Movies

JID's new album "The Forever Story" drops Friday but the Dreamville rapper is already plotting and planning the project that follows it.

Rumors have been swirling that DJ Drama is set to flood the hip-hop space with new rap star-led 'Gangsta Grillz' mixtapes ... and JID confirmed the next issue of his Leonardo DiCaprio mixtape series will be one of them!

Meek Mill, Tory Lanez, EST Gee and several others have been in talks to do a 'Gangsta Grillz' this year, which is perfect for JID's goals.

He says his aim is to recreate that old-school mixtape feeling by scooping other rappers' beats and flipping them into original songs.

"Me and Drama are really gonna do it right," JID confirmed in a new interview, referring to his "DiCaprio 3" mixtape.

The last "DiCaprio" project dropped in 2018, and JID said the actual Leo's now aware of his presence ... through their mutual friend Q-Tip -- from A Tribe Called Quest -- who texted Leo and let him know the project was 🔥🔥🔥.

The last time we talked to JID, he half-joked he could've been the 4th Migos member ... which is interesting as rumors persist there could be an open spot.

Offset filed a complaint against Quality Control Records earlier this week for ownership over his solo career -- all but leaving Quavo and Takeoff to sweep up the dust as the new duo Unc & Phew.

'Star Trek' legend Nichelle Nichols is heading back to space with several of her Enterprise crewmates ... part of an incredibly fitting mission to put their remains into orbit.

Nichelle, who starred as Lieutenant Uhura and passed away back in July, will have her ashes added to the payload of a Vulcan rocket launching later this year for the moon and beyond.

United Launch Alliance's Vulcan Centaur mission will first deliver a robotic lunar lander -- to scout for NASA's future Artemis flights to the moon -- but then it will continue deeper into the solar system for the 'Star Trek' tribute.

The rocket will deliver Nichelle's remains -- as well as 'Star Trek' creator Gene Roddenberry, James Doohan ("Scotty") and Majel Barrett Roddenberry ("Nurse Chapel") -- into a so-called "graveyard orbit" around the sun.

As for the fact, the 'Trek' greats' final flight will be on a "Vulcan" rocket ship -- Nichelle's son, Kyle Johnson, says "I'm sure she would have much preferred to go on the shuttle, but this was a pretty close second."

For John Boyega, the best thing about acting is getting to play characters who are fundamentally different from who he is in real life ... and he only wants roles that fit the bill.

John joined us on "TMZ Live" and told us why he's not a fan of restricting who actors can and cannot play based on heritage, identity, sexual orientation, etc.

The way John sees it, actors are people who play other people ... and the profession was never supposed to be about portraying a character that is super similar to the actual actor.

While there's been some backlash recently about James Franco being cast to play Fidel Castro and Ana de Armas portraying Marilyn Monroe ... John says haters are getting it all wrong, and actors shouldn't let audiences define who they are.

John says he makes it a priority to find casting directors and producers who want him to transform into a role ... and he says his upcoming movie, "Breaking," is a prime example.

JB is returning to the big screen after taking a break from acting during the pandemic ... and explains why it's important for those in his profession to avoid burnout, and tells us why a hiatus is not as glamorous as it sounds.

Sylvester Stallone and his wife are calling it quits, she's filed for divorce after 25 years of marriage ... and is accusing the actor of moving assets from marital funds.

Jennifer Flavin filed docs Friday in Florida ... unclear exactly why she decided to pull the plug on their marriage, but some fans started to sense trouble thanks to a recent tattoo coverup -- the "Rocky" star removed an image of Jennifer's face from his arm.

Flavin wants exclusive domain over their house in Palm Beach while divorce proceedings wind their way through the courts.

She also made clear ... she believes Sly is hiding marital assets. In the divorce docs, obtained by TMZ, she says, "Upon information and belief, the Husband has engaged in the intentional dissipation, depletion and/or waste of marital assets which has had an adverse economic impact on the marital estate. Pursuant to Section 61.075, Florida Statues, equity dictates that the Wife be compensated and made whole by receiving an unequal distribution of the marital assets in her favor. Moreover, the Husband should be enjoined from, selling, transferring, assigning, encumbering, or dissipating any assets during the pendency of proceedings."

