Movies

If the "Toy Story 4" character Duke Caboom reminded you of Evel Knievel, you're not alone -- the folks in charge of his image and likeness thought so too ... and now they're suing.

A company called K&K Promotions just filed suit against Disney, Pixar and whole a bunch of their subsidiaries ... claiming the stuntman driver toy that Keanu Reeves voiced in the latest 'Toy Story' flick is a clear and obvious rip-off of the legendary American motorcycle daredevil.

More importantly, K&K claims they own all the rights to Evel Knievel's likeness, persona, and brand and says the Mouse House did NOT get any type of approval to base one of their characters after Evel.

If you've seen the movie ... this one's easy to spot as far as the similarities go -- and it would appear critics and other junket interviewers thought so too, according to the lawsuit.

Per the docs, obtained by TMZ, K&K say that Evel's style, influence and even a nod to his famous stunt cycle toy from the '70s is clearly sprinkled throughout the film -- of course, Duke himself is dubbed as the greatest Canadian stuntman, and he even comes with an energizer to wind up and release his bike ... much like the Evel toy from back in the day. They attached photos ... it's a thing.

K&K even allege Disney instructed its 'T4' cast and other people involved in the production to go out of their way to avoid using Evel's name during interviews, as well as other trademarked items. For example, they claim Tony Hale was doing mental gymnastics in an interview about why they called his character Forky, when he looks more like a Spork.

According to K&K, it's because Disney was worried about running afoul of existing trademarks for the term "spork" ... and tried getting around using it, but still kinda used it in the end -- sorta like K&K claims they did with Evel.

Of course, there's also the merchandise aspect -- K&K say Disney cranked out a ton of products from "Toy Story 4," including Duke Caboom toys, and made lots of cash from it.

Most Hollywood types say, "Let's do lunch" ... but for Tom Cruise, it's "Let's do LAUNCH" -- and now he knows when he'll make his virgin voyage to space to film a movie.

Tom's hitching a ride on a SpaceX Crew Dragon rocket and capsule to the International Space Station in October 2021 to start filming in orbit ... according to the 2020-2023 ISS official manifest.

Mr. "Mission Impossible" will be joined by "Edge of Tomorrow" director Doug Liman as the pioneering film project gets underway.

As we reported ... Tom is working hand in hand with SpaceX honcho Elon Musk and NASA to film an action-adventure flick aboard the ISS. The film, which will become the first shot in outer space, is reportedly NOT a "Mission Impossible" flick.

Hopefully, Tom takes some sage advice from retired astronauts Scott Kelly and Roy Bridges Jr. ahead of his big adventure ... remember, the famous astronauts say boning up on toilet science is extremely important!!!

Jackie Stallone, the famed celeb astrologer and Sly's mother, has died ... TMZ has learned.

Jackie recently passed away ... according to sources with direct knowledge. The exact circumstances surrounding her death are still unclear.

Mrs. Stallone was a renaissance woman, to say the least -- well-regarded as an astrologer, dancer and even women's wrestling promoter. Not to mention being the mother of 3 famous children ... Sylvester, singer Frank Stallone and late actress Toni D'Alto, whom she had with Anthony Filiti.

Jackie actually helped kick-start the original "GLOW" wrestling program back in the '80s ... serving as a manager and promoter for the league, which of course would later be portrayed in the hit Netflix show of the same name. Mama Stallone was one of several ring handles she had.

She was also a famous astrologer, making a number of TV appearances throughout the '90s, and, yes ... she had her own psychic hotline. Jackie is also credited with coining the phrase and practice of rumpology ... which is like reading someone's palm, but reading other parts of their body, like moles and whatnot.

Jackie was a reality TV star in her own right -- she appeared on at least a couple seasons of 'Celebrity Big Brother' in the UK, and her persona had been parodied throughout the years, including on "Saturday Night Live."

Ever the character, she was very much active in her later years ... posting a bunch of workout videos of herself doing cardio, plyometrics and even some dancing in studios.

Jackie is survived by her two sons, as well as several grandchildren.

Cops are calling John Marshall Jones a hero ... not only for rushing out of his house in his underwear to douse a fire, but for chasing down the alleged arsonist behind the blaze.

John, who played special agent Jay Griffin on the Amazon hit "Bosch," tells TMZ ... he was watching TV early Tuesday morning when he looked out the window to see his neighbor's car, front porch and front door on fire.

