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Tiffany Haddish spent ThanksGIVING ... GIVING.

Tiffany served up some turkey dinners for some of the folks who were struggling this holiday at The Laugh Factory in WeHo. She knows their situation all too well ... Tiffany has been homeless and she's never forgotten people in her past situation.

Our photog wanted to know how the supply shortage is affecting her XMAS, and she has an interesting take. Tiff doesn't give traditional presents, because she thinks it misses the point.

When you listen ... it's clear her focus is on the less fortunate, and the things she gives are necessary and clearly appreciated.

Well, there's one present that's homegrown that may be for everyone in her life ... supply chain crisis be damned!

BTW ... lots of other comedians joined Tiffany at The Laugh Factory -- Dane Cook, Paul Rodriguez, Tom Dreesen, Thom Tran and Frazer Smith.

Britney Spears fans hoping to catch a glimpse of the singer in The Weeknd's new project with HBO won't have their way ... because she's simply not involved, TMZ has learned.

Britney set social media on fire Tuesday when she announced, "I just shot a movie titled “THE IDOL“ … it’s guaranteed to have hits and a lot bright pics to put in my beautiful family’s faces !!!!!"

Spears' announcement came hours after it was announced The Weeknd's show "The Idol" was getting the green light from HBO and singer Troye Sivan had joined the cast.

Of course, fans were quick to connect the two, believing Britney was signed on to the project as well, but sources with direct knowledge tell us it's just not the case.

Our Britney sources say she's not been asked to be a part of the HBO show, and her team is unsure as to what movie she's referring to in her caption. Britney's been very creative with her social media posts lately, so it's always possible she's producing a movie on her own at home.

Britney also sent a message to her fans about the upcoming holiday season, saying, "I hope you guys are having a merry ole jolly time cause I sure am !!!!"

Benedict Cumberbatch is on the attack ... against toxic masculinity, calling it a problem rooted deep in a society that needs major adjustments if we're going to achieve equality.

The actor is talking up his new film "Power of the Dog," which is set in 1920s Montana, and his character, Phil Burbank, is described as a masochist rancher who bullies his sister-in-law ... played by Kirsten Dunst.

While talking to Sky News about the role, he went off about the "need to fix the behavior of men."

Cumberbatch says toxic masculinity should start to be looked at like a mental health issue and corrected from an early age. He says if society is to bring equal pay between men and women, equal seats at the table and equality across the board there's a lot that needs to change.

He continues, "You get this sort of rebellion aspect, this denial, this sort of childish defensive position of 'not all men are bad'. No, we just have to shut up and listen."

So, what's behind BC going ballistic on men? Sounds like he so deeply immersed himself into the character that he might have blurred lines between the role and reality.

For instance, Kirsten's said she avoided Benedict between takes on set because he mostly remained in character.

You could understand Benedict's powerful stance against male dominance after playing such an extreme character. Of course, a cynic might say he's simply going on the attack before "woke" critics inevitably go after him for even taking the role.

A movie about Serena and Venus Williams -- focusing on their dad teaching 'em tennis -- is, apparently, getting blasted as sexist ... even though they're literally the ones behind it.

Count this as the biggest bad hot take of the week ... and Twitter mostly agrees -- this person seems to be woefully misinformed on the making of "King Richard" -- not to mention the real-life history of Serena and Venus in general -- which stars Will Smith as their father in the titular role, and sees a young Serena and Venus turning into sports prodigies.

A woman named Dr. Jessica Taylor laid into the fact that this flick was more about their pops than them, per se, which she found insulting for some reason ... and to which she expressed outrage, almost on their behalf.

She writes, "Did they seriously make a film called ‘King Richard’ about the success of Serena and Venus Williams - but it’s about their dad, Richard?" What Dr. Taylor fails to realize, it seems, is that Venus and Serena are executive producers of the film.

So the "they" she's referring to here is actually VW and SW ... and the internet let her know about it, with one person responding -- "Venus and Serena wanted it that way. They are literally the executive producers of the movie. Please sit down somewhere"

Unclear if this message got through to the good doctor, because she followed up with yet another equally tone-deaf remark ... saying, "I get this has annoyed people but I genuinely didn’t expect a film about two of the most powerful, successful and amazing black female athletes to be named after a man, or centre a man."

She adds, "I would have loved this film to be all about them, and not a man. That’s it really." The implication, in our eyes, is that there's sexism afoot with the way it's presented.

