Movies

Actor Rick Aiello -- son of the late legendary actor, Danny Aiello -- has died of pancreatic cancer ... his family tells TMZ.

According to Rick's mother, Sandy ... he passed away Monday night surrounded by loved ones at a hospital in Warwick, New York. We're told he'd battled the illness for about a year and a half.

Sadly, Rick's brother, Danny Aiello III, also died of pancreatic cancer in 2010. Their father died in December 2019 from an infection related to a sudden illness he was being treated for ... as we first reported.

Rick followed in his father's footsteps as a veteran actor with more than 60 credits to his name, beginning in the mid-80s. He's most known for appearing in the same movie that earned his dad critical acclaim and an Oscar nomination -- Spike Lee's 1989 film, "Do the Right Thing."

Rick played Officer Long ... just like he did in Spike's "Jungle Fever" a couple years later.

He also had notable roles in "Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me" and made guest appearances on shows like 'Law & Order' and "Sex and the City."

Ricky is survived by his wife, Arlene Anne Urichich, and their 2 kids.

He was 65.

Wentworth Miller says he learned something about himself in quarantine ... he's autistic.

The "Prison Break" star just revealed he's been diagnosed with autism, something he says came as a shock but wasn't exactly a surprise.

Wentworth says he's approaching 1 year since he received his informal autism diagnosis, which was preceded by a self-diagnosis and followed by a formal diagnosis ... saying diagnosing autism is a "long, flawed process in need of updating," particularly when experts are diagnosing adults and not children.

He says being autistic isn't something he'd change about himself, because it's central to who he is and part of everything he's achieved in his career.

With his official diagnosis, Wentworth says he's not going to suddenly dedicate his celeb platform to autism awareness, because he doesn't know enough about autism.

New England definitely ain't gonna like these apples ...

Matt Damon -- one of the biggest die-hard Boston-area sports fans EVER -- just admitted he'd root against the Patriots in a Super Bowl!!

The Academy Award-winning actor made the shocking revelation on The Dan Patrick Show on Tuesday ... saying if it came down to Tom Brady's Buccaneers vs. the Pats in this year's Big Game, he's team TB12 all day!!

"Listen," Damon said. "I love that guy."

Damon -- who is from Cambridge, Mass. -- has been a Pats fan since forever ... but it's clear his relationship with Tom outweighs all of that.

"Go Bucs," Damon said on the show.

It's gotta hurt the Patriots ... but, hey, they do get to square off against Tom in the regular season in Foxborough in October.

Stephen Dorff has gone from a "s***-talking" mood to mea culpa mode ... saying he feels bad for trashing Scarlett Johansson and her Marvel film.

We got the veteran actor leaving Porta Via in L.A. and wondered what he had to say weeks after the premiere of "Black Widow" and nearly a month after he teed off on ScarJo and practically everything about Hollywood.

The "Blade" star could do nothing but sing Scarlett's praises ... and he explained his interview with the U.K.'s Independent outlet was "taken a little bit out of context."

You'll recall Stephen didn't hold any punches saying, in part, "I still hunt out the good s*** because I don't want to be in 'Black Widow.' It looks like garbage to me. It looks like a bad video game. I'm embarrassed for those people. I'm embarrassed for Scarlett!"

So, what triggered Stephen? He seems to point the finger at the reporter ... who "got me in a moment where I was s*** talking a little bit."

The movie's been out for almost a month and Stephen admits he hasn't seen "Black Widow" ... which, btw, has an 81% score on Rotten Tomatoes. And, for what it's worth, he says he's already cleared the air with ScarJo.

Shaun Weiss, the goalie in the 'Mighty Ducks' movies, got all nostalgic celebrating his graduation from a drug court program ... chowing down at a diner that's special to him.

Just days after getting his certificate of completion from the D.A.'s Office in Yuba County, CA ... we're told Shaun and his good friend, Drew Gallagher, hit up the super-popular Brent's Deli in the San Fernando Valley.

Why there? Well, for starters the pastrami is to die for ... but also, we're told the deli's the first place Shaun went when he was released from jail in August 2017 during one of the worst points in his life.

Shaun's had several stints in jail after that, but in going back now, he wanted to reminisce on all the progress he's made ever since.

His pal Drew practically rolled out a red carpet ... showering Shaun with congratulatory balloons and a hearty meal of matzo ball soup.

