RIP

Audrey Wells -- the writer of "Under the Tuscan Sun," "A Dog's Purpose" and the just-released film "The Hate U Give" -- has died ... according to her reps.

Wells died Thursday after a long battle with cancer. Her husband, Brian, released a statement saying, "Over the last five and half years, Audrey fought valiantly against her illness and she died surrounded by love. Even during her fight, she never stopped living, working or traveling, and she never lost her joy, wonder and optimism."

She's survived by her husband and her daughter Tatiana.

Audrey's career as a writer in Hollywood began in 1996, when she penned "The Truth About Cats & Dogs." She went on to write the screenplay for "George of the Jungle" the following year, before writing and directing "Guinevere" in 1999.

She was also the director of 'Tuscan Sun.'

Her latest movie, "The Hate You Give," is a drama tackling racial tension and police violence in America. It opened Friday in limited release.

Audrey was 58.

"The Bachelor" contestant Cristy Caserta -- who was only 38 -- died unexpectedly Thursday after suffering an apparent seizure ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... Caserta was attending a class at a school in Sunrise, FL when she suddenly fell forward at the desk where she was sitting. Her alarmed classmates immediately called 911.

We're told Cristy went into cardiac arrest as emergency responders arrived and administered CPR. She was transported to nearby Westside Regional Medical Center where they continued efforts to save her, but she was pronounced dead.

Cops say they do not suspect foul play and no drugs were found on Caserta -- it appears she died as a result of the sudden seizure. An autopsy will be performed Friday to determine the official cause of death.

Cristy appeared on Season 15 of "The Bachelor" ... the one fans know as Brad Womack's second shot at finding love. She was sent home the first week.

Suge Knight gave everyone in court -- including his victim's family members -- something to remember him by ... one last steely glare as he was officially sentenced to 28 years in prison.

The ex-music mogul was in the L.A. courtroom Thursday morning to hear Terry Carter's family read their victims impact statements. Suge sat quietly through the hearing, but when it was all said and done ... the judge gave him a few instructions and then it was time to say goodbye.

Before he was walked out in shackles, Suge turned to the gallery and stared for an uncomfortable number of seconds ... and then he was gone.

Knight will be held in L.A. County Jail until he's transported to a state prison. We don't know yet which one he'll be calling home.

TMZ broke the story ... Suge struck a plea deal last month with prosecutors, agreeing to a 28-year prison sentence, while getting credit for time served. Due to prison overcrowding, he could be out in a little more than 10 years.

11:01 AM PT -- Fuller's brother called 911 after the RB collapsed to the ground and told the operator it appeared he was having a seizure.

The caller said Fuller had "passed out" -- though it's unclear if he was conscious at that point.

C.J.'s brother and other family members desperately tried to help Fuller -- following the operator's instructions -- and begged for an ambulance to be sent over quickly.

8:20 AM PT -- A source extremely close to Fuller tells us the football star had gone to physical therapy to rehab his knee in the hours before his death ... and it was clear something was wrong.

We're told Fuller tore his ACL playing in a flag football game roughly 2 weeks ago and had surgery to repair the injury at the end of September.

Fuller went to physical therapy for the first time on Wednesday (10/3) as part of his recovery and completed a full session without issue.

When he arrived back to his home, we're told he "went to the ground" and asked for water -- clearly feeling something was wrong.

People close to C.J. called for an ambulance and he was rushed to a nearby hospital. He was pronounced dead a short time later.

There are rumblings Fuller's death was a direct result of complications from the knee surgery -- but we're told that hasn't been determined yet.

We spoke with the coroner who told us a death investigation is underway.

7:58 AM PT -- We spoke with the Pickens County coroner who tells us there is death investigation underway but she notes, "Nothing suspicious."

Ex-Clemson running back C.J. Fuller -- a key player on Clemson's 2016 National Championship team -- has died, the school has confirmed.

He was only 22 years old.

The cause of Fuller's death is unclear. We're working on gathering information.

Fuller played in 43 games for the Tigers -- and proved to be a talented and capable back on the field. Off the field, Fuller had issues ... he was arrested back in March for allegedly robbing someone at gunpoint in South Carolina.

Clemon's coach Dabo Swinney issued a statement saying, "Our thoughts, prayers and deepest sympathies are with C.J.'s family."

