Brad Pitt
'Close Source' to Us: Angelina Jolie Is Pregnant
Angelina Jolie is pregnant, according to a source close to the 32-year-old actress and her partner, Brad Pitt. Whether or not she is expecting twins, as some rumors have suggested, was apparently not confirmed by the insider, who contacted Us. read more »
Jon Voight Comments on Daughter Angelina Jolie's Possible Pregnancy
Our intrepid political reporter Jason Horowitz is following Rudy Giuliani around Florida this week. On Rudy's press plane, the legendary actor Jon Voight (Midnight Cowboy, Deliverance), a supporter who is traveling with the presidential hopeful today, took a break from such topics as Franklin D. Roosevelt, the nature of the media and the normal guyness of Mr. read more »
Banksy Painting Sells, Notting Hill Wall Included
A work by Banksy, the faceless London artist who has entangled the city’s residents in a high-brow game of Cat and Mouse, just sold on eBay for nearly $400,000.
Buying the piece—one of the artist's typical graffiti numbers, this one depicts an artist in an old-fashioned getup putting the finishing touches on the word “BANKSY”—may prove to be the easy part. The work adorns a wall on Portobello Road in London’s bohemian-chic Notting Hill neighborhood.
“I am selling the wall because I can't really justify owning a piece of art worth as much as it is,” said Luti Fagbenle, the owner of the property on which the graffiti is sprayed. He also said that the artist had set up scaffolding in front of the wall on a busy Sunday morning, so he could complete the work without being seen.
“A few hours later the scaffolding went down. And there it was,” Mr. Fagbenle added.
After it was initially offered for £208,100, the piece attracted 69 bids in total. Whoever purchased the painting will reportedly be responsible for replacing the wall if removing the work is part of their plan. The enigmatic artist has collected a coterie of famous fans. Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt picked up a Banksy painting in 2006 for some £200,000. read more »
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie Find Peace, Pizza in Missouri
This week, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie ate more fast food with their family while on vacation in Mr. Pitt’s childhood hometown of Springfield, Missouri. It seems they’ve moved on from McDonalds, KFC and convenience stores—at least for the moment—this time getting some slices at Arris’ Pizza.
The pizza joint’s kitchen manager told Perez Hilton that the other restaurant patrons left the family pretty much alone while they dined. And Lisa Pitt, the wife of the actor’s brother, Doug, confirmed reports of the pleasant, low-key nature of Springfield residents whenever the Pitt-Jolie clan comes to town. “We went to the movies last year when they came and people were just so cool. Even when we go shopping,” she told local reporters. read more »
Brad Pitt, Pax Jolie Tour New Orleans Military-Style
On Christmas, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie drove their brood in a Nissan minivan to McDonalds for tasty eats. But yesterday, New Year’s Eve, the 44-year-old charitable actor had traded in his soccer-mom whip for a more rugged set of wheels.
Mr. Pitt was photographed tooling around the Big Easy with Pax Thien Jolie, 4. The pair were burning rubber on something called an E-Z GO ST 4X4 Honda Powered Utility Cart—an army green, combat-ready vehicle that would have made a nice federal-funded addition to the city 28 months ago. The Burn After Reading star didn’t let the little tyke go hungry, though; he made sure to swing by an area convenient store for snacks before heading back to the ranch. It appears as if the father-son team were driving on city roadways, but no stink has yet been raised of Mr. Pitt’s Britney Spears-style grasp on Pax. Then again, it did happen last year.
It's a Fast Food Christmas for the Jolie-Pitts
A bevy of big-time stars spent the holidays basking under the sun in exclusive locales, but not Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. Instead of jetting to Martinique or Bali for Christmas, the celebrity couple and their family fa-la-la’d with the Colonel and Ronald McDonald.
On Christmas day, Mr. Pitt, who just turned 44, and Ms. Jolie, 32, drove in a white Nissan minivan to a New Orleans McDonald’s drive-thru, where they picked up a couple Happy Meals. (After a much-publicized stint shacking up at the tony Waldorf Towers in New York, the famous fam relocated to the Big Easy, where they're working on building a sustainable housing development in the city's 9th Ward.)
