Movies

Lea Thompson has zero doubt "Back to the Future" would've dominated the Oscars competition if the Academy had dreamed up the new popular film categories 32 years ago.

We got Marty McFly's mom outside Avra in Bev Hills, where she weighed in on the big Oscar changes coming in 2019. Lea makes no bones about it ... 'Future' was a global success that built an immediate cult following, and could have cleaned up.

The film, btw, did have some success at the Academy Awards in '86 -- it got nominated in 3 categories (Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Song and Best Sound Mixing) and scored 1 statue for Best Sound Editing.

We wonder if "Black Panther" is now set up to do some Oscar damage, and if it is ... Lea's cool with it!!

Know what's not cool? The image of Lea banging Howard the Duck! Even the Academy has limits.

"Black Panther" actor Denzel Whitaker isn't the least bit shocked white R&B singers are thriving more than their black counterparts -- 'cause Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry.

We got Denzel leaving Chateau Marmont Wednesday night, and got his take on Eric Benet's theory ... that black R&B singers aren't getting the same shine.

It immediately reminded Denzel of Berry's situation. He thinks the record biz took the easiest route to the most dollars -- aka capitalism -- and that's the only reason Chuck isn't The King.

Ice Cube is going to bat for Dak Prescott -- saying people trashing the QB for wanting to stand for the national anthem can go eff themselves.

Dak's been getting crap for backing up Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones who recently said his players will NOT take a knee during the anthem.

Dak was quoted as saying, "I never protest during the anthem, and I don't think that's the time or the venue to do so."

The backlash was swift ... including a mural in Dallas that depicted Prescott in the "Sunken Place," a reference from the movie "Get Out", which means Prescott has forgotten his place as a black man.

Cube tells TMZ Sports the mural is "bullsh*t" -- and has this message for Prescott ... "Do what you want to do, man. F*ck everybody."

Brad Pitt's lawyers aren't mincing words ... they say Angelina Jolie is a master manipulator and a liar by essentially claiming he's a deadbeat dad, because they say he's forked over more than $9 MILLION over the last 2 years.

Brad's lawyers have responded to Angelina's latest attack where she claimed in legal docs he hasn't paid "meaningful child support" since their split in September 2016.

In new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Brad fires back ... he loaned her $8 million so she could buy the home in which she currently lives, and shelled out more than $1.3 million in child support.

Brad's lawyers say Angelina and her lawyers have engaged in dirty tricks, calling them out for "a thinly-veiled effort to manipulate media coverage." Brad's lawyers point to Angelina's legal docs that were filed earlier this week, in which she asks the judge to grant the divorce quickly so she can be a single woman again ... leaving child support and other issues for a later date.

The attorneys for Brad are calling BS, saying THEY were the ones who called Angelina's lawyers last week asking for exactly that ... to grant the divorce decree quickly and then later deal with child support and property settlement issues. They say her lawyers said they'd discuss the matter with their client, and then Angelina made it look like it was SHE who wanted the quickie divorce.

The docs accuse Angelina of filing papers with the court that are "calculated to increase the conflict." They say her gripe over child support is bogus and she knows it.

Shots fired back.

Shaun Weiss -- who played Goldberg in "The Mighty Ducks" -- has been in a downward spiral for years, according to a longtime friend who is worried about the former child star's fate.

The friend, Marni Gairhan, has known Shaun for more than 13 years, and she tells us Weiss has battled substance abuse issues and picked the wrong crowd to hang with for way too long.

Following Shaun's public intoxication bust over the weekend, friends of the actor feel it's time to push him towards rehab. They fear for Shaun's life and believe he's hit rock bottom -- as his mug shot clearly shows.

Shaun's downward spiral dates back to the death of his father 3 years ago, Marni says. Since then, Weiss has been arrested for possession of meth and sentenced to 150 days in jail for stealing -- on top of last weekend's trip to the drunk tank.