Of course, what Dr. Taylor, again, does not seem to understand ... Serena and Venus are obviously onboard with this approach to the film, as it's one they wanted to tell and even signed on to shepherd. They've spoken about this in interviews, too, saying they wanted to highlight the role their father played in their lives -- and the gratitude they feel for his hard work.

Funny enough, there are other film critics who are coming to the table with the same POV as this Twitter user -- finding fault in the fact that Will gets most of the shine, and not the girls.

Art LaFleur, famous for playing Babe Ruth in the classic baseball movie "The Sandlot," is dead.

The actor died Wednesday following a 10-year battle with Parkinson's disease ... according to his wife, Shelley. We're told he died at his home surrounded by his children and Shelley -- and although he was in hospice care, Art was cracking jokes to try to make his family laugh in the time leading up to his death.

His wife is remembering Art as a "generous and selfless man" ... qualities she says carried over into his acting career, "but more importantly it was who he was for his family and friends."

Art is most known, and beloved, for his role in 1993's "The Sandlot" -- but he was also in another big baseball flick, playing first baseman Chick Gandil in 1989's "Field of Dreams" alongside Kevin Costner.

He didn't get into acting until he moved from Chicago to Los Angeles way back in 1975 when he was already 31 years old. He went on to become one of those character actors audiences always recognized, acting in movies like "The Blob," "Cobra" and a couple of the 'Santa Clause' films.

He also landed episodic TV roles on "Malcolm in the Middle," "The Bernie Mac Show," "JAG" and many other shows.

Art was 78.

Quentin Tarantino seems to be pushing forward with plans to auction off "Pulp Fiction" NFTs, but the movie studio behind the film says they aren't his to sell ... according to a new lawsuit.

The famous movie director is being sued by Miramax, which claims his plans to sell a set of digital tokens featuring some iconic movie scenes violate the studio's rights.

According to the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Miramax claims it was left in the dark about Quentin's planned NFT auction, but finally caught wind of it and fired off a cease and desist letter to the director ... claiming the film company had the rights to most everything media-related involving the movie, including the NFTs he's looking to sell.

In the docs, Miramax claims Quentin pressed ahead anyway and is now promoting the hell out of the upcoming auction on social media. So, the studio says it had no choice but to drag him to court.

Miramax is going after Tarantino for money, and the studio wants the judge to pump the brakes on his NFT auction.

George Clooney is speaking his piece on the fatal shooting that claimed Halyna Hutchins' life -- and he's torching the entire "Rust" crew over the tragedy, especially the assistant director.

The legendary actor weighed in while he was on Marc Maron's 'WTF' podcast and he didn't hold back one bit ... lighting up AD Dave Halls, armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed and the producers at large, who he says clearly skimped.

GC's biggest gripe is the gun that was handed to Alec should never have been handled by Halls ... but rather, Hannah herself or the head prop master.

George says there's been strict protocol for gun use on every set he's been on, and notes ... the protocol was grossly violated on "Rust," going on to say he's never even heard of the term "cold gun" -- while labeling the whole saga "insane" and "infuriating."

Now, while Mr. Clooney stops short of criticizing Alec Baldwin directly -- whom he says he doesn't know well -- he does make a stark comparison in how he's dealt with guns on set, and how AB apparently did.

George explains that anytime he's used a gun on camera, he's always checked it himself -- and does so extensively too ... saying he opens it, examines the chamber, shows it to whoever he's pointing it too and even fires six times at the ground as a final safeguard.

According to Santa Fe authorities, Alec didn't do any of that -- and ended up pointing the gun at Halyna and director Joel Souza during a blocking setup, and firing.

There's more George touches on -- including the producers of this film allegedly cutting crucial corners that allowed for an unsafe environment to fester, which is unfathomable to him considering the tragedy that killed Brandon Lee in the '90s.

The "Rust" film worker who suffered horrific injuries from a spider bite on the job won't need to have his arm amputated ... and it sounds like he's going to get some workers' comp.

The film worker, Jason Miller, tells TMZ ... his left arm will be saved despite the grizzly photos of his severe reaction to a bite from a venomous brown recluse spider, which bit him while he was breaking down the movie set.

Jason, who is diabetic, says he underwent invasive surgery where doctors removed a bunch of muscle and skin from his left arm, but he's responding well to treatment and surgeries, so amputation is being ruled out after initial concerns he might lose his arm.

