Movies

PETA is putting Zac Efron on BLAST after appearing in an ad campaign with a bear that has spent its entire life in captivity.

The org is urging Zac to "come down to Earth" and recognize that bears belong with their families, not on screen ... according to Debbie Metzler, PETA Foundation Director of Captive Animal Welfare.

She thinks Zac, who's been named Chief Brand Officer for Kodiak Cakes, forgot to ask Tank the bear an important question in his latest ad for the company -- "How wrong is it to use a captive bear to promote 'keeping bears wild'?"

BTW -- 27-year-old Tank was born in captivity and was taken from a breeder at just 6 weeks old ... he was featured on the Discovery+ Show, "Man Vs. Bear."

Kodiak Cakes is running a limited-time collab with Zac, where a dollar-for-dollar match of their "Keep It Wild" merch will go directly to the Vital Ground Foundation, a nonprofit that supports the preservation of wild grizzly bear habitats.

PETA, however, clapped back at the promo saying ... “It’s hypocritical to exploit one animal to potentially help another. No true conservation group would ever force captive animals to perform tricks for the camera in order to raise awareness about their wild counterparts.”

Anne Heche was involved in a wild crash in L.A. Friday, and has been taken away by ambulance in a stretcher.

The crash went down just after noon in the Mar Vista area of Los Angeles. Witnesses tell TMZ, she was driving a blue Mini Cooper and crashed into the garage of an apartment complex.

Residents of the apartment complex tried getting Anne out of the vehicle but she put the car in reverse and then sped off. A short time later, she crashed into a nearby home, igniting a fire. The fire was significant and engulfed the house.

Look closely at the photo of Anne inside the car (above) ... there's a bottle with a red cap in the cupholder next to the gearshift, and it looks like a bottle of alcohol.

Anne apparently suffered severe burns in the fire ... you see her clothes are charred as she's taken away on a stretcher. She's covered in a white cloth, when she suddenly sits up on the stretcher and starts flailing wildly as they put her in the ambulance.

We do not know the extent of her injuries or burns. We're told she's currently in the hospital intubated but expected to live. We're told her condition prevents doctors from performing any tests to determine if she was driving under the influence of alcohol.

Tyler Perry won't be having "the talk" with his son any time soon, because despite increased racial tensions in the country ... he doesn't want a 7-year-old to have to think about those issues. Not yet.

Tyler opened up about this critical parenting decision, during an interview with AARP -- yes, he's over 50 -- where he said he wants to wait as long as possible to talk to Aman about race and racism in the world.

He explained, “I don’t want to tell him that there are people who will judge him because of the color of his skin, because right now he’s in a school with every race, and all these kids are in their purest form. When he describes his friends, he never defines them by race”.

In case you didn't know, Tyler had Aman with model Gelila Bekele, and although the couple reportedly ended things back in 2020 -- after more than a decade together -- they are happily co-parenting.

"The talk" ... as all Black American families know it ... has been a big topic in society in the wake of George Floyd's 2020 murder -- so, Tyler's approach is interesting. The sad fact is most Black children can't be shielded from the harsh reality of racism, but Tyler would be the first to say he's in an extremely fortunate position.

He says, "the moment [Aman] loses that innocence is going to be a very, very sad day for me" ... but, he acknowledged the day will come eventually, since his son is already asking tough questions.

Alyson Hannigan can break out the bubbly ... because she finally found a buyer for her home, which was a filming location for NBC's hit show "This Is Us."

Real estate sources tell TMZ ... the "How I Met Your Mother" star accepted an offer Thursday on her 5-bedroom estate, which she listed for $18 million.

The place is 7,605 square feet and it was featured in "This Is Us" as the home Mandy Moore's character, Rebecca, tells Justin Hartley's character, Kevin, to build in memory of Milo Ventimiglia's character, Jack.

Alyson's place was used in multiple flash-forward scenes over the final couple of seasons on the NBC show ... and she's on the record saying she liked having her digs converted into a filming set, because NBC footed the bill for a ton of repairs.

The house is a go-to for Hollywood producers ... it's also been used in "Fun With Dick and Jane," "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D" and "Fractured," plus a Hyundai Super Bowl commercial starring Kevin Hart.

The estate sits on 3 acres of land in a gated community in Encino ... and includes a main residence, guest house, home gym and office space. The place is decked out with a pool, tennis court and a vegetable garden.

The very private property is super green, too -- dotted with palm trees, orange trees, avocado trees, sycamores and succulents ... which can be seen from every room in the house.

Alyson and her husband Alexis Denisof bought the home in 2016 for $7.95M, and last month they reportedly bought a new home in Santa Monica.

Someone at Disney World is reading headlines, or so it seems based on how a Woody character went out of the way to engage Black children waiting along a parade route.

