TV Business

Luis de la Rosa -- an animator with credits on big projects like "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" -- is dead after he was hit by a train while attending a film festival in France.

Local newspaper Le Dauphine Libéré reported the fatal incident Friday ... saying a locomotive struck a man wandering too close to train tracks in Annecy, a city near the French-Swiss border.

Emergency services were called to the train station ... but they couldn't save the man's life.

The newspaper did not identify the man, but noted he wore credentials from the Annecy International Animation Film Festival ... and the festival has now confirmed to Deadline that de la Rosa was the person killed.

"The Bachelorette" season starring Taylor Frankie Paul is almost out of Hollywood jail ... and there's an excellent chance it'll air on ABC next month ... TMZ has learned.

Production sources tell TMZ ... the current discussion behind the scenes is for the season to premiere in mid-July -- though final plans are not yet locked.

Our sources say when ABC pulled the season from its schedule, editors working on the series never stopped cutting the episodes ... a sign the network was keeping the door open for a future premiere.

TMZ broke the news ... TFP's season of "The Bachelorette" was pulled back in March after we published an intense video of Taylor and her ex, Dakota Mortensen, having a heated fight where she hurled metal barstools at him.

CAA co-founder Michael Ovitz ran for the hills when asked about Jeffrey Epstein during his recent deposition ... after his talent and sports agency was sued for allegedly playing a key role in an alleged Harvey Weinstein assault.

Here's the deal ... actress Julia Ormond sued CAA, Weinstein, Miramax and Disney under the Adult Survivors Act in New York in 2023 ... claiming CAA knew of Weinstein’s repeated sexual misconduct and sent her on a dinner meeting with him anyway. She said this led to him sexually assaulting her in December 1995.

Ormond's legal team finally scored a court order requiring Ovitz to show face for a deposition, but he flat-out declined to comply once the questions moved from Weinstein to his association with Epstein.

James Burrows -- a famous television director who was involved in some of the biggest sitcoms of all time -- is dead.

James' family released a statement Friday announcing his death ... revealing he passed away peacefully, surrounded by family.

The family noted his professional accomplishments ... but also focused on his personal life -- remembering him for "his kindness, generosity, and unwavering belief in the people around him" as well as his ability to make his colleagues feel seen and appreciated.

More legal drama on the set of “Matlock” ... this time, a staffer on the show is dragging the creator and a couple of writers to court for allegedly creating a hostile work environment.

TMZ has obtained a lawsuit filed Wednesday by John Lowe, who says he was hired back in 2023 as an executive story editor on the show. Lowe claims "Matlock" creator Jennie Urman Snyder and writers Nicki Renna and Jeffrey Lieber "fostered a writers room environment permeated by sexually explicit and discriminatory conduct” ... and he says much of it was directed personally at him.

In the filing, Lowe says he experienced "repeated racially and sexually offensive conduct" and claims he was ultimately fired in 2025 in retaliation for complaining about a particularly offensive comment.

Lowe, who's Black, claims when he asked last June if the show would be observing Juneteenth, Snyder responded by referring to the holiday with a racial slur, calling it ... "C***teenth."

Tyra Banks is getting a taste of her own medicine, and it's laughable she doesn't like it ... at least that's what Adrianne Curry is implying.

Here's the deal ... Tyra's suing Netflix for defamation, saying the streaming service used only a fraction of her 3-hour interview "to support a false and defamatory narrative" in its docuseries, "Reality Check: Inside America's Next Top Model."

But the original 'ANTM' winner went on social media Sunday to point out that's exactly what Tyra did to all of the contestants on her show, saying ... "I read that Tyra Banks is suing Netflix because she didn't like being edited."

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr is taking a major swipe at Scott Pelley, saying the fired "60 Minutes" correspondent is totally detached from reality.

Carr ripped Scott in a social media post, calling him out for criticizing the new CBS leadership and his dismissal from the popular newsmagazine show.

After CBS showed him the door after 37 years with the network, Scott told The New York Times he didn't think for a moment he would be fired ... even though things got really heated between him and new CBS brass.

In his X post, the FCC bigwig references the NYT interview, branding Scott's statements as "completely out of touch." He says Scott's behavior would not be tolerated at any run of the mill job.

Scott Pelley is opening up about his dramatic exit from CBS News ... and he’s not holding back on the emotion, comparing his firing from "60 Minutes" to his spouse being murdered.

In a new interview with The New York Times, the longtime news veteran became visibly emotional while discussing how he is feeling after being axed from the network last week -- saying at an emotional level, "it's like your spouse was murdered."

