Movies

'Sonic the Hedgehog' took a cue from the fan base -- and rightly so, because the movie's rolling in the dough as a result ... so says one of the film's stars.

Actress Tika Sumpter was leaving Craig's in WeHo Tuesday night, and she weighed in on the massive box office haul her new flick pulled in over the weekend -- upwards of $70 million here at home, and projected to make a lot more than its estimated $85 mil budget.

According to her, the secret formula for success here was the fact Paramount Studios listened to the feedback from potential viewers on social media earlier last year ... when everyone ripped Sonic's original look, and his eery human-like teeth that nobody seemed to like.

Tika says the proof is in the pudding in terms of Paramount's reward for taking note -- and it sounds like she thinks other studios may follow suit with future projects.

Funny enough, Tika invokes another animated classic with teeth issues of its own. She says we've advanced beyond the one-block denture depiction, but aren't quite ready to see cavities, it seems.

Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez will NOT be denied -- not when they're looking like this on their way into a schmancy Bev Hills boardroom.

The power couple dressed to the nines Tuesday, reportedly for a business meeting. Go ahead ... tell us who's gonna reject whatever they're pitching? We'll wait.

J Lo's never one for modesty -- we all still remember the Super Bowl halftime show, right? She showed off those famous dancer's legs in a mini-skirt and knee-high boots ... while stepping out of their drop-top Bentley.

If this is the new business casual ... go get that MBA, kids!

A-Rod's no slouch ... in his blue blazer, red tie and brown dress shoes, but even he knows his place when it comes to the couple's fashion hierarchy. Bonus points though, Alex, for the stylish bag ... bigger than J Lo's!!!

Okay, so ... who was saying no to them, again? Still waiting.

Veteran character actress Esther Scott -- who's been in countless movies and shows over the years -- has died.

A member of Esther's family tells TMZ ... Esther suffered an apparent heart attack last Tuesday at her Santa Monica home, and was later found unconscious and taken to a hospital. We're told she remained hospitalized for a few more days before eventually passing on Friday.

She was surrounded by family and loved ones at the time she died. Her sister, Shaun, tells us, "She loved what she did. She would get stopped on the street often and people would recognize her -- but they didn't know her name. Hopefully now people will remember her name, her work and the contributions she gave to the entertainment industry."

Esther had a massive resume, having appeared in at least 73 films and shows dating back to the '80s. She's perhaps most well known for her role as Bridget, one of Nat Turner's relatives, in 2016's 'Birth of a Nation.' Esther's been in several other projects, however.

She's also been the voice Shodu in the 'Star Wars' animated spin-off, "Ewoks" -- and had a memorably hilarious scene in "Boyz n the Hood." She played the grandmother of a girl who hooked up with Tre, Cuba Gooding Jr.'s character.

Her resume is crazy impressive, with roles on "Encino Man," "Beverly Hills, 90210," "Full House," "The Wayans Bros.," "Martin," "Nash Bridges," "Melrose Place," "ER" and "The King of Queens" ... just to name a few.

Esther was 66.

Tyler Perry's most famous character, Madea, is going out with a bang -- and in the Volunteer State, the one and only Chris Stapleton helped him send her off with a tune of his own.

TP's on a stage play farewell tour for his notorious alter ego -- the last time Madea will make an appearance on the road or onscreen, or so it seems -- and during his Nashville, TN stop last week, the famous country singer surfaced as one of the guests in the crowd.

Looks like someone pointed him out and put him on the spot to sing a little bit ... and Chris didn't shy away from the moment. He took the mic and sang "Tennessee Whiskey."

Tyler certainly appreciated the impromptu performance, writing on Instagram ... "Madea could not come to the end of the farewell tour and have @chrisstapleton in the audience in Nashville, Tennessee and not have him sing a verse of Tennessee Whiskey! And he KILLED IT!! Thank you Chris, blessings to you, your wife, and them babies!!"

That's one helluva way to go out.

