Movies

Work is separating Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez for the time being, but he's still making time to have some fun on his own ... he's in Las Vegas, hitting the tables and directing a project.

Check out this video we got -- Ben was at the Wynn Resort and Casino early Wednesday morning, standing alone at a table ... just the dealer and him. Unclear what game he was playing, but witnesses tell us he was in the high limit room. Naturally.

We're told casino staff was standing guard to shoo away any fans who happened to notice one half of Bennifer laying down bets around 3 AM.

The witnesses say there were no camera crews during his time at the tables ... an important detail, because Ben is actually working in Vegas too. We got more video of him Wednesday afternoon shooting something over at The Palazzo, but we're told the actor shot a ton of other scenes in the working casino, too.

You can hear someone yelling, "action" as he started walking through the casino, but a source tells us Ben is also directing the project.

While he and Jennifer have been nearly inseparable since reuniting last month, y'know what they say ... duty calls. Even they gotta pay the bills.

California native Donovan McCrary was only 12 years old when he played the young athletic version of Ricky -- who's college football dreamz are cut short after being murdered by gang members his senior year of high school -- in the 1991 drama "Boyz n the Hood."

DM shared the big screen with some A-list actors including Ice Cube as the gang-affiliated friend, Doughboy, Morris Chestnut as the grown-up version of Ricky ... and of course Cuba Gooding Jr. and Laurence Fishburne as the father and son duo, Tre and Furious.

Fun fact: Donovan's older brother is Darius McCrary who is best known as Eddie Winslow in the TGIF classic "Family Matters."

Armie Hammer's checked himself into an in-patient facility in Florida to get treatment for several addiction issues ... amid several months of sexual abuse allegations against the actor.

Hammer checked himself in at a rehab facility outside of Orlando on May 31 and has been getting treatment since then. According to Vanity Fair, which first reported he was getting help, Hammer's agreed to stay as long as it takes to get healthy.

VF sources say Hammer contacted his estranged wife, Elizabeth Chambers, in late May to inform her he was leaving the Cayman Islands -- where he'd been staying for months -- to seek treatment for drugs, alcohol and sex. Elizabeth and the family are reportedly supportive of his decision.

As for what led up to this -- Armie's been in a custody battle in his and Elizabeth's ongoing divorce, and he's been embroiled in a sexual assault scandal since January.

As we reported ... several women accused the actor of emotional abuse, manipulation and sexual violence on social media, leading to his exit from a Jennifer Lopez movie that started filming in February.

At the time he responded by calling the allegations "bulls**t claims" and "vicious and spurious online attacks against me" ... and so far, that's all he's said publicly about them.

LeBron James will be rockin' some brand new kicks when the Tune Squad and Goon Squad face off in "Space Jam: A New Legacy" ... and he's finally revealing the special sneaks to the public!

King James and Nike shared the first images of the "LeBron 19" sneaker on Tuesday ... and the folks at the Swoosh say the design is inspired by the new flick starring the hooper and Bugs Bunny.

The shoes have an eye-popping colorway, which matches the orangish-yellow-blue scheme of the new Tune Squad jerseys ... with an Air Max heel and Zoom Air forefoot.

Designer Jason Petrie spoke about the look ... saying, "In designing the LeBron 19, we were definitely guided by what was happening in the film."

"We wanted to give LeBron a brand-new feeling that was synonymous with an otherworldly, space-age kind of look."

In addition to the sneaks, Nike is also releasing a bunch of merch, game jerseys and Looney Tune-inspired LeBron 18s ... with color schemes inspired by the classic cartoon showdowns between Bugs and Marvin the Martian, Tweety Bird and Sylvester and Road Runner and Wile. E. Coyote.

The shoes and other SJ items are set to drop next month -- right around the July 16 debut of the flick.

Margot Robbie and her hubby are building a beachfront home smack in the middle of a homeless encampment that has overrun the area ... but they are undeterred.

The Aussie actress and her mister, Tom Ackerley, are knee-deep in construction at their Venice Beach house ... which is chock-full of dirt, debris and Caterpillar machinery all about the grounds.

The 2-story property -- a double lot no less -- when completed will be worth upwards of $15 million ... a stone's throw away from the famed and touristy Venice boardwalk.

