Movies

There was only one game in town for celebs Sunday night in L.A. ... yeah, you guessed it.

So, let's go through a partial list ....  Jennifer Lopez, Ben Affleck, Kanye, Olivia Rodrigo, Charlize Theron, Kevin Hart, The Rock, Matt Damon, the Biebers and Kendall Jenner were front and center.

But wait, there's more ... Ellen DeGeneres, Devin Booker, Floyd Mayweather, Keke Palmer, Drake, Adam Devine, Sophie Turner, Joe Jonas, Martha Stewart, The Weeknd, Prince Harry, Tyga, YG, Antonio Brown, Will Farrell, Ryan Reynolds, Sean Penn, Chris Tucker, Tracy Morgan, Chip and Joanna Gaines, Mark Wahlberg, Nelly, 2 Chainz, Steph Curry, Michael Strahan and Shawn Mendes. Oh yea, Jay Z and Beyonce also showed.

And, that doesn't even include the Halftime performers.

Check out the gallery ... good luck L.A. Health Dept, which requires masks indoors ... because there wasn't a mask in sight.

Ivan Reitman, the legendary filmmaker behind "Ghostbusters" and "Animal House," has died.

Reitman's family was by his side in Montecito, CA Saturday night, as he passed peacefully in his sleep.

He produced a string of hits, and not just hits but legendary flicks.  Among his other films ... "Meatballs" and "Stripes."

And, in an homage to his dad, Ivan's son, Jason Reitman, directed "Ghostbusters: Afterlife." Ah, but wait, there's more ... "Twins," "Kindergarten Cop," "Dave," "Junior," and "Six Days, Seven Nights."

Oh, did we mention he also produced "Beethoven," "Old School," and "EuroTrip?"

Kumail Nanjiani was to the point, saying, "The number of great movies he made is absurd."

Ivan was born in 1946 in Czechoslovakia. His mom was a survivor of Auschwitz. His family escaped by taking a barge to Vienna. He recounted the experience ... “I remember flashes of scenes. Later they told me about how they gave me a couple of sleeping pills so I wouldn’t make any noise. I was so knocked out that I slept with my eyes open. My parents were afraid I was dead.”

His family said of Ivan's passing ... “Our family is grieving the unexpected loss of a husband, father, and grandfather who taught us to always seek the magic in life,” children Jason Reitman, Catherine Reitman and Caroline Reitman said in a joint statement. “We take comfort that his work as a filmmaker brought laughter and happiness to countless others around the world. While we mourn privately, we hope those who knew him through his films will remember him always.”

An unopened VHS copy of 'Star Wars: Episode IV' is getting some love on the auction block -- it's expected to fetch $60K!!!

Goldin Auctions is hosting an online auction featuring a ton of vintage VHS tapes, and the star of the show is from a galaxy far, far away.

The copy of 'Star Wars: A New Hope' is a first edition VHS tape ... and includes a "Gray Tape-Head," a "First Edition Stereo Only" red label, a "1984 Sleeve," and "First Edition CBS/Fox Watermarks" ... all it needs is a lightsaber to go with it!

The tape has lots of history ... when it was originally sold, it was the first time someone could watch the film at home, making it legendary among collectors and movie buffs. It first sold at auction for $57,600.

They're also offering up a sealed copy of the "Star Wars 10-Year Anniversary Original Trilogy Set in Trilogy Case" ... which should go for somewhere between $10k and $20k.

Sam Ryder drilled a hole-in-one during a golf tournament in the Arizona desert -- and the reaction from the crowd would've almost certainly put a smile on Adam Sandler's face.

Check out this insane moment that went down Saturday at the Waste Management Phoenix Open (yes, that's the real name) ... where the golfer was celebrated in true 'Happy Gilmore' fashion, getting showered with both beer and accompanying cans from a rowdy crowd.

While teeing off on the 16th hole -- a par-3, at just 124 yards -- Ryder's ball sailed in the air and then landed perfectly on the green ... rolling on into the cup. Ace, baby!

It was freaking awesome ... and you can definitely tell by how the spectators reacted, literally erupting in cheers, which was quickly followed by beer getting flung up into the air ... and soon, containers getting chucked onto the actual course down below.

Nobody seemed to mind, though ... the Phoenix Open has this sort of rep, so if anything -- it's expected at this point. Of course, that means they gotta go into delays constantly because of "rain" like this on standby and at the ready from the surrounding balcony areas.

And yes, it goes without saying ... folks couldn't help but make the 'Happy' comparisons. Whereas golf tournaments are usually way less raucous than this ... this specific one brings out the best in fans, it seems.

