TMZ.com

Judy Garland's iconic ruby slippers from "The Wizard of Oz" have found a new home, selling over the weekend for a record-breaking $28 million!!!

The slippers, worn by Judy in the 1939 classic film are one of only four surviving pairs made for the film. Their red sequins and legendary status drew intense interest at Heritage Auctions, which facilitated the sale on Saturday. The winning bidder remains anonymous.

The slippers were stolen in 2005 from the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, and remained missing for over a decade. They were recovered during an FBI undercover operation in 2018.

5:52 PM PT -- Tyler Perry has broken his silence over the death of Steve Mensch ... expressing his deep admiration and respect for his friend ... while noting how hard this time of year is for him with devastating losses.

"This time of year, grief meets me like an unwanted visitor, as tomorrow marks 15 years since the loss of my mother. It feels especially harder because I have lost so many friends and mentors this year, ranging in age from as young as 40 to 92. And today, yet another loss.

I’ve been trying to understand this tragedy all day—what went wrong with that plane. Steve loved flying, and he loved that plane; he took so much pride in it. I’m praying for his family as we all try to make sense of this heartbreak.

Life is but a moment; we are like vapors. Hold strong to the people you love AND TELL THEM!"

9:03 AM PT -- Tyler Perry Studios Studios has released an official statement on Steve Mensch's death.

“Steve was a cherished member of our team for more than 8 years, and well beloved in the community of Atlanta. It is hard to imagine not seeing him smiling throughout the halls. We will miss him dearly. Our heart goes out to his family as we all send them our prayers.”

Steve Mensch, the president and manager of general operations at Tyler Perry Studios, was killed in a single-seater plane crash in Florida on Friday night, a source close to the studios told TMZ.

The week is coming to a close and it's safe to say it was an action-packed one for Hollywood's biggest stars ... as several fan-favorites hit the town for various industry events.

For starters, actor Evan Ross turned the Los Angeles premiere for "The Fire Inside" into a father-daughter date night ... bringing his and Ashlee Simpson's little girl, Jagger, as his plus one.

Of course, there was plenty of other star power at the premiere ... Michael B. Jordan, Chloe Bailey, Meagan Good and Jonathan Majors all stepped out -- looking as dashing as ever -- for the event, too.

Emma Dumont's making a major revelation ... revealing they're non-binary -- and, their friends and family are calling them by a new name.

The "Oppenheimer" star changed their pronouns and name on their Instagram bio recently ... writing they now go by "they/them" pronouns instead of "she/her."

We reached out to a rep for Dumont who tells TMZ ..."They identify as a trans masculine non-binary person. Their work name is still going to be Emma Dumont, but they will go by Nick with friends and family."

Tyler Perry is all about one leading lady -- calling it a dream come true to work with Oprah!

We caught up with Tyler Wednesday, and he couldn’t stop gushing about directing Oprah for the first time in his new Netflix film, "The Six Triple Eight" ... making it clear that teaming up with the cultural icon is nothing short of incredible.

While Tyler’s a talented director in his own right, we had to ask if Oprah would crush it as a director herself -- it’s one of the few things she hasn’t tackled yet. Check out the video to hear his take!

Emma Corrin titillated the crowd -- literally -- at the opening of their new vampire flick, "Nosferatu," showing off their chest in a see-through gown.

The actor posed for some racy photos on the red carpet before the horror film's Wednesday premiere at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square in London, England.

Emma was joined by their female castmates -- Dakota Schiffer, Lily-Rose Depp and Nassia Matsa -- all of whom were dressed to kill.

There's a new "Lord of the Rings" movie set to debut next week ... and some of the franchise's brightest stars reunited at the premiere to support the upcoming project.

Check it out ... Cate Blanchett showed up at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square Tuesday evening for the London premiere of "The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim" -- a new animated movie that takes place nearly 200 years before the events of 'Fellowship of the Ring.'

Unsurprisingly, Cate dressed to impress for the industry event, rocking a dark top with an extremely deep-V neckline, an oversized gray blazer and matching slacks. The actress -- who played elf Galadriel in all three of Peter Jackson's 'LOTR' movies -- rounded out her look with a chunky gold necklace, a number of earrings, and a chic bob.

Barry Keoghan is focusing on his job in the wake of his split from Sabrina Carpenter ... shooting movie scenes in downtown Los Angeles after news of their breakup.