Lately, it's been looking a lot less touristy because of the homeless crisis in the area ... as tent cities piled up along the walkway for miles during the past year-plus of the pandemic. It's so bad it's become a humanitarian crisis, and there's also been an alarming crime surge that goes along with it.

No matter for Margot and Tom ... because they seem dead-set on finishing what they started there and moving right on in.

Clarence Williams III -- famous for roles in "The Mod Squad," "Half Baked" and several other movies and shows -- has died.

The veteran actor's management team confirmed the sad news Sunday, saying Clarence had actually passed away Friday in L.A. due to colon cancer.

CWIII had a long history with his craft ... dating back to the '60s when he got his start in theater and broke through on Broadway with a Tony win for his work on "Slow Dance on the Killing Ground." He went on to do TV and movie acting thereafter -- and had a number of memorable roles.

He might best be remembered for playing Detective Linc Hayes on 'Mod Squad' ... in which he starred for five seasons, totaling 123 episodes. After that, the work kept pouring in for Clarence ... he was cast in supporting roles in hit shows like "The Cosby Show," "The Littlest Hobo," "Hill Street Blues," "T.J. Hooker," "Miami Vice," "Nasty Boys," "Twin Peaks," "Tales from the Cyrpt," "The Highwayman," 'Star Trek,' "Walker, Texas Ranger" and countless others.

Clarence also had several standout performances for cult classic films, including "Purple Rain" -- in which he played Prince's troubled dad -- as well as Dave Chappelle's stoner comedy "Half Baked" ... where he played a flamboyant local drug lord Samson Simpson, who was dueling with DC's booming Mr. Nice Guy weed biz in the flick. Tons of great lines from that.

Clarence had starred in a ton of other huge movies as well, such as "The General's Daughter," "Reindeer Games," "The Butler," "Deep Cover," "I'm Gonna Git You Sucka," "Sugar Hill," "Tales from the Hood" ... and many, many more.

He was 81.

Paul Walker's brother says Vin Diesel and the rest of the 'Fast and the Furious' family made the right move letting his character ride off into the sunset ... and he thinks Paul would get a kick out of where the franchise is these days.

We got Cody Walker at Sancho's Tacos in Huntington Beach and asked how he feels about the way 'F&F' has honored his bro's legacy with the 9th installment about to hit theaters.

Cody says Vin and co. have done a really good job of tastefully paying tribute to Paul's character, Brian O'Conner, and he thinks Paul would have never imagined the franchise going this far.

As you know ... Paul died in a fiery wreck in November 2013. The crash didn't happen on the set, but he was in the middle of filming "Furious 7" at the time. The script for the 8th installment referred to Paul's character a few times.

It's pretty cool ... Cody says he was in middle school when the OG 'F&F' came out, and his brother's movie is what Cody credits for his own love of cars. He says folks stop him in the street all the time to tell him Paul is the reason they love cars, and he always has the same response ... "Me too!!!"

We also asked Cody about one of the original movie cars -- Paul's orange 1994 Toyota Supra -- going up for auction later this month. Cody's anticipating a huge figure for the winning bid, and he tells us why Paul would think the whole sale is hilarious.

Speaking of fast cars ... Cody's FuelFest is coming to Los Angeles later this month, right before the movie release, featuring some of the top custom, exotic, rare and exclusive cars from all over the world ... along with live music, drifting and drag racing.

Lisa Banes was almost killed by someone who mowed her down with a scooter and fled the scene out in New York City ... TMZ has confirmed.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... the "Cocktail'' actress was struck late Friday evening on the Upper West Side near the Lincoln Center -- where she was reportedly on her way to meet up with her wife and some friends for dinner ... and was passing through a cross-walk.

We're told she had the right of way ... when someone on an electric scooter of some sort blew past a red light and slammed into her -- and then made an escape without stopping to help or call the police. Per reports, the scooter is described as red and black.

Our sources say 911 was called and EMS arrived on the scene to find Lisa on the ground with severe head trauma. She was transported to Mount Sinai Saint Luke's Hospital shortly thereafter, where we're told she remains in critical condition. Word is she's in the ICU.

