Movies

"Lord of the Rings" fans can properly geek out ... because anyone wanting to travel to Middle-earth and channel their inner Bilbo Baggins can do so by spending the night in one of the most iconic sets the franchise has to offer.

The original Hobbiton village, featured in the 'LOTR' and "The Hobbit" trilogies, just got listed on Airbnb ... giving fans the chance to live like Hobbits in the OG filming location in New Zealand’s Waikato region.

The 2,500-acre pastures of rolling green hills are up for the taking and fans have the opportunity to snag the property for NZ$10 a night -- to honor the 10th anniversary of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey ... right around $6 for the U.S.

The lucky guests will get private access to their own Hobbit Hole ... and can enjoy an evening feast in The Green Dragon Inn, their own Second Breakfast, refreshments daily, and take a behind-the-scenes private tour of the set.

The property usually functions as a tour facility throughout the year ... but living in a monumental space like this is its own unexpected journey.

Hobbits, elves, wizards, and others looking to spend a few days down at The Shire can book their once-in-a-lifetime stay on Airbnb starting December 13. Hobbiton Co-Founder Russell Alexander will host three individual two-night stays with up to four guests in March of 2023.

Kirstie Alley -- who made a name for herself on both television and film -- has died after a private battle with cancer.

Her family announced Monday, "We are sad to inform you that our incredible, fierce and loving mother has passed away after a battle with cancer, only recently discovered."

They continued ... "She was surrounded by her closest family and fought with great strength, leaving us with a certainty of her never-ending joy of living and whatever adventures lie ahead. As iconic as she was on screen, she was an even more amazing mother and grandmother. We are grateful to the incredible team of doctors and nurses at the Moffitt Cancer Center for their care."

Her two children wrote in the statement, "Our mother's zest and passion for life, her children, grandchildren and her many animals, not to mention her eternal joy of creating, were unparalleled and leave us inspired to live life to the fullest just as she did."

Alley became a household name as Rebecca Howe on "Cheers" from 1987-1993 … a role that netted her both an Emmy and Golden Globe in 1991. She went on to snag her second Emmy for her role in "David's Mother."

Fans will also remember her for her leading role in the 80s flick "Look Who's Talking," the films "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan," "It Takes Two" and many others.

She's survived by her two kids, William True and Lillie Price.

She was 71.

RIP

Kehlani and 'Black Panther' star Letitia Wright turnt up in London last night ... and currently have the Internet buzzing with a mix of fever and FOMO!!!

Video surfaced Tuesday of Kehlani, artist Dreya Mac, DJ Noodles, dancer Emily Imagna and the rest of her clique partying it up inside Fabric London nightclub following her show at O2 Academy Brixton.

The Afrobeats vibes were on 10, and so were Kehlani's dance moves when she backed that thang up on Letitia!!!

Kehlani's a single woman and the clip does look rather steamy. That said, the Internet seems to be convinced Letitia is dating model Eva Apio ... who was also in the building setting fire to the roof.

There will be plenty more opps for club hops soon.

Kirstie Alley's death is not only shocking to fans, but also to her closest friends and costars -- like Ted Danson and New Kids On the Block singer Jonathan Knight -- who are expressing their love and admiration for the late actress.

Her fellow "Cheers" vet, Ted, says he was actually on a plane Monday, watching an episode of their classic sitcom -- the one where guest star Tom Berenger proposes to Kirstie's character, Rebecca.

He told People he got the horrible news about Kirstie when he got off that flight.

He added, "I am so sad and so grateful for all the times she made me laugh. I send my love to her children. As they well know, their mother had a heart of gold. I will miss her."

Kelsey Grammer also shared some of his thoughts on the loss, saying ... "I always believed grief for a public figure is a private matter, but I will say I loved her."

Of course, "Cheers" fans know Kirstie got her big break starring alongside Kelsey and Ted on the show.

Jonathan, a longtime friend of Kirstie who she'd jokingly refer to as "her husband," expressed his pain too ... posting on social media about how his "heart is ripped into a million pieces, and half my soul has been taken away."

Kirstie's final TV performance was actually in April on "The Masked Singer" -- she competed as the Baby Mammoth, beltin' out to "Walkin' After Midnight" by Patsy Cline and "The Shoop Shoop Song" by Cher.

She got a standing ovation from the judges, and said she wanted to be on the show for her grandkids.

As we reported, Kirstie's family announced her death Monday, saying "We are sad to inform you that our incredible, fierce and loving mother has passed away after a battle with cancer, only recently discovered."

She was 71.

American actress Kali Rocha was 29 years old when she was cast as the annoyingly friendly flight attendant -- who demanded oversized luggage be checked and not carried on -- in the 2000 comedy/romance film "Meet The Parents."

