Movies

Laura Dern's "Marriage Story" character isn't anything like the real-life divorce attorney she's supposedly based on ... so says the woman herself, who's kinda salty about the portrayal.

We ran into Disso Queen Laura Wasser Tuesday night at Craig's in WeHo and asked how she felt about the movie ... which many have speculated is not-so-loosely based on director Noah Baumbach's 2013 divorce from then-wife Jennifer Jason Leigh, who used Wasser.

Check it out ... Laura says there's not much similarity between herself and Dern's feisty Nora Fanshaw, who reps ScarJo in the movie and comes off as deceptively aggressive. Spoiler alert ... she ends up winning on behalf of her client, but the way she gets there sorta sucks.

LW has a funnier way of putting it -- she's a bit blunter in describing how LD was depicted, and she says it couldn't be further from the truth in how she handles her biz.

East Coast-native Jeremy Blackman gained fame in the late '90s when he took the role of the super-smart, quiz kid Stanley Spector -- who carries the kids team and sings a few lines from the opera "Carmen" -- in Paul Thomas Anderson's third feature film, "Magnolia."

Jeremy Blackman wets himself during a taping of the show "What Do Kids Know?" but wasn't alone in the scenes ... the game show is hosted by Jimmy Gator, played by Philip Baker Hall, the trash-talking adult contestant, Luis, played by Luis Guzman and Stanley's aggressive stage dad, Rick, played by Michael Bowen.

The Screen Actors Guild buildings in L.A. and NY are on high alert after phone threats, one of which was related to President Trump and U.S. tensions with Iran.

Law enforcement sources in NY tells TMZ ... someone called SAG's office in Manhattan just after noon PT and threatened an attack, saying something to the effect of ... "I'm going to blow up the L.A. and NY SAG Offices."

We're told the phoned threat on the West Coast was less specific, though still plenty terrifying. In L.A., the caller said he was unhappy with POTUS and the situation with Iran ... according to a law enforcement source -- a clear reference to the drone attack that killed Iran's Gen. Soleimani.

We're told SAG-L.A. deemed the threat credible, immediately evacuated, and got cops involved. SAG HQ in NY did not evacuate, but NYPD responded and took a report for aggravated harassment.

In L.A., the bomb squad is on the scene, conducting a sweep of the building.

The woman who was the inspiration for Jennifer Lopez's character in "Hustlers" is suing the production company, claiming they used her likeness and her story without permission, and they defamed her in the process.

Samantha Barbash claims in her suit, producers approached her to get her consent for the movie and she turned a thumbs down on them. Despite the rejection, the flick was produced with J Lo playing a character obviously based on her. We broke a story back in Sept. that Barbash was pissed that she received a lowball offer from producers.

Barbash says the character in the movie is portrayed as "using and manufacturing illegal substances in her home where she lived with her child." She says it's untrue and offensive.

She's suing for $40 million -- $20 mil in compensatory damages and $20 mil in punitives. She also wants an order requiring producers to turn over all copies of the movie.

Barbash, who is being represented by Bruno Gioffre, is not suing J Lo personally but is suing her production company -- Nuyorican Productions.

Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston being in the same room will get anyone talking about a possible reunion, but their most recent run-in will leave Brennifer shippers disappointed.

Sources close to the former couple tell TMZ ... Brad and Jen didn't get the chance to chat much during Sunday night's Golden Globes show and the goings-on afterward. We're told they did exchange greetings and pleasantries at the after-party they both attended, but that's about it.

Fact is, the two Hollywood heavyweights have a lot of mutual friends in the biz -- and they do cross paths from time-to-time because of that, especially during big parties like this.

Andrew Kimmel is finally saying "gracias" after his nightmarish trip to Mexico went viral ... telling us he's getting ready to make a movie about his wild 24-hour adventure.

Andrew, a TV and digital producer in Los Angeles, was on "TMZ Live" Monday to download us on his scary excursion to Cabo ... telling us movie offers are rolling in, and one project is already in the works!

When you see Andrew lay out the horrific trip -- which started as a simple one-day, year-end trip from L.A. to Cabo to maintain his American Airlines status -- it's easy to see why Hollywood wants to turn his story into a script. It's got tons of juicy themes like seedy bars, scammers, corrupt cops, bribery, jail, romance, and eventually ... a happy ending!!!

Ricky Gervais wants Hollywood to shut up and just sing or act ... and to stay the hell out of politics ... but Billy Porter's vowing to speak out whenever and wherever he wants.

We got the "Pose" star at LAX -- where he was flying out of town after Sunday's Golden Globes awards -- and asked what he made of the host jokingly telling the stars to lay off politics while onstage ... 'cause they're not really educated on the issues.

ICYMI ... Ricky pretty much said nobody really gives a crap what actors and singers have to say on social or political issues, so they should avoid them during acceptance speeches. Funny enough, several winners did NOT take the note.

