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Angelina goes cold on magazine cover
Angelina Jolie is so over all those Jennifer Aniston comparisons. The pair had avoided being pitted against each other for some time – that is, until November’s W magazine hit newsstands. Editors released nine versions of the issue, including one of Jolie as the cover girl and another of Aniston. “Why would I comment on that?” Jolie snapped when asked about it at a Beverly Hills press conference for her upcoming flick Beowulf. “That matters because…” Jolie was less guarded when it came to revealing her Thanksgiving plans with beau Brad Pitt and their four children on Good Morning America Monday. Her fixings this year? “Everything, but I’m not much of a cook, so we’ll see what happens,” she said. “We all chip in, but I…don’t think anybody in my family wants me to handle Thanksgiving dinner.” With her culturally diverse brood, she said it’s almost always a holiday at the Jolie-Pitt house. “We celebrate Moon Festival for my boys, who are from Asia, and Kwanzaa and things like that, so we certainly try to celebrate as many of those as we can and bring in all cultures.”
Got your Brangelina costume ready?
In a Captain Morgan/Kelton Research survey of six hundred Americans, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were named 2007′s most popular celebrity costume. But since few of us have four children we can borrow for a night on the town, you might want to try one of the survey’s runner-ups: Britney and KFed, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, the Beckhams or the Bushes. Flying solo this Halloween? Why not go as a TV host? Of the late-night crew, those polled thought Jay Leno would make the best ensemble. Oprah Winfrey was the poll’s top pick of the daytime hosts.
Brad and Angelina’s TV project greenlighted
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are making their first joint producing effort (after Shiloh, that is) with a series project at HBO. The Bourne Ultimatum co-writer Scott Burns is penning the untitled drama, which will explore the behind-the-scenes politics of an international aid organization and chronicle the lives of humanitarian workers assigned to dangerous zones and the people in need they assist. Jolie, Pitt and Burns, producer of the Oscar-winning documentary An Inconvenient Truth, are executive producing. The series has been a passion project for Jolie since she did the 2003 feature Beyond Borders, a drama about disaster-relief workers in war-torn countries. The aid-workers series marks Jolie’s return to HBO 10 years after her breakthrough starring role in the cable network’s biopic Gia, which earned her a Golden Globe win, a SAG Award and and Emmy nomination. Pitt is already in business with HBO. Along with Edward Norton, he is executive producing the HBO/National Geographic miniseries Undaunted Courage, now in development, which tells the story of the legendary journey across the western U.S. by explorers Lewis and Clark.
Angelina eyeing TV project
Move over, Grey’s Anatomy. Angelina Jolie wants to produce a drama about the humanitarian aid group Doctors Without Borders. “They’re hoping to sell it to HBO,” says a source. Last year, the actress donated $1 million to the organization. A rep for the agency says, “Brad and Angelina have been supporters of ours for a long time. They have been meeting with us to learn more about our work. And they have been meeting with other people about a possible project.”
Maddox’s school asks parents to chill out
One would think that parents at Maddox Jolie Pitt’s new school, Lycee Francais de New York, would be upset that his famous family is disrupting their schedules. But it turns out it’s the Jolie-Pitts who are being inconvenienced, by Lycee Francais parents who can’t help but ask Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie for autographs. The New York Observer reports that the Lycee’s director of operations, Dan Cooke, had to ask parents to leave Pitt and Jolie alone. He wrote in a letter, “Regretfully, I have seen some parents taking pictures, asking for autographs, talking to the media and even shouting at Ms. Jolie and Mr. Pitt for recognition. Therefore, in the best interests of the school and safety of your child(ren) I must ask for everyone to please respect the family’s privacy and discontinue these practices.” Meanwhile, Jolie and Pitt have made concerted efforts to ensure that the chaos that surrounds them is kept to a minimum when dropping son Maddox off for classes. Cooke goes on to explain, “I’m sure you are aware the school has received much media attention recently during the arrival and dismissal times because of the presence of celebrities Ms. Angelina Jolie and/or Mr. Brad Pitt. I want to make you aware that before the first day of school I met with their security team to discuss the best manner in which for them to drop off and pick up their son. Our foremost goal was to cause the least amount of disruption to the school and to ensure the security of all of our students and families.” A source tells the Observer that the constant attention of the paparazzi (and eager parents) has already had an effect on Maddox. The normally happy 5 year old got scared and started to cry when his kindergarten class was asked to bring in a picture of themselves.