No information has surfaced about the suspect's description -- but we're told cops are on the case now and are trying to hunt down the culprit. An investigation is underway.

Billy Baldwin isn't sweating Gavin Newsom's refusal to fully reopen CA -- saying vaccine rates need to go up ... and that, eventually, we'll all have to play ball to get back to normal.

We talked to the actor Saturday in Bev Hills, where our photog asked what he made of Gov. Newsom's apparent backtracking on his June 15 date ... which is when he was supposed to lift all COVID restrictions, but clarified he wouldn't lift the state of emergency just yet.

Many are taking that as Newsom going back on his word -- but according to Billy ... it probably won't make a big difference in the short term. He says people are already out and about, and things are looking a lot like they used to now more than ever.

He also makes this point ... if ya want things to truly get back to normal faster than Newsom's timeline, the only way to do it is to get vaccinated ASAP -- there's no other way around it. He makes an even better point about holdouts and what lies ahead. Watch.

BB clearly doesn't get the outrage over requiring vaccines, when we have a long history of doing exactly that in schools and elsewhere for kids. So, in his mind, one more can't hurt.

French Montana is pulling a LeBron James, of sorts, with his latest gig -- getting in front of the camera for an acting role ... in which he's set to play a fictionalized version of himself.

The NY rapper was spotted on set Friday at the Hyatt hotel in NOLA, filming a new flick in the works right now called "National Champions" -- a college sports drama that has an all-star cast and is presumably due out sometime next year, as they're currently in production.

Check out these photos of French that we obtained ... the dude is behind a piano next to media personality, Andrew Bachelor (AKA King Bach), who's giving him a high five as French plays. Bachelor is also cast in the movie -- one of several famous faces who'll be in the movie, alongside folks like J.K. Simmons, Stephan James, Timothy Olyphant and others.

As you can see, there's a ton of crew members standing around as well, all wearing masks. Production sources tell TMZ that hotel guests who happened to be nearby while cameras were rolling were pretty surprised to see French there ... and in acting mode, no less.

Ya might think it's easy to act as yourself for a movie -- but just look at LBJ (who famously did it for 2015's "Trainwreck") ... and you'll see there's a lot of room to flex one's chops.

Anyway, if French is any good here ... you gotta wonder if this might be a whole new lane he wants to explore. If so, he certainly wouldn't be the first rapper to give acting a go ... there's a long list of those who've come before him, some of whom have had major success.

Marilyn Monroe's cookbooks -- the only 2 confirmed to have been owned by the icon -- offer a glimpse into her personal life along with her diet ... and they're expected to fetch up to $75,000.

The books -- "The New Fanny Farmer Boston Cooking-School Cook Book" and "The New Joy of Cooking" -- were both published in the early 1950s and are in decent shape for being 7 decades old ... but of course, the content of the hardbacks are hardly the attraction.

Instead, it's the fact that several handwritten notes are included in the cookbooks ... including a listing menu for Beef Bourguignon and marrow bone soup, a grocery shopping list, and a deli business card on which she wrote a Doheny Drive address on the back.

There's also a newspaper clipping of a recipe for cheese lasagna that she doodled on, and perhaps most interestingly ... a typed diet with options for all 3 meals.

According to the diet ... Marilyn had either orange juice or stewed prunes to drink daily for her 8 AM breakfast along with toast and cereal. She went pretty carb-heavy for lunch, and had the choice of beef, chicken, lamb, sweetbread, fish or chicken liver for dinner.

She also had 2 scheduled milk and cracker snacks, and capped everything off at the end of the night ... with eggnog at 11 PM!!! It's unclear if the nog was spiked.

Peter Berg's pumped about movie theaters finally making a pandemic comeback even though he's in business with Netflix, because as he explains ... it's good for the entire film biz.

The producer/director was heading to Gold's Gym in Venice when we got his response to the Memorial Day box office rebound thanks to "A Quiet Place Part II" ... and he seems as excited to head back to the movies as everyone else.

It might seem like Berg's biting the hand that feeds since he recently scored a first-look deal to produce and direct live-action projects for the streaming giant ... but he says that's not the case at all.

