Movies

Cruella de Vil is painted as being traumatized by Dalmatians in Disney's latest offering ... supposedly, because these "mongrels" killed her ma, which is getting a lot of head scratches.

The villain from "101 Dalmatians" gets her own backstory in the new "Cruella" flick, which is headed up by Emma Stone ... and word on the street is that part of why Cruella has it out for this breed is that they were sicced on her mom ... in a release-the-hounds fashion.

Different clips and stills have surfaced showing the flashback scene, which shows kid Cruella having to watch the woman who raised her, Catherine, get pushed over a balcony ledge by three seemingly rabid Dalmatians, who go after her on Baroness von Hellman's command.

She plummets to her death ... and the implication is that Cruella's left scarred for life -- and partially explains her obsession with the pooches going forward. In case you forgot, the OG Cruella was notorious for literally skinning Dalmatians and using them as furs.

Disney apparently doesn't quite go that far in the movie -- although different reviews say they allude to Stone's Cruella having that idea on her mind. We should also note that the character has a voice-over moment where she explicitly says she doesn't blame Dalmatians, but a lot of folks just aren't buying that ... and are calling Disney's origin rationale lame.

What the studio heads/writers did here (according to PO'd viewers) is make Dalmatians the fall dog -- when, in reality, they're actually super friendly pooches ... and don't have a rep for attacking like the movie portrays. Folks say it's a cop-out explainer that's lazy and inaccurate.

Hong Kong based martial artist and actor Robin Shou (real name Shou Wan Por) is best known for his butt-kicking monk character, Liu Kang -- who battles it out with the Outworld to save the Earthrealm from impending doom -- in the classic 1995 action movie, "Mortal Kombat," and the 1997 sequel, "Mortal Kombat: Annihilation."

Shou kicked it with an awesome cast including Talisa Soto as the flip-flopping Outworld Princess, Kitana, Bridgette Wilson as the military fighter, Sonya Blade,  ... and, of course, Christopher Lambert as the lord of lightning, Lord Raiden.

There's a massive estate in Houston that just hit the market ... and it's out of this world 'cause it's dubbed the Darth Vader house.

The 4-bedroom, 5 bathroom house has 7,040 square feet of living space, which is awesome, but it's the unique front structure that stands out ... thanks to its near-spitting image of the onyx helmet donned by the most famous 'Star Wars' villain.

The house -- yours for a cool $4.3 million -- was built by a surgeon back in the early '90s and "modeled after the mask of Darth Vader."

The home is super sleek ... with laser blue backlighting throughout that may have some people thinking they're inside The Devastator.

The contemporary masterpiece is planted in the prestigious West University neighborhood ... and it's truly fit for a king supervillain, despite a row of skylights near the top of the structure that glistens with natural light.

Got toys? There's space in the 4-car garage too.

Shia LaBeouf has an avenue to get the charges dropped in his battery and petty theft case ... as long as he keeps his nose clean for the next year.

The "Honey Boy" star appeared in court Thursday and was placed into a judicial diversion program, which lays out several conditions he must satisfy in order to get his misdemeanor charges dismissed.

Here's the boxes Shia's gotta check off over the next 12 months ... attend private therapy for anger management at least once a week, continue with his alcohol monitoring, no attempts to use or obtain a weapon and no attempts to use force or violence.

TMZ broke the story ... Shia and a man got into some kind of verbal spat before the altercation allegedly turned physical back in June. Our sources had said when the dust settled ... Shia took the man's hat and left the scene.

It was unclear what led to the verbal altercation, but the man filed a police report and cops ultimately determined Shia was the aggressor. The case was ultimately handled by the L.A. City Attorney, who charged the actor with misdemeanor battery and petty theft charges.

Shia's also been ordered to stay 100 yards away from the location of the alleged incident, and he's gotta stay 100 yards away from the alleged victim, who he cannot contact.

The man who voiced Sebastian in "The Little Mermaid" got what he always wanted after his passing -- a Broadway tribute.

