Movies

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.

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande are probably feeling "Popular" right about now ... they both just landed Oscar nominations for their work in "Wicked."

The full list of nominees was announced early Thursday morning, with Cynthia nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role, and Ariana scored a spot in the Actress in a Supporting Role category ... where fellow former child star Selena Gomez was notably snubbed for her work in "Emilia Pérez."

Their nominations weren't surprising, given the way "Wicked" dominated the box office at the end of 2024, but it's got to feel good for Cynthia and Ariana ... who put on one hell of a press tour when the musical movie dropped in November.

Sebastian Stan's controversial portrayal of a young Donald Trump has scored the highest honor in Hollywood ... he's now an Oscar nominee.

The actor was just nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his work in "The Apprentice" ... surprising many tuning in for the 2025 Oscar nominations, given the film's icy reception from POTUS himself.

Trump previously slammed the biopic on Truth Social in October for being "fake" and "classless" after an Ivana Trump rape scene sparked controversy.

Writer and producer Barry Michael Cooper has died in Baltimore, Maryland ... TMZ has learned.

Cooper wrote a series of iconic 1990s movies, including "New Jack City," starring Wesley Snipes and Chris Rock ... "Above The Rim," starring Tupac Shakur ... and "Sugar Hill." He also produced the 2017-2019 TV series "She's Gotta Have It," based on the Spike Lee film of the same name.

He began his career as a journalist, writing for Spin Magazine and the Village Voice, among others.

Bradley Cooper is just like every diehard Eagles fan who rode the emotional rollercoaster during Philly's playoff matchup against the L.A. Rams ... but the one big difference?? He had his supermodel girlfriend, Gigi Hadid, present to keep him at ease.

TMZ Sports obtained video of the actor stressed to the max in his suite as his beloved Eagles squared up against Matthew Stafford and the Rams ... and while the final score went his way, it certainly wasn't a sure thing.

After interacting with some fans in his box, the "Hangover" star popped a squat next to his stunning partner and put his face into his hands. Hadid saw her man needing reassurance ... and promptly gave him a pat on the back to lift his spirits.

Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds want a judge to gag Justin Baldoni's lawyer ... claiming he's making false statements about the case.

The megastars filed a letter in court Tuesday ... and, in it, they ask the court to issue a protective order to stop Baldoni's lawyers -- led by Bryan Freedman -- from engaging in "improper conduct" including going on an alleged "harassing and retaliatory media campaign" against Blake and Ryan.

They say he's violating court rules that stop a lawyer from making statements to the press that are irrelevant to a case and might prejudice the jury.

Sydney Sweeney ditched her fiancé for a special plus-one at the Brooklyn Nets game on Tuesday ... catching all the action courtside with her 11-year-old movie costar.

The 27-year-old actress hit up the Barclays Center to watch the Nets' Battle of the Boroughs with the New York Knicks ... which ultimately ended with Karl-Anthony Towns and Co. coming away with the 99-95 victory.

Sweeney's partner, Jonathan Davino, was nowhere to be seen -- instead, she elected to have fellow "The Housemaid" cast member Indiana Elle join in on the fun.

Chris Brown is suing the producers behind Investigation Discovery's "Chris Brown: A History of Violence" docuseries … alleging the project was full of straight up lies.

In new court documents obtained by TMZ … the singer accuses Warner Bros. Discovery, Ample, and other individuals behind the series of promoting and publishing defamatory claims against him -- even after allegedly being provided with "proof" that their narrative was false.

Not only does Brown state the Jane Doe at the center of the docuseries has been repeatedly discredited, but he highlights he has never been found guilty “of any sex related crime” … slamming the docuseries for labeling him "a serial rapist and a sexual abuser."

Blake Lively is thrilled Justin Baldoni decided to release unedited footage from "It Ends With Us," because she says it only proves her point ... that she was visibly uncomfortable with Baldoni's advances during the scene.

Blake's legal team tells TMZ, "Justin Baldoni and his lawyer may hope that this latest stunt will get ahead of the damaging evidence against him, but the video itself is damning. Every frame of the released footage corroborates, to the letter, what Ms. Lively described in Paragraph 48 of her Complaint."

They continue, "The video shows Mr. Baldoni repeatedly leaning in toward Ms. Lively, attempting to kiss her, kissing her forehead, rubbing his face and mouth against her neck, flicking her lip with his thumb, caressing her, telling her how good she smells, and talking with her out of character."

American actress Christine Lakin was only 11 years old when she first started playing Al -- the youngest all-American daughter -- on the blended family TV series "Step by Step" back in 1991.

Lakin was part of an ensemble cast featuring Patrick Duffy as the former construction worker turned business owner and father of three, Frank Lambert, Suzanne Somers as Frank's caring and at times controlling 2nd wife, Carol Foster Lambert, and Staci Keanan as Carol's oldest daughter and the funny feminist, Dana Foster.

Christine also played Joan of Arc on "Reefer Madness" and was the voice behind Joyce Kinney on "Family Guy."

Justin Baldoni is staying on the offensive ... attempting to shoot down Blake Lively's allegation he sexually harassed her, by releasing raw video from "It Ends With Us" that reveals some very telling conversation between the costars.

Baldoni's team dropped nearly 10 minutes of unedited footage -- including one scene where Justin and Blake are slow dancing. Blake referenced the scene in her lawsuit against Justin, and accused him of getting creepy with comments about the fragrance she was wearing.

In the video, which has both actors mic'd up, you don't see Justin making any offensive comments or actions toward Blake. We're told his team believes this completely refutes Blake's sexual harassment claim.

Heather McDonald isn't feeling sorry for either Justin Baldoni or Blake Lively amid their legal war ... blasting the two actors for duking it out in their respective lawsuits.

We caught up with the comedian outside Craig's in West Hollywood on Monday, where she gave her candid opinion on the Hollywood drama. While Heather noted the situation has made for good content for her "Juicy Scoop" podcast, she told us both Justin and Blake are clearly in the wrong.

Watch the video ... she blasted Justin as "kind of a weirdo," and said she totally believed the actor was "creepy and inappropriate" on set ... which Blake claimed in her lawsuit against her "It Ends With Us" costar and director.

Justin Baldoni certainly doesn't look like a guy in the middle of a nasty legal battle with his "It Ends With Us" costar Blake Lively -- even though both have been at each other's throats.

Check out new video/photos, obtained by TMZ ... Justin -- who also directed the controversial film -- was photographed Saturday splashing around in the waters on the sandy beaches of Maui, Hawaii.

Justin was also filmed with his shirt off -- putting his ripped abs on full display while flashing a big smile. Our sources say his kids and friends were having some fun in the sun, too.

Sydney Sweeney was melting the NYC snow, stepping out in a sizzling white-hot look Sunday night!

The actress turned NYC into her personal runway for date night with fiancé Jonathan Davino in a chic white fur coat -- cinched to flaunt her curves -- paired with sky-high white boots.

Sydney rocked her shades after dark like a true A-lister, proving her star power doesn’t need sunlight to shine.

American actress Claudia Wells was 18 years old when she played the role of Jennifer Parker -- Marty McFly's sweet and caring girlfriend who prevents the Tannen family from taking over the future -- in the 1985 sci-fi film "Back to the Future."

Wells shared the big screen with Michael J. Fox as the confident teenager dreaming of becoming a rock star, Marty, Christopher Lloyd as the highly intelligent scientist, Dr. Brown and Lea Thompson as the flirty teenager turned present day housewife, Lorraine.

In 2015, Claudia reprised her role as Jennifer for the short film "Back to the 2015 Future" and voiced her character for the "Back to the Future" video game.

"Save the clock tower!"