The veteran actor says he instantly reacted -- bypassing any pants -- and ran out to grab a garden hose to put out the flames. While he was out there, John says a man wearing a ski mask and heavy jacket ran up to the porch and tried to grab something before fleeing.

Once again, Johnny-on-the-spot bolted after the mysterious guy ... who he says reached for a baseball bat. John -- who goes 6'3" and 240 lbs. -- says he wrestled him to the ground, though, and held him until cops arrived.

Law enforcement sources confirmed much of John's account about the 6 AM blaze and his chase of the suspect. We're told John's neighbors were able to escape the burning home, including a teenager and the family dog.

Now, John's being hailed as a true hero for saving lives and nabbing the suspect. Cops claim the guy started the fire with gasoline ... they found a container in his car, and arrested him for arson with great bodily injury.

Roy Jones Jr., listen up ... here's some sage boxing advice from Rocky himself -- DON'T GET HIT BY MIKE TYSON!!!!

TMZ Sports got Sylvester Stallone leaving Fia in Santa Monica this week ... and when we asked about RJJ's chances in his November exhibition with Iron Mike -- Sly didn't love them.

In fact, Stallone seemed straight-up concerned for Roy!!!

"Well, let's put it this way," Stallone said. "What do you think is going to work? A 22 against a 45???"

Sly added, "Roy Jones is a great, great fighter, but it's just a matter of physics."

Stallone says his advice for Roy when it comes to hanging with Mike in the ring is simple ... "Keep moving!"

"You're talking about, I mean -- everyone knows it. Mike Tyson is a wrecking ball."

The fight is scheduled for Nov. 28 ... and, if you're listening to Sly, that means there's still plenty of time for Roy to not go through with this!!

Whaddaya do when the power is out, you have to get to work and your electric-powered gate won't open??

If you're Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, you channel your inner 'Black Adam,' rip that MFer right off the brick wall and slam it to the ground!!!

Seriously!!!

Johnson -- who was recently cast to play the super-strong DC Comic villain -- gave the play-by-play of what he's dubbing "not my finest hour" after a storm knocked his power out on Friday.

"I tried to override the hydraulic system to open the gates, which usually works when power goes out - but this time it wouldn’t," Rock said.

Oh no!!

"Made some calls to see how fast I can get the gate tech on site, but I didn’t have 45min to wait."

Double oh no!!

"By this time, I know I have hundreds of production crew members waiting for me to come to work so we can start our day."

So ... in true 'Black Adam' fashion, Johnson used the strength of Amon to rip the damn thing down!!

"I pushed, pulled and ripped the gate completely off myself," Johnson said.

"Ripped it completely out of the brick wall, severed the steel hydraulics and threw it on the grass."

Success!!!

"My security team was able to meet the gate technician and welders about an hour later — and they were apparently, 'in disbelief and equally scared' as to how I ripped it off"

Sure as hell seems like DC got the right guy to play 'Black Adam!!'

"Not my finest hour, but a man’s gotta go to work."

The Rock - 1  Gate - 0

Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt got reacquainted in a virtual wet dream, and if you think that's awesome ... wait until you see how Julia Roberts, Sean Penn and Shia LaBeouf reacted to it.

The exes everyone wants to reunite actually did get together Thursday for a table read of "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" on Facebook with Jen reading the Phoebe Cates role of Linda Barrett ... and Brad played Judge Reinhold's character, Brad Hamilton. And, the best scene, that has everyone talking, is that sexy pool/masturbation scene. Y'know ... KNOCK, PEOPLE!!

You could cut the sexual tension with a knife as Morgan Freeman, of all people, narrated the scene describing ... leading up to some heavy flirting between Jen and Brad's characters.

The scene had everyone involved grinning from ear to ear ... Julia, Shia (who voiced Spicoli's character) ... plus other cast members John Legend, Ray Liotta, Matthew McConaughey, Jimmy Kimmel and Dane Cook.

English Actor John Rhys-Davies is best known for his role as the ax-wielding dwarf, Gimli -- who helps to destroy the One Ring and navigate Middle-earth while dropping some epic one-liners-- in the early 2000s 'Lord Of The Rings' film trilogy including 'The Fellowship Of The Ring,' 'The Two Towers' and 'The Return Of The King.'