TMZ broke the story ... The D.A.'s Office was super complimentary of Shaun for staying on the straight and narrow -- and that good behavior prompted prosecutors to dismiss the burglary case against him.

Besides getting sober, Shaun also got a new set of chompers.

Actor Mike Mitchell, who appeared in "Gladiator" and "Braveheart," has died ... TMZ has learned.

Mitchell's rep tells TMZ the actor/bodybuilder died Friday on a boat in Turkey. The family says they believe he suffered a death from natural causes, although they weren't more specific.

The rep says, "It was very hard to believe ... The sudden death of an international actor we managed, an honest person, a real actor, a true friend, my dear friend, has saddened us deeply. I've always been honored to be your manager. I wish patience to you wife, dear Denise Mitchell, and your children. Getting to know you and gaining your friendship is invaluable. Sleep in the lights. RIP."

Mitchell started out as a bodybuilder and rose to the top ... he won Mr. Universe along with numerous World Fitness Federation's Fitness World Championships.

Mitchell competed for a bunch of titles, including Britain's Strongest Man.  He won 5 Masters Mr. World titles along the way. In 2010, he was given the WWF's highest honor ... the Living Legend Award.

As for acting, he got a big break in 1994 that has shades of Arnold Schwarzenegger. He got cast in "Braveheart" because of his imposing physical presence. He went on to appear in "Gladiator," "The Planet," "One Day Removals," "City of Hell," "Life on the Line" and "Emmerdale."

Mike suffered a serious setback in 2006 after winning his 5th World Fitness title -- he was stricken with a serious heart attack.

He lived on a boat in Turkey with his wife. Mike was 65.

RIP

Jonathan Lipnicki is putting his MMA skills to good use ... trying to prevent more anti-Semitic attacks from happening in the L.A. area by escorting Orthodox Jews to temple.

We got the "Jerry Maguire" star in the Fairfax District near The Grove Friday, where he and fellow actor/martial artist Remi Franklin were on the ready to help worshipers safely enter and leave temple.

Jonathan and Remi organized after an attack last May ... where a group of pro-Palestinian men attacked Jewish diners outside Sushi Fumi.

'X-Men' star Alexandra Shipp is praising Sean Penn to the skies, saying she's down with his demand that no one be allowed on a movie set who is not vaccinated.

We got Alexandra at LAX Friday and asked about Sean refusing to set foot on any set where unvaccinated people are allowed in. She thinks Sean's a hero and is saving lives.

Sean has said he won't return to the set of his new production, "Gaslit," until the entire crew gets the shot. The movie is modern day version of Watergate ... Sean plays Attorney General John Mitchell, who played a pivotal role in the scandal.

Penn represents a growing number of people who are sick of the unvaccinated calling the shots. It's become infuriating for some that mask and other mandates have been imposed on the vaccinated because of those unwilling to get a COVID shot.

France has an interesting solution ... anyone who isn't vaccinated by September won't be forced to get a shot, but they'll be barred from restaurants, concerts and sporting events.

Cleveland pulled out the big guns to unveil its MLB team's new name, drafting none other than Tom Hanks to roll out ... the Cleveland Guardians!!!

A slick new video announced the name change -- which takes effect next season -- with Hanks handling the voiceover, explaining the new name is intended to unite fans "as one family, one community."

The old name, of course, had been trashed for years for being divisive and offensive to Indigenous people.

The new name is linked to a couple of local celebs -- 2 statues on the city's Hope Memorial Bridge, which is right near the team's Progressive Field. Those were built as "guardians of traffic" to symbolize progress in transportation.

The MLB name is more about progress for the city and the team, but like anything else new ... haters gonna hate. Reaction to the Guardians name and logo -- a "G" with a baseball, in the same font as the old name -- is mixed. At best.

That's alright ... Cleveland's used to it.

Shaun Weiss, the goalie in the 'Mighty Ducks' movie, has scored a hat trick -- finishing a court-ordered drug program, getting a criminal case dismissed ... and most importantly, getting his life back on track.

The D.A.'s Office in Yuba County, CA praised Shaun for successfully completing the drug court program. As we've reported, Shaun's struggled with addiction for years ... but he was recently in court -- dressed to the nines in a three-piece suit, mind you -- to proudly receive his certificate from the judge.

He'd entered the program back in March 2020 after getting busted for burglary.

