Movies

Actor Frank Vallelonga Jr., famous for his work in the Oscar-winning "Green Book," has died ... TMZ has confirmed.

The NYPD tells TMZ ... police responded Monday morning to a 911 call about an unconscious man in the Bronx, and when they got there they found a dead body in the street, which was later identified as Frank.

Cops say the Medical Examiner will determine an official cause of death. Meanwhile, police tell us a suspect has been criminally charged with dumping Frank's corpse. Cops also say the suspect told police Frank overdosed.

Frank's late father is "Sopranos" star Tony Lip, who played New York mob boss Carmine Lupertazzi in the HBO series ... and his brother, Nick Vallelonga, is the co-writer and producer for "Green Book," which won two Academy Awards for Best Original Screenplay and Best Picture.

In fact, "Green Book" is about Frank's father ... Tony worked as a bouncer and was hired to drive and protect pianist Don Shirley during an early 1960s tour through the Jim Crow South. In the movie, Viggo Mortensen portrays Tony and Frank plays his other brother, Rudy Vallelonga.

Cops say the suspect dumped Frank's body from a car owned by Nick -- but Nick told police the suspect did not have permission or authority to drive the car.

Frank was 60.

Will Smith is all smiles again ... he and Jada Pinkett Smith were back doing movie star stuff for the premiere of the new film days after he called his Oscars slap on Chris Rock a burst of anger years in the making.

Will and Jada got all done up Wednesday night in Westwood where they held the "Emancipation" premiere -- they posed for the photogs on their way into the theater and held onto each other tightly.

There was one moment that seemed like a loving callback to the drama of Oscars night -- Will kissed the top of Jada's head as cameras were flashing.

The event was definitely a family affair -- Jaden, Willow, and Trey were all there to support their pops on his return to the Hollywood spotlight.

As we reported, Will broke down what led up to him storming the stage to strike Chris ... telling Trevor Noah on Monday it stemmed from rage going back to his childhood.

He also made a plea to the audience, telling them to be nice to each other ... because you never know what another person's going through, but he noted that didn't justify his behavior.

The controversial, antisemitic film Kyrie Irving shared on Twitter -- "Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America!" -- is not being removed from Amazon ... says company CEO Andy Jassy.

"As a retailer of content to hundreds of millions of customers with a lot of different viewpoints, we have to allow access to those viewpoints, even if they are objectionable — objectionable and they differ from our particular viewpoints, Jassy said, who is Jewish, at The New York Times' DealBook Summit in New York City.

Jassy's comments come in the face of the retail giant facing public backlash for still carrying the book and film on its platform, which Irving shared last month.

"The reality is that we have very expansive customer reviews," he continued ... "For books with a lot of attention — especially public attention — customers do a good job monitoring other people."

Jassy told the New York Times it's a slippery slope when deciding what type of content should no longer be sold on the platform ... adding instances where violence or pedophilia is being encouraged is more "straightforward."

Of course, Jassy's comments aren't going to sit well with Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), who publicly campaigned for Amazon to join Barnes & Noble in taking the book/film down.

Bobby Brown has a lot to look forward to next year … especially hitting the road with his New Edition brothers Ralph, Ronnie, Mike, Ricky and Johnny for a new world tour!!!

We linked with Bobby Wednesday at LAX, and he was eager to spill the tea on their upcoming shows. Although the group's had legendary ups and downs since their debut in the '80s -- like Bobby leaving to launch a solo career -- BB tells us their brotherhood is too strong to ever fully break.

NE is undeniably one of the most celebrated R&B groups of all time. They've been in the game for about 40 years, and every member's had success outside the group, too -- be it hip hop supergroup Bell Biv DeVoe or solo hits from Ralph, Johnny and, of course, Bobby.

All of that adds up to fans flocking to see them whenever they tour ... so, no surprise the fellas are running it back next year.

One thing Bobby's not anticipating is the upcoming Whitney Houston biopic "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" ... which will likely document their turbulent life and times together in the '90s.

Bobby says he had zero involvement in 'I Wanna Dance' so he can't cosign on its quality, or the performance of Ashton Sanders ... the actor who's portraying him in the film.