Rhys-Davies is cast alongside an impressive lineup of actors including Orlando Bloom as the fast-firing Elf, Legolas, Viggo Mortensen as the sword-swinging Aragorn, Sean Astin as the hobbit homie, Samwise Gamgee ... and of course, Elijah Wood as the ring-totting hero, Frodo Baggins.

A family of "Edward Scissorhands" fans scooped up the Boggs house featured in the movie, and instead of getting it at a slashed price ... they ponied up a little extra to seal the deal.

We broke the story ... the Florida home used for exterior and interior shots in the 1990 Tim Burton cult classic -- starring Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder -- went on the market last month for $224k, with new colors and renovations.

It didn't take long for it to generate interest from multiple buyers, but we're told one family with kids pushed the hardest and bought the house for $6,000 above asking price.

Turns out, the buyers love the movie and the husband grew up in the area. We're told he had watched some of 'Scissorhands' being shot in the Tampa suburban town of Lutz back when he was a kid.

Our sources say the famous movie home got about a dozen offers in its first week on the market, and officially closed last week.

The 1,432-square-foot residence comes with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, including a completely remodeled master bath. Along with the upgrades, it still boasts some original charming attributes from the film ... like the kitchen cabinets and countertops.

"The Princess Bride" cast virtually reunited Sunday night, but Fred Savage's face was noticeably missing from the Zoom call, leaving fans wondering if politics was afoot ... but TMZ's learned that's simply inconceivable.

Sources close to the actor -- who played The Grandson in the '80s cult classic -- tell us he was in the loop about the Zoom reunion but was unable to participate because he was celebrating his younger brother Ben's birthday.

Fred's absence quickly sparked speculation he didn't participate because he's believed to be a Republican -- though he's never stated that publicly -- and the virtual table read was planned by the film's star, Cary Elwes, in collaboration with the Wisconsin Democratic Party.

We're told that's not the case at all, as Fred has done events with the cast in the past and has no issues -- political or otherwise -- with anyone. In fact, Savage was part of the recent Quibi reunion and also reprised his role for the "Once Upon a Deadpool" trailer in late 2018.

Our Fred sources say he had other plans and was more or less told ... as you wish. He posted some sweet throwback bro photos of him and Ben and said, "while I’m always proud to be part of the Princess Bride family, sometimes real life family comes first."

For those who missed it, the Virtual 'Princess Bride' Reunion drew around 100,000 viewers as the main cast -- Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, Robin Wright and director Rob Reiner -- read the movie's script.

"Stranger Things" star Finn Wolfhard stepped in for Savage in the Grandson role, Josh Gad read for the late Andre the Giant, and Reiner played the part of the late Peter Falk's Grandfather character.

The reunion also included appearances by Whoopi Goldberg and Eric Idle, and other cast members like Christopher Guest, Chris Sarandon, Wallace Shawn, Billy Crystal and Carol Kane.

NOONAN!!!!!

"Caddyshack" star Michael O'Keefe is back on the bag ... the actor who famously played Danny Noonan in the iconic 1980 golf flick is a real-life caddie at the U.S. Open this week!!!

For real!!!!!

Here's the deal ... O'Keefe used to work at Winged Foot Golf Course in N.Y. back in the 1970s before his acting career took off -- and with the PGA Tour's U.S. Open scheduled to play there this year, Michael had an idea.

O'Keefe told the New York Post he wanted to reprise his role as Noonan and hop on a pro's bag ... all in an effort to help raise money for caddies who have been affected by the pandemic.

Of course, no pro was going to let him be their caddie during ACTUAL tournament play ... but O'Keefe at least found a taker for some practice rounds!!

Danny Balin -- a head pro at a local Long Island country club -- offered to let O'Keefe caddy for him Monday and Tuesday ... and the early pics from their outing are priceless.

Check out how Noonan looks today ... not a thing's changed!!!

Balin says he re-watched "Caddyshack" in anticipation of his rounds with O'Keefe ... and promised he'd have all the 1-liners down by the time the two hit the fairways.

Well, we're waiting!!!!

Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly have hit a bump in the road -- not with their relationship, but with their new movie ... which has been forced to shut down for a bit due to COVID-19.

If ya haven't heard, Megan and MGK met on the set of "Midnight in the Switchgrass" earlier this year in Puerto Rico. As you've definitely heard, they REALLY hit it off ... especially after filming stopped in March due to the pandemic.

After several months off, the cast and crew got back at it in July on the Caribbean island after the movie honchos worked to establish COVID protocols to ensure everyone's safety ... according to a rep for The Pimienta Film Co.

