Movies

Los Angeles-native Brian Tochi was in his mid-20s when he took the role of the pie-loving Lambda Lambda Lambda member, Toshiro Takashi -- who wins the tricycle race and mans the gong in the famous music scene -- in the 1984 greek geek flick, "Revenge Of The Nerds."

Brian Tochi was cast alongside a stellar group of spaz stars including Andrew Cassese as the child-genius Wormser, Larry B. Scott as the javelin throwing, Lamar Latrell, Robert Carradine as the leading lover, Lewis Skolnick and Curtis Armstrong as the wonder joint rolling, Booger.

Michael Blackson learned 2 very valuable life lessons ... and it all went down at a gas station.

The comedian's saga is full of twists and turns and eventual triumph, so buckle up. We got Mike at a Shell Station in L.A. after noticing he had some car trouble, and he tells us he made a boneheaded mistake as old as Karl Benz's first automobile -- he ran out of gas.

Blackson says he didn't believe it when his luxury car was telling him he needed to fill up his tank ... and his Rolls stopped rolling at a nearby intersection.

What happened next is equal parts hilarious and pathetic -- but hey, Michael admits he's not a handyman -- and he was left completely clueless as to how to remedy his dire situation.

That's when he turned to an unlikely source for some help in his time of need, especially for a Philadelphia Eagles fan ... a man wearing a Dallas Cowboys shirt.

It was a wise move though because the kind Cowboys fan turned out to be hella resourceful ... and got Blackson all gassed up and back on the road. He might have made a new friend too.

So, what are the lessons learned here for the comedian? 1) Love your enemies ... and 2) Go get gas as soon as your damn light comes on.

Justin Timberlake is apologizing to Jessica Biel for getting cozy with his female costar in New Orleans ... and while he admits he was drunk, he insists nothing sexual happened.

Justin was photographed with Alisha Wainwright on a balcony at a NOLA bar last month, and they seemed to get handsy. He's clearly seen and heard all the buzz about the pics. He says he "displayed a strong lapse in judgement" with Alisha, his costar in "Palmer" ... a movie they're currently filming down there.

He added, in a lengthy IG post, the rumors about the incident are "hurting the people I love."

Justin blames the whole situation on alcohol, saying he drank way too much that night, but adds nothing happened between Alisha and him.

Translation, we held hands but didn't have sex.

JT says he should be setting a better example for his and Jessica's 4-year-old son, Silas Randall, and apologizes to his wife and family for putting them through what he calls an "embarrassing situation."

Tyler Perry is getting showered with love from the sick man he basically rescued from a Mexican hospital -- and the guy says he'd STILL be trapped if not for Tyler.

Stephen Johnson says Tyler is his real-life superhero for covering his $14,000 hospital bill and paying to fly him home to Atlanta. Remember, Stephen fell ill while on vacay ... and says the hospital was holding him until he paid for his treatment in full.

Stephen tells us he just got out of another hospital in Georgia, and he's finally on the mend after being diagnosed with pancreatitis, diabetes and a kidney infection while in Mexico -- and he has a special message for Tyler.

It's pretty wild ... Stephen says the hospital staff in Mexico was doing the bare minimum to keep him alive before his story went viral, and caught the attention of the media and Tyler.

Jenna Dewan is trading in birthday cake and candles for cardboard boxes and dollies ... she's moving into her new digs as she celebrates 39 trips around the Sun.

Check out these pics of Jenna and her boyfriend Steve Kazee on her birthday ... no celebrations, just business as they move into her new crib in Los Angeles. This is 39.

The good news is Jenna doesn't have to do any heavy lifting ... she's got a hunky BF and some movers to take care of everything. Of course, it looks like she's still overseeing the whole process -- it's the birthday girl's day after all.

Jenna's been living with a Steve for a little while now, and we're told she recently closed on the home ... and Tuesday was the big move-in day.

