Movies

Rachel Zegler was apparently iced out of this year's Oscars ceremony, which is shocking ... considering how many awards her movie/costars are up for, and how many it might win.

The actress made the startling revelation this weekend, responding to a comment someone left on her recent IG post recapping a quarter of the year through 2022 ... which was pretty eventful for her, it seems.

Somebody innocently wrote, "Can't wait to see what you'll be wearing on Oscar night," which prompted a couple different responses from her -- one which stated she actually hadn't been invited ... and another revealing just what her plans were for next Sunday.

Rachel first wrote, "i'm not invited so sweatpants and my boyfriend's flannel." She followed up with a bit more elaboration afterward, explaining that she tried making it happen (being able to attend, that is) but was met with resistance.

She adds, "i hope some last minute miracle occurs and i can celebrate our film in person but hey, that's how it goes sometimes, i guess." RZ went on to thank her fans for all the shock and outrage -- and yes, there certainly has been some online on her behalf -- going on to say she's also disappointed.

It's unclear why Zegler might've been snubbed, especially since her costar -- Ariana DeBose -- is a bona fide favorite to win Best Supporting Actress, and not just that ... but Spielberg himself is up for Best Director. The film itself is even up for Best Picture for crying out loud.

Of course, the Academy has yet to release an official list of who's expected to attend, keeping all those logistical deets hush-hush a week out. So this is eye-opening, for sure.

COVID might be to blame, but seeing how Zegler was literally the lead of 'WSS' ... you gotta figure they could've squeezed her in somewhere if they wanted. Yes, not everyone from 'West Side Story' can attend -- it's a massive cast -- but the main people certainly can, no???

Also strange is the fact that Zegler was able to attend two other major movie award shows this year ... albeit both were across the pond. She went to the Critics Choice Awards and the BAFTAs (both of which were in London on the same day) ... but somehow, is missing the Academy Awards, which is by far the biggest of them all.

If the seating arrangement isn't finalized at this point, then the Oscar planners should definitely reconsider extending an olive branch -- because yeah, this feels like BS.

BTW, even though Spielberg's offering bombed at the box office ... it was actually high-key fantastic, from the set design to the cinematography and especially in the hair/makeup and choreography departments.

Breaking up is hard to do -- just ask Seahawks super fan Joel McHale ... who's not doing so well after finding out his favorite team shipped away star quarterback Russell Wilson to the Broncos.

TMZ Sports spoke with McHale out at LAX on Friday afternoon -- just a couple days after his Seattle squad parted ways with Russ -- and the comedian told us he's been pretty down in the dumps over the trade.

"I'm just as surprised as you are," McHale said. "I thought he was staying. Clearly, I was wrong. That was shocking news."

Joel had previously told us he thought there was no way in hell the 'Hawks would deal Russ -- but now that they have, he said he's downright sad.

"He's one of the best ever," Joel said. "He's a unicorn."

But, Joel said he'd always remember the good memories Russ gave him ... and said he's still sure Seattle will erect a statue honoring the QB eventually.

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard are going back to court to settle who defamed who once and for all -- and their witness list includes a ton of A-listers ... who'll have to take the stand.

With the trial set to kick off next month in Virginia, just about all the legal docs are filed for witnesses and exhibits ... and reports say the likes of James Franco, Elon Musk and Paul Bettany, among others, are going to be dragged into court and be forced to testify.

Franco and Musk are on Amber's witness list -- this after Johnny alleged she'd had affairs with each of them during their marriage -- and they'll presumably speak on that. Both guys are said to be beaming in via video link ... so they won't be there in person.

"Animal Kingdom" actress Ellen Barkin is also on Heard's witness list, as are reps for huge orgs like Disney, Warner Bros, WME the ACLU and even the LAPD ... which will mostly offer records that she finds pertinent to help make her case.

For his part, Depp has Marvel actor Paul Bettany testifying on his behalf -- Bettany was also roped into the U.K. libel case that JD lost ... having old text messages they once exchanged read aloud in court. Ya gotta imagine they'll get into that again here.

There's more to be unearthed, including correspondence between Heard and her "Aquaman" costar Jason Momoa, director James Wan, director Zack Snyder and CAA chief Bryan Lourd. There are also emails between Depp and J.K. Rowling and Jack White that'll be addressed.

In case you need a refresher ... both exes are suing each other for defamation, and it seems the judge is going to hear each of their claims in one fell swoop, which is probably why there are so many witnesses/submitted evidence -- they're trying to bury this at long last.

This specific claim of defamation got started after Johnny sued Amber for $50 million following a WaPo op-ed piece in which she characterized herself as a victim of domestic violence ... without ever saying his name. Still, he felt that was enough to take her to court over.

