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English actress Dakota Blue Richards was only 12 years old when she made her film debut as Lyra Belacqua -- the curious and independent polar bear-riding student -- in the 2007 fantasy film "The Golden Compass."

Dakota played opposite Hollywood icons like Nicole Kidman as the manipulative head of the school board, Mrs. Coulter and Daniel Craig as the well-known explorer searching for the forbidden particle (aka dust), Lord Asriel.

Other cast-worthy mentions include Eva Green as Serafina and Sam Elliott as Lee.

Dakota also played April in "Dustbin Baby" and Maria in "The Secret of Moonacre."

"Emilia Pérez" star Karla Sofía Gascón’s award-season glory has quickly fizzled after hugely offensive past X posts have come to light -- and with the backlash intensifying, she’s now deleted her account.

Gascón’s X account @karsiagascon was deactivated Friday after people dug up a bunch of posts from 2016 when the embattled first trans Oscar nominee ranted about Muslims, George Floyd, and, ironically, diversity at the Oscars -- despite being part of a minority community herself.

In a deeper breakdown of her comments ... she came for a Muslim family dining at a restaurant, mocking the way women dress in Islamic culture and even suggesting the religion should be banned.

Mel Gibson clearly brought energy to the "Flight Risk" set as director ... emanating the intensity of his iconic character William Wallace in a promo pushing his newest film -- face paint and all.

Two promotional clips were recently released to promote the new flick starring Mark Wahlberg, Topher Grace and Michelle Dockery ... and, in one he tells his actors that more is more -- so, they gotta give it all they got.

Gibson, in his director's chair, then picks up a sword when he means to grab his megaphone ... jokingly slicing his hand open on the sharp blade.

Miguel A Núñez Jr. says if 'juwanna' dress in drag for a role as an actor, that's fine by him ... but, he says Black actors who do it are held to an entirely different standard than their white counterparts.

We caught up with the star, who played the title character in the hit 2002 film "Juwanna Mann" -- a man pretending to be a woman to keep playing pro basketball -- and asked him about Martin Lawrence saying he's not above wearing a dress for a role.

Lawrence said he's comfortable with his manhood, so wearing a dress doesn't bug him ... and, Núñez agrees -- pointing out tons of white actors wear dresses for their roles and they only ever seem to receive praise.

Anthony Mackie says he's proud to be an American, and was speaking about what he believes Captain America embodies.

The "Captain America: Brave New World" star just responded to the pushback he's getting online over his recent comments on Cap.

Anthony says ... "Let me be clear about this, I'm a proud American and taking on the shield of a hero like CAP is the honor of a lifetime. I have the utmost respect for those who serve and have served our country. CAP has universal characteristics that people all over the world can relate to."

Joey King’s kitchen adventure took a fiery turn -- leaving her with some seriously gnarly face burns.

The actress shared a collage of her wounds on IG Stories, showing off the aftermath on her chin and neck -- thanks to a shallot toss into a pan of hot oil gone wrong.

Of course, Joey could’ve had a full-on meltdown -- she’s an actress, so burns aren’t exactly part of the glam look -- but instead, she took it all in stride.

3:55 PM PT -- Anthony Mackie posted on his Instagram Story Tuesday afternoon in response to online objections to his Captain America comments, writing ... "Let me be clear about this, I'm a proud American and taking on the shield of a hero like CAP is the honor of a lifetime. I have the utmost respect for those who serve and have served our country. CAP has universal characteristics that people all over the world can relate to."

Anthony Mackie's got a brave take on his "Captain America: Brave New World" role -- and let’s just say, the Internet is NOT pledging allegiance to it.

Check out this clip from a promo event in Rome -- according to Anthony, the star-spangled hero isn’t really about repping the country, despite the moniker. Instead, he says Cap stands for a lot of different things, but not "America," specifically … and he doesn't think it should -- and yeah, that’s ruffling some feathers.

Mackie’s making it about morals over patriotism -- signifying Captain America's a man who keeps his word, has dignity, integrity, and a few other traits that go beyond just red, white, and blue.

Will Packer, a big-time Hollywood producer, is weighing in on Trump’s crackdown on anti-DEI initiatives -- telling us what really matters when it comes to hiring his team.

We caught up with Will at LAX Monday, and he had some thoughts about diversity, equity and inclusion hiring -- Hollywood’s more reactive than proactive, so expect a response to that political pendulum swing. But for him? It’s always been about hiring the best for the job -- DEI or not.

