Brad Pitt News Archive

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt Wedding: "That's a Ways Down the Road," Says Pal Jack Black

I just caught up with the funnyman at the premiere of his new flick, Bernie. Read on to find out what he had to about the future Mr. and Mrs. Brangelina…

No invite, no gift!

"That's a ways down the road," Black told me.

"I haven't received any invite, so let's not get ahead of ourselves...I don't have to get a present until I'm invited, right?" he cracked. "And then I've got a whole year—isn't that the rule?"

His Bernie costar Shirley MacLaine chimed in, "Maybe they'll string this thing out like they should—and not get married at all!"

Black caused a flurry of international headlines about a year ago when he revealed that Jolie gave his then-pregnant wife, Tanya, the green dress she wore while she was expecting and promoting the first Kung Fu Panda flick at Cannes in 2008.

He returned the gesture with a DVD box set of The Brady Bunch. "I don't think it outdid her kickass gift of the dress, but it's kinda funny because she has six kids and is like the Brady Bunch," he told me at the time.

Sounds like a box set of Married With Children could be next.

Brad, Angie take kids to Galapagos Islands after proposal

The website X17.com reports that the Jolie-Pitt clan arrived in Guayaquil, Ecuador, on a private jet yesterday en route to the famous islands where Charles Darwin hatched his theory of evolution. After leaving Baltra airport, the family was spotted getting on a tour bus and headed toward a ferry to the islands. The area is protected by the United Nations as a World Heritage site, and is known for its wildlife including large sea turtles and lizards.

The family could be headed on the educational vacation as a way of celebrating Jolie and Pitt's upcoming nuptials. After seven years together, the couple confirmed last week that they plan to wed. The pair made the announcement after Jolie was photographed wearing a blingy engagement ring. Pitt worked with jeweler Robert Procop for a year to create the ring.

"It is a promise for the future and their kids are very happy," Pitt's manager told People.

While Pitt's manager said that no date has been set, reports say that the couple plans to marry this summer at their sprawling estate in France.

Pitt hinted earlier this year that he and Jolie were inching toward marriage.

"We’d actually like to," he told The Hollywood Reporter in January. "It seems to mean more and more to our kids. We made this declaration some time ago that we weren’t going to do it till everyone can. But I don’t think we’ll be able to hold out. It means so much to my kids, and they ask a lot. And it means something to me, too, to make that kind of commitment."

How Much Will Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's Wedding Pictures Sell For?

With People and the U.K.'s Hello magazine teaming to pay a record $14 million for the first photographs of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's twins, Knox and Vivienne, back in 2008, it's seemingly a given that the price tag for a Jolie-Pitt wedding exclusive will climb into eight-figure territory, as well.

But will the couple's seven-years-in-the-making nuptials surpass $14 million?

Probably not—and not only because people have at least seen Angelina and Brad before.

"I think the market was a little different then" when the twins were born, Scott Cosman, owner of photo agency Fame/Flynet Inc., tells E! News. "The magazine market was at its peak. If they had the same photo [of Knox and Vivienne], I don't think they would get that now. I think now they would have gotten half that."

Which isn't to say that the "wedding of the century" photos won't fetch top dollar—at least $10 million, Cosman is predicting.

"A wedding photo with all the kids?" he says. "[Magazines] would pay a fortune for that. Worldwide rights for a picture like that, with all the kids, I would say $10 million-plus."

Cosman says that he expects the couple to once again work with photo agency Getty Images, which has negotiated most of the big Brangelina exclusives, including the first pics of Shiloh Jolie-Pitt ($4.1 million from People and $3.5 million from Hello!) and the twins' arrival.

These lucrative exclusives still manage to pan out these days despite the increasingly leaky Internet because the agencies and the magazines bring out the big privacy guns: no emailing, no more than a few people in a meeting, etc.

"I've heard of editors going to an office in New York City, where the photos are just projected on to a wall," Cosman says. "And then they decide if they want to bid on the photos. They don't email anything. You have to physically go in person and look at them. Obviously, because of the value of the picture, they don't want them to be 'out there.'"

Then again, there's always the chance that Mr. and Mrs. Pitt (right, as if Angie will ever drop the Jolie) will distribute a complimentary photo to the media for starters—but Cosman finds it much more likely that they'll hold out for the highest bidder so that they can get the most money possible for their charity, where these photo funds regularly end up.

And no matter what they do, the wedding itself probably going to be as difficult for the paparazzi to get to as possible, so the possibility of a rogue shot of Jolie in her dress, et al., is minimal.

"It will be in some location where you can't get shots, or in a house and an intimate affair with a small group," Cosman says, reflecting the general consensus that Jolie and Pitt may very well swap vows in a low-key manner.

"I don't see them having a big wedding. They are kind of insulated from the world. They don't want a circus. I don't think they want 10 choppers in the air for their wedding or hordes of paparazzi trying to crawl through bushes—who would want that?"

No one who would otherwise get $10 million for their wedding pictures, that's for sure!

Have Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt Been Engaged for Months? And Just How Big Is That Ring?

The nerve!

A source told E! News that the parents of six decided to get married "last year." So, does that mean Jolie's exposed leg was actually the lesser of two interesting things happening on the Oscar red carpet in February?

Well, we have heard that it took Pitt a year to design the Robert Procop diamond ring that's now prominently weighing down Jolie's left hand. Hence, his proposal was no spur-of-the-moment decision made last week.

Life & Style is reporting that Pitt proposed over the Christmas holiday, though Us Weekly says he offered up that custom 16-carat (!) pile of rocks, estimated to be worth $500,000, "on a recent spring day."

Whatever the most accurate scenario is, we do believe the rumor that the Jolie-Pitt nuptials will probably be—to our epic disappointment—a relatively low-key affair. They've been together for seven years and have six kids, so will they really be aiming for the kind of scrutiny that a huge wedding will entail?

We can only hope.

However, judging by the estimated amounts paid for photos of big moments in Jolie-Pitt history, the price a magazine would be willing to pay for any wedding pics could still shatter the space-dollar continuum.

Us reportedly paid $500,000 for the first shots of "Brangelina: The Couple," back in 2005, the same amount People supposedly shelled out for the first images of Jolie pregnant with Shiloh.

People and OK! both got in on the first pics of Shiloh, for $4.1 million and $3.5 million, respectively—a get that led to a 45 percent uptick in sales for People that week.

In that same vein, the mag also shelled out an estimated $2 million for Jolie with the newly adopted Pax in 2007, before it and Hello broke the bank when Knox and Vivienne were born. The U.S. and U.K. mags funneled a combined $14 million into the Jolie-Pitt Foundation coffers for that exclusive.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie: Where Will They Wed?

The newly-engaged stars have more meaningful places to choose from all over the globe than most people could hope to see in their lifetime.

Pitt, 48, and Jolie, 36, own Château Miraval in France – a sprawling, scenic potential venue. Recent construction there has sparked rumors that it may be the place, though locals don't believe the addition to the property looks like a chapel.

But the country is dear to Jolie, who gave birth to twins Knox and Vivienne, now 3, in France.

Their Los Angeles home is another possible option, given the intimacy and privacy it would afford them. They also own a home in New Orleans, a city that their children seem to love.

Speaking of the little Jolie-Pitts, their own birthplaces are dear to the couple's hearts. Maddox, 10, is from Cambodia; Pax, 8, is from Vietnam; Zahara, 7, is from Ethiopia; and Shiloh, 5, was born in Namibia.

Jennifer Aniston "Doesn't Care" About Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's Engagement, Says Source

We all still want to know how the proposal went down, when and where they will say their I-dos and what the wedding dress will look like.

And then there's Jennifer Aniston—what does she think of all this?

Well, I can tell you...

She isn't thinking much about it—if she is at all.

"She doesn't care," an Aniston pal tells me. "She really doesn't. She's happy with Justin [Theroux]. She'll probably marry him. She's moved on. People don't want to believe it, but she has."

No doubt the celebrity tabloids are going to have a field day with Aniston and Brangelina, but be careful of what you read.

Another source tells us Aniston found out about the engagement at home. "She was happy and hanging out with her man," the source said.

Aniston recently opened up about Theroux to Marie Claire Australia. ""He's a protector, for sure," she told the mag, according to Just Jared. "He's just a good human being, and so funny."

Now we want to hear from you. Do you think the Jennifer Aniston and Brangelina "love triangle" drama really exists or do you think all three moved on a long time ago?

All About Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie's Engagement - and the Ring!

"Brad had the vision" for the custom-cut engagement ring, Beverly Hills jeweler Procop tells PEOPLE in this week's engagement special cover story. Check out the stunning sparkler – with diamonds set on a band of yellow gold – in a close-up photo.

An independent expert tells PEOPLE that the ring could weigh in at more than 10 carats total, with a price tag of $1 million.

Jolie, 36, quietly debuted the ring at a private event at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art on April 11.

After seven years and six kids together, the couple decided that they were ready to begin their next chapter together. "They've reached a stage where their family has jelled," says a source who has spent time with them.

For much more on Brad and Angelina's engagement, including wedding dress sketches from top bridal designers and an inside look at the couple's relationship, pick up this week's issue of PEOPLE.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie Gay Marriage Group Gives Their Blessing

As recently as last September, Brad told Ellen DeGeneres, "I’ve said that we would not be getting married until everyone in this country had the right to get married."

But Rebekah Orr, Communications Director for Equality California, says the group is totally behind the Brangelina marriage, even if the right to vote is still not enjoyed by everyone.

She tells us, "Marriage is something that says ‘we're a family’ in a way that nothing else can ... No one has to deny that for themselves or their family to prove they are an ally and supporter of equality."

Brad and Angelina finally announced yesterday they were getting married, even though they've been together for seven years and have six kids.

Jolie-Pitt engagement certain to fuel media frenzy

After years of cohabitation, six kids and countless tabloid headlines, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie made it official: They plan to make it official.

If you thought the media circus involving the world's most glamorous couple was on overdrive before, just wait. Now that Brangelina are officially engaged, expect endless speculation about where and when they'll wed, what they'll wear, what their kids' roles will be, and who might get to attend the celebration.

"This is really a state wedding," said Stephen Galloway, executive editor of features at The Hollywood Reporter. "This is America's equivalent to Prince William and Kate Middleton."

He called the Brangelina wedding "the media event of the new century."

Pitt's manager confirmed the couple's engagement Friday after Jolie was spotted wearing a diamond ring on her wedding finger. Jeweler Robert Procop said he spent a year working with Pitt to design the ring.

"The prominent engagement ring is giving the world a warning," Galloway said. "It says look out, get ready."

But Bradley Jacobs, a senior editor at Us Weekly, sees things differently. He anticipates the wedding will be a private, even low-key affair.

"I don't think you're going to see a bunch of fanfare," he said. "It's certainly not going to be a Kim Kardashian-style wedding... It's going to be very subdued."

Still, expect massive media coverage either way: "We will not rest until we know when and where and how and who's going to be there," Jacobs said.

Entire magazine issues could be devoted to each star's wedding-day outfits and hairdos.

"Every single designer on the planet will be pursuing Angelina for the dress," Galloway said. "It's literally worth millions of dollars in business."

Jolie's wedding dress is a career-making outfit for the winning designer.

Even Pitt's look leaves room for ample speculation: Long hair or short? Facial scruff or clean shaven? A classic tuxedo? And designed by whom?

Then there's the guest list. Who will be the best man and maid of honor? Will Jolie's father, Jon Voight, attend? Will George Clooney be in the house? Jolie has said she doesn't have many close friends.

"This is going to be a map of the inner state of their private life," Galloway said. "This is like Kremlinology. You'll be able to read all sorts of things into this wedding."

Unless, of course, the two elope.

The timing of the engagement and the wedding are also fodder for editorial exploration. The couple long maintained that they wouldn't marry until the right to do so was extended to all Americans, but when Galloway interviewed Pitt for a February cover story, the 48-year-old actor said he didn't think they'd be able to hold out that long.

"It means so much to my kids, and they ask about it," Pitt said at the time. "And it means something to me, too, to make that kind of commitment."

But days later, he backtracked, saying he'd spoken too soon.

"There's a certain mystery in these contradictory statements made in the weeks leading up to this (engagement news)," Galloway said. "People who've been together a long time get married when things are great or when you want to shore up things that are not so great."

The A-listers have been partners since they began a relationship in 2005 while working on the film "Mr. & Mrs. Smith."

Already megawatt superstars in their own right, the romantic pairing of Pitt and Jolie instantly made them Hollywood's most glamorous and photographed couple. The fact that Pitt was still married to Jennifer Anniston when he met Jolie only fueled the tabloid fire; Pitt and Aniston divorced in 2005 after five years of marriage.

Jolie was previously married to Billy Bob Thornton and British actor Jonny Lee Miller.

Regardless of the size of the celebration or where it takes place, the Jolie-Pitt wedding has major economic implications. Journalists from all over the world will swarm to the wedding location; the designers of each nuptial element will see their businesses boom; the rights to the photos and footage will be haggled over by publishers and broadcasters with deep pockets.

Galloway predicts the bidding has already begun.

"A mini-industry in itself will be created as a result," he said. "The money generated by the wedding in direct fees to them and indirect income to other people will be more than the equivalent of everything the two of them have earned in their career. You're talking about two empires meeting."

Some of that revenue will, of course, be in magazine sales.

After the rash of celebrity divorces last year, Brangelina fans "will be happy to see them affirm their relationship and what they mean to each other," Jacobs said.

And they might be just as eager to read accounts of why the wedding is not to be. Galloway speculates that "between now and whenever the wedding takes place, there will be at least a dozen stories that say it's off; Brangelina call it quits."

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt: Anatomy of an Engagement!

Pitt has put a custom-made ring on Jolie after roughly seven years, three adoptions and two pregnancies together—but it's the thousands of tabloid headlines they've survived that make us think they've really got a shot at making it.

So, in honor of the happy news, let's take a look back at what the history books mean when they say "Hollywood romance":

2004: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie start shooting the steamy-and-funny action flick Mrs. & Mrs. Smith. Rumors that there's romance brewing between Jolie and her married costar are instantaneous, but the duo insist otherwise.

January 2005: Pitt and Jennifer Aniston announce they're separating after four and a half years of marriage, saying they "happily remain committed and caring friends with great love and admiration for one another." Aniston files for divorce in March.

May 2005: Time to pick sides! Pitt walks on the beach in Kenya with Jolie and her then-3-year-old son, Maddox. A week later, they meet up in London and jet to Morocco, where Pitt's shooting Babel.

June 2005: Jolie tells the Today show's Ann Curry: "To be intimate with a married man, when my own father cheated on my mother, is not something I could forgive. I could not look at myself in the morning if I did that. I wouldn't be attracted to a man who would cheat on his wife."

July 2005: Pitt and Jolie play a married couple with five kids in a domestic-noir-themed photo spread in W. Pitt also goes with Jolie to Ethiopia, where she adopts daughter Zahara.

September 2005: In a cover-story interview with Vanity Fair, Aniston discusses the split in depth and admits to being "shocked" by Pitt's immediate hookup with Jolie. She also famously says that her ex "has a sensitivity chip missing."

October 2005: Pitt and Aniston's divorce is finalized. She gets the house and eight years of grief.

Jan. 19, 2006: Zahara and Maddox's last names are legally changed to Jolie-Pitt, and the adoption is finalized soon after.

May 26, 2006: Shiloh Jolie-Pitt, the couple's first biological child, is born in Namibia. People pays a reported $4.1 million for first-picture honors.

October 2006: Pitt tells Esquire that he and Jolie will get married when "everyone else in the country who wants to be married is legally able." The term "marriage equality" becomes even more significant for tabloids.

March 15, 2007: Jolie adopts Pax from Vietnam as a single parent because the country doesn't allow unmarried couples to adopt. By May, he's a Jolie-Pitt. People buys the first pics of their newest addition for a reported $2 million.

July 12, 2008: Twins Knox and Vivienne are born in Nice, France. Pitt and Jolie donate the record $14 million they supposedly got for domestic and international photo rights to charity.

October 2008: Jolie implies to the New York Times that there could be more kids in their future: "I mean, I know we seem crazy, just bringing them in one after the other, but we do plan." Oh, she also says that she can't wait to show her kids Mr. & Mrs. Smith because "not a lot of people get to see a movie where their parents fell in love."

December 2008: Aniston is quoted on the cover of Vogue saying: "What Angelina did was very uncool."

August 2009: Pitt reiterates what he said about marriage equality in Parade: "I stand by that, although I took a lot of flak for saying it—hate mail from religious groups."

January 2010: Relevant parties shoot down an In Touch Weekly story that Jolie had an affair with her Salt dialect coach. However, the couple skip that month's Golden Globes and SAG Awards (Inglourious Basterds won the top prize), further fueling rumors of trouble in paradise.

February 2010: Pitt and Jolie sue now-defunct British tabloid News of the World over a report that they're separating. The claim is settled in July, with all proceeds going to the Jolie-Pitt Foundation. The still-going-strong couple walk the Oscar red carpet together.

November 2011: Pitt tells Australia's 60 Minutes that he wants to switch from acting to producing when he's 50—and that he's "not sure if [he and Jolie] are finished" having kids!

Feb. 26, 2012: Jolie exposes her right leg through the thigh-high slit in her Versace gown at the Oscars...and the Internet (or our view of Julia Child holding a turkey) is never the same.

April 13, 2012: Pitt's manager confirms that he and Jolie are engaged, though they haven't set a date yet.

Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt on Marriage: Why We Weren't Ready to Tie the Knot

But the couple, who've been together since 2005, have had plenty to say on the subject of marriage over the years – namely why they weren't going to do it.

Citing lack of marriage equality and the commitment of parenting their six children, the two have celebrated their partnership in the press even as they (mostly) said they had no plans to walk down the aisle.

Here's a chronological look back at how they've addressed their feelings about marriage over the years:

Jan. 31, 2012
"I think anything said tends to be blown out of proportion." • Jolie to PEOPLE on the red carpet at the Screen Actors Guild Awards when asked about the recent flurry of "ring talk", which Pitt said was "his fault"

Jan. 29, 2012
"We're getting a lot of pressure from the kids. ... It means something to them and they're, you know, they have questions when their friends' parents are married and why is that? ... We will someday. We will. ... [But the kids say], 'Get mommy a ring!' Okay, I will, I will." • Pitt in an interview with CBS News

Jan. 25, 2012
"We'd actually like to [get married] And it seems to mean more and more to our kids. ... We made this declaration some time ago that we weren't going to do it till everyone can. But I don't think we'll be able to hold out. ... I'm not going to go any further. [But] it means so much to my kids, and they ask a lot. And it means something to me, too, to make that kind of commitment."• Pitt to the Hollywood Reporter about his changing stance on marriage

Dec. 5, 2011
"The kids asked me the other day and I asked them if it was just because they wanted to have a big cake. They see movies that have the people getting married in the movies or somebody's, you know, the happily ever after. Shrek and Fiona are married. ... We've explained to them that our commitment when we decided to start a family was the greatest commitment you could possibly have. Once you have six children ... you're committed." • Jolie to Christiane Amanpour in interviews that aired on Good Morning America and Nightline

Sep. 20, 2011
"The kids are putting on the heat. They really are. They are putting on the heat. ... How do you I get out of this one? Somebody help me. I don't know what the future holds." • Pitt tells Ellen DeGeneres on her talk show

August 2011
"[There's no] secret wedding." • Jolie denies that she's pregnant, adopting and tying the knot in a Vanity Fair interview

May 26, 2011
"The kids ask about marriage. ... It's meaning more and more to them. So it's something we've got to look at." • Pitt tells USA Weekend

June 2010
"[We're not] against getting married. ... It's just like we already are. Children are clearly a commitment, a bigger commitment [than marriage]. It's for life." • Jolie opens up to Vanity Fair

August 2008
"When someone asked me why Angie and I don't get married, I replied, 'Maybe we'll get married when it's legal for everyone else.' I stand by that, although I took a lot of flak for saying it – hate mail from religious groups. I believe everyone should have the same rights. They say gay marriage ruins families and hurts kids. Well, I've had the privilege of seeing my gay friends being parents and watching their kids grow up in a loving environment." • Pitt to Para

June 2008
"People have made a lot out of it that we're not, but we both have been married before, and it's very easy to get married, but it's not easy to build a family and be parents together. And maybe we've done it backwards, but we certainly feel married." • Jolie to Vanity Fair

July 2007
"We're not against it. It just doesn't seem necessary. He and I have never discussed it in detail, but I would assume – because we [both] went down that road before – it's not that contract or that ceremony that makes you feel solid. We've gone the back way around, and maybe there is something to that – that it's the hard work and the exhaustion and the children that really do make you solid."• Jolie to Marie Claire

Dec. 25, 2006
"No." • Jolie tells PEOPLE whether she and Pitt are married

October 2006
"Angie and I will consider tying the knot when everyone else in the country who wants to be married is legally able." • Pitt explains to Esquire why he and Jolie are not ready to wed

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt Are Engaged

"Yes, it's confirmed," Pitt's manager Cynthia Pett-Dante tells PEOPLE. "It is a promise for the future and their kids are very happy. There’s no date set at this time."

Jeweler Robert Procop designed Jolie's engagement ring in collaboration with Pitt.

Jolie, 36, and Pitt, 48, have been together since 2005, and rumors that they planned to marry have circulated for years.

The chatter intensified earlier this year when Pitt told CBS News that they were "getting a lot of pressure from the kids."

The couple have six children together: Maddox, 10, Pax, 8, Zahara, 7, Shiloh, 5, and twins Knox and Viv, 3.

Jolie's diamond fuels wedding talk

Jolie, Pitt and their son Pax attended a private viewing at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art on Wednesday, and the Oscar-winning actress was wearing the large, rectangular diamond ring on her left hand, a museum spokeswoman told Reuters.

Photos of the three, with Jolie wearing the ring, were released to the media, and jewelry designer Robert Procop said he had designed the ring in collaboration with Pitt, specifically for the actress.

“The full creative journey - from conception to completion - took a year, with Brad Pitt waiting until the perfect moment to unveil this special jewel to Angelina Jolie,” Procop’s spokeswoman said in a statement on Friday.

Pitt and Jolie have been a couple since 2005, and are raising six children together, but they have never married.

Representatives for the couple, dubbed Brangelina by celebrity media, were not immediately available for comment on Friday about the possibility of an official engagement to marry.

Brangelina could be co-stars once again

Deadline has revealed that director Ridley Scott is close to getting the power couple for his film "The Counselor," which will begin production in June. The Cormac McCarthy-penned thriller would be the couple's first time as co-stars since "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" in 2005.

Michael Fassbender is already slated to star in the the film about a lawyer who attempts to test the world of drug dealing without getting in too deep. Javier Bardem, who won an Oscar for his performance in the McCarthy adaptation "No Country for Old Men," is also reportedly close to signing on.

In February reports surfaced that Scott was looking at Jeremy Renner for a part in the film. However, Renner appears to no longer be attached to the project. Instead, Pitt is the front-runner to play the role of West Ray.

While Jolie's name had not been mentioned in earlier casting news for "The Counselor," Deadline claims that Scott gained traction with the star as they collaborated on a biopic on historic figure Gertrude Bell.

When Jolie and Pitt began filming "Mr & Mrs. Smith," Pitt was married to Jennifer Aniston. However, six months before the movie's release in 2005 the two announced their split, and Pitt was quickly linked to Jolie. The two have since confessed that they "fell in love" while making the movie. Pitt has even called the action film the favorite he ever made for that reason.

Jolie has spoken out on the idea of making a sequel to "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" with her longtime partner.

"When you're a couple, there are certain things people don't want to see you do. It becomes too indulgent, too personal. I don't think people want to see people who are really together intimate onscreen," Jolie once told MTV News. "Maybe we have to play bad guys that try to kill each other."

If the two sign on for "The Counselor," it will mark another reunion, too. Pitt has not been in a Ridley Scott film since his star turn as the cowboy hitchhiker in "Thelma & Louise."

Adam Brody: 'I hooked up Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie'

"The O.C." actor jokes that he was the one responsible for setting up the power couple on the set of "Mr. and Mrs. Smith." Brody played Benjamin "The Tank" Danz in the 2005 action film, a prisoner both Pitt and Jolie's assassin characters are tasked with killing.

"[Brad and Angelina], I hooked them up," Brody jokes to The Huffington Post. "I was like, 'Brad, you don't want to do this, man. This Jen thing, I don't see it.' And he heeded my advice, and I'm happy for him."

While filming "Mr & Mrs. Smith," Pitt was married to Jennifer Aniston. However, six months before the movie's release the two announced their split. Pitt was quickly linked to Jolie. The two have since confessed that they "fell in love" while making the movie.

Brody's new film, "Damsels in Distress," opens in select cities this week.

Brody, who has largely disappeared since "The O.C." went off the air, tells the site that he "would have murdered" for his role in the movie, directed by Whit Stillman of "The Last Days of Disco" fame.

"They don't make a lot of good movies," Brody said. "I don't even think because of any bad formulaic problem or some studio system necessarily. That's part of it, but it's very hard to write something good. It truly is. So they're few and far between, and everyone is smart and wants to do those things. So it's competitive. You just get lucky and something smart comes along that you're right for."

How Brad Pitt 'Fell in Love' - with New Orleans

Long before Pitt himself surveyed the devastation in 2007 and, frustrated with the progress in the Lower 9th Ward – hit the hardest by the hurricane – founded the Make It Right foundation to rebuild the community, he already had a special place in his heart for the city.

"It was a bit of a blur because New Orleans will do that to you," Pitt, 48, talking about a trip he made to the Big Easy in the early '90s, says on Tuesday's The Ellen DeGeneres Show. "I fell in love with the place. The people. The music. It's in the air."

He also tells DeGeneres: "It's something you can't describe on camera."

Pitt's do-good persona may have rubbed off on his children's career aspirations – or so he hopes, he says.

A little architecture in the brood?

"I think I got one … I'm pushing them that way," says Pitt, who has six kids – Maddox, 10, Pax, 8, Zahara, 7, Shiloh, 5, Knox, 3, and Vivienne, 3 – with Angelina Jolie. "When you see them drawing crayon houses, 'That's a beautiful house, honey.' "

All kidding aside, Pitt is humble, even hesitant, about accepting praise for the progress of his foundation.

"It took the families determined to come back and their resilience and their defining what this thing was going to be," he says. "I get far too much credit for bring some really smart people together."

Brad Pitt stages ''mini-Grammys'' show to help New Orleans

From that vantage point, he can look down on a section of the city's Lower Ninth Ward that is ground zero for "Make It Right," a home rebuilding initiative Pitt launched to help people whose homes were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which killed 1,500 people and devastated the historic Southern city.

"Each time I come back to New Orleans and drive over that bridge, I get this swell of joy," Pitt told Reuters, his eyes going watery. "It's means a lot to me to watch that neighborhood take shape."

Pitt and his movie star partner, Angelina Jolie, own a house in the city's French Quarter, and they visit the city regularly with their six children.

The actor shares his feelings about the city and its recovery with a few thousand people on Saturday evening, as he and comedian Ellen DeGeneres, a New Orleans native, host the Make It Right Foundation's biggest fundraiser at a New Orleans hotel.

Billed as "A Night to Make It Right," the star-studded, sold-out gala is expected to draw 1,200 guests who paid between $1,000 and $2,500 to attend a dinner prepared by New Orleans celebrity chefs John Besh and Emeril Lagasse, and a concert featuring musical stars Rihanna, Sheryl Crow, Seal and Dr. John.

The lineup includes Hollywood luminaries and honorary hosts Sean Penn, Spike Lee, Josh Brolin and Kevin Spacey.

In addition, some 2,000 people have anted up $150 for an "after party" hosted by actor-comedian Aziz Ansari, with musical performances by Kanye West, Snoop Dogg and the Soul Rebels.

Asked if it was difficult to get the big names to journey to New Orleans for the event, Pitt joked, "Even though these people don't like me that much, it really was simple."

Noting that the celebrities traveled from as far away as Paris for the event, Pitt said the turnout was a mark of their regard for New Orleans.

"They carved this time out of their schedule strictly for this event, and came on their own dime," he said. "We have so much incredible talent that wanted to come and support the city - it's going to be like a mini-Grammys show."

Pitt estimated the events and sponsorships would raise $4 million for Make it Right, which aims to build 150 homes in the Lower Ninth Ward and has pulled in about $30 million since its founding four years ago.

NEW AND IMPROVED

Since 2007, 75 homes have sprouted in a 16-block area that was at the epicenter of the Hurricane Katrina tragedy. Built to the specifications of architects selected through an international design competition held by Make It Right, all of the homes stand 5 to 8 feet off the ground, on pilings designed to keep the homes dry in the event of another flood.

Multi-angled steel roofs, windows of ultra-strong glass and tough siding materials are designed to withstand hurricane-force winds. Solar panels, rainwater collection systems and maximum air-circulation designs created homes with low utility bills.

The new houses are a sharp contrast to the modest, mostly one-story homes that characterized the neighborhood before Katrina. Many of them stand just yards (meters) away from the spot where an Industrial Canal floodwall ruptured after the storm, putting the neighborhood under several feet of water.

Gloria Mae Guy still talks about how she and her neighbor climbed to a rooftop as the rising water forced them from their homes. "We held on all night until a boat came and they helped us get out," she said.

Guy, 72, is back in the spot where she and her husband raised their five children, but now she lives in a modern, energy-efficient, two-story home, designed and built by Make It Right contractors. "I'm happy to be home, and I wouldn't be here if it weren't for Brad Pitt," she said.

Tom Darden, executive director of the Make It Right Foundation, said Pitt made the goal of rebuilding according to standards of sustainable construction clear from the beginning, but equally important was finding ways to reduce construction costs.

"Brad said, 'We're going to build the best house we possibly can build and figure out how to make it affordable,'" Darden said.

It was a tall order, but through several years of studying sustainable building techniques and amassing contractors familiar with the methods, the foundation is gradually bringing its costs down, Darden said.

Darden emphasized that while Make It Right was formed to help low-income residents remain in the neighborhood where generations of their families have lived, the initiative was not about handouts.

Applicants for the Make It Right homes must pass an approvals process that requires showing proof of income and the ability to make payments on a mortgage, along with insurance and maintenance costs.

Another goal is to apply the techniques learned in New Orleans to other areas in need, Darden said, noting that Make It Right had recently begun projects in Newark, New Jersey, and Kansas City, Missouri.

"Brad is our visionary," he said. "I think for him it's largely a social justice issue and he wants to help as many people as he can."

Brad Pitt's Tale: "Incredibly Sweet," Says Costar

If so, we certainly haven't found them...

"He really is as nice as he seems," actor Richard Jenkins told me last night at South by Southwest's very rainy premiere of The Cabin in the Woods at the Paramount Theatre in Austin.

Jenkins and Pitt have made a few films together, including the upcoming Cogan's Tale. "He's just a guy trying to act the best he can and do the best he can," Jenkins said. "He's incredibly sweet and funny. He's more interested in you being good than himself."

Now more on Cabin in Woods—it's a horror flick cowritten by geek god Joss Whedon and Lost veteran Drew Goddard, who makes his directorial debut with the movie. The cast includes Jenkins, Chris Hemsworth, Grey's Anatomy's Jesse Williams and Bradley Whitford along with newcomers Kristen Connolly and Anna Hutchison.

Goddard and Whedon (as well the studio, Lionsgate) have asked audiences not to reveal too much because Cabin (in theaters April 13) really is all about the surprises and reveals.

But I will tell you that Hemsworth (aka, Thor!) appears shirtless. "He's easy on the eyes," Connolly smiled. "But he's also terrific and he's fun and a wonderful, wonderful guy." (PS: Mr. Williams and Ms. Hutchison also look pretty darn good without their shirts on.)

Meanwhile, you probably know by now that Whedon directed the upcoming superhero ensemble The Avengers (out May 4). He confirmed he's already thought about a sequel. "As always the brain has places it thinks it might go," Whedon teased.

As for Mr. Goddard, his script adaptation of Daniel H. Wilson's novel Robopocalypse is set to be directed by...Steven Spielberg!

Brad Pitt's New Orleans Charity Gala Will Feature Rihanna, Sean Penn, Sheryl Crow and More

The Moneyball actor has recruited an all-star lineup including Rihanna, Sheryl Crow, Dr. John and Snoop Dogg to perform at a charity gala he's holding at the Hyatt Regency in New Orleans on March 10 to benefit his Make It Right foundation, formed in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

But that's just the tip of the iceberg as far as the star quotient's concerned.

While Pitt will cohost the event with Ellen DeGeneres, among his celebrity pals due to attend and are doubling as Host Committee members are Sean Penn, Kevin Spacey, Spike Lee, Blake Lively, Djimon Hounsou, Chris and Jada Paul, Bennett Miller and Randy Jackson and Drew Brees who will be co-emceeing the musical side of the fund-raiser.

Parks and Recreation funnyman Aziz Ansari is on board to headline the afterparty, which will also feature performances from Seal and Kanye West. And a team of celebrity chefs including Emeril Lagasse will craft a dinner paying tribute to the Big Easy's long culinary tradition.

The event will raise funds for the completion of 150 sustainable homes for low-income residents in the storm-ravaged Lower Ninth Ward as well as celebrate the achievements of the charity thus far.

Pitt, Clooney, Sheen headline marriage rights play

It was all part of the star-studded West Coast premiere of "8," a play about the 2010 federal court fight against Proposition 8, the gay-marriage ban that California voters approved in 2008.

The performance Saturday at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles also featured George Clooney, Kevin Bacon, Jamie Lee Curtis, Christine Lahti, George Takei, John C. Reilly, Chris Colfer, Matthew Morrison and Jesse Tyler Ferguson.

The play by Oscar winner Dustin Lance Black made its Broadway debut last year in similar starry fashion. Saturday's benefit performance was broadcast live on YouTube, where director Rob Reiner said it drew 200,000 viewers. He hopes it attracts more than a million before its weeklong online run ends. The play will also be staged around the country with local actors at colleges and community theaters.

"We want as many people as possible to see what happened inside that courtroom," said Reiner, a founding member of the American Foundation for Equal Rights, which is funding the federal fight for marriage equality.

Relying largely on transcripts from court proceedings, "8'' introduces viewers to the couples who challenged the California initiative, the attorneys who argued their case and a bumbling witness who spoke out against them.

One couple has two children together; the other wants to start a family; and a witness testifying in favor of the same-sex marriage ban said under oath that marriage equality was best for couples, kids and the country.

The real-life couples in the case — Sandy Stier (Curtis) and Kris Perry (Lahti), and Jeff Zarillo (Matt Bomer) and Paul Katami (Morrison) — and the attorneys — David Boies (Clooney) and Theodore B. Olson (Sheen) — were in the audience Saturday, along with director Brett Ratner, designer Diane Von Furstenberg and Clooney's girlfriend, Stacy Keibler.

"We did put fear and prejudice on trial, and fear and prejudice lost," Olson said after Reiner brought him on stage.

Last month, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld an earlier judge's decision that found California's proposed amendment banning same-sex marriage unconstitutional.

Reiner said he and Black decided to make a play and eventually a movie based on the Prop. 8 trial after proponents successfully petitioned to block cameras from the courtroom.

Saturday's reading was held on a courtroom-like set, with eight chairs on each side and Pitt's judge's box in the center. Sheen and Clooney made for an impressive legal team, while Reilly cracked up the crowd as a verbose marriage expert.

"I knew that Martin Sheen was going to get a huge ovation after that speech because we applauded for him in rehearsal," said Ferguson, adding that he wanted to be in "8'' as soon as he heard about it. "John C. Reilly did a brilliant job with his role but I loved seeing Jane Lynch play such a villainous, homophobic creature. It really felt like she was sticking it to the man."

Reilly said he was moved by the material, and even more so by its message.

"I think America will be a better place and we can hold our chins up a little higher in this country when everyone is treated (equally)," he said. "These aren't gay rights or special rights, they're basic rights that people who love each other should have."

Reilly was thrilled to participate in the play, and even took on a last-minute role change when Pitt signed on. Reilly was to play the judge, but instead jumped into a role that Reiner originally was going to play.

Said the director: "I took one for the team."

Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt A Happy Meal

It is unclear whether or not this constitutes "eating."

According to our sources, she would have to consume the food inside the bag for it to constitute "a meal."

Jolie was the passenger in a car driven by Brad Pitt as they made their way through a McDonald's drive-thru.

Calls to a rep for Angelina's right leg were not returned.

Brad Pitt & Maddox Go Guitar Shopping in Hollywood

Brad Pitt recently took son Maddox, 10, guitar shopping in Hollywood. The pair were seen coming out of Guitar Center with an employee following them carrying a black guitar case.

And members of the Jolie-Pitt household may want to get out the earplugs – budding musician Maddox also left the store with an amplifier.

It wasn't the only Jolie-Pitt parent-child outing this week. Earlier this week, Angelina Jolie was out and about in Los Angeles with twins Knox and Vivienne, 3, as well as Pitt's mother, Jane.

Brad Pitt and George Clooney Take Their Gay-Friendly Bromance to the Stage for Same-Sex Marriage Play!

So since George Clooney recently ‘fessed he's totally "cool with gay rumors" and dished tons of deets on his friendship with his pro-gay marriage bro, we're not surprised Brad has decided to follow Mr. Clooney's lead and join the all-star cast.

But, will Brad one-up his buddy George and actually play gay on the stage?!

You bet!

And we could not be more excited for these two hot hunks to unite in such a pivotal performance.

Pitt will play United States District Chief Judge Vaughn R. Walker (who came out after retiring from the federal bench), while Clooney plays attorney David Boies, who also fought to overturn the controversial ban.

As for our thoughts on the pairing? Well, we think it's absolutely par-fait, considering G has mucho respect for his pal and isn't afraid to share why he's so eager to applaud his best bud:

"I can't speak highly enough about how hard he works at making the world better. I'm very proud to call him my friend," Clooney gushed in his interview with The Advocate when asked about his bromance with Brad.

But, since George also said he and Brad don't have too much time to buddy up outside of award season, we're just thrilled to see the bros bond over an issue they are both so passionate about, as B and G have openly supported gay marriage from the get-go.

As for their epic bromance? Well, Georgey also coyly admits he and Brad set a high standard for best buds in H'Wood:

"I do think we've set the bar very high… Not only do I enjoy him as a person and respect his talent, but I also love what he does in the world," George explained with clear admiration for his pal.

So George, why not take a hint from your BFF and actually play gay in your next flick since it could easily win you that best actor award you lost out on this year…

Either way, we're just so thrilled to see these two un-closeted thinkers come out on the same stage.

What do you think of Brad Pitt's role? Are you disappointed George has yet to play gay?

Swell host George

And The Most Tweeted-About Celebs at the Oscars Are...

Overall, a total of 1,450,281 mentions of celebs were tweeted out! Some of those definitely helped score each of our Live From the Red Carpet hosts Ryan, Giuliana Rancic, Kelly Osbourne and Ben Lyons their own worldwide trending topics throughout the night.

So who were the biggest social stars? Let's break it down:

Top 5 Female Celebs:
1. Meryl Streep: 133,815 mentions
2. Angelina Jolie: 99,722 mentions
3. Jennifer Lopez: 80,638 mentions
4. Emma Stone: 78,073 mentions
5. Viola Davis: 42,381 mentions

Top 5 Male Celebs:
1. George Clooney: 100,023 mentions
2. Brad Pitt: 59,308 mentions
3. Jean Dujardin: 55,986
4. Christopher Plummer: 51,621 mentions
5. Chris Rock: 39,033 mentions

Top 5 Best Pictures Nominees:
1. Hugo: 155,979 mentions
2. The Artist: 84,517 mentions
3. The Help: 37,267 mentions
4. Midnight in Paris: 14,031 mentions
5. The Descendants: 11,304 mentions

How Meryl Streep was able to out do Angelina's infamous leg, we'll never know but there you have it! What was your favorite moment from last night?!

Angelina Jolie Talks Her and Brad Pitt's New Baby!

So excited about what Jolie just told me on the Oscars red carpet...

The Academy Award alumna says she and her man (and her Mr. & Mrs. Smith costar) may be ready for another movie together.

"We're talking about it," she said. "We have an idea."

This being the year of Bridesmaids, I had to ask, a possible romantic comedy?

"We don't know how funny we are," she smiled. "And you you never know what you want to see an actual couple do. Sometimes it's better if they're not a couple."

Well, we'd watch the two of you read the telephone book together.

Oscar Red Carpet Quotes

"My parents are the ones that gave me opportunity, and taught me to pursue the things that interest me. They're the reason I'm here. So, I don't know, I thought it'd be a nice time. It just felt like a nice thing to do to let them see this crazy and fantastic night."—Brad Pitt on bringing his parents to the Oscars

Oscar Moments

Shhh...Don't Let Angelina Jolie's Kids Know She's at the Oscars!

At least that's what the celebrity power couple told their six kids…

"We don't let them watch these things," the sexy actress told E! News on the red carpet before the show. "They don't really know about them actually."

In fact, on their way to the awards ceremony, the Moneyball Best Actor nominee and the hot mama told their children, "We say we have to go to work tonight—they said, 'Hurry home.'"

Shiloh & Co.'s paternal grandma and grandpa were also MIA: They walked the red carpet with Brangelina. "He's making sure his mom and dad have a good night," Angie gushed. "They're great parents and they're proud of him like all parents—no matter what he does."

With a family like this, who needs an Oscar?

Picture this

Always by her side

When Jolie returns, the couple congratulate producer Grazer on the show, Pitt's arm around her waist. He holds out his hand for Jolie to grab, and the two walk arm in arm into the greenroom.

Brad Pitt & George Clooney's Oscars Gift From South of the Border

Sure, we know Mr. Clooney likes to get his drink on, but...

We also know that both men, along with Gary Oldman and Jean Dujardin, received a bottle of top-shelf tequila from fellow Best Actor nominee, Mexican thespian Demián Bichir.

"The note said it was an honor to be among them," the A Better Life star told me at the Independent Spirit Awards. "It is an honor and I was just overwhelmed to be with their names.

"I wanted to let them know that I admire their work and I've been a big fan forever of George, Brad and Gary, and I just met Jean, who is a great guy too," he continued, before cracking, "I want to get them drunk so they can talk only beautiful things about me."

They were nice big bottles of tequila blanco. "I don't drink bad tequila," said Bichir, who was wearing quite the beautiful Piaget watch to the beachfront awards show. "I drink only the best."

Well, you deserve it. Have fun at the Oscars, Mr. Bichir!

Clooney, Pitt, Dujardin: It's an Oscar charm offensive

Clooney, 50, beloved by his peers and regarded as the most eligible bachelor in the world, is thought to have the edge for his performance as a back-up dad forced to pull his family together in the emotional drama "The Descendants".

But don't count out Dujardin, the French star of silent movie "The Artist", who has happily been spoofing himself and his Hollywood newcomer status on U.S. sketch show "Saturday Night Live" and comedy video website Funny or Die.

"Clooney is in top form and this film, most people felt was the performance of his career," said Tom O'Neil of awards site TheEnvelope.com, noting that Clooney had been campaigning hard in the run-up to the February 26 Academy Awards ceremony.

Clooney won the Golden Globe last month, and has an Oscar under his belt for his supporting role in the 2005 film "Syriana".

But that could work against him. "It's still fresh in people's minds and he's relatively young and still has a career ahead of him. People remember that, and they rarely give Oscars in quick succession," said Stephen Galloway, executive editor of features at industry publication The Hollywood Reporter.

Dujardin, 39, has the opposite problem. A household name in France but unknown in Hollywood, Dujardin utters just two words as silent movie icon George Valentin, who refuses to embrace the talkies in "The Artist."

Nevertheless, he has won a Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild award for the role and has been the face of "The Artist"s Oscar campaign. If he wins on Sunday, Dujardin would be the first French-born actor to win the Oscar for a lead role.

"This is one of those rare situations where the performance is as good as movie, or maybe even carried the movie, but we don't know if that's just the way Jean is and this is the one performance he can give," said Galloway.

ONE HIT WONDER?

Dujardin rose to fame in France as a comic actor, starring in the television series "A Guy and a Girl," and the 2005 spoof surfer movie, "Brice de Nice" in which he played a dead-beat surfer obsessed with the late Patrick Swayze's character Bodhi in "Point Break."

But some industry-watchers feel he may be too green for the best actor award, and the memory of Italian actor Roberto Benigni, who charmed Americans in 1999 for "Life is Beautiful" and promptly went back to work in Italy, is still fresh.

"Jean Dujardin is part of the crazy moment that 'The Artist' has, but is he the Roberto Benigni type? He has his one big year and is honored for it, but that's the last we hear from him?" said Yahoo! Movies executive producer Sean Phillips.

British actor Gary Oldman, star of thriller "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy", and Mexico's Demian Bichir, recognized for playing a Los Angeles gardener in an immigration battle in "A Better Life", are regarded as having only outside chances of taking the Oscar home.

And Pitt, who won over audiences with his performance as baseball manager Billy Beane in "Moneyball", may have to wait his turn.

Pitt, 48, is yet to win an Oscar and has only been nominated twice before during a prolific film career that started with him being perceived as a "bit of a rascal", according to O'Neil.

"There's a feeling there for Pitt that he's way overdue and that this movie needs some awards love," said O'Neil.

"Now he's settled down with Angelina (Jolie) and had kids...and there's a feeling that he's adored as a star that matters...an Oscar would be the perfect timing right now."

Pitt also starred in Terrence Malick's mystical "The Tree of Life", which won the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival, and is among the Academy Award best picture nominees.

But Galloway feels Pitt is still too young for the award, despite his body of work.

"He looks younger than he is, he doesn't look like a veteran, and also, he hasn't yet done a body of work that is so significant, although he is putting that together. "Moneyball" will help consolidate that," said Galloway.

Angelina Jolie Dazzles at Paris Premiere With Glamorous Gown-and Brad Pitt

That's exactly what Angelina Jolie did when she hit the premiere of her flick In the Land of Blood and Honey in a drop-dead stunning ensemble—and an equally drop-dead stunning date in partner Brad Pitt.

The actress and first-time director looked amazing when she stepped out of her comfort zone of caftans and simple silhouettes and into a white-hot Ralph & Russo single-sleeve gown adorned with a dramatic grey rosette over one shoulder.

Angelina finished off the über-glamorous look with her curly locks swept over one shoulder, Jimmy Choo high heels, Lorraine Schwartz heels and that famous pout covered in va-va-voom red lipstick.

Oh, and let's not forget about her best accessory, arm candy Brad, natch who doesn't look too shabby either in a Gucci suit and matching spectacles.

What do you think of Angie's chic look?

Brad Pitt and George Clooney: How Good of Friends Are They Really?

But are the actors, who introduced each other's films at the Golden Globes this year and seem to be having a ball showing up at all the same events, actually the best of buds when the cameras are off?

Do summers spent shooting caper flicks on the Italian Riviera mean nothing anymore?!

Of course not, Clooney says, but he and Pitt aren't necessarily bosom buddies.

"Brad is one of the great guys," the Oscar co-front-runner said in a recent sit-down with The Hollywood Reporter when asked just how close he and Pitt are in real life.

"We're good friends, but it's different from what people think—meaning we don't spend a lot of time together. He has been to my home in Como; we motorcycle together. But until recently, I hadn't seen Brad in a year."

Even though Clooney doesn't hold Pitt quite as close to the vest as he does Rande Gerber, Richard Kind and some of the guys he knew when he wasn't "George Clooney" yet, those two don't actually have to be in the same room to keep the bromance going.

"A couple of years ago, he really nailed me," Clooney said of Pitt. "He did one of those shows and they asked him when he was going to marry Angie, and he said, 'I'll marry when George can legally marry [a man].' He really got me badly, something I have had to deal with the past few years. But I could give a s--t. I have to live in the world that I care about and that's all that matters."

And for the record, he told THR, he hasn't definitively ruled out getting married again. "I don't even think about it, really," he said.

But guess who could have been teasing Clooney from afar for the last decade?!

The Descendants star also revealed in the interview that, when casting Ocean's Eleven, the pieces came together easily, except for one.

"Steven Soderbergh and I would go to people's homes and sit down and say, 'Here's what we think.' We sat down with Matt Damon and Julia Roberts and Brad Pitt, and they all signed on and it all worked out easily," Clooney recalled. "But we also sat with Johnny Depp, and we didn't get him. I think the part was for a Brit, and he didn't want to do it."

No offense to eventual Brit-player Don Cheadle, but...bloody 'ell!

Brad Pitt, Michael Fassbender and George Clooney Turn BAFTA Awards Into Total Hunkfest

So where to begin with so many Hollywood hunks in one place? Let's start with Fassbender's naked parts:

(Video)

So was it a difficult task to bare all of his treasures to millions of people in Shame?

"I knew there was going to be some compromising situations, but that's my job," and what a dedicated worker he is. Fassbender's Oscars date will be his mother, and, yes—she watched her son get nakie in his latest flick. No big deal.

(Video)

Now, Brad was super honored to be recognized at the British award ceremony, and made sure to keep hush-hush about Moneyball's baseball plot. Another thing he kept under wraps about were his socks.

No, seriously. He was quick to share that his suit was Gucci, but didn't want to show off those covered ankles, but he still got a sweet surprise.

(Video)

Clooney was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Well, not really, but he was at the awards representing both The Descendents and Ides of March, so who does he sit with since he doesn't "wanna tick anybody off"? Good question.

He also was nice enough to explain what a "schlub" is, a term that's not very common with the Brits.

(Video)

Hemsworth was nominated for the Rising Star award, which is chosen by the public. Pretty cool, right?

He explained that although it is an honor, he felt that one of fellow nominees and Thor costar Tom Hiddleston was sure to win. Unfortunately, neither of them walked away with the prize.

But Chris' next movie project will portray him as an English playboy, so we're going to assume that will get some positive feedback.

Brad Pitt's Illegal Gun Cache: Is He Really in Serious Trouble?

As one of the producers of the upcoming zombie epic World War Z, Brad Pitt would likely have had to answer for a massive arsenal of live, fully functioning automatic weapons from the film's Budapest set confiscated by Hungarian authorities who claim it could've fallen into the hands of illegal arms traffickers.

But the Hollywood star can now breathe a sigh of relief after Hungary's National Bureau of Investigations announced yesterday that it's dropping the case on a technicality.

Per Hungarian media, government investigators failed to identify exactly which "organization or person" had "ownership rights" over the huge cache that was seized by the national anti-terrorism task unit in October, thereby failing to establish which party was criminally liable.

Over 85 guns ranging from AK-47s to sniper rifles along with ammunition were stored in a customs-free area of Budapest's international airport. That is, until Hungarian SWAT moved in to lock them down since the country has a law against transferring such weapons, no matter that they were being used to stage fake zombie firefights.

But here's the funny part: while the bureau couldn't figure out who the owner was so they could press charges, officials there did contradictorily acknowledge to returning the firearms to "their owner."

Go figure.

A spokesperson for Paramount Pictures and Pitt's Production company, Plan B Entertainment, were unavailable to comment on the matter.

World War Z, starring Pitt and directed by Marc Forster (Monster's Ball, Quantum of Solace), is slated to invade theaters on Dec. 21.

Clooney, Pitt other pals gather for Oscar lunch

At the annual Oscar nominee luncheon Monday, Clooney said he's made new pals on the awards circuit this season and has been happy to catch up with longtime friends such as Brad Pitt and Viola Davis.

Clooney says he had not seen Pitt — his co-star in the "Ocean's Eleven" movies — for a year until they crossed paths at last month's Golden Globes. Both are up for the best-actor Oscar — Clooney for "The Descendants" and Pitt for "Moneyball."

Along with Pitt and Clooney, others among the 150 nominees at the luncheon included Meryl Streep, Glenn Close, Viola Davis, Michelle Williams and Martin Scorsese.

Brad Pitt: Angelina Jolie Is 'Still a Bad Girl'

"She's still a bad girl," a grinning Pitt, 48, said Monday on CBS This Morning. "Delightfully so. It's not for public consumption."

It might be one of the only private aspects of his and 36-year-old Jolie's family life, which is often in the spotlight as the couple travels around the world with their children in tow.

"They're quite used to a bit of jetlag and moving to a new location, as long as we're together," Pitt told co-host Charlie Rose of their brood. "So the home's always intact. They've got to pack their own bags, and they're responsible if they leave their chargers behind, and so on and so forth."

Of their children – Maddox, 10, Pax, 8, and Zahara, 7, Shiloh, 5, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 3 – Pitt told Rose of the sheer joy the family has "because we are together," and how the best actor Oscar nominee's work has even "gotten better because I worry less about it. I mean, it's not as important as family."

Brad Pitt once was a driver for strippers, ready for George Clooney's prank

"I drove strippers, which was interesting," Pitt tells James Lipton of "Inside the Actors Studio." "It was an odd job. There's a place called the Job Factory where people listed odd jobs they needed for a little while and you'd go and sign up. It said, 'Drive strippers.' I said, 'I got a car.' My job was to go to the place and get the assignment, then go to the girl's apartment, pick her up, and drive her to the party."

When prodded for more information, Pitt reveals that he didn't just stay in the car -- he had to watch the proceedings as well.

"You'd then be responsible for playing the music, which was cassette then," Pitt explained. "Then you had to catch the clothes so the guys wouldn't steal them as they came off. And then you had to try to collect the money at the end and get out of there alive. It was not always easy."

When asked if he enjoyed the work, Pitt said, "Yes, I did."

He added that he found his acting coach through the job.

"I'd done it for long enough, I thought, and it wasn't always fun -- sometimes it was tragic," Pitt said. But when he tendered his resignation, he was asked to work one last night.

"There was a new girl there that night and sometimes when you drive, you strike up a conversation," Pitt explained. "She said she was dating an actor, an actor I had actually heard of. I didn't know any actors -- this was the closest I'd gotten to someone who actually worked. She told me about this class she started taking. I said, 'Give me the name.' It turned out to be Roy London, who was a beautiful human being."

Pitt shares this chapter of his acting history during his first appearance on "Inside the Actors Studio," to air Feb. 10 at 8pm. While Pitt famously turned down a chance to appear on the show in 2004 because he did not have a "sufficient body of work," he accepted the show's invitation following his critically acclaimed performances in both "Moneyball" and "Tree of Life." Pitt is up for the Best Actor Oscar for "Moneyball."

Pitt's good friend and fellow Oscar nominee, George Clooney, was recently interviewed for the 18th season of the iconic series as well. "The Descendants" star revealed that he has been planning the ultimate prank on Pitt.

"I'm working on [a prank] right now for Brad Pitt. It might end his career," Clooney told Lipton.

Lipton took the opportunity to ask Pitt why Clooney is after him. Pitt explained that, while the two actors were filming "Ocean's Twelve" in 2004, he sent a memo to the Italian cast and crew of the film telling them to avoid making eye contact with Clooney. He furthered that crew members should only address Clooney as "Daniel" or "Mr.Ocean."

"It went on for two weeks," said Pitt. "[Clooney] handled it gracefully, but he was becoming unnerved."

Pitt warns that he's ready for whatever Clooney has up his sleeve. He, apparently, has been working on a prank too.

"Whatever he's got, this is uglier," said Pitt. "It's so bad, I don't even know if I can do it. It's my safety."

Brad Pitt to Jon Stewart: Oscars should be like 'Survivor'

"Why don't Oscar movies … go negative on other movies?" said Stewart. "It's always 'For your consideration: Moneyball,' but why not, like, 'The Artist: Go (eff) yourself.' "

Pitt said, "I thought about it." He laughed, and added, "Clooney took Iowa, New Hampshire, Jean took South Carolina. Florida will probably go to Oldman. ... I gotta get in there and mix it up."

Then Pitt says, "You know what I think we should do? I think we should just put a trophy on the table and ... we should just all put our hands on it and see who can hold it the longest. And the last man standing takes the trophy!"

"That is the most awesome idea I've ever heard," declares Stewart. "Tremendous idea."

Brad Pitt's parenting tip: Coca-Cola for his kids

"Listen, I admit there’s times like, 'We gotta get up. Get up! Here’s your shoes. Here’s your shoes. Drink this Coke. Drink this Coca-Cola. Drink it all. Right now! Drink it! Drink it! Drink it!' Just so we could get ‘em up and going," Pitt tells James Lipton in an upcoming episode of "Inside the Actor's Studio."

Pitt, who's nominated for a Best Actor Oscar at this month's Academy Awards, has six children -- three biological and three adopted -- with partner Angelina Jolie. It's unclear if he meant that the caffeine in the soda helped his brood get going in the morning, or if the promise of a sugary beverage was simply a bribe to get them out of bed. Pitt will almost certainly be criticized for the statement, as sodas are high in sugar and are only recommended for kids in moderation.

After turning down a chance to appear on "Inside the Actors Studio" in 2004 because he did not have a "sufficient body of work," Pitt accepted an invitation to be interviewed on the show following his critically acclaimed performances in both "Moneyball" and "Tree of Life." Pitt is up for the Best Actor Oscar for his work in "Moneyball."

Pitt's good friend and fellow Oscar nominee, George Clooney, was recently interviewed for season 18 of the iconic series as well. "The Descendants" star revealed that he has been planning the ultimate prank on Pitt.

"I'm working on [a prank] right now for Brad Pitt. It might end his career," Clooney told Lipton. "I've been working on it for two years. I'm not going to tell you what it is, but just know, I got it."

Pitt's episode of "Inside the Actors Studio" will air on Feb. 10. The actor also appeared on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" last night.

Newt Gingrich My Hollywood Fantasy ... is Brad Pitt

The Republican candidate phoned in to the Rich Stevens Radio Show today ... when he was asked, "If Hollywood was going to do a movie about your life, who would you like to see play the lead role?"

Newt replied, "Oh, in my fantasy life? Brad Pitt ... why not?!

Stevens quipped, "Is it because you guys look alike?"

Newt fired right back. "No, I don’t look like him at all. He's thinner, he's better looking, he's younger. But you asked me if I had anyone who could play me in a movie ... why not go for Brad Pitt???"

We called Pitt's people for comment -- so far, no word back.

Angelina Jolie: Brad's Marriage Talk Was 'Blown Out of Proportion'

That's what could be expected, given Pitt's recent comments about the pressure to propose – but according to Jolie, 36, her longtime beau's comments were a bit overblown.

"I think anything said tends to be blown out of proportion," Jolie told PEOPLE on Sunday's red carpet at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in L.A., when asked about "a lot of ring-talk lately."

"Yeah, that was my fault," Pitt, 48, admitted, with a smile.

Speculation that wedding bells may be in the near future for the famous couple stem from Pitt's interview with CBS News in which he said he and Jolie are "getting a lot of pressure from the kids."

"It means something to them," he continued. "We will [get married] someday, we will. It's a great idea. 'Get mommy a ring.' 'OK, I will, I will.' "

And then last week, Pitt reiterated those same comments to The Hollywood Reporter.

"It seems to mean more and more to our kids," he said. "We made this declaration some time ago that we weren't going to [get married] till everyone can. But I don't think we'll be able to hold out … it means something to me, too, to make that kind of commitment."

Quotes From the 2012 SAG Awards Red Carpet

"I just thought, 'He's never gonna make it in this business." —Patrick Duffy on Brad Pitt's appearance on an episode of Dallas

Brad Pitt: My Kids Aren't Allowed to Google Me

But their kids would never know it.

"On all the kids' computers we had our names blocked," the actor, 48, told Germany's Bild. "They can't Google their mom and dad. I don't want to make myself dependent on what other people think."

Pitt adds that he and Jolie, 36, aren't exactly searching for themselves either. "We don't even notice all the noise," he said.

The same could be said for his stance on aging. Despite being just two years away from the big 5-0, the actor says he enjoys getting older.

"I love becoming an older man. Your thoughts get clearer."

Those thoughts may include a wedding in the works. The actor told The Hollywood Reporter that he and Jolie "would like to marry."

"It seems to mean more and more to our kids," he added.

George Clooney Plans to Sabotage Brad Pitt's Career with a Prank

"I have done some horrible things to people. Truly, truly horrible," Clooney, 50, admits on the season premiere of Bravo's Inside the Actors Studio (Jan. 31, 7 p.m. ET). "I'm working on one right now for Brad Pitt. It might end his career."

"I owe him, so I'm getting him," he added.

If the prank comes to fruition, Pitt, 48, will find himself in good company. The long list of Clooney's other practical joke victims includes their Ocean's Twelve costar Julia Roberts.

"I'm a big believer in making sets fun in general," Clooney tells Inside the Actors Studio host James Lipton.

So what exactly does Clooney have up his sleeve for his pal?

"I've been working on it for two years," Clooney told the audience. "I'm not going to tell you what it is, but just know, I got it."

Brad Pitt Says He & Angelina Jolie 'Would Like To' Marry

Now, it seems, the couple may be playing with a new deck.

"We'd actually like to, and it seems to mean more and more to our kids," Pitt, 48, tells The Hollywood Reporter of the couple's current thoughts on matrimony. "We made this declaration some time ago that we weren't going to do it till everyone can. But I don't think we'll be able to hold out."

Does that mean he's asked Jolie, 36 – his partner of seven years – to marry him?

"I'm not going to go any further," says the actor, who has been nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for Moneyball. "[But] it means so much to my kids, and they ask a lot. And it means something to me, too, to make that kind of commitment."

Jolie, too, has addressed the subject of marriage as it relates to the couple's six children: "They have asked, yeah, because ? people get married in the movies," Jolie told Nightline in an interview that aired last month.

But before finding happiness with Jolie and their brood, Pitt says he went through a much darker period.

"I used to deal with depression, but I don't now, not this decade – maybe last decade," says Pitt. "But that's also figuring out who you are. I see it as a great education, as one of the seasons or a semester. 'This semester I was majoring in depression.' "

Brad Pitt Talks Return of the Zombies-and Jonah Hill's Jabs

No, there's no battle brewing between the Moneyball costars, but...

When Hill presented Pitt with an award at the Palm Springs International Film Festival earlier this month, he cracked about Tree of Life, "I've seen it three times and I still don't know what it's about."

"Jonah's gonna give me s--t," Pitt smiled at the recent Producers Guild Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. "But he's got another 10 years to get that one. He's got to age a bit."

We imagine Pitt's upcoming zombie flick, World War Z, won't be as complicated, especially since there's hope of turning it into a three-part franchise. "If the first one works, it will be a trilogy," Pitt said. "If the first one doesn't work, it won't be a trilogy."

Here's hoping it works.

Brad Pitt Tells How He'll Congratulate His Fellow Oscar Nominees

Not only did he receive a nod for Best Actor in Moneyball, but that film, along with his movie Tree of Life, were both nominated for Best Picture.

But the star, 48, isn't solely about celebrating himself.

"I am especially over the moon for Jonah [Hill] (and the other Moneyballers acknowledged today)," Pitt said in a statement. "Considering both films … nearly didn't make it to the screen, this is especially sweet."

Pitt's plan to honor his fellow nominees this very special morning? "Pancakes for everyone."

Brad Pitt: 'Pancakes for everyone this morning!'

"This morning they're just gonna be wondering, 'Why is Dad letting me have whatever I want?' Froot Loops, Cocoa Puffs, Pop-Tarts. I'm gonna get them all sugared up for school, and turn 'em loose," he said of preparing breakfast for his children Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, Knox and Vivienne. "I've been up since 5 (a.m.). Now, I see my six maniacs waking up and I got to get them ready for school and make breakfast. I tell you, it's going to be pancakes for everyone this morning."

Over a sugary breakfast, the megastar will get to soak in his multiple nominations, which include best- actor and best-picture nominations for Moneyball, along with a best-picture nod for Tree of Life. What makes the recognition even more special, though, is that Pitt produced both movies.

"I can't tell you the reward it is. Both films were difficult to get made. Moneyball died two times and had no lifeline and we pulled it back," he said. "Tree of Life, we thought we were dead and gone and to see it still have a dog in the hunt is great."

Pitt and his partner, Angelina Jolie, have been a staple on the awards-season circuit, which he says doesn't sit well with their brood. "They're really annoyed because we're like, 'Mommy and daddy got to go to work.' "

But, Pitt says the attention is always welcome in his estimation. "No, this doesn't get old, especially this year because of what it took to get the films made."

He adds that having friends Jonah Hill (best supporting actor, Moneyball) and George Clooney (best actor, The Descendants) at the party doesn't hurt either. "I'm over the moon for Jonah," he says.

Brad Pitt: How We Relax with the Kids During Awards Season

On the latter score, Pitt says, the children have certain favorite activities – both at home and on outings.

"A lot of it, for us, is family," the actor, 48, told PEOPLE Sunday at the Producers Guild Awards in Beverly Hills. "Just breaking away and getting to take the kids to Benihana's or something."

And what about when they're lounging around the house? "iCarly," says Pitt. "iCarly is big in our house. It is. I know every episode."

Pitt also offered an update on his injured knee, saying he's "got the brace for another month" but should be in the clear after that.

Otherwise, he says, awards season is a nice time to reflect on their work – he received raves for acting in Moneyball and Jolie was honored with the Stanley Kramer Award for her work on In the Land of Blood and Honey, which she directed.

"I'm so happy that the films are appreciated. That's what this has been about for me," said Pitt. "We get to catch up with people we haven't seen in a while, old friends. And that's a nice thing. I consider it part of the job."

Does Brad Pitt Have Any Oscar Fighting Words for George Clooney?

Now that the Academy has recognized both Brad Pitt and George Clooney as Best Actor contenders—for Moneyball and The Descendents, respectively—we had to wonder if there was some serious friendly competition between the BFFs:

"Man, of course. Of course," Brad told us exclusively at the Producers Guild Awards over the weekend.

We thought as much. Especially with the stakes so high: neither dude has taken home the trophy for Best Actor before (George has a Supporting Actor win and Brad hasn't nabbed a little gold man yet).

"But we're also—" Brad continued before Angelina Jolie (all dolled-up in a lacey black dress) interrupted to pop in to whisper in her man's ear that she'd meet him at the bar.

To which we too must interrupt and say: Aww! Maybe Brangelina is using award season as their extended date night? Must be one of the ways the full time parents are handling Hollywood "on their own terms."

But back to the Oscar biz:

"But he's my friend. I meet so many smart and really interesting people and he's just at the top of the heap," Brad gushed about his pal. "I can't say enough great things about him. I say give him all the trophies. I say, when they run out of trophies, invent some new ones and give him those, too."

So does Mr. Pitt have any fighting words for his formidable competition?

"Hell no," he laughed.

Hmm, maybe he knows just how stiff the competition is. See, even though we thought Brad delivered in Moneyball, we think George's touching performance in The Descendents might just steal the show come Oscar night.

2012 Oscar Nominations! List of Nominees for 84th Annual Academy Awards

Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Demián Bichir, A Better Life
George Clooney, The Descendants
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt, Moneyball

Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Kenneth Branagh, My Week With Marilyn
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Nick Nolte, Warrior
Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Max von Sydow, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Adapted Screenplay
The Descendants, Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
Hugo, Screenplay by John Logan
The Ides of March, Screenplay by George Clooney & Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon
Moneyball, Screenplay by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin. Story by Stan Chervin
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Screenplay by Bridget O'Connor & Peter Straughan

Achievement in Film Editing
The Artist
The Descendants
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Moneyball

Achievement in Sound Mixing
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Moneyball
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse

Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt trade views on filmmaking

Speaking with Reuters at Saturday's Producers Guild Awards in Beverly Hills, Pitt said that he and Jolie, who are each busy on both sides of the camera as well as raising six children together, will talk shop at the end of a long day.

"Usually we argue shop every now and then," Pitt said, noting that they tend to differ in their approach. "She's much more decisive, she's much more quick. I've got to see everything. I've got to shop the entire eBay to know exactly what I want and what I need."

When he's stumped, Pitt said, "I'll always go to her and talk it out."

Jolie, who received the guild's Stanley Kramer Award for her directorial debut, "In the Land of Blood and Honey," said Pitt's role as a producer calls for different skills. He produced and starred in "Moneyball," one of the 10 films nominated for the Producers Guild's top prize.

"I had to direct, I think it's different. I think he'd execute properly if he was the director," Jolie said. "But I do like to think of myself as decisive, so I'll take that."

Regarding her first work in the director's chair, a love story set amid the harrowing destruction of the Bosnian War, Jolie said her intention "wasn't to make a political statement against anybody. It was simply to say, 'We must talk about what happened, we must try to learn from what happened, we must try to see humanity on all sides,' and if we can, then we can start to move forward."

On the other hand, Jolie admitted that she was "fascinated" by a political matter somewhat closer to home: the Republican presidential race.

"There's that part of us that's wanting to learn about what's going on, and wanting to see who could possibly be the next president, and taking that very seriously, which it is. And then there's that other part of it that is this strange television ... these characters that we're watching. So you try to kind of separate that," Jolie said, adding that "it goes into the bizarre sometimes."

Injured Brad Pitt: No More Cane, But...

The Moneyball actor says there's still work to be done on his busted knee...

"It's better," Pitt told me exclusively last night at the 23rd annual Producers Guild Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. "I have to wear a brace for a month."

And there's more.

"Then I'll have rehab," he said. "I'll be alright as long as the kids don't hit me from the side."

The world's most famous father of six injured his knee earlier this month when he took a fall while carrying daughter Vivienne.

Angelina Jolie has said the pain never actually slowed Mr. Pitt down. "He's not that kind of guy," she told reporters at the Palm Springs International Film Festival shortly after the accident. "He still does everything."

A busted knee isn't the only thing I talked about with Pitt. Come back here later on for more scoop. Also, I'll tell you what Jolie told me about quitting acting.

Brad Pitt's World War Z: Zombies "Taking Over" Vampire Craze, Says Costar

Brad Pitt is coming to town and he's bringing zombies with him.

In fact, it sounds like Mr. Pitt's upcoming action flick World War Z could be the thing that drives a stake through the heart of Hollywood's vampire craze...

"It's like zombies are the new vampires," Mireille Enos, who plays Pitt's wife in the movie, told us at the Golden Globes. "It's taking over. But somebody said to me this movie might end the zombie genre because, after this, what else is there to do? It's huge!"

Turns out what's next could be two more zombie films. Echoing what costar James Badge Dale recently told us, Enos said it's very possible World War Z will become a trilogy.

"It was [going to be] from the beginning," the Killing starlet revealed. "That was the hope, that if the first one turned out the way we all anticipate, that it would be great to turn it into a trilogy. It's exciting."

Now we want to hear from you. Do you think Brad Pitt and zombies can overtake the vampire craze?

Are Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's Kids Destined to Be Stars? Grandpa Jon Voight Weighs In!

And we're so relieved they've worked it all out, because who else better to spill some dish on all those cute kiddos…well, besides Brangelina themselves, of course!

So, does Grandpa Jon think any of the adorable tots have a future in H'wood?

Definitely!

When we asked Jon whether he saw a future in acting for his grandkids, he responded without any hesitation:

"I do actually," he spilled with a smirk at the G'Day USA Black Tie Gala Saturday night.

No surprise there! After all, acting definitely runs in the genes of this famous fam and we would love to see any of the adorable kiddos on the big screen.

So did Jon reveal which one of the brood is most likely to fill ma and pa's giant acting shoes?

"I don't want to say, but I have a feeling that they will," he admitted. "I have no doubt."

And even though he refused to dish any specifics on the kids, we had to ask G-pa if he has any fears for the young ones if they do decide to try their hand at entertainment—especially since Angelina has never been shy about her troubled time as a young actress.

But rest assured, Mr. Voight suggests just the opposite:

"Hollywood should be afraid of them," he gushed. "These guys are really something."

All together now: Awwww!

Voight continues: "I try to give them support as Brad and Angie do…they really let these kids be who they are."

Too friggin' cute, right?! If only we could fast forward to the days when adorable Shiloh and Zahara will strut the red carpet—here's hoping!

2012 British Academy Film Award (BAFTA) Nominations

Jolie and Pitt grace the Globes in glamorous style

Individually, they oozed old-school, movie-star looks, but together, they were the buzz of the red carpet at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif., setting a high bar for style.

"There is mystery there. We know so much about everybody else that this couple is so exciting, and you love to see them," said stylist Mary Alice Stephenson. "They are so elegant ... and she's immaculate head to toe. She's so beautiful and icy, you love to watch her and you can't take your eyes off her."

Jolie led the march of stylish, seasoned veterans, who are mothers, moguls and — on nights like these — the best models around.

Stephenson called out Elle Macpherson in a strapless, tiered Zac Posen gown in ivory, Kate Beckinsale in a blush-colored beaded Roberto Cavalli, Reese Witherspoon in a red, corsetlike Posen, Nicole Kidman in a studded Versace and Salma Hayek in a bold, metallic Gucci.

Charlize Theron wore a dusty-rose colored gown by Christian Dior Couture with a plunging neckline, high slit and big bow on the waist, and Heidi Klum was in a plunging-back, blush-tone gown by Francisco Costa for Calvin Klein. She accented her look with a huge turquoise necklace.

"It's good for real women to see women who have a little age and maybe motherhood who can get their glam on in a very sexy way," Stephenson said.

Hal Rubenstein, fashion director for InStyle, noted the prevailing sophistication and elegance. "It's a very pretty night," he said. "Everybody wanted to look pretty and grown up. There wasn't a slashed skirt. There was an understanding that fashion isn't about being outrageous."

Among his favorites were Julianna Margulies in a purple caviar-beaded gown by Naeem Khan that showed off an open back.

Khan is one of Michelle Obama's go-to designers for formal occasions, and with open back and long sleeves from the designer's spring collection at the Golden Globe Awards. One of her other favorites, Jason Wu, made the leap to the West Coast, dressing Michelle Williams in a blue velvet gown.

Williams' biggest style statement, however, was her diamond garland headband by Fred Leighton for Forevermark.

The blue gown that surely turned some heads was the Vera Wang worn by Sofia Vergara. It was the mermaid silhouette that's becoming her signature, but the knife-pleated bodice and swirling sheared bias flange skirt were a little more fashion forward than the styles she's worn before.

Vergara said she so often wears Wang because of her gowns' fit: "She's like a genius now with my body."

There were some new names making bold fashion statements at the Globes, reassuring the next generation of style watchers. Jessica Chastain was at the ceremony for the first time wearing a high-neck, pearl-covered Givenchy Haute Couture by Riccardo Tisci. The details, down to her thin gold belt and pearl-and-diamond earrings, were just right.

Mila Kunis wore a one-shouldered black Dior. Her makeup artist Tracey Levy said she looked a bit like Elizabeth Taylor, but even more like "a brunette Grace Kelly."

"She looked classic Hollywood, but youthful ... with an innocence but also a grown woman who is confident," said Levy, who stuck to peach and coral Dior shades.

Zooey Deschanel wore a unique Prada dark-green halter gown with black and emerald glass pearls on the bodice and ivory pearls at the neck, and Rooney Mara, in a deep V-neck black gown with a bare, harness-style bodice. "It's a Nina Ricci and it was the first one I tried on," Mara said. "It was very comfortable."

Rubenstein thought Mara is playing her cards right in introducing herself to a broader audience. "She's doing a very savvy bridge between personal style and the character she plays in 'Dragon Tattoo.'"

First-timer Octavia Spencer wore a lavender, draped gown by Tadashi with a V neck and jeweled details. "We wanted to create something Grecian that highlighted her curves and vibrant personality," said Shoji in a statement.

Rubenstein noted how many women went the purple route, including Emma Stone in Lanvin, Jessica Alba in Gucci and Shailene Woodley in an embroidered illusion column dress by Marchesa.

Lea Michele wore one of the beaded, under-the-sea fantasy frocks from Marchesa's spring runway.

Madonna, whose style has been all over the map in her long career, went back to her rock 'n' roll roots for this event wearing a dark green embroidered gown with cap sleeves by Reem Acra and a diamond-and-pearl cross by Neil Lane.

"I love it because I feel like I'm wearing chain mail and I'm ready to go to battle," said Madonna.

Claire Danes took a very modern turn in a graphic black-and-white J. Mendel gown with an open back, and Kate Winslet did the opposites-attract thing in a Jenny Packham gown with a black hammered silk satin bodice and ivory silk crepe skirt.

"There was not a real miss, definitely nothing cataclysmic," said Rubenstein. "Those days of big goofs are few and far between now. People are too smart, their stylists are too smart — and they all have good relationships with designers."

Did Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt Deliver on the Golden Globes Red Carpet?

As if there was any doubt!

But were the superstar couple, both of them nominees for a change, in a chatty move? Jolie's icy white Versace gown with red accents almost made her look too majestic to be human, and Pitt is still nursing that nagging MCL injury that requires him to tote a cane around...

But of course they stopped to do their sacred duty on the red carpet—or else risk being the object of much what's-with-them derision.

A Salvatore Farragamo-tuxedoed Pitt pulled up lame to E!'s Ryan Seacrest first, explaining that his partner in criminal hotness got "stuck in the barrage of cameras."

But Jolie wasn't gone for long, and then Seacrest was able to congratulate both on their achievements in one fell swoop.

"It's certainly nice [to both be nominated]," Pitt, who had journalists' hearts aflutter when he was spotted opening the car door for Jolie upon their arrival.

"I know how hard she worked ont his film...I certainly know how hard I worked. It's nice when everything comes together, nad people work so hard on these films and for them to be understood and accepted this way, it's a golden night for us."

Jolie, as the director of In the Land of Blood and Honey, maintained a rather serious demeanor, saying she was more concerned about the people of Bosnia's reaction to her film than American audiences.

"I was nervous about people in Bosnia seeing it who survived war and rape," she said, rather intensely for a typical red-carpet convo.

But, you could sense how proud she was of her achievement—and why shouldn't she be?!

"It's a very difficult subject matter, it's done in a foreign language, and with people nobody knows," she explained. "These are difficult times and people don't often want to watch difficult movies in difficult times, but it's important to revisit this history no matter, so we pushed forward and made it."

And by jove, she and Pitt looked great tonight.

George Clooney Pokes Fun at Injured Brad Pitt at the Golden Globes

While introducing a clip from Pitt's film Moneyball (the pals decided to introduce each other's films at Sunday night's ceremony, live from the Beverly Hilton Hotel), Clooney borrowed the actor's cane, which he is using as he recovers from the slip that injured the ligament in his knee.

"I have to give it back to him," Clooney, 50, who walked the red carpet with girlfriend Stacy Keibler, joked while using the black cane in jest. "He can't make it to the bar otherwise."

It's not the first time Clooney took a turn with Pitt's accessory: He posed with Pitt's cane at Thursday's Critics' Choice Movie Awards.

"It wasn't life or death," Pitt, 48, previously said of his injury, which occurred when he slipped down a hill while carrying 3-year-old daughter Vivienne. "It was just an old man tripping."

Later in the show, Clooney called out his friend again, this time while accepting his best actor award for The Descendants.

Speaking seriously, Clooney said it was "nice to see Brad and nice to be able to tell him not just what wonderful work he's been doing in two films this year, but in the rest of the world."

Brad Pitt's Zombie Movie World War Z Could Turn Into an Undead Trilogy

One of Pitt's costars confirms the possibility is very real...

"That book [the flick is based on the best-selling tome of the same name] is such a thick dense book of so many socio- and political and economic views that says a lot about us as people," James Badge Dale told me last night at the L.A. premiere of his new crazy scary adventure thriller, The Grey. "So I think we'd like to make 18 more World War Z's and we'd still have more material because it's an ongoing story."

The Los Angeles Times reported last week that World War director Marc Forster and Paramount see a potential franchise like Matt Damon's Jason Bourne series mixed with AMC's The Walking Dead.

But Dale's not fretting if they don't move beyond the one movie. "It's a very odd thing to stand on set and look this way and there's a zombie and you look that way and there's Brad Pitt," he said. "That's something no one will ever prepare you for in drama school."

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt Meet With President Obama at the White House

But this time, she got some facetime with the president!

The Oscar winner and her man Brad Pitt scored a meeting with President Barack Obama today at the White House, the commander in chief penciling them in before he was set to leave for Chicago.

You have one guess as to what they talked about. No, not the New Hampshire primary...

Jolie and Obama discussed the plight of women caught up in war zones—such as the one depicted in her film The Land of Blood and Honey—and how the United States can get involved combating mass violence against civilians in troubled areas.

And surely Pitt, who consulted with Obama a couple of years ago regarding his plans for the redevelopment of New Orleans' hurricane-ravaged Lower Ninth Ward, was able to contribute to the dialogue as well. (No word on whether Secret Service confiscated his cane before he was granted a private audience with the president.)

The do-gooding couple were in town for a screening of Jolie's film at the Holocaust Memorial Museum.

After his glammier-than-usual meeting, Obama jetted to Chicago for a surprise visit to his reelection-campaign headquarters to thank staffers for their diligence.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie Fęte Her Film in D.C. - with Obama's Staff!

The couple – joined by 12 others, including President Obama's senior advisor Valerie Jarrett – opted for Palmer's $35.12 prix fixe Restaurant Week menu, and started with chopped salads of romaine, endive, goat cheese, bacon, cranberry and red wine vinegar. For entrées, Pitt chose the coulotte steak with sweet potato purée and braised greens, while Jolie savored the roasted chicken breast with buttered new potatoes and marjoram jus. Pitt, who was recently injured during a fall, indulged in the dark chocolate pavé with milk chocolate ice cream for dessert, while Jolie passed on the sweets.

According to an onlooker, the party of 14 stayed at the restaurant for two hours, and was "extremely pleasant and gracious to both fans and the staff."

Brad Pitt on Injury: 'It Was Just an Old Man Tripping'

The actor, 48, who previously told reporters he had an injured ACL (a ligament in the knee that connects the femur with the tibia), tells PEOPLE he's doing just fine.