Amber countersued for $100 mil, and despite each of them filing to have the other person's case tossed ... both cases have been given the green light to proceed.

Remember, this all follows a major blow JD suffered across the pond ... where he lost a libel case after a newspaper labeled him a "wifebeater," which a judge ruled was mostly true.

In spite of that, he's forging ahead in similar territory here in the States ... all in an attempt to clear his name and get his career back on track. As you know, he's claimed that Hollywood has blacklisted him in the wake of the U.K. ruling ... all while maintaining his innocence.

Bill Murray is being labeled as an old and out-of-touch guy after seemingly lamenting the fact we've had to wear masks during this pandemic ... likening it to a fear of death. 🤔

The actor recently did an interview with The Independent about his concert film that was shot in 2018 at the Acropolis of Athens, and while discussing it ... Bill and co. mention how it's like looking into a time capsule due to how carefree he and everyone else was.

With that in mind, the author says there's nothing quite like a pandemic to put the kibosh on spontaneous interaction -- and then right after, Bill is quoted as saying this ... "We just went out with our friend to walk the dog, and you're wearing a mask, everyone's wearing a mask. The dog is the only one who's completely alive!"

He adds, "He's living the dog's life. The rest of us are afraid to die, and afraid to kill, so we're masked up and we're injected, and so forth. It's the most challenging time of this life cycle for us."

Finally, BM compares how we've dealt with the pandemic with how previous generations dealt with global events, saying ... "We didn't have a world war or a depression, the things our ancestors had. This is the hand we got dealt and if you fold, you can't win."

Pretty cryptic on its face, but Twitter seems to know what Bill means here ... and they're tearing him apart over it, with many saying his comments are incredibly tone-deaf.

Bill might be misunderstood in this sitch, because he's spoken about COVID quite a bit over the past two years ... and not once has he come off as resentful about how the world reacted to the virus. If anything, he's been kinda optimistic and impressed.

Ben Stiller got dragged into a beef between tennis star Nick Kyrgios and a heckler at a famous tournament on Thursday -- and the scene was hilarious.

Here's the deal -- at one point during Kyrgios' match against Rafael Nadal at Indian Wells in California ... the Australian hit a serve that caused a fan to talk some trash.

Kyrgios fired back right away -- asking him straight-up, "Are you good at tennis!?"

When the fan responded, "No," Nick went off.

"Exactly!" he said. "So why are you speaking?!?"

Then, he brought Stiller -- who was sitting courtside with his wife, Christine -- into the equation.

"Do I tell him how to act!?!" he asked as he pointed his racket at the "Meet the Parents" actor. "No!"

Kyrgios went back to action on the court -- but broadcast cameras caught Stiller grinning over it all.

Kyrgios went on to lose to Nadal -- and then he continued his eventful day, by nearly nailing a ball boy with his racket in frustration.

Check out the clip -- Kyrgios shook hands with Nadal after the match, and then as he started to walk away, he wound up and threw his racket across the court -- nearly hitting the ball boy who was standing along the wall.

Fortunately for the guy, he wasn't hurt, but it was a close call and even drew gasps from the fans left in the stands.

Kyrgios, however, did make amends for his mistake ... and apologized for almost striking the guy.

"Hey bro! Sorry about my racket incident at the end! Complete accident, you all ok from it?" Kyrgios wrote in an apology he posted on Twitter.

Nick then offered to give the guy a tennis racket over it all ... saying he'd track him down if need be at the courts, so he could personally deliver him the gift.

"Sound all G?" Kyrgios asked the guy, to which he replied, "Perfect. Thank you so much!"

Of course, this isn't the first time we've seen Nick have a temper tantrum almost result in someone getting hurt.

The family of Halyna Hutchins, the cinematographer killed on the set of "Rust," is dealing with another crisis ... they have relatives who can't get out of Ukraine.

Halyna's husband, Matthew Hutchins, says her family is trapped in the capital city of Kyiv due to Russia's repeated attacks on areas that had been designated as safe passage corridors.

Matthew says Halyna's mother knows she cannot leave safely and is instead continuing to work in the same hospital where she's been a nurse for more than a decade, and Halyna's father is hunkering down too.

As we've seen, Vladimir Putin's shelling has taken out several unarmed civilians as they attempted to flee through what they believed to be a humanitarian safe zone.

There is one glimmer of hope -- a rep for Matthew tells TMZ, Halyna's sister and 3-year-old niece have just made it to the Romanian border, attempting to get evacuated.

Matthew himself firmly believes there needs to be a no-fly zone over Ukraine, and he's calling on China to step up and enforce it if NATO won't.

