Movies

Tim Allen's political beliefs didn't play a factor in the re-casting of his signature Buzz Lightyear character -- Disney honchos simply believed the character needed a fresh voice for a new storyline ... TMZ has learned.

Many folks were confused this week when the Mouse House announced its beloved "Toy Story" character would have a new voice a la Chris Evans. Fans speculated Tim Allen's political beliefs, namely his support for former President Donald Trump, might've had something to do with the new casting.

We've spoken to sources with direct knowledge who tell us Disney has no issue with Tim or with his political leanings. The new movie, "Lightyear" is about the real astronaut that toy Buzz is based on, and to have the same voice wouldn't make sense.

In fact, our sources say Tim Allen still works with Disney on various "Toy Story" projects when they come up involving the OG Buzz ... another indicator there's no beef.

Whoever buys the "Nightmare on Elm Street" house is gonna have a helluva headache on their hands -- so says Freddy Krueger himself!

We got Robert Englund at LAX, and sure enough ... the iconic horror actor weighed in on the fact that the L.A.-area home they used to shoot scenes in the OG flick is hitting the market for a pretty penny -- around $3.2 million.

Check out how RE feels about it ... first, he tells us the crib actually served a great purpose off camera -- financially speaking -- so the new owner(s) will have that cool little nugget of history to hang their hat, on top of the already-sweet movie heritage.

As far as who Rob thinks the house should go to -- he's pretty jokey about it, saying that perhaps Jason Voorhees or Pinhead would fit right into the neighborhood.

On a more serious note, though, Mr. Englund does acknowledge the people who scoop this property up will likely have to deal with adoring fans ... perhaps for the worse. Fact is, it's a very well-known house, and Robert seems to think there'll be gawkers far and wide.

He's probably not wrong here -- but we imagine whoever throws down for the place is anticipating that, and may well even enjoy it.

One last question for Robert here -- would the house best be suited for renovation, like the 'Brady Bunch' home??? He does believe reality TV would work ... but for a different franchise.

Alec Baldwin is speaking on the death of Halyna Hutchins for the first time on camera -- and he had a lot to say, including his doubts the film will ever finish.

The actor addressed a swarm of paps Saturday who were hounding him in Manchester, VT, where he and his family have been laying low since the fatal incident ... but have been getting followed around, including on the open road, where the Baldwin family literally pulled over to confront the photogs ... whom Alec says made his kids cry.

Alec came at them head-on with none other than his wife, Hilaria, at his side ... and they spoke their piece on where things stand, without divulging too much about the investigation.

Check out the video ... from the looks of it, the convo was pretty tense, albeit courteous. AB demands to know what the paparazzi wanted to know -- so that they could get off his back, and they sounded off one by one. On where things stand as the probe into this matter unfolds ... Alec said he couldn't discuss details, on orders of the Santa Fe Sheriff's Office.

He did say Halyna was his friend, and that he took her out to dinner upon arriving to shoot "Rust." Alec also characterized the crew as "well-oiled," noting the accident is obviously shocking and devastating to him. He also touched on how Halyna's family is doing ... saying they're mortified, but that he's in touch with them quite often. Ditto for the authorities.

One major takeaway from his interview is the fact Alec spoke on what should happen with firearms on movie sets going forward ... he fully supports tightening up safety measures, and possibly banning real guns/live ammo altogether, while acknowledging he isn't a pro on that.

It's interesting ... Alec asked an open-ended question that seems to show where his head's at as far as consequences -- wondering how many real guns and bullets have been fired on film/TV sets over the past several decades, mostly without incident. In his mind ... a lot.

Up until now, Baldwin has only spoken about the tragedy once in his own words -- but it was via Twitter, and not in the flesh.

Shortly after the shooting took place, he issued a since-deleted statement saying, "There are no words to convey my shock and sadness regarding the tragic accident that took the life of Halyna Hutchins, a wife, mother and deeply admired colleague of ours. I'm fully cooperating with the police investigation to address how this tragedy occurred."

He added, "I am in touch with her husband, offering my support to him and his family. My heart is broken for her husband, their son, and all who knew and loved Halyna."

Baldwin has also been retweeting articles that dissolve him of responsibility -- noting he was simply handed a gun that he was told was "cold" ... and that he was only doing his job as an actor, relying on others to have properly checked it to make sure it was safe.

Those retweets, however, have also since been erased from his timeline -- it seems the guy figures saying less is best at this moment ... especially since a criminal investigation is still ongoing in New Mexico, and nobody has been ruled out for potentially being charged.

Alec touched base with Halyna's widowed husband, Matt, and their young son not too long after her death ... meeting them at a hotel in Santa Fe and embracing them. He looked as somber then as he did just recently while spotted out with his own family in New England.

