TMZ.com

Han Solo believed there's nothin' quite like a good blaster at your side, and 'Star Wars' fans seem to agree -- that's why Harrison Ford's actual prop from the original film fetched just over a mil at auction!!!

The Rock Island Auction Company held an event for collector firearms over the weekend ... they've sold great finds before like John Wayne's weapon from "True Grit" and Alexander Hamilton's pistols, but come on -- there's nothing quite like this.

The DL-44 Heavy Blaster Pistol snagged $1,057,500 at auction -- but that chunk of change is nothing to a die-hard fan of the galaxy far, far away.

FYI ... it was estimated to go for $300K-500K -- almost as big of a jump as one to hyperspace.

The blaster's the same one used on-screen by the reckless smuggler himself in "Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope" ... and is the last surviving example of the three models that were made for the movie.

The piece was originally a Mauser that George Lucas' team converted to a non-firing weapon for blanks only ... sorry, no womp rat shooting with this thing.

Air Canada is the worst airline in North America ... according to 'Harry Potter' star Matthew Lewis, who says the airline ripped up his first class ticket in his face.

Matthew, best known as Neville Longbottom in the 'Potter' films, vented on Twitter, accusing the airline of putting him through the wringer -- forcing him to fly economy from Orlando to Toronto.

The actor says he was booted from his initial flight -- in first class -- because it was full, and when he was rebooked the airline sent him back to coach. The switch set Matthew off, and he ranted, "Confirmed. @AirCanada is the worst airline in North America. And that's saying something."

He continued, "I've been bumped before. I think it's a ludicrous policy that we've inexplicably normalised but it is what it is. That said, that's not my issue. I wasn't told til boarding, no apology, no ask if like to rebook, and if want a refund I have to call them."

Despite his frustrations he did stop to acknowledge how big the problem was in the grand scheme of things ... he tweeted, "Lol. Privileged problems, sure. But still wild."

It's time for What's-Twitter-Bitching-About-Now -- and today, Heather Matarazzo's character from an old Disney movie is being placed under the microscope ... maybe for good reason.

If you're seeing 'Princess Diaries' trending this weekend ... this is why. Somebody posed a question, writing ... "Who is the worst fictional friend you can think of?" The tweet took off, and it seems the consensus is ... Lilly Moscovitz from the 2001 Anne Hathaway flick.

Apparently, users on the bird app remember this performance well ... and they brought the receipts to back up their argument that Lilly kinda sucks. They might even have a point!

Folks posted compilations of scenes from 'TPD,' showing off a lot of moments between Mia and Lilly -- including a notable one from toward the beginning ... where Matarazzo (in character) is telling AH she can't believe she's not over her dad's death from 2 months ago.

There are other scenes that are getting mentioned as well ... including a good amount where Lilly is straight up hating on Mia's ascendance as a princess -- calling her a sell-out and making her feel guilty for changing into something she no longer recognizes ... while also trying to use her at various points for her own personal gain.

Indeed, in this hyper-focused context ... Lilly/Matarazzo certainly comes off as sorta s****y.

Still, it's a little absurd how this convo is unfolding in the feed ... some on Twitter seem to be genuinely upset that Lilly was such a bad friend and has since been labeled as "toxic" ... perhaps not holding up to societal standards of a supportive BFF, especially in 2022.

Of course, Lilly isn't real ... and this movie was made more than 20 years ago. More importantly, Mia stands up for herself -- and Lilly apologizes in the end, completing her arc.

If we're being honest, the fact Lilly's being discussed at all today speaks to how good of a job Matarazzo did all those years ago ... and how we really can't have good things anymore.

Director Edward Buckles Jr. is taking a unique look at the lasting effects of Hurricane Katrina ... looking at the disaster through the lens of children who were traumatized by it.

The film's director and New Orleans native joined us on "TMZ Live" Friday and talked about the lingering trauma that is highlighted in the doc, "Katrina Babies."