Jennifer wants to restore her last name -- Flavin. She also wants a judge to put the brakes on Sly moving assets from the marital pot. Closer Weekly first reported the split.

Stallone used to have a portrait of Flavin on his bicep, but recently got it covered by an image of his late dog, and "Rocky" costar Butkus.

When asked about the reasoning behind covering the ink of Jennifer, Stallone's rep told Daily Mail, "Mr. Stallone intended to refresh the tattoo image of his wife Jennifer; however, the results were unsatisfactory and, unfortunately, unfixable."

What's more ... Jennifer took to Instagram to post a photo with the three daughters she and Sylvester share, with the caption, "These girls are my priority <3 nothing else matters. The 4 of us forever."

Jennifer and Sylvester got married in 1997.

We reached out to Sly's rep ... so far, no word back.

Every second wedding's gotta have a second honeymoon -- seems like that should be a rule -- and that's why Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez are back in Europe for another romantic vacay.

Witnesses tell TMZ ... Ben and Jen pulled up to the Grand Hotel Tremezzo in Lake Como, Italy Tuesday -- arriving by private water limo, naturally.

The tables to the left of them were apparently kept empty ... even a glass facade was moved so they could get a better view of the iconic lake.

Security was also nearby to make sure their night went uninterrupted.

And yes, we're told they couldn't keep their hands off each other -- they put a pause on the kissing so Jen could head off to the bathroom, but when she came back they got right back to it!!!

Sounds like Ben was taking a look at Jen's wedding pics on Vogue's IG page -- truly her #1 fan.

As you know, they said "I Do" for a second time at his Georgia estate over the weekend ... after first eloping in Vegas last month. Wedding #1 ended with a family trip to Paris for their honeymoon.

Dwyane Wade was eating peaches while vacationing in Spain this week ... getting down on all fours and taking a bite out of Gabrielle Union's booty -- and the video is 🔥!!

The inseparable couple has been posting a ton of content while sailing through Europe over the past couple days to celebrate their 8th anniversary ... chilling on a fancy boat, dancing and getting in some quality R&R.

Wade and Union -- who dubbed the trip the "Wade World Tour" -- even got in some athletics ... tossing a football into the water as they tried to make impossible catches.

But, D-Wade decided to take things to another level while sharing his Monday activities ... which included some wild PDA.

The Heat legend's followers loved it ... with a ton of positive comments piling in below the post.

"I am obsessed with the two of you," actor Aaron Paul said ... with Jasmine Sanders adding, "😍😍😍 i love y’all!"

Legendary H.S. football coach Gary Gaines -- who was portrayed in the iconic "Friday Night Lights" book and film -- has died after battling Alzheimer's, his family announced Monday.

He was 73.

"Following a long battle with Alzheimer's Disease, it is with great sadness that the family of Coach Gary Gaines announces his peaceful passing this afternoon," his family said in a statement.

"Memorial plans will be announced in the coming days. Thank you for remembering our family in your thoughts and prayers."

Gaines -- whose coaching career ultimately spanned over four decades -- got his start at Petersburg High School in Texas in 1977 ... but he's most known for his time at Permian H.S.

In 1980, as an assistant under head coach John Wilkins at Permian, Gaines helped lead the team to the Texas 5A state championship.

Gaines, though, will be most remembered for how he was portrayed in "Friday Night Lights" -- the book/movie about the journey of the 1988 Permian High School football team that marched toward a championship.

Gaines enjoyed tremendous success during his stint at Permian ... leading the team to a perfect 16-0 season and the 1989 5A state championship.

"Friday Night Lights" received an ESPY for "Best Sports Movie" in 2005 and won "Movie of the Year" that same year. Billy Bob Thornton famously portrayed Gaines in the flick.

