Movies

Chucky the killer doll is trending this weekend -- and the reason is because there's a new silicone-laced slasher in town that's got everyone dying for her ... that'd be 'M3GAN.'

The new horror flick just hit theaters this weekend, and by all accounts ... it's a hit with the young crowd, especially Gen-Zers and TikTok users. Apparently, she's all the rage online right now -- there's tons of memes and whatnot cropping about the movie, which is said to be laced with dark comedy, which is apparently starting to encroach on 'Child's Play' territory.

You can hop into the trend yourself and see the comparisons that are (jokingly) being drawn up between the classic foul-mouthed Good Guy of the '90s and M3GAN ... who's very much so an upgrade in terms of tech, tact and murdering capability in 2022.

If you're unfamiliar, 'M3GAN' is about this toy maker who creates a robotic best friend for children ... and tests it out on her niece, without realizing the doll starts to develop a mind of its own. Eventually, it wants control of raising the girl ... and it goes on a murderous rampage to get it. Pretty familiar territory, but in this case -- it's shaping up to be a hit.

Box office estimates have 'M3GAN' aiming to rake up at least $27 million through the weekend, which is a solid opening to kick off the new year -- especially against 'Avatar 2,' which is still cleaning up since its December release. So far, 'M3GAN' is at $11.7M.

Anyway, while 'M3GAN' might be the talk of the toy town right now -- Chucky's still got a special place in people's hearts ... and that's in large part because of his SYFY/USA show, which has undoubtedly given him a new lease on life in the 21st century.

It's pretty popular and maintains the spirit of the OG franchise. But with M3GAN out here, everyone's one-time favorite killer doll might need to bust out a new trick or two and get even more with the times than he has on TV thus far.

Jeremy Renner is giving us regular progress reports after his horrendous snowplowing accident, and it's looking hopeful as he thanked the hospital staff the day before his birthday.

Jeremy posted a pic of himself in bed with a rather large group with the caption, "Thank you renowned medical ICU team for beginning this journey." The prayer emojis did not go unnoticed.

This is Jeremy's third post ... Tuesday he gave an update thanking his fans, with only a photo of his head, saying ... "Thank you all for your kind words. 🙏. Im too messed up now to type. But I send love to you all."

Then Thursday, he posted video of his sister shampooing/massaging his head ... calling it a "spa moment." So his sense of humor is clearly intact.

He's already had at least one surgery and presumably has a long road to recovery, but doctors are optimistic.

Peyton Hillis, the former Cleveland Browns star who was on the cover of the Madden 12 video game, was hospitalized after a swimming accident where he saved his kids from drowning.

Peyton remains in the intensive care unit for treatment on his lungs and kidneys, but doctors say his health is improving, according to his uncle.

Meanwhile, Peyton's kids are said to be safe and healthy.

Hillis was in Pensacola, FL when the accident happened, according to reporter Alyssa Orange, who says he was helicoptered to the hospital and remains unconscious in the ICU.

Peyton was on the Madden cover after a breakout season in 2010 and another good year in 2011 with the Browns. Hillis rushed for 1,177 yards to go with 477 receiving yards as a running back in 2010 and scored 13 total touchdowns. He followed with 717 total yards and 3 TDs in 2011 and then made it on the Madden 12 cover, being voted in by the fans.

A 7th-round draft pick out of Arkansas in 2008, Peyton played in 81 NFL games over 8 seasons with the Browns, Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs and New York Giants.

Peyton has not played in the NFL since the 2014 season. He's since gotten into acting and made his film debut last year in the indie thriller, "The Hunting."

Earl Boen, best known for his reoccurring role in the 'Terminator' franchise, has died.

A family member tells TMZ the veteran actor passed away Thursday in Hawaii, but wouldn't disclose a cause or the specifics of his death.

Earl is best remembered for his role as Dr. Peter Silberman the 'Terminator' series. However, he racked up other film credits in the '80s such as ... "Battle Beyond the Stars," "The Man with Two Brains" and "Alien Nation."

