Movies

The movie about Brian Banks' incredible life story just got a huge boost -- Oscar-nominee Lee Daniels has signed on to direct the project.

As we told you ... Banks signed a deal back in January to turn his ordeal into a movie with Amy Baer producing -- but just today "The Butler" director Daniels came on board as well.

Banks was a high school football star star who spent 5 years in prison for a rape he didn't commit. He was released after the supposed victim confessed she'd made up the whole thing.

He had committed to USC at the time of his conviction, but that was all derailed by his time in prison. Banks eventually got a shot with the Atlanta Falcons during the 2013 preseason, but ended up getting cut.

Gunnar Hansen -- who terrorized actress Marilyn Burns as Leatherface in the original "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" -- says Burns appeared skinny and frail in recent years ... and appeared to be in declining health before her death.

Hansen tells TMZ ... he and Burns remained close after the 1974 horror flick, and says her health issues were obvious to him in the last few years. But he adds, they never discussed any specific ailment.

TMZ broke the story ... the 65-year-old Burns was found dead Tuesday at her home in Houston. An autopsy is being conducted to determine cause of death.

Hansen -- who continues to act in slasher/horror flicks -- says he spoke to Burns once a month and would visit her at home -- calling her a wonderful woman who was humorous and generous.

He says he and other actors from the original film -- including Allen Danziger and Ed Neal -- are making arrangements to attend Burns' funeral.

California may become a condom-mandated state when it comes to porn ... and the stakes involve hundreds of millions of dollars, AIDS, syphllis, gonorrhea and other STDs.

The California State Assembly has just passed a bill requiring condoms in all porn shoots. The author, State Assemblyman Isadore Hall, III, tells TMZ ... it's all about workplace safety. He says STDs are out of control in the porn industry.

Hall cites a UCLA study, which shows 11% of female porn stars who have sex with males who don't wear condoms contracted gonorrhea and 15% tested positive for chlamydia. We've checked and can't find any documented HIV cases in the straight adult porn industry in the last decade.

Porn honchos tell us ... they are fleeing California. Vivid Prez Steve Hirsch tells us ... his company currently does not produce movies in L.A. County -- where there's currently a mandatory condom law. He says the current testing procedures are more than adequate.

One porn exec tells us ... the county has lost around $100 million a year. Fact is ... we checked with the agency that issues permits for porn shoots. 480 permits were issued in 2012. After the condom law passed, the number plummeted to 40 in 2013, and so far in 2014 ... only 30.

Assemblyman Hall says the porn companies are full of BS ... he says they can digitally remove condoms from the flicks and says, "There's an app for that."

Hall's bill has gone to the State Senate.

Kenny Loggins and his Blue Sky Riders are ready and willing to play in some guy's living room ... IF his Kickstarter campaign hits the $30,000 mark.

Our photog spotted Kenny in NYC Tuesday ... he said not only has he heard about the campaign ... he's already Skyped with the guy -- a P.R. consultant in D.C. named Erick Sanchez.

Sanchez has raised a little more than $11,000 so far. So if he gets $19k more ... "Footloose" will be coming to his living room.

The heroine of the original "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" ... Marilyn Burns was found dead today at her home in Texas ... TMZ has learned.

Burns was found by a family member in Houston, according her rep ... who adds they don't know a cause of death yet.

Burns became a cult superstar after the release of the 1974 horror flick. Her character, Sally Hardesty, is the sole survivor of Leatherface's bloody rampage.

Burns also had cameos in the 1994 and 2013 reboots ... but didn't act in a ton of other films. She did have a role in the 1976 TV movie "Helter Skelter."

The Medical Examiner's Office in Houston confirms they have Marilyn's body ... and an autopsy will be performed.

She was 65 years old.

Renowned ass-kicker Bob Barker is at it again ... throttling a "Bold and the Beautiful" actor the same way he did Adam Sandler in the iconic "Happy Gilmore" scene.

Sources close to the show tell TMZ ... Bob was on the soap set Tuesday filming a frame-by-frame reenactment of the fight that made him a cult comedy legend.

Bob's been on 'Bold' a couple times now playing himself for an animal awareness story line.

He moves ridiculously well for 90 ... throwing his famous left jabs and the devastating right cross -- but he does admit to our camera guy there's one move he needs a stunt double for now.

And he's still got it with the ladies -- the Barker charm is on display at the end of this clip. Don't forget to spay and neuter ... your pets.

Chris Pratt is UNBELIEVABLE! You gotta hear him take the challenge and drop a verse from Eminem's "Forgot About Dre." It's just insane.

Chris -- who owns the theaters with "Guardians of the Galaxy" -- was on "The Whoolywood Shuffle" on Shade45 when DJ Whoo Kid suspiciously questioned Pratt about his rap knowledge.

