Movies

Cops believe Anne Heche may have been under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol when she slammed into a garage and a house, igniting a massive blaze.

LAPD sources tell TMZ, authorities got a warrant to draw Anne's blood. We do not know the results, but police believe she was intoxicated at the time of Friday's crash. We're told the results of the blood tests could take weeks.

We're told at the very least, the LAPD will refer the case to the L.A. City Attorney for possible hit-and-run charges. As we reported, after slamming into a garage she took off and eventually drove her car into a nearby house. She may have also struck other objects before coming to a stop.

In a photo we obtained of Anne just before the wreck, it appeared she had a bottle of alcohol in her cup holder.

Anne suffered severe burns as a result of the fire and remains hospitalized. Her clothes were charred as she was taken away on a stretcher.

TMZ obtained video of Anne tearing down a residential street before slamming into the house.

Bert Fields, one of the most powerful lawyers in the United States who, among many other things, who waged legal war on behalf of Michael Jackson and Tom Cruise, has died.

Sources close to Fields, including one of his famous clients, tell TMZ ... the attorney has indeed passed.

Fields' client list included James Cameron, Warren Beatty, Dustin Hoffman, Mike Nichols, Jeffrey Katzenberg, David Geffen, Jerry Bruckheimer, The Beatles and Madonna ... among many others.

Among his notable cases ... in 1993, Bert was involved in defending Michael Jackson against molestation allegations, and famously held a news conference acknowledging MJ was so profoundly addicted to pain meds, he could barely function on an intellectual level.

He also filed a $50 million lawsuit against a magazine publisher on behalf of Tom Cruise after the mag claimed Cruise was gay. He sued another outlet for claiming Cruise had abandoned Suri after his divorce from Katie Holmes.

Fields taught entertainment law at both Stanford and Harvard law schools. He was an accomplished author and wrote several novels and even lectured on Shakespeare.

Eddie Deezen, known for playing Eugene Felsnic in "Grease," has been found not competent to stand trial for allegedly burglarizing a nursing home.

The commitment order, obtained by TMZ, shows Deezen's unable to stand trial because of a mental disorder, and he's been transferred to the Maryland Department of Health for treatment.

The document says he's considered a danger to himself and others around him. Deezen will have no choice but to stay in the health department's care until the court believes he no longer poses a threat.

As we reported, police say Deezen pushed his way into a privately-owned nursing facility in April, refusing to leave after a woman told him to scram -- but cops showed up and hauled him off in cuffs.

The alleged victim told cops Eddie's been by her place several times before, claiming he usually leaves behind items with accompanying notes.

The security camera of a neighbor a few doors down showed Deezen approaching their property as well that night, allegedly trying to open the front door.

The 'Titanic' has been sunk again ... because Tom Cruise's 'Top Gun: Maverick' just overtook the legendary blockbuster in the list of biggest money-makers in Hollywood history.

The high-flying sequel, which has been on a roll since its release in May, has now claimed the #7 spot in highest box office sales domestically ... clocking in at $662 million in tickets sold, beating out James Cameron's 1997 classic by a good $3 mil or so at $659M.

According to reports, 'TG' raked in $7 million this weekend ... which might sound relatively meager, but considering it's in its 11th week in theaters right now -- that's damn impressive.

While 'Titanic' is in Tom's rearview, he has many other flicks ahead of him that have made far more money big picture -- including, in due time, 'Avengers: Infinity War' and 'Black Panther,' ... which had total domestic hauls of $678M and $700M, respectively.

Some film reporters and box office analysts think 'Top Gun' actually has a shot to perhaps surmount those two as the year progresses ... but the others ahead of it in line -- 'Avatar,' 'No Way Home,' 'Endgame' and 'Force Awakens' -- are probably safe from being touched.

They've made 200-300M more dollars -- and it doesn't look like 'Maverick's' jet fuel will last that long. Unclear when Paramount will yank it from cineplexes, but even if they kept it there through the end of the year ... 'Top Gun' will like peter out at #5 all-time at best.

Still, it's a helluva achievement for both Tom and Paramount -- and proves there's still most certainly a desire for folks to hit theaters, even today. They're just more selective, is all.

James Franco has been cast as Fidel Castro, something John Leguizamo says is an outrage ... but the film's producer's punching back, albeit with an explanation that's a bit confusing.

The news was announced this week that JF would be playing the late Cuban dictator, who came to power in the '50s and ushered in Communism. It sounds like James is going to portray a somewhat younger Castro ... and, of course, it's gotten some double takes.

Leguizamo was perhaps one of the most vocal critics, writing ... "How is this still going on? How is Hollywood excluding us but stealing our narratives as well? No more appropriation Hollywood and streamers! Boycott! This F'd up!"

He adds, "Plus seriously difficult story to tell without aggrandizement which would b wrong! I don’t got a prob with Franco but he ain’t Latino!"

