Movies

Jennifer Hudson is ready for her close-up as the Queen of Soul herself -- 'cause she's already in character and filming -- as is her onscreen husband, Marlon Wayans.

The Oscar-winning actress and Grammy-winning singer was spotted on set Sunday in NYC, where she was in costume as a young Aretha Franklin for the upcoming biopic about the music icon called 'Respect.' Marlon plays her first hubby and ex-manager, Ted White.

In this scene -- which is supposedly set in Harlem during the mid-60s -- you can see Marlon talking to a group of prostitutes, before collecting money and roughing one up a bit. Jennifer (as Aretha) looks on from a waiting car, and when Marlon gets back in ... they share a passionate kiss. Gotta say ... the production value seems to be pretty high here.

BTW, Jennifer was reportedly hand-picked by Aretha before her death in 2018. She probably couldn't have chosen a better person to play her in a movie. Jen's got the chops on both ends to pull it off -- and so far, she certainly has the early Aretha look down.

And, while Marlon usually plays the funny guy, he comes off as menacing and serious here. That jives with the real-life Ted, who's remembered as a notorious Detroit pimp ... who allegedly abused Aretha before they finally parted ways in 1969.

Bradley Cooper and Dave Chappelle seem to have kept their onscreen friendship in "A Star is Born" going strong in real life ... with the help of some youngsters to bring 'em even closer.

The actor and comedian were spotted hanging out Saturday in NYC's West Village, where Brad was seen holding his own daughter, Lea, in one arm and the hand of another little girl who was rolling with him, Dave and some other grownups tagging along.

It's unclear if the other kid is Dave's -- we know he's got a 10-year-old daughter of his own, but this girl here looks a bit younger than her. Either way, Brad seemed happy to play chaperone twice over while Dave hung back and looked on with a big grin.

Of course, Brad and Dave starred opposite each other in last year's Oscar fave 'ASIB,' with the two of them playing old pals reuniting at a difficult time in Brad's character's life.

While their chemistry on the big screen might've felt palpable and even lifted from a real-life relationship ... it turns out that BC and DC hadn't known one another all that well prior to filming. Dave said Brad recruited him hard to be in his movie, and Dave finally caved.

Prior to that, the two stars had apparently only met in passing ... but it looks like working together made 'em good pals. Brad was even on hand last week in D.C., where Dave was awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor and gave a speech on Dave's behalf.

"Spy Kids" star Daryl Sabara has just been hit with 2 misdemeanor charges after allegedly flexing some serious muscle and going to town on somebody's car with his bare hands!!!

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the actor was walking by a parked car near the UCLA campus when he stopped and started ripping off two custom side panels. We're told Daryl booked it after the damage was done.

According to charging documents obtained by TMZ ... Daryl just got slapped with one count of vandalism and one count of tampering with a vehicle. His arraignment is set for later this month in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

Our sources say the incident, which went down in March, was captured on surveillance footage at a housing complex. The car's owner doesn't personally know Daryl and is stumped as to why Meghan Trainor's husband allegedly screwed with the whip.

Kevin Hart must enjoy living dangerously, 'cause he's already getting into another muscle car similar to the one that nearly killed him ... seemingly without a safety harness, at that.

The comedian was out at a shopping plaza Saturday in Calabasas with a friend, where it looks like he was sent out to make a food run. He ran into a pap on the way out -- walking on his own two feet, no less, and looking pretty solid -- and gave the guy a health update.

Kevin says he's grateful to be alive, and that he'll be getting back to work slow and steady ... seems he's in no rush to get on the grind again, enjoying time with his fam.

Then comes a pretty eyebrow raising moment ... Kevin walks to his car -- a 1969 Camaro, he tells the photog -- and gets in the driver's seat ... and then pulls away like it's nothing.

Even more troubling ... it doesn't clearly look like he pulls a shoulder harness over himself, at least from the angle we're seeing here -- which is a straight-on shot through the windshield. We looked into it, and shoulder belts were a rarity in the '69 model. Lap belts were there, but not all these old cars had the newly-enforced safety harness all cars have today.

Obviously, this is a big deal for a couple different reasons. The fact that Kevin's driving at all should be a little worrying, but driving another souped-up oldie like this might as well be a death wish, considering what he just went through about a month ago with the crash.

