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Jimmy Kimmel addressed last year's Oscars slap during his opening monologue -- and he did it just like most everyone thought he would ... with a joke and a jab, and a warning.

The 3-time host was back Sunday to take on MC duties, and his remarks at the top of show did not dodge the elephant in the room. It took a while for JK to get to the slap -- sprinkling in shots at A LOT of other stars beforehand -- but when he did ... he went in.

Watch ... Jimmy made fun of showrunners from 2022 -- saying they had a crisis team in place tonight, but noted that if anything did happen ... he expected them to do what they did last year ... absolutely nothing. He even joked that if anyone did assault someone else this time, they'd be awarded Best Actor, given a stage for a speech and a hug to boot.

He also made sure to mention that they want people to feel safe, and that no violence would be accepted ... then roping in a ton of stars into possible protection he might have to activate if anyone tried going after him for a joke they didn't like. He name-dropped Michelle Yeoh, Michael B. Jordan, Andrew Garfield, Pedro Pascal, Steven Spielberg and others as people any would-be assailant would have to get through if they want to rumble on stage.

A little earlier in the monologue, Kimmel appeared to again reference the slap while talking about all the Irish actors nominated this year ... joking there could be another fight.

The whole gag got a lot of laughs and seemed to be well-received. He never said Will or Chris' name -- but really didn't need to ... he made his point and did it in stride and comedy.

All things considered, it was a good bit ... and hopefully it puts the whole matter to bed.

Here's hoping everyone takes Jimmy up on his caution and keeps their hands to themselves for the rest of the night. The focus of the broadcast should be movies ... not battles.

Neve Campbell skipped out on the latest 'Scream' movie due to money negotiations -- but the studio's decision to move on seems to have paid off regardless ... big time, in fact.

'Scream 6,' which just hit theaters Friday, smashed through an opening weekend box office record that the films before it had set ... raking in about $44.5 million domestically through Sunday, which blows out the previous benchmark set by 'Scream 2' years ago -- $32 mil.

Last year's "Scream V" came close to touching that, with about $30 mil through 3 days of a 4-day holiday weekend ... but this new figure is by and far the best any of these movies have ever done. Paramount's gotta be happy -- it only cost $35M to make this latest slasher.

Interestingly ... they achieved this without Neve, which was a gamble. Fact is, she's been the face of the 'Scream' franchise since the start ... and her decision to exit last year was controversial. She claimed Paramount wouldn't pay her what she thought she was worth.

At the time, Neve was quoted as saying ... "As a woman I have had to work extremely hard in my career to establish my value, especially when it comes to 'Scream.' I felt the offer that was presented to me did not equate to the value I have brought to the franchise. It’s been a very difficult decision to move on. To all my 'Scream' fans, I love you." Yeah ... scathing.

And yet ... her former costar, Courteney Cox, did take the money and sign on again -- reprising her role as Gale Weathers, and referencing NC's character, Sidney, in passing.

David Arquette -- another longtime fan fave, who was killed off in the last movie -- has actually been somewhat promoting "Scream VI" on IG -- but Neve hasn't uttered a peep about it ... focusing instead on other projects she's working on, including more horror stuff.

Funny enough, legacy characters (like Neve's) are actually alluded to in the new installment (yes, we've seen it). Ghostface, at one point, talks about how nobody cares about long-standing heroes from decades past ... and that the "rules" of re-quels have totally changed.

It would appear that sentiment held true in offscreen in real life as well, especially with a solid new young cast that everyone likes -- Jenna Ortega, Melissa Barrera, etc. Oh, and Ghostface himself ... he's kinda the one who gets asses in seats ... or so it seems, anyway.

Glenn Close won't make the Oscars this year -- this after being tapped as one of the many presenters -- because she caught COVID ... which kinda leaves Harrison Ford hanging.

The actress contracted the virus just ahead of showtime and will be forced to miss Sunday's broadcast -- this according to her rep. Word is, she's fine, currently resting and isolating ... and, of course, is totally bummed out. It's unclear who, if anyone, will replace her.

