The Beatles

Reese Witherspoon and Paul McCartney now have a special connection through their own flesh and blood, and the big question -- is it a case of love me do ... or hello, goodbye?

Reese and Ryan Phillippe's daughter, 18-year-old Ava Phillippe, was out strolling the streets of London earlier this week with Paul's eldest grandson, Arthur Donald McCartney, who's also 18.

Ava seemed pretty smitten with the dude, and we can't blame her ... Arthur's kind of a stud with Beatles-esque charm flowing through his veins. Ava and Arthur also stopped off for a drink at a bar. Chill, they're legal to booze in the UK.

BTW ... Arthur's mom is Mary McCartney -- Paul and Linda's first child together.

Hard to tell if Ava and Arthur are just in the friend zone or starting a romance.

Months before John Lennon told The Beatles he wanted out, he was so focused on Yoko Ono ... he hand wrote a Christmas card to her ex-husband, which is now available for wealthy collectors.

Lennon penned the card to music producer Tony Cox in December 1968. Cox and Ono were married from 1962-69 ... so they weren't officially divorced yet when Lennon wrote to him.

The card ain't exactly full of holiday cheer, instead it's all about Yoko moving out -- "We took most of the stuff I think - we're gradually going through it."

John also asks Tony to fork over 2 of Yoko's short films and master tapes from a February 1968 concert she'd performed. The card, and enclosed letter, is being sold on MomentsInTime.com. They're asking $15k for it ... which is kind of a steal considering a lock of John's hair went for $35k.

No one's bigger than The Beatles, not even Justin Bieber ... according to Ringo Starr himself.

The legendary drummer did dinner Tuesday night at Il Segreto in Bel Air with ex-Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh, who once played in Ringo's All-Starr Band.

So the question ... if The Beatles and Bieber had both been around at the same time, who'd open for who?

If Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Joe Walsh, Tom Hanks and Dave Grohl go out for dinner -- as they did Wednesday night in Santa Monica -- who picks up the tab?

The legends came together with their wives at Giorgio Baldi for what has to be the most hall of fameiest meal ever. Think about it -- Beatles, Eagles, Nirvana ... plus Forrest freakin' Gump!

BTW ... it's a trick question. No one in their right mind would charge such a legendary table, we're guessing.

And for good measure ... Martin Short with Maya Rudolph were also in the the restaurant. Basically, it was a tourist's wet dream.

The Beatles fans could own a very cool piece of the iconic band's history -- the drum kit used for the recording of their first American single, which was played by the "Fifth Beatle."

Unless you're a total fanatic, you probably don't know Andy White replaced Ringo Starr on drums during the recording of "Love Me Do" ... their first #1 song in the U.S.

Nate D. Saunders Auctions has the set on the auction block until January 26, but you're gonna need Beatle-esque cash to score it. Bidding begins at $75,000.

Money can't buy you love, but it'll get you the legendary 4-piece that launched Beatlemania.

Paul McCartney is putting Sony Music on notice ... he's going to reclaim his copyright on a bunch of The Beatles hits in the very near future whether the label likes it or not.

Sony currently holds the copyright on the songs, but in legal docs Sir Paul says they will become his property again in 2018. The tracks -- including "Love Me Do," "All You Need Is Love" and "I Want to Hold Your Hand" -- are part of the Sony ATV catalog.

It's the same group of songs Michael Jackson once controlled. His estate sold it to Sony outright last year ... for $750 million.

According to docs, McCartney's tried numerous times to get confirmation Sony will transfer the rights without a fight, but says he kept getting the run around.

Macca says he's being proactive by filing this lawsuit to get a little help from his friends -- in the court -- to declare the songs will be his again by next year.

George Harrison thought Christina Applegate was so adorable, he just wanted to eat her up ... at least according to David Faustino.

Faustino claims Harrison was infatuated with Kelly Bundy back in the "Married with Children" days ... and what he allegedly said will shock every Beatles fan on earth.

David's revelation went down on Matt Weiss and Theo Von's "Allegedly" podcast.

You'll never hear "Come Together" the same way ever again.

George Martin, the incredibly brilliant producer of The Beatles who was such an influence on the group he was known as "the 5th Beatle" -- has died.

Martin passed away Wednesday at his home in London.

His influence cannot be understated. When Martin met the Beatles in 1962 he was not impressed ... he felt their music was all over the place, but, as he put it, "They were like plants in a hothouse. They grew incredibly fast."

Martin got initial resistance from John Lennon and Paul McCartney, who wrote the songs for the group, but they quickly grew to trust Martin like a partner. When they were recording "Yesterday," it was Martin who wanted to add a string quartet. Paul didn't get it at first, saying "We're a rock 'n' roll band!" Paul relented, and an empowered Martin added a cello and violin.

Martin's knowledge of technology was inspiration for the group ... best shown in songs like "Penny Lane," "Strawberry Fields Forever" and the crown jewel -- the album, "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band."

Paul called Martin "a second father," but all 4 guys revered him.

Several locks of John Lennon's hair are on the auction block, and even though it's already going for five figures ... it's a steal as Lennon memorabilia goes.

Heritage Auction out of Dallas is hawking a 4-inch chunk of John's hair -- a hairdresser cut it off before his role in a 1967 movie called, "How I Won The War" -- and the current bid is at $12k.

