Movies

Audrey Wells -- the writer of "Under the Tuscan Sun," "A Dog's Purpose" and the just-released film "The Hate U Give" -- has died ... according to her reps.

Wells died Thursday after a long battle with cancer. Her husband, Brian, released a statement saying, "Over the last five and half years, Audrey fought valiantly against her illness and she died surrounded by love. Even during her fight, she never stopped living, working or traveling, and she never lost her joy, wonder and optimism."

She's survived by her husband and her daughter Tatiana.

Audrey's career as a writer in Hollywood began in 1996, when she penned "The Truth About Cats & Dogs." She went on to write the screenplay for "George of the Jungle" the following year, before writing and directing "Guinevere" in 1999.

She was also the director of 'Tuscan Sun.'

Her latest movie, "The Hate You Give," is a drama tackling racial tension and police violence in America. It opened Friday in limited release.

Audrey was 58.

Dean Cain says his mom and sister were once victims of sexual assault but he's adamant those cases vastly differ from the accusations Brett Kavanaugh's facing ... and that's why he still supports Kavanaugh's SCOTUS nom.

We got Dean Thursday at the Javits Center for NY Comic Con and he thinks Kavanaugh will end up getting confirmed to the Supreme Court. Why? The TV Superman thinks Dr. Christine Blasey Ford was was silent for way too long.

Benicio Del Toro proved to us he really does have short-term memory problems when he's not acting.

We got the "Sicario" star at LAX and asked about his recent revelation that he has "hyper sensitive" memory when he's immersed in a role, and terrible recollection during his daily life.

It seems like he's playing along with our photog. But again, dude's a great actor, so you be the judge.

Steven Seagal was quick to shut down an interview after a reporter brought up a rape allegation made against the actor.

Seagal appeared on BBC's Newsnight Thursday and host Kirsty Wark brought up the #MeToo movement. Wark then says, "You've been very much caught up in all the allegations of sexual harassment, you had a rape allegation against you and I wonder how you deal with all that?"

Just as Wark wrapped her question, Seagal ripped out his earpiece, stood up and walked out of camera view.

Seagal was accused in March of raping a woman back in the 90's ... another woman claimed he had sexually assaulted her in 2002. Portia de Rossi claimed Seagal sat her down on a couch during a casting for one of his films and unzipped his pants, so she fled the room.

Seagal adamantly denied all claims.

Ben Stein doubled down his support for Brett Kavanaugh ... saying the FBI's sexual assault investigation against him came up empty and it's time to drop it.

We got the 'Ferris Bueller' actor at LAX Thursday and he sang his fellow Yale alumnus' praises amid a new FBI report that reportedly concludes there is no corroboration to Dr. Christine Blasey Ford's allegation Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her at a party 36 years ago.

Remember ... Stein told us last month Ford's allegations are a "f***ing disgrace" and wasn't buying Ford's story. So, it's no surprise he's swinging hard for Kavanaugh with this weekend's Senate confirmation vote looming.

But, watch as our guy again goes head-to-head with Ben and tells him the FBI's investigation is incomplete because, among other things, it failed to interview Ford, Kavanaugh and several key former classmates.

Ben Affleck has completed a 40-day stay at a California rehab facility for alcohol addiction ... and is now in outpatient care.

Affleck posted a message Thursday, saying, "The support I have received from my family, colleagues and fans means more to me than I can say. It's given me the strength and support to speak about my illness with others."

TMZ broke the story ... Jennifer Garner staged an intervention at Ben's Pacific Palisades home back in August. Garner then drove Ben to a Malibu facility where he's been in treatment ever since, with occasional breaks for work and trips to his home gym.

The NYPD and the Manhattan District Attorney's Office have launched a new investigation in the Harvey Weinstein case ... and the target is the lead police investigator ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us, the investigation centers around the case of Lucia Evans, who claims Weinstein forced her to engage in oral sex. The complaint against Weinstein alleges he grabbed the back of Evans' head and forced her mouth on his penis.