"It wasn't life or death," Pitt, who slipped down a hill while carrying 3-year-old daughter Vivienne, said at Monday's New York Film Critics Circle Awards. "It was just an old man tripping."

He said he doesn't expect a prolonged recovery, and he was able to walk the red carpet and use the stairs with minor use of his cane. It's "not too bad," said Pitt, who took home the best-actor award for his work in Moneyball and Tree of Life.

"I know how hard he works," Jolie, 36, said of her partner's honors. "And I'm very proud of him."

Brad Pitt Injures His Knee

A cane – and it's not just for show.

The actor, 48, walked the red carpet at the 23nd annual Palm Springs Film Festival awards gala with the cane on Saturday, and told reporters he has an injured ACL, a ligament in the knee that connects the femur with the tibia.

"I was carrying my daughter [Vivienne] down the hill and I slipped," Pitt said. "It was either her or me."

Though Pitt says he won't need surgery, he may need that cane for a while.

Not that his partner, Angelina Jolie, minds.

"I like the cane," she told reporters on the carpet Saturday, adding that the injury hasn't slowed him down much at all. "He's not that kind of guy. He does everything still."

Jolie also said that Vivienne, 3˝, wasn't hurt in the tumble.

"Vivie's okay," she told reporters. "She was absolutely fine."

Angelina Jolie Talks Brad Pitt's Injury: "Proud of Him Every Single Day"

But being injured is worth it if it means his children are OK...

Pitt told reporters at last night's Palm Springs International Film Festival gala that he hurt himself when he took a fall while carrying daughter Vivienne.

Angelina Jolie said it's not the first injury of its kind at the Jolie-Pitt household.

"When [Maddox] was younger, I took a fall and cracked my elbow because I wanted to make sure he didn't have the fall," Jolie said. "Every parent has injured themselves. Every parent will stand in the line of fire for their kids so it's a normal thing."

Jolie said Pitt isn't milking the injury at home. "He's not that kind of guy," she said. "He does everything still."

"I'm proud of him every single day," Jolie said of her hubby, who last night was presented the Desert Palm Achievement Award by his Moneyball costar Jonah Hill.

Jolie told me she's likely to direct again after making her debut earlier this year with In The Land of Blood and Honey.

"It's such a weird thing. I sat down to try to write something and I can't even believe it's become a film," she said. "I do have a pile of things I haven't shown anybody, including one on Afghanistan."

Clooney, Pitt among Palm Spring IFF winners

Close was celebrated for her longstanding contributions to Hollywood by accepting the Career Achievement Award at the 23rd annual gala, while Clooney took home the Chairman's Award for his roles in The Descendants and The Ides of March.

Angelina Jolie beamed with pride as her partner Pitt accepted the Desert Palm Achievement Actor Award from his Moneyball co-star Jonah Hill, while Al Pacino hailed Jessica Chastain an acting prodigy as he handed her the Spotlight Award.

Chastain's The Help co-star Octavia Spencer teared up as she received the Breakthrough of the Year Award and thanked her late mother and father for guiding her career.

The actress also used her acceptance speech to scout out a potential boyfriend, telling the eligible men in the room, "I would be remiss if I didn't say... I'm single, gentlemen. I just had to throw that in there."

The most emotional moment of the night came as Michelle Williams was recognised for her portrayal of Marilyn Monroe in My Week With Marilyn, and dedicated her Desert Palm Achievement Actress Award to the late screen legend.

Williams told the crowd, "My only wish is that Marilyn herself could have experienced in her lifetime what I am experiencing tonight. When she did stretch beyond her pin-up picture, she was pushed back into her place. I accept this award on both our behalf."

British actor Gary Oldman won the International Star Award while the Ensemble Award was shared between Young Adult stars Charlize Theron and Patton Oswalt, as well as their director Jason Reitman and screenwriter Diablo Cody.

"Melancholia", Dunst, Pitt win film critics awards

Lars von Trier lost out on the best director award for his work on "Melancholia" to Terrence Malick for "The Tree of Life," a mystical period piece which also won the best cinematography prize.

But the big win by "Melancholia" bolstered the offbeat film's chances for the upcoming Academy Awards, which will announce nominees later this month.

Set against the backdrop of a country wedding, the dark film explores the strained relationship of two sisters, one a bride played by Dunst, while a strange planet threatens to collide with Earth, wiping out all traces of human existence.

Pitt, already a strong contender for the Oscars, was honored for his roles as Oakland A's manager Billy Beane in "Moneyball" as well as a strict father in "The Tree of Life."

Critics' awards are important in helping build momentum heading toward the Academy Awards, or Oscars, which are the world's top film awards given out on the final Sunday in February by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

The NSFC includes 58 members from major newspapers in Los Angeles, Boston, New York, Chicago and other cities as well as from Time, Newsweek and The New Yorker and newspapers The Village Voice and the Boston Phoenix.

The group's awards for best supporting performances went to Albert Brooks, who played a small-time hood in the drama "Drive," and Jessica Chastain, who was honored for performances in "The Tree of Life," "Take Shelter" and "The Help."

Both Brooks and Chastain have been honored by other critics groups in early awards this season.

Several highly touted films, most notably "The Artist," considered a front-runner for the Oscars, "The Descendants" and Martin Scorsese's "Hugo" were shut out, although Scorsese was a close second in voting for best director.

The award for best foreign language film was won by the Iranian film "A Separation," about a couple struggling with the decision about whether or not to leave their home country. The film also won the prize for best screenplay.

The film critics named Werner Herzog's documentary "The Cave of Forgotten Dreams," a 3D movie about a cave in southern France, as the year's best nonfiction film.

Ken Jacobs won the experimental film award for "Seeking the Monkey King."

The critics also announced "film heritage" awards to the Brooklyn Academy of Music for its recent Vincente Minnelli retrospective; to Lobster Films, Groupama Gan Foundation for Cinema and the Technicolor Foundation for Cinema for the restoration of the color version of George Melies' "A Trip to the Moon"; to the Museum of Modern Art for its Weimar Cinema retrospective; to Flicker Alley for the box set "Landmarks of Early Soviet Film; and to Criterion Collection for its two-disc DVD package "The Complete Jean Vigo."

Brad Pitt Seen Sporting a Cane, but Why?

And poor Brad Pitt is the latest victim, leaving the Christina Radu Spa in Beverly Hills today with his new accessory.

So what happened?

Pitt told photographers that he tore a ligament in his knee. Ouch!

We don't know what caused the injury (it most certainly can't be old age), but it could have been too much partying in Vegas, or possibly a little incident while riding around town on his hog. Either way, the Tree of Life actor seemed to be in good spirits and luckily, that cane doesn't seem to be cramping his style one bit.

Jolie gets Pitt waterfall for holidays

Sources say that the gift, given for the holidays as well as for Pitt's 48th birthday, was meant to invoke Frank Lloyd Wright's classic house, Fallingwater. Pitt and Jolie visited the 1935 home, built over a waterfall, in 2006. Pitt allegedly had been itching to see it ever since reading about it in an architectural history class in college.

"Brad has always loved Fallingwater and his first trip there was unforgettable," a source told The Daily Mail. "Angelina wanted to get him something incredibly special and, because she knows how much he loves architecture, she thought this would be perfect."

According to the source, the idea is for Pitt to design a home to sit on the property.

"Brad has dreamed of a home with the sound of a waterfall cascading under the house ... Brad has always wanted to design his own house," the source explains. "He wants to pull all aspects of nature, light, glass and varying levels into the concept."

Pitt has shown a keen interest in architecture before. In 2007, he initiated the Make It Right project, commissioning 13 architecture firms to help rebuild the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans, which was heavily hit by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. A year later, Pitt also consulted on an environmentally-friendly hotel in Dubai.

"While acting is my career, architecture is my passion," Pitt said at the time.

Pitt top celeb money maker in 2011

Bosses at Quigley Publishing Company have asked theatre owners and film buyers to vote for their top 10 box office generators and this year exhibitors credited Pitt with bringing in more traffic than any other celebrity due to his acting and/or vocal appearances in Moneyball, The Tree of Life, and Happy Feet Two.

Coming in at number two was Pitt's pal George Clooney for both The Ides of March and The Descendants, and last year's winner, Johnny Depp, fell to third with The Rum Diary, Rango and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

Rounding out the group were Leonardo DiCaprio at four with J. Edgar and Matt Damon at five.

Also making the list, in ranking order, were Sandra Bullock, Bradley Cooper, Robert Downey, Jr., Meryl Streep and Ben Stiller.

Brad Pitt Celebrates 48th Birthday in Vegas

The Moneyball star, who turns 48 on Sunday, was joined by longtime love Angelina Jolie and their six children in Las Vegas Saturday night to experience the Michael Jackson The Immortal, the Cirque Du Soleil touring show.

"They had great seats, sitting right beside the stage," a source said. "They really seemed to enjoy the show. The performers didn't know they were there and a few of them recognized them while they were on stage, so it was pretty exciting."

After giving a standing ovation, Pitt, donning round glasses, Jolie, wearing a light grey dress, and the children left just as the cast gave final bows. The family spent the night at the lavish Four Seasons.

Ellen DeGeneres Buys Brad Pitt's Malibu Home for $12 Million

Transactions were completed Friday to finalize the purchase of Brad Pitt's Malibu manse for $12 million, PEOPLE has learned.

The property overlooks the Pacific Ocean, has private beach access, consists of two separate houses, a pool, a tennis court and lush gardens.

DeGeneres's interest in the estate was first buzzed about around Thanksgiving, a month after she and wife Portia De Rossi put their Architectural Digest-featured home on the market for $49 million.

The couple will be downsizing a bit: From about 15,000-square feet of interior space to 4,000. Sounds cozy!

Nominations for 69th Annual Golden Globes

Best Motion Picture, Drama
The Descendants
The Help
Hugo
The Ides of March
Moneyball
War Horse

Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama
George Clooney, The Descendants
Leonardo DiCaprio, J. Edgar
Michael Fassbender, Shame
Ryan Gosling, The Ides of March
Brad Pitt, Moneyball

SAG Award Nominations

Broadcast Film Critics Association Nominations

BEST PICTURE
The Artist
The Descendants
Drive
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
War Horse

BEST ACTOR
George Clooney, The Descendants
Leonardo DiCaprio, J. Edgar
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Michael Fassbender, Shame
Ryan Gosling, Drive
Brad Pitt, Moneyball

Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt: Will They Have More Kids?

Angelina Jolie says that, while she's thrilled with her family life as it is, she and partner Brad Pitt haven't ruled out having more children entirely.

"Nothing planned at the moment, but we just don't know. I could end up pregnant," Jolie, 36, tells Marie Claire in its January issue.

According to the Oscar winner, who recently made her directorial debut with In the Land of Blood and Honey, the home life she's built with Pitt, 47, has taught her invaluable lessons of selflessness.

"I suppose what I've learned from Brad is to be able to have the kind of family whose happiness and well-being comes before your own," she says in the interview. "I'm very, very grateful to have such a loving family, and I wouldn't have that without him."

And though the couple won't be getting married anytime soon, Jolie says they already have the strongest bond possible.

"[Brad] has expanded my life in ways I never imagined," she tells Marie Claire. "We built a family. He is not just the love my life, he is my family. I hold that very dear."

Brad & Angelina's Celebratory Dinner in L.A.

Boston Society of Film Critics Award Winner

Angelina Jolie Talks Brad and Family: "I Could End Up Pregnant"

"He has expanded my life in ways I never imagined," the actress and director of In the Land of Blood and Honey says in the January issue of Marie Claire.

"We built a family. He is not just the love of my life, he is my family. I hold that very dear. I suppose what I've learned from Brad is to be able to have the kind of family whose happiness and well-being comes before your own. I'm very, very grateful to have such a loving family, and I wouldn't have that without him."

With that in mind, does Jolie think that she and Pitt could end up having even more loving family together?

"Nothing planned at the moment, but we just don't know," she says. "I could end up pregnant."

Oddly enough, it sounds as if the six kids they already have are all for giving them plenty of, er, private time.

"If they see Mommy and Daddy in need of some private time 'cause they're going to kiss and whatever, the kids get all giggly and happy—because it gives them some security," Jolie helpfully explains.

Her latest baby, however, is her feature directorial debut, In the Land of Blood and Honey, about a Croatian woman locked up in a brutal Bosnian prison camp in the early 1990s.

She wrote the script, she says, "as an excuse to get out some of my frustrations [with] the international community and justice issues. I just assumed nobody would ever see or read it."

But wouldn't you know? Pitt read it, and then friends read it...and the rest is filmmaking history.

And perhaps, one day, she'll go behind the camera and stay there.

"That doesn't mean I'm stopping [acting] tomorrow," Jolie says when asked about the idea of pulling a Pitt and quitting the profession one day. "But I woke up one day realizing, God, I'm an actor. I don't think I intended to be an actor. I think my mother wanted it for me. I loved telling stories, and I enjoyed the profession, but it is too late to be something else?"

Obviously not.

The Oscar winner also talks about each child's distinctive likes and dislikes, from her eldest, Maddox ("He really does take care of me") to the wild but warm-hearted Pax, who she predicts is "going to get in some kind of trouble."

But hey, so did his mom once upon a time, and she appears to be doing just fine.

Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie's Family Toy Shopping Trip

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie took their little ones – Maddox, 10, Pax, 8, Zahara, 6, Shiloh, 5 (not pictured) and twins Knox and Vivienne, 3 – on a field trip to FAO Schwartz in NYC Wednesday.

Pax managed to not only stay dry, but also conceal his face from the paparazzi with his zip-up shark sweatshirt that he's been photographed wearing in the past.

As for mommy Jolie, she didn't let the downpour stop her from entering the children's toy superstore all smiles.

Accompanied by a personal shopper, the group split up once inside, with Jolie taking the girls to look at Barbies and Hello Kitty items, while Pitt and the boys checked out remote control airplanes.

"It was hard to get a good look at them because they were surrounded by security and fans," an onlooker tells PEOPLE. "People started following them everywhere! It was crazy."

This family outing follows the brood's trip to see The Muppets just a few days prior.

Brad Pitt's Parents Are 'Very Proud' of Angelina Jolie

"It means everything," Jolie, 36, said of having Brad Pitt and his parents, Bill and Jane Pitt, by her side. "I couldn't be standing here without them."

Matching their son and Jolie in all-black ensembles, the elder Pitts happily spoke to reporters, saying they were "very proud" of her work and that they admired her knack for doing everything well – including being a "really good mom."

So how did she juggle duties of directing, as well as writing and producing the film, with tending to her six children – Maddox, 10, Pax, 8, Zahara, 6, Shiloh, 5, and 2-year-old Knox and Vivienne?

"I have a wonderful partner in Brad and we take turns working always," said Jolie, who was led onto the carpet holding Pitt's hand. "So I was with the kids when he shot Moneyball, and when he finished he took a few months off while I was shooting this."

And with the kids on the set almost every day, that help proved to be even more valuable given the violent context of the movie: a story about the intertwined lives of a Serbian man and a Bosnian woman during the horrors of the 1992 Bosnian War.

"It was helpful [to have them there], but the kids had to be kept away from most of the set," said Jolie. "So they would be outside playing with the fake snow and I would be inside working on something else."

Angelina double dates with in-laws, talks marriage

While reports have claimed that the Pitts are not fond of Jolie, they appeared highly chummy with their son's longtime partner on the red carpet. The foursome posed for pictures and, soon, Pitt stepped out of the way so Jolie could be snapped alone with his parents, their arms linked around each other. Jolie stunned in a long black silk dress, that glided over her thin frame, and a chunky golden necklace.

As they were photographed together, Jolie and Jane Pitt shared a hearty laugh, gazing at each other affectionately. Earlier in the day, the two walked through the streets of Manhattan, Jane Pitt's arm linked in Jolie's.

While promoting her new film, a Bosnian war love story, Jolie has been asked multiple times if she and Pitt intend to marry. In the past, they have said they do not, Pitt citing the fact that gay marriage isn't legal as the reason. Both have been married before, Pitt to Jennifer Aniston and Jolie to actors Jonny Lee Miller and Billy Bob Thornton.

Jolie confessed in a "Nightline" interview that she does feel pressure to walk down the aisle with Pitt, with whom she has six children -- three adopted and three biological.

"[The kids] have asked, yeah, because ... people get married in the movies," Jolie explained to Christiane Amanpour last night. "Shrek and Fiona are married, you know? We've explained to them that our commitment, when we decided to start a family, was the greatest commitment you could possibly have. Once you have six children, you're committed."

Jolie has a theory on why her kids are subtly pushing for marriage. She said, "The kids asked me the other day and I asked them if it was just because they wanted to have a big cake."

Jolie's "In the Land of Blood and Honey" opens in theaters on Dec. 23.

Brad Pitt Gives Pep Talk to Suicidal Moneyball Moviegoer

During the Q&A portion of the screening, the man told Pitt, 47, that he had been feeling suicidal alone in his car before the film, but had "a renewed sense of hope" after watching the baseball drama at a screening in Culver City, Calif., on Sunday.

"[Pitt] said, 'Look, man, life is up and down, it's a vicious cycle, but you have to go through it and deal with that,'" an observer tells the magazine. "'You can be down, but then you come back up again, and every failure can lead to success.'"

Pitt, according to the witness, also stopped to talk with the man and offer more words of encouragement as he left the theater.

Brad Pitt a Better Actor Than Ryan Gosling?! First Shockers of Oscar Season

But it was Brad Pitt who claimed the first major Best Actor win of awards season courtesy the New York Film Critics Circle, which honored the star for the outside-the-lines baseball movie, Moneyball, and the arty epic, The Tree of Life.

The Best Actress pick, meanwhile, didn't shock. At all.

Meryl Streep won the critics' approval for The Iron Lady, a biopic about former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. But while it seems Streep always wins, because she does, she hasn't won an Oscar since the 1982 ceremony. Today's win could be the sign her relative bad run is about to end. Right now, oddsmakers give her the best overall shot at Best Actress.

Pitt isn't considered as heavy an Oscar favorite as Clooney and perhaps Gosling, but he's in the game, and today's win is his first significant one as a leading man.

Elsewhere, Albert Brooks made good on his budding Oscar buzz with a Best Supporting Actor win for Drive, where the acclaimed comic does very unfunny things.

Jessica Chastain, the newcomer who's everywhere on the strength of six 2011 releases, was named Best Supporting Actress for work in three of those films, including The Tree of Life, in which she plays Pitt's wife.

The Tree of Life was the most-honored film, being named in three categories, but it lost Best Picture and Best Director to French filmmaker Michel Hazanavicius' throwback silent, The Artist.

The New York Film Critics Circle Awards are critics' awards, so make of the results what you will. That said, the East Coast writers are often in sync with Hollywood.

The group's awards are the first major critics pronouncements of the fall. The winners of the Gotham Independent Film Awards were named last night, but, outside of The Tree of Life, which was named best film, along with the geriatric coming-out dramedy, Beginners, none of its other favorites look to figure prominently at the Oscars.

Here's the complete list of winners from the 2011 New York Film Critics Circle Awards:

Film: The Artist
Actor: Brad Pitt, Moneyball and The Tree of Life
Actress: Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Supporting Actor: Albert Brooks, Drive
Supporting Actress: Jessica Chastain, The Tree of Life, The Help and Take Shelter
Director: Michel Hazanavicius, The Director
Screenplay: Moneyball
Cinematography: The Tree of Life
Documentary: Cave of Forgotten Dreams
Foreign-Language Film: A Separation
First Feature: Margin Call
Special Award: Raoul Ruiz.

Pitt has bad baseball memories

The movie star, who plays pioneering former Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane in the new sports film, admits he was never particularly good at the game, unlike pal George Clooney who once tried out for the Cincinnati Reds.

He explains, "It's shameful how little I knew about baseball coming into this; my baseball career ended with a pop fly (ball) at high noon and 18 stitches in the cheekbone. I'm a really crap baseball player. I don't even like baseball that much. My interest pretty much came to an end when I took a baseball in the face. But I am a sports fan."

And the actor insists his son, Maddox, is showing an interest in baseball: "My eldest (child) has a wicked arm. Mine was crap."

Jennifer Aniston & Brad Pitt Narrowly Miss Each Other at the Movies

Former spouses Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt crossed paths at the Arclight Cinemas in Hollywood on Friday and narrowly missed what may have been a very awkward run-in.

Pitt, 47, was there with his children with partner Angelina Jolie – Shiloh, Zahara, Pax and Maddox – and Aniston, 42, was there with her boyfriend Justin Theroux.

The Moneyball star and his children left the 2 p.m. showing of Martin Scorcese's film Hugo minutes after Aniston and Theroux, who costar in Wanderlust together, arrived for a later movie.

"Justin and Jennifer skipped the popcorn and went straight in. Like five minutes later, Brad and the kids came out of the theater," a source tells X17. "They just missed each other!"

What Does George Clooney Think of Buddy Brad Pitt's Retirement Plans?

George Clooney gave his two cents on pal Brad Pitt's shocking plan to put his acting career to bed in three years...

"I hope he doesn't," the Cloonster told us.

"I'd like to work with him again. I sorta don't see it happening. He's at the peak of his career."

(Clooney might be clairvoyant. Since dropping the retirement bombshell, Pitt has backed off an exact date for calling it quits. At a press conference in South Korea yesterday promoting Moneyball, Pitt told reporters, "I wasn't putting an exact deadline on my expiration date. But I see it coming. I have other interests.")

As for retiring himself, Clooney says he thinks about it "all the time."

But he's joking, folks.

Now, can we get that next Clooney-Pitt movie in the pipeline, please.

For more of the exclusive interview with Clooney, including deets on his holiday plans, updates on his romance with Stacy Keibler and whether fatherhood is in his future, tune in to E! News tonight at 7 p.m. and 11:30 p.m.

Brad Pitt Plans to Quit Acting, but May Have More Kids With Angelina Jolie

In an interview with Australia's 60 Minutes, Pitt reveals he has an exit strategy planned for his movie star career...and it's sooner than you'd think!

Another shocker? He and Angelina Jolie might not be done having kids! Seriously!

When asked how much longer he'd like to keep acting, the 47-year-old answers, "Three years."

Yes, Pitt says he plans to step off-camera and get behind it by the age of 50. "I am really enjoying the producing side and development of stories and putting those pieces together," Pitt says. "Getting stories to the plate that might have had a tougher times otherwise."

Something he may not be ready to say goodbye to? The possibility of expanding the Jolie-Pitt family! "You know, I don't know that we're finished," Pitt says. "I don't know yet. I don't know."

With six children, Pitt says he "obviously" enjoys the chaos and that the lack of sleep is fine with him right now. "Those late nights are so fun when one of them's up or those mornings when they get up and make pancakes or something. That's what it's about."

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt Leave the Kids at the Hotel for Some Time Together in Vietnam

That's exactly what parents Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie got on Sunday in the Con Dau Islands, Vietnam, where they toured the notorious Con Son "tiger cages," a prison first built by the colonial French to imprison political prisoners and was later used to house communists during the Vietnam War. (The grim history of the place, as well as some of the lifelike statues at the site, is likely another reason they left the kids back at the hotel.)

So what else have Brad, Angie and their brood been doing during their stay in Vietnam?

The couple brought their six children to the country as it's son Pax's native country and his first visit since they adopted him four years ago. On Friday, the family was spotted out and about Ho Chi Minh City and they went out for lunch on Saturday before exploring.

The family arrived in Vietnam on Thursday after attending the Tokyo premiere of Pitt's new film Moneyball, where Jolie rocked a stunning red Atelier Versace dress.

Brad Pitt or Zombies: What's Scarier? World War Z Star Weighs In

Seriously, talk to anyone who has worked with the guy and it's always a big gushfest.

The latest?

"You know, you meet Brad and you're like, OK, I get it," James Badge Dale, one of Pitt's costars in the upcoming zombie movie World War Z, told me the other night at the AFI presented by Audi premiere of Shame. "I get it—there's a reason why he's the biggest movie star in the world."

Dale, like so many we've chatted with, describes Pitt as "cool," saying, "I mean, everyone talks abut his looks, but the fact is the guy's a consummate actor. He has a genuineness to him that is not fake."

It was also bit of a surreal experience for Dale. "It's funny doing a zombie movie," he said. "I've never done a zombie movie before. Nobody in drama school prepares you to do a zombie movie. And then nobody prepares you to be standing on set with a zombie on one side of you and Brad Pitt on the other side."

Nobody prepares you to do an offcamera sex scene with Carey Mulligan either. In the NC-17-rated Shame, Dale sleeps with the unstable sister (Mulligan) of his most trusted employee (Michael Fassbender). Fassbender's character overhears the two having sex in his room.

"We were brought in that day and [director Steve McQueen] puts in a bedroom with a microphone," Dale said. "You just hear us so I looked at her and I was like, 'Have you ever done anything like this?" She says, 'No, I don't know what to do.' So we just played our little actor games and we got through it."

Brad Pitt Gets the Occupy Protest Movement: "People Are Feeling Screwed"

While Brad Pitt was in Japan this week to promote Moneyball, conversation easily turned from the cash spent to build a winning baseball team to the fragile state of the global economy and the Occupy protests crisscrossing the United States.

But the 1-percent-representing actor and philanthropist didn't just throw his support behind the protesters and call it a day. Pitt may not be the man with a plan—but at least he recognizes the need for a plan.

"I think what you're seeing in America is questioning a system that has not served us very well," Pitt told reporters in Tokyo. "A system that, I mean for example, is defined for corporate lobbyists instead of the best needs for the people and people are feeling screwed a little bit there."

Things aren't going to get any better, though, Pitt added, if those attacking the status quo don't bring anything more than slogans to the table.

"The most important thing is, really," he said, "not just getting swept up in the fervor of a fight. If you're feeling marginalized and frustrated, sometimes the release of a fight can pacify for the moment. But beyond that, really understanding the details, really understanding the systemic problems—and you can't stop there—really looking for solutions. And if you're going to say one guy's bad, you've got to back it up with 'This is how we fix it.'"

Well, if Pitt is ever in one city long enough to visit one of the Occupy protests, surely the crowd would love to have him.

In voicing his respect for the movement, the Oscar nominee joins an ever-growing list of high-profile (and, ironically, deep-pocketed) Occupy supporters, ranging from Pitt pal George Clooney to Big Apple loyalist Alec Baldwin to U.K. import Russell Brand.

Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie & Kids Arrive in Japan

As you can see, he is not alone: with him and partner Angelina Jolie is their entourage – their children (from left in the photo): Zahara, Knox, Maddox, Shiloh, Pax and Vivienne.

The movie, a critical and commercial hit stateside that has generated Oscar buzz for Brad, is a real-life drama about American baseball – specifically, Oakland Athletics manager Billy Beane – who's determine to have a winning season in 2002 despite his lack of a budget.

Of course, with just another tiny addition to their brood, the Jolie-Pitts could have a ball team all their own.

Glourious Reunion as Basterds Brad Pitt and Michael Fassbender Reunite on the Big Screen

Brad Pitt and Michael Fassbender, who costarred together in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds, are set to reteam for the drama Twelve Years A Slave.

Pitt will produce and have a significant role in the film, which follows a free black northerner in the 1850s who's abducted and sold into slavery in the deep south.

Per Indiewire.com, Twelve Years also marks another notable reunion as it will be helmed by Steve McQueen, who directed Fassbender in the art house hit Hunger as well as the upcoming sex addiction tale Shame, which just got slapped with an NC-17 rating and will be released in December.

The underrated Chiwetel Ejiofor (Children of Men) will essay the role of Solomon Northrup, Twelve Years' central character who, after being lured to Washington, D.C. by a fake job offer, is forced to work as a slave on various plantations. Hope arrives when a white Canadian carpenter-turned-abolitionist gets word on Northrup's behalf to his wife and she miraculously convinces a court to free him.

Pitt's Plan B shingle will oversee the project, which has been in development for years but didn't really gather momentum until catching the eye of Fassbender and McQueen.

Twelve Years, which starts shooting early next year, is the latest flick aiming to tackle America's Original Sin following Tarantino's May announcement that his next directorial effort will be Django Unchained.

The latter is a Spaghetti-style western about a former slave (Jamie Foxx) who teams up with a bounty hunter (Christoph Waltz) to save his wife from an evil plantation owner. Kerry Washington is in talks to play the wife.

'Tree of Life' on DVD a good fit

I was grappling with that notion while re-watching Terrence Malick's controversial film, The Tree of Life. There are many people who find Malick's anti-narrative approach too off-putting, too disjointed or too absurd to sit through even once. The walk-outs at public screenings of The Tree of Life are legendary.

But I just saw Malick's opus for the second time on Blu-ray. This is an excellent format to deliver Malick's visionary and sometimes spectacular images (although it also looks good on DVD). I could see it again ... and again ... and again. For me, The Tree of Life is the best film of 2011. It is difficult to imagine anything better coming along, given the lineup through to year's end. I do not expect all to agree, although some do. In May, the film earned the Palme d'Or as best film at Cannes from Robert De Niro's jury.

The Tree of Life is symbolic, including for a title that evokes ancient wisdom. It suggests something far deeper than the core story it tells about a Texas family, which is led by Brad Pitt and emerging star Jessica Chastain as parents of three young sons in the 1950s. In contemporary scenes, Sean Penn plays the eldest, Jack, as a troubled middle-aged man. These people spend decades processing grief while exploring the relationship between religious faith and brutal nature.

Malick juxtaposes the time-jumping family saga, which he shot in Smithville, Tex., with poetic visuals that invoke the history of the universe. He starts with the Big Bang and plunges into Darwinian evolution. At a critical juncture, some audience members laugh aloud during scenes in which dinosaurs roam (between the 30 and 35-minute marks of the 139-minute film). Fair enough, these scenes are silly.

But, for me, the film is less about what is said or shown in the literal sense. Instead, with voices, images and music fused into an epic tone poem, The Tree of Life generates a muted joy, a bittersweet euphoria about being alive.

Coincidentally, this is the same feeling that I experience each time I hear Harry Manx's classic tune, Make Way for the Living. Manx, born on the Isle of Man, raised in Canada, influenced by musical and spiritual apprenticeships in Japan and India, is a kindred spirit to Malick. Make Way for the Living comes from his 2004 album, West Eats Meet, issued by Dog My Cat Records. The song is an anthem for those who choose to live and love despite what Manx calls "the toll that life's been taking."

At the Cannes Film Festival, I reeled out of the debut screening of The Tree of Life as if in the same trance Manx induces. It felt like an intrusion to attend the odd press conference, which the infamously reclusive Malick refused to attend (nor is he part of the 30-minute documentary, Exploring The Tree of Life on the DVD and the Blu-ray). I returned to the Hotel Cezanne to sip rose wine in the courtyard. Breezes gently shook palm and pine trees. Rose-ringed parakeets flew over, screeching. A blackcap warbler and a common blackbird competed for attention. Common swifts soared, whistling harshly. The world around seemed energized, electric.

The Tree of Life refines and opens your senses. It is potent and powerful.

Go Inside the Brangelina Beach House Up for Sale

When Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie put their Malibu home on the market in August, all anybody really got a glimpse of was the exterior. Mind you, that alone is pretty impressive. But if you're going to plop down nearly $14 million for a place, you obviously want to see the inside too, right?

Well, now you're in luck because brand new shots of the interior have just been released. So get your first look here. Assuming, of course, you're not Reese Witherspoon.

As we reported earlier, the Mid-Century home is more than 4,000 square feet and has four bedrooms, fourth bathrooms, bamboo flooring and several glass walls.

In other words, plenty of space to live like a rock star. Or, in this case, a movie star!

Police raid Pitt's 'Z' film set

Almost 100 unauthorised weapons were seized by police in Budapest, where the film is currently shooting.

The haul included a collection of automatic assault rifles.

Hajdu Janos, the director of Hungary's Anti-Terrorism Unit, tells UsMagazine.com, "Guns like these are highly illegal to transport even if they were to used as stage guns, which hopefully they weren't."

It is not known how the weapons ended up on the set of the film.

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt Make Big Donation to Somali Aid Group

The actress, who was recently recognized for her work as an U.N. Goodwill Ambassador, and Brad Pitt have donated $340,000 to the Humanitarian Initiative Just Relief Aid, which which goes toward healthcare for homeless children in war-torn Somalia, according to reports.

The country is experiencing its worst famine in 60 years, which has taken the lives of 29,000 children under the age of five. Jolie recently spoke about the profound impact the Somali refugees have had on her personal life.

On Oct. 3, Jolie honored a Yemeni aid group and the U.N. Refugee Agency Awards in Switzerland, where she got emotional while speaking about her ten years of experience with the refugees. (Jolie has been a part of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees staff since 2001.)

"Most of all I'm so grateful—I don't want to cry—to the refugee families that I have the honor and privilege to spend the last years with," she said, "From them I've learned so much. I've learned to be a better person, a better mother. They've inspired me by showing me the unbreakable strength of the human spirit."

For more information about the aid group, go here.

Brad Pitt reveals odd phobia

The Hollywood icon has confessed he's obsessed with moving forwards in life and it has sparked an irrational fear of reversing in a vehicle or returning to his house if he forgets his keys.

Pitt tells Empire magazine, "If I'm walking out the door and I've forgotten something, I can't go back and get it. It is something in my nature. If I'm driving down the road and I miss a turn, I have to keep going forward. I can't reverse. It's some kind of psychological defect.

"I don't know the reason why... But it's just that, for better or worse, I want to keep moving on. I don't like to go backwards. It's not what I'm good at."

Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt and Kids Are Ready to Party

Which may explain why Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie and their brood made a visit to a party store in London....

The hand-holding handfuls—including Pax, Zahara and Shiloh—arrived en masse at the Partica store to presumably stock up on fun stuff for the family.

Considering Jolie has already had the kids meet up for a play date with Gwen Stefani's boys Kingston and Zuma while they've been staying in London as dad Brad shoots World War Z, it probably makes sense to get some proper gear—aside from what they've already picked up—for having a good time.

Though when you're the children of globetrotting movie stars, we imagine that life is often a pretty good time.

Pitt dishes on selling baby pics

The superstars welcomed Vivienne and Knox in 2008, and subsequently sold the rights to the first photos of the babies for a reported $14 million.

Opening up about the decision to put out exclusive pictures, Pitt admits the couple simply wanted to remain in control of the way their newborns were introduced to the public.

He tells America’s National Public Radio, “It’s a very strange thing to be selling photos of something that’s very intimate and personal. And those of which you want to protect. We have to plan an escape every day just to get out of the house - kind of a Mission Impossible with decoys, and that’s the life we live in, and that’s the one we asked for.

“But we knew there was a bounty on our head... and we know the lengths they (the paparazzi) go to get that shot. So we figured, ’Let’s cut it off in the beginning,’ and instead of that money going to people I do not respect, we would make some good out of it.”

Jolie and the Ocean’s Eleven star reportedly donated the money to their charity organization the Jolie-Pitt Foundation.

Brad Pitt's "Moneyball" likely to win at box office

Box office number crunchers say that a gross of around $20 million should be enough to win the weekend, which will also see the debut of Warner's uplifting family film "Dolphin Tale" in 3,507 theaters.

The weekend will be a veritable hunk parade, with Lionsgate bringing a "Bourne"-styled action vehicle for "Twilight"-series star Taylor Lautner, "Abduction," into around 3,117 U.S. and Canadian locations; new distributor Open Road is releasing body-counter "Killer Elite," starring Jason Statham and Clive Owen, in 2,986 U.S. and Canadian theaters.

Also arriving in four L.A. and NYC locations: Relativity's "Machine Gun Preacher."

"It's a positive," said one studio marketing executive. "The 'positive' is that a lot of people should be going to the movies this weekend."

For its part, Sony's "Moneyball," opening up in 2,993 locations, is projected to ring up between $18 million - $20 million.

Averaging a 93 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes, the film stars Pitt as Billy Beane, the real-life general manager of the Oakland A's, who shocked Major League Baseball a decade ago when he used new methods of statistical analysis to put together a playoff team on a shoestring budget.

Jonah Hill, Robin Wright and Philip Seymour Hoffman co-star in the 133-minute PG-13 film, which was shot on a budget just above $50 million.

According to research firm NRG, 45 percent of men say they have definite interest in seeing "Moneyball," while 15 percent describe it as their "first choice" to see next time they're in a theater -- pretty solid tracking.

At one point several years ago, of course, the prospects for this film actually being made were about as bleak as the mathematically eliminated A's making this year's MLB playoffs.

Indeed, the movie has played its extra innings and then some, with Sony pulling the plug on original director Steven Soderbergh in 2009 over creative differences, before bringing it back and putting in the mits of director Bennett Miller and writer Aaron Sorkin.

Not swimming as far to get into theaters, but projected to open in the $16 million - $18 million range, Warner's "Dolphin Tale 3D" comes from Alcon Entertainment, the same production company that put together the sleeper hit "The Blind Side" two years ago.

Starring Harry Connick Jr., Morgan Freeman, Ashley Judd and Kris Kristofferson, the film was inspired by a true story that occurred at Florida's Clearwater Marine Aquarium, in which a dolphin who lost a tail in a crab trap has its life saved when a local team of do-gooders develops a prosthetic.

With the film shot on a budget of around $37 million, more than a few box office watchers have compared it to Sony's surprise hit "Soul Surfer" -- which had similar themes, but is all mixed up species-wise. In that film, a surfer girl needing a prosthetic arm after getting it eaten by a shark.

But you get the point. Both PG films have similar uplifting spirits, and like "Soul Surfer," Warner is targeting spiritual groups with its marketing.

Reviews for "Dolphin Tale" are coming in at a solid 85 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, with 40 percent of females from all age groups telling NRG they have definite interest in seeing the film and 12 percent describing it as their first choice.

Meanwhile, projected to open in the $13 million - $15 million range, pro-killer extravaganza "Killer Elite" arrives from its Australian production roots with a bit of market confusion.

The R-rated film is not a remake of Sam Peckinpah's 1975 movie "The Killer Elite." (And given the disappointing $5.1 million opening endured by a real Peckinpah remake just last weekend, Sony's "Straw Dogs," that may not be a bad thing.)

In fact, the new "Killer Elite" is based on a 1991 novel, "The Feather Men," written by a former SAS operative, Sir Ranulph Fiennes. The author billed the story of a rag-tag group of former SAS men who save their former leader from an angry sheik as being a true story, but its veracity has been largely debunked.

Shot by Australia's Omnilab Media -- the company behind 2008 Statham film "The Bank Job" -- "Killer Elite" got much of the film's $70 million budget from the Aussie government. It is being distributed in the U.S. by Open Road.

That's the distributor jointly formed by distributors AMC and Regal Entertainment, and headed by former Lionsgate distribution and marketing executive Tom Ortenberg.

Scoring only 37 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, "Killer Elite" most assuredly doesn't have critical buzz around it. But thanks to its rather disingenuous marketing, it does come with the impression that Robert De Niro is a co-star in the film, even though he only dropped by the movie's Melbourne set for a 10-minute cameo.

According to NRG, 46 percent of men express definite interest in seeing "Killer Elite," with 15 percent calling it their first choice. Total awareness among men is only around 68 percent, however.

Finally, Lionsgate spent about $35 million to shoot "Abduction," a PG-13 film starring Lautner as a suburban teen who's life is upended when he finds a archive picture of an abducted youngster on the internet that looks just like him.

(The obvious questions emerge: Who am I? Who gave birth to these marvelous pectoral muscles? Everything I know is wrong! Etc, etc.)

Hijinks, of course, ensues when an army of gun-totting operatives pounces, forcing Lautner to use "Bourne Identity" skill sets he didn't even know he had. Lily Collins, Alfred Molina, Jason Isaacs, Maria Bello, Michael Nyqvist and Sigourney Weaver lend their much-needed supporting chops.

With John Singleton directing his first film since 2005's "Four Brothers," reviews have been universally terrible for "Abduction." In fact, they were at the "Bucky Larson" level, 0 percent, as of late-day Thursday.

Musician Shawn Christensen wrote the script for "Abduction" on spec and Lionsgate scored a bidding war for it back in February.

The pre-release call is for around $13 million - $15 million for "Abduction," with 43 percent of women under 25 saying they have definite interest in seeing the film and 12 percent calling it their first choice, according to NRG.

'Moneyball' hits a home run

So, thankfully, despite its subject matter, the touching and very funny Moneyball is not really a movie about baseball statistics.

Yes, it's the story of Oakland As guru Billy Beane, who was hailed as a saviour of the game for a brief time in the '00s when he hired a bunch of numbers geeks to crunch statistics (a la original stats-man Bill James) and optimize the caliber of player he could get on a small-market budget.

Of course, it was BS. The As improved and then declined as teams do, and never went to the World Series under Beane's "sabermetrics" system. Other teams that tried variations on it, including the Blue Jays, also came up short. The richest teams continue to rule.

But Moneyball is not about a guy who reinvented the wheel. It's a heartwarming (sometimes cloyingly so), redemptive story about refusing to accept the status quo, one that recognizes (a la Rocky) you don't need to win to "win." It's about a guy who feels betrayed by a system, and who decides to make his last career stand by rejecting that system.

And, in Moneyball, the stunned and bewildered blowback from that rejection is hilarious indeed.

Credit Brad Pitt, who is as close to an everyman as he has ever played in his portrayal of Beane, a successful GM in the sense that he develops players into superstars, but depressingly astute enough to see through the sham of losing them to free agency.

And credit Jonah Hill as the Rain Man-esque numbers cruncher who unintentionally inspires him to flip over the chessboard and write new rules. They are a truly synchronous comedy team from the moment they meet, no funnier than when they sit at the same table with the cynical old scouts and their arcane unbreakable rules (one declares you should never sign a player with an unattractive wife, because it means he lacks confidence).

Chief among the dinosaurs is manager Art Howe (played to physical verisimilitude by Phillip Seymour Hoffman) who resists Beane's theory, but is happy to take the bows when it works. For all his bluster, Hoffman gives the film's most subtle performance, straddling a line between defiance and respect for the man who could fire him on a whim.

The players also step up, particularly Chris Brand as a confidence-plagued Scott Hatteberg, a catcher with a blown arm but a good on-base-percentage.

But of course, this is Pitt's movie. And he's given plenty of soap opera to chew on -- including a failed marriage and an adorable adoring daughter (Kerris Dorsey) with a guitar and a tendency to break into song (the cloying part). He travels his eccentric path through this emotional minefield with lightness and grace.

That, plus a lot of savvy, funny dialogue, makes Moneyball the best baseball movie since Bull Durham -- albeit still a notch below that movie's league.

Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill put 'Moneyball' into play

What could the model-handsome middle-aged half of the celebrity beast known as Brangelina be discussing so intently with the Gen-Y whiz kid who was Russell Brand's reluctant drug mule in Get Him to the Greek?

Maybe how their new film, Moneyball, which opens today, puts a whole new backroom-negotiating spin on the baseball genre by doing with spreadsheets what sexy Bull Durham did with bedsheets?

Or how their fashion and hairstyle choices reflect their shrewdly balanced jock vs. geek pairing on-screen? It's suburban-dad chic for floppy-locked Pitt, 47, who is youthful yet has a penchant for Cosby-esque sweaters. And neo-conservative business casual for close-cropped Hill, 27, belying both his age as well as his foul-mouthed dweeb antics as a member of comedy king Judd Apatow's clown posse.

Or, perhaps they could be debating just how boring Pitt's life was during his years with ex-wife Jennifer Aniston? That's doubtful, however, considering the actor has since issued a denial about similar statements after his foot landed in his mouth during a chat with Parade.

Instead, Hill is explaining the joys of the now-departed cult sitcom Arrested Development to an intensely fascinated Pitt.

"It won Emmys and it was so acclaimed," says Hill, who co-starred in 2007's Superbad with series regular Michael Cera. "It was always a counterculture thing. I think they are going to try to make a movie out of it."

Pitt: "Oh, great."

Hill: "It's so funny."

Pitt: "And the talent that came out of that show … "

Hill: "Oh, my God. Every character is so great. I go back and forth on who my favorite character is all the time."

Enough. Time to pitch Moneyball, boys. Conceived in 2003, when the book it is based on came out, this once-troubled project was all but dead just two years ago.

But after surviving three directors (Capote's Bennett Miller eventually took the reins) and several writers (Steven Zaillian and The Social Network's Aaron Sorkin now share credit), the movie hung in there in large part because of the unwavering loyalty of superstar lead Pitt.

This is one real-life sports drama that features minimal on-field action. Instead, its plot pivots on a mathematical formula that upends how baseball talent is usually measured.

Yet the film has been handily winning superlatives from critics and is even seen as a strong Oscar contender. A glance at the Rotten Tomatoes scoreboard online shows an enviable 90% positive rating.

Hill plays a cherubic geek

Many of the plaudits are aimed squarely at the unlikely partnership at the story's core. Pitt funnels the golden-boy aura he shares with onetime mentor Robert Redford, his director on 1992's A River Runs Through It, into his role as Billy Beane, the general manager of the Oakland A's. His personal failure to capitalize on his early potential when he was a player makes the under-financed team's inability to compete against richer opponents all the more painful.

Hill's Peter Brand is the wild card as Beane's unlikely guru, a chubby and cherubic Ivy Leaguer with an economics degree and a deep knowledge of sabermetrics, which uses on-base percentage instead of batting average as a key way to judge players. Hill's performance is gracefully nuanced compared with his previous comedy work and provides a gentle contrast to Pitt's angsty, pent-up slow burns. Any devotee of the holiday TV special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer will smile when Hill's wonky numbers cruncher lovingly compares the A's lineup of affordable rejects to "the island of misfit toys."

Despite their odd-couple chemistry, the two are more eager to discuss almost anything but Moneyball. That includes how Pitt happened to bump into Inglourious Basterds castmate Michael Fassbender— whose turn as a sex addict in Shame was the talk of the Toronto and Venice film fests this year — at a festival in Sarajevo, Bosnia (presumably while lady love Angelina Jolie was working on her directorial debut, In the Land of Blood and Honey).

Hill: "You ran into him by accident?"

Pitt: "I didn't know he was going to be there. He and his dad had been taking a tour through Europe on bikes."

Hill: "No way."

Turns out there might be a couple of topics they would rather avoid. One is weight loss. While Pitt gobbles a hefty wrap sandwich, Hill is asked about how he slimmed down with the aid of a nutritionist and personal trainer for his role in the upcoming movie version of 21 Jump Street.

He must have lost more than the 40 pounds that has been reported. "I don't know how much I weighed to begin with, and I don't know how much I weigh now,'' he says. "My goal wasn't about numbers."

Interjects Pitt, "All the male models he admired were hovering at a 31-32 waist, so that became the target number."

Adds Hill: "Now I'm at 29, so what are you going to do?"

Asked if he is concerned about no longer fitting into his usual plus-sized roles, Hill suddenly looks crestfallen while Pitt chivalrously comes to his defense.

"It's so beyond that," says the mega-fan of the Apatow brand of raunchy R-rated humor, who appears to be more in awe of Hill than Hill is of him.

"I remember being bowled over by Superbad. The most innovative, big leaps in what we do come from Jonah and his cohorts like Danny McBride and Russell Brand. Not only are they pushing the boundaries of irreverence, which is hilarious, but it is grounded in this humanity, this pain, this pathos, that goes beyond what we think of as comedy. There is an openness to what these guys are doing. They aren't hiding anything. It is so beyond any kind of stereotype."

Hill finally chimes in: "What you said is silly. I'm not offended in any way. With the part I play in this movie, it wouldn't have mattered what size I was. You just play people. I just try to do a good job when they cast me in this movie."

So who's idea was it to hire Hill? "The studio forced him on us," says Pitt with a grin. "For marketing reasons."

Even Pitt loves underdogs

Moneyball's director has always considered Hill as much more than a mere comic foil.

"Casting Jonah did not feel like an avant-garde, crazy idea," says Miller, who first met the actor through a mutual friend, Capote's Catherine Keener, who was in The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Cyrus with Hill. "Maybe because I knew him and knew how smart he is. He is an agile, original thinker with an unbelievable memory. He's not like the funny guy who is always on. Many of the qualities you see in the movie are evident if you know him. Also, I knew he wanted to stretch the boundaries of what he was given the opportunity to do before."

Pitt's pet peeve seems to center around an observation he hears all too often: How can a two-time Oscar nominee who makes millions, lives with one of the most beautiful actresses in the world and ranks among the sexiest and most powerful stars in Hollywood relate to an underdog tale like Moneyball?

"People forget I came from Oklahoma and Missouri with just a few bucks in my pocket," he says. "Every time we go into a film, it's a miracle. It's an underdog endeavor in a way. You are putting everything you have out there. So for whatever reason, perceived or real, I love an underdog story, I relate to an underdog story. I root for the underdog."

Miller says that despite surface differences, it makes sense that Pitt could be believable as a man up against major odds. "Billy Beane had this public face and private reality," he says. "Same with Brad. You can perceive someone as being very successful, but sometimes that public image can belie a reality that is less shiny. Often, successful people can never purge themselves of the need to prove something to the world."

As Hill attempts to do more drama, who does he admire? "My heroes are Dustin Hoffman and Bill Murray. Those are the two guys I look up to as an actor. Guys who do comedy and drama both, seamlessly."

Stage-whispers Pitt: "And Brad Pitt, obviously."

Hill laughs. "He's somewhere down the list. No. 98 favorite actor. Ever. In the world." He then clarifies: "I'm a massive fan of Brad's, as a human being and an actor. My favorite Brad film? I don't know. I love Brad in …

"Legends of the Fall," says Pitt, referencing his Fabio-haired hunk-in-the-wilderness classic from 1994.

"I just call it The Fall," says Hill, running with the joke. "My friends and I just call it TheFall. We say, 'Hey, it's Saturday night. Midnight. Should we throw in The Fall and have a couple beers or what?'"

After naming his real favorites —Fight Club, True Romance and the mumbling Irish gypsy boxer in Snatch— Hill suddenly comes around and grows serious about the man next to him.

"I want to say in all honesty that I think Brad is in a really cool, insanely cool, creative place right now. I thought TheTree of Life and Moneyball are an insanely cool combination of, like, a special creative space. That's all I'm saying."

Says Pitt: "It's been a good year."

"Finally," says Hill, "you got one."

Adds Pitt: "After so many bad years."

Hill shrugs. "My whole life is a backhanded compliment. 'You look great. You used to look like (crap).'"

They leave as they came in. Talking and laughing.

Brad Pitt hits the sweet spot in 'Moneyball'

But Beane is anything but starry-eyed. He upends old-school traditions and tosses aside romantic notions about the national pastime.

Moneyball is a fascinating portrait of an iconoclast. Based on a true story as related in Michael Lewis' 2003 book Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, this is a riveting tale of a man defying conventional wisdom — and winning.

Director Bennett Miller (Capote) and writers Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin make a potent trio. Pitt gives one of his most nuanced performances as the temperamental and enigmatic Beane.

The supporting cast is strong, as is the deft, sharply witty script. Miller directs elegantly, letting the narrative unfold at a deliberate, artful pace.

The film opens with the 2001 playoff series in which the Oakland A's met the New York Yankees. The Yankees' win, aided by a payroll that was triple that of the smaller-market A's, is depicted as emblematic of the state of baseball today and its emphasis on huge salaries.

Beane, a former player with vestiges of a jock's swagger, appeals to the team owner for more money for the next season, but he gets shut down. So he tries a non-conformist tack. On a tight budget, he defies tradition in a game that is often bound to it.

Aided by Yale grad Peter Brand and his computer-driven statistical analysis, Beane lets the numbers be his guide. Eschewing the assessments, hunches and prejudices of a cadre of veteran scouts, Beane assembles a team of "bargain" players whose ability to get on base trumps all.

Locking horns with field manager Art Howe (an almost unrecognizable, crew-cut Philip Seymour Hoffman), Beane and his controversial methods result in a record-breaking 20-game winning streak.

The film is about 15 minutes too long and shoehorns in a father-daughter subplot that doesn't fully jell. But it has a fair amount in common with 1988's Bull Durham— minus the sex — in its acerbic humor and memorable dialogue.

Baseball fans know this story, but Miller puts it all in fascinating context. This is a thinking person's baseball movie, a more complex version of the inspirational sports story.

Moneyball is as much about one man resisting groupthink, as much as it is a classic underdog saga.

Moneyball * * * 1/2 out of four
Stars:Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Robin Wright, Chris Pratt, Stephen Bishop
Director: Bennett Miller
Distributor: Sony Pictures
Rating: PG-13 for some strong language
Running time: 2 hours, 13 minutes
Opens Friday nationwide

5 best Brad Pitt performances

Ever since his breakout role as the sexy and mysterious drifter J.D. in "Thelma & Louise" (1991), Pitt has repeatedly proven that he's so much more than just a pretty face. He's shown a knack for choosing meaty, intelligent films and working with the most respected directors, which has allowed him to explore every facet of his versatile talent.

This week he stars in "Moneyball" as Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane, a role that lets him be both charismatic and vulnerable. It's some of his best work; here are five other examples:

— "Fight Club" (1999): The first rule of Brad Pitt is, it's impossible not to talk about Brad Pitt. He's larger than life here, mythological almost, as Tyler Durden, the leader of the secret fight club and the key to Edward Norton's salvation — or so he initially thinks. Sinewy and swaggering, Pitt radiates sexy masculinity in an almost primal way. The fact that he also challenges the men who follow him on emotional and psychological levels makes him not just charismatic but downright frightening. This is one of several films Pitt has made with director David Fincher — and you might put "Se7en" or "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" on your list of his top performances — but this is the one that stands out most for me.

— "The Tree of Life" (2011): Between this and "Moneyball," Pitt is having a pretty great year. But the performances come in two films that couldn't be more different. Terrence Malick's hypnotic meditation on family, memory and the origin of life itself is full of mesmerizing imagery. But it also allowed Pitt to do some of the best work of his career as a husband and father of three in 1950s Texas. Pitt makes the character an intimidating figure, a capricious mix of toughness and tenderness. His actions may seem questionable, even abusive at times, but you get the sense that he's questioning, struggling, trying to figure out how to be the best man he can be without abandoning his traditional notions of manhood.

— "Inglourious Basterds" (2009): He's pretty much doing a bad impression of George W. Bush here — campy but irresistible — and it is always such a joy to watch him let go and goof off. Pitt tops a tremendous ensemble cast in Quentin Tarantino's daring, revisionist World War II saga as the twangy Tennessean Lt. Aldo Raine. He's the leader of a band of Jewish American soldiers who hunt Nazis with the goal of not just killing them but scalping them and sometimes carving swastikas into their foreheads. He offers a rousing mix of aw-shucks earnestness and slam-bang bravado.

— "Burn After Reading" (2008): Part of the beauty of Pitt is his willingness to toy with his own beautiful image. In the Coen brothers' comedy, he steals every scene he's in — and nearly walks away with the whole movie — as an overgrown child of a gym trainer whose bungled schemes get him in way over his head. Just his name alone, Chad Feldheimer, makes him sound like a first-class doofus, and one look at his blonde-streaked pouf tells you not to take him, or the film, too seriously. But Pitt brings an innocence to the role that makes him irresistible rather than obnoxious; with the shadow of superstardom looming so large, it's easy to forget he can be funny.

— "Snatch." (2000): Pitt went even deeper to play a weird, wild comic character here, going so far as to speak in an accent that made him completely unintelligible — but that's what made the performance hilarious. Guy Ritchie's comedy is full of his typically colorful characters, assorted British low-lifes and eccentrics. But Pitt steals the show as an Irish gypsy boxer who speaks in such a quick, mangled way, even the Brits can't understand him. In a recent Entertainment Weekly interview, he said he came up with the gibberish in a panic at the last minute when he couldn't quite nail the character's accent. But as with everything else, he made it look effortless.

Pitt strikes out with Jen fans

After he was quoted by Parade as saying, “I wasn’t living an interesting life myself. I think that my marriage had something to do with it,” Pitt issued a statement saying his comments were misinterpreted. He has since given many interviews to dispute the claim. He told “Today,” “I don’t want them to say anything bad like that to Jen. She’s a dear friend of mine.”

But despite Oscar buzz, some close to the Sony release are worried that Team Jen’s female following may be turned off by “Moneyball,” which opens Friday. It wasn’t clear in the first place if women would head out in droves to see a picture about the 2002 Oakland A’s and their general manager, Billy Beane.

“Interest is all male,” said a studio honcho, adding “They’ve tried to hide its subject matter, but it is what it is. They have a little older female interest. But younger females, forget it, that’s just not happening.”

When Extra posed the question, “Are you excited to see this film?,” on Facebook, angry comments were mostly sparked by Anistongate. “NOPE. I don’t like what he said about Jennifer ... he went down a big notch!,” wrote one. Another raged, “Not after his stupid remarks about his marriage to Jennifer Aniston. I’ll never watch anything he is in again ... LOSER.”

Meanwhile, Us Weekly reported that Aniston’s reps “went ballistic” and “angrily reached out to Pitt’s camp” to force an apology from him. She’s since made a point of being photographed smiling and enjoying herself with new beau Justin Theroux in New York this week.

A rep for Aniston said the “Us story for the most part is untrue. We all know that this is the working of the tabloid world to generate drama that doesn’t exist.”

Brad Pitt Talks Commentgate: "I Can't Say Something Nice About Angie Without Jen Being Drug In"

Despite already attempting to clarify himself once before (without much luck, it would seem), in a sitdown with the Today show airing Thursday, the Moneyball star again attempted to clear up the controversy that resulted after some reading comprehension-challenged factions thought (or maybe just hoped) he was calling ex-wife Jennifer Aniston dull.

So, after his second media strike, he stepped up to the plate with Matt Lauer. What did he have to say this time?

Well, first of all, he had no comment on the crazy response—though that's probably because he mostly oblivious to it.

"I haven't really seen the reaction," he said. "I've been told about the reaction.

"I...I don't know what was pieced together or put together. All I know is that my point was, the best thing I'd done as a father is be sure that my kids have a good mother. That's all I was, or am, trying to say. It has no reference to the past.

"And I think it's a shame that I can't say something nice about Angie without Jen being drug in. You know, she doesn't deserve it."

That goes for them both. And not only do they not deserve it, according to Brad, they have absolutely no interest in having their personal life serve as public fodder (though that hasn't stopped it from serving as exactly that for the better part of the past decade).

And on this point, Pitt seems to get particularly riled up:

"I don't wanna be encumbered by any of that. I know my intentions, and I know what I believe, and I know things get misconstrued, and I know there's a good cycle and a good story to say we're splitting up. And then when we don't, they say we've come together again. It's a new cycle, and then there's a secret wedding. 'No, that was put on hold because they're upset.' It's, you know, that's—I live outside of that, and it's much healthier."

As for why, then, he decided to release a subsequent statement clarifying his comments to Parade? Well, it wasn't because of any reported phone call placed by Jen to her ex, despite rumors to the contrary.

"No. No. But she's also a seasoned veteran and she knows. You know, and she's a valuable person. We spent seven years together. Come on."

And while their marriage didn't work out, their friendship apparently has.

"I don't want them to say anything bad like that about Jen," he said. "She's a dear friend of mine."

Aww. Nice guys can finish first, after all.

Brad Pitt: Be Nice to Jennifer Aniston

"I don't want [people] to say anything bad like that about Jen," the actor tells Matt Lauer in an interview scheduled to air on the Today show Thursday. "She's a dear friend of mine."

The Moneyball star, 47, says all he was trying to say was that "the best thing I'd done as a father is be sure that my kids have a good mother."

"I think it's a shame that I can't say something nice about Angie without Jen being drug in," he tells Lauer. "She doesn't deserve it."

As for his relationship with Jolie, Pitt tells Ellen DeGeneres in another new interview – also set to air Thursday – that he works hard to juggle a full-time acting career and the needs of six energetic children while also itching for some alone time with his equally busy partner.

"We carve out 'Mommy, Daddy' time," the Moneyball star says. "It's called a hotel."

The actor, who has been living in a 16th century Scottish castle with his family while filming World War Z, tells DeGeneres that his home life isn't too different from the iconic madhouse in One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest.

Says Pitt of the high activity levels: "That's morning time in our house."

Kids demand Pitt, Jolie marriage

In a taped interview for Ellen DeGeneres' TV show, which will air in America on Wednesday, Pitt admits he and Jolie might have to make their romance official sooner than expected.

Pitt and his partner previously insisted they will only wed when gay marriage is made legal across America but their children don't want to wait for the laws to change.

He says, "I’ve said that we would not be getting married until everyone in this county had the right to get married... We live in this great country that is about freedom. It is defined by our freedom and equality and yet we allow this discrimination to go on everyday and that’s not what we’re about. That’s not what makes us great. Until that is reversed. I just don’t get it.

"(But) the kids are putting on the heat. They really are. They are putting on the heat."

Brad Pitt: My Family's Mornings Are Like One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

But while on Ellen (airing Thursday), Brad Pitt tries to explain what life is like for the clan as best he can when answering Ellen DeGeneres' question about keeping up with the energy of six kids.

And what better way to create a vivid image in our minds than a movie reference?

"Yeah, did you ever see the movie [One Flew Over] the Cuckoo's Nest? That's morning time in our house," he tells the host.

Basically, it's pretty crazy. So how does the famous actor find time to keep the romance with Angelina Jolie alive? Do the couple leave the kids for a month and take off on an exotic vacation? Hardly.

"It's called a hotel. You just, you gotta get outta the house. You gotta leave."

Not bad advice, my friend.

Now, a question that constantly comes up is if when the couple are going to get married. Well, they've both openly explained that marriage will not be an option for them until it is a legalized sanction for everyone in this country.

"We live in this great country that is about freedoms, that's defined by our freedoms and equality, and yet, we allow this discrimination to go on every day. That's not what we're about, that's not what makes us great. And until that is reversed, I just don't get it. It make no sense to me," Pitt says.

Though, Brad also shares that the "kids are puttin' on the heat," and confesses, "I don't know what the future holds."

Brad Pitt premieres 'Moneyball' in Oakland

"It's very cool," Pitt told the Mercury News as he surveyed the scene and before he stood for photos with Oakland A's player Hideki Matsui. "This is a special screening for us. The people of Oakland gave us such a great response. They stayed up with us for hours on end to tape the baseball scenes (for the movie) and never lost energy."

Moneyball is based on the story of the team's rise under manager Billy Beane.

Pitt, who has said he isn't a great ballplayer, has landed the cover of Sports Illustrated. "It's shameful how little I know about baseball. ... I'm amazed they let me do this movie...," Pitt told SI writer Austin Murphy before adding, "I'm an Oklahoma-Missouri boy, so I'm no stranger to a bit of dip. We start early with that, so really, I was just revisiting my roots."

Brad Pitt Further Clarifies Jen Aniston Remarks

"That was never my intention for it to be spun that way," he said of those who interpreted his remarks to be critical of his former mate. "People read things into it that just weren't there."

At the Oakland Coliseum, where the movie premiered and much of Moneyball takes place, Pitt, 47, said the role of Oakland Athletics manager Billy Beane offered him a unique behind-the-scenes perspective of America's favorite pastime. (The film is based on nonfiction author Michael Lewis's Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game.)

"Getting into the Oakland Coliseum and being inside the baseball world is something you just don't get to do every day," he said. "When you are a spectator, you are left behind the gate, so to speak. So getting inside was a real privilege."

But while Pitt, 47, never played baseball himself, it's likely he'll one day be watching son Maddox swing for the fences.

"My son is a big baseball fan," he said. "We went to a Yankees game and we were sitting next to the dugout. [Derek] Jeter offered him a cracked bat, and he said, 'It's broken!' "

Brad Pitt Was a Wrestler and a Diver - Never a Baseball Player

"It's shameful how little I know about baseball … I'm amazed they let me do this movie," Pitt, 47, tells Sports Illustrated in this week's cover story, which will hit newsstands on Wednesday.

"Baseball and I didn't get along that well," he adds. "I wrestled one year [in high school]. I dove one year. Everything but baseball."

What drew him to the role, says Pitt: "I'm a sucker for the underdog story."

Pitt, who also graced last week's cover of Entertainment Weekly and Parade Magazine is one of just a handful of non-sports figures to grace the cover of the sports magazine.

Former cover subjects include Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Stephen Colbert, Bob Hope, Ed Sullivan, Steve McQueen, Arnold Schwarzenegger, John F. Kennedy, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton.

Pitt coaches underdog 'Moneyball' onto big-screen

Yet he wanted to make "Moneyball" so much that he stuck with it for years, even after pal Steven Soderbergh, his director on the "Ocean's Eleven" flicks, departed the film in a script squabble with Sony Pictures.

Pitt was obsessed with making a movie out of Michael Lewis' best-seller "Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game," which chronicles Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane's revolutionary experiment to build a winning team out of unlikely prospects and castoff players chosen because they could be had cheaply and fit new mathematical models that ran counter to traditional baseball scouting stats.

"I couldn't let go of the book," Pitt said in an interview at the Toronto International Film Festival, where "Moneyball" premiered ahead of its theatrical release Friday. "It was just something I wanted to put out there."

The Soderbergh-directed version of "Moneyball" fell apart two years ago after Sony pulled the plug on it a few days before filming was to start. Soderbergh had submitted dramatic revisions to the script from Academy Award-winning screenwriter Steven Zaillian ("Schindler's List"), and Sony was unwilling to go along with the changes, which reportedly included interview segments with real players and team officials and re-enactments to tell the story as realistically as possible.

Just as Beane had to rebuild his team in 2002 after losing key players to free agency, Sony brought in fresh talent to revive "Moneyball." Hollywood heavyweight Scott Rudin joined producers Pitt, Michael De Luca and Rachael Horovitz to help jump-start the film. Aaron Sorkin, who collaborated with Rudin on last year's "The Social Network" and won an Oscar for the screenplay, did a new draft of the "Moneyball" script, sharing the writing credit with Zaillian.

The studio took a risk on a director to replace Soderbergh, choosing Bennett Miller, a 2005 Oscar nominee for his fiction feature debut "Capote." Miller came from the artsier, lower-budgeted independent world and had made only one film, a documentary, before "Capote."

The timing was right for Miller, who had spent a few years trying to get a film of his own off the ground and "had just conceded it wasn't going to happen," he said.

"Moneyball" probably wouldn't have happened either without Pitt going to bat for it, Miller said.

"It needed a champion for it to happen, because there's not a ton in the book that screams box office. It's not an obvious translation to film. Baseball movies are not really attractive to investors because the markets are limited once you get out of the United States," Miller said. "Unless you have Brad Pitt saying, 'I want this to happen, and I'm going to see this thing through,' I'm sure it goes away."

So Miller and Pitt met, they connected, and "Moneyball" was back on the base paths.

The result is impressive. Like "The Social Network," ''Moneyball" crackles with sharp, insightful dialogue. Like "Capote," it's a rich character portrait of a driven figure (and it doesn't hurt to have Philip Seymour Hoffman, who won the best-actor Oscar in the title role of Miller's Truman Capote drama, on board as the A's skeptical field manager).

And Beane is a character Pitt wears like a second skin, the actor applying all his charm and charisma as he cuts deals, butts heads with the team's scouting staff, absorbs the reproaches of scornful fans and sports commentators and champions the unorthodox numbers crunching of his new aide (Jonah Hill).

"It speaks to the power of a role fitting someone so powerfully," said co-star Chris Pratt, who plays one of Beane's new acquisitions, player Scott Hatteberg. "Put them in a room together, you're like, wow. If you're looking at Billy Beane, the first person you're going to think to play him is Brad Pitt."

Hill plays Peter Brand, a composite of a number of economic analysts Beane enlisted as the A's adopted sabermetrics, a system that places more value on a player's ability to get on base and produce runs than on such traditional stats as batting averages.

A small-market team, the A's had to find a way to compete with deep-pocketed franchises such as the New York Yankees, who had the money to go out and buy the talent they wanted.

"I'm very interested in equality, and here you had a team with $38 million, and how are they going to compete with a team that has $140 million?" Pitt said. "How do you level that playing field? So by necessity, they had to tear it all down and question everything, and then the (crap) they took for doing it. They were called heretics and fools and boobs. And yet they punched through and did something that just altered the game a couple degrees."

Among Beane's unconventional moves recounted in the film: trading for former Atlanta Braves star David Justice, who was injury-prone and aging; signing catcher Hatteberg and retraining him as a first baseman, a position he had never played; and bringing in relief pitcher Chad Bradford, who had an unusual side-armed delivery and not much speed to his fastballs.

The moves pay off as the A's earn the American League West title, with Hatteberg the surprise hero as the team wins an AL record 20-straight games along the way.

The story of that pioneering season, finding a way to win against the odds, parallels the story of how "Moneyball" made it to the screen after most in Hollywood had written it off.

"This whole idea of failure, and how failure can be a tombstone written as the end," Pitt said. "To me, there's no win without failure. Failure becomes impetus for the next win. It's this ongoing part of your trip."

Brad Pitt on Kids, 'Taking Punches' with Angelina - And Why Playing a Vampire Sucks

"I am miserable," he tells Entertainment Weekly of his appearance in 1994's Interview With the Vampire. "Six months in the f---ing dark … contact lenses, makeup, I'm playing the bitch role."

Pitt, 47, shares plenty more candid thoughts on his life and his many movies (his latest, Moneyball, opens Sept. 23) in the magazine's cover story this week. Among the revelations:

On the Twilight phenomenon:

"I don't know enough about it, really. Listen, because of my kids, I see only movies for 10 and under. I've seen them all, and I've seen them 10 times over."

On actors secretly loving being named PEOPLE's Sexiest Man Alive

"Well, they're not saying you're the Biggest A--hole, you know? When you get older, you realize it's just for fun. Clooney and I were able to have fun with it later."

On acting with one of PEOPLE's Most Beautiful, Julia Roberts, in The Mexican

"I love her. She's so articulate and witty and vivacious – everything I'm not."

On feeling protective of Angelina when she was criticized for The Tourist

"Listen, man, if we're that shallow-skinned, we shouldn't be in here. We're used to being in the ring and taking some punches."

On being mentioned in the song "Billionaire" in the lyrics, "probably pull an Angelina and Brad Pitt/And adopt a bunch of babies that ain't never had s---"

"That's sweet. It's just unfortunate that my name rhymes with s---."

Brad Pitt Explains Aniston Marriage Comments: "It Grieves Me That This Was Interpreted This Way"

Hearing the actor, who has been in a relationship with Angelina Jolie for quite some time now, say that his union with Aniston had something to do with his lack of leading an interesting life and that he was "trying to pretend the marriage was something that it wasn't," broke our little hearts!

And apparently, it hurt his heart, too.

Pitt's rep contacted E! News with a statement from the actor clarifying what he meant by those words.

"It grieves me that this was interpreted this way," he says, "Jen is an incredibly giving, loving, and hilarious woman who remains my friend. It is an important relationship I value greatly. The point I was trying to make is not that Jen was dull, but that I was becoming dull to myself—and that, I am responsible for."

Well, that's nice of him.

We're sure Aniston knew deep down inside that Pitt wasn't trying to be malicious with his interview. But even if he was, Justin Theroux is right there to help her forget.

Brad Pitt Talks Jennifer Aniston and "Trying to Pretend the Marriage Was Something That It Wasn't"

After spending the 1990s "trying to hide" from celebrity madness, the two-time Sexiest Man Alive said that he "started feeling pathetic" and looked to his movie roles to fill a void left by the lackluster life he was leading.

His five-year marriage included, apparently.

"It became very clear to me that I was intent on trying to find a movie about an interesting life, but I wasn't living an interesting life myself," Pitt says in the upcoming issue of Parade. "I think that my marriage had something to do with it, trying to pretend the marriage was something that it wasn't."

But now that he's thoroughly committed to his family with Angelina Jolie, Pitt says, life is quite lovely.

"I'm satisfied with making true choices and finding the woman I love, Angie, and building a family that I love so much," the Tree of Life star says.

"A family is a risky venture, because the greater the love, the greater the loss...That's the trade-off. But I'll take it all."

Ironically, the journalist who interviewed Aniston extensively for Vanity Fair back in 2005 after the divorce was finalized, recalled Pitt saying to her barely a year beforehand, "I'm happier than I've ever been."

Of course, according to Pitt now, he wasn't that happy.

"One of the greatest, smartest things I ever did was give my kids Angie as their mom," he tells Parade. "She is such a great mom. Oh, man, I'm so happy to have her." And, in case you couldn't tell, they're not breaking up anytime soon.

"I mean, how many stories have you read that aren't true, stories about me and Angie being married or fighting or splitting up?" he wonders. "And when we don't split up, there's a whole new round that we've made up and we're back together again! We'll get married when everyone can. We're not splitting up. And we don't have a seventh child yet."

Aniston also told Vanity Fair back in 2005, "It's been very important for me not to read anything, not to see anything. It's been my saving grace. That stuff is just toxic for me right now. I probably avoided a lot of suffering by not engaging in it, not reading, not watching."

Who knew, six years later, those would still be words to live by?

Brad Pitt Shocker! "I Had No Idea" Who Taylor Lautner Was

And for all you youngins who think Twilight kicked off the sexy, undead craze, here's a shocker: Brad Pitt—ya know, that Benjamin Button guy with the beard who's always on tabloid covers—earned his fangs in Interview With the Vampire long before Bella Swan hit the scene.

So what does Brad-boy think of his bloodsucking successors?

"I don't know enough about it, really," Brad dished to Entertainment Weekly, about the Robert Pattinson phenomenon.

What?!! Someone in T-town who isn't counting down until Breaking Dawn releases?

Blame Shiloh and Maddox: "Listen, because of my kids, I see only movies for 10 and under. I've seen them all, and I've seen them 10 times over."

But he does know how Taylor Lautner is. Just not as Jacob.

"Sharkboy and Lavagirl? That's a great movie," Brad tells the mag about one of Tay's hilar pre-teen flicks. "Which one is he? Sharkboy? The guy that's always photographed with his shirt off—is that the guy? That's Sharkboy? Wow. I had no idea."

Bingo, that'd be the one, B. Thing is, doesn't seem like Brad really digs the whole undead craze anyway.

"I was miserable. Six months in the f---ing dark," Brad recalls about his work on Interview with the Vampire. "Contact lenses, makeup...You leave for work in the dark—you go into this cauldron, this mausoleum—and then you come out and it's dark."

But these days you get a pair of undies with your undead face on them. You'd think that's something a two-time People's Sexiest Winner would have earned by now.

On the subject, Brad dishes, "Well, they're not saying you're the Biggest A—hole, you know? When you get older, you realize it's just for fun. Clooney and I were able to have fun with it later...I didn't spend much time thinking about it."

And, of course, he had a few tidbits to say about his ladyfriend, Angelina Jolie. All glowing, of course.

"We work really well together," Brad reveals about his days on Mr. & Mrs. Smith with Ange. "We had some good workshops beforehand. Had some good laughs and ideas. That was just a great collaboration that turned into a greater collaboration."

A very controversial collaboration. But who cares these days, right?

Oh, and as for those always-present split rumors? Brad can't seem to get enough of his baby mama. In fact, he wants to re-team with her on the big screen, like, all the time.

"We should be doing them together—that's what we should be doing. We should be doing everything together, and then we could work less. We could have more time off."

Do we smell a Mr. & Mrs. Smith 2? Maybe Taylor Lautner could play his protégé. You're welcome, Hollywood!

Brad Pitt Explains Being a Satisfied Man

"I put much more emphasis on being a satisfied man," the actor, 47, tells Parade magazine in a revealing interview that will be published Sunday. "I'm satisfied with making true choices and finding the woman I love, Angie, and building a family that I love so much."

Pitt describes his partner, Angelina Jolie, as "such a great mom," and says starting a family with her was "one of the greatest, smartest things I ever did."

"A family is a risky venture, because the greater the love, the greater the loss," he adds. "That's the trade-off."

Things weren't always so blissful, though. In the early days of his fame, Pitt struggled to deal with all of the attention he was getting, he tells Parade.

"I spent the '90s trying to hide out, trying to duck the full celebrity cacophony," he admits. "I started to get sick of myself sitting on a couch, holding a joint, hiding out. It started feeling pathetic. It became very clear to me that I was intent on trying to find a movie about an interesting life, but I wasn't living an interesting life myself."

In addition, the actor says, his marriage to Jennifer Aniston wasn't the golden love story it appeared to be.

"I think that my marriage had something to do with it," he said. "Trying to pretend the marriage was something that it wasn't."

Now, as tabloids clamor over the fact that Pitt and Jolie have yet to officially tie the knot, it's clear that their relationship has given Pitt the life he was searching for – and more.

"I'm so happy to have her," Pitt says.

Pitt, Gosling, real-life heroes? They say nope

Does he deserve the title of Good Samaritan then?

"Certainly not to the extent that its been reported," Pitt tells USA TODAY. "We have a lot of extra scenes and a lot of people are running and people every other day are tripping and get scraped up, get a sprained ankle, hit their head. So someone falls down, you help them up. You give them a seat, you get the nurse over there."

In other words, it's business as usual on an action set. "It's happened a few times," Pitt says. "We were always running from zombies. Every other day I'm doing this. I don't know of any life saving moments."

Likewise, Ryan Gosling underplays his role in breaking up a street scuffle in the East Village of New York, in which a man tried to wrestle a piece of art of way from an artist.

"The worst part is, I'm getting credit for this $20 thing. The story goes that, at the end, I say to the guy, 'How much is the painting.' And he says, 'Ten dollars.' And I say, 'Here you go.' And give him a twenty. Which is not true. There was this guy next me, who helped me split it up. And he was like, 'How much is the painting.'"

Even more upsetting to Gosling, however, is that his outfit in the video might upstage his plans to inspire a popular Halloween costume.

"Someone told me, 'Watch out for that street-fighting thing, that could be a Halloween costume. The blue hat and blue-striped shirt. I was so freaking out because, if that is the Halloween costume I end up creating, I will be so disappointed after all these years of trying. That is what it ends up. My gym clothes."

Burning zombie question: Fast or slow

Which is good news to producer-star Brad Pitt and director Marc Forster, who both left the Toronto film fest on Sunday to return to Glasgow to finish World WarZ, their zombie thriller due in 2012

Forster -- whose Machine Gun Preacher opens Sept 23, the same day of Pitt's Moneyball -- is highly aware their are two schools of thought when it comes to the gait of a zombie: Fast a la 28 Days Later or slow as in the classic George Romero fashion.

Pitt, whose production company claimed the movie rights to the 2006 book by Max Brooks (son of Mel), recruited Forster to head the film.

As for the pace of the brain eaters, Pitt assures fast while Forster says it depends. In the book, colder temperatures,, makes them slower." Does that mean both? "We are still figuring out the movement."

Pitt reveals a bit more. Will it be bloody and gory? Pitt: "It better be." Do you blast away at zombies? Pitt: "Hell, yes." Are you a hero? Pitt: "Reluctant."

Pitt finds value in 'Moneyball'

Asked if Moneyball -- the story of Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane's frugal sports success -- is relevant in the movie business, he quipped, "not if they hired me."

As one of the world's top A-listers, Pitt, of course, makes somewhere north of what Alex Rodriguez makes off the Yankees in a season. And this is a movie that got its plug pulled once, under director Steven Soderbergh, ostensibly for either blowing its budget or "schedule conflicts."

But at the first press conference of the Toronto International Film Festival on Friday, Pitt, director Bennett Miller (Capote), Jonah Hill, Phillip Seymour Hoffman (who played A's manager Art Howe) and Chris Pratt (who played overachieving journeyman Scott Hatteberg), talked about the value of "undervalued players," both in baseball, in the movies and in life.

"We tried to find people who are less well known," Pitt said, adding movie star names will be coming out of nowhere more than ever, "now that digital cameras are on the rise and people are making films renegade style."

On the other end of the pay scale, Pratt said, "I'm inspired right now. This is really surreal. And Scott is kind of who I am. Most people don't know who I am. I don't get paid a s---load of money. You can get me really cheap," he said with a laugh.

In the movie, Hill plays Peter Brand, a Rain Man-esque numbers geek (reportedly based on Paul DePostesa) who helped Beane find the best, most undervalued players in baseball. And he too claims he was undervalued as a serious actor after a career of comedies like Superbad and Get Me to the Greek.

But the book by Michael Lewis is more than a story of how a ballclub got competitive with the Yankees (if not actually better) on a quarter the salary. It's about Beane's own redemption after washing out as a "can't miss" young prospect himself. "At the end of the day, it's a story about our own values," Miller says, "what we value as people, what we value as success, what we value as failure. What is the value of a player who can no longer feel three of his fingers on his throwing arm (but can get on base)?"

"Baseball in particular is close to our real-life experiences," Miller said. "There is no clock, it's not over until it's over. It's periods of monotony punctuated by excitement."

For Pitt, sports continue to hold him in thrall. "As a kid, I loved the Bad News Bears. North Dallas Forty was the first R-rated film I snuck into. There's this thing about overcoming adversity. I don't know if it's in our DNA, but my team (the Saints) lost to the Packers last night, but so be it."

And even though Moneyball is about a team of lovable losers turned sort-of winners, Pratt said, "what inspired me was hanging out with real baseball players. They all played in the minors or pros, 95 mph fastballs. This baseball team against any other baseball team in any other baseball movie, we'd kick their asses!"

But Pitt demurred over a question of whether he'd ever overcome adversity like Beane or the "undervalued" ballplayers. "I grew up in a very Christian environment, a healthy environment," he said. "But I had things I had to learn in my adult years so I could really try something different for myself.

"Like Satanism," he quipped. "I made a pact (with the Devil) and that's why this movie worked out so well."

Brad Pitt Does Gay Biopic, but Only From Behind the Scenes!