Close was one of 40 different famous presenters who are set to take the stage and hand out statuettes -- and according to Vanity Fair, which says it caught the Oscars rehearsal this week, she was actually scheduled to be side by side with her old "Air Force One" costar.

Some might recall ... GC was the Veep in that one, while Harrison was the Prez. They didn't share much screen time together, but it was a pretty iconic flick with larger-than-life actors. Their Oscars appearance was meant to be a reunion of sorts, but now Ford might fly solo.

Other presenters for the Oscars include Samuel L. Jackson, Jessica Chastain, Hugh Grant, Sigourney Weaver, Antonio Banderas, Michael B. Jordan, Florence Pugh, Pedro Pascal, Melissa McCarthy, Nicole Kidman, Andrew Garfield, Halle Berry, John Travolta and more.

Michelle Yeoh was honored at a very fancy, star-studded pre-Oscars party Saturday night ... this as her movie, "Everything Everywhere All at Once" is a favorite to take home a boatload of awards.

The bash was hosted by Roberts Armani at the Giorgio Armani store in Bev Hills. Among those on hand ... Jamie Lee Curtis, Samuel L. Jackson and Brendan Fraser.

Michelle seemed almost overwhelmed by the honor and attention. She spent time with her co-star Jamie Lee, enveloping her with gratitude.

For Jamie Lee Curtis's part ... she confessed her feelings about her "bae" -- "even her husband {Michelle's]approves of our love for each other."

Ke Huy Quan has just about everyone in Hollywood in his corner as he roars toward the Oscars -- not to mention his old 'Goonies' pals ... including one Corey Feldman.

The former child star -- who acted alongside Ke in the 1980s classic -- told Page Six that he'll be rooting for KHQ come Sunday, when he'll be watching from home and hoping his former costar can pull out a win for Best Supporting Actor, for which he's nominated.

He says, "I see Ke as a winner, he’s never stopped being one to me … The Goonies are family. People don’t really realize the depth of that blood, it runs deep."

Feldman goes on to say that he's kept up with Ke through the years, and notes that while he may have stepped back from acting for a time ... the guy stayed working in showbiz, even if it was just tangentially at times, and that he'd done great stuff in his own right.

Now that Ke Huy is back in the spotlight with his movie, 'Everything Everywhere All at Once,' Corey's all for it. He says he saw 'EEAAO' and knew it was special ... adding that he gave Ke some advice -- namely, "keep your head up and don’t let them get to you."

Welp, Ke Huy's taken that in stride ... winning just about everyone over with every award show appearance (and win) of late. He's also been taking a TON of selfies along the way, documenting his journey ... which most think will end with a statuette tomorrow.

BTW, other 'Goonies' stars have been wishing Ke well along the way -- Josh Brolin has chimed in via his reps, and so has Jeff Cohen (Chunk), Kerri Green and Martha Plimpton.

Olivia Wilde and Florence Pugh seem to have moved past their rumored movie set beef a year later -- 'cause they went to the same party this weekend ... but weren't together, per se.

The two actresses were among many celebs who attended CAA's pre-Oscars party Friday night in L.A. ... and while it's interesting to see them in the same space -- this after they reportedly squabbled while making "Don't Worry Darling" -- it's possible things are still icy.

Fact is, there isn't a photo of them posing together or even hanging around the same group of people at any given time during the shindig -- which was star-studded and packed. That kinda jibes with what they were doing at Venice last year ... namely, keeping distance.

It could mean nothing, of course. However, by the same token, it could also mean they're still not that cool with each other ... and choose not to fraternize, even now.

Not to kick up the Team Flo/Team Wilde camps again, but it was quite clear there was friction at the time.

In any case ... they seem to be able to play nice in the same building, which is all you can really ask for, we suppose. BTW, they were far from the only famous faces on the scene.

Other stars in attendance ... Pedro Pascal, Zoe Kravitz, Cate Blanchett, Allison Janney, Andrew Garfield, Halle Bailey, Rita Ora, Taika Waititi, Miles Teller, Chloe Grace Moretz, KiKi Layne, Elton John and husband David Furnish, Sandra Bullock and Brian Tyree Henry.

