Movies

"American Hustle" producers took a well-known science author who once wrote about microwaves and cooked his goose in less than 30 seconds ... and now he's suing for defamation.

Paul Brodeur writes about environmental stuff. He is incensed at a scene in the Oscar-nominated flick in which Rosalyn (Jennifer Lawrence) tells Irving (Christian Bale) that microwaves take all the nutrition out of food, and she proves it's true by holding up a magazine article written by Brodeur.

Mr. Brodeur says the writers and actors are liars who lie, because he's actually on record -- in a magazine -- in which he answers the question, "Is there any danger in eating food cooked by microwaves?" He says, "None that is known."

Brodeur claims his reputation in the scientific community is now toast, and he's been subjected to scorn and ridicule.

Former NFL linebacker Takeo Spikes says he had a secret routine before he would take the field on Sundays ... he'd fire up a Rachel McAdams movie.

Spikes -- who played 15 seasons in the NFL -- says McAdams flicks like "The Notebook," "Wedding Crashers" and "The Time Traveler's Wife" would get his mind right before a game.

"[Her movies take] me to a place where I'm very confident in myself," Spikes said ... "It's kinda like the calm before the storm."

James Cameron's known for sinking millions into big budget action films or sinking ships -- but now he's jumping into the horror game with a sick Halloween display ... worthy of his Malibu mansion.

No 'Avatar' blue creatures, or 'Aliens' monsters -- instead Mr. Terminator went with more traditional macabre scenes. But check out the gallery ... his ghouls, ghosts, and cemetery will put most to shame.

Sadly, JC passed on paying homage to the first feature film he ever directed -- the 1981 cult classic "Piranha II: The Spawning."

Sandra Bullock should be recruited to help with the Ebola crisis ... because she's a decisive chick in the face of medical emergencies.

Sandra beat 911 by a mile when an extra on her current movie set collapsed. It was pretty apparent it was a case of heat stroke ... Sandra is shooing "Our Brand Is Crisis" under the blazing sun in New Orleans.

Sandra took charge ... giving her fallen comrade water and fanning her in a shady place until an ambulance arrived and took the woman to a nearby hospital.

Billy Bob Thornton was also there, but mostly watching. Obviously, women seem to handle emergencies better.

As for why the woman collapsed, the movie calls for them to wear warm clothes ... and The Big Easy and heavy coats don't go well together right now ... the heat's been unbearable.

The incident occurred Sunday and the set was dark Monday ... but everyone was back Tuesday.

Jim Belushi isn't seeing eye-to-eye with his "Thunderstruck" co-star Kevin Durant -- telling TMZ Sports it was a GOOD MOVIE ... despite the fact KD recently dissed the flick.

In fact, KD hated the 2012 movie so much ... he told us he thought "Kazaam" was better and swore off acting forever.

For the record, "Thunderstruck" was considered a box-office disaster ... raking in less than $600k in the U.S.

But last night in L.A., Belushi defended "Thunderstuck" -- and hailed Durant as a "stud."

There's just one thing ... check out Belushi's reaction when we asked if he thought KD should keep acting. He doesn't exactly say "yes."

Some very big stars are going about their business blindly ... not having a clue they are owed hundreds and even thousands of dollars.

We've gone through hundreds of names from the California State Controller's Office ... celebs who are owed money. Here are some that stood out:

-- Steven Spielberg is owed $10,000 in cashier's checks from Bank of America.

-- Robert Downey Jr. is owed $497.09 from the California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison.

-- Kanye West is owed $38.71 from Foot Locker.

-- Orlando Bloom ... $31.72 from NBC Universal.

-- Tori Spelling could use the $1,784.95 ... her credit balance from Tiffany & Co.

-- Columbus Short will get lots of small checks from Paramount ... $94.29, $40.50, $43.85 and $43.85.

-- Kobe Bryant can pick up his $482.50 check from Connecticut General Life Insurance Company.

-- Justin Timberlake may want to call his lawyers ... they owe him $3,020.55.

-- George Clooney can pay for part of his wedding with $928.95 from an entertainment company.

Go ahead. Keep rubbing your eyes ... that is actually "Clerks" director Kevin Smith after shaving off his trademark beard.

Smith unveiled the bald faced pic Monday ... writing on Facebook, "Look at this goofy spaz. This is me, beardless, for the #YogaHosers green screen shoot. It's a Face-Brazilian!"

That's a ton of wax.

Marcia Strassman -- perhaps best known for playing the mom from the "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" movies -- died Saturday after a long battle with breast cancer. She was 66.

She got her first big recurring role on "M*A*S*H" playing Nurse Cutler ... but struck it big playing the part of Julie Kotter, Gabe Kaplan's wife on "Welcome Back, Kotter."

"Curb Your Enthusiasm" director Bob Weide, a long-time friend of Strassman's, was one of the first to break the news of her passing. He wrote on Twitter, "So sad that a sweet friend, kind person & wonderful actress Marcia Strassman lost her brave battle with cancer today."

Val Kilmer clearly doesn't watch "The People's Court" or "Judge Judy" ... because he's about to learn a hard lesson about tenants doing home improvements.

Val was in Van Nuys small claims court Thursday ... battling his landlord over $6,000 that was withheld from his security deposit when he moved out of his Malibu rental.

