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Bill Maher misses the days of old -- especially when it comes to James Bond ... whom he says has gone soft and mushy in the Daniel Craig era, going so far as to call him "woke."

The 'Real Time' host dished his thoughts on the fictional spy character during the most recent episode of his podcast, "Club Random with Bill Maher," where he was chatting with YouTuber Hannah Stocking about how he feels Bond has changed ... for the worse.

Watch ... Bill says they've turned 007 into a watered-down stud, who's deeply in love and in a committed relationship in this last installment, "No Time to Die" -- which BM says is so unlike Bond and counterintuitive to the spirit of the OG character by author Ian Fleming.

To make his point, he recalls when Denise Richards starred in "The World Is Not Enough" -- Pierce Brosnan's 2nd-to-last go-around -- and killed it by playing a hottie scientist/the love interest.

It's unclear if Bill's suggesting that actress Lea Seydoux, who's Craig's GF in the last two flicks, *isn't* hot -- because that's just wrong, she totally is -- or if his beef is more so with the dynamic in these newer Bond movies ... aka, lovey-dovey. In any case, he doesn't dig it.

Bill even says Bond bringing his gal (and their kid) along for the climactic mission at the end is super weird -- joking the MI6 agent might as well have stopped off for tampons.

Of course, not everyone agrees with Bill's take -- there are a lot of folks who actually like how Bond has progressed over these past several years ... with some saying he's perhaps more fleshed-out, complex and interesting than any other iteration before this.

Henry Cavill was rumored to possibly be a presence at Comic-Con this weekend on behalf of Warner Bros. -- but its time came and went ... and there was no red cape in the sky.

A Deadline report suggested there were rumblings Cavill might actually be appearing this weekend down at the event to talk more "Superman" during the WB/DC panel, which just wrapped ... and no sign of HC anywhere (unlike in 2012, where he was front and center).

So, yeah ... the rumor and/or report was BS -- which is a bummer, because fans were juiced about the possibility of Henry being announced for more movies in the titular role.

It's not in the stars, though, it seems. This would've been a perfect opportunity to signal some sort of plan about what Warner -- now fused with Discovery -- is going to do with their biggest IP ... but it sounds like they're still unsure of where the brand is going. That, or they're sure they're done with Cavill. Of course, some have already seen that coming.

Instead of 'Superman' news ... WB trotted out new trailers for 'Shazam! 2' and 'Black Adam' -- with The Rock actually making allusions to the Man of Steel in a hypothetical match-up.

Legendary actor James Caan died from a combination of serious heart problems ... according to his death certificate.

The document, obtained by TMZ, says James died from a heart attack and coronary artery disease -- the most common heart disease in the U.S.

The certificate says James also suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, also known as COPD, and congestive heart failure.

As we reported ... James died July 6 at 82 years old, but details were scarce aside from a family statement.

The death certificate says James died at 9:02 PM at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles. He's since been buried at Eden Memorial Park, the final resting place for many celebs.

This year's Comic-Con is in full swing in San Diego -- and as always, swarms of people are going all out to dress as their favorite pop culture creations and mash-ups.

2022's convention kicked off Friday, and the looks are just as impressive as what we've seen in years past ... including a father-and-son duo dressed as Homelander and Billy Butcher from Amazon's "The Boys."

There's even a sick trio of Poseidon with a couple of mermaids -- check out the detail.

Fans of "Stranger Things" will be runnin' up that hill after seeing a life-sized Vecna cosplay roaming the halls ... using a pair of stilts for extra height.

Of course, Comic-Con wouldn't be complete without some character mash-up costumes ... just ask Darth Austin Powers and his pink stormtrooper babes.

Actress Shonka Dukureh, who recently gained attention for her role in the "Elvis" movie has died ... TMZ has learned.

Cops say Shonka -- who plays Big Mama Thornton in the film -- was found dead Thursday in a bedroom inside her Nashville apartment. It was one of Shonka's young children who found her ... the child then ran to alert a neighbor, who called 911 around 9:30 AM.

At this time, police say there's no foul play suspected in the actress' death.

Investigators are awaiting autopsy results before they can determine a cause of death.

Not only did Shonka appear in "Elvis" ... she was also in Doja Cat's "Vegas" music video, where she played the Big Mama Thornton role as well.

Shonka was only 44.

50 Cent and director Josh Stolberg have an instant promo for their upcoming horror flick, "Skill House" ... it's so terrifying, even the film's crew is losing consciousness on set!

TMZ Hip Hop obtained this footage ... it's the camera operator's reaction while filming a particularly bloody scene, and whoever's behind the lens has a weak stomach ... because he passed out on the spot.

The clip opens up with an extremely bloody actor and you can see the camera become wobbly almost immediately as the cameraman loses consciousness (but thankfully not his lunch!).