You can see he's absolutely torn up about it ... just as he was on the actual day it happened, when he was photographed making calls on a nearby road and bawling his eyes out.

As you know by now ... how this all came to be is well-documented. Alec was rehearsing for a scene in a church on set, in which he was apparently going to be drawing his weapon for a gunslinging standoff of some sort.

While whipping the gun out, he pulled the trigger ... causing it to go off and fire a real bullet, which (for some reason) had been lodged inside prior to them starting work again. The bullet hit Halyna and director Joel Souza, who were standing close to Alec, near the camera equipment. Halyna was airlifted to a hospital, but succumbed to her injuries.

There appear to have been a number of slip-ups that led to this ... from the armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, seemingly not having thoroughly checked the weaponry -- not to mention the AD, David Halls, being the one who pawned it off ... prematurely proclaiming it to be safe.

Of course, we've also heard some crew member(s) took the gun off set at one point to screw around and do target practice. The biggest factors, though, are the fact that a real gun was being used, that live ammo was at play ... and that people were in the line of fire.

There is almost certainly going to be a wrongful death lawsuit filed -- among others, we imagine -- and it remains to be seen who exactly will be named as defendants.

Will Smith is living proof that being fit on the outside doesn't fix what's inside, because he just revealed he once considered suicide.

Smith made his revelation in a trailer for his YouTube docuseries, "Will Smith: The Best Shape of My Life." The doc follows his journey losing 20 lbs in 20 weeks, but the weight loss regimen opens a door to some fundamental issues in his life.

He says, "When I started this show, I thought I was getting into the best shape of my life, physically. But, mentally, I was somewhere else. And, I ended up discovering a whole lot of hidden things about myself."

He makes an obtuse reference in a convo with his family ... "That was the only time in my life that I ever considered suicide." He doesn't give context to that, but presumably, he opens up about it in the docuseries.

BTW ... the docuseries, which dropped Friday, coincides with the release of his upcoming memoir, where he says he's "exposing my life and so many things that people don't know."

The upcoming "Hocus Pocus" sequel sounds like it won't feature at least one of the original stars ... because Omri Katz says his phone has been bone-dry in regards to a potential return.

Omri, who played Max Dennison in the Disney cult classic, tells TMZ ... he hasn't been approached about being involved in "Hocus Pocus 2," even though he would be open to bringing back his character in some fashion.

While Omri says it would be great for the fans to have him and some of the other OG cast members make an appearance ... so far, only the witches -- Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy -- are known to be coming back for seconds.

Omri also tells us he remains close with his "Hocus Pocus" family ... hanging out with Thora Birch (Dani Dennison) and Vinessa Shaw (Allison), usually during spooky season when the film is most popular.

Filming on 'HP2' is already underway and the movie is scheduled for a release next October on Disney+, but Omri says his main concern is getting a marijuana business, The Mary Danksters, up and running.

Ice Cube is saying no to a $9 million payday, because he's not saying yes to getting the COVID-19 vaccine.

The rapper and actor is passing on his role in the upcoming movie, "Oh Hell No," because he refused a request from producers to get the jab ... according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Ice Cube's not only giving up a starring role alongside Jack Black and a chance to film on location in Hawaii -- but he's also giving up the reported $9 mil he would have earned for the flick.

Cube and Jack signed on to the Sony project back in June, and at some point after, producers reportedly put in a request for all cast to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

There's been nary a peep from Ice Cube on the vaccine, at least publicly, but he seems to be taking the pandemic seriously ... he donated face coverings to a college in Oklahoma in August, and raised money for frontline healthcare workers at the beginning of the outbreak by selling shirts picturing him with a mask.

With Ice Cube out, Sony is reportedly looking to find someone to fill his shoes.

The head armorer for "Rust" is pointing fingers, claiming the real culprit is the person who introduced live rounds on the set ... she says unbeknownst to her.

The lawyers for Hannah Gutierrez-Reed say in a statement, Hannah "is devastated and completely beside herself over the events that have transpired."

The attorneys go on to say, "Safety is Hannah's number one priority on the set. Ultimately this set would never have been compromised if live ammo were not introduced. Hannah has no idea where the live rounds came from."

Her lawyers went on to echo what she told authorities ... that the guns were locked up at night and during lunch.

And, the lawyers cast blame on producers for overloading her with work, saying, "Hannah was hired on two positions on this film, which made it extremely difficult to focus on her job as an armorer." This is an interesting statement because it almost assumes she didn't do her job properly because she had too much else to do. We are told her other job on set was as the key assistant for props.