Calm down, Angelina Jolie: We mean play gay, of course, and on the big screen.

We thought our wish had finally come true, too, when we heard that Braddy-boy was teaming up with Glee's Ryan Murphy on The Normal Heart, which centers on gay rights activist Larry Kramer.

But don't pre-order your tickets yet, fellas:

Brad's only producing the movie with his company, Plan B.

The flick centers on Larry's HIV/AIDs awareness and gay rights activism in the '80s. Sounds tres Oscar-worthy to us, which would be the perfect time for B.P.—who's never done guy-on-guy for a role—to get his Milk on. Everybody knows playing gay gets you the Oscar gold: Just ask Sean Penn, Tom Hanks and Philip Seymour Hoffman, for starters.

And Brad is a real life supporter of gay marriage, after all. Maybe this time art can imitate real life?

Instead, the lead role is going to Mark Ruffalo. He's delish, sure, but he isn't a two-time People's Sexiest Man Alive.

Sure, we loved watching Brad Benjamin Button his way from geezer baby to baby geezer and we're sure we'll tune in to watch him fend off zombies in World War Z, but he's long overdue to play a gay character in one of his sure-to-be-hit films.

And we know his wifey-poo isn't holding him back.

Not only has Ange played gay on the silver screen (hello, Gia!) but she even used to sometimes play gay in real life too. Heck, we're surprised she hasn't helped Brad pick out the perfect gay character herself.

So get on it, Brad! And Ange, you show him how to do it!

Brad Pitt: Total Prankster, Says Moneyball Costar Jonah Hill

That's what funnyguy Jonah Hill had to do in the about-to-be-released sports drama, Moneyball.

So when we caught up with Hill at the VMAs, we had to ask: Which actor did Hill find more intimidating?

"It was scarier to work with Phil, because his character didn't like me in the movie," Hill said. "Brad and I are the two leads of the movie and Phil, he doesn't like us in the movie. He doesn't like what we represent."

Moneyball is the real-life story about Oakland A's manager Billy Beane's (Pitt) attempt to revamp the disgraced baseball team with the help of his assistant general manager (Hill).

Hill echoed what so many other celebs have told us about working with Pitt.

"He's fantastic," he said. "He's so giving. He's just, like, a guy you look up to for so many reasons. He's the coolest guy! He started playing pranks on me like right off the bat." Hill declined to say exactly what Mr. Pitt did, but we imagine whoopee cushions were not involved.

Work aside, we couldn't not compliment Hill on his very slimmed-down and much healthier appearance.

Asked what he's been doing to keep the pounds off, he simply said, "Just eating healthy, running and doing push-ups."

Brad Pitt Rescues Woman on World War Z Set

The actor, 47, was shooting his new movie World War Z in Glasgow, Scotland, where more than 700 extras were packed into George Square to film chaotic scenes of a terrifying zombie invasion. But the terror turned real when a female extra slipped amid the trampling crowd.

"I don't think she could believe it when Brad picked her up," a set insider told The Scottish Sun. "He didn't have time to speak to her as it was mid-shoot. But she said afterwards how grateful she was, despite having a badly-grazed knee."

When he hasn't been busy shooting, Pitt has been enjoying the Scottish countryside with partner Angelina Jolie and their six kids, who are staying in a rented country estate that includes a 16th-century mansion.

The family is expected to remain in Scotland until Pitt wraps filming on World War Z in the next few weeks.

Maddox Jolie-Pitt's Scottish Dining Adventure

But one member of the Jolie-Pitt brood seems to have taken that one step further.

On Monday, the architecture-loving Pitt and Jolie booked a private tour of Hill House, the Charles Rennie Mackintosh-designed home in Helensburgh, Scotland, near where the family is staying. Afterward, the couple was spotted picking up souvenirs at the gift shop (including novelty pencils for the kids), and sat down to a traditional supper, where Maddox showed off his surprisingly sophisticated palate.

According to The Scottish Sun, Maddox, 10, was the only child to take a liking to haggis, a dish made up of sheep's heart, liver and lungs, combined with oatmeal, onion and other ingredients. (Quite a far cry from the "Nemo" fish nuggets on the menu on the family's recent dinner out.)

The family's latest Scottish adventures have also included a visit to the local headquarters of HALO, a non-profit mine-clearing organization that Pitt and Jolie support. On her Sunday visit to HALO, Jolie brought four of the children, who played with the founder's kids for most of the day while Mom got down to business with a 7-hour briefing.

Pitt and Jolie moved Maddox, Pax, 7, Zahara, 6, Shiloh, 5, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 3, to Scotland while Pitt wraps up filming for World War Z.

Buy Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's Bodacious Beach House!

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have listed their ocean-view Malibu home for $13.75 million. A barely divorced Pitt purchased the home in 2005 for $8.41 million, but six years of A-list living has apparently put quite the premium on the place.

So, what sort of bang for the buck are Brad and Angelina offering?

Aside from the sweeping view of the Southern California coast, the recently renovated (you know Pitt and his thing for architecture) Mid-Century modern home boasts four bedroom suites (OMG, the six kids shared?!), four bathrooms, bamboo flooring, glass walls to let the outside in, a top-of-the-line kitchen with a walk-in refrigerator/freezer, three fireplaces and—go figure—a mighty security system in 4,088 square feet.

The gated 1.26-acre lot also features a pool, tennis court and a path down to the beach, according to Realtor.com.

The property was purchased by the Mondo Bongo Trust, the same entity—named after a song they danced to in Mr. & Mrs. Smith—that owns Pitt and Jolie's house in New Orleans.

Clooney, Hayek, Pitt TIFF-bound

Also confirmed are the charismatic homegrown actors Ryan Gosling, who is in the midst of his breakout year as a potential Hollywood superstar; Jay Baruchel, Canada’s most enthusiastic fan-boy; and Seth Rogen, who mines his Vancouver childhood for unique and twisted laughs in American comedies. A classy Canadian institution, Christopher Plummer, will also be featured on screen in the documentary Barrymore and live on stage for a conversation about his extraordinary career.

Another component of the guest list will transform TIFF from an Oscar-like party into a rock legends showcase. The members of both U2 and Pearl Jam are set to be here for films featuring their bands. So is Neil Young, the Toronto-born singer-songwriter who was twice inducted into the Rock and Rock Hall of Fame, once as a solo artist and a second time as a co-founder of 1960s ensemble Buffalo Springfield.

Among the celebrity filmmakers coming are Francis Ford Coppola, comic Bobcat Goldthwait, Davis Guggenheim, Gus Van Sant and William Friedkin, along with Canadian icons Sarah Polley, David Cronenberg, Jean-Marc Vallee and Jason Reitman. Hugh Dillon, a Canadian musician turned actor turned short film director, will be in focus with his directorial debut.

The elusive Indo-British author Salman Rushdie — who is still living under a fatwa proclaimed in 1989 by then Iranian spiritual leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini — will defy his absurd death sentence to appear with Toronto filmmaker Deepa Mehta. She is currently adapting his second novel, Midnight’s Children, into a film.

Another unique visitor will be Mohamed Nasheed. He is the sitting president of the island country the Republic of Maldives, which is slowly sinking into the Indian Ocean. Nasheed is the focus of a documentary film, The Island President.

The eccentrics list is headed by Woody Harrelson while Jason Statham is the most famous genre action star coming. James Gandolfini arrives with his Sopranos menace still intact while Sarah Silverman remains one of comedy’s most caustic performers.

There will be plenty of former Oscar nominees (many of whom ended up winning the golden guy for their work). In addition to some of those already named, including Pitt and Clooney, that illustrious Oscar-nominated group boasts Philip Seymour Hoffman, Geoffrey Rush, Mira Sorvino, Tilda Swinton, Nicolas Cage, Terrence Howard, Catherine Deneuve, Juliette Binoche, Jane Fonda, Marisa Tomei, Willem Dafoe, Albert Brooks, Catherine Keener, Carey Mulligan, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Michelle Williams and Glenn Close (who has been nominated five times, although she has never won an Oscar).

A triplet of Jennifers is gracing TIFF 2011: Jennifer Garner, Jennifer Hudson and Jennifer Lawrence. Emerging star Jessica Chastain is festival-bound, too.

Jon Hamm (of Mad Men fame) is TIFFing, as are Jonah Hill, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Antonio Banderas and Ethan Hawke. Kirsten Dunst will represent Danish director Lars von Trier’s Melancholia but won’t have to put up with von Trier’s madman outbursts. After scandalizing the Cannes Film Festival with pro-Nazi babblegab and sexually inappropriate comments about his actresses — to Dunst’s obvious embarrassment — von Trier is not coming to Toronto. He never does anyway, even when not suffering foot-in-mouth disease, because he hates being in airplanes and has not come up with an alternative for the Atlantic crossing.

As for eye candy at TIFF, Megan Fox, Evan Rachel Wood, Alison Pill, Bryce Dallas Howard and Freida Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire) should both get fan-boys’ blood boiling while Emily Blunt (last seen at the filmfest in The Young Victoria) returns with her touch of class. Robin Wright shows up Penn-free, now that her marriage to Sean is over and she has dropped her double last name from her official credits.

Angelina Jolie Takes the Kids Out with Brad Pitt's Parents

That's what Angelina Jolie's children enjoyed this weekend, as the actress took the kids for an outing in Budapest, Hungary, with Brad Pitt's parents, Jane and Bill Pitt.

Jolie and the elder Pitts took Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, Knox and Vivienne to the Ujbuda Center, a shopping and entertainment complex, where they visited the Elevenpark play center.

The Jolie-Pitts have been spending lots of time in Hungary since Jolie directed her first feature there last year. That film, In the Land of Blood and Honey, opens in the U.S. on Dec. 23.

In August, Jolie and Pitt's older kids spent some quality time with their maternal grandfather, Jon Voight, in London.

Angelina Jolie Talks Landmines, Brad Pitt Meets With Young Fans

Certainly no stranger to good deeds, Jolie stopped by the global headquarters of the HALO Trust (halotrust.org) in Scotland over the weekend to meet with the organization's cofounder and director, Guy Willoughby.

The two discussed the group's ongoing efforts to remove hazardous debris such as landmines from places like Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Mozambique, Kosovo and Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, a soccer team in Glasgow no doubt got a, um, kick out of meeting Angie's significant other...

The actor, who has been busy shooting his latest movie World War Z in the city, graciously posed for pics on Monday with the group of youngsters and their coach outside his trailer.

What's more, the players actually got their jerseys signed by the actor, who reportedly joked with the kids that they could probably raise quite a bit of money for the team by selling the shirts on eBay.

Pretty cool, huh?

Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie Take Out the Kids in Scotland

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt towed their brood of six – Maddox, 10, Pax, 7, Zahara, 6, Shiloh, 5, and twins Vivienne and Knox, 3 – to the Balgarth Bar and Restaurant in Ayr, Scotland, Thursday night. The group popped in for dinner around 7:30 p.m., the restaurant manager confirms to PEOPLE.

The low-key, cozy bar and restaurant prides itself on using local Scottish produce and is a haven for kids, boasting an extensive children's play area with a few trampolines, a climbing structure, and slides near the dining area.

On breaks from playing, the Jolie-Pitt kids could choose their dinners from a cartoon-themed menu with such items as Shrek’s Sausages and Mash, Nemo's Fish Shapes, Dumbo’s Cheese Burger, Aladdin's Cheese & Tomato pizza, Pooh's Sticky Toffee Pudding and Eor's Dirt and Worm Sundae.

So, will Balgarth be able to count the famous family as regulars? Maybe so: The restaurant is not far from the estate they're calling home while Pitt films World War Z, and it's very popular with Scottish soccer team members who live in the area, the restaurant manager tells PEOPLE.

The Jolie-Pitts Settle into 16th Century Mansion in Scotland

Set among rolling Ayrshire hills, their latest homestead property is dotted with cows, horses and heather. Pheasants freely roam the 10-acre garden where the children can go trout fishing – something Brad was spotted doing with Maddox, 10, and Pax, 7, Wednesday morning – or frolic among the flowerbeds, as Angelina did with 3-year-old Knox on Thursday.

Should the family – which also includes Zahara, 6, Shiloh, 5, Vivienne, 3 – want to venture off-site for toy shopping or riding at nearby horse stables, they have until Pitt wraps his filming of World War Z in the next few weeks.

For more on the Jolie-Pitt family, along with special coverage of Hollywood's cutest kids, pick up this week's issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands now.

Pitt, Jolie sued arrested reporter

British police said they had arrested a 38-year-old man on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications, and a source with knowledge of the situation identified the individual as Desborough.

It was the 13th arrest this year in an inquiry that has rocked News of the World’s parent company, Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, and has had far-reaching implications for the British establishment.

U.S. agencies are investigating whether News of the World’s phone-hacking activities extended to the United States. So far, they have disclosed no evidence that they did.

Desborough could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Daisy Dunlop, a spokeswoman for News International, News Corp’s British newspaper arm, told Reuters the company was “cooperating fully with the police” and could not comment further due to the investigation.

A source familiar with the situation said Desborough was being questioned by British police about activities that occurred before he moved in 2009 to Los Angeles, where he was an editor.

His U.S. stories have aroused controversy, although there has been no allegation of illegal activity.

A Desborough story in the recently shuttered British tabloid said actors Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were about to split. The couple sued News Corp, won an apology and settlement, and News of the World publicly acknowledged the story was wrong.

Shortly before Murdoch closed the tabloid last month, Desborough wrote a story about the alleged sexual activities of movie star and former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. A Schwarzenegger spokesman called the story false.

According to the story, the information on Schwarzenegger came from a dossier compiled by disgraced Hollywood private eye Anthony Pellicano, who is now serving a prison sentence for illegal wiretapping.

APOLOGY TO BRAD AND ANGELINA

Desborough joined News of the World in 2005 as a show business and news reporter and was promoted to U.S. editor, based in Los Angeles, in 2009. He worked for News of the World until it closed.

The arrest occurred after he arrived at a south London police station Thursday morning by appointment.

Desborough won the British Press Awards showbiz reporter of the year award in 2009. After moving to Los Angeles, he wrote a story in January 2010 saying Pitt and Jolie agreed to divide their fortune equally and and share their children.

The story cited an unidentified source who described a legal document signed by the couple that would govern the breakup.

The couple said the claims were false and demanded a retraction of the story. News of the World settled for an undisclosed sum.

“We now accept that our story was wrong and apologise to Brad and Angelina,” the paper wrote in July 2010.

An attorney for the couple could not be reached for comment.

After news broke in May that Schwarzenegger fathered a child with his maid, Desborough wrote a story detailing Schwarzenegger’s alleged taste in women.

News of the World story attributed its reporting to a “bombshell dossier” put together by Pellicano.

“These are absurd tabloid reports that are totally false,” a spokesman for Schwarzenegger said of the News of the World story.

It is unclear how Desborough obtained the alleged documents. Pellicano was sentenced to 15 years in prison at the end of 2008, before Desborough took up his posting in Los Angeles.

The story also quoted an investigator who worked for Pellicano, but did not name that person.

In a jailhouse interview with Newsweek earlier this month, Pellicano said he had “personal stuff” on Schwarzenegger but did not say whether he knew about Schwarzenegger’s child with the maid.

Brad Pitt shoots zombie movie in Glasgow

The U.S. actor was in town this week to shoot the zombie horror movie, which is based on a book by Max Brooks.

Paramount film studio has made every effort to keep the movie under wraps. The set is closed to all media and no production details have been released.

The center of Glasgow has been transformed to depict Philadelphia in the aftermath of a war between humans and zombies. Shooting is expected to last two weeks.

The Glasgow Film Office says the movie involves almost 1,200 people and will pour over 2 million pounds ($3.3 million) into the local economy.

Brad Pitt turns Glasgow into Philadelphia for 'World War Z'

The film is set in Philadelphia but Glasgow is acting as a stand-in for the City of Brotherly Love. Cochrane Street has been renamed John F. Kennedy Boulevard, and Philly road signs and street names have been put up, reports the Daily Mail. Locals have been recruited as zombie extras and Glasgow City Council said the production, which will involve almost 1,200 people, is providing a nice boost to the economy.

Pitt juggling CIA, zombie, slavery flicks

The actor, now filming Paramount’s “World War Z,” is set to produce “Twelve Years a Slave,” TheWrap has confirmed.

Steve McQueen - no relation to the iconic actor of the 1960s - is directing the movie, which is based on a brutal and true story.

“Twelve Years a Slave” is the 1853 memoir of Solomon Northup, a black man who was born free and, as an adult, kidnapped into slavery.

McQueen, who won the Camera d’Or in Cannes in 2008 for his first film, “Hunger,” and whose second film, “Shame,” is premiering at the Venice Film Festival, co-wrote the screenplay with John Ridley. Chiwetel Ejiofor (“Children of Men“) stars as Northup.

So how busy is Pitt?

He is negotiating to play CIA agent-turned assassin Court Gentry in “The Gray Man,” for New Regency. He’s starring in and producing “World War Z” and is starring in and producing “Cogan’s Trade,” which is now in post-production. Plus he has six kids.

On “Twelve Years a Slave,” Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment is producing. Pitt’s agency, CAA, is arranging the financing for the project and representing domestic distribution rights.

Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie: Inside Their Family

"The children are always playing, jumping on each other and sharing fun moments," a source tells PEOPLE in this week's cover story. "They share a special bond."

Leading the pack: oldest son Maddox, 10, who "is almost like a teenager now, the way he understands things," says another source. "He's grown up very quickly."

But his younger siblings are rapidly growing up, too. Six-year-old Zahara and her 5-year-old sister Shiloh are especially close, while 7-year-old Pax "has become more independent in the past year," says an insider. And with twins Knox and Vivienne now 3 – they help pack their own suitcases! – the family is settling into a lower-key, if still decidedly adventurous, rhythm.

"Now that all the children are older, things have calmed down a bit in the household," says the source. "There's a great family dynamic right now."

For more on the Jolie-Pitt family, along with special coverage of Hollywood's cutest kids, pick up this week's issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday.

Brad Pitt Hires Private Train for Family and 350 Crew

Tuesday they proved it by boarding a privately hired train to take them and the World War Z crew from London to Glasgow, where Pitt, 47, is filming next.

"Three cars suddenly drove onto the platform from the street, pulled up alongside the train and then they all got out," an onlooker tells PEOPLE. "Brad was in one car with some of the kids and Angelina was in another with the others. They were all smiling and looked really happy, but then I suppose it's not every day that a kid gets to have their own train to play with!"

Adds the onlooker: "They had a huge entourage of about 20-30 people with them."

The Virgin charter is a bespoke service regular used by English soccer clubs that allows clients to personalize the catering and station facilities. As with most English trains this one includes a shop, toilets and a counter serving hot food and drinks. But there is one thing missing: sleeping compartments.

"The price also depends on how far they are going, and the number of carriages they want, as some people want eight carriages and others nine ­– it all depends on the client," a Virgin spokesperson says.

The sleek, silver-and-red Virgin train that had been specifically chartered for the Jolie-Pitts and estimated 350 associates and crew pulled into Glasgow Central Station at 2:30 p.m. And there were about 100 fans gathered to try to catch a glimpse of the famous family.

Welcome to Scotland

With the Scottish highlands now on their doorstep, Jolie, 36, can finally take a break from the hectic bout of sightseeing that has seen her and 10-year-old Maddox, Pax, 7, Zahara, 6˝, Shiloh, 5, Knox and Vivienne, 3, visit a host of London toy stores and theaters in Surrey, where the family have been based during Brad's filming.

For the next few weeks, the World War Z team will take over the main square of Glasgow (just a few blocks from the train station), which has been converted to look like the American city of Philadelphia to a convincing degree.

Brad Pitt is ready to go 'Gray' for New Regency

He'd play Court Gentry, a CIA agent-turned-assassin who's famous in the shadowy world of covert operations but is now targeted by mysterious forces. As he tries to dodge the forces who are out to get him, he has to save the lives of daughters he didn't know existed.

The movie is based on Mark Greaney's novel.

James Gray is set to direct. Adam Cozad wrote the script. Plan B and Dede Gardner are producing with Stephen Garrett of Shine.

Pitt's "World War Z" is filming now.

Brad Pitt's "World War Z" to be released December 21, 2012

Brad Pitt stars in and is producing the thriller, now shooting in England. The movie completed initial photography in Malta last month and also will also shoot in Scotland and Hungary.

The movie is about a tough-guy United Nations employee, played by Pitt, who travels the world in an effort to stop a zombie pandemic that is destroying humanity.

The ambitious script was written by Matthew Michael Carnahan ("State of Play"), who adapted it from Max Brooks' best-selling novel "World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War." Marc Forster is directing.

In addition to Pitt, the movie stars Mireille Enos ("The Killing"), James Badge Dale ("The Departed"), Matthew Fox ("Lost") and newcomer Daniella Kertesz.

Pitt is producing with Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner and Colin Wilson.

Brangelina Brings Brood to See Wicked

Once again, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie proved they're not just A-list stars, but also A-list parents, as they took time out this weekend to escort their kids to a London production of the hit musical Wicked.

On hand for all the fun was Maddox, Pax, Shiloh and Zahara, with Vivienne and Knox apparently opting to sit this one out.

Who knows? Maybe the twins were just too busy developing that long-predicted sitcom of theirs.

Pitt, Jolie's charity handouts revealed

The stars created the Jolie-Pitt Foundation in order to give cash to deserving organizations, and they donated a huge chunk of their fortune two years ago.

The biggest handout was to Pitt’s Make It Right Foundation in New Orleans, Louisiana, which received $2 million, according to the foundation’s tax filing, obtained by Showbiz411.com.

Among the other causes to receive handouts were the United Nations’ (UN) Pakistan Emergency Fund ($1 million) and children’s charity Kind, Inc., which received a $100,000 grant.

Brad Pitt and George Clooney Get a Full-Body Wax

Wax figures always give us a mix of the heebie-jeebies and total fascination, so you can guess our reaction when we saw the new statues done of Brad Pitt and George Clooney.

So what's the story with these dummies?

The actors, who look like they came out of a scene from Oceans Eleven (except for Pitt's long hair), were sculpted courtesy of Musee Grevin in Paris, and although it's not their first wax experience, this threw us for a loop.

Pitt is featured in a three-piece suit, with his body language totally on point, and his facial features showing him as Brad Pitt—the person and dad—not an actor featured as a certain character from a film.

As for Clooney, well he just looks good all the time. And call us crazy, but is that a "Hey, I'm single" twinkle in his eye?

U2 doc, Pitt, Clooney films head to Toronto fest

Organizers say the Canadian festival will launch Sept. 8 with "From the Sky Down," a chronicle of the Irish band led by singer Bono. The film was made by "An Inconvenient Truth" director Davis Guggenheim and marks the first time in its 36-year history that the Toronto festival has opened with a documentary.

Other highlights for the 11-day event include Brad Pitt's baseball tale "Moneyball;" George Clooney's political saga "The Ides of March;" Jennifer Garner, Hugh Jackman and Olivia Wilde's comic story "Butter;" and Keira Knightley's Sigmund Freud-Carl Jung drama "A Dangerous Method," with Viggo Mortensen and Michael Fassbender.

Matt Damon: Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie 'Are Like Prisoners'

He can't say that for some of his high-profile pals.

"I have friends who are like prisoners. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, for instance," Damon, 40, told German television TELE 5 over the weekend. "They can't just go someplace. If they go for a walk, it turns into an international incident."

In contrast, says Damon, "I'm really lucky, because I have the best of both worlds. I do the work that I love and need, but don't need paramilitary troops to protect me when I walk out my front door."

Besides, fame just isn't Damon's game.

"Ever since I found my wife [Luciana] and we had children, my whole life revolves around that. It gave my life a dramatic change in direction," he says.

Married in March 2003, the couple have four daughters.

"I'm not as crazy as most of the other stars. I don't really know why, probably because I married a woman who isn't an actress. And we live in New York," he said. "As long as we don't show up in typical tourist spots, we can walk the streets without being noticed. New Yorkers are very cool, they don't flip out if they see me."

Brad's Friends Insist Angelina Is "Calling the Shots"

More friends who know the couple have weighed in on the possibility of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie getting hitched, and, I'm afraid we have some so sad news!

"It's doubtful it's happening right now," says one of the few (very rich) Hollywood gals who's still allowed to be a member of Brad and Ange's inner circle.

This no-wedding declaration itself is sad enough, but, there's more negative goss, I'm afraid:

The Brangelina circle we mentioned is an incredibly small group of friends, there aren't too many members (but, trust, we do know one or two, and quite well)—and it used to be a much bigger group of pals. However, Angelina saw fit to change that.

"Lots of friends used to be very close to Brad before Angie stopped letting any of his friends come around," complains one Pitt buddy, who doesn't get nearly as much face time with beautiful Brad as he did before Jolie hit the scene several years ago.

Funny thing is, though, both the chosen few who have been approved by Jolie—as well as those Brad buds who didn't make Ange's cut—agree on one thing: Angelina wears the pants.

"She rules him," complains one formerly super-close Brad pal, who's since been iced by Angelina.

"You can never put anything past that Angie," remarked one Brangelina confidante who remains in both actor's good graces, "as she's the one calling the shots."

We're told that includes all marriage plans, so just be forewarned, everybody.

Pitt-Jolie 'heated up set'

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie Wedding Rumors Just 'More Noise,' French Mayor Says

"There are no plans for them to marry that I know of – and I would know," Correns, France, mayor Michaël Latz tells PEOPLE in response to reports the couple intend to wed in their adopted village.

"Every year, the rumor resurfaces," Latz adds. "More noise from the American press to sell a few more pounds of paper."

The mayor has been friendly with Jolie, 36, and Pitt, 47, whom he says invited him to their home after they first moved into the Chateâu Miraval just outside Correns, a picturesque, eco-agricultural community with a population of 661, three years ago. There is a chapel, part of which dates back to the sixteenth century, on the property, leading to speculation they might opt for a private, in-house religious ceremony.

Should the couple choose to wed one day in France, which recognizes civil services, they would be married by the mayor of their locality. By law, religious ceremonies can take place only after a civil wedding, Latz told local newspaper Var-Matin, and marriages are also subject to certain residency status requirements and a mandatory delay involving official public notice.

Brad Pitt: A-List Actor Turned Pro Athlete?

If the hot Hollywood dad ever decides he needs a break from his A-list acting career, there's one moneymaking job he could fall back on...

Turns out Angelina Jolie's other half can handle himself pretty well on the baseball field.

"He's got some skill," Pitt's Moneyball costar, former San Francisco Giants player Casey Bond, told us at last night's ESPY Awards in L.A. of the actor's athletic ability. "He might have missed his calling in baseball I guess. If acting didn't work out he's pretty good...I think that he's got that in his back pocket if anything."

Pitt, who plays Oakland A's manager Billy Beane in the upcoming sports flick, didn't hesitate to get involved in training for the movie while filming.

"He was out there a couple days and he took batting practice with us and stuff, threw the baseball around," Bond said. "He was very much involved with all aspects of the baseball side of the movie as well."

As far as the acting side is concerned, Bond says, "He had a lot of great advice...When we were shooting scenes, in between takes he'd walk me through different techniques he used so everything comes across right on film...obviously he's a master at that."

Another perk of working with papa Pitt? "Angelina and the kids came to set one day and she hung out with everyone too," Bond said. "Down to earth. Very nice people."

Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie Not Getting Married

Contrary to reports, multiple sources tell PEOPLE the couple won't be walking down the aisle any time soon.

Calling the latest rumors "false," one source says, "There is no evidence nor any single truth" to recent published reports that the couple will wed this summer or in the next few months, though the couple remain open to one day tying the knot.

Besides, they are too busy with projects and causes close to their hearts – Pitt on set abroad filming his latest movie, World War Z, and Jolie just returned to Los Angeles, having spent family time with their children on Pitt's Malta film location.

After shooting, Pitt will be busy with promotion for Moneyball and Cogan's Trade, and Jolie will put the finishing touches on her directorial debut, In the Land of Blood and Honey.

Last month, in her role as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Jolie also visited two islands in the southern Mediterranean Sea to highlight the crisis in the region, which is absorbing an unprecedented wave of asylum seekers fleeing starvation and political upheaval in Africa.

Not that the couple seem to be down on the thought of marriage – and a few recent interviews helped fan the rumors.

Jolie, 36, told ABC News last year she and Pitt would get married if their kids – Maddox, 9, Pax, 7, Zahara, 6, Shiloh, 5, twins Knox and Vivienne, 3 – asked them to, saying, "I think it would be hard to say no to the kids." And Pitt, 47, told USA Weekend, "The kids ask about marriage. It's meaning more and more to them. So it's something we've got to look at."

Add to that construction going on at Chateau Miraval, their home in the south of France, as well as the recent passage of gay marriage legislation in New York state (Pitt once said he and Jolie would get married when everyone legally can), and the rumor mill churns away!

Pitt, Sparks to help usher in 'X Factor' preview

Over the next few months, mastermind Simon Cowell will be everywhere talking up the singing competition, which will inevitably (and endlessly) be compared to his old stomping grounds, American Idol.

The unlikely trio of Brad Pitt and singers Jordin Sparks and Michelle Branch will help stir up excitement for the show during Tuesday night's MLB All-Star Game in Phoneix.

Brad the Dad, who stars in the upcoming baseball flick Moneyball, will narrate a special pregame montage that pays tribute to past and present all-stars. This follows a special worldwide premiere of a preview of The X Factor.

Meanwhile, American Idol winner Sparks will sing the national anthem before the game and Branch will belt out God Bless America during the seventh inning stretch.

The X Factor premieres Sept. 21 on Fox.

Brad Pitt Strengthens Stand on Marriage Equality

• Brad Pitt, exclusively to PEOPLE, on the recent legalization of same-sex marriage in New York State. The star and marriage-equality activist, 47, once said in an interview that he and Angelina Jolie would not get married until everyone had the same right.

The Jolie-Pitt Family's Close Encounter - with Dolphins

The ever-adventurous Jolie-Pitt brood – Maddox, 9, Pax, 7, Zahara, 6, Shiloh, 5, twins Knox and Vivienne, 2 – got up close and personal with bottlenose dolphins, sea lions, turtles and other ocean dwellers at Mediterraneo Bio Park, a marine-themed park on the island's northern coast.

Jolie, 36, switched into a wet suit, as the family enjoyed the summer weather.

Since joining Pitt, 47, who's filming his latest movie, World War Z, on location in Malta, the Jolie-Pitt kids have had no shortage of family fun, including trips to the Splash and Fun Park water park and Junior's Fun and Learn Centre indoor playground.

Pitt takes Jolie to Aniston eatery

The star took a break from pre-production on his new film World War Z in Malta on Monday night to take his partner out for a meal at the de Mondion restaurant inside the Xara Palace hotel in medieval city Mdina.

The romantic night came after Jolie had returned from a weekend spent visiting refugees in Turkey and Italy in her official capacity as an ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

According to UsMagazine.com, the couple sat at an outdoor table with stunning views of the Mediterranean isle and dined on seafood prepared by chef Kevin Bonello.

A fellow diner tells the publication, "They were very, very romantic... like a couple in love."

The couple is reportedly spending the next month in Malta with their six kids and nannies, renting out an 18th century fortress near the capital of Valletta, while Pitt starts work on his zombie film.

Pitt star last visited de Mondion in May, 2003, with his then-wife Aniston. At the time he was shooting Troy in Malta.

According to Us Weekly, the couple enjoyed the experience so much they signed the guest book, writing, "Thanks for the great escape. Much love, Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston."

Zahara and Shiloh Meet Brad Pitt's Zombie Costars

The Jolie-Pitt women came to see the zombies on the set where World War Z is filming, with Daddy – Brad Pitt – as the star.

Angelina Jolie brought her eldest daughters, Zahara, 6, and Shiloh, 5, to a downtown location in Malta's capital city of Valletta on Tuesday afternoon, sources tell PEOPLE.

The 90-minute visit to the location in the narrow historic district occurred during Pitt's lunch break. He was seen holding Zahara's hand while showing her around St. Anne's Street while Angelina kept rein on Shiloh.

The two girls were later spotted walking around the post-apocalyptic set on St. Dominic Street with Dad – again showing the start of a beard and wearing his screen costume of a dark blue shirt and futuristic khakis.

About 300 extras – portraying zombies, Israelis and Palestinians – were at work before the cameras Tuesday. Filming of World War Z, which Pitt is producing and Marc Forster is directing (based on a book by Max Brooks, the son of Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft), moves to Glasgow, Scotland, later this summer.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie Can't Stop Giving Away Their Money

Brad Pitt and his leading lady Angelina Jolie have come to the aid of folks in The Tree of Life star's native state of Missouri…

The power couple donated a whopping $500,000 to the Community Foundation of the Ozarks to help efforts to rebuild tornado-destroyed Joplin.

"With the devastating loss of 30 percent of the city, the Joplin community faces great challenges ahead. Having spent much of my childhood there, I know these people to be hardworking, humble and especially resilient," Brad Pitt said in a story posted on the foundation's website.

Jolie added, "Last year 42 million people worldwide were displaced by natural disasters. So often these disasters seem far away, but now the need is for thousands of people displaced right here at home. Our hearts go out to the families in Joplin who have lost so much."

The tornado ripped through Joplin on May 22, destroying more than 8,000 homes. Today, the death toll is 151, making it the seventh deadliest tornado in U.S. history.

Good job, Brad and Angie!

Angelina Jolie: Brad Pitt's 'A Great, Loving Father'

"I love being with Brad," the Kung Fu Panda 2 actress, 35, gushes to the U.K.'s Telegraph. "I'm very lucky with [him]. He is a real gentleman, but he is also a real man's man."

Jolie, who calls Pitt, 47, "extraordinary," says he is a "great, loving father," adding that he's "a very, very intelligent man."

And when it comes to the couple's six children, Jolie says she and Pitt were determined to raise a large family only "if we could be really hands-on and take the kids with us, seeing them every day."

"I'm always there on weekends," she says. "I only ever work a five-day week, and I am often there for breakfast or dinner. When I'm working, they come up at lunch I love that I can have children."

As much as she loves her kids, Jolie understands the importance of their spending alone time with Pitt.

"It's special time for daddy when mom works for a few months," says the actress and UN Goodwill Ambassador. "And Brad is such a great dad. When I'm working, he's putting in the extra dad time, and that's special for their relationship, too."

Brad Pitt: Time to Re-Consider Getting Married?

"The kids ask about marriage. It's meaning more and more to them," the Tree of Life star and father of six tells USA Weekend. "So it's something we've got to look at."

While a wedding may still be on the distant horizon, what Pitt, 47, does makes clear is that his children – ages 2 to 9 – have already turned his life around.

"Kids hold up a mirror to you," he says. "You can't make excuses. You've got to make sure they've brushed their teeth and eaten a good breakfast. You want to be present if they wake up with a bad dream."

While he has admitted to enjoying the chaos his large brood sometimes creates, Pitt also owns up to a certain order in their lives, whether at their Los Angeles "base camp" – as he calls the family's main home – or on international film sets.

"On the road, we're a military mobile unit," he says. "The kids have got their stuff down to one backpack, and they're each responsible for their own bag. Mom does the packing; she's quite gifted at that. Puts in just what we need – nothing extra."

"We're pretty nomadic," he remarks. "We go where the crops are."

Despite their extraordinary circumstances, he says, "Angie and I do everything we can to carve out some semblance of normalcy for them, to re-create the kinds of moments that were special for us."

That also includes private time for the adults. "There are no secrets at our house," Pitt says. "We tell the kids, 'Mom and Dad are going off to kiss.' They go, 'Eww, gross!' But we demand it."

Brad Pitt hopes 'Tree of Life' will 'mean something' to his kids

"Not [like I'm] a horrible parent, but I've certainly made mistakes and had to make up for it," he tells People. "I'm painfully aware that my actions leave a double mark on them in these formidable years, so I make sure I don't bring my crap home."

When it comes to the projects he takes on, Pitt tells The Washington Post that his kids have led him to think twice about the direction of his career.

"I think I spent more time jacking around a little bit," he explains of his early roles. "I was more attuned to irreverence and not doing what I was supposed to be doing."

Now, each film hold a little more weight.

"I'm conscious that my kids are going to grow up and see these films someday, and I want them to mean something," he explains. "I'm much more interested in leaving them something they'll be proud of in the end. I've only got so many more of these to do, so I'm just more focused on them having some meaning."

We're sure the kids will appreciate Pitt's work someday, but for now, they're probably just thrilled to be hearing mom's voice in "Kung Fu Panda 2." And we don't blame them!

Review: A dreamlike, ambitious `Tree of Life'

All his thematic and aesthetic signatures are there from earlier films like "Badlands" and "The Thin Red Line": the dreamlike yet precise details, an obsession with both the metaphysical and the emotional, an ability to create suspense within a languid mood.

It is simultaneously mesmerizing and maddening as it encompasses nothing less than the nature of existence itself. As writer director, Malick ranges far and wide, from intimate moments with a growing family in 1950s Texas to the dawn of time — complete with awesome images of the cosmos and, yes, those dinosaurs you've surely heard about — and back again.

"The Tree of Life" is deeply spiritual, but Malick isn't one to preach. Instead, he gives you the sense that he's genuinely asking questions to which the answers may be unknowable — he's putting them out there for himself, and for us all. Of course, we'll never know his intentions: Malick is notoriously elusive, which is admirable from an artistic perspective but probably frustrating for those who'd like to know what the hell he means by all this.

But if you're open to letting the imagery wash over you, to allowing yourself to get sucked into the film's rhythms and fluidly undulating tones, you'll be wowed. And even if you're not a spiritual person yourself, given to the kind of seeking that frequently marks the characters' voiceovers in "The Tree of Life," you're unlikely to find the film's religious themes alienating.

"Lord, why? Where were you?" wonders the mother in the family, played as an idealized vision of nurturing womanhood by Jessica Chastain. "Who are we to you? Answer me."

Malick offers an intriguing contrast between these heavy, eternal concepts and prosaic childhood memories: light, wispy snippets of sight and sound, of trees and sky and grass, of a mother's voice. (The technical elements here are just stunning, including Emmanuel Lubezki's cinematography, Jack Fisk's production design and Alexandre Desplat's score). These moments are intentionally impressionistic — and "The Tree of Life" feels defiantly plotless and, sometimes, self-indulgent — but they all represent an accurate depiction of how our early recollections can come back to us in fragments. Some are idyllic, while others are frightening.

Eventually, "The Tree of Life" becomes rooted in the reality of the O'Brien family: a father (Brad Pitt), mother (Chastain), and three little boys. Pitt makes the character an intimidating figure, a capricious mix of toughness and tenderness, and it's probably the best work of his career. Chastain, a relative newcomer to the screen, balances him out with sweetness and grace but also with a playful nature and an open, expressive face; you get the sense that she only wants happiness for her children, in whatever form it comes to them.

But Hunter McCracken, the young actor playing Jack, the eldest of the three sons, has a startlingly confident and commanding presence, especially given that this is his first film. McCracken more than holds his own opposite Pitt, with whom he repeatedly clashes: He's truly the star. Jack will grow up to be played by Sean Penn, a Houston architect who's still shaken by a family tragedy decades later. This is one of the chief weaknesses here: Malick has Penn available to him, and all he does is ask him to walk around moping in Armani suits.

Still, "The Tree of Life" changed my mood for the rest of the day, too — and when you see a lot of movies, most of which tend to flee your memory leaving nary a trace on your heart or mind, that's rare. And it can't easily be dismissed.

"The Tree of Life," a Fox Searchlight Pictures release, is rated PG-13 for some thematic material. Running time: 138 minutes. Three and a half stars out of four.

Brad Pitt: Sure, I Make Parenting Mistakes

Asked if he's ever felt that all-too-common sinking feeling like he's just made a terrible dad error, Pitt tells PEOPLE, "Not [like I'm] a horrible parent, but I've certainly made mistakes and had to make up for it."

The actor spoke to PEOPLE at the Los Angeles premiere of his new film The Tree of Life, which won the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival. In the movie, Pitt plays an abusive 1950s-era father whose actions profoundly impact the life of one of his three sons in particular.

Pitt had to draw on his acting skills to find his inner bad dad. "I certainly don't raise my kids that same way," he says. "I'm painfully aware that my actions leave a double mark on them in these formidable years, so I make sure I don't bring my crap at home."

Plus, Pitt says he wants to let his six kids with partner Angelina Jolie learn to be themselves. "I want to keep them free to explore that innocence as long as possible and find out what's really interesting to them," he says. "I just don't want to encumber them in any way."

Because director Terrence Malick's film was shot largely without a script, Pitt and the filmmakers took extra care not to traumatize the young actors who play his sons during the scarier sequences.

"We had to be careful with that, because they are young boys and you don't want to scar them in the process," Pitt says. "So it was explained to them ahead of time and they knew it was coming, but they didn't know when it was coming. And in between we made sure we had a lot of time of everyday life, throwing the ball around and riding bikes. And I think everyone got through it unscathed."

But just in case, Pitt made sure to win the boys' hearts off-screen – by buying them motorcycles. "They are great," he said. "We come from the same neck of the woods."

Back at home, Pitt says neither he nor Jolie is nudging their kids to follow in their acting footsteps. "Listen, I just want them to follow their bliss. Whatever makes them happy," he says.

And right now, making his family happy includes his next role, recording a voice for the animated sequel Happy Feet 2. "I mean Happy Feet is on heavy rotation in our house," he says with a laugh, "so it was a must!"

Brad Pitt Opens Up About Parenting: "I Don't Bring My Crap Home"

Pitt stars in the Terrence Malick-directed flick as a disciplinarian and sometimes abusive father of three young boys in 1950s Middle America. Jessica Chastain costars as his homemaker wife...

"I certainly don't raise my kids that same way," Pitt told me at last night's Tree of Life premiere at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. "I'm painfully aware that my actions have an indelible mark on them in these formative years.

"I make sure I don't bring my crap home," he continued. "I want to keep them free. I want them to explore that innocence as long as possible and find out what's interesting to them. I just don't want to encumber them in any way."

It sounds like that fatherly instinct came in handy while filming scenes in which he lashes out at his sons, played by newcomers Hunter McCracken, Laramie Eppler and Tye Sheridan.

"We had to be careful because these are young boys and you don't to scar them in the process, so it was explained to them ahead of time who I was playing and they knew it was coming, but they didn't know when it was coming," Pitt said. "So in between we made sure we had a lot of time of every day life, throwing the ball around, riding bikes. I think everyone got through it unscathed."

Pitt also told me he decided to appear in the upcoming animated film Happy Feet 2 in 3D for—why else?—his and Angelina Jolie's kids.

He smiled, "Happy Feet is in heavy rotation in our house so it was a must."

Also at last night's premiere was Jolie (looking her usual ravishing self in a red dress), Guy Ritchie and preggers girlfriend Jacqui Ainsley, Country Strong star Garrett Hedlund and Barry Pepper.

Despite receiving a handful of boos at a screening at Cannes, Tree of Life went on to win the Palme d'Or, the French film fest's top award.

Brad Pitt's Movie Wins Top Prize in Cannes

Jury president Robert De Niro made the announcement, while the reclusive Malick was not in the French town to accept his Palme d'Or (Golden Palm).

Other winners Sunday evening included Kirsten Dunst as best actress for controversial director Lars Von Trier's Melancholia. Earlier this week, the Danish filmmaker had been banned from the festival for rambling remarks he made at a press conference about how he sympathized with Hitler.

Dunst alluded to her director's outburst during her acceptance speech Sunday, saying, "What a week this has been."

French actor Jean Dujardin was named best actor for a popular silent, black-and-white comedy, The Artist – to be seen in the U.S. later this year. Best director was Nicolas Winding Refn, for Drive, which stars Ryan Gosling.

Other members of the Cannes jury included Jude Law and Uma Thurman.

Brad Pitt Loves the Chaos of (So Far) Six Kids

"I had a friend who had a big family when I was a kid. I just loved the chaos around the breakfast table and the fighting and the ribbing, and the mom making pancakes for everyone or the dad making pancakes," the actor, 47, and father of six tells the Associated Press in an interview at the Cannes Film Festival, where he premiered his new movie, The Tree of Life.

"And I just decided then if I was ever going to do it – this left some indelible mark on me – if I was ever going to do it, that's the way I was going to do it."

Pitt, who has three biological children and three adopted children with Angelina Jolie, says it's just his personality to go all in. "I know it seems extreme from the outside, but I've always kind of operated this way," he says. "When I know, I know, and why mess around?"

The actor has also said this week that his children inform his film choices, and that he wants his kids to admire him as "a pretty damn good actor."

Pitt reflects on paternal side, on screen and off

In Terrence Malick's "The Tree of Life," which premiered this week at the Cannes Film Festival, Pitt plays a father of three in a drama that deals with the biggest of questions about our place in the cosmos.

In his home life, Pitt and Jolie are parents of six — three biological children, three adopted. For Pitt, who was childless into his 40s after his marriage with Jennifer Aniston broke up, it all happened in just a few years.

"I know it seems extreme from the outside, but I've always kind of operated this way. When I know, I know, and why mess around?" Pitt, 47, said in an interview.

"I had a friend who had a big family when I was a kid. I just loved the chaos around the breakfast table and the fighting and the ribbing, and the mom making pancakes for everyone or the dad making pancakes. And I just decided then if I was ever going to do it — this left some indelible mark on me — if I was ever going to do it, that's the way I was going to do it."

The whole Pitt-Jolie clan came to Cannes. Days before they walked the festival's red carpet for "The Tree of Life," Jolie was in the French Riviera resort with Jack Black to promote their animated sequel "Kung Fu Panda 2."

Jolie and Pitt have become Cannes regulars, he with "Babel" and "Inglourious Basterds" and she with "Changeling" and "A Mighty Heart," on which Pitt was a producer.

Pitt had figured on being at Cannes a year ago with "The Tree of Life," but Malick needed more time to finish his rumination on existence, a film so expansive its intimate family drama plays out against the backdrop of the universe's creation and the era of dinosaurs.

"This is a great place to air this kind of movie out, certainly," Pitt said. "It's kind of the only place, isn't it?"

Opening in U.S. theaters May 27, "The Tree of Life" had Cannes crowds buzzing, some adoring it, some hating it, and nearly everyone perplexed by it. It follows the impressionistic, nonlinear structure typical of Malick, who made only four previous movies over a nearly 40-year career.

The press-shy director skipped the public appearances usually expected of filmmakers at Cannes. That left Pitt, also a producer on the film, as Malick's ambassador.

The actor charmed a roomful of reporters for the film's press conference and thrilled fans by shaking hands and signing autographs before walking the red carpet with co-stars Sean Penn and Jessica Chastain.

Malick's last Cannes film was "Days of Heaven," which earned him the festival's directing prize in 1979. It was nearly 20 years before he released another film, "The Thin Red Line." By then, Pitt said, Malick was ill-suited to be the sort of filmmaker-pitchman Hollywood had come to expect.

"When he began making films, there wasn't this pressure to sell them. ... He really is a craftsman at heart. He's almost a carpenter, and he takes a couple decades off and then comes back, and the business has shifted," Pitt said.

"We all have to get out and get the film some notice, so we can keep making films like this, and it's just antithetical to who he is. He's a very humble, humble, sweet, sweet man. He's just not made for it."

Pitt clearly is, though. For rising star Chastain, Pitt was a mentor from the time they shot the film three years ago right up to Monday night's premiere.

"He's helped me a lot on this experience," said Chastain, who plays Pitt's wife. "He is such an expert on it by now. Even during the red carpet, when I was holding Brad and Sean's hands, I was really scared, and I was really shaking, and I just kept thinking, smile, smile, smile. And they would speak to me and tell me what was going on as it was going on.

"They would say, 'Now we're going to go up the stairs, and we'll stop and take a photo.' So I always had a guide, and who's better than Brad, who's excellent at it all?"

Pitt, an Academy Award nominee for 1995's "Twelve Monkeys" and 2008's "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," has built his career on commercial hits — the "Ocean's Eleven" capers and his and Jolie's thriller "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" — and challenging sagas such as "Babel" and "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford."

Due out late this year is the baseball tale "Moneyball," in which Pitt plays Oakland A's boss Billy Beane, who reinvented the cash-driven game by scouting diamond-in-the-rough players on a shoestring budget.

Pitt just finished shooting the crime thriller "Cogan's Trade" with his "Jesse James" director Andrew Dominik, and he's about to start on "World War Z," about the sociopolitical upheaval that ensues after a zombie outbreak.

He and Jolie also are looking to reunite on screen.

"We're not ones to repeat ourselves, but we'd like to, because right now, we're hopscotching with films so one can be with the kids and one's free to work," Pitt said. "And why aren't we doing them together? Why aren't we doing everything together?"

Family man Pitt said he settles on film roles differently now. While Jolie has the "Kung Fu Panda" flicks for their kids to see, Pitt was a voice star for last year's animated adventure "Megamind," and he takes the children into account on all future projects.

"I think my focus before was more irreverence, by nature," Pitt said. "I'm a dad now. It's more important to me that if I'm going to do the film, there's something I can bring to it, it's not generic. And most of all, I'm painfully aware that my kids are going to see these when they're older, and I want them to understand something about their dad, and I want them to be proud of their dad."

And maybe remember some chaos around the breakfast table, said Pitt, who cooks pancakes for his kids.

"Breakfast is pretty much my specialty," Pitt said. "And barbecue."

Cannes film review: "Tree of Life"

This fifth feature in Terrence Malick's eccentric four-decade career is a beauteous creation that ponders the imponderables, asks the questions that religious and thoughtful people have posed for millennia and provokes expansive philosophical musings along with intense personal introspection.

As such, it is hardly a movie for the masses and will polarize even buffs, some of whom might fail to grasp the connection between the depiction of the beginnings of life on Earth and the travails of a 1950s Texas family. But there are great, heady things here, both obvious and evanescent, more than enough to qualify this as an exceptional and major film. Critical passions, pro and con, along with Brad Pitt in one of his finest performances will stir specialized audiences to attention, but Fox Searchlight will have its work cut out for it in luring a wider public.

Shot three years ago and molded and tinkered with ever since by Malick and no fewer than five editors, "Life" is shaped in an unconventional way, not as a narrative with normal character arcs and dramatic tension but more like a symphony with several movements -- each expressive of its own natural phenomena and moods. Arguably, music plays a much more important role here than do words (there is some voice-over but scarcely any dialogue at all for nearly an hour) whereas the soaring, sometimes grandiose soundtrack -- comprising 35 mostly classical excerpts drawn from Bach, Brahms, Berlioz, Mahler, Holst, Respighi, Gorecki and others in addition to the contributions of Alexandre Desplat -- dominates in the way it often did in Stanley Kubrick's work.

Indeed, this comparison is inevitable, as "Life" is destined to be endlessly likened to "2001: A Space Odyssey" because to the spacy imagery of undefinable celestial lights and formations as well as because of its presentation of key hypothetical moments in the evolution of life on this planet. There are also equivalent long stretches of silence and semi-boredom designed, perhaps, to provide some time to muse about matters rarely raised in conventional narrative films.

That Malick intends to think large is indicated by an opening quotation from the Book of Job, in which God intimidates the humble man by demanding, "Where were you when I laid the foundation of the Earth? Tell me, if you have understanding." Job is not cited again but is more or less paraphrased when, in moments of great personal distress, a small-town mother cries out, "Lord, why? Where are you?" and "What are we to you?"

Life doesn't answer these questions but fashions a relationship between its big-picture perspective and its intimate story that crucially serves the film's philosophical purposes. Much of the early going is devoted to spectacular footage of massive natural phenomena, both in space and on Earth: gaseous masses, light and matter in motion, volcanic explosions, fire and water, the creation and growth of cells and organisms, eventually the evolution of jellyfish and even dinosaurs, represented briefly by stunningly realistic creatures, one of which oddly appears to express compassion for another.

Juxtaposed with this are the lamentations of a mother (Jessica Chastain) for a son who has just died in unexplained circumstances and for a time it seems that placing the everyday doings of the O'Brien family of a quiet Texas town in the shadow of the seismic convulsions pertaining to the planet's creation represents an inordinately elaborate way of expressing what Bogart said in Casablanca, that "the problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world."

But while that might be true, it is also the case that those very problems -- and everything else that people experience -- are all that matter at the time one is experiencing them and are therefore of surpassing importance. Whatever else can -- and will -- be said about it, "Life" gets the balance of its extraordinary dual perspective between the cosmic and the momentary remarkably right, which holds it together even during its occasional uncertain stretches.

Least effective is the contemporary framing material centered on the oldest O'Brien kid, Jack, portrayed as a middle-aged man by Sean Penn. A successful architect, Jack looks troubled and preoccupied as he moves through a world defined by giant Houston office towers and atriums shot so as to resemble secular cathedrals. While the connection to Jack's childhood years is clear, the dramatic contributions of these largely wordless scenes are weak, even at the end, when a sense of reconciliation and closure is sought by the sight of flowers and disparate souls gathering on a beach in a way that uncomfortably resembles hippie-dippy reveries of the late 1960s.

But the climactic shortfall only marginally saps the impact of the central story of family life. Occupying a pleasant but not lavish home on a wide dirt street in a town that matches one's idealized vision of a perfect 1950s community (it's actually Smithville, population 3,900, just southeast of Austin and previously seen in "Hope Floats"), the family is dominated by a military veteran father (Pitt) who lays down the law to his three boys seemingly more by rote than because of any necessity. He's compulsively physical with them, playfully, affectionately and violently, and yet rigidly holds something back.

Within Malick's scheme of things, Dad represents nature, while Mom (Chastain) stands for grace. Great pals among themselves, Jack (Hunter McCracken), R.L. (Pitt look-alike Laramie Eppler) and Steve (Tye Sheridan) range all over town and would seem to enjoy near-ideal circumstances in which to indulge their youth.

But working in a manner diametrically opposed to that of theater dramatists inclined to spell everything out, Malick opens cracks and wounds by inflection, indirection and implication. Using fleet camerawork and jump-cutting that combine to intoxicating effect, the picture builds to unanticipated levels of disappointment and tragedy, much of it expressed with a minimum of dialogue in the final stages of Pitt's terrific performance.

Embodying the American ideal with his clean-cut good looks, open face, look-you-in-the-eyes directness and strong build, Pitt's Mr. O'Brien embodies the optimism and can-do attitude one associates with the postwar period. But this man had other, unfulfilled dreams -- he became "sidetracked," as he says -- and as his pubescent oldest son begins to display a troublesome rebelliousness, fractures begins to show in his own character as well, heartbreakingly so.

Voice-over snippets suggestive of states of mind register more importantly than dialogue, and both are trumped by the diverse musical elements and the rumblings and murmurs of nature, which have all been blended in a masterful sound mix. Emmanuel Lubezki outdoes himself with cinematography of almost unimaginable crispness and luminosity. As in "The New World," the camera is constantly on the move, forever reframing in search of the moment, which defines the film's impressionistic manner.

Production designer Jack Fisk and costume designer Jacqueline West make indispensable contributions to creating the film's world. That not a single image here seems fake or artificial can only be the ultimate praise for the work of senior visual effects supervisor Dan Glass and his team, while the presence of Douglas Trumbull as visual effects consultant further cements the film's connection to "2001."

Pitt not above blockbuster smashes

But Pitt has no qualms about starring in The Tree of Life, which played Monday as a gala in the 64th Cannes Film Festival. He did, however, allow himself a little burst of star humour at his press conference. Pitt was asked why, despite being a bona fide movie star, he is rarely in blockbusters such as the Mission: Impossible franchise.

"Don't count me out of Mission: Impossible," Pitt said with a mischievous smile. "I'll be there! I'm not that highbrow."

His recent track record from The Curious Case of Benjamin Button to The Tree of Life says differently and Pitt agrees. "You want it to discover, you want it to be about something," Pitt said of any film that attracts him. With The Tree of Life, his personal production company enabled the eccentric, reclusive Malick on the project. "You want to find something new. I always have. I want to find something different. That's been my focus."

The Tree of Life, which generated a giddy mixture of boos and applause at its morning media screening, is a monumentally ambitious film about the fractured lives of one Texas family, starting in the 1950s. Their lives are set against the entire cosmos as Malick shows scenes of the origins of life and the evolution of species on Planet Earth. Macro scenes include dinosaur sequences; micro scenes include the three sons of Brad Pitt and Jessica Chastain playing kick-the-can with other kids in the streets of in Waco, Texas.

In response to a Sun Media question, Pitt said working with Malick on those personal scenes was extremely unconventional and exciting for the actors. "He (Malick) was like a guy standing there with a butterfly net and ready for that moment of truth to go by."

The characters are complex. While Chastain is a goodly mother, full of grace and love, Pitt plays an oppressive father who bullies his sons to make them tough. Oddly, one grows up to be Sean Penn, who has a cameo role set in contemporary times.

"I was a little hesitant about playing the oppressive father," Pitt said. "But I felt the story was so important it really is about the kids' journey. But I think about it now. My kids (he shares a brood of six with Angelina Jolie) are going to grow up and how are they going to feel (when they see the film)? I hope they'll just say I'm a pretty good actor."

But that left Pitt open to one of those stupid media questions that Cannes press conferences are famous for -- and Pitt decided to mock the question with a mock answer. Paraphrasing, the question went like this: Given that he plays a bad dad, what kind of parent is he?

"I beat my kids regularly," Pitt said dryly about his disciplinary habits. "Seems to do the trick. And (I) deprive them of meals."

Obviously, he is joking (we hope). But Pitt never cracked a smile and never added the usual: "I'm joking!" tagline that would put people at ease. The woman who asked him the question just sat there slack-jawed.

Otherwise, the press conference was civilized, except for concern about the absence of both Malick and Penn. Producer Bill Pohlad said Penn was held up in Haiti to meet with president-elect Michel Martelly about aide issues. "He's on his way." Penn was aiming for the red carpet.

As for Malick, he never had any intention of being at the press conference, unlike 99.9 percent of all other Cannes directors with films in competition. "Terrence is very shy," producer Sarah Green explained, "and I would say that his work speaks for him."

Pitt's drama for Malick has Cannes crowd divided

The notoriously press-shy Malick was nowhere to be seen after "The Tree of Life," the writer-director's long-awaited epic drama of creation and one family's place in it, screened for critics and reporters ahead of its official festival premiere.

The film starring Brad Pitt, Sean Penn and Jessica Chastain drew a scattering of harsh, prolonged boos, answered by enthusiastic applause from others at the press screening.

Debuting in U.S. theaters May 27, "The Tree of Life" is only Malick's fifth film in a nearly 40-year career, and his first at Cannes since 1979's "Days of Heaven," which earned him the festival's directing prize.

Malick has stayed behind the scenes for his subsequent films, 1998's "The Thin Red Line" and 2005's "The New World," and he skipped the Cannes press conference that followed Monday's screening, leaving Pitt, Chastain and his producers to face reporters.

"Mr. Malick is very shy, and I would say that I believe his work speaks for itself," producer Sarah Green said.

Pitt compared Malick's attitude toward publicizing a film to building a house.

"I don't know why it's accepted that people who make things in our business are then expected to sell them, and I don't think that computes with him," said Pitt, also a producer on the film. "He wants to focus on the making of it, not the real estate, selling the real estate. It is an odd thing for an artist to start something and then be salesman."

Cannes organizers had hoped to debut the film a year ago, but it was not ready.

Malick's producers said the form of the film did not change dramatically in the last year. The director just needed more time.

"If you believe that movies are alive and talking back to you, there's a point at which it's very obvious they're not finished," said producer Dede Gardner.

"The Tree of Life" stars Pitt as a loving but sometimes brutally stern father, with Chastain the wife who stands as a figure of grace for their three confused, intimidated sons. Penn plays the eldest son as a grown man, reflecting on the people and moments that shaped him.

Malick is known for making films that defy classification, with a free-flowing narrative style forming the backbone for far-flung explorations of the meaning of existence.

"The Tree of Life" had a dense script, but Malick left each day of shooting loose and open so he could explore whatever chance might send his way, his collaborators said.

"He never wanted to, what we call, hammer-and-tong a scene as it's written," Pitt said. "He was more interested in capturing what was happening on the day. He's like a guy standing there with a butterfly net and waiting for that moment of truth to go by."

Chastain recalled one such instance of spontaneity that made it into the film, "where a butterfly lands on my hand. It's not in the script. We didn't put anything on my hand to make it land there. It's because he creates a set where he allows for those moments to happen."

The richly personal drama is told in a vast reach of impressionistic exchanges and images: from breathtaking views of the universe's creation to primordial scenes in the age of the dinosaurs to tender and terrifying family moments.

The dreamlike images are accompanied by poetic voiceovers as characters ponder the universe, wonder if God exists and offer small pleas or questions to him.

"Lord, why? Where were you?" Chastain's character laments after tragedy strikes. "Who are we to you? Answer me."

The film points up how little what we do on Earth really matters in an eternal universe, yet simultaneously stresses that our finite lives matter all the more against that unknowable infinity.

Some at Cannes found it all deeply moving. Others said Malick went over the top as some cosmic sequences play on for 15 minutes or more without a human face to be seen.

The range of reactions might suit Malick just fine.

"One of the reasons Terry maybe shies away from forums like this is that he wants the work to stand on its own. He doesn't want to say what it's about or whether it's autobiographical or not," said producer Bill Pohlad. "He just wants the audience to bring their own thing to it ... as opposed to him interpreting it or verbalizing it."

Pitt pokes fun at his parenting skills at Cannes

But Pitt had no hesitation joking that he does not spare the rod in raising his six children with Angelina Jolie.

"I beat my kids regularly. That seems to do the trick," Pitt wisecracked when asked at a press conference about his own parenting style. "And deprive them of meals."

Pitt, 47, stars with Sean Penn and Jessica Chastain in Malick's sweeping family drama, whose scope is so expansive it includes images of the birth of creation and the age of dinosaurs.

Against that cosmic backdrop, Malick presents the troubled life of a family headed by a saintly mom (Chastain) and an alternately tender and cruel dad (Pitt), whose reign over his three sons leaves them disturbed and even hostile toward their father.

Penn plays the oldest son as he reflects back on his boyhood in the 1950s.

"I was a little hesitant about playing the oppressive father, but I felt like the story was so important, and for me, it was really about the kid's journey," said Pitt, also a producer on "The Tree of Life," which debuts in U.S. theaters May 27.

Pitt said he prefers to take on projects with emotional heft rather than blockbuster fare such as "Mission: Impossible," though he's not averse to a big Hollywood action flick.

"Don't count me out of 'Mission: Impossible,'" Pitt said. "I'll be there. I'm not that highbrow."

But when he considers his favorite films, they tend not to be commercial movies but ones with depth, "or really, really funny. I do like a comedy," he said.

Pitt has wondered what his children will think about the autocratic figure he plays in "The Tree of Life."

"My kids are going to see it when they grow up, and how are they going to feel?" Pitt said. "They know me as a dad, and I hope they'll just think I'm a pretty damn good actor."

Why Is Brad Pitt Punching Sean Penn in the Face at Cannes?

OK, so Pitt's character is merely boxing the child actor who grows up to play Penn in the film, but we thought we'd give the Fox News crowd something to get excited about. The film itself, however, seems be generating plenty of legit excitement. Hear what Pitt has to say about the movie and watch another clip on the jump.

"It would take many days to explain the film's creative process," Pitt said at today's press conference in the French seaside town. Thankfully, the handsome star went on to summarize: "The screenplay was wonderfully written, very intense, but Terrence Malik didn't want to follow it slavishly. He likes to capture the truth between the lines. That's why this film feels so fresh. On top of that, it was almost entirely shot in natural daylight."

"This film is universal," summarized Pitt. "Terrence Malick wants to speak to all cultures."

Brad Pitt Wants His Kids to Consider Him a 'Damn Good Actor'

"I think of everything I do now that my kids are going to see when they grow up and how are they going to feel," the star, 47, told reporters Monday at the Cannes Film Festival. "But they know me as a dad and I hope they'll just think of me as a pretty damn good actor."

Pitt plays a father bringing up his family in 1950s Texas in Terrence Malick's long-awaited film, which also costars Sean Penn, and arrives in U.S. theaters on May 27. And he hinted that his own childhood was hardly free of issues.

"I got brought up being told things were God's way, and when things didn't work out it was called God's plan," he said. "I've got my issues with it. Don't get me started. I found it very stifling."

Pitt is joined at the festival by Angelina Jolie, who is in town to promote Kung Fu Panda 2, and their children. But the couple managed to enjoy a date night despite their busy schedules. On Sunday they dined at Tetou, an elegant but casual Michelin-starred fish restaurant on the beach in Golfe Juan.

Jolie, who wore a three-quarter-length white dress, and Pitt, in a black jacket and open-necked white T-shirt, were mobbed by photographers as their left the restaurant.

So far, it's been a wildly successful outing at Cannes for the couple.

Over the weekend, it was announced that the Bosnian war movie that Jolie wrote and directed now has a title, In the Land of Blood and Honey, and will be released on Dec. 23 by FilmDistrict.

Brad Pitt & Courteney Cox Reunite for Dinner in Hollywood

Brad Pitt joined ex-wife Jennifer Aniston's BFF Courteney Cox for dinner at Hollywood hotspot Beso on Wednesday night.

The two joined a group of 12 people for an industry dinner party honoring their manager Cynthia Pett-Dante's birthday. "They hugged and kissed when they greeted each other," says an onlooker. "They talked for a while."

While the pair, who have remained friendly since Pitt's split from Aniston six years ago, didn't sit next to each other at the table, they still spent a good portion of the evening enjoying one another's company.

"They were chatting, catching up," adds the onlooker. "They both seemed happy and totally relaxed, very at ease. And they were both smiling the entire time. It didn't seem awkward at all."

Pitt enjoyed a steak and beer, and he sat at the bar at one point with other patrons. "He was really cool."

Eastbound and Down star Danny McBride also attended the dinner.

Brad Pitt's Going to War ... with Zombies

The actor is set to star in the film version of World War Z, Max Brooks's 2006 novel that details first-person accounts of a "zombie war" that ravages the world. Pitt's production company, Plan B, first secured the rights to World War Z in 2007, after a bidding war with Leonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way company.

"I'm glad they took their time, and are trying to make the best zombie movie they can," Brooks told MTV.com.

Mireille Enos from AMC's The Killing was most recently cast to play Pitt's wife, and World War Z is slated to hit cineplexes (and your brains) next summer.

People Names Jennifer Lopez World's Most Beautiful Woman; Who Else Topped the List?

"I feel not worthy, you know?" was how Lopez reacted to the mag when she found out the news.

The American Idol judge, looking absolutely flawless on the spring-inspired pink and green cover, discussed with the mag her makeup-free days from the show, skin-care regimen, diet, kids and hubby Marc Anthony.

Read on to find out when the mom to twins Max and Emme is the happiest...and who else was happy to join her on People's Most Beautiful list...

On landing the 22nd annual "World's Most Beautiful" coveted cover spot, Lopez said she felt "happy and proud" after the initial shock wore off.

"It's so crazy. Rarely am I left speechless, but I feel honored." the hard-working reality judge and L'Oréal model said, adding that she feels better now than she did in her 30s.

"I feel better, I feel smarter," she said. "In my 20s, I just wasn't there in my mind and my soul and my spirit. It's just great to be in the position I'm in now and be able to share that with the world."

As for her striking beauty and that gorgeous face, Lopez says the real trick to her glow is due to the abundance of "love" in her life and insists that the real beauty in a person comes from their heart. And J.Lo says that even though she's considered hot, she doesn't get any compliments from men because "they're afraid of Marc."

After revealing that she was prematurely gray at 23 and that her upper thighs are a real problem, it's on to the topic of her famous booty: "It became this huge thing. No pun intended!" she says.

The 41-year-old also spent some time clearing up other "big" rumors: No, her body is not insured for a million dollars; no, she doesn't have a diamond-encrusted toilet seat or a glam squad of 50; and yes, she spray tans.

The other beautiful people in the mag's double issue are listed in subcategories of hotness; here are a few of our faves:

In the "Not a Drop of Makeup," pages, 10 women were snapped looking fresh-faced in nothing but moisturizer and lip balm. Dancing With the Stars turned Footloose star Julianne Hough is stunning in a full-page closeup. Joy Bryant, Anne Heche, Kaley Cuoco, Mandy Moore, Nikita star Maggie Q, Pretty Little Liars star Lucy Hale, Cheryl Burke, Angie Harmon and Hayden Panettiere all made the list.

The mag's got the older eye candy covered too, picking 57-year-old Christie Brinkley as the leadoff in that category; she credits her youthful look to blotting her makeup with a wet washcloth after applying. Also making the list are Stacey Dash, 44, Lucy Liu, 42, Jennifer Beals, 47, and Dana Delany looking superhot at 55.

In the "Beautiful Minds" category, Ivy League intellects Anna Paquin, Jordana Brewster, Tatyana Ali, Amanda Peet and Ellie Kemper and The Office star Mindy Kaling all made the list for their smarts.

Watch out, curves ahead! Listed under "Year of the Bombshell" are hourglass honeys like Jessica Simpson, Sofia Vergara, Paula Patton and Christina Hendricks, who says she's probably at her sexiest while "at home cooking."

A huge chunk of the mag is dedicated to stars' beauty sleep. Katie Holmes gets six hours a night, while newly single Jessica Biel counts sheep and has insomnia. Halle Berry needs nine hours, while Christina Aguilera and Jessica Alba get a solid eight. Cutie Amanda Seyfried needs 10 hours, while Beyoncé usually can't shut off her brain for the night.

And finally, some familiar names are back, with some "Hall of Famers" making the list—again and again and again. Berry leads with a whopping 15 times, with Julia Roberts coming in second with 12 appearances. This issue marks Lopez's 10th "Most Beautiful" appearance, tied only with George Clooney, followed by nine-time hottie Brad Pitt.

Hats off to all the Hollywood hotties who made the list!

Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Johnny Depp Bound for Cannes

In addition, invitations to the 64th Cannes Fest are also out to Rolling Stone Keith Richards, Madonna, Jack Black and France's First Lady, Carla Bruni, who happens to be making her acting debut in a Woody Allen movie.

One thing is already for certain: Robert DeNiro will be sticking around the entire fest – he is the head of the jury that hands out the prizes.

Topping the list of premieres is the multi-generational saga Tree of Life, starring Pitt and Penn and directed by the highly regarded Terence Malick (Badlands, Days of Heaven). Pitt will no doubt remain in the South of France during the first half of the festival, which will also bring a sneak peek of Kung Fu Panda 2, featuring the voice of Jolie, as well as that of Dustin Hoffman and Jack Black.

Depp's appearance is keyed to a world premiere, that of Pirates of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, which marks the return of Jack Sparrow. Cruz is among the costars.

The festival's previously announced Opening Selection, Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris, will bring to Cannes cast members Rachel McAdams, Michael Sheen, Owen Wilson, Kathy Bates, Adrien Brody and, it is anticipated, Marion Cotillard, though she is due to give birth at the end of April.

Also on the agenda: a special tribute to the late Elizabeth Taylor, whose amFAR event to benefit her AIDS foundation has become an annual Cannes event.

Jolie adds Pitt birthplace tattoo

Scrutiny of the tattoos on her left arm, which bear the global co-ordinates of the birthplaces of her six children, revealed a seventh line has been added in recent weeks.

Jolie and her partner Brad Pitt have adopted three children and they're also parents to natural kids Shiloh and twins Vivienne and Knox.

But In Touch magazine reports Jolie has not become a mother again. The seventh tattoo features the longitude and latitude of Pitt's birthplace in Oklahoma.

A source tells the publication, "She got the seventh line right around the time she and Brad moved the kids back to L.A. It signifies family unity."

Angelina Jolie's New Tattoo Sparks Adoption Speculation

During a U.N. goodwill trip to the Tunisia-Libya border this week, Jolie, 35, was photographed showing a tattoo of a new set of map coordinates on her arm, just underneath tattoos of coordinates of the birthplaces of her six children with Brad Pitt, 47.

First noticed by Wonderwall, the numbers are hard to make out. One possibility is they relate to the North African region Jolie is visiting.

But a source close to Jolie warns not to read too much into her skin art, telling PEOPLE that all adoption speculation is false.

Jolie adopted Maddox, 9, from Cambodia, Pax, 7, from Vietnam and Zahara, 6, from Ethiopia. Shiloh, 4, was born in Namibia and 2-year-old twins Vivienne and Knox were born in France.

Brad Pitt -- Laughing, Smiling, Joking?!

Brad was rolling with a buddy -- no Angelina, no kids.

It's been a long time since we've seen him smile and laugh this much in public.

The Brangelina Brood Enjoy a Sugary Rush!

As Angie headed to Tunisia to visit a refugee camp, it was daddy's day out Sunday for Brad, who brought Pax, Shiloh and Zahara to a charity screening of the new movie Hop at the Director's Guild of America and a reception afterward that included tons of candy.

We've seen the paparazzi photos of the Jolie-Pitt kids exiting grocery stores with orange, Cheeto-stained fingertips, but what else does papa Pitt let the kids indulge in?

"Each Jolie-Pitt child walked away with A.sweeT.Boutique's own line of chocolate-covered pretzel rods, gummy butterflies, gummy cherries and jelly beans," an eyewitness tells us.

And great news: None of the gummy candies were in the shape of a penis, we're relieved to report. So, Suri Cruise, they're not.

However, we sure do think Suri has some serious competition in the totally adorable department:

"The kids were so cute, polite and shy," an eyewitness tells us. "Brad had to help them do the ordering of what they wanted in their little goody bags. They also made sure to take home some candy sticks for their siblings who weren't there."

Awww, lucky Maddox, Vivienne and Knox!

"We always need something in our family, especially sugar!" Brad was overheard sarcastically telling the A.sweeT.Boutique store owner, who tells us Brad was, "so down-to-earth and personable" at the event, which helped raise funds to fight EBMRF, a skin disease that affecting children.

Hosts of the charity event, which Pitt is on the honorary advisory board for, were Hop stars James Marsden and Kaley Cuoco.

But the candy didn't quite fill up the Jolie-Pitt kids, as the fam were spotted stopping at an In-N-Out for burgers on their way home from the event!

Sounds like a sweet Sunday for the Brangelina brood, indeed.

Inside Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie's Family Life

Roaming New Orleans last weekend, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were just continuing their family tradition of on-the-go together time with their brood of six: Maddox, 9; Pax, 7; Zahara, 6; Shiloh, 4; and 2-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne.

But the famously globetrotting clan isn't always on the road: With the kids getting older, school schedules have started to take precedence and the family is often based in Los Angeles – where their day-to-day life is surprisingly ordinary.

"The family live in a way that can best be described as organized chaos," an insider tells PEOPLE in this week's cover story. "Of course it's wild when all the kids are there, and evening tends to be a bit chaotic with dinner and bedtime."

Pitt, 47, and Jolie, 35, "are both good with rules, and there are definitely consequences, like time-outs, for bad behavior," adds the source. "But for the most part the kids all get along."

For much more on this story, pick up this week’s issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday.

The Jolie-Pitt Family's Big Easy Outing

Brad Pitt, who is on set in New Orleans filming crime thriller Cogan's Trade, was joined by Angelina Jolie and kids Maddox, 9, Pax, 7, Zahara, 6, Shiloh, 4, Knox, 2, and Vivienne, 2, for a family outing on Sunday to Louisiana's staple Berti Market.

Pitt, 47, was reunited with Jolie, 35, and his six little ones on Friday. Earlier this week, a solo Pitt was spotted taking a lunch break from filming in the ballroom at the Omni Royal Orleans Hotel to chow down on some not-so-fancy fare – a club sandwich. "He ordered a triple-decker club," cook Alex Natal tells PEOPLE. "I hope he liked it."

Pitt, who was escorted in and out of the hotel through a back-service entrance, smiled for paparazzi – even rolling down his windows so the photographers could get a better view.

"He's a pretty cool cat," hotel valet Earl Jackson tells PEOPLE. "He came up to a group of us and said, 'What's up, guys?' "

The family will reportedly keep it low-key in the home they own in the city's French Quarter while Pitt is filming for the next few weeks.

Brad Pitt reports to set; Angelina Jolie and kids to join him in New Orleans

Angelina Jolie's baby-daddy hit the set of his new movie, "Cogan's Trade," on Tuesday (Mar. 8) just a few short miles from the French Quarter celebrations. Pitt is taking on the role of mob enforcer for the flick, which he is also producing, according to People.

The rest of the Jolie-Pitt brood is not in town yet, but is expected to join their patriarch at the family home shortly. Mom has been keeping busy voicing "Kung Fu Panda 2" and working on her directorial debut over in Europe.

"He genuinely seemed excited to be back in town," a source says of Pitt's Monday arrival in the Big Easy. "Brad waived to fans and had a huge smile."

Also joining the actor for "Cogan's Trade" are Javier Bardem, Casey Affleck and James Gandolfini.

"Everyone on the movie is very excited that they get the opportunity to work with Brad," an on-set source says. "He seems like a very nice guy."

Is It Possible for Brad Pitt to Be a "Normal" Kind of Guy?

"His presence kind of takes up all the energy in the room," Pitt's Moneyball costar Chris Pratt told us at last night's premiere of Take Me Home Tonight in L.A.

However...

"Once you get past that he's really just a kind of down-to-earth normal guy," Pratt said. "Pretty open about talking about his life. He's a megastar. Maybe the biggest star in the world and he's pretty cool."

In Moneyball, based on the book by the same name, Pitt stars alongside Robin Wright and Philip Seymour Hoffman as Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane.

"You see him on set and there's that part of you that's like, 'Keep cool, that's Brad Pitt!' " Pratt said. "He's kind of exactly like what you would hope, which is just really awesome."

As for getting to meet Pitt's famous fam, Pratt says he wasn't too nervous when Jolie brought their beautiful brood to set. "Well, I worked with her on a movie called Wanted so I got to meet her before," he explained. "But they were there with their kids and I mean, still it was pretty wild. At the end of the day, it's Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. You're like, 'Holy crap! That's crazy.' "

Should Brad Pitt Costar in Willow Smith's Annie Remake?

The 10-year-old recently told Access Hollywood at Justin Bieber's Never Say Never premiere that she wanted Brad Pitt for the role of Oliver "Daddy" Warbucks.

But can he sing?

While the "Whip My Hair" singer was vocal about her casting preferences, she wouldn't reveal other details of the project, which dad Will is producing alongside Jay-Z.

In the meantime, tell us:

Who do you think would make the best Daddy Warbucks?

Backstage and on red carpet at the Golden Globes

Under slicked-back hair and behind sunglasses, Pitt surveyed the scene from the middle of the red carpet, chatting up friends as Jolie answered questions.

"My girls are always happy about me getting dressed up," said the actress, clad in an emerald gown.

Another Hollywood power couple, Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban, held hands while Kidman fielded most of the questions.

"When I make a film, I always say it's our film together," she said, nodding in Urban's direction. "We share each other's accolades."

Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt Donate $2 Million to Wildlife Sanctuary

The Jolie-Pitt family spent Christmas at the N/a'an ku sę Wildlife Sanctuary, which takes care of injured animals like cheetahs and lions. The sanctuary is run by conservationists Dr. Rudie van Vuuren and his wife Marlice.

According to the U.K.'s Press Association, the Jolie-Pitt children got to watch as a leopard was reintroduced to the wild, and they also got to see Dr. van Vuuren work on a wounded wild dog.

There is a great variety of animal species in Namibia, which is the country of Shiloh Jolie-Pitt's birth. According to its Web site, the N/a'an ku sę sanctuary helps conserve that wildlife, in addition to providing employment to native Bushmen.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's Surprise Holiday Visit

On Wednesday, just days after celebrating the holidays in Namibia, Africa, the couple made an impromptu stop at the St. John’s Jane Pitt Pediatric Cancer Center in Springfield, Mo., the town where Pitt grew up.

"They called a little bit ahead, about an hour ahead, and requested to tour the pediatric center," hospital spokesperson Cora Scott said Thursday. "They stayed about 45 minutes. It was a very nice visit."

Last year, Pitt and Jolie, along with Pitt's brother and sister and their families, donated $1 million to St. John's Foundation for Community Health and dedicated the pediatric cancer center to Pitt's mother, Jane.

"Jane Pitt is a gem in our community," Scott said. "She's a very wonderful woman who cares so very much about the well being of children."

During the visit Wednesday, the Hollywood couple were accompanied by Pitt's parents and his brother Doug.

According to Scott, Pitt and Jolie didn't mention their New Year Eve's plans, but for now it seems that the couple and their six kids are spending time with their extended family.

Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie Have Family Time in Namibia

The couple and their six children spent the last week or so – including Christmas – in the African country of Namibia.

The famous clan have been staying at the Naankuse Wildlife Sanctuary and Lodge. The animal preserve is run by Dr. Rudie van Vuuren, a physician, cricket player and conservationist; his wife, Marlice, also a conservationist; and their son Zacheo.

Pitt, 47, and Jolie, 35, and daughters Shiloh, 4, and Zahara, 5, are pictured with their host family and other pals.

This is not the first time the globetrotting Jolie-Pitts have been to Namibia: Shiloh was born in the country in May of 2006.

Duh Alert: Brangelina's Christmas Plans Are More Exciting Than Yours

Namely, how she, Brad Pitt and their six kids will be spending the holidays. Wanna know how? Of course you do…

The short answer: in their usual, fabulous, globetrotting, envy-inducing way.

As for the long answer...

Listen to the interview

"Christmas, we're gonna travel with the kids, and go to…a random part of the world," she told Ryan, and, in doing, putting the whole of the world's paparazzi on high alert.

