Movies

Zak Bagans has all the makings of the dollhouse from hell ... he just threw down more cash for one of the famous Chucky dolls from "Child's Play."

The "Ghost Adventures" star tells TMZ ... he dropped a cool $11,000 at an auction, and scored one of the creepy dolls used in the first installment of the slasher film series.

Zak says original Chucky dolls from the movies are extremely rare, and he was expecting to have to bid six figures for this little guy. If ya look at it that way, $11k for a doll could be a steal. We guess.

Zak's Chucky is a carrying-prop from the classic 1988 horror movie, and it was used on screen before Chucky's psychopathic metamorphosis. Still pretty creepy though.

The doll's already home with Zak, and it looks like his dog, Gracie, doesn't like their new addition very much.

Zak seems to be a horror film doll collector now ... as we first told you, he recently snagged the famous clown doll from "Poltergeist" and is keeping it in his bedroom.

East Coast child actor, Adam Hann-Byrd, is best known for his role as the young boy genius Fred Tate -- who gets accepted to college at 7 years old and learns about scholastics ... but mostly learns about life -- in the 1991 coming-of-age film, "Little Man Tate."

Adam Hann-Byrd was cast alongside some big-name actors including Dianne Wiest as the intelligent liaison, Jane Grierson, David Hyde Pierce as the friendly educator, Garth ... and of course Jodie Foster as the caring mom, Dede Tate.

Adam can also be spotted on the big screen in the 1995 film "Jumanji" as the young version of Robin Williams' character, Alan Parrish.

The author of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" -- the guy who said Hitler had reason to target the Jews -- was cruel to say what he said, according to the guy's own family.

Roald Dahl, a wildly successful author who also wrote "Matilda," "The BFG" and "The Witches," said during a 1983 interview, "There is a trait in the Jewish character that does provoke animosity. Maybe it's a kind of lack of generosity towards non-Jews. I mean, there's always a reason why anti-anything crops up anywhere."

And then, he said this ... "Even a stinker like Hitler didn't just pick on them for no reason."

He practiced what he preached ... Dahl's screenplay for "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" included a large-nosed child snatcher ... an anti-Semitic trope that Dahl seemed to embrace.

Although he died 30 years ago, his anti-Semitism is now making the rounds, which caused his family to issue a mea culpa.

The family said they deeply apologize "for the lasting and understandable hurt caused by some of Roald Dahl's statements. Those prejudiced remarks are incomprehensible to us and stand in marked contrast to the man we knew and to the values at the heart of Roald Dahl's stories, which have positively impacted young people for generations."

The family added, "We hope that, just as he did at his best, at his absolute worst, Roald Dahl can help remind us of the lasting impact of words."

Ever since George Clooney revealed he cuts his own hair with a DIY device famous for its old infomercials, people have been going with the Flowbee ... so much that they're now out of stock!!!

Troy Hunts, Vice President of Flowbee, tells TMZ ... the actor's public shout-out in support of the product last week resulted in sales going up tenfold, and its website was so overloaded a lot of customers weren't able to complete their orders.

Hunts says Flowbee had already seen a boost in 2020 compared to recent years due to the coronavirus -- with barbershops and hair salons closed -- but that uptick was nothing compared to what he's calling "the Clooney effect."

The Flowbee VP tells us they've completely sold out and it will be at least 2-4 weeks before they can get supply back up to meet demand.

As for the Clooney boom ... Hunts says it was a huge surprise, because the company hasn't worked with him before and didn't even know he was a customer.

Of course, Hunts is thrilled Clooney is a satisfied customer ... and loves that he speaks the truth about the product. As we reported ... George even gave a tutorial on 'Kimmel!'

Matthew McConaughey is not into extremes, at least not in politics ... and that's why he's saying the intolerance and condescension has got to stop, and he has a solution.

M.C. jumped on Russell Brand's podcast, 'Under the Skin,' and they were talkin' politics ... both here in the States and across the pond. Russell sees a bunch of similarities as far as vitriol for "the other side."