He says "Rust" should be held accountable for the poisonous spider bite in the wake of the fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins ... and the wheels are in motion for him to get workers' compensation.

Jason claims he was getting dodged by folks at "Rust" after reaching out 6 times about workers' comp, but now his attorneys say they are working with the movie's insurance company to get him paid for his troubles.

While Jason says he greatly appreciates the wave of public support, with over $13K donated to his GoFundMe, he insists what happened to him was a freak accident ... and he wants the focus on Halyna Hutchins because he thinks her shooting death could have been avoided.

Nicole Kidman has a lot of doubters over her turn as Lucille Ball in a new movie about the iconic actress -- but those folks will be silenced ... so say critics, who were blown away.

Aaron Sorkin's new flick, "Being the Ricardos," got its first screening in L.A. this weekend -- in front of a crowd of professional movie reviewers, no less -- and the consensus seems to be ... NK absolutely killed it as Lucy/Lucille ... and she may well be on her way to an Oscar.

The first reactions were mostly positive ... with folks saying Nicole captured the spirit of Lucille (both as Lucy Ricardo and the real-life Lucille Ball) down to a T -- including a spot-on impression of her voice and mannerisms, according to the people who watched it.

There were rave reviews for Javier Bardem as well -- who plays Lucy/Lucille's on-and-off screen hubby Desi Arnaz/Ricky Ricardo -- and ditto for J.K. Simmons and others who also star in the movie. Nicole, however, seems to have stood out from the rest ... which is interesting.

Frankly ... much has been made about Nicole's casting as the lead, because -- well, she doesn't really look like Lucy or Lucille very much at all ... even when she's in costume and makeup.

A lot of "I Love Lucy" fans were incensed by the decision to tap NK -- saying she doesn't even slightly resemble Lucille ... meanwhile, Debra Messing (who's considered a dead ringer for LB) is there, presumably available to take on the role many feel she was born to play.

Sorkin shut all that down in a recent interview ... defending his choice of Nicole, saying the best performances of real people don't always have to be about matching their look.

Winter, the dolphin that grabbed global attention after being the focus of the movie "Dolphin Tale" is fighting for her life after developing a serious infection.

Winter, who lost her tail in 2005 at just 2 months old when it became entangled in a crab trap, had been cared for at The Clearwater Marine Aquarium in Florida for her entire life. Her caretakers announced that while they treated her for what they thought was a gastrointestinal infection, her condition got worse this week ... and she's now in critical condition.

"Dolphin Tale" -- released in 2011 -- was based on Winter's journey from her injury as a calf to the prosthetic tail that was made for her, and her progress after.

Among the movie's stars were Harry Connick Jr., Morgan Freeman, Ashley Judd and Kris Kristofferson.

The aquarium announced they'll be closed until at least Saturday "to create the best possible environment for her medical team."

A statement from the Clearwater aquarium team says, "We thank everyone for the incredible outpouring of love and support you have shown Winter since her rescue in 2005 and especially these last few days.”

Kumail Nanjiani came out of left field to surprise some moviegoers who were just settling in to watch him in "Eternals" ... and we've got his impromptu speech on video!!!

Kumail, who stars as Kingo in the new Marvel movie, was the surprise guest "Eternals" director Chloe Zhao introduced to the lucky folks who went to check out the flick Friday at the famed TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.

As you can see in the video ... the crowd goes wild when Kumail walks out in front of the massive IMAX screen ... where he's joined by Chloe and Marvel Studios honcho Kevin Feige.

It's pretty funny ... Kumail tells the folks in the room he's usually the guy getting his butt kicked by the buff guys in the film, but this time the tables are turned!!!

Jokes aside, Kumail also shares why he's still pinching himself and why he's a fan of the MCU like the rest of the moviegoers in awe of his celebrity.

There's some key differences to look for when checking a gun for live ammunition or dummy rounds ... and it sounds like it should be pretty hard to screw up ... at least in theory.

Steve Wolf, who has been working in SFX and props in films for several decades, joined us on "TMZ Live" Wednesday and literally showed us what the armorer on the "Rust" set should have been looking for.

As Steve explains, it's pretty simple to spot the difference with the naked eye ... dummy rounds have a dimpled primer on the bottom, something live ammunition does not.

Steve says there's another way to check what is going into a gun ... shaking and listening for sounds.