"We're gonna travel and have an adventure, because that's what we love to do."

No, Angie didn't specify where in the world they'd be spending the holidays, but wherever it is, it may not be that different from yours (you celebrate with two movie stars, too, right?).

The hard-working mama said that she's been busy prepping for the big day.

"I have, I have," she told Ryan when asked if she's been making the present-buying rounds. "And I've got it all boxed up and ready to go. I'm trying to get every stocking right, and all the wrapping paper."

Sounds like someone's starting to tread on Santa's turf.

Brad Pitt Cops a Feel at Angelina's Big Premiere!

This new trailer for The Tree of Life, starring Brad Pitt and Sean Penn, packs a visual and emotional wallop into a breathtaking two minutes...

Written and directed by acclaimed filmmaker Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life tells the story of a tense father-son relationship and its effect upon the child's adult life. Pitt plays a stern 1950s parent who wants the best for his kid, but pushes too hard to get it. As the boy all grown up, Penn portrays a lost soul stuck in a fog, searching for meaning and answers in today's modern world.

Not only do we get stunning dialogue and imagery depicting the forces that impact our lives—love, faith, conflict—but at the simplest level, the trailer uses the profound expressions of emotion on the actors' faces to suggest much deeper truths.

The Tree of Life opens in theaters May 27. Check out the trailer and tell us what you think.

Brad Pitt Cops a Feel at Angelina's Big Premiere!

Just ask Brad Pitt, who couldn't resist squeezing her booty in full view of the photogs as he escorted her to the premiere of The Tourist in NYC. (Not that we can blame him. It looks so soft and fuzzy.)

Even more surprising than Brad copping a feel was what the super couple told E! News last night:

Which was absolutely nothing.

Yep, both Ange and Brad opted not to speak to any of the media outlets braving the cold last night—except for Entertainment Tonight.

We know Angelina is a really hot huge star and a very important person and all that, but couldn't she answer a question or two about the movie she's starring in?

Heck, even the enigmatic and press-shy Johnny Depp stopped to chat with us.

Then again, maybe she was mad at E! since our own Chelsea Handler called her a very unkind name during her stand up act?

But that still doesn't explain why Brangelina blew off all the other media outlets. How about showing the press some of that charity you're so good at, guys?

Johnny Depp on Brad and Angelina: "They're Very, Very Good Parents"

The star of The Tourist spoke with E! News at the New York premiere for the film and revleaed that something about Angie did, in fact, leave him surpised...

"I was surprised by how down-to-earth she is," Depp dished. "After all the, sort of, madness that surrounds their lives, Brad [Pitt] and Angelina, just how beautifully they deal with all the attention [and] chaos."

Depp went even further as he stood up for the couple who can't seem to avoid media criticism. "They're very, very good parents. Great parents. Wonderful people. Down-to-earth. Sweet."

Check out the video above to hear more Johnny talk about how he hopes to someday work with his pal Brad and on whether or not we've seen the last of Captain Jack Sparrow!

Brad and Angelina Take Manhattan With Their Twins

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, who are in town while Angie promotes The Tourist, took the youngest of their six children on a shopping excursion to one of the famous family's favorite New York City shops over the weekend...

With a bodyguard in tow, the bundled-up foursome (check out Brad and Knox rocking matching black caps again—cute!) visited Lee's Art Shop Saturday night, a store Zahara, Pax, Shiloh and Maddox know well.

According to People, they shopped in the children's art supply section, and Angie "was her usual beautiful self and [Brad] was handsome and friendly."

Can't wait to see which kid will be the next Picasso!

Angelina Jolie: Date Night with Brad Pitt Is Good for the Kids, Too

"You have to make time when you are not Mom and Dad once in a while," the actress, 35, tells Britain's Daily Mail.

"The most important thing is that you love your children, but you also have to stay focused on each other so that you stay strong. And you staying strong as a couple keeps the kids in an even better place."

The Oscar winner says she's trying to instill the same confidence in her six kids – Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, Knox and Vivienne – as her own mother, the late French actress Marcheline Bertrand, gave her.

"My mother made me feel very loved and sent me out into my life to be whatever I needed to be and to express whatever I needed to be," Jolie says.

"Hopefully I'm giving my children the sense that they are deeply loved and deeply safe. At the same time we are hopefully encouraging their individuality as they get to know who they are, and not getting in the way of that. That's why they are six very strong individuals."

Asked about Shiloh's well-known tomboy ways, Jolie shrugs. "I don't think it's for the world to interpret anything," she says. "She likes to dress like a boy and wants her hair cut like a boy and she wanted to be called 'John' for a while. Some kids wear capes and want to be Superman, and she wants to be like her brothers. It's who she is."

Jolie also talks about whether she'd ever get plastic surgery – "I don't think I will. But if it makes somebody happy, then that's up to them," she says – as well as her connection to Johnny Depp, whom she got to know while filming The Tourist.

"Neither of us attends many parties or goes out very much. Neither of us seems to take ourselves too seriously," Jolie says. "Your life is full off-set, and you have this nice balance. Johnny is like that, and I'm like that, too."

Jolie, Pitt, Depp and Paradis bond in Venice

Jolie and Depp teamed up for the fast-paced thriller and became firm friends, inviting their partners to join them for starry nights out.

Jolie tells WENN, “At the end of the day we all got together, Brad and myself and Johnny and Vanessa and our boys ended up playing video games all night long and we’d drink wine and talk. It was just lovely.”

And it seems Venice was the perfect place to begin a new celebrity friendship: “When you go out there, you don’t know whether you’re stepping up into a boat or down into a boat depending on the tides. Then you drive your boat to some other place on the water logistically it was very odd to be on boats all the time but loads of fun.

“We’d have dinners and then halfway through, you’d have to get Wellington boots on, because, by the time you got finished eating, the water had risen. Everybody walks home in their Wellies. It was fun.”

Brad and Angelina Visit Big Apple Art Supply Store

Recently, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie took Zahara and Shiloh shopping in Paris. Days later, the family went on a hot-air balloon ride and a boat trip in celebration of son Pax's seventh birthday. Later, some of the family members visited the aquarium in Paris.

Now the globe-trotting clan has landed in the Big Apple, where on Saturday Pitt and Jolie took twins Knox and Vivienne to Lee's Art Shop in Manhattan, a longtime favorite spot for the family.

"She was her usual beautiful self and he was handsome and friendly," according to one observer. "The twins are perfect and adorable – what sweet faces."

According to the source, the family was accompanied by a bodyguard, who stopped photographers from following them inside, where the foursome spent time on the children's art supply floor.

"It's so nice that the world's biggest movie stars make time for their kids," the source added.

Monday is the New York premiere of Jolie's latest film, The Tourist.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie Share a Memorable Meal in Paris

Amid a week of tandem promotional tours through Paris for her The Tourist and his Megamind, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie turned up for dinner Thursday evening at one of the world's best eateries – Restaurant Guy Savoy, on the Rue Troyon – and stayed till nearly midnight to close the place.

The restaurant came highly praised, by none other than Jolie's Changeling director. "They came, they said, because Clint Eastwood recommended the restaurant to her. He told her they'd enjoy themselves," the legendary three-Michelin star chef, Guy Savoy, tells PEOPLE.

"Brad was very interested in the style of cuisine and very knowledgeable," says Savoy, 53. "And I have to say that I took one look at her and I complimented him on his good taste. She is most beautiful in person."

After a champagne toast, the couple's meal began with soft-boiled eggs infused with truffles, followed by an artichoke soup with a glass of white wine.

For main dishes, "she took a lobster dish, and he ordered a cote de veau, with mashed potatoes seasoned with truffles." Their wine accompaniment was a Bordeaux: a Paulliac from Chateau Lynch Bages.

"During a break, Brad visited in the kitchen," says Savoy. There, the actor and the chef, in Savoy's words, "hammered together" a conversation in English and French. Savoy says Pitt's French is "surprisingly good."

For dessert, the chef says, both chose a selection of cheeses. "Typically French," Savoy says with a laugh.

Sighting

Jolie: 'No more kids - for now'

The Tomb Raider star shares three adopted and three biological children with Pitt and admits she's too busy to think about adding another into the brood.

When asked about plans for more kids, she tells Britain's OK! magazine, "No, I think it's very important to give our children the individual attention they need now before expanding our family.

"You try to feel them, because at different times, different children need you - you must find the time to listen to them. Brad and I are also really lucky because between the two of us, we can spread the attention around."

Jolie-Pitts Celebrate Pax's 7th Birthday in the Air and on the Water

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt made a full day of it with their kids – minus the 2-year-old twins – starting with a hot-air balloon ride and finishing with a party cruise on a riverboat.

They turned up unannounced in the morning at the riverside Parc André Citroen in the Left Bank for a ride in a tethered hot-air balloon. "They were like any other family," the balloon's operator tells PEOPLE. "There was nothing out of the ordinary to tell you about them which made them any different from any other family."

He adds that they were "charming" and the kids were "excited but well-behaved. What I think they wanted was a little moment of peace."

Thanks to the hour, the time of year and the cold weather, they found just that – enjoying the 20-minute ride by themselves.

As if that weren't enough, the group took the festivities to the water in the early evening, renting the luxurious Josephine riverboat out of Port Debilly, alongside the Eiffel Tower, for a birthday cruise on the Seine.

"We made a short cruise upriver. They stayed on board for about 90 minutes," a crewmember tells PEOPLE.

"Angelina is a very beautiful woman in person. She was friendly and spoke to me. Brad," the female crew member said with a sigh, "is very, very nice and very outgoing. He played a lot with the kids."

There was an assortment of cakes and sweets, and the boat was decorated with blue and yellow balloons.

The birthday celebrations capped a busy weekend for Pitt and Jolie, who also took daughters Zahara and Shiloh shopping on Saturday.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie Go Holiday Shopping in Paris

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie took daughters Zahara and Shiloh holiday shopping in Paris Saturday and it looks like they'll be able to check quite a few things of their gift list, including pants, pajamas, gloves, sweaters, boots, stuffed animals, knights' costumes (complete with tunics, swords and shields) and one large green plastic alligator, according to staff at the Bonpoint boutique on rue de Tournon near the Luxembourg Gardens.

"Angelina was great," an onlooker tells PEOPLE. "She's patient, and a very hands-on mother, making certain everything fits."

Pitt was "very agreeable, absolutely polite and excellent with the girls" as well, a store employee says.

In town to promote film projects – Pitt's Megamind and Jolie's The Tourist – the couple squeezed in more than an hour of shopping with Zahara, 5, and Shiloh, 4, at the celeb-friendly boutique, where Salma Hayek, Jessica Alba and Michelle Obama have visited.

"[Shiloh] wanted pants and picked out a pair of zebra-patterned boots," a clerk says of Saturday's stop.

Zahara, the employee says, chose "black suede boots and a 'Duchess' dress."

The Bonpoint store contains one fun feature which the girls enjoyed: an entire room that holds a child-sized farmhouse with several levels, meandering passages and see-through walls. Both girls played inside, according to a witness, while a laughing Jolie took pictures of her daughters.

Helping Shiloh try on a medieval knight's tunic, Pitt watched while she playfully waved around a wooden sword and shield. After deciding on both the costume and its accessories, Shiloh told the shop assistant that she wanted two complete sets. "'One is for me,' she explained," the clerk tells PEOPLE. "'The other is for my brother, Pax.' "

Pax may get his presents before the holidays – he turns 7 on Nov. 29.

And the large plastic alligator Shiloh selected at the last minute? "That's good for Knox," she told the sales staff.

Brangelina Put the Give in Thanksgiving, Donate to National Adoption Day

Already something of the poster parents for adoption, the superstar couple has emptied out their wallets to the tune of $150,000, making a donation to the SOS Children's Villages in recognition of National Adoption Day, aiming to encourage adoption and bring awareness to the more than 100,000 children still in need of homes in this country.

The Jolie-Pitt Foundation's donation to SOS will provide the long-term financial support needed to properly care for a family of four foster children.

"I am truly thankful that Angelina and Brad understand the power of family—the kind of stable family that SOS holds as an essential part of healthy child development," Dr. Heather Paul, CEO of SOS Children's Villages USA, said. "Together, Angelina and Brad have been eyewitnesses to the great work of SOS...Angelina and Brad know that children's need for a family is universal."

It's not the first time the duo has aligned themselves with the organization.

Over the summer, Angelina visited an SOS village in Haiti, bringing toys for children and meeting with government officials to push for better protection of orphaned children. Together, she and Pitt have also visited SOS centers in Chad, Ethiopia and Jordan, and last year donated $100,000 to the cause. Talk about the spirit of giving.

Brad Pitt 'Incredibly Moved' by Story of Chilean Miners

The actor's production company, Plan B, "has expressed potential interest in the story," says company representative, Jon Liebman, CEO of Brillstein Entertainment Partners.

"Like so many people worldwide, Plan B has been incredibly moved by the story of the Chilean miners and their families," says Liebman.

A lawyer for the miners, Edgardo Reinos Lundstedt, tells the Santiago, Chile, daily El Mercurio that Plan B made an offer in the millions.

But Liebman tells PEOPLE, "There have not yet been serious discussions."

Among Plan B's other movies have been A Mighty Heart, with Angelina Jolie; The Time Traveler's Wife, with Eric Bana; Eat Pray Love, with Julia Roberts; and Kick-Ass.

Brad Pitt company vies to film Chile miner saga: report

A lawyer for the miners told the daily El Mercurio that 46-year-old Pitt's "Plan B" Entertainment Company, hopes also to create a film rendering of the men's harrowing underground captivity, which ended last month.

Attorney Edgardo Reinoso, who represents the men, said Pitt's company made a multi-million-dollar offer to win the rights to make the film.

Several of the rescued miners might even be tapped for roles in the film, according to the newspaper.

Plan B has produced several Hollywood films including the recently released, "The Time Traveler's Wife," "Kick-Ass" and "Eat, Pray, Love."

The miners say they want to create a holding company that would manage any proceeds from their miraculous and improbable story before sealing any deal, so that the funds could be equitably distributed among all the men.

Reinoso said he has been flooded with proposals from numerous groups looking for interviews or hoping to seal commercial deals with the miners, with an average 10 propositions per day, according to El Mercurio.

The 33 miners were hoisted to freedom on October 13, after being trapped for a record 69 days in a collapsed mine in Chile.

Their dramatic rescue, as they were pulled painstakingly out of the mine one by one, garnered global attention and celebrity.

Jolie: 'Brad is extremely sexy'

The actress has set up home with the Hollywood hunk and they are bringing up a bustling brood of six kids.

And Jolie admits that even though they have been together for five years, she is still fully aware of Pitt's attractiveness - and insists his skills as a father only go towards boosting his appeal.

She tells America's Vogue magazine, "I think he's an extremely sexy - extremely handsome and the most sexy.

"When I think about him, I just think of the man who's such a great friend and such an extraordinary father. And that's when I fall, you know, when I have my moments of getting - whoarr! - caught up in how much I love him... it's usually when I see him with the children."

When asked if the couple will be able to handle another addition to their huge family, Jolie is adamant they would be able to cope.

She explains, "To each his own. It's one of those things. How you build your family - you have to know what you're capable of handling and how your children will relate to each other. Maybe if you have one child and that child has a lot of needs, you realise you cannot give more attention to another. Sometimes you just know as a parent. We felt we could handle more children, and we have a very happy, very full home."

Brad Pitt Wants His Kids to Think He's Cooler Than Spider-Man

"Spider-Man is big in our family," Pitt, 46, told PEOPLE at the New York premiere of the animated superhero film Megamind on Wednesday. "The kids think he's the coolest. If there was one superhero they would want me to play, that would be the one. I'd score big with them."

But Spider-Man was already taken. So, Pitt took the role of Metro Man in Megamind, and brought sons Maddox, 9, and Pax, 6, to the New York premiere on Wednesday to see what they thought.

"I'm sneaking in the boys tonight," said Pitt, mentioning too that Zahara, 5, Shiloh, 4, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 2 (who are "talking a lot and singing") are in Budapest, where their mom Angelina Jolie is directing her first feature. "I think they will like it, but they are tough critics. Will Ferrell is very popular in our house, so the boys will get a kick out of that."

He added: "Hopefully they will think Dad's really cool and better than Spider-Man."

Pitt says he took the role "for my kids. They liked the story, and I liked it." These days, he adds, the children are always top of mind when he and Jolie consider film work.

"Every role we choose now, we choose it for the kids," he says. "Will the kids like it? Will they like it when they are young adults? Or is this a good location for the family? That's it."

Brad Pitt On His 'Megamind' Character: 'He Looks A Bit Like Clooney!'

When Access Hollywood's Shaun Robinson asked the superstar if the muscle-bound Metro Man looked as good as the blond dad of six at Wednesday night's "Megamind 3-D" premiere in New York City, Brad said the animated superhero actually resembled one of his pals.

"I think he looks a bit like [George] Clooney, which is obviously not as good," Brad laughed. "So I think that answers the question."

Brad, who had just arrived from Budapest in time for the "Megamind 3-D" premiere, said he planned to bring some of his children to check out the film.

"We hopped off a plane [a] couple hours ago... Sneaking the boys in, we'll see what they think about it," Brad said.

The animated feature, about a villain named Megamind (voiced by Will Ferrell), who is forced to reconsider his role in life and his love of evil following some significant events, is a project Brad was glad to be a part of.,P>"This is a great one for the kids," Shaun said.

"Yeah, that's how we choose our roles now -- Will the kids like it? Will they like it when they get a little older? Is it a good location for the family," Brad said.

Coincidentally, co-star Tina Fey joked that she chooses movies based on the hot men involved in the cast.

"That's how I choose projects: Are there gonna be super buff guys? And I don't care if they're if they're [in] character suits. Whatever it takes," Tina laughed.

"Megamind 3-D" hits theaters on Friday.

Brad Pitt to play mob enforcer in crime comedy

Pitt's character, Jackie Cogan, is a professional enforcer who investigates a heist that takes place during a high stakes poker game under protection of the mob.

Sources say Dominik is seeking to reunite some of his "Jesse James" actors for the independently financed ensemble movie, including Sam Rockwell and Casey Affleck. Also on the list are Mark Ruffalo and Javier Bardem.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's Spa Day with the Kids

For Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, the answer was an afternoon filled with history, relaxation and a fast food break.

Taking Sunday off from shooting her directorial debut in Hungary, Jolie, 35, joined Pitt, 46, for some special time with kids Zahara, 5, and Pax, 6. (The couple's other four children were elsewhere.)

First stop: the city's historic Lukács Gyógyfürdo, an indoor-outdoor thermal bath facility famed for its healing properties since the 12th century. In addition to the thermal baths, the facility also offers modernized swimming pools, spa treatments and saunas.

"Pax was definitely for it," says one eyewitness. "He came out laughing, and his hair was still wet when they were leaving."

After the spa visit, the family – perhaps longing for a taste of home? – hit one of their favorite destinations: the McDonald's drive-thru.

Brad Pitt: "I Had to Keep Calming Myself Down," Says Costar

The 29-year old actress has nine movies coming out in the next year so. Yes, nine!

Sure, one of them is Wilde Salome, an adaptation of Oscar Wilde's Salome written and directed by and costarring Al Pacino, but what really want to know about is the flick with...Brad Pitt!

So, here it goes...

Chastain plays Pitt's wife in Tree of Life, director Terrence Malick's film about a family with three sons in the 1950s, also starring Sean Penn. Chastain isn't allowed to reveal too much, but that doesn't stop her from talking about Mr. Pitt.

"I remember I was working and he came to set," she told me at Elle's Women in Hollywood event, where she was given the Calvin Klein Collection Emerging Star Spotlight Award. "I was like, OK, I'm going to meet Brad Pitt! I was trying to be like it's no big deal—we just have to play husband and wife!"

Turns out she had nothing to worry about. "He was so chill, nice and funny and cool," she said. "He's like a normal dude."

Even so, she did have to be careful. "I had to keep calming myself, like don't geek out," Chastain said. "Yes, this is Brad Pitt, but you have to be normal. At least I didn't scare him."

So did she get to lock lips with Angelina Jolie's main man? She smiled, "I can't tell you that."

Grrr.

Buss-ted: Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt Steal a Kiss on Set

Jolie, 35, has teamed up with Oscar-winning producer Graham King on her yet untitled film, which began shooting last week – and she's already assembled a European cast for the love story set against the backdrop of the Bosnian War.

Before joining his family in Hungary, Pitt was filming his new movie Moneyball, most recently in Boston. His children, meanwhile, have enrolled in a French-American school in Budapest.

Brad Pitt Arrives in Hungary to Join Angelina Jolie and Kids

Angelina Jolie's Kids Starting School in Hungary

With Brad Pitt filming Moneyball in Boston, Jolie, 35, has taken the couple's children with her to Hungary, where she just began shooting her directorial film debut.

"Angelina has enlisted her children into (an) elite French-American school that they will attend from next week on," a source tells PEOPLE of Pax and Maddox. "The school has kindergarten, too, where Zahara and Shiloh will attend."

Not only is Jolie making sure her children are comfortable in their new surroundings, but the actress is mingling with the Budapest locals.

"She came over to everyone in the vicinity, shook everyone's hands and introduced herself, as if we didn't know who she was."

Hollywood fetes engagement of Brad Grey and Cassandra Huysentruyt

Pregnant man defends Pitt, Jolie

Thomas Beatie, who is expecting his third child with his wife Nancy, insists he's more expert than most when it comes to gender confusion, and Jolie and Pitt are doing nothing wrong by encouraging their six year old to dress how she likes.

He tells Life & Style magazine, "When you're a child, you don't really have a solid grasp of what male and female are. Unless Shiloh actually identifies as being male, she is not transgender. Gender is largely a state of mind, and I'm sure if asked, she would identify herself as a little girl."

Beatie, who was born a girl, tells the publication he didn't start thinking he was a boy until he turned 10.

Brad Pitt: Super Bowl MVP?

Now, he's been recruited by the New Orleans Saints.

Pitt has been tapped to narrate America's Game: 2009 New Orleans Saints, a documentary about the team's Super Bowl XLIV victory against the Indianapolis Colts last February. The film debuts on the NFL Network on Sept. 8, the night before the Saints' first game of the regular season.

Past celebrity narrators for the NFL's America's Game series include Jon Hamm, Alec Baldwin, Morgan Freeman, Gene Hackman, Ed Harris, Martin Sheen, Bruce Willis and James Gandolfini.

Pitt owns a home in New Orleans with Angelina Jolie. He created the Make It Right Foundation in 2006 with the goal of building 150 sustainable, affordable new houses in NOLA's devastated Ninth Ward.

Pitt 'thrilled' with housing project

The Hollywood actor helped found the Make It Right project, which has built 34 eco-friendly houses in an area which was completely devastated by the storm in September 2005.

Pitt went back to New Orleans on Friday to tour the completed buildings and admits he felt overwhelmed to see families living in the community.

He tells NBC's Nightly News show, "It's not mine, it's theirs. I see them having barbecues out in the (backyards) and I'm just thrilled.

"I can take credit for sitting down with the community first (before the government), and I can take credit for bringing in some really smart people and hooking them up with the families here."

Country star Faith Hill performed a free show in the city on Tuesday to support the rebuilding efforts and actress Sandra Bullock is due to cut the ribbon on a new $700,000 health clinic in New Orleans which she helped fund.

Brad Pitt Talks Still-Struggling New Orleans: "I Wish We Could Do More"

Well, as the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina approaching, that guy was in New Orleans' Lower 9th Ward to inspect the progress of the green rebuilding program he spearheaded to get the impoverished neighborhood back on its feet.

"We chose this spot because it was the iconic location of everything that was wrong with the rescue, the recovery," Pitt told NBC's Brian Williams today, referring to the government's much-criticized response to the natural disaster in September 2005.

But when Williams referred to the newly built homes—about 50 out of a planned 150 are up so far—as Pitt's empire, he gently protested that characterization.

"It's not mine, it's theirs," he said simply. "I see them having barbecues out in the [backyards] and I'm just thrilled."

When asked what he could take credit for, Pitt modestly replied, "I can take credit for sitting down with the community first [before the government], and I can take credit for bringing in some really smart people and hooking them up with the families here."

(Not to mention, he and that lovely partner of his also purchased a home in the Big Easy, bumping up property values in at least one community.)

Pitt says he hopes that in five years his foundation will have not only built 150 homes but also will have raised more money to expand the project into other areas of New Orleans.

"We've got the price point down on these homes to any antiquated, conventional housing," Pitt said. "There's no reason to do it any other way."

Brad Pitt clip puts Fox News on "fair use" hot seat

The footage aired last October during Bill O'Reilly's show, where he used it to criticize paparazzi.

The owner of the footage, Media2Air, says it licensed the video to various media outlets under strict time and platform guidelines, but the News Corp-owned network just took it "as part of its continuing coverage of the Pitt family."

Fox News claimed "fair use," even though News Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch has condemned search engines for "stealing" his newspapers' stories under the same pretext and has predicted that courts would eventually bar "fair use." The comments have made their way into Media2Air's new lawsuit against Fox News.

After Fox allegedly downloaded the clip off TMZ and broadcast it on October 27, 2009, Media2Air said it immediately contacted Fox, which used the footage again two days later. The following day, a cease-and-desist letter was sent. Another follow-up letter was sent in February.

According to the complaint, Fox attorney Carlotta Cassidy then called Media2Air and said use of the video was proper, citing the "newsworthy rule" (an aspect of fair use). Nevertheless, Cassidy allegedly blamed a Google cache for the continued appearance of the footage on the Fox News website, and Media2Air said it believed the video would soon be taken down.

That allegedly didn't happen. The suit argues that the offending image is still on Fox's website and is being used "with absolutely no commentary or critical purpose."

Media2Air objects to Fox News' characterization that this was a fair use. "Fox News is wrong," the complaint puts it bluntly. As proof, the plaintiff trots out testimony by -- you guessed it -- Rupert Murdoch.

Angelina Jolie On Life With Brad Pitt: 'We Have A Pretty Great Relationship'

"We have a pretty great relationship," the "Salt" star told British morning show GMTV this week. "If anything, we only go through periods where we're working too much and we say, 'Honey, one of us is working too much,' or we haven't spent enough special time."

The 35-year-old big screen beauty said once they realize their schedules have become too hectic, they take action.

"As soon as we identify it, we just know we have to find some special time and then we reconnect," she continued. "We're never far apart. We raise the kids together. We take turns working. So, we try to stay pretty close."

Raising their six children requires that the Oscar winner fix and pack lunches for their kids, but Angelina explained that she's not about to trade in her acting career for a serving tray and a notepad.

"The problem with my packed lunches is everybody is very, very outspoken about what they want, so it becomes - I often saying, 'I'm not a waitress!'" she said. "We go through so much food, and they're still little. So, I can imagine it's going to get worse."

Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt to Design Children's Clothing Line?

OK, maybe not but is there anything this golden power couple can't do?

Reps for Jolie and Pitt aren't commenting, but rumors are flying that the two have plans to design a children's clothing line. But before you think they're doing it to stuff their own bank accounts, sales of the line are said to be benefiting their charity, the Jolie-Pitt Foundation.

This wouldn't be the first time the two have designed together. Their jewelry pieces for Asprey launched last year and benefits The Education Partnership for Children of Conflict.

The Salt star reportedly donated her fee for modeling for St. John to charity, too.

No word on what the children's collection will entail, but will Shiloh inspire some unisex Montenegro pieces? We hope so.

Javier Bardem on His Brad Pitt Man-Crush: "Who Doesn't Have It?"

During his Tonight Show appearance on Thursday, the Oscar winner was asked by Jay Leno to explain the man-crush he was recently quoted as having on Brad Pitt...

"I mean, who doesn't have it?" Javier said with a laugh. "I had the chance to meet him and he's very nice, very sweet. I mean, great body, great face. I was like, alright!"

But rather than just let such a, er, manly moment go, the newly married actor decided to put those amorous feelings to good use.

"He was a producer of Eat Pray Love, so I was flirting with him so I could get a job," he explained. "I wanted to make him believe that I could fall in love with him so he would give me a job."

Not surprisingly, it worked. Now Javier's got a little extra spending cash to go and replace that undoubtedly worn-out copy of Troy.

Brad Pitt's former lovers bond

The actresses play best friends in the romantic comedy and Lewis claims their on-screen chemistry extended into real life.

But she insists the pair never talked about their separate experiences with the Fight Club hunk.

She says, "There's an obvious history we share but while we didn't share stories about Brad, we did have an instant connection and mutual affection. I love her."

Lewis also admits she never expected her four-year relationship with Pitt in the '90s to last - unlike his ex-wife Aniston.

She adds, "For Jennifer, being with Brad was profound as it was a marriage. For me, it was only like a high-school relationship. Brad and I were on a journey together at the start of our careers. Then he became this sensation in a whole other way. I always knew I'd stay an outsider."

Birthday Boy Maddox Jolie-Pitt Satisfies a Need for Speed

Dad Brad, mom Angelina, brother Pax, 6, and sisters Zahara, 5, and Shiloh, 4, joined Maddox and friends for a private party at Go Kart World in Carson, Calif.The large group of children and adults had the facility all to themselves for two hours and spent the morning racing around the track, snacking on pizza and celebrating Maddox with a personalized birthday cake.

Although Maddox was the man of the hour, he wasn't alone in enjoying the ride at Go Kart World. In the past, such celebrities as Kate Hudson, Owen Wilson, Demi Moore, Ashton Kutcher and David Beckham have been there and jumped behind the wheel.

"Brad and Angie were wonderful hosts and make sure all the guests had the best time," the source said. "They acted very happy and relaxed together. Their other children also seemed to enjoy the racetrack and the party."

Pitt tops popularity poll

The Ocean's Eleven star was voted top by British men in the survey by market research firm OnePoll.com, while soccer ace David Beckham landed second place.

Movie hardman Bruce Willis came third, while Johnny Depp and Will Smith rounded out the top five in fourth and fifth place, respectively.

Matt Damon and Julia Roberts Joining Brad Pitt in Mr. Clooney's Neighborhood?

Property consultant Alessandro Proto, who just coordinated Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's recent multimillion-dollar villa purchase in Valpolicella, tells E! News exclusively that he is now helping Matt Damon and Julia Roberts find their dream homes in Italy as well.

"Matt Damon is interested in buying a villa near Villa Oleandra, George Clooney's villa in Lake Como," says Proto. "We are finding one for him."

Proto says Damon approached him about a month ago, followed two weeks later by Roberts, who will be viewing some villa options in September.

Your move, Don Cheadle.

Angelina Jolie says Pitt is 'wonderful father'

"He was just a wonderful father," she said Tuesday of Pitt, during work on the film, in which she plays a tough spy. He often brought the children to the set, she recalled.

"They played with fake blood, and they found mommy very strange in her different hair," she said.

Pitt and Jolie have been partners since they began a relationship while working on the 2005 film "Mr. & Mrs. Smith." They are raising six children.

Last week, Pitt and Jolie accepted undisclosed damages in London's High Court to settle a privacy claim against a British tabloid that had reported in January that they were planning to split.

Asked about her ability to work and maintain a happy family, Jolie told reporters at a Tokyo hotel: "Brad is the word that makes it possible."

Jolie, who arrived Monday, brought four of the children along on the Japan trip. They have already spent some time shopping for toys inspired by Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki's animation characters Ponyo and Totoro, she said.

Jolie, 35, acknowledged she once surprised her 8-year-old son Maddox with her disguise as a male naval officer in "Salt."

He came into the room and reluctantly shook hands with the person he didn't know was his mother.

"And I said, 'Honey, it's mommy,'" Jolie said.

"I think I freaked him out," she said with a laugh, adding that he then watched her peel off her fake ears, hands and nose.

"I play these roles, but I'm always in every minute their mom first," she said. "I'm a bit of a goofy. I'm funny at home, I think."

Her children aren't going to be seeing the movie, though.

"I think it's very hard for them to see someone trying to kill their mom, even if she wins," she said.

'Megamind' helmer lauds Pitt's voice

This would explain, anyway, why Megamind director Tom McGrath doesn't appear terribly concerned his forthcoming DreamWorks animated comedy, about a blue-domed would-be world conqueror, is following this summer's 3D cartoon hit Despicable Me, about a bald-domed would-be world conqueror.

If history is an indicator, studios prefer to be first when they have competing films circling the same material -- volcanoes, asteroids and doomed missions to Mars, etc. Nevertheless, McGrath doesn't believe Despicable Me, which has already grossed more than $133 million in North America, has hijacked Megamind's thunder.

"I think success for any animation is good," he tells QMI Agency. "I saw Despicable Me because I was worried about -- 'God, is this the same?' And it's completely different from my point of view. But it's a really sweet movie. (Megamind) is skewed a little more to fans of superhero movies. You just keep your head down and do your own thing ... And it is different. This is completely superhero genre. To me, Despicable Me played off a different genre -- sort of the Bond movie."

Opening in November, Megamind casts Will Ferrell as the titular menace to humanity, a scheming alien constantly thwarted by dashing super-powered Metro Man (Brad Pitt) and his plucky reporter girlfriend (Tina Fey).

"We knew we wanted comedians because that's how we work -- work-shopping a story instead of live-action where you develop a script for several years and then shoot," McGrath says. "We shoot and develop a script as we go."

So why cast Pitt, a superstar better known for his dramatic roles than comedic skills? "He has a great voice and he's very funny," McGrath says.

For his part, Ferrell, who is best identified with inane bumblers and affable goofballs, the appeal was as basic as your average doomsday machine.

"It was fun to play a bad guy; I think it's always fun," Ferrell says. "What's unique about this is that he's only bad because of a set of circumstances beyond his control. And we find out he's really a sweetheart who upholds the tradition of good versus bad, and knows that without good, there can't be bad ... He's the first bad guy who'll miss the good guy."

Fey's Roxanne Ritchi, meanwhile, is a synthesis of any number of feisty females, says the Emmy-winner.

"I see her origins in everything from Lois Lane to Karen Allen in Raiders of the Lost Ark," Fey says. "She's this gal that can handle herself in these situations. I do like how she's drawn. She's very stylish and sort of atypical. She's got this weird long little nose. She's cool-looking."

Comedy veterans Ferrell and Fey, of course, are old pros at improvising -- a quality that suited the less-structured production process.

"The great thing about animation is you can go off on any tangent," Ferrell says. "I do think in certain scenes that have to convey a different emotion, it's hard just to do that with your voice sometimes and there are times when you read it, 'The character is very sad right now.' And in your mind, you think, 'OK, I'm going to be very sad right now.' But you're like, 'I'm not sounding sad. I'm trying to do that.' "

Says the 30 Rock star, "The same stretch of dialogue can be recorded 50 times until you decide you like it. You're not wasting film or daylight. I found it very liberating."

Better still, she adds, "I didn't have to wear make-up."

Pitt takes shot at singing

Megamind isn't a musical, but that doesn't mean audiences won't hear Brad Pitt's singing voice.

"He does sing a little bit in the movie," says director Tom McGrath (Madagascar), who explains Pitt's do-gooder, Metro Man, was modeled in part on Elvis Presley.

"We pitched this hero to him -- he's Elvis Presley to Will Ferrell's Alice Cooper in a Battle of the Bands superhero world, and he had a lot of fun with it ... When we were talking about it being Elvis, he just brought this swagger."

Although Pitt had been rumoured to be making an appearance at this year's Comic-Con, fans had to suffice with a cardboard cut-out Fey brought out on stage with her during Thursday's public panel.

"Brad just gravitated towards playing this swanky confident character," McGrath says. "But then behind the scenes, he took a different approach. He's very physical, if you look at Burn After Reading or his other movies."

So much so, he says, that they put Pitt's performance on camera as a reference "so the animators can get his physicality into it as well."

Meet Brad Pitt's Most Crazed Fan: Tina Fey

"I'm pretty sure we're going to meet at some point," Fey, 40, told PEOPLE at San Diego's Comic-Con International on Thursday. "I've sent him over 100 letters saying that I'm pretty sure we're going to meet. And 100 chunks of my hair. If that's not a great gift, then one of us is crazy."

Fey came to Comic-Con trying to prevent herself from using 30 Rock character Liz Lemon's favorite exclamation of frustration: "Nerds!"

"I felt like I didn't want to say anything that would get me in trouble," she says, despite being prompted by a familiar gag from a former Saturday Night Live costar. "Jimmy Fallon emailed me and said 'Nerd Alert! You're at Comic-Con!' "

'World War Z' enlists Brad Pitt to battle zombies

Pitt will get into action-hero mode for a feature-film adaptation of the novel "World War Z," author Max Brooks told MTV News Wednesday (July 21) during Comic-Con's preview night. The movie is targeted for a summer 2012 release from Paramount.

Pitt's production company, Plan B, bought the rights to Brooks' book, subtitled "An Oral History of the Zombie War," in 2007 and he's been rumored as a possible star pretty much ever since. Brooks says he got the official word that Pitt would star in the film on Wednesday, along with news that Paramount has also optioned his "Zombie Survival Guide" and "Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks."

"I can't believe how cool Paramount has been to me and these projects, and how cool Plan B has been," Brooks tells MTV.

Marc Forster ("Quantum of Solace," "Stranger Than Fiction") is set to direct.

Jolie, Pitt settle 'break up' lawsuit

In January, the News of the World reported the couple planned to part and had agreed on custody of their six children and the division of their assets estimated by the newspaper to be 205 million pounds ($310 million).

The couple said the claims were false and demanded a retraction of the story and an apology.

Solicitor-advocate Keith Schilling told the High Court in London that News Group Newspapers now accepted that each of the allegations was "false and intrusive," the Press Association reported.

The newspaper agreed to publish an apology and pay the couple costs and damages, which they intend to donate to their charity the Jolie-Pitt Foundation.

Angelina Jolie on Brad Pitt: We Have Each Other's Backs

"Brad's an extraordinary father," Jolie, 35, tells PEOPLE in this week's issue. "We have each other's backs."

The teamwork of the actress and Pitt, 46, comes in handy when dealing with settling differences between kids Maddox, 8, Pax, 6, Zahara, 5, Shiloh, 4, and 2-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne, says Jolie.

"They can't go behind one [parent] to the other,” she says. "Not one of us is softer than the other."

The actress, whose new political thriller Salt opens Friday, also talks about tackling her own stunts in the film. "I happen to like heights, so we found moments where I can use that," she says.

One thing that does scare her: the idea of her kids becoming teenagers.

"I break out into a sweat at just the thought."

Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt Hold Court at Salt Premiere

Half of Hollywood Boulevard was shut down, and hundreds of fans erupted in pandemonium as the couple arrived at Grauman's Chinese Theatre – Jolie in an Emporio Armani dress and Ferragamo shoes – and greeted fans before heading inside for the screening.

At the afterparty, the couple held court in a special area, flanked by a phalanx of security, in the middle of Hollywood & Highland's Grand Ballroom. One guest of honor was Jolie's father, Oscar winner Jon Voight, 71, who looked thrilled as Pitt chatted affectionately with him throughout the evening and he shared a hug with his daughter.

The inner circle got a boost of energy when they were joined by Quinton Aaron, 25, the actor who played Michael, the son of Sandra Bullock's character, in The Blind Side. Both Jolie, 35, and Pitt, 46, spent time enthusiastically chatting with him, and Aaron became the life of the afterparty, taking dozens of photos with fans who approached him.

A few feet away from the Jolie-Pitts was another special area set up for costar Liev Schreiber and his partner, Naomi Watts. Schreiber, 42, who has two small boys with Watts, told PEOPLE that he bonded with Jolie over parenting during the shoot.

"I think we're both in that place with our kids where they're really amazing, right around 3 years old, when all the language starts to come out of them," Schreiber said. "It's a very exciting period in someone's life, both the child's and the parent's, and it was fun to bond over that."

Jolie and Pitt left at around 11 p.m. after another big day in their hectic lives.

"What's amazing about [Jolie] is the amount of things going on in her life and how calm she is in the middle of them," producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura told PEOPLE. "She's an unbelievably committed mom, and she's an unbelievably committed actress, and on human rights ... it's a whirlwind going on around her, and in the middle of it she's as calm as can be."

Brad Almost Made a Pit Stop in Angelina Jolie's Salt

No, Hollywood's hottest couple hasn't called it quits. But it's been revealed that Brad Pitt was thisclose to shooting a cameo for Angelina Jolie's upcoming spy thriller Salt.

"He was almost going to be the motorcycle guy that I knocked down, and then he'd call me a bad name," Angelina tells USA Today. "But he was with the kids that day, and we couldn't work it out."

Well, we can't exactly fault the guy for keeping his priorities in order.

Goodbye Goatee! Brad Pitt Bares Clean-Shaven Look

A month after trimming his much-buzzed about beard for the upcoming movie Moneyball, the actor, 46, was spotted Monday on the Los Angeles set with a fresh new look and no facial hair.

Pitt shaved it all off to play Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane in the flick, which also stars Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Robin Wright.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie Would Get Married - If the Kids Asked Them To

"I think it would be hard to say no to the kids," Jolie, 35, said Monday morning on ABC's Good Morning America in an excerpt of an interview airing Monday night on Nightline.

But so far, it hasn't been an issue, as none of their six children seem to think it's a priority, either. "They're not asking," Jolie says. "They are very aware that nothing's missing."

Jolie, who stars in the new spy thriller Salt, touches on other aspects of her family in the interview, including whether it will get any larger. She and Pitt, 46, are torn about the issue – drawn to the idea of it, yet dreading how it would stretch them even thinner.

"We always have this thing, first thing in the morning, where we're really, really tired, and we look at each other and we wonder, Are we ever going to get sleep?" the actress says. "And yet we still love the idea of having more children."

Breakfast Pandemonium

Offering a glimpse into their daily routine, Jolie says she's better at disciplining the girls, while Pitt is better at disciplining the boys. "I think girls and Daddy can just bat their eyes," she says. "And the boys, funnily enough, can kind of get me."

She also describes the pandemonium of the Jolie-Pitts at breakfast time. "We're like bartenders. We're like waiters," she says of herself and her actor-partner. "But we still, I think, are able to do it because we manage to have a great laugh. We do it together, and we find fun in it, and because of that, it doesn't matter if you don't get sleep. It's an honor to take care of them."

On the subject of love, Jolie is asked if Pitt is the love of her life – and if there is indeed one true love for anyone. "He makes me feel like there is," she replies. Asked if they'll grow old together, she doesn't hesitate. "Of course," she says. "We wouldn't have six children if we weren't absolutely sure of that."

Pitt tops 'hottest vampire' poll

Pitt's Louis de Pointe du Lac from 1994's Interview with the Vampire has earned him the top spot in a new WENN.com monster list, putting him just ahead of Pattinson by a handful of votes.

Pitt scored 44 per cent of the 1,000-plus votes, just one per cent more than Pattinson, who plays Edward Cullen in the Twilight franchise.

Kiefer Sutherland came in third for his role as a neck-biting teenage tearaway in The Lost Boys, ahead of Dracula star Gary Oldman and Blade's Wesley Snipes.

Are Brad & Angelina Headed to Comic-Con?

That's the big question as movie geeks prepare for the annual pilgrimage to San Diego's Comic-Con International, where both Angelina Jolie's Salt and Brad Pitt's Megamind will be presented on the same day, per the very A-list, Twilight-free and Tron-heavy schedule released today:

Even without the presence of sparkly vampires (right, there is no Twilight panel this year), the pop culture confab will be a star-studded weekend with presentations of highly anticipated studio flicks like Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, The Expendables, and the aforementioned Salt and Megamind, December's Tron: Legacy, and the 2011 sci-fi/action pic Battle: Los Angeles.

And those panels are just on the first day, July 22!

While Brangelina are currently unconfirmed to attend the panels, surprise guests have been known to drop in on unsuspecting Con attendees in the past. Last year, Johnny Depp popped in to say hello during Disney's Alice in Wonderland panel, dazzling the crowd with a wave and hello. A year earlier, Hugh Jackman surprised fans in support of Wolverine.

The biggest clue that Sony/Columbia Pictures might bring Angie back to Comic-Con? (She appeared, pre-Brangelina, to pimp 2003's Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life.) They promise "some very special guests" to accompany exclusive footage from the action pic, which opens nationwide the next day.

While fans simmer in that delicious ambiguity, they'll have plenty of A-list talent to ogle over the weekend.

Stars already confirmed to attend include Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Jeff Bridges, Michael Sheen, Olivia Wilde, Sylvester Stallone, Michelle Rodriguez, Aaron Eckhart, J.J. Abrams, Joss Whedon, Michael Cera, Bruce Willis, and every fan boy's favorite GILF, Helen Mirren. (Rrawr!)

Friday will see even more stars—in three dimensions!—as Jerry O'Connell, Elisabeth Shue, Jessica Szohr, Steven McQueen, and Eli Roth take the stage with Piranha 3-D before Nicolas Cage presents footage from his 2011 revenge-horror pic, Drive Angry 3-D.

Seth Rogen and director Michel Gondry are also expected to appear over the weekend with their 2011 superhero flick, The Green Hornet.

The full schedule is announced this weekend!

Pitt's 'Moneyball' finally rolls

The Columbia project is based on Michael Lewis' 2003 nonfiction book about Oakland Athletics GM Billy Beane and his strategy for building a successful team without paying players enormous salaries.

A longtime member of the Atlanta Braves, Justice played his final MLB season, 2002, for the A's, who made the playoffs that year. Robin Wright, Jonah Hill and Philip Seymour Hoffman also star in the Bennett Miller-directed movie.

Bishop has appeared on TV's "Grey's Anatomy," "Lost," "Brothers and Sisters" and "Girlfriends" and the features "The Rundown" and "Friday Night Lights."

No oil movie for Brad Pitt

The Ocean's Eleven actor was said to be hatching plans for a big screen drama about the crisis, which was triggered when a BP rig ruptured in April and has since been ruled America's worst environmental disaster.

But Pitt's rep is baffled by the rumours, telling GossipCop.com they "have heard nothing about this".

Gallons of oil have been spilling into the sea off the coast of Louisiana since the rig ruptured, with BP bosses desperately trying to find a solution to stem the leak.

Oprah Regains the Power in Celeb Land

The multimedia mogul regained her throne at the top of Forbes' 2010 list of the world's 100 Most Powerful Celebrities, rebounding from last year's ignominious slip to No. 2.

So what has become of last year's No. 1?

Angelina Jolie slid to 18th place because, per the powerful list makers at Forbes, though she still maintained a solid media presence over the last 12 months, she didn't release any major films. (Look for a rebound in '11 after The Tourist and Salt come out.)

Anyway, though Oprah's sitting pretty, No. 2 Beyoncé is nipping at her heels, followed by James Cameron (absent from the list last year) and first-time powerbroker Lady Gaga.

Meanwhile, Tiger Woods, comfortable at No. 5, is still the highest-paid athlete in the business thanks to Nike, despite his inability to sell watches, Gatorade and cell-phone service at this time.

Rounding out the top 10 are an ascendant Britney Spears, 2009 absentee U2, Sandra Bullock (who made a whopping one-year leap from 92nd to 8th), a stationary Johnny Depp and a slightly slipping Madonna.

Out of the top 10 but still lurking close by are Kobe Bryant, Bruce Springsteen, Jennifer Aniston, Steven Spielberg and Brad Pitt (30th to Jen's 27th).

Making their Most Powerful list debut are Robert Pattinson (50th) and Kristen Stewart (66th), both landing ahead of Daniel Radcliffe, who slipped from 70th to 82nd while waiting for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 to come along.

Also hitting the list for the first time is E!'s own Chelsea Handler, debuting at No. 98, though she has some catching up to do to equal Ryan Seacrest's two-years' running spot at No. 44.

Check out Forbes.com for the complete list.

Brad Pitt Is Warming Up for the Big Shave

The actor, whose beard has been the subject of immeasurable buzz since he started growing it about a year ago, finally trimmed it his facial hair over the weekend – but will have to go the full monty soon.

So what’s prompting him to end the hirsute look? Pitt starts production on his long-awaited film Moneyball in the next few weeks, playing clean-shaven Oakland A’s General Manager Billy Beane.

The movie, which is an adaptation of the best-selling book by Michael Lewis, also stars Jonah Hill, Oscar-winner Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Robin Wright.

Brad Pitt Wants to Take Over the World (Cup)

Enter Brad Pitt—unless we missed the memo, a heretofore unavowed football soccer fan.

That's right, it looks like it's going to take a beautiful man (or two—we didn't forget you, Becks!) to bring us the beautiful game.

Pitt has joined the board of directors for the committee putting together the U.S. bid to host the FIFA World Cup in either 2018 or 2022 (for the uninitiated, the tournament lasts a month, happens every four years and Brazil already called dibs on 2014).

"Soccer is a truly global sport and the opportunity to join the effort to have the U.S. host the world's greatest sporting event again is a great honor," said Pitt.

"FIFA has set a world standard for using sport as a tool for positive social change and I'm proud to be associated with a United States World Cup Bid that has so ardently adhered to the principles established by FIFA."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2CjUZbDT-0

Granted, while Pitt is a high-profile and welcome addition to the panel—which already includes Spike Lee—he's slightly late to the party. If you want to get technical about it, the U.S. already submitted its bid to FIFA in Zurich last month at what was quite a formal ceremony.

However, Pitt has obviously boosted the profile of the U.S.' bid, which will be weighed against offers put forth by Australia, England, Russia, Netherlands-Belgium, Portugal-Spain, Japan, Qatar and South Korea. The host site will be announced on Dec. 2.

Fans can also do their part, and can register their support on www.goUSAbid.com. So far, nearly half a million soccer lovers have signed on.

GOOOOOOD LUCK!

Brangelina's Beach Party Weekend

After much time filming The Tourist in Italy, Angelina Jolie spent the Memorial Day holiday like a, well, tourist, when she brought her sizzle stateside and accompanied Brad Pitt to a Malibu beach party Saturday.

And as the dazzling duo mingled out on a friend's deck, two of the couple's cute kids enjoyed a little fun in the sun themselves...

Brangelina's sons Maddox and Pax hit up the sand and surf—even catching some waves on a boogie board.

But Malibu wasn't the only place to see stars working on their tans this weekend—folks like Halle Berry strutted their stuff in Miami, while Megan Fox and Brian Austin Green took advantage of the starlet's free time in Maui.

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt Design $10,000 Cufflinks For a Cause!

"Babel" writer reteaming with Brad Pitt

The writer behind Brad Pitt's fractured drama "Babel" as well as indie darling "Amores Perros" is working on "Tiger Hunting," a drama being developed as a potential Pitt vehicle by "The Wrestler" director Darren Aronofsky.

The story centers on an animal activist who must protect the small town he is doing research in when a tiger begins attacking its inhabitants. Pitt and Aronofsky have been developing "Hunting" under the radar since last year. It is set up at Focus Features.

Arriaga's other credits include "21 Grams," as well as "The Burning Plain," which he also directed.

Brad Pitt and Jim Carrey (and More) Score Webby Awards

Pitt's big win is in the activism category for his Make It Right foundation, which he launched in 2007 to help rebuild New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Carrey garnered both a Webby and a people's voice award for his visually stunning official fan site that boldly showcases his unique creativity and trippy humor.

Recognizing achievements in more than 70 categories, including Web sites, online videos and films, blogs and other segments of digital culture, the 14th annual Webbys are considered the Oscars of the online world.

While academy judges like Martha Stewart and David Bowie decide the winners in the Webby categories, people around the world also have a say in the voting.

Other honorees include movie critic Roger Ebert for his wildly popular blog,Roger Ebert's Journal, Comedy Central host Stephen Colbert for Colbert Nation and actress Isabella Rosselini for her quirky short-film series, Green Porno, about animal attraction.

A complete list of winners is online.

Civil War epic waits for Pitt

Duvall hopes to reteam with his Crazy Heart director Scott Cooper for a movie retelling of the famous feud between Virginia families the Hatfields and the McCoys, but they can't get started on the film until Pitt schedules it.

The Godfather star reveals Cooper and Pitt met in Venice, Italy to discuss the film and top scriptwriter Eric Roth's screenplay - and now everything hinges on the Babel star's commitment to play opposite Duvall in the period piece.

The film chronicles the battles between the two neighbouring pioneer families who fought on opposite sides of the American Civil War and long after the Union and Confederate armies stopped fighting.

One of their most famous battles was over the ownership of a pig.

And Duvall wants to make the epic before he's too old to take on a leading part.

He tells WENN, "Scott's on board and (Crazy Heart composer) T-Bone Burnett would do the music. It's like American Shakespeare; the two families fighting 30 years over a pig!

"Their lineage goes back to England and the music and the songs and even some of their feuding goes back that far. Eric Roth wrote this brilliant script and he wrote backwards through books. It's brilliant and it should be done.

"The role of Devil Anse, the head of the Hatfields, was written for me and Brad would be the main guy in it. He loves the script but he has so many options that he's putting it off. Hopefully they'll do it but it's all up to Brad Pitt to release it. He controls the project with Warner Brothers."

Angelina Jolie Is Not Pregnant

A source close to Angelina Jolie calls a new report claiming the actress is three-months pregnant with her seventh child "totally false." A rep for the actress also denies the pregnancy reports.

Right now, it's all about quality time between the Jolie-Pitt kids and their grandparents. Brad's parents are staying with the family in Venice, while Angelina continues to shoot The Tourist with Johnny Depp.

On Tuesday, Knox, 1˝, took his daily balcony break, this time with Brad's mom, Jane, to watch the boats in the canal. Two days before, he stepped out with his grandpa, William.

Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp to Light Up Cannes

Also likely to roll out at the annual film rite of spring in the South of France, which will open with Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett in Robin Hood: Johnny Depp in Rum Diary, Javiar Bardem in Biutiful, as well as Mickey Rourke, Bruce Willis, Jason Stratham, Jet Li and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in the testosterone-charged Expendables. The official announcement of entries comes Thursday.

Other names being mentioned as possible attendees include Nicole Kidman, Juliet Binoche, Naomi Watts, Amber Heard, Marion Cotillard, Charlie Sheen, Susan Sarandon, Helen Mirren and Shia LaBoeuf and costar Carey Mulligan, for Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps.

Paltrow 'feels bad' for ex Pitt

The Mr & Mrs Smith stars have become hot paparazzi property since embarking on a romance in 2005 and starting a family together following Pitt's split from then-wife Jennifer Aniston.

Paltrow dated Pitt for three years until 1997 and went on to wed Coldplay rocker Chris Martin in 2003.

But while Pitt and Jolie have hit the red carpets together, Paltrow and Martin have chosen to keep their private life private and have refused to discuss their marriage in the press.

The Iron Man actress is grateful she and Martin aren't "hounded" as much as her ex, but admits she still feels for the A-list couple.

She tells Harpers Bazaar magazine, "I feel bad for them. They have it worse than anybody on the planet. I mean, we get hounded too, but not like that."

Secret Aniston, Pitt meetings alleged

The ex-minder, named Bill, tells In Touch magazine Pitt asked him to keep an eye open for the paparazzi while he hooked up with his ex on a remote Beverly Hills canyon road on 9 December.

But the bodyguard couldn't help but watch what was going on below him.

He tells the publication, "They were very cozy, clearly embracing. Several times, Brad and Jen were hugging and kissing."

Bill then alerted the pair when he spotted the paparazzi nearby: "Jennifer left first, flashing Brad a quick peace sign and a smile. Brad jogged back to his motorcycle, drove off and went for an hour bike ride."

And the loose-lipped bodyguard insists that wasn't the first time the former couple had met in secret, claiming Pitt and Aniston previously met up twice in Los Angeles and once in New York, to his knowledge.

The new tabloid story comes after months of speculation about Pitt and Jolie's relationship - the couple took legal action against a British tabloid earlier this year following reports of a 'divorce'.

The pair's publicists have dismissed all claims that the romance is in trouble.

Pitt split from Aniston after meeting Jolie on the set of 2005 action film Mr. & Mrs. Smith.

Tina Fey Would Double Date with Brad and Angelina

"The first thing that I would do is make it very clear [to Pitt and Jolie] that there is no wife swapping," Fey kiddingly told PEOPLE at Tuesday's New York premiere of her new film Date Night. "I would lay that down at home before we even left the house."

Once the rules were set, what would Fey, 39, and her composer husband Jeff Richmond, 49, have in store for the night's activities? Forget dinner and a movie, the 30 Rock star would plan a competitive but friendly game of bowling.

"We would go bowling because I feel like I have bigger, stronger arms than Angelina," said the SNL veteran. "I think I might be able to bowl better than her."

As for Fey's daughter Alice, the 4-year-old is already busy going on dates herself with other boys – as in play dates.

"She's good with the boys," says the proud mom. "She plays nicely with both the girls and boys, but she can start dating in 50 years!"

Brangelina's Busy and Bittersweet Day in Bosnia

The U.N. Goodwill Ambassador and her partner spent all day Monday touring Bosnia and Herzegovina. They met with families among the thousands of displaced people still left struggling with minimal support and a dire lack of basic needs since the civil war ended 14 years ago.

"[I am] so inspired by these families," Angie says in a statement. "Despite the grim realities of their unsettled existence, they have an incredible determination to make a better future for their children."

But this wasn't just a sightseeing trip for the handsome couple. Mama Do-Good sat down with staffers from the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to discuss plans of action.

"I hope we can find solutions for the remaining tens of thousands of displaced people…only then can we really close one of the most tragic chapters in modern history," she says. "[I hope] to return to this beautiful country soon and meet with political representatives to further discuss the solutions that are so badly required."

She really makes looking good in every possible way an art form, doesn't she?

Angelie Jolie, Brad Pitt in surprise visit to Sarajevo

"Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie arrived at Sarajevo airport, on board a private plane, from Venice," said a senior officer with the border police.

They were met at the airport by officials from the United Nations children's organisation, UNICEF, the Bosnian daily Dnevni Avaz reported on its Internet site.

UNICEF's representative in Sarajevo Aida Prljaca, in comments to local information website Sarajevo-X, said the couple were on a private visit.

She refused to give details of where they were staying, but dozens of photographers had staked out the luxury Hotel Europe in the centre of the Bosnian capital, said an AFP photographer.

Jolie is currently filming "The Tourist" alongside Johnny Depp, a film loosely based on the French mystery "Anthony Zimmer".

Its director is Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, who was behind the critically acclaimed 2007 German film "The Lives of Others"

Brad Pitt Comes Clean on Why He Won't Lose the Beard

Now the actor has given his reason for the straggly facial fluff: He can't be bothered to change it. "It's boredom. No other reason than that," he told Britain's Sun while chatting in the London kitchen of supermodel Claudia Schiffer and Matthew Vaughn – the director and Pitt's fellow producer on the upcoming movie Kick-Ass.

Sipping Guinness stout and smoking a cigarette, Pitt, 46, added that he has been getting into Brit rapper Dizzee Rascal, another guest at the Kick-Ass after-party. (The movie opens in the U.S. April 16.)

"That guy has got it," he said of Dizzee Rascal. "The kids are really into his stuff. I have worked out to that song 'Bonkers.' "

Pitt, who is a longtime collaborator with Vaughn (they worked together on the movie Snatch), also spoke about how he once nearly got into a scrape over a woman during a visit to Scotland.

"When I was in Glasgow I got involved with this girl. She happened to be the ex-girlfriend of a bit of a bad guy. I ended up having to get out of town because I was getting 'that' look from a guy behind a bar," said Pitt. "It was heavy."

The leading man, currently staying in Venice while partner Angelina Jolie is shooting her new movie The Tourist, has since been up to Scotland again, this time with more peaceful results – to scout movie locations with his friend Vaughn.

Brad Pitt attends London premiere of superhero film

Pitt -- who is one of the film's producers -- signed autographs for fans before heading into the Odeon cinema in Leicester Square on Monday evening.

His partner Angelina Jolie, currently shooting a film in Venice with actor Johnny Depp, did not attend the event.

"Kick-Ass", based on a comic book of the same name, tells the story of a nerdy, crime-fighting teenager played by Aaron Johnson, who recently took on the role of John Lennon in "Nowhere Boy".

He is joined by three other would-be heroes, including an 11-year-old girl, played by Chloe Moretz, and her father, played by Nicolas Cage.

"Kick-Ass", which has a 15 rating, has come under fire for its violent scenes involving the young girl.

"Scenes of hilariously overstated violence perpetrated by an 11-year-old girl doubtless will discomfort many and incense quite a few," film industry bible Variety said in its review of the film.

Asked about the criticism at the premiere, 13-year-old Moretz defended her role, saying: "I'm not up for violence but just fun."

She added: "My mum and dad read the script first before I did so they knew exactly what was in it."

Brad Pitt Looks Beat at Kick Ass Premiere

The dad of six hopped a flight from Italy (where Angelina Jolie is filming The Tourist) to the U.K. for the premiere of the movie he helped produce.

He must have forgotten to pack his hairbrush and razor for the quick trip, since he showed up sporting the same old billy goat beard and hat.

To be fair, he has been pretty busy with daddy duty...

In addition to recently taking the girls shopping in Paris, he also brought the brood to visit Angie on the set and shuttled the kids to Johnny Depp's for a playdate this weekend.

Sounds like he deserves a nap!

Jon Voight's Reunion With Brangelina Brood: "Wonderful," Thanks for Asking

"It was wonderful," he told E! News at last night's Vanity Fair post-Oscar bash. "It was a wonderful trip. It was wonderful to be with the family and each of the kids is very special in their own way. And Brad and Angie are wonderful parents, so I had a great time."

A little less wonderful was his sudden reluctance to chat about whether his son James Haven had a hand in the family's coming together.

"I don't want to say anything about any of that...people reported it, and there was some pictures taken, and I was there. It was great." Sure sounds like it.

The Jolie-Pitts Take a Boat Trip in Venice

After briefly decamping to Paris, where Angelina Jolie was filming scenes from her upcoming movie, The Tourist, the actress and her family are back in Venice, Italy. And they're sightseeing.

On Sunday, Jolie and Brad Pitt took their four eldest kids – Shiloh, 3, Zahara, 5, Pax, 6, Maddox, 8 – for a boat ride in the canals. Also in Venice now: Jolie's costar Johnny Depp.

Revealed: Brad, Bro Behind Jolie-Voight Reunion

But it turns out the actor is more than just a pretty-faced Basterd, and we have his powers of persuasion to thank for Brangelina's most recent European vacation photo op, last weekend's reunion of Angelina Jolie and her formerly estranged father, Jon Voight.

Between Pitt and Angelina's brother, James Haven, the frosty relationship has thawed considerably. Here's how their Venetian meet-up went down:

Everyone (who follows these sorts of things) knows that things first went south between father and daughter (and son) during Jolie's Tomb Raider days, when Billy Bob Thornton's throat couldn't appear on a red carpet without Jolie's tongue firmly rammed down it.

A source close to the actress tells E! News that Papa Voight didn't take too kindly to the PDAs, even writing a letter to his daughter telling her how "disgusting" her behavior was. The then made the media rounds suggesting his daughter needed an intervention. That also led to Haven to sever ties with Voight and align himself with his sister.

Eventually, however, Voight tried to make amends, mailing Jolie a gold necklace as a peace offering—that she promptly returned to sender.

Then, roughly a year ago, Haven became a born-again Christian and began training as a minister, at which point he successfully resumed and maintained contact with his father. Haven soon tried to get his sister to follow his lead by making nice with their dad, though she routinely rebuffed his olive-branch advances.

Enter Pitt.

The insider tells E! News that Pitt thought Voight "deserved a second chance and so he stepped in."

It apparently did the trick, as it was Jolie who invited her father out to Venice last week.

"The visit actually went really well, and Angie's thrilled he got on really well with all her kids. She's grown up a lot, and forgiving Jon is a huge step," the source says.

The well-photographed trip marked the first time Voight had met with all six of his grandchildren. And not a moment too soon. We were beginning to worry he'd never meet Zahara.

Brad Pitt Takes His Girls Clothes Shopping in Paris

Pitt, 46, and the girls headed out around noon for a trip to the Bonpoint collection of children's boutiques on the Rue de l'Université in the Left Bank.

Zahara, 5, and Shiloh, 3, were allowed to pick out their clothes. "Zahara chose very girlie outfits, but Shiloh only wanted items from the boys' collection, which is in another boutique across the street," one source tells PEOPLE.

She ended up picking out some acid-yellow boys' jeans, along with some shirts and cotton scarves.

After the shopping trip, they headed off to meet up with mom, who was on her first day of shooting The Tourist after doing prep work and relaxing with family – including dad Jon Voight – this past week in Venice.

Jolie, Pitt and the girls enjoyed lunch together at a suite in the Hotel du Louvre, near where Jolie was filming scenes outside the celebrated Comédie-Francaise theater.

After lunch, the girls and Pitt had a look at the set downstairs before heading back to their hotel – but not before Pitt was spotted giving Jolie a smooch.

Jolie-Pitts Head to Paris

Sources tell PEOPLE that Jolie will spend several days filming the movie's initial scenes, including a location shoot at one of the city's Belle Epoque landmarks.

The family is expected to return to Venice, where they spent last week enjoying the sights and some ice cream while Jolie prepared for filming.

The actress, 34, was also photographed with her father on Sunday for the first time in several years, as the family took a trip together down Venice's Grand Canal.

Jolie's costar, Johnny Depp, is also expected in Paris later this week, after doing some promotion in London for Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland.

Brangelina Reunites with Jolie Dad Jon Voight

Angelina Jolie, along with Brad Pitt and the Jolie-Pitt bunch, was spotted walking with her estranged father Jon Voight through Venice Sunday. Jolie, who is set to begin production on The Tourist there, was all smiles as the reunited family took a trip on the Italian city's Grand Canal.

It's been a long time since we've seen the father-daughter duo together...

Jolie and Voight's relationship has been on the rocks since 2002 after the 71-year-old Oscar winner said in an interview that his daughter had "serious mental problems" and that he was "trying to reach her to get help."

That apparently didn't sit well with Jolie, but by June 2007 she was telling Britain's Evening Standard she had hopes for some sort of reconciliation.

"At the end of the day, we both wish the best for each other and we'll try to start communicating in some way," Jolie said.

Voight has been hoping to keep those doors open as well, and even stepped in to shut down rampant rumors of a Brangelina break-up last month.

"[The rumors] are a pain in the neck. It's like listening to static half of your day," Voight said.

The Pride and Glory star mentioned that he had reconciled with Jolie late last year, but this is the first time they've been seen in public together in a long time.

Brangelina: Is All That Sweetness Being Staged?

From ice cream excursions featuring Shiloh wearing a supercute monkey hat to Zahara doing her usual mugging for the camera, the Brangelina brood certainly seems like a tight-knit group. Heck, even the twins are getting in on all the fun!

But does all this feel-goodness feel, well, false?

"They are usually very shy about being photographed, but now they're making a point of being seen in public as a happy family unit," a so-called spy tells The New York Post. "They're making a statement. They want the world to know the reports are wrong and they are strong."

Given that Brangelina kept the twins successfully outta sight for almost a year there's probably some kernel of truth to this speculation.

But with all the kiddie cuteness on display (even the haters gotta admit it's a sweet sight!) does anyone really care why the pint-size Jolie-Pitt children are suddenly in the press? Besides, at least it gives us something to talk about other than that Tiger Woods sorry speech, right?

The Jolie-Pitts Enjoy Sweet Times in Venice

On Tuesday, the family went out for gelato together at La Gelateria Lo Squero – one of the actress's favorite Venetian haunts.

Jolie discovered the gelateria on her own several years ago, owner Simone Smabo tells PEOPLE. "This parlor is not really a touristy place," Smabo says. "This is the third time Mrs. Jolie has come to our store. The first time she was on her own with Maddox. It was during the Venice Film festival three or four years ago.

"The following year, again during the festival period, Jolie returned but this time with Mr. Pitt," Smabo says. "Finally, she has brought her children too."

During Tuesday's visit, the kids topped their selections – chocolate was a popular choice – with whipped cream, while Jolie ordered her longtime favorite flavor, lemon.

After buying the ice cream, Brad Pitt stopped into nearby store La Enoteca Schiavi to shop for some Italian wine. "Mr. Pitt is clearly quite a wine connoisseur," the store's owner tells PEOPLE. "He knew exactly what type of wine he wanted and when I offered him a choice of about 10 different labels he asked specifically to try two, which are without any doubt the best ones we have to offer in our store."

Jolie-Pitt Twins Surface!

While it appears the four oldest Jolie-Pitt children have already settled in and hit up the local ice cream shop, that's a sight we're fairly used to (although it was considerate of Shiloh to spice things up with her monkey hat).

But look! It's the twins! The 19-month-old babies made a rare public appearance as their parents boarded a water taxi. We haven't gotten a look this good at Vivienne and Knox since this time last year, so you can imagine what a special day this is.

Angelina, Brad and Twins Play 'Tourist' in Venice

After spending several months in Los Angeles – with a few weeks in New York – the international family of eight headed to Venice, Italy, on Monday, where Jolie is soon expected to begin shooting her upcoming thriller, The Tourist, with Johnny Depp.

Last week, Jolie went on a three-day trip to earthquake-ravaged Haiti and the neighboring Dominican Republic before joining Pitt and the kids for a long Valentine's Day weekend in Los Angeles. Friday turned out to be family night, with the entire Jolie-Pitt brood enjoying a sizzling dinner at a Benihana Japanese Steakhouse.

The next evening Pitt, 46, and Jolie, 34, stepped out for a private event at The Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills. The family laid low on Valentine's Day Sunday – then jetted off to Venice on Monday.

It didn't take long for them to be spotted grabbing some ice cream while they took in their new, temporary home. Even the rarely-seen twins, Vivienne and Knox, were spotted in mom and dad's arms boarding a water taxi.

Should they return to their European base at Chateau Miraval during their stay, the family will be able to enjoy a new addition to the property: a 300-to-400-year-old olive tree purchased at English Garden Center in Opio, France, which is scheduled to be planted at Miraval this spring.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in Loving Mood at the Super Bowl

The couple, who've been dogged by rumors of trouble in their relationship, looked in great spirits, cheering the Saints on to victory at Sun Life Stadium in Miami, and stealing a kiss or two along the way. They also brought 8-year-old son Maddox to the big game.

Pitt, 46, and Jolie, 34, have been heavily involved in rebuilding New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Pitt's Make It Right project, focusing on the ravaged Ninth Ward, has been lauded by architects, residents and community leaders as a pillar of the reconstruction efforts.

Pitt, Jolie suing over split story

Keith Schillings, of London-based Schillings lawyers, said in a statement that the couple had begun legal proceedings against the News of The World, a Sunday tabloid and Britain's highest selling newspaper.

He said the newspaper had made "false and intrusive allegations" when it reported Jan. 24 that Pitt and Jolie had agreed to separate, to divide assets worth 205 million pounds ($320 million) and had made arrangements regarding the custody of their six children.

Lawyers for the couple lodged a claim at London's High Court on Monday to begin a legal case against the newspaper, Schillings said.

"The News of the World has failed to meet our clients' reasonable demands for a retraction of and apology for these false and intrusive allegations which have now been widely republished by mainstream news outlets. We have advised them to bring proceedings which they have now done," Schillings said.

He also said Sorrell Trope, a high profile divorce lawyer in Los Angeles, had denied claims she had been in contact with the couple, as had been reported.

"I have had no contact from ... Angelina Jolie and/or Brad Pitt," Trope wrote, according to a letter sent to the couple's lawyers and partially quoted in Schillings' statement. "I have never met ... your clients or had any involvement with either of them. The forgoing is true with respect to all other members of this firm."

Hayley Barlow, spokeswoman for the News of The World, declined to comment on the couple's decision to sue the newspaper.

On Sunday, Pitt, 46, and Jolie, 34, attended the Super Bowl in Miami with their 8-year-old son, Maddox. They watched the game together from a private box at Sun Life Stadium.

The couple have ties to New Orleans, the home city of the Saints, who beat the Indianapolis Colts. Pitt and Jolie bought a French Quarter mansion in 2007, the same year Pitt founded the Make It Right organization to build houses for low-income residents who lost their homes during Hurricane Katrina.

Brangelina Bowl Sighting Simply Super

In the couple's second major outing in as many weeks, Brad and Angie once again tried to tackle the talk that they're no longer an item by attending Sunday night's Super Bowl with their son, Maddox.

And despite speculation that the actress hates New Orleans, she was nevertheless spotted happily cheering the Saints on to victory from the trio's luxury box seats.

When it comes to these two, at least from the looks of things, it appears to still be game on!

Who Dat? Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, and Demi, Dat Who

Sometime New Orleans resident Pitt was escorted into the game on a golf cart with security moments before it began. The bearded Pitt was with son Maddox and shouted out his allegiance to "Who Dat" nation before the Saints big win over the Colts.

By contrast, Cruise just went into the stadium like other ticket holders, up an escalator with daughter Suri in his arms.

Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher didn't have security, but may have wished they had opted for some after cameras chased them into the stadium. Later, they huddled together on the sidelines before kickoff, avoiding the cameras — even though they were inches from their face.

Other celebrity sightings included John Travolta, who was seen leaving before the Saints made their game-winning comeback.

Before the game, LL Cool J declared himself on the side of the team that ultimately lost, the Colts.

"I'm from New York: There's a Manning connection," he said, referring to Colts' quarterback Peyton Manning's little brother, New York Giants quarterback Eli.

But he knew the potential repercussions of announcing his pick as soon as he said it.

"They're gonna beat me up," he said of rabid Saints fans. "I feel like I've got five pounds of beads!"

Gloria Estefan and husband Emilio, part owners of the Miami Dolphins, proclaimed they weren't there to root for anybody in particular — they were just proud the Super Bowl was back in their town.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie a 'Loving Couple'

"They were a loving couple," says a guest who spent time with them throughout the Jan. 30 event. "It was nothing you could fake. You could feel it, and you could see in their body language that it's just a beautiful relationship. They were very sweet and tender with each other."

Pitt, who was there to present a nomination medallion to his Inglourious Basterds director Quentin Tarantino, was attentive to Jolie, with whom he has six children. "Angie just decided to go to DGAs to support Brad. They had a great time," says a source close to the couple.

Coming in the wake of rumors that the couple had called it quits, cynics had raised questions about the outing. But people who saw the couple say they not only stayed through the entire four-plus hour event but remained afterwards to chat with guests and sign autographs.

"You read all those things about them, but it is hard to believe any of it based off of how they were together," says a second guest. "Those two were very much together."

For more about Brad and Angelina's night out, pick up PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday.

Vilanch: 'Nostril cam' rattled Brad Pitt

Vilanch, who helps pen the Oscar script, says he told Brangelina about the camera before Pitt's ex went onstage and producers panned to a smiling Jolie. Vilanch told us, "I went to Brad and Angelina, who were sitting in the front row, and warned them they had the nostril cam planted on the floor underneath them, looking up. Mostly, they were not delighted about the angle, because nobody looks great from there. They knew there would be reaction shots of them, and they knew Aniston was going to be on. They were more bothered about the nostril cam. Brad asked, 'Any chance we could kick it and break it?' " Vilanch, who was in New York to host the Nightlife Awards, added, "If everybody at the Oscars was worried about some ex appearing onstage, there would be nobody in the audience."

Brad & Angelina's Affectionate Night Out

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie stepped out Saturday night to attend the Directors Guild of America Awards in Los Angeles – and observers say the couple were as happy as can be.

"They looked very giggly," an onlooker tells PEOPLE.

Pitt, who was at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza to introduce his Inglourious Basterds director Quentin Tarantino, was an attentive companion to Jolie, a surprise guest, who wore a gray, single-shoulder Elie Saab gown with gold hoop earrings by Ofira Schwartz, Stuart Weitzman shoes and a vintage bag.

Pitt, whose beard has been trimmed to a goatee, pulled Jolie's chair out for her and touched her back throughout the night as they chatted animatedly with Tarantino at a table of colleagues from their film.

"They look like they are having a fun time," says an onlooker of the couple as they worked the room. "It's definitely a date."

Brangelina & Jennifer Aniston Take Over Tabloids

So let's see what theories the tabloids have concocted this time around...

In Touch Weekly follows up its whole dialect-coach rumor with a new story about how Jen met Shiloh and cried because of Shiloh's boy clothes. Just kidding. Jen cried because Brad is a great dad and even though Angelina is ruining his life "at least he had this beautiful little girl." (In) Touching!

Star is pretty sure Jen is ready to take Brad back; she's just waiting for him and Angie to make everything official. And Jen's really been really great through all this: "He knew she would console him, like she always did when they were together."

OK!'s cover screams "Yes! They're Together Again" but inside it just says they had an emotional reunion at the Hope for Haiti telethon and that Brad considered shaving off his billy goat face hair because he was so nervous for their meeting. "He's obsessed with her. She seems to be all he thinks about all the time," some source says.

And then there's Us Weekly, which is less about Jen and more about how Angie yells at Brad for things like making eggs too runny. WTF, Brad? Can't you do anything right!? She also hates how much he likes Obama, New Orleans and art.

So what's true? None of it, some of it, all of it? Who knows. We expect some photo op soon, though. Hopefully it'll involve the twins—it feels like forever since we've seen those two! Actually it's been exactly one year today since their unveiling happened last awards season. Interesting...

Jolie's dad blasts rumours

Gossip about the status of the Hollywood supercouple's romance reached fever pitch last week, with reports claiming the stars - who share six children - were set to part ways.

But Voight, who has had a rocky relationship with his famous daughter, insists Jolie and Pitt are still going strong after five years of dating, reports Hollyscoop.com.

When asked about the split rumours, he says, "Nonsense. It's all made up stuff."

Jolie and Pitt met on the set of their film Mr & Mrs Smith in 2005, while the actor was still married to Jennifer Aniston.

The Friends star filed for divorce in March 2005 and the couple embarked on a relationship shortly afterwards.

The stars have three adopted children together - Maddox, eight; Pax, six, and Zahara, five - as well as biological kids Shiloh, three, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 18 months.

Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie Were 'Out at Dinner' When Split Rumors Broke

"Angie and Brad were actually out to dinner together in Los Angeles when the rumor broke," says the source. "That's how ridiculous [the story] is."

At the time, multiple sources told PEOPLE the report, which originated in a British tabloid, was "totally false."

Currently, the pair are sharing family time in Los Angeles with their kids Maddox, 8, Pax, 6, Zahara, 5, Shiloh, 3, and twins Vivienne and Knox, 18 months.

As for whether Hollywood's golden couple will attend this year's Academy Awards together in March, at the moment their schedule includes filming so they don't have plans to be there, says a source.

Brangelina Still On; Brangelina at the Oscars...Not So Much

In any case, don't go looking to the red carpet for confirmation that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are still together, as multiple sources close to the couple tell E! News that the unbroken Brangelina will not, despite a report to the contrary, be attending the Oscars on March 7.

As for why the couple has suddenly caught a case of the camera-shies?

Jolie will be heading to Venice at the end of February to start production on The Tourist, a remake of a French thriller costarring Johnny Depp in which Jolie plays a vengeful Interpol agent.

And while Inglourious Basterds is pretty much guaranteed a couple of nominations, Pitt's not a sure bet to attend, either. He hasn't exactly been a fixture on the awards circuit this year, skipping out on the Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild Awards, but he is due to present at the Directors Guild of America Awards on Saturday, where Quentin Tarantino is up for the prize.

Who knows, maybe Pitt will opt to watch the kids while Mom brings home the bacon?

Although fans might lament the loss of Brangelina on the red carpet, there is one upshot: Ryan Seacrest won't be needing his running shoes.

The Brangelina Breakup: Anatomy of a Cheating Rumor

Well, this time Jolie supposedly cheated on her bearded beau.

But while In Touch Weekly is reporting that the Oscar winner had an affair with the "dialect coach" she worked with for her upcoming spy thriller Salt, the film's resident dialect coach tells E! News the rumor couldn't be further from the truth.

And not just because he didn't even work with Jolie on Salt.

"Oh, my friends thought it was hysterical," said 51-year-old Howard Samuelsohn, whose credits include 2012 and Revolutionary Road. "I've had eight different reporters call me, and one was even outside my home."

He says that ITW contacted him last week, asking about the nature of his working relationship with Jolie.

"I said; 'Yes, I know her professionally. She's very nice'...And then I immediately became the guy who slept with Angelina Jolie."

"I'm not a language coach," he explained."She doesn't have a dialect in the movie; she speaks Russian. There were several people who taught her the language. I worked with a Polish actor, Daniel Olbrychski, on the movie to make his English better."

Plus, he's been "with the same woman for 33 years," Samuelsohn added.

Good lord, what would we do if Brangelina dared to last that long?!

Meanwhile, a rep for the Waldorf-Astoria, where a housekeeper named Anna Kowalski supposedly told ITW she saw kinky evidence of the alleged tryst, has said that no such person works there.

But the magazine tells E! News that it's standing by its story, semantics aside, and that a source verified that Kowalski worked at the Waldorf over the summer.

"As In Touch Weekly originally reported, an ex-employee of the Waldorf-Astoria in New York told the magazine exclusively that Angelina Jolie cheated on Brad Pitt with one of her language tutors on the set of her movie Salt," a rep for ITW said in a statement, which modifies the job description of the purported lothario from the published text.

"We never claim Anna was a current employee of the hotel or provide the specific name of her coach, of which there were several. In Touch stands by our reporting on this story."

So is this all coming to a head because Pitt and Jolie haven't been photographed together in awhile?

Pitt appeared Friday on the Hope for Haiti Now benefit, but he and the mama of his children opted to skip the Golden Globes and Saturday's Screen Actors Guild Awards, where Pitt would have been sharing the limelight with his Inglourious Basterds costars during their win for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.

He's slated to present a statue at the Directors Guild of America Awards on Saturday in Century City.

