PAUL WALKER'S DAUGHTER MEADOW Cameo In 'Fast X' Movie ... Honoring Dad's Legacy!!!
Paul Walker's only child, Meadow Walker, is taking the torch from her late father ... making a cameo in the latest chapter of the 'Fast and Furious' franchise.
Meadow is making her first appearance in one of the 'FF' movies, sharing a preview Thursday of her cameo in the upcoming "Fast X."
Paul's daughter was only 1 year old when the OG "The Fast and the Furious" was released ... and Meadow says she grew up on set watching her dad, Vin Diesel, Jordana Brewster, Michelle Rodriguez, Ludacris and others on the monitors.
Meadow says ... "Thanks to my dad, I was born into the fast family. I can't believe now I get to be up there too. With those who have been around to see me grow up."
Paul's daughter adds ... "I am so blessed to be able to honor my father's legacy and share this with him forever."
Meadow thanked director Louis Leterrier for getting her involved in the franchise. Louis is also set to direct 'Fast & Furious 11' so it will be interesting to see if Meadow gets another cameo.
We discussed Paul Walker's legacy in a recent episode of the Last Days Podcast, available on all podcast platforms.
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Dolph Lundgren I've Been Battling Cancer For 8 Years
Dolph Lundgren says he's locked in an eight-year battle with cancer ... revealing his diagnosis for the first time.
The Swedish actor opens up about his cancer battle on the nationally syndicated interview series, "In Depth With Graham Bensinger," revealing he was first diagnosed with lung cancer in 2015.
Dolph says he eventually went into remission but then the cancer came back in 2020, when a doctor gave him a terminal cancer diagnosis, telling him he only had 2-3 years to live.
When the cancer came back, Dolph's fiancée Emma Krokdal says doctors at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center told him he had tumors in his lungs, stomach, spine and kidneys ... and Dolph was resigned to the fact he would likely die soon.
Fortunately for Dolph, he says he went for a second opinion with Dr. Alexandra Drakaki and her treatments are making his tumors shrink.
It's interesting ... Dolph admits to using steroids back in the day and wonders if the drugs have some connection to his cancer.
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Robert De Niro Baby #7 At Age 79 ... I Got Strong Swimmers!!!
79-year-old Robert De Niro is proof you can still make some serious life changes even in your later years -- like havin' babies, for example -- which is what he recently did!
Here's the deal -- the legendary actor dropped the baby bombshell in a recent interview with ET Canada's Brittnee Blair, who brought up to him the fact that he's got 6 kiddos ... Drena, Raphael, Julian, Elliot, Aaron, and Helen.
Turns out, that list is getting a little bit longer -- shockingly he corrected her by adding "Seven actually ... I just had a baby."
Robert, who's ironically promoting his latest flick, "About My Father," seemed to breeze right past the huge news, especially for a guy his age. Instead, he went on to chat about fatherhood, saying he doesn't see himself as a cool pop ... and adding he disagrees with his kiddos from time to time, especially the younger ones.
As you know, Robert's tied the knot and gotten divorced 2 times -- once with Diahnne Abbott, and another with Grace Hightower. It's unclear who gave birth to baby #7.
3/22/23
However, in March he was seen out with rumored GF, Tiffany Chen, and as they made their way to their car you can hear someone say, "Hey guys, c'mon, she's pregnant."
We've reached out to Robert's reps for comment ... so far, no word back. But regardless, congrats!!!
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Amber Heard Hanging with Her Kid in Madrid ... After 'Quitting Hollywood'
Amber Heard is still in Spain, which is only a big deal now since it's being claimed she's relocated there ... this after supposedly putting Hollywood in her rearview.
The actress was photographed over the weekend in Madrid, where she's been since last year ... when her defamation trial against Johnny Depp wrapped, which she largely lost. As you see ... she's with her young daughter, Oonagh, enjoying a day out on the town.
Not anything we haven't seen before ... Amber's been seen in this kind of setting for several months now. She's always with the kid, and they're always playing or something.
The difference now ... Daily Mail claims to have inside knowledge about her life sitch -- namely, she's apparently putting roots down there in Spain. Per reports, she's also bought a new home ... and is happy raising her daughter there too, just the two of them.
Not just that, but DM says Amber's in no hurry to return to L.A. for work -- at least not until the right role comes around at the right time. She's got 2 films in post-production now, with nothing completely new on the horizon from what we can see. Unclear how she's earning a living these days ... Amber strongly suggested she was tight on cash in the wake of the trial.