Despite all that, the rep tells TMZ 2 people still tested positive for COVID. We're told they were asymptomatic and immediately quarantined, but production decided to halt filming anyway.

Now, we're told director Randall Emmett is planning to resume filming in Santa Barbara in the next few weeks with more stringent precautions in place.

As for Megan and MGK ... it seems they'll still be together whenever filming resumes. As we've reported, the new couple's been practically inseparable this summer, publicly doting on each other and even pairing up in a steamy music video.

Lindsay Lohan's art of the book deal consists of agreeing to write it, getting a huge sum of money and then failing to turn in a draft ... at least according to a new suit.

Publishing company HarperCollins is going after Lohan, claiming she breached a contract she signed way back in March 2014 to write a book. According to the legal docs -- obtained by TMZ -- Lohan and her production company promised she'd have it completed by May 2015 ... but it never happened.

Instead, HarperCollins claims it revised the due date to March 2017, and even paid her a $365,000 advance against future royalties.

However, HarperCollins claims the deadlines came and went, and Lindsay never delivered a manuscript. So, the publisher says it informed her in Sept. 2018 the book deal was off, and it wanted its money back. There's a lawsuit, so you guessed it ... HC says LiLo never refunded the cash.

Chuck Norris is going after a company that's using his iconic action star status and masculine reputation to sell boner pills ... according to a new lawsuit.

The "Walker, Texas Ranger" star's suing a company he believes goes by a couple different names -- Bio-Molecular Solutions and Biogenetics -- claiming it's using his famous name and face to promote a product called Provitra ... which is like Viagra.

Norris claims his wife, Gena -- who's also suing the company -- discovered the scam in June, when she saw an online ad with a provocative headline, "A Tragic End Today for Chuck Norris."

According to the docs ... once the ad is clicked, the reader is taken to another site that looks very similar to a Fox News article with the headline, "Big Pharma In Outrage Over Norris' New ED Product...Chuck Kicks Back With This!"

Norris claims the phony article -- which features a photo of him and his wife -- includes completely false assertions throughout, including that he "revealed his new Erectile Dysfunction cure on the Dr. Phil Show."

Finally, the phony article includes a call to action to receive a free bottle of the ED pills, and all the hyperlinks take the reader to a third website -- a point-of-sale page for Provitra ... according to the lawsuit.

Norris says neither he nor Gena have ever authorized the company -- or any others in the boner biz -- to use their names, photos or likenesses and are not receiving any compensation for the ads.

He also says this isn't the first time they've had to do battle over scam ads. According to the suit, they tried to stop a similar illegal scam in 2019 and were successful for awhile ... but it recently came raging back.

Dame Diana Rigg -- the legendary actress with epic roles in "Game of Thrones" and the UK's 'Avengers' TV series -- has died.

The British actress rose to prominence in the 1961 TV series, "The Avengers," and became a worldwide phenomenon as a Bond girl in the 1969 Bond film, "On Her Majesty's Secret Service."

For the younger generation ... Dame Diana, of course, earned critical acclaim for her role as Lady Olenna Tyrell in the HBO hit show, "Game of Thrones." Sad to say ... she admitted in 2019 she never watched the show, but that's neither here nor there. Rigg earned an Emmy nomination for her role in 2018.

BTW ... her Bond role was pretty historic. She played Tracey Bond ... James Bond's wife. She was the only Bond girl to ever get him to the altar, never mind the character was killed shortly after the wedding.

In "The Avengers," she played the incredibly desirable Emma Peel and earned an Emmy nomination in 1967 and 1968.

Rigg, who grew up in India after her father accepted a job there, trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and made her acting debut in "The Caucasian Chalk Circle" at the 1957 York Festival. She'd later join the Royal Shakespeare Company and earned several roles but perhaps none more important than as Cordelia in the touring production of "King Lear."

Dame Diana was a highly-respected stage actress ... earning a Tony Award nomination for her role in "Abelard and Heloise." She'd later join the National Theatre Company ... earning a second Tony nomination for her role as Celimene in "The Misanthrope."

She finally won a Tony Award in 1994 for Best Actress for her role in "Medea." That same year, she was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire for her work in drama at the 1994 Birthday Honours.

Rigg had already been made a Commander of the order of the British Empire at the 1988 New Year Honours.