He thinks Chinese intervention would guarantee both sides stay out of the sky, and Russia stops using rockets on Ukraine's ground forces.

Matthew is also applauding Ukrainians for inspiring the world with their bravery in defending their homeland ... and for showing the truth about Putin's invasion and the atrocities being committed by Russian forces.

A copy of the first-ever Marvel comic book sold at auction for $2.4 million, so presumably if the buyer does a Capital One commercial, the answer to the question, "What's in your wallet?" -- "Nothing."

Vincent Zurzolo, COO of ComicConnect.com tells TMZ ... the prize was "Marvel Comics #1," first released in 1939. The issue features characters like "The Human Torch" and "Masked Raider."

The opening bid -- a measly $1. Fast-forward to 33 bids later -- the winning, eye-popping number -- $2,427,777.65, making it the most expensive version of issue #1 ever sold.

We're told the buyer is a passionate comic collector who understands the significance of the comic and its place in superhero history. Of course, Marvel has taken off since its first issue, but this is the one that started it all.

This copy -- in near-perfect condition -- is known as the "pay copy," because it was used by publisher Lloyd Jacquet to record payments for his artists ... featuring hand-written reimbursement notes to the artists.

Identical twins Brent and Shane Kinsman were 5 years old when they ran across our screens while playing Kyle and Nigel Baker -- a boisterous set of twins who made up two of the dozen Baker children in the 2003 film 'Cheaper By The Dozen.'

The OG family comedy was packed with big named stars including Hilary Duff, Steve Martin, Bonnie Hunt, Dax Shepard and Ashton Kutcher were also cast in the movie.

Recently graduating from college, The Kinsman twins are now 24 years old and have plans to step back in front of the camera soon.

Zac Efron continues to prove he's been able to maintain one of the best bods in Hollywood for years ... taking a shirtless jog on the beach in Costa Rica.

The actor was spotted with some friends -- both male and female -- in Central America this week, unclear if he's down there for biz, pleasure or both ... but he's doing it all in a swimsuit.

Zac's been quite the globe-trotter over the last few years, including his Netflix project "Down to Earth with Zac Efron" where he worked to find healthy, sustainable ways to live.

You can see in the pics, at one point Zac busts out a camera and also takes a dip in the water -- so at the very least, he was shooting some content.

If Rep. Ilhan Omar wasn't a Marvel fan before, she is now ... as the studio announced its first-ever Muslim superhero to headline a series.

We caught up with the congresswoman in D.C. and she told us it was incredibly exciting ... not only seeing our world diversify but also seeing it reflected by Marvel.

Ilhan says representation on this scale is extremely significant ... especially for young folks, like her son, who loves watching superhero movies.

ICYMI ... Marvel Studios released its trailer for the newest Disney Plus series, "Ms. Marvel" ... and the hero is Kamala Khan, played by 19-year-old Iman Vellani. It's the first time a Muslim woman is being featured in an MCU project.

Being one of the first 2 Muslim women to serve in Congress, Ilhan notes diversity on all fronts makes all the difference ... and that includes gender, culture, ethnicity and religion.

Actor Samm Levine was just 19 years old when he shot "Not Another Teen Movie" -- starring as the Asian-influenced character Bruce -- a high school freshman who is parodying Jim Levenstein from 'American Pie' and Daniel LaRusso from 'The Karate Kid.'

Samm shared this iconic role with Cody McMains who played the little brother of Chyler Leigh AKA Janey Briggs, as well as A-lister Chris Evans, the high school jock who falls in love with the nerdy-hot girl -- a parody on "She's All That."

21 years later, Levine recently celebrated his 40th birthday.

Here's Pete Davidson bleeding all over the place as he films for his upcoming horror movie ... an image that would probably garner a standing ovation from Kanye West.

Pete's filming scenes for the new Miramax thriller "The Home" in New Jersey ... and the fake blood is a case of art imitating possible life for Kim Kardashian's boyfriend.

Remember ... Pete and Kanye are beefing over Kim, and it's getting ugly. Kanye's already made his fantasies about Pete well known, writing rap lyrics about beating PD up and imagining Pete's death and burial in the accompanying music video.

So, you'd think seeing Pete with a huge gash on his head and blood splattered all over his clothes would seem to be straight out of the mind of Kanye ... but it's just not.

Bloodied Pete Davidson, at least on this Jersey movie set, is the work of 'The Purge' creator James DeMonaco. In "The Home," Pete's character is Max, a troubled guy working at a retirement home who discovers the old folks and caretakers have some serious skeletons in their closets.

