Movies

Actor Eddie Deezen is being accused of harassing a waitress who claims he went scorched Earth on her over her eyelashes, of all things ... but he claims her peeps are cyberbullying him now.

So, here's the deal ... Deezen -- best known for playing nerdy Eugene Felsnic in the original 'Grease' films -- apparently went on Facebook earlier this week and wrote a lengthy post blasting the waitress in his hometown of Cumberland, Maryland.

So weird, but in a nutshell, he went on a rant about loving when she wears fake eyelashes on days he goes into her restaurant ... but hates when she doesn't wear them. Deezen even said he'd walk out if she didn't wear 'em.

The waitress, Kara Lashbaugh, called Deezen a creep for the repulsive Facebook post. Then, a couple of days after putting him on blast ... Deezen accused Kara of spreading rumors about him and getting him banned from a couple of restaurants in town.

Deezen also says he's been inundated with vile private messages from her friends. Even though he started this ridiculous beef, Deezen's claiming Kara just wants 15 minutes of fame because he's "a fairly well-known person."

Kara tells us she has not filed a police report, but is planning to meet with a lawyer to see what she should do going forward.

Deezen's attorney, Adam Hirshfield, tells us the actor feels like his life is in danger following the cyberbullying -- but police have told him he'll need to file for a no-contact order in court, if he's that concerned.

Coke Daniels is all for people comparing his film "Karen" to Jordan Peele's "Get Out," but to say he ripped it off? Coke essentially says get the hell outta here with that take!

The writer/producer tells TMZ ... they're 2 totally different films. His about an entitled white, racist woman who tries to run a Black family out of the neighborhood, while "Get Out" is about a mixed-race couple visiting her super-creepy family.

However, it didn't stop people from talking trash. One person said on Twitter, "Jordan Peele only has two films under his belt as a director and he already has people trying to copy his formula."

Now, Coke will cop to the idea that the films do share a similarity in genre ... and the director thinks THAT is what haters were really describing after the trailer dropped on Tuesday.

ICYMI, they slammed "Karen" -- starring Taryn Manning in the creepy lead -- as a wannabe "Get Out." The criticism was so intense, Jordan Peele's name started trending on Twitter.

Coke noticed all the social media buzz, took a screenshot of several posts and captioned it, "Trending on Twitter!! Keep comparing Karen to Get Out! We’ll receive that!"

Michael B. Jordan almost went the way of other celebs when it comes to booze and cultural appropriation -- but he saw the early warning signs, and decided to pivot.

The actor's been under fire since this past weekend for photos that leaked, apparently showing him at some sort of a launch party for a new rum line, with which he seemed to have a direct connection. The rum was called "J'ouvert" -- the name of a traditional Caribbean festival, akin to Carnival.

The photos seriously pissed off some people -- especially those with Trinidadian roots, where J'ouvert is said to have started -- who accused MBJ of cultural appropriation, exploitation and outright insensitivity in trying to commercialize something to which he has zero ties.

There were rumblings he might have partnered with someone with a Trinidadian background for this venture -- but even still, it didn't look good ... and Michael was silent for days over it.

Now, he's finally speaking out and promising to rebrand in the near future, writing in part ... "I just wanna say on behalf of myself and my partners, our intention was never to offend or hurt a culture (we love & respect) & hoped to celebrate & shine a positive light on."

Pope Francis may be a superhero in the Catholic church, but he came face-to-face with a guy who's a hero to children everywhere ... including kids in hospitals he visits to cheer them up.

The Pope met with an amazing young man dressed in a full Spider-Man suit Wednesday in Vatican City. The costumed character was seated in the VIP section of the audience in the Vatican's San Damaso Courtyard.

That's because Spidey -- who's really 27-year-old Mattia Villardita from northern Italy -- was being honored for the work he does dressing up as superheroes and visiting sick children at hospitals to raise their spirits.

Villardita did his best to blend in while sitting in the crowd, but c'mon ... this is a sighting that definitely makes front page of the Daily Bugle.

After His Holiness finished with the general audience event, Spider-Man got an audience with him -- they shook hands, and the webbed wonder handed the Pontiff a mask of his own. He didn't put it on. Not immediately, anyway.

Canadian triplets Gerry, Leo and Myles Fitzgerald were only 5 years old when they were cast as the scientifically created super baby Sly -- and then Sly's long-lost twin brother Whit who was raised in the real world -- in the 1999 kid comedy "Baby Geniuses."