If you're squeamish too, you get why the guy went down -- 50 still couldn't believe it when he shared the gory story on Instagram ... and he was just getting it secondhand.

We're told Fiddy wasn't on set at the time but several other cast members, including Amira Mertaban, were present -- Amira was actually the first person to rush to the cameraman's side. Medics stepped in, and we're told the camera guy is fine ... he'll be back on set to finish the film.

Hollywood SFX legend Steve Johnson is credited (or blamed) for creating the gut-wrenching scene. He and Stolberg -- who worked on the last 2 'Saw' movies -- seem hellbent on pushing the limit on "Skill House."

Brad Pitt says he might be bowing out of movies -- or at least appearing in them, anyway -- which could be a big mistake, 'cause the guy's still as magnetic as ever ... just look at this!

Here's the legendary A-lister hobnobbing on a boat while cruising the Seine River in Paris this weekend ... the first stop for his latest press run to plug his new film, 'Bullet Train' -- a high-voltage action flick that sees Brad fighting bad guys in and out of transit in Tokyo.

While the movie looks great -- it's actually just the second flick he's headed up as a straight-on lead in at least a few years. Yes, he had a supporting role in 'The Lost City,' which was hilarious, but before that ... it was 'Ad Astra' way back in 2019 when he got top billing.

As fans of his have certainly noticed, he's been doing a lot less films in recent years -- picking and choosing roles wisely ... which paid off with an Oscar 2 years ago.

But it's also a sign of his movie stardom slow-down. He addressed this recently in a GQ interview ... saying he figured he was on his "last leg" of acting, going on to say he was in the final stretch of that particular chapter -- and musing on what might be next for him.

The dude's got his Plan B production co., which continues to crank out great films with accolades to boot ... but on the thespian front, this might be one of his ultimate go-arounds.

He's got a few more gigs on the horizon, it seems -- but if this is, in fact, a closing glimpse of him doing the Hollywood thing ... we gotta say, he's going out with a bang. These shots are emblematic of what many have said about Brad's on-screen presence -- home boy's just got it, even at his age now. Take a gander through these pics ... they're gold.

Chris Evans and Ryan Gosling’s latest sweepstakes is a massive success ... raising over $200k for charity and giving some lucky donors the opportunity of a lifetime.

Sources connected to the fundraising effort tell TMZ Chris and Ryan raised $276,444 for Christopher’s Haven, Inc., ... Evans' charity which offers temporary, low-cost housing for pediatric cancer patients and families while receiving treatment away from home in Boston.

As we've told you, the two actors teamed up with Omaze to help raise money for the org. Those who donated were entered into a drawing for the chance to get flown out to the premiere of their new movie "The Gray Man" for some serious movie star treatment.

We're told the winner selected was Lula H. and her daughter, Mariah, from Columbus, OH.

The two will enjoy an all-expense-paid flight, 4-star hotel stay and will get to join Chris at the red carpet premiere of "The Gray Man" with plenty photo ops with Chris and Ryan -- who both star in the movie.

The newest 'Thor' movie crushed it at the box office this weekend -- but as far as how people actually feel about it ... well, it seems much of the internet thought it was trash.

The numbers are in, and per estimates ... "Thor: Love and Thunder" raked in a whopping $143 million domestically, landing as one of the highest-grossing openings in the MCU. That's all fine and good for Disney, we're sure, but general reactions to the film aren't great.

For starters, critics gave it a relatively low score -- just 68% on RT -- which is a drastic drop  compared to other Marvel movies, historically ... most have held up much better over the years under professional scrutiny, but that's not the case with 'L&T.'

Not only were the pros unimpressed ... it sounds like "Film Twitter," as it were, also found the movie to be absurdly bad -- especially compared to other 'Thor' entries. Sooo, what's their beef exactly??? It ain't hard to tell ... people seem to have found it to be juvenile.

Scroll through some of the "Thor" trends and you'll see -- it's either folks crapping on the movie, or a bunch of others piling on those same people while trying to defend 'Love and Thunder,' with their argument being ... it's a freaking comedy, turn off your brains and enjoy!

That might be true, but it looks like a good majority aren't thrilled with the direction 'Thor' is going under the watch of Taika Waititi -- who helmed the last beloved installment, "Ragnarok," and who apparently did more of the same in this new one ... perhaps too much.

Many say 'Love and Thunder' relies too heavily on gags and punchlines rather than savor in the heavy stuff -- and some feel like the character/franchise has jumped the shark.

There's also people saying Christian Bale's bad guy character, Gorr, doesn't get enough screen time -- nor does Natalie Portman, it seems, based on some of these recaps. In short, there's a good handful of viewers who felt the movie was all over the place and uneven.

