Movies

Idris Elba -- aka DJ Big Driis -- showed off his turntable skills at Coachella Saturday night ... and people were definitely interested in witnessing it firsthand.

The British actor headlined a set during Day 2 of the festival, coming onstage under the Yuma tent around 9 PM in front of what appeared to be a packed house of spectators.

In this up-close footage, obtained by TMZ, you can see just how far back the crowd went, and just how into the music they were. We're told Idris mostly stuck to house music during his two-hour show. He didn't bring any special guests out as far as we know -- but he really didn't need to ... the crowd was all in on his vibe. And, besides, it's Idris-Freakin'-Elba.

It's funny -- Idris stars in a new Netflix film called "Turn Up Charlie," in which he plays a professional DJ-turned-nanny ... with hilarious results. Obviously, he was perfect for that role.

The historically black all-male university that people like Martin Luther King Jr., Samuel L. Jackson and other famous folks attended will now start accepting transgender men onto its campus ... but there's a catch that excludes other trans students.

Atlanta's Morehouse College announced this weekend that it would begin admitting transgender students who identify as male starting in the fall semester of 2020. The move comes as part of its new Gender Identity Admissions and Matriculation Policy.

It also follows in the footsteps of neighboring Spelman College -- an all-female university -- which rolled out a similar policy for transgender women in 2017.

There's a caveat though -- Morehouse says its trans policy will only be applicable to students who identify as men throughout their academic careers. Any man who transitions from male to female during their time at Morehouse will not be eligible for enrollment.

It goes without saying, trans women won't be eligible for initial admission either. The good news ... the school says any already-enrolled students who identified as trans women before 2020 will be able to graduate. But, after 2020, that ain't gonna be the case.

Just to give you a sense of how historically important this college is, here's a brief list of some of its other famous alumni: Spike Lee, Herman Cain, Guru, John David Washington, Donn Clendenon, Fonzworth Bentley, Metro Boomin, Isaac Keys, Bill Nunn ... and many, many other guys who went on to great success.

Here's Bruce Willis getting down on the harmonica in Harlem, singing and jamming out on stage during a jazz show ... and the video is amazing!!!

We got these clips of Bruce at The Apollo Theater last week, where he and lots of celebs showed up to salute the Jazz Foundation of America ... and ya gotta see Bruce bring the house down!!!

Bruce was one of the last acts to perform, and you see him showing off his pipes and playing the hell out of the harmonica during a 5-minute solo set with the jazz band, Sweet Georgia Brown. The song he's singing is his very own, "Devil Woman."

Other celebs joining Bruce at the event include Common, Keegan-Michael Key, Danny Glover, Patti Smith, Tony Bennett, Quincy Jones and Bettye LaVette.

Leonardo DiCaprio is back in the desert for another year of Coachella -- and it looks like he's there with his latest boo thang ... who was apparently being a very good girl.

Leo was spotted late Friday night/early Saturday morning at the Poppy x Google Midnight Bloom after-party around 2:30 AM, where he was sporting his usual incognito getup ... a dark hoodie, a hat and sunglasses. It's really not even a disguise anymore, dude.

Anyway, the shindig drew a number of celebs ... we're told folks like Paris Hilton, Nick Young, Trae Young and even Cuba Gooding Jr. were there. And, of course, Leo and who we believe might be his 21-year-old Argentinian model (ex-?) flame, Camila Morrone.

In this video, obtained by TMZ, you see him stand up at one point and pet the girl who was sitting next to him ... right on the noggin. It's unclear if this is Camila, or some other chick he's cozied up with since ... but he's obviously comfortable enough to do a head pat.

Leo and Camila haven't been seen together in public since at least November of last year -- which seemed to cap off a whirlwind 2018 romance that also placed them at Coachella.

She got pretty handsy with him during a day party hosted by none than his former ex, Rihanna. And, the next day ... he returned the favor by clinging on to her for dear life.

Kirk Douglas has a lot going for him ... including longevity, because he's still out having fun at the ripe old age of 102!!!

Kirk was camping in grandson Cameron's backyard Friday ... maybe it's not full-blown camping, but still ... the guy's 102 and hangin' in a tent.

Mr. Spartacus was laying on an inflatable mattress with a couple pillows for support ... poolside, of course.

Kirk was rockin' a pair of sunglasses as he took in the sights.

His son, Michael, has said his dad is still super engaged ... he loves FaceTime.

The elder statesman has become one of the most beloved and enduring figures in Hollywood over the years. He celebrated his 100th birthday at the Beverly Hills Hotel, which opened just 4 years before he was born. BTW ... despite a stroke in 1996, Kirk works out with the help of a personal trainer.