Brad talks kids, life in the spotlight
Brad Pitt says he and Angelina Jolie are going to need a bigger bed – for their expanding brood. “We’re not done,” Pitt told the Associated Press. “They say, ‘Any plans for a fifth?’ And I say, ‘And a sixth, and a seventh, and an eighth, and a ninth.’ That’s my answer.” Pitt added, “We also made a 9-foot-wide bed” that fits him, Jolie and all four children. “Just big enough. One more and we’ll have to go to 11 feet…” The Assassination of Jesse James star told USA Today, “We just take turns and make sure we keep the family together. It’s impossible for us. We’re run out of every major city. There’s just too many paparazzi. There’s always cameras in the kids’ faces, yelling their names. Angie gets out of the car, and they take the camera down to the curb and shoot up [her skirt]. It’s unbelievable…there’s a constant negotiation in how to survive and how to maintain a family life.” Pitt says he can tell when cameramen are lurking even when he can’t see them. “You develop radar. Like I know when there’s someone in the bushes 300 yards away shooting,” he says. “I know to recognize that feeling.” Pit admits he’s concerned about “how to survive and how to maintain a family life.” “I understand the essence of paranoia,” he says. “I understand being hunted, to some degree. It’s rare, but there are imbalanced people out there. I’ve had break-ins in the house. I’ve had some of these abnormal incidents that can be a bit frightening.” Pitt may be be referring in part to an incident at the Toronto Film Fest last week, when his and Jolie’s car was swarmed with people. According to one gossip columnist, “People who were driving down on other streets left their cars and ran to see them. Seven people jumped on their car… People were holding up their cellphones [to take pictures]. This woman appears out of nowhere, runs up with her child, and was pushing her child up against the [moving] car. The lady was like, ‘I want my baby to see Brad Pitt.’” Sound imbalanced?
Brad and Angelina ready for another child
Brad Pitt says that with four children, “sleep is non-existent” and some days fatherhood is a rollercoaster ride. “It’s the most fun I have ever had and also the biggest pain in the ass I have ever experienced,” he told reporters at the Venice film fest. “[But] I love it and I can’t recommend it any more highly.” When asked if he and partner Angelina Jolie were ready for a fifth child, Pitt replied, “Yeah, we’re ready.” The couple arrived in Venice on Saturday with all four children in tow and headed for the exclusive Hotel Cipriani on Giudecca Island, a short boat ride from Venice. While Pitt promoted The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Jolie enjoyed ice cream with their 2-year-old daughter Zahara and son Maddox, 6. Of juggling father hood and his career, Pitt says, “It makes me feel much more efficient, because that’s the main focus. It makes me feel when I do have time to work, I really do have to focus because there is a really short window to get something done. I am quite pleased by it all.”
Angelina in Iraq
Angelina Jolie is in Iraq to witness firsthand the humanitarian crises there, the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR has announced. The actress and UNHCR goodwill ambassador flew from New York to Syria yesterday. In Damascus, she visited a UNHCR registration center and spent hours talking to Iraqi refugees in their homes. Tuesday’s journey had her crossing Iraq to meet with 1,200 refugees camped out in a makeshift outpost at the border. She also witnessed dozens of Iraqis crossing into Syria. “I have come to Syria and Iraq to help draw attention to the humanitarian crisis and to urge governments to increase their support for UNHCR and its partners,” Jolie said in a statement. “My sole purpose in both countries is to highlight the plight of those uprooted by the war in Iraq.”
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