So John's beef seems to be with the fact that a dramatized film about Castro can't help but humanize him, which he thinks is wrong considering FC's notoriously harsh regime ... but more importantly, James is a white dude. So the casting is already off to bad start, per JL.

Welp, he's just plain wrong on this one ... so says a producer of the film, John Martinez O'Felan, who tells THR that John's missing the big picture. What that larger point is, though, doesn't really come through all that well in JMOF's explanation, to be frank.

He says, "A guy like John Leguizamo has historically been looked up to by Hispanics as one of America's earliest actors of Latin descent since the 90s and I've always admired him as a fellow underdog. But his comments are culturally uneducated and a blind attack with zero substance related to this project."

O'Felan goes on to say ... "The reality of the ignorance piece falls within his statement suggesting his personal view on being 'Latino,' because a land mass or living area does not determine a person’s blood history or genetics."

He continues by saying Jon's words are "a great talking point because they represent the same confusion and identity crisis in Hollywood right now within the Hispanic community in America who are arguing that we should only identify as Latin, which is mostly because of the falsehoods being spread by the actors who are supposed to be representing us, but instead create division amongst their own people." Uhhh, what???

Yeah, it's a word salad of a response -- but from what we can gather ... he just doesn't have an issue with James being white, maybe 'cause Castro had Spanish roots. It opens a can of worms on whether Latinos can be considered white racially ... and yes, they technically can.

And for those pissed about the inauthentic casting here, that argument is sorta deflated now with the casting of Ana de Armas as Marilyn Monroe, another iconic historical figure, but on the American side. ADA still maintains traces of her Spanish accent in her performance.

Anne Heche's crash into an L.A. home this week was likely just a disaster waiting to happen -- because she was allegedly speeding down other residential streets not too long before.

TMZ has obtained video of what we're told shows Heche flying down a quiet back road nestled into a neighborhood in the Venice Beach area Friday ... with her same blue Mini Cooper, going at just about the same dangerous speeds that landed her in the hospital.

The person who shot this tells us this moment captured here -- where Anne is zooming past at an unrecognizable velocity -- was actually the third time she'd circled back on this very same street (Cabrillo Avenue). Apparently, she was going up and down and back and forth ... driving wildly in each instance, so says the eyewitness who claims to have seen it all.

We're told that on the second go-around on Cabrillo -- which isn't very far from where Anne ended up crashing in Mar Vista -- AH actually had people screaming at her to slow down.

Although she was driving incredibly fast, we slowed down our new clip and you can see Anne leaning forward and gripping the wheel -- looking flustered. It's not very different a sentiment communicated from her body language in the clear photo snapped of her earlier that day as well ... where you could see a bottle of some sort in the front with her.

It's unclear what Anne's condition is at this point after the crash -- which left her with severe burns -- but we do know cops were hesitant to do any tests on her at first, as she was clearly in no condition to undergo BAC checks and anything else they might want to administer.

Still, this new video simply confirms what we'd already reported -- that Anne was seen driving erratically in other surrounding neighborhoods that same day ... all at scary speeds.

As for how this Cabrillo Ave. incident ended ... our sources tell us disappeared around a corner on her third time up the street -- and never came back. The video was captured at 10:45 AM ... about an hour or so later, she'd smash into a random person's house.

As we reported, Heche crashed into a garage of an apartment complex just after noon in the Mar Vista area of Los Angeles. A fire erupted that engulfed her car, leaving her in critical condition with severe burns.

Anne's accident comes on the heels of another insane wreck in L.A. -- this one off La Brea -- where a car ran a red light and smashed into other drivers ... reportedly killing at least 6.

Barack and Michelle Obama made a surprise appearance at a film festival this week -- perhaps not too surprising though ... it was at Martha's Vineyard.

The former First Couple took the stage Friday at the Martha's Vineyard African-American Film Festival -- where they said a few words before a screening of their Netflix doc, "Descendant." As you can see, they were very warmly received ... the crowd seemed shocked they showed.

Eventually, they each delivered remarks ... BO talked about the power of telling stories -- Black stories, specifically -- and praised the festival organizers for allowing African-Americans to do just that through their event.

He said, "[I]t's one of the powers of this festival, and the work that the Rances have done is to lift up stories that too often have been lost in the flow of time. Because we believe that everybody's stories matter. Everybody's got a sacred story that motivates us, moves us. It's not just a matter of nostalgia, it powers us into the present and the future."

Michelle hit that point home by noting the older generation should be encouraging their youth to actually talk to their grandparents and great-grandparents -- and take in their history while they still can. She also took some playful shots at IG and TikTok trends in the process.

The audience was feeling what she was saying ... as they were audibly agreed throughout. Pretty cool to see 'em here -- even though they're low-key in MV quite a bit. Of course, they have a summer home there (a mansion actually), so they're no strangers to the area.

BTW, as for what their Netflix-backed doc is actually about ... "Descendant" covers a small Alabama community that has descendants from the Clotilda, one of the last slave ships to have sent over Africans to the States just as it was being outlawed nationally.

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.