Ricky Gervais went scorched earth to kick off the 77th Golden Globes ... taking shots at the biggest names in the room ... and a couple who weren't there.

The host opened Sunday night's award show with a beer in hand and a promise to offend people ... starting with Felicity Huffman's prison sentence, Joe Pesci's size and Leonardo DiCaprio's dating life.

The Leo jab was related to the 3-hour-long "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" -- Ricky joked by the time the premiere was over, Leo's date was too old for him. He added Prince Andrew -- an old Jeffrey Epstein acquaintance -- even thought Leo's GFs are too young.

Gervais openly stated his 5th time hosting the Globes would be his last, so he was going out with a bang -- also taking down R. Kelly, Michael Jackson and even his bosses at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association ... which runs the GG.

As Harvey Weinstein's criminal trial in NYC gets underway ... one of his most prominent accusers, Rose McGowan, is delivering a strong message to him.

The actress was one of many Weinstein accusers who showed up Monday to the Manhattan courthouse where jury selection began in the disgraced producer's trial. Rose said she was there to see justice served.

She told reporters Weinstein had no one to blame but himself for his woes, and that she had no sympathy for him. He showed up, btw, hobbling into court with the use of a walker.

Rose vowed to see the trial through, side-by-side with other women he's allegedly harmed ... all in hopes of giving a voice to the voiceless. She says while he might've thought they'd stay silent, they didn't ... and they're going to face him in court.

She got emotional and gave a shout-out to the women who will actually testify against Weinstein. As she says, they'll have the largest burden, and made it clear she's in their corner.

Weinstein faces 5 charges relating to sexual misconduct -- including a count of rape and predatory sexual assault ... which, if proven, could send him to prison for the rest of his life.

Tiffany Haddish warned the crowd a couple of times and then greatness ensued when she started rapping!!!

Tiffany had one helluva busy Sunday night ... which ended in spectacular fashion at Netflix's Golden Globes after-party in Bev Hills. Tiffany muscled her way over to the DJ's booth, grabbed the mic and hyped the crowd up before rapping to City Girls' banger, "Act Up."

Ya gotta see the crowd under a massive tent on a lot adjacent to the Beverly Hilton Hotel. They went nuts!!!

It was a pretty eventful night for Tiffany. The comedian, who wore an elegant pink dress, displayed a Star of David necklace honoring her Black Jewish roots on her father's side, which she discovered after taking a genealogy test.

As the Golden Globes broadcast wound down, the after-parties fired up -- and it was truly a who's-who of Hollywood ... 'cause everyone and their mothers came through.

Some of the biggest studios in showbiz threw their own respective shindigs, including Hulu, Amazon, HBO, Netflix, Warner Bros. and others. That was more than enough to get mostly everyone who'd just been at the Beverly Hilton to come out for another hurrah.

Folks like Brad Pitt, Robert De Niro, Isla Fisher, Naomi Watts, Tiffany Haddish, Awkwafina, Kate Beckinsale, Patrick Stewart, Paris Hilton, Joaquin Phoenix, La La Anthony, Keegan-Michael Key, Helen Mirren, ScarJo and Al Pacino were in attendance.

Other stars seemed to be down to pose as duos, like Sofia Vergara and Sarah Hyland; Salma Hayek and Patricia Arquette; Nicholas Braun and Robert Greenblatt; Sabrina Carpenter and Joey King; Lisa Bonet and Zoey Kravits; Jason Momoa and Sacha Baron Cohen ... and lots more.

The Golden Globes are minutes away and it looks like Hollywood's gone with a washing machine approach to their getups, which has most everyone in either darks or lights.

Tons of stars stopped and posed for pictures on the way into the Beverly Hilton Hotel, and it's pretty clear a lot of them were either down to be draped in black, or the exact opposite ... with bright, loud colors. Not a whole lot in between, as far as we can see.

Some of the celebs who went with darker shades this year ... Naomi Watts, Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi, Jennifer Aniston, Christina Applegate, Margot Robbie (ish), Cynthia Erivo and Carol Burnett.

A lot of the guys were naturally in darker colors too, including Ricky Gervais, Eddie Murphy, Kit Harington, Henry Winkler, Brad Pitt, Rami Malek and on and on.

Now, on the other end of things, there were also tons of actors who went with rainbow colors ... like Tiffany Haddish in pink, Roman Griffin Davis in orange, Olivia Colman in red, Zoey Deutch in yellow, Dakota Fanning in purple, Thomasin McKenzie in blue, Joey King and Billy Porter in white and Kaitlyn Dever in ... something that was a floral mix of sorts.

There was even more looks behind the scenes, where the stars mentioned above and more mingled and mixed with handshakes, hugs and congratulations as the Globes started getting doled out.

From the inside out, this year's Golden Globes proved to be a feel-good, fashion-forward affair.

Ansel Elgort and his girlfriend raised eyebrows this weekend in a high-end jewelry store, where they seemed to be shopping for bling in an area couples often go before saying, "I do."

