Movies

David Arquette is fed up with you damn haters, and tells TMZ Sports he's coming back to pro wrestling to shut up everyone who's been dissing his foray into the squared circle 20 years ago.

You might not remember ... but David was once WCW Heavyweight Champion (yes, it happened) back in 2000 as a story line to promote Arquette's movie "Ready To Rumble."

Fans hated it from the get-go, and it's been almost universally viewed as one of the absolute worst moments in professional wrestling history ever since.

David told our guy in NYC he's tired of the disrespect ... and is returning to the ring to clear his name.

"People have been giving me a hard time for 18 years and I'm sick of it."

Arquette says he's taking it seriously too, hiring a bevy of champion coaches to make him into a real deal LEGIT wrestler this time around so that the fans do the one thing he wants.

Maverick's back ... and the need for speed is real.

Tom Cruise was spotted casually riding solo on a motorcycle Wednesday afternoon on set of the "Top Gun" sequel -- "Top Gun: Maverick." Day one of filming went down at a military base in San Diego.

We also got a shot of one of the fighter jets that will presumably be used in the sequel to the hit 1986 action movie. Tom himself announced filming had begun by posting a teaser image with the tagline, "FEEL THE NEED."

Of course, the original had Cruise with costar Val Kilmer as Iceman, Anthony Edwards as Goose, Tom Skerritt as Viper and Kelly McGillis as Charlie.

So far the plot of the sequel's been kept under wraps and, other than Tom, no casting's been announced. We know this ... it's still Top Gun school, so there will definitely be fighter jets -- and we're absolutely positive any Goose scenes will have to be flashbacks. That was a helluva thing.

RIP Goose. Who's gonna play piano now?

Morgan Freeman's keeping his head down -- as he fights back against the sexual harassment allegations -- and focusing on his J-O-B ... making movies.

The actor was spotted on set of "The Poison Rose" Wednesday in Savannah, Georgia ... carrying on with filming his scenes the week after CNN reported multiple women are accusing him of sexual misconduct.

As we reported ... Freeman's lawyers lashed out at CNN, calling the story "the product of malicious intent, falsehoods, slight-of-hand, an absence of editorial control, and journalistic malpractice." CNN says it stands by its story.

Vin Diesel's definitely cool ... but not too cool to not go back to school.

The 'Fast & Furious' star returned to Hunter College of the City University of New York almost 30 years after he left the school to pursue his Hollywood dream ... proudly holding his honorary Ph.D on Wednesday as he gave the school's commencement speech in front of nearly 2,000 grads at Radio City Music Hall.

Vin's undoubtedly one of the college's most notable alumni -- but the nod's gotta go to Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan. Vin credited his time at Hunter for helping him launch his career. The former English major wrote a screenplay and acted in that film, that ultimately caught the eye of Steven Spielberg. Steven then went on to write a part specifically for Vin in a little movie called "Saving Private Ryan."

Congrats, Vin!! Check that ... Dr. Diesel!!

Nancy Grace says Harvey Weinstein needs to stop bitchin' about not being able to get a fair trial because he's not a victim here.

We got the former prosecutor and current TV host Wednesday at LAX, where we asked what she made of Weinstein's legal team's concerns that they're not getting access to info needed to defend their client.

Nancy unloads on Weinstein, asking if he ever thought it was fair to all the women he allegedly sexually assaulted. But she makes an even more interesting point ... if O.J. was able to secure an unbiased trial in L.A., Weinstein shouldn't have any trouble in NYC.

Nancy says God help Weinstein if he takes the stand, and uses a Thanksgiving metaphor to describe what will go down.

6/1/18 5:10 PM PT -- It looks like the puppet wars are over -- Sesame Street just dismissed its lawsuit against producers of "The Happytime Murders" ... according to new legal docs.

Melissa McCarthy and her cast of raunchy puppets are free to keep using their "Sesame Street"-inspired tagline -- 'cause a judge says the 2 ideas are clearly not the same thing.

A judge in NYC handed down a ruling Wedenesday in favor of STX Productions -- which is producing McCarthy's "The Happytime Murders" -- saying the film's catchphrase, "No Sesame. All Street.," makes a blatant distinction to fans that this is NOT "Sesame Street."