The lawyers say, "She fought for training, days to maintain weapons and proper time to prepare for gunfire but ultimately was overruled by production and her department. The whole production set became unsafe due to various factors, including lack of safety meetings."

The statement seems to acknowledge there were at least 2 misfires of the weapon in the days prior to the fatal shooting ... "The first one on this set was the prop master and the second was a stunt man after Hannah informed him his gun was hot with blanks."

Authorities have already said there were lapses on the set, but they have not played their hand on whether criminal charges will be filed. What is clear ... a real gun should not have been used, there should not have been live ammo on the set and the crew should have cleared everyone in the line of fire to move away during the rehearsal.

Master P has worked on a lot of movie and music video sets using guns and without accidents ... and he credits growing up in the hood as a reason they've been so safe.

We got MP at LAX Thursday and asked about the tragic death of Halyna Hutchins on the set of "Rust." He says he's actually crossed paths with Hutchins before ... she worked as a cinematographer on his movie "I Got The Hook-Up 2."

P joined the chorus of people saying the gun should have been thoroughly checked before it was handed over to Alec Baldwin ... something that was not done. He also blames producers and Baldwin, saying pretty much everyone was responsible, and producers can't escape blame by claiming they were in the dark.

Eerie actor Bonnie Aarons had the world saying their prayers after she took on the role as the demon, Valak -- who takes the form of a terrifying nun and exercises evil to attack paranormal pros -- in the 2016 freaky film, "The Conjuring 2" ... and the 2018 holy spinoff film "The Nun."

Bonnie shared the scary big screen with Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as the on-screen version of the paranormal couple Ed and Lorraine Warren.

She can also be spotted in "The Princess Diaries" and "The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement" as Baroness Joy Von Troken.

Britney Spears' fiance Sam Asghari certainly has a sense of humor when it comes to his bank account compared to his bride-to-be's ... saying his new movie role might help him get out of the financial dumps.

We got Sam leaving Bristol Farms Thursday in West Hollywood, and congratulated him on his new gig -- a movie called "Hot Seat," starring Mel Gibson. Asghari, obviously excited about the opportunity, tells us he loves working, and cracked a pretty good joke about just scratching by with pandemic stimulus checks.

Of course, Britney's worth an estimated $60 million, and from what we're told, Sam spends most of his time at her Thousand Oaks mansion.

Not to mention, he's always by her side in private jets and on elaborate vacations ... so the guy isn't really hurting that much.

It's not the first time Asghari has made light of his financial situation, when the couple first announced they were getting hitched, Britney fans flooded Spears' social media advising her to get a prenup.

Sam clearly saw all of the comments, because he joked the couple was getting an iron clad prenup to protect his Jeep and shoe collection.

Jokes or not, TMZ broke the story ... shortly after their engagement, Britney and team did start to take the necessary steps to draft a prenup.

Alec Baldwin is surrounding himself with family in an off-the-beaten-path location in the wake of the fatal accident on his "Rust" movie set -- but his face shows the tragedy's still weighing on him.

We obtained these photos of Alec with his wife, Hilaria, and their kids grabbing a meal at a pizza joint in a small New England town. Witnesses tell us they were spotted out there on Sunday picking up a takeout order ... which Alec was carrying as his family followed close behind.

You can see, both Alec and Hilaria had their heads down and looked as somber as you'd expect considering the horrific events of last week.

As you know, Alec pulled the trigger on a revolver while rehearsing a "Rust" scene in Santa Fe, NM -- and the shot ended up killing his director of photography, Halyna Hutchins, and injuring director Joel Souza.

By all accounts, Alec didn't know the gun in his hand was loaded with live ammunition. Assistant director Dave Halls handed it to him and said it was a "cold gun." Halls later admitted to cops he had not properly checked the weapon.

Last Saturday, Alec met with Halyna's husband and son in New Mexico, not far from the movie set. It looks like Alec was wearing the same outfit the next day when he was in New England with his family ... and clearly had so much on his mind.

Mitt Romney transformed into lovable soccer coach Ted Lasso for Halloween ... but the Utah senator might have gotten his fictional characters mixed up in the process, 'cause he used a quote from "Friday Night Lights" to show off his look.

The Republican out of Utah sported some AFC Richmond gear, a nice pair of khakis and a 'stache to resemble Jason Sudeikis' character in the Apple TV show ... posting several shots via Twitter on Thursday.

Senator Kyrsten Sinema joined in on the fun, too ... playing team owner Rebecca Welton (Hannah Waddingham's role) as Romney hands her his daily delicious biscuit.

Romney shares one of Ted's best Lassoisms ... saying, "Your body is like day-old rice. If it ain't warmed up properly, something real bad could happen."