American actress Kristanna Loken was 23 years old when she landed her breakout role in "Terminator 3: Rise of The Machines" -- where she played the killer 'T-X' ... a powerful and strong cyborg with a form-fitting figure.

Playing such an adventurous and strenuous role in the 'Terminator' franchise, the actress' workout regimen included a stationary bike, aerobics and intense strength training.

Today, Loken still leads an active lifestyle ... the sporty actress enjoys Superkombat fighting, and when she prefers to be low-key, a horse trek on the mountain tops will suffice!

Kristanna Loken also starred as Jane Vasco in "Painkiller Jane" and played Rayne in "BloodRayne."

Lady Gaga is one confident woman, but she barely held it together Sunday night at the Critics Choice Awards.

Gaga was nominated for Best Actress for her role in "House of Gucci" ... so it stands to reason she wore a black and gold Gucci dress. The deep cut had eyes popping.

Gaga's plus one was BF Michael Polansky, and dare we say ... one lucky guy!

She did double duty Sunday  ... she appeared at the BAFTA Awards in London earlier in the day, then did an outfit swap to appear at the Critics Choice Awards -- being held in both Los Angeles and London -- making an entrance at The Savoy Hotel.

William Hurt -- an Oscar-winning actor with a long tenure in Hollywood -- has died.

His son, Will, made the sad announcement Sunday -- telling Deadline ... "It is with great sadness that the Hurt family mourns the passing of William Hurt, beloved father and Oscar winning actor, on March 13, 2022, one week before his 72nd birthday."

Will adds of his father's passing ... "He died peacefully, among family, of natural causes. The family requests privacy at this time."

Like we said, Hurt was a bit of a chameleon of an actor ... able to portray several different types of characters in a range of genres -- from comedy to drama to science fiction, and everything in between. He might best be remembered for his Academy Award-winning role in 1985's "Kiss of the Spider Woman."

The guy was on a roll in the '80s when it came to noteworthy parts -- in addition to 'Spider Woman,' he was also nominated for Oscars for his work in 'Children of a Lesser God' and 'Broadcast News.' Other flicks from that era he starred in include 'The Big Chill,' 'Gorky Park,' 'A Time of Destiny,' 'The Accidental Tourist,' 'Body Heat,' and more.

The '90s gave Hurt even more shine ... he acted in a ton of cult classics like 'Mr. Wonderful,' 'Alice,' 'Lost in Space,' 'One True Thing,' 'Jane Eyre,' 'Dark City,' 'The Doctor' and 'The 4th Floor,' among others. Going into the new century, Hurt kept on cranking out great performances -- some standouts that come to mind ... 'A History of Violence,' 'The Incredible Hulk,' 'The Village,' 'The King,' 'Mr. Brooks,' 'Syriana,' 'Vantage Point,' 'Changing Lanes' ... and many, many other huge movies.

Hurt's TV game was quite strong too ... he'd acted in hit shows like 'The King of Queens,' 'Goliath,' 'Condor,' 'Damages,' 'Dune,' 'Beowulf,' and others. He was in the middle of production for a new series called 'Pantheon,' and also starred in the new fantasy movie 'The King's Daughter.'

Hurt had previously been diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer, but seemed to be on the road to recovery some years ago as he tried new treatments out of Berkeley that were touted as side-effect-free at the time.

He leaves behind four children from different relationships. Hurt was 71.

Rich Paul is giving actor Damson Idris -- who's playing the NBA super-agent in a biopic about his life -- a big stamp of approval ... telling TMZ Sports he's a huge fan (and friend) of the "Snowfall" star.

We talked to the 40-year-old agent as he left LAX Thursday night ... and we asked Rich about the upcoming film about his life, and the actor who will portray him.

"I like Damson a lot. He's a great friend of mine," Paul said, adding, "Damson's great man, he's doing a great job. That's my brother."

Not much, if anything, was known about the project or its cast until Idris recently broke the news during an appearance on "The Breakfast Club."

"I am about to play Rich Paul," Idris announced on the show.

"It is time we start cherishing black moguls and Rich is someone that people need to know. This guy has completely changed the game, and I'm happy and fortunate to call him a big brother, and I can't wait to honor his story."

Paul, LeBron James' longtime agent, has a fascinating story. He met LBJ at an airport in Akron, Ohio when he was in his early 20s, and James was 18.

The story goes ... Rich approached Lebron and tried to sell him some throwback jerseys. The guys obviously hit it off, and fast forward almost 20 years, Paul has become one of the most respected and powerful agents in the entire sports world.

And, Paul -- who also reps the likes of Anthony Davis, John Wall, Ben Simmons and other stars -- isn't just a superagent ... he's a celebrity in his own right.

Case and point ... Rich dates Adele.