Kirk has 94 acting credits including, of course, the iconic "Spartacus." His most recent film, "Illusion," was released in 2004. Kirk's been nominated 3 times for an Oscar, but never won.

David Harbour gave "Hellboy" producers one hell of a scare ... he almost didn't fit into his demon superhero bodysuit because he was too jacked!!!

Harbour's trainer, Don Saladino, tells TMZ ... Harbour's 10-week workout regimen transformed him so much it set off a production panic. We're told producers were actually upset over the weight loss and body reshaping.

Check out the vid ... the celeb trainer, who also started his own "Hellboy" program, says it wasn't the case. He concedes, yes, Harbour's body drastically transformed ... but by packing on serious muscle. Nevertheless ... Saladino says he had to have a talk with his client about actually NOT being too strict on his diet. Must be nice.

No doubt Harbour -- proudly strutting a dad bod in "Stranger Things" as Sheriff Hopper -- looks like a badass in the movie, released Friday.

BTW ... most people who hire famous trainers usually request the Ryan Reynolds look. Not Harbour though!!! Now, about those abs ...

The end of the last Star Wars trilogy now has a name -- 'The Rise of Skywalker' -- and the world just got its first look at the trailer with a spectacular premiere in a galaxy not far ... from Lake Michigan.

Director J.J. Abrams and much of the cast were at Star Wars Celebration Chicago -- think Comic-Con strictly for 'Star Wars' -- when they pulled the curtain back on the highly anticipated trailer. Aside from revealing the title ... it also had Mark Hamill's voice and at least one scene with the late Carrie Fisher.

One of the bigger surprises is the creepy laugh at the end of the trailer ... signaling the return of the Emperor, as in Palpatine.

When the trailer ended ... Ian McDiarmid, the guy who plays the Emperor, was standing on the Chicago stage -- and delivered a message in character.

Watch ... the crowd went wild, and the Force was definitely with them.

Michael Jackson's family is not gonna be happy with this -- Aaron Carter says he's finally ready to speak the truth about his experience with MJ.

We got Aaron out Thursday at LAX where he seemed to do a 180, saying he's going to reveal his experiences with the late singer ... as for whether it involved abuse, Aaron won't say either way.

Remember ... it was exactly a month ago when Aaron came on "TMZ Live" and staunchly supported MJ, saying absolutely NOTHING happened in his encounters with MJ back in the day. Aaron also blasted the "Leaving Neverland" accusers, calling them liars, because he said they had the opportunity to come forward when MJ was alive, but didn't.

Selma Blair's zest for life is fully intact as she adjusts to life with multiple sclerosis ... which she made perfectly clear when she ran into a fan and started singing her heart out.

Selma was out in L.A. Thursday, enjoying a cup o' joe after leaving a beauty salon, when a young fan approached. Not just any fan, mind you -- the woman recognized the actress and said they'd gone to the same summer camp in Michigan. What happened next was ... pure joy.

It's great to see Selma smiling and laughing after recently opening up about her MS diagnosis with Robin Roberts. It's an unpredictable and often disabling disease of the central nervous system, and it can cause chronic problems with vision, muscle control and balance.

While MS can make even the most basic tasks nearly impossible -- Selma's not letting her condition dampen her spirits.

HBO is denying reports it yanked its Michael Jackson documentary off the air, and adds ... "Leaving Neverland" isn't leaving it's lineup any time soon, partly because of its popularity with celebs.

Rumors circulated this week that HBO had removed the 2-part documentary from its programming -- there were very few listings of it on the lineup, but HBO tells us that's standard ops for its documentaries.

It says 'Neverland' will stay on its TV cable service for another week, and then it will only be available for streaming on HBO On Demand, HBO GO and HBO NOW for months to come.

HBO also told us it's continuing to get very vocal support for 'Neverland' from celebs like Ellen DeGeneres, Sia, Bill Maher, Judd Apatow, Eve, Rosie O'Donnell and Gayle King.

Since its March 4 premiere on HBO, part 1 of 'Neverland' has pulled in 7.5 million viewers ... according to HBO, which it says is second only to a Scientology documentary it aired.

John Amos might not work with Eddie Murphy again ... but he's still holding out hope he can reprise his role as Prince Akeem's boss in the upcoming film, "Coming 2 America."

Sources close to John, who played Cleo McDowell in the original film, tell TMZ ... the veteran actor still hasn't been asked to bring the character back, but as he told us a few months ago, he'll jump at the opportunity if it comes his way.

Paramount reached out to his team back in February, but the movie studio has since gone radio silent. Wardrobe fittings for the film are already underway, which signals the storyline and the script could be nearing completion.