Shaun found steady work after the 3 'Ducks' movies, but it's been a couple of years since his last acting gig. He would tell friends he was working on different projects, but no one ever saw the finished products.

After finding Shaun sleeping on her porch one night last year, Marni decided it was time to contact his niece. Weiss didn't like that, Marni says, and he began to distance himself from his friends.

Still, Marni wants Shaun to get help and she's started a GoFundMe to pay for his rehab.

UFC champ Henry Cejudo -- the guy who beat Demetrious Johnson -- says he's flattered Mark Wahlberg thinks his life story could be a movie ... and says he knows exactly who should play him!

MARIO LOPEZ!!

Cejudo's story is pretty amazing -- he grew up poor in South Central L.A. ... one of 7 children ... his drug-addicted father was deported and died when Henry was 20.

But, he worked like hell to be one of the best wrestlers in the world -- and won a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Summer Games when he was only 21.

Then on Saturday -- at age 31 -- he beat DJ (one of the greatest UFC fighters ever) to win the UFC flyweight title. Amazing.

Wahlberg told us Cejudo's story has movie potential ... and he would know. And, you can tell Henry is super flattered.

Dog is man's best friend ... escalators are not dog's best friend, which is why this video of Dennis Quaid's dog on an escalator is so interesting.

We got Dennis and his bulldog, Peaches, Monday at LAX, and the actor strolled up to the escalator and he showed no remorse about the pooch hopping on for the ride.

Dennis clearly loves his pet, but we did some research and the ASPCA actually put out a warning a few years back about the dangers of dogs on people movers. They've been known to cause serious injuries to dogs, including amputations.

In fact, one pooch had to be rescued earlier this year at LAX.

Shaun Weiss -- who played Goldberg in "The Mighty Ducks" -- got arrested in Northern California, and based on his mug shot ... the former child star is in dire straits.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the 38-year-old was busted for public intoxication Saturday around 1 AM in Oroville, CA, about an hour north of Sacramento. We're told cops cut him a break after he spent a few hours in the drunk tank -- he was released and not cited.

TMZ broke the story ... Shaun was also arrested a year ago for possession of meth. That arrest came just 5 days after he'd been sentenced to 150 days in jail for stealing $151 worth of stuff from an electronics store.

He ended up serving only 12 days due to overcrowding. At the time, his manager, Don Gibble, told TMZ he had hoped jail would help Weiss get himself on a more productive path.

Weiss worked steadily after the 3 'Ducks' flicks, but it's been a couple years since his last acting gig.

Mickey Rourke tells TMZ Sports ... Donald Trump is a "garbage can" president -- and he'd gladly protest with the NFL kneelers as a way to stick it to our "sh**ty" Commander in Chief.

"The Expendables" star was at Ago on Saturday night when we asked him about the LeBron James vs. Donald Trump beef ... and where he stood.

That's when Rourke unloaded on POTUS -- and made it clear he's pissed at the way Trump has treated NFL stars like Colin Kaepernick, who took a knee during the national anthem to shine a spotlight on police brutality against minorities.

"Everything is bulls**t. You can't trust nothing," Rourke said ... explaining that Trump's simply a "sh**ty president" and the country is gonna have to wait him out.

Leonardo DiCaprio wanted to make sure he could see clearly underwater while vacationing in Italy with his Argentinian girlfriend -- and by the looks of her ... we understand why.

Leo and his model boo, Camila Morrone, were snorkeling in Nerano, where the couple threw on their flippers and goggles for a peek under the deep blue.

It's kinda funny ... LDC stayed rockin' his full snorkel getup for a solid minute aboard the boat they were on, while Camila opted for an au naturel look, front and back. Seeing how she was nearby for the nosedive ... ya can't blame him for wanting a clear view.

The emails Harvey Weinstein received from his alleged rape accuser -- many of which read like love letters -- aren't enough to absolve him in the case ... according to a source with the NYPD.

A law enforcement official tells us ... a person can be raped and still write a love note to their rapist after the fact. In the same vein -- there are cases where husbands rape their wives and boyfriends rape their girlfriends ... and the relationships continue.