All the others ... Demi Moore, Antonio Banderas, Morgan Freeman, Maria Sharapova, Amy Adams, Vin Diesel, Hailee Steinfeld, James Corden, Richard Madden, Trevor Noah, Lily James, Paul Mescal, Jon Hamm, Zooey Deschanel, B.J. Novak, Danny DeVito, Simone Ashley, HAIM, Ana de Armas, DeWanda Wise, Eiza Gonzalez, Ariana DeBose and lots more.

Some of Hollywood's elite hit up a pre-Oscars party Friday night ... and they celebrated in old-world style at a Bev Hills mansion where an all-time classic movie was shot.

Leonardo DiCaprio, Adam Sandler, Austin Butler, Travis Kelce, Brooklyn Beckham and Nina Dobrev were just some of the celebs on hand at "The Beverly Estate", where director Francis Ford Coppola filmed the famous horse's head scene for "The Godfather."

Check out the video, obtained by TMZ, showing the celebs mingling and chatting with drinks in hand at the William Morris/Endeavor soiree.

Leo, of course, went incognito with his baseball cap pulled down over his face. No surprise there.

Adam and Travis had a little convo off to the side.

Brooklyn was hangin' out with some people and just chillin'.

Nina stood out from the pack, looking glamorous in her red dress.

Robert Blake, the actor whose life was just as talked about off the screen as it was on, has died.

According to a statement released to the Associated Press on behalf of Blake's niece, Noreen Austin, Blake died Thursday from heart disease at home surrounded by loved ones.

Blake was infamously charged with the murder of his second wife, Bonny Lee Bakley, after she was found dead outside Vitello's restaurant in Los Angeles in 2001. Bakley had been shot in the head while sitting in Blake's vehicle.

Blake told investigators he had gone back inside the restaurant to retrieve a pistol when Bakley was shot and killed. It was later determined his pistol was not the murder weapon.

Blake's trial lasted about three months, but he was eventually found not guilty of murder and not guilty of one of the two counts of solicitation of murder ... the second solicitation of murder charge was also eventually dropped.

Blake's career in Hollywood spanned more than 50 years, starring in movies like "In Cold Blood," "Lost Highway" and "Treasure of the Sierra Madre." He also played Tony Baretta in "Baretta" ... a role that won him an Emmy in 1975.

Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell are havin' some fun in the sun ... all smiles while down under filming their latest project.

The duo's spending some time near Sydney, Australia for their latest film -- a romantic comedy with "Easy A" and "Friends with Benefits" director Will Gluck leading the shoot.

Not much has been said about the mystery project, but Sydney and Glen have been reported as the stars ... and we now know it's gonna feature their rockin' bods frolicking in the ocean.

They both were splashing around with Alexandra Shipp and Hadley Robinson -- 2 actresses who are costarring in the film. We're told the cameras weren't rolling when they were spotted, so this is just coworkers having some after-hours fun.

Looks just like your happy hours, right?

FYI, the "Euphoria" star's also taking on the role of executive producer for this one ... that's a first for her career.

Joaquin Phoenix is back running through the streets of Gotham as the Clown Prince himself -- but despite the action being filmed on the ground ... some are scoffing from above.

Check out this footage, obtained by TMZ, where the actor can be seen on the set of 'Joker 2,' which was filming on location Saturday in DTLA ... and where JP was doing a few takes where he's being chased by some bad guys, who happen to be dressed in Joker gear.

It's pretty interesting ... you see Joaquin here (as Arthur Fleck) in a business suit, sans makeup, and a couple of goons going after him as they weave in and out of traffic. One of the dudes on his tail is actually dressed in his 'Joker' outfit from the first movie.

There's some good action captured on camera here, but the photog doesn't seem to be that big a fan of Joaquin or 'Joker' in general ... 'cause he talks a lot of crap throughout.

At one point, you can see director Todd Phillips walking through the scene again with Joaquin (who's in regular clothes, masked up) -- and there, too, the camera man has snarky commentary to offer. It doesn't seem like Todd and co. cared that people were watching ... they were busy trying to get the shots, and it looks like they they were preoccupied.