He also shared some non-Lassoisms ... saying, "If you believe in yourself, and have clear eyes and full hearts -- you can’t lose" ... which is actually a line delivered by coach Eric Taylor in 'FNL.'

Now, there are a few reasonable explanations here -- whoever runs Romney's social team may not have seen "Ted Lasso" yet and didn't do much research before sending out the tweet ... or maybe Romney himself hasn't tuned in and was just taking a shot in the dark.

Sorry, AMC ... LeBron James didn't need a movie theatre giant for his daughter's Halloween night, 'cause he built his own setup Wednesday -- and it was AWESOME!!

The King put together a massive projector and a bunch of comfy seats for Zhuri and her friends to enjoy the new Addams Family flick, and the youngest James loved it all.

The 7-year-old took to IG to show off the structure on the James mansion's back lawn ... revealing balloons, snacks, "Addams Family Values 2" blankets and much more.

"Since Halloween is coming up," Zhuri said, "my parents let me and some of my friends have a movie night in the backyard 🍿🎬!"

She added, "We streamed The Addams Family 2 movie and it was pretty funny!"

The fun night was just the latest good evening for Zhuri ... 'cause it was her birthday less than a week ago, and you know LBJ went all out for that occasion too.

In fact, Bron posted a mushy note to his baby girl for the special day, saying, "You’re seriously one of a kind!"

"Never a down, dull, stale moment when you’re around. You excite/ignite a whole room simply by yourself! ENERGY UNMATCHED! I LOVE YOU ♾ & BEYOND my ❤️"

Alec Baldwin is seemingly declaring his innocence in the accident that killed Halyna Hutchins by pointing out he was told it was a "cold" gun ... when it was actually loaded with a live round.

Baldwin retweeted an article Wednesday night about the most recent search warrant filed in the death investigation. The NYT story -- headlined, "Gun Handed to Alec Baldwin Was Not Thoroughly Checked" -- focused on the documents TMZ first told you about, which highlight several safety failures.

In the affidavit filed Wednesday, Assistant Director Dave Halls admitted to cops he had not thoroughly checked the weapon for live rounds before handing it to Baldwin.

While Alec hasn't said anything publicly since his first tweet the day after Hutchins was killed, his actions on social media speak volumes, retweeting multiple articles saying he was told the weapon was safe.

Head armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, told authorities prior to the scene, and during the movie's lunch break, the gun was locked in a safe and very few people had access to it.

The question that remains ... how did live ammo not only get on set, but into the gun's chamber? We spoke with several people from the set who told us outside of filming, the gun was sometimes used for recreational use and target practice.

Both the Santa Fe Co. Sheriff's Office and District Attorney held a press conference Wednesday where they said charges are technically still on the table for everyone involved.

Halyna Hutchins is being honored in more ways than one by her Hollywood peers -- including financial help for her family, with a major A-list actress and a ton of fellow cinematographers donating.

Sarah Paulson is among the many high-profile people who've donated to a GoFundMe page set up on behalf of Hutchins' loved ones ... which is well on its way to hitting a quarter of a million dollars at this point, with a mere $10k goal to begin with.

The 'American Horror Story'/'Crime Story' star plunked down $1,000 of her own cash toward the cause a few days ago, but she's far from the only notable figure chipping in for the director of photography.

Big-name DPs have also contributed to the GFM account -- including Larry Fong ("Super 8," "Sucker Punch"), Niels Alpert ("Sleepy Hollow," "Iron Fist") and Reed Morano ("The Handmaid's Tale," "I Think We're Alone Now") ... just to name a few.

They donated $2,500, $2,500 and $1,500, respectively.

There's more these folks are doing behind the scenes too, BTW, including Sarah ... who signed and shared a Change.org petition that seeks to ban the use of real firearms on sets -- not to mention demanding better working conditions for crew members.

The national anthem has been used to protest against injustice, but Keke Palmer took it as an opportunity to honor her ancestors ... telling TMZ Sports she sang the "Star-Spangled Banner" at the World Series to show respect for those who came before her.

The anthem has been quite the hot topic in recent years ... from Colin Kaepernick's kneeling protest to lyrics mentioning slavery in the third verse.

We spoke with the 28-year-old singer/actress fresh off her anthem performance prior to Game 1 in Houston on Tuesday ... and she said taking part in the tradition was an easy decision.

"I just feel like my ancestors built this country," Palmer told us at LAX on Wednesday.

"So, I show love for their lives that were taken. I stand on this ground because they couldn't stand in certain places."

"For me, that's what it's about, you know, they built the country. They deserve their respect."

Palmer -- who's been a strong advocate for social justice -- says the gig was incredible despite the controversy around the song ... and also served as a special way to honor her grandma, who recently passed away.