Movies

Moviegoers in NYC will notice a hefty police presence when they go see "Joker" on opening weekend ... cause the NYPD's not taking any chances on someone acting out.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ...  the NYPD doesn't want a copycat crime of what went down in Aurora, Colorado 7 years ago and is taking a "precautionary measure" by dispatching uniformed police officers to every theater across NYC screening the film.

We're told officers will be patrolling in front of theater entrances, though the public should be aware police have not received any specific "credible threats" to the Todd Phillips film starring Joaquin Phoenix as the Joker.

Grammy award-winning artist Louie Rankin -- famous for his role as Ox in the movie "Belly" -- died in a car crash in Canada ... TMZ has confirmed.

Details are scarce, but Louie died Monday in a fatal wreck in Ontario, Canada ... the crash reportedly involved a transport truck and another vehicle.

Louie starred alongside Nas and DMX in the 1998 crime drama "Belly" ... and his character, Ox, was a Jamaican kingpin.

Nas and Louie became close friends during filming, and the pair reunited years later for a cameo in a DJ Khaled music video for his song, "Nas Album Done."

Stacey Dash says her husband and his 3 kids conspired to have her arrested ... to cover up her husband's alleged brutality.

TMZ broke the story ... Stacey called 911 Sunday, claiming her husband put her in a chokehold. When cops came out, they observed scratches on husband Jeffrey Marty's arms -- this, along with statements from his kids, got her cuffed and booked for assault.

Stacey says in the 911 call Jeffrey coached his 15, 14 and 10-year-old on what to say to cops. At one point, Stacey accuses Marty of faking his injuries, claiming he was taking photos of scratches on his arms ... scratches she didn't inflict.

Marlon Wayans is going back under a legal microscope for comparing a man to the "Family Guy" character Cleveland Brown a few years back ... and he ain't happy about it.

We ran into the comedian and actor Monday at LAX, where we got his thoughts on a potentially momentous decision by the CA Supreme Court to reexamine a lower court's 2015 ruling that he did NOT do anything wrong with the viral burn.

You'll recall ... while filming for the movie, "A Haunted House 2," Marlon tweeted that Pierre Daniel -- an extra in the flick -- looked like a dead ringer for Cleveland.

Pierre sued Marlon and the production company for the move shortly thereafter, claiming that not only had Marlon racially harassed him with the tweet ... but he also allegedly made a habit of roasting him on the set, which he says caused him great harm.

At the time, a judge said that Pierre did, in fact, look like Cleveland ... and, more importantly, that Marlon's antics were protected free speech. An appellate court upheld that ruling in 2017, saying Marlon's tweet was kosher if that was his creative process as a comic.

Robert De Niro obviously had A LOT more to say about the possible impeachment of President Trump, going on a CNN morning show and dropping f-bombs from the sky.

The actor was on Brian Stelter's "Reliable Sources" Sunday morning as a special guest, where he was asked about the impeachment inquiry opened against DT this past week ... and where he thinks things will go from here. Similar to our question, of course.

You'll recall ... we asked Bob just Saturday about this issue, and he somewhat surprised us by saying he'd actually rather have Mike Pence in office ... if it meant getting Donnie out.

Welp, RDN expanded on that a little with the CNN host ... making a pretty serious claim that he believes POTUS demonstrates "crazy" behavior, and he seemed to mean it literally. Stelter asked him if he was saying "crazy" in a medical sense, and Bob said possibly.

Liza Minnelli's standing firm on her policy of shunning movies associated with her mom ... and isn't the least bit swayed by Renee Zellweger's rave reviews in an upcoming biopic.

Sources close to Judy Garland's daughter tell TMZ ... she "most likely" won't see "Judy," starring Renee, because she's always stayed away from onscreen depictions of her mother or herself, and this one, in particular, has the potential to be painful viewing.