Kali shared the big screen with Ben Stiller as the nurse who is intimated by his future in-laws, Greg Focker, Robert De Niro as the retired CIA agent, Jack Byrnes, Teri Polo as the elementary school teacher, Pam Byrnes and Owen Wilson as Pam's ex, Kevin Rawley.

The film's success led to two sequels, "Meet The Fockers" and "Little Fockers."

Sacha Baron Cohen did his classic 'Borat' bit to go after Kanye West during the Kennedy Center Honors, and Rep. Nancy Pelosi's husband was among those applauding ... as he made his first public appearance since he was attacked.

The actor/comedian reprised his iconic role for a speech Sunday night at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in D.C., where George Clooney, Gladys Knight, U2 and a few other artists were honored.

During the ceremony, SBC came out dressed as the misunderstood Kazak journalist and went right after Ye's antisemitic remarks, saying ... "Before I proceed, I will say I am very upset about the antisemitism in US and A. It not fair. Kazakhstan is number 1 Jew-crushing nation. Stop stealing our hobby. Stop the steal! Stop the steal!”

He added, "Your Kanye, he tried to move to Kazakhstan and even changed his name to Kazakhstanye West. But, we said: No, he too antisemitic, even for us."

If you're unfamiliar, the 'Borat' character is known for making antisemitic jabs -- but everyone knows it's ironic humor, because Sacha is Jewish.

He even sang a parody of U2's "With or Without You," changing the lyrics to "With or Without Jews."

Later in the evening, Borat got lost and Sacha reappeared as his normal self.

Now, while his standup was certainly a highlight from the night, seeing Paul Pelosi in the building, alongside Rep. Pelosi was just as eye-opening.

It marked his first public outing since an attacker struck him with a hammer, back in October, inside the Pelosis' San Fran home.

Paul's skull was damaged, and required surgery ... but at the Kennedy Center, he seemed to have recovered well. He was wearing a hat, possibly to conceal his injuries.

One of the producers of Will Smith's new movie about a runaway slave is apologizing for bringing a photo of the real inspiration for the character to the film's premiere.

Joey McFarland issued a mea culpa Sunday -- this after there was some apparent outrage over the fact he brought a wallet-size picture to the L.A. premiere of 'Emancipation' Wednesday ... which he flashed to a reporter on the red carpet while discussing it.

McFarland was asked how he came to own the OG photo of "Whipped Peter" from 1863 ... and then he actually brought out and showed it off. His answer boiled down to seeing the importance of history and wanting to curate valuable artifacts like this one so that they can live and be preserved -- and so we can all learn a valuable lesson from the past.

On its face, there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with JMF's statement. But, of course, some took issue with his phrasing -- like saying he wanted a "piece of Peter" to be there that night -- and the optics of a white man owning and parading this pic around like a prop.

That's how a handful of folks interpreted his interview here anyway ... and it seems McFarland caught wind of that noise and felt compelled to explain himself.

He writes, "I wholeheartedly apologize to everyone I have offended by bringing a photograph of Peter to the Emancipation premiere. My intent was to honor this remarkable man and to remind the general public that his image is not only brought about change in 1863 but still resonates and promotes change today."

McFarland adds, "After uncovering Peter’s origin story with help from diligent historians, I spent the last few years working with the Emancipation creative time in order to bring his story to life so worldwide audiences would have an opportunity to appreciate his heroism. I hope my actions don’t distract from the film’s message." He says he simply wants to honor the legacy of Peter and others like him, and meant no harm in showing off the photo.

The stars were out and shining bright in D.C. this weekend ... this as President Biden bestowed lifetime awards on a handful of them who were honored at the White House.

George Clooney, Gladys Knight, Bono and the rest of U2 were on hand Sunday in our nation's capital to receive their Kennedy Center Honors for contributions to the arts over the course of their lives ... and they all dressed to impress for the swanky get-together.

Other honorees included composer Tania Leon and Christian singer Amy Grant -- they all lined up for tons of photos and took in the applause as JB sang their praises. At one point, he even singled out Gladys specifically and made a little pun about a classic tune of hers.

As for the rest of the bunch ... POTUS called them all "truly exceptional" during the reception -- noting Clooney's exceptional on-camera roles over the years, not to mention his philanthropy. And as for U2 ... well, let's just say Joe's a fan, going so far as to call them poets of our time.

BTW, it wasn't just these celebs who were in the house ... Julia Roberts was there, as was Don Cheadle, Richard Kind, Matt Damon, Sean Penn and others. So, yeah ... BIG turnout.