Peter points out Netflix can release movies in theaters first, and then on its platform ... and that's actually what they want. He calls it the best of both worlds.

Berg admits box office numbers might take a hit from folks who still opt to watch movies from home -- like millions did last year for his Netflix hit, "Spenser Confidential" -- but he suggests that's a small price to pay.

Swizz Beatz's son, Nasir Dean, is ready to make a name for himself in Hollywood ... and he's taken his first big step after landing a role in a feature film.

We've learned Nasir will star in the new film, "Charge It To The Game" ... a coming-of-age story about 4 best friends who are finding their way through adolescence while navigating the obstacles that come with growing up.

Nasir will play the role of Preach ... one of the four best friends.

We're told this is a huge step for Nasir ... who's wanted to break into the acting biz for a long time. Just a couple of years ago ... Nasir was featured in a music video for Common's track "Hercules" featuring Swizz Beatz. After that performance ... he got several offers from producers and filmmakers but, at the time, Nasir wanted to stay focused on his music career.

Under his stage name, Note Marcato, he released an EP "BeachBum Limbo" last year with Epic Records and he's got a new music project slated to be released later this year dubbed "Mr. Cardinal."

But, the itch to act has always been there, according to his manager and attorney, Nichole Levy. We're told he auditioned for a role in season 2 of HBO's hit show "Euphoria." He didn't land it but then "Charge It To The Game" came a-knockin'.

We're told Swizz is psyched about his son landing the role ... and while he's got a ton of pull in Hollywood and beyond, we're told he's been hands-off about Nasir's career ... given Nasir's desire to develop his own brand.

Miles Teller brought a bunch of mementos from his vacation in Hawaii back to the mainland with him ... including a black eye.

The "Top Gun: Maverick" star was spotted Wednesday in Los Angeles walking around with a hat from a famous resort on Maui and a shiner ... from the punch to the face he took in a Maui restaurant.

Miles wasn't practicing aloha when a photog asked about the nasty incident he was involved in on Maui -- he was mum other than to say he's feeling alright ... despite the black eye.

TMZ broke the story ... Miles was dining at Monkeypod Kitchen on Maui when he was allegedly attacked in the restroom by a man who is married to a wedding planner with a history with Teller and his wife, Keleigh.

Russell and Lorrie Nielson claim Miles and Keleigh didn't pay the bill for their 2019 Maui wedding Lorrie claims she planned.

Kim Kardashian has a treat for her fans -- the trailer to the movie in which she plays a badass poodle. Yep, it's "Paw Patrol" time!!!

Kim tweeted Thursday she's "so excited for you guys to hear me play Delores in @PawPatrolMovie!" She urged her fans to watch the trailer ... even though her character doesn't get a close-up in the trailer. You can only see her name listed among the long list of featured voices.

Some other stars lending their voices include Jimmy Kimmel, Dax Shepard, Tyler Perry, Marsai Martin, Randall Park, Yara Shahidi and Ron Pardo.

Kim will voice Delores ... a newcomer to the pup crew. The pups' mission -- to save the citizens of Adventure City from Mayor Humdinger ... who BTW is a dog-hating cat lover. Woof.

Interesting nugget ... Marsai, who voices Liberty the dachshund, reportedly had no clue Kim K was her co-star during one of their recording sessions.

The main "Paw Patrol" crew is being voiced by the original TV cast members -- Shayle Simons (Zuma), Callum Shoniker (Rocky), Lilly Bartlam (Skye), Kingsley Marshall (Marshall) and Keegan Hedley (Rubble). Chase is the only pup being voiced by someone else ... "Young Sheldon" star Iain Armitage.

Orlando-born actor Kirsten Storms was only a teenager when she was cast as the out-of-this-world Zenon Kar -- who is forced to acclimate to the ways of a teen on Earth while also devising a plan to save her UFO home space station -- in the 1999 Disney Channel original movie "Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century."

Kirsten shared the small screen with Gregory Smith and Brenden Jefferson as Zenon's Earth pals, Greg and Andrew ... and of course Raven-Symone as the BFF, Nebula Wade.

Storms reprised her role in both of the Disney space follow-up films including the 2001 "Zenon: The Zequel" and 2004 finale "Zenon: Z3."