Of course, Amber was completely vilified during the court proceedings -- and that's because the public, by and large it seems, didn't buy what she was selling ... and ditto for the jury.
As you can imagine, her reputation has taken a major hit since -- so her fleeing to Europe isn't all that surprising. Word is, she's fluent in Spanish and appears to be getting on quite well with her little girl ... the father of whom nobody knows the identity of at this point.
Enjoy the tapas, AH. We hear Spain's lovely this time of year.
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Chris Pratt Check Out My Toenail ... Celeb Dr. Says It's Fungus
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Chris Pratt is showing off his pinky toenail, even though nobody asked to see it ... and a famous foot surgeon is diagnosing him with toenail fungus!!!
The 'Guardians of the Galaxy' star posted a photo of his toenail on social media, calling it his "Met Gala Look," and folks were quick to point out its unsightly appearance ... so we turned to the experts to find out what's going on with Chris' feet.
Dr. Brad Schaeffer, who starred in TLC's 'My Feet Are Killing Me,' tells TMZ ... Chris is dealing with a toenail fungus and he needs to get it checked out by a doctor or podiatrist.
The good doc says the fungus presents a host of issues for Chris ... and he doesn't think Chris is going to gain too many followers off this Instagram post.
It's funny ... Dr. Brad says Chris' toe isn't very sexy. Sorry, Chris. 🤷🏽♂️
The good news ... the doc says Chris' case doesn't appear too severe and he's giving Chris a simple solution to his pinky problem.
Foot fetish folks, come get your man!!!
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Ray Liotta Cause of Death Revealed ... Heart and Lungs Gave Out
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Ray Liotta's cause of death has been released ... officials in the Dominican Republic found heart and respiratory system issues caused last year's tragic passing.
According to docs, obtained by TMZ, the actor's manner of death was categorized as natural and nonviolent ... citing respiratory insufficiency, pulmonary edema -- aka fluid in his lungs -- and acute heart failure.
The doc also says he suffered from atherosclerosis -- a thickening of the arteries caused by a buildup of plaque in the inner lining -- something that often leads to diabetes and other health issues.
As we reported, 67-year-old Ray was filming the movie "Dangerous Waters" in the D.R. last year. A source close to him told us he died in his sleep.
We obtained a photo of Ray just days before his death ... politely stopping to take a pic with a fan. We were told he was extremely kind during their exchange.
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'GOTG' Star Chukwudi Iwuji Floated as Would-Be JM Replacement ... Twitter Loves the Idea
As Jonathan Majors continues to fight his DV case, it appears the internet has already settled on a possible replacement in the MCU ... another bad guy in a new superhero movie.
We're talking about Chukwudi Iwuji -- who made a splash this weekend in the third 'Guardians of the Galaxy' flick as the big bad, the High Evolutionary ... and who left audiences and comic book fans more than impressed with his epic performance.
I saw some people saying that they want Chukwudi Iwuji to replace Jonathan Majors as the MCU’s Kang if he gets recasted considering how great he was in GOTG 3 so how would you feel about this? If this happened it could be explained that the High Evolutionary was a Kang variant pic.twitter.com/DG4u96Al5t
— Bart (Guardians 3 Era) (@Bart2389) May 5, 2023 @Bart2389
While HE meets his grisly demise in the end (spoiler) ... a lot of folks on the bird app are nominating Iwuji as the next would-be Kang the Conqueror if things go south for JM.
There's chatter about how Iwuji's take on his supervillain is how Kang should've been portrayed in the 'Ant-Man' film that recently featured him ... namely, over the top and downright ruthless -- which is certainly how Iwuji's High Evolutionary comes across.
High Evolutionary was the villain Kang was supposed to be pic.twitter.com/PqhSlGf3mi
— Nikita Pahwa (@PahwaNikita) May 5, 2023 @PahwaNikita
As the comparisons continue to fly ... a good handful of Twitter users are also straight-up saying Iwuji should be considered to step in as Kang if Disney decides to ultimately drop Majors -- which they have not done yet, and which may be premature at this point.
This "what if" speculation seems to be a mix of praise for Iwuji and jumping the gun on Majors' MCU future. Frankly, ever since he was arrested -- a lot of names have been floated as possible stand-ins ... but now, it would seem Iwuji's at the front of the line in fans' eyes.