Samuel E. Wright's daughter Dee tells TMZ ... her father's death has been very emotional for the family, but they're also overjoyed that one of his wishes came true.

As we told you ... Sam was a veteran theater actor who starred in several popular Broadway shows -- including originating the part of Mufasa in "The Lion King." Dee says he always joked with the family, "When I go, I want my name up there!" ... referring to the theater marquees.

Well, on Tuesday after news broke of Wright's death, Broadway's New Amsterdam Theatre honored him by doing precisely that.

Sam's daughter adds ... the fam's actually in good spirits, which she says may seem odd ... but it's a testament to his joy and positivity.

Dee also says the outpouring of support they've seen on social media from his fans and actors he worked with has been overwhelming.

Wright's public wake will be held Friday in Walden, NY for fans to come and show their love ... something the family feels is the best gift they can give him.

"School of Rock" star Kevin Clark, who played the drummer, is dead after a motorist hit him while he was cycling around Chicago ... TMZ has learned.

The professional drummer -- best known as Freddy Jones, aka Spazzy McGee -- was riding his bicycle on the Northwest Side of Chicago early Wednesday morning when he was struck by a Hyundai Sonata ... according to police.

Kevin was rushed to a hospital, but was pronounced dead at 2:04 AM CT ... according to the Cook County Medical Examiner.

Kevin's sister says he was riding his bike home at the time of the accident. Police say a 20-year-old woman was driving the car that struck and killed Kevin. She was not arrested, but has been issued citations.

As we first reported ... Kevin caught up with Jack Black back in 2018 for an impromptu 'SoR' reunion during a Tenacious D set in Chicago.

Kevin gave Jack a custom shirt from his own band, Dreadwolf, and JB threw it on immediately.

"School of Rock" was Kevin's only movie credit, and he once told us he only got the 2003 role because he could actually play the drums.

Clark was 32.

RIP

Howard University is cementing Chadwick Boseman's legacy into its campus -- putting his name on a college, and securing some financial backing from a Disney bigwig.

HU announced Wednesday that its College of Fine Arts would be named after Chadwick, who graduated from Howard in 2000, and had deep ties to the higher-ed facility and the college that will now bear his name.

According to Howard, Chadwick was one of a few people back then leading the charge to keep the College of Fine Arts from being folded into the larger College of Arts & Sciences ... literally hitting the ground with protests and other activism to preserve the COFA's integrity.

Turns out, his efforts worked ... because not only was the College of Fine Arts left alone as a stand-alone school, but it's now going to be juiced up big time in light of the renaming.

Disney Chairman Bob Iger is heading up a fundraiser that seeks to help pay for a new state-of-the-art facility for the Chadwick Boseman College of Fine Arts -- which will house an endowment in Chadwick's honor, plus a lot of other helpful resources for those looking to get into entertainment and/or broadcasting ... including serving as the HQ for Howard's radio and TV stations.

Chadwick had been back to visit Howard a few different times over the years after graduating, and he was even delivered the commencement speech in 2018.

His rich ties to the campus are exactly why fellow alumnus Ta-Nehisi Coates called the college bestowment "perfect" ... which his family said CB would be "overjoyed" with.

His widow, Simone Ledward-Boseman, also said, "Chad was a very proud Bison — both Howard and Ms. Rashad played integral roles in his journey as an artist. The re-establishment of the College of Fine Arts brings this part of his story full-circle and ensures that his legacy will continue to inspire young storytellers for years to come."

New York City native Michael Tucci was actually in his 30s when he was cast in his most notable role as Sonny LaTierri -- the wrench-twisting T-Birds member and Danny Zuko's sidekick -- in the iconic 1978 musical movie "Grease."

The T-Birds posse consisted of Kelly Ward as the blonde bomber, Putzie, Barry Pearl as Frenchy's boyfriend, Doody, Jeff Conaway as the lightning leader and Rizzo's squeeze, Kenickie ... and of course, John Travolta as the hand-jiving hottie, Danny Zuko.

Tucci went on to play a leading role as Pete Schumaker in the late '80s television show "It's Garry Shandling's Show."