Past Lennon items have gone for way more than that: his '65 Rolls Royce Phantom V sold for $2.23 MILLION, and Lennon's handwritten lyrics to "All You Need is Love" fetched $1.25 million.

So chances are the price on Lennon's locks will go through the roof too. Get your bids in now!

The bubbly '60s pop tune "Hippy Hippy Shake" is still making money -- 50 years after The Beatles grooved to it -- now there's a fight brewing over who gets to keep the cash.

At least 5 different people or businesses are claiming they're entitled to royalties from the song -- including the original writer ... according to court docs obtained by TMZ.

Universal Music -- which pays out the royalties -- filed the docs because it's not sure who rightfully deserves the dough ... and wants a judge to figure it out.

It's a nice chunk of change, too ... the song has been recorded by several different artists (including The Swinging Blue Jeans in this 1963 vid) and still gets airplay. In the last 6 months of 2013 the diddy earned $5,368 ... and Universal expects it to rake in at least another $20K in the future.

There are dozens of things that don't make sense in Lady Gaga's "G.U.Y." music video ... but TMZ has solved ... The Mystery of the Empty Coffin.

In the video, which has over 13 million views on YouTube already, there's a part where Gaga resurrects Michael Jackson, Gandhi and Jesus from the dead ... and they emerge from smoke-filled coffins. But if you watched closely, you would have noticed 4 coffins ... but only 3 resurrections.

TMZ has learned the fourth dead celeb was supposed to be John Lennon. We spoke with Alexander Karavay, who was cast for the part after submitting the photo below. He shot his scenes, but was cut from the final version.

Karavay says he's bummed he got the ax -- he'd told his family and friends he was in the video -- but he understands Gaga is an artist and perhaps it was her vision to cut him out.

We're all at the mercy of Gaga.

He also snapped a shot of he and Miley getting "high as f**" this weekend before a recording sesh.

The girl with kaleidescope red eyes.

Michael Jackson was broke as a joke when he died ... so the IRS tax attack is showing a glaring ignorance ... so claim the people who run the MJ Estate.

Sources connected with the Estate tell TMZ ... they never suggested the Beatles catalog was worth ZERO -- to the contrary they agree it's worth around $1.5 BILLION.

That said ... sources say there's a reason they put a big fat zero in the Beatles column when they filed tax returns just after Michael died. They say there was a $700 million loan taken against the purchase of the catalog, bringing the net value to $800 million. Michael and Sony were 50/50 partners ... which means Michael's share was around $400 million.

Now the debt. Michael leveraged his interest to the hilt -- he borrowed $320 million against the catalog. And He owed another $200 million in personal debt ... And that's why they put ZERO.

One bone of contention -- although the Estate values the catalog at $1.5 billion, the IRS says it's DOUBLE that amount.

Estate sources say the IRS is also off base on the issue of MJ's likeness and image, which they valued at only $2,105 at the time he died. The IRS says it's worth more like $434 million.

Our sources say you have to look back at June, 2009. They say Michael made zilch on his likeness and image for the 15 YEARS before his death -- no commercials, not even T-shirts ... no one wanted to be associated with him -- at least commercially.

And finally ... as for the Jackson 5 music collection -- the Estate says it was worth $11.2 mil when Michael died ... the IRS says $45.5 mil.

So the sources say after settling up with Motown, MJ's interest was a lot less than people think. The Estate would gladly sell Michael's rights even today for $45.5 mil ... they say they'd sell it for $30 mil!

The Michael Jackson Estate is insane for trying to value MJ's Beatles collection at ZERO for tax purposes ... so says one of the most prominent Beatles experts in the world ... who also happens to be a tax attorney.

The Estate is in a dogfight with the IRS ... which claims MJs people stiffed the government on more than a half a BILLION dollars in taxes by undervaluing assets ... including MJs interest in songs by MJ and the Beatles. The Estate says the asset is worth NOTHING. The IRS says the Estate should have declared a value of $469 million.

Beatles guru and attorney Bruce Spizer tells TMZ, "No one could value that collection at zero with a straight face." Spizer, who has written 8 books about the group that changed the world 50 years ago tonight on "The Ed Sullivan Show," says the IRS may have "slightly inflated" the value of the catalog, but believes it's definitely worth minimum $300 million and could be as much as $400 million.

Spizer says, "For the Estate to list the value at zero, they lose all credibility."

Reps for the MJ Estate tell TMZ, they dispute the entire IRS analysis of MJs assets. The reps say they used nationally-recognized experts to determine value while the IRS wallows in speculation.

Rod Stewart is forever bitter about one of his contemporaries -- maybe the only one that outshined him ... The Beatles ... because he says he "COULDN'T GIVE A F**K" about a Beatles-ish reunion.

It's a little hard to hear the photog because another pap is talking over him. But he asks Rod what he thinks of the Beatles getting back together.

Obviously, the photog is a little behind on not-so-current events ... but Paul and Ringo might perform together on 'Letterman' next month to mark the 50th anniversary of the Beatles Ed Sullivan debut.

Unclear why Rod has beef. He's outlived half the group.

... the Beatles. Duh.

BUT ... Billy Bob Thornton says if he HAD to name the greatest band of all time -- but couldn't pick the Fab 4 -- he knows exactly which group he would pick.

Hint: BBT's (second) favorite band was huuuge in the '70s ... but never scored a #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 list. They did have a #2 ... with the word "Man" in the title.

Second Hint: The group was founded (and named after) two brothers.