Edward says PTSD is a real thing with folks who are now in their 20's and 30's but were children when the vicious storm hit 17 years ago. He also sees a connection to the violence today among young people in New Orleans.

He has personal experience ... Edward was just 13 when Katrina hit, and although he was able to make it out, some of his cousins did not.

Edward says the government's poor response to the hurricane has also had a lasting impact ... creating cynicism and anger among young people.

Shia LaBeouf is back from the brink of a terribly dark place, and he's crediting his latest project, "Padre Pio" ... saying the role and God pulled him back to the light.

Shia revealed he did some serious studies on Catholicism for his upcoming film ... talking about his journey to meet with Bishop Robert Barron of the Word on Fire Catholic Ministries.

He says he even prepped for the role of the Franciscan Capuchin friar by living in a monastery with other friars.

Shia admits he went into production at a rough point in his life -- as we reported, he was sued by his ex, FKA Twigs, in 2020 for sexual battery, and claims he felt suicidal. He says he told the Bishop, "I had a gun on the table. I was outta here. I didn't want to be alive anymore when all this happened."

However, he thinks his studies made him a lot more grateful to be alive, saying ... "It was seeing other people who have sinned beyond anything I could ever conceptualize also being found in Christ that made me feel like, 'Oh, that gives me hope.'"

He believes God was behind his whole realization, claiming he was "using my ego to draw me to him."

'Star Trek' legend Nichelle Nichols is heading back to space with several of her Enterprise crewmates ... part of an incredibly fitting mission to put their remains into orbit.

Nichelle, who starred as Lieutenant Uhura and passed away back in July, will have her ashes added to the payload of a Vulcan rocket launching later this year for the moon and beyond.

United Launch Alliance's Vulcan Centaur mission will first deliver a robotic lunar lander -- to scout for NASA's future Artemis flights to the moon -- but then it will continue deeper into the solar system for the 'Star Trek' tribute.

The rocket will deliver Nichelle's remains -- as well as 'Star Trek' creator Gene Roddenberry, James Doohan ("Scotty") and Majel Barrett Roddenberry ("Nurse Chapel") -- into a so-called "graveyard orbit" around the sun.

As for the fact, the 'Trek' greats' final flight will be on a "Vulcan" rocket ship -- Nichelle's son, Kyle Johnson, says "I'm sure she would have much preferred to go on the shuttle, but this was a pretty close second."

For John Boyega, the best thing about acting is getting to play characters who are fundamentally different from who he is in real life ... and he only wants roles that fit the bill.

John joined us on "TMZ Live" and told us why he's not a fan of restricting who actors can and cannot play based on heritage, identity, sexual orientation, etc.

The way John sees it, actors are people who play other people ... and the profession was never supposed to be about portraying a character that is super similar to the actual actor.

While there's been some backlash recently about James Franco being cast to play Fidel Castro and Ana de Armas portraying Marilyn Monroe ... John says haters are getting it all wrong, and actors shouldn't let audiences define who they are.

John says he makes it a priority to find casting directors and producers who want him to transform into a role ... and he says his upcoming movie, "Breaking," is a prime example.

JB is returning to the big screen after taking a break from acting during the pandemic ... and explains why it's important for those in his profession to avoid burnout, and tells us why a hiatus is not as glamorous as it sounds.

Ewan McGregor seems to be having a little friendly competition with Mark Ruffalo about which Disney universe is better -- this after The Hulk took a shot at 'Star Wars.'

The 'Obi-Wan Kenobi' star recently responded to a pretty simple question ... would you ever join the MCU??? As Comicbook notes, EMG doesn't sound all that interested -- suggesting he's content with what he's going on under Lucasfilm and co.

McGregor says, "I don't know that I want to do that. Because I love doing all different kinds of work. It's true. I love to direct. I'd like to be in the theater again. I definitely want to do this again, you know, I'm in this 'Star Wars' world. I feel like I don't need another ... I'm not looking for that anyway." He hedged, though, adding he wouldn't rule it out completely.