Gary Busey flatly denies he sexually assaulted anyone, and believes his accusers made up the entire story.

Busey was in Malibu Monday and the photog asked if he had any regrets about how he acted during the Monster Mania convention in New Jersey over the weekend, Busey said he had zero regrets, because he did nothing wrong.

Busey was charged with several counts of criminal sexual contact and harassment ... this after he allegedly put his face close to a woman's breasts and asked where she got them. The woman claims he attempted to unlatch her bra strap. Another woman claims he grabbed her butt. Cops also got a call from a man who claimed Busey grabbed his daughter's butt as well.

Busey told the photog "nothing happened." He said the whole interaction with the women lasted less than 10 seconds and they made up the story after the fact.

Busey also claims he has witnesses ... a photog and another person, his partner, who will back up his story.

The photog asked if it's possible he could have acted inappropriately but was unaware ... he said there was no chance of that.

Busey is supposed to be arraigned August 31.

'Power Rangers' star Jason David Frank's wife is waving the white flag on marriage to the White Ranger ... she's filed for divorce and is accusing him of having an affair.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Tammie Frank claims Jason committed adultery ... and she cites the alleged infidelity as one of the reasons for their split.

Jason's estranged wife also says the marriage wasn't working because of discord and conflict between them, and she says she can no longer live with Jason because of his cruel treatment toward her.

Famous for playing Tommy Oliver in the 'Power Rangers' franchise, Jason married Tammie back in May 2003 ... and she lists July 1 as the date of separation. They do not have any minor children together.

Jason's estranged wife is asking the court to award her the lion's share of their assets ... including their house in Texas and a car.

Tammie posted a cryptic message on Instagram last week about new beginnings and removing "wrong people," who've hurt you, from your life.

Irene Bedard, the actor who voiced Pocahontas in the animated film, sounds like she had a rough day ... based on what cops are saying about her latest arrest.

The Disney star was arrested Friday in Greene County, Ohio for disorderly conduct ... and the arrest report paints a pretty sad picture.

According to the police report, obtained by TMZ, cops say officers were conducting a welfare check after receiving a report a woman had passed out in the bushes on a residential street.

When police arrived, they say they found Irene in a nearby parking lot and she displayed a roller coaster of emotions ... one moment she's talking calmly with cops and the next she's upset and crying.

Cops say Irene was with another woman, Sheila, who told police the name of someone they could contact for Irene ... causing Irene to scream about not wanting that person to get involved. Officers say Irene then dashed away from them and almost knocked over a table on the sidewalk.

The report says Irene stopped running and calmly walked with cops for a moment, then suddenly became furious over a previous interaction with police.

Remember ... Irene was arrested twice over a three-day period back in November 2020, and police body cam shows her getting hostile with the officers who showed up to talk to her.

After things allegedly got heated this time, cops say Irene backed into a large window while yelling at the officers, who grabbed her by the wrist for fear she would shatter the glass, escorting her away.

Police say they confirmed Irene had no one to call to care for her, then told Irene she was under arrest ... and that's when cops say she tensed her arms and tried to pull out of one officer's grip, resulting in other officers restraining Irene with handcuffs.

The drama didn't end there ... cops say Irene became dead weight when they were taking her to the police car, so she had to be held up.

Irene was taken to Greene County Jail, where she was booked for disorderly conduct ... and we're told she was released from custody on Sunday.

Gary Busey allegedly got super inappropriate with several women at a fan event -- grabbing butts and attempting to undo one woman's bra -- leading to charges against the actor.

Cops say they were called to a DoubleTree Hotel in New Jersey August 13 after two women claimed they'd been sexually assaulted by the actor.

Busey was on location for a fan event called Monster Mania, and was allegedly taking photos with the women. According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, one of the women says Busey put his face close to her breasts and asked her where she got them. He then allegedly attempted to unlatch her bra strap. The other woman claimed he grabbed her butt.

The following day, cops say they got a call from a man who reported his daughter was also sexually assaulted by Busey at the event, that victim claimed Busey grabbed her butt as well.