The D.A.'s Office said Shaun has "demonstrated perseverance during his recovery complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic. He had to move treatment and transitional living programs on several occasions. He underwent dental reconstructive surgery, and had a close family member suffer a serious accident during his treatment."

The D.A. added, "Shaun regained employment and has been traveling across the country making guest appearances and signing autographs. He received tremendous support from friends and fans of the character, Goldberg, he played in the 1992 hit 'The Mighty Ducks.'"

For staying on the straight and narrow his burglary case has been dismissed.

As we reported ... Shaun looked unrecognizable back in January 2020 when he was busted for residential burglary. Cops said they found Shaun trying to steal stuff from a car in someone's garage.

Since then, Shaun's been doing the work, and slowly getting his life together -- from getting sober to beaming with pride thanks to that new set of chompers.

Michaela Coel is rumored to be in the new "Black Panther" sequel -- now being filmed after Chadwick Boseman's death -- and it's got fans wondering ... curtains for Letitia Wright???

Word of the casting just came down Wednesday via Variety, which says the "I May Destroy You" star is definitely in it ... but that her role, for now, is unknown/unnamed and being kept under wraps. The studio itself isn't confirming either ... SOP for stories like this.

The report -- assuming it's true -- might not seem like much on its face ... but there's a lot of background here causing some eyebrows to be raised in suspicion. Fact is, Marvel's been slow to formally announce who the heck is actually going to be in the new movie, like for sure for sure -- which is weird, because the flick is literally filming in Atlanta right now.

The assumption is that a majority of the cast from Pt. 1 will return -- like Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira, etc. -- but none of them, including Letitia (who had a major role the first time around) are sure things at this point ... and in light of this news, it's giving folks pause for LW's sake.

Here's the deal ... Letitia is the only member of the OG cast who's been embroiled in controversy lately -- and there's a ton of circumstantial evidence that seems to point to her having bad blood with Marvel and perhaps Disney at large.

Based on tweets she's liked in the recent past -- before scrubbing all her social media entirely not too long ago -- all signs point to her possibly not returning ... and that recasting her might be on the horizon, which is why the Michaela addition is fueling theories.

Pile on the fact she was accused of being an anti-vaxxer just this past December -- this after retweeting what many called conspiracy theory videos questioning the legitimacy of the jab -- it just adds even more reason to believe that Letitia may be done with the franchise.

That's a huge deal, and a potential huge blow (for Letitia) if it turns out Michaela is, in fact, going to play an older version of Shuri (T'Challa's sister in 'BP'). The reason ... Shuri actually becomes the new Black Panther after T'Challa passes on the torch in the comic book series.

While the plot details of the "Black Panther" sequel have yet to surface -- ya gotta imagine they're going to go that route since their lead man isn't around to do it anymore.

Harvey Weinstein's back on the West Coast, and just faced the judge in his L.A. sexual assault case -- he's now been formally indicted, and denied wrongdoing ... with an official plea.

The one-time movie producer appeared in person for a hearing Wednesday in an L.A. County courthouse where the 11 charges he's facing were read to him, one by one.

The charges are for alleged sexual assaults over several years, involving 5 different women. In response, Weinstein entered a not guilty plea -- something he was expected to do based on how he'd pled in the recent past.

Now, we're told Weinstein will remain in the custody of L.A. authorities while the case is pending. If it ends up going to trial -- which it appears it will at this point -- that could mean he'll be here for a long time.

As we reported ... Weinstein was extradited from NY to L.A. Tuesday. TMZ posted the first shots of HW getting off the plane, and he appeared to be in civilian clothes ... not a prison jumpsuit. Remember, he's already doing hard time in a NY state prison for sexual assault.

Joe Pytka -- the director of Michael Jordan's original "Space Jam" -- is going off on LeBron James' reboot, calling it an uninteresting mess ... and that's about the nicest thing he has to say.

Pytka -- who's also known for directing popular music videos and commercials in the '80s and '90s, including the "I Am Tiger Woods" ad -- tells TMZ ... "Space Jam: A New Legacy" is so boring, he couldn't finish it in one sitting.

In fact, he says it took him 5 separate sessions to complete its 2-hour runtime.

The director has several issues with the reboot, starting with LBJ. Pytka points out when "Space Jam" was made in 1996, MJ wasn't just the best basketball player ... he was the biggest celebrity in the world.

