Movies

Michael Jackson's Estate is slamming HBO, claiming the network is part of a grossly unfair hatchet job just to make a buck.

The Estate is lashing out after HBO announced "Leaving Neverland" will be broadcast on March 3 and 4.

The Estate's letter to HBO targets director Dan Reed, claiming he featured 2 admitted perjurers -- Wade Robson and James Safechuck -- and consciously refused to contact anyone who would discredit them. And, the letter makes it clear -- there are plenty of people who do just that.

The letter says, "The Estate spent years litigating with Robson and Safechuck, and had four different lawsuits by these two men dismissed with prejudice. Today, Robson owes the Estate almost seventy thousand dollars in court costs, and Safechuck owes the Estate thousands of dollars as well."

And, the letter goes on, noting that following MJ's 2009 death, Robson said Michael was "one of the main reasons I believe in the pure goodness of human kind."

As for why Robson changed his story ... the Estate reiterated what it's said before, that he became angry when the Estate rejected him as a choreographer for the MJ-themed Cirque de Soleil.

And, the letter says, "Robson is such a good liar that his own mother testified under oath at her deposition that she could not tell when he was lying; she even volunteered that 'he should have had an Oscar given how convincing his lies were.'"

The Estate blasts Safechuck, scoffing at claims that his memory of abuse was triggered when he saw Robson on the "Today" show, adding, "Safechuck's frivolous lawsuits were dismissed so early in the proceedings that significant discovery was never taken ..."

3:17 PM PT -- T.I. just weighed in on the controversy, saying he's going to stop buying Gucci and also calling on people to boycott the brand. The rapper says he's been spending seven figures on Gucci for several years, but that ends now.

T.I. went on a long rant, saying he's not accepting Gucci's apology and accusing the company of purposefully being disrespectful and racist. He ended his rant by saying, "I Don't Give a F*** if I gotta wear Target brand s***."

Spike Lee's had it with Prada and Gucci's racist blackface blunders ... so he's boycotting the luxury brands until they hire some black designers to keep them in check.

The "BlacKkKlansman" director announced he's no longer going to wear either Prada or Gucci Friday in wake of yet another blackface controversy from the Italian Fashion houses. If you missed it, Gucci got dragged this week over an $890 blackface sweater.

Spike says he's done with both brands "Until They Hire Some Black Designers 'To Be In Da Room When It Happens.''' He added ... "It's Obvious To Da Peoples That They Don't Have A Clue When It Comes To Racist, Blackface Hateful Imagery. WAKE UP."

Gucci apologized for its ridiculously offensive balaclava jumper and says it's been pulled from all stores. It also vowed to increase diversity across the company ... but Spike's clearly taking a wait and see approach.

As for Prada, you might recall its high-end Manhattan shop put a purse in its window in December with this "Sambo" figurine attached. It was also quickly pulled after cries of racism.

Still, both incidents beg the question ... who the hell's watching the shop???

Spike thinks he knows the answer, and says more black staffers have to be on board to help end the "coonery and buffoonery."

We reached out to both brands -- Prada has no comment and Gucci has yet to reply.

Wyatt Oleff isn't old enough to drive, but he can already afford any car he wants ... because we've learned the kid actor is raking in six figures for his next movie role.

Wyatt, who is playing young Stanley Uris in "It: Chapter Two," could make up to $500,000 for his work ... this according to Wyatt's minors contract, obtained by TMZ. That's a fat paycheck for anyone, but especially for a 15-year-old!

According to the docs, Wyatt is pocketing $150,000 in base pay, and has a chance to earn another $350k depending on how well the sequel does at the box office.

Of course, Wyatt will also get an on-screen credit during the movie's opening titles. Translation: the kid's a star, baby!

He's reprising the Stanley Uris role he played in the 2017 "It" reboot ... which, by the way, was a massive hit. It earned $327 million at the domestic box office, and $700 mil internationally.

Those numbers add up to the kid having a real good shot at his $350k worth of bonuses for the sequel.

Five-time Oscar nominee Albert Finney has died.

A family spokesman said the actor died after a short, undisclosed illness. Finney had kidney cancer back in 2011, but it's unclear if it was related to his death.

Finney was at the forefront of a British invasion of sorts ... a wave of British actors who hit the big screen in the '60s in the U.S.

The actor received Oscar noms -- Best Supporting Actor for "Erin Brockovich," and Best Actor in "Under the Volcano," "The Dresser," "Murder on the Orient Express," and the titular role in "Tom Jones." He didn't win, but 5 nominations are pretty impressive. He did nab a Golden Globe and an Emmy for the 2002 miniseries, "The Gathering Storm."

Finney started his career onstage doing "Shakespeare," and his first movie -- "The Entertainer" -- hit big in 1960. That same year, he rose to fame playing Arthur in "Saturday Night and Sunday Morning."

He played the iconic role, Ebenezer Scrooge, in the 1970s film "Scrooge" ... for which he also won a Golden Globe.