That's what got Matt going ... suggesting the trick is to meet in the middle, which sounds impossible, but hear him out.

For starters, he wants to find a way to measure the science behind each party's POVs and their values, like actually measuring it. It's somewhat difficult to understand exactly what he means, but he seems to be talking about quantifying how liberal views/policies and their conservative counterparts have benefited the country as a whole over time.

After that, Matt says each side will have to acknowledge that their fellow Americans across the aisle have value, and that even though they might not agree with everything they believe ... that their principles and viewpoints are worth something in and of themselves.

Matthew goes off on Twitter's blue checkmarks and other so-called liberal elites on the coasts of this country, saying that they are intolerant toward the right  -- but just the same, he's got criticism for the right as well.

Elizabeth Taylor didn't make the cut in "The Chanukah Song," but she famously converted to Judaism in 1959, and now ... a couple mementos of her faith are hitting the auction block.

Two menorahs belonging to the iconic "Cleopatra" star will be on display for the upcoming Jewish celebration at the J Greenstein Gallery in New York ... then will go up for grabs in January.

We're told the menorahs were originally purchased after her death at the Julien's of Hollywood estate sale when they sold her property.

The larger one is expected to fetch $15,000 - $20,000 at the auction, with the smaller one expected to go for up to $8k.

If you aren't aware ... Taylor was one of the biggest movie stars in the world when she converted, and not just because she married a Jewish man. She was reportedly very devoted to her faith for decades until she passed in 2011.

She wasn't the only celeb at the time to famously become Jewish either -- Marilyn Monroe and Sammy Davis Jr. did as well.

Warner Bros' plan to stream new movie releases will not only rock the theater industry, but also impact the U.S. economy ... according to Daymond John.

The "Shark Tank" star joined "TMZ Live" Friday to break down Warner's game-changer -- streaming its blockbuster 2021 films on HBO Max, while also releasing them in theaters. He says it's a big win for movie buffs and distributors like WB.

But, he can already see how it will shift the economy as a whole because he's lived through it. Remember, "Trolls World Tour" was released on demand, and in theaters earlier this year -- and you gotta see how that ended up costing him $200. He explains why the cash is spread out to more companies when ya go to a theater, as opposed to staying home to watch a new movie.

No more how ya slice it, though ... It's bad news for movie theater owners.

An argument between construction workers led to a shooting at Billie Lourd's home ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... cops responded to a shots fired call at the 'Star Wars' star's L.A. property, where there's currently a bunch of renovations underway.

We're told there was a conflict between 2 workers -- one of whom had been fired -- cops say the fired worker pulled out a rifle.

Our sources say he aimed at the worker, fired at the ground and took off. Nobody was hurt. Billie wasn't home at the time of the incident.

We're told the shooter has not been arrested, but cops are on the hunt.

Regarding all the construction ... Billie now owns the former Bev Hills homes of her late mother, Carrie Fisher, and her late grandmother, Debbie Reynolds -- which were contiguous -- and she's making one massive estate.

The mother-daughter duo lived right next to each other for 15 years before Carrie died in December 2016 and Debbie died the very next day.

Billie's rep tells us, "I can confirm that there was an incident today at the property involving a disgruntled ex-employee of the construction company working at the site, who had an issue with his former employer. The owners were not on site and had nothing to do with the dispute. Nobody was harmed and the situation has since resolved."

Los Angeles local Marla Sokoloff was only 20 years old when she took on the role of the high school cheerleader-turned-armed robber, Lisa "The Informer" Janusch -- who teams up with her tight-knit cheer squad to stickup local businesses -- in the 2001 teen-comedy "Sugar & Spice."

Marla wasn't the only gun-totting betty doll  ... she was joined by other up-and-coming actors including Mena Suvari as, Kansas "The Rebel" Hill, Marley Shelton as, Diane "The Mastermind" Weston ... and of course James Marsden as the dreamy quarterback, Jack.

Sokoloff was also in "Dude, Where's My Car?" and "True Crime."