As we reported ... Sesame Workshop is suing STX for allegedly infringing on their company name, and trashing their kid-friendly reputation with a not-so-kid-friendly flick.

Lawyers for "Sesame Street" reportedly tried saying that an older court case about a 1970s porn movie named "Debbie Does Dallas" being found to infringe on the Dallas Cowboys' good name supported their argument now ... but the judge shot that down, saying that flick's X-rated ... this one's R ... and there's a difference.

STX issued a statement through their pupper lawyer, Fred, Esq., saying ... "We fluffing love Sesame Street and we're obviously very pleased that the ruling reinforced what STX's intention was from the very beginning — to honor the heritage of The Jim Henson Company's previous award-winning creations while drawing a clear distinction between any Muppets or Sesame Street characters and the new world Brian Henson and team created."

Long story short ... ejaculating puppets walked away with a win on the street.

The people who manage Michael Jackson's estate say The Walt Disney Co. has some nerve for profiting off the tears of MJ's kids and stealing a bunch of its property ... all to make a shoddy TV special they claim never came close to documenting Michael's 'Last Days.'

The estate just sued The Walt Disney Co. claiming copyright infringement and saying it never had permission to use a bunch of its footage for its "The Last Days of Michael Jackson" TV special ... which premiered last week to more than 5.5 million viewers.

In docs, obtained by TMZ, the estate claims Disney's lawyers told them they were making a documentary, so use of the MJ clips was fair game. But the estate calls BS ... saying the special "did not focus on his last days ... rather it was simply a mediocre look back at Michael Jackson's life and entertainment career."

The estate goes on to claim Disney jacked a bunch of MJ's songs -- including recordings of "Billie Jean" and "Beat It." The estate says Disney even exploited MJ's kids when they aired Paris Jackson's heartbreaking remarks about her father at his 2009 memorial service. The estate says it's never licensed that footage for commercial use.

The estate says it was never approached by Disney about the making of the TV special, much less asked for permission to use its intellectual property. The estate says that's ironic since Disney goes to great lengths to protect its copyrighted characters ... citing how Disney once sued a couple on public assistance for $1 mil when they dressed up as an orange tiger and blue donkey that looked too close to Tigger and Eeyore.

Estate attorney Howard Weitzman tells us, "Can you imagine using Disney’s intellectual property – like Mickey Mouse, Cinderella, Star Wars, The Avengers, Toy Story, and so many other works – without asking Disney’s permission or getting a license? The Estate has no choice but to vigorously protect its intellectual property, which is the lifeblood of its business.”

The estate is suing for profits Disney made off the special and other damages. We've reached out to The Walt Disney Co., so far no word back.

Brigitte Nielsen has already proven age ain't nothing but a number with her stunning beauty ... but she just took it to a whole new level by announcing she's pregnant at 54!!

Sylvester Stallone's ex took to Instagram to announce she's pregnant with her 5th kid ... posting this picture in a white getup and holding her rather large baby bump. She captioned the pic,"family getting larger #me #family #brigittenielsen #babybump."

Brigitte -- who played Ivan Drago's wife in "Rocky IV" -- has 4 sons -- Julian (34), Killian (28), Douglas (25) and Raoul (23) -- but none with Stallone.

UFC legend Michael Bisping isn't planning on fading away now that he's retired from fighting -- dude has BIG plans ... telling TMZ Sports, "I'm taking over Hollywood."

Oh, and yeah ... he definitely FaceTimed us from the sauna.

But Bisping's not joking about his acting career -- he's got 3 big action movies in the works including a new 'xXx' movie and a sequel to the Gerard Butler, 50 Cent flick, "Den of Thieves."

39-year-old Bisping says he's truly touched by the outpouring of support from the MMA community after announcing his retirement ... saying, "I didn't realize I wasn't hated that much!"

Well, whadya know? Daniel Craig is on set, in the role he swore he'd rather slash his wrists than play again -- Bond. James Bond.

Daniel was in Cardona, Spain Tuesday for what appears to be the start of filming for his fifth 007 flick ... and a production assistant clearly wanted to keep it under wraps. This will be the 25th installment in the franchise, and the working title is "Bond 25."