Finney's most recent acting role was 2012's "Skyfall." He also had notable roles in the 'Bourne' franchise and "Big Fish."

His family says he passed away peacefully with friends and family by his side.

Finney was married 3 times and had 1 son.

Rocky fought Drago in the Soviet Union ... and Kelvin Gastelum's fighting Robert Whittaker in Australia -- and just like "Rocky IV," Gastelum says he's gonna beat the hell outta the home-country hero.

TMZ Sports talked to Gastelum -- whose favorite boxer is Rocky Balboa (yes, we all know he's a fictional character) -- days before fighting Whittaker, the UFC middleweight champ ... in his home country.

Gastelum lives in California ... and traveled 8,000 miles for this fight. So, he's expecting everyone on the continent to be rooting against him.

Sounds a lot like "Rocky IV" ... but Kelvin says he ain't worried.

"It's all good. Look what happens at the end. Rocky turns everybody over on his side, and he wins the fight."

Gastelum says that's precisely what he's gonna do ... but instead of a crushing knockout blow, he's gonna "rip his head off" and take his belt.

"I plan on taking that 12 pounds of gold. It's a long flight home. I don't plan on going empty-handed."

Sherri Shepherd says Liam Neeson should have NEVER let his "black bastard" revenge story outta Pandora's box ... and Michelle Rodriguez making excuses for Liam is just pathetic.

We got Sherri out in NYC Thursday afternoon and wanted to get her take on Liam's bombshell revelation that he -- after learning his friend had been raped by a black man -- walked the streets for days with a baton looking to kill a black man to avenge the crime.

Liam tried his hand at damage control by saying he's learned a lot about racism and insisting he's not racist. He called his behavior horrible ... but, the damage was done.

Not helping Liam's cause? Michelle telling Vanity Fair there's no way Liam's racist because he made out with Viola Davis in "Widows." Michelle said, "His tongue was so far down [her] throat. You can't call him a racist ever. Racists don't make out with the race that they hate."

Danielle Bregoli's star continues to rise, because her Snapchat series is bringing in tons of eyeballs to the screen, and she's looking to parlay the early success into even more projects.

Snapchat tells TMZ ... Danielle's new Snap Original, "Bringing Up Bhabie," generated over 10 MILLION unique views in the 24 hours after its Monday debut. We're told the first-day numbers give Snapchat tons of confidence that the show's a hit.

Look out Kardashians ... a rep for Danielle points out 'KUWTK' gets 1.5 million viewers per episode, adding, even though they're not in competition, Bhad Bhabie's numbers are WAY bigger.

Danielle's first-day viewership makes for one of the most successful premieres for this type of series, which started launching back in October. Snap honchos are super happy with the direction of their original content -- thanks, in large part, to Bhad Bhabie.

As you know, Danielle has been rapidly expanding her empire with a 25-city tour, a certified gold single, a futuristic billboard ad, and a lucrative beauty and makeup endorsement deal.

Taking into account all of her revenue streams ... Danielle's reps tell us she should easily surpass yearly earnings of $10 million.

So, what mountain will Danielle climb next? We're told she's looking for TV and movie roles.

Woody Allen says Amazon Studios got cold feet and backed out of a four-movie deal ... over the old molestation allegation about him and his daughter -- and now he wants MAJOR payback.

Woody filed a lawsuit Thursday against the studio for at least $68 million! In the suit, he says Amazon was all in, as of Aug. 2017, to distribute his movie, "A Rainy Day in New York" ... starring Selena Gomez and Timothee Chalamet.

Allen says the movie was shot, edited and ready for release -- but according to the suit, Amazon backed out in June 2018. He says he demanded an explanation, and the studio would only say it was due to "renewed allegations" and Woody's "controversial comments."

Even worse ... Woody says Amazon committed to distribute three other films as well, but reneged on all of them.

He says Amazon never spelled it out for him, but in the suit Woody says he thinks it's related to a "25-year old, baseless allegation" he molested his and Mia Farrow's adopted daughter, Dylan.

Matt Damon got dumped in Australia ... by the waves, not his gorgeous wife.

Matt hit up Byron Bay for a little surfing session and he got off to a pretty rough start. You can see the action star show off some beginner moves -- falling over and over and over, and ... ya get the point. Jason Bourne's stunt double was not on the beach.

Still, gotta give him credit for getting back up and giving it another go. Check out the clip ... there's no quit in Matt.

Zac Efron was not too good-looking to play Ted Bundy ... in fact, the director says Zac's looks underscore the very, very dark point of the flick.

Joe Berlinger, the director of "Extremely Wicked, Shocking Evil and Vile," told our photog Wednesday in NYC ... Zac's looks were a plus, but they took a backseat to his acting chops. Joe clearly couldn't be more pleased with Zac's performance, echoing reviews that called it "career-changing."

That said, Joe notes Bundy was able to disarm people with his looks and charm, and the film makes a statement that people who seem desirable on the outside are capable of monstrous conduct.

Joe says Bundy was a testament to the notion of perceived normalcy ... everything you see on the outside may look acceptable, but it's often not what it seems.