He also had this to say ... "That's the beautiful thing about how passionate Disney, Lucasfilm, all of us are, who are involved with it is from the beginning is we try really hard not to let anything of the bad just to protect your experience of seeing it for the first time." So in other words, 'Star Wars' is far from drab and bland ... as Ruffalo recently indicated.

You might've heard the guy hurling stones at his fellow Disney franchise across the park, saying that with 'SW' content ... you're really getting the same stuff every time. In Marvel projects, however, he says those will give you a fresh take -- even within the MCU itself.

Yeah ... it definitely seems there's a bit of rivalry going on between the two Disney IPs, and now -- McGregor seems to be distancing himself even more amid Mark's dig.

BTW, this apparent petty feud might date back even further than MR's latest salvo. Earlier in the Spring, when Ewan and Hayden Christensen were promoting 'Obi-Wan,' they both let it be known that they consider the 'Star Wars' universe better than MCU, along with its fans.

Leon Vitali -- Stanley Kubrick's longtime assistant and collaborative partner in cinema for decades -- has died.

The late director's verified social media accounts confirmed Vitali's death Sunday ... writing, "It is with the greatest of sadness that we have to tell you that the mainstay of a vast number of Kubrick's films, Leon Vitali, passed away peacefully last night.  Our thoughts are with his family and all that new and loved him." No other details were offered.

Kubrick's account goes on to heap on the praise for Vitali ... noting his behind-the-scenes work with his film master, but also pointing to the roles he portrayed on camera as an actor -- including as one of the leads for SK's 1975 period drama "Barry Lyndon."

The post also notes this ... "Whether giving the performance of his life as Lord Bullingdon, portraying the ominous Red Cloak, providing BTS technical support on FMJ and attending the Cannes Film Festival 4K release of The Shining, Leon Vitali was the heartbeat of Kubrick’s films after the master himself." So yeah, he's very important in the Kubrick-universe.

As has been well-documented, the guy was hopelessly devoted to Stanley ... taking on the challenging role of becoming his effective right hand and enforcer on film sets, including for flicks like 'The Shining,' 'Full Metal Jacket' and Kubrick's final movie, 'Eyes Wide Shut.'

He's credited in each film as "Assistant to Director," and was even the CD in the latter 2 films. But Vitali's involvement in these films went well beyond just his titles -- he was literally running around on set alongside Kubrick and making sure his boss's vision came to life.

Kubrick, of course, was notorious for his grueling shoots ... doing dozens of takes of any given scene and demanding absolute perfection from his cast and crew -- which applied to Vitali as well. Still, he hung tight and stayed loyal throughout the years until SK's own death.

A lot of Vitali's journey with Kubrick was chronicled in the 2017 documentary 'Filmworker,' which cleaned up at a ton of festivals upon its release ... giving great BTS insight into the life and work of an expert artist, through the lens of LV.

As many of the actors who worked on Kubrick sets point out ... Vitali was involved in just about every step of the production process, oftentimes serving as an acting coach for iconic characters and scenes.

He wasn't just behind the camera, though -- Vitali has a fair amount of acting credits to his name ... including in films such as 2013's 'Romeo and Juliet,' 'Little Children,' 'Inter Rail,' 'Terror of Frankenstein' and a ton of TV series and sitcoms from the '70s.

Vitali even played Red Cloak in 'EWS' -- the leader of the sex-crazed cult that Tom Cruise infiltrates. He's survived by his wife and his children ... Vitali was 74.

Idris Elba says his own kid auditioned to play his onscreen daughter in his latest movie -- a part she didn't get ... even though her old man could've presumably pulled some strings.

The actor was recently on "The Breakfast Club" with producer Will Packer, plugging their new flick "Beast" ... which just hit theaters. During the convo, IE revealed that his 20-year-old, Isan, actually read for a part ... one of the two daughters featured in the film.

He says she didn't end up getting it because the chemistry just wasn't right ... and, as a result, Isan didn't talk to her dad for about three weeks. So, yeah ... some sour grapes.