DC's looking suave as ever in the black tux during the shoot in a castle ... especially considering how staunchly he vowed he'd never put it on again.

You'll recall, back in 2015, Daniel said he was totally "over" the James Bond role, but left himself an out, saying he'd only do it again "for the money."

Word is he got plenty of it. There are all kinds of crazy numbers being reported for Daniel's salary -- some as high as $66 million!

Ben Foster and Laura Prepon appear to be inching closer to husband and wife -- 'cause they hit up the one place in NYC they gotta go to make it happen.

The couple of about 2 years waited in line this week for the City Clerk, where marriage licenses are issued to residents. We don't wanna get ahead of ourselves -- there are lots of reasons Ben and Laura could've been at that office.

Maybe they were enrolling as lobbyists, requesting City Council transcripts or submitting their Oaths of Office as elected officials. Okay, definitely not the last one, but you get the point ... marriage license seems to fit the bill here.

As we reported ... Ben and Laura announced their engagement by flashing her massive rock in the fall of 2016. They already have 1 kid together.

We've reached out to their reps, but no word back yet.

Tiffany Haddish is down with doing a 'Blue Brothers' reboot with Cardi B ... if the money is right.

We got Tiff Friday at LAX and followed up on our convo last month with Dan Aykroyd, who told us about a script -- "Soul Sisters" -- that is sitting on numerous desks in Hollywood, just waiting for a studio to bite.

So now we followed up with Tiffany, who says she knows 'The Blues Bros' line and verse, and would sign a deal but she wants some serious $$$.

As for Cardi B as her co-star, Tiffany wisely concluded the time isn't exactly right for that, but when Cardi delivers her baby it's game on.

Harvey Weinstein is now in the crosshairs of federal prosecutors who are looking to possibly prosecute him under a law that some legal experts say is a giant stretch.

Law enforcement sources tell us, the U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York is looking to see if Weinstein violated the Mann Act. It now prohibits people from taking others across state lines with the intent of engaging in illegal sexual acts. The law was initially designed to prevent adults from transporting minors across state lines for sex.

The law requires the suspect to have formed the intent to commit the act before taking the victim across state lines.

Our sources say prosecutors are looking at at least one actress whom Weinstein flew from one state to another. The stretch is that they will have to prove he asked the actress to travel, knowing that he was going to rape her when she arrived at the destination.

The difficulty in such a case ... Weinstein may have wanted to have sex, but didn't assume from the get-go he would have to rape the woman.

As we reported, Weinstein will turn himself in today on state sexual assault charges.

Donald Glover's keeping it Gucci leading up to the release of "Solo: A Star Wars Story" ... perfectly in tune with his character in the movie.

The new Lando Calrissian was spotted looking cool on a hot NYC day while walking with his girlfriend/baby mama, Michelle, back to their hotel Thursday ... all he's missing is a stylish cape.

The highly anticipated 'Solo' film features Glover as young Lando and Alden Ehrenreich as young Han ... and opens tonight worldwide.

Arnold Schwarzenegger's back, as promised, and looking happy and heart-healthy enough to go for a bike ride.

The 70-year-old actor hit a Santa Monica bike path Thursday and was seen pedaling around with a friend ... less than 2 months after having emergency open-heart surgery.

We broke the story ... Arnold had to have the emergency operation after a scheduled valve replacement repair went awry.

Ben Affleck is finally moving into his new mansion, and it looks like his girlfriend, Lindsay Shookus, will be spending a lot of time there, too.

Ben was spotted rolling up to his $19.25 million Pacific Palisades home Thursday with a moving truck following close behind. Lindsay and Ben took some time to admire the real estate he scooped up last month ... before starting the unpacking nightmare.

Ha! Kidding. They've got people for that.

As we've reported, Ben started house hunting last year, usually with Lindsay tagging along.

We hear she won't be moving in with him just yet, but she is on summer hiatus from her 'SNL' producing gig -- so, it's a safe bet she'll be very familiar with this new home.

This will be Ben's first time as a solo homeowner since the divorce from Jennifer Garner -- and it's a BIG step up from the ole guest house.