There's bits of video trickling out from the actual ceremony -- but the whole thing was properly recorded and is going to air in full later this month. It may even include performances from some of the musical acts ... time will tell.

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck have a large staff handling their day-to-day, but one chore is strictly hands on -- going shoppin' for an XMAS tree!

Ben, Jen and their brood hit up a vacant lot in Santa Monica Saturday ... littered with Douglas and other firs.

So many to choose from! The fam got downright pensive and they inspected various options. It's an important one for sure ... it's their first tree as a married couple.

They spent quite a bit of time at the lot, eventually settling on what looked like a balsam fir -- a huge one -- that they tied to their SUV as they beat it.

Everyone seemed to have a voice in the choice ... including Max, Emme, Seraphina and Samuel. Looks like Violet was MIA.

Madonna's MTV VMA for one of her iconic '80s hits will be sitting on a lucky -- and probably wealthy -- fan's shelf soon.

RR Auction tells TMZ ... Madonna's Moonman -- AKA MTV Video Music Award -- for her 1986 song "Papa Don't Preach" is now on the auction block with an estimated price tag of $60K.

It's a cool part of pop history ... the song was released as a single from her album "True Blue," and it became Madonna's 4th number one hit.

The track's all about dealing with teen pregnancy and abortion which, as you can imagine, stirred up plenty of controversies back then.

That also fueled buzz for the song which earned Madge 3 VMA nominations and a Grammy nom for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

If ya can't get your hands on the Madonna memorabilia, there's other cool stuff on this particular auction block -- including a Nirvana signed "In Utero" CD booklet, which is going for an estimated $12K!!!

Tom Hanks' military uniform worn on-screen in the 1994 flick "Forrest Gump" is also up for grabs in the auction, which ends December 7.

Big Daddy Kane is starring in a theater production of 'New Jack City' -- which he says is touring now ... and which is going to be hosting the director of the cult classic in due time.

We got the rap legend in New York this week ... where our photog chopped it up with BDK about the Je'Caryous Johnson's 'NJC Live on Stage' -- a Broadway-like play that brings the movie to life in front of audiences all these years later.

Check out the clip, 'cause Kane's got some cool insights for us -- including the fact that actor Allen Payne (who played Gee Money in the OG) is reprising his role in this new cast!

Not just that, but Kane says Mario Van Peebles -- who directed 'New Jack City,' and also acted in it as the cop who was out to bring down Wesley Snipes' operation -- will be coming to check out the show when they come to L.A.'s Orpheum Theater in late January.

The reason that's significant -- beyond the fact that it's awesome to host MVP at all -- is 'cause Big Daddy is actually playing his character from the movie ... AKA, Stone. Kane says Mario's swinging by to take it all in, and maybe give him some notes on performance.

Ya gotta wonder if Wesley himself has caught wind of the play and if he's curious to give it a peek. He hasn't said anything about it, from what we can tell, on social media thus far.

The reason there's so many unlikeable female leads is because Hollywood is all in on "Mary Sue" -- so says one writer ... whose hot take is getting blasted as straight-up misogyny.

A fella named Joshua Lisec -- who's ghostwritten a ton of books over the years -- took to Twitter this week to outline a very long argument he firmly believes in ... namely, that the literary "Mary Sue" archetype is alive and thriving in modern-day entertainment, despite the fact people aren't really into these strong fictional heroines who kick ass out of nowhere.

His words ... not ours.

Essentially, this boils down to characters like Rey (Daisy Ridley, 'Star Wars'), Galadriel (Morfydd Clark, "Rings of Power"), Carol Danvers (Brie Larson, "Captain Marvel") and even Bo Peep (Annie Potts, "Toy Story 4") and others who start out in a new plot as bad to the bone ... despite a lack of training/backstory to explain how they came to be so strong.

Now, whether that definition of a typical Mary Sue actually applies to the above-mentioned characters -- and other female leads in action movies in general -- is what's at debate here.

Lisec's thread has gone viral, with a ton of backlash coming his way for what a lot of people claim is a convoluted and long-winded way to say ... he simply doesn't like women, and can't stand the idea of a female character being anything other than a damsel in distress.

There are others poking holes in his theory ... at one point during which he makes comparisons to classic male leads whom he thinks were properly fleshed out (Luke Skywalker, etc.) Some are offering examples of countless traditional male heroes who've emerged with unexplained powers ... noting Mary Sue is a dog whistle to attack women.

As for why this convo is even taking place ... well, it appears there are some, like Lisec, who feel there is, in fact, a push from Hollywood lately for "strong female leads" who emerge as heroes without a bona fide, solid setup. The forthcoming 'Indiana Jones' flick appears to be positioning Phoebe Waller-Bridge's character for exactly that (the "new Indy" post-Ford).