He also appeared in "Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult" in 1994, and "Nutty Professor II: The Klumps" in 2000.

Earl is survived by his wife, Cathy. His first wife, Carole, passed away in 2001.

He was 81.

La La Anthony is walking back her past comments about only getting 22-year-old suitors -- but she's still on the lookout for a relationship with someone who's her match!!!

We got the highly eligible bachelorette out at LAX, and maybe it was the rain but she wasn't feeling too optimistic about her dating options in the new year.

You might recall, La La was on Alex Cooper's "Call Her Daddy" podcast a few months ago, and dropped a bombshell about only seeing barely legals sliding into her DMs.

She cracked a smile while quoting the late, great Aaliyah in revealing "age ain't nothing but a number" ... but does admit 22 is a bit young for her taste.

Lala has been on the market since filing for divorce from Carmelo Anthony in June 2021 -- ending 10+ years of marriage -- and for what it's worth, her career has been firing on all cylinders since then. Something for her potential dates to consider.

She recently joined 50 Cent's "BMF," has a recurring role in Hulu's "Wu-Tang: An American Saga" and is also slated to star in a couple of movies that are on the horizon.

Translation: She's popping!!! 💅🏽

Bryan Kohberger is accused of committing a murder that has markings of a horror movie ... a movie in which his own sister starred.

Amanda Kohberger has a single movie credit ... "Two Days Back," shot in 2011. The premise -- a group of students who are viciously stabbed to death with knives and other weapons.

The group of "environmentally-conscious students" take a hike in the woods. Their mission is to catch people who are illegally foresting.

The murderer befriends the group of students and then begins the massacre.

The director, Kevin Boon, was shocked when he learned of the connection between Amanda and her brother ... "You're f***ing kidding me, her brother is that guy?" Boon told the New York Post. He had kind words for Amanda, saying she was "a lovely woman who was very nice. I liked her a lot."

As you know, Bryan Kohberger is accused of butchering 4 University of Idaho students to death as they slept in their beds.

Eerie.

Jeremy Renner is still in bad shape after his horrendous snowplow accident, but he got a taste of normal life with a shower and shampoo ... albeit in ICU.

Jeremy posted this video of his sister gently shampooing his hair. It seems the no-rinse shampoo cap is covering his head ... these things have to be done gingerly, and his sister is up to snuff.

Renner is loving it, saying he hasn't had a shower in a week. It's almost like a head massage, and you can almost feel how he's enjoying the experience.

Jeremy is still listed in critical but stable condition after the snowplow ran over much of his body, causing chest trauma and a severe leg injury.

Doctors will tell you medicine is great, but a patient's attitude is important to recovery, and you can tell Jeremy's got as positive an outlook as possible.

Canadian actress Clare Preuss was 26 years old when she was cast as Caroline Krafft -- the smart girl from Marymount Prep, representing her math team at a competition against North Shore High School -- in the 2004 teen comedy "Mean Girls."

Clare shared the big screen with Lindsay Lohan as the new girl from Africa who becomes part of "The Plastics," Cady, Tina Fey as the comedic math teacher who is self-deprecating, Ms. Norbury and Jonathan Bennett as the popular jock who breaks up with his popular girlfriend to be with Cady.

Jeremy Renner was in really bad shape -- with serious injuries to his chest and torso -- according to the 911 call placed just minutes after he was crushed by a Snowcat.

We've obtained the 911 emergency log which includes notes from the call placed from the scene of Renner's accident over the weekend. The log states Renner could be heard moaning in the background of the call -- and that he was experiencing heavy bleeding from his head and other unknown injuries.

The log also details the accident itself -- stating Renner was "completely crushed" by the Snowcat -- and he was having "extreme difficulty" breathing.

Perhaps the scariest piece provided by the log is the fact it states the right side of Renner's chest collapsed and his upper torso was crushed. He was airlifted to a local hospital from the scene of the accident.

As we reported, local officials say Renner was helping a family member get their car out from heavy snow Sunday with the Snowcat. The actor stepped out of the vehicle to chat with the family member, and the vehicle started to roll. Officials say Renner attempted to get back into the driver's seat when he was crushed.