In the end, though, Isan did make it to the premier and actually posed with Idris -- so it seems it's all water under a bridge now. Still, though ... the fact Idris didn't just make it happen simply because she was his daughter is getting some kudos in the film community.

Packer actually elaborates on this a bit more in the interview, telling the hosts that Idris insisted that Isan get put through the normal process that every other actress was going through ... and to judge her on merit. Packer says she was close to landing it -- but in the end, they went with Leah Jeffries and Iyana Halley to play Idris' children.

Apparently, Isan took the news gracefully ... and Will says Idris' anti-nepotism stance was appreciated by all who worked on the film. He's even getting props on Twitter right now.

BTW, Isan's actually got her own IMDb page ... it looks like she's only got one acting credit thus far -- a short film called "Crimson Ties" -- but something tells us she might be getting some more looks now that Idris has spoken out on her desire to get into the movies.

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez have a lot of friends and family flying in this weekend to celebrate their marriage -- but one person won't be in attendance ... Casey Affleck.

Ben's younger brother, who's also a big-time actor, was spotted Saturday morning in L.A. on a Starbucks run ... where he looked pretty busy with his hands full. Of course, the obvious question that a pap posed to him was ... why aren't you in Georgia right now, man???

You can tell Casey wasn't really in the mood to chat much, but he does mumble something sorta telling as for why he isn't with BA today -- it sounds like he says he "fell asleep."

The cameraman tries clarifying to see if that's what CA actually said, but he doesn't respond further. In any case, it seems he's going to miss the festivities ... because just about everyone who's showing up is touching down in the Peach State as we speak.

Casey's been telegraphing this all week -- on Thursday, he was out with his girlfriend Caylee Cowan, and didn't appear that interested in talking about his sibling's big day this weekend.

Worth noting ... the Affleck brothers have seemed close over the years. But, they haven't been photographed together of late ... so who knows if they're all that tight these days.

Gary Busey is facing criminal charges out of New Jersey after cops claim he made inappropriate contact with people, among other things.

The actor was hit with four charges Friday by the Cherry Hill Police Department -- two counts of criminal sexual contact, one count of criminal attempt/criminal sexual contact and one count of harassment.

Cops say this stems from a report of a sex offense during the weekend of August 12-14 at the Doubletree Hotel. They describe more than one incident that people reported during the Monster Mania Convention -- for which he was booked to appear -- but the details of any alleged acts are unclear at this point. CHPD didn't go into detail about what was reported.

There's no doubt Gary was in attendance for this thing BTW -- he took multiple photos with fans throughout the three days. Just check his tagged section on IG, and you'll see 'em all.

Unclear if Busey is still in town or not, or what the process will look like to have to answer for these charges in Jersey if he has, in fact, left the state. He, of course, lives in California ... and it doesn't sound like he was arrested there on the spot last week.

We've reached out to Gary's reps ... so far, no word back. TMZ has also reached out to Cherry Hill PD for more info on what this is all about -- but they haven't responded yet.

Tom Cruise keeps on winning -- his smash hit blockbuster movie, "Top Gun: Maverick," just reached new heights by tapping on the Marvel box office door ... and taking out Thanos.

The sky-high sequel hit a massive benchmark this week, topping "Avengers: Infinity War" to become the #6 highest grossing movie of all time with a total domestic haul of $679 million ... narrowly beating out 'IW' which was at $678M and holding down its spot for years now.

You'll recall ... it was just a couple weeks ago that 'Maverick' sunk "Titanic" to claim the #7 spot -- and now, it's continuing its snowball roll and gunning for #5, "Black Panther."

Another Marvel flick, obviously, and it clocks in at about $700 million ... so it might be a little while longer before TC and co. can potentially overtake it. But analysts say it's well within its reach, especially since the movie shows no signs of leaving theaters anytime soon.

People are still hitting cineplexes to catch it ... mostly because of a lot of natural buzz that's been generated and killer reviews. Indeed, it's one of this year's best -- without a doubt.