The Rotten Tomatoes audience score is at just 81%, which might sound okay for a regular movie -- but for Marvel, that's fairly awful. To be honest, we haven't seen it yet ... so it's difficult to say if there's any validity to all this criticism -- or if it's overblown/exaggerated.

Florence Pugh is firing back at people who opined on what they thought of her body -- specifically, her breasts -- when she bared it all in a see-through dress this weekend.

The actress was in Rome Friday for a Valentino Haute Couture fashion show, where she donned a pink getup on the red carpet that was about as sheer as it gets ... especially upstairs. Indeed, her chest was on full display -- and FP decided to go braless for the night.

It turned heads in the moment, no doubt, but it also apparently got a major reaction online ... especially from men, who Florence is now putting on blast for what she says were chauvinistic and disgusting comments -- some of which sound like frat boy talk.

Florence took to IG Sunday with three BTS photos of herself in the gown, and added a lengthy caption. She says she knew what she was doing and that the dress would get a reaction of some sort -- but that she didn't care, and wasn't nervous about it at all.

Then, she adds ... "What's been interesting to watch and witness is just how easy it is for men to totally destroy a woman's body, publicly, proudly, for everyone to see. You even do it with your job titles and work emails in your bio?"

FP continues, "It isn't the first time and certainly won't be the last time a woman will hear what's wrong with her body by a crowd of strangers, what's worrying is just how vulgar some of you men can be. Thankfully, I've come to terms with the intricacies of my body that make me, me. I'm happy with all of the 'flaws' that I couldn't bear to look at when I was 14."

Some of the vulgar words used, apparently, had to do with guys telling her/rhetorically asking her if she was embarrassed by her "tiny t***" or by the fact she was so "flat-chested."

To that, Florence asks ... why are you so afraid/bothered by breasts??? She goes on to describe that she grew up in a household of women who owned every curve of their bodies, and that she feels the same now ... taking pride in flaunting conventional beauty standards.

L.Q. Jones -- a versatile character actor whose career dates back to the 1950s -- has died.

His death was confirmed by his family, who says he passed of natural causes in the Hollywood Hills surrounded by loved ones ... this according to Variety.

Jones had over 160 acting credits to his name, with his first several coming in the year 1955 -- when he starred in military-inspired flicks like "An Annapolis Story," "Battle Cry" and "Target Zero." He also appeared in a few episodes of the western-themed TV show "Cheyenne."

From there, LQJ was on a roll ... with acting in a number of films and TV series like "Annie Oakley," "Gunsight Ridge," "Operation Mad Ball," "Buchanan Rides Alone," "The Naked and the Dead," "Jefferson Drum," "Men of Annapolis," "The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin" and more.

Flip-flopping between war and westerns, Jones stayed busy in the '60s. Some of the more popular titles he was in ... "Lassie," "Klondike," "Laramie," "Perry Mason," "Route 66," "Wagon Train," "Rawhide," "The Virginian," "Gunsmoke" and "The Big Valley" ... just to name a few.

Other hit shows in which he had guest-starring roles included, "Hawaii Five-O," "Charlie's Angels," "Ironside," "Kung Fu," "CHiPs," "Columbo," "Cannon," "The Runaways," "The Dukes of Hazzard" and lots of others. He even starred in "The Incredible Hulk," "Walker, Texas Ranger," "The A-Team," "Renegade," "The Yellow Rose" and more throughout the '80s/'90s.

He'll also probably be remembered for his work on "The Wild Bunch," "Major Dundee," "Ride the High Country" and "A Boy and His Dog" -- the latter of which he wrote and directed.

Jones also had a memorable scene in Martin Scorsese's "Casino." While the guy certainly had already carved out a name for himself before the turn of the century, millennials might actually recognize him as well thanks to a cult classic from the late '90s.

Indeed, Jones plays the Legendary Three-Fingered Jack in "The Mask of Zorro" -- where he had a scene-stealing moment in which he was shot and killed mid-air ... this after being ejected from a mineshaft cart and flying toward a group of bad guys with a pickax.

Jones was 94.

Anthony Mackie is set to take up the mantle as the new Captain America in his own movie, but on speculation over whether Chris Evans might reprise the role ... he says, no chance.

News about Mackie starring in a forthcoming 'Captain America 4' flick surfaced this week, with director Julius Onah reportedly attached to direct. This, of course, comes on the heels of Mackie's Disney+ show -- which ends with him accepting the CA shield.

You'd think that conclusion -- which was made very clear on the show, this after Evans' character, Steve Rogers, had already passed the torch at the end of 'Endgame' -- wouldn't be up for debate ... but apparently, among some fans, it is. And, THR alluded to that in a thread.

In response to uncertainty about Evans' possible involvement with the new movie and the character, CE himself weighed in Saturday ... writing, "Sam Wilson is Captain America."