Gerry, Leo and Myles stuck around Hollywood for a few years for the "Baby Geniuses" 2004 follow-up film "Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2" as the potion drinking hero kid, Kahuna.

The stud siblings, who no longer work in the entertainment biz, still live north of the border and play hockey and golf together regularly.

Warriors fans didn't have to wait for the new 'Space Jam' movie to see Klay Thompson return to action ... 'cause after 2 devastating injuries, the NBA superstar is back on the court!!!

Remember, 31-year-old Klay hasn't suited up for the Dubs since tearing his ACL in Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals.

Right when he was getting back to 100%, Thompson then tore his Achilles while playing a pickup game in November 2020 ... which kept him from playing in the 2020-21 season.

But, Thompson had a breakthrough this week ... running up and down the court and working on his jumper at Chase Arena -- and yeah, he's THRILLED to be back at it.

"DubNation, I still have a really long, long, LOOOONG way to go," Klay said Tuesday. "But my goodness, it felt so dang good to get up and down and see the ball go thru the net."

"Can’t wait to burn em down next year 👌🏽 💦 🔥 !! Big milestone for me this week"

Klay kept busy while sidelined with the previous injury -- he's starring as "Wet Fire" alongside LeBron James in "Space Jam: A New Legacy" next month.

This time around, his free time was spent off movie sets ... and you can tell he's been busting his ass to stay in shape.

Paul Walker's supped-up Toyota Supra that he drove in "The Fast and the Furious" has gone to one super-charged fan ... who snagged the fast whip at an auction for $550k.

The 1994 car was auctioned off in Las Vegas this weekend ... and the winning bid came from a phone bidder for Brian O'Conner's original 10-second car. The Supra's auction had been one of the most anticipated ones in recent memory.

'F&F' fans know this car all too well -- it's the one he fixed up before smoking a Ferrari while racing down PCH in Malibu.

The car was also featured in the second installment ... 2003's "2 Fast 2 Furious." The new owner will get all the extensive documentation of the car's origin plus a certificate of authenticity. BTW, the car was built at The Shark Shop in El Segundo, CA.

Under the hood, the Supra's got what's billed as "perhaps the most renowned engine to ever come from Japan" -- the 2JZ-GTE. Remember ... Dominic Toretto's crew guy, Jesse, famously said in the first installment "2JZ engine ... this will decimate all."

As we reported ... the late actor's baby brother, Cody Walker, wouldn't even venture to guess what this car would go for at auction ... but he knew it would rake in some serious cash. And, he was right.

He also told us he thinks Paul would have thought the auction itself for a car like this is kind of hilarious.

Cody was in middle school when the OG 'F&F' film came out ... and he said folks stop him all the time to tell him his bro is what got them into loving fast cars. There's a legion of 'F&F' fans that have grown exponentially thanks to the enormous success of the franchise.

The unveiling of the already-controversial Marilyn Monroe statue in Palm Springs drew tons of protesters ... who see it as a misogynistic eyesore.

City officials held a ceremony Sunday night to unveil the 26-foot tall stainless steel monument dubbed "Forever Marilyn" -- an art piece the city hopes will draw scores of tourists this summer to boost local revenue.

However, several dozen detractors were there chanting "Hey hey! Ho ho! Misogyny has to go!" ... and "Exploitation! Exploitation!"

Their main beef is that Marilyn's underwear can be seen when standing behind the statue.

Emiliana Guereca, executive director of Women's March Foundation, told the Desert Sun, "When you exit the museum, the statue is designed to look at her crotch and look at her buttocks and take photos. And that is no longer acceptable."

She added, "It may have been acceptable in the 1950s, but we are in 2021 fighting the same thing and women are saying enough is enough."

Remember, while the statue is based on a scene from Marilyn's movie, "The Seven Year Itch" ... there was a Change.org petition floating around demanding the statue's removal because folks claimed it encouraged upskirting and, by extension, predatory behavior.

Other protesters took issue with the statue's location ... saying that it should have been installed at one of the downtown parks and NOT in front of the museum that forced the closure of a street that led up to the museum.

As we reported ... the Palm Springs Art Museum also took issue with the installation and worried people would think the statue is part of the museum's collection. It's not, and it's more than 100 yards away from the museum's exit.

A now-viral video has been making the rounds of what many say is a real-life sighting of an actual werewolf in Africa, which was apparently shot dead ... but the whole thing is BS.

The clip that's got people buzzing surfaced seemingly out of nowhere this week, and it shows what appears to be the body of a lycan -- subspecies of a werewolf in monster mythology -- dead on the ground in the middle of the night, bleeding from its face ... lying motionless.