Hugh Keays-Byrne -- the actor who impressively played the bad guy in both the original "Mad Max" and "Mad Max: Fury Road" 36 years later -- has died.

Filmmaker Ted Geoghegan announced the Australian actor's passing and hailed him as "an unsung hero of Aussie cinema" -- adding he's "continually floored" Hugh played the main villain in both 'Mad Max' movies.

It's true -- Hugh became famous for starring opposite Mel Gibson in the 1979 film as the central antagonist, Toecutter ... then returned to face off against Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy as Immortan Joe in 2015.

As you'd imagine ... he's the only actor to appear in both flicks, and he and director George Miller had a very good working relationship over the decades. Miller also cast Hugh in the scrapped DC movie, "Justice League: Mortal."

That's not all he's known for though -- Keays-Byrne also starred in several British and Australian projects, including "Stone," "The Chain Reaction" and "Resistance."

He had more than 50 acting credits to his name spanning nearly 5 decades.

So far, Hugh's cause of death is unknown. He was 73.

Rafer Johnson -- a decorated Olympian and American hero -- has died, TMZ Sports has confirmed. He was 86.

Johnson passed away Wednesday morning at his home in Sherman Oaks, CA surrounded by his family.

Johnson lived such an amazing life as an athlete, actor, philanthropist and hero -- it's hard to pick where to start when telling his story ...

How about this ... he was one of the brave men who tackled and subdued gunman Sirhan Sirhan seconds after Robert Kennedy was assassinated back in 1968 at the Ambassador Hotel in L.A.

In fact, Johnson ripped the gun away from Sirhan and hid it in his own pocket to prevent any more violence.

As an athlete, Rafer won a gold medal in the decathlon at the 1960 Olympics in Rome ... four years after he won silver in the same event at the 1956 Olympic Games.

He was a 2-sport athlete at UCLA -- running track and playing basketball.

And get this ... he was such an insane athlete, the L.A. Rams selected him in the 28th round of the 1959 NFL Draft as a running back despite never playing a single down of college football!

After his storied career as an athlete, Johnson became an actor -- appearing in a bunch of movies including "Wild in the Country" with Elvis Presley, "Pirates of Tortuga" and even the 1989 James Bond flick, "A License to Kill."

Rafer was also a key figure in launching the Special Olympics in 1968 -- and co-founded the California Special Olympics in 1969.

Johnson served on the CSO board of directors for 2 decades before joining the Board of Governors.

Oh, and he also worked for the Peace Corps!

Johnson married his wife Betsy in 1971 and they had 2 children together -- daughter Jennifer Ann Johnson and son Joshua Ray Johnson.

Both kids were also star athletes at UCLA!

For those interested in making a donation in Rafer's honor, the family asks to go through The Special Olympics Southern California Rafer Johnson Tribute Fund -- which can be accessed here.

Irene Bedard, the actor who voiced Pocahontas in the Disney film, is way too familiar with the back of a police car after what cops call 2 wildly-drunken incidents over 3 days.

Her first arrest went down at Irene's ex-husband's house in Beavercreek, OH -- where cops responded to a possible domestic violence situation on Friday night. According to the police report, obtained by TMZ, officers found the actress with a belt in her hand.

Police claim Irene, who is Native American, said something to the effect of, "Look, they sent the white man to come get me!" The report also says she appeared incredibly intoxicated, reeked of booze and had trouble standing straight.

Her ex told cops Irene showed up pounding on his door and when he let her in, she started yelling at their 17-year-old son ... and allegedly kicked him as he tried to restrain her. Cops claim that continued as she kicked and screamed while they tried to get her into their cruiser.

BPD notes her son didn't want to press charges and just wanted his mom to get help -- but they took her to the station and booked her for domestic violence, assault and resisting arrest.

She posted bond ... but a few days later, on Monday, Irene was arrested again when Beavercreek PD was summoned to a hotel where Irene was allegedly harassing the front desk clerk.