On Boxing Day, there was no foie-gras relapse or beef-Wellington withdrawal. After seeing The Water Horse at the local AMC Palace Theater, the Jolie-Pitts headed to Kentucky Fried Chicken.
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie to 'Crap Out' Before Collecting 10 Children
Brad Pitt sat down last night with Charlie Rose. Wearing a flannel newsboy-style cap, the actor gabbed about everything from his fortunate lifestyle to his various charity projects. But when the topic of conversation landed on the four children Mr. Pitt, 44, rears with Angelina Jolie, 32, things turned slightly bizarre. read more »
Demand for Angelina Jolie Extends Far Beyond Hollywood
Angelina Jolie’s fame as an actress may have been eclipsed by her notoriety as a humanitarian. An organization of Filipino farmers has just sent out the alarm asking for help from the 32-year-old actress, who has recently relocated to New Orleans with Brad Pitt in order to oversee construction of “green” housing in the city’s wounded 9th Ward. The leftist agricultural group, called Kilusang Magbubukid Pilipinas, petitioned the United Nations High Commissioner to dispatch Ms. Jolie to their country, where, they hope, she can survey, react and draw attention to the dire living conditions suffered by hundreds of refugees displaced by the decades-long plague of insurgencies. Willy Marbella, the leader of the farmers’ alliance, told reporters that the Mighty Heart star can help the group rid the countryside of guerillas.
Since the 1960s, some two million Filipinos have been displaced and more than160,000 have been killed by the violent clashes among the nation’s army, communist fighters and Muslim insurgents.
The curious aptitude of Ms. Jolie’s project titles, too, labors on. She just finished shooting Wanted, a film directed by Timur Bekmambetov. Add to that her other forthcoming efforts, Kung-Fu Panda and Atlas Shrugged, and one could almost compose a fitting haiku from IMDB alone—one that very nearly conveys Ms. Jolie’s ever-expanding role on the world’s political stage.
Keira Knightley Strips for Chat, Gets 'Carried Away'
Julia Roberts and Brad Pitt think stripping for the camera—any camera—is poor form. But Keira Knightley sure doesn’t seem to mind. For Interview’s December/January issue, the Atonement star says sayonara to her fashionable frippery. (Never mind that she looks like actress Famke Janssen’s evil, thigh-clamping character in GoldenEye on the cover; at least the poor thing doesn’t have Tom Ford chewing on her ear.) But, hey—that’s okay! Human beings are deeper, more complex than just a two-dimensional photo or a clip of their bosoms-n-bums. “People are many different things at once,” Ms. Knightley told the floppy pub. “We can be complete wankers one minute and totally fantastic the next.”
Next! At just 22 years old, Ms. Knightley—who must by now have more magazine covers under her, um, garter than Cindy—thinks of her present self as enjoying a “Hollywood-glamour phase.” Gone are the days, the actress said, of her “girl next door” persona, and thank God for that! “I think it’s wonderful to have those aesthetic fantasies [of Hollywood-glamour]. Those films pretend that you can wake up in the morning with bright red lipstick and perfect false eyelashes and hair,” she said, seemingly forgetting about people like the singer Eve, who needn't pretend at all. “I have always loved being transported to another time and place, and I love to be carried away in a fantasy.” Yup, that is pretty fun.
Those who want to be hauled off to Lala Land by Ms. Knightley, can take a trip to director Joe Wright’s Atonement, which opens on Friday.
Pitt Stop! Brad's Dad Drives a Hard Bargain, Chintzing Small Biz in Personal-Fitness Purchase
On Tuesday, Nov. 13, Bill Pitt, father of Brad, arrived at the sporting-goods store Exercise & Rehab Equipment, in Springfield, Mo. read more »
Julia Roberts Au Naturel? Au Contraire!