The landlord claims Val made unauthorized improvements on the beach house. But Val just told the judge the landlord should give him his money back along with a big THANK YOU. The actor claims he materially improved the pad by putting some sort of wallpaper on the wooden cabinets and painted the fireplace.

The landlord doesn't like what Val did at all ... and submitted scores of pics to prove his point.

Fact is, it doesn't matter. According to the testimony ... there's a lease that says a tenant can ONLY modify the rental with the landlord's prior written approval, and apparently that didn't happen.

Anne Hathaway has mastered the fine art of avoiding the paparazzi ... especially when she's dripping in sweat after yoga class.

Anne hit up a yoga gym in West Hollywood on Wednesday, and things got interesting when she left. The gym staff teamed up to move her Porsche (but not easily) right next to the exit -- so Anne could make an incognito getaway.

Not much to see of Anne here, but the silver lining -- there's a lot to see of one of her yoga instructors.

TLC's ex-manager is a conniving, dishonest businesswoman who hoodwinked 3 innocent girls -- that's how it looked in a TV movie about the group ... and the ex-manager is now gunning for justice.

Perri "Pebbles" Reid claims in a new lawsuit ... the TV flick, "CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story" assassinated her character by portraying her as a liar and a cheat, when actually she invested her time and money as TLC's manager and created one of the best-selling female groups of all time.

Pebbles says the film falsely depicts her as pressuring Chilli to get an abortion ... pushing T-Boz to put the group ahead of her health ... and doling out a measly $25/wk for the girls.

Reid says the film -- which first aired a year ago and several times since -- destroyed her reputation, and she's suing for $40 million.

"X-Men" director Bryan Singer will raise his baby with the woman who is carrying it ... TMZ has learned.

Turns out, sources familiar with the situation tell us ... Michelle Clunie will raise the baby as her own after he or she is born. She will be listed as the mother on the birth certificate. She is NOT a surrogate.

We're told Bryan and Michelle have been friends for years and he's wanted this baby for a long time.

Our sources say the 2 are not romantically involved, but rather extremely close friends.

Contrary to reports, we're told Michelle will not get paid for carrying the baby, but Bryan will cover living expenses ... which is roughly equivalent to informal child support. He's already purchased a place for her to live just doors down from his West Hollywood home.

And our sources say ... the decision to have a baby was made long before Michael Egan accused Singer of molesting him when he was a minor. Egan dropped his lawsuit against Singer.

"X-Men" director Bryan Singer is having a baby ... and the baby mama is his longtime friend ... TMZ has confirmed.

Michelle Clunie is now living a few houses away from Singer ... something he clearly wanted because he bought the West Hollywood pad so she could be close to him.

Our sources say she's around 7 months pregnant.

We're also told the decision to have a baby has nothing to do with the recent accusations by a man who claimed Singer sexually assaulted him when he was a minor ... something Singer denies. The accuser dropped his lawsuit against Singer.

Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow may have figured out the whole divorcing thing ... figured it out better than most, because they still genuinely seem to have affection -- if not love -- for each other.

Chris, Gwyneth and their 2 kids went to Katsuya in Brentwood for dinner Tuesday night. They left separately ... Gwyneth and the kids in an SUV, leaving Chris behind.

But the SUV drives a block from the restaurant and then stops. Chris sprints over to his family, and then you see a touch that tells a real story about the relationship that remains between the two.

Tyrese went nuclear on the comedian who dared to drop some ridiculous casting couch accusations -- and safe to say, the comedian will NOT be laughing at this videotaped response ... but you will ... 'cause it's awesome.

The comedian, Spanky Hayes, claims he was beaten out for the lead in "Baby Boy" because Tyrese performed sexual favors for director John Singleton. Tyrese recorded a rebuttal to Spanky, and the hysterical theme of it is ... "You know you done f**ked up, right?"

Just for good measure -- Tyrese shot the whole comeback while walking around his mansion in a fur robe and smoking a cigar. Spanky, you've been served.

10:30 A.M. PT -- Danielle and her BF just issued a statement, saying ... "We are, quite frankly, appalled and disturbed that the LA prosecutors office has chosen to file these charges against us. The LAPD has previously issued a statement saying that there was no crime committed. If a passionate public embrace while displaying no nudity is grounds for having charges filed against you, then we'd expect that everyone who engages in an extended public display of affection with their loved one will be targeted as well. Sergeant [Jim] Parker is still under investigation for his conduct and filing misdemeanor charges against us does not change his behavior.”

"Django Unchained" actress Daniele Watts may be convincing in the movies, but not in real life because she's just been charged with lewd conduct for allegedly having sex in her car outside CBS Studios.

Watts went on a campaign against the LAPD ... accusing cops of racism for cuffing her after people complained they were banging in the Mercedes in Studio City. Watts, who claims she and her BF were just making out, walked away from cops in a fury, so they cuffed her and brought her back.

Prosecutors listened to the LAPD audio -- obtained by TMZ -- and realized what was up. Armed with various witnesses and photos of Watts straddling her BF with her breasts exposed, she and the BF were each charged with lewd conduct in public.

The crime is punishable by a maximum of 6 months in L.A. County Jail.