Movies

The Rock owns the XFL and former L.A. Wildcats head coach Winston Moss has a message for DJ ... GIVE ME A JOB!!!

Moss lost his head coaching gig when the 2nd iteration of the XFL went under -- largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic -- leaving the former NFL player and coach without a job.

Winston -- who played football at University of Miami a few years before Johnson -- thought his time with the XFL was done ... until The Rock swooped in, threw down $15 mil, and rescued the league.

Now, Moss tells TMZ Sports he BADLY wants another crack coaching in the XFL.

"I was excited to hear the news. I've been on pins and needles ever since we were shut down due to COVID-19 and how can you not be excited about The Rock?!" Moss tells us.

"He's an ex-football player, he's a great entertainer, has a passion for whatever he does, has a passion for football, he seems to love the game. Both of us are University of Miami alumni, so c'mon!"

Moss says working with Johnson would be a huge privilege.

"I think he brings so much to the table that I would be honored, I would be thrilled to work with somebody with that stature."

Now, this obviously ain't the XFL's 1st rodeo ... so Moss has some ideas that he believes will make Johnson's league a hit the 3rd time around.

Bruce Lee might be dead, but his spirit is very much alive in this little boy from Japan ... who knows one of the legend's insane nunchuck movie routines like the back of his hand.

Meet Ryusei -- a legitimate Kung Fu prodigy who's obsessed with all things Bruce ... including his famous fight scene from "Enter the Dragon," where he's swinging around the chucks like the master martial artist he was. Turns out, Ryusei wasn't too far behind him .... at age 5!!!

The clip you see here was shot a while ago, but it shows the kid with his back turned to the movie playing in the background. As Bruce starts chuckin', so does Ryusei ... who's completely in sync with the routine, damn near perfectly. It's pretty wild to see it play out.

Since then, the kid only appears to have gotten better at his craft -- he's got an IG page ... at age 9 now, he looks like he could be just good as Bruce was in his prime. He may be better by that age, in fact ... Ryusei is already sparring with fully-grown adults and holding his own.

His high-level ability -- and the natural comparisons to Bruce -- is definitely something his parents play up. It looks like they post a ton of side-by-side shots of Ryusei with the late legend, and they even went out to Bruce's gravesite in Seattle to pose for a photo-op.

Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas are looking madly in love these days, and they're even doing steamy double dates with Matt Damon and his wife.

Ben and Ana packed on some mouth-on-mouth PDA Monday in Malibu, rolling around in the sand, and taking a romantic stroll down the coastline.

Typical hot date -- lots of passionate kissing, tight hugs, and smiles all around -- but this time Matt and Luciana were tagging along. Yeah, they got that awkward front seat to Ben and Ana's make-out session.

Take note, Ben did have a face covering, but with all the kissing it remained firmly in his back pocket. Can ya blame him?

The friendly neighborhood home of the Boggs family in "Edward Scissorhands" is on the market, and though there's no sign Edward's been trimming the hedges ... there's still plenty to like about the place.

The outside of the Florida house -- featured in the 1990 Tim Burton cult classic, starring Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder -- is a different color now but still looks very much the same ... and it's listed for $224,000.

The 1,432-square-foot residence comes with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, all of which have been recently renovated ... including a completely remodeled master bath.

The house still boasts some original attributes too -- like the kitchen cabinets and countertops and, of course, all the charm showcased in the movie.

The Boggs' house -- used for exterior and interior shots -- was built in 1989, just months before filming began for 'Scissorhands' in the Tampa Bay area. It's actually in a subdivision in the suburban town of Lutz.

Hopefully, all the neighbors are nice as well ... nothing like those Esmeralda or Jim characters.

New York City-native Mercedes Ruehl gained fame in the '80s when she landed the role of the distraught mother, Mrs. Baskin -- who wields a knife and chases her big son out of the house and later threatens him on the phone -- in the classic 1988 over-grown comedy, "BIG."

Mercedes Ruehl shared the screen with stars like Robert Loggia as the toy giant, Mr. MacMillan, John Heard as the paddle ball-cheating Paul Davenport, Elizabeth Perkins as the ravishing Susan Lawrence ... and of course, Tom Hanks as the larger-than-life Josh Baskin.

