Movies

The Academy is finally trying to do right by Rachel Zegler ... not only inviting her to be at the show ... but to present one of the night's Oscars.

A report says the "West Side Story" actress was recently contacted and offered the gig -- of course, the series of events over the last few days to get to this point have been awkward ... to say the least.

As we reported, the 20-year-old Best Picture star spilled the details Sunday, replying to a comment from a fan that was excited about her Oscar debut.

In response, Rachel wrote, "I'm not invited so sweatpants and my boyfriend's flannel." She later added, "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."

It's still unclear what the mix-up was ... seeing as costar Ariana DeBose is nominated and predicted to win Best Supporting Actress, the movie is up for Best Picture and Steven Spielberg is up for Best Director.

One of the most famous Marilyn Monroe images, painted by the late great Andy Warhol, is going up on the auction block, and it's expected to set a pretty amazing record ... as in $200 million worth of amazing!!!

You heard that right ... Christie's auction house in London is putting the painting up for auction in May, and the expected 9-figure price tag would make it the most expensive piece of 20th-century art ever sold.

If things go the way Christie’s thinks it will ... the sale would top the value of Picasso's piece, "Women of Algiers," which fetched $179.4 mil about 7 years ago.

This particular Warhol is known as "Shot Sage Blue Marilyn" -- there are 5 other versions in this Monroe series, each in a different color.

It comes from a collection owned by Swiss siblings, and all the proceeds will go to their Thomas and Doris Ammann Foundation, which benefits children causes.

If the painting goes for $200 mil ... it will nearly double Warhol's previous auction record -- $105 million for a painting called "Silver Car Crash (Double Disaster)."

Already, the buzz about the Marilyn auction has brought back interest in all things Warhol, and his Netflix doc is trending again.

Amanda Bynes is less than 24 hours from personal freedom -- a judge just set the stage for the end of her conservatorship.

According to new legal docs obtained by TMZ, the judge for the case issued a tentative ruling Monday saying Amanda's conservatorship is "no longer required."

While it's a tentative ruling, there is a court hearing scheduled for Tuesday morning and it's almost a certainty the judge will make it official ... because no one is objecting to Amanda's petition to end her conservatorship.

Remember ... the former child star was placed under a conservatorship back in 2013, following a string of bizarre episodes brought on by what she has said is bipolar disorder. Amanda says she's been sober for several years now, thanks in part to getting support through AA.

She filed the docs last month to end the 9-year conservatorship, a move her father and mother -- who is Amanda's conservator -- fully support.

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck are already taking steps to make their new mid-$50M house a home ... visiting the property with family and snapping pics inside the massive estate.

We're told the two spent more than 2 hours at the Bel-Air estate over the weekend, but they didn't go alone -- J Lo's daughter, Emme, tagged along -- as did the couple's security team.

Ben was spotted snapping pics inside the 20,000 sq ft pad, just before heading out again with the fam. Unclear if Ben wanted the pics for some design ideas, or just to show friends ... but either way, the home is spectacular.

The sale is significant in more ways than one for the couple ... you gotta assume there's an engagement on the horizon followed by an over-the-top wedding.

Of course, $50M can get you a lot -- even in Bel-Air -- the house is decked out with a home theatre, a gym, multiple kitchens, an infinity-edge pool with a view ... just to name a few.

The little Ukrainian girl who won over hearts with her rendition of a "Frozen" song is on to bigger and better things -- and that would be her country's national anthem.

7-year-old Amelia Anisovych performed "Shche ne vmerla Ukrainy" Sunday night at the Atlas Arena in Poland, where they were holding a charity concert to further Ukrainian aid there.

As you can see, Anisovych's rendition was pretty stirring ... with the crowd cheering her on, and even holding up their phone lights in solidarity. She got a huge round of applause once she wrapped, and for good reason -- she was awesome!

The kid is famous for a now-viral video of her singing "Let It Go" from down in a bunker in Kyiv, where she and her family had been hiding out for several days as the city was under attack.

Although her parents stayed behind -- Amelia, thankfully, made it out okay and is now across the Polish border ... where it seems they've welcomed her with open arms and then some.

Considering how well she's done so far in her music career, ya gotta figure she might have a future in the biz once this is all settled.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hopped on Zoom to sing the praises of two American actors who have raised tens of millions of dollars in aid ... as Putin continues to rain bombs on Ukraine.

President Zelensky applauded Mila Kunis -- who was born in Ukraine -- and her husband Ashton Kutcher, for raising nearly $35 million to aid and support Ukrainian refugees ... "I thank them on behalf of our people ... on behalf all us," he said.

He called them a star couple "who believe in us in our victory in our future".

The Ukrainian Prez also posted a photo on Twitter of a video chat with the couple and thanked them for being among the first to respond ... "Grateful for their support. Impressed by their determination. They inspire the world. #StandWithUkraine,” he wrote.

The couple not only raised nearly $35 million in aid, but also pledged $3 million from their own pockets ... just 3 weeks after launching their GoFundMe Page. Their initial goal was $30 million, so they have already blown passed that by several million bucks.

"Today, I am a proud Ukrainian. While my family came to the United States in 1991, I was born in Chernivtsi, Ukraine in 1983. Ukrainians are proud and brave people who deserve our help in their time of need," Mila wrote.

John Travolta has added a new flying machine to his aeronautical CV ... a 737.

JT just scored his 737 license ... and he was pleased to crow about it to his 3.8 million followers, saying, “Okay, so a very proud moment in my aviation history.”

He went on -- and this is interesting -- “To add to my 747 and 707 licenses, I just received my 737 (pilot) license, and it went very well.” It's interesting he chose to go for a jumbo jet -- the 747 -- and a 4 engine passenger jet -- the 707 -- before getting certified on the smaller, 2-engine 737.

The 68-year-old actor has a fleet of planes, including a Bombardier Challenger 601, a Boeing 707-138B, and an Eclipse 500.

He bought the 707 22 years ago for $77 million, tricking it out inside for another $20M.

It's pretty amazing ... the jet can seat 150 passengers, but Travolta reconfigured it so it carries 15 passengers in high style. It has 2 bedrooms and an impressive bathroom and shower.

John lives in a private aviation community in Florida that has a full-sized runway. He parks his jets the same we we park our cars.

John's been flying since he was 15 and got his first license back in 1978.

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.