According to the legal docs, when cops first made contact with Busey about the allegations, he denied groping anyone.

Then, Busey allegedly asked to apologize to the women before, "Claiming that sometimes it is possible to accidentally touch someone in a specific body part."

Busey has been charged with several counts of committing criminal sexual contact and 1 count of harassment.

Ben Affleck needs a nap -- at least that much is obvious from these photos of him on the road in Georgia ... where the dude looks absolutely drained post-wedding weekend.

The actor was photographed Sunday night being driven to a private airport, with a police escort in town that had the entryway to the facility blocked off to try and keep fans and photogs away.

Ben looks exhausted, leaning over to his right side with his eyes partially closed.

We're told his bride, Jennifer Lopez, was also in the SUV, but you can't see her in the pics.

It appears Ben and the gang were on their way to a private jet to get 'em outta Savannah -- where they've been for the past several days celebrating his and J Lo's second nuptials ... this time in the presence of friends and family.

Some famous faces flew in for the shindig at BA's estate -- including his bestie, Matt Damon -- but there were some notable absences as well ... including his brother, Casey, and his ex-wife Jennifer Garner. For what it's worth, Marc Anthony also skipped the get-together.

Bennifer enjoyed themselves nonetheless ... decked out in all-white and smooching at every opportunity. It definitely looked like the wedding of a lifetime, from the pics we've seen.

Ewan McGregor seems to be having a little friendly competition with Mark Ruffalo about which Disney universe is better -- this after The Hulk took a shot at 'Star Wars.'

The 'Obi-Wan Kenobi' star recently responded to a pretty simple question ... would you ever join the MCU??? As Comicbook notes, EMG doesn't sound all that interested -- suggesting he's content with what he's going on under Lucasfilm and co.

McGregor says, "I don't know that I want to do that. Because I love doing all different kinds of work. It's true. I love to direct. I'd like to be in the theater again. I definitely want to do this again, you know, I'm in this 'Star Wars' world. I feel like I don't need another ... I'm not looking for that anyway." He hedged, though, adding he wouldn't rule it out completely.

He also had this to say ... "That's the beautiful thing about how passionate Disney, Lucasfilm, all of us are, who are involved with it is from the beginning is we try really hard not to let anything of the bad just to protect your experience of seeing it for the first time." So in other words, 'Star Wars' is far from drab and bland ... as Ruffalo recently indicated.

You might've heard the guy hurling stones at his fellow Disney franchise across the park, saying that with 'SW' content ... you're really getting the same stuff every time. In Marvel projects, however, he says those will give you a fresh take -- even within the MCU itself.

Yeah ... it definitely seems there's a bit of rivalry going on between the two Disney IPs, and now -- McGregor seems to be distancing himself even more amid Mark's dig.

BTW, this apparent petty feud might date back even further than MR's latest salvo. Earlier in the Spring, when Ewan and Hayden Christensen were promoting 'Obi-Wan,' they both let it be known that they consider the 'Star Wars' universe better than MCU, along with its fans.

Leon Vitali -- Stanley Kubrick's longtime assistant and collaborative partner in cinema for decades -- has died.

The late director's verified social media accounts confirmed Vitali's death Sunday ... writing, "It is with the greatest of sadness that we have to tell you that the mainstay of a vast number of Kubrick's films, Leon Vitali, passed away peacefully last night.  Our thoughts are with his family and all that new and loved him." No other details were offered.

Kubrick's account goes on to heap on the praise for Vitali ... noting his behind-the-scenes work with his film master, but also pointing to the roles he portrayed on camera as an actor -- including as one of the leads for SK's 1975 period drama "Barry Lyndon."

The post also notes this ... "Whether giving the performance of his life as Lord Bullingdon, portraying the ominous Red Cloak, providing BTS technical support on FMJ and attending the Cannes Film Festival 4K release of The Shining, Leon Vitali was the heartbeat of Kubrick’s films after the master himself." So yeah, he's very important in the Kubrick-universe.