Remember, Kevin's 1970 Plymouth Barracuda also didn't have safety harnesses. Had they been there ... we're told it could've helped alleviate the injuries Kevin and co. endured.

Brian Tarantina has died ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us that the veteran actor was found dead early Saturday morning in his Manhattan apartment from what we're told appeared to be a fatal drug overdose to the officers and first-responders who came out.

Our sources say Brian's niece went to check in on him at his Hell's Kitchen residence at around 12:30 AM, and discovered her uncle unresponsive on the couch. We're told the niece told cops she'd last talked to him late Tuesday night. Upon finding him, she called 911, and we're told when officers and paramedics arrived ... they found a white powdery substance near his body, believed to be alleged narcotics. He was pronounced dead on the scene.

It's unclear at this point what the white substance might've been. We're told the NYC medical examiner's office will conduct an autopsy to determine an official cause of death.

Brian has been working in the biz for a long time, often playing supporting characters through the '80s and '90s, and even into the 2000s and onward. He's perhaps best known for tough guy roles in flicks like "Jacob's Ladder," "Uncle Buck," "The Jerky Boys," "Summer of Sam," "Knight and Day," "Carlito's Way," "Donnie Brasco," "City By the Sea" and others.

He's got a much more extensive resume than that though. The guy's been in tons of stuff over the years ... shows like "Law & Order," "Miami Vice," "Spin City," "Oz," "NYPD Blue," "ER," "The Sopranos," "Gilmore Girls," "Heroes," "The Black Donnellys," "The Blacklist," "Madame Secretary," "Blue Bloods" and most recently in "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" playing Jackie.

He was 60 years old.

RIP

Eddie Murphy is deep into filming "Coming to America 2" and it's gettin' everyone plenty excited.

Eddie was on set in ATL in full Prince Akeem garb. He's proudly wearing a New York Mets bomber jacket, with proclamations of his love of the Big Apple. You see Eddie hold a wad of cash ... presumably from scalping tickets.

Above you can see Arsenio Hall, who plays Semmi, and Paul Bates, who plays Oha, is also on-hand.

The movie is maybe the biggest remake in the works this year. People have been clamoring for the flick for years. It's scheduled to open wide in theaters in December 2020. Lots of people says it's gonna be worth the wait.

Even the guy who scored as sweet a role as Leatherface in "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" has roommates -- ahh, the actor's life -- and one of 'em's accusing him of getting violent.

Andrew Bryniarski played the masked mass murderer in the 2003 version of 'Chainsaw' ... alongside Jessica Biel. According to docs, Andrew's currently residing in L.A. with 3 roommates, and in the days leading up to Halloween an argument broke out over the house rules and rent.

Marcus Silver claims Andrew "sucker punched" him during the Oct. 23 confrontation ... putting him down on the ground with a split lip. He says Leatherface bolted from their home the next day but left some threatening voicemails and text messages.

According to the request for a restraining order -- filed by Marcus -- one of Andrew's texts sounds like an outtake from 'Chainsaw.' He allegedly wrote, "Before you open yr mouth again and say dumb s**t to me or about me ... remember from here on. Lessons and repercussions in the form of pain and the loss of basic life functions will come find you swiftly and justly w no delay or restraint no regret. I'm not the one to f**k with."

If that's not scary enough ... Marcus claims there was another text that simply read, "F**k w me and I'll shatter the illusions along w yr facial bones." Method acting at its finest?

According to the docs, Andrew -- who also famously played Lattimer in "The Program" -- returned with police on Oct. 29, attempting to move back in, but his alleged texts had scared his roommates enough that they changed the locks.

Marcus says they're expecting Andrew's return any day now, which is why he filed for, and was granted, a restraining order. The actor now has to stay 100 yards away from Marcus and the other 2 roommates.

Henry Thomas had cannabis in his vehicle when he was busted for a DUI, which could explain him being zonked at the wheel ... this according to law enforcement.

As we reported ... Elliott from 'E.T.' was arrested last month in Oregon after the Tualatin PD responded to a call of him being asleep in the driver's seat at an intersection in a residential area.

According to new court docs ... the responding officer arrived right after another driver had pounded on Thomas' window to wake him up, and noticed he had spit on his now-open window and it was running down the door. He allegedly also had spit on his jacket.