"I've known C.J. a long time and watched him grow up through the Easley rec leagues [in South Carolina] all the way through Easley High School. I'm proud of what he accomplished as a Clemson Tiger, most of all his accomplishment of being a Clemson graduate."

"Our deepest condolences and the thoughts of our program are with his family this evening. May he rest in peace."

Fuller's former Clemson teammate Shaq Lawson (who now plays for the Buffalo Bills) also commented on social media ... saying, "My brother I am hurting right now."'

"Somebody wake me up from this nightmare. My brother was supposed to come see me tomorrow. I love you bruh until we meet again."

8:50 PM PT -- A spokesperson for Lil Peep's family denies Jones having any connection to the rapper.

6:57 PM PT -- In a joint statement to TMZ from Matt Miller (Wicca Phase Manager), Tom Chiari (Run For Cover Records) and Adam Mcillwee (Wicca Phase Springs Eternal) we're told "Michael Jones is not and has never been a member of Gothboiclique. Any statements to the contrary are 100% false."

Lil Peep's death was not a wake-up call to at least one of his fans, according to cops who arrested the guy for giving a young woman a fatal dose of drugs ... shortly after Peep's funeral.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the DEA, assisted by NYPD, arrested and charged Michael Jones Wednesday for distributing heroin and fentanyl. We're told the drugs resulted in the death of a woman named Diana Haikova.

Jones, who was part of Peep's group called Goth Boi Clique, was ID'd in a newly unsealed federal indictment.

Law enforcement sources say Jones and many other friends of Peep were in Long Island for his funeral on December 2, 2017. They partied in Manhattan for 3 days to honor their friend and on Dec. 5 we're told Mike met Diana -- who wasn't a member of the crew -- at a hotel party ... then allegedly gave her heroin and fentanyl back at her apartment.

Cops say she was found dead at her place a couple days later, and they believe Jones was the one who supplied the drugs. We're told an indictment against him also claims he distributed heroin a couple months later.

As you'll recall ... Peep died after overdosing on Xanax and fentanyl. Many other drugs were discovered in his system as well. He was only 21.

Mac Miller's life will be celebrated with a gigantic show in Los Angeles featuring some of music's biggest acts who also happened to be the rapper's biggest friends.

An announcement for "Mac Miller: A Celebration of Life" just dropped ... and names on the ticket include Travis Scott, SZA, Chance The Rapper, John Mayer, Schoolboy Q, Ty Dolla $ign, Miguel and many, many more.

Proceeds from the show will benefit The Mac Miller Circles Fund and will go down Halloween night at The Greek Theatre.

Mac's mom, Karen, made the announcement for the show, saying, "Thank you to all the artists, friends and partners for helping to bring this all to fruition .. in honor of wonderful Malcolm .. who is in all of our hearts."

Mac died at his home in Los Angeles September 7 of an apparent drug overdose.

Burt Reynolds fans and car enthusiasts alike paid their respects to the late '"Smokey and the Bandit" star ... by rolling up in the classic ride he made famous.

Thousands of people attended Long Island's Motor Mania car show Saturday at Eisenhower Park, which featured a ceremonial parade of 100 Pontiac Firebird Trans Ams to honor Reynolds and his iconic 1977 film. It's called the "100-Trans Am Salute."

Several of the drivers also paid homage to Burt by going all out and dressing like the Bandit ... and rocking a stache. It's probably time to retire the Rebel flag license plates though.

The memorial was organized by the car show's host, Butch Yamali.

As we reported ... Burt's personal car collection hit the auction block at the Mandalay Bay Saturday, including a 1978 recreation of the iconic Pontiac in "Smokey and the Bandit."

Cops have made an arrest in the shooting death of 20-year-old LSU basketball player Wayde Sims.

According to the Baton Rouge Police Department ... Dyteon Simpson was taken into custody Saturday morning after admitting to shooting Sims. He's been charged with 2nd degree murder.

Police Chief Murphy Paul told reporters at a press conference Sims suffered a gunshot wound to the head after intervening in an altercation between his friend and Simpson.

Simpson left his glasses at the scene, which were recovered by cops and used to test DNA ... which found a match with Simpson.

Chief Paul says ... "Simpson was questioned and admitted to being in possession of a weapon, admitting to being on the scene and admitted to shooting Wayde as well." The investigation is ongoing.