We're told Liza would find many of the scenes hurtful, and isn't looking to tarnish her memories of her mother. Our sources add, Liza believes if people want to see what Garland was like, they don't need a biopic -- they can simply watch her classic films or listen to her records.

Minnelli's half-sister, Lorna Luft, basically said the same recently, and reportedly won't be checking out Zellweger's performance either when the movie hits theaters this weekend.

Robert De Niro says he could stomach -- and "deal with" -- VP Mike Pence in the Oval just so long as it means as Donald Trump gets forced out of office and out of D.C. for good.

The legendary actor took a few seconds out of his press tour-de-force Saturday in NYC -- a day after he, Martin Scorsese, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci premiered their new flick "The Irishman" for the NY Film Festival -- to talk Trump and a possible impeachment.

As we've reported ... Nancy Pelosi and the House of Reps. launched a formal impeachment inquiry last week after word got out about DT's call this summer with the Ukrainian Prez ... in which POTUS casually asked him to look into Joe Biden and his son, Hunter.

The White House even released a rough transcript of the call, and it couldn't be any clearer -- Trump asked the guy to get to the bottom of it, with the help of Attorney General William Barr and even his own personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani. Rudy denied wrongdoing, FWIW.

Jason Momoa says we can't wait any longer ... the time to address the climate crisis is now, and he's calling on all world leaders to quit "half-assing it" and go all in.

The "Aquaman" star and ocean activist addressed the United Nations Friday on behalf of small island nations, and made a direct and sobering plea for delegates to take a stand to save the planet.

The actor began by describing how his background has shown him how different places can be "oblivious to another" ... but by abusing the environment, we are all hurting each other.

Momoa runs through a depressing list of the Earth's current issues -- rising sea levels, vanishing ecosystems, devastating plastic pollution -- largely placing blame on the emissions and corporate greed of first world countries.

He says small island nations are suffering the most from this disaster, but they are just the beginning ... and warns we are at the "critical tipping point" that could lead to the death of our planet.

Robert Garrison -- the actor best known for playing Tommy in "The Karate Kid" and its sequel -- has died ... according to his family.

Garrison's sister-in-law tells TMZ ... he died Friday morning at a hospital in West Virginia. She says his passing wasn't sudden -- he had been in the hospital for over a month dealing with kidney and liver issues.

We're told the family is currently working on funeral arrangements.

The woman who went on a racial tirade against black people at a Los Angeles CVS is a Hollywood costume designer ... and some celebs are rightfully calling her out.

Heather Lynn Patton is the woman dropping n-bombs and screaming that she wants to kill black people in this viral video. Her racist rant, which went down Tuesday at a CVS in Eagle Rock, sparked outrage online and left some famous people she worked with stunned.

Audra McDonald reacted on Twitter, with the actress writing, "Wow. Apparently she worked on Private Practice. I don't remember her but apparently if not for the law she would've killed me and Taye? Harsh."

Patricia Arquette says the woman worked with her on the NBC series "Medium" for 2 seasons and says one of her friends from the set told her, "This is really sad. Holy s**t. Wow I'm actually shaking. This was not who she was at all ... It's like I'm watching a person that has completely come undone."

Dustin May's fastball is scary as hell ... but his costume at the Dodgers' dress-up party on Thursday was even more terrifying -- 'cause he made for an UNREAL Pennywise!!!

For some reason, L.A. decided to celebrate Halloween about a month early this year after their win over the Padres ... and we're all grateful for it.

May's Pennywise fit stole the show -- seriously, don't let your kids see it (get it!) -- but his teammates had some pretty incredible costumes as well.

Star hitter Cody Bellinger and reliever Joe Kelly dressed up as LeBron's "Taco Tuesday" ... and it's hilarious.

George and Amal Clooney have reached a milestone -- their 5-year anniversary -- and it seems their key to a happy marriage ... is finding joy in the difficult stuff.

The couple was leaving 4 Charles Prime Rib restaurant in NYC Thursday night on the eve of their big day, and we asked what the hardest part of being married is after half a decade ... and they were VERY amused.