The scooter rider who fatally struck "Gone Girl" actress Lisa Banes in a hit-and-run accident will do hard time ... a judge just sentenced him to at least a year behind bars.

Lisa's killer, 27-year-old Brian Boyd, was sentenced Wednesday to 1 to 3 years in prison in New York County Supreme Court.

Boyd had been awaiting sentencing since September, when he pleaded guilty to manslaughter and leaving the scene of an incident resulting in death without reporting it to authorities. Prosecutors were seeking a 3 to 9-year sentence.

As we reported ... back in June 2021, Lisa was using a crosswalk in NYC when she was struck by Boyd, who was riding an electric moped.

Boyd then left the scene. Lisa was taken to a hospital for her injuries, but died 10 days later.

Cops arrested Boyd a couple months after Lisa's death ... and prosecutors say he was barreling through a red light on the moped when he struck her.

Lisa, famous for her roles in "Gone Girl" and "Cocktail," was 65 when she was killed.

Chevy Chase is going full Clark Griswold and plugging in to recreate one of the funniest 'Christmas Vacation' scenes for a fast food chain ... and once again, it's a real beaut!!!

The actor teamed up with Raising Cane's founder Todd Graves Tuesday night in the Chicago suburb of Morton Grove, IL for some festive fun -- and Chevy had all the power as they handed him a couple of extension cords to light the hell outta one of their restaurants.

The Cane's location has more than 13,000 lights, a Santa Claus, reindeer and sleigh -- almost as over-the-top as the display Clark juiced up in the 'National Lampoon' holiday classic.

They did not recreate the hilarious power outage and house fire from the movie -- but a crowd of more than 500 showed up to join in on the holiday cheer ... including a bunch of carolers and a whole marching band.

Chevy and Todd drove off in Clark's iconic (and hideous) wood-paneled "Queen Family Truckster" station wagon.

The display's staying up for the holidays, so 'Christmas Vacation' fans can get their grub on and snap a photo op with the elaborate setup.

Metro Boomin is treating his upcoming album "Heroes & Villains" like a movie premiere -- and he's got quite the blockbuster cast ensemble for his new short film!!!

Staged in Superman's hometown of "Metropolis," the "Heroes & Villains" mini-movie stars Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox the trusty narrator, LaKeith Stanfield as a deranged driver of a flame-throwing truck.

Currently-incarcerated YSL members Young Thug and Gunna also make lighthearted cameos as a pair of bumbling anchormen.

The Gibson Hazard-directed clip gives off big-time superhero energy … especially once Metro dons his Boominati chain and hops into his Metromobile, which isn't as cheesy as it sounds!!!

Metro and Morgan are tight, having previously collaborated on the 2020 album "Savage Mode II" with 21 Savage -- Freeman's voice is heard on one of the tracks.

Jonah Hill is gunning to legally change his name, but you won't need to call him anything different -- it just means lots of paperwork for him ... or his assistant.

According to docs, obtained by TMZ, the actor -- whose real name is Jonah Hill Feldstein -- filed a petition this week in L.A. to legally drop Feldstein from his name. So, he's just making his stage name official.

The docs say Jonah simply wants the name he's publicly gone by for years to be his legal handle. It is all the rage these days.

As we reported, Aaron Paul, whose last name is actually Sturtevant, also filed for a legal change to Paul earlier this month.

AP's wife Lauren, and their son Ryden Caspian, also want to change their last names. One big happy, legal Paul family.

Clarence Gilyard, the actor who played the wisecracking computer hacker in the film, "Die Hard," has died.

Gilyard passed away after a long battle with an unspecified illness, according to media reports. His death was announced Monday by the University of Las Vegas, Nevada, where he had worked since 2006 as a Fine Arts professor.

His 30-year career in Hollywood landed him major roles in popular TV series, from the '80s and '90s ... notably, "Matlock," and "Walker, Texas Ranger." He worked with stars like Andy Griffith and Chuck Norris. He also scored his first big screen role as Sundown in "Top Gun."

Gilyard's breakout role was playing Theo in the OG "Die Hard." Theo was the sardonic tech wizard who took over a Los Angeles skyscraper with terrorists and hacked into a vault, attempting to steal $640 million in bearer bonds. In one scene, the terrorists bomb an LAPD vehicle and Theo famously cackles, "Oh my god, the quarterback is toast!"