There's a man narrating, speaking in what seems to be Hausa -- which folks took to mean this alleged killing took place somewhere in Nigeria ... and it's freaking everyone out.

Different users saw this and spread it like wildfire -- warning locals in the area to be on the lookout, sounding the alarm without really questioning the source ... or its veracity. Luckily, somebody came to the table with the truth -- and that would be ... this is a big fat hoax!

The clip that everyone is seeing is dubbed over, as the original is actually part of what seems to be a short film from Portugal called "Lobisomem Morto a Tiros" ... which translates to "werewolf shot to death." Very original, we know. It was thrown up on April 1 by a user named Cloud Wolf ... who's got an entire YT page dedicated to the legendary creature.

As for how the hell this thing *looks* so real ... you can chalk it up to great SFX work, courtesy of freelance sculpture artist Joseph-Rob Cobasky -- who's got photos up on his IG with his creation on the table (Frankenstein-style). Obviously, it's a top-notch job -- especially since everyone thought it was the real McCoy. A testament to the quality, indeed.

The makeup team from "An American Werewolf in London" are probably nodding with glee -- 'cause Joseph's take on a werewolf ain't all too different from what they cooked up in '81.

Arnold Schwarzenegger says his family HATED that he pivoted from movies to politics and gave an insight on his view of raising kids, and the word "military" comes to mind!

Arnold appeared on his daughter Katherine's IG show, "BDA Baby" -- which stands for Before, During and After Baby.

He said his kids were baffled when he decided to run for California Governor ... they apparently loved life on movie sets, which Arnold called "the perfect after-school program." When they moved to Sacramento, Katherine told him bluntly ... "Dad, I hate your job."

Maria, who knew a thing or 2 about growing up in politics, also had an intense dislike for politics, and she and Arnold agreed the fam wouldn't be used to advance his political career.

As for childrearing ... Arnold was a taskmaster. He says if the kids didn't make their beds he was known to throw the sheets out the window. He wouldn't let the housekeepers touch their rooms ... it was a privilege that, for him, went too far.

Bill Maher has some advice for Lin-Manuel Miranda ... stop apologizing to the bullies who take joy in making people crawl like a dog in shame for every move they make.

Miranda is taking heat for his movie, "In the Heights," a movie about the Washington Heights area of New York City. He got dragged because the cast did not have Afro-Latinx representation.

Fact is ... the cast has Latinx performers, a Black lead, but, as Bill says, "the committee" is outraged the skin tone of the cast is somehow off.

Miranda capitulated, saying, "I'm truly sorry. I'm learning from the feedback.  I thank you for raising it and I'm listening. I promise to do better in my future projects."

Bill was incredulous ...“You’re the guy who made the founding fathers Black and Hispanic! I don’t think you have to apologize to Twitter.” Maher doesn't believe Miranda really believes an apology is in order ... “I think that he just wants to avoid the news cycle, and I don’t blame him," adding, “This is why people hate Democrats; It’s cringey."

Maher wasn't done ... “People are going to have to stand up to these bullies, because that’s what it is, bullying. It’s ‘I can make you crawl like a dog and I enjoy it.'”

And, then the "Real Time" host went in for the kill ...“I mean he’s a Latino making a Latino movie with a Latino cast. Not good enough. Nothing is ever good enough for these people. They’re like children. We don’t raise our children right and it’s reflected in the media. No one ever tells their children, ‘Shut the f*** up. Sit down. Listen to your elders. Stop bitching.'”

Even in swim trunks, Harry Styles looks fly ... it's written all over him.

The former "One Direction" singer couldn't look more relaxed Friday while enjoying a shower right next to the beach in the Tuscany town of Porto Ercole. That name, btw, means Port Hercules -- appropriate for Harry's physique.

He was flaunting his heavily inked bod, too! He's got about 60 tattoos ... which he had to cover for his first starring role in the film "Don't Worry Darling."

He definitely earned some R&R after wrapping his movie "My Policeman" in Venice earlier this week. The Amazon project had him filming all over England ... including in London, where he donned an old school London police uniform.

He's the lead in a film that's an adaption of the 2012 novel by Bethan Roberts.

Harry plays a policeman named Tom, who is involved in a love triangle between school teacher Marion (played by "The Crown" star Emma Corrin) and a museum curator Patrick (played by English actor David Dawson).

The novel's set in the 1950s when homophobia was rampant ... forcing Tom to marry Marion, who then secretly shares him with Patrick. The plan eventually falls apart.