Samuel E. Wright -- known by millions as the voice of Sebastian the crab in "The Little Mermaid" -- has died ... TMZ has learned.

Wright's hometown of Montgomery, New York broke the sad news on Facebook, saying ... "Sam was an inspiration to us all and along with his family established the Hudson Valley Conservatory."

The Town of Montgomery did not mention a cause of death, but added ... "On top of his passion for the arts and his love for his family, Sam was most known for walking into a room and simply providing PURE JOY to those he interacted with. He loved to entertain, he loved to make people smile and laugh and he loved to love."

All of those characteristics were on full display when he brought to life one of the most beloved characters from the legendary 1989 Disney film. Voicing Sebastian, Sam was responsible for singing 2 of its most popular songs -- both Oscar-nominated -- "Under the Sea" and "Kiss the Girl" ... the former won for Original Song.

Sam continued to work with Disney as the voice of Sebastian in "The Little Mermaid" sequels and a TV series, and also lent his voice in the 2000 movie, "Dinosaur."

Before his voice made him famous, Wright worked for more than a decade as an actor with roles on "Enos," "All My Children" and "The Cosby Show." He also costarred with Forest Whitaker in the underrated Clint Eastwood film, "Bird."

Wright was also known for his theater work, appearing in musicals like "Jesus Christ Superstar," "Pippin" and for originating the part of Mufasa for the Tony-award winning 'Lion King' musical.

He was 74.

Bam Margera could be taking the "Jackass" drama a little too personally -- because the franchise's director just filed for a restraining order against him.

Jeff Tremaine -- who's shepherded the "Jackass" movies for years now -- just filed for a temporary restraining order against his onetime pal and star, Bam ... this following a messy few months of dirty laundry being aired, and conflicting accounts about production of the 4th film in the franchise.

It’s unclear at this point what exactly he claims might've happened now to warrant a judge's intervention, but we know this ... it comes on the heels of Bam going on a fuming rant against Tremaine and Johnny Knoxville.

He claims they strung him along to be part of "Jackass 4," only to cut him loose in the end over what Bam calls unreasonable demands.

Bam posted his latest claims from Florida, where he says he's on his own and seeking the help he needs. The guy's been in and out of rehab lately and his former costars -- including Steve-O -- say they’ve desperately been trying to get through to him.

Bam's gone back and forth for months with his former pals. You might recall, the dude was literally calling on fans to boycott the newest "Jackass" movie when it came out ... only to turn around a day or so later with an about-face.

Jennifer Lopez is ol' faithful when it comes to working out ... because it's clear it's something she does with her romantic partners.

J Lo and renewed flame Ben Affleck hit the gym together in Miami ... and we've seen this drill before.

Jennifer and A-Rod made it their routine to push weights together during their 4-year relationship. What's interesting ... she's now working up a sweat with Ben in A-Rod's hometown.

As you know by now ... Ben and Jen have rekindled their romance in a big way. He flew down to Miami over the weekend to be with her, and they have pretty much gone public with their relationship. She seemed more equipped for the whole exercise thing than Ben.

As for Bennifer 2.0 ... check this out. Self-help guru Jay Shetty posted this -- "Nothing is as beautiful as seeing someone who has been unlucky in relationships finally being loved effortlessly by the right person." J Lo liked the post, which speaks volumes about her relationship with Ben.

Kevin Spacey booking a new acting gig is not sitting well with one of his sexual assault accusers.

Mark Ebenhoch, who claims he was solicited on a movie set to have sex with Spacey, tells TMZ ... Kevin's new role in an Italian film, playing a cop investigating a man wrongfully accused of sexually abusing children, smacks of what he calls arrogance and irresponsibility.

Ebenhoch alleges Spacey had young male crewmembers working on 1995's "Outbreak" solicit him for sex with the actor, but he never brought his claims to police or filed a lawsuit.

As we reported ... Kevin is starring in an upcoming Italian movie called "L'uomo Che Disegno Dio," directed by famed Italian actor-turned-director Franco Nero.