Pratt also takes a shot at Orlando Bloom.

Watch your back Kenny Loggins ... Kevin Bacon performed the "Footloose" theme song on Sunday -- pretty awesomely we might add.

Bacon -- who's the subject of a recurring joke in "Guardians of the Galaxy" -- and his brothers were jamming at the Ronald McDonald House in Charlotte, NC when they busted out an acoustic rendition of the 1984 hit song.

Not many people in the audience ... but that didn't stop the Bacon boys from putting on a solid show.

Don't panic, Shia LaBeouf is NOT joining the Air Force ... his recent visit to a recruiter's office was just prep work for a new role he's eyeing.

Our Shia sources tell us his trip to the USAF office in L.A. Saturday wasn't a whacky publicity stunt -- he's really trying to learn about the enlisting process -- from recruitment through basic training.

LaBeouf hasn't locked down the potential role yet ... he's just doing his homework.

Unfortunately for Shia, the office was closed. Damn budget cuts.

Brace yourselves Dundler Mifflinites ... one of the stars of "The Office" -- who also ran the show behind the scenes for a few seasons -- says there will NEVER be a reunion.

Paul Lieberstein -- better known as Toby Flenderson -- was on his way out of Riva Bella in West Hollywood when we asked if there was a chance the cast would ever reunite.

The actor got right to the point without pulling any punches.

Zac Efron -- who was partying in a bar in Ibiza with Michelle Rodriguez -- is not only back on the bottle ... we're told he was never off it.

Zac has had big issues with substance abuse ... going to rehab twice last year for cocaine addiction. We're told he's also a big drinker.

People involved in Zac's life tell us ... his biggest problem is that he always believes he has the ability to stop. As one source says, "He'll stop cold for 3 or 4 days when he has to work and then he's back."

It's no secret Zac loves to party. We're told he's "climbing the walls" just before his various projects end ... waiting for the moment he doesn't have to show up for work in the morning so he can party hard.

Here's the good and the bad.

The good -- Zac's younger brother Dylan is a big influence on him. We're told Dylan has counseled him about the importance of sobriety and Zac doesn't blow him off.

Vernon Davis ain't the only NFL star trying to make the jump to the big screen -- former NY Giants running back Brandon Jacobs just shot his 1st movie ... complete with a real FIGHT SCENE!!

The project is called "The Grievance Group" -- in which Jacobs plays the leader of a militant army trying to protect his community.

He's pretty bad ass ... he yells at a bunch of people, fights a guy in army fatigues and (pretends) to fire a heavy duty machine gun.

We spoke with the film's director Rob Hawk who tells us they started shooting the flick about 7 months ago in New Jersey -- and he's almost finished with production.

Hawk says the movie will open in 20 theaters on the East Coast in September and hopes it expands from there.

As for Brandon, we're told he's got a real interest in acting -- and hopes this role can springboard his acting career.

"Get on Up" star Chadwick Boseman is about to blow upppppppp ... so he dressed the part Thursday at LAX and showed off his massive biceps.

Boseman ignored photogs as he made his way out of the airport, but did sign autographs for the slew of fans who followed him around.

Fresh off playing Jackie Robinson in "42," Boseman's James Brown biopic opens Friday and is getting great reviews.

We're sure Boseman is great and all, but we kind of wish they went in a different direction ...

Bryan Singer -- who has been all but vindicated in a lawsuit accusing him of sexual molestation -- had an interesting choice of movies he favors.

The "X-Men" director was at LAX Thursday where he dodged questions about the recent allegations, but did get a little chatty when asked about his favorite movies.

Given all he's going through ... he probably could have picked a different favorite director. You see where we're going here ...

Vin Diesel is not exactly known for being a singer ... but the guy just covered Sam Smith's hit "Stay with Me" ... and it's absolutely captivating.

The action star was doing an interview for his new movie "Guardians of the Galaxy" when Capital FM asked him to belt out a few verses of the song.

He's not what you call "classically skilled" ... but he hits the high notes, the low notes -- and brings some passion that not even Simon Cowell could trash.

In other words ... it's beautiful.

Damn you, Vin Diesel.

Selena Gomez says she's never done the nasty with Orlando Bloom ... and she has absolutely zero to do with his raging battle against her ex-BF Justin Bieber.

Sources directly connected to Selena tell us ... the reason she was with Orlando back in March is because their manager organized an event for his clients at We Day in Oakland.

As for the widely-circulated photo of Orlando and Selena at a Chelsea Handler show in L.A. a few weeks later ... it was nothing more than a smoke break. They were actually with their respective groups of friends and happened to be next to each other when the pic was snapped.

And here's Orlando's speech at the same event.