Jolie hasn't been seen (by anyone with a telephoto lense, that is) since she took daughters Zahara and Shiloh to a Whole Foods market in Sherman Oaks, Calif., on Jan. 16.

In fact, the last time we saw the whole family (minus twins Knox and Vivienne) looking cozy was during their holiday-time trip to NYC last month.

But perhaps this latest blip on the happy-couple radar will disappear soon. A source close to the couple tells E! News there is no split, and Hollywood Life is reporting that Jolie and Pitt are planning on attending the Oscars. Together.

They might even hold hands.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie Split Rumors Not True, Say Sources

"Everything is fine" with the couple, who are parents to six kids, a source says.

Another source says the split reports, which were first published in a British tabloid, are "totally false."

In recent weeks, it's been business as usual for the busy couple – movie shoots, family outings, charity work – and several observers say they saw nothing amiss.

Couple Time

On Jan. 2, Pitt, 46, and Jolie, 34, shared a romantic dinner for two at the French restaurant Le Perigord. "You could tell they wanted to spend time alone and didn't want to be bothered by anybody else," says a source. "It was wonderful to see a couple so much in love."

Busy Work Schedules

With filming wrapped, the two headed back to Los Angeles to work on pre-production for their upcoming movies: Jolie's The Tourist and Pitt's Lost City of Z. On Jan. 16, Pitt took their eldest son, Maddox, on a boys' trip to the New Orleans Saints' playoff game, while Jolie was spotted grocery shopping and dropping by an Apple Store in L.A. with daughters Zahara and Shiloh.

In the last few days, Jolie reportedly jetted to New York City for a Vanity Fair photo shoot, while Pitt stayed in L.A. to participate in friend George Clooney’s Hope for Haiti Now telethon. (Both Pitt and Jolie made major donations to the relief effort.) Pitt didn’t attend Saturday's Screen Actors Guild Awards, where his Inglourious Basterds picked up the award for best ensemble cast.

Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie prepare for potential split

Winners! 2010 SAG Awards

Splitsville for Brangelina?

The Sunday Times of London is reporting that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie – arguably the world’s most beautiful couple – have inked papers to legally separate.

The actors will share custody of the couple’s six children, the paper reported Sunday, but they have agreed that the children will live with Jolie.

Pitt and Jolie sparked a romance five years ago on the set of Mr. And Mrs. Smith but the National Enquirer reported last week that the Hollywood power couple were spotted having a major and final explosive blowout in a New York restaurant on Jan. 6.

The Times story also cited a News of the World report that documents were filed earlier this month with an L.A. lawyer to ease the unmarried couple’s separation.

Both Pitt and Jolie will keep the money they earned individually, the Times reported.

Forbes estimates the earnings at $100 million US each.

The Jolie-Pitt children include three biological children, Shiloh and twins Knox and Vivienne, along with three adopted children, Maddox, Zahara and Pax. The three adoptees came from Cambodia, Ethiopia and Vietnam respectively.

Representatives for both actors refused to comment to the Times but the paper quoted one rep calling it a “private matter.”

Reports of the end of Pitt and Jolie come just a day after US Weekly reported that Pitt and former wife Jennifer Aniston attended the Hope for Haiti telethon in L.A.

It was only the second time the former lovers – split apart when Pitt crossed paths with Jolie – have been spotted publicly in the same place at the same time.

Brad Pitt and Jen Aniston Participate in Haiti Telethon

The commercial free Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief, co-hosted by George Clooney and Wyclef Jean, was broadcast on nearly a dozen channels.

"This is a tragedy that reaches across all borders, all boundaries and demands our attention, our help and our compassion as fellow human beings," Clooney said at the opening of the show. "The Haitian people need our help. They need to know that they're not alone. They need to know we still care."

CNN's Anderson Cooper reported live from Haiti during the telecast in which he was joined by two young survivors, who had been rescued from the rubble. Dr. Sanjay Gupta reported on the medical obstacles that the country still faces.

While stars such as Halle Berry, Julia Roberts, and Justin Timberlake hit the stage and manned the telephone lines in Los Angeles, others did their part with satellite performances from New York and London.

Viewers were urged to call 1-877-99-Haiti to pledge money to the cause. Over 100 A-list celebs, including Mel Gibson and Steven Spielberg and Reese Witherspoon thanked individual callers for their donations.

In London, Bono, Jay-Z and Rihanna collaborated onstage, and Beyoncé sang "Halo" accompanied by Coldplay’s Chris Martin on piano. In New York, the hip-hop group The Roots backed emotional performances from singers Jennifer Hudson, Mary J Blige, and Sting.

Haitian native, Wyclef Jean ended the night saying "Enough with the moping" before singing a song that included the lyrics, "Earthquake we see the earth shake but the soul of the Haitian people it will never break."

Hollywood's top-earning couples

All that hard work has paid off. Between June 2008 and June 2009 the couple earned a combined $122 million putting them squarely at the top of our annual Top-Earning Couples list.

Our list includes actors, musicians and professional athletes. We talked to agents, managers, producers and lawyers to determine what celebrities earned from staring in movies, touring, selling albums, playing professional sports, creating lines of clothing and perfumes and appearing in ads.

Jay-Z and Beyonce both contribute significantly to their joint earnings. Last year Beyonce out-earned Jay-Z, bringing in $87 million to his $35 million. (The couple also topped last year's list with $162 million. About half of that came from each star.)

For the couple in second place on our list, it's more about his big payday. Harrison Ford and his girlfriend, Calista Flockhart, earned a combined $69 million, $53 million less than Jay-Z and Beyonce.

Almost all of that came from Ford's work in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Ford and producers Steven Spielberg and George Lucas made a unique deal with Paramount on the movie that gave them a significant portion of the film's earnings after the studio broke even. As a result Ford eared a jaw-dropping $65 million for putting back on Indy's trademark fedora. Flockhart earns for her work on the TV show Brothers & Sisters.

In third place: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. The power couple earned a total of $55 million split about evenly between them both. Pitt had one of the biggest hits of his career last year with The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and Jolie has embraced her inner action hero with 2008's Wanted and the upcoming film Salt.

Will Smith and his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, rank fourth with $48 million. Smith is perhaps the last of the great movie stars. Even in recessionary times he still can demand a $20 million paycheck. Pinkett Smith has a burgeoning career of her own. She voices Gloria the hippo in the popular Madagascar films and last year produced The Secret Life of Bees.

The Smiths would earn even more if we were including whole families. Their daughter, Willow, appeared in I Am Legend with her dad and did voice work with her mom on Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa. Jaden Smith costarred with his father in The Pursuit of Happyness and will star in the upcoming remake of The Karate Kid.

Rounding out the top five are David and Victoria Beckham. The pair earned $46 million between June 2008 and June 2009. The vast majority of that comes from David Beckham, who plays for the Los Angeles Galaxy. He is also playing for A.C. Milan and could appear in his fourth World Cup this summer.

Brad and Angelina Donate $1 Million to Haiti Quake Relief

"It is incredibly horrible to see a catastrophe of this size hit a people who have been suffering from extreme poverty, violence and unrest for so many decades," says Jolie.

Adds Pitt: "We understand the first response is critical to serve the immediate needs of countless people who are now displaced from their homes, are suffering trauma, and most require urgent care."

The Jolie-Pitt Foundation is donating the funds to Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontiéres, whose three hospitals in Port-au-Prince were severely damaged, forcing the staff to work out of open-air hospitals.

Pitt, Jolie aiding Haiti quake victims

The poverty-stricken Caribbean island was hit hard by a massive tremor on Tuesday, which struck just south of the capital city, Port-au-Prince.

Former Fugees star Wyclef Jean has urged the public to donate money to help the rescue efforts in his native country, and now the Hollywood super-couple has come forward to aid the campaign.

A statement from Pitt and Jolie, released to JustJared.com, reads, "We are devastated by the news from Haiti. We will work closely with our good friend Wyclef Jean to support the humanitarian efforts on the island and help those who have been injured and left without homes and shelter."

Jean adds, "I cannot stress enough what a human disaster this is, and idle hands will only make this tragedy worse. The over 2 million people in Port-au-Prince face catastrophe alone. We must act now."

Meanwhile, hip-hop star Sean 'Diddy' Combs is also pleading for help to raise funds for those affected. Taking to his Twitter.com page, he writes, "God Bless Haiti!!!! God please!!! STATE OF EMERGENCY!!!" He then requested fans donate cash to Jean's Yele Haiti charity organization.

Highlights of Hollywood's 2010 movie lineup

Winter and spring:

ALICE IN WONDERLAND: Johnny Depp is the Mad Hatter in Tim Burton's take on the Lewis Carroll adventures of a girl who goes through the looking glass.

THE BACK-UP PLAN: A woman (Jennifer Lopez) meets the right guy — just after she gets pregnant through artificial insemination.

THE BOOK OF ELI: Denzel Washington whups some butt as a prophet protecting a critical text in post-apocalyptic America.

THE BOUNTY HUNTER: Jennifer Aniston is a bail-jumping reporter pursued by her bounty-hunter ex-hubby (Gerard Butler).

CLASH OF THE TITANS: Ancient Greek hero Perseus (Sam Worthington) takes on Hades, lord of the underworld. With Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes.

COP OUT: A stolen baseball card sets two detectives (Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan) on the path of a memorabilia-obsessed mobster.

CREATION: Charles Darwin (Paul Bettany) copes with grief over a lost daughter as he struggles with his theory of evolution. With Jennifer Connelly.

DATE NIGHT: A weekly night out turns into a wild ride for a suburban couple (Steve Carell and Tina Fey) whose romance has become routine.

DEAR JOHN: A soldier (Channing Tatum) and a woman (Amanda Seyfried) carry out a seven-year romance from a distance while he's on assignment.

DEATH AT A FUNERAL: Crazy things happen at a family patriarch's funeral. With Chris Rock, Martin Lawrence, Danny Glover.

DISTRICT B13: ULTIMATUM: Martial-arts heroes return to try to quell unrest in a walled crime ghetto in this follow up to the French thriller.,P>EDGE OF DARKNESS: Mel Gibson is a homicide cop whose daughter's murder takes him into a dark world of corporate and government conspiracy.

EXTRAORDINARY MEASURES: A father (Brendan Fraser) teams with a maverick doctor (Harrison Ford) to find a cure for his kids' fatal illness. With Keri Russell.

FROM PARIS WITH LOVE: A trigger-happy spy (John Travolta) and his inexperienced partner (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers) try to crack a crime gang.

FURRY VENGEANCE: Animals fight back against the housing developer (Brendan Fraser) whose project threatens their habitat.

GREENBERG: A man (Ben Stiller) searching for meaning finds potential romance while house-sitting for his brother.

GREEN ZONE: Matt Damon goes searching for weapons of mass destruction in a thriller set in Iraq as the war there heats up in 2003.

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: The world of the Vikings gets a makeover in this animated story of a misfit teen and his dragon.

I LOVE YOU PHILLIP MORRIS: A con man (Jim Carrey) finds his soul mate (Ewan McGregor) while doing prison time.

KICK-ASS: A youth with no superpowers dons a costume to fight crime as a superhero. With Nicolas Cage.

THE LAST SONG: Miley Cyrus is a teen whose estranged father (Greg Kinnear) tries to reconnect with her through music.

LEGION: The archangel Michael (Paul Bettany) and a group of strangers are humanity's last hope for salvation.

THE LOSERS: A Special Forces team seeks revenge after its members are betrayed and presumed dead on a mission. With Zoe Saldana, Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

MACGRUBER: The "Saturday Night Live" bit about a hapless special-ops man (Will Forte) gets big-screen treatment. With Val Kilmer, Ryan Phillippe, Kristen Wiig.

A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET: Freddy Krueger (Jackie Earle Haley) is back to terrorize people in their dreams in an update of the 1980s slasher franchise.

PERCY JACKSON & THE OLYMPIANS: THE LIGHTNING THIEF: A teen demigod is caught up in a potential war among the gods of Olympus, alive and well in modern times.

REMEMBER ME: "Twilight" star Robert Pattinson and "Lost" co-star Emilie de Ravin cope with romance amid adversity. With Pierce Brosnan.

REPO MEN: In a future where mechanical organs are repossessed for lack of payment, a former repo man (Jude Law) becomes the prey of his old partner (Forest Whitaker).

SAINT JOHN OF LAS VEGAS: A compulsive gambler (Steve Buscemi) fights temptation while trying to change his life. With Sarah Silverman.

SEASON OF THE WITCH: A medieval knight (Nicolas Cage) is assigned to escort a peasant girl the church suspects of bringing on the Black Plague by witchcraft.

SHE'S OUT OF MY LEAGUE: An average guy (Jay Baruchel) scores big when a super-babe inexplicably falls for him.

SHUTTER ISLAND: Leonardo DiCaprio reunites with director Martin Scorsese in a tale set at a hospital for the criminally insane.

THE SPY NEXT DOOR: Jackie Chan balances his day job as a spy with baby-sitting his girlfriend's three kids.

TOOTH FAIRY: A mean-spirited hockey star (Dwayne Johnson) is sentenced to do time as a tooth fairy, with magic wings and wand. With Ashley Judd, Julie Andrews.

TYLER PERRY'S WHY DID I GET MARRIED TOO?: Filmmaker Perry co-stars with Janet Jackson, Malik Yoba and other cast mates for this relationship sequel.

VALENTINE'S DAY: A superstar cast copes with the trials of love. With Julia Roberts, Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, Jennifer Garner, Ashton Kutcher.

WALL STREET 2: Oliver Stone and Michael Douglas bring corporate raider Gordon Gekko out of mothballs in a tale of today's financial fiasco. With Shia LaBeouf.

WHEN IN ROME: Passions are magically aroused when a tourist retrieves coins tossed in a fountain of love. With Kristen Bell, Josh Duhamel, Danny DeVito.

THE WOLFMAN: Benicio Del Toro is a man who finds the curse of the werewolf haunting his family when he returns to his ancestral home.___

Summer season:

THE A-TEAM: The TV action series goes big-screen as former Special Forces troops set out to clear their names. With Liam Neeson, Jessica Biel, Bradley Cooper.

CATS & DOGS: REVENGE OF KITTY GALORE: Cats and dogs unite to take on a nutty feline bent on global domination. With Christina Applegate.

DESPICABLE ME: Steve Carell leads the voice cast in an animated tale of a villain whose plot to steal the moon is sidelined by three orphan girls.

DINNER FOR SCHMUCKS: A young exec (Paul Rudd) finds the perfect buffoon (Steve Carell) for his boss' monthly "dinner for idiots."

EAT PRAY LOVE: Julia Roberts plays a divorced woman on a worldwide journey to find meaning in her life. With James Franco, Javier Bardem.

THE EXPENDABLES: Sylvester Stallone directs and stars in a thriller about mercenaries betrayed on a mission. With Jet Li, Jason Statham.

GET HIM TO THE GREEK: A record company intern (Jonah Hill) has to escort an unruly rock legend to the first concert of his comeback tour.

GROWN UPS: Childhood pals (Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Kevin James, Rob Schneider and David Spade) reunite as adults. With Salma Hayek, Maria Bello.

INCEPTION: Leonardo DiCaprio stars in a science-fiction thriller from director Christopher Nolan ("The Dark Knight").

IRON MAN 2: Robert Downey Jr. slips back into his metal suit to face new foes. With Gwyneth Paltrow, Mickey Rourke.

JONAH HEX: A disfigured bounty hunter (Josh Brolin) battles a villain aiming to unleash hell on Earth. With Megan Fox, John Malkovich.

THE KARATE KID: Jackie Chan imparts kung fu wisdom to a Detroit youth (Jaden Smith) uprooted by his family's move to China in an update of the 1980s hit.

KILLERS: An ex-assassin (Ashton Kutcher) and his wife (Katherine Heigl) go on the run after he's targeted for a hit in this action comedy.

KNIGHT AND DAY: Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz are a fugitive couple on a jet-setting adventure around the globe.

THE LAST AIRBENDER: M. Night Shyamalan adapts the animated TV show about a young savior with the power to end warfare among four nations with mystical powers.

LETTERS TO JULIET: An old letter to the doomed heroine of "Romeo and Juliet" sparks romance for two women (Amanda Seyfried, Vanessa Redgrave).

THE LOTTERY TICKET: A ghetto dweller (Bow Wow) fends off greedy neighbors after he wins $370 million in the lottery. With Ice Cube.

MARMADUKE: Owen Wilson provides the voice of the Great Dane in a family comedy based on the canine comic strip.

MEET THE PARENTS 3: Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro find new ways to test their in-law relationship in the "Meet the Fockers" follow up.

THE OTHER GUYS: A detective more interested in paperwork and a street-tough cop (Mark Wahlberg) are partnered up. With Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne Johnson.

PREDATORS: Hardcore human killers become prey for alien hunters in a new take on the sci-fi franchise. With Adrien Brody, Topher Grace.

PRIEST: A renegade priest (Paul Bettany) tracks a gang of vampires that have abducted his niece.

PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF TIME: The video-game adaptation stars Jake Gyllenhaal as a fugitive prince who finds a dagger of enormous power.

RAMONA AND BEEZUS: The pesky young heroine of Beverly Cleary's best sellers comes to life in an adaptation of the children's books.

ROBIN HOOD: Russell Crowe reunites with director Ridley Scott for a fresh take on the 13th-century soldier turned folk hero. With Cate Blanchett.

SALT: Angelina Jolie is a CIA operative on the lam after she's accused of spying for Russia. With Liev Schreiber.

SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD: To win his dream woman, a slacker musician (Michael Cera) must vanquish her seven evil ex-boyfriends.

SEX AND THE CITY 2: Sarah Jessica Parker and her Manhattan mates return for more fashionable urban romantic angst.

SHREK FOREVER AFTER: Mike Myers' ogre is hurled into an alternate reality where he and his true love never met. With Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy, Antonio Banderas.

THE SORCERER'S APPRENTICE: An ancient wizard (Nicolas Cage) recruits a protege (Jay Baruchel) to battle an evil foe (Alfred Molina).

STEP UP 3-D: Street dancers and a college freshman square off in a competition against world-class hip-hop dancers.

TAKERS: A detective (Matt Dillon) pursues a gang of bank robbers (Idris Elba, Paul Walker, Tip "T.I." Harris, Chris Brown, Hayden Christensen, Michael Ealy).

TOY STORY 3: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen and their plaything pals face abandonment after their kid grows up in this animated sequel.

THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE: Danger comes calling again for a teen (Kristen Stewart) and her vampire and werewolf suitors (Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner).

____

Fall and holiday season:

ALPHA AND OMEGA: Two wolves relocated halfway across the country try to return home. The animated tale features the voices of Justin Long, Hayden Panettiere.

THE AMERICAN: A hit man (George Clooney) finds romance and friendship in Italy while awaiting what he hopes will be his last assignment.

BURLESQUE: Christina Aguilera aims for stardom with a musical revue at an aging theater. With Cher, Stanley Tucci.

THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER: C.S. Lewis' young heroes land aboard an incredible ship as the fantasy series resumes.

DUE DATE: Robert Downey Jr. stars as a first-time dad who has to hitch a ride with an actor (Zach Galinianakis) to get home in time for his baby's birth.

FLIPPED: Rob Reiner directs a story of first love following a smitten girl and unwilling boy from grade school to junior high.

GOING THE DISTANCE: A couple (Drew Barrymore and Justin Long) struggle to make their bicoastal romance work.

THE GREEN HORNET: A rich party boy (Seth Rogen) turns to crime-fighting as the masked Hornet. With Cameron Diaz.

GUARDIANS OF GA'HOOLE: A young owl battles to save his kind from evil enemies in this animated family adventure.

GULLIVER'S TRAVELS: Jack Black does a modern take on the world-traveling hero who encounters a race of tiny people on his sojourn.

HEREAFTER: Paths cross for three people around the world who are touched by death. Clint Eastwood directs, Matt Damon stars.

HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS — PART 1: The young wizards (Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint) aim to destroy the crux of evil Voldemort's power.

LIFE AS WE KNOW IT: Mismatched godparents (Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel) must team up as guardians for their orphaned goddaughter.

LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS: Romance develops between a free spirit (Anne Hathaway) and a dauntless Viagra salesman (Jake Gyllenhaal).

MEGAMIND: A supervillain flirts with virtue after his superhero opponent turns to the dark side in an animated tale featuring the voices of Brad Pitt and Will Ferrell.

MORNING GLORY: A TV morning-show producer (Rachel McAdams) copes with a clash between her tough newsman (Harrison Ford) and his new co-host (Diane Keaton).

RAPUNZEL: Mandy Moore provides the voice of the long-haired fairy-tale princess locked away in a tower in this animated musical.

RED DAWN: A group of youths forms a guerrilla army to fight back against military forces that have invaded America.

SAW VII: The horror franchise returns for part seven in the diabolical games initiated by killer Jigsaw.

SECRETARIAT: A housewife (Diane Lane) and trainer (John Malkovich) team to raise the 1973 Triple Crown-winning racehorse.

THE TOWN: Ben Affleck directs and stars as a bank robber who falls into romance with his former hostage (Rebecca Hall).

TRON: LEGACY: Jeff Bridges reprises his 1982 character, whose son (Garrett Hedlund) is pulled into the digital world where his dad has disappeared.

UNSTOPPABLE: A railway engineer (Denzel Washington) and a conductor (Chris Pine) race to stop a runaway train carrying toxic cargo.

YOGI BEAR: The smarter-than-average bear of the TV cartoons comes to the big screen in a live-action and animation combo. With Dan Aykroyd.

YOU AGAIN: Rivalries are renewed after a woman (Kristen Bell) learns her brother's marrying her high school nemesis. With Sigourney Weaver and Jamie Lee Curtis.

YOUR HIGHNESS: A black sheep knight (Danny McBride), his perfect brother (James Franco) and a fierce warrior (Natalie Portman) embark on rescue mission.

ZOOKEEPER: A kindly zookeeper (Kevin James) gets romantic advice from the animals in his charge.

Sighting

Sighting

Brad's Beard Getting Him Into Character?

But there are a couple of modern-day mysteries surrounding the story, too. First, a Paramount source says the film, called The Lost City of Z, doesn't have a script yet and no date to start production has been set. In addition, Fawcett didn't have a beard, but a handlebar moustache.

"There is no film-related explanation I can give you as to why [Pitt] has the beard," the Paramount source tells PEOPLE.

If it's not for the role, perhaps the hunky-turned-hairy A-lister is just trying to keep his chin warm in the winter? Or perhaps he's using the beard to help teach his kids how to braid?

Whatever the reason, the biggest question of all is, just how long will it get?

Who knows – unless there's a script for the life story of ZZ Top secretly circulating in Hollywood.

Sighting

Brad and Angelina Take the Kids to Mary Poppins

They brought along their four eldest children – Maddox, Zahara, Pax and Shiloh – for the Sunday matinee. The 17-month-old twins, Knox and Vivienne, are still a little young for a Broadway spectacle.

The family has been in town while Jolie finishes work on her upcoming thriller Salt.

The Tony-winning musical, playing at the New Amsterdam Theatre, is based on the original Mary Poppins stories by P.L. Travers and the beloved Walt Disney film from 1964 starring Julie Andrews. Laura Michelle Kelly is currently in the title role on Broadway.

Brad and Angelina Spend Family Time in New York

Straight from the set of her upcoming thriller Salt on the Westside of Manhattan Monday, Angelina Jolie went into mommy mode, hoisting daughter Zahara, 5, as Brad Pitt held tight their daughter Shiloh, 3.

The fam was decked out like true New Yorkers – almost entirely in black – with Brad still sporting his much-discussed braided beard.

Brad and Angelina Donate $100,000 to Foster Care Organization

The famously generous couple donated $100,000 to the American SOS Children's Villages, an alternative foster care organization with locations in the U.S. in Illinois and Florida.

"We have seen firsthand the remarkable job SOS does to raised orphaned and abandoned children and keep families together," Jolie, 34, said in a statement. "No one "ages out" of an SOS Village. Vocational training, advanced education, living assistance and more support are there forever."

Heather Paul, CEO of SOS Children's Villages USA, thanked the Jolie-Pitts for their generosity and said they were longtime supporters of the organization. "We are deeply grateful that this year they have included in their generosity our villages in Illinois and Florida and our 300 children who call SOS 'home,' " she said in a statement. "In this holiday season, many of us take for granted that we are surrounded by loving family members. The poor outcomes for foster children indicate that we must do a much better job of supporting them."

SOS Children’s Villages is the largest nonprofit organization in the world solely dedicated to orphaned and abandoned children. There are 500 villages in 132 countries.

Jolie admits furious fights with Pitt

The Oscar-winner and her Hollywood hunk partner have been together for five years, and share six children; Maddox, eight, Pax, six, Zahara, four, Shiloh, three, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 17 months.

But the actress insists that despite their commitment to each other, the pair don't expect to be "chained together" forever.

According to Britain's Daily Mirror newspaper, Jolie says, "Neither Brad nor I have ever claimed that living together means to be chained together. We make sure that we never restrict each other.

"I doubt that fidelity is absolutely essential for a relationship. It's worse to leave your partner and talk badly about him afterwards."

And Jolie admits their romance is often marred by furious arguments.

She adds, "The sparks fly at home if the nice Brad fails to see that he's wrong and reacts in a defiant way. Then I can get so angry that I tear his shirt. We're not violent enough for these things, and we consider our six children."

Brad, Angie and Their Little Bundled Bundles of Joy Take Manhattan

Hollywood's royal couple joined the four oldest members of their clan—Maddox, Zahara, Pax and Shiloh—for a midday bite at Café Metro in Manhattan on Sunday, and just seeing the group bundled up like that (Mad borrowed Z's pink earmuffs!), well, it kinda makes us feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Don't you just love the holidays?

Screen Actors Guild nominations

The Basterds Guide to Brad Pitt

The consensus: Brad's anything but "basterdly."

Director Quentin Tarantino says Pitt is all dude. "The thing that really just comes to my mind when you say something like that is – he is a guy," Tarantino told PEOPLE at the launch party for the Basterds DVD at Los Angeles's New Beverly Theater. "He's a cool guy. You can have cool and fun man/boy discussions with him."

The director has witnessed Pitt's evolution since the star appeared in 1993's True Romance, which Tarantino wrote. "One of the things that I loved working with him for on this movie was that I think that I'm working with the best Brad Pitt that I could be working with. He's really grown into his iconic star status," he says. "He's a man now. He can be the sort of soldier."

Costar Diane Kruger called Pitt "a devoted father. He's really good with his kids, really amazing. They look up to him. It's really nice to see that he's so devoted."

The Office star B.J. Novak, who plays one of Pitt's soldiers in the film, described the star as "thoughtful" and "caring." "He wanted to strike up conversations. He was thoughtful and he worked as hard as anybody," Novak said. "I really felt like all that security around him, those vans and guards and stuff that looks like he would use to keep his life cooler, I think he just uses that to shut out the world and be more normal. Once he got in past the security team and everything, he was as normal and collaborative and happy as you can be."

His cast members were also eager to ask about Pitt's past film roles. "We all wanted to ask him about Kalifornia, True Romance, Fight Club, and he was totally fine with that! He loves it. He's into making great movies," said Eli Roth, the Hostel director who also played one of the war film's basterds.

Roth adds: "He watched Hostel and then came in the next day and said, 'Roth, you bastard! I couldn't sleep at all last night, damn it!' He was like, 'You are way sicker than I thought.' I think I went up a few notches in his book."

Critics Choice Award Nominations

BEST PICTURE Nominees:
• Avatar
• An Education
• The Hurt Locker
• Inglourious Basterds
• Invictus
• Nine
• Precious
• A Serious Man
• Up
• Up In The Air

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR Nominees:
• Matt Damon - Invictus
• Woody Harrelson - The Messenger
• Christian McKay - Me And Orson Welles
• Alfred Molina - An Education
• Stanley Tucci - The Lovely Bones
• Christoph Waltz - Inglourious Basterds

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE Nominees:
• Inglourious Basterds
• Nine
• Precious
• Star Trek
• Up In The Air

Pitt, Jolie celebrate anniversary

The superstars planned a military-style operation to make sure their low-key night at the Chateau Marmont stayed top secret - and they did such a good job that news of the November 28 rendezvous has only just leaked.

A source at the famous Los Angeles hotel tells Life & Style magazine, "They checked in around 4pm and were ushered straight to their poolside bungalow. They were holding hands when they arrived, and Angie was really excited.

"They looked like they were on a date. They had no security with them, and they were incredibly relaxed."

According to the insider, the evening was planned meticulously by Pitt, who insisted on dealing only with top-level hotel staff members to make sure the night wasn't ruined by fans or photographers.

The source adds, "They just wanted a quiet night by themselves."

The publication reports the couple left the hotel just before lunch the following day and tipped "generously".

The insider recalls, "They looked so happy. They'd obviously had a lovely night together."

Federer, Brad Pitt named in new edition of Who's Who

World number one Federer, 28, is among the youngest new entrants to the 162nd annual edition of the book, which also lists Blackburn Rovers manager Sam Allardyce and Everton manager David Moyes.

Another new sports entry is Claire Taylor, the cricketer named player of the World Cup after England's victorious campaign in Australia in March and the first woman to be named one of the Wisden annual's Five Cricketers of the Year.

In the world of entertainment, Pitt and fellow US actor Morgan Freeman made their debut alongside British actress Anna Friel and Coelho, whose 1987 novel "The Alchemist" became a bestseller in 74 countries.

British comedians Ricky Gervais, responsible for hit sitcom "The Office", and Matt Lucas and David Walliams, the duo behind the "Little Britain" series, are among the 1,000 new entries this year.

Fashion designer Christopher Bailey, the creative director of Burberry, and Tim Hincks, the chief executive of Endemol UK, the production company that makes "Big Brother", also feature.

First published in 1849, "Who's Who" "celebrates the diversity of human achievement, recognising the people who have reached the pinnacle of excellence in their field", according to a spokesman.

The 2010 edition contains more than 33,000 entries, compiled from questionnaires submitted by the individuals concerned. They remain listed until they die, when they are transferred to "Who Was Who".

While most of those included are British, international figures are included due to their presence and importance in British life. Britons with hereditary titles are automatically included, and make up 10 percent of the listings.

Sightings

Brad and Angelina Are $7 Million Givers

But big givers? Of that, there is even less doubt.

Angelina Jolie, 34, and Brad Pitt, 45, gave a whopping $6.8 million to charities in 2008, the Hollywood Reporter says.

That was the amount given to various groups through the philanthropically minded couple's Jolie-Pitt Foundation, which donated about half of the $13 million it raised last year to nonprofits like Global Health, Human Rights Watch, the Armed Services YMCA, and Pitt's own Make It Right Foundation, dedicated to rebuilding New Orleans. Another $1 million went to various causes in Cambodia, home country for their son Maddox.

Brad Pitt's production company enters "Dark Void"

Indian giant Reliance BIG Entertainment and Brad Pitt's Plan B shingle are developing a film version of the upcoming video game, and Pitt could well star as the lead combatant.

The two firms have acquired rights to the Capcom third-person shooter and will develop the material as a feature. The companies said the project would be a "potential starring vehicle" for Pitt. No writers have been hired yet.

"Void" centers on a cargo pilot named Will (Pitt's presumed character) who, after crashing in the Bermuda Triangle, ends up in a parallel universe where a band of humans must fight an alien threat that had long been thought extinct. Will and the other humans are outmanned but have a number of weapons and powers to help them beat back the alien incursion.

The game will be released for Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in January.

The project is the first to come out of a development partnership between Plan B and Reliance that was announced at the Cannes festival in 2008. The Indian giant has deals with a number of other Hollywood production banners, including Julia Roberts' Red Om and George Clooney's Smokehouse.

Video games have had a mixed record on the big screen, with title likes "Max Payne" mutating into critical and commercial flops. But executive involved in this deal pointed to the advantages a "Dark Void" movie would have over its predecessors.

"As a game, 'Dark Void' was developed with a wide-screen mentality -- a world full of adventure presented in cinematic scope and scale," Capcom senior vice president of licensing Germaine Gioia said.

Brad Pitt's New Fight Club: Battling Aliens

And what Pitt wants, Pitt gets, this time courtesy of the news that he's set to develop—and most likely take the lead role in—a big screen adaptation of Dark Void, a forthcoming shoot-'em-up video game.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Pitt would ostensibly star as Will, a cargo pilot who finds himself in a parallel universe after crashing in the Bermuda Triangle. He and his outnumbered crew, along with their mysterious, unnamed "powers," end up fighting aliens that the previously presumed to be extinct.

The film-inspiring game is released in January.

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt Design Sparkly, Slithery Things

Hollywood's most golden couple have teamed with high-end jeweler Asprey for a capsule collection called "The Protector," according to Women's Wear Daily. The shimmering gold and silver accessories are inspired by snakes.

You know, because nothing says precious metals and stones like slithering creatures. And dudes with really hideous beards.

The limited edition collection hits stores this week, with prices starting at $525 for a silver baby spoon. Proceeds benefit Education Partnership for Children of Conflict, which Angie co-founded.

Apparently, the mega-mama received a snake ring just before giving birth to Shiloh and she considered it a protector of her family.

Brad Pitt Jonesing to Get Basterdly Again

Sounds like an Inglourious Basterds prequel is Pitt's top priority.

"Everybody would drop whatever they're doing to go back to work with Quentin," Pitt's Basterds costar Eli Roth told us at the Hamilton Behind the Camera Awards presented by Movieline.com in Hollywood. "All the time, Brad says, 'Prequel, prequel!' All the 'basterds' would jump on it in a second."

In fact, this possible prequel is already under way...sorta. Read on for the details.

"We have three scenes that we shot in Boston that take place before the war, and Quentin says if he does the prequel, he's going to use them," Roth said. "They're not going to be DVD extras."

"There's a great scene with me and Cloris Leachman," Roth adds. "I go and get her to sign the bat. It's me and the little old Jewish ladies of the neighborhood."

All that's left is the green light from Tarantino. "He has most of it written, so now it's just a matter of figuring the whole thing out," Roth said. "Quentin's standards are so high that he won't do it unless he feels like he can do it better than the first one."

2010 People's Choice Awards nominees

"Twilight" and "True Blood" were among the top nominees announced Tuesday. Fans cast more than 18 million votes online to select the nominee slate and will also choose the winners in 35 categories.

The People's Choice Awards lets the general public vote for their favorite stars and works of popular culture.

"Twilight" is up for favorite movie, franchise and on-screen team for its trio of stars: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner. Stewart and Pattinson were also nominated individually for favorite movie actress and actor, and Lautner is up for breakout movie actor.

"True Blood" was nominated for favorite TV obsession and sci-fi/fantasy TV show, plus star Anna Paquin earned a nod for TV drama actress.

Fans can vote for their favorites online at www.peopleschoice.com.

Queen Latifah is set to host the People's Choice Awards at the Nokia Theatre. The ceremony will be broadcast live on CBS on Jan. 6, 2010.

The complete list of nominees:

TV drama: "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," "Grey's Anatomy," "House," "Lost," "NCIS."

TV comedy: "Desperate Housewives," "How I Met Your Mother," "The Big Bang Theory," "The Office," "Two and a Half Men."

TV drama Actor: Hugh Laurie, Kiefer Sutherland, Mark Harmon, Matthew Fox, Patrick Dempsey.

TV drama Actress: Anna Paquin, Blake Lively, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Katherine Heigl, Mariska Hargitay.

TV comedy Actor: Alex Baldwin, Charlie Sheen, Jim Parsons, Neil Patrick Harris, Steve Carell.

TV comedy Actress: Alyson Hannigan, America Ferrera, Amy Poehler, Eva Longoria Parker, Tina Fey.

TV obsession: "Dexter," "Gossip Girl," "The Hills," "The Secret Life of the American Teenager," "True Blood."

TV talk show: "Chelsea Lately," "Live with Regis & Kelly," "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," "The Oprah Winfrey Show," "The Tyra Banks Show."

TV sci-fi/fantasy: "Heroes," "Lost," "Supernatural," "The Vampire Diaries," "True Blood."

TV competition show: "American Idol," "Dancing With the Stars," "Project Runway," "So You Think You Can Dance," "Survivor: Samoa."

Animal show: "Animal Cops," "DogTown," "Dog Whisperer," "It's Me or the Dog," "Rescue Ink."

New TV drama: "Eastwick," "FlashForward," "Melrose Place," "Mercy," "The Forgotten," "The Good Wife," "The Vampire Diaries," "Three Rivers," "NCIS: Los Angeles," "V."

New TV comedy: "Accidentally on Purpose," "Brothers," "Community," "Cougar Town," "Glee," "Hank," "The Cleveland Show," "The Middle," "Modern Family."

Movie actor: Brad Pitt, Hugh Jackman, Johnny Depp, Robert Pattinson, Ryan Reynolds.

Movie actress: Anna Hathaway, Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Aniston, Kristen Stewart, Sandra Bullock.

Action star: Christian Bale, Gerard Butler, Hugh Jackman, Shia LaBeouf, Vin Diesel.

Comedic star: Adam Sandler, Ben Stiller, Jim Carrey, Ryan Reynolds, Vince Vaughn.

Breakout movie actress: Anna Kendrick, Emily Osment, Ginnifer Goodwin, Miley Cyrus, Zoe Saldana.

Breakout movie actor: Chris Pine, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Sam Worthington, Taylor Lautner, Zachary Quinto.

On-screen team: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince"; Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds, "The Proposal"; Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner, "The Twilight Saga"; Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox, "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen"; Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Ryan Reynolds, will.i.am, Dominic Monaghan and Daniel Henney, "X-Men Origins: Wolverine."

Family movie: "Hannah Montana: The Movie," "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs," "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian," "Up," "Where the Wild Things Are."

Independent movie: "(500) Days of Summer," "District 9," "Inglourious Basterds," "Paranormal Activity," "Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail."

Franchise: "Harry Potter," "Star Trek," "The Twilight Saga," "Transformers," "X-Men."

Comedy movie: "17 Again," "Bride Wars," "He's Just Not That Into You," "The Hangover," "The Proposal."

Favorite movie: "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," "Star Trek," "The Hangover," "The Proposal," "Twilight."

Male artist: Eminem, Jason Mraz, John Mayer, Keith Urban, Tim McGraw.

Female artist: Beyonce, Britney Spears, Carrie Underwood, Pink, Taylor Swift.

Country artist: Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, Rascal Flatts, Taylor Swift.

Breakout Music Artist: Adam Lambert, Demi Lovato, Kris Allen, Lady Gaga, Susan Boyle.

Hip-hop artist: Eminem, Flo Rida, Jay-Z, Lil' Wayne, T.I.

Rock band: Daughtry, Green Day, Kings of Leon, Muse, Paramore.

Music collaboration: Cobra Starship & Leighton Meester, "Good Girls Go Bad"; Jason Mraz & Colbie Caillat, "Lucky"; Jay-Z, Rihanna & Kanye West, "Run This Town"; T.I. & Rihanna, "Live Your Life"; The Lonely Island & T-Pain, "I'm on a Boat."

R&B artist: Alicia Keys, Beyonce, Jennifer Hudson, Mariah Carey, Usher.

Pop artist: Britney Spears, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, the Black Eyed Peas.

Web celeb: Andy Samberg, Ashton Kutcher, Miley Cyrus, P. Diddy, Will Ferrell.

Brad Pitt Wears Beads in his Beard

Pitt, 45, was spotted in in Japan still wearing the metallic beads that adorned his billy-goat beard on Halloween night, when he went trick-or-treating with his kids while dressed as DJ Lance Rock from the surreal kids show, Yo Gabba Gabba.

But the real DJ Lance Rock is clean-shaven, leaving observers a little confused as to whether the beads were part of Pitt's holiday outfit, a permanent fashion statement, or a remnant from a previous costume idea – perhaps a bit of Johnny Depp from Pirates of the Caribbean?

In Japan, Pitt modeled his beard beads arriving at Narita Airport and again while promoting his movie Inglorious Basterds with director Quentin Tarantino.

Brad Pitt Wants a New Ride

Okay, he hasn't exactly made that his Craigslist posting, but Brad Pitt did make it clear that he was searching for a new hog after his little spill in L.A. on Oct. 25 – something he blames on the ever-present lensmen who hound him.

"I had a little mishap," he said at an Inglourious Basterds event in Tokyo on Wednesday. "No injuries, except my ego. I was trying to get away from some paparazzi and instead gave them a good story.

"It was my favorite bike, so that is really sad," he added.

But he counted it as a lucky thing that he happened to be in one of the best-known motorcycle-building nations of the world.

"I will definitely be looking at motorcycles," he said. "You've got some of the best builders right here."

Pitt: 'Angie's going to kill me'

The movie hunk clipped a parked car while weaving through traffic in Los Angeles, lost his balance and fell from his ride.

He tried to wave off paparazzi as he exchanged insurance details with the driver of a vehicle he scratched and then dashed into a nearby apartment complex to call for help.

While there, he told resident Talia Schwartz he was more concerned about Jolie's reaction than the damage to his beloved bike.

She tells Life & Style magazine, "He told the building manager that Angie was going to kill him because she thinks motorcycles are too dangerous.

"He called someone to come and get his bike. He said he’d been in a fender bender but was OK; he just needed someone to tow his bike to the shop."

Brad Pitt's Bike Crash: What Really Happened?

Countless reports of the chopper spill have been circulating cyberspace all afternoon, and while both Los Angeles and Beverly Hills Police Departments confirm that there have been no accidents reported, we've complied a little collection of what we know thus far.

Sources tell E! News that the incident wasn't much of an accident, but rather Pitt's mirror nicked the mirror of an adjacent car and he lost balance on his bike. His motorcycle reportedly wouldn't start after it fell to the ground, so the star called his security team for a lift.

The source says the other car involved in the mix-up belonged to the paparazzi, but it was Pitt who got too close.

Elsewhere, reports of the cycle spill vary. TMZ says Pitt was weaving in and out of stopped traffic and damaged his ride after clipping a parked car, while X17 has a much more elaborate version of events involving the mega-movie star falling to the ground on his bike after a too-close-for-comfort pap cut him off.

The report claims Pitt exchanged heated words with the pap, telling him to be more careful, then escaped the commotion by running into a nearby apartment complex to wait for his ride.

And finally, Radar Online says that their reporter witnessed the minor mash-up, stating that a paparazzo bumped Pitt's bike from behind, forcing his motorcycle into the rear of the car ahead. Pitt reportedly kept his cool in the aftermath, even interacting with onlookers.

The one common thread? Pitt is A-OK, uninjured and on his merry way.

And regardless of what went down today, Pitt will live to bike again.

Angelina and Brad Visit Orphaned Children in Jordan

The couple visited the orphan charity's village Oct. 1 after receiving an invitation from Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan, who is Honorary Chairman of SOS Children's Villages Jordan.

It was a return trip for Jolie, 34, who had visited the Amman village in 2003 and committed to covering the running costs of one family house, but Pitt, 45, was there for the first time.

"The SOS model of providing care for children without parental care is one of the best, as they are still in a family setting within their own country," said Jolie. "We hope more people learn about their programs and give them support."

The SOS Children's Village was the latest humanitarian visit for Jolie, who has visited refugee camps around the world since being named a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Goodwill Ambassador in 2001.

George Clooney to Adopt Brad Pitt's Kids?

They're just not his own.

"I'm going to adopt some of Brad Pitt's kids. I owe him a few," he joked at Wednesday's press conference in London for his new flick Fantastic Mr. Fox, based on Roald Dahl's book and set to open in the U.S. Nov. 25.

The notorious ladies' man, 48, mostly recently spotted on the arm of Italian TV presenter Elisabetta Canalis, says he feels like he's skipped from the dad stage straight to granddad status.

He says this seems especially so considering the fact that in the stop-motion animated Fantastic Mr. Fox he voices the role of the father to the character played by 29-year-old Jason Schwartzman (who recently married clothing designer Brady Cunningham).

"Just having Jason here next to me makes me feel like a father," he quipped. "He just got married, so I feel like a grandfather. I'm jumping right into it. I will bring lots of kids to the red carpet."

Brad and Angelina Take the Twins for Ice Cream!

Ihab Fakhouri, a co-owner of Licky Licious ice cream shop on Rainbow Street in Amman, snapped a photo of the family that was later posted on Twitter.

"They were walking down the street and saw our shop. Brad stopped and said, 'Do you guys have ice cream?' I said 'Are you kidding? Of course! '" Fakhouri tells PEOPLE.

During the foursome's 10-15 minutes in the shop, Pitt sampled several flavors and ended up with a cup of pecan, caramel and vanilla ice cream, which he shared with Vivienne. Jolie decided on the mango ice cream and gave Knox some. "Knox loved the mango. He was like, 'Wow!' " says Fakhouri.

"The kids look so much like Angelina. They look like their mother. But they have Brad's eyes," adds Fakhouri. "They looked like really happy kids."

Pitt and Jolie chatted with the owners about Jordan, where they have visited before. Jolie said "they like coming here," according to Fakhouri. Pitt and Jolie have been in the Middle East to visit Iraqi refugees in Syria as part of Jolie’s work as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR.

Angelina & Brad Visit Refugees in Syria

Jolie, 34, a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations' refugee agency, UNHCR, visited Iraqi refugees in Syria with Pitt, 45, and urged the world to not forget the thousands who have been displaced.

"Most Iraqi refugees cannot return to Iraq in view of the severe trauma they experienced there, the uncertainty linked to the coming Iraqi elections, the security issues and the lack of basic services," Jolie says in a statement released by the UNHCR. "They will, therefore, be in need of continued support from the international community."

The actress's trip to Syria comes two months after Jolie returned to Iraq to visit a refugee camp and two weeks after she met with Somali refugees in Africa.

Brad Pitt honored for humanitarian work in New Orleans

Pitt was presented with a plaque from the U.S. Green Building Council which said the actor and his foundation "Make It Right" had created the "largest and greenest single-family community in the world."

"'Make It Right' has exceeded my expectations," said Pitt who set up the foundation in 2007.

"Our criteria from the beginning were at odds, to say the least. We demanded that these homes be sustainable, that they have aesthetic qualities ... that they be storm resilient and take safety in mind of the families who live there and that they would be affordable."

"Make It Right" has created 13 homes in the New Orleans area the 9th Ward, which was devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Each house is unique and has eco-friendly features like green roofs, which can cut heating and cooling costs dramatically.

Pitt said the biggest challenge was keeping homes affordable.

He said the average utility bill for the homes he is building is $35 a month but the goal is to bring them down to zero.

"If we had not been so blissfully naive to the potential, we would not be experiencing what we are seeing today and that is the unquantifiable joy of families returning home to the 9th Ward and returning home to something that was better than before," said Pitt.

Thousands of people lost their homes in the 9th Ward after Hurricane Katrina flooded 80 percent of New Orleans, killing 1,500 people and causing more than $80 billion of damage.

The majority of that population has not yet returned because re-construction efforts have been slow.

Pitt said much still needs to be done in New Orleans but the model he created could be applied to communities around the world.

"What the team has done here is not so exceptional. All we did was put the right people together and answer the problems as they came along and that is why we're here today," he said.

Pitt's goal is to have 150 green homes up and ready in New Orleans by next year.

Brad Pitt gives Katrina update at Clinton meeting

The cost of building the homes also is dropping. And by the time all 150 promised homes are completed, the cost will be comparable to standard buildings, Pitt said.

"I don't know how we build any other way anywhere else," he said. "We can no longer tell ourselves that implementing this technology is too complex a problem because it's just been proven on this little spot on the map."

Pitt started the foundation in 2007. The program focuses home construction in a section of New Orleans heavily damaged when Hurricane Katrina struck in August 2005. The homes are being built with features including rooftop solar panels and energy-efficient appliances to help reduce electricity consumption.

The Clinton Global Initiative, an annual event started by former President Bill Clinton, brings together the public and private sector to discuss solutions to problems in four areas — climate change, poverty, global health and education.

At an afternoon panel discussing education, Queen Rania of Jordan said it was an evergreen subject in political campaigns but one that loses priority once politicians are in office because there often isn't any immediate political gain.

"The benefits of education sometimes don't fit in with the political cycle because you reap the benefits way down the line," she said. "What we need to do is realize that sense of urgency when it comes to education, because education is a matter of life and death."

She also emphasized the importance of the quality of education, saying that while educational enrollment was high in the Middle East, there hasn't been enough focus on teaching young people the skills to get them through life.

"Take young people who are opportunity starved, and there is political conflict around them, and that makes a very dangerous social mix. As you all know, what happens in the Middle East, does not stay in the Middle East," she said. "Critical thinking, problem-solving, creativity, those kinds of skills are extremely important to empower our young people."

Among those joining the queen on the panel was U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, who referred to her own history as the first in her family to go to college in talking about the need for both government and private investment in expanding educational opportunities.

"I was the first one to go to college and it wasn't because my parents could afford it, it was because we have the Pell grant program, we have programs that help to provide assistance," Solis said. "Those programs work and it's a good investment in our young people."

Attendees at the Clinton Global Initiative are expected to commit to steps they will take to work on global problems. Those who don't follow through on their commitments won't be allowed to return to subsequent events.

Brad Pitt Investigating Sherlock Sequel?

Judging by the trailer, it looks as if audiences are either going to love or hate Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes—but an unknown fate hasn't stopped the studio from planning a sequel already!

The Hollywood Reporter's Risky Business blog is reporting that Warner Bros. is developing a follow-up to the action-packed detective caper, which is due in theaters on Christmas Day, starring Robert Downey Jr. as a Holmes who seems equally adept at cage-fighting as he is at solving the most complex of cases.

And while the studio denied rumors that Pitt was "joining the cast" of the first flick as Holmes' archenemy, Professor Moriarty, Pitt has since talked to producers about playing the supervillain in a possible sequel.

Meanwhile, Ritchie has confirmed that "there is some kind of appearance" by Moriarty in Sherlock Holmes, and that the actor who plays him is not credited for the role.

Deduce what you want from the provided clues. We're just hoping Sherlock rocks enough to earn another go-round.

Kate Winslet, Michelle Obama make People's best-dressed

Although the list, released Wednesday, does not have numerical ranking, Winslet, 33, who won an Oscar in February for playing a dour Nazi in "The Reader," was deemed to be the best-dressed woman on the red carpet on 2009 "with her unique brand of sexy sophistication, modern Hollywood glamour and those enviable curves."

People named Reese Witherspoon as having the "best short dresses," "High School Musical" actress Vanessa Hudgens as best hippie chic, and Freida Pinto, the Indian star of Oscar-winning movie "Slumdog Millionaire," for having the best use of color.

Brad Pitt, "Twilight" actor Robert Pattinson, and Bradley Cooper of "The Hangover" and "Nip/Tuck" fame were among the best-dressed men of the year. People said their attention to details like a scarf, pin or skinny tie "took their looks beyond basic."

Teen country singer Taylor Swift was dubbed "best sparkle."

The annual best- and worst-dressed double issue, on newsstands Friday, also acknowledged the impact on fashion of the Emmy-award winning TV series "Mad Men," set in the 1960s, whose cigarette pants and sheath dresses have inspired new designs by Michael Kors and Tory Burch.

The People magazine special issue also looked at some of the fashion flops of 2009. Former "American Idol" judge Paula Abdul and actress Renee Zellweger were cited as having the worst red carpet dresses.

Singer Jessica Simpson's January appearance in unflattering high-waisted "mom jeans," which triggering a heated debate about weight issues in Hollywood, was among the "most memorable moments of the year," People said.

People's choice of the Top 10 Best-Dressed Women of 2009 are:

Kate Winslet - Best Red Carpet

Vanessa Hudgens - Best Hippie Chic

Reese Witherspoon - Best Short Dresses

Cameron Diaz - Best Jeans

Michelle Obama - Best Accessible Glamour

Freida Pinto - Best Use of Color

Taylor Swift - Best Sparkle

Nicole Richie - Best Maternity

Beyonce - Best Street Chic

Kim Kardashian - Best Bikinis

The complete list can be found at www.people.com/bestdressed.

Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie's Pre-Labor Day Getaways

The couple – who have been ensconced in their South of France chateau for two weeks – took separate daytrips over the weekend, demonstrating that with access to helicopters and private aircraft, their interests are quite far-flung.

In a "Honey, take care of the kids! I'm off to see Napoleon's birthplace" excursion Friday, Jolie took Shiloh to Ajaccio, on the Mediterranean island of Corsica. The actress and her daughter strolled around the palm-lined Place Foch, past the pastel-washed Napoleon Museum – and even squeezed in a little shopping before local photographers discovered them.

No sooner had she returned home, then it was Brad's turn.

Architectural Holiday

On Sunday, he flew to northwest Spain to indulge his passion for architectural innovation. Wearing a hardhat, the happy Basterd toured the construction site of Aviles's new International Cultural Center. Designed by legendary 101-year old Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer (who also worked on Brasilia and the United Nations headquarters in Manhattan), the project is urban renovation and innovation on a scale close to Brad's heart.

Scheduled to open officially in mid-2010, the $45-million project will involve a complete rehabilitation of the city's neglected industrial portside. Built on a former steel-making site, the cultural center will be home to a 1,000-seat auditorium, 45,000-sq.-ft. gallery, cinema and panoramic tower built around a central waterside plaza.

"He is interested in supporting the project," Aviles's Mayor Pilar Varela told reporters after Pitt's visit, "both from its cultural aspects as well as its architectural design." The Mayor added that he'd spoken with Pitt about his further involvement in the ambitious project – which already counts Stephen Hawking, novelist Paulo Coehlo and Woody Allen among its artistic advisors – "but that it was a little early to announce anything concrete."

'Environmental Sustainability'

Pitt, 46, whose New Orleans Make It Right Foundation is involved in creating residential housing in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, toured the site at length with Varela and architects on Sunday afternoon for several hours. During the visit, Pitt was "particularly interested in the project's durability," said Varela.

Key to the Niemeyer Center – which anchors an even larger, urban "Island of Innovation" plan – is its "environmental sustainability." Added Varela: "That's why he came to see the site for himself."

Brad Pitt Will Not Sink to the Level of Hating On Tom Cruise

Despite what seemed like an albeit uncharacteristic verbal sucker punch to Tom Cruise's moviemaking chops last week, a rep for the Inglorious Basterds thesp has denied that Pitt's ever had a bad word to say about his onetime costar.

On Friday, the German magazine Stern ran an interview with Angie's better half, quoting the reigning box office champ as slamming Cruise's rival Nazi-fighting film Valkyrie as, quite simply, "a ridiculous movie."

But this is one dogfight that ended before it began.

"Brad has never seen Valkyrie so this is not accurate," his manager told tabloid of record Us Weekly.

Which, if we wanted to stir things up, we could almost classify as a diss-by-snubbing.

Not that we would ever want to do that.

Guess we'll just have to settle for the second-rate feuding of Joe & Alec.

Pitt, Tarantino's 'Basterds' earns glorious $37.6M

It was Tarantino's best opening ever, exceeding the $25.1 million haul for 2004's "Kill Bill — Vol. 2." Overseas, "Inglourious Basterds" added $27.5 million in 22 countries, giving it a worldwide total of $65.1 million.

Released domestically by the Weinstein Co. and overseas by Universal, "Inglourious Basterds" features Pitt and an international ensemble in a sprawling tale of Jewish commandos and a plot to take out Nazi leaders at a movie premiere during World War II.

The film provided a much-needed hit for Harvey and Bob Weinstein, who have managed only lackluster receipts at their new outfit since departing Disney-owned Miramax four years ago.

At Miramax, the Weinsteins balanced prestige and profit with a string of Academy Awards triumphs such as "Shakespeare in Love" and "Chicago" and hits such as Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction" and the "Scary Movie" and "Scream" franchises.

"Tarantino helped build the house of Miramax. He's proving right now that he's helping to build the house of Weinstein," said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com.

So far, the Weinstein Co. has been unable to reproduce that Miramax success, its lineup burdened by box-office underachievers such as last year's "Soul Men" and 2007's "Grindhouse," Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez's B-movie double-feature.

Harvey Weinstein said critics continually write off him and his brother, including a magazine piece in 2002 "saying we were the flavor of the '90s but we were kind of over in the new millennium."

Weeks later, he noted, Miramax scored 40 Oscar nominations, among them three of the five best-picture nominees, including eventual winner "Chicago."

Weinstein said his new company has a strong lineup ahead, including next weekend's horror sequel "Halloween II" along with "Chicago" director Rob Marshall's musical "Nine" and the post-apocalypse saga "The Road" late in the year.

Rodriguez, Tarantino's "Grindhouse" partner, did not fare so well with "Shorts," his Warner Bros. family comedy that debuted at No. 6 with just $6.6 million. The movie features William H. Macy, James Spader, Leslie Mann and a cast of kids in a series of loosely linked adventures centered on a magic rock that grants wishes.

Fox Atomic's comedy "Post Grad," with Alexis Bledel as a college graduate who moves back home with her eccentric family after she's unable to land her dream job, tanked with $2.8 million, coming in at No. 10.

The previous weekend's top movie, Sony's sci-fi thriller "District 9," slipped to second-place with $18.9 million. With a domestic total of $73.5 million, the movie is on its way to becoming a $100 million sleeper hit.

Hollywood's revenues were up for the third-straight weekend, a late-season surge that has helped the industry recover from a monthlong slide in receipts. Overall ticket sales were $134 million, up 27 percent compared to the same weekend last year.

The weekend put Hollywood back on track to break last summer's revenue record of $4.2 billion, though receipts this season are up only a fraction.

Factoring in higher ticket prices this year, movie attendance is running 3 percent below last summer's, according to Hollywood.com.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "Inglourious Basterds," $37.6 million.
2. "District 9," $18.9 million.
3. "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra," $12.5 million.
4. "The Time Traveler's Wife," $10 million.
5. "Julie & Julia," $9 million.
6. "Shorts," $6.6 million.
7. "G-Force," $4.2 million.
8. "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," $3.5 million.
9. "The Ugly Truth," $2.9 million.
10. "Post Grad," $2.8 million.

Brad Pitt Calls Tom Cruise's Nazi Flick 'Ridiculous'

"The second World War could still deliver more stories and films, but I believe that Quentin [Tarantino, director] put a cover on that pot. With Basterds, everything than can be said to this genre has been said," Pitt tells the German magazine Stern. "The film destroys every symbol. The work is done, end of story."

As for another WWII Hitler assassination movie with a famous Hollywood star, he says there is no comparison. When the Stern reporter mentioned Tom Cruise's recent turn in a film about a real plot to kill Hitler, Pitt simply said, "It was a ridiculous movie."

Pitt also revealed what movie he does find note-worthy – even life-changing – Saturday Night Fever.

"When I was a teenager, I saw Saturday Night Fever at our drive-in, but it wasn't the dancing that electrified me. It was the life and culture in Brooklyn. I'm from Missouri, the southern part of the Midwest in the U.S., and I never heard families talk that way to each other. From that point on, I wanted out to see more of the country and of life."

Tarantino's war movie glorious

What is not to like about dispatching armed and angry Jews to kill Nazis during the Second World War?

Especially in a Quentin Tarantino film.

It means there will be blood. And violence. In extreme close-ups.

There are shootings and beatings and scalpings. Swastikas are carved into forehead flesh. A German soldier's head is bashed in with a baseball bat, a home run that is dedicated to Ted Williams.

Feeling squeamish?

Too bad, then don't go.

Meanwhile, if you forget why Nazis are monsters, Tarantino launches the narrative with a brutal but realistic Holocaust scene of Germans butchering a family of Jewish dairy farmers.

The story's mesmerizing villain -- an S.S. officer played with oily charm and creepy, poetic intelligence by German actor Christoph Waltz -- is introduced right at the beginning and controls the arc of the entire film. That means Brad Pitt plays a secondary if memorable role, as do other key actors from Eli Roth to Diane Kruger, Julie Dreyfus, Til Schweiger, Michael Fassbender, Daniel Bruhl, an amusing Mike Myers as a British general, plus Sylvester Groth as a slimeball Goebbels and Martin Wuttke as a spittle-spewing psycho-Hitler.

Despite the violence -- in part because of it -- Inglourious Basterds is a brilliant example of shock cinema. But it owes more to the stylized traditions of spaghetti westerns than it does to classic American war movies. It is also a Jewish revenge fantasy -- with emphasis on the fantasy.

While extreme in its grit and gore, Inglourious Basterds is often surprisingly funny, like Pulp Fiction was between the murders. With its deliberately misspelled title as an indicator of the off-kilter story to come, Basterds tells the politically incorrect and historically inaccurate story of a platoon of Jewish-American soldiers dropped into occupied France in 1942 to wreak havoc on the Germans. The goal is a reign of sheer terror. Tarantino does not differentiate between regular German soldiers and the S.S. goons. The Basterds kill all they meet, except one who can then tell the tale.

A set of parallel stories leads the Basterds toward the film's fiery climax.

One story chronicles the activities of Waltz's Colonel Landa, who is proud of his nickname The Jew Hunter. He plays with words with aplomb, making his character even more romantic and dangerous. And Waltz handles the complex Tarantino dialogue with ease in English, French, German and even Italian (in this film, people talk in whatever language is appropriate to the situation, and we get English subtitles on the French and German).

Another storyline shows what happens to a young Jewish woman (the fetching Melanie Laurent) who escaped one of Landa's atrocities. She is now running a theatre in Paris, offering both sex appeal and respect for cinema.

Her theatre, and Laurent, attract the attention of a cocky German war hero (Bruhl) who is also the star of a German war film depicting his exploits as a sniper. Roth, who plays the baseball-wielding Basterd, also directed Bruhl's black-and-white, neo-classic, film-within-the-film.

Tarantino, being a cinephile, finally concocts a fantastic plot device to bring the loose ends of the plot together. It involves film, as a medium for conveying propaganda and as a volatile physical entity.

In addition, the emotional twists that bring Inglourious Basterds to its bittersweet end are pure cinema.

Don't look for reality.

Tarantino makes outrageous and glorious movies, not documentaries.

Tarantino refutes Pitt's pot claim

Pitt has recently claimed he quit marijuana when he became a dad in two separate interviews, insisting he couldn't look after his six kids with Angelina Jolie while under the influence.

Last week, he told TV commentator Bill Maher, "I'm a dad now. You want to be alert and my eyes used to glaze over when I did that."

But in an interview with radio host Howard Stern on Monday Tarantino revealed Pitt provided him with some "pretty good" pot when they met to discuss their new movie Inglourious Basterds last year.

Tarantino told Stern, "He takes this brick of hash, whips out a knife, like Jesse James, and cuts me off a big slither. I go, 'Do you have a pipe to go with this?' And he handed me a Coke can!"

Brad Pitt to Play Superhero for His Kids' Sake

"Yeah," Pitt, 45, confirmed to interviewer Ann Curry on Tuesday's Today show, "people lose some hair."

When Curry counters that Pitt – the father of six – ought to make a kids movie, the leading man steps forward with the announcement that he is doing just that, by providing the voice for an animated feature in which he'll play a "superhero who wants out."

Pitt says that movie will costar the voices of Tina Fey and Robert Downey Jr., and trade reports identify the project as Oobermind, from DreamWorks Animation and Madagascar co-director Tim McGrath. An update since the Pitt-Curry sit-down also indicates that Will Ferrell has replaced Robert Downey Jr.

The movie, now in post-production for a November 2010 release, reportedly opens with Pitt, as the super heroic Metro Man, being accidentally killed by the super villain Oobermind (Ferrell), who has a change of heart about being bad and so creates a new hero, Titan (Jonah Hill) – much to the confusion of a local newscaster (Fey).

It's not autobiographical, Pitt told Curry, who inquired if he might be doing the movie in order to appear heroic to his and Angelina Jolie's children: Maddox, 8; Pax, 5; Zahara, 4; Shiloh, 3; and twins Knox and Vivienne, 1.

"It's just something they'll enjoy," he responded, "and that's cool."

Review: `Basterds' has its glorious moments

Everything that's thrilling and maddening about his films co-exists and co-mingles here: the visual dexterity and the interminable dialogue, the homage to cinema and the self-glorifying drive to redefine it, the compelling bursts of energy and the numbingly draggy sections.

And then there is the violence, of course: violence as a source of humor, as sport, violence merely because it looks cool on camera, and because the 46-year-old Tarantino still has the sensibilities of a 12-year-old boy.

"Inglourious Basterds" also reflects the discipline, or lack thereof, of an adolescent — one who's never been told "no." Certain scenes of his wildly revisionist World War II saga have a wonderfully palpable tension, but then he undermines them by allowing them to go on too long. You expect talkiness in a Tarantino film, but rather than whisking you away in waves of poetry, as he did with the Oscar-winning "Pulp Fiction" screenplay he co-wrote, too often here his talk lacks snap.

As for the plot ... well, it might be in there somewhere among the many meandering threads. In one of them, "Inglourious Basterds" follows a band of Jewish American soldiers, led by twangy Tennessean Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt), who hunt Nazis with the goal of not just killing them but scalping them and sometimes carving swastikas into their foreheads.

Pitt is a hoot, by the way, in the tradition of his best comic supporting work in films like "Snatch" and "Burn After Reading." He's pretty much doing a bad impression of George W. Bush — campy but irresistible — and it is always such a joy to watch him let go and goof off.

Among his "Dirty Dozen"-style crew are "Hostel" director Eli Roth as a Boston native who likes to take a baseball bat to the enemy's skull as if he were Ted Williams facing a fastball.

But Pitt isn't the star, despite being the biggest name and marketing focal point. "Inglourious Basterds" also intertwines the stories of Shosanna Dreyfus (Melanie Laurent in a subtle and intense performance), a young Jewish woman who fled to Paris and opened a movie theater after Nazis killed her family; Hans Landa (a commanding Christoph Waltz), the cool but cruelly conniving Nazi colonel who orchestrated that attack; German movie star Bridget von Hammersmark (Diane Kruger, oozing old-school glamour), who's an undercover agent for the Brits; and Nazi war hero Fredrick Zoller (Daniel Bruhl), who's about to become a star by playing himself in a propaganda flick about his exploits.

All these characters converge one night at Shosanna's theater, where their various ambitions and murder plots collide. The climax is a seriously over-the-top explosion — even for a Tarantino movie — of flames, gunfire and screaming, teeming masses. After respectfully ripping off other directors his whole life, perhaps this is intended as a parody of himself, but even he doesn't seem to know how to handle it.

While the path to that moment can be torturous, it can also be a visual wonder. "Inglourious Basterds" may be Tarantino's most artfully photographed film next to his "Kill Bill" movies (Oscar-winning cinematographer Robert Richardson shot them all), with spaghetti Western touches at the beginning eventually giving way to dramatic noir imagery by the end.

But for every inspiring moment or performance — Waltz especially stands out, in four different languages, no less — Tarantino frustrates in equal measure.

"Inglourious Basterds," a Weinstein Co. and Universal Pictures release, is rated R for strong graphic violence, language and brief sexuality. Running time: 152 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.

No Pitt, Sherlock!

Warner Bros. is shooting down a widely disseminated newspaper report that the Hollywood hunk is planning to shoot a cameo as Moriarty, the arch-foe of Robert Downey Jr.'s pipe-toking super sleuth.

"The report in today's London Mirror is completely inaccurate. Brad Pitt is not joining the cast of Sherlock Holmes and we're extremely pleased with the production of the film," a studio-sanctioned statement says.

The Mirror claimed Pitt had come aboard the film at the last minute at the behest of director Guy Ritchie (who worked with Pitt on Snatch) and would shoot scenes in the London vicinity. The addition of Pitt would push the release of the film, which costars Jude Law as Watson and Rachel McAdams as Holmes' love interest Irene Adler, from December to June.

But Warners quashed that idea faster than you can say "elementary, my dear Watson..."

"We've scheduled a few days on set to shoot a couple of additional scenes, obtain pick-up shots, and perfect some of the visual effects elements, all of which is standard filmmaking practice," continues the statement, adding that the flick will still debut on Christmas Day as scheduled.

Case closed.

However, there is one official bit of official casting today involving Downey and Pitt. Pitt has come about the DreamWorks Animation 'toon Oobermind, voicing the villain Metro Man. Downey was originally set to play the titular hero, but he dropped out due to scheduling conflict and Will Ferrell, who was supposed to play Metro Man, is now taking over the Ooberman part.

The film, also featuring Tina Fey and Jonah Hill, is due out Nov. 5, 2010.

Will Ferrell, Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill ponder 'Oobermind'

Ferrell has stepped in to replace Downey as the antihero in DreamWorks Animation's supervillain comedy "Oobermind," according to Variety. Brad Pitt has signed on to play Oobermind's heroic nemesis Metro Man, with Jonah Hill rounding out the cast as neophyte hero-turned-baddie Titan.

Tina Fey, meanwhile, will stay on board as a plucky Lois Lane-type reporter. Downey, meanwhile, will be busy with "Iron Man 2," plus the comedy "Due Date" and potentially a reboot of the "Interview with the Vampire" series.

DreamWorks is eyeing a fall 2010 release date for "Oobermind."

Brad Pitt to Run for Mayor of New Orleans . Not

If chosen, would he serve? "Yeah, yeah," Pitt, 45, assured interviewer Ann Curry on Thursday's NBC Today show, as she held before him a T-shirt bearing a handsome rendering of his face and the printed slogan, "Brad Pitt for Mayor."

Then with what sounded like his tongue planted firmly in his cheek, Pitt added, "I'm running on the gay marriage, no religion, legalization and taxation of marijuana platform. I don't have a chance."

Pressed on the matter by Curry, who wanted him to get serious about the question of running for office, Pitt reiterated, "I don't have a chance." Finally, he conceded, "It's not what I do best."

Still, who is to argue with the results of his Make It Right foundation? With its goal of building 150 homes by 2010 for those displaced by the tragedy that caused the loss of 4,000 homes, the charity has unveiled new two-story houses by such famed architects as Frank Gehry, 80, whose work includes the distinctive Guggenheim Museum in Bilboa, Spain.

Still, Pitt vented his frustrations at not being able to do even more for New Orleans.

The other topic he touched upon on Today, at Curry's urging, was his view of true love, which he defined for a magazine interview last week. "It's when somebody else's interest trumps your own," said Pitt, as quoted by Curry. As he then told her on Today, "I stand by that."

Brangelina Hire Babysitters, "Go Away and Get Dirty"

So what could possibly be left to reveal when it comes to the Inglourious Basterds star?

Well, according to People, plenty…

For instance, did you know that if you went into the Jolie-Pitt garage, you would find a Snow White sticker on a Disney Princess bicycle?

What's more, the father of six tells the mag that sometimes, "Mommy and Daddy need to hire a babysitter, go away and get dirty."

Brad adds that he would much rather have George Clooney watch his children over Matt Damon, because "He doesn't stand a chance with my kids."

Unless, of course, Clooney breaks out the art supplies. "Our favorite activity to do with the kids is anything creative," says Brad. "As of late, we've been investigating the world of painting. Meaning we spread out a giant canvas and put out some buckets of paint and go all Jackson Pollock on it."

Oh, and when it comes to sleeping at night, the whole brood often ends up together. "This is why I had to make a 9-ft.-wide bed," jokes papa Pitt.

Yeah, not exactly the most compelling info, but it's kinda a slow news day and it is Brad Pitt.

Besides, isn't this better than some Jon Gosselin update? That's what we thought.

Pitt, Jolie use Hendrix sex grotto

The movie star went public with the raunchy retreat on his West Hollywood estate, where he and partner Angelina occasionally visit for play and passion, in a recent magazine interview, admitting "it's great for sex".

And now he reveals he's not the first star to frequent the grotto.

He tells U.S. news show Extra, "It's an old Hollywood property... and (the) rumour is Jimi Hendrix spent some time there. That's the story. I run with it."

But he insists he and Jolie only visit the grotto of love on very special occasions: "We have far more comfortable places to go."

Sightings

Is Happy Angie Preggers? Is Brad Quitting Movies?

Some of you commenters seem to disagree, but we thought she looked fab. Ange was still a tad frail-looking for our taste, but her arms and bod looked way healthier than when we saw her back during awards season.

Even though Jolie skipped most press, when we chatted with her for a bit she was bubbly, fun and...nice. What gives? Could Jolie be preggers again or something?

Well, when we talked with Brad Pitt and Angelina 'bout that...

More kids were def on both of their brains. A.J. told us she was "always" thinking about that, and Brad seemed just as eager that more tots were going to be on the way sooner than later. "Of course! That's always something we talk about," gabbed B.P.

Shocking stuff!

So any plans for their little ones to get started in the Biz young, like their parents? Ange told us she wasn't sure about that yet, but that she and Brad would "support" whatever their kids wanted to do.

Angelina seemed very definitive, though, that she and nonhubby Brad would definitely call it quits someday...in the Business that is.

When asked if she and B would retire from making films in the near future, Angelina pointed her finger, nodded her head quite matter-of-factly and said, "Oh yes!"

Brangelina seemed just as in sync at the afterparty, too.

The two held court outside at Skybar in a table near the front. Instead of mingling too much with other castmembers in attendance like Diane Kruger or B.J. Novak, Brad and Angie stayed within butt-patting length of each other at all times. Angelina even happily snapped pics with star-struck Industry folks who just couldn't help but gawk at the most famous couple in the world.

So could Angie's happy 'tude have something to do with another one of life's blessings? We're sure since tabloids can't write about some big fight Brange had (they were arm in arm the whole party), Angelina being preggers will be the only thing left.

Jolie did skip out on drinking any champagne or alcohol there, while Brad enjoyed his beer. But her tummy looked nothing but little if you ask us.

Brad Pitt Brought Home Inglourious Spirit

Asked at Grauman's Chinese Theater if he ever took his role home and do it for his kids, Pitt– who plays Aldo "The Apache" Raine, leader of a troop of eight against the Nazis – told PEOPLE: "I did! I'd tell those little 'basterds' to get out there and start scalpin'!"

The proud papa noted that his children proved to be quick studies, especially the eldest, son Maddox, 8. He "picked it up a little, the accent, and it was pretty funny," said Pitt. "He got pretty good, actually."

As for the raucous after-hours spirit while making the movie, which also stars Eli Roth (as Staff Sergeant Donny Donowitz) and Til Schweiger (as German psychopath Hugo Stiglitz) – it was, well, spirited, often being fueled by six packs and even 12 packs.

"Oh," Pitt joked, laughing, "I'm just a drunk!"

Pitt & Jolie Party While Tarantino Goes Missing

The director hit the red carpet and screening of his new movie Inglourious Basterds last night in Hollywood but was a no-show at the big Mondrian hotel afterparty.

I'm told Tarantino drove himself to Grauman's Chinese Theatre, where he did plenty of press and photo ops with Brad Pitt & Co. He not only introduced the film but sat through the screening, too.

"He got back into his car after the movie but never came to the party," a source said. "No one knows where he went or why didn't show up. If anyone loves a party, it's Quentin."

But that didn't stop Pitt from enjoying himself at the bash. Read on for details about his big date night with Angelina Jolie...

While premiere-goers were watching the flick, I'm told Brangelina relaxed in their own private suite at the hotel.

Pitt and Jolie kept such a low profile, most didn't even notice when they arrived to party. They used an out-of-the-way service elevator instead of coming through the front door, where guests were greeted by scantily clad female models carrying pretend machine guns.

The supercouple held court in a corner, where they chatted with Pitt's costars, hunky Eli Roth, B.J. Novak and Christoph Waltz, who steals every scene he's in as Nazi tyrant Col. Hans Landa. Diane Kruger wowed the crowd in a very teensy-weensy dress (no word if she realized that the cutout on the back gave several onlookers a peek at some butt crack).

Jolie did step to the side for a few minutes to talk with Camryn Manheim, but Brad and Angie were pretty much inseparable—with their arms wrapped around each other—for most of the evening. They even snuck in a few smooches, too.

The parents of six headed home shortly after midnight.

Brad Pitt Calls Angelina His "Soul Mate;" So Why Not Marry Her?

"I have a love in my life, a soul mate — absolutely," Pitt said in a candid interview with Parade. But for now, the star of Quentin Tarantino's upcoming Inglourious Basterds believes keeping his family together is a bigger commitment than marriage.

"Our family is the base that gives Angie and me the long tether to go out and do all these other things," Pitt said. "It's a big step we've taken. We've put down roots together. As Angie and I carve out our time as a couple, we carve out our lives as individuals.

"When someone asked me why Angie and I don't get married, I replied, 'Maybe we'll get married when it's legal for everyone else.'" Pitt said. "I stand by that, although I took a lot of flak for saying it — hate mail from religious groups. I believe everyone should have the same rights."

And would he be bothered if one his children were gay? "No, not one bit," Pitt said. "Listen, I want my kids to live the lives they want to live. I want them to be fulfilled. I hope I teach my kids to be who they really are."

Brangelina may be content in their un-wedded bliss, but their relationship still has heat. When asked about a stone grotto hidden behind a waterfall in his pool, Pitt replied, "[It's] a great place for sex."

Brad Pitt Will Tell You What Love Is, and Then Some

Let's do the sex first, serious stuff later.

Brad gave the reporter a tour of his L.A. home, where he revealed one of his favorite sex spots. Showing off the secret stone grotto behind a fake waterfall which is part of his two pools, he says, it "is a great place for sex."

Ah! Brad and Angie have secret grotto sex. Fun Brangelina sex fact, perfect for your next cocktail party. Of course, everyone will then be like, "Yes, but will they have married secret grotto sex anytime soon?" Good thing Brad's got that bit covered too:

"When someone asked me why Angie and I don't get married, I replied, 'Maybe we'll get married when it's legal for everyone else.' I stand by that, although I took a lot of flak for saying it—hate mail from religious groups. I believe everyone should have the same rights. They say gay marriage ruins families and hurts kids. Well, I've had the privilege of seeing my gay friends being parents and watching their kids grow up in a lov­ing environment."

And with that, Brad launches into a long diatribe about what love is and how you can't waste a chance at love by adhering to whatever standards other people or society have devised.

"Man, I resent people tell­ing others how to live! It drives me mental! Just the other night, I heard this TV reverend say that An­gie and I were setting a bad example because we were liv­ing out of wedlock, and people should not be duped by us! It made me laugh. What damn right does anyone have to tell someone else how to live if they're not hurting anyone? How many times do you think real love comes to someone in a lifetime? If you're lucky, maybe two or three.

"Do you know how you tell real love? It's when someone else's interest trumps your own," he continues. "I like to put it that way: trumps your own. Love of somebody else—of family, of your kids—becomes the most important, most worth­while thing in your life. It's what you foster and protect. "

He then goes on for a while about the nature of real, true love and how fleeting life is before bringing it all together with this closing:

"I don't know who or what is meant to be in my life, but this is certainly where I want to be. Here with them. I think this is the pin­nacle. Even as I'm bound to this thing, in a way I'm freer than I've ever been."

Wow. That last bit is pretty powerful stuff. Seriously. It's slow-clap-turned-big-standing-ovation-worthy.

Brad Pitt's Bulldog Is One Pushy Pooch

So, how did the pup's close-up come about? "Brad's bulldog was challenging us all by not turning around," explains Mueller. "So his backside was facing the camera! That's why Brad was smiling – we all got a laugh about it."

The actor, 45, talks to the magazine about fatherhood has shifted his perspective. "Children are a dominant value in my life now, and they weren't before," he says. "They were always something I thought I'd get around to having when the time was right."

Now dad to six children with partner Angelina Jolie, Pitt has surrendered to the chaos of their busy existence. "This family is full of life! There are laughs, aggravations, irritations, but at the end of the day, it's fun," he says. "When life is really good, it's messy." And we bet that rascally bulldog has something to do with the mess!

Brad Pitt: I'm Aware That 'Time Is Fleeting'

"As I've gotten older I've become aware that time is fleeting," the leading man tells Parade.com. "I don't want to waste whatever I have left. I want to spend it with the people I love, and I want to do things that really mean something."

And while he happily acknowledges that he enjoys being a family man with Angelina Jolie, Pitt views the relationship as follows: "I have love in my life, a soul mate – absolutely." As for marriage, he sticks by a response he gave some time ago: "Maybe we'll get married when it's legal for everyone else."

That stance, he says, has not proved popular in all quarters. "I took a lot of flak for saying it – hate mail from religious groups," Pitt says. "Just the other night, I heard this TV reverend say that Angie and I were setting a bad example because we were living out of wedlock, and people should not be duped by us! It made me laugh. What damn right does anyone have to tell someone else how to live if they're not hurting anyone?"

In his mind, "I believe everyone should have the same rights. They say gay marriage ruins families and hurts kids. Well, I've had the privilege of seeing my gay friends being parents and watching their kids grow up in a loving environment."

As for his own kids, they "are a dominant value in my life now, and they weren't before. They were always something I thought I'd get around to having when the time was right … In a way, I think I had to go and exhaust me before I could be good at being a parent."

Pitt considers movie future

The 45 year old has been acting for over two decades and has enjoyed box office success in films including Thelma and Louise, Fight Club and Ocean's Eleven.

He's also won several accolades during his 22-year long career, including the Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe for his turn in 1995's Twelve Monkeys.

But Pitt is now ready to step away from the spotlight after achieving everything he set out to do.

He says, "I think acting is a younger man's game. There are fewer interesting parts for older people and we all get older. But I feel like I've done it. I've kind of had my time and that's quite freeing.

"There are still acting dreams left but I'll do them first and then we'll talk about them."

Just One More? Brad Pitt Breaks His 6 P.M. "Curfew"

"I'm a dad now," he told reporters at the Berlin premiere of Inglourious Basterds,"My partying ends at 6 p.m."

But clearly, Brad still knows how to have fun. He reportedly brought a beer into the screening and tossed back more brewskis at the afterparty.