The cop claims she asked Thomas if he was having a medical issue and he said no, but he was slurring his speech and had droopy and bloodshot eyes. According to the docs, he said he didn't have anything to drink, but refused the field sobriety tests.

The officer claims Thomas was swaying as she talked to him so she placed him under arrest for DUI ... and located a bottle of "fast acting THC" in the driver's side door.

The Washington County Oregon Circuit Court clerk tells us ... Thomas' attorney pled not guilty on his behalf Friday to the misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence. He has another court date scheduled for later this month.

We reached out to the attorney ... no word back, so far.

Dolph Lundgren doesn't see any issue with older dudes, like Dennis Quaid and Peter Cook, proposing to women more than half their age ... 'cause in the end, it ain't about age.

We got Dolph leaving Il Pastaio in Bev Hills and asked about Dennis and Peter and their much younger fiancees. He says age is overrated, and it's really abut personality and getting along with someone.

As you know ... Dennis is 65 and is engaged to 26-year-old grad student Laura Savoie, while Christie Brinkley's ex is 60 and engaged to 21-year-old co-ed Alba Jancou. Both proposals are super fresh.

Dolph says the only thing that matters is your significant other making you happy, so who cares if they're 25 or 35 or 45. Here's where the vid takes a turn -- as soon as Dolph said that ... our photog saw an opening.

You gotta watch the interaction 'cause it's priceless. Can't knock a girl for tryin', but her Halloween getup might have bit her in the ass.

Kim Kardashian is an Ivy League-caliber lawyer, at least for Halloween ... because she's recreating Reese Witherspoon's famous scene from "Legally Blonde."

Kim's going as Elle Woods for Halloween this year, and she's going all-out with a spot-on costume AND a carbon copy of the video essay Elle put together to gain admittance to Harvard Law School.

It's the perfect costume for Kim. As you know, she's setting her sights on becoming a lawyer, just like Reese's character in the super-popular romantic comedy.

Ya gotta see the video, Kim's pulling out all the stops to follow in Elle's footsteps ... with a couple wardrobe changes, some movie extras, multiple sets and some high-quality production value.

Gotta admire Kim's Halloween spirit!!!

For those unfamiliar with "Legally Blonde" ... Reese plays a sorority queen with an eye for fashion who wants to win back her ex-boyfriend by getting a law degree from Harvard.

And, unlike Blac Chyna, Kim's only pretending to apply to Harvard ... not posting fake acceptance letters.

John Witherspoon, who made his mark in comedy and in films like "Friday" has died.

Witherspoon's family announced he died suddenly Tuesday at his home in Sherman Oaks, California. The statement reads, "It is with deep sadness we have to tweet this, but our husband & father John Witherspoon has passed away."

The statement continues, "He was a Legend in the entertainment industry, and a father figure to all who watched him over the years. We love you 'POPS' always & forever."

Witherspoon's career -- which started in stand-up comedy -- spanned for more than 5 decades, with his most notable role being Willie Jones, father of Ice Cube's character, Craig ... in all of the "Friday" movies.

John did voice work as Gramps on the animated series "The Boondocks," which is being revived for HBO. He also played Pops on "The Wayans Bros." and made appearances on "The Tracy Morgan Show" and "Black Jesus."

We last spoke to Witherspoon earlier this month at LAX where he told us he was excited about Eddie Murphy getting back into comedy and hoped to see him doing stand-up soon.

He is survived by his wife, Angela, and sons JD and Alexander.

John was 77.

RIP

Paul Feig stands firmly with the block of filmmakers who say Netflix's plan to let you slightly speed up content, for faster viewing, is a crappy idea ... one that's sparking a Hollywood turf war.

We ran into the director Tuesday in NYC, and asked him to weigh in on reports that certain Android users could slow down or speed up -- as fast as 1.5x -- the regular playback of Netflix programming.

Paul's mind is made up ... he says there's NO benefit to letting users watch something in a distorted form like that. He stopped short of using the word boycott, but he's clearly pissed, and he's not alone.

When Judd Apatow, Aaron Paul and several other creative types caught wind of the Netflix feature they threw down the gauntlet. Judd is threatening to get every director and producer to back his stance, which is ... "Don't f**k with our timing."

Watch Paul ... there's no doubt he's team Judd.