The Irish actor was spotted on the set of "Crime 101" ... rocking platinum blond hair for some scenes at a Denny's ... the first time we've seen Barry since the split.

Barry appeared to have a motorcycle helmet and jacket in hand as he walked into the store as cameras were rolling. The thriller is due out next year and his costars include Halle Berry, Chris Hemsworth and Nick Nolte ... among others.

Disney fans have nothing to worry about ... 'cause the upcoming horror flick based on "Steamboat Willie" is not going to undo any of Mickey's magic, says a star of "Screamboat."

Here's the deal ... the ultra-bloody indie horror movie takes the OG Mickey Mouse character and drops him in a slasher film -- all thanks to the character now being in the public domain.

Tyler Posey, who stars in "Screamboat," tells TMZ ... there is nothing for Mouseketeers to worry about ... 'cause the the killer rodent in his movie is clearly not Mickey.

Wicked cool moment on Drew Barrymore's talk show ... she surprised "Wicked" star Ariana Grande with the original Glinda wand from the movie that started it all.

Ariana is a guest on Thursday's episode of "The Drew Barrymore Show" and a preview shows the moment Drew brings out the wand ... completely stunning Ariana.

Of course, Ariana plays Glinda in the new "Wicked" movie ... so it was only natural Drew pulled out all the stops to get the wand from the 1939 flick.

Ariana Grande can't believe "Wicked" defied the odds by becoming the highest-grossing Broadway musical movie adaptation ever ... calling the flick's growing popularity "surreal."

We caught up with the pop star outside CBS Studios in NYC on Tuesday, where she met with her adoring fans and signed a number of autographs -- feeling as "Popular" as ever.

However, Ari made it clear she's blown away by audiences' response to the movie ... noting she and her "Wicked" peers are all moved by the worldwide attention.

Cynthia Erivo is doubling down on her singing in theaters stance ... so much so, she's teasing an appearance at the upcoming sing-along screenings.

We caught up with the "Wicked" star in NYC, where she made it clear she's excited for the sing-along version of the movie to hit theaters Christmas Day. In fact, she told us she "might attend one" ... though, didn't share specifics on the where and the when.

This is likely due to safety, given the fact "Wicked" continues to dominate box offices across the globe ... sparking quite a bit of awards chatter for the Broadway veteran.

Awards season is well underway with the 2024 Gotham Awards bringing out a number of notable stars ... including Nicole Kidman, Zendaya and Timothée Chalamet, among others.

The industry event, which took place in New York City Monday evening, celebrated the best independent projects in film and television ... meaning blockbusters like "Wicked" and "Gladiator II" were not at the forefront of people's minds.

However, this didn't mean there wasn't star power in attendance ... as we mentioned, Zendaya popped by in a striking white halter gown -- her film "Challengers" was up for best feature at the award show. She also took home a prize herself, winning the Spotlight Tribute for her work in the sexually-charged tennis drama.

American actor Paul Le Mat was in his 20s when he became known for playing John Milner -- the drag racing, rebellious "King of the Strip" and car enthusiast-- in the 1973 film "American Graffiti."

Paul shared the big screen with Ron Howard as the recent high school graduate and class president gearing up for college, Steve, Richard Dreyfuss as Steve's bestie with the college scholarship, Curt and Harrison Ford as the cocky out-of-town challenger proving his Chevy is the best, Bob.

Le Mat's role in "American Graffiti" landed him the lead role in "Aloha, Bobby and Rose" in 1975.

Kristin Chenoweth may have nailed Glinda on Broadway, but she was all about a wicked smooth transition while passing the baton to Ariana Grande on the set of the "Wicked" movie.

The stage star shared some behind-the-scenes magic on X, posting pics of her and Ariana rocking matching custom pink Glinda jackets while filming ... explaining she had surprised her with the outfits as a "little physical memento of our 'passing of the wand.'"

In true Glinda form, Kristin said she was all about leading Ariana down the yellow brick road -- or any road, really -- and couldn't be prouder of her!

Bad Bunny's giving golf tips to Happy Gilmore ... because the rapper is filming scenes with Adam Sandler for the upcoming sequel -- and it looks like he's a caddy.

Check out these behind-the-scenes photos from the set of Adam's "Happy Gilmore 2" ... Bad Bunny's in full costume and makeup, dressed up like a caddy on the golf course with Happy.

Adam's rocking the trademark 'HG' fit ... a Boston Bruins hockey jersey, baggy pants and some Timberland boots.