Sam was a second away from doing the bull dance, feeling flow ... and workin' it, workin' it.

LisaRaye McCoy is laying down some surprising facts about Da Brat's pregnancy ... saying she didn't even get a call her sister's expecting!

The actress was on the new podcast "It's Tricky with Raquel Harper" when she opened up about her rough relationship with her sister. It all spilled out when Raq asked how she felt about Brat having a baby.

You gotta see this ... LR took a moment, and then dropped a one-word response, "Wonderful." The tension was obvious as she explained she found out about the baby news on social media.

LisaRaye was visibly upset, and said the whole ordeal "takes me back" ... a clear reference to the last time the sisters got together publicly -- on LisaRaye's Fox Soul show, "Cocktails with Queens."

McCoy was celebrating her 53rd birthday, and Da Brat made a surprise appearance. What started as a sweet tribute to the Chicago natives' childhood ended with LR getting irate with Brat.

LisaRaye was crying and speaking directly to her sister about not talking for months ... when co-host Vivica A. Fox attempted to get LisaRaye to enjoy her birthday wishes, but she angrily said to her co-hosts, “I don’t give a **** what y’all saying at all.”

It was far from a warm fuzzy ending, and probably explains why she learned about Brat's pregnancy online.

A biopic of Anna Nicole Smith is in the works, and her ex -- Larry Birkhead -- seems pretty peeved about the whole production.

The film -- currently titled "Hurricanna" -- follows Anna's therapist in an attempt to save Smith’s life. The therapist, played by Holly Hunter, goes on a "36-hour odyssey in which she unknowingly delivers the fatal blow."

Larry Birkhead, Smith's former lover and father of their daughter, has big issues with a biopic centered around Anna's last 36 hours of life. He says for 24 of her 36 hours she was sick in bed -- not a lot of stuff going on.

He also doesn't think a movie about Anna should focus on her therapist ... but rather on the legend herself. Larry compares it to making a movie about Elvis from the perspective of his toilet, on which he died.

Birkhead thinks Anna's wild life could make for a far better film. As you'll recall, Anna was going through a lot in her prime... losing her son, legal battles over money, and even debate over whether Larry was the father to her baby girl, Dannielynn.

Larry knows her death wasn't some big mystery that calls for an analysis of her last day-and-a-half alive. Remember, she died of an OD in her Florida hotel room in 2007.

According to Larry, Anna's fan base and his daughter deserve more than a film that picks apart the final hours of her death. The crazy twists and turns that she went through should be at the forefront, not her therapist.

Tammy Faye Bakker, the subject of an Oscar-nominated film this year, was portrayed by the media as a clown and some even called her a crook, but they never talked about her compassion and, frankly incredible progressiveness ... which is best shown in an interview she did in 1985 with Steve Pieters who was struggling with AIDS.

Steve, incredibly, is still alive and jumped on "TMZ Live" Thursday to talk about that interview.

The AIDS activist and pastor reflected on his landmark interview with Tammy, which has been recreated in the 2021 movie "The Eyes of Tammy Faye".

Steve paints a radically different picture of Tammy Faye from the media portrait. The interview came at a time when many people with AIDS were treated inhumanely ... getting fired from their jobs, thrown out of their apartments, and disowned by their families. It's all the more impressive that Tammy Faye stepped in ... because she drew heavy criticism from fundamentalist Christians, some of whom said out loud AIDS was God's revenge against gay people.

The interview was actually done via satellite because there were fears that he'd be mistreated by the crew.

Steve says it was extraordinary for a televangelist to give such a positive, compassionate interview, during a time of fear.

As far as any backlash and cartoon-like depictions of Tammy, Steve says he doesn't think it was right or fair ... because the woman he knew was kind, loving and compassionate.

Speaking of cartoonish ... most people who watched the Tammy Faye/Jim Bakker saga thought she had a habit of crying so hard her mascara would run down her face like Rudy G's hair dye. The reality -- that never happened. 'SNL' depicted her that way in a few skits, and everyone turned it into fact.

Rings, Hobbits, wizards, elves and even that creepy Gollum dude ... all things 'Lord of the Rings" are hitting the open market, but you're probably gonna have to outbid Jeff Bezos to get it.

Here's the deal ... The Saul Zaentz Company currently owns rights to the universe and characters created by J.R.R. Tolkien -- or almost all of 'em, anyway -- and has since 1976, but it's now reportedly ready to sell for at least $2 BILLION!!!

This might sound a little confusing, because as you know Warner Bros. (through ownership of New Line Cinema) made Peter Jackson's enormously profitable 'Rings' trilogy from the early 2000s, and 3 'Hobbit' films in the 2010s.