That same year Mercedes solidified herself as a star after she was in the film, "Married To The Mod," as the gangster wife, Connie Russo.

Shia LaBeouf doesn't need a bumper sticker to show his support for Joe Biden ... a face covering will do just fine.

The actor was out Monday morning in L.A. arriving at a film set while also doing his part to stem the spread of the coronavirus. But, Shia's face mask is doing double duty ... because he's using his as a billboard to show his support for the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.

It's a move that's in polar opposition to many of President Trump's supporters ... and we're not talking politically.

The Prez himself was first to politicize face masks by refusing to wear them during most of the pandemic -- and his backers have followed suit.

You'll recall at Trump's Tulsa rally back in June, hardly anyone wore a mask. One supporter even brought a tiny baby into the potentially super-spreading event. Making matters worse ... Trump's campaign staff ordered the removal of social distancing signs, and video clearly shows them doing exactly that.

Herman Cain, who attended that rally and did not wear mask, died from COVID-19 a little over a month later.

Gerard Butler had himself quite the weekend -- one second he was putting on a show for his buddies, and the next he was getting stopped to pose with an adorable pooch. Quite the life!

The "300" star was hanging out Sunday at a cafe in the Marina del Rey neighborhood of L.A. -- right by the beach, pretty much. He was definitely dressed down and somewhat covered up to where you might not recognize him at first -- but that ripped bod's hard to miss.

Anyway, it seemed like he was with a lady friend and some other pals as well -- who were getting a nice little story out of Gerard with all his animated motions and gestures. From the POV of the person in the car, it kinda looked like a game of charades or something.

Anyway, it all came to a screeching halt when someone showed up with their pug and seemingly asked if Gerard would snap a photo with it. He did -- wearing his face mask at first -- but quickly realized life is much better when a guy's face-to-face with man's best friend.

THIS ... IS ... SO CUTE!!!!!

Zac Efron is formulating a plan to escape from Los Angeles ... and he's got his eyes set on a big move down under!!!

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Zac plans on listing his L.A.-area home in the very near future, and he wants to move full-time to the Byron Bay area of Australia.

Our sources say Zac is burnt out living in and around Hollywood -- he's never been one for the limelight, or for being the center of attention, and we're told he doesn't like the paparazzi following him around town.

While Zac wants to get far away from Tinseltown, we're told he isn't leaving the entertainment business at all -- he's just ready for a change of scenery.

Fact is ... Zac doesn't need to be in Los Angeles to take work meetings. We're told he fully understands this, and knows he can just FaceTime or Zoom instead.

Plus, most of Zac's latest film projects weren't even shot in Hollywood. He went to Miami for "The Beach Bum," trekked to New York City for "The Greatest Showman," and bounced around Miami and Georgia for "Baywatch."

In his new Netflix show, "Down To Earth With Zac Efron," he mentions his desire to get out of L.A. and now it appears he's pulling the trigger.

Our sources say the pandemic is another concern for Zac -- he considers Byron Bay safer from the virus, and doesn't expect the danger surrounding COVID-19 to go away anytime soon.

Wilford Brimley -- an iconic actor who was the face of Quaker Oats for years, as well as a spokesperson for diabetes education -- has died ... a rep tells TMZ.

We're told Brimley passed away Saturday morning at his home in Utah. Sources with direct knowledge of Wilford's health tell us he was in an ICU wing of a hospital on dialysis, and very sick for days.

Wilford had a lengthy career on camera, dating back to the 1970s with over 70 acting credits. He's perhaps most known for roles in cult classic films like "Cocoon," "The Natural," "The Thing," "Hard Target," and countless other memorable on-screen appearances, big and small.

Brimley started out as mostly a TV actor, landing one-time roles on TV series like "How the West Was Won," 'Kung Fu,' "The Oregon Trail," and then eventually ... a recurring part on "The Waltons." He went on to star in a bunch of TV movies, such as "The Wild Wild West Revisited," "Amber Waves," "Roughnecks," "Rodeo Girl," 'The Big Black Pill,' and so on.