The reason that's a big deal ... it seems to shut down trolls who, to this day, aren't cool with the idea of Mackie carrying on as the titular superhero -- a controversy that's been brewing since 2019 when he was officially tapped as Chris Evans' successor.

A lot of the pushback over AM has been straight-up racist ... with many saying a Black guy simply shouldn't be allowed to assume the role (even though that happens in the comics).

Now, Chris appears to be confirming he's done with 'Captain America,' and that Mackie will exclusively continue as the character ... without Chris's involvement going forward. Frankly, that makes sense logistically -- Evans is depicted as an old dude in the final 'Avengers' movie ... so to jam him into the plot, beyond just a cameo, feels unlikely/unnecessary.

BTW, Mackie as the new Captain America carries a lot of weight. It's revealed on the show -- based on an earlier comic series, which is canon -- that the fictionalized history behind Captain America is dark, with the U.S. government testing/perfecting the super serum giving him his powers on Black soldiers while Cap was under ice. So, technically, Captain America was built on the backs of Black people ... a metaphor to our own real-life history, some say.

Armie Hammer is indeed working as a timeshare salesman in the Cayman Islands ... the actor was heard pitching the benefits of owning property in the beautiful vacation spot.

Armie is very much in salesman mode ... you see him sitting with a couple and going over pricing for a unit.

A prospective buyer in the office says Armie was outlining a plan that would cost $2,020 per week ... or, as the "Social Network" star put it, only about $21,000 for 10 years of vacations!

Armie delivered that sales pitch last month. Vacationing couples were enticed to go to the timeshare office through a flyer that promised discounts for excursions on the island.

As we reported, Armie was spotted outside the office in late June after reports he was working there ... Armie's rep told us he had a friend who worked at the resort, but didn't know whether or not Armie was showing or selling timeshares.

James Caan, the legendary actor made famous for his roles in films like "The Godfather," "Brian's Song" has died.

This was just posted on James' Twitter account -- "It is with great sadness that we inform you of the passing of Jimmy on the evening of July 6. The family appreciates the outpouring of love and heartfelt condolences and asks that you continue to respect their privacy during this difficult time."

Caan's breakout role came in 1972, when he played Sonny on "The Godfather." He was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor as well as a Golden Globe.

He reprised the role in 'Godfather II.'

Before 'Godfather' Caan played Brian Piccolo in "Brian's Song."

James was in numerous movies ... including "Misery," "Dick Tracy" and "Elf."

Caan was born in the Bronx ... the son of Jewish immigrants from Germany. His dad was a butcher.

James played football at Michigan State University.

Caan was a fixture at the Playboy Mansion in the '70s and '80s ... he loved to party and was never shy about speaking his mind.

He has 5 kids, including Scott, an actor himself who starred in "Hawaii Five-0."

James was married most recently to Linda Stokes from 1995-2009.

James was 82.

Armie Hammer seems to have himself a little side gig in the Cayman Islands -- or at least he's spending a bunch of time at a resort and even giving tours ... according to a witness.

This photo shows the actor in a light blue polo and blue pants, looking very much like a staffer as he walks into one of the resort offices.

Now, according to a timeshare resident ... Armie's been in the office several hours a day, and is often seen going outside for smoking breaks.

You might have heard about the flyer that popped up on Twitter Wednesday -- it has Armie's face and says he's a "personal concierge" to incoming tourists.

AH has laughed off the flyer and says it's not legit.

While that might be, the witness claims he did show at least one family around a timeshare on the resort property. TMZ's also confirmed Armie has a friend who works at the resort -- so, it's possible he's just helping out a buddy, or simply doing something to fill his time.

Either way, the guy seems to be fully settled into island life.

He moved to Cayman during the pandemic and had been quarantining there with his 2 children and now-ex-wife Elizabeth. The couple filed for divorce in July 2020, and while Elizabeth left with their kids, Armie's remained on the Caribbean island.

Movie gunfire that has been a staple on the big screen for decades is way more problematic these days -- given the fear those sounds generate during production -- but TMZ has learned the LAPD will continue to allow movie shoots in public areas that involve gunfire.

A law enforcement source at LAPD's Film Unit -- which issues permits to shoot movies in Hollywood and surrounding areas -- tells TMZ, there are no plans to limit shooting scenes in public places.

The LAPD will not publicly comment on its rationale ... but in the wake of the massacres in Highland Park, Uvalde, Buffalo and hundreds of other cities this year alone, there's no doubt the sound of gunshots strikes fear in anyone within earshot.

You can see clearly from celebrations during the 4th of July in Orlando -- where fireworks went off and people scrambled thinking it was gunfire -- just how terrified and on edge people are.

Nevertheless, there's no current plan in L.A. to limit productions that use weapons and the sounds of gunshots while filming in public.

We attempted to find out if any such productions have outstanding permits for movie shootouts, but records are not readily available.