Jason "Gummi Bear" Davis -- who voiced Mikey Blumberg on "Recess" for years -- has reportedly died.

The voice actor -- who's also the grandson of the late Hollywood billionaire mogul Marvin Davis and Barbara Davis -- passed away Sunday in Los Angeles ... according to a family statement provided to THR. The circumstances around his death are unclear for now.

Jason's mother, Nancy Rickel, tells the outlet ... "I am so heartbroken to share the saddest news of my life that my son Jason Davis passed away this morning in Los Angeles."

She goes on to add, "Jason had a true heart of gold with such a zest for life. He was such a caring soul to everybody who ever knew him. He loved his friends and his family above all else. We ask for privacy as we take time to grieve this most devastating loss."

Jason had struggled with addiction in the past, appearing on "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew" in 2010. Since then, however, he was said to have been working on his recovery and even co-founded a charity called Cure Addiction Now. He was heavily involved in running it.

When it comes to acting, Jason had starred in several other shows and movies besides "Recess" -- for which he served as the voice of Mikey since the '90s and in pretty much all the spin-off movies that followed. He also made appearances in "7th Heaven," "Roseanne," "Dave's World," "Beverly Hills Ninja," "Rush Hour," "Mafia!," "The Bathroom Diaries," "The Locusts," "The Crude Oasis" and more.

He's survived by his parents and his four siblings.

Jason was 35.

Nikita Pearl Waligwa -- a young actress who starred in a Ugandan Disney movie about a chess prodigy -- has reportedly died ... this after battling health issues a few years earlier.

According to the Ugandan news outlet, The Daily Monitor, Nikita recently passed away. While they don't say exactly how, the paper seems to link her death to a 2016 diagnosis ... which found she had a tumor in her brain. Unclear if she was fighting full-blown cancer.

Even more tragic ... the Monitor says a funding campaign was started for Nikita to get treatment in India, because local doctors were quoted as not having the proper equipment.

As for her acting career, it appears she only starred in the one Disney flick, "Queen of Katwe," playing a friend of the actual chess prodigy, Phiona Mutesi. It also featured Lupita Nyong'o and David Oyelowo -- the film's got a great Rotten Tomatoes score, critics loved it.

Nikita was only 15 years old.

A reboot of "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" without Rick Moranis would be like cereal without milk, it wouldn't be right ... according to the woman who played his daughter in the original movies.

Amy O'Neill played Amy Szalinski in the theatrical releases and tells TMZ ... the reboot would have been incomplete without Rick agreeing to return. Amy says without him ... the new production just couldn't work.

Josh Gad is reportedly the star attached to the film -- with original director Joe Johnston also returning -- but Amy told us why Rick's flair was the critical ingredient.

Something else she's fired up about is seeing the new special effects. Remember, when "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" was first released in 1989, its special FX were considered cutting-edge. She says the green screen the film used back in the day was the largest of its kind at the time. More than 30 years later ... she can't even imagine what kinda technology will be used to pull it off this time. She's champing at the bit to see it, though.

Keanu Reeves is back as The One for the upcoming 'Matrix' movie -- but oddly enough ... his new Neo looks a lot like another action hero he's been playing lately, to much acclaim.

TMZ obtained new photos of Keanu, Carrie-Anne Moss (who played Trinity) and director Lana Wachowski on the set of "The Matrix 4," which has been filming in San Francisco these past couple weeks or so. These latest pics were shot Friday in the Financial District.

You can see Keanu here, and it looks like Lana and co. have Mr. Anderson rocking a fresh look we're not used to when it comes to Neo -- who was clean-cut in the OG flicks. Now, The One has a striking resemblance to the widowed hitman John Wick. Like, to a T.

He's got the same shoulder-length hair JW has, and the same messy beard too. Shoot, Neo's even got the same dark outfits John wears -- although, Neo did it first, technically.

Other shots of Keanu on set have surfaced lately, and it seems to confirm Lana's got Neo in a bummy state within the Matrix. Who knows what his "real-world" appearance will be.