More currently ... Amazon is getting ready to roll out its "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" series on Prime.

So, here's how that all shakes out -- SZC has been battling WB over its share of profits from the 6 films, and reportedly believes it's reclaimed the movie rights because WB hasn't developed any new projects since 2014's 'Battle of the Five Armies.' So, lawyers will have to settle that part of the deal.

Amazon bought its rights back in 2017 due to a loophole in SZC's ownership that allows for the sale of TV rights, as long as the series is longer than 8 episodes.

That means Amazon will be highly motivated to purchase everything else in the 'Rings' franchise to capitalize on what it hopes is a new blockbuster series on its streaming service.

Let's face it ... $2 billion is a drop in the bucket for the world's 2nd richest man.

LisaRaye McCoy has some stories to tell -- including why she's been to jail multiple times -- and she's not the least bit ashamed, because she says they paved the way to her success.

The actress got beyond real on the new podcast, "It's Tricky with Raquel Harper" ... acknowledging fans love her because she's so down to Earth, but she says there's a good reason for that.

LisaRaye told Raq she's been to jail for "a whole bunch of s**t," and she wasn't kidding. Watch the clip, 'cause she comes clean about pistol-whippings, getting into fights and even shooting people.

Now, LR's podcast sitdown wasn't all gangsta -- they also dug into the Rihanna x Ari Fletcher drama, Nicole Murphy, and her sister, Da Brat's, new baby.

Of course, LisaRaye had her Hollywood breakout role as Diamond in 1998's cult classic, "The Players Club." Lately, she's a host on the Fox Soul show, "Cocktails With Queens" ... and she stars in "A House Divided" on the ALLBLK streaming platform.

David Spade just got a lot richer -- not that he needs the loot -- because he flipped his longtime Beverly Hills mansion and cashed in at $19.5 mil ... TMZ has learned.

For context ... David plunked down $4 million for the 4 bedroom, 7 bathroom home back in 2001, and you know what's happened to the housing market since then. True, he made a bunch of renovations, but still ...

The house is located in the super-exclusive Trousdale Estates in Bev Hills. A ton of stars make Trousdale their home, including Elton John, Ringo Starr and Charlie Puth. Among those who once lived there but are no longer living ...  Elvis Presley, Ray Charles and President Nixon.

The house is 6,426-sq ft ...  with sweeping, jetliner views from downtown L.A. to the blue Pacific

There are a bunch of bells and whistles, including a tennis court and an entertainment lounge.

Outside of its impressive looks, the mansion has a cool pedigree ... Prince, Eddie Murphy and Warren Beatty all lived there ... no, not all at once.

D.S. listed the house last month with Stuart Vetterick of Hilton & Hyland for $20 million, so it sold for just a skosh under asking.

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck know exactly how to stir the pot ... and getting all gooey-eyed for each other while standing in front of "Marry Me" signage had the desired effect.

The couple was all snuggled up with each other as they entered the screening for her upcoming flick Tuesday night at the Directors Guild of America in L.A. -- and let's keep it real ... everyone was thinking the same thing.

Yeah, we know it is just the movie's title, but it's also the topic everyone's raised since about 15 minutes after they reunited last year. J Lo was all smiles in a white lace dress while cozied up to Ben is only fueling that.

Hey, from the looks of it ... everything seems to be all peachy in BenniferVille right now. Maybe even more solid than when they were first engaged 18 years ago.

Of course, it would be way too on the nose for Ben to pop the question just as this movie's hitting theaters, and it's Valentine's Day. It's just too expected. Right?

Then again ... there's always reverse psychology!!!

Anthony Johnson died from years of hard drinking ... according to the medical examiner, and it's something his wife wanted people to know.

His autopsy report, obtained by TMZ, cites "chronic ethanol use" as the "Friday" star’s cause of death -- while also noting the manner of death was natural.

The doc states there was no alcohol or common drugs of abuse found in his system when officials ran a toxicology test. One other thing ... the coroner's office found he'd recently tested positive for COVID, although signs of pneumonia weren't detected.

His widow, Lexis, tells us Anthony’s legacy will live on through a foundation she’s creating in his name. She also says she wants the cause of death to be public knowledge as a warning to others about the lethal effects of alcohol.

Lexis is making it her mission now to teach youth about the dangers of alcohol, as she's volunteering at church to talk to teens. In addition to Anthony, Lexis has other close friends who lost their children due to alcohol. She now wants Anthony's legacy to inspire others to put the bottle down. BTW, we're told she told the ME about AJ's alcohol use.

As we reported ... Johnson was found lifeless last year in an L.A.-area store. He was rushed to the hospital and later pronounced dead.