Julia Roberts is not a fan of showing her naked bod in front of the camera. But those who enjoyed getting a good, long look at the actress’ legs peeking out of a bubble bath in Pretty Woman (all “nude” scenes came compliments of a sultry body double) will want to see director Mike Nichol’s forthcoming Charlie Wilson’s War. In an interview with E!, Ms. Roberts makes her serious sentiments on skin known, saying, “Listen, there's a reason why you don't see me naked me in movies, you don't see me running around in bathing suits in movie”—that is, until Charlie Wilson’s War opens on December 21—“It’s just not my thing.”
It’s not Ocean’s co-star Brad Pitt’s thing either. After all, the dreamy do-good actor told the BBC last week that he would forego any future nude scenes. The reason? “I don't want to be embarrassed when my kids get old enough to see my films.”
Okay, so baring her own bum has always been off-limits for Ms. Roberts, 40, but apparently kissing Don Johnson on an episode of Miami Vice has not. When an interviewer recently raised the face-blast-from-the-past to the actress and mother of three, she demurred, explaining why the on-screen smooch never happened. “Let me tell you something: I was falling ill while in Miami and ended up with spinal meningitis. Got sick down there, the sickest I've ever been in my life. There's a little-known fact." And we can see why, frankly.
Brad Pitt Ignores Toxicity on Today
Brad Pitt took to the Today show this morning, where he chatted with Ann Curry about his new foundation, called “Make it Right,” which plans to build some 150 “green” homes in New Orleans’ battered 9th Ward. Curiously, there was no talk of the high toxicity levels in the soil, which was recently reported in The Observer. Mr. Pitt did, however, did tell Ms. Curry that the charitable project is taking priority over his film career at the moment. “Sure, I guess so. Right now, this is the focus, and we’re going to see this thing through.” Hopefully Make it Right can make the foundation right before people move in.
With Pitt Gone, Universal Now Wooing Crowe to Come Out and Play
Universal Pictures spent Black Friday doing it's own kind of shopping. The studio made it clear over the holiday weekend that it wants Russell Crowe to replace Brad Pitt as the star of State of Play, after Mr. Pitt walked out on the picture Thanksgiving Eve over disagreements about the shooting script. According to Variety:
U claimed Pitt left a pay-or-play commitment and left open the option of suing him; Pitt's camp claimed he was essentially forced out of a movie he's been eager to topline for almost two years just because the studio wouldn't wait for a strike resolution and a rewrite to bring the script back to a place that made him comfortable.
Despite Meeting with Post-ies, Brad Won't Play Washington Reporter After All
The Washington Post reports that Brad Pitt has dropped out of a planned film in which he was to play a reporter covering the murder of a political
staffer, after clashing with the director over the script. Several months ago, Mr. Pitt had thrown thrown the Post's newsroom into a tizzy when he met with a handful of editors and reporters there, in order to research the role.
This is not the first time that the star has played fast and loose with the hearts of residents of our nation's capital. Two years ago, he and Angelina sparked fevered speculation that they might be buying property in the District after being spotted outside an on-the-market townhouse in a tony neighborhood. Turned out they were just visiting friends. read more »
The Dirt on Brad Pitt? It’s Toxic! Actor’s ‘Green’ NOLA Housing Project Emits Weird Glow
The actor Brad Pitt’s ambitious efforts to build a state-of-the-art, eco-friendly, sustainable housing facility in New Orleans’ ravaged Ninth Ward in record time recently suffered a setback when developers discovered that construction is taking place on deeply polluted land.
“Much of the Lower Ninth Ward is also toxic, so it’s really not a surprise,” said a source with intimate knowledge of the project, which Mr. read more »
Zahara Jolie-Pitt Conceived During Rape, Her Mother Says
Zahara, the Ethiopian-born two-year-old daughter of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, was conceived during a rape, according to the girl’s biological mother, Mentwabe Dawit. The alleged attack occurred in 2004 after Ms. Dawit, now 24, had finished working at a construction site in the nation situated on the Horn of Africa.