In the '80s, he started breaking out into more traditional films, appearing in flicks like "High Road to China," "10 to Midnight," "Tough Enough," "Jackals," "End of the Line," and a bunch of other B-movies where he'd often play an authority figure or a grandfatherly figure with his deep, comforting Southern accent. One of the best character actors without a doubt.

He went on to star in countless other movies and shows, notably on "Our House," in which he starred in over 40 episodes, as well one-off appearances in hit series like "Walker, Texas Ranger," "Seinfeld," and so many others.

Folks might remember Wilford more for commercials though over the years -- specifically, his campaigns with Quaker Oats through the '80s and '90s, and maybe even more memorable ... his classic diabetes ads for Liberty Medical -- which was often spoofed, but also beloved.

Wilford was diagnosed with diabetes mellitus in 1979, and managed the disease ever since then -- obviously, he was very open about it. The American Diabetes Association honored him for his lifetime of advocacy in 2008.

A rep for Wilford tells TMZ, one of his favorite quotes was from a sign at a blacksmith's shop. It read, "There is nothing made, sold, or done that can't be made, sold, or done cheaper. If price is your only concern, please do business with my competitor."

He's survived by his wife, Beverly, and his three children.

Happy Friday ... here's a filthy, but happy, Jason Momoa getting hosed down after riding on a dune buggy.

The Hollywood hunk and star of the upcoming "Dune" remake flaunted his hot bod in a series of photos ... where he's caked in mud ... giving a thumbs up while trying to clean him off.

Jason captioned the pics ... "like a pig in sh**." He added ... "hard to explain this one. but i had an amazing day. now i need a dune buggy. dune coming soon aloha j."

The actor's dune buggy escapades clearly are designed to promote the new feature adaptation of Frank Herbert's science fiction novel ... which costars Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya, Timothee Chalamet, Dave Bautista, Josh Brolin, Oscar Isaac and Javier Bardem.

But, who really knows -- or cares. Bloody Marys are a good idea for heading into the weekend ... but might we suggest Muddy Momoas instead?

Child actor Kelley Parker gained fame at a very young age after she was cast to play the little, blonde homeless girl, Katie -- who follows Michael Jackson around the city, dodges lethal injections from Mr. Big (played by Joe Pesci) and watches MJ turn into an epic, flying robot -- in the ground-breaking 1988 music movie, "Moonwalker."

Kelley Parker was cast alongside two well-known child actors ... musician and artist Sean Lennon (John Lennon and Yoko Ono's son) played Katie's homeless friend, Sean and Brandon Quintin Adams (of "Sandlot" and "Mighty Ducks" fame) played the mini MJ and gang leader in the Badder segment and the final homeless kid, Zeke, at the ending of the film.

Gary Busey can't make up his mind about quarantine life -- one minute he says it's the best thing to happen to him ... and the next, he's calling it prison.

We got GB Monday at the Malibu News Stand, where he chopped it up with us about how he's holding up during the pandemic ... and more specifically, how he's dealing with being locked down indoors (for the most part, anyway).

First, Gary here starts out by telling us quarantine shouldn't be viewed as a bad thing -- he says it's giving people QT with their loved ones, and he even has a new way to describe F.R.E.E.D.O.M. ... as only Gary could.

No more than a minute or so after his glowing review of quarantine, he seems to change his tune severely when we ask him about his kids and if they're going back to school in the fall.

Benedict Cumberbatch knows how to make friends and influence Marvel fans -- try walking off the street into a comic book store while in his full Doctor Strange costume.

Scott Derrickson, who directed the movie, posted a never-before-seen clip of the lead star popping into a Manhattan comic book store while filming back in 2016. It was all done in the spur of the moment, and you can tell no one in the store expected it by the way they reacted to seeing Doc Strange.

He kept it caj, chatting it up with shoppers and having a little back and forth with the guys behind the front desk, who were clearly starstruck. He even posed for a picture with them.

Benedict jokingly asked if he could have a job there if the movie flopped -- it didn't, "Doctor Strange" went on to gross over $670 million, in the U.S. alone -- and the comic boys said yes ... but only if he rocked an American accent. True pro that he is, Ben switched up right on the spot and got into character as Strange immediately. It's pretty freaking awesome to see.