Spacey's accuser tells us when he first learned the actor found work again, his first thought was, "What the hell?!?" Ebenhoch says he finds Spacey's casting "absurd," given an alleged history of sexual misconduct and the fact the movie deals with the same subject matter.

While Ebenhoch says he's still waiting for Spacey to publicly apologize and take full responsibility for his alleged misconduct, he hopes producers made sure Kevin's changed his ways and prays Spacey's alleged escapades with young men are a thing of the past.

Bam Margera says his "Jackass" family betrayed, abandoned and rejected him ... so now he's on his own in Florida, where he says he's getting the help he needs.

The "Jackass" star ripped into his movie co-stars in a lengthy rant Sunday night, specifically going after Johnny Knoxville and director Jeff Tremaine, claiming they've treated him horribly.

Bam, as we first reported, was axed from the upcoming 'Jackass 4,' and says Johnny and Jeff "strung me along like a puppet" before a messy exit.

Steve-O is trying to get through to Bam, though ... he says Johnny and Jeff bent over backward to get Bam in the movie and all Bam needed to do was "not get loaded," but couldn't stay sober.

As we first told you ... Bam says his most recent rehab stint made his life much worse and he felt like he was going to die from an overdose or suicide.

Stephen Curry's incredible Bruce Lee-inspired kicks just sold for more than $62,000 at an auction ... and the proceeds are going to families affected by recent anti-Asian hate crimes.

Remember, the Golden State Warriors superstar rocked the custom pair of his signature Curry 8s against the Atlanta Hawks last month ... as a tribute to the martial arts legend and to show solidarity with the Asian community.

Curry promised to part ways with the special sneaks to help the families of the 8 victims who were killed in the Atlanta shooting on March 16 ... and on Saturday, they sold for an impressive $62,730 at Goldin Auctions!!!

The kicks are dope -- Curry partnered up with the Bruce Lee Foundation for the shoes ... which feature amazing portraits on each shoe of Lee and his family.

Curry recently explained his decision to channel the legend at the time ... applauding what Lee "stood for in terms of unifying people, speaking on the collective harmony of everybody from different backgrounds, different races but especially his Asian heritage."

"I think he has a lot of quotes and just narratives and themes that he spoke of consistently that still ring true today and I know his foundation do a lot to live that out, to impact people's lives and continue to spark change."

Lee's daughter, Shannon, was honored by the former MVP's tribute ... saying the gesture was a "beautiful example of allyship and solidarity in action."

There's a diehard Disney fan out there who's sleeping easy underneath the mosaic from the Disneyland Sleeping Beauty Castle -- a rare piece of memorabilia that did not come cheap.

The folks over at the Van Eaton Galleries auctioned off the handcrafted mosaic for a whopping $363k!!! That's an astonishing number to begin with, but especially since Van Eaton estimated the piece going for around $30,000 to $50,000.

The mosaic was part of the original Sleeping Beauty Castle before it was renovated in 1983. It had been prominently featured in the early years of Fantasyland but later removed during renovations. The stunning piece features hundreds of individual tiles with the image of Sleeping Beauty and Prince Phillip.

The anonymous collector nabbed it during the 2-day "Rediscovering Disneyland" auction that took place over the weekend ... with well over 1,200 other items and collections from early Disney Theme Park artifacts up for grabs.

Some of the other items included a loan agreement signed by Walt Disney and his wife, Lillian, in 1954 ... when Walt borrowed $60k against his own life insurance policy in order to build the "Happiest Place on Earth." Holy return on investment, Batman!

Texas-born actor Cayden Boyd was only 10 years old when he took on his most notable role as the fantasizing young kid, Max -- who daydreams about all the action and adventure going down on Planet Drool -- in the 2005 kid's film "The Adventures Of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D."

CB was joined on the big screen with a laundry list of iconic actors including Taylor Lautner as the ocean-dwelling superhero, Sharkboy, Taylor Dooley as the molten sidekick, Lavagirl, David Arquette and Kristen Davis as Max's mom and dad ... and, of course, George Lopez as the teacher-turned villain, Mr. Electric.