I cannot stress enough how absolutely perfect Chukwudi Iwuji is for this role. There hasn’t been as fucked up a villain as the High Evolutionary in the MCU until him. If they have to recast Kang, use this as a stepping off, make High Evolutionary a variant. Incredible villain. https://t.co/YeZs1WenOr
— Thanos Jones, Conjuror of Cheap Tricks (@Reverend_Thanos) May 5, 2023 @Reverend_Thanos
Again ... there's been no indication from Disney that they're considering cutting Majors loose just yet -- despite the fact that he's been dropped from other projects and organizations.
As we've reported ... his team has repeatedly denied he did anything wrong from the beginning and has even suggested he was the victim here -- while also claiming to have evidence that they say will exonerate him. We've seen surveillance footage of the woman in question out partying after the alleged incident ... and she appears to be fine/uninjured.
Of course, he'll have his day in court soon enough. The guy's scheduled to appear before a judge on Tuesday -- where his team will undoubtedly push for the charges to be dropped.
Like everyone else, we're sure Disney will be monitoring ... as Majors is a key figure in their Marvel plans, with scheduled appearances in several more films and TV shows as Kang.
If they do choose to go their separate ways, though ... it would appear the people are cool with a Plan B, and his name is Chukwudi Iwuji.
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'Meet The Fockers' Jim Herzfeld AI Can't Write Movies Like Humans ... So Give Us Our Due!!!
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Screenwriter Jim Herzfeld, famous for his work on "Meet the Fockers" and "Meet the Parents," doesn't think a computer can replace him in Hollywood ... he says AI jokes suck.
We got Jim in the picket line outside Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, CA asked him how artificial intelligence is affecting the writers' strike.
Jim, one of the most prolific writers on strike, sounds pretty confident he's not about to be replaced by ChatGPT ... but he still wants to see guardrails in place so none of the more than 11,000 film and TV writers on strike have their livelihoods negatively impacted by the emerging technology.
As a veteran writer, Jim remembers the last strike in 2007-08, when the internet was a huge issue, and he sees parallels between the way studios approached yesterday's tech and today's AI.
Jim says AI doesn't have the heart or soul of a human, therefore computers can't tell stories the way Hollywood writers can ... so listen for his "Meet The Fockers" joke, because it's a prime example of the limits he sees with AI.
Bottom line for Jim ... AI can't get it done, so pay the people.
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Jamie Foxx Breaks Silence from Hospital ... 'Feeling Blessed'
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Jamie Foxx is back in the land of social media for the first time following his mysterious hospitalization ... breaking his silence with a heartfelt message to those who've been wishing him well.
The legendary actor took to Instagram Wednesday, writing "Appreciate all the love!!! Feeling blessed." Fans flooded the comments with more well-wishes for Jamie -- including one that said, "Forever !!❤️ WE LOVE YOU GOAT!!"
He also gave a shoutout to Nick Cannon, who will be filling his hosting shoes on his game show, "Beat Shazam" ... and told people he'll see them all soon.
As we reported, Nick's taking over for Jamie while he copes with his medical condition -- Kelly Osbourne will swap in as the show's DJ, a spot normally held by Jamie's daughter, Corinne. Kelly shared her views from the DJ booth Wednesday, too.
The jury's still out on what exactly went down with Jamie ... but it looks like he's movin' in the right direction, seemingly well enough to thank his legion of fans for lifting him up.
We covered it all in a recent episode of The TMZ Podcast, available on all podcast platforms.
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Jamie Foxx 'Pray for Jamie'
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Jamie Foxx remains hospitalized more than 3 weeks after suffering a medical emergency, and those closest to him say he needs all the prayers and well-wishes his fans can muster.
Jamie Foxx's Daughter Says He's Out of Hospital and 'Recuperating'
While his exact condition remains secret -- tightly guarded by his family -- we've spoken with sources close to Jamie who echo the same plea -- "Pray for Jamie."
It was April 12 when Foxx's daughter, Corinne, announced her father suffered a "medical complication."
Jamie is one of the most prolific players in Hollywood, and his condition has sent studios scrambling.
Jamie has been the host of the hugely popular "Beat Shazam" music lyric game show on FOX, which was going into production just days after he was hospitalized.
Sources with direct knowledge tell us ... Jamie will not be on this season of "Beat Shazam." We're told filming starts today, with a new host. We're also told Corinne, who DJs on the show, will not be on as well -- she's been a fixture at the hospital in Atlanta by her dad's side.
As we reported, Jamie was in Atlanta for work on the film "Back in Action" when he fell ill, a stunt double and body double have been seen filling in for Jamie for that project.