Again, it's an old clip ... but Scott decided to share it just now, maybe to lift Marvel fans' spirits after a slew of blockbuster delays across the industry amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Because Gotham hasn't been through enough in 2020 ... the Joker's popping up his colorful head for some summer hijinks. Naturally.

Somebody dressed as the Clown Prince of Crime himself was spotted this morning riding a jet ski on the East River, in broad daylight no less. He cruised up to a group of bystanders who were recording him this weekend and flaunted his ride, his costume and makeup -- which we're on point -- then sped off.

As for which iteration of the Joker this fella went with -- probably the most popular among today's Batman fans ... Heath Ledger's portrayal from "The Dark Knight." He did it on camera more than a decade ago, but the look still holds up today.

If 2020 hadn't already brought a real-life pandemic that's killed nearly 20,000 in NYC alone, the sight of the Joker arriving in town might have fazed more citizens.

BTW, fun fact -- it seems like this jet skiing Joker has an annual tradition of hitting the water, assuming it was the same guy riding out on the East River with the same exact outfit in 2019.

He was spotted by some other New Yorkers around this time last year, and actress Olivia Wilde even seemed to confirm that she, too, had seen the Joker zipping along out there.

Any Jimi Hendrix collectible is significant, but this rare electric guitar oozes with so much history ... it's no wonder it'll fetch a HUGE sum of money when it goes up for auction.

The folks over at Kruse GWS Auctions are in possession of Buster's early 1960s Japanese Sunburst electric guitar that's expected to snag at LEAST a cool $50,000. That's the minimum bid but GWS expects to fetch a historic amount ... and here's why they just might.

Legend has it the guitar god used this exact axe shortly after he returned home from the U.S. Army in 1962 and moving to Clarksville, Tennessee. While he was there, Jimi played the Chitlin' Circuit with some incredible talent -- like Sam Cooke and Ike and Tina Turner.

Jimi's brother, Leon Hendrix, has said "that was the last time that Jimi sounded happy." Leon recalls, "I remember Jimi calling me from New York saying he so broke he can't even pay attention. He pawned his guitar and his friends got him one."

When Jimi moved to London in 1966, he left this guitar in NYC at the apartment of one of his best friends. Cut to 54 years later and the winner of this bid will also get a letter of provenance from Leon, who will also have a private lunch with the winning bidder.

BTW ... there will be TONS of other cool items up for auction, like Prince's custom purple boots, Elvis Presley's owned and worn Neo-style sunglasses, Tom Hanks "Cast Away" costumes -- and perhaps the greatest ... Muhammad Ali's custom white terrycloth "World Champion" robe!!!

Olivia de Havilland, the last surviving star of "Gone with the Wind," has died.

The actress played Melanie Hamilton Wilkes, who squared off with Scarlett O'Hara to gain the affection of Ashley Wilkes, played by Leslie Howard.

The 1939 movie became one of the icons in cinema ... played and replayed every year in movie theaters across the country. The movie has drawn constant and increased criticism over glorifying the South during the Civil War, and recently, when HBO Max released it on its streaming service, it provided context at the beginning.

Olivia starred in a number of other movies, including "The Adventures of Robin Hood." She won Oscars for her performances in "To Each His Own" and "The Heiress."

Olivia was also embroiled in a long-standing Hollywood feud with her sister, actress Joan Fontaine, and gossip mags couldn't get enough of it.

Olivia was angry over Ryan Murphy's miniseries, "Feud: Bette and Joan," because of the way she was portrayed, and sued FX but lost.

She also was important in putting an end to the archaic studio system in Hollywood. When she was under a long-term contract with Warner Bros., she put her foot down, refusing certain roles, which got her benched more than once. She ended up suing Warner Bros., saying the studio system amounted to "peonage," and the judge agreed and freed her from her remaining obligations under her contract.

The legal fight changed the balance of power in Hollywood, and actors were able to negotiate better contracts as a result.

Olivia has lived in Paris since 1960 and rarely attended public functions. There was a splashy party in Hollywood for her 90th birthday -- thrown by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences -- and she showed up.

And, check out the cool pic ... Olivia last year -- 103 years old -- riding a bike.

Olivia was 104.