Our law enforcement sources say the witness -- a casting director -- says Evans told her she performed oral sex on Weinstein in order to get an acting role. Our sources say the lead investigator interviewed the witness who gave him a statement, but the investigator allegedly failed to disclose it to prosecutors.

Witness tampering generally requires some affirmative act to influence or pressure a witness ... but our law enforcement sources would not be more specific.

NYPD spokesperson Phil Walzak tells us, "The NYPD working with its partner DANY remains fully confident in the overall case it has pursued against Mr. Weinstein. The evidence shows that the criminal case against him is strong." The statement goes on ... "The NYPD will continue to assist the prosecution any way it can to ensure justice is achieved for these brave survivors."

Kevin Sorbo thinks the #MeToo movement is a double-edged sword -- it's helpful to women but unfair to the accused -- and that's why President Trump went after Dr. Christine Ford so hard during his rally.

We got TV's Hercules Wednesday at LAX and asked him about Trump mocking Ford, and whether it was appropriate to so publicly pick a side during the FBI probe into her sexual assault claim.

Sorbo sidestepped a direct response, but said it was "sad" and "scary" that anyone can be accused of anything these days and they're no longer innocent 'til proven guilty. To that point, he said he's witnessed "hypocritical" women in showbiz who are using the #MeToo movement as a shield to make false allegations.

Kevin admitted many women really have been abused and he found that pathetic, but he wanted there to be a way to support both accusers and the accused.

Ian Ziering says there's a student with a history of violence at his daughters' school, and it's gotten so bad, he's scared it could escalate to a massacre if the school district keeps protecting the boy.

Ziering was joined by several parents outside West Hollywood Elementary Wednesday in protest of a second grade bully. Ian tells us, since kindergarten, the student has gotten physical, threatened to kill and even attempted to suffocate a classmate with a bean bag.

According to Ian, this school year has already had two classroom evacuations and 10 students who have been attacked by the bully.

The "Beverly Hills, 90210" star says he and other parents have repeatedly asked the school board to step up and get the kid help -- but the requests have fallen on deaf ears -- and they're afraid it could end in tragedy, like Parkland or Columbine.

Ian says he hopes the school board will do what's right to protect the student victims and to get the bully into another program to help address his blatant needs.

Lil Yachty obviously needed a partner in crime for the "How High" sequel to make any sense, and he's found him ... 'Wild 'N Out' star DC Young Fly.

We're told the comedian's been tapped to star alongside the rapper in "How High 2," the follow-up to Method Man and Redman's 2001 stoner comedy. DC Young Fly will play Calvin -- a stoner from the hood who's best friends with Roger, played by Yachty.

Yachty scored the lead in the upcoming MTV movie, and Roger is reportedly the younger bro of one of the original film's main characters. Production's already up and running in Atlanta, and the movie will make its debut next year on MTV.

As for the premise ... Yachty and Young Fly are set to take us “on a magical hash-fueled journey to fund their on-demand munchies delivery start-up.” Sounds like a good time.

'Real Housewives of Atlanta' star NeNe Leakes also says she's in the cast.

The LAPD says the suspects who have been raiding the homes of celebrities in L.A. had a list of a dozen more stars they were targeting including LeBron James, Viola Davis and Matt Damon.

... and cops say the suspects had already obtained the addresses of their famous targets.

As we previously reported, cops had arrested one of the suspects who had allegedly hit the homes of Yasiel Puig, Rihanna, Christina Milian and L.A. Rams star Robert Woods ... but now, officials say they've arrested 3 more people.

Of the 4 people in custody ... 2 of them are 19-year-old men, one is an 18-year-old man and the other is a 34-year-old woman.

The female suspect is the MOTHER of one of the teenage men, according to LAPD Capt. Lillian Carranza.

And, that's not all ... cops believe there are more people involved in the burglaries and investigators are currently on the hunt to catch them too.

