Movies

DeWayne Jessie is best known for playing the "Shama Lama Ding Dong" and "Shout"-singing Otis Day (of Otis Day and The Knights) in the beer-chugging, toga-wearing, float-crashing comedy masterpiece, "National Lampoon's Animal House."

DeWayne Jessie partied in the college classic alongside legends like Tim Matheson as the ladies man, Eric "Otter" Stratton, Peter Riegert as the frat-bro BFF, Donald "Boon" Schoenstein ... and, of course, John Belushi as the Jack Daniels chugging Greek God, John "Bluto" Blutarsky.

Keep your ears to the ground because Jessie still performs live as Otis Day and The Knights.

Comedian Rip Taylor -- who served up over-the-top gags for decades -- has died.

Rip's publicist, Harlan Boll, confirmed the news, saying he passed away Sunday in Beverly Hills. No cause of death was released.

Dubbed the "King of Camp and Confetti" and "The Crying Comedian," Rip got his start by appearing on "The Ed Sullivan Show," "The Merv Griffin Show" and lots of other variety talk shows as a comic in the '60s, going on to star on several different game shows as well.

He's perhaps best known for his brief stint hosting "the $1.98 Beauty Show," which had guests compete for the title of the "1.98 Beauty Queen" in a pageant, talent-show format.

"Joker" screenings were met with angst this weekend -- but what do you do when the actual Clown Prince of Gotham himself crashes your sesh??? Ask him to laugh, of course!!!

That's exactly what happened Saturday evening at a movie house in the San Fernando Valley -- with none other than Joaquin Phoenix himself coming out to greet ticketholders after the credits rolled for a 5:15 PM showing out at Pacific Theaters in Chatsworth.

The actor was making the rounds at different L.A. cineplexes, apparently -- posing with fans and shaking hands -- but at this one ... he got a little stage fright when asked to do his tormented Joker laugh from the film. If you haven't heard it yet ... ya gotta go see it.

Watch ... Joaquin seems to almost half-attempt it here but pulls back -- saying he just can't do it and then asking the audience member to do his own version. The guy couldn't either.

Scarlett Johansson, Laura Dern and director Noah Baumbach's new movie, "Marriage Story," has several ties to famed divorce attorney Laura Wasser ... who thinks the film can have a huge impact on American families.

We got Hollywood's "disso queen" in NYC Saturday night, outside The Polo Bar, and asked her about the film ... especially Dern's character, which is -- as they say -- "loosely based" on Wasser.

Laura says she hasn't seen the movie yet -- it will be released in December -- but she's heard good things about Dern's portrayal of the divorce attorney in the middle of the splitting couple, played by Scarlett and Adam Driver.

There's plenty of reason for Wasser to pay close attention to the movie. Check this out -- she's represented Johansson, Dern, and Baumbach's ex-wife, Jennifer Jason Leigh in their previous divorce proceedings.

"Boy Meets World" star Maitland Ward doesn't believe the so-called stigma associated with doing porn ... insisting her move to the adult film industry is actually a savvy business move.

We got Maitland -- who rose to fame playing Rachel McGuire in the 90s ABC sitcom -- at Kings Road Cafe, and she tells us porn is opening the door to loads of new opportunities.

Maitland just appeared in her first porno that premiered on Friday, "Drive," at age 42 ... and she says her debut's been met with tons of support from her former "Boy Meets World" cast members, like Trina McGee.

Instead of being shunned, Maitland says she's getting pats on the back from Hollywood actresses ... who all tell her the same thing.

Beto O'Rourke believes we have a gun problem in the U.S. -- it's as simple as that -- and deflecting blame onto movies, video games and mental health is part of the crisis.

The presidential hopeful and major proponent for gun control is in L.A. Friday as concern and controversy swirls around the release of "Joker" ... so we asked him about it.

Beto tells TMZ he hasn't seen the film yet to speak on whether he thinks it's dangerous, but he's met with families of victims of the 2012 Aurora, CO mass shooting ... and supports and understands their issues with it.

The Texas politician says we all have a responsibility to address gun violence, but people keep trying to go about it the wrong way ... when the problem is clear as day.

Beto says bluntly ... Americans have too many guns and it's too easy to buy "weapons of war" and use them against one another -- even without a background check.

He says that problem has nothing to do with violent movies or TV shows, or mental healthcare access challenges, because as he points out ... other countries have those too.

Diahann Carroll -- the iconic, pioneering actress for African-Americans -- and star of the groundbreaking sitcom, "Julia," died Friday from cancer at her home in Los Angeles.

Diahann -- who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1997 -- was a native New Yorker, born in the Bronx, who first made it big on Broadway. She won a Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical in 1962 for her role in "No Strings."

Her huge break in Hollywood came as the star of NBC's "Julia" ... the first network series to have a black actress as the lead character. Diahann played a widowed nurse who was raising a son. The show premiered in 1968 and ran for 3 seasons -- and Diahann earned an Emmy nomination and won a Golden Globe for the role.

Kevin Garnett put on a SHOW off-camera on the set of the new Adam Sandler movie, "Uncut Gems" -- hooping out of his mind during a pick-up game ... and it was AWESOME!!

KG has a major role in the flick, which is about a degenerate sports gambler who gets into major problems when his debts spiral out of control.

Garnett plays himself ... and we had heard that during downtime on the set, he stayed in his role and just murdered people on a basketball court they used in the movie.

So, when we saw "Uncut Gems" director Josh Safdie at the Alice Tully Center in L.A. on Thursday, we asked him about the rumors ... and yeah, it's all true, baby!!

"Kevin doesn't know how to do anything but play at 100%," Safdie told us.