Even cooler than seeing Keanu back in action ... getting a glimpse of Carrie-Anne on set, who's reprising her role as Neo's love interest. We're told she too was on set Friday, and we got a shot of her with her back to the camera, sporting her signature short hair.

Oh, and Keanu's girlfriend, Alexandra Grant, was spotted hanging around as well. Supporting her man, it seems.

Now, we're told this latest scene consisted of a SWAT team going in and out of a building -- with a black SUV parked out front under green neon lighting. Very 'Matrix'-esque, right?!

Still no sign of any of the other stars who've been tied to the project, including Jada Pinkett, Neil Patrick Harris, Priyanka Chopra, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II ... or Laurence Fishburne.

And, the Oscar goes to ... Super Bowl champ Vernon Davis?!?!

Maybe someday!! 'Cause the recently retired NFL tight end tells TMZ Sports he's got 10 toes down in the acting industry!!

FYI -- Davis is a 2-time Pro Bowler and led the league in TDs in 2009 ... so he had one helluva career.

But, the 36-year-old tells us he ain't sittin' back and relaxing on the beach in retirement -- he's already started his own production company called Reel 85 Productions!!

So how did we get here?? Davis says he caught the acting bug when he was with the 49ers ... and hasn't looked back since.

"I wrote in a class when I was in San Francisco called Shelton Theater of Art," Davis tells us. "That's when I entered into a play and from there, it was all downhill after that."

Davis ain't the only player going from the gridiron to the silver screen -- he name-drops an NFLer who might join him as an acting star!!

Harriet Tubman's image on a debit card would stir plenty of debate -- but Harriet Tubman doing the "Wakanda Forever" pose on that card is really pissing off a lot of people.

OneUnited Bank -- which says it's America's largest black-owned bank -- announced the limited edition card Thursday ... in honor of Black History Month. The image on the card shows Harriet making fists, with her arms crossed over her chest.

It's the pose that was popularized in the movie, "Black Panther" a couple years ago. Y'know ... the gesture of solidarity for all citizens of the fictional African nation of Wakanda.

Despite the fact OneUnited is black-owned, the bank got dragged online, almost immediately after announcing the card. Most of the hate ripped the bank for making a buck off Tubman's image and pandering to black customers.

There's just one problem with all the outrage -- Harriet's NOT shouting out King T'Challa on the card. Not according to OneUnited Bank ... which says the gesture is American Sign Language for love.

They ain't lying ... that is ASL for love, although that fact is probably lost on millions of Marvel movie fans. Of course, that doesn't address the "cashing in" criticism.

We got "Dear White People" actor Obba Babatunde to weigh in on the issue, and his take is interesting. He tells us it very much seems like good intentions, but in this day and age ... it's easy for the message to misconstrued.

What you want? Baby, Jennifer Hudson's got it ... especially if you're looking for someone to nail the role of Aretha Franklin!!!

Jennifer and Forest Whitaker were filming the upcoming biopic -- aptly titled "Respect" -- Friday in Manhattan's Washington Square Park. Props to the wardrobe and hair department too ... 'cause Jennifer's got the Queen of Soul down pat.

Forest is playing the role of Aretha's father, C.L. Franklin, a Baptist minister and civil rights activist also known as the man with the "Million-Dollar Voice."

As you know ... Jennifer was reportedly hand-picked for this role by Aretha before she died in 2018. Seeing the Oscar winner on set ... we gotta say, Franklin couldn't have chosen better.

We've already seen Jennifer as a young Aretha, kissing her onscreen husband, Marlon Wayans, in November ... and now we've got another look.

Bottom line ... Jennifer ain't gonna do you wrong when "Respect" hits theaters this summer.

Robert Pattinson is officially moving on from his "Twilight" vampire days and heading to the Batcave ... here he is for the first time as Batman!!!

The actor's new role as The Dark Knight was just revealed for the first time by "The Batman" director Matt Reeves in a 45-second camera test ... in which Pattinson slowly comes into focus in a dark room lit by red light.