The officer on that case says he tried talking Irene down, but again she appeared wasted and was combative. So much so, he claims she charged at him, and he had to pin her down to cuff her. Cops also say it took several officers to drag her into jail.

The second time around, Irene was only booked for disorderly conduct before she was released, once again, without bail.

Steven Spielberg just got court-ordered protection from a woman he believes is threatening to murder him.

The famed movie mogul filed legal docs seeking a restraining order against a woman named Sarah Char, who he claims has been harassing him for months and sending death threats.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Steven says law enforcement told him the woman tried to purchase a gun to kill him. He claims she's been arrested for criminal threats, harassment and stalking.

According to the docs, Steven says he got a Twitter message from Char saying ... "If I have to personally MURDER people for stealing my IPs‚ I WILL. Get me?"

Steven says he's scared the woman will follow through with her threats, and he says he's concerned for his family too.

"Juno" and "Umbrella Academy" star Elliot Page is coming out as trans ... he shared his truth Tuesday morning, saying he's finally loving himself enough to pursue his "authentic self."

Elliot says folks in the trans community inspired him to come out, and he's pledging to support them and try and make our society more loving and equal.

While Elliot, formerly known as Ellen, says he's happy to come out as trans, he says he's also scared ... because of the invasiveness, hate, jokes and violence that too often happen to the trans community.

Elliot addresses the threats facing the trans community head-on, saying he will do everything he can to take on the "harassment, self-loathing, abuse and threat of violence every day." He takes a pointed shot at "political leaders" who've attacked the trans community. Although Elliot doesn't name names ... in the past, he's been vocally critical of Vice President Mike Pence.

Child actor, Justin Scheller, was only 5 years old when he took on the life-changing role of the annoying little Stilwell -- who tormented the bus driver and Rockford Peaches squad -- in the classic 1992 baseball comedy, "A League Of Their Own."

Scheller was cast alongside a major league lineup of actors including Madonna as the fast-paced centerfielder, "All The Way" Mae, Rosie O'Donnell as the 3rd base boss, Doris Murphy, Geena Davis as the catching captain, Dottie Hinson ... and of course Tom Hanks as the callus coach, Jimmy Dugan.

Justin left the biz after his iconic role and now lives a relaxed life in the Midwest.

Dave Prowse, the actor who played Darth Vader in 'Star Wars,' has died.

Dave's agent, Thomas Bowington, said ..."It’s with great regret and heart-wrenching sadness for us and millions of fans around the world, to announce that our client Dave Prowse MBE has passed away at the age of 85.”

Dave played the iconic villain in the original 'Star Wars' trilogy.

Prowse was born in 1935 in Bristol, England. Before acting, he was immersed in the world of bodybuilding, even competing in Mr. Universe competitions. He was so strong, Jack the Ripper -- that was Dave's stage name -- would shred phone books as a test of strength.

Even in his bodybuilding days, he hung out with famous folks, including Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lou Ferrigno. He also trained Christopher Reeve for "Superman."

Dave's shining moment was shrouded in costume ... playing Darth Vader in the 'Star Wars' franchise. He was recruited by George Lucas, because he was a well-known bodybuilder and he had seen him in 'Clockwork Orange' and it seemed to fit the vibe. Dave actually auditioned for the roles of both Darth Vader and Chewbacca. Lucas offered him either role.

When asked why Dave chose the role of DV, Dave said, "Everyone remembers the villain." True that.

There was a problem, however -- Dave's British accent. His voice was dubbed over by James Earl Jones in post-production.

He almost instantly became an iconic figure when the first 'Star Wars' hit in 1977.

In addition to 'Star Wars,' Dave appeared in "The Saint," "Doctor Who," "The Beverly Hillbillies," "A Clockwork Orange" and a bunch of horror films.

Dave said back in 2014, “Many people will know me for being the ultimate screen villain, Star Wars’ Darth Vader. But being a “goodie goodie” and heading up the Green Cross Code campaign, helping to save thousands of lives has always been the ultimate honour.”

Dave was married for 57 years to Norma Scammell and had 3 kids. He was 85.

RIP