It's hard to tell what's so funny exactly -- the question itself or the possible answers. Truth is, George and Amal both manage high-profile careers while also raising 2-year-old twins ... so maybe it's just humorous trying to narrow it down.

BTW, the Clooneys were joined at dinner by another high-profile couple -- best friends Cindy Crawford and her hubby, Rande Gerber, George's partner at Casamigos Tequila.

Everybody's favorite fast-food fried chicken in the "Breaking Bad" universe will soon be available in the real world ... for delivery.

A mural for Los Pollos Hermanos -- the restaurant chain owned by meth distributor Gus Fring on the TV series -- popped up in Venice Beach Thursday, and sources tell TMZ ... the grub's coming soon.

We're told 'BB' fans will soon be able to order and enjoy various chicken combos from the "virtual restaurant" in a few weeks. That means it won't be a sit-down joint, but the food can be delivered and will come in Los Pollos packaging. It's unclear where the food will be made, but no one on the outside will know where.

Our sources say the TV-inspired meals are being made by Family Style Inc., the same company behind Steve Aoki's Pizzaoki.

"Joker" fans hoping to dress up like the notorious Batman villain for screenings will need an change of clothes, or they'll be turned away -- at least at Landmark Theatres.

In the name of safety and security, several big theater chains have already enacted policies that prohibit moviegoers from donning masks and face paint or bringing props, but for the opening weekend of Todd Phillips' "Joker" film ... Landmark is going a step further.

CEO Ted Mundorff tells TMZ ... "We are not allowing costumes, face painting or masks by either our employees or guests," specifically for the release of the movie starring Joaquin Phoenix.

Landmark operates over 50 theaters in 27 markets in the U.S.

Regal Cinemas tells us it doesn't think the "Joker" poses any specific risk because, "We do not believe the content or the existence of any movie is a cause or a signal for violence."

That being said, a Regal rep added their theaters are in regular contact with law enforcement year-round so they always have info to help make whatever security assessments are necessary.

This all comes amid backlash against "Joker," with critics saying the film has a dangerous message ... and the potential to incite troubled individuals to commit mass shootings.

George Clooney's just sittin' around on his ass -- alongside Brie Larson -- and getting paid for it ... good work if you can get it!

The movie stars were riding through the streets of Madrid Wednesday -- Clooney on a beautiful white donkey, and Larson on what looks like a white horse, of course. Although it could be a mule. Forgive us ... we're no equine experts.

Either way, they seemed to vibe well with the animals, and at one point, George even shared a moment with a chicken that wandered onto set. The actors were shooting a new ad for Nespresso. George has been its main spokesman since 2006.

Over the years actors like Matt Damon, John Malkovich, Danny DeVito and Natalie Dormer have joined him for the spots ... and now you can add Captain Marvel to that list.

Y'know what they say -- work hard, bray hard.

If you thought Taraji P. Henson's movie, "What Men Want," was a new take on "What Women Want," think again -- a screenwriter says it's really a rip-off of his script, and now he's suing Paramount.

Joe Carlini says he wrote a screenplay entitled "What the F Is He Thinking?" back in 2015, and shopped it around Hollywood -- but Joe admits he struck out. No one bit.

In his lawsuit, Joe says he had meetings with reps for big-time production companies, including Weinstein, Montage and Bloom. He even spoke to several actors about starring in his movie. Yes, he dropped some names in the docs ... James Franco, Chris Pratt, Nick Swardson and King Bach.

Still, it never took flight. Cut to 2 years later ... when, according to the docs, the film's producers get Taraji on board for their film. When it came out in 2019, Joe says it was painfully obvious, to him anyway, they'd jacked his script.

Among the similarities he saw: both main characters wish they could understand men better ... both fall and hit their heads after partying ... and both wake up in the hospital and discover they can hear men's thoughts.