dangerous.

Someone who was at the track tells TMZ ... a person from the production told some staffers they couldn't get the proper insurance to shoot the race.

But the word circulating among the staff is that they are extremely cautious because of what happened to the star of their movie. They believe a second crash -- even though Paul's was not film-related -- could jeopardize the entire franchise.

Either way you cut it ... Eva Mendes will give birth to an objectively beautiful baby ... whether it's a boy or a girl -- so concludes a noted forensic artist.

Joe Mullins -- a forensic artist for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children -- studied photos of Eva and Ryan and used computer technology to predict what the kid's gonna look like. Obviously not a precise science, but still fun to predict.

Frank Sivero -- who played Frankie Carbone in 'Goodfellas' -- is suing a guy he says is a real badfella ... a deli owner near the Mexican border.

Sivero claims he went to Deli Belly in El Cajon, CA in March ... where he posed for pics with fans.

According to the lawsuit ... the owner got hold of one of the pics and plastered it all over his website, advertising a Frank Carbone sandwich which is stacked with meats and cheese, including Genoa salami, mortadella, hot cappy, deluxe ham, provolone cheese and lots of other stuff.

The deli owner called the creation the Frankie Carbony. It doesn't seem Sivero is objecting to the name of the hero ... but using his pic has made him hot as branzino grease.

We went to the deli website and it looks like they 86'd Sivero's pic.

Let's hope the suit doesn't kill the sando completely ... cause it sounds amazing.

Steve Guttenberg can't remember if he turned down the lead role in "Ghostbusters" (as legend has it) ... but there's one thing he's positive about -- there was NEVER, EVER a "Ghostbusters 2."

Steve was so sure about it when we ran into him in NYC last night ... he was willing to place a hefty wager with our camera guy.

Problem is ... "Ghostbusters 2" came out in 1989.

It's pretty shocking considering Gutes is such a legend of '80s movies -- yet seems to have no clue about the sequel (albeit a bad one) to the biggest comedy of the '80s.

Watch the video -- it's possible he's joking -- but he seems really emphatic that the river of slime, Vigo the Carpathian, and the dancing toaster never existed.

We wish, Steve.

The kid who played 10-year-old Ricky Bobby in "Talladega Nights" got busted for allegedly pushing his own mother down the stairs -- his second arrest in the last month.

Cops in Trussville, Alabama tell TMZ ... Luke Bigham was arrested Tuesday after he allegedly pushed his mother down the stairs during an argument. It's unclear why they were fighting.

Bigham was thrown in jail and is still sitting there as of Wednesday afternoon ... since no one's posted the $1,000 to bail him out.

Bigham was popped last month on a reckless driving charge that caused a five-car pileup.