Pray for Jamie.
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Rob Lowe Joins Son In Writers' Strike ... Picketing Together At Paramount
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Rob Lowe is not only showing the WGA his support during the writers' strike, but he's got his son's back, too -- picketing together outside Paramount and joining thousands of writers across the country to fight for fair wages.
Rob and his son John Owen were out in Hollywood Tuesday as the big strike went into effect, echoing the thoughts of many that film and TV writers are a true backbone in all content today.
The actor tells us he's extremely proud of his son for fighting alongside his colleagues, especially early on in his career -- for those unaware, John Owen and Rob are cocreators on Netflix's "Unstable," and the 28-year-old wrote on 33 episodes of his dad's series, "9-1-1: Lone Star."
John Owen sends the love right back to his pops, too ... saying he's thrilled to have his support -- but couldn't help but get a great joke in about Rob's priorities.
BTW -- Natasha Lyonne was outside Paramount, too ... and she made it a point that writing great projects really takes a village, and she thinks serious change is a necessity for getting the industry back to where it needs to be.
We also got actor and writer Michael Hitchcock at the same spot ... and he gives us the deets as to why streaming is crucial for this new contract -- and why banning AI from the industry is a must, too.
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Jared Leto Feline Frisky at The Met Gala ... In Lagerfeld Tribute
Jared Leto has just made his arrival at the Met Gala, confusing many to his identity at first ... that is until he removed the giant cat head he was wearing.
Check out Jared's wild getup for this year's fashion Super Bowl, if you will -- a tribute to the life and work of Karl Lagerfeld.
What's unique about the actor's furry 'fit is it's more of an homage to Lagerfeld's beloved pet, Choupette, than the man himself.
Of course, there was plenty of confusion between photographers when Jared first hit the carpet -- as no one could possibly tell who it was, but everyone got super excited once he made his big reveal.
Leto's is likely the most bizarre look we've seen so far ... though Doja Cat also dressed like a feline, but less furry and far easier to identify.
Plenty of wild looks on display, but not all of them animal-related -- the gala guests are giving lots of traditional glamour too.
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Sydney Sweeney & Glen Powell Their Flirting Probably Just PR ... Branding Expert Weighs In
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Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell's flirty behavior on and off set of their new rom-com is very real -- real strategy, that is, cooked up for one purpose ... according to a guy who's a pro in this department.
Celebrity branding expert Jeetendr Sehdev -- who's written books on this topic -- came on "TMZ Live" Monday to break down what he thinks has been going on between Syd and Glen, lately. What we've all seen is a lot of sexy body language, and some not-so-happy significant others ... creating speculation their on-screen romance is now an IRL romance.
Check out his take ... essentially, Sehdev suspects this is just good old-fashioned public relations and organic viral marketing -- courtesy of the stars, their teams and the studio behind their film, "Anyone But You."
He makes compelling points. For starters, neither is a huge movie star, at this point ... and having them colead a seemingly run-of-the-mill "hard-R" rom-com probably isn't a recipe for the success Sony's hoping for at the box office.
Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney via Instagram 📸
— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) April 23, 2023 @FilmUpdates
They will star in an upcoming romcom from director Will Gluck. pic.twitter.com/9HpfzAEyxp
Yes, they're both hot and on the come-up, but, according to Sehdev, the powers that be probably realized they need a little extra juice to get people interested in the flick. Think "Don't Worry Darling" drama ... but, this time, it's about 2 costars turned would-be-lovers.
If that is, in fact, what's going on ... Sehdev says SS and GP are going about this game all wrong. In his eyes, fans and potential viewers demand transparency these days -- and he feels being more forthcoming about the sitch would go a long way.
The strange thing about this theory is the movie won't come out for a while, as they just wrapped filming. So, any buzz for it now will almost certainly have died out when it eventually hits theaters.
In other words, it's possible all the speculation amounts to nada.
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'Super Mario Bros. Movie' Joins Billion-Dollar Club ... In Pandemic Box Office Days
Mario just joined an exclusive club that started forming in 2020, when the pandemic started -- one that includes 10 figures at the box office ... which is a rare feat in this day and age.
Indeed ... the "Super Mario Bros. Movie" crossed a major milestone over the weekend -- having now racked up over a billion dollars in ticket sales globally ... this after only 3 weeks and change since its release date earlier this month.