UNLV Dean Nancy J. Uscher remembered Gilyard this way ... "It is with profound sadness that I share this news. His students were deeply inspired by him, as were all who knew him. He had many extraordinary talents and was extremely well-known in the university through his dedication to teaching and his professional accomplishments."

Uscher went on ... "His generosity of spirit was boundless - he was always ready to contribute to projects and performances however possible."

Gilyard was 66.

Eric Fleishman, AKA "Eric The Trainer," famed celebrity trainer, unexpectedly died at the age of 53 on Thanksgiving, TMZ Sports has confirmed.

Fleishman passed Thursday morning at his home in Glendale, CA.

Eric served as a personal trainer to many big stars in TV, movies and the music industry, working with everyone from Def Leppard, Journey, Fall Out Boy, and Nickelback to Kirstie Alley, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Ethan Suplee and Jason Priestley, amongst many others.

Many of his celeb clients also counted Eric as a friend.

But, Fleishman didn't only work with the famous and wealthy ... he also trained the people who keep Los Angeles safe. Law enforcement.

Eric, over his 3+ decade career in fitness, also worked with LAPD, L.A. Sheriff's Academy, California Highway Patrol and numerous SWAT teams across the county.

Fleishman originally got into the business after being inspired by fitness and health pioneer, Jack Lalanne.

During COVID lockdowns, Eric gathered his famous friends and held a benefit concert that raised thousands of dollars for the Feeding America charity.

Fleishman is survived by his wife Alysia and son Henry.

Disney's newest animated movie -- which features an openly gay character -- got crushed at the box office ... and the LGBTQ crowd is worried this might've been the plan all along.

We're talking about "Strange World," which came out this weekend to abysmal ticket sale numbers -- raking in just $18.6 million over the 5-day weekend, starting Wednesday. That's well behind projections ... where 'SW' was supposed to be coming in between $30-$40 mil.

According to reports, the film is expected to end up in the red long term -- somewhere in the ballpark of at least $100 million, considering the $180M budget and marketing expenses.

It's that same marketing, however, that's got allies upset at the Mouse House ... they feel like there wasn't a peep about this flick pre-release, and that it's no wonder it tanked. In fact, some are going into conspiracy mode -- suggesting Disney was banking on a failure.

Here's the theory ... Disney could use the poor performance as rationale to not include LGBTQ characters going forward -- pointing to this new character, Ethan, as evidence to back the would-be decision. Out there, we know, but that's a legit convo taking place right now.

Of course, there's no evidence to support this ... at least not yet. Still, some are floating it anyway and think Disney was looking for an excuse for less representation on-screen.

Naturally, there's another side of this discussion -- the "Go Woke, Go Broke" faction, who've been thumping their chests about Disney's efforts to include more diversity in its characters of late ... which they think is the real reason for flops like this and 'Lightyear,' among others.

"A Christmas Story" actor Yano Anaya is no longer welcome at the iconic home from the movie ... the homeowner made that more than clear in this video of an expletive-laden tirade.

Yano, who played Grover Dill in the 1983 film, was taking photos with fans on the Cleveland-area home's front steps on November 15 when all of a sudden ... owner, Brian Jones, comes out of nowhere and starts screaming at him to get off his property and never return.

In the video, obtained by TMZ, Brian and Yano get face-to-face ... with the homeowner accusing the actor of being a scammer, loser and "piece of s**t" and claiming Yano has somehow screwed him over.

As we first reported ... the iconic home from the movie recently hit the market and Yano told us he and other 'Christmas Story' cast members were interested in getting money together to buy the famous property.

Yano's business partner Emmanuel Soba tells us they have no idea why the homeowner was so upset. He claims the actor spoke to Brian on the phone the day before the incident and says they had a great conversation.

They also claim Brian told them he would be willing to sell the home to their group, and they were taken off guard by Brian's outburst. Yano did not want to comment.

Brian has a different story though, telling us, "I apologize for the way I expressed myself; however, it was out of concern that fans could be misled into contributing to a GoFundMe campaign that will not result in the purchase of the house."