Check out this video posted by a proud dad who took his 2 young kids to Disney's Orlando theme park this week -- it shows the little ones shouting out to a costumed Jessie mascot from the 'Toy Story' franchise as the characters walk down the street lined with cheering fans.

Jessie was on the other side of the street and appeared preoccupied entertaining that part of the crowd, but her pal Woody notices some Black kids and actually responds to them.

Check it out ... Woody flags Jessie down, points to the young'ns ... and they both head over to interact with them -- which is obviously awesome, since they were desperately trying to get Jessie's attention and seem to be really big fans.

Not to turn this into a negative story -- because it's obviously very sweet -- but one can't ignore this happened in the midst of what's become a disturbing trend lately ... namely, mascots/costumed characters at theme parks and such snubbing Black children, allegedly intentionally.

It's been happening all over the country, it seems ... whether it's Sesame Place, Disneyland or even Chuck E. Cheese. All over, some messed-up videos have circulated appearing to show classic characters either ignoring or walking away from kids of color.

While most of the establishments have denied any overt racist intentions, people are having a hard time buying that.

Notorious is going Hollywood -- UFC superstar Conor McGregor will be making his acting debut in a remake of the '80s classic movie, "Road House" ... starring alongside huge names like Jake Gyllenhaal!!

The project is set to be a reimagining of the Patrick Swayze-led 1989 flick ... with Gyllenhaal playing a UFC fighter-turned-bar bouncer at a Florida Keys roadhouse.

TMZ Sports has confirmed ... the former featherweight and lightweight champ will have a part in the Prime Video project, which will be his first feature film.

Of course, 34-year-old McGregor has a ton of business ventures out of the Octagon ... but we're told the new career move does not mean he's done competing.

"Conor McGregor is very excited to expand his storied career to Hollywood and join with Jake Gyllenhaal in this reimagining of 'Road House', a beloved classic," Conor's rep, Karen J. Kessler, tells us.

"While fighting remains his top focus, this is the beginning of another successful venture in the McGregor empire."

"He is eager to get started filming."

Deadline reports the project -- directed by Doug Liman -- will also star Billy Magnussen, Daniela Melchior, Gbemisola Ikumelo, Lukas Gage, Hannah Love Lanier ... as well as other notable actors.

The outlet says McGregor got wind of the interest in having him involved ... and after checking out the original, he took a meeting with producer Joel Silver.

McGregor apparently loved what he heard about the vision for the flick ... and quickly signed on to show off his acting chops.

It's become quite a natural transition for UFC fighters to make it in Hollywood -- as we recently reported, Kamaru Usman will be in the new "Black Panther" movie this November ... and Ronda Rousey, Georges St-Pierre, and more have also made it to the silver screen.

Actress Edie McClurg has been victimized by a self-described longtime friend, who attempted to take her out of state and marry her, despite the fact that she suffers from dementia ... this according to new legal docs.

The docs, obtained by TMZ, state a man named Michael L. Ramos has been living at Edie's L.A. home as the 76-year-old actress battles dementia. According to the docs, Ramos, who is unemployed, has 'finagled' his way into Edie's life and attempted to move her out of California in order to marry her, despite knowing she lacked mental capacity.

Edie, who is under a conservatorship, got protection from a judge -- according to the new docs -- who ordered Ramos to stand down on his alleged marriage plan.

The docs go on to say, Ramos allegedly sexually assaulted Edie's caregiver, and a police report has already been filed with the LAPD.

The docs note Edie and Ramos have never been romantically involved, but the caregiver is fearful he may have been sexually assaulting Edie and -- given her condition -- she may not even realize what was happening.

The judge in the conservatorship case had allowed Ramos to live in Edie's home to provide her with companionship, but the lawyer for the conservatorship is now asking for an order to remove him.

TMZ broke the story ... Edie's family went to court back in 2019 to ask for the conservatorship, claiming she'd been living with a male companion who was verbally abusive and tried to influence the handling of her estate by getting her to sign documents.

Edie has been a staple in Hollywood, appearing in show like "Planes, Trains and Automobiles," and has done voiceover work in movies like "The Little Mermaid," "A Bug's Life," "Cars" and "The Rugrats Movie."

It appears the beef between 50 Cent and "Vanderpump Rules" star Lala Kent is completely squashed -- because TMZ's learned she's been kickin' it with the rapper/producer on the set of his upcoming horror flick.

Witnesses on set tell us Lala's been popping up "multiple times" to visit 50 as he films the movie "Skill House" at the content-creating space, Sway House in Los Angeles.