This isn't a sentiment that's super fringe either ... Emily Blunt has denounced the "strong female lead" label -- basically saying it was being done to death, and that she's over it.

Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds' longtime family home in Central California has a brand new owner ... we've learned it just sold.

Real estate sources tell TMZ ... Debbie and Carrie's ranch in Creston -- which is about 3 hours north of L.A. in San Luis Obispo County -- sold Thursday for the asking price of $2.85 million.

The famous mother and daughter had owned the ranch for the last 30 years.

We're told Debbie's son and Carrie's brother, Todd, put the 7-bed, 8-bath home up for sale back in September.

The 44-acre estate comes with all the extras you'd imagine for Hollywood royalty, including a library, bar and a private screening room ... where the fam enjoyed its 5,000-movie library of Hollywood classics.

The living room features a showcase grand piano used by Debbie and all the great crooners who performed in her Las Vegas showroom.

There are 2 separate buildings from the main house that include a recording studio, office and storage space -- all totaling 17,000 square feet!!!

The property is tucked away in a private valley with native deer, a natural spring and access to geothermal and solar power.

As we've reported, a portion of Carrie's ashes were placed in a coffin and buried alongside Debbie in 2017 ... as they sadly passed away only one day apart.

Hollywood is back at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., where President Biden's finally getting to entertain a foreign dignitary -- French President Emmanuel Macron -- as well as famous supporters.

Thursday night marks the return of swanky state dinners ... as the COVID pandemic forced Biden to cancel such events for the first 2 years of his administration, but the celebs are flocking back to the White House. No shocker.

John Legend and Chrissy Teigen are in the house, along with Stephen Colbert, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jennifer Garner and Ariana DeBose.

Apple CEO Tim Cook scored an invite too ... he's having a pretty loaded week, just yesterday he was meeting with Elon Musk at Apple HQ in Cali, smoothing things over with Twitter.

All the pomp and circumstance is for France ... Biden's working to repair the U.S. relationship with the European power.

These celebs are among 300 guests at the black-tie dinner, with folks dining on the best cheese America can offer Macron ... plus Maine lobster, beef with shallot marmalade and triple-cooked butter potatoes.

There's live music too ... Dr. Jill Biden booked Grammy-winning musician and composer Jon Batiste, in part because he's from New Orleans, which Jill notes "has been shaped by both French and American culture."

Comedian and actor Affion Crockett thinks Will Smith has another Oscar contender on his hands for his work in "Emancipation" ... and says it would be unfair if the "mistake" of slapping Chris Rock leads to award season snubs.

We got Affion Thursday at LAX, where he told us about getting to see Will's slavery-era drama, and he's certain the movie will be in Oscar contention, and ditto for its lead actor.

As you know, Will's 10-year Oscars ban doesn't prevent him from getting nominated or even winning -- a fact Affion thinks Academy voters should keep in mind, because he sees Will's "Emancipation" performance as "masterful."

As for that beyond infamous Oscars slap of Chris ... Affion's genuinely shocked the world's still focusing on it now that it's over 8 months later.

Despite that fact, he thinks there's a shot the Academy could reevaluate that 10-year ban.

FYI, Affion's also dealt with stage stormers before ... as we reported, he was performing in Florida last year when a woman charged onstage to criticize his act.

Brad William Henke, a former NFL player who later got into acting and appeared in "Orange Is The New Black," has died ... TMZ has confirmed.

Brad died in his sleep Tuesday, according to sources connected to his family. The cause of death is unclear.

Brad's most famous for playing one of the prison guards in 'OITNB' -- and he's in the scene where one of the show's main characters, Poussey Washington, is killed off -- one of the biggest scenes in the entire series.

He also had roles in TV shows like "Justified" and "Lost" ... appearing in movies including "Pacific Rim" and "World Trade Center."

Brad started acting after retiring from the NFL in 1994, hanging up his cleats due to ankle injuries. He played his college ball at the University of Arizona before being drafted in 1989 by the New York Giants.

A defensive lineman, Brad also played for the Denver Broncos and got on the field in Super Bowl XXIV against the San Francisco 49ers.

Brad first got into Hollywood by acting in commercials, then he started landing TV guest spots on series like "ER," "Arli$$," "Nash Bridges," "Silk Stalkings" and "Chicago Hope."

With over 100 acting credits to his name, Brad also appeared in "CSI," "Judging Amy," "Crossing Jordan" and "Dexter" ... among many others.

His manager, Matt DelPiano, tells us, "Brad was an incredibly kind man of joyous energy. A very talented actor, he loved being a part of this community….and we loved him back. Our thoughts are with his wife and family.”

Brad was 56.