In total, cops say the burglary crew has already hit more than 24 homes -- with at least 12 more rich and famous targets in their sights.

The key to solving the case ... cops say Robert Woods' neighbor made the initial call to report the robbery at his house and when they found the first suspect, the found items connected to the other high profile cases.

In total, cops say the group stole more than $1 MILLION in property -- including $50,000 cash, watches, purses and a vehicle. Cops say one of the suspects also had a firearm.

Cops are asking the public to help strengthen their case against the suspects by identifying the stolen objects and giving information about the suspects and other possible crimes.

Lindsay Lohan's friends are so alarmed about her mental state after accusing a homeless family of trafficking children and then getting punched in the face in Moscow ... they're practically begging her to return to the States.

Sources close to Lindsay tell us her buddies are making a full-court press to get her back with people who will take care of her. We're told a close friend of Lindsay has strong ties to Cincinnati and wants her there for 2 reasons -- his circle of friends who will support her, and the fact it's a paparazzi-free zone.

The plan was set in motion in reaction to Lindsay's bizarre video where she tailed a family in Moscow and accused them of child trafficking in several languages before getting punched in the face. There's no evidence the kids were being trafficked.

The wild card ... Lindsay is shooting her reality show at her beach club in Mykonos ... and moving to the U.S. could derail the show.

Lindsay's friends are also worried she might be in Moscow to meet up with her ex, mega-rich Russian Egor Tarabasov ... after her claims to friends he was abusive.

We're told Lindsay is currently in Paris with her publicist, Hunter Frederick ... we reached out to Hunter, but he wouldn't comment.

Ben Affleck may or may not don the cowl again for another 'Batman' movie -- especially after heading back to rehab -- but based on how he looks right now ... dude totally could.

The actor was seen heading to a meeting Monday in L.A., and he was looking completely yoked in a fitted tee. Don't worry, this ain't just a good angle of Ben from the front ... he had a full-blown gun show on display from the side as well. It was sunny out, so ... ya know.

Looks like all that working out at his home gym a few weeks ago really paid off while he was attending rehab. Also worth noting -- we haven't really seen him without a jacket on for a minute now, including Sunday's outing with Jen Garner and the kids. Who knew?!

It's unclear if Ben has finished his treatment, but we have seen him out in public more regularly in recent weeks.

As for the Bruce Wayne thing -- sign him up.

Jason Ritter's the latest celeb to get hit by a burglar, and this one was especially horrifying ... for his fiancee.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Jason's fiancee, Melanie Lynskey, was home alone last weekend in their Hollywood Hills crib when she heard some noise in the back of the house. We're told she thought it was Jason coming home, but then realized the back door window had been broken ... and it became very clear what had just happened -- a break-in.

Our sources say the burglar walked in through the door after breaking the window, but was apparently scared away after hearing Melanie, who then called 911.

Cops showed up, but the perp was gone by the time they arrived. LAPD's now investigating the attempted burglary. Jason -- son of the late John Ritter -- is just the latest celeb to be targeted by burglars. Rihanna's crib was hit a few days later in the same neighborhood.

Burt Reynolds fans and car enthusiasts alike paid their respects to the late '"Smokey and the Bandit" star ... by rolling up in the classic ride he made famous.

Thousands of people attended Long Island's Motor Mania car show Saturday at Eisenhower Park, which featured a ceremonial parade of 100 Pontiac Firebird Trans Ams to honor Reynolds and his iconic 1977 film. It's called the "100-Trans Am Salute."

Several of the drivers also paid homage to Burt by going all out and dressing like the Bandit ... and rocking a stache. It's probably time to retire the Rebel flag license plates though.

The memorial was organized by the car show's host, Butch Yamali.

As we reported ... Burt's personal car collection hit the auction block at the Mandalay Bay Saturday, including a 1978 recreation of the iconic Pontiac in "Smokey and the Bandit."