While it's possible 'TGM' could topple 'BP,' chances are "Black Panther" might reclaim its throne as the sequel approaches in the fall. Many expect Disney to rerelease the OG to promote the new movie, and if people come out ... it'll help the box office numbers anew.

Alec Baldwin says Donald Trump incited his January 6th mob to murder him ... by falsely claiming the actor intentionally fired the shot that killed the cinematographer on the "Rust" set.

Baldwin told CNN Trump's comment -- that "He [Baldwin] probably shot her [Halyna Hutchins] on purpose" was itself a trigger for his mob to put a target on his head.

As Baldwin put it, "Here was Trump who instructed people to commit acts of violence and he was pointing the finger at me and saying I was responsible for the death."

Baldwin had lots to say ... CNN says the interview lasted 2 hours, although only a small portion has been aired. He reportedly said the stress from the shooting has "taken years off my life," adding, "If I didn't have my wife, I don't know where I would be right now ... If I didn't have her, I probably would have quit, retired, gone off, you know sold everything I owned, got a house in the middle of nowhere and just you know did find something else to do, sell real estate."

Baldwin also says he hired a P.I. and got recon that he almost certainly would not be prosecuted, nor does he think anyone else will be as well. He does, however, lay the blame squarely at the feet of Chief Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed and Assistant Director Dave Halls, for allowing him to handle a gun with live ammo. Baldwin didn't know the gun was loaded with a live round and says it was their responsibility to check it.

Halls' lawyer says Baldwin is trying to deflect blame, saying "Baldwin is pointing the finger at others because the evidence is pointing at him."

Actor Frank Grillo is speaking out about the senseless murder of his beloved boxing trainer ... and he's not pulling punches when it comes to what he views as L.A.'s crime problem.

Grillo, who played Crossbones in Marvel's 'Captain America' films, was visibly upset as he spoke about the death of Azuma Bennett during an interview at Fortune Boxing Gym in Hollywood on Thursday.

"He made everybody feel good about training," Grillo told KNBC. "I don't know what's happened to Los Angeles that a beautiful guy like this gets shot and killed over nothing."

Police say Bennett died en route to the hospital after he was struck by at least 8 bullets outside a marijuana dispensary in Windsor Hills last Friday. Detectives are still searching for the shooter, and there's not yet a motive.

Bennett was a centerpiece at Fortune Gym with a roster of celeb clients, including Grillo, UFC fighter Jason "Mayhem" Miller and musicians Kiana Ledé and Eddie Benjamin.

The staff at Fortune Gym released a statement in Bennett's honor, "Azuma was our family. One of the best of the best. We are all so broken."

An age-old debate about Bruce Willis' signature film seems to have finally been resolved once and for all by his own flesh and blood -- and yes, Santa's coming to town!

We got Rumer and Scout Willis Tuesday in Beverly Hills, and while they seemed to be in a hurry -- they were nice enough to quickly answer a burning hot question that we just had to ask on behalf of the public and cinema lovers everywhere.

Namely ... is 'Die Hard' a Christmas movie??? That's what our photog was trying to ask, anyway, but Scout cut us off before we could even get the words out with a firm answer.

Check it out -- SW doesn't just say it once, but twice ... seemingly clarifying that this isn't just how she feels personally, but that this might be the position of the Willis family at large ... including Bruce himself. Ya gotta imagine they've talked about it as a unit.

This is a pretty big deal, frankly -- people have gone back and forth on whether 'DH' is actually a holiday-time classic. The plot takes place on Christmas Eve, but it came out during the summer of '88 ... and became a box office hit. Plus, it takes place in always-sunny L.A.

Also, Bruce recently revisited the Nakatomi Plaza building where the flick was shot -- overlooking the city from the top, just like he did all those years ago. So, yeah ... full circle.

Scout's position is different than Bruce's mother, though, we spoke with her back around Christmas and she said she didn't think "Die Hard" was a Christmas movie.