Couple takeaways ... it seems like the sequel to the 2019 hit is actually going to take place, in part, outside of an asylum -- which is where we last saw Joaquin's Joker. Also, no sign of Lady Gaga anywhere on Saturday's set, but she's in this as well (as Harley Quinn).

Michael B. Jordan and Jonathan Majors are two peas in a pod -- so much so, in fact, they say they wanna follow in the footsteps of two other legends ... Bob and Al.

The actors sat down with NYT to talk about their new movie, "Creed III," which is out in theaters and, so far, cleaning up nicely -- both in terms of box office and critic reviews. Not just that, but their dynamic/explosive chemistry on-screen is the talk of the town right now.

In the Q&A, JM and MBJ are very complimentary of each other. At one point, the interviewer asks whose opinion they value the most when it comes to 'Creed.' Majors says he only really cared what Mike thought ... which prompts the interviewer to ask the next logical question.

NYT says, "The way you two talk about each other, it sounds like this is the first of many collaborations to come," to which MBJ says ... "It is. We plan on it." Then, the haymaker ... Majors follows up and says, "De Niro and Pacino."

To that, Mike says this ... "We’re excited about that, and I have those conversations with him. Acting is such a solo journey, where you’re fighting for your place on that call sheet for such a long time. So when you’ve got somebody that doesn’t care as much about that stuff, it’s like, 'Let’s go. How much damage can we do together?' Majors responds, "All of it."

In other words, they're ready to paint the town red with more movies, it seems -- and it also sounds like both Mike and Jon fancy themselves as good as two acting greats ... but the internet doesn't necessarily agree, both in the duo comparison and the one-on-one résumés.

Fact is, Al and Bob were only in a small handful of movies together -- "Heat" and "Godfather Pt. 2" being the most famous, before "The Irishman" came around -- and each of them had stellar catalogs of critically-acclaimed flicks under their belt well before they ever collab'd.

So, the juxtaposition doesn't quite make sense there. But, more importantly, some feel like they're jumping the gun ... as neither JM or MBJ have been in enough movies to warrant such lofty esteem. Even in terms of chops, there's questions ... on Mike's end, specifically.

While just about everyone's stoked at the notion that these two studs are planning on working together more -- seeing how they are great in "Creed III," by all accounts -- the way it's coming out is getting a little side-eye. Just a smidge, though ... mostly by film snobs.

Tom Sizemore -- famous for roles in "Saving Private Ryan," "Black Hawk Down" and several cult classic movies -- has died.

The actor passed away Friday in an L.A.-area hospital after his family made the difficult decision to remove him from life support. The actor had been receiving treatment after suffering a brain aneurysm at his home on February 18, which caused him to collapse and lose consciousness.

Tom's rep, Charles Lago, tells TMZ, "It is with great sadness and sorrow I have to announce that actor Thomas Edward Sizemore (“Tom Sizemore”) aged 61 passed away peacefully in his sleep today at St Joseph’s Hospital Burbank. His Brother Paul and twin boys Jayden and Jagger (17) were at his side."

TMZ broke the story ... Tom was rushed to the ER around 2 AM, and was listed in critical condition while doctors worked on him in the ICU. He never regained consciousness.

Tom's manager, Charles Lago, told us his condition still wasn't good a week after the incident ... remaining in a coma in the ICU with no signs of improvement. We were told the medical staff at his location recommended an end-of-life plan, laying out options for the family.

Lago also said Tom's aneurysm was the result of a stroke he suffered, causing him to collapse.

Sizemore's legacy is certainly mired in controversy -- especially in his later years -- but for a time, he was a sure thing in Hollywood, especially as he started to blow up following a string of career-changing roles throughout the '90s, like the one he landed in Spielberg's World War II epic.

In 'SPR,' TS played Sergeant Horvath opposite Tom Hanks and other big actors as they sought out Matt Damon's character to relieve him of duty. Sizemore's performance was a standout one, and it actually earned him a couple award nominations.

Even before 'Ryan' ... Sizemore had already racked up several notable roles in flicks like "Where Sleeping Dogs Lie," "Passenger 57," "True Romance," "Natural Born Killers," "Devil in a Blue Dress," "Heat," "Enemy of the State" and lots of others. By this point, he'd carved out a nice little archetype for himself, often playing a tough guy and/or a hardened criminal.