As he steps forward to show off the Batsuit, an ominous score by composer Michael Giacchino builds to a crescendo before going black. Gotta say, it's pretty badass.

The latest reboot for the Caped Crusader series from Warner Bros. was actively pursued by Pattinson, who says he kept prodding Reeves once he learned he was attached as director ... and managed to land the iconic role.

Reeves is known for directing "Cloverfield" and 2 "Planet of the Apes" films.

“The Batman” is set to debut on June 25, 2021. Mark your calendars.

Memphis-born William Sanderson is best known for his role as the chess-playing replicant designer, J.F. Sebastian -- who double-crosses his mentor, Dr. Eldon Tyrell, and brings a fast-aging and desperate replicant to his penthouse -- in the classic 1982 version of the futuristic film, "Blade Runner."

Sanderson scared the big screen with an awesome cast of actors including Joe Turkel as Dr. Tyrell, Rutger Hauer as the killer, Roy Batty, Sean Young as the engineered love interest, Rachael ... and of course, Harrison Ford as the humanoid-hunting blade runner, Rick Deckard.

William Sanderson has also taken on other notable roles including E.B. Farnum in "Deadwood" and Sheriff Bud Dearborne in "True Blood."

Sylvester Stallone's playing another action hero in a new movie -- go figure, right? -- but this time there's a twist ... and it's got our boy looking like a completely different person.

The legendary actor was on set Tuesday in Atlanta, GA, where it looks like they starting to shoot this new flick he's starring in called "Samaritan," opposite of "Euphoria" child star Javon "Wanna" Walton. The latter plays a kid in search of a disappeared "superhero."

Sounds a little weird, but it's a sci-fi thriller -- so, apparently, Sly's playing somebody this time around with actual powers. And, spoiler, it seems like the boy does, in fact, find him.

It's kinda crazy though ... SS looks down and out, not to mention scarred as his superhero character. Helluva makeup job too -- should be a good one when it eventually comes out.

Kansas City (Missouri)-local Julia Montgomery was in her early 20s when she landed the role of the Pi Delta Pi babe, Betty Childs -- who teams up with the beefy Alpha Betas but ultimately falls for a geeky Lambda Lambda Lambda man -- in the 1984 classic college flick, "Revenge Of The Nerds" and returned as Betty in "Revenge Of The Nerds III: The Next Generation" and "Revenge Of The Nerds IV: Nerds In Love."

Julia Montgomery was cast alongside some epic actors including Donald Gibb as the nerd-hating jock, Ogre ... and of course Ted McGinley as the uber handsome Alpha male and quarterback, Stan Gable.

The confusion, or even contempt, over Blac Chyna being a guest at the Oscars proves the award show still has a big problem with people of color -- that's how she feels, anyway.

A rep for Chyna tells TMZ ... what should have been a magical and dream-fulfilling moment for her has turned into a demeaning instance of "black lash," with multiple media outlets unfairly asking, "Why is SHE there?"

In Chyna's view, she more than deserved to be there not only because she contributes to the entertainment industry as star of her own reality show, but as a black woman who "finds inspiration in supporting her friends, mentors, and other talent that has helped provide a blueprint for her career."

Chyna's rep says her Academy Awards attendance was no different from many other entertainment professionals who attended, despite not being nominated or involved in film in any way. The biggest difference, according to Chyna's team, is her background and skin color.

"Whether it be the fact that she is a reality star, a single mother, or the inevitable reminder that she was a former stripper ... it does nothing to change the narrative that just maybe the Oscars indeed are 'so white'" ... says Chyna's rep.

The rep adds, all the buzz over Chyna's attendance "further highlights the fight that many African Americans in the Entertainment Industry face; yes, even during Black History Month."

Ya get the point. Chyna's incensed and feels she's the victim of systemic racism.

We're told she still feels it was worth it to take a stand and be a role model, showing young people of color what they can achieve.

BTW, we're told she went with a music producer but secured her own invitation.