The sexy star looked like he was enjoying his buzz at the soiree, where he hung with Quentin Tarantino and Diane Kruger.

So where was Angelina Jolie?

While Brad was busy painting the town in Berlin, back in L.A., Angie took their adorable daughters Shiloh and Zahara shopping at Toys R' Us in the Valley.

Brad Pitt Admits His Partying 'Ends at 6'

"It's so tough being an actor," Pitt, 45, joked at the Berlin premiere of Inglourious Basterds Tuesday night – nattily dressed in a Tom Ford gun metal grey suit, silver tie and white shirt. "Sometimes they bring you coffee, and sometimes it's cold, and sometimes you don't have a chair to sit on."

But with six young ones and partner Angelina Jolie at home, he does get early nights when not working. "I'm a dad now – my partying ends at 6 p.m.," he told the Daily Mail.

Hard work or not, Pitt clearly felt at ease in Berlin, where the Quentin Taratino-helmed film was shot and he and his family lived during filming. "It's always great to be here and I have a lot of friends here," he told a reporter from Bunte magazine. He also knows how to relax, German-style, when out past his 6 o'clock "curfew." Eyewitnesses report that Pitt sauntered into the screening with a beer in his hand.

Sightings

Pitt looked smashing in Tom Ford, and with a glass of beer in hand, watched the screening in a seat next to Tarantino.

"He also spent loads of time signing autographs" outside the theater, an eyewitness reports.

Pitt's next Inglourious appearance will be at the film's Hollywood premiere on Aug. 10. No word yet if Jolie will be joining him for the festivities.

Brad Pitt Is an Efficiency Expert

However, as brutally handsome as Brad Pitt is, this isn't how we'd typically describe him...until now.

The Inglorious Basterds star gave an impressively short-winded interview to German magazine Bild in which he gave some rather curious answer. For starts, when the reporter asked him what his "wife Angelina Jolie" thought of the Quentin Tarantino film, he didn't blink. And he definitely didn't point out the error.

"She really likes it. She laughed a lot," was all he said.

The questioner attempted to rattle his chain further, but still, Brad doesn't bite.

Bild: Are you scared of aging?

Brad: No, I like it. I think it's good.

Bild: Do you find the time to make love?

Brad: What?

Bild: Is it sometimes just the two of you?

Brad: Yes, we make time for ourselves. It's very important for every relationship.

Bild: How? Do you fly off somewhere?

Brad: That's a trade secret.

Bild: Your answers are very short and quick.

Brad: Ha! I'm a father of six. You have to be quick and focused.

Yeesh!

Here's hoping the hottie gets a little more loquacious on the U.S. leg of his press tour!

Sightings

Inside Brad and Angelina's Birthday Party for the Twins!

They stayed home – in Los Angeles, where their parents threw a family birthday party. Older siblings Maddox, 7, Pax, 5, Zahara, 4, and Shiloh, 3, all helped bake two cakes: one for Knox, one for Viv.

Grandparents Bill and Jane Pitt also flew in from their hometown of Springfield, Mo., for the low-key bash.

When it comes to raising six kids, "It is chaos," Jolie told PEOPLE last year, "but we are managing it and having a wonderful time."

For more on how the twins are growing up, pick up PEOPLE, on newsstands now.

Brad Pitt Says, Don't Talk While You Tinkle

The Inglourious Basterds star brings his comedy chops to Wired this month, eschewing traditional celebrity blather about his charmed life, private moments with Angelina Jolie and various charitable works in order to provide guidance in the "Ask a Basterd" advice column.

This burning question concerns whether it's acceptable to talk on the phone while urinating. Brad says:

"No, you can't talk on the phone! Do you want the guy next to you to hear your entire conversation? That's why you should only text in the bathroom. Just be sure you don't hit the wrong button and end up putting a photo of your junk on Twitter. Trust me, you don't want those followers."

Brad Pitt on the Cover of Wired

The star of Quentin Tarantino's upcoming Nazi-scalping action flick Inglourious Basterds graces the August cover of Wired magazine, and PEOPLE.com has a first look.

Pitt, 45, sports a wireless cell phone headset and gives advice – in his Inglourious character – on a variety of subjects, including conduct at work, etiquette and those sometimes awkward cyber dilemmas. "Who cares if your Warcraft wife is really a dude," Pitt is quoted as saying on the cover. "If it's good, don't check under the hood."

According to Wired, Pitt was intrigued by the magazine's May Mystery issue, which featured Star Trek director/writer J.J. Abrams, and he wanted to break away from the traditional celebrity magazine story. For the photo shoot last month, Pitt came alone to the Smashbox Studios in West Hollywood and was photographed by portraitist Dan Winters.

The August issue of Wired hits newsstands July 21. Inglourious Basterds is due in theaters Aug. 21.

Canceled Brad Pitt Movie Could Rise Again

The West Wing writer and creator Aaron Sorkin has been brought in to do a quick re-write on a script that Sony had ultimately deemed too arty and documentary-like in approach, reports The New York Times.

The studio also hopes to add Oscar-winning producer Scott Rudin (There Will Be Blood, No Country for Old Men) to the movie's creative team.

Based on Michael Lewis's nonfiction book about the Oakland Athletics and their general manager Billy Beane – who assembled a star Major League team despite a lack of a major bank account – the movie's original script was by Ocean's series director Steven Soderbergh (who was to have directed Moneyball) and screenwriter Steven Zaillian.

According to The Times, should Sorkin finish his script in due course, a new director will be hired, Pitt will stay involved and Moneyball will start to roll this fall.

Columbia Drops the Ball on Brad Pitt's Moneyball

His latest project, the Steven Soderbergh-directed Moneyball, has been put into "limited turnaround" by Columbia Pictures honcho, Amy Pascal, after receiving a much different final draft of a script she once fought for.

Production on the film was set to start Monday in Phoenix, Ariz., and with only 96 hours to go, Soderbergh's change in vision unsettled Pascal and the brakes were immediately applied to the project.

The "limited turnaround" gives Soderbergh the opportunity to try and settle with another studio, the aim being bigwigs such as Paramount and Warner Bros. The filmmaker has until Monday to tie down the deal, having spent the weekend with both his and Pitt's CAA agents attempting to hit one out of the park—so to speak.

With a new deal not yet in place, Columbia will take tomorrow to re-examine where to go from here with Moneyball. There are several options, including delaying the film until Pascal believes she and Soderbergh are on the same page, replacing the director or the worst-case scenario, pulling the plug on the project all together.

This is not the first issue Moneyball has run into. While the baseball-themed flick has been approved by Major League Baseball itself, it follows a format that is less than mainstream and rarely a huge success in theaters. Soderbergh has hired Pitt to play the lead character, Billy Beane, but is also utilizing live interviews with actual athletes, including Daryl Strawberry and Lenny Dykstra, and interspersing the vignettes throughout the movie.

Reports claim that Soderbergh is confident in his project, but with an upwards of $50 million invested in Moneyball, Columbia is understandably weary about moving forward with a project they no longer fully stand behind—especially at the sight of an entirely reworked script mere hours before the project was slated to begin.

Angelina and Brad Give $1 Million to Aid Refugees

First, it was the creation of the Jane Pitt Pediatric Cancer Center, named after Brad's mother, in his hometown of Springfield, Mo. And Wednesday, in support of Jolie's eight-year relationship with the UN Refugee Agency, the Jolie-Pitt Foundation gave $1 million to help displaced people in Pakistan, a country she has visited three times.

The head of the agency, António Guterres, thanked the foundation for its assistance, calling Pakistan's plight "the most challenging humanitarian crisis of the past decade," as more than 2 million people are currently displaced in the country.

Jolie will talk about her work in aiding refugees Thursday when she and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton celebrate World Refugee Day in Washington D.C.

Having just finished a four-month shoot for the thriller Salt, Jolie will be a stay-at-home mom as her family moves to Los Angeles while Pitt films Moneyball.

Russian police employ Brad Pitt to fight speeding

A Russian newspaper reports that cardboard cutouts of Pitt dressed as a traffic cop have been placed by the most dangerous intersections in the city of Omsk.

It's the latest move by authorities in their endless battle against speeding. Traffic accidents in Russia are among the highest in Europe.

The campaign seems to be working. Omsk officials say accidents are down as star-struck drivers ease off the gas to gaze at the unusual image.

The paper, Argumenty i Fakty, quotes Dmitry Ziryanov, a local official who came up with the idea as saying Pitt is "kind of like a colleague for us."

2009 Teen Choice Award nominations

Choice Movie Actor: Drama
Hugh Jackman, Australia
Dev Patel, Slumdog Millionaire
Robert Pattinson, Twilight
Brad Pitt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Channing Tatum, Fighting

Choice Celebrity Activist
Leonardo DiCaprio
Angelina Jolie
Hayden Panettiere
Brad Pitt
Natalie Portman

Brangelina Donates $1 Million to Missouri Hospital

Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and a gaggle of Pitt family members donated $1 million to St. John's Hospital this weekend.

The brother of the Inglourious Basterds star, Doug Pitt, made news of the donation public Saturday.

The Springfield, Missouri hospital will use the big bucks to establish an endowment fund for children's care specialists, as well as construct a new pediatric unit. This in-hospital Ronald McDonald House will double the size of the neonatal and pediatric intensive care units already inside the hospital.

St. John's cancer treatment unit will be renamed to honor the Pitts's donation. Brad's mom is a dedicated proponent of children's issues, and the center will be known as Jane Pitt Pediatric Cancer Center in recognition of her advocacy.

So he's handsome, loves kids and honors his mom? Sigh.

Brangelina's Ex-Bodyguard Still Mulling Tell-All

Mickey Brett, who prompted Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt to put their legal team on standby just in case, tells E! News that he is still pondering whether to pen a memoir recounting his tales from the field working for such celebs as Brangelina, Tom Cruise and Sandra Bullock.

"I have not decided if I will write it or not yet," Brett said Thursday.

The New York Daily News reported in April that Brett was shopping a ghost-written tome that, while it treated Jolie favorably, had some lesser things to say about her mate.

Beverly Hills legal eagle Martin Singer has insisted that Brett would be in violation of a confidentiality agreement if he told all about working for the Jolie-Pitt family (a tenure that included a bust for assault in Namibia and several run-ins with the paparazzi).

Singer didn't mind spilling a few secrets, however, telling the Daily News that his clients' ex-employee was once questioned as part of a murder investigation and was not a former British SAS commando as he once claimed.

Aniston slams Pitt reunion rumours

The former couple, which split in 2005, reportedly reunited recently in an "intimate 1am rendez-vous" at New York City's Gramercy Park Hotel - following their rumoured reconciliation in April, according to U.S. tabloid Star.

The reports fueled break-up rumours between Pitt and partner Angelina Jolie.

Pitt has denied the rumours, and now Aniston's spokesperson has stepped in to blast the allegations, calling the story a "complete fabrication". And a spokesperson for the hotel has also defended the star, insisting the reports are "not true".

Brad Pitt Buys $1 Million Painting

According to a representative of the artist's Berlin gallery, Pitt had his eye on another painting by Rauch, but that one was already reserved for museum. Rauch, 46, has works that hang, among other places, in New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Pitt's purchase, a rainbow-colored racetrack painting titled Etappe (which refers to a leg of a race), was described by New York's David Zwirner Gallery as an "enigmatic and dreamlike" representation of a racecar being tuned up in the middle of a competition, according to the Wall Street Journal.

This year's 40th Art Basel festival, featuring the work of more than 2,500 artists, opened to the public Wednesday. Pitt, 45, also attended last year's Art Basel, shortly before Angelina Jolie gave birth to their twins, Vivienne and Knox.

Brad & Angelina: What About Those Rumors?

PEOPLE not only reveals the answers in its latest cover story, on sale Friday, but also finds out what fanned the gossip in the first place.

While the pair have rarely been snapped out together in recent months, there have been sightings. On June 5, PEOPLE reports, Pitt showed up on the Long Island set of Angelina's thriller Salt for a belated celebration of Angelina's 34th birthday one day before. Brad "took one of the little birthday cakes and smushed it into her face," says an eyewitness. "It was really funny."

A couple carelessly in love – or putting on a show to hide a relationship in trouble?

For the complete story – including Brad's Mother's Day present, the truth about whether Brad's mom really dislikes Angelina, and the stars' own reaction to the breakup rumors – pick up the new PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday.

Brad Pitt: Don't Take Your Kids to Work Days

Unfortunately for them, only one of the six children visited the set.

Why?

"He brought Maddox one or two times because he's the oldest," actor Samm Levine told us at Friday's premiere of Katherine Bigelow's The Hurt Locker. "But everybody wanted him to bring the others, too. Everyone would always ask him, ‘Hey! When are you going to bring the kids?' And he said, ‘It's a World War II movie. What's a good day to bring my kids to this set? I don't think it would be right.' So he had a point there. And we were all pretty bummed about that, but we respected his reasoning. He's a pretty responsible guy."

Levine, who plays PFC Gerold Hirschberg in the Quentin Tarantino film, said he was amazed how un-unnerved Mr. Pitt was by the ubiquitous paparazzi.

"It was really something to see firsthand—to watch these guys just chase after Brad," Levine said. "I mean, life and limb be damned, they are going after this man! They want a photograph of the side of his head going into a car. It was old hat to Brad. He was absolutely incredible about the whole thing. It didn't faze him one bit.

Levine also said his body has become quite popular with his female friends. "They want to know what parts of my body touched Brad's," he said with a laugh. "Unfortunately, it's mostly my hand. I shook his hand. Maybe a pat on the shoulder."

Meanwhile, the premiere of The Hurt Locker, an action flick about an Army bomb squad in Iraq, attracted some major bold-faced names. Spotted at the premiere were Drew Barrymore, Charlize Theron, Zac Efron and Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke.

Brad and Angelina Split Rumors 'Not True'

Rumors of a breakup are "not true," says the rep.

Reports surfaced Wednesday that Pitt and Jolie, who are parents to six children, were planning to make a split "official." The reports stemmed from a story in the National Enquirer.

Just last month, the couple made a glamorous appearance together on the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival where Pitt's new film, Inglourious Basterds, premiered. Jolie has also been filming her upcoming movie, Salt.

Brad Pitt Keeps Fresh with Baby Wipes, Reveals Costar

"He shared that when you're sweating and don't have time to take a shower, you just take a baby wipe and rub it under your armpits," Pitt's costar and pal Eli Roth told PEOPLE at Saturday's Spike TV Guys Choice 2009 in Los Angeles, set to air on the cable network June 21 at 10 p.m.

"After a scene, Brad had to get next to me for a close-up shot, and he said, 'Damn, you're ripe,' " recalls Roth, 37. "I said, 'I didn’t have time to shower.' He said, 'Baby wipes, man, baby wipes.' "

When it came to Pitt's pits, Roth said the leading man explained, "I got six kids. All you've got to do is just take them, a couple quick wipes under the pits." Pitt further said, "Man, I'm getting pissed on all day. I don't have time to take a shower."

"I thought that was the greatest tip," says Roth, who took the advice to heart. "My character is called the Bear Jew. If I ever started to smell like a bear, I would just use a couple baby wipes under the armpits, and it made it safe for everyone else to act around me."

Awesome Angelina

Roth, Pitt and company recently returned from the Cannes Film Festival, where they promoted their movie, which hits U.S. theaters in August. While in France, Roth was seen partying with Pitt and Angelina Jolie. Jolie, Roth says, "is awesome, totally cool," just like Pitt.

"He's such a funny guy. He has a great sense of humor, and he's so into it. He's really there to have a great time. Now, he's at the point in his career where he's the biggest movie star in the world, he can do whatever he wants, so when he's there, he just wants to have a great time."

Roth – who's built his own cult following as the director of such horror flicks as Hostel and Cabin Fever – is also quick to say Pitt was very generous with his time.

"I remember the first day, he taught me a lot of acting tricks," Roth says. "We all wanted to ask him about Kalifornia, Fight Club and True Romance, and he was so cool to talk about all that stuff with us. Right from the first day, we were all a little shy. But then somebody asked him about 12 Monkeys, and he talked about everything."

Pitt slams Jolie split rumours

The Hollywood couple's relationship has been put under the spotlight in recent weeks, with internet gossips speculating the romance is in trouble amid reports Pitt enjoyed a cozy rendezvous with ex-wife Jennifer Aniston last month.

But the actor has insisted he is still very much in love with Jolie and was spotted openly kissing and cuddling the Tomb Raider star in front of other celebrities at the Cannes Film Festival this week.

Pitt says, "I am in love and I have the most beautiful family - what else can a guy want? I am the happiest man ever. We're so lucky."

The pair has six children together Maddox, seven, five-year-old Pax, Zahara, three, two-year-old Shiloh and their seven-month-old twins Vivienne and Knox.

Brad and Angelina Party Past 1 A.M. in Cannes

The duo made a low-key entrance at the after party for Pitt's film Inglourious Basterds at Baoli Beach, where they both sipped drinks (a Baileys for him, vodka for her), chatted with cast members and engaged in some PDA until past 1 a.m.

"Towards the end of the evening they sat together, his hand on her leg," a source tells PEOPLE, adding that at one point Pitt had his arm wrapped around Jolie as they laughed and whispered into each other's ears.

When they weren't side by side, Pitt made the rounds at the Belstaff-sponsored party, greeting several guests during the couple's two-hour stay. Meanwhile Jolie, who earlier in the evening made a fashionable appearance at the film's premiere, remained seated and nibbled on strawberries while chatting with Eli Roth, Pitt's Basterds costar, who danced on the deejay stand, much to the couple's amusement.

Pitt, Tarantino alter WWII history with `Basterds'

Their war saga "Inglourious Basterds" premiered Wednesday at the Cannes Film Festival, presenting a band of Jewish Allied soldiers led by Pitt who play a pivotal role in taking down the Third Reich with a strategic strike against the top Nazi brass.

"It was definitely outrageous, which I'm always game for," Pitt said of Tarantino's rewrite of the history books.

The band's exploits culminate in a bloodbath at the premiere of a Nazi propaganda film in Paris as Pitt's commandos exact savage revenge for Adolf Hitler's genocide against the Jews.

"People have come up to me a lot and they've asked me, is it a fairy tale, is it a Jewish wish-fulfillment fantasy?" Tarantino said. "My characters changed the outcome of the war. Now, that didn't happen because my characters didn't exist."

Had they existed, though, the events that play out over Tarantino's two-hour, 40-minute epic are entirely plausible, Tarantino said. The movie sets the stage for Tarantino's revision of the war's end with a fairy-tale opening that reads, "Once upon a time ... in Nazi-occupied France."

For Jewish filmmaker Eli Roth ("Hostel"), whom Tarantino cast as one of Pitt's "Basterds," wish-fulfillment was not a strong enough term for the vengeance they take.

"For me, it's like kosher porn," Roth said. "It's something I have fantasized about since I was a very young child. And it really was like I performed a sex scene when I beat that guy to death and blood is spurting."

Along with Pitt, the international cast of "Inglourious Basterds" includes Diane Kruger as a German movie star and Allied operative, Daniel Bruhl as a Nazi war hero, Michael Fassbender as a British film critic turned spy, Melanie Laurent as a French Jew hiding under an assumed identity, Martin Wuttke as Hitler and Sylvester Groth as his right hand man, Joseph Goebbels.

Christoph Waltz offers the film's standout performance as a crackerjack German "Jew hunter," a courteous yet gleefully merciless brute. Mike Myers, who played super-spy Austin Powers, does an English accent again as a British intelligence officer orchestrating the Basterds' climactic mission.

"My parents were born in Liverpool, England, and my father was in the Royal Engineers and my mother was in the Royal Air Force," said Canadian-born Myers. "You know, those ladies that had the big maps of England, and they would go, `Jerries over Norfolk. Scramble Biggin Hill.' My mother was one of those ladies. And World War II was talked about at the table constantly. So I got a call, `Would you like to play a British general?' And I did a jig."

Tarantino came to visit Pitt last summer with the script in hand. Pitt said the two talked about movies deep into the night.

"I got up the next morning and saw five empty wine bottles laying on the floor. Five. And something that resembled a smoking apparatus. I don't know what that was all about," Pitt said. "And apparently, I agreed to do the movie, because six weeks later, I was in uniform. I was Lt. Aldo Raine."

With his heavy Southern drawl, Pitt's character becomes known as Nazi-killing terror Aldo the Apache, the mention of him and his Basterds bringing horror to the hearts of German soldiers. When he forms the band, Aldo tells his team that each one owes him 100 Nazi scalps, and they comply graphically as Tarantino incorporates scenes of the Basterds skinning the heads of their victims.

Tarantino sticks to period costumes and settings but offers his typically divergent musical backdrop, including Spaghetti Western-style music from Ennio Morricone and even David Bowie's "Cat People (Putting Out Fire").

Debuting in theaters in the United States and elsewhere starting in late August, "Inglourious Basterds" is one of 20 films competing for the Palme d'Or, Cannes top prize, the award Tarantino won with 1994's "Pulp Fiction."

Tarantino's love of cinema is evident throughout as characters discuss favorite directors and spread propaganda through film. The demise of Nazi Germany itself ultimately hinges on the magic of film.

"On one hand, it's a metaphor for the power of cinema," Tarantino said. "On the other hand, it's not even a metaphor at all. It's literal. It is, the power of cinema is going to bring down the Third Reich. And I get a big kick out of that."

Tarantino, Pitt in Cannes for Nazi-slaying caper

So fearsome is the band of Jewish-American "bastards" that Adolf Hitler himself comes to hear of them, and the predictably violent and action-packed narrative weaves real life figures into a riotous plot that re-writes history.

Most of the dialogue is in German and French and translated with subtitles, possibly limiting the film's box office potential in the United States.

But at the Cannes film festival, where Tarantino's picture is in the main competition and has its world premiere on Wednesday, there was warm applause after a press screening.

"I am not an American film maker, I make movies for the planet Earth and Cannes is the place that represents that," said the 46-year-old, who won the Palme d'Or in Cannes in 1994 with "Pulp Fiction."

"During this time here on the Riviera, cinema matters, it's important," he told reporters, explaining why he rushed to have his movie ready in time for the world's biggest film festival.

Tarantino declined to explain why he inserted spelling mistakes into the title of his film, borrowed from Italian director Enzo Castellari's 1978 picture "Inglorious Bastards."

EXPLOSIVE CLIMAX

The narrative opens in the first year of the German occupation of France, where character Shosanna Dreyfus witnesses the execution of her family at the hands of Nazi Colonel Hans Landa, flamboyantly played by Christoph Waltz.

Elsewhere in Europe, Pitt's character Aldo Raine forms a group of Jewish-American soldiers charged with scalping their Nazi victims, and so successful are they that Hitler comes to fear them.

Diane Kruger plays a famous German actress who is also an undercover agent on a mission to take down the leaders of the Third Reich -- the strands converge on a small Parisian cinema where history is turned on its head in an explosive climax.

"The cinema itself -- to me ... it's a metaphor for the power of cinema," Tarantino said. "I get a big kick out of that."

Much of the humor in Inglourious Basterds stems from language. Americans' reputations for speaking nothing other than English is a recurring theme, with Pitt's limited Italian comically exposed by the polyglot Landa.

Tarantino said he and Pitt had wanted to work together on a movie for some time.

"Artistically, me and Brad have been sniffing around each other for a while, the longing looks across the room and everything, the little notes: 'I like you, do you like me?'"

Pitt said he agreed to play Raine after discussing the part with the director long into the night.

"I got up the next morning and I saw five empty bottles of wine laying on the floor ... and something that resembled a smoking apparatus, I don't know what that was about," Pitt said.

"And apparently I agreed to do the movie because six weeks later I was in uniform and I was Lieutenant Aldo Raine."

Tarantino, Brad Pitt to bring WW2 film to Cannes

Tarantino, a favorite in the French Riviera resort, won the coveted Palme d'Or in 1994 with "Pulp Fiction," and rushed to have his latest movie ready in time to present to the jury. It has been in the works for more than 10 years.

"I like that it's the power of the cinema that fights the Nazis," Tarantino said in production notes distributed in Cannes before the movie's world premiere.

Pitt's expected presence will be welcome by many of the thousands of reporters in Cannes, where the world's biggest film festival is in its second week. It ends with a prize ceremony on Sunday.

While critics say the quality of the main selection of films has been generally high, the absence of many A-list stars and celebrities has starved Cannes of some of its usual buzz.

Inglourious Basterds is described as a revenge story, a recurring theme at this year's festival with Hong Kong's Johnnie To presenting "Vengeance" in the main competition and several more films revolving around retribution.

Tarantino's film is set in the first year of the German occupation of France, where character Shosanna Dreyfus witnesses the execution of her family at the hands of a Nazi colonel.

Elsewhere in Europe, Pitt's character Aldo Raine forms a group of Jewish-American soldiers to wreak revenge on German forces.

Diane Kruger plays an undercover agent on a mission to take down the leaders of the Third Reich, and eventually the separate strands converge.

The other competition film to premiere on Wednesday is "Les Herbes Folles" (Wild Grass), a light-hearted comedy by 86-year-old Frenchman Alain Resnais who brought his "Hiroshima, Mon Amour" to Cannes 50 years ago.

Brad Pitt Back in Cannes, Awaiting Angelina

Pitt, 45, was spotted Saturday at the Hotel du Cap, having lunch on a balcony after flying in from the U.S. It is said he is staying in a chalet on the grounds of the highly exclusive hotel, just along the coast in Antibes, on the Riviera.

The star is in the South of France for his fourth Cannes Film Festival in five years. And, if Angelina Jolie, 33, joins him in the next few days as is expected, this will mark the third time they have strolled the palm-lined Croisette waterfront together in as many years.

On this visit Pitt is showcasing his movie from director Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds, which premieres at the festival Wednesday. The filmmaker has described Pitt's character in the WWII drama as "a hillbilly straight from the mountains of Tennessee."

"Benjamin Button" sews up top spot on DVD charts

The Brad Pitt-starring fantasy drama, based on a story by F. Scott Fitzgerald about a man who ages in reverse, was an easy victor on the sales chart in its first week in stores. Second-ranked "Last Chance Harvey," a romantic comedy-drama starring Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson, sold only about 27 percent as many discs as "Benjamin Button."

The previous week's top seller, "Bride Wars," slipped to No. 3 on the Nielsen VideoScan First Alert .

Home Media Magazine's weekly rental chart also proved an easy victory for "Benjamin Button," with the $127.5 million-grossing film bumping "Bride Wars" to No. 2.

"Last Chance Harvey," which earned just under $15 million in theaters, debuted at No. 4 on the rental chart, right behind "Hotel for Dogs."

On the Nielsen VideoScan Blu-ray Disc chart, "Benjamin Button" also scored an impressive victory, outselling second-ranked "Twilight," the hit teen vampire flick, by a margin of nearly 4 to 1. "Last Chance Harvey" debuted at No. 10, generating just 4 percent of its total sales from Blu-ray compared with 14 percent for "Benjamin Button."

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie to Three-Peat at Cannes

Pitt is in town to push his Quentin Tarantino-helmed Inglourious Basterds and Jolie is likely to get time off from filming Salt to join him May 20. It will be the third time in a row the pair have jetted in, with Jolie attending last year while pregnant with twins.

Other celebrities to watch out for are Academy Award-winner Penélope Cruz, whose Broken Embraces, directed by Pedro Almodovar, is in competition, and actress Robin Wright Penn, who is a member of the jury panel.

Mariah Carey will be there to promote Precious, and Twilight sensation Robert Pattinson is expected to join the fun, as is regular partygoer Paris Hilton.

The festival opened with Disney/Pixar's 3D movie UP getting the big push with a glamorous party and photo-driven stunts on beach of the Mediterranean.

The movie world will be watching to see what effect the downturn in the world's economy has had on the normally splashy festival. While some regular showbiz parties have been cancelled, the fashion brands such as Dolce & Gabbana, Chopard (as co-sponsors) and D Squared will be hosting events on or just off the Croisette.

In the second half of the ten day fest, the annual amfAR bash promises an appearance by former President Bill Clinton among regulars like Sharon Stone, Donatella Versace and movie executive Harvey Weinstein.

Mr. Mom Brad Pitt Thrills Local Ladies

"They are off the charts excited and everyone is dolled up, " one local tells PEOPLE. "The moms are trying to look a little bit more polished. Instead of schlepping in sweat pants and messy hair, now they wear designer jeans and high heels, which they never wear. Usually it's Tod's or Gucci loafers. Everyone is putting a little more effort. Let's face it – he's a handsome guy."

Pitt, who has set up a base in the town with Angelina Jolie and the couple's children, is embracing his role as Mr. Mom while Jolie spends time filming her new movie, Salt. Pitt's daddy duties include dropping the kids off at school and even reading books to the children in daughter Shiloh's class, PEOPLE reports in its new issue.

"At school, they think they are going to bump into him," says the local. "Brad sits in the back of the classroom a lot. He is very unassuming and very sweet and nice."

Locals love the fact that Pitt, Jolie and the kids are often spotted at the Stop & Shop and Dunkin' Donuts. "Who would think they would see them grocery shopping, and not sending out the help?" says a source. "They are trying to teach their kids what's normal ... And they are always in the pizza parlor and Borders Books."

Over the Moon with Excitement

It's not just Pitt and Jolie who have been spotted nearby: The actor recently had lunch with pal George Clooney at the Breakers restaurant in Bayville, N.Y. "I heard a woman screaming at Stop & Shop because the clerk was telling her George Clooney was at the Breakers," says the local source. "It startled me because she shrieked so loud. Then, a few women said they were going to go down there and see if they could run into Clooney."

Even morning donut runs are cause for people to reconsider wardrobe decisions. "I go to Dunkin' Donuts and believe me, I even think of it," says our spy. "I say, 'I can't wear those jeans, they make me look fat.' "

Though the people in town have seen their share of celebrities, high-wattage stars such and Pitt and Jolie are still unique. "They are A-list movie stars, and for such a small town it's a big deal," says the source. "Every time a big car passes, people look. It's a big buzz. Everyone who sees them is over the moon. It just makes everyone light up."

COURTENEY COX CHATS WITH BRAD PITT

Brad Pitt Films Japanese Ad, Takes Orders Nicely

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie Cause Buzz in Long Island Town

It sure seems that way to the residents of the Long Island town of Oyster Bay, N.Y. Recently the celebrity couple have been spotted grocery shopping at Stop & Shop, grabbing food at Dunkin' Donuts and picking up supplies at CVS – and they're causing jaws to drop wherever they go.

"When you talk to someone who has met them they're kind of glowing," Oyster Bay Town Supervisor John Venditto tells PEOPLE. "People love saying they saw them. They feel something very special happened to them."

Venditto adds that everyone who has interacted with the famous family – who are temporarily living in an expansive home overlooking the bay – describe them as being friendly. "The reaction across the board seems to be, 'Wow, they're very nice people.' It seems that people like them and like having them here."

Like a Dream

Katherine Pastore, a manager at the local Stop & Shop, agrees. She spotted the celeb pair in the store on April 18 with daughters Zahara, 4 and Shiloh, 2 ˝. "They looked out of place because they were so beautiful," says Pastore. "They looked like they were airbrushed when they were walking. I went up to Brad and asked if he needed help and he said, 'No thanks.' I was looking at him but I don't really remember it – it was like a dream."

Pastore says the stars acted like regular shoppers, walking the aisles – each pushing a daughter in a shopping cart – and buying items such as pre-sliced watermelon, nuts, tuna fish and toys.

"They were very attentive with their kids. Brad was rubbing Zahara's back and Angelina was comforting Shiloh when she got a little upset. It was sweet," adds Pastore.

Town Buzzing

Pitt, 45, and Jolie, 33, might have been calm – but other people in the store were less than cool. "They must have started calling and texting their friends because people were running up the block to see them," says Pastore. "I saw a bunch of teenage girls running to get in here."

Pastore says that after the family left, the store was electrified for the rest of the evening. "All the other customers were just like, 'Oh, they were here!' It's the big buzz of the town. We have had celebrities in before and it's exciting, but these are the most famous people in the world!"

Jolie also caused a stir when she visited the local CVS. "She was in my aisle and everyone was kind of looking at her or going up to her," says local resident Alex Reckert. "She looked great. She had on these leggings and sunglasses and signed a few autographs."

So, what does Reckert think of having Hollywood's most famous family staying in Oyster Bay? "It's kind of cool that they're in town," she says. "It's a pretty small place so everyone is talking about it."

Jolie, Pitt slam memoir plans

Former British soldier Mickey Brett has protected a host of A-list stars including Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman and Sylvester Stallone, and worked for Jolie and Pitt for a number of years.

According to the New York Daily News, Brett is planning to reveal all about his encounters with the stars in a new memoir.

The news has incensed the superstar couple, whose representative Marty Singer claims Brett lied about his past as a special forces commando and hid a string of criminal convictions from his employers.

In a conversation with the newspaper, Singer noted Brett was questioned in a 1993 murder investigation and was arrested for assaulting a restaurant owner in Namibia in 2006, while Jolie was in the country to give birth to baby Shiloh.

He also claims Brett signed a confidentiality agreement, promising not to disclose details about his time in Jolie and Pitt's employment.

In response, Brett's lawyer says, "Our client disputes what has apparently been said by Mr. Singer, but is not in a position to comment further at this stage."

However Robin McGibbon, an author who has worked with Brett, insists there are no book plans in the pipeline: "Mickey was definitely going to consider a book or TV deal if the offer was good enough. (But at this point) There's not going to be a book."

Cannes Fest names 20 films in competition

Quentin Tarantino, Ken Loach, Jane Campion and Lars von Trier, each of whom has won top honors at the prestigious festival on the French Riviera, are all presenting their newest films in the competition scheduled to run from May 13 to 24.

Tarantino, who won the festival's top prize, the Palme d'Or, for Pulp Fiction in 1994, is in the competition with Inglourious Basterds, an action flick starring Brad Pitt featuring Jewish soldiers dishing out chaos among the Nazis.

Festival President Gilles Jacob said the 62nd edition of the Cannes festival would focus particularly on independent cinema. Speaking at a news conference in Paris, Jacob, who has been involved in shaping the festival's selection of films for over three decades, said he wanted to counter the idea that independent cinema was dead.

"There's a trend emerging, especially among certain Anglo-Saxon commentators, that takes as established fact the death of auteur cinema ...," Jacob said. "These films supposedly have no more viewers, so they are becoming extinct."

Jacob said that the 20 films in competition for the Palme d'Or as well as another 19 films in a secondary competition called Un Certain Regard would demonstrate that creative, inventive and energetic filmmaking survives, even if it is more likely to be found today in Bucharest, Tel Aviv and Hong Kong than in Los Angeles, New York or Paris.

Another former Palme d'Or winner in competition this year is Britain's Ken Loach, with Looking for Eric, starring soccer great Eric Cantona. Cantona plays himself in a film about a soccer fan who imagines the former Manchester United goal scorer helps him deal with life's difficulties.

Loach's film The Wind that Shakes the Barley, won Cannes' top prize in 2006.

Jane Campion, the New Zealand director whose The Piano took the Palme d'Or in 1993, is back with her new film Bright Star, about 19th century English poet John Keats' love affair with his muse Fanny Brawne.

Denmark's Lars von Trier, who won a Palme d'Or for Dancer in the Dark in 2000, will try for another top prize with Antichrist, a horror movie that depicts Satan, rather than God, as the world's creator. It stars Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg.

This year's competition also features Cannes veterans Pedro Almodovar and Michael Haneke.

Spain's Almodovar, who won Best Director at Cannes in 1999, will present his new film Broken Embraces. It recounts the tale of a writer and director telling the story of an accident that left him blind 14 years earlier and a torrid relationship with an actress — played by Penelope Cruz.

Austrian director Haneke, whose The Piano Teacher won Cannes' second-highest award in 2001, is in the competition with The White Ribbon. The black-and-white film is set in a German village on the eve of World War I.

Park Chan-wook, the South Korean director who took Cannes' Grand Prix, the second-highest award, in 2004 with his gory Oldboy, is back in competition with his new film, Thirst— about a priest who becomes a vampire.

Another Asian entry comes from Johnnie To, the prolific Hong Kong director who has shown four of his films at Cannes since his Breaking News was screened out-of-competition in 2004.

This time To is in contention for top honors with Vengeance, a thriller starring French rock legend Johnny Hallyday as a father who tries to avenge the death of his daughter, her husband and their children.

Oscar-winning filmmaker Ang Lee's new movie Taking Woodstock, is set against the background of the Woodstock music festival 40 years ago.

Brad and Angelina: Fact or Fiction?

Liquid Diet? Rumor: Angelina is on a liquid diet that has caused her to shed so much weight that she recently passed out on a film set. Truth: "Angie is very happy and healthy," says a source close to the actress. False

Adopting again? Rumor: Angelina and Brad are adding to their family, this time adopting in the Philippines. Truth: Another non-starter, fresh on the heels of erroneous reports the couple were adopting in India. False

Pregnant? Rumor: Brad and Angelina are expecting another child. Truth: Their twins, Viv and Knox don't turn 1 until July. False

Suburban Sprawl? Rumor: Now living on New York's Long Island, the glamour couple now frequent such places as Dunkin' Donuts. Truth: Yep, they're living a quiet life these days and were recently spotted grocery shopping at Stop & Shop. True

Angelina Jolie, Johnny Depp Most Beautiful Down Under

Topping their list of international stars, Angelina Jolie, followed (in order) by Kate Winslet, Jessica Alba, Halle Berry and Jennifer Aniston.

In the men's vote, Johnny Depp took the crown, trailed (in descending order) by Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Orlando Bloom and David Beckham.

When it came to picking apart the stars for their enviable body parts, the WHO readers went for Aniston's hair; Jolie's eyes, lips, cheeks and breasts; Nicole Kidman's nose; Kylie Minogue's bottom; and Elle Macpherson's legs.

The ideal guy, on the other hand, would consist of Hugh Jackman's hair, eyes, nose, abs, backside, arms, chest and legs – with Brad Pitt's mouth and Johnny Depp's cheekbones.

"Benjamin Button" DVD will be in stores May 5

The "Button" plans were sewed up during the weekend, and Paramount will announce the home-entertainment release date Thursday. The Brad Pitt/Cate Blanchett-starring film won three Academy Awards and is among the last of the high-profile Oscar pictures to set a debut on home video.

Fox Home Entertainment will release Oscar best picture winner "Slumdog Millionaire" on March 31.

Universal Studios Home Entertainment's "Milk," for which Sean Penn copped a best actor statuette, hit retail shelves March 10. USHE has set an April 21 street date for its political drama "Frost/Nixon," which, like "Button" and "Milk," was a nominee for best picture.

The fifth nominee -- the Weinstein Co.'s Nazi-themed drama "The Reader," for which Kate Winslet was voted best actress -- will be released by Genius Products on DVD. No date has been set.

Paramount Home Entertainment also set a June 2 release date for DVDs of two other Oscar-nominated pics: "Revolutionary Road," starring Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio, and the Daniel Craig-toplined "Defiance."

In addition to its single-disc packaging, "Button" will be available on DVD and Blu-ray Disc in two-disc Criterion Edition sets featuring more than three hours of special features. A documentary on the second disc follows the creative development of the literary adaptation and its many production challenges, including the elaborate, Oscar-winning visual effects.

Single-disc "Button" DVDs will sell for $29.99 in the U.S. and $36.99 in Canada. Two-disc DVD and Blu-ray sets will be priced at $39.99 in the U.S. and $45.99 in Canada.

Brad Pitt, Natalie Portman find 'Important Artifacts'

Pitt and Portman have signed on for the adaptation of Leanne Sharpton's (deep breath) "Important Artifacts and Personal Property from the Collection of Lenore Doolan and Harold Morris, Including Books, Street Fashion, and Jewelry," according to Variety. The transition from Sharpton's novel to the big screen should be interesting, to say the least: "Important Artifacts" reveals the characters not through narrative but via a mock auction catalog, leaving readers to explore the relationship based on the items for sale and their descriptions.

Instead, Variety says the film will be a romantic comedy with Pitt and Portman in the title roles.

Pitt, 45, will co-star this year in Quentin Tarantino's "Inglorious Basterds." Portman, 27, last starred opposite Scarlett Johansson in "The Other Boleyn Girl."

Aniston: I will always love Brad

The former Friends star split from Pitt in 2005, amid rumours of an affair with his Mr. and Mrs. Smith co-star Angelina Jolie - who he went on to start a family with.

But even though she found the break up incredibly painful, Aniston admits she looks back on her failed marriage with fond memories.

She tells Britain's Hello magazine, "I don't regret any of that time with Brad and I'm not here to beat myself up about it. They were seven very intense years together and it was beautiful and complicated.

"I will love Brad for the rest of my life - you can't take away good memories. Were there times when I had a little 'pity party' for myself? Of course. Who hasn't done that?"

And the actress - who is now dating rocker John Mayer - hopes to eventually rebuild her friendship with her former partner.

She adds, "I really do hope that we'll be good friends again at some point."

Capitol Hill goes gaga over Brad Pitt, even without Angelina

From the moment he stepped into the Capitol on Thursday, sunglassed and goateed, Pitt's star power transformed congressional business-as-usual in a way any lawmaker or new president might envy.

"Nice face. Waaaay too skinny," one Senate source emailed on condition of anonymity after catching sight of the actor between meetings with lawmakers about helping rebuild New Orleans.

Pitt's superpowers are such that he and President Barack Obama pulled off an improbably secret meeting on the same topic earlier in the day, White House spokesman Thomas F. Vietor confirmed.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was not immune to his charms. Praising Pitt for his work to rebuild New Orleans' hurricane-ravaged 9th Ward, she even allowed that meeting him affords her "bragging rights to my children and my grandchildren - a real treat for me as well."

And during a closed meeting earlier, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid confided to Pitt that he was envious that his lieutenant, Majority Whip Dick Durbin, got to meet soccer star Mia Hamm a day earlier, according to one person who was present and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Well, Pitt replied, he'll bring along co-parent Angelina Jolie next time to help Reid make Durbin jealous, this person said.

Later, a Durbin aide sniffed: "Durbin's already met Angelina Jolie."

These officials demanded anonymity because the meeting was private and they did not want to be caught gossiping about a movie star.

The Power of Pitt drained entire congressional offices of their female employees and quite a few male aides as well, all of whom could be picked out by the way they suddenly appeared in the Senate's doorways and halls, nonchalantly cupping cellphones and cameras at their sides and hanging around waiting news crews.

Finally, around 1:30 p.m., Pitt, four aides and assorted security guards climbed out of a darkened SUV at the Capitol's north gate and strolled across the sun-dappled plaza.

As he approached the building, all nonchalance inside disappeared. Was he coming in the carriage entrance? No! He was coming through the North Door.

And so he did, entering through the famous Brumidi corridor, whose ornate and historic paintings he probably couldn't see through his sunglasses. Reporters, photographers and giggling staffers shuffled after him, up a flight of stairs and around a corner toward Reid's office. As Pitt entered the parlour, he took off his shades. An aide closed the door behind him.

Inside with Reid, Pitt made an earnest case for nationalizing his "Make It Right" campaign, in partnership with Congress, according to a second knowledgeable aide who spoke on condition that he not be named because the meeting was private.

Afterward, this official said, Reid and Pitt posed for pictures, the senator cracking, "How will people tell us apart?"

Outside the door, grinning Capitol Police officers put up ropes to keep the hordes out of the path Pitt was expected to take toward his next meeting, with Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.) in a building across the street.

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), the Judiciary Committee chairman who has appeared as himself in several "Batman" movies and even had a speaking line in "The Dark Knight," stumbled across the crowd gathered outside Reid's door.

Told who was inside, Leahy issued a giddy, "Gosh!" and kept walking.

In the end, Pitt and his entourage slipped out a side door and took an elevator to the basement subway.

Sightings

Brad Pitt to Meet with Nancy Pelosi

The actor, 45, will be in Washington, D.C. – where partner Angelina Jolie, 33, is filming her upcoming movie Salt – on Thursday and will meet with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

"They will be discussing Make It Right, a project launched in 2007 to construct affordable and environmentally-sustainable housing for low-income residents of the Lower Ninth Ward in New Orleans who lost their homes as a result of Hurricane Katrina," said a statement released Wednesday afternoon by Speaker Pelosi's office.

Pitt and Pelosi, 68, are slated to kick off their meeting at 3:30 p.m., after posing for photos for the press in the Capitol Building.

The Jolie-Pitts Take in a Broadway Show

In order to get everyone inside the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, a security team escorted the family. It's the second big show for the parents this week: Sunday they were at the Oscars in Hollywood.

Jolie is now in New York to film her new movie Salt, described by Variety as an espionage thriller in which she plays a CIA agent accused of being a Russian spy.

Sightings

"Benjamin Button" wins foreign box office

The Brad Pitt drama, which copped three craft Oscars on Sunday after leading the field with 13 nominations, has earned $153 million since kicking off its international run in Australia on December 26.

The big Oscar winner -- "Slumdog Millionaire" -- has tallied nearly $70 million from 22 markets in the last three months. Most of the haul has come from the U.K. (nearly $30 million), Australia ($8.5 million) and France ($8.4 million). The film's haul included best picture and director.

As for other Oscar winners, "Milk" has earned $9.2 million overseas, and "The Reader" about $10 million. The dramas, respectively, garnered lead acting awards for Sean Penn and Kate Winslet.

"The Wrestler," denied acting awards for Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei, hasn't gained much traction internationally. Its foreign haul stands at about $5.3 million.

Elsewhere at the weekend box office, "Bolt" came in second with $11.7 million from 42 markets; its international total rose to $154.8 million.

"Valkyrie" claimed the No. 3 spot with $7.5 million from 57 markets, lifting its foreign total to $83 million. "He's Just Not That Into You" finished fourth with $7.8 million, raising its foreign haul to $32.8 million from 25 territories.

At No. 5 was the North American disappointment "Confessions of a Shopaholic," with $6 million from 10 markets. Its early overseas tally stands at $10 million in 10 days.

Brad and Angelina Make Oscars a Date Night

"Throwing spaghetti against the wall," Pitt told PEOPLE on the red carpet at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.

Which is just fine with two of Sunday night's nominees – Pitt as Best Actor for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and Jolie for Best Actress in Changeling.

"We've been planning on this for months," Pitt joked.

"I like to think of it more as a date," added Jolie. "We're very comfortable tonight and just happy to be out and it's a nice night."

Brad Pitt Hits Las Vegas with His Boys

The guys of the Jolie-Pitt clan (minus 7-month old Knox), were spotted at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Wednesday evening.

The boys' trip comes as Angelina Jolie is spending time with the girls of the family in New York. Jolie was spotted with daughters, Zahara, 4, and Shiloh, 2, shopping at one of their favorite spots in the Big Apple – Lee's Art Shop – on Wednesday.

The day before, Jolie, who is scheduled to begin filming the movie SALT next month, began prep work, looking at costumes and visiting an apartment building that will serve as a production location.

Jolie and Pitt are expected to reunite in time to attend the Oscars this Sunday in Los Angeles. Pitt is up for Best Actor for his role in The Curious Case of Bejamin Button. Jolie is nominated for Best Actress for The Changeling.

`Benjamin Button': Big Oscar loser in the making?

Winning any of those Oscars come Sunday night is another challenge.

"Benjamin Button" is in a curious awards position, tied with eight past films for second-most nominations ever. Yet there's a slim chance it could go home empty-handed, setting a record for Oscar futility by a single film.

Of the 10 past films with 13 or more nominations, all won at least four Oscars. If "Benjamin Button" wound up being shut out, it would become the biggest loser ever, surpassing the zero-for-11 record by 1977's "The Turning Point" and 1985's "The Color Purple." In 2002, "Gangs of New York" went zero-for-10.

"Benjamin Button" has been an omnipresent nominee at earlier Hollywood honors, but it has not won major prizes other than three technical trophies at last week's British Academy Film Awards.

It was shut out at the Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild Awards, while the directors, producers and writers guilds all passed it over for "Slumdog Millionaire," which has 10 Oscar nominations and is expected to dominate the evening.

"Slumdog Millionaire" also defeated "Benjamin Button" for top honors from trade groups for cinematography and film editing, two of the seven total categories where both are competing at the Oscars. The historical pageant "The Duchess" beat "Benjamin Button" at the Costume Designers Guild Awards.

"Benjamin Button" is considered a longshot in its top four categories: best picture, director (David Fincher), actor (Brad Pitt) and supporting actress (Taraji P. Henson).

"Slumdog Millionaire" is the heavy favorite to win best picture and director for Danny Boyle. Oddsmakers place Sean Penn ("Milk"), Mickey Rourke ("The Wrestler") and Frank Langella ("Frost/Nixon") ahead of Pitt and Penelope Cruz ("Vicky Cristina Barcelona") and Viola Davis ("Doubt") ahead of Henson.

Even if it wins some of its other categories, losing out on best picture would put "Benjamin Button" producer Kathleen Kennedy in the Oscar record books. It would be Kennedy's sixth loss, tying her with Stanley Kramer for most best-picture nominations without a win.

Frank Marshall, Kennedy's producing partner on "Benjamin Button," would move into second place, going zero-for-five on best picture.

"Obviously, we've never won. It would be nice to win for this one," Marshall said. "Thirteen nominations is also a lucky number for us, because I was born on Friday the 13th."

Kennedy and Marshall, who first took on "Benjamin Button" in 1990, have shared past nominations for "The Color Purple," "The Sixth Sense" and "Seabiscuit." She also had nominations on her own for "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" and "Munich," while Marshall also was nominated for "Raiders of the Lost Ark."

"Benjamin Button" is a strong visual-effects competitor for the digital magic that went into the story of a man born old and aging backward. It has tough opposition, though, in the year's blockbuster superhero tales, "The Dark Knight" and "Iron Man."

"The Dark Knight" also is up against "Benjamin Button" in five other technical categories.

"Benjamin Button" is not the only potential big loser Sunday. Kate Winslet is up for best actress in "The Reader," her sixth nomination.

She lost on her previous five, and another defeat would tie her with Deborah Kerr and Thelma Ritter as the only actresses to go zero-for-six.

"I have been here so many times and lost so many times, that quite honestly, I have a really good losing face," Winslet said. "I've sort of perfected that strange, Zen, blank calm that you have to have, of course, in that moment that they don't call out your name."

"Benjamin Button" stays on top overseas

The Brad Pitt drama earned an estimated $31 million from 53 markets, taking its foreign tally to $118.6 million. In North America, it has earned about $122 million, but has largely run out of steam a week before the Oscars are handed out.

The film enjoyed first-place debuts in Italy ($4.6 million), South Korea ($2 million) and Taiwan ($1 million).

A No. 1 Paris finish portends a French tally of $4.6 million in its second weekend, and in Spain it held on to the No. 1 spot with $3.3 million, also in its second weekend. A first-place finish in Japan ($3.1 million) and a muscular holdover in the U.K. ($2.6 million) helped the weekend tally.

With its Oscar nomination in the animated film category, Disney's "Bolt' has been showing real spunk internationally, finishing second and pushing its overseas total to $131.8 million thanks to a $16.5 million weekend from 38 territories. A strong U.K. bow ($7.8 million) helped as did solid bows in Holland and Belgium.

Other key Oscar bidders are doing nowhere near as well. "Milk" has earned $7.5 million to date; "Frost/Nixon" $6.4 million; "Doubt" $10.3 million; and "Revolutionary Road" $43 million.

Finishing No. 3 overall was "Valkyrie," which expanded its run to include 18 markets in Latin America, southeast Asia and parts of eastern Europe. The weekend tally was $11.9 million from 55 markets, for an international total of $72 million. The Tom Cruise drama opened at No. 1 in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia and Mexico.

"He's Just Not That Into You," at No. 4, broadened its overseas run to 16 markets for a weekend estimate of $11.4 million. The comedy opened at No. 1 in Australia with $3.8 million. Its foreign total stands at $16.5 million.

New North American champ "Friday the 13th" slashed its way to $10.4 million from 30 markets. Top tallies included Britain with $2 million and Russia with $1.7 million.

Two other North American debutants also appeared on the international stage: "Confessions of a Shopaholic" earned $2.8 million from five overseas markets. "The International" pulled in $2.7 million from three markets including Germany, where the Clive Owen espionage thriller played the just-ended Berlin International Film Festival.

Brad Pitt Wants Scalps in Inglourious Basterds

The brief teaser clip, set to air on Entertainment Tonight Thursday, features Pitt as Lt. Aldo Raine as well as (in true Tarantino form) lots of guns and blood-and-guts action.

Shot in Germany, the film, which also stars Diane Kruger and appearances by Cloris Leachman, Mike Myers and Samuel L. Jackson, is set to premier at the Cannes Film Festival in May and be released in theaters Aug. 21.

She's Got (Voice) Mail: Aniston Hangs on to Pitt's Messages

The former Friends star tells Marie Claire magazine that she can't bring herself to erase some of ex-husband Brad Pitt's voicemails. In fact, she has trouble erasing many of her past flames from her life. "I still have the cassette tapes of messages from my first boyfriend, my second boyfriend, my husband," she said.

Though it may seems strange, Aniston insists that saving the recordings is similar to keeping other lovey-dovey memorabilia. "It's like saving love letters," she said.

Will Smith leads Forbes star bankability list

Smith, who received a perfect 10 on the survey, was followed on the Forbes list by Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio and Hollywood supercouple Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, who were all tied with a score of 9.89.

John Burman, special projects director for Forbes Media, said Smith, who won fame on 1990s television sitcom "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air," can star in any movie genre.

"He can move from doing the pop film to an 'Ali' to a 'Seven Pounds' to 'The Pursuit of Happyness,' so he's able to play in all worlds and I think people just like watching him on screen," Burman said.

For its first-ever "Star Currency" list, measuring the financial clout of Hollywood stars to get movie projects going, Forbes surveyed more than 150 entertainment industry professionals, including producers and directors.

The stars were ranked on ability to attract financing for a project, box office success, appeal to different audience demographics and other factors.

The Philadelphia-born Smith's latest movie "Seven Pounds" was released on December 19 and has made more than $141.6 million worldwide. He also starred in the 2008 summer hit "Hancock," which made more than $624.4 million worldwide.

Most of the stars on Forbes' top 100 Star Currency list are over 35, including 78-year-old "Gran Torino" star Clint Eastwood at No. 20.

The top 20-something actor was "Transformers" star Shia LaBeouf at No. 33, followed by "The Duchess" star Keira Knightley at No. 42.

Actors need time to establish a star "brand," Burman said.

Also, some stars have international box office appeal that more than compensates for modest U.S. and Canada ticket sales.

The 45-year-old Pitt's 2004 movie "Troy," for example, made $133.4 million in the U.S. and Canada, but $364 million internationally. His 2006 movie "Babel" made $101 million internationally, nearly three times U.S. and Canada totals.

"He's certainly strong in the U.S., but you see the global reach of him," Burman said.

The Forbes list is online at Forbes.com/starcurrency.

Brad Pitt Serves As Butt of Mick Jagger's Joke

Explaining what he was doing at a movie event the same night as the Grammys, the Rolling Stone said he was part of a rock star-movie star exchange program.

"Sir Anthony Hopkins is in the recording studio with Amy Winehouse," joked Jagger, "and we are hoping that next week Sir Brad and all the Pitt family will be performing The Sound of Music at the Brit awards."

Sitting in the audience with fellow nominee (for Changeling) Angelina Jolie, Pitt cracked up and applauded along with the rest of the crowd inside London's Royal Opera House.

While Danny Boyle's Slumdog picked up seven BAFTAs – best film, director, screenplay, score, sound, editing and cinematography – Pitt's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button racked up three: for production design, makeup and hair and special visual effects.

"Button" sews up international box office

The David Fincher-directed film hit its stride overseas with No. 1 debuts in Spain and Paris and a No. 2 bow in Japan.

Notable was "Button''s" No. 1 opening in the all-important U.K. territory, where the Brad Pitt-starring Warner Bros. release earned $3.2 million in three days from 476 spots.

"Button" is the best overseas grosser of this season's best-film Oscar prospects, collecting $72.5 million so far internationally. That's $23.3 million more than the combined overseas takes of "Revolutionary Road," "Frost/Nixon" and "Milk." It also is 2009's second-biggest No. 1 grosser, following "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa," which tallied $31.6 million in the year's first weekend.

The weekend's No. 1 domestic title, New Line/Warners' "He's Just Not That Into You," opened at No. 2 in the U.K., grossing $2.7 million from 376 screens.

Pathe's Oscar favorite and multiple BAFTA winner "Slumdog Millionaire" has extracted $24.5 million so far from the U.K. over three weekends. The Danny Boyle title grabbed the No. 3 weekend market spot with $2.4 million from 442 situations. In India, "Slumdog," through 20th Century Fox, has rolled up a market total of $5 million in three frames.

At No. 2 overall was Fox's release of United Artists' "Valkyrie," the World War II drama starring Tom Cruise that had been No. 1 overseas during the previous two frames. The latest weekend produced $11.3 million, pushing the film's overseas gross to $56.7 million.

Disney Animation's "Bolt," up for an animated film Oscar, finished at No. 3 with $9.6 million from 3,150 screens in 31 markets for a total to date of $111 million.

DreamWorks/Paramount's "Revolutionary Road" tallied $6.3 million from 2,699 screens in 47 markets, finishing at No. 4 for the weekend. The international gross for the Leonardo DiCaprio/Kate Winslet drama is $37 million.

At No. 5 was Fox's comedy "Bride Wars," showing durability on the international circuit with a $6.1 million weekend from 2,539 screens in 43 markets, good for a total to date of $32.1 million. Sony's "Seven Pounds" opened in six territories and grabbed $5.4 million overall during the weekend from 2,600 sites in 43 markets, pushing its overseas gross to $79.4 million.

"Mamma Mia!" continued to pile on the foreign grosses as the weekend brought $2.5 million from 336 Japan sites, pushing the market total past the 1 billion yen ($11.3 million) mark in 10 days. The Universal musical has logged an overseas total of $440.5 million, more than three times its domestic gross.

Another box-office stalwart concluding its international run in Japan is MGM/Sony's "Quantum of Solace," which tallied $1.3 million in its third weekend in the territory from 346 screens. Its overseas total is $401.6 million, $30.5 million shy of the overseas box-office record for a James Bond title, set by 2006's "Casino Royale."

Pitt, Soderbergh Show Us the Moneyball

The director is in talks to reteam with his Ocean's franchise headliner on Moneyball, a sports film centering on the real life Oakland Athletics' general manager who used a computer analysis program to draft a playoff-caliber team.

While Pitt joined the project last fall, Variety reports that Soderbergh has entered into early talks to helm the flick after Marley & Me auteur David Frankel parted ways with the film.

The underdog movie is an adaptation of Michael Lewis' bestselling Moneyball: The Art of Winning An Unfair Game, which chronicled Oakland A's GM Billy Beane's successful foray into computer-assisted recruiting. Using the a special program, Beane pieced together a team with a bare-bones payroll that became a World Series contender.

Per the trade, the film will be Soderbergh's next project, usurping the Catherine Zeta-Jones and Hugh Jackman-starring Cleopatra and Marc Antony lovefest Cleo on his roster. Pitt, meanwhile, recently finished up work on Quentin Tarantino's WWII epic, Inglourious Basterds.

Angelina on Oscar Night: 'I'm Rooting for Brad'

"I'm rooting for Brad," the actress, 33, says of her Best Actor-nominated partner, Brad Pitt, 45.

Nominated herself as Best Actress for her film Changeling, Jolie tells ABC's Nightline in an interview airing Tuesday that she's not much of a moviegoer – unless Pitt is on the screen.

"No, I just, I don't really like to watch movies," she says, adding, "I love to watch Brad's movies."

Noting that she'll soon start to "step away from acting" to focus on her family, the mother of six says her priorities have clearly shifted over the years.

"I'd say kids first, kids, woman to Brad and then my work internationally and being a kind of ... trying to educate myself and trying to learn about the world and ... trying to do some good things while I'm alive," she tells Nightline.

As for acting, she notes, "so what is that, fourth?"

Brad Pitt Finds His Home Chaotic - But Really Fun

"It's chaos at times, but there's such joy in the house," the Curious Case of Benjamin Button Oscar nominee, 45, tells Britain's Daily Telegraph.

"I look and there's our boy from Vietnam [Pax, 5] and our daughter from Ethiopia [Zahara, 3], and our girl was born in Namibia [Shiloh, 2], and our son is from Cambodia [Maddox, 7], and they're brothers and sisters, man. They're brothers and sisters and it's a sight for elation."

Not to mention twins Knox and Vivienne, born last July in France.

"We were four before, and we got into our rhythms and it worked. Then someone new comes in, and it discombobulates the movements for a moment, but then you settle in again and it just all works," he tells the paper. "Everyone's pretty well integrated. It's not the first time new kids have come in.

"We have the capability to give a child a home, and let me tell you it's selfish, too, because the reward has been extraordinary."

Brad's Love for Angelina

In the case of the twins, the fun and the chaos come in a double dose.

"One seemed simple, and it's just double the fun. It's surprising how soon their personalities have started emerging. But it's really important that everyone gets their individual time as well as group time together," he says.

That includes partner Angelina Jolie.

"Angelina and I are together because we can enhance each other," says Pitt. "I don't want to waste any time because I'm with company I really, really love."

Pitt and Jolie "too busy" to celebrate

The couple strolled up the red carpet on Thursday for the Japan premiere of Pitt's latest film, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" which gained him an Academy Award nomination for best actor.

Jolie, who already boasts an Oscar, has been nominated for the best actress award for her performance in "Changeling," directed by Clint Eastwood.

"Man, we're too busy dealing with Kleenexes and diapers and getting everyone fed to really celebrate. We'll do that next year," Pitt told Reuters.

In July 2008, Jolie gave birth in France to twins, a girl named Vivienne Marcheline and a boy named Knox Leon. Jolie and Pitt are parents to four other young children -- adoptees Maddox, Pax and Zahara, and their first biological daughter, Shiloh.

Pitt said he was excited that the couple had been nominated for awards at the same time.

"It is nice, we go and support each other -- very cool and rare I think," he said.

Pitt and Jolie arrived in Japan with all six of their children on Tuesday to promote their respective films.

"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," a costly drama that took decades to get to screen, leads the field of Oscar contenders with a total of 13 nominations -- one short of the record shared by "All About Eve" (195O) and "Titanic" (1997).

The 81st Academy Awards will be held in Hollywood on February 22.

Brad Pitt "thrilled" by Oscar nominations

Pitt was in Tokyo with his partner Angelina Jolie and their six children for the Japan premier of the film, which leads this year's field with 13 Oscar nominations, one short of the record shared by "All About Eve" (195O) and "Titanic" (1997).

"So we're thrilled to see it, to see it acknowledged that way," Pitt told a news conference in Tokyo.

"For us you know, it means that more people get to see it and I think it's a worthy film that deserves that kind of viewing -- over and over again. Go see it three times and see it again," he added.

Pitt, 45, faces a tough race for the best actor award, to be announced on February 22, with Sean Penn and Mickey Rourke seen as the favorites for their respective roles as a gay rights activist in "Milk" and an aging professional fighter in "The Wrestler."

"Benjamin Button" tracks the love story between the title character, played by Pitt, and Daisy, played by Cate Blanchett, and the joy and pain they face as one gets younger and the other older.

Pitt, said his current life was as dramatic as the life of the fictional Button, who was born in his eighties and aged backwards.

"Well, I think it's well documented. I have six children now so it doesn't get more dramatic than that," said Pitt.

In July 2008, Jolie gave birth in France to twins, a girl named Vivienne Marcheline and a boy named Knox Leon.

In addition to the twins, Jolie and Pitt are parents to four other young children -- adoptees Maddox, Pax and Zahara, and their first biological daughter, Shiloh. Japanese television showed the entire family arriving at the airport in Tokyo, greeted by screaming fans.

"Benjamin Button," loosely based on a 1920s short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, has been floating around Hollywood for decades. The film's producers, Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall, took over the project about 18 years ago, but struggled with the central issue -- how to depict its star being born as an old man and eventually dying as a baby.

Technical wizardry allowed the producers and director David Fincher to use Pitt throughout rather than multiple actors.

Despite the flow of Oscar nominations, "Benjamin Button" has had a rough ride so far this awards season, having been ignored by both the Critics Choice Awards and the Golden Globes, two Oscar bellwethers.

Brangelina Twins Touch Down in Tokyo

The power duo was spotted at Narita International Airport in Japan Tuesday, each toting the cutest carry-ons: 6-month-old twins Vivienne and Knox, who, like Daddy, sported a little newsboy cap.

The rest of the Brangelina brood—Maddox, Zahara, Pax and Shiloh—were also on hand for this trip to the Far East, where papa Pitt will promote his flick The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

Brad and Angie have come up empty-handed so far this awards season, failing to nab honors at both the Golden Globes and Sunday's SAGs (he for Button, she for Changeling). But then again, who really needs silly statuettes when you've already got trophies like these, right?

Brad Pitt Liked Looking Old on Film

But the two-time PEOPLE Sexiest Man Alive didn't mind. "I had a little control over it. I got to shape it and sculpt it," he tells PEOPLE. "I doubt gravity and time will be that kind."

Both Pitt and Jolie were nominees at this year's SAG Awards: Pitt, 45, for Button and Jolie, 33, for her role in Changeling.

On the red carpet, Pitt called the arrivals scene "crazy," but said he doesn't get too nervous. "We've been doing it a little while," he says. "It's really a nice time for us to come and catch up with our friends we haven't seen all year. It's a good night."

SAGs Red Carpet Quotes: They Said That?

"I think they're a bit bored of it now."—Angelina Jolie, talking about how her kids feel about all the glamour and glitz that goes into getting ready for a big awards show

Brad Pitt Doesn't Google Himself...So Who Does?

One of our favorite questions posed to the actors: “Do any of you guys ever Google yourself?”

Brad Pitt immediately replied, “Dear God. No. Never. First of all, I don't really know how to operate a computer.” We’re inclined to believe him—it’s probably impossible to get any computer time with Maddox on there Googling weapons all the time.

Almost everyone else—Hathaway, Hawkins, Langella—also chimed in with their own no ways. Rourke said nothing. But leave it to RDJ to fess up to the truth:

“Oh, I love all that s--t, personally. Sorry. I love just it. Because it's a hoot. Some people overstate their support, like they know you. Other people are busy doing something else and just want to go on this chat site and say some despicable character assassination, which I honestly think they kind of nailed it. I do have that shortcoming. It's really fun.”

This inspired Anne to stop pretending she was above a little self-Googling and admit:

"OK, I have a confession. I lied before when you asked if I Googled myself. I do. I'm embarrassed by it because I know how terrible it is...For a while, it cracked me up. I found a ton of humor in it. But recently it's changed. There's a big difference now where information is being reported as news. And I'm very uncomfortable with that. And what you were saying, Brad—and God knows you deal with it worse than anyone—the idea that you blink your eyes and it's all over the Internet? It's a strange thing to be part of."

From there, the discussion went on to the publicity machine that Hollywood has become and how annoying it is to deal with.

Timberlake, Pitt spoofed in upcoming Wii game

Besides the Timberlake and Beckham copycats, players can don boxing gloves as a lanky Brad Pitt ringer named Fight Clubber or a flabby John Travolta lookalike dubbed Fever Friction. Other characters resemble such famous faces as Sylvester Stallone, David Hasselhoff, James Brown, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Shaun White, Simon Cowell and Antonio Banderas.

"We went with a decent mix of mostly modern, mainstream people that I think much of the younger generation will recognize and know, but then we also went to the other end and grabbed characters that we think some of the older people will recognize as well," said "Ready 2 Rumble Revolution" producer Todd Slepian of the game's casting choices.

Unlike previous "Ready 2 Rumble" games, which only offered a handful of unlockable famous stand-ins, the producers opted to fill the ring with celebs for the series' first outing on the Wii — although gamers will be able to create their own customizable boxers from scratch. Slepian insists the celebrity-inspired characters are meant as parodies, not clones.

"We wanted to reach out to a broader audience, make it a little bit more mass market and add an element of humor," said Slepian. "All of these characters are funny and over the top. We thought it lent itself to the 'Ready 2 Rumble' brand. All of the old character parodies were received pretty well, so we figured we'd take it to the next level."

Angelina and Brad React to His and Hers Oscar Nods

Pitt, whose film, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button collected 13 Oscar nods, including Best Picture, called the nominations "a great honor for the movie," while giving props to his director. "I'm especially happy for David Fincher, for without him there would be no Ben Button," said Pitt, who was last nominated for a supporting role in Twelve Monkeys in 1996.

Oscars aside, Changeling star Jolie also had words of gratitude for her director: Working with Clint Eastwood "was a reward in itself that will last me a lifetime," she said.

Yet, the actress is still humbled about her nomination for her role as a mother whose son goes missing in Changeling. "To receive a nomination from the Academy on top of that is a privilege beyond any expectation," she said Thursday. "It has been an exceptional year for acting, and I am honored to be in the company of these talented actors whose performances all deserve this recognition."

Also nominated for Best Actress are: Meryl Streep in Doubt; Anne Hathaway in Rachel Getting Married; Melissa Leo in Frozen River; and Kate Winslet in The Reader.

2009 Academy Awards Nominations

BEST ACTOR
Frank Langella, "Frost/Nixon"
Sean Penn, "Milk"
Brad Pitt, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
Mickey Rourke, "The Wrestler"
Richard Jenkins, "The Visitor" h2>Brad Pitt, at 45, not worried about old age Actor Brad Pitt says he is not afraid of growing old, but is worried about how he will die.

Pitt, who turned 45 last month, was in Berlin for the European premier of 'The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button', in which he plays a man who is born in his eighties and ages backwards.

"I'm not so afraid of getting old, I'm more afraid of how I'll go," he told a news conference on Monday. "Fire and tight spaces don't appeal. A shark would be interesting." The tear-jerking film tracks the love story between Benjamin Button and Daisy, played by Cate Blanchett, and the joys and losses they face as one gets younger and the other older.

Asked what would make him cry, Pitt replied: "I don't cry, I'm as hard as nails." h2>Nominations for British Academy awards Leading actor: Frank Langella, "Frost/Nixon"; Dev Patel, "Slumdog Millionaire"; Sean Penn, "Milk"; Brad Pitt, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"; Mickey Rourke, "The Wrestler"

Supporting Actor: Robert Downey Jr., "Tropic Thunder"; Brendan Gleeson, "In Bruges"; Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Doubt"; Heath Ledger, "The Dark Knight"; Brad Pitt, "Burn After Reading"

A view from inside the Golden Globes

Angelina Jolie sat with Clint Eastwood, Tom Cruise had his arm around Steven Spielberg and Emma Thompson crouched at the table beside Sandra Bullock while Beyonce and Jay-Z shared a laugh with a show worker.

The Jolie-Pitts were fashionably on-time: Brad led Angelina in by the hand with less than two minutes before showtime.

The Curious Place Setting of Benjamin Button: The camera caught Brad Pitt asking a tablemate, "What's that for?" We're pretty sure he was curious at the award being given, and not one of those tiny forks at the table.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie: No Secret Wedding!

Speculation about secret nuptials started Tuesday when Taraji P. Henson, who stars as Queenie opposite Pitt in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, referred to her costar as Jolie's "husband" during an interview at the Palm Springs International Film Festival.

But Henson tells me we shouldn't look too deeply into the husband remark because...

"It was a slip," Henson explained to me earlier today at In Style and the Diamond Information Center's Red Carpet Ready luncheon and fashion show. "I mean, they have a family, they live together. What is married really? It's like they are married."

Henson joked that she was worried about "getting into trouble" with Pitt and Jolie. But she ultimately came up with a great way of making it up to them:

"I told Angelina, 'I will babysit for you anytime,' " Henson said. "All the kids are very adorable. They're good, good kids."

Also at the luncheon, hosted by In Style editorial honchos Ariel Foxman and Charla Lawhon and the DIC's Sally Morrison, were this year's Golden Globes Girl Rumer Willis, Maria Bello, Andrea Bowen, Olivia Wilde, Debra Messing and Ashley Greene.

Sightings

People's Choice Award Winners

Brad Pitt Defends Jen & Angelina in The Same Article

It seems that way in his latest interview in W magazine, where he's photographed au naturel and gives unguarded answers when asked about Jen's "uncool" comments.

"Jen is a sweetheart,” Brad says. “I think she got dragged into that one, and then there’s a second round to all of that Angie versus Jen. It’s so created.”

He echoes Jen's claims that they're still in touch, saying that he and Jen still "check in" with each other. "She was a big part of my life, and me hers," he continues.

But don't think he didn't defend Angelina too...

Brad shoots down claims that he and Angelina had an affair while filming Mr. & Mrs. Smith (while he was still married to Jen). Both stars have admitted they fell in love on set.

“We were still filming after Jen and I split up," Brad says. "Even then it doesn’t mean that there was some kind of dastardly affair. There wasn’t. I’m very proud of the way that it was handled. It was respectful."

Brad also dishes about the personal photos he snapped of Angie breastfeeding the twins for the previous cover of the magazine.

“It’s really sexy to see your loved one through the lens," the budding photographer said. "I went much further [than the shot of Jolie breast-feeding]. I didn’t show those.”

Brad Pitt to Present at People's Choice?

It's not a very prestigious awards show, but I hear the Curious Case of Benjamin Button star is mulling over a possible appearance during CBS' live telecast.

If it does happen, however, don’t look for him onstage at L.A.’s Shrine Auditorium...

I hear Pitt, who has been an awards-season favorite this year for his Benjamin Button work, would pop up in a pretaped segment. He was offered but apparently turned down the chance to be beamed in live via satellite, according to a source.

As for Angelina Jolie, I’m told she declined both a taped and satellite segment.

Hollywood's most beautiful couple is expected at the Critics’ Choice Awards on Thursday followed by the Golden Globes on Sunday.

Celebs scheduled to present—live and in person—at the 35th Annual People’s Choice Awards include Marisa Tomei, Robin Williams, Seal and Kid Rock, among others.

Carrie Underwood and Rascal Flatts will perform at the event, hosted by Queen Latifah.

Oscar Watch: Benjamin Button Up, Down

What He Didn't Need: A fairly scathing review in Oscarville's hometown paper, the Los Angeles Times. For what it's worth, the film's overall Rotten Tomatoes rating stood at 75 percent on Friday.

Why It's Especially Important to Have a Good Weekend This Weekend: Nomination ballots for the 81st Academy Awards were sent out Friday.

Bella's Big Shot? No, Twilight isn't an award-season player, but another film featuring Kristen Stewart really, really wants to be. The L.A. Times has the story on the indie drama The Yellow Handkerchief, which is getting its Academy-required, weeklong run in Los Angeles (well, Encino) thanks to its producer, who paid for the screen time.

Brad Pitt & Jennifer Aniston Set Box Office Records

The former couple both had movies in competition for the top spot on Christmas Day, and while Aniston's film pulled in the most money, both movies were winners at the box office.

Aniston's Marley & Me, a feel-good movie costarring Owen Wilson about a young family and mischievous dog, was the leader of the pack, grossing $14.8 million, the highest one-day total ever for a film opening on Christmas.

But Pitt's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button wasn't far behind. The film, about the life-long romance between a man who ages in reverse (Pitt) and a woman (Cate Blanchett), set the record for the second-highest Christmas opening of all-time with $11.8 million.

Both films exceeded box office expectations by 40-50 percent, Variety reports.

Two other films also opened to strong numbers on Christmas Day.

Adam Sandler's kid-friendly Bedtime Stories picked up approximately $10.5 million to land in third place, and it could overtake Benjamin Button to land in second place for the long holiday weekend.

Tom Cruise's World War II epic Valkyrie opened to mixed reviews but a solid one-day gross of about $8.5 million.

The only other new release, director Frank Miller's Spirit – starring Eva Mendes and Scarlett Johansson – was the only underperformer, grossing about $4 million on its opening day.

Brad Pitt: Angie Was a Natural Direction

And now in a special Boxing Day L.A. Times profile, you have the chance to interpret some new love quotes from Brad. See, his new movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button got him thinking about true love, which led to this thought nugget:

"It's a tragedy in the sense that any love involves loss, and that's the risk you take. And the greater the love, the greater the loss. I certainly feel that now with the woman I'm with, and the children that I have. But whatever the course may be, this time together is extraordinary."

More specifically, he says hooking it up with Angie just felt natural because he was totally over just being hot and perfect all the time…

"I had a whole other life and I got to experience a lot. And I probably got away with more than I should. And it kind of ran its course, you know, it kind of hit a dead end. [Fatherhood is] the direction I always thought I would go in. But not until, with Angie and it felt like a natural evolution, a natural direction."

And now a bonus quote about his craft, something we often overlook but shouldn't because dude seriously wants his Oscar. The life that Angelina has given him seems to have changed his acting for the better.

"I don't have to grope as much for the character. I can get there quicker, so it's not as much trial and error," he says. "Also, as I get older, more experiences, I'm more fine-tuned in what I'm after, what I think speaks in the piece. And lastly I want to hurry and get home to my kids."

All right, now who wants to see Brad as a naked old man baby?!

Go see 'Benjamin Button,' just don't try to guess his age

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (* * * out of four) is worth seeing just for the superb prosthetic makeup and seamless computer-generated effects in which Pitt's head is digitally imposed onto older bodies. The film, ambitious if flawed, also is lyrical and melancholy as it tells the story of a man aging backward.

But the tale, though laudably imaginative, is overlong and not as emotionally involving as it could be. David Fincher, one of the best contemporary directors, has made a notable departure from such darker fare as Zodiac and Fight Club.

The influence of screenwriter Eric Roth is perhaps even stronger than Fincher's capable direction. Roth wrote 1994's Forrest Gump, and Button has notable similarities.

Benjamin is a passive and reactive character, and Pitt is appropriately understated. The long romance between Button and Daisy is less convincing; we never get a full sense of who she is.

The film is at its best when spinning fantastic yarns of Benjamin's bizarre, long life. Afflicted with a rare malady, he is born elderly. His father (Jason Flemying) finds the wizened infant repulsive and abandons him on a doorstep.

Benjamin is raised by Queenie (Taraji P. Henson), the proprietor of an old folks' home where he stands out with his childish antics. When a little girl named Daisy (Elle Fanning) visits her grandmother, a friendship is born.

Benjamin leaves home at 17 (looking like 60), goes off to sail the world and has his first love affair when he is seduced by a married woman (Tilda Swinton). Soon he sheds his wrinkles and emerges in familiar handsome form. He and Daisy (now played by Cate Blanchett) meet again, closer in age, and their romance starts and sputters.

The backward-aging can be distracting. Trying to determine Benjamin's approximate age at various intervals can take you out of the film.

Button is a cinematic curiosity. Set in a visually stunning realm of heightened reality, it is at times symbolic and enigmatic, other times baroque and convoluted, and also folksy and predictable.

Though it doesn't always work as a parable about life, Button is never dull, and the conclusion is graceful and poignant. (Rated PG-13 for brief war violence, sexual content, language and smoking. Running time: 2 hours, 46 minutes. Opens Thursday nationwide.)

Review: `Button' dazzles visually, emotionally

But the special effects are so dazzling, and Pitt's performance is so gracefully convincing, that you can't help but be wowed over and over again by "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button."

Director David Fincher has always proven himself a virtuoso visual stylist — to the point of seeming like a shameless showoff at times — with films like "Fight Club," "Panic Room" and "Zodiac." Here, he's truly outdone himself: He's made a grand, old-fashioned epic that takes mind-boggling advantage of the most modern moviemaking technology.

Fincher's film, based on an F. Scott Fitzgerald short story about a man who ages in reverse, is rambling and gorgeous — perhaps a bit overlong and gooey in the midsection — but one that leaves you with a lingering wistfulness.

It's just so achingly sad: Pitt, as the title character, is doomed from the start. He can travel the world and live a life that's adventurous and full, but he can never truly be with the woman he loves, Daisy (Cate Blanchett), whom he meets when she's just a little girl (played by Elle Fanning) and he's a boy trapped in an old man's body.

Eric Roth's script may seem naggingly similar to that of "Forrest Gump" — which he also wrote — but it seems more concerned with the transformational power of true love than the gimmickry of an unusual existence.

Born with the looks and decrepitude of an 80-year-old man, Benjamin is left on the doorstep of a New Orleans old-folks home at the end of World War I. Despite the newborn's startling appearance, the kindly Queenie (a lovely Taraji P. Henson), who works there, feels immediately drawn to him and raises the baby as her own.

He feels comfortable among the home's residents, even though he's getting physically younger as they die off one by one. There's a playful innocence to Pitt's performance in these early scenes, and a sweetness that he'll maintain for the rest of the film.

Benjamin goes to work for a drunk tugboat captain (played by a raucous Jared Harris, functioning in the Lt. Dan role, if you'd like to continue the "Gump" analogy), which takes him to Russia and the film's most exciting segment. There, he embarks on an unexpected affair with the wealthy wife of a spy. Tilda Swinton brings smarts and smoldering sensuality to the role — she shakes the picture up — but she also helps define Benjamin as he grows, internally, into a young man just beginning to understand his own prowess.

It's all preparation for Daisy, anyway — for the romance they will fleetingly find in the middle of their lives. Blanchett is fiery as the headstrong ballerina who doesn't immediately realize she's ready for Benjamin, but the way she softens toward him gives the film both a zest and a feeling of melancholy — because we know it can't last.

Daisy has been telling his story, and theirs, through a present-day framing device as she lies dying in a New Orleans hospital bed. Hurricane Katrina is on the way, and she has to tell the tale to her daughter (Julia Ormond) before it's too late.