As we reported ... Wayde was killed outside a Subway restaurant near Southern University's campus early Friday morning, about a 15-minute drive from LSU's main campus.

XXXTentacion had no idea his vocals would be used on one of the most powerful tracks of Lil Wayne's "Tha Carter V" when he was shot and killed outside a Florida motorcycle shop.

Wayne dropped 'TC5' Friday, and the second track "Don't Cry" features a powerful hook from X. However, we're told the vocals weren't originally recorded for the album.

X met with Z3n -- a 22-year-old producer from Florida -- back in February to record a few tracks. Z3n tells us the two hit it off and recorded some material, but the hook that was eventually used by Wayne stuck the most.

Z says he and X never finished the track, but Z kept what they did.

Fast forward to August -- two months after X's murder -- to a meeting with Z3n and music producer in Miami. Z tells us he randomly found the X track while showing him music and he loved it ... then passed it on to Lil Wayne and a Republic Records exec.

From there, it was passed off to Ben Billions for additional production touch ups. after that was completed it ended up in Wayne's hand and X's hook was added.

Z tells us he didn't hear anything more about the track until just a week before the release of 'TC5' when Wayne's people let him know X's vocals would be on the album.

Tupac's estate is getting a treasure trove of unreleased music, although not as much cash as it wanted.

We've learned Tupac's estate has settled its lawsuit against Entertainment One, the company it sued because the estate claimed E.O. had screwed it over royalties to the tune of 7 figures.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ, Entertainment One will pay the estate a substantial 6-figure amount. But, there's something way more significant.

Tupac's mom, Afeni Shakur, was the administrator of Tupac's estate back in 2013 and sued Entertainment One to get a bunch of unreleased master recordings her son had made.

Afeni died in 2016, but the lawsuit trudged on ... until this week. We've learned those unreleased masters will now go back to the estate. We're told the value of the recordings is huge.

Marty Balin -- one of the founding members of Jefferson Airplane -- died Thursday, according to his rep.

The legendary Bay Area musician's family confirmed his passing, but isn't releasing a cause of death.

Balin's best known for forming the pioneering psychedelic rock band with Paul Kantner in 1965, which popularized the "San Francisco Sound" of the era. Marty was one of the vocalists in the band's classic lineup in the late '60s, which headlined 3 of the most famous rock festivals at the time ... including Woodstock.

He co-wrote several of their hits, including "Comin' Back to Me" on their breakthrough album "Surrealistic Pillow." He also sang backup vocals on "Somebody to Love."

Balin left the band, but returned in 1974 when they gained even more commercial success as Jefferson Starship. He wrote the band's 1975 hit, "Miracles."

He bailed once again in 1978 because he was tired of touring -- or perhaps because of his issues with bandmate and rival singer, Grace Slick -- and went on to pursue a solo career. After a couple reunion tours with Airplane and Starship, he left the bands for good in 2008.

Balin underwent open-heart surgery in 2016 in NYC and later sued the hospital for malpractice. He was 76.

XXXTentacion's murder happened in plain view of surveillance cameras, and the haunting video was played in public for the first time Thursday during a Broward County court hearing.

The video shows X walking into the motorcycle dealership in Pompano Beach, FL ... and you see two of the suspects follow him into the building. Later, his BMW is stopped on the street by the gun-wielding suspects.

Surveillance cameras recorded what we'd already known -- that X struggled with his assailants before they opened fire at point-blank range. One of them actually walked around to the passenger side and got into X's car before fleeing the scene.

As we reported, the suspects made off with a Louis Vuitton bag and $50k in cash.

WPLG was in court as prosecutors played the video during a discovery and bail hearing for Robert Allen -- one of 4 suspects charged with the June murder of the rapper.

LSU basketball player Wayde Sims was shot and killed near Southern University's campus early Friday morning, Baton Rouge PD confirms. He was just 20 years old.

Cops say the junior forward was shot at a Subway restaurant across the street from the SU's football stadium around 12:30 in the morning.

Sims was transported to a local hospital where he later died from the gunshot wound.

FYI, Southern University is also located in Baton Rouge ... about a 15-minute drive from LSU's main campus.

Baton Rouge PD released video of a violent altercation leading up to the fatal shooting ... and are trying to identify the person wearing a gray t-shirt and red pants seen toward the end of the clip.