The movie was a hit at the Sundance Film Festival and Netflix acquired the distribution rights. Berlinger also directed the series "Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes," so his Bundy knowledge runs deep.

Liam Neeson is on the ropes and ducking faster than a pro boxer -- he's reportedly pulled out of an interview with Stephen Colbert on the heels of his tale of seeking race-based revenge.

Neeson's backed out of a scheduled Friday night appearance on the 'Late Show' ... according to The Wrap. He's clearly doing everything he can to avoid any further questions about his confession this week that 40 years ago he went out trying to kill any "black bastard" ... to avenge a friend who'd been raped.

We've reached out to Liam's camp and 'The Late Show' for comment ... so far, no word back.

The cancellation comes on the heels of Lionsgate pulling the plug on the red carpet for the NYC premiere of Liam's new movie, "Cold Pursuit" -- again, effectively dodging questions.

Talk about a PR nightmare -- Neeson made the bizarre revelation to The Independent on Monday. His follow-up interview on 'GMA' didn't help cool things down ... in fact, the backlash only intensified.

Andy King -- the event planner who offered oral sex in exchange for Evian (lots of it) at the doomed Fyre Festival -- is ready for his close-up ... strictly above the waist.

Andy tells TMZ ... he's received offers from multiple networks for a reality series since his unforgettable scenes in the Netflix 'Fyre' documentary. He says cameras would follow him doing what he does ... hosting major events around the world.

Andy says his show will absolutely focus on the drama and stress involved in putting on huge events -- a la the Fyre Festival -- but will also show the fun side. Presumably when things do NOT implode ... a la Fyre.

As for Fyre villain Billy McFarland, Andy still thinks Billy's heart was in the right place and he's not a bad guy -- he just made some very bad decisions.

Understatement much?

Unlike Billy, Andy says the events on his show will give back to the communities where they take place. Don't get the wrong idea ... he means financially.

Jamie Foxx must be thinking J.J. Abrams is shooting a movie on the streets of Malibu -- 'cause why the hell else would he run into a real-life robot working security at the beach??

The actor was out for lunch with a pal at the Malibu Village shopping center Wednesday afternoon when he came upon the K5 Knightscope -- an autonomous surveillance machine, and possible distant cousin of R2-D2 ... we're checking.

Anyway, Jamie was pretty astonished by K5.

The Oscar winner gave the security guard a once over and even busted out his phone for a photo, 'cause y'know ... pics or it didn't happen!.

K5 is pretty new to the area, but spokespeople for the shopping center have said its purpose is to keep the community safe by thwarting criminal activity and assisting police officers.

The machine is capable of securing large outdoor areas like parking lots, malls, campuses, etc ... it's also great at making famous friends.

If only it could host the Oscars!

Alice Marie Johnson stole the show during President Trump's State of the Union speech -- but turns out that's not her only show.

The recently-freed prisoner told us about her book deal, her movie deal and her big plans for the future on TMZ Live. And, check out today's show, because turns out she's already dealing with the benefits and pitfalls of being a celebrity.

And, speaking of celebs ... she's clearly become good buds with Kim Kardashian, who is, in large part, responsible for her freedom.

J.Law is about to inherit some I-Laws -- 'cause she's newly engaged ... and not afraid to show off the ring on a date night with her fiance.

Jen was spotted flashing her new rock Monday night in NYC while grabbing dinner at Raoul's French bistro with art gallerist and soon-to-be-hubby Cooke Maroney -- who popped the question after 8 months of dating. Her rep confirmed they're set to be hitched.

Based on how much this thing shines ... something tells us it's a beaut up close, and probably pretty damn big. And, clearly, she's happy to flaunt it.

This is Jennifer's first engagement after some very public relationships in the recent past. She dated 'X-Men' costar Nicholas Hoult for a few years, and was most recently linked to director Darren Aronofsky ... with whom she also worked in 2017's "Mother!"

She was reportedly introduced to Cooke this past summer through her pal, Laura Simpson, and has been going strong with him behind the scenes since then.

It's like they say ... third time's a charm.

Liam Neeson's own words -- about looking for a "black bastard" to kill 40 years ago -- are derailing the NYC rollout of his new movie.

"Cold Pursuit" is premiering Tuesday night in NYC, but the studio's decided to cancel the red carpet event -- meaning Neeson won't have to face the media. That change was announced just hours before the premiere -- and a few hours after Neeson tried to soften the blow of his bombshell revelation.

He went on 'GMA,' attempting to further explain why he'd tried to avenge a friend's rape -- when he was in his 20s -- by seeking to assault random black men. Neeson didn't know the attacker's identity but only knew he was black.

Neeson first told the puzzling story to The Independent on Monday, and the backlash has been building ever since.

For instance, we spoke to Killer Mike outside SiriusXM's office in NYC and he said he's been dealing with people like Neeson all his life.

Mike ripped Neeson for his "incredibly racist, bigoted and wrong" comments, but added he's not worried about the actor because he doesn't have to work with him.