For those unaware, Lala was caught in the middle of a feud between 50 and her now-ex fiance Randall Emmett in 2019. Remember, Fif accused Randall of owing him $1 million ... and taunted him by posting a clip of Lala on 'VR' talking about how she'd get expensive gifts from Randall after sex.

50 also posted texts from Randall begging him not to publicize their drama -- and then Lala got involved by saying the rapper's actions diminished the #metoo movement.

That's all behind them now. We're told Lala doesn't have any role in the movie, and has just been popping in to chat with her friend.

Seeing as how Lala and Randall had a pretty nasty break-up, we're guessing he won't be thrilled to see her cozying up to his archenemy. For what it's worth, 50 says Randall eventually paid back the $1 mil loan.

As if the Lala-Fif sighting wasn't weird enough ... this is the same movie set where a camera op recently passed out while shooting a super bloody scene for the flick.

"Twilight" star Cam Gigandet is in the twilight of his relationship ... because his wife just filed for divorce.

Cam's wife, Dominique Nicole Geisendorff, beelined it to court Monday and filed divorce docs after 13 years of marriage.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Dominique lists the date of separation as May 1 and she's citing the usual irreconcilable differences as the reason for the split.

Cam and Dominique got married back in November 2008 and they have 3 minor children together ... 13-year-old Everleigh, 9-year-old Rekker and 6-year-old Armie. Dominique is seeking joint legal and physical custody of the kids.

Ana de Armas is getting trashed for her performance in an upcoming Netflix Marilyn Monroe movie because of her Cuban accent, but she's getting critical support from Marilyn's estate ... and they say she hit the mark.

Nick Woodhouse, President and Chief Marketing Officer of Authentic Brands Group, which owns MM's estate, tells TMZ ... "Ana has artfully captured the essence of Marilyn's voice. Marilyn was known for her breathiness, which was actually a tactic taught to her by a speech therapist during her childhood to help her overcome a stutter."

In other words, the estate thinks the accent is unimportant ... her style of speaking is what people remember and captures the true Marilyn.

As we reported ... lots of folks are griping about Ana's accent after seeing the preview, with some haters saying it's distracting and others wondering if Ana got anything out of 9 months of professional dialect.

Woodhouse goes on to say, "Marilyn has served as a muse and inspiration to fans of all genders, all ethnicities and all walks of life, and her influence will only continue. There are no rules when it comes to how an artist can pay homage to her legacy."

He adds, it's not one size fits all when it comes to interpretations of Marilyn ... Kim Kardashian and Michelle Williams put their own spin on MM, and now it's Anna's turn.

"Blonde" premieres Sept. 28 on Netflix, and accent aside ... there's no debating Ana is a dead ringer for Marilyn.

Dev Patel sprung into action when cameras weren't rolling -- stopping a knife fight between a man and woman down in Australia ... but apparently not wanting credit for his heroic deed.

The English actor -- famous for roles in 'Slumdog Millionaire,' 'Lion,' 'The Green Knight,' etc. -- was involved in a skirmish Monday in the city of Adelaide, where he currently resides. According to 7News, DP threw himself between a couple who were going at it.

Witnesses say this guy and gal had been arguing at a service station/convenience store, and were getting so heated that others tried stepping in to break them apart -- but they kept at it.

The woman allegedly then stabbed the man in the chest with a knife, and it's at this point that Dev was reportedly in the mix. It seems whatever he did to separate them helped keep a bad situation from getting worse -- and he stayed on the scene afterward to talk to cops.

The man was taken to a hospital for non-life-threatening injuries, so it seems he's okay. The woman, meanwhile, was arrested. Now, Dev should be taking all the pats on the back he can get right now, he doesn't seem to want much acknowledgment for what he did here.

Angelina Jolie isn't afraid to cut a rug, not even in front of her daughter, Zahara, who she joined at a freshman event for Spelman college ... dancing to the electric slide!!!

Angelina hit the dance floor Saturday night while attending the annual freshman send-off ... all smiles while she busted a move with her kiddo and others at the event. Jolie dances to the popular song for a bit, before rooting for others from the sideline.

The event welcomes new students in the area who will attend historically Black colleges Spelman and Morehouse ... introing new students to faculty and alumni as well.

Clearly, mama Jolie couldn't be happier about Zahara's choice for the next 4 years.

Ansel Elgort seems to have a new lady in his life -- at least based on these shots of him sucking face in public with a gal who's definitely not his longtime dancer girlfriend.

The "West Side Story" star was feeling cozy in Capri Monday, but wasn't alongside Violetta Komyshan ... with whom Ansel's been romantically involved for years. Instead, this appears to be a mystery woman who's grabbed the attention ... of his hands and lips.

These pics, obtained by TMZ, show Ansel getting a handful of his lady friend's backside as they get ready for a dip in the ocean. They had company too ... another unidentified woman who joined them at the beach and a restaurant.