Ever since the Los Angeles Lakers got eliminated from the playoffs, the hottest ticket in town has been to see the Clippers Sierra Canyon Trailblazers play ball.

Drake and Michael B. Jordan showed up Thursday night to watch Bronny James -- LeBron's 16-year-old son -- take on the Etiwanda Eagles in their regional semi-final basketball game.

They might as well have been watching the Lakers in the Finals though, as they were really getting into the action from their courtside seats ... cheering on Bronny and Sierra Canyon's other star -- UCLA commit, Amari Bailey.

At one point in the first half, Drake was seen giving Bailey a pep talk, and it must have worked, because he did his best to keep the Trailblazers in it, leading the team with 37 points.

Bronny didn't score much other than a late three, but it wasn't enough in the end -- Sierra Canyon got beat 82-76 and lost out on a place in the regional final to end their season.

Of course, this wasn't the first Bronny game to draw a star-studded crowd. Just last week ... his famous father attended and brought along some past teammates -- J.R. Smith and Jared Dudley. Drake was there for that one too.

That game was Bronny's first of the season after missing most of it because of a torn meniscus he suffered in February. It was also a loss, so it's worth noting ... Sierra Canyon was 0-2 this season when Drake was in attendance. Hmm ... maybe the curse is back.

Heeeeeeeeeeeere's Karen!!!

Actually, it's Taryn Manning as the much-hyped, titular "Karen" in the upcoming thriller from Coke Daniels ... a role meant to represent a blend of all the notorious "Karens" who've gone viral for the worst reasons over the past couple years.

The "Orange is the New Black" star plays a racist, entitled white woman in the South who terrorizes her new Black neighbors, and based on TMZ's exclusive first look at the movie ... she nails it.

Taryn previously told us she embraced the role because she's sick of the behavior of the so-called Karens of the world, like Central Park Karen, Manhattan Beach Karen, Drive-Thru Karen, Radio Host Karen, Old Lady Karen, Bagel Karen and Spray Paint Karen ... to name just a few lowlights. TM's hopeful the movie, and her role, can help put an end to it.

Likewise, director Daniels says his intention with Manning's character is to highlight how her outrageous micro-aggressions lead to racism, hate and violence.

Taryn added that she wants viewers to hate her in the film ... because that means they're on board with a societal change and embracing racial equality.

Seth Rogen's got a new revenue stream if he wants it ... because one of his ceramic vases just fetched nearly 5 figures at auction.

Here's the deal ... Seth donated the ceramic sculpture to the Vancouver Art Gallery for its first-ever auction, and we're told the winning bid came in Tuesday at a cool 12,000 Canadian dollars ... which is about $10,000.

As you can see, the untitled sculpture functions as a vase and has different shades of orange and brown, plus some blue, with a bumpy exterior giving it a distinct texture. Do we sound like snooty art critics yet? Didn't think so.

Seth also wrote his first name on the bottom, which definitely adds some value.

If you follow Seth on social media, you know he's been showing off the ceramics he's been making since picking up the hobby during quarantine.

Seth's got a large collection of hand-made ceramics -- he's got 3 pottery wheels and 2 kilns in his home studio, and now it seems there's an emerging market for his pieces. Whoever got that first one likely has a true collector's item now.

The "Space Jam: A New Legacy" soundtrack has just been announced ... and it's filled with features from today's biggest stars -- from Lil Wayne to the Jonas Brothers to Kirk Franklin and more!!!

Of course, the first "Space Jam" soundtrack is a classic -- with iconic songs like Seal's "Fly Like An Eagle" getting radio spins to this day.

Now, the LeBron James-led flick has brought on some of the hottest names in the industry to go big for the new soundtrack ... including Lil Uzi Vert, Big Freedia, Lil Tecca & Aminé, Saweetie, Chance the Rapper, Brockhampton and 24kGoldn.

What's even cooler?? Portland Trail Blazers superstar/rapper Damian Lillard (AKA Dame D.O.L.L.A.) is also featured on the project ... and we're guessing his song might be a sort of Goon Squad anthem, considering his villainous role in the movie.

There are seriously so many more features we haven't even gotten to mentioning yet ... but luckily, the reveal came with a handy hype vid of all the folks involved.

The songs and artists weren't just picked randomly, however -- each song on the project will also be featured in the movie, director Malcolm D. Lee told Rolling Stone.

"The music that we get for the movie has to be in the body of the movie," Lee said. "So, that’s always the thing that we strived for."

The movie hits theaters in exactly one month ... and the soundtrack will be available July 9.