No, Sandler didn't play in the game with Garnett ... but Safdie says they all sat on the set and watched KG go off.

Stan Lee's high-rise condo in San Francisco has just hit the market ... no super-spidey powers required to get up there.

The estate belonging to the late comic book god is unloading his pied-à-terre inside the luxurious Four Seasons. The 1-bedroom, 1-bathroom pad is a cozy 792 square feet ... call it your weekend getaway place, assuming you can plunk down the $1.35 million asking price.

The east-facing unit features expansive windows so you can really enjoy picturesque, unobstructed views of downtown. The condo may be cozy ... but it feels massive, thanks to high ceilings and opulent finishes.

James Franco is being accused in a new lawsuit of pressuring his acting school students to get naked for auditions while he dangled promises of movie roles that rarely panned out.

The suit, filed by Sarah Tither-Kaplan and Toni Gaal, says that both women were students at the L.A. branch of the Studio 4 school -- which Franco co-founded -- back in 2014. The women claim Franco, and other instructors, engaged in "inappropriate and sexually charged behavior toward female students." In docs, they claim Franco created "an environment of harassment and sexual exploitation."

According to the docs, Franco offered them roles in independent films he was producing or directing. Their issue is what they had to do got those roles. In the suit, they claim Franco blew off several film industry guidelines for nude scenes. For instance, they claim young and inexperienced female students were "routinely pressured to engage in simulated sex acts that went far beyond the standards in the industry."

Gerard Butler's going after the driver who allegedly cut him off in traffic and caused him to crash ... according to a new suit.

According to the docs -- obtained by TMZ -- he was ejected from his Triumph Bonneville motorcycle when a woman "negligently pulled her vehicle off the curb" and cut across lanes of traffic directly in front of him.

The "Angel Has Fallen" star claims he had no time to stop, so he hit the lady's Benz on the driver's side and went flying off ... and he says he suffered "catastrophic injuries."

We broke the story ... Butler was hospitalized after the October 2017 accident. Paramedics arrived on the scene and briefly treated him before he was transported.

Zak Bagans is trying his darndest to bring more spirits to his Haunted Museum ... because he just dropped a huge stack of cash on the famous ghost trap from "Ghostbusters."

The "Ghost Adventures" star tells TMZ ... he spent a whopping $310,000 for a haul of "Ghostbusters" memorabilia that includes the Hero Ghost Trap used to capture Slimer and Gozer.

Zak also got a bunch of props and costumes Harold Ramis used in the 1984 classic -- such as Dr. Egon Spengler's jumpsuit, utility belt and boots, plus a proton pack shell!!!

But, the ghost trap is the pièce de résistance among Zak's new additions. He dropped $230k alone to score that piece of movie history from Prop Store ... a huge auction house.

Canadian-born Nicole Crimi was only 8 years old when she was cast as the easily influenced little sister, Kylie George -- who drinks up Kelis' "Milkshake" music video and 'Girls Gone Wild' commercials -- in the 2004 high school movie masterpiece, "Mean Girls."

Nicole Crimi stars in the classic comedy alongside celebs like Amy Poehler, as the mom with boobs as hard as rocks, Mrs. George ... and of course Rachel McAdams, as the carb-loading, plastic sister, Regina George, who gets hit by (or possibly pushed in front of) a bus!!!

Happy October 3rd!!!

Kim Shattuck -- the lead singer and bassist for The Muffs -- is dead after a two-year battle with ALS.

Kim's husband shared the sad news Wednesday in a social media tribute to his late wife ... saying, "This morning the love of my life Kim passed peacefully in her sleep after a two year struggle with ALS."

Her husband continued ... "I am the man I am today because of her. She will live with all of us through her music, our shared memories and in her fierce creative spirit. I love you always my Kimmy. Thank you for sharing your life with me."

The cute little kid who became a little brother to Gary Coleman on "Diff'rent Strokes" is all grown up ... and now, he's about to get divorced.

Actor Danny Cooksey's wife of over 20 years, Amber, just filed legal docs asking a judge to make the split official. According to her divorce petition, obtained by TMZ, she's citing irreconcilable differences ... and says their date of separation is June 1, 2019.

Danny -- who played little Sam McKinney on the hit sitcom in the later seasons, and also starred on Nickelodeon's "Salute Your Shorts" -- got hitched to Amber in 1998 ... and the couple had 2 children together, Jackson Paul and Zoe Leigh.

Zoe is 21, but Jackson is only 8 years old. Amber is asking for sole legal and physical custody of him, with visitation rights for Danny. She also wants the court to award her spousal support, and to block any attempt by Danny to get spousal support from her.

And, the Oscar goes to ... KLAY THOMPSON?!?!? (Hey, Kobe Bryant did it).

The Golden State Warriors superstar is kick-starting his campaign for Academy Award consideration for his breakout performance as Klay Thompson in "Space Jam 2" ... saying he's trying to add to his trophy case!!!

Now that filming wrapped up ... Klay was joking with the media about launching his official Oscars campaign! It's pretty funny.

“It’s all done ... your boy is going for the Oscar nod,” Thompson joked to NBC Sports Bay Area's "Warriors Outsiders."

“Supporting?! Best animated series!? I don’t know.”

Obviously, Klay ain't got a snowball's chance in hell ... but dude SHOULD be recognized for fighting through the pain of an ACL surgery to be on the set to shoot his scenes.

Remember, Thompson injured himself during the NBA Finals and went under the knife just days before filming started.

But, despite being in serious pain, Klay limped onto the set with crutches to shoot with LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Dame Lillard and more.

Hey, some actors postpone production when they a get a slight cold!!!