As has been well-documented, the guy was hopelessly devoted to Stanley ... taking on the challenging role of becoming his effective right hand and enforcer on film sets, including for flicks like 'The Shining,' 'Full Metal Jacket' and Kubrick's final movie, 'Eyes Wide Shut.'

He's credited in each film as "Assistant to Director," and was even the CD in the latter 2 films. But Vitali's involvement in these films went well beyond just his titles -- he was literally running around on set alongside Kubrick and making sure his boss's vision came to life.

Kubrick, of course, was notorious for his grueling shoots ... doing dozens of takes of any given scene and demanding absolute perfection from his cast and crew -- which applied to Vitali as well. Still, he hung tight and stayed loyal throughout the years until SK's own death.

A lot of Vitali's journey with Kubrick was chronicled in the 2017 documentary 'Filmworker,' which cleaned up at a ton of festivals upon its release ... giving great BTS insight into the life and work of an expert artist, through the lens of LV.

As many of the actors who worked on Kubrick sets point out ... Vitali was involved in just about every step of the production process, oftentimes serving as an acting coach for iconic characters and scenes.

He wasn't just behind the camera, though -- Vitali has a fair amount of acting credits to his name ... including in films such as 2013's 'Romeo and Juliet,' 'Little Children,' 'Inter Rail,' 'Terror of Frankenstein' and a ton of TV series and sitcoms from the '70s.

Vitali even played Red Cloak in 'EWS' -- the leader of the sex-crazed cult that Tom Cruise infiltrates. He's survived by his wife and his children ... Vitali was 74.

Idris Elba says his own kid auditioned to play his onscreen daughter in his latest movie -- a part she didn't get ... even though her old man could've presumably pulled some strings.

The actor was recently on "The Breakfast Club" with producer Will Packer, plugging their new flick "Beast" ... which just hit theaters. During the convo, IE revealed that his 20-year-old, Isan, actually read for a part ... one of the two daughters featured in the film.

He says she didn't end up getting it because the chemistry just wasn't right ... and, as a result, Isan didn't talk to her dad for about three weeks. So, yeah ... some sour grapes.

In the end, though, Isan did make it to the premier and actually posed with Idris -- so it seems it's all water under a bridge now. Still, though ... the fact Idris didn't just make it happen simply because she was his daughter is getting some kudos in the film community.

Packer actually elaborates on this a bit more in the interview, telling the hosts that Idris insisted that Isan get put through the normal process that every other actress was going through ... and to judge her on merit. Packer says she was close to landing it -- but in the end, they went with Leah Jeffries and Iyana Halley to play Idris' children.

Apparently, Isan took the news gracefully ... and Will says Idris' anti-nepotism stance was appreciated by all who worked on the film. He's even getting props on Twitter right now.

BTW, Isan's actually got her own IMDb page ... it looks like she's only got one acting credit thus far -- a short film called "Crimson Ties" -- but something tells us she might be getting some more looks now that Idris has spoken out on her desire to get into the movies.

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez have a lot of friends and family flying in this weekend to celebrate their marriage -- but one person won't be in attendance ... Casey Affleck.

Ben's younger brother, who's also a big-time actor, was spotted Saturday morning in L.A. on a Starbucks run ... where he looked pretty busy with his hands full. Of course, the obvious question that a pap posed to him was ... why aren't you in Georgia right now, man???

You can tell Casey wasn't really in the mood to chat much, but he does mumble something sorta telling as for why he isn't with BA today -- it sounds like he says he "fell asleep."

The cameraman tries clarifying to see if that's what CA actually said, but he doesn't respond further. In any case, it seems he's going to miss the festivities ... because just about everyone who's showing up is touching down in the Peach State as we speak.

Casey's been telegraphing this all week -- on Thursday, he was out with his girlfriend Caylee Cowan, and didn't appear that interested in talking about his sibling's big day this weekend.

Worth noting ... the Affleck brothers have seemed close over the years. But, they haven't been photographed together of late ... so who knows if they're all that tight these days.