Joe says LeBron's an incredible athlete and a very good actor, but adds ... "The truth is that LeBron ain't Michael." On top of that, Pytka says his film tied the plot to MJ's personal life -- retiring from hoops to play baseball -- while the new movie's missing a personal connection to LeBron.

Pytka's just getting started ... he feels the 1996 "Space Jam" featured a far superior supporting cast with Charles Barkley, Muggsy Bogues, Shawn Bradley and Bill Murray. In 'New Legacy' ... he says he can't even remember one thing Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard or the others did.

The director also thinks the reboot's soundtrack is "insignificant" while the OG's is classic, but his biggest beef is what happened to Bugs Bunny. No spoilers here, but Joe sees Bugs' role in 'New Legacy' as "heartbreaking."

Pytka says this new BB has no connection to previous depictions -- something they paid close attention to with the OG "Space Jam." In short, he says the new version "looked like one of those fluffy dolls you buy at an airport gift shop to bring your kid when your business trip has taken too long."

Take all this with a grain of salt, because Joe acknowledges his "Space Jam" was mostly panned by critics -- just like this reboot -- but it still became a cult classic.

New York native Andy Milonakis blasted onto the scene in 2005 with wacky antics, a bizarre hip hop career and viral video moments -- all while confusing audiences with his prepubescent appearance even though he was nearly 30 years old -- that culminated with his MTV sketch comedy program "The Andy Milonakis Show."

Andy went on to find big parts in movies like "Waiting..." and "Mac & Devin Go to High School" ... but he's found much more success doing voice-over work in animated programs like "Adventure Time" and "Future-Worm!"

Attorney Lee Merritt believes his battle to become attorney general of Texas is not as uphill as people think ... because he's confident he can work with law enforcement to give his campaign the boost needed to win.

The renowned civil rights lawyer -- who's represented the families of Botham Jean, Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd among many others -- joined "TMZ Live" Tuesday to discuss his chances in the AG race ... and give his take on Matthew McConaughey running for Texas governor.

Merritt acknowledges he's facing a major challenge as a Democrat running in a traditionally red state, but insists police are on his side ... especially good cops who are already working to improve the system.

Sounds like he thinks his campaign's focus on new ideas -- involving voter rights, fixing the state's power grid and ending mass incarceration -- can energize enough new voters to lead him to victory.

Speaking of energy ... Merritt says McConaughey can be the gubernatorial candidate who brings a lot of it to the state elections, and he's hopeful the actor will throw his hat in the ring soon.

The big mystery, of course, is if the actor does launch a campaign on the heels of his uniting message to Americans ... will he run as a Dem, Republican or Independent???

Harvey Weinstein is currently aboard an airplane for the first time in over a year -- but it's not for any type of vacay ... the guy's on his way to L.A. to face even more charges.

The disgraced movie producer's attorney, Mark Werksman, tells TMZ ... Weinstein's legal team was notified their client is being extradited Tuesday, and is said to be on a flight right now from New York to Los Angeles for a possible hearing in court Wednesday.

Another attorney of Weinstein's, Norman Effman, adds that he believes Weinstein is on a federal aircraft medically equipped to handle his many ailments. We haven't confirmed that just yet, though. In any case, it sounds like HW is California-bound for the first time in a while.

Remember, he's been on the East Coast since at least 2019 ... fighting a rape case that he was ultimately convicted in just last year, and sentenced to 23 years behind bars. That was just a New York matter, though ... he's still got Los Angeles charges to face, which is why he's being brought out here.

As we've reported ... Weinstein was indicted on 11 counts of sexual assault involving 5 different women, following an investigation on the heels of scores of women coming forward to accuse him of either sexual misconduct, or full-blown assault ... coast-to-coast.

As for how exactly this transfer is supposed to go down ... law enforcement sources tell TMZ that the FBI is assisting in transporting Weinstein from NY to LA, and will turn him over to the authorities when they touch down.

Weinstein's rep, Juda Engelmayer, tells TMZ ... despite trying to negotiate an agreement to waive Weinstein's extradition, he knew this would probably be coming eventually. Engelmayer also says he's disappointed in the L.A. County District Attorney for not waiting for a judge's ruling.

Engelmayer says the team will be fighting for Weinstein to receive the medical care he needs, while also adding he has a right to due process ... and is presumed innocent until proven guilty.