It does appear Netflix big wigs are listening to all the gripes, and they're trying to temper things. They've said the slow/speed-viewing is just a test ... and an optional one at that.

Netflix published a blog post to their site admitting that, yes, they've been testing speed changes on mobile platforms, but that doesn't mean it's going into effect permanently.

As for why they're even doing it ... Netflix says it's gotten this request from a lot of users who want to watch some content at different speeds for a variety of reasons -- language barriers, crucial scenes or dialogue, etc ...

Ultimately, Netflix could have a tough decision -- give the people (who pay for the content) what they want, or give the filmmakers (who make the content) what they want.

The son of "Tarzan" star Ron Ely said he had a gun and pretended to draw the weapon before 4 deputies fired a total of 24 rounds, ultimately killing the actor's son ... this according to law enforcement.

According to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office ... Ron's 30-year-old son, Cameron Ely, was found outside the couple's Hope Ranch property where he fatally stabbed his mother, Valerie Lundeen Ely. Cops say Cameron then approached deputies and motioned with his hands as if he were drawing a weapon.

Cops later concluded Cameron was not actually armed at all, and only faked it. Cops aren't saying how many rounds actually hit Cameron. No deputies were injured

The 4 deputies involved in the shooting have 40 years total on the force. As we reported ... cops rushed to Ron's home after Cameron called 911 sometime after killing his mother. The operator had said Cameron was out of breath and crying.

Ron played "Tarzan" on the 1960s TV series, and had several other appearances on other hit shows. He married Valerie (a former Miss Florida) in 1984. They had 3 children together.

Kevin Spacey won't be charged in a sexual assault case in Los Angeles because the alleged victim died during the investigation ... TMZ has learned.

Spacey was accused of forcing a male massage therapist to touch his genitals during an in-home session back in 2016. The therapist claimed he suffered emotional pain and distress from the incident ... but Spacey denied everything.

The L.A. County District Attorney's Office just rejected the case because the alleged victim passed away during their investigation. Without a victim, the D.A. said the case could not be proven. Law enforcement sources tell us the man died of natural causes a few weeks ago.

We broke the story ... the L.A. County D.A. declined to file charges against the actor for another case in which a man claimed he was sexually assaulted by Spacey in 1992. The D.A. concluded it was well beyond the statute of limitations.

John Cena's putting LOTS of money where his mouth is ... donating $500,000 to first responders helping to battle the California wildfires.

"Right now, California is in dire straits," the WWE superstar said in a video ... "It is burning. It is under siege from massive wildfires statewide."

And, as fate would have it, Cena also happens to be promoting his new movie, "Playing With Fire" -- a comedy about firefighters which opens next month.

Cena says shooting the movie has given him an even greater appreciation for people on the front lines battling the blazes ... so with the Kincade Fire, Tick Fire and Getty Fire raging, he's decided to reach into his own pocket to help out.

"On behalf of 'Playing With Fire' and out of respect to the people who I truly believe are heroes, my response will be to immediately donate $500,000 to this cause," Cena said.

"In times like this, when people are giving their lives and working around the clock, what they need from us is resources."

Cena challenged the studio behind the flick, Paramount, to pick the charity where his donation will land ... but says he's more than happy to write the check when they figure it out.

John Singleton's estate and the fortune it claims is aboutta get little more flush -- because the studio that distributed one of his biggest films is ponying up some belated cash.

According to court docs, obtained by TMZ, Sony Pictures has agreed to fork over a little more than half a mil to the late director's film company, New Deal Productions. The money -- $515,472 -- is tied to John's 2001 flick, "Baby Boy." Unleash the behind-the-door Rodney memes!!!

In case you haven't seen it, 'BB' stars Tyrese Gibson, Taraji P. Henson, Ving Rhames ... and, of course, Snoop Dogg playing a gangster who's out to square things with Tyrese's character, Jody, who's got a kid with Taraji's character, but still lives at home with his mom.

It made $29.3 million in the U.S. box office, with a budget of around $16 mil. Sony and its subsidiary, TriStar Pictures, were the primary distributors.

Based on the docs, it appears John had requested a formal audit for money the film made a while back, and now in wake of his death ... Sony is settling up with this dough. The company says the settlement was agreed to prior to John's death in April.