The mastermind and architect behind the college admissions scandal is going to end up like Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman ... by spending time behind bars.

Rick Singer was sentenced to 42 months -- 3.5 years -- in federal prison for his role in the Varsity Blues scandal.

Remember ... the feds say Singer was the architect of a massive, decades-long fraudulent scheme to get high school students into elite colleges and universities across the country ... including the daughters of celebs like Lori and Felicity.

TMZ broke the story ... prosecutors were pushing for Singer to get 6 years behind bars, arguing he profited from the scheme more than anyone and therefore deserved a much longer sentence than the parents, college coaches and others received.

Singer's lawyers, meanwhile, asked for a maximum of 6 months in the big house.

It's worth noting ... more than 50 parents, coaches and associates of Singer's received sentences ranging from 30 months in prison to just probation. Lori was sentenced to 2 months behind bars, while Felicity got 2 weeks.

Singer was initially staring down a maximum sentence of 65 years behind bars ... but he ended up cooperating with the feds and was the key to convicting the parents and coaches. Prosecutors say Singer wore a wire at the government's direction to nail the targets, and also made hundreds of recorded calls.

It seems producers of the James Bond franchise aren't ready to make up their minds on exactly who they have their sights set on -- now Aaron Taylor-Johnson's in the mix.

The British actor -- famous for his role in "Kick-Ass" and, more recently, "Bullet Train" -- is reported to have had a meeting with Barbara Broccoli in September ... and not just that, he even did a screen test that went well, according to Daily Mail and Puck News.

The screen test is said to have been part of a full-blown audition Aaron apparently did for Barbara and co. -- and it sounds like everyone was impressed with what they saw. Word is ... they had ATJ do the iconic gun barrel opening sequence, which is a huge deal obviously.

The reports say Aaron is now a front-runner, but that nothing is official yet. This is a major development from the news that came out this past weekend -- when "Emily in Paris" star Lucien Laviscount was said to have been in the running as well and also considered a favorite.

There've been a lot of names thrown around over the past several months, but Aaron's the first one who's gotten on camera to try his hand at Bond ... as far as we've heard at least.

It's a 'Christmas Story' miracle -- the red-hot tension between the flick's actor Yano Anaya and the owner of the on-screen home is cooling down ... after their explosive confrontation.

Yano, who played Grover Dill in the 1983 film, tells TMZ ... he sent homeowner Brian Jones a few emails on the heels of their November blow-up, but initially got no response.

We broke the story ... Brian got face-to-face with Yano, accusing the actor of being a scammer, loser, and "piece of s**t" -- referring to a GoFundMe started by a member of Yano's 'A Christmas Story' group, which was launched to raise funds for the house.

Yano's efforts to smooth things over and find out why Brian was so upset failed until a week ago when Brian reached back out, agreeing to meet up for breakfast on NYE in Atlanta.

We're told Brian explained his reason for the outburst -- bringing up a ton of negative past business experiences with people trying to take advantage of him and use the house ... and Brian apologized for assuming Yano fell into that category.

The 2 were all smiles, posing for a photo together once all was said and done... posting it in a Facebook group for fans of the film. In the caption, Yano says they've been pals for 20 years -- adding, "when friendships can withstand the tests of life, you cherish those relationships."

Yano says Brian feels he and his group would be great potential buyers to keep the tradition alive. FYI, Yano claims his group has the money to score the pad, and will show proof of funds this week to begin the process of possibly purchasing.

Brian backed that up, telling TMZ things are indeed well now, and Yano's "working with our investment bank REAG to qualify as a buyer alongside other interested parties."

ICYMI, the iconic home from the movie recently hit the market and Yano told us he and other 'Christmas Story' cast members were interested in buying.

Jeremy Renner was working to get a family member's vehicle out of heavy snow when a freak accident caused him to be run over by his own plow ... according to cops investigating the incident.

The Washoe County Sheriff's Office held a press conference Tuesday about Sunday morning's incident when Renner was airlifted to a hospital.