As for the emails Weinstein received from his accuser -- which were filed in his criminal case Friday and obtained by TMZ -- our source points out that none of them describe or refer to what happened on the specific date she claims she was raped.

We're told if they did, it would be problematic for her case, because it could show her mindset or convey consent during the incident in question ... but her emails don't do that.

Our NYPD source also says Weinstein's team's claim of prosecutorial misconduct for withholding the emails is unsound ... because the messages aren't exculpatory.

Seth Rogen says he immediately stepped in when he found out a child actor was put in blackface on the set of the comedy, "Good Boys," which he's producing.

TMZ broke the story ... a stand-in for 11-year-old actor Keith L. Williams was wearing brown makeup to darken his skin, and an afro wig during filming last week in Vancouver. Seth says he's "terribly sorry" it happened.

He says, "As soon as I was made aware of it, I ensured we put an end to it -- and I give my word that on any project my team and I are involved in, we will take every precaution to make sure something similar does not take place again."

As we reported, production sources claimed the makeup was used on the stand-in to match Keith's complexion ... strictly for lighting purposes.

Harvey Weinstein got what he wanted in his ongoing sex crime cases -- a judge has allowed him to go public with emails he got from his rape accuser ... emails that he says show the woman was anything but a rape victim -- even professing love for him -- and as a result he wants all criminal charges dismissed.

The emails -- just filed in the criminal case and obtained by TMZ -- were written between April 2013 and February 2017 by the woman who claims she was raped by Weinstein on March 18, 2013 in NYC.

One of the emails -- written April 11, 2013 -- says, "I was able to talk to [redacted] today and will be connected with [redacted]. :) Thanks, and I hope to see you sooner thank (sic) later ..."

On April 17, the email reads, "It would be great to see you again, and catch up!"

Another email on Sept. 11, 2013 says ... "Miss you big guy."

In January 2014, she wrote, "Your the one who makes it look good with your smile and beautiful eyes!!"

And, on July 10, 2014, she emailed, "There's no one else I would enjoy catching up with that understands me quite like you."

And then there's this on Feburary 8, 2017 ... "I love you, always do. But I hate feeling like a booty call. :)."

Throughout the email chain over the years, they go back and forth talking about meeting up. At one point, she asks for a Soho House membership referral ... she wanted to be a member and use him to get in.

The emails were attached to a motion to have the rape indictment dismissed based on prosecutorial misconduct, because the emails were allegedly withheld from the Grand Jury and would prove exculpatory.

Weinstein says the alleged misconduct is so egregious, it taints the entire indictment involving all 3 accusers and he is asking the judge to dismiss all criminal charges.

Selma Blair says James Gunn is a good man who told a few stupid jokes a decade ago, and his haters are looking at him through a 2018 lens which just ain't right.

We got Selma at LAX Thursday afternoon and she explained why she quit Twitter over the reaction to Gunn's rape and pedophilia jokes. As you know, Gunn was 86'd from the "Guardians of the Galaxy" franchise ... pretty clear reaction to the torrent of social media outrage.

Selma -- who credits Gunn for helping her come forward with her story about another director she says sexually harassed her -- says she left Twitter 'cause she wasn't in the mood to take any abuse from trolls because she supports Gunn.

Hayden Panettiere took a heated, sticky situation and turned it into a dancing, happy one within a matter of minutes -- but, she got a helping hand from her knight in shining ... ball cap.

We got Hayden on her way out of Craig's in WeHo Thursday night, and she drew a lot of attention. Fact is, HP doesn't do the Hollywood scene that much anymore -- hence the frenzy to get a shot -- but she definitely wasn't feeling it.

She tried to shove her way past one pap, but got tangled in a cable and got really pissed. That's when Captain Hat To The Back swooped. We don't know who he is, but he escorted Hayden from the fray, calmed her down ... then helped her make a smiling, even graceful exit.