“We are all devastated," LSU coach Will Wade said Friday morning. “We need your prayers for Wayde, for his family, for all of us. We are heartbroken.”

“Wayde Sims’ loss is simply unbelievable to us right now,” Joe Alleva, LSU's athletics director, added. “There are no words that can express our sorrow for his parents and family."

"He was such a lovable young man who was full of joy. We are circling around his teammates and friends who need all the love and support we can give them. We are praying for his family, for his parents. God bless Wayde Sims.”

"This is your worst nightmare as a coach," Wade said in a news conference Friday morning.

"Everybody liked him. Anybody he came in contact with you automatically just loved him and loved his personality. He was just a blast to be around at all times."

"Obviously, we're all still devastated and in shock about everything. But we're going to support Wayde's family and support our guys and slowly move forward from this."

LSU alum and former NFL star Marcus Spears shared his condolences, saying "Sick about the news of #WaydeSims of @LSUBasketball woke up to this, this morning and it’s heartbreaking for these young men to lose their lives at the hands of someone that shouldn’t make that choice for them! #RIP young Brah #Senseless"

Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari released a statement Friday morning -- "Saying a prayer this morning for Wayde and the @LSUBasketball family. Very tough news to hear we've lost a young man just getting started. My condolences to his family, friends and teammates."

Philadelphia Sixers superstar Ben Simmons dedicated an Instagram post to Sims, saying "Gone too soon. Sending my prayers to the Sims family and everyone back home at @lsubasketball Nothing but positive things to say about you brother #lsuforever"

Auburn basketball head coach Bruce Pearl added, "Devasted to hear of the passing of Wayde Sims. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and the entire LSU community during this difficult time. Father God please take care of him!"

Sims -- whose dad Wayne also played for the Tigers from 1987-1991 -- averaged 5.6 points and 3 rebounds a game last season. He was a high school prodigy and was named the Louisiana Gatorade Player of the Year in 2015.

Paul John Vasquez -- who played a bunch of minor roles in huge TV shows, including "Sons of Anarchy," "NYPD Blue" and "CSI: NY" -- has died ... TMZ has learned.

Sources close to Vasquez tell TMZ ... Vasquez died Monday night from an apparent heart attack at his father's home in San Jose. We're told his dad found him unconscious and paramedics were called but they were unable to revive him. The cause of death is still under investigation.

Vasquez is the second actor from the popular TV show to have died in the last few months. We broke the story ... Alan O'Neill was found dead by his girlfriend back in June but no foul play was suspected.

Vasquez appeared in 2 episodes of 'SoA' back in 2011. According to his IMDB profile, Vasquez wrote the short film "Thug Alley" which was in pre-production. He was 48.

The man who confessed to killing former "Bridalplasty" contestant Lisa Marie Naegle was found guilty of 1st-degree murder.

According to the L.A. County District Attorney's Office, a jury of 12 returned its verdict Monday, convicting Jackie Jerome Rogers after a nearly two-week trial. The verdict comes nearly 2 years after Lisa went missing following a date with Rogers.

He's facing up to life in prison and will be sentenced at the end of October.

Lisa's family caught Rogers in a lie when he told police he'd dropped Lisa off at a bar early in the morning. But, surveillance footage showed her getting into his SUV around 2 AM. Rogers eventually confessed to killing her and told police she was buried in his Inglewood backyard.

Naegle was on the E! reality show back in 2010. She was a nurse, and Rogers was one of her students.

Asia Argento is breaking her silence on Anthony Bourdain's suicide … saying his death left a hole that can’t be filled, and anger was the only thing that kept her from taking her own life.

Tears streamed down Asia's face as she revealed her initial reaction to her boyfriend's death was anger. Anger because she felt he was "abandoning me, my kids."

Asia also told DailyMailTV -- in her first interview since Bourdain’s death -- her anger has now been replaced by an emotional hole that cannot be filled by anything.

Interestingly, Asia's initial interview -- which airs Monday and Tuesday -- comes just as CNN begins running the final 5 episodes of Anthony's hit show, 'Parts Unknown.'

What she says is also interesting because she had posted a cryptic message in the hours before Bourdain was found dead in a French hotel room. She was wearing a shirt that said, “F**K EVERYONE” and included the caption ... "You know who you are."

Asia's IG post led to speculation she got into an argument with Bourdain right before his suicide ... and there are rumors something happened that cut him to the core.