As you know ... Jenna's locked in a nasty custody battle with her ex, Channing Tatum, with the parents going at it over daughter Everly's custody. Channing is asking a judge to lay out a detailed schedule for who gets their girl and for how long, including holidays, birthdays and work trips ... something sources on Jenna's side say was already figured out.

Kevin Pollak says Martin Scorsese's new mobster flick, "The Irishman," was as good as it gets for the genre -- but there was a little issue according to him ... the stars were too damn old.

We got the veteran actor right on the heels of the new flick landing on Netflix and asked for his thoughts on it ... considering he starred in Marty's "Casino" and tons of other crime movies. Turns out, he loved 'Irishman' ... with one caveat, and it's hard to tell if he's joking.

Kevin says at one point ... the film played more like a trio of old coots who lost their keys instead of menacing mobsters in their prime. He does some hilarious impressions too, to drive home his point. Pretty spot-on with his versions of Pacino, Pesci and De Niro. Well, the first 2 ... he kinda phoned it in for Bobby D.

If you haven't seen it yet, the movie captures one hit man's journey from start to end, so the actors' appearances do change a lot.

Of course, the gimmick with the film is the digital de-aging technology the 3 stars were put through -- especially De Niro.

Ron Perlman was shooting a movie scene when an out-of-control truck plowed into a group of crew members -- injuring one of them -- but it sounds like it could have been a lot worse.

Sources on the scene tell TMZ ... the "Hellboy" star was on set of his upcoming film, "The Last Victim," Friday when the accident occurred. They were shooting at the Okanagan Indian Band in British Columbia.

We're told the driver of the truck mistakenly hit the gas instead of the brake and accelerated past where it was supposed to stop ... sending the crew scrambling to safety. Our sources say at least one person was struck and was on the ground being tended to by others until emergency workers arrived.

As of now, it's unclear who was driving the vehicle, but according to witnesses ... Perlman was visibly shaken up afterward and seemed to be "in shock."

Law enforcement tells us police were called to the scene for a work-related accident Friday morning, and one person suffered a minor foot injury. Nobody was transported to the hospital, though ... and the incident was referred to WorkSafeBC, a workplace safety agency for the Canadian province.

WorkSafeBC tells us it's aware of the incident and an investigation is underway. It adds that it assigned one of its Prevention Officers to go to the set the following day, which was the last day of filming.

Our sources say Perlman also returned to set that day.

"The Last Victim" is a neo-western with Ron starring as the local sheriff. The movie costars Ali Larter and Ralph Ineson ... it's unclear of either of them were on hand for Friday's incident.

John Singleton's daughter will be taken care of for now in the wake of her father's passing ... while his estate figures out how to distribute his multi-million dollar fortune.

21-year-old Cleopatra Singleton -- one of the late filmmaker's seven children -- just got what she'd asked for a couple months ago ... a monthly allowance of nearly $3,000, plus a one-time payment to cover her semester abroad. A judge signed off on it just this week.

Per the order, Cleopatra will receive $2,778 a month -- as well as a one-time payout of $4,150. It's exactly what she'd requested back in September, arguing that her father had taken care of her finances while he was alive ... and she needs the dough to hold her over.

As we reported ... John's estate is estimated to be worth upwards of $35 million, which still needs to be divvied up. The estate also recently came up on an extra $500k or so.

TMZ broke the story ... John died in April after suffering a massive stroke. His mother, Shelia Ward, was put in charge of his estate.

John Kerry (the actor not the politician) was in his early 20s when he took on the role as the cocaine sniffing ... rat soup eating ... crooked cop, Detective Mitchell -- who works with his partner, Detective White, to frame the quick-cursing main character -- in the 1975 blaxploitation movie, "Dolemite."

Other notable characters that Kerry shared the big screen with were Lady Reed as the go-to gal and pimp muscle, Queen Bee ... and D'Urville Martin as the club stealing gangster with guts, Willie Green.

Fun Fact: John Kerry was also in the 2009 blaxploitation film "Black Dynamite" as the Chief.