In an interview with Reuters, the woman described the violent ordeal: “He pulled a dagger, put one hand on my mouth, so that I could not scream. He then raped me and disappeared.” Ms. Dawit also said that she was afraid to admit to anyone that she was raped, because she lives “in a community where rape is considered a taboo, even if what happened happened forcibly." When Zahara, who was formerly named Yemsrach, was born, she was reportedly on the verge of dying. It was because of Zahara’s critical state, Ms. Dawit said, that her mother put the child up for adoption.
“I have never disputed the adoption of my baby by Angelina Jolie,” she said in the interview. “I think my daughter is a very fortunate human being to be adopted by a world famous lady. I wish them both all the success they deserve.” read more »
Lycée Students Say: Au Revoir, Mon Maddox! It’s Shortest Semester Ever for Movie-Star Spawn
On Thursday, Oct. 11, after six weeks of class, Maddox Pitt-Jolie had his last day at the Lycée Français on 75th Street. The mohawked 6-year-old was photographed leaving the school in his gym-class uniform alongside his movie-star mother, Angelina Jolie, who held under her arm a large booklet that his fellow kindergarteners had given him as a parting gift. read more »
Zut Alors! Monsieur Maddox Jolie-Pitt Begins Kindergarten, And Lycée Parents Lose It
The school is still adjusting to the chaos that ensues when his parents drop him off and pick him up. read more »
Jesse James Hits its Target: Pitt Western Swaggers Straight to the Soul
The ‘psychological drama’ of the legendary shooting is worth an Oscar—or three! read more »
Soderbergh’s Soggy Casino Caper Could Use a Few More Dames
Clooney is skinny and Pitt is pulchritudinous! But they bring too much man-love to the unnecessary Ocean’s three-quel. read more »
In the Observer: Blog + Ghetto = Blotto! (A Moveable Type Feast)
Jared Paul Stern: Free at last.
It's Davos, baby! A thorough guide to this week's Swiss new media/old royalty confab. As Time slashes forward, its editor tries and fails to poach big names. Who's next on NYT video obits? Alexis Swerdloff goes home again--to Brooklyn.Babel Is Best Film of 2006
Man Flab, It’s Fab
New York Magazine: We Were Almost Entirely Wrong About Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt
Survey says...!
The new item then painstakingly reviews how New York's predictions about the Pitt-Jolie baby media circus stack up to the facts—and how the magazine's mocked-up celebrity baby photos compare to the real thing. So: Did they get it right? read more »
UPDATED: Brad Pitt in ... Architecture Scandal?
Brad's sick of the condescension.
But, with wireless connections, Blackberries and personal assistants, couldn't he do two things at once?
A poster identified as Brad Pitt posted a note on Archinect, a Web site that combines news and member comments about architecture and design, on March 31 to promote the trailer of his upcoming project Design:e2. The next day, Brad Pitt wrote again on the Web site to announce a collaboration between him and Bono, Bonnitt, and an appearance on Charlie Rose.
"Bonnitt brings together our resources and global influence to help enlighten the world about these important issues [sustainable architecture, design, and social consciousness] while also providing high design to the world's poverty stricken population."
But, later that evening at the somber time of 9:56 pm, Brad Pitt announced that he was withdrawing his membership from the site, offended by attacks against his architectural integrity, and returning to his "second choice" Web site. The link leads to the architecture blog BLDGBLOG, written by Geoff Manaugh, who is also a member of Archinect.
Is it possible Geoff Manaugh, whose posts are suspiciously close in time to the star's, pretending to be Brad Pitt? Manaugh, the winner of the World's Best Architecture Blog, is adorable, gets into arguments with his wife in public, and has become disgusted with "self-obsessed product-hunting." read more »
So are we, Geoff. So are we.
UPDATE: Geoff wrote in and had this to say:just for the record, the Brad Pitt thing wasn't me. I was too busy impersonating Colin Farrell on Design Observer... Anyway, my apparent lack of hilarity at the Pitt "joke" meant that the other Archinect editors thought I should be associated with it. Which was very nice of them.- Riva Froymovich