But neither Benjamin nor Daisy questions the complexity of their situation: They merely make the most of it, in ways big and small, for as long as they possibly can.

"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," a Paramount Pictures release, is rated PG-13 for brief war violence, sexual content, language and smoking. Running time: 167 minutes. Three and a half stars out of four.

Brad: No Joke

Brad Pitt is on the 'Button'

After all, in the movie based on the F. Scott Fitzgerald short story and set at the end of the First World War, the titular character is born a wizened, crinkled creature suffering the effects of old age, who proceeds to grow young. To pull the concept off, bleeding-edge technology would be required to convincingly show Pitt at various stages of Button's life: From an 80-year-old toddler to a 65-year-old teenager to a middle-aged man in his 40s to a senior citizen with the youthful physique of a 23-year-old.

Complicating matters further was that, at its core, Benjamin Button is a romance between Button and Cate Blanchett's Daisy. They're first introduced as children -- although he appears old enough to be her great-grandfather -- and then over the course of decades, meet in the middle before aging to opposite extremes.

For Pitt it meant extensive make-up and green screen work, with his head digitally grafted onto body doubles for the first third of the film.

"It's tough for any actor," says Button producer Kathleen Kennedy. "They're not just in a scene doing what they're doing, but they're going to be involved in a lot of technology. But he was ready to do it because of his relationship with (director David) Fincher."

The pair had previously collaborated on two of Pitt's best films, Seven and Fight Club.

"That's the key with most actors, working with a director who they trust," Kennedy explains. "If you're going to step out of what you've done before, you want to be working with a director you have confidence and trust in. That's what he has with David. He knows the movie's taken care of -- he just has to worry about what he's doing."

For Kennedy and her husband/producing partner Frank Marshall, the film's release on Christmas Day marks the end of an 18-year-long effort to bring Button to the big screen.

Although long regarded as one of Hollywood's best undeveloped properties -- and courted by such stars as Tom Cruise and John Travolta -- they say Button couldn't have been made without present-day advances in visual effects.

Specifically, they felt it was crucial to have one actor -- as opposed to four -- play Button. (At one point, the idea of Pitt and Robert Redford playing younger and older Benjamins was even floated.)

"Our feeling was you couldn't sustain the emotionality of the story with so many changes going on with everyone in the cast," she says. "As a technical exercise on paper, we can figure that out, but as an emotional story, with that many actors changing constantly, we thought we would lose the core."

Fincher, who began his career at George Lucas' Industrial Light and Magic effects shop, ultimately cobbled together software from various sources -- including the gaming world -- to produce the seamless effects. Both the results and the possibilities are fascinating. Does this mean Clint Eastwood could now play a 30-year-old? Not yet, anyway, says Kennedy. "It definitely opens the door, but it's still not easy, it's expensive and there are so many factors to prevent it from being used whimsically."

For all of its originality, one comparison Button is unlikely to shake is its likeness to 1994's Forrest Gump. Both follow their unlikely heroes through major events of the 20th century. Both concern unrequited love. They even share the same screenwriter: Eric Roth. And for another, even with Pitt's marquee value, Button remains a tricky sell.

"I think it is a high-risk project for a studio but I do think there's an audience that wants this kind of movie again," Kennedy says.

She can probably take comfort knowing few expected Gump to become the sensation it was. "Paramount was very surprised at the success. There were a lot of markers that suggested that movie wouldn't work," she recalls. "And I actually confess when (Gump director) Bob Zemeckis showed us that script, we were like 'What?' "

Laughs Marshall, "It was a guy on a bench with chocolates and it's a love story? Huh?"

Brad Pitt Turns 45, Worries About "Ticking Clock"

"It just made me think about the ticking clock. Am I in mid-life? Am I halfway there? Do I have 10 years, five years?" he told The Los Angeles Times. "And so what are those moments going to be that I do know I have, which is now?"

The father of six, who earned a Screen Actors Guild nod for this role, also told Rolling Stone he has been thinking about what's to come and the changes he has made in his life after making this movie.

"Angie [Jolie] and I do not fight anymore," he said. "What occurred to me on this film, and also with the passing of her mother [actress Marcheline Bertrand in 2007], is that there's going to come a time when I'm not going to get to be with this person anymore. I'm not going to get to be with my children anymore. Or friends, people I love and respect. And so, if we have a flare-up, it evaporates now."

Nominations for 15th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
Richard Jenkins, The Visitor
Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn, Milk
Brad Pitt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
Doubt
Frost/Nixon
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Brad Pitt Favors Homemade Holiday Gifts for Family

"We do exchange gifts, although we don't feel any pressure to make them big or expensive gifts," Pitt, 44, tells Hello! magazine.

Yet with their luxe lifestyle, how do the youngsters avoid craving tons of holiday loot? By nixing TV.

Cutting Out TV

"The kids don't ask for the big gifts for the reason that they don't see a lot of the American cartoon television, which is packed with all those manipulative commercials for big toys that look so fantastic," says papa Pitt.

"When they do see that stuff is when they start asking for the toys, so we figure if they don't see them, they won't know they're there. So we have gifts, but we try to keep the money spent to a minimum."

Despite the ban on overpriced presents, the clan still makes the holiday season exciting – and family-focused – by having everyone make gifts for each other.

Says Pitt, "The rule is that everyone's got to make something for someone else, you got to put time into it. Then, when they give to each other, it's really sweet."

Yet he is mum on the topic of where the clan will spend the holidays this year: "An undisclosed location!" Pitt demurs.

Brad Pitt Jokingly Defends His Facial Hair as 'Brave'

Whether on the red carpet for Benjamin Button or in New Orleans for his Make It Right foundation to help residents return to the city, Pitt's mustache is front and center.

The actor proudly brushes off any criticism, telling PEOPLE "It's fashion. Who am I without creative facial hair?"

After hearing about the naysayers, he adds, "I consider it very brave."

In truth, the 'stache is for his role in the Quentin Tarantino movie he's filming, Inglourious Basterds.

After learning that his pal George Clooney is also sporting facial hair, Pitt quips, "I cannot get this guy out of my slipstream. He calls me up and wants to know what I'm wearing – and then he shows up in the same thing. Next thing you know he's going to have six kids. Just got to tell you it's getting really old."

Golden Globe Nominee Reactions

Golden Globe nominees

PICTURE, MUSICAL OR COMEDY: "Burn After Reading," "Happy-Go-Lucky," "In Bruges," "Mamma Mia!," "Vicky Christina Barcelona."

DIRECTOR: Danny Boyle, "Slumdog Millionaire"; Stephen Daldry, "The Reader"; David Fincher, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"; Ron Howard, "Frost/Nixon"; Sam Mendes, "Revolutionary Road."

DRAMATIC ACTOR: Leonardo DiCaprio, "Revolutionary Road"; Frank Langella, "Frost/Nixon"; Sean Penn, "Milk"; Brad Pitt, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"; Mickey Rourke, "The Wrestler."

SCREENPLAY: Simon Beaufoy, "Slumdog Millionaire"; David Hare, "The Reader"; Peter Morgan, "Frost/Nixon"; Eric Roth, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"; John Patrick Shanley, "Doubt."

ORIGINAL SCORE: Alexandre Desplat, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"; Clint Eastwood, "Changeling"; James Newton Howard, "Defiance"; Hans Zimmer, "Frost/Nixon"; A.R. Rahman, "Slumdog Millionaire."

Brad Pitt: I Have the Greatest Respect for Angelina

So when a Rolling Stone reporter asks him in their January issue about reports that Jolie, 33, manipulates press about the Jolie-Pitt clan, he goes on the defensive.

"[The New York Times reports] are talking about not only the woman I love, but one of the people on this planet who I have the greatest respect for," says Pitt, 44. "I think she's as honorable as anyone I've ever met."

He adds that the article in question "made Angie out to be manipulative in some way. And he's totally missing the point. She is savvy."

The actor, who stars in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, out on Christmas Day, says making a film centered around the theme of mortality has had a positive effect on his and Jolie's relationship. "Angie and I do not fight anymore. If we have a flare-up, it evaporates now," he says.

Pitt jokes that his previous film Burn After Reading didn't have such a wondrous effect for the pair: "She saw me in the gym gear and said, 'This is the first time I can honestly say I'm not attracted to you whatsoever.'"

Brad Pitt Seeks 'Lost City of Z'

Pitt is set to star in "The Lost City of Z," according to Variety. He'll play Percy Fawcett, a British adventurer who inspired characters from The Shadow to Indiana Jones. Fawcett eventually focused his explorations on Brazil, where he was convinced he would find a lost city called, well, Z. Perhaps he did; Fawcett disappeared in early 1925, and his fate remains a mystery.

The movie will adapt an upcoming non-fiction book by David Grann, and will be helmed by "We Own the Night" director James Gray, according to Variety.

Pitt, 45, can be seen in theaters Dec. 25 in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button."

Brad Pitt: Angie's Beauty Makes Me Gasp

"I saw Angelina walk in...I sweat to God, I gasped!" Giuliana told Brad. "She looks gorgeous tonight!"

"I get up some mornings and gasp," Brad replied. Somewhere, Jennifer Aniston is gagging herself.

Anyhow, it seems as if Brad's mom (and Jen's friend), Jane Pitt, is warming up to Angie...

The two were laughing on the carpet together and seemed to be bonding as Brad made the interview rounds. His dad was also on hand for the premiere.

With Christmas right around the corner, Brad said his brood wants the same goodies all tykes do: "They like a toy, like any other kid."

Following the premiere, which Jennifer Lopez and Eva Longoria Parker also attended, the happy couple hit the afterparty in Westwood.

Brad & Angelina Double Date - with His Parents!

No, not Jennifer Lopez and Eva Longoria! (Although those two did make a surprise appearance at the L.A. premiere of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.)

But as far as Pitt was concerned, the extra-special guest stars were his parents, Bill and Jane Pitt.

The couple strolled the red carpet with Jolie, who looked stunning in a strapless black dress.

And the actress certainly played dutiful host, declining to chat with some reporters saying, "I have to stay with them."

Pitt, for his part, looked dapper in a bowtie and tux – and still rocking his old-school mustache.

In fact, he said, the entire event was designed to channel old Hollywood glamour.

"It's a movie in the vein of the classics," he told Entertainment Tonight. "[It's a] classic epic, dealing with life and love, and all that fantastic stuff."

'Benjamin Button' stars wouldn't change a thing

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie held hands at times as they walked the off-white carpet at the premiere of Pitt's latest film, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. The blinding flash of camera lights — from journalists and paparazzi in the streets fired off in rapid motion following the couple's every move.

Pitt, who was being hurried into the theatre chatted about the buzz around the film, which is loosely based on an F. Scott Fitzgerald short story.

"I think David (Fincher, the director) has created something really, really special here," said Pitt, who was trying to catch up with Jolie and family. "It's certainly unique and unlike anything you've seen before. But it's in the vein of this classic, epic story. This is the first film where an actor gets to start the performance from birth to death; it's a new direction."

Others at the premiere chatted about the film's premise, which follows the life of Button (Pitt) who is born with the appearance and physical limitations of a man in his eighties, but who grows younger as he ages.

Would they change anything about their lives or pasts should they be granted such a fate?

"Not that my life is in any way perfect, but I wouldn't change anything," said co-star Cate Blanchett, who was dressed in a mosaic Alexander McQueen dress. "Because if I change one single thing, I wouldn't have the children I have. I wouldn't have the partner I have. You have to repair and forgive the mistakes that you've made and just try not to repeat them."

Julia Ormond, who plays Blanchett's adult daughter in the movie says that she'd rather take a cue from the movie: live while you can.

"Ultimately what I take away from this movie is to live in the present. I feel like I've been more shaped by my mistakes. It's made me who I am today. And there are a bunch of them I'd probably make again, and I will" said the actress, dressed in Versace. "I know I worried so much about what's going to happen to me and how I'm going to do it. I wish I'd taken a big fat chill pill and had fun."

And likewise Taraji Henson, who stars as Benjamin Button's adoptive mother, says that she wouldn't tweak a thing.

"Every bump in the road, every wall I've run into, it's made me who I am," Henson said. "And I'm happy."

Brad Pitt Advises Ellen on 'Catching' George Clooney

"We've tried everything," DeGeneres explains to Pitt of her "catch Clooney" project, which she's been working on since moving to her new studio adjacent to the actor's office. "We've sent 'Victoria's Secret' models over. We've sent Miss America over. We've sent Kate Hudson over. We've sent gifts. We decorated his bungalow for Halloween. I don't know what more we can do."

Quick to the punch, Pitt says via satellite from New Orleans, "This is your problem ... Get a bunch of Chippendales. He's yours. Three, four – no less than three." And he adds, "Make one a blonde."

Not one to pass on a great joke, DeGeneres vows, "We're going to do it and we're going to say it's from you."

In the interview, set to air on DeGeneres's talk show Wednesday, the two also discuss Pitt's "Make it Right" foundation to aid the hurricane ravaged Lower Ninth Ward and supporting No on Prop 8.

Families move into homes that Pitt built

Those families are moving into the first six houses built through Pitt's Make It Right foundation. One home was already strewn with green garland, lights, wreaths and red bows.

Still, Pitt is restless.

"I'm really happy for the families that are going to be here, but I can't help but think about the families that aren't," Pitt said Monday. "It's a push-pull for me. The excitement is that it's being proven, that it's working. The frustration is that we have a long way to go."

Make It Right was launched by Pitt a year ago. The program calls for construction of 150 energy-efficient homes in a section of New Orleans washed away when Katrina broke levees Aug. 29, 2005.

So far, six homes have been built. Two more are under way, and construction on another 14 begins in early 2009. Pitt smiles, gets a little giddy even, when talking about where the project will be in another year.

"You're going to see 100 homes here, mark my words," he said. "It's nice to see a few, but I'm anxious to see 100, 150, 1,000."

Pitt said that by December 2009, the Lower 9th Ward should be one of the nation's largest "green" neighborhoods.

"It's amazing," he said. "This place that suffered such injustice and so much death can become one of the primary examples of a high-performance neighborhood. It really is amazing."

Inez Converse, 71, isn't concerned about her area setting any records. She's just happy to be back in the neighborhood she lived in for more than 35 years before Katrina. And she said she was glad she had the chance to thank Pitt personally.

"He didn't have to do this," she said. "I'm just grateful he is doing it."

Monday was a busy day for Pitt and partner Angelina Jolie, who appeared at a screening of Pitt's new film "The Curious case of Benjamin Button." The couple — Pitt in a suit and tie and Jolie in a form-fitting cream L'Wren Scott dress — was the highlight of the red-carpet event.

The film, which also stars Cate Blanchett, opens Dec. 25. But because it was filmed in New Orleans in 2006 and 2007, Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. held a special screening here.

"It's a gorgeous, gorgeous film," said Pitt, who in the movie plays a man who begins life as elderly and grows younger with time. "It's a film that makes you want to hug your kids and call your folks."

Pitt also described the movie as "a love letter to New Orleans."

"There's a sense of magic here, so it made this fantastic story almost believable," he said.

Pitt said his fondness for the city led him and Jolie to buy an early-1830s masonry mansion in the French Quarter. Pitt said the home was recently renovated to accommodate the needs of the couple and their six children. He quashed recent rumors that the couple had sold their home.

While the homes built by Pitt's project are more contemporary than the Creole cottages and shotgun-style homes typical of New Orleans, they incorporate some elements used in the area for generations, such as high ceilings and shaded porches.

The homes also have solar panels and other features that help cut energy bills by at least 75 percent, Pitt said. Other architectural elements addresses challenges of the area, including ventilation and mold- and termites-resistant materials.

"The misunderstanding of architecture is that it's all about aesthetics," Pitt said. "It's not. First and foremost, it's about function."

The homes, costing $150,000 on average, are for property owners who can pay insurance and taxes. Monthly payments are based on applicants' income and subsidized by Pitt's foundation.

Pitt said his motivation to see this project through stems from a lot of things, among them his "love for architecture, a love for technology, a love for fairness and justice." But it also stems from his love "for all things New Orleans."

"There's just something about this place," he said.

Brad and Angelina: Perfect Hosts? Only If They Order Out

"I can rock a Sunday BBQ but that's as far as my culinary talents go," Pitt told his chef pal Jamie Oliver for the inaugural issue of Jamie Magazine.

And the best thing Jolie has prepared for him? "Cereal," says Pitt.

However, the jetsetters aren't shy when it comes to experimenting with food from all over the world. "I've eaten crickets in Cambodia, sea urchins in France, goat in Ethiopia and Rocky Mountain oysters (balls) in Montana," says Pitt.

"Angie and I made crocodile curry from a can."

But their celebrity friends need not worry about getting cereal and BBQ on the menu if invited over. Asked what he fixes when he has guests, Pitt, 44, quips, "I order out."

And when it comes down to the classic rivalry between Coke and Pepsi, the actor makes his preference clear: "Beer."

Pitt hates the paparazzi, talking about his family

In an interview on NBC's "Today" show, Pitt said: "Let me be very blunt: I hate them. I hate these people. I don't understand ... that they do that for a living."

Pitt said there should be laws against celebrity photographers who "climb over your walls wearing camouflage and calling out your kids' names as you're trying to take them to school."

The actor appeared Tuesday to talk about his humanitarian work in New Orleans, but the conversation turned to his famous family. Pitt said he doesn't like talking about Angelina Jolie and their six children.

Said Pitt: "It seems to get cheapened somehow as it goes through the filters and the airwaves — and some things you just want to keep close to the chest."

Brad Pitt 'High' From New Orleans Rebuilding Project

"I never had any idea that so many people would show up for this," Pitt, 44, tells Architectural Digest for its January issue. "The model works and it's replicable."

The Make It Right Foundation's goal is to build 150 new homes for residents in the area among those hit hardest during the 2005 hurricane. So far, six homes have been constructed.

"We've cracked something here … these houses redefine affordable housing," says Pitt. "This is a proving ground for a bigger idea that could work globally."

Throughout the past year, the foundation has continued to assist victims of the hurricane in regaining a sense of normality – and a sense of home. Pitt also got hands-on himself, helping hurricane victim Gloria Guy and her family move into their new home.

"You have no idea what a high it is for me to see the delight on people's faces when they see how these homes work," he says.

"This project is not mine anymore. It's so beyond me."

Curious case of friendship for 'Button' star Pitt, director Fincher

"Hey, that's a living creature," David Fincher calls out to Pitt, who is zipping around the director's cavernous Hollywood office on a Segway, a stand-up, motorized scooter. "Try not to kill the living things in here."

Pitt has peeled into the converted bank building with Lenny, a playful bull terrier that serves as office mascot, chasing the star. Pitt corners Lenny in a dead-end hall. The dog freezes, startled to go from predator to prey.

"I got it, I got it," Pitt says, reversing the scooter a few inches from Lenny's snout and whizzing past Fincher to terrorize human employees. "You worry too much."

Fincher shakes his head. Three movies together, scores of stunts, years of ducking paparazzi, "and this is how he's going to kill himself."

Fincher had better hope not. Since Pitt and the director met 15 years ago, they have become close friends — and crucial components in each other's professional lives.

Fincher provides Pitt gravitas. He may have received an Oscar nomination for his role in Twelve Monkeys, but Pitt is the first to acknowledge that his dramatic chops are more recognized in Fincher's Se7en and Fight Club.

Pitt, in return, bestows Fincher inordinate clout. For a guy who has never made a blockbuster, Fincher is able to make the movies he wants, glum endings and all, thanks in part to his friendship with the most famous actor on the planet.

Soon, they could be introducing a new dynamic to their relationship: Oscar consideration. Their latest venture, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which opens Christmas Day, has topped many prognosticators' Academy Awards lists, including for acting and directing.

Not that either walks with Oscar swagger, particularly when you put them in a room together. They may be all business on screen, but talking with them in private is a little like trying to study at a frat party.

Straight answers are out the window. They can be crude and cutting and speak in shorthand that puzzles even colleagues.

"Sometimes you have to interrupt them just to get them to speak English," says Taraji Henson, who co-stars as Pitt's mother in Button. "They're like brothers — opposite in the way they act, but they understand each other the way families do."

If that's the case, Pitt, 44, is the goofball younger sibling, the Costello to Fincher's Abbott.

"Why's he called Lenny?" Fincher, 45, asks Pitt as the dog follows the two men into Fincher's office, where a breakfast of bagels and cream cheese awaits. "What's he named for?"

"He's named because it's easier for dogs if they have names," Pitt says. "And I believe Lenny comes from his owners, who named him."

Fincher drops heavily in an office chair, amused that the cracks will begin this early in the day.

"It's amazing," he says, "that we've ever gotten a movie made."

Not the dashing, slick Pitt

Button almost wasn't made. Based on a 1922 story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the idea bounced around Hollywood for nearly two decades. The tale of a child born with an old man's body who gets younger as he ages stymied studios uncertain how to flesh out the short story. And creating a decrepit infant who becomes more vibrant over time was a special-effects nightmare.

When screenwriter Eric Roth got hold of the script, it turned into a Forrest Gump-meets-Tim Burton saga, and Fincher was sold. "We had the story," Fincher says. "I figured the special effects would come."

Still, both director and star would have to wade into unfamiliar waters. Pitt would have to get ugly, Fincher happy.

Pitt has played unsavory before, a remorseless serial killer in Kalifornia and a deadly gunslinger in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.

But Pitt's fame has always stemmed from playing versions of himself: dashing, grinning, quick with a quip. There's a reason his biggest films —Mr. & Mrs. Smith, the Oceans franchise — showcase the slick Pitt.

To play Button as a senior citizen, he had to be caked in makeup and wear prosthetic noses and scalps. For much of the movie, he abandons his own body entirely, providing a face and voice that are digitally imposed on other actors including a dwarf, a disabled man and children of all ages.

Fincher had to abandon the brutality that has marked films such as Zodiac and Panic Room.

"I think he had to display the side he's shy about showing," Pitt says. "The side that's a father, that's really very sweet. He doesn't like to let it show, but it's there."

Perhaps, but Fincher also is known for being a tortured filmmaker. "If he doesn't get the shot he wants, he's physically pained," Henson says. "His shoulders hunch. He gets sweaty and flushed. He'll say things like, 'I'd have the perfect shot if that (expletive) extra would stop looking in the camera.' "

About the only thing that relaxes him, she says, is Pitt.

"He's David's muse, partly because he's so easygoing," she says. "He'll crack a joke, or they'll start ripping on each other, and everything is relaxed again."

Still, there are hurdles to filming a Brad Pitt movie. Namely, Brad Pitt.

Up to two dozen photographers shadow him wherever he goes. (For this interview, he arrived on his nondescript Ducati; the helmet allows him anonymity on the street to elude the "razi," as he calls them.)

The set was placed on "Pitt Patrol." There were body doubles and decoy cars. Pitt's driver never crossed an intersection when it turned green. He waited for it to turn yellow to leave law-abiding photographers at the red light, though few obeyed the signal.

The swarm of attention made the decision to film in New Orleans an easy one. Button became the second Hollywood feature film, behind Denzel Washington's Déjŕ Vu, to film in the city after Hurricane Katrina.

The locale provided Fincher peace to shoot in relative quiet.

"After the storm, it was like someone had taken a squeegee," he says. "I mean, there was no one around, not even birds. But there was still this spirit there that people weren't going to be defeated. I consider this movie a love poem to New Orleans."

Pitt, too, fell in love with the area. He bought a house where he, Angelina Jolie and their six children still escape to "a sense of normalcy, if there's such a thing."

"It's the only place where my family can have a sense of privacy," he says. "People there have other things to worry about than all this silliness."

On the same ending page

Not that Pitt is opposed to a little silliness. After all, he discovered Fincher after a drunken night in Tijuana.

The actor says he felt like seeing a movie "after a night of utter debauchery" in Mexico in 1992. He settled on Alien 3, Fincher's feature-film debut. The movie's malevolent tone and (spoiler alert) stunner conclusion — the young director killed off Sigourney Weaver's character, Ripley — earned the movie abhorrent reviews. It grossed $53 million, the worst in the franchise.

Pitt loved it.

"I remember walking out of the theater thinking, 'OK, that was not what I expected,' " Pitt says. "That wasn't a Hollywood ending. It really stuck with me."

"Maybe it was the hangover," Fincher jokes.

Soon after, Pitt got hold of the screenplay for Se7en, Fincher's cop drama about a serial killer who murders based on the Seven Deadly Sins.

Pitt immediately signed on, with one caveat: The studio could not change the film's final scene (spoiler alert 2): Pitt's character executes the killer.

Pitt and Fincher found they clicked on set, despite stark differences in style.

Fincher loathes being in front of the camera. He rarely grants interviews. He tends to dress like he's settling in for a Sunday afternoon of football. The divorced father of one lives only a few blocks from Pitt in the Hollywood Hills, but Fincher often drives separately when they socialize to avoid shutterbugs.

Pitt, by contrast, seems at ease with any lens. Considered one of the most patient stars with paparazzi, he's perpetually braced for an unexpected photo op. Even when carousing with Lenny outside in 85-degree temperatures, he never removes his red felt fedora.

But for all their differences, they discovered they shared a similar sense of humor and irreverence.

After Se7en wrapped, Fincher wondered what should be done with the bloated mannequin used to re-create the murder of a 400-pound man.

"Let's save it for the party at the premiere," Pitt told him. "And fill it with bean dip." Studio executives nixed the idea.

But when they tried one last time to change the movie's ending, Pitt and Fincher's friendship was permanently bonded.

"They tried all kinds of things to change our minds," Pitt says. "We wouldn't budge. David isn't afraid to use an ending that works, even if it isn't the one you want. That's why I trust him. If he wants me to do a movie, I say yes first, then find out what it is."

Fincher is getting uncomfortable with the public praise. As the morning wraps up, he heads back to his desk. There are still finishing touches left to make on the film.

Pitt is ready to play again. He hops out of the chair and heads for the scooter, looking for Lenny for Round 2.

"I'm trying to get David to be in a gang with me on these things," he says. "He thinks we'd look like a couple (jerks)."

He turns on the scooter.

"But I can change his mind."

A DOTING DAD

Brad Pitt producing reporter's fake-fed story

Brad Pitt's studio-based production company, Plan B, is developing the project with "Troy" writer David Benioff. Screenwriters Anthony Walton and Andrew Dresher (Universal's "How to Love a Republican") have been brought on board to script a film inspired by her story.

The 51-year-old Trest was a reporter for the Gasconade County Republican in Gerald, Mo., when she began hearing stories about a federal agent nicknamed "Sergeant Bill" who was rousting people from their homes. Since Gerald had been ravaged by methamphetamine abuse, local law enforcement was happy to assist the fed's efforts to clean up the town with arrests, home searches and investigations.

The only hitch: Bill A. Jakob turned out to be just an unemployed cop and former trucking company owner from a different town with no actual law enforcement credentials. Trest eventually exposed Jakob's bizarre con.

Brad: With Six Kids, Life Is Less Mobile

The star of the soon-to-be-released The Curious Case of Benjamin Button tells Oprah Winfrey, in an interview on her show set to air Nov. 19, that quick outings are things of the past.

"We don't go to the mall," says Pitt, 44, adding that preparing for a car trip is an adventure unto itself.

"It's like a half-an-hour just to get everyone buckled in and make sure they've got their snacks, and Z.Z. [Zahara, 3] has got a blanket and Shiloh's got her silky," he says.

"Angie's militant about it. She's right on top of it. Thank God, because I'm always forgetting something."

He also reveals 2˝-year-old daughter Shiloh's latest quirk.

"She only wants to be called John. John or Peter. So it's a Peter Pan thing," he says. "So we've got to call her John. 'Shi, do you want ...' – 'John. I'm John.' And then I'll say, 'John, would you like some orange juice?' And she goes, 'No!' So, you know, it's just that kind of stuff that's cute to parents, and it's probably really obnoxious to other people."

Jennifer Aniston: Brad Pitt Is 'Doing Great'

When asked about her candid interview with Vogue, and it's cover line calling Angelina Jolie's past behavior "really uncool," Aniston says she was merely responding to the reporter's question. "I basically just answered it as honestly as I could," Aniston says on The Oprah Winfrey Show, airing Thursday.

The actress has kinder words for ex-husband Brad Pitt, saying, "He's done some amazing things in the last couple of years. So I just think he's doing great."

And she doesn't seem to have any feelings of competition with her ex, whose movie, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, is opening the same day her upcoming film, Marley and Me.

"We all want our movie to do well ... Can we have a tie?" she quips.

As for her romantic life, she echoes her comments to Vogue. "I've been unbelievably lucky in love," she tells Winfrey. "It just might not look the way it’s supposed to look at this point."

Aniston also opens up about John Mayer – and addresses those pregnancy rumors – on Thursday's show.

Brad Pitt Speaks About Security Guard Incident

"Though they were exceptionally more aggressive than usual," Pitt describes the paparazzi to PEOPLE, "breaking through a security barrier and into a private holding area, ultimately [it was] just another day in the life..."

The unflappable star had arrived half an hour early for the screening at the Bruin Theater in Westwood, where paparazzi rushed into the building.

"Brad didn't seem to mind having his picture taken and he instead seemed excited for the preview and was smiling," says one of the photographers there. "While the theater security tried to push all the photographers out of the theater, one of the security guards accidentally grabbed Brad by the arm really hard."

Pitt reportedly remained calm throughout the incident.

In September 2007 at the Venice Film Festival, a female fan gave Pitt the rough treatment when she leapt out at him, tried to embrace him and refused to let go.

Brad Pitt Manhandled by Security Guard

Pitt arrived half an hour early for the screening at the Bruin Theater in Westwood, where paparazzi were waiting. "Several photographers ran inside to get pictures of him," says one of the photographers there.

"Brad didn't seem to mind having his picture taken and he instead seemed excited for the preview and was smiling. While the theater security tried to push all the photographers out of the theater, one of the security guards accidentally grabbed Brad by the arm really hard," says the photog.

Pitt reportedly remained calm throughout the incident. No news yet on the security guard's fate.

In September 2007 at the Venice Film Festival, a female fan gave Pitt the rough treatment when she leapt out at him, tried to embrace him and refused to let go.

Nominees for the 2009 People's Choice Awards

FAVORITE LEADING MAN
Christian Bale
Brad Pitt
Mark Wahlberg

PITT DOES TOWN ON HIS OWN

Brad Pitt Is 'A Great Father,' Says Benjamin Button Costar

"There are some parents who are meant to be parents of multiple [children]. They were chosen," Henson told PEOPLE at Sean 'Diddy' Combs' birthday bash and Barack Obama victory party sponsored by Ciroc Vodka on Wednesday night.

"We all know that he is an incredible artist, but he really is a great person and a great father," Henson adds of Pitt, who is dad to six kids with Angelina Jolie.

The Jolie-Pitts "spend one-on-one time with each child everyday," says Henson. "[Brad] would bring a different child to the set every day and spend all day with that one child. I never saw a nanny. It was always him, Angelina, or his parents."

So, what happened when Angelina first visited the set? "She had Shiloh, and [Brad] grabbed my hand and was like, 'Taraji Taraji, come over here and meet Angie. Come and meet Angie,'" she recounts. "He was dragging me and I [thought], 'These are the coolest, most real and most down-to-earth people.' "

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button hits theatres Christmas day.

Brad Pitt Adopts a 'Boy'

According to Variety, Plan B would produce the adaptation of the Paul Pope comic, though First Second Books isn't expected to release "Battling Boy" until spring of 2010.

The trade paper says the plot focuses on "the son of a god or superhero who comes down from the top of a mountain at his father's behest in order to rid a giant city of monsters." Or something like that.

Pope won multiple Eisner Awards for "Batman: Year 100."

Among the projects in development at Plan B are adaptations of "Black Hole" and "World War Z."

Most recently seen in the dark comedy "Burn After Reading," Pitt stars in this winter's "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button." He's currently working on Quentin Tarantino's "Inglorious Bastards."

SUIT RIPS AGENT'S NUDE ANTICS

Former assistant Heather Devlin charges in a sexual harassment suit filed yesterday in LA Superior Court that Todd Shemarya, co-founder of Todd Shemarya Associates, created a hostile working environment by "parading naked" in front of her, forcing her to take dictation as he used the bathroom, and exposing her to computer porn - including a woman with a horse.

The suit also claims Shemarya:

* Took a pair of vintage Cartier watches meant as gifts for Pitt and Aniston and had them engraved to a pal as a wedding present, and used Pitt's name to get free swag for himself from Coach and TAG Heuer.

* Showed Devlin photos of a nude Pitt from a banned 1997 issue of Playgirl, "ridicule[d] the size of Pitt's penis," called him a "fag" because of his "extensive enthusiasm for clothes and architecture," and referred to Aniston as "an ugly bitch."

* Said he was disgusted that Djimon Hounsou was dating Kimora Lee Simmons because she was a "cheap dirty whore."

* Gave "preferential treatment" to "gay men who slept with him" and fired Devlin after nine years, months after hiring his gay lover and giving him some of her accounts.

"Ms. Devlin was exposed to a constant barrage of offensive sexual, racial and religious comments. TSA's celebrity clients would usually be the center of his ridicule," Devlin's lawyer, Keith A. Fink, told Page Six.

Shemarya responded: "These are false accusations. This is a disgruntled employee who I fired about a year ago. And now she's trying to extort money." Pitt's lawyer had no immediate comment.

Toasting Obama: Brad on Hand in Chicago

Courteney Cox and hubby David Arquette hosted a Barack Obama victory party Tuesday night at their Beverly Hills home, E! News has learned.

Jennifer Aniston, John Mayer, Sacha Baron Cohen and Isla Fisher were among those in attendance, and the Cristal was flowing liberally (pardon the pun) as Arquette made the rounds with his guests.

"David was in such a good mood, he walked outside his gate and poured champagne for the paparazzi," one insider said.

Miles away in Chicago, meanwhile, the party was just getting started, as Obama addressed thousands of supporters gathered along the city's waterfront.

Among them: Pitt and a visibly emotional Winfrey, who told a local radio station this morning that she already had her gown for Obama's inauguration ball all picked out.

And now, she can cut off the tags.

"It feels like hope won," Winfrey told the BBC. "It feels like there's a shift in consciousness. It feels like something really big and bold has happened here, like nothing ever in our lifetimes did we expect this to happen."

The good vibes continued to radiate all over the country, as high-profile Obama supporters started publicly reacting to the good news.

"I congratulate President-elect Obama on his historic victory, and now it's time to begin unifying the country so we can take on the extraordinary challenges that this generation faces," read a statement released by George Clooney, who was reluctant to campaign for the Illinois senator because he didn't want to hurt Obama's chances—but who wasted no time in speaking up after the fact.

"Isn't this incredible news?" Usher told Access Hollywood. "Man, this is incredible. It's so incredible to see that this historical thing has happened, man. Before it was a thought of what happens if he doesn't win. The public service that went into this and the encouragement that came out of it, it's just incredible to see it happen."

Voters Set to Scrap Same-Sex Marriage in California

With nearly 96 percent of the votes counted, controversial Proposition 8 passed by just over 52 percent (The initiative had drawn widespread opposition from Hollywood celebrities, including Brad Pitt, director Steven Spielberg, and even California's Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger).

As Takei pondered the disappointing election returns Tuesday night, the 71-year-old actor told PEOPLE he was hopeful that his Sept. 14 marriage to Brad Altman would be "grandfathered in."

But Altman was less confident. "We tasted marriage now, and it really is delicious!" Altman added. "And the thought that the people of California might take our marriage away from us is really frightening and worrisome and upsetting."

DeGeneres – who wed de Rossi in August – has been an outspoken critic of Proposition 8. "I can't return the wedding gifts," she quipped. "I love my new toaster."

Bracing for a Court Battle

Although voters were progressive enough to elect a black president, they leaned conservative on gay marriage initiatives in California, as well as Florida and Arizona – passing propositions specifying that only marriage between a man and a woman will be recognized in those states.

Attorney Mathew D. Staver – who has argued before the California Supreme Court against same-sex marriage – tells PEOPLE he's confident that the state's 18,000-plus gay marriages will be annulled. He notes, "Constitutional amendments are retroactive."

But Shannon Minter, legal director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights, tells PEOPLE: "It would be almost unthinkable to retroactively take away somebody's marriage status – it would be completely unprecedented and it almost defies description."

Long Struggle

Tuesday's vote was merely the latest decision in a long-running struggle between California voters, politicians and judges over same-sex marriage.

In March 2000, 61 percent of voters approved a measure similar to Proposition 8, but it did not go so far as to rewrite the state's constitution, which the new initiative does.

Four years later, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom directed officials there to issue marriage licenses for same-sex couples – which a court overturned a month later. The following year, the state legislature passed a bill legalizing such marriages, but Schwarzenegger vetoed it.

On May 15, 2008, the California Supreme Court voted 4-3 in favor of such marriages – and is now expected to weigh in on the validity of same-sex marriages that have since been performed in the state.

Minter says he will also argue that Proposition 8 be set aside altogether, on the grounds that state voters don't have the power to make such a sweeping change to their constitution – especially one that calls for discrimination against a minority group. For more results, check out the official returns site.

Pitt and Clooney at top of UK box office

The comic story of intrigue and blackmail in a health club is the latest offering from directors Joel and Ethan Coen who won four Oscars in February for "No Country for Old Men."

Their new film took 2.04 million pounds ($3.4 million), almost double the take of terrorist thriller "Eagle Eye" which came in at No.2.

Third was another newcomer, "Igor," an animated tale of evil scientists and frustrated ambition set in the Kingdom of Malaria.

Last week's chart-topper, Playboy-themed "The House Bunny," was down at four, while horror movie "Mirrors" was down from two to five with its tale of an angry spirit seeking vengeance on Earth.

Liam Neeson in kidnap drama "Taken" was down two places at six, above "How to Lose Friends and Alienate People," with Simon Pegg as a British journalist trying to fit in at style magazine "Vanity Fair," which was down at seven from three.

At eight, down one place, was Abba-based musical "Mamma Mia!" which has now taken 64.4 million pounds ($110.3 million) in its 15-week UK Top 10 run.

Science fiction movie "City of Ember" was down three places at nine while the week's biggest faller, war movie satire "Tropic Thunder," slipped to 10 from five.

Brad Pitt Gets in Gear for Tarantino War Movie

The first portrait of Pitt’s character, Lt. Aldo Raine, in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds (yes, the misspelling is intentional), was released Monday. Clad in tough-looking fighter gear, Pitt portrays the leader of the "Basterds," a group of Jewish-American soldiers who scalp and brutally kill Nazis.

Pitt’s character is described on Tarantino.info as not "your Warner Brothers 1950's WW2 hero … this is a hillbilly straight from the mountains of Tennessee."

Pitt, Angelina Jolie and their six children recently moved to a Berlin villa while he works on the controversial film.

Brad Pitt Goes Greek Again With 'Odyssey'

Brad Pitt, who starred in "Troy" based on Homer's "The Iliad," and Warner Bros. are teaming up with George Miller to adapt "The Odyssey," reports Variety.

This time, however, the classic journey tale will be transplanted into outer space. It is hoped that Pitt will star.

The original "Odyssey" focuses on Trojan War hero Odysseus' long journey back home after the war. Along the way, he and his men encounter the witch-goddess Circe who turns some men into swine, the alluring Sirens, the many-headed monster Scylla and the whirlpool Charybdis. Perhaps the updated Charybdis could be a black hole?

Although there have been many adaptations of "The Odyssey" over the years, probably the most recently creative one is the Coen Brothers' "O Brother, Where Art Thou?"

Pitt can currently be seen in "Burn After Reading." He'll next be seen in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," being released this holiday season.

Sightings

Brad Pitt Goes Back to Work - in Germany

Pitt, 44, who plays Lt. Aldo Raine in the Quentin Tarantino-directed film, will be shooting in two locations outside Berlin: at a period farmhouse in a village outside of Dresden and in the spa town Bad Schandau.

Jolie, 33, and the couple's children – who visited New York last week for the premiere of Jolie's movie Changeling – are expected to leave the French chateau where the family has been living since May and join Pitt in Berlin.

Pitt's first `Make It Right' homes complete in La.

Pitt, his partner Angelina Jolie and their family of six children privately toured the hard-hit Lower 9th Ward district earlier this week. The celebrity couple bought a home in New Orleans about a year after Katrina struck and became involved in launching the project to help rebuild the city's hardest-hit neighborhood.

"I thank God for Brad Pitt," Guy said Thursday when reporters viewed the first six homes Pitt and family visited Monday and Tuesday. "I told him how much I appreciate all that he's done for me and my family."

Guy is moving into one of the first of some 150 Make It Right homes planned for a district where levees crumbled after Katrina, unleashing floodwaters that knocked previous homes off their foundations. Her new home sits atop eight-foot concrete pilings amid empty, grassy lots where some steps lead into thin air — where houses once stood.

The replacement homes cost an average $150,000 each and are for residents who still own their property and can pay insurance and taxes. Their monthly house payments will be based on applicants' income and subsidized by funds raised by Pitt's foundation.

Nearby, 72-year-old resident Gertrude LeBlanc relaxed on a porch swing as dozens of journalists swarmed about.

She was one of the first back after Katrina and said her neighborhood had been a lonely place for too long.

"I've waited a long time for my neighbors to start coming home," she said, noting fewer than a third of the neighbors have moved back.

While the Make It Right homes boast more contemporary designs than the Creole cottages and shotgun-style homes typical of New Orleans, planners said they hoped the new homes with their solar panels and energy-saving appliances will catch on in the city as New Orleans continues to rebuild.

Angelina Jolie: Brad Convinced Me to Get Pregnant

"I think one of the life changing things that he did, one of many, is that I was absolutely never going to get pregnant. I never felt that it was the right thing to do," Jolie, 33, tells W magazine, in an article featuring photos taken by Pitt of her breastfeeding.

But when she saw Pitt, 44, with adopted children Maddox and Zahara, "I knew that he would never see them as different, and that gave me a certain peace," Jolie says.

"I suppose I just looked at him and loved him and just felt open to (getting pregnant)," she says. "I suddenly wanted to. It's one of those things you can't explain."

Now, after having three children with Pitt, including 3-month-old twins Knox and Vivienne and 2-year-old Shiloh, "I wouldn't trade that experience for the world," says Jolie. "It taught me a lot about life, just the process of it, and now we have three other beautiful children that wouldn't otherwise be here."

(The couple have also adopted another child, son Pax. See their family photo album from their time in New Orleans.)

In the intimate W magazine pictures taken by Pitt just weeks after the twins' birth, Jolie bares her body – quite comfortably, she says.

"I'm with a man who's evolved enough to look at my body and see it as more beautiful, because of the journey it has taken and what it has created," she says. "He genuinely sees it that way. So I genuinely feel even sexier."

Jolie says she has "a lot of respect" for Pitt, who helps her "to be better and fight hard for the things that I love."

"I do think that I'm in a good partnership now," she says. "I think it just needed to be the right man."

Sneak Peek: Brad's Private Photos of Angelina

Now they've resurfaced in an ultrarevealing (at least for Angie) new photo spread for W's November issue, featuring the new mom breast-feeding one of her babies. The pics were apparently shot by Brad while the fam was holed up at Château Miraval.

And that's not all...

From this week's photos ops in New York, New Orleans and Nice to a slew of additional magazine articles hitting the Web, brace yourself for a nonstop Brangelina onslaught until her movie Changeling hits theaters Oct. 24.

Among the many wonderful new things you'll learn about the couple (isn't it amazing how many secrets there are left to reveal?) are:

• Angie had a hard time kicking her pregnancy diet of Hot Pockets, french fries and ice cream, but she has found the strength to go in with regular food deliveries from a Berlin department store.

• Brad is a saint. When the kids were suffering from their jet-set lifestyle—nonstop travel will do that to you—he took care of them and let her sleep. "He's an amazing father: totally devoted," she gushes.

• Finally, Angie will only date artistic types like Brad, Billy Bob and Jonny Lee because "they're a very talkative and expressive bunch. [She] wouldn't have it any other way."

Angelina: Brad Makes Traveling with Kids Easy

Still, there is a downside to all this globetrotting.

"After the flight from Europe," Jolie told the German edition of Vanity Fair, "we were all suffering a bit from jetlag. Although we went to bed early, [the kids] were up at 4:30 a.m. goofing around."

After moving their brood from a chateau in the south of France to a palace in a park in Berlin, the family landed in New York last week for the premiere of her movie Changeling – then jetted back to France Wednesday.

Jolie, 33, admits to having an expert travel arranger: "Brad took care of things. He just said, 'Go back to sleep, you have to work tomorrow,' and then went to the living room with the kids. He's an amazing father: totally devoted."

The Challenge of Twins

Jolie calls caring for twins a challenge. "We're exhausted a lot, because it's twice as hard with two babies than with one," she says. "But it's twice as much fun, too."

That means watching them interact. "When you look at them, it's like they were made for each other," she explains. "They smile at each other, sniff each other, touch each other. It's just beautiful."

Even at their tender ages, they are each displaying distinct temperaments. "They're totally sweet. They already have completely different personalities. Knox is more the quiet one, very relaxed, while Viv is a little more aggressive and loud," she says.

And as for the inevitable question, "It's funny," Jolie admits, "Knox looks more like Brad and Viv more like me."

Brad & Angie Back in France After Political Pitstop

After popping into New Orleans a couple of days ago, the family has already touched down again in France, apparently catching a red-eye flight Tuesday evening. But while speedy, friends of the dynamic duo say the couple had a very specific purpose for their N'Awlins visit.

"First, Brad wanted to check on the progress of the houses being built in the Ninth Ward," says a New Orleans activist, referring to the low-income neighborhood devastated by Katrina and being rebuilt with the help of Brad's charity, Make It Right. About 90 houses are under construction, but Brad hopes to increase the number to 150 total.

But that's not all…

Apparently, the couple wanted to ripple the political waters with their visit, too.

"With just a handful of weeks before the presidential election, they wanted to subtly remind everyone that New Orleans is still in recovery mode," says another friend and Louisiana local. "Their visit right now was not an accident. They knew by popping into town, with pictures of Brad walking through the damaged neighborhoods, New Orleans would again be in the headlines. They are very savvy that way."

Brad and Angie aren't saying outright who to vote for. "They're just saying, you know, think about which party might really do this region the most good before you cast your ballot," the friend adds.

Brad and Angelina Bring the Family to New York City

For the first time since the birth of twins Vivienne and Knox, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are in New York City with their kids.

Jolie plans to walk the red carpet at the New York Film Festival on Oct. 4 for the premiere of her movie The Changeling, a 1920s-set thriller directed by Clint Eastwood.

The couple and their six children set up house last month in a lakeside villa in Berlin, where they are living while Pitt films Quentin Tarantino's World War II thriller Inglorious Bastards.

Pitt, 44, missed the German premiere of his movie Burn After Reading on Oct. 1 to accompany Jolie, 33, back to the States.

"Brad already impressed me at the first rehearsal," Bastards costar Christian Berkel told the magazine Bunte. "He's very funny and an extremely likeable person who acts totally normal, not at all like a huge star." Added another costar, Gedeon Burkhard: "Brad is an extremely cool guy and the best actor in the world."

Caught in the Act!

Brad, Angelina and Their Brood Arrive in Berlin

The globe-trotting actors – and their six children – have left their French home of five months and arrived in Germany, where locals expect them to stay throughout the fall.

They have swapped their chateau and vineyard in the south of France for a villa south of Berlin. Their posh new address? The Palais Parkschloss on Wannsee Lake.

The whole family (including twins Vivienne and Knox, who were born in France) arrived in Berlin Tuesday afternoon on a private plane.

"Brad lifted the kids out of the plane and brought them to the transporter," an eyewitness told PEOPLE. "I saw him lift out Shiloh and Zahara."

Pitt, 44, is in town to film Quentin Tarantino's Inglorious Bastards.

The family's new home is nearly 30,000 square feet and includes a boat dock and a helicopter pad. (Tom Cruise was rumored to have bought the villa when it was auctioned off in July 2007.)

It is not clear if Jolie and Pitt – who signed a longterm lease on the French estate – have purchased the property or are simply renting.

The family will have about three weeks to settle in before papa Pitt begins filming.

Cynthia Nixon Praises Brad Pitt for Supporting Gay Marriage

"I think it's great," the actress said Thursday at a DVD premiere party for the Sex and the City movie in New York.

Nixon, who has said she'd marry her longtime girlfriend Christine Marinoni if gay marriage were legal in New York, applauded Pitt's recent donation to fight Proposition 8 – a ballot initiative that, if passed, would make same-sex marriages illegal in California.

"I think the way Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie always give their money, and the things they give it to, and the enormous amounts they give of it is just incredibly commendable," Nixon, 42, adds. "I think they inspire other people to give as well."

On a more light-hearted note, Nixon confesses that for a Sex and the City sequel, "I'd want Miranda to go with Carrie, Samantha, and Charlotte on a madcap adventure!"

Brad Pitt Donates $100,000 to Support Same-Sex Marriage

"Because no one has the right to deny another their life, even though they disagree with it, because everyone has the right to live the life they so desire if it doesn't harm another and because discrimination has no place in America, my vote will be for equality and against Proposition 8," the actor said in a statement.

Pitt's donation is the largest thus far to the anti-Prop 8 campaign by an A-lsit celebrity, the L.A Times reported.

“It is our hope that others in the entertainment industry will step up and match Brad Pitt’s heroic commitment to quality and defeating Prop. 8," Political strategist Chad Griffin said in a statement.

Pitt has said he won't wed Angelina Jolie until gay marriage is made legal.

"Angie and I will consider tying the knot when everyone else in the country who wants to be married is legally able," the actor told Esquire.

This week, Pitt and Jolie ranked sixth on Parade magazine's list of the most generous celebrities. They gave $8.4 million in 2007.

Brangelina, Britney, Oprah Go On (World) Record

The Guinness World Records 2009 is out with the latest batch of milestone markers, and, as with seemingly every other Tinseltown-skewing list out there, the phenomenon that is Brangelina has come out tops.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have been crowned this year's Most Powerful Actor and Actress, knocking Tom Cruise off his four-year perch and commandeering the record away from Jennifer Aniston, who shared last year's title with Jolie.

The dominant Power couple earned their latest stripe based on Guinness' newly-employed rating system, taking into account Google, Yahoo and Factiva searches, IMDbPro news stories, "Star Meter" readings and Forbes earnings lists.

Not to be outdone, Britney Spears, Oprah Winfrey, Miley Cyrus and even Amy Winehouse hit the record books this year, albeit somewhat surprisingly in one or two cases, for good behavior.

Spears' comeback continues in earnest as she replaces former party pal Paris Hilton to reclaim her 2007 title as the Most Searched Person on the Internet—of course, the headlines that earned Spears the hits weren't necessarily as flattering as the accolade, but that's neither here nor there.

Jolie-Pitt Foundation Establishes HIV/AIDS Clinic in Ethiopia

The center will be modeled after the Cambodian Health Committee's Maddox Chivan Children's Center in Cambodia, where children receive medical, education and social services.

"Our goal is to transfer the success we have had in Cambodia to Ethiopia where people are needlessly dying of tuberculosis, a curable disease, and HIV/AIDS, a treatable disease," Jolie said in a statement.

As in Cambodia, where the couple named the center after their eldest child, the Ethiopian branch will be named for Zahara, 3, who was adopted from Ethiopia.

"It is our hope when Zahara is older she will take responsibility of the clinic and continue its mission," Pitt said in a statement.

The clinic will also focus on tuberculosis care. The disease causes approximately 2 million deaths yearly, and is the largest cause of death worldwide for children and adults with AIDS.

"The fact that poor people continue to die in our world today of TB, a curable disease, because of lack of access to drugs and care is unacceptable," Pitt said.

The Jolie-Pitt foundation was established in Sept. 2006, when the couple donated $1 million to the Global Action for Children organization and $1 million to Doctors Without Borders.

Coens' "Burn After Reading" lights up box office

"Burn," whose cast includes George Clooney, Brad Pitt and John Malkovich, sold an estimated $19.4 million worth of tickets across the United States and Canada during the three days beginning September 12, distributor Focus Features said.

It represents a new record not only for the Coens but also for Focus, the arthouse arm of General Electric Co's NBC Universal unit. The brothers' previous best was "Ladykillers" with a $12.6 million opening in 2004.

Three other new releases followed: prolific filmmaker Tyler Perry's latest domestic saga "The Family That Preys" at No. 2 with $18 million; the Robert De Niro-Al Pacino cop drama "Righteous Kill" at No. 3 with $16.5 million; and a critically maligned remake of the 1939 distaff drama "The Women" at No. 4 with just $10.1 million.

In fact, critics were hardly more enthused about the other new releases either, including "Burn After Reading," the Coens' first release since they won the best picture Oscar in February for the Texan drama "No Country For Old Men."

"Burn," which had its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival last month, stars Pitt as a hyperactive gym instructor who tries to extort money from a sacked CIA analyst (Malkovich) whose sensitive memoirs he stumbles across when a computer disc is dropped by accident. Clooney plays a womanizing federal marshal.

Last week's champ, the Nicolas Cage thriller "Bangkok Dangerous," tumbled to No. 8 with $2.4 million. The 10-day total for the film stands at $12.5 million.

"The Family That Preys" and "Bangkok Dangerous" were released by independent studio Lionsgate, a unit of Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.

"Righteous Kill" was released by Overture Films, a fledgling unit of Liberty Media Corp's Starz Media.

"The Women" was released by arthouse studio Picturehouse, which its Time Warner Inc parent is closing down.

'Burn After Reading' is goofy fun

Burn After Reading is a spoof of the American way of stupidity, narcissism and paranoia, a shaggy-dog tale set in the spy-vs.-spy community of Washington, D. C.

All the characters in the story believe themselves to be living in the rarified world of national security; they are adept at justifying their own need to lie, cheat and betray.

It's laugh-out-loud funny.

John Malkovich plays a CIA middleman who gets fired, and subsequently decides to write his memoirs. His cold, tough wife (Tilda Swinton) thinks he's a jackass, and she's busy having an affair with a low-level security agent (George Clooney).

Meanwhile, gym employee Linda Litzke (Frances McDormand) is trying to figure out how she can afford the plastic surgery she wants.

Her moronic co-worker, played by Brad Pitt, stumbles across a CD that appears to contain top secret CIA information, and he suggests to Linda that the owner of the CD might be willing to pay for its return.

Of course, these two idiots have acquired nothing but a copy of Malkovich's badly written memoirs, but they don't know that.

They contact Malkovich, hoping for a payoff; they have no idea what they're wading into. This is a world of blackmail, mistaken identity and endless sexual infidelity; it's like a political thriller turned upside down, and it's often hilarious.

A big source of the humour in Burn After Reading is audience expectation -- most movie-goers have a fixed idea about actors such as George Clooney or Brad Pitt, and the Coens work against expectation.

Pitt, for example, portrays a good-natured, gum-chewing fool with club hair, while Clooney is a vaguely pathetic lothario who sees himself as quite the ladies' man. He wears gold jewelry. A bad wig and the sort of misplaced determination women get from too much Oprah are all it takes to transform Frances McDormand into a deluded middle-aged woman with a huge sense of entitlement and the firm belief that she has a date with destiny.

Everyone in the story is middle-aged and vaguely desperate, and they've all seen too many movies.

Burn After Reading is an odd mix of spy story, comedy and sex farce, but the bottom line is a general indictment of the current national mindset in the U.S.

Almost all the characters lie constantly, and often for no reason, and most are sexually unfaithful to their partners and their lovers, or both. There are many different forms of treason in Washington, apparently.

It's wild.

The film is very quick and very giddy, and the real revelation here is Malkovich, whose loud outrage throughout the film is dangerously funny.

Burn After Reading is a dark comedy that's bound to offend many and amuse more, and though it appears to be a big change from the last Coen film, No Country For Old Men, the two films have some common ground: It's all getting worse, nobody really knows what's going on and the bad guys are winning.

Something like that.

The secret to 'Burn' success: A bunch of dunderheads

This latest offering from the Coen brothers is an outlandish dark farce/spy spoof with some hilarious characters and quotable lines. In the pantheon of Coen movies, this is perhaps most closely related to The Big Lebowski in spirit. (It's no Fargo.)

After their best-picture Oscar for the violent No Country for Old Men, the Coens are back to misanthropic madness.

The goings-on are set in the Washington, D.C., world of espionage. The film's greatest asset is its ensemble of dunderheaded characters, particularly those played by Brad Pitt, Frances McDormand and John Malkovich.

If there is a theme here, it's the pervasiveness of stupidity at all levels and in most professions. Even those entrusted with the most sensitive information bumble about foolishly, and everyone stumbles about propelled by lust or greed.

Malkovich plays CIA operative Osborne Cox, who is fired for excessive drinking and decides to write his memoirs — all while his contemptuous wife (Tilda Swinton) plans to divorce him. The disc containing Cox's story falls into the hands of clueless employees at Hardbodies Fitness Center (Pitt, McDormand) who hope to turn their find into cold, hard cash.

From there, the farce spins out of control. And along the way, whether the scenarios are pseudo-sinister or ridiculously off-the-wall, it's consistently funny — with witty dialogue and offbeat banter that stays in your head for days.

Burn After Reading
* * * (out of four)
Stars: Brad Pitt, George Clooney, John Malkovich, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Richard Jenkins
Directors: Joel and Ethan Coen
Distributor: Focus Features
Rating: R for pervasive language, some sexual content and violence
Running time: 1 hour, 36 minutes
Opens Friday nationwide

Coens fire up likable, goofy `Burn After Reading'

"Burn After Reading," the latest offering in the eclectic filmography of Joel and Ethan Coen, is not to be taken seriously — one look at Brad Pitt's blond-streaked pouf of hair tells you that — and it's certainly not to be compared to their starkly violent Academy Award-winner from last year, "No Country for Old Men."

Having said that, it is by no means a letdown as a follow-up. With its rat-a-tat dialogue and delusional characters, "Burn After Reading" falls more like the brothers' cult-favorite comedies such as "Raising Arizona" and "The Big Lebowski," and it lacks the desperation of their back-to-back duds, "Intolerable Cruelty" and "The Ladykillers."

We are no longer in "No Country," but we are assuredly in Coen Country.

This time, the filmmakers take their eye for regional detail to Washington for what looks like an espionage thriller, except that the spying uncovers no significant information, everybody is clueless and no one is ever truly in danger. The writing-directing brothers seem to have a genuine affection and sympathy for the idiots they've concocted and do not treat their characters with condescension, which they've at times been accused of doing. Meanwhile, the A-list actors are clearly having a blast.

John Malkovich, as a fired CIA analyst whose memoir falls into the wrong hands, is a hilarious marvel of precise, percolating rage. The Coens' old pal, George Clooney, is almost as much of a buffoon here as he was in "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" Naturally, Frances McDormand is uniquely tuned in to the Coens' rhythms, being one of their frequent stars — not to mention, Joel's wife.

But Pitt steals every scene in which he appears — and nearly walks away with the whole movie — as an overgrown child of a gym trainer whose bungled schemes get him in way over his head. Just his name alone, Chad Feldheimer, makes him sound like a first-class doofus. But Pitt brings an innocence to the role that makes him irresistible rather than obnoxious; it's easy to forget that he can be funny, the shadow of superstardom and serious roles in films such as "Fight Club" and "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" looming so large. Here, he toys with his pretty-boy looks and it pays off big time.

The plot of "Burn After Reading" — not that it matters so much, because its sole purpose is to set up the comic antics — tumbles out like this:

Malkovich's Osborne Cox, who would obviously be a pompous prig even without his signature bow tie, is forced from his job at the Central Intelligence Agency, though as his boss repeatedly tries to assure him, "This doesn't have to be unpleasant," the kind of deadpan line the Coens like to inject over and over for laughs.

So Osborne storms home to Georgetown to drink and begin his memoir (which he overpronounces as "mem-wah") and drink some more. His wife Katie, played with icy impatience by Tilda Swinton, was already disgusted with him before he got the ax, as evidenced by her affair with Harry (Clooney), a married federal marshal who is proud to report that he's never had to fire his weapon in 20 years of service. You can see from here how this will end up.

For reasons that eventually will become clear, the disc containing Osborne's first draft lands in the laps of a couple of bumbling employees at the suburban Hardbodies Fitness Center: Chad and the high-strung and highly insecure Linda Litzke (McDormand), who hatch a plan to blackmail Osborne over the classified secrets they think they've uncovered.

Linda wants the money for the various plastic surgeries she insists will make her happy and complete, and will allow her to stop trolling for dates on the Internet. (Richard Jenkins co-stars as the gym's manager, who is secretly in love with Linda. Just the idea of the mild-mannered Jenkins managing a gym is amusing in itself.) And Chad wants the money for ... who knows? All he does is work out.

The Coens let the pacing sag from time to time in the movie's middle, even as the plot thickens and the schemes grow more complex — at least as far as the characters are concerned. They're all so busy trying to be someone they're not, to be smart, sophisticated, somehow better, that their connection with reality is tenuous at best.

JK Simmons, who has only a couple of scenes as a CIA official, but they're memorable, puts it best when he says dryly to Osborne's boss: "Report back to me when ... I don't know. When it makes sense."

Sure thing. Good luck with all that.

"Burn After Reading," a Focus Features release, is rated R for pervasive language, some sexual content and violence. Running time: 96 minutes. Three stars out of four.

Pitt playing the fool

Try to imagine the security.

Pitt, 44, joined co-stars Tilda Swinton and John Malkovich and filmmakers Ethan and Joel Coen to promote Burn After Reading, the new Coen Brothers comedy about paranoia and middle age in Washington, D.C. Several actors in the movie are cast against type: George Clooney plays an insecure womanizer, John Malkovich is a hot-headed, hard-drinking CIA analyst, Tilda Swinton is his cold-hearted wife (and she's having an affair with George Clooney's character) and Frances McDormand and Brad Pitt play employees at a gym. Fairly moronic employees, we might add. The lives of the characters intersect over a blackmail situation.

Pitt was gracious and apparently in playful spirits yesterday, happily answering the usual timid and convoluted questions that appear to be de rigueur at press conferences. Asked if he and Angelina Jolie planned to work together again soon, for example, he said, "Angie and I, we're working together every day, I guarantee it," in a nod to their busy parental schedule.

As for the inspiration for his gum-chewing, none-too-bright, gym staff character in Burn After Reading, Pitt said,

"That was all me. In a former day," and smiled.

He didn't mind playing the fool?

"I was a fool?" he deadpanned, turning to glare at Joel Coen.

"I've been knocking on the Brothers' door for a few years, so I was really happy when they called," said Pitt. "Until I read the piece. Then I was a little upset."

Pitt has some interesting movies coming up, among them The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, directed by David Fincher, Terrence Malick's folklore outing, The Tree of Life, and Quentin Tarantino's Inglorious Bastards. Asked about role choices, Pitt said, "I'm not sure I can completely articulate it. I'm kind of groping my way through it, but I guess I'm investing in American characters lately. I find America really, really interesting in the last decade. That's been my focus. As for comedies, I feel like I've been doing comedies for years. But maybe they weren't so funny."

He continued, "The film coming up with David Fincher, and Tilda's in it, is The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, and I'm not sure how to describe it, but it's a bit of a love letter to New Orleans, and to family and to the people who make dents in your life along the way. That's how I'd describe it."

The people who've made dents along the way in Pitt's personal life -- Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Aniston, for example -- are so often the centre of stories about him that it's easy to forget he's an award-winning actor with 20 years of experience and dozens of hugely successful films. Since the release of Thelma & Louise in 1991, Pitt has been a "movie star," and one who has used his celebrity for a number of good causes. He and Ms. Jolie have worked hard to help people in New Orleans rebuild their city, for example; Pitt has a new collaboration with the Kiehl company over a biodegradable body cleanser that will benefit just such rebuilding projects.

But back to Burn After Reading. People just can't get over the fact that Pitt plays a knucklehead in the comedy.

"The leading man role is usually the guy who has all the answers and can figure things out and can defuse the bomb within seconds and is all experienced, and that's good for the ego sometimes. But it's much more fun to play guys who make the wrong choices, have limited experiences and make the wrong assumptions.

"That's the fun we had with this one."

As for inhabiting a character, comedic or dramatic, he said, "You approach 'em all the same way. You start understanding their arithmetic, how they view the world, and given a situation, how they respond to it. This one is no different from any other one -- you just don't know if it's going to work or not."

Mike Holmes, Brad Pitt team up

All around her cozy yellow home, construction crews are busy rebuilding the homes of her neighbours in the infamous Lower 9th Ward in New Orleans, the area most affected by the devastating Hurricane Katrina that struck in August 2005 but luckily spared by Hurricane Gustav earlier this week.

"It's like a garden with flowers popping up every once in awhile," she says of her neighbourhood, although she adds about half of the former residents of the area are not coming back, and some have vanished completely as there was little hope the area could ever be rebuilt after people's homes and lives were washed away.

To the left of her house is a crew led by a man Leblanc knows only as Mister Mike, although in his native Canada, he is widely known as a man with a low tolerance for careless and lazy contractors, not to mention being the star of HGTV's Holmes on Homes.

"I met Mister Mike," she says. "He's a beautiful gentleman. He came to sit on my porch and he was talking to me."

Leblanc has been watching Holmes and his crew for several weeks now, as they build a home for her neighbour, Gloria, a 68-year-old woman who lost everything to the storm and who has been taking care of her eight grandchildren since her daughter's death following Katrina.

Gloria's new home was an idea Holmes began thinking about many months before, when he heard that Brad Pitt's foundation supporting rebuilding in the area was named "Make It Right" (MIR), the same term Holmes had already trademarked for his own projects.

"We heard of Brad Pitt's intentions and I would never cause a fuss over anything that had to do with doing things the right way," Holmes says.

"We sent them an e-mail saying 'We just want you to know I own the trademark, and we want to talk to you about doing this together.' "

When both parties learned they had similar goals -- re-building homes in the Lower 9th Quarter that are sustainable and able to withstand environmental conditions -- a beautiful relationship was born. The Holmes on Homes crew volunteered its time and services and, soon after, boarded a plane destined for New Orleans. They filmed a two-hour special about their experience, which will air on Global, and a six-hour series on HGTV -- both in January.

"Brad's party was overwhelmed with what we know, and we were overwhelmed with what Brad is trying to accomplish," Holmes says.

"It's about doing something that's a new beginning. It's not about TV. I don't care about TV and I mean that."

It seems working in 37 C heat, six to seven days a week, hasn't quelled the passion Holmes has become famous for on TV -- he is as angry offscreen as he is on.

"Imagine 50% of this area, no one knows where they are," he says. "You've got to be kidding me! Properties are being lost by the dozen on a daily basis here. The government is fining them for not cutting their grass and taxing them on a daily basis!"

Holmes' prescription involves the common sense many people allegedly lack.

"We can build anything, reasonably priced, that's environmentally friendly, that's strong and that will last," Holmes says.

"We understand the products we use, and we understand mould, so why are all the houses around here full of mould? They blame Katrina, but it's not Katrina's fault because it's actually the nature of the beast."

Holmes and his crew are upgrading Gloria's previous home to a nearly 2,000-sq/ft, four-bedroom house, designed to withstand water, heat, humidity and storms.

Although Gloria hasn't seen her finished house, her neighbour is convinced the Holmes on Homes crew is laying a strong foundation for the family to move on with their lives.

"That's a solid house they're building," Leblanc says. "I saw them from the beginning because I'm out here every morning before they start work, and it's a beautiful job they're doing."

Brad Pitt's Kids Make Him Laugh, Long for Sleep

"My kids," Pitt, 44, told PEOPLE at the Toronto International Film Festival gala screening Friday for his new Coen Brothers comedy also starring George Clooney.

Speaking of his kids with Angelina Jolie, newest additions, eight-week-old twins, Knox and Vivienne, are great, he added.

"Everyone is healthy," said Pitt. "No sleep though."

He added to reporters: "Sleep is something you long for, but it's alright. We'll get it."

Despite the lack of shut eye, costar and Oscar winner Tilda Swinton advises Pitt not to worry. As a mother of twins herself – 11-year-old daughter Honor Byrne and son Xavier Byrne – she tells him: "It gets easier! And it's true."

And what kind of dad does she think her movie star friend is? "He's fantastic," said Swinton. Costar John Malkovich chimed in: "He was very doting with his daughter during shooting on a couple of days I was there. He's very much a present parent."

Pitt and Jolie have six kids total contributing to the giggles: Maddox, 7, Pax, 4, Zahara, 3, and Shiloh, 2.

Look Out, Toronto: Here Come Brad Pitt & Jennifer Aniston

They arrive on different days, but in the movie biz, anything is possible. Pitt is due in Canada, sans Angelina Jolie, to hype Burn After Reading, his new Coen Brothers comedy with George Clooney. Aniston, meanwhile, will be talking up Management, a romantic comedy in which she's wooed by Steve Zahn and Woody Harrelson.

But those are just two of the 249 feature films set to screen and a few of the stars – cue Dakota Fanning, Ricky Gervais and Charlize Theron – set to shine over the 10-day festival, which has come to serve Hollywood as the annual unofficial launch of the Oscar race.

Here is a short list of the films featuring younger stars that are among the most highly anticipated flicks at the festival:

• After scoring big at last year's festival with Juno, Superbad's Michael Cera returns with Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. He plays a music-obsessed youth who finds love when he least expects it during a visit to New York City. The movie opens Oct. 3.

• In Rachel Getting Married, Anne Hathaway stars as a woman who, following a stint in rehab, returns to her idyllic Connecticut hometown for the wedding of her older sister Rachel. Jonathan Demme (Silence of the Lambs) directed the comedic family drama, which opens in limited markets Oct. 3.

• Keira Knightley again dons sumptuous period petticoats and gowns for her title role in The Duchess, a biopic about Georgiana Spencer, a scandalous 18th century English aristocrat. Her costars include Ralph Fiennes and Charlotte Rampling. It opens Sept. 19.

• Irishman Colin Farrell works on his New Yawk accent in Pride and Glory, a crime drama in which he and Edward Norton star as brothers who are NYPD cops. Family bonds are tested as they uncover something rotten in the Big Apple. The film, which was scheduled to open earlier this year, is now set for release Oct. 24.

• Wedding Crashers star Rachel McAdams teams up with Tim Robbins and Michael Peńa in The Lucky Ones, a drama about three soldiers returning home to the U.S. after serving in Iraq. The film, due to open Sept. 26, has been sitting on the shelf for months after Hollywood became hesitant following the box office failure of several war-themed movies – Rendition, Lions for Lambs, Stop-Loss – in late 2007 and early 2008.

• Rising British heartthrob Jim Sturgess (Across the Universe and 21) portrays a young Irishman in Belfast in the 1980s who finds himself unintentionally caught between the British Army and the IRA in Fifty Dead Men Walking. Ben Kingsley and Rose McGowan costar. The film does not yet have a U.S. release date.

Sightings

Brad Pitt Could Save the World

Obviously, we got excited—hero stories are the best! (Unless it's about Tom Cruise, who seems to save people from various auto accidents every few years.)

Of course, we watched the accompanying video—only there was no drowning. There was some tripping on the edge of a dock, which could lead to drowning, we guess. And Brad did help the boy shake it off. But still...those tricksters at TMZ always get us.

It did make us think, though, about how Brad could blink and people would take it as a sign of world peace. He's a powerful man, that one.

Brad Pitt Wins Best Actor & Congrats on His Twins

"I guess you forgot something here years ago," said the mistress of ceremonies Wednesday at the Venice International Film Festival. Holding up the gold cup to honor Pitt's performance in the film, she said, "Brad, this is yours."

Pitt – attending the Venice film festival opening ceremony to premiere Burn After Reading – looked surprised as he walked up onstage.

"Congratulations for your twins," she also told Pitt as she handed him the trophy.

"You can run but you can't hide," Pitt said laughing. "It was an honor to receive this last year and it's an honor to receive it this year. Thank you very much."

The mistress of ceremonies then held up a yellow flower. "This is for your friend George," she told Pitt referring to George Clooney, his Burn After Reading costar.

Brad Pitt: 'The Twins Are Fine'

He then raised his water glass like a toast, and took a sip.

Pitt and his pal George Clooney are in Italy's City of Bridges to promote their film Burn After Reading, which has its world premiere Wednesday night at Venice's annual film festival.

Pitt had arrived Tuesday with sons Maddox and Pax, while Clooney – who owns a home on Lake Como – told reporters he'd been in Italy "for a couple of months."

The pair joked their way through the press conference, knocking back personal questions with charm – and a few winks.

Asked if he planned on getting married and having children, Clooney, 47, said: "I am so surprised to hear that question. This honestly is the first time I've ever been asked that question. I'm getting married and having children today."

Added 44-year-old Pitt: "And until then, I'll be sharing mine with him."

Then – in response to a question about how many kids were enough – Angelina Jolie's other half wisecracked, "I'll have two more by next year."

Together an Awful Lot

Clooney, who noted he and Pitt only had one scene together in Burn After Reading – which is the first movie from the Coen Brothers since their Oscar-winning No Country for Old Men – joked that his frequent costar was sitting at the opposite end of the dais "because there's a restraining order."

The pair did get serious, however, when asked whether they'd prefer to be in Venice or in Denver, for the Democratic National Convention.

"I'm happy to be here. This is one of my favorite places in the world to be," Clooney said. "I like to watch the conventions on TV. I think the stars of the convention should be the people who are being elected."

As for the upcoming election, he added, "I'm pessimistic, but I'm optimistic. I think it's a very exciting time in American politics."

Pitt chimed in: "I'm optimistic, too. It's a vital time. It's a defining time. I'm excited about where things are going."

'Burn After Reading' cast indulges idiotic characters, questions

Inevitably, a news conference Wednesday promoting their new Coen brothers film, Burn After Reading, turned to the birth of Pitt's twins with partner Angelina Jolie, and whether his good friend would ever settle down.

Clooney, 47, put on a look of mock bemusement.

"I am so surprised to hear that question. That is honestly the first time I have been asked that," Clooney said. "I am getting married and having a child today."

Pitt, whose brood has grown to six children with the birth of twins Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline last month, offered to share his children with Clooney, adding deadpan: "I'll have two more by next year."

The movie, which premieres Wednesday at the Venice Film Festival, is a tale about idiots — and what happens when their worlds collide.

Pitt, 44, looked flustered as a Spanish TV journalist pushed her way to the front of the press conference dressed in red gym shorts similar to garb he wears as a gym trainer in the film. She asked Pitt if he would help her work out.

"It's a movie," Pitt reminded her.

"Would you run after me?" she asked Clooney and Pitt.

"I think we're more likely to be running away from you," Clooney replied to laughter.

Several times Clooney good-naturedly ran interference for Pitt, who was peppered with questions about his personal life. Asked about the infants, Clooney intervened: "The twins are fine," then joked that he and Pitt were sitting at opposite ends of the podium because of a restraining order.

And when another questioner asked if they would rather win an Oscar or fall in love with an Italian woman in Venice, Clooney warned: "Don't answer that, Brad."

Oscar winners embrace idiotic roles

The movie, set to premiere tonight at the Venice Film Festival, is a tale about idiots — and what happens when their worlds collide.

Pitt and McDormand are a pair of hapless gym employees who get in way over their heads when the memoirs of a failed CIA analyst (John Malkovich) fall into their hands and they try to peddle them as classified intelligence secrets. Clooney plays a hypochondriac philanderer having an affair with the CIA analyst's disappointed wife, played by Tilda Swinton.

"Looking at the parts we are playing, I'm very concerned about what you think of us," Clooney said at a news conference.

It's Clooney's third film with the Coen brothers — completing what he called "his trilogy of idiots" after O Brother, Where Art Thou? and Intolerable Cruelty.

Pitt said he had waited a long time to work with the Coen brothers.

"Like George ... I'm not sure if I should be flattered or insulted," he said. "I'm still a bit unsure."

Asked if the movie is a love letter from her husband, Joel Coen, McDormand quipped: "Have you seen the film? And you call that a love letter?"

To point: The movie's opening shots are of McDormand's Linda Litzke having her behind, belly and arms scrutinized by a plastic surgeon in her attempt to fend off middle age.

"We started writing the movie as kind of an exercise, thinking of what kind of parts these actors might play, what kind of story they might inhabit," Ethan Coen told a news conference.

Burn Without Reading is set within a spy story for no other reason than "we hadn't done one before," Joel Coen told reporters.

McDormand's and Pitt's characters appear driven by a combination of naivete, greed and the kind of trite wisdom and oversimplified world view that can be gleaned from the self-help shelf of the corner bookstore and daytime television.

The film — part comedy, part satire of Washington's government community — got a number of laughs during the press screening ahead of the gala opening Wednesday night.

At one point, Pitt's Chad Feldheimer shows up for an extortion date chewing gum, wearing a bike helmet and calling himself "Mr. Black."

The stars said there was no room for ad-libbing in the tightly written script, which weaves together overlapping stories.

"It's really a funny script. I didn't feel any need to wander off the script," said Pitt. Of his iPod-loving, spandex-wearing character, he said: "He doesn't consider any other possibility other than what he thinks will happen. I pretty much ran with that."

Swinton plays an angry wife unable to shake her disappointment at being married to a failed spy and lush.

"There's something really, really funny in terms of my character being so angry all the time," Swinton said.

Clooney said the movie — though poking fun at the world of intelligence — has no political intent.

Speaking of politics, wouldn't Clooney, who is planning a fundraiser for presidential candidate Barack Obama in Geneva next month, have preferred to be at the Democratic National Convention in Denver this week?

"I'm sort of happy to be here. It is one of my favorite places," Clooney said. "The stars of the convention should be the people who are being elected."

Burn Without Reading is playing out of competition for the Golden Lion, which will be awarded on the festival's closing night Sept. 6.

George & Brad Enjoy a Guys' Night in Venice

In town to promote their film Burn After Reading, which opens the film festival Wednesday, the pair first attended a black tie fundraiser for their Not On Our Watch charity. Some 200 Italian VIPs – plus their costar Tilda Swinton – attended the dinner at the Hotel Cipriani on Giudecca Island.

"They both have such passion and such dedication," a guest told PEOPLE of the pair.

After the event wound down, the two actors partied on with some 20 fundraiser guests, arriving at the Cipriani's poolside bar just after midnight.

"We've had a lot to drink," said a jacketless Pitt, 44, laughing and raising his champagne glass. A tan and trim-looking Clooney, 44, had his shirt unbuttoned.

After chatting with some guests – including Clooney's pal, British TV personality Mariella Frostrup – the actors held court on a wicker sofa by the pool. By 2 a.m., a pair of women decided to strip down and take a dip as Clooney looked on from the edge.

Later, the actor shimmied while the hotel's guitar player strummed Gloria Estefan's "Mi Tierra."

"In case you didn't know, the water's salty," Clooney yelled as he headed upstairs at 2:15 a.m.

Pitt, who arrived in Venice Tuesday with sons Maddox, 7, and Pax, 4, stayed chatting until just before 3 a.m.

Venice opens with Pitt and Clooney in madcap comedy

"Burn After Reading" -- spy movie meets slapstick farce -- ensures an upbeat opening to this year's Venice film festival where the picture has its red carpet premiere on Wednesday.

It brings A-list star power and crowds of screaming fans to the 11-day event in the canal city, where Asian and European art house cinema is up against Hollywood heavyweights in the race for prizes at the closing ceremony on September 6.

The film re-unites Joel and Ethan Coen with actress Frances McDormand, who is married to Joel and who won an Oscar for her role in their 1996 film "Fargo," as well as with Clooney, who appeared in "O Brother, Where Art Thou?"

Clooney, by his own admission, regularly plays the fool for the brothers, fresh from their triumph at this year's Oscars when their "No Country For Old Men" picked up four awards, including best picture and best directing.

"I've done three films with them and they call it my trilogy of idiots," the actor told reporters after a press screening.

The 47-year-old plays a nervous, twitchy federal marshal whose extra-marital affairs bring him into contact with a gym instructor, played by Pitt, desperately seeking to extort money from a sacked CIA analyst whose memoirs go missing.

"After reading the part, which they said was hand-written for myself, I was not sure if I should be flattered or insulted," said Pitt, whose character the directors describe as a "knucklehead."

Joel Coen said he and his brother had "a long history of writing parts for idiotic characters.

"By the way, I'm starting to detect something in the crowd here, a feeling that you all feel there's something wrong with being an idiot. I just want to caution you about that, because that's a sensitive subject and a big demographic."

A-LIST AND ARTHOUSE

Although there are five U.S. films in the main competition lineup of 21, they represent "independent" cinema as opposed to the big studios, which are not in Venice this time around.

Festival director Marco Mueller brushed aside concerns that Venice, which faces competition from the Toronto film festival starting next month, was struggling to secure top titles.

He said the lighter Hollywood studio presence was partly down to the writers' strike that ended in February, and added: "American cinema is very much at the centre of the program."

"Burn After Reading" is not in competition, but U.S. films in the main lineup include "Rachel Getting Married," directed by Oscar-winner Jonathan Demme and starring Anne Hathaway and Debra Winger, who has been nominated three times for an Academy Award.

Kathryn Bigelow directs Iraqi drama "The Hurt Locker," a year after Brian De Palma's "Redacted" stunned audiences in Venice with its brutal reconstruction of events from the war.

Mickey Rourke stars in Darren Aronofsky's "The Wrestler" while acclaimed Mexican screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga makes his directorial debut with "The Burning Plain" starring Oscar winners Charlize Theron and Kim Basinger.

Japan has three main competition entries, led by revered animation director Hayao Miyazaki whose "Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea" is already storming the box office at home.