The hat and actual baseball Charlie Sheen wore and threw in the hit movie, "Major League," can now be yours to own ... but you'll have to beat everyone else out for dibs.

An auction house called Lelands -- which sells off famous sports memorabilia -- is auctioning off Charlie's movie-worn gear for him -- which includes his Cleveland Indians cap, as well as CS's 101 MPH baseball that Ricky 'Wild Thing' Vaughn threw to strike out slugger Clu Haywood. It's a pretty memorable scene ... you 'memba it, right?

Funny enough, Sheen says his actual fastball on set clocked in closer to 84/85 MPH -- apparently, he was actually a pretty good ballplayer himself back in high school.

Sounds like Charlie's ready to pass the good memories from his memorabilia to someone else, explaining, "It is my hope that whoever buys the cap and ball will get as much enjoyment from them as I did all these years." He says everyone always asks to try on the hat.

For now, there are 17 bids on the cap ... with the highest offer so far coming at $4,594. The ball has 10 bids on it, and someone's willing to drop $2,357 to call it their own.

BTW, there's other items up for grabs that Charlie has personally owned ... including a watch he wore on the movie "Platoon," Don Larsen's perfect game baseball and a Babe Ruth locker tag that apparently belonged to the Great Bambino himself.

Christmas might come early for the kid who plays the young version of Shia Labeouf in "Honey Boy" ... if he lands some major award nominations, and he's already got the buzz.

Noah Jupe -- the 14-year-old costar of the film based on Shia's life -- didn't get paid much for working on the movie, by Hollywood standards anyway. According to his minor's contract -- obtained by TMZ -- he only made $6,570 for 3 weeks on the job ... but there's a huge upside.

Jupe can pocket an additional $25,000 if he's nominated for a Golden Globe for acting when the noms are announced December 9. If he wins ... he gets $50k. Talk about a stocking stuffer!

It's even better for The Academy Awards -- Noah gets $50k if he's nominated for an acting Oscar and $100k if he takes it home.

More good news for Jupe -- he's also got a big role in the hit movie, "Ford v Ferrari" ... and we know he banked on the blockbuster that's currently in theaters.

According to his contract, Noah got paid $200k to star as Christian Bale's son ... and can earn up to $200k in bonuses based on box office milestones. Considering the film's already earned millions more than its budget in just a couple weeks ... seems like good odds he'll score some bonus cash.

You're looking at the new "Rocky" -- actress Ryan Destiny who's been tapped to star in the new movie about Claressa Shields, the BADDEST FEMALE BOXER ALIVE!!!

Destiny is playing the undefeated champ in "Flint Strong" -- a true story about how in 2012, Shields became the first woman EVER to win an Olympic gold medal in boxing.

Destiny is FIRED UP for the role and tells TMZ Sports she's already tapped one of the premier boxing coaches in Hollywood to train her up.

"Rob Sale, who is an amazing boxing trainer -- he trained [Michael B. Jordan] for 'Creed,' he's gonna be training me."

It ain't gonna be easy ... Destiny -- who starred in FOX's musical drama, "Star" -- doesn't have a boxing background and admits she's more of a lover than a fighter.

But, she's athletic ... and it's clear in our video, she's ready to put in the work!!!

Of course, 24-year-old Claressa is arguably the most dominant woman in combat sports -- she's 9-0 as a pro-boxer and recently began training in MMA in hopes of a superfight with Amanda Nunes.

Jeremy Renner seems to be trying to show he should get sole custody of his daughter as he battles his ex-wife in court ... taking Ava to pass out jackets and food to the homeless.

The actor spent part of his Thanksgiving handing out blankets, jackets and meals to the homeless in Reno, Nevada ... with his 6-year-old daughter right by his side.

Jeremy joined forces with The Hope Bus to feed and clothe the homeless ... he's got a place in nearby Lake Tahoe and we're told he heard about what the organization was doing and wanted to lend a helping hand with Ava.