‘Super Mario Bros. Movie’ Officially Smashes $1 Billion Globally https://t.co/H9wahWrSuO
— Variety (@Variety) April 30, 2023 @Variety
The official numbers, as of Sunday, are $490 million in North America ... and $532 million internationally. So, all in all -- Mario and co. are at about $1.02 billion. In terms of the other four flicks that have reached this coveted threshold in pandemic times ... it's at the bottom.
There are only 5 films that have hit the billion-dollar mark since the spring of 2020 -- including 'Mario Bros.,' "Jurassic World: Dominion," "Top Gun: Maverick," "Spider-Man: No Way Home," and "Avatar: The Way of Water" ... which is at the top, at about $2.3B
'Mario' is far and away the most successful movie of the year at this point ... and it serves as yet another piece of evidence about the recipe to big-time success post-pandemic.
Superheroes, iconic IP, nostalgia, and sequels are still king at the theaters -- go figure.
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Mila Kunis Reportedly in Talks ... To Play Fantastic 4's The Thing?!?
Mila Kunis may just be tapped to play The Thing in the new "Fantastic 4" movie -- that is ... if you buy a rumor that's running rampant on Twitter this morning.
A movie insider named @MyTimeToShineH -- who's credited with getting scoops before trade publications, and generally being in the know on superhero news -- sent the bird app into a frenzy Friday when they claimed Mila was in talks to portray a female version of Ben Grimm.
They are looking at Jewish actors, both male AND female for The Thing in Fantastic Four. Mila Kunis is one of them
— MyTimeToShineHello (@MyTimeToShineH) April 28, 2023 @MyTimeToShineH
Grimm is the name of the dude in the comics who becomes The Thing ... a giant orange rock figure who fights crime alongside Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Woman and the Human Torch.
MTTSH writes, "They are looking at Jewish actors, both male AND female for The Thing in Fantastic Four. Mila Kunis is one of them." They added that the director of the upcoming 2025 flick, Matt Shakman, insisted Grimm be portrayed be a real-life Jewish actor ... as the character is explicitly depicted as Jewish in the comic books, albeit in later iterations.
Now, in case it went over your head -- The Thing is a male character ... and has always been portrayed as such. Whether it was Chuck McCann in the '90s cartoon, Michael Chiklis from the 2000s flick, or Jamie Bell from the 2010s version -- The Thing's known as a guy.
Now, however, based on this report -- or gossip, more like -- it sounds like Marvel's possibly looking to switch things up with a little gender swap ... or at the very least, considering it.
As you might imagine ... Twitter users, by and large, aren't reacting well to the news. The jokes are flying -- and the consensus seems to be, if Kevin Feige and co. go down this road, much of the fanbase will turn their backs on the studio ... as they view this as a step too far.
Of course, it wouldn't be the first time a woman replaced a role usually played by a man -- it notably happened in "Ghostbusters" ... and more recently, in 'Black Panther 2' and "She-Hulk." among other examples. Point is ... it's been done before, and sometimes with success.
As for Mila potentially being eyed for the job ... she wouldn't be half bad. Big star with name recognition and a good range of films under her belt, including action movies and comedies.
She's certainly more than capable.
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Jack Nicholson Makes Rare Public Appearance At LA Lakers Game
Amid rumors of health issues that keep him confined to his home, Jack Nicholson made his joyous return to the public eye Friday night, attending an LA Lakers playoff game.
The 3-time Oscar-winning actor got a hero's welcome of sorts as he sat with his son, Ray, courtside to watch the Lakers trounce the Memphis Grizzles -- 125 to 85 -- at Crypto.Com Arena in LA.
Several celebs approached Jack to welcome him back to one of his favorite pastimes -- cheering on the Lakers live from the arena's floor.
"Curb your Enthusiasm" star Larry David came over to greet Jack before the start of the first-round playoff game.
Lakers legend LeBron James took some time out of his warm-up to chat with Jack and give him a hug.
Tee, the father of Memphis Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant, posed for photos with Jack, who gave a thumbs-up to the lensman.
Jack Nicholson back courtside for the Lakers - first time since last season’s opening night. pic.twitter.com/OEyr3XPsqA
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) April 29, 2023 @Rachel__Nichols
A journalist also got into the mix, telling Jack, "Welcome back."
It was the first time anyone had seen Jack at a Lakers game since Oct. 2021. Stories began to surface in the tabloids that Jack had become a recluse due to mounting health concerns.
But, there was no hint of Jack's rumored demise last night. He appeared to be in great spirits, sporting his customary black shades and flashing his famous Cheshire grin.
Good to see you, Jack. Hope to see you again soon.