Brian went on to say, "I have no association with any GoFundMe campaign. I am not selling the house through Go Fund Me, so fans should not contribute to that fund under false pretenses, thinking their money is going toward buying the house. I am entertaining offers only from qualified buyers through my real estate broker."

Kathryn Hahn and her hubby Ethan Sandler want name changes for their 2 kids ... and it's all about giving Mama her due.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Kathryn and Ethan filed a petition last week in Los Angeles ... looking to add "Hahn" as a second middle name before the last name "Sandler" for both 16-year-old Leonard and 13-year-old Mae.

Meaning the teens would now be going by Leonard Henry Hahn Sandler and Mae Marie Hahn Sandler! The couple didn't get specific about why they wanted the change for their teenagers.

Another celeb recently went through the name change process -- TMZ broke the story, Aaron Paul, whose last name is actually Sturtevant, was lookin' to officially get his last name changed to Paul a few weeks back.

Irene Cara, the singer behind huge '80s hits from "Flashdance" and "Fame" has died.

Cara passed away in her Florida home Friday, according to her rep. Details surrounding her death were not disclosed.

Irene won an Oscar for Best Original Song for "What a Feeling" -- the iconic song from "Flashdance" which made her a household name.

Irene also scored big with her monster hit, "Fame" from the movie of the same name. She was nominated for a Golden Globe for "Best Actress" for her work in the movie.

Cara went on to appear in other movies, including "City Heat," co-starring Clint Eastwood and Burt Reynolds. She also played opposite Tatum O'Neal in "Certain Fury."

In 2004, Irene was honored with a Prestige Award for Lifetime Achievement.

Her rep said, "It is with profound sadness that on behalf of her family I announce the passing of Irene Cara. Irene’s family has requested privacy as they process their grief. She was a beautifully gifted soul whose legacy will live forever through her music and films."

Irene was 63.

Celebrities like R. Kelly and Harvey Weinstein are spending another Thanksgiving behind bars ... while Josh Duggar and Fetty Wap are spending the holiday in prison for the first time, but their menus are mostly traditional and plentiful.

TMZ obtained prison and jail menus from across the country -- specifically from spots where big names are locked up. Not everyone's getting turkey, but they'll all be feeling fowl!

Here's a breakdown of the Thanksgiving meals:

Duggar at FCI Seagoville:

-- Split turkey breast, baked ham, sweet potato casserole, cornbread dressing, vegetable lasagna, veggie meatloaf, green bean casserole, rolls, holiday pies and cranberry sauce

R. Kelly at MCC Chicago:

-- Baked cornish hen, mac & cheese, sweet potato casserole, cornbread dressing, green beans and holiday dessert

"Cheer" star Jerry Harris at FMC Lexington:

-- Glazed cornish hen, stuffed green peppers, candied yams, stuffing, mac & cheese, garlic macaroni, green beans, dinner rolls, cranberry sauce and assorted fruit pies

Fetty Wap at MDC Brooklyn:

-- Herb-roasted turkey, tofu fried rice, baked candied sweet potato, mac & cheese, garlic macaroni, simmered cabbage, rolls and fruit pie

Ghislaine Maxwell at FCI Tallahassee:

-- Turkey, Tofurky, cornbread dressing, collard greens, mac & cheese, rolls, cranberry sauce and sweet potato pie

Harvey Weinstein at L.A. County Jail:

-- Roast turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, green beans, green salad, rolls, pumpkin muffins and chocolate milk

In addition to all the grub, facilities are offering a ton of activities on Thanksgiving Day.

Japanese-Canadian actor Hiro Kanagawa was 37 years old when he was cast as the stoic yet gentle and patient pet shop owner in the comedy/mockumentary and Thanksgiving classic film "Best In Show" back in 2000.

Hiro shared the big screen with a star-packed cast including Christopher Guest as Harlan Pepper, Eugene Levy as Gerry Fleck, Catherine O'Hara as Cookie Fleck, Fred Willard as Buck Laughlin and Jennifer Coolidge as Sherri Ann Cabot and countless others!

"Best In Show" was the inspo behind NBC's airing of "The National Dog Show" which started on Thanksgiving back in 2002.

Happy Turkey Day!