Translation ... the tea leaves don't look good.

When we talked with John earlier this year, he told us he was craving the chance to play Mr. McDowell again ... and he had tons of ideas for the new movie.

Akon just told us he hopes Eddie casts real Africans in the sequel -- but John's holding out hope at least one more African-American actor makes the cut.

We are too!!!

Akon has some words of encouragement and advice for Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall as they dive into the "Coming to America" sequel -- get some real Africans on the set!!!

The Senegal-raised singer got into it with us Wednesday at LAX, where he said he was stoked Eddie and Arsenio are running it back for a sequel all these years later. That said, he says he'd like it if they share the screen with talent from the Motherland (he can say that).

It's a perfect time for them to hear him out, 'cause the two leads just started getting fitted by "Black Panther" Oscar-winning costume designer, Ruth Carter.

According to Akon, Eddie and co. would be wise to cast someone like, say, Michael Blackson -- who's from Ghana -- or any number of African comedians or actors who would make the film feel authentic.

More than that though ... Akon says such a move would pay off big time at the box office.

Rick Fox says Magic Johnson's decision to leave the Lakers was a complete shock -- but if the NBA legend was truly unhappy, stepping down was the right move.

"I just feel for Magic," Fox tells TMZ Sports ... "I saw the emotion and I saw the love he has for this organization and the difficulty that decision was for him."

"We all care about him and we all care about the organization."

Fox says Lakers fans should keep their heads up -- saying, "Things always get worse before they get better."

Magic surprised EVERYONE when he announced Tuesday evening he'd be leaving his role as President of Basketball Operations ... but Rick tells us it would have been a "disservice" for Johnson to stay on if he lost his passion for the job.

Charles Van Doren, perhaps the most infamous TV game show contestant ever -- and the subject of an Oscar-nominated movie -- died Tuesday at his Connecticut retirement home ... according to his family.

Charles famously admitted cheating on the NBC game show, "Twenty-One," back in the 1950s. He actually testified before Congressional investigators and said the games were rigged. It was a huge scandal because prime time game shows were enormously popular back then ... drawing up to 50 million viewers.

Robert Redford directed the 1994 movie, "Quiz Show" -- with Ralph Fiennes playing Van Doren -- about the cheating scandal. The movie earned 4 Oscar nominations and 4 Golden Globes nominations.

Van Doren won $129,000 -- which would be more than $1 million today -- but later told Congress he had been given the questions and answers in advance. He also said he was coached up on how to create more drama as he pondered his answers on the show.

Although he was from a very prominent and wealthy Manhattan family ... Van Doren was disgraced after the cheating scandal. He went on to become an editor for Encyclopedia Britannica and wrote a few books.

He'd been living in the retirement community for several years before his death.

President Trump tried turning D.C. into Gotham with a little help from the music featured in one of Christopher Nolan's Batman movies ... but the bat signal was cut off quick.

DT posted a well-produced dramatic video on his Twitter feed Tuesday afternoon that hyped up his MAGA slogan and was basically fodder for his base -- but it also used one of the orchestral tunes in "The Dark Knight Rises" ... ya know, one of the epic ones.

And, of course, Trump slugged his tweet, "MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"

The problem ... Trump stole Hans Zimmer's music, "Why Do We Fall?" The tune belongs to the movie studio behind "The Dark Knight Rises" ... Warner Bros.

At some point early Wednesday morning, Twitter removed the video ... citing a complaint from the copyright holder, WB. A WB honcho publicly said shortly afterward the studio hadn't authorized the White House to use its Bat tune.

The Milwaukee Bucks' owner's daughter is on board with Giannis turning down a role in LeBron's "Space Jam 2" ... 'cause Mallory Edens tells TMZ Sports she thinks it's a GOOD thing!!!

"If you think about it right now, LeBron is Giannis' peer," Mallory says ... "I don't think he should idolize him in a way like a normal basketball fan [would]."

Of course, Giannis just told ESPN he's all OUT in the sequel to Michael Jordan's mega-hit ... saying he doesn't want to take time away from summer training to film a movie with the King.

Mallory -- who's also a model -- says she's just fine with that ... explaining to us she LOVES the idea that Giannis ain't trying to be super friends with LBJ.

"That's his competitor. That's his peer. It's somebody he wants to beat. I don't think he needs to be, like, buddy-buddy with him and run around and shoot a movie with him."

In fact, Mallory says she loves the original "Space Jam" so much -- and despises sequels that much more -- she thinks it's going to be tough for Bron to find ANY NBA superstars to join him on set.