Reps say Renner was working to free a family member's vehicle that got stuck in the snow near the actor's home in Tahoe. At some point, Renner got out of his Snowcat to talk to the family member and the vehicle started to roll ... Renner tried to get back in the driver's seat, but was run over.

Investigators say there's no evidence Renner was impaired at the time of the accident, and they're looking into the possibility of a mechanical failure.

A banged-up Renner shared a photo of himself in a hospital bed just as the press conference began, revealing facial injuries. We know JR's injuries also included a mangled leg and blunt chest trauma, which resulted in a lot of blood loss.

His rep tells us, "Jeremy is making positive progress and is awake, talking and in good spirits. He remains in ICU in critical but stable condition. He is overwhelmed by the showing of love and support. The family asks for your continued thoughts while he heals with his close loved ones."

TMZ got the first videos of Renner being rushed to a waiting helicopter that day, which took off quickly to get him help. We also obtained a clip of his Snowcat being towed away, and as you can see -- it's quite massive ... giving you a sense of just how serious this was.

Jeremy Renner is giving fans a glimpse of just how bad his condition is following the snowplow incident that left him badly injured ... sharing a photo of his bruised and battered face.

Renner posted the photo Tuesday with the caption, "Thank you all for your kind words. 🙏. Im too messed up now to type. But I send love to you all."

One of the actor's eyes is totally bruised and swollen, and he's got multiple scrapes on his face. His rep tells us, "Jeremy is making positive progress and is awake, talking and in good spirits. He remains in ICU in critical but stable condition. He is overwhelmed by the showing of love and support. The family asks for your continued thoughts while he heals with his close loved ones."

At a press conference Tuesday, cops revealed Renner was helping a family member get their vehicle out of the snow with his Snowcat plowing machine. The actor got out to talk to the family member, and the machine started to roll ... Renner attempted to get back inside the Snowcat and got run over.

Investigators don't believe Renner was impaired at all during the incident, and it was purely an accident. They are, however, checking into any sort of mechanical failure that may have happened.

The incident left Renner with blunt chest trauma and orthopedic injuries.

New video shows Jeremy Renner's helicopter flight to a hospital shortly after his horrific snowplowing accident, and TMZ has learned new details about his injuries which caused him to lose a serious amount of blood.

The video, obtained by TMZ, starts right after the two-time Oscar nominee was loaded onto the chopper Sunday around 9:50 AM. Eyewitnesses tell us Jeremy was plowing the road about a quarter mile from his Tahoe home so his family could get out after a massive New Year's eve storm.

According to a neighbor, the plowing machine -- called a Snowcat -- accidentally ran over one of Jeremy's legs, and he was losing a lot of blood from the injury. We're told another neighbor, who's a doctor, was able to put a tourniquet on his leg until paramedics arrived.

We're told the area was treated like an active crime scene ... with police arriving at 8 PM to impound the Snowcat, which Jeremy's previously posted video of himself using on his property after snowstorms. The issue, we're told, is the machine has extensive safety features, and should not have rolled over Jeremy.

As we reported, Jeremy is in "critical but stable condition with injuries suffered after experiencing a weather-related accident while plowing snow" ... according to a rep.

According to dispatch audio, obtained by TMZ, first responders were initially concerned about the conditions to access the accident due to the storm.

A source close to Jeremy tells us his injuries are "extensive" -- along with his leg, other parts of his body have been injured.

Leonardo DiCaprio continues to be one of the most eligible bachelors in Hollywood, spending time on a luxury yacht surrounded by a ton of hot women in bikinis.

A shirtless Leo was spotted in St. Barts Monday while getting some serious vitamin D and chatting it up with multiple models on board before taking a dip and then laying in the sun.

Unclear who all of Leo's female friends are ... but one of the bikini-babes was Madison Headrick, Leo's pal Joe Nahmad's fiancee.

Of course, Leo recently ended his relationship with Camila Morrone, after several years together.

He's been linked to several others since the split, including Gigi Hadid and more recently has reportedly been spending time with 23-year-old actress Victoria Lamas.