Check out the clip -- Will, the powerhouse behind "Girls Trip," "Think Like A Man," and "Ride Along," tells us many of the best people for the job just happen to be POC. That gives him a leg up on others in the biz who actively don’t prioritize hiring the most diverse and qualified talent.

Justin Baldoni is following through on his vow to release all his communications with Blake Lively ... revealing a nearly 7-minute apology he sent her at 2 AM while they were working on the "It Ends With Us" script.

Justin's voice note was clearly recorded shortly after the costars' now infamous meeting to discuss the movie's rooftop scene -- which Blake had rewritten -- and he's apologizing for his less than warm reaction to the changes ... saying, "I'm really sorry. I f***ed up. I will admit and apologize when I fail. I'm a very flawed man, as my wife will attest."

He continued, "I'm gonna piss you off, probably, but I will always apologize and find my way back to center. I'm sorry I made you feel that way. I will, for sure, do better."

It’s been nearly 3 weeks since the deadly Palisades and Eaton wildfires destroyed more than 16,000 structures in the Los Angeles area ... and we’re learning some iconic Hollywood filming locations no longer exist.

Photos and video show several historic spots now gone, consumed by blazes that have claimed the lives of 28 people since the fires began the first week of January.

Palisades Charter High School -- the campus featured in the MTV series “Teen Wolf,” the high-school party flick “Project X,” and the '70s horror movie classic “Carrie” -- sustained substantial damage.

Jennifer Lopez is not just famous for her music and movies, but also her voluptuous booty ... just ask the guy who fell under its trance at the Sundance Film Festival.

J Lo looked amazing in her black lace gown as she strolled into the Sunday night premiere of her film, "Kiss of the Spider Woman" in Salt Lake City, Utah -- and, of course, she was the center of everyone's attention, and one fella in particular.

Check out this photo ... which shows the man standing behind J Lo with his eyes laser locked on her shapely butt. The dude definitely had the best view of anyone in the place -- and J Lo seemed oblivious to his attention.

Ryan Reynolds made a surprise appearance at Radio City Music Hall on Friday night to support Hugh Jackman ... while the legal battle between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni has escalated severely.

RR honored his Marvel costar and best mate at the opening night of Hugh's one-man show "From New York, With Love" ... offering a combination of ball-breaking and deep admiration for his fellow actor.

The few minutes were sweet and moving ... but odds are the war between RR's wife and Baldoni was on audience members' minds -- as that got even uglier this week ... and it looks to get worse.

It's worth noting Ryan has only made a few public appearances since the all-out war broke out ... at events without press ... who'd pepper him to address the situation ... much like this one.

Hollywood is setting up shop in Utah ... because celebs are piling into a small ski town for a famous movie festival.

Sundance kicked off Friday and famous folks like Conan O'Brien and Rose Byrne made some of the first appearances.

"Wicked" star Cynthia Erivo made it to the snow-covered town too ... no word if she rode in on a broom.

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's son, Pax Jolie-Pitt, keeps playing with fire ... because he crashed his e-bike again ... smashing into a car and causing major damage.

The 21-year-old was tooling around in Los Feliz on his BMX-style electric bicycle Friday when he T-boned a car.

Photogs spotted Pax showboating before the crash ... riding down the street with no hands. We're told he turned a corner and crashed.

8:40 AM PT -- A source connected to the film tells TMZ ... the film is not imperiled, and there will be re-shoots in March. The source declined to comment on whether the re-shoots have to do with eliminating the scenes involving Jordan Chandler.

One of Michael Jackson's accusers is the reason the highly-anticipated biopic will be delayed 6 months -- specifically, it's the film's reference to Jordan Chandler that has the production in total chaos.

Director Antoine Fuqua had already completed filming of "Michael," when it was announced late last year the scheduled April release date was being pushed to November 2025 -- and that's because they have to rewrite a chunk of the script related to Chandler ... according to Puck.

Basically, someone forgot some key details in Jackson's $23 million settlement with Jordy's family back in 1993. The whole storyline of "Michael" reportedly begins and ends with the then-13-year-old's accusation Jackson molested him ... and the movie aims to convince you Michael was completely innocent.

Benedict Cumberbatch is looking back on a "near-death" experience from over 20 years ago ... when he says he was abducted and robbed while traveling abroad.

The British actor opened up to Variety about the harrowing ordeal, where he claimed he was kidnapped and robbed by 6 men while in South Africa filming BBC's "To the Ends of the Earth" in 2004.

Benedict said the incident occurred after a diving excursion with friends, and their group ended up with a blown-out tire -- stranding them on the side of the road.