As you can see, the brunette and Ansel locked lips in the water as she wrapped her legs around his waist.

There have been rumors for months now that VK and Ansel split, and it's possible his Italian vacay without her confirms that. We've reached out to his reps, but no word back yet.

Ansel and Violetta were out together in NYC for opening night of the play "Funny Girl" back in the spring -- and they also reportedly bought a pad together in NYC.

It took a couple decades, but Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez finally have a marriage certificate ... and TMZ has the first look.

We obtained the official document from Ben and Jen's surprise wedding in Sin City, and it shows the couple got married at the famous Little White Wedding Chapel on the Las Vegas strip.

Ben and J Lo's marriage was performed by Pastor Ryan Wolfe ... and they got hitched in front of a witness named Kenosha Booth.

The certificate also has Ben and Jen's legal names ... Benjamin Geza Affleck and Jennifer Lynn Lopez ... and shows J Lo wanting to take Ben's last name and be known as Jennifer Affleck after marriage.

TMZ broke the story ... Ben and Jen got their marriage license last month in Clark County, NV and tied the knot after flying into Sin City.

J Lo posted a ton of pics and videos from the surprise wedding, showing her in her wedding dress and Ben in his tux.

Jennifer says they made it to the chapel just before it closed, and that's reflected in the marriage certificate ... Ben and Jen got the marriage license July 16 and the certificate says they were married July 17, with Jen saying it went down a little after midnight.

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard each wanted to seriously paint the other in a bad light -- worse even than we saw at trial ... with even more damning claims surfacing post-verdict.

A treasure trove of court docs has been unsealed, and according to multiple outlets ... they contain mountains of unheard evidence that ultimately didn't make it in front of the jury -- forming salacious allegations about each party that hadn't been known until now.

Some of the more noteworthy ones include a claim from Team Johnny that Amber allegedly worked as a stripper and escort at some point early in her career -- something his lawyers apparently wanted to present at trial, but were shot down in the end by Judge Azcarate.

There's also reportedly mention of a reality show Amber's sister, Whitney, shot once upon a time which contained what Team Johnny seems to have thought was some harmful info about Amber -- also having to do with her past -- but the judge wouldn't let that in either.

As for Team Amber ... her lawyers wanted to enter Marilyn Manson texts between Johnny and him that they felt showed him giving pointers to his pal about how to deal with an "amber type scenario" of his own ...  and even seeking refuge with Johnny in 2016 amid relationship problems he was dealing with that seemed to be teetering into legal territory.

One text from MM to JD around that time reportedly read, "I got a serious police amber type scenarios with L’s family. I’m f**king stressing. I don’t know if you are back but I need asylum somewhere because I think the cops might be headed my way." This is in reference to someone named Lindsay, whom Manson said had pulled something similar to Amber and who he called "amber 2.0" ... to which Johnny responded with acknowledgment and support.

There's more evidence AH wanted entered about how Johnny's 'Pirates 5' days were worse than previously thought -- and how Disney was supposedly fuming about his behavior throughout production. She also wanted to mention other cases he was dealing with -- including his assault lawsuit, which he recently settled ... all of which were omitted.

As we all know, the evidence presented was pretty focused and specific to Johnny's specific defamation claims, and Amber's own as well. We got an earful from just that alone, but if any of this other stuff had been permitted ... the case probably would've lasted way longer.

Pat Carroll, famous for voicing Ursula in 'The Little Mermaid,' has died.

The longtime actress and comedian passed away at her Cape Cod home Saturday after a bout with pneumonia -- according to her daughter, Kerry Karsian, who confirmed her death to The Hollywood Reporter.

Carroll is perhaps best known for playing Ariel's half-octupus/half-human nemesis in the 1989 hit Disney movie -- and for all the show-stopping numbers she pulled off on her own, doing all of the singing for the film by herself ... and reprising the role throughout the years.

PC had done a lot more before that, though ... she was a veteran in sitcoms well before 'TLM' came along -- having starred in fan favorites such as "The Danny Thomas Show," "The Mickey Rooney Show," "The Red Skelton Hour," "Getting Together," "Busting Loose," "Galaxy High School," "Too Close for Comfort," "Foofur," "She's the Sheriff" and many more.

Carroll also had lots of guest appearances on iconic series, plus regular bookings on variety, game and talk shows throughout the 20th century -- her humor and wacky personality was a hit with audiences and hosts alike.

Her career speaks for herself ... the woman had won a Grammy, an Emmy and accolades from her theatre work as well. As many have rightly said, she was a pioneer in the biz.

Caroll is survived by her daughters and granddaughter. She was 95 years old.