The news of Pelley's termination followed a sweep of lay-offs, which he refers to the internal shake-up as a "Black Thursday" moment ... saying the sudden departures of longtime colleagues -- many of whom he’s worked alongside for decades -- left him devastated.

Helen Mirren looks like she's got deep mob ties to Tom Hardy ... because she's showing support for her "MobLand" co-star amid reports of tensions on set.

Helen posted a photo of Tom on social media Thursday and wrote, "Love you now and always."

The public show of support comes on the heels of a report that Tom was difficult to work with on Season 2 of the Paramount+ hit ... he was allegedly holed up in his trailer and kept Helen, Pierce Brosnan, and the rest of the cast and crew waiting.

There's a report going around that Tom Hardy has been fired from his hit show "MobLand" after clashes with producers ... but TMZ has learned that's not exactly the case.

According to a source with direct knowledge ... while there is a good chance Tom may not return to the Paramount+ series ... the door is not totally shut. We're told the situation is fluid.

According to Puck ... Tom was canned after one too many behind-the-scenes clashes with producers Jez Butterworth and David Glasser. Butterworth allegedly said it was him or TH ... and Paramount chose Butterworth, says Puck.

Reality TV romance has turned into scandal overseas ... because every season of "Married at First Sight UK" has been yanked from Channel 4 after multiple women accused former cast members of sexual assault during filming ... according to multiple reports.

The explosive allegations surfaced ahead of a new BBC Panorama investigation ... with outlets reporting that two women claimed they were raped by their on-screen "husbands" ... while another accused a participant of a non-consensual sex act during production.

In response, Channel 4 says it's pulling all previous seasons of the hit reality series from both streaming and broadcast platforms ... while launching an external review into contributor welfare. The network says the allegations involve "a small number of past contributors" and noted the accusations are being denied by those involved.

"The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives" is going back into production, but some cast members -- those with penises -- might not be returning ... and there are dueling narratives as to why.

Production sources tell TMZ ... some of the men have banded together and refused to return in a hardball demand for more money.

However, another source with direct knowledge tells us ... it's unlikely the men will return, but it isn't their decision -- instead, it's producers who think there's not enough bang for the buck, so to speak.

In a nutshell, we're told the ladies are the stars of the series ... and producers got more evidence of that when fans rejected the dudes' recent "DadTok" venture.

Plus, Dakota Mortensen already can't come back, because he and Taylor Frankie Paul have dual restraining orders against each other!

Chris Appleton's officially taking his talents from the glam chair to the lifeguard tower ... 'cause TMZ has learned he's landed a role in the upcoming "Baywatch" reboot.

TMZ obtained photos of the celebrity hairstylist on set Tuesday in Los Angeles and he was hard to miss. Chris was shirtless for multiple takes, showing off his tan and chiseled physique in low-rise jeans and white sneakers while clutching scripts between scenes.

At one point, he was seen huddled with a crew member going over lines, and in another moment, he casually tossed on a jacket between takes while production staff and cameras surrounded him on location.

Jimmy Kimmel let the jokes fly at Disney's upfront event on Tuesday ... telling the advertisers he was just as surprised to see them as they were him, given all the recent drama with President Trump and the White House.

According to multiple people at the event ... Kimmel also quipped that the only way to get tossed off the air at ABC was to throw a chair at your Mormon boyfriend -- an obvious shot at Taylor Frankie Paul's drama that led to her season of "The Bachelorette" being pulled.

As we reported ... Trump and the First Lady once again pushed for ABC to pull Kimmel from the air for a joke he made about Melania being a widow ... a joke he made days before a suspect opened fire at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. Kimmel clarified his joke was about the couple's age difference.

Savannah Guthrie's turning her Wordle addiction into a full-on TV gig ... because the "TODAY" co-anchor is officially set to host a new "Wordle" game show executive produced by Jimmy Fallon.

The big reveal went down Monday on "Today" when Fallon popped up to announce the long-secret project ... saying he and The New York Times have been developing the hit puzzle game for TV for more than two years.

Fallon said finding the right host was easy ... joking they needed someone who "looks like they play Wordle" and knows how to run a show ... before crowning Savannah the perfect fit after filming the pilot.

Fresh off his highly successful Coachella performances, Justin Bieber performed another show -- but this time the audience was some of the most powerful people in Hollywood and tech.

JB played a shortened set this week at Jeffrey Katzenberg's WNDR conference -- his annual, super exclusive bash for Fortune 100 CEOs, tech entrepreneurs, and celebs at the Rosewood Miramar in Montecito ... according to Puck's Dylan Byers

No word on which songs Justin performed -- there are only a few snaps from inside the event -- but folks online are claiming his set was about 30 minutes ... and he also reportedly did a Q&A with NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, titled "Every Question Answered."