We're told Jeremy brought two big cartons filled with blankets, and he helped serve over 100 meals ... spending about 3 hours with Ava giving some needy folks much to be thankful for.

People were really excited to see the movie star ... we're told everyone recognized Jeremy and knew who he was, and Renner wasn't shy about giving out hugs.

Jeremy's good deeds with Ava come amid a nasty custody battle with his ex, Sonni Pacheco ... with allegations against both parents flying left and right.

As we've reported ... Sonni claims Jeremy is a substance-abusing loose canon who she says threatened to kill her as well as himself. Jeremy denied that, and says Sonni is actually the parent with a substance abuse issue. He also says she's obsessed with sex, and called her a liar and mentally unstable.

Sonni's trying to put herself in a good light too ... taking Ava to a pumpkin patch last month for a fun mommy and daughter day.

John Boyega's not dwelling on his epic screw-up that resulted in the "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" script landing on eBay -- and he's urging the film's director to let it go too.

We got John -- AKA Finn in the latest 'Star Wars' trilogy -- Wednesday outside ABC in NYC and he defended his confession about accidentally leaving his script behind at his apartment. His cleaning lady found it and eventually posted it on the auction site.

Boyega tells us it was an accident, and even though he knows J.J. Abrams is peeved about it ... John puts a positive spin on the snafu. He thinks Abrams should "get over it" because of the old adage -- there's no such thing as bad pub.

(And, for the concerned fans out there, don't worry -- Disney execs noticed the listing of the script and got it removed from eBay.)

John also weighed in on the current debate over who's cuter in the 'Star Wars' universe -- Baby Yoda from "The Mandalorian" ... or the Porgs from 'The Last Jedi.'

Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan's divorce has turned nasty ... all over child support, custody and allegations of FaceTime sabotage.

Our Jenna sources say she was stunned and super upset when Channing filed legal docs Tuesday asking a judge to come up with a holiday custody schedule. Our sources call it grandstanding, because Jenna had already signed off on the entire schedule. Our Channing sources counter Jenna agreed to some of the schedule but not all of it ... thus the need for the judge.

But, that's just the beginning. Several sources say, although Channing and Jenna had a custody schedule for 6-year-old Everly, there were times Jenna was working and asked to change the schedule but Channing refused.

Child support has also become a bone of contention. Our Jenna sources say Channing isn't contributing, but our Channing sources say there's a very specific, joint account with community funds that cover Everly's expenses.

And, yet another issue -- communication. We're told when one parent has Everly, that parent has to allow the other parent to FaceTime with the girl every day. So, Jenna sources say Channing doesn't allow her to FaceTime. They also claim when Jenna has the child Channing almost never FaceTime's with her.

Our Channing sources call BS ... saying Channing does indeed FaceTime with Everly when she's with Jenna, but they say Jenna's so difficult Channing just FaceTime's through the nanny.

Jenna's rep, Nicole Perna, tells us, "Jenna's priority has always been, and continues to be, her daughter's well-being."

Millie Bobby Brown's bank account is about to get even bigger ... because the 15-year-old actress is raking in more than $6 MILLION for her next big-screen role.

If ya didn't hear, Millie landed the titular role of Enola Holmes in the upcoming movie franchise about Sherlock Holmes' much younger sister -- who becomes a private detective herself.

According to her minor's contract -- obtained by TMZ -- the teenager gets $6.1 mil to star in the film but could fetch up to an $800k bonus if it performs well at the box office.

Oh, she also gets a producer credit, which comes with an additional base pay of $500k -- and her contract allows for her to travel via private jet. A-list move for MBB!!!

It gets better too ... if there's a sequel, Millie will bank another $7.5 million, at the very minimum. Now that's how you take a ten and turn it up to Eleven.

As we've reported ... huge salaries are becoming par for the course for the "Stranger Things" kids, but Brown's taking a huge step ahead of the rest with this fat payday.

"Enola Holmes" is set to release some time in 2020, and will costar Henry Cavill as Sherlock and Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Holmes.