Obviously, he was most famous for playing Ezal in the original "Friday" flick, but had a good handful of other parts under his belt as well, including in movies like "Menace II Society," "House Party," "The Players Club" and others.

Hollywood was in shock upon hearing the news, and none other than Offset helped to cover funeral costs for the family.

The key medic on "Rust" is now taking legal action against Hannah Gutierrez-Reed and Dave Halls ... suing them over the fatal shooting that killed Halyna Hutchins.

Cherlyn Schaefer filed suit against the movie's armorer and assistant director -- plus the production company and others -- claiming the defendants' alleged negligence caused her severe emotional distress in the aftermath of it all.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Schaefer claims she was the first one to provide medical assistance to Halyna after the shooting ... desperately fighting to save her life by applying pressure to her wounds, giving her oxygen and checking her vitals.

Schaefer also claims she was the one who called 911 and ordered a medical helicopter to airlift Halyna to the hospital ... where she eventually died.

In the suit, Schaefer claims she's since suffered "tremendous shock, trauma and severe emotional distress" ... and she's blaming the whole ordeal on the production's shortcomings with respect to safety issues.

Schaefer says she was regularly employed as a medic on film sets before "Rust" ... but now she claims she's so shaken she's medically prevented from returning to the profession or any other job.

Schaefer's suing Reed and Halls because she says they were responsible for Alec Baldwin being given the gun with a live round, which killed Halyna. Baldwin is not being sued.

She's also suing the movie's prop master, Sarah Zachry, claiming Zachry knew or should have known the gun contained live ammo.

Zachry's lawyer, William Waggoner, tells TMZ ... Zachry did not load the gun or handle the gun the day of the shooting, and "she did nothing wrong."

Schaefer is asking for unspecified damages.

Sandra Bullock should get deep in the real estate game because she just made hundreds of thousands of dollars from selling her condo!!!

Sandra owned a unit in a building that is packed with celebs -- Sierra Towers in WeHo. The apartment has 2 bedrooms and 2.5 baths, so it's not huge ... which makes it even more impressive that she sold it for $4.4 million.

She bought the pad back in 2014 for $3.55 mil and did some renovations, so even though she didn't make a killing ... she still made out pretty well.

Here's the thing ... this building has a marquis address, with celebs like Courteney Cox, Elton John, Adam Sandler, Kelly Osbourne, Cher and others who have populated the building over the years.

Fun fact ... Lindsay Lohan once lived there and her pipes burst when she was in New York and it absolutely flooded the apartment below. Thing is ... the person who owned the building directly below her was Harry Morton -- Lindsay's ex!!!

Sandra's unit was on the 22nd floor, and it has a sweeping, jetliner view of L.A.... from downtown L.A. to the blue Pacific.

Los Angeles local Travis Fine was in his early 30s when he locked down the role of the caring Nurse John -- who ultimately falls in love with Susanna but gets moved to the men's ward after acting on his urges -- in the 1999 drama "Girl, Interrupted."

Travis Fine shared the movie with some top-notch actors including Angelina Jolie as the rebellious patient, Lisa, Elisabeth Moss as the innocent cat enthusiast, Polly a.k.a. Torch ... and of course Winona Ryder as the young woman diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, Susanna.

Fine can also be spotted on other movies like "Child's Play 3" and "Any Day Now."

Tom Brady is the Greatest of All Time, and Kevin Bacon's here to make sure we all know it ... with a little message that's both literal and distracting!

The legendary actor took to TikTok Sunday with a tune he made up on his trusty ukulele -- performing it next to a bunch of his goats, no less, on a little farm he and his family own out in Connecticut.

Check it out ... the song isn't half bad at all, and neither is Kevin's pipes. The performance is especially impressive, considering he had two goats (plus a couple pigs) nibbling and needling him throughout the whole thing.

The song itself is all about TB12's retirement, and how amazed Kev seems to be by both the announcement ... as well as Tom's career at large. As captivated as he seems to be by the news -- his 4-legged friend next to him appeared even more dumbfounded by the show. 😅

BTW, this concert-from-the-farm thing is actually something Kevin does a lot. He regularly whips out an instrument and strums away with his farm animals by his side. They certainly seem to dig it ... and who wouldn't??? Kev and co. are actually pretty damn good.

Anyway, speaking of Tom Brady ... the guy himself had a bit of a message to share as well in the wake of him stepping away from football. He posted a video that talks about "Chapter 2" and how he's ready to embark on this journey.

Really, it was just a huge plug for his BRADY brand of clothing ... but the point is certainly made. Tom's diving into mogul mode, and based on the visual evidence -- he's locked in and ready to hawk some gear.