The 2000s and the decades thereafter weren't nearly as memorable for Sizemore, but he continued to act in a lot of films -- the most noteworthy of which include ... "Pearl Harbor," 'Black Hawk,' "Dreamcatcher," "Red Planet" and "Paparazzi."

The late 2000s and 2010s saw Tom padding his resume with a lot of B-movie-level flicks/shows. All in all, he had 230 acting credits to his name -- but the appeal he held some 30 years ago had largely faded. Of course, Sizemore also battled addiction throughout his career.

He had been arrested on a handful of occasions ... a couple of times for domestic violence, and frequently for substance abuse-related offenses. Sizemore had been in and out of rehab for his addictions.

He's survived by 2 sons. Sizemore was 61.

Jake Gyllenhaal has transformed himself into a chiseled mass of pure muscle for his new role as an MMA fighter in the remake of the 1989 classic film, "Road House."

Check out this video showing the 42-year-old actor shooting a scene for the movie at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Friday.

Taking on the reimagined role of Patrick Swayze's John Dalton, named Elwood in the new film, Jake dashed onto the stage for a weigh-in, tipping the scales at 184 pounds for his middleweight fight against champion Jack Harris, played by ex-MMA star Jay Hieron.

After showing off his incredible physique to the crowd, Jake stepped off the scale and shook the hand of UFC President Dana White, who was standing nearby.

Hieron then jumped on the scale and faced off with Jake as both men talked smack to each other. Jake then slapped Hieron across the face, prompting a shoving match as White stepped in to break it up.

People think Disney's choice to make Tinker Bell Black in the upcoming "Peter Pan & Wendy" flick instead of making a new character for a person of color is a terrible move ... and now Twitter is up in arms over it -- what a shock.

In case you missed it, Disney dropped the trailer for the live-action film Tuesday, with fans getting a first look at Yara Shahidi as everyone's favorite pixie ... but a bunch of people are complaining about the switch-up, saying it feels like the company's more interested in image than inclusivity.

Twitter's in a frenzy over Yara's role -- with one person writing, "Disney loves to race swap these days instead of creating original and new characters that are POC."

Another echoed that, saying Disney's more focused on race-swapping original characters as opposed to putting in the time to make a new product with a more diverse cast.

Others say Tinker Bell has always been known as a white girl with blonde hair and blue eyes -- and diverting from the original material isn't right.

As you know, Disney recently made this same move with "The Little Mermaid," casting Halle Bailey as Ariel.

As for who would make a great fit for Tink, Twitter's got that answer too -- a bunch of folks are saying longtime Disney Channel alum Dove Cameron would've filled the role perfectly.

Mark Wahlberg could've foreseen the awkward moment that unfolded live at the SAG Awards -- courtesy of his ugly criminal history with 2 Asian men -- so says one writer, who cringed upon seeing it.

We talked to Jeff Yang, an Asian-American WSJ columnist, who was one of many who commented on the Wahlberg moment Sunday -- and he told us MW was simply the wrong guy to present the cast of "Everything Everywhere All at Once" the final statuette of the night.

The reason ... back when Mark was a teenager in Boston, he pled guilty to assaulting 2 Vietnamese immigrants as he and others shouted racial epithets. He was convicted and served 45 days behind bars.

In light of that terrible stain, JY says Mark should've had better intuition and turned down the gig ... especially considering 'EEAAO' was considered a lock to win, and because it obviously wouldn't look good onstage -- which, according to the vast majority, it didn't.

Jeff does say it's possible Mark simply didn't know 'Everywhere' would win ... and if he did, perhaps he took the presenter job as an unspoken olive branch to the AAPI community.

While it's certainly plausible, Jeff tells us he truly doesn't think it's likely -- and that this was probably a tone-deaf decision on everyone's part ... especially because, in Jeff's mind, Mark hasn't really gone out of his way to correct the brutal wrong from his teen years.

Worth noting ... he has issued apologies, including back in 2014, when he unsuccessfully tried to get pardon.