The actor was spotted browsing through a display case Saturday at Tiffany & Co. in Bev Hills -- and we got a shot of him and his GF of damn near 8 years, Violetta Komyshan, looking at something she was trying on ... on a floor where we're told engagement rings are sold.

Ansel and Violetta were on the second floor of the 3-floor shop -- and Tiffany & Co. tells us that's where they peddle their diamond rocks at this location. Unclear what piece of jewelry captured their gaze, but they were definitely being helped by an employee.

In fact, an eyewitness tells us Violetta was actually checking various pieces -- again, though, no word on what specifically. That said, rings are certainly available in the showroom.

From the looks of the photo, it's a bit hard to tell if the couple is staring down at Violetta's finger or wrist, or if Ansel himself is holding something between his fingers. But, IF they were actually peeping possible engagement rings, the timing would make sense.

Ansel and Violetta appear to have just touched down after a romantic holiday getaway in the Dominican Republic, where the PDA between them two was on full display. They were staying at an expensive private villa, which rents for $15k a night. They stayed a full week.

Not only that, but Ansel and Violetta have been together since 2012 ... and look to be very much in love. What better way to ring in the New Year than with ... well, a ring?

We've reached out to Ansel's reps for comment ... so far, no word back.

Hollywood's finest came out in droves for a pre-Golden Globes event which saw them mingling with Olympians -- and the get-together was nothing short of a tearjerker.

The ritzy shindig went down Saturday afternoon at one of the first-ever homes established in Bev Hills ... the Virginia Robinson Gardens mansion. It's called Gold Meets Golden, and the whole idea is to pair celebs with pro athletes all in the name of charity --  this in anticipation of Sunday's award show and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, of course.

For this 7th year -- which was hosted/presented by Coca Cola, BMW Beverly Hills, FASHWIRE along with other sponsors -- the proceeds were going toward Angel City Sports ... an org promoting adaptive sports for kids, adults and vets with physical disabilities.

Definitely a cause worth getting behind ... and you could tell as much by who showed up -- including Nicole Kidman, Chris Evans, Rami Malek, Taron Egerton, Cynthia Erivo, Matt Bomer, Ben Platt, Beanie Feldstein, Zoey Deutch, Joey King, Naomi Watts, Lou Ferringo and more.

Of the Olympians and athletes in attendance ... Jackie Joyner Kersee, Nadia Comaneci, Bart Connors, Ibtihaj Muhammad, Ian Thorpe, Willie Gault, Metta World Peace, Apollo Anton Ohno, Kristi Yamaguchi and several others.

Check out the clip above ... you see Cynthia belting out a rendition of John Lennon's "Imagine," Taron and Sistine Stallone putting medals on the 2014 bobsled team and Matt Bomer presenting a cake to diver Greg Louganis for his 60th bday this month.

Terry Gilliam let it rip in a no-holds-barred interview in which he BLASTS #MeToo, defends white men "taking blame" ... and misidentified his gender and race in jest.

The director, writer and former member of the Monty Python comedy team recently sat down for an interview with The Independent, and rather than discuss his new movie ... more so, he wanted to air out his grievances over being a victimized white male in 2020.

Reading the entire thing in full is worth it, but just to give you a snapshot of Terry's stance on social issues ... he says stuff like #MeToo is nothing more than a blame game.

Of a female character in his flick, "The Man Who Killed Don Quixote," who becomes an escort, he says ... "In the age of #MeToo, here’s a girl who takes responsibility for her state. Whatever happened in this character’s life, she’s not accusing anybody."

He goes on ... "We’re living in a time where there’s always somebody responsible for your failures, and I don’t like this. I want people to take responsibility and not just constantly point a finger at somebody else, saying, 'You’ve ruined my life.'"

Then, Terry moves on to the alleged victims of Harvey Weinstein, many of whom he dubs "ambitious adults" who made choices while trying to come up in the industry.

Of the disgraced movie mogul, Terry says ... "There are many victims in Harvey’s life, and I feel sympathy for them, but then, Hollywood is full of very ambitious people who are adults and they make choices." Terry worked with HW in 2005 for 'The Brothers Grimm."

The 2 men who were featured in "Leaving Neverland" who accused Michael Jackson of molesting them as children have just won a huge legal victory ... because a California appeals court has just given them the right to sue for sexual abuse.

A trial judge threw out the cases of James Safechuck and Wade Robson, on grounds they waited too long to file their claim. When they filed their lawsuits, California law did not support their claim, because the statute of limitations required them to file before they turned 26. At the time they filed, Robson was 30 and Safechuck was 36.

But, a new law took effect on January 1, 2020, which allows sexual abuse victims to sue until they're 40. A California appeals court just ruled the new law allows both Robson and Safechuck to have their cases tried -- presumably before a jury.

It's a huge reversal of fortune. Up till now, the MJ companies have been able to fend off these claims based on the statute of limitations, but that's all changed as of New Year's Day.