He says the dummy rounds are loaded with BBs and the live rounds are filled with gunpowder ... and the dummy rounds make a distinct noise when shaken and the live ammo is basically silent.

The distinctions are important ... there was a fatal shooting on the "Rust" set ... and now lawyers for the armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, are suggesting someone placed a live round in a box of dummy rounds ... and that live round bullet killed Halyna Hutchins.

Hannah's lawyers said she spun the revolver before the fatal shooting ... but it sounds like Steve is saying she should have noticed the live round, based on how the bullet looks from the bottom.

The armorer also claims she didn't know there were live rounds on the set ... despite what we first told you ... the gun from the shooting was allegedly used for off-set target practice with live rounds.

Tim Allen's political beliefs didn't play a factor in the re-casting of his signature Buzz Lightyear character -- Disney honchos simply believed the character needed a fresh voice for a new storyline ... TMZ has learned.

Many folks were confused this week when the Mouse House announced its beloved "Toy Story" character would have a new voice a la Chris Evans. Fans speculated Tim Allen's political beliefs, namely his support for former President Donald Trump, might've had something to do with the new casting.

We've spoken to sources with direct knowledge who tell us Disney has no issue with Tim or with his political leanings. The new movie, "Lightyear" is about the real astronaut that toy Buzz is based on, and to have the same voice wouldn't make sense.

In fact, our sources say Tim Allen still works with Disney on various "Toy Story" projects when they come up involving the OG Buzz ... another indicator there's no beef.

Whoever buys the "Nightmare on Elm Street" house is gonna have a helluva headache on their hands -- so says Freddy Krueger himself!

We got Robert Englund at LAX, and sure enough ... the iconic horror actor weighed in on the fact that the L.A.-area home they used to shoot scenes in the OG flick is hitting the market for a pretty penny -- around $3.2 million.

Check out how RE feels about it ... first, he tells us the crib actually served a great purpose off camera -- financially speaking -- so the new owner(s) will have that cool little nugget of history to hang their hat, on top of the already-sweet movie heritage.

As far as who Rob thinks the house should go to -- he's pretty jokey about it, saying that perhaps Jason Voorhees or Pinhead would fit right into the neighborhood.

On a more serious note, though, Mr. Englund does acknowledge the people who scoop this property up will likely have to deal with adoring fans ... perhaps for the worse. Fact is, it's a very well-known house, and Robert seems to think there'll be gawkers far and wide.

He's probably not wrong here -- but we imagine whoever throws down for the place is anticipating that, and may well even enjoy it.

One last question for Robert here -- would the house best be suited for renovation, like the 'Brady Bunch' home??? He does believe reality TV would work ... but for a different franchise.

Will Smith is living proof that being fit on the outside doesn't fix what's inside, because he just revealed he once considered suicide.

Smith made his revelation in a trailer for his YouTube docuseries, "Will Smith: The Best Shape of My Life." The doc follows his journey losing 20 lbs in 20 weeks, but the weight loss regimen opens a door to some fundamental issues in his life.

He says, "When I started this show, I thought I was getting into the best shape of my life, physically. But, mentally, I was somewhere else. And, I ended up discovering a whole lot of hidden things about myself."

He makes an obtuse reference in a convo with his family ... "That was the only time in my life that I ever considered suicide." He doesn't give context to that, but presumably, he opens up about it in the docuseries.

BTW ... the docuseries, which dropped Friday, coincides with the release of his upcoming memoir, where he says he's "exposing my life and so many things that people don't know."

The upcoming "Hocus Pocus" sequel sounds like it won't feature at least one of the original stars ... because Omri Katz says his phone has been bone-dry in regards to a potential return.

Omri, who played Max Dennison in the Disney cult classic, tells TMZ ... he hasn't been approached about being involved in "Hocus Pocus 2," even though he would be open to bringing back his character in some fashion.

While Omri says it would be great for the fans to have him and some of the other OG cast members make an appearance ... so far, only the witches -- Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy -- are known to be coming back for seconds.

Omri also tells us he remains close with his "Hocus Pocus" family ... hanging out with Thora Birch (Dani Dennison) and Vinessa Shaw (Allison), usually during spooky season when the film is most popular.

Filming on 'HP2' is already underway and the movie is scheduled for a release next October on Disney+, but Omri says his main concern is getting a marijuana business, The Mary Danksters, up and running.