Brad Pitt: Photo Shoot in France, Charity Work in Italy

The star, spotted with sons Maddox and Pax on the Venetian waterfront Tuesday, is joining forces with costar and pal George Clooney for a fund-raiser preceding Wednesday's Venice Film Festival premiere of their new Coen Brothers' comedy, Burn After Reading.

The dapper duo are scheduled to hit the red carpet on behalf of their charity Not On Our Watch, the Associated Press reports.

The organization, launched last year by Pitt, Clooney, Matt Damon and Don Cheadle, has so far raised more than $7 million to help victims of the humanitarian crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan and the cyclone in Myanmar (also known as Burma), according to executive director Alex Wagner.

Photographer Pitt

Before arriving in Venice, Pitt added professional photographer to his ever-expanding resumé. He snapped Jolie for the November cover of W, PEOPLE has confirmed.

The photo shoot, first reported by Fashion Week Daily, took place at Chateau Miraval in Provence, France, where the Pitt-Jolies have been since Jolie gave birth July 12 to twins Knox Léon and Vivienne Marcheline.

It was a homecoming of sorts for the couple, who appeared on the cover of W in June 2005 to promote their film Mr. and Mrs. Smith. In that cover, the couple lounged while three kids – not their own – played in a pool.

Clooney, Pitt to walk red carpet walk for charity

They were slated to appear Tuesday night at a fundraising event for their charity, Not On Our Watch. Then they were to return to the red carpet Wednesday when the Coen brothers film "Burn After Reading" opens the 65th edition of the festival, which runs through Sept. 6.

Not On Our Watch has raised more than $7 million to help victims both of the humanitarian crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan and the cyclone in Myanmar, also known as Burma, according to executive director Alex Wagner.

The charity, which was launched last year by the stars and some of their "Ocean's Thirteen" colleagues, uses their star appeal to bring attention to human rights abuses, but it isn't so easy to get even two of the founders together because of filming and family demands, Wagner said.

"Scheduling is very difficult. Two of them happened to be in Venice at the same time because of the 'Burn After Reading' premiere ... so there was a brainstorming session," she said.

Clooney will discuss the issues and where the charity puts its money at the fundraising dinner on Venice's Giudecca island, which will be attended by some 200 industry insiders and Italian VIPs, Wagner said.

Among the group's donations was a $500,000 grant in March to keep helicopters and airplanes flying aid into Darfur — topping off a $1 million donation a year earlier for the same program.

"We sent out a press release one day saying we were on the verge of closing it down and the next day we had $500,000," said Bettina Luescher, a spokeswoman for the World Food Program at UN headquarters in New York City. "They shine the light on the real emergencies and step up where we really need help."

Without that money, Luescher said, the World Food Program had been on the verge of shutting down the air service to Darfur, which brings 3,000 aid workers a month to the stricken region. The UN food charity fed 3.3 million people there last month alone.

The air service is critical given deteriorating security, which makes road convoys vulnerable. Nearly 100 World Food Program food trucks have been hijacked this year alone.

Clooney has spoken for several years about the crisis in Darfur, where more than 200,000 people have been killed and about 2.5 million people displaced in three years of fighting between African rebels and government troops allied with Arab militia known as the janjaweed.

He went on a UN technical mission including Darfur and neighboring Chad in January, sharing his impressions with reporters upon his return to draw attention to the crisis.

Cover Artist

Brad and Angelina: Eligible for Child Support?

With their brood of six kids, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are eligible for almost $2,600 a month in child benefits – though it's highly unlikely the couple will accept the cash.

Just before the birth of their twins, Knox and Vivienne, the movie stars moved into the Chateau Miraval in the south of France.

Pitt, 44, registered the family at the town hall in nearby Brignoles – making them qualify for France's generous parenting subsidies. (The benefits are available to all families, regardless of their financial means.)

No one expects the Jolie-Pitt clan to cash in, but they are technically eligible for a "nanny payment" of $975.84 a month, not to mention an "orphan allowance" of $508.97 for each of their three adopted children. The grand total, $2,592.81, would be payable by check each month.

"We do not discuss individual benefits cases," said a spokeswoman for the Brignoles council. "But [we] can confirm that all resident local families with young children are eligible for certain benefits."

Pitt, Damon, McAdams Frontload Toronto Fest

Brad Pitt, Edward Norton and Canada's own Rachel McAdams are among the latest crop of A-listers set to make the Gala scene during the fest, which runs Sept. 4-13.

Booked to appear, though not to premiere films, at the fest are Matt Damon, Josh Brolin and Julian Schnabel who, along with several other industry vets, will appear on the fest's Mavericks roster, giving informal talks throughout the week on their filmmaking experiences.

Also on expected at the fest to introduce their films: Appaloosa's Viggo Mortensen and Renée Zellwegger and Blindness' Mark Ruffalo, Julianne Moore and Gael García Bernal.

Roughly 249 films in all are expected to be screened during the cinematic week, with premieres from Scarlett Johansson, Natalie Portman, Colin Farrell, Peter O'Toole, Tim Robbins, Kate Beckinsale, Matt Dillon, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jessica Biel and Jeff Goldblum all making the cut.

Claiming a bulk of the potentially appearing talent is the scheduled premiere of New York, I Love You, the followup to Paris, Je T'aime, a collection of 12 short films directed by Johansson and Portman, among others, and starring Orlando Bloom, Ethan Hawke, Shia LaBeouf and Christina Ricci.

Also making its North American premiere at the fest is Ethan and Joel Coen's Burn After Reading, starring a couple little-known actors: George Clooney and Pitt. The film will get its worldwide premiere at the Venice Film Festival, which Clooney is booked to attend, just days before Toronto.

Meanwhile, Beckinsale's dramatic turn in Nothing But the Truth is also scheduled to premiere during the fest, with the actress playing a political reporter who is jailed for naming a CIA agent.

Norton, Farrell and Jon Voight will also grace the big screen during the week, appearing in the premiere of the cop-family drama, Pride & Glory. Rounding out the politically-minded films is The Lucky Ones, starring McAdams and Tim Robbins, following a group of returning U.S. soldiers who embark on a road trip.

Proving her absurd saturation of the market, a film about, though not starring, Paris Hilton, is also set to premiere at the festival. The documentary Paris, Not France, examines the pop culture phenom and is directed by Adria Petty.

Another documentary film that's been added to the Contemporary World lineup is an as yet unnamed biography chronicling the life of late Real World: San Francisco housemate Pedro Zamora. Showing in the same lineup is the comedy $5 a Day, starring Christopher Walken, Amanda Peet and Sharon Stone.

NO-HOLD-BARRED BLAST AT JOLIE

Brad Pitt Teams Up With Kiehl's For Charity

Meet Brad Pitt: Olympic Boxer for Australia

It turns out Brad Pitt really is a no-holds-barred fighter – as a member of the Australian Olympic boxing team.

The Aussie Pitt, 25, quit his day job as a painter to train as a heavyweight boxer for the 2008 Games. And while he still gets the occasional taunt about his name, he's learned to put up with it.

"Mate, I've been living with that other bloke's name for years, it doesn't worry me at all,'' he told Australia's Herald Sun while practicing.

His mother said he found out about his more famous counterpart during elementary school, when a child brought in a newspaper clip about the actor during show and tell.

"He likes to be known for his talent, not his name," his mother Leanne told Australia's The Age.

Talent he has. Ranked 33rd in the World Championships in Chicago in 2007, he's gearing up for a medal run in Beijing after a grueling training session in Thailand to acclimate himself to Chinese conditions, and is ready to make a name for himself – his own name.

"I've always been Brad," he tells the Daily Telegraph. "Let him change his name."

Brad Pitt on Bernie Mac

Brad Pitt enlists for Tarantino's "Bastards"

The actor has joined the cast of Quentin Tarantino's "Inglorious Bastards," signing on to play Lt. Aldo Raine, the head of the Jewish resistance in the writer/director's World War II film.

Additionally, British actor Simon Pegg ("Hot Fuzz") is in discussions to join the cast. David Krumholtz (CBS' "Numbers") has an offer but may have a scheduling problem. Nastassja Kinski is meeting with Tarantino for the part of a German actress.

Pitt's character is a Southern rebel who leads a band of eight Jewish American soldiers as they exact vengeance on Nazis in German-occupied France.

Pegg would play a British lieutenant. Krumholtz's part would be that of a member of Pitt's team.

Producer Lawrence Bender said the alchemy of Pitt and Tarantino, who have never worked together as actor and director, will yield unique results. "They're going to push each other and really help make something special," he said.

Pitt's character is a voluble, freewheeling outlaw in the manner of Samuel L. Jackson's Jules Winnfield in "Pulp Fiction," prone to saying things like "we're gonna be doing one thing, and one thing only, and that's killing Nazis," according to those familiar with the script.

The signing of Pitt, who first saw the script in early July, means that the production has locked down a key role as it moves forward on an accelerated schedule.

The Weinstein Co./Universal co-production starts shooting October 13 in Germany, with hopes of having it finished in time for a debut at the Cannes Film Festival in May. "It's going to be a nine-month sprint marathon," Bender said.

Pitt has a relatively clear schedule for the fall, though he is set to start shooting the boxing drama "The Fighter" for Paramount late this year or early next year.

Bender, in Berlin scouting locations, said casting is under way for a German actor to play Hans Landa, the Nazi leader targeted by the resistance. B.J. Novak ("The Office") and "Hostel" director Eli Roth are in talks to play soldiers in Pitt's rogue army, with the pair playing PFC Utivich and PFC Danowitz, respectively.

Brad Pitt's Birthday Gift to Maddox: Go-Karting

And that explains why, for his seventh birthday on Tuesday, Maddox Jolie-Pitt and his father, Brad Pitt, spent a guys' day out behind the wheel, pursuing one another around a go-kart track in the South of France.

The two have demonstrated their love of wheels before – competing with radio-command cars, racing various bikes and visiting Formula One races. Only, this time, it was their feet on the cart pedals.

"It was just Maddox and Brad," says a source. "Just father-son time." And even though Brad stripped down to don his racing leathers, according to the source, it was Maddox who crossed finish line first.

The outing for dad and his eldest came just over three weeks after the birth of Maddox's new twin siblings, Vivienne and Knox.

As the guys sped around the track, the rest of the Jolie-Pitts, including mother Angelina Jolie (whose 2002 adoption of Maddox from Cambodia helped launch the celebrated clan), remained at the family's home, Chateau Miraval.

"Brangelina" babies finally unveiled on Web

People magazine posted the cover of its upcoming issue, featuring twins Vivienne Marcheline and Knox Leon and their proud parents, on its Web site, a teaser for a 19-page spread that will hit newsstands on Monday.

All were dressed in white, and the babies had no distinguishing characteristics. A smaller photo in the corner showed the couple's 2-year-old daughter, Shiloh, holding her new sister.

In a blurb that accompanied the cover photo, Jolie was quoted as saying that the couple's family life at a sprawling French chateau was "chaos, but we are managing it and having a wonderful time."

In addition to the twins and Shiloh, the couple has three adopted children. Jolie, 33, and Pitt, 44, are one of Hollywood's most glamorous couples, dubbed "Brangelina" by the celebrity press. She gave birth to the twins in the French city of Nice. Hordes of paparazzi waited out the process, but were unable to penetrate the hospital's heavy security.

The shoot was conducted by photo agency Getty Images, with People acquiring North American rights to the photos, and British gossip magazine Hello! all other territories. The Pitts have said they will donate the proceeds to charity.

The sum involved has developed into an international guessing game. Rumored price tags for Hollywood baby photos are often wildly inaccurate, and Radar magazine recently reported that celebrity publications are not above stoking the hype in order to boost newsstand sales and Web site traffic.

In the case of the Jolie-Pitt twins, an unsourced report claimed the worldwide rights sold for $14 million, more than three times the rumored $4.1 million deal for Shiloh's baby photos in 2006. People has said that the rumored numbers for both deals, as well as those for other famous babies that have adorned its pages, are excessive. But it has declined to elaborate.

Meet Vivienne & Knox Jolie-Pitt

In an exclusive interview and photos, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie offer PEOPLE an intimate look at their growing family.

"It is chaos, but we are managing it and having a wonderful time," Jolie tells PEOPLE of daily life at the Château Miraval in Provence, France, where the couple's four older children – Maddox, 6, Pax, 4, Zahara, 3, and Shiloh, 2 – have been enjoying a summer of outdoor play (hide-and-seek is a favorite) on the château's sprawling grounds.

Adds Pitt: "[It's] still a cuckoo's nest."

Fortunately, they already have some household helpers. "[Shiloh] and Z pick out [the twins'] clothes and help change and hold them," says Jolie. "It's sweet – they are little mommies."

For the complete story, including 19 pages of intimate family photos and the full interview with Brad and Angelina, pick up this week's issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Monday.

Magazine scores Jolie twin pics

The magazine will feature Vivienne Marcheline and Knox Leon, in its Monday issue, People spokeswoman Nancy Valentino said Friday.

"We're thrilled to be able to feature these pictures in People," said managing editor Larry Hackett in a statement. "They will delight our readers who have followed the growth of the Jolie-Pitt family."

The babies were born one minute apart July 12 in Nice, France. Their arrival begat much speculation over which celebrity magazine would enter a bidding war for the first photos of the boy and girl.

George Clooney, Brad Pitt Expected in Venice

George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Anne Hathaway and Charlize Theron are among the celebrities expected on the red carpet at this year's Venice Film Festival.

The 65th annual festival opens August 27 with the out-of-competition premiere of Joel and Ethan Coen's Burn After Reading, starring Coen favorite Clooney and his pal Pitt. (The pair also appeared at last year's festival, with Clooney memorably debuting then-girlfriend Sarah Larson.)

Next month's festival is expected to be Pitt's first major public event since the birth of his twins with Angelina Jolie.

The newly single Hathaway – who appeared at the 2006 festival with The Devil Wears Prada – is expected to be there to promote Rachel Getting Married, a film about an ex-model who's been in and out of rehab for 10 years, then comes home for her sister's wedding.

Other American films at the festival: The Wrestler, starring Marisa Tomei, Mickey Rourke and Evan Rachel Wood; The Burning Plain, with Theron and Kim Basinger; and The Hurt Locker, an Iraq war drama featuring Ralph Fiennes.

Paparazzi, guards brawl at Jolie estate

French police say paparazzi who got on to the grounds of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's chateau in southern France fought with the Hollywood couple's guards.

Police spokeswoman Capt. Olivia Poupot says the two photographers were wearing camouflage clothes.

Police officers took them and the two guards in for questioning after Thursday's bust-up at the Jolie-Pitt family's Miraval estate.

The police captain says both sides filed legal complaints accusing the other of battery and causing injury.

She says the injuries were bruises and scratches and "nothing nasty."

Nevertheless, she says, the guards got doctors' notes giving them four days off work -- the photographers did not.

Jolie returned to the estate after the July 12 birth of her twins, Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline, in the Mediterranean city of Nice, about 95 kilometres away.

Poupot said Friday she didn't know how long the paparazzi had been on the chateau grounds.

"One can imagine that if you discover someone in your garden who is taking your photo then you're not necessarily going to politely show them the way out," she said.

Police took everyone downtown to the nearby village of Carces and took statements. A judge will rule on whether the legal complaints should be pursued further, she said.

Poupot said it was the first time the chateau has called on police to intervene since the Jolie-Pitts settled there earlier this year, ahead of the twins' birth.

The police captain said she had no information on the nationalities or the names of the photographers.

"I won't hide for you that this kind of thing is really not the type of problem that interests us," she said. "There are, in my opinion, far more important things than paparazzi taking photos of a glamour couple."

Brad Pitt threatens legal action over family photos

Pictures of Pitt and his family in France were "surreptitiously" snapped using a powerful telephoto lens and sold to an unidentified buyer, the Los Angeles lawyers said in a letter published by the U.S. Web site The Smoking Gun (www.thesmokinggun.com).

The lawyers did not say which family members were in the pictures.

Pitt and actress Angelina Jolie, the mother of his children, have reportedly sold exclusive picture rights to the first photographs of their newborn twins to a U.S. publication for $11 million. The money would go to charity.

The legal warning came a week after Jolie left the hospital in Nice with twins Vivienne Marcheline and Knox Leon, who were born on July 12. The family has rented a villa in nearby Provence.

Pitt's lawyer, Yael Holtkamp, said the taking of the photos was a "malicious violation" of the actor's privacy rights under both French and California law.

Holtkamp said one unspecified photo agency that had already sold the pictures had agreed to stop further sales and removed them from its Web site.

Several celebrity Web sites that had links to the pictures had removed them by late on Thursday.

The Smoking Gun, which publishes legal documents and arrest warrants of celebrities, published the letter sent to it by Pitt's lawyers, who also threatened legal action against the Web site should it post the photos. Smoking Gun said it had never purchased a paparazzi photo in its 11-year history.

Jolie, 33, and Pitt, 44, have four other children -- Maddox, Pax, Zahara and Shiloh -- three of whom are adopted.

Jolie and twins slip out of hospital in Nice

Before dawn Saturday, the Hollywood superstar and her newborn twins left the French Riviera hospital where she gave birth a week ago, the hospital said in a statement.

"The mother and her babies are doing very well," reported the Fondation Lenval hospital, located in the southern Mediterranean city of Nice.

Jolie slipped out at 4 a.m. Saturday with the twins, Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline Jolie-Pitt, deftly evading most of the paparazzi who have followed the family for months in southern France, ever since Jolie arrived for the Cannes film festival in May. It was not immediately clear if the twins' father, actor Brad Pitt, was with them.

AP Television cameras outside the hospital filmed a large white van with tinted windows leaving one of the hospital's back entrances at that time. No other vehicles left the hospital for the next several hours.

Jolie, 33, checked into the hospital on July 2 and delivered the five-pound babies by caesarean section ten days later.

Jolie's obstetrician, Dr. Michel Sussmann, told reporters after the birth that the 44-year-old Pitt was at Jolie's side during the delivery, which he said had been pushed up from its originally planned date "for medical reasons" so the babies could be born "in the best conditions."

The Jolie-Pitt clan had rented four rooms on the fifth floor of the maternity ward of the Lenval hospital, appropriately located on Nice's beach-front California Avenue. The hospital had treated the mirrored blue windows of Jolie's room, which looked out the Mediterranean, with a special material that blocked telephoto lenses from peering in.

Jolie managed to check into the hospital unobserved, reportedly arriving by helicopter on the hospital's rooftop helipad. That fuelled rumours she would also leave the clinic by helicopter.

In its statement, the Fondation Lenval thanked the Jolie-Pitts for choosing its hospital. It also thanked the hospital staff "for the attention and care they paid to the family" and the "journalists around the hospital who did their best to respect their privacy."

The Nice-Matin newspaper has reported that an unnamed U.S. publication has paid US$11 million for exclusive rights to the first photos of the Jolie-Pitt twins and that the proceeds will go to charity.

Jolie and Pitt have four other children - Maddox, 6; Pax, 4; Zahara, 3; and Shiloh, 2. Before Jolie checked into the hospital in Nice, the family set up a household in Correns, 100 kilometres away.

Jolie's latest film, the thriller "Wanted" with James McAvoy, has racked up US$112 million in its first three weeks in the United States. The action flick - about a secret society of assassins stars Jolie as a gun-toting sexpot - opened last week in France.

The new mother also stars in director Clint Eastwood's "Changeling," a 1930s-era drama about a kidnapping that premiered at Cannes this year. Jolie also did voiceovers for the animated comedy "Kung Fu Panda," which has brought in over US$200 million this summer in U.S. ticket sales alone.

Uncle James Visits Knox & Vivienne

Haven, wearing a ballcap tucked over his eyes and accompanied by two bodyguards, was seen being driven into the hospital's emergency area entrance at 10 a.m. Thursday in a Mercedes van with blacked out windows.

The last time he was seen visiting the French hospital was July 5 when he brought his nephew Maddox Jolie-Pitt for a visit to his mother from the family's Chateau Miraval residence in Correns, France.

Meanwhile, as Angelina continues recuperating, the media watch concerning her departure has intensified. Speculation around the hospital suggests the actress, her partner Brad Pitt, and the newborn twins will leave hospital this weekend.

Brad & Angelina's Pals Send Well Wishes - and Offer to Babysit!

"I'm willing to babysit for them!" Jolie's pal Wyclef Jean tells PEOPLE in this week's cover story. The musician, who has partnered with the couple for his Yéle Haiti charity in the past, says he has no doubt they can handle their brood of six now that twins Vivienne Marcheline and Knox Léon are here.

"They will do well," he says. "I have a lot of well wishes for them."

So do many of Jolie's costars, including Michael Kelly, who appears with her in the upcoming Clint Eastwood-directed drama The Changeling.

"I saw her with kids on-set and she's just such a wonderful mom," Kelly tells PEOPLE. "You see her with the kids and it's like, 'Yeah, that's the way it's supposed to be.' "

Since the twins' emotional birth in Nice, France, on July 12, Jolie and the babies have remained at the scenic Fondation Lenval hospital. Dr. Michel Sussmann, who delivered the babies, told PEOPLE everyone is doing "very well" following a July 14 checkup.

When Vivienne, Knox and Jolie are released, likely in the next few days, they are expected to return to the Château Miraval, where the family is staying until they return to the U.S. in the fall.

For the complete story, including the origins of Vivienne and Knox's names and Brad's tearful reaction to the birth, pick up this week's PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday.

Reports: Tarantino Hopes Pitt, DiCaprio Are 'Bastards'

"Inglorious Bastards," which went out to studios just a week ago and already has been reviewed extensively and positively online, is set up at Weinstein Company, but Tarantino and Harvey Weinstein are seeking a co-financing partner to handle offshore territories, according to Variety

The trade paper reports that Tarantino met with new father Pitt in France on Friday about the role of Aldo Raine in the World War II ensemble drama and adds that the writer-director is hoping to meet with DiCaprio about playing Hans Landa. The Pitt news was first reported in Nikki Finke's Deadline Hollywood blog, a fact the Variety story fails to mention.

Pitt has previously worked with a Tarantino script on Tony Scott's "True Romance." Last seen in "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" and "Ocean's Thirteen," Pitt has "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" and "Burn After Reading" opening later this year.

Those two Pitt films will go head-to-head with DiCaprio's late-2008 double-bill of "Body of Lies" and "Revolutionary Road." The actor has also completed work on "Shutter Island," his latest collaboration with Martin Scorsese.

Tarantino hopes to shoot "Inglorious Bastards" later this year in Germany.

We Hear...

Provincial daily grabs entertainment scoop of year on Brangelina twins

In the end, the scoop went to a provincial French newspaper.

"It was Brad Pitt who chose to give the scoop to Nice-Matin," said assistant editor Olivier Biscaye. "He said to the doctor that the local media should be the first informed about the birth."

Nice-Matin put one of its most experienced reporters on the story, Jean-Francois Roubaud, who was given access that the rest of the media pack camped outside the Lenval hospital could only dream about. While security kept out other reporters, Roubaud was allowed inside the hospital and given easy access to Jolie's obstetrician, Dr. Michel Sussmann.

So while the celebrity website In Touch Weekly almost got it right when it reported that twin girls had been born on Saturday, Nice-Matin knew better. The newspaper also spared itself the frenzied run-around of other news outlets following a false report at the end of May that the twins had been born.

"We knew we would be the first in the world," said Christophe Caietti, editor of the Nice-Matin magazine section, which spotlighted the twin's birth with a special insert on Monday.

Roubaud was given a heads up that the Caesarean section was going to be performed 30 minutes before Jolie went in for the delivery Saturday evening. The birth certificates show that Knox Leon was born at 6:27 p.m. and his sister Vivienne Marcheline a minute later.

"Rouboud spoke to the doctor around 10 p.m., 9:45. We had all the details: the names, weight, one boy, one girl," said Caietti.

Nice-Matin broke the celebrity story of the year when it published news of the births on its website at 2 a.m. Sunday, four hours before the print version hit the newsstands.

The access also gave the paper other little exclusive nuggets, like Pitt's first words after the twin's birth, as reported by Sussmann: "Marvellous, wonderful!' and the doctor acknowledging that the date of delivery had been moved up by about 10 days "for the mother's comfort."

As the major daily serving the French Riviera, the 280,000-circulation Nice-Matin has always made celebrity life an integral part of its coverage.

The magazine section this summer has featured photos of Naomi Campbell walking along the beach, Jerry Hall in St. Tropez and Faye Dunaway preparing for production of a film about the life of Maria Callas. But the general-interest newspaper prides itself on respecting celebrities' privacy.

"Nice-Matin has always chosen not to play the game of paparazzi towards the celebrities who have chosen to live in the region. We respect them, and they do likewise. We let them have a peaceful life. This why I think Brad and Angelina have chosen to make this gift to Nice-Matin," Caietti said.

Other celebrities with Riviera residences, including Elton John, Bono and the Edge, often give the newspaper access to events - on the condition they are for local publication only and not for sale, Caietti said.

On Monday, the paper featured a front-page picture taken by its own photographer of Brad Pitt (wearing the must-have item of the summer, a Panama hat) posing alongside Sussmann, Mayor Christian Estrosi and the Lenval hospital director, Bernard Lecat.

"Everyone wants that picture. It is not for sale. It would be very expensive, maybe not a million dollars, but very expensive. It is the only picture from the day," Caietti said. "But we won't sell it, out of respect for the family."

So far, that is as close as the paper has come to the Jolie-Pitt family. But Nice-Matin will remain on the Brangelina story - with hopes of yet more scoops to come. They have already reported that an unnamed U.S. publication has paid US$11 million for exclusive rights to the first photo of the newly expanded Jolie-Pitt family, and that the proceeds will go to charity.

Once that deal is executed, Nice-Matin hopes to get a shot of the twins and their parents itself.

"And maybe an interview at their villa in Correns" nearby, Caietti said.

Hard Knox for Jolie-Pitt boy, but Vivienne shines

When babies are born to celebrities, the burning question — after establishing that everyone's healthy, of course — is inevitably, "So what's the name?"

Blame it on Suri, Apple, Moses, Shiloh, Pilot Inspektor and Sunday Rose. Famous people just can't seem to help but hang interesting monikers on their kids.

The Associated Press asked a few baby-name experts — people who make their living consulting regular folks on christening their offspring — to break down celeb baby names as they happen and assign them a letter grade.

We start with the twins born to Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt on Saturday in Nice, France. (Maybe you'd heard?)

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EXPERT: Whitney Walker, co-author with Eric Reyes of "The Perfect Baby Name" and consultant through ThePerfectBabyName.com.

SPECIALTY: Phonetics and rhythm — how names sound and flow together.

IMPRESSIONS: "Knox Leon has the short 'O' vowel sound in both names, so they match. ... Vivienne Marcheline is kind of a mouthful, but rhythmically it goes together because both names are French, with the accent on the last syllable.

"It seems they've got some kind of fixation with always having an 'X' in the boy's name. ... It used to be people named their kids with the same first letter; people frown on that now as a little too cliche. But she wants them to have something in common. And 'X' is unusual, it stands out.

"I'm sure she's going to call them Knox and Viv, and the 'V' and the 'X' kind of tie them together. ... She's going to say these names together a lot; you want them to sound good together, and not be too disjointed."

GRADE: Knox Leon: B-minus, Vivienne Marcheline: B-plus.

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EXPERT: Maryanna Korwitts, author of "Name Power 101" and founder of BabyNamingCentral.com.

SPECIALTY: The holistic approach, from sounds and meanings to the impact of names, possible nicknames — even initials — on personality traits.

IMPRESSIONS: "So with Knox Leon, we see they're picking the boys' names with an 'X' at the end. ... In an associative sense, I wouldn't give it a good grade; makes you think of 'hard knocks,' or knocking someone on the side of the head. We also have Fort Knox. That is something I would steer clear of — you want to think ahead of what kids will face in school.

"On a subliminal basis, it will encourage him to be very physical, very stubborn, and to be someone who will always want to do it himself. ... I think this could be a child that might be difficult to discipline.

"Vivienne, this particular name is one that comes back — we're seeing it more and more (Rosie O'Donnell's daughter is Vivian Rose). It's got some difference to it, yet it's still not out-of-the-box totally. It's another name that will create a lot of independence and stubbornness. That may be a positive with twins — that they may be their own people. A little bit longer, probably will be 'Vivvy,' so that could work out quite well."

GRADE: Knox Leon: D-plus, Vivienne Marcheline: C.

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EXPERT: Jennifer Moss, author of "The One-in-a-Million Baby Name Book" and founder of Babynames.com.

SPECIALTY: Practicality. "We're not numerologists, and we're not psychics," she says. Moss focuses on the research process, looking for influences such as family history and life experiences.

IMPRESSIONS: "Knox is an interesting name. It seems to be a family name on Brad Pitt's side; he also is a big collector of the Scottish artist Archibald Knox. The 'X' at the end seems to run in the family! But people commenting on our site aren't quite getting the whole 'Knox' thing. It has been a trend to use family surnames as first names — Madison was the biggest one. ... But Knox is also a verb, and will be identified with 'school of hard knocks.' ... On the positive side, it's easy to spell, it's easy to pronounce, and it's easy to remember.

"I think Vivienne Marcheline is a very feminine, very beautiful name. Members on our site are responding very well to it. ... I think it'll bring popularity to French names. ... It's a very long name. And when she says it, she's going to have to spell it for people."

GRADE: Knox Leon: B, Vivienne Marcheline, A.

Jolie-Pitt Twin Names

Angelina Jolie gives birth to boy and girl

Oscar winner Jolie, 33, had the twins by caesarean section on Saturday evening at the Lenval hospital on the glamorous Promenade des Anglais waterfront drive in Nice. Actor Brad Pitt, the twins' father, was at her side.

The girl, named Vivienne Marcheline, weighed 2.27 kg (5 lbs) while her brother, Knox Leon, weighed 2.28 kg, according to Jolie's doctor, Michel Sussmann.

"The parents and the babies are in excellent health. Everything is fine," Sussmann told Reuters. He said the c-section had been planned for a long time but the date was brought forward "for medical reasons."

Marcheline was the name of Jolie's mother, also an actress, who died of cancer last year. Marcheline Bertrand raised Jolie and her brother, James Haven, after divorcing their father, actor Jon Voight, when Jolie was a toddler.

The doctor said Pitt, 44, was "perfectly calm" during the birth.

"He was very moved to be there at the birth of his children," Sussmann told reporters later on Sunday.

Jolie arrived at the Lenval hospital in late June by helicopter from the Provence villa where she and Pitt had been staying with their four other children -- Maddox, Pax, Zahara and Shiloh.

A crowd of photographers and camera crews camped outside the building on Sunday morning hoping for a glimpse of family and friends arriving to congratulate the parents.

$11 MILLION BABIES

News of the celebrity births spread like wildfire in the streets and markets of Nice, where residents and tourists alike were keen to congratulate and advise the A-list parents.

"Sleep when the babies sleep. That is definitely my main advice to them," said Nicole Stechmann, a visitor from Germany.

Another tourist, from Spain, was concerned the Hollywood stars might have trouble managing their expanding family.

"Please take care of them because with so many children, I don't know if they can handle them," Ana Romero said.

Newspaper Nice Matin, which broke news of the birth on Sunday, reported the couple had sold exclusive rights to the first photographs of the twins to an unnamed U.S. magazine for $11 million and would give the money to charity.

Canadian tourist Heather Langfield said she was shocked at the hype surrounding the birth.

"It's ridiculous. It's just two people that just had two kids and they're making far too much out of it," she said.

Nice Matin said Jolie, who had become weary of being indoors for so long but did not wish to be seen by paparazzi, had taken a walk on the roof of the hospital to take the air just two days before the birth.

The celebrity couple, known in the media as "Brangelina," moved into a 17th century villa in Provence, France, earlier this year, with paparazzi descending on the village of Correns when news of their arrival leaked out.

Jolie, star of current hit movie "Wanted," and Pitt, of "Ocean's Eleven" fame, went public with their relationship after they acted together in the 2005 film "Mr. & Mrs. Smith."

First photos of Brangelina twins will net fortune

A million dollars, two, five, 10 even 20 million? Exactly how much the first "official" snaps will be sold for is not clear. But the figures being bandied about make the eyes pop.

Nice Matin, the hometown daily in the Riviera city in the south of France where Jolie gave birth, put the twins' worth at more than $11 million. It first broke news of the birth and reported Sunday that the couple have sold the rights for the first photo of their newly enlarged family to a U.S. publication, which it did not name, and that the proceeds would go to charity.

"I've never known a set of pictures to be worth this amount of money," said Darryn Lyons, owner of Big Pictures, a celebrity photo agency in London. He estimated that the twins' official photos will be worth between $15 million and $20 million.

The only other photos that "would possibly come that close is Britney Spears giving birth to an alien," he said.

Veteran London-based celebrity publicist Max Clifford estimated that the first photos could fetch 10 million pounds — roughly $20 million — "which would make it the biggest baby deal ever."

"These kind of pictures sell lots of magazines," he said. "It's a 10-million-pound gamble as to whether the ends justify the means. But obviously it's a very calculated risk because whoever lands the photos will have a lot of experience with the popularity of mum and dad."

Cue the paparazzi. They've been camped in Nice since shortly after Jolie's admission to the Lenval hospital there at the end of June, hoping for possibly lucrative pictures of the glamourous Hollywood couple. For them, the Brangelina twins are the biggest story of the year.

Never mind that Jolie was ensconced on the fifth floor in a section of the maternity ward that has been security-enhanced, that she was staying out of sight behind the mirrored blue windows, and that the hospital said that it had put up a special material on the windows of the couple's room that prevents telephoto lenses from peering through.

Paparazzi still had hopes that they would get a valuable shot of Jolie — either as an expectant or brand-new mother. And Pitt made an attainable target: he was photographed coming and going from the hospital with some of the couple's four other children.

Clifford said he didn't think that paparazzi will be able to get any candid shots of the babies and, if they do, he didn't think they will have much impact on the value of the official photos.

"If there are sneak shots, they're not going to be anything like the posed ones," he said. "All it does is whet the appetite of those who want to see real quality pictures."

Lyons of Big Pictures also did not think paparazzi will get candid shots.

"There's always a chance in this business. It's down to who is good at what they do," he said. "If you were to get a paparazzi set of photos you could easily buy a little island to live on for the rest of your life."

"Certainly, the feeding frenzy just goes to show that people talk about the celebrity-obsessed world we live in. If publishers are willing to pay up to 15 million, there are obviously plenty of people wanting to see them."

"In the celebrity world, it seems to be the double second coming," he added.

Brad Visits Angelina, Hits the Beach with Bono

Accompanied by Maddox, who was asleep in the car, Papa Pitt apparently came to stay overnight with Angelina Jolie.

Sources tell E! news that earlier in the day Brad, along with Maddox, Pax and Zahara, spent the afternoon at the beach.

"Bono and Robert De Niro are really good friends and they hang out in the South of France together every summer," says a source.

"The kids looked like they were having a great time and none of the locals bothered them or took any notice of them.

"It was a fun afternoon out for all of them."

Jolie twins getting Nice honour

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's soon-to-be-born twins will always be considered honorary citizens of Nice, regardless of whether they opt to obtain French citizenship, the mayor of Nice said Friday.

The Hollywood super couple have chosen the relatively low-key Rivieria city for the birth of their twins, expected within weeks. Jolie has been hospitalized since Sunday in the seaside Lenval hospital, which has a magnificent view of the Mediterranean below. Pitt has been making regular visits, often with some of their children in tow.

"That is for the citizens of Nice a very great honour and a great satisfaction," Mayor Christian Estrosi said. "We are very happy for this choice of Mrs. Angelina Jolie and Mr. Brad Pitt and I want to say to them that I wish a lot of joy to them and the babies, and great success for all of their lives."

The mayor affectionately called the twins "two little Nicois."

Being born in France is not enough to confer citizenship. But, according to the French Foreign Ministry website, the twins will have the option of obtaining French citizenship when they turn 18, as long as France has been their primary residence for at least five years after age 11.

They are allowed to keep both French and American nationalities, so they will never have to choose.

"All their lives they will be Nicois and all their life they will be able to come to Nice and we will receive them with great honour," Estrosi said.

He was waiting eagerly to extend his congratulations on behalf of all the city's residents.

Jolie's doctor said Wednesday that the babies would arrive "within the coming weeks."

Pitt and their four children - Maddox, 6, Pax, 4, Zahara, 3, and Shiloh, 2 - have taken up residence in the town of Correns, almost 100 kilometres from Nice, in advance of the new arrivals.

Doctor: Brangelina twins could be weeks away

Doctor Michel Sussmann says the 33-year-old actress is doing fine. He spoke at a brief news conference Wednesday in Nice, where Jolie is hospitalized. Asked when Jolie is expected to have her twins, he replied, "In the weeks to come."

Sussmann says Jolie checked into the hospital to be kept under surveillance, not because of any medical emergency.

Jolie in hospital for birth of twins

Nadine Bauer, press attache for the Lenval Hospital in Nice, said Jolie is fine and that everything is going well. She said Jolie’s admittance to the maternity wing had been planned for some time.

Bauer said the 33-year-old actress will almost certainly remain in the hospital until she gives birth. She said Jolie was admitted so she could be kept under normal surveillance — and is not expected to give birth immediately.

Bauer said Jolie was admitted recently but wouldn’t say exactly when.

“There’s no urgency. It’s been planned for a long time,” she said. “She’s very well. Everything is fine.”

Jolie has said the babies are due in August. She and partner Brad Pitt have four children: Maddox, 6; Pax, 4; Zahara, 3; and Shiloh, 2.

The Brangelina clan has been settling into a new home in the south of France. They recently moved into the Miraval Estate villa in the French hamlet of Correns, in the Provence region.

Granddad Brad

Pitt, Jolie give $1 mln to kids impacted by war

The Jolie-Pitt Foundation has given $500,000 to three groups in the war-torn country which will provide aid for some 5,700 children, said the Education Partnership for Children of Conflict, which is co-chaired by Jolie.

Money will pay for basic necessities, including books and supplies to help send Iraqi children to school. Aid will also go to refugee kids, and to school rehabilitation programs.

The foundation also gave $500,000 to help children in the United States who have a military parent killed in Iraq, or who are separated from a parent stationed in the country.

The donation for U.S. kids will go to the Armed Services YMCA Operation Hero Program, which will provide educational tutors and counseling to 2,500 kids.

Pitt, 44, and Jolie, 33, have donated millions of dollars to charity over the years. Jolie, star of action movie "Wanted," has long been an advocate for refugees and is a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Pitt, who starred in critically acclaimed "Babel," has advocated for relief in the Darfur region of Sudan and has backed a program to help build homes for survivors of Hurricane Katrina in the United States.

The pair have four kids of their own, and Jolie is expecting twins.

Pitt, Clooney and Damon Push for Cyclone Aid

The Ocean's 11 stars – all past or present winners of PEOPLE's Sexiest Man Alive title – helped launch an advertising campaign aimed at getting more aid into Myanmar, whose ruling regime has made access to the country difficult for aid agencies and relief workers in the wake of last month's cyclone Nargis.

The ad campaign is sponsored by the activist group Not On Our Watch, headed up by Pitt, Clooney, Damon and other Hollywood heavy-hitters. On Wednesday, the group bought a full page in the Indonesian English-language newspaper, the Jakarta Post, reports the Agence France-Presse.

"Burma's neighbors have the power to help victims who remain desperately in need," reads the ad, which was signed by the likes of former Philippine president Corazon Aquino, East Timorese President Jose Ramos-Horta, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel peace laureate Shirin Ebadi and former Czech president Vaclav Havel.

The cyclone ravaged the country May 2 and 3, leaving around 138,000 people missing or dead. The ad claims Myanmar's ruling junta is putting in danger thousands of more lives by resisting foreign aid since the storm hit.

Angelina Jolie: Brad Is 'Very Hands On'

"I'm very lucky," she tells USA Today. "I'm with a man who makes me feel very sexy pregnant and loves children."

But Pitt isn't all talk. Jolie, 33, also tells the paper, "In the last few months it's hard for me to pick up the other kids, so he's there to help lift them up to me and things like that. He's an extremely hands-on dad with all the kids and really, really supportive."

Jolie, who stars in the upcoming assassin thriller Wanted, is taking a break before she gives birth. "We've made a point to, both of us, not be working," she says. "So we'll be home together with the kids."

And don't worry about Maddox, Pax, Zahara and Shiloh feeling left out when the twins arrive. "At the same time we're expecting two, we have four," Jolie says, "so my focus now is on the four we have. So every day is just about making sure that their schooling is going right and their manners are intact and we're disciplining properly and we're spending enough time with them individually, so they seem special."

She adds: "That's a lot of balance when you have a lot of children."

Brad Pitt Jets to Italy for Radiohead Concert

That's the question sharp-eyed Radiohead fans were asking themselves Wednesday evening, when Brad Pitt and Edward Norton – costars in the 1999 cult hit – reunited in the V.I.P. section for the band's Milan show.

Wearing a straw fedora and sporting a mustache and goatee, Pitt left his Chateau Mirival home in the south of France – where he's awaiting the impending arrival of his twins with Angelina Jolie – late Wednesday afternoon.

The 44-year-old then hopped a private jet to Milan, where he took in the concert with Norton and family friend Marianne Pearl (who Jolie portrayed in the film A Mighty Heart).

Norton has told interviewers in the past that he and Pitt share a passion for Radiohead's early work. "Brad has definitely been to see the band perform before," says a source. "He loves [their] music."

Fans' photos of Pitt – smiling and proudly showing Norton and Pearl pictures of his children on his cell phone – began circulating on Italian Web sites before the concert was even over.

Following the gig, it seems Pitt did not return to France right away. Both Italian and French news agencies are reporting Pitt bunked down overnight at the nearby home of another famous friend.

That would be George Clooney, of course, who lives 50 miles away in Lake Como.

Quiet French village hit by Brangelina media circus

You will be treated to a free glass of pastis if you can get a particularly silly story published, mischievous residents said, declining to be named.

Pitt and Jolie, who is pregnant with twins, are staying at the sprawling Miraval domain, near Correns, where they enjoy nearly 1,000 acres of woods and vineyards, a gorgeous 17th-century villa, a swimming pool and helicopter pad.

News of their arrival with their four children has drawn paparazzi from all over the world who now engage in a daily game of cat-and-mouse with security guards under strict instructions to protect the family's privacy.

"They came here to find some peace, and instead there are paparazzi at the gate day and night. It's really unbearable. There are always five or six motorbikes and cars ready to launch into a chase," said Christine, a sympathetic local winemaker.

Rumor has it in the village that decoy limousines with black-tinted windows exit the property every so often to lure the photographers away, while the couple known as "Brangelina" travel only by helicopter.

For residents of Correns, the horde of reporters and other visitors keen to catch sight of the A-list Hollywood stars has provided entertainment -- and some extra business.

"It's bringing business because people are a little curious. For now there's a lot of hype, it's going to be good for the next few weeks and after that we'll see," said Onno Stijl, a chef at the Auberge du Parc hotel and restaurant.

Less impressed are the local hunting enthusiasts, who say the Miraval domain is prime territory for boar and who fear tense encounters with the Pitt-Jolie security guards when the season starts on August 15.

"We have the proper authorizations and everything," said a local hunter, pre-empting any possible objection to the annual shooting fest in the Miraval woods.

2008 Forbes Celebrity 100 Power List

In France, Brangelina's twins could benefit from anti-paparazzi laws

In southern France, they have blue skies, vineyards and an estate with a moat. But their new digs come with another bonus - French law is tough on paparazzi, especially when they snap stars' children.

The laws might come in handy after the birth of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's twins, particularly if, as reports say, they hope to turn the tables on the paparazzi by selling rights to the first baby pictures for millions of dollars.

In France, where the Jolie-Pitts are believed to be setting up house to prepare for the births of children five and six, other celebrities have waged war on gossip magazines with relentless, precedent-setting lawsuits.

Often, the tactic pays. Monaco's royal family grossed more than $680,000 through lawsuits in France in 2006, the newspaper Le Figaro has reported. On top of fines, magazines are regularly ordered to slap huge "mea culpa" notices across their covers.

"This country is medieval in terms of its legislation about printing information about celebrities," fumed Loic Sellin, editor of glossy Voici magazine. "It's shameful. Absolutely everything can be considered an attack on someone's private life."

Case in point - former presidential candidate Segolene Royal won the equivalent of more than $12,000 from Paris Match magazine after it ran photos of her praying in an Italian church.

The lines are blurry and debatable but there's general agreement on the need to shield children from the media glare. To avoid lawsuits, magazines regularly blur out the faces of celebrities' children or simply pull the photos.

The four Jolie-Pitt children - six-year-old Maddox, four-year-old Pax and three-year-old Zahara, who are adopted, and two-year-old Shiloh - are an exception, simply because they have been seen out in public so often.

But if any magazines were to obtain snapshots of Jolie and her as-yet-unborn twins, two French lawyers say they would counsel them to blur the babies' faces in most cases. Jolie has said in the past that the babies are due in August but there has been no further word.

"Let's say she went to the French Open with her children, I would say, 'she's out in public and knows she'll be seen, there's no reason to ban the photo,' " said lawyer Daphne Juster, who regularly defends photographers.

"But if she's strolling in the park in sunglasses, minding her own business, she could say, 'I tried to be discreet, this is not part of my public life,' and can sue."

Emmanuel Pierrat, who defends both gossip magazines and celebrities, said he might urge magazines to run photos of the babies snuggling up against their mother, or turned from the camera, so their faces do not show. Of course, he says, "some would take the risk anyway."

In which case, he said, there would be an added incentive for Jolie and Pitt to sue. The bidding war for exclusive photos of the twins has reached $15 million, according to an unconfirmed report on TMZ.com, the celebrity-gossip website. For the birth of Shiloh, the couple sold exclusive photos to People magazine for a reported $4 million and donated the money to charity.

There is no indication that paparazzi laws played a role in the actors' decision to settle in the village of Correns in Provence, in a sprawling stone villa with a tile roof and blue shutters.

The town's mayor says they have moved in already and a helicopter has been spotted taking off and landing at the site, but it is unclear if the couple is actually there. Though Pitt has been glimpsed nearby in Italy and Switzerland, Jolie has remained out of sight since the Cannes Film Festival in May.

Gossip magazines have resorted to running archive photos of the couple's brood. For now, Brangelina has kept the paparazzi on the chase.

Is Brangelina Nursery News a Lot of Hype?

Brangelina is said to have spent well over six figures to adorn their pending arrivals' room with a number of pricey items, including Versailles-style cribs ($3,200) with matching changing tables ($2,800) as well as $4,500 armoires.

But who's doing the blabbing about the babies' room?

It should be noted that the L.A. boutique claiming the couple made these purchases is Petit Tresor.

Last month, the store's owner received a cease-and-desist threat from Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes' attorney for allegedly passing along false information to the media about the couple's spending habits for the sake of publicity.

Whatever the case may be, we suggest celebs start buying anonymously online. It's more discreet, and since you're dropping a bundle on your bundles of joy, it'll probably come with free shipping!

Brad Pitt Goes Incognito at Art Show

His destination? Art Basel in Switzerland, considered the premiere international art show for modern and contemporary works.

"Yes, Brad Pitt visited and had lunch here," communications manager Peter Vetsch told PEOPLE.

Although the show was not yet open to the public, Pitt (a notorious art buff) enjoyed a special showing of stylish furniture from the '40s, '50s and '60s at the Design Miami gallery.

"Brad asked questions that only an art expert would ask," Wendelin Lang, who organized the exhibit, told Blick, a daily Swiss newspaper. "You can feel that he is an absolute maniac."

After the furniture shopping, Pitt reportedly enjoyed lunch – a tuna burger and two Coke Zeros – in the Art Collectors Lounge. "He looked deep into the eyes of the staff," his server, Erna Zürcher Lüscher, told the paper. "His charisma is just super."

The actor and Jolie – who are expecting twins this summer – recently signed a long-term lease for a chateau on the French Riviera.

After the visit, Vetsch said, Pitt hopped an evening flight back home – just in time for Jolie's 33rd birthday on Wednesday.

Brad Pitt Brings Home Two New "Kids"

Brad Pitt spent mucho bucks yesterday when he was the surprise shopper at Design Miami/Basel in Switzerland.

Leaving the rest of the fam home in France, Pitt arriived by himself and browsed through the gallery featuring 28 international exhibitors, according to a source.

So what did the design aficionado (above, with Design Miami director Ambra Medda) pick up during his two-hour tour? Two kids!

Pitt’s new Family Lamp from Atelier van Lieshout features foam and reinforced fiberglass figures of what appears to be an adult holding hands with two children.

The price of the lamp wasn’t disclosed by dealer Carpenters Workshop Gallery, but Pitt did pay $293,000 for a marble rococo-style table by Dutch designer Jeroen Verhoeven from the same dealer.

There’s more.

He spent $50,000 for two Bronze Poly Chairs by London-based Max Lamb. Yes, that’s $25,000 per chair!

And if that isn’t enough, Pitt ordered a rug made of aluminum thread. No word on how big a rug he ordered, but Silver Sky by Columbian designer Jorge Lizarazo is priced at $175 a square foot.

Pitt probably won’t stop there. Remember, he and Ang reportedly just bought and are moving into a $60 million estate in the south of France. They’ve got 35 bedrooms plus who knows how many other rooms to furnish.

We're sure our invite to the housewarming party is in the mail.

Jolie confidants: 'ET' knew twins source fake

The celebrity newsmagazine denied Wednesday that it knew about an impostor before the broadcast. The identity of the impostor remained unknown.

On Friday morning, the show posted a story on its Web site and sent an e-mail alert to media outlets saying it had confirmed the birth of Jolie's twins. The Associated Press picked up the report.

"Entertainment Tonight" did not name its source at the time. It later revealed that the report was based on e-mails from someone it thought was Jolie assistant Holly Goline.

Shortly after the story was posted but several hours before the broadcast aired, Goline told "Entertainment Tonight" that she was not the person with whom they had been corresponding, a person with direct knowledge of the conversation told The Associated Press. That account was confirmed by another person close to Jolie.

"'Entertainment Tonight' was told before the broadcast that their information came from an impostor," said the second person. Both people spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.

The people said there were several conversations Friday, by e-mail, text message and telephone, between Goline and "Entertainment Tonight." Meanwhile, the story was quickly challenged by several other celebrity news outlets.

The TV show stood by its story Friday night, with host Mary Hart saying on the air, "Just this morning, a source who says she was inside the delivery room tells us yes, the babies were born and yes, mother and babies are fine."

Later that night, the manager of Jolie's partner, Brad Pitt, told AP that the babies had not been born.

The show said in a statement Wednesday that it first learned of an impostor from a letter from Jolie's attorney Monday — three days after the broadcast.

"'Entertainment Tonight' takes this very seriously and is, of course, concerned that the show may have been victimized by someone allegedly posing as a member of Ms. Jolie's team," the statement said. "We are actively investigating the matter and are reaching out to law enforcement agencies."

The show has not mentioned the story on the air since the initial report, and the story has been deleted from its Web site.

The 27-year-old program is the top-rated entertainment newsmagazine on television, with an average nightly audience of 6.6 million viewers, more than double any competitors. The twins, who Jolie says are due in August, are one of the biggest stories of the year in celebrity journalism, with their first photographs expected to fetch at least $10 million. (The first pictures of Shiloh Jolie-Pitt reportedly fetched a $4 million donation to charity from People magazine.)

The mystery of who was sending the e-mail fit perfectly into the world of celebrity gossip, in which rumor and thirdhand sources coalesce into "facts" at the speed of the Internet. Even before the "Entertainment Tonight" report, there were international rumors of the twins' birth, possibly started by an OK! magazine story that did not report the babies were born, but speculated on possible names.

According to an "ET" executive, the report of the twins' birth began with Sharlette Hambrick, an "ET" producer. Hambrick told the show that she had obtained a BlackBerry e-mail address for Goline from a contact at CNN, according to the executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to release the information

According to e-mails provided to AP by the show, Hambrick sent a message to the BlackBerry address asking for confirmation of "reports swirling" that Jolie had given birth.

The reply came back: "Yes she did. I was actually in the room with her. They are doing fine and so is mom."

Goline has never had a BlackBerry e-mail account, one of the people with knowledge of the exchange said. Hambrick referred a call from The Associated Press to the show's public relations representative.

Shortly after "Entertainment Tonight" posted the story, Hambrick called the real Goline seeking more details, and Goline told her verbally and through text messages that Hambrick had been dealing with an impostor, the people with knowledge of the exchange said.

E-mails obtained by AP show that Hambrick sent a message to Goline's real e-mail address showing the exchange with the impostor, asking "Are you saying this is now not your e-mail address? That you did not send me these e-mails?"

Goline responded: "This is not my e-mail."

'ET' stands by Jolie twins story

The executive producer for "Entertainment Tonight" said Monday that she wanted to "see how this story plays out" before retracting a report that the twins had been born, despite a denial from Pitt's manager and a claim that someone might be posing as Jolie's personal assistant to fool reporters.

The TV show reported Friday that twin girls had been born, identifying its source as a person in the delivery room, and quoted another website giving the babies' alleged names.

Rival news organizations quickly shot the story down. The Associated Press, which had picked up the "Entertainment Tonight" report after talking to executives at the show about their source, later quoted Pitt's manager saying the "ET" story was not true.

In the world of celebrity journalism, it may be the biggest story of the year.

"This is an absolutely huge, huge story for us," said Sarah Ivens, editor in chief of OK! magazine. "Essentially you have two of the most beautiful, famous people in the world. We've all seen they've had one baby, Shiloh, and it is the coolest, most adorable baby on the planet. And this time they're having two? It can't get any better."

It was "pandemonium" at the offices of Us Weekly when the "Entertainment Tonight" report was posted, said Dina Sansing, the magazine's entertainment director.

People magazine was first to report that the story was not true. Us Weekly checked its own sources and concluded the same, Sansing said.

On Monday, Jolie's lawyers advised news organizations that someone was posing as Holly Goline, Jolie's personal assistant, and had sent out false information about the movie star. The source for the "Entertainment Tonight" report was an e-mail supposedly from Goline, said an executive at the show who did not want to be identified for competitive reasons.

Was "Entertainment Tonight" punk'd? Perhaps not, the executive said.

The show initiated its own contact with Goline after hearing rumours the babies had been born in France, said the executive. The person who made the contact was an "ET" producer who had worked with Goline while at CNN and kept Goline's e-mail address, the executive said. The executive forwarded an e-mail exchange that appeared to support this version of events.

In the e-mails, Goline - or the impostor - said she was there for the deliveries and everyone was doing well. Pressed by "ET" for more information, the person said she could say no more.

"Entertainment Tonight" had removed its story from its website after the questions were raised. No mention was made of the story on Monday's show.

"Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are friends of 'Entertainment Tonight.' We have spent years cultivating that friendship, working with them side by side on many of their projects," Linda Bell Blue, executive producer for "Entertainment Tonight" and its sister broadcast, "The Insider," said in a statement Monday. "We wish them and their children well. We are waiting to see how this story plays out."

Millions of dollars could be at stake. After Shiloh was born, Pitt and Jolie were at the forefront of a growing movement by celebrities to auction off exclusive rights to first public pictures of their babies (Pitt and Jolie donated the money to charity). Sometimes exclusive details on the birth come with these rights.

Ivens said OK! would be interested in exclusive pictures of the babies, but would not discuss whether there were any negotiations to obtain them.

Jolie has said the babies are due in August. Ivens said OK! grew more comfortable over the weekend that the "Entertainment Tonight" story was wrong because of other clues. There were no reports of flowers being delivered to hospitals, or grandparents flying in, she said, and Pitt was seen attending a sporting event over the weekend - an unlikely spot for a new father of premature twins.

Brad and Maddox Hit the Races

Brad Pitt and his eldest son took a four-hour road trip from their rented villa in France to watch the Mugello motorcycling Grand Prix in Italy.

"Brad wanted to go and Maddox was really excited after watching the Monaco Grand Prix the week before on television," a source tells E! News.

"They wanted to go to the Monaco Grand Prix together, but it was so rainy that they canceled at the last minute.

"They both had a great time and they met Valentino Rossi after he won.

"During the race, Brad gave Maddox a pair of sunglasses to protect his eyes and earplugs to protect his ears," says our insider.

"But one of the mechanics in the pit lane that they met gave Maddox a pair of professional ear protectors to wear, so he was really happy with that."

While Brad and Maddox watched the race in Italy, Angelina looked after their three other kids in France.

Brangelina buzz sweeps south of France

This pastoral sliver of the south of France has been abuzz ever since reports emerged last week that the Brangelina clan was moving in — confirmed by the mayor of the village in question, Correns.

A helicopter swing Saturday over the vast yet reclusive Chateau Miraval, where the couple and their four children are said to be settling, turned up only stepped vineyards, empty chairs at a table on a pockmarked stone patio and a helicopter parked on a finely groomed lawn in front of a farmhouse and accompanying buildings.

A handful of parked cars and two men were seen from up above — one planted next to the chopper, another peering skyward through binoculars from an estate driveway. Other than that, there was no sign of human life outdoors or in. Several shutters were pulled on the main stone house.

The apparent calm did not stop the buzz.

"Entertainment Tonight" first reported on its Web site Friday that the actress had given birth in France. Show host Mary Hart cited an unidentified source who claimed to be in the delivery room, saying the twins were born and that "yes, mother and babies are fine."

Pitt's manager, Cynthia Pett-Dante, told The Associated Press: "We have no comment except the story is not true," and several celebrity news outlets also reported the story was false.

Despite the denial, the Web site of Britain's Now magazine on Saturday cited "sources in France" saying Jolie's doctor had flown in from California, and that the couple named the twin girls Isla Marcheline and Amelie Jane Jolie-Pitt.

With no concrete proof, reporters and photographers staked out the entrance to the estate, nestled between rolling, wooded hills on the fringe of Correns, population 800, and invisible from any public roadway.

Jolie has said previously that her twins are due in August. She and Pitt already have four children: 6-year-old Maddox, 4-year-old Pax and 3-year-old Zahara, who are adopted, and 2-year-old Shiloh.

Hospital officials in maternity clinics and hospitals in the region said they weren't aware that Jolie had come in — and would not say if she were scheduled. France strictly respects privacy rules governing health matters.

On Saturday, shopkeepers in the nearby town of Brignoles murmured about a sighting last week of the family strolling through town and stopping at a women's clothing boutique — before the media hordes breezed in.

Some locals were blase about the incoming stars.

"She's a woman like any other," a Correns villager who gave his name only as Leon told Associated Press Television News, referring to Jolie. "I've never ever seen her. You know, as far as pretty women go, there are others on Earth."

Others were tickled about the new neighbors.

"My son is delighted that Angelina Jolie is here," said Nadia Caetano, of her 16-year-old. "He said, 'I'm going to be an orphan, and she'll adopt me. Mom, say that you've abandoned me, and she'll adopt me.'"

Traditionally, the region has lured tourists mostly for rock-climbing excursions on the rolling hills of the verdant region and leisurely strolls in its medieval villages.

Security guards and local gendarmes were blocking the gates to the estate Saturday, where only a trickle of vehicles were allowed in.

According to its Web site, the Miraval estate is located on a site first inhabited in pre-Roman times. Today, it features fountains, ancient aqueducts, a moat, a pond and vineyards that produce a highly esteemed organic wine.

Locals know Miraval most for receiving rock stars over the years. The estate includes a studio that's hosted the likes of Sting, the Cranberries and Pink Floyd, who recorded tracks for "The Wall" album there.

Brad Pitt manager denies Angelina Jolie birth report

"It's not true. It's a rumor," Pitt's Los Angeles-based talent manager, Cynthia Pett-Dante, told Reuters in a statement issued by her office. She declined further comment.

However, "Entertainment Tonight" said it stood by its report earlier in the day that Jolie had given birth to twin daughters in France, attributing the story to an unidentified person close to the actress.

"The source says she was inside the delivery room, tells 'ET' yes, the babies were born, and yes, mother and daughters are fine," the syndicated program said in its broadcast.

The story was disputed almost from the start by various other celebrity news outlets, with People magazine quoting an unnamed representative for Jolie on its Web site as saying: "Angelina has not given birth. She is fine, enjoying her home and her family in France."

Meanwhile, another celebrity publication, Britain's NOW magazine, reported the latest additions to the Jolie-Pitt clan had already been named Isla Marcheline and Amelie Jane.

There was no immediate comment from Jolie's Los Angeles-based manager.

The only maternity clinic in the southern French city of Aix-en-Provence, the region where Jolie and Pitt were believed to be staying, said it had no information. Town hall officials there said they were aware of the media reports but did not know if they were true.

Just two weeks ago Jolie, 32, publicly acknowledged she was pregnant with twins during an interview at the Cannes film festival, where she was promoting the animated film "Kung Fu Panda" and the latest Clint Eastwood drama, "The Exchange."

In an interview with Vanity Fair magazine due to hit newsstands next week and excerpted on its Web site on Friday, Jolie said Pitt found her to be very appealing when pregnant.

"I'm fortunate," she told the magazine. "I think some women have a different experience depending on their partner. ... I happen to be with somebody who finds pregnancy very sexy. So that makes me feel very sexy."

In Touch magazine reported this week that Jolie had been ordered to bed for the remainder of her pregnancy and was due to give birth via a Caesarean section around mid-July.

Jolie and Pitt, 44, whose romance became public after they co-starred in the 2005 film "Mr. and Mrs. Smith," already have one biological daughter together, Shiloh, who was delivered by Caesarean section a year ago in the southern African nation of Namibia.

The Hollywood couple also are the parents of three adopted children -- daughter Zahara, 3, from Ethiopia, son Pax, 4, from Vietnam and son Maddox, 6, from Cambodia.

Jolie, who turns 33 next week, won an Academy Award as best supporting actress for her role in the 1999 film "Girl, Interrupted."

Angelina Jolie birth reports contradicted

The U.S. celebrity television program "Entertainment Tonight" said the Oscar-winning actress had given birth to the twins in France, attributing its report to an unidentified person close to Jolie.

A short time later, however, People magazine disputed the "Entertainment Tonight" story, quoting an unnamed representative for the actress on its Web site as saying: "Angelina has not given birth. She is fine, enjoying her home and her family in France."

Another celebrity publication, Britain's NOW magazine, then reported the latest additions to the Jolie-Pitt clan had already been named Isla Marcheline and Amelie Jane.

A spokeswoman for Pitt, the father of the twins and Jolie's companion, said "I have no idea."

There was no immediate comment from Jolie's Los Angeles-based manager.

The only maternity clinic in the southern French city of Aix-en-Provence, the region where Jolie and Pitt were believed to be staying, said it had no information. Town hall officials there said they were aware of the media reports but did not know if they were true.

Just two weeks ago Jolie publicly acknowledged she was pregnant with twins during an interview at the Cannes film festival, where she was promoting the animated film "Kung Fu Panda" and the latest Clint Eastwood drama, "The Exchange."

In Touch magazine reported this week that Jolie had been ordered to bed for the remainder of her pregnancy and was due to give birth via a Caesarean section around mid-July.

Jolie and Pitt, 44, have adopted 3-year-old daughter Zahara, 6-year-old son Maddox and 4-year-old son Pax. They also have a biological daughter, 22-month-old Shiloh.

Jolie, who turns 33 next month, won an Academy Award as best supporting actress for her role in the 1999 film "Girl, Interrupted."

Report: Angelina Jolie's twins born in France

No other details about the birth were immediately available. The television show reported the news on its web site, citing a source close to Jolie that it did not name. Representatives for Jolie and her partner, Brad Pitt, did not immediately return calls for comment.

The twins are the fifth and sixth children for the couple known as Brangelina. Their other children are 6-year-old Maddox, 4-year-old Pax, 3-year-old Zahara and 2-year-old Shiloh.

Report: Angelina & Brad Rent French Chateau

The couple, who have four children and two more on the way, signed a three year lease on the 880-acre estate called Chateau Miraval, where neighbors will include Johnny Depp and David and Victoria Beckham, according to the French newspaper Nice Matin.

The estate, reportedly valued at $70 million, comes with its own vineyard, olive groves, lake, moat, 20 fountains and even a forest to help ensure privacy.

"They'll have total privacy, which is exactly what they're after," a source told E! Online. "No one will ever be able to get pictures of them relaxing at home, it's just impossible."

At the Cannes International Film Festival, Jolie, 32, who is expecting twins this summer, told reporters that she was thinking of giving birth in France, and that French is the "second language" in the family's home.

A rep for Pitt and Jolie had no comment on the estate.

The Jolie-Pitts Settle Down, and How!

Expectant parents Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have plunked down a cool $60 million on a sprawling 1,000-acre estate in the south of France. With 35 bedrooms, plus a vineyard, lake, forest and moat, Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh and the soon-to-be-born twins are going to be playing house in high style.

"It's called Chateau Miraval in a village called Brignol, which is near from Aix-en-Provence," a source tells E! News. "And it's absolutely unbelievable.

"Brad and Angelina are thrilled, they love the place and have already been furniture shopping to fill the place as it's massive," the insider added. "They've already spent almost another million on furniture and the whole family can't wait to move in."

But where to begin?

The pre-Roman estate also boasts a swimming pool, billiards room, indoor pool, his-and-hers gyms, sauna and jacuzzi and a huge banquet hall.

Magnificent cascading stone-walled terraces have been replanted with 13 different varieties of olives, and water is everywhere on the sprawling estate—20 fountains, aqueducts and a stream that runs through hidden tunnels, passes through the moat and fills the lake.

Except for the ponies and goats grazing in the nearby fields, "the house is surrounded by a forest so they'll have total privacy, which is exactly what they're after," the source tells E! "No one will ever be able to get pictures of them relaxing at home, it's just impossible."

The Jolie-Pitts hope to be completely moved in within the next three months, if not sooner. For the past year, Brad and Angelina had been house-hunting in the area, where residents include Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis and U2 frontman Bono.

Since arriving in France at the end of April, Pitt, Jolie and the kids have been shacking up at Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen's villa in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. Jolie befriended the tech titan while filming Dreamworks' Shark Tale in 2004.

Michelle Williams & Brad Pitt's Fireside Chat

And guess who stopped by? Brad Pitt!

Pitt, 44, chatted briefly with Williams, 27, by the fire at the Villa St. Antoine in Vallauris, France. The party – for about 200 people – celebrated the premiere of Synecdoche, New York, Williams's film with Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener and Samantha Morton.

At the party, which featured tents on the lawn, Pitt drank champagne and talked for nearly an hour with longtime friend Keener. He showed her pictures of his kids on his iPhone and talked about how excited he was for the birth of his twins with Angelina Jolie. (Keener clearly was excited too – she kept announcing to callers on her own cell phone that she was chatting to "BP.")

Pitt also took the opportunity to practice the second language in the Jolie-Pitt household, chatting briefly – in French! – to a guest.

Brad and Angie: Cannes Sighting No. 37

(The two have been omnipresent since the film festival began, in part because two of Angie's movies are being shown, but mainly because of the media's obsession with that twins-carrying belly of hers.)

While Brangelina brought plenty of star power to the premiere, there was also a slew of celebrities on hand generating additional wattage, including the movie's director, Clint Eastwood, as well as Tim Robbins, Sharon Stone, Nick Nolte, Dita Von Teese and Sean "Diddy" Combs.

But just in case there were any questions about where to shine the spotlight, Angie sealed the deal by smooching Eastwood's wife, Dina, that night. Nice touch.

Brad & Angelina's Star-Studded Dinner Date

Brad Pitt, 44, and Angelina Jolie, 32, joined their celebrity pals and about eight other guests – including Rush Hour director Brett Ratner – for an evening of bouillabaisse, grilled langouste (warm-water lobster) and white wine.

The group arrived at Restaurant Tetou in Golfe-Juan – about three miles from Cannes – at around 8:30 p.m. Rolling Stone Mick Jagger, 64, was the first to leave, and the whole party broke up around midnight.

"Angelina and Brad are adorable," a waitress tells PEOPLE. "They are so in love. The whole table was super nice."

Film legend Eastwood, 77, directed Jolie in Changeling, which premieres at the Cannes Film Festival Tuesday. (Jolie and Pitt are expected to walk the red carpet.)

Earlier in the day, the couple – who are expecting twins – nipped out for some baby clothes shopping.

Hollywood stars may soon appear in Bollywood movies

The media group will provide about $1 billion to develop and co-produce films in Hollywood, company chairman Amit Khanna told The Associated Press.

The company has signed separate deals with George Clooney's Smokehouse Productions, Brad Pitt's Plan B Entertainment, Nicolas Cage's Saturn Productions, Tom Hanks' Playtone Productions, Jim Carrey's JC 23 Entertainment, as well as filmmakers Chris Columbus' 1492 Pictures and Jay Roach's Everyman Pictures, Khanna said.

"We hope to have 30 scripts from which we are looking at 10 films from this slate over the next couple of years," Khanna said when reached by phone in Cannes where the company announced the deals.

There would be different genres of films with different financing structures, he said.

"The bigger stars have a first-look deal with Hollywood studios, so the deals could range from co-production to working with the studios," he said.

Reliance Big Entertainment is the media arm of $100 billion conglomerate Reliance ADA Group, which also has interests in telecommunications and power.

It is owned by India's leading industrialist Anil Ambani, who was listed as the world's sixth richest person by Forbes this year.

Over the past two years, India's movie houses have signed several co-production deals with foreign studios, such as Sony and Walt Disney.

Billionaire financier George Soros bought 3 per cent of Reliance Big Entertainment for $100 million in February in a sign of growing interest in Indian entertainment companies.

The Jolie-Pitts Shop for the Babies in Cannes

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie made an unscheduled appearance in the French Riviera town of Cannes for a shopping spree at one of their favorite baby boutiques, Bonpoint, on MOnday. In 45 minutes, the couple looked at dresses for daughters Zahara, 3, and Shiloh, who turns 2 next week, and, according to store spokesperson bought "only white, white, white" for their soon-to-be-born twins in "sizes 1 to 3 mos."

What are they having? According the spokesperson, when an employee asked whether she was expecting boys or girls, the star of Wanted and Kung Fu Panda replied "I don't know yet – we don't want to know."

Brad & Angelina Steal the Show at Cannes

The couple ruled the red carpet Thursday night at the premiere of her animated film, Kung Fu Panda – as Jolie showed off her ever-growing baby bump in a green, Grecian-style gown by Max Azria Atelier.

"This is my second time here with a Dreamworks movie, and they're always fun [because] they're not as heavy," Jolie – who recently confirmed that she's expecting told PEOPLE. "It's always a good time and there's something silly that goes on. Cannes is fun."

Jack Black certainly seemed to catch the silly mood as he described his costar to PEOPLE: "Glamorous. Pregnant. And Green – because her dress is green."

Inside the movie's after-party at the Carlton Beach, Jolie and Pitt – who are currently living in France at Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's historic Villa Maryland – chatted with George Lucas and other lucky guests in the VIP area overlooking the ocean.

Given all the chatter surrounding the famous couple – and the twins they’re expecting this summer – the local paper, Nice-Matin, announced Friday morning: "The real stars of the festival are Angelina's babies."

Angelina Jolie: Twins Will Probably Be Born in France

"I actually haven't completely decided, but we are thinking of France," the expectant mom, 32, said at the official press conference for Kung Fu Panda, the animated martial-arts movie, in which she lends her voice alongside Dustin Hoffman and Jack Black.

France would be a wise choice, she added. "It is the second language in our house." (Cambodian and Vietnamese are also spoken in the Jolie-Pitt household.)

Black revealed Wednesday that Jolie was expecting twins with partner Brad Pitt, who's looking after their four children during her media rounds in Cannes. Jolie, who's also due in August, told reporters she and Pitt try to split up the duties. "I think I have a very even partner right now, and we are very balanced at home with our power-sharing."

The actress also revealed that her children don't hold back on comments when they see Mom onscreen. "Our eldest three have seen the film and love it," she told reporters. "They are my biggest critics."

Jolie also hinted strongly that more children are on the way. Asked by a Swedish reporter if her twins would be born in Scandinavia, she said: "Not this time, but there's more babies. You know me."

Despite Angelina and Brad's growing family, that didn't stop Dustin Hoffman from jokingly wondering "what if"? Said Hoffman: "There was a point in time where Angelina could have chosen between me and Brad."

Angelina Jolie confirms she's having twins

Jolie, being interviewed at the Cannes film festival alongside comic actor Jack Black for the syndicated entertainment program "Access Hollywood," acknowledged that she was having twins after Black made reference to them.

"Yeah, yeah, we've confirmed that already," Jolie, 32, said, according to a transcript provided by the show. "Well, Jack's just confirmed it actually."

Excerpts of the interview, conducted by a reporter for NBC's "Today" show to promote the animated film "Kung Fu Panda," featuring characters voiced by Jolie and Black, was set to air on "Access Hollywood" on Wednesday night.

The full interview will air on Thursday on "Today."

Jolie and Pitt, 44, together have adopted 3-year-old daughter Zahara, 6-year-old son Maddox and 4-year-old son Pax. They also have a biological daughter, 22-month-old Shiloh.

Jolie won an Academy Award as best supporting actress for her role in the 1999 film "Girl, Interrupted."

Brangelina's Baby-Monitoring Mother's Day

The expectant mom, accompanied by Brad Pitt and sons Maddox and Pax, checked out the inner workings of her womb and its current denizens via sonogram at a hospital in Grasse, France.

"Angie was due for a scan and they thought it would be cool to do it on Mother's Day and take Maddox and Pax along to see the twins for themselves on the sonogram machine," a source close to the couple tells E! News.

"Brad and Angelina are very big on explaining things in a very simple way to their kids and they want the kids to feel included in the process of her pregnancy. Having them see the babies for themselves was a really exciting day out for them all."

After the Sunday trip to the hospital, la Clinique du Palais, about an hour's drive from their current headquarters on the French Riviera, the family swept by the local McDonald's drive- through and picked up two Chicken McNugget Happy Meals for Maddox and Pax plus two Quarter Pounders with cheese for Jolie and Pitt.

The foursome then headed back to their digs at Paul Allen's Villa Maryland in Saint Jean Cap Ferrat, where they regrouped with daughters Shiloh and Zahara for an impromptu poolside party complete with cupcakes and balloons.

This morning, Pitt headed out for a boys' day out with Maddox and Pax, along with the family's lawyer. The group took a helicopter from Monaco heliport.

Last year, during Cannes film festival, Jolie took the boys to see dolphins and killer whales at a local attraction called Marineland and she's now talking about taking the girls to do that in the next few weeks.

It was an eventful weekend the Brangelina Bunch.

On Friday, Pitt dropped in to celebrate new buddy Bono's 48th birthday at Sass' Café in Monaco.

The dozen revelers also included Bono's wife Ali Hewson, Monaco's Prince Albert II and The Edge, who dined on Italian specialties including fettuccine with seafood and a strawberry and cream birthday cake with champagne. The party didn't shut down until after midnight.

"Brad was chatting away to Bono, The Edge and Prince Albert," reports a restaurant source, "and they were laughing and joking and had a great time."

Brad Pitt Helps Bono Celebrate 48th Birthday in Monaco

To celebrate his 48th birthday, U2 frontman Bono held a small dinner party at Sass' Café in Monaco. On the guest list: Brad Pitt, Monaco's Prince Albert II and The Edge.

"It was really quite a surprise," the café's maitre de tells PEOPLE. "It wasn't organized in advance. We only got called on it that afternoon."

Despite Pitt's presence, Angelina Jolie, who had visited Bono in Eze with her children last Sunday, remained at home.

The sit-down dinner, arranged by Bono's wife Ali Hewson, began with red wine at 10 p.m., according to staff, even before The Edge arrived for the evening. The meal was followed by a champagne toast and strawberry cake lit with candles; a staffer described the party as "tres speciale."

No word on what gifts Bono received – but what do you give a man who has his own rock band and has already been nominated for the Nobel Prize?

Brangelina's Stuff Follows Them to France

A source close to the couple tells E! News that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have started importing the little things—clothes, toys, the Ducati—across the Atlantic after apparently opting to stay put at Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen's villa in Saint-Jean Cap-Ferrat on the French Riviera.

While the couple have been house-hunting in nearby Monte Carlo and logged time this weekend in Nice visiting Bono and The Edge, they're "more than content to just stay put," at least until the birth of their second biological child and fifth overall, the insider said.

"Everything feels right. The kids are happy with the seaside being just down the road and having a pool in the garden, and Brad's dying to get out and explore the French countryside on his bike like he did last summer when they were vacationing in the West of France."

"They've just had one of the happiest weeks that they've had together as a family for ages," the source added.

And whatever the Jolie-Pitt clan think they might need for the next few months that couldn't fit on the private jet, they've had shipped to Allen's estate, including Pitt's Ducati motorbike.

"Taking the kids over for Sunday lunch and having a playdate with Bono's kids was so nice for them," our source says.

"So many other celebrities have homes down there, too, so they fit right in. There's a whole cool, English-speaking community down there, so they have a balance of it being French and cultured, but also they can take the kids to a doctor and explain what's up with them in English if needs be.

"They've even been able to buy the kids favorite snacks in from a shop there that delivers American food and drinks to your home."

Parking Pitts

Bono Voyage for Brangelina

Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and their Benetton-friendly family made nice in Nice Sunday, spending an hour soaking up the surf.

The gang was all there for the fun in the sun, with Maddox, Pax, Zahara and even the increasingly hermetic Shiloh present and accounted for. The fam logged sand time with U2 guitarist The Edge and later visited Bono—both rockers have homesteads in the area.

Jolie and Pitt are shacked up in France awaiting the Cannes Film Festival and a new stork delivery, staying at a home owned by billionaire Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen.

"The Edge knows Paul Allen really well and invited the family down for lunch," a source told E! News. "It was a lovely sunny day and so they all went and hung out on the beach like regular people."

"Pax was obsessed with catching crabs and that's what Pax, Brad and some local kids did while Angie spoke to The Edge."

The beach excursion capped off an otherwise busy weekend. Earlier, Pitt, Jolie and Zahara took to the skies for a house-hunting helicopter ride, spending several hours in Monte Carlo Saturday viewing a large property.

"They have heard that in Monaco they don't really allow paparazzi and that the Monegasque police arrest them [photographers] if they bother celebrities," the insider told E! News. "So they've started looking over there.

"Brad loves it there—he went to the Grand Prix in Monaco four years ago, and has told Maddox and Pax how great it was, but Angie seems to prefer Provence...the idea of being able to vacation in peace like any other family really appeals to them."

Jolie is considering delivering at Monaco's Princess Grace Hospital.

"The hospital is one of the best in the world, and she can fly there by helicopter. It's safe and no paps will be able to trail them there."

Brad & Angelina's High-Flying Weekend

The couple – who are hunkering down in St Jean Cap Ferrat at the historic villa owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen – appeared to be house hunting, sources say, exploring four possible properties.

The next day, the expectant parents and their entire brood (daughters Zahara, 3, and Shiloh, 1, and sons Maddox, 6, and Pax, 4) stayed closer to home, visiting Bono's waterfront home at Eze, France, about 15 minutes from Allen's luxury compound.

While their weekend may sound glamorous, one local source insists that, when it comes to daily life inside the villa, they're just like any other family on vacation.

"They're doing everything you and I might be doing," said the source. "Eating, taking naps and swimming in the pool."

Later this month, the pregnant Jolie is scheduled to walk the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival for two films, Kung Fu Panda and The Changeling.

Brad and Angelina Spend May Day in the Sun

Since hunkering down at the Riviera estate of Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen last week, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt and their existing brood have been living a life of leisure—pain au chocolat in the morning, sunning poolside all day, high tea in the afternoon, CNN at night…

A source on that side of the Atlantic exclusively tells E! News that the Jolie-Pitt clan spent Thursday—a public holiday in France marking the country's Labor Day, known as Fęte du Travail—relaxing by the pool while they wait for the usual jetlag to wear off.

"They've been getting up early and have pain au chocolate and croissant and muffins for breakfast, the kids have been watching cartoons and then late morning they've been going in the pool, which is heated so the kids love it," the Brangie insider said.

"[Maddox] is a really good little swimmer but the rest all need arm bands and Brad's been getting in the pool with the kids and throwing them up in the air and giving them rides on his back, while Angie has been laughing and watching from a sun-lounger."

The kids have been enjoying a "high tea" at around 5 p.m.—their dinnertime—of homemade chicken fingers, veggies and fruit smoothies, according to E!'s source. After which comes a little more cartoon watching, a bath and story-time with mom and dad. Then, it's lights out at 7 p.m.

"Brad and Angelina are then exhausted and have been watching CNN News and then catching a film on cable, and then they've been going to bed by 9 p.m. themselves," the source said.

"They're really serious about getting some quality family time together and having some fun like a normal family."

Pitt, Jolie, Maddox and Pax are also said to be having regular French lessons with a tutor who comes to the house. Whether the family is there long enough to start schooling little Shiloh and Zahara in the native tongue, as well, remains to be seen, but we know that the Jolie-Pitts are going to be in the neighborhood at least until they welcome their newest addition this summer.

In the meantime, Jolie's got a pair of films opening at Cannes and Pitt's going to go villa-hunting.

Naturellement!

Brad & Angelina Set Up House in French Villa

The couple, their four children, two nannies and three bodyguards arrived in a private Gulfstream jet at Nice and drove to nearby St Jean Cap Ferrat. According to local sources, they're staying at Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's historic Villa Maryland.

The Florentine-styled villa with pool overlooks the peninsula's small yacht harbor and commands an unparalleled view of the Mediterranean. The couple previously borrowed the villa for a one-week stay during their 2006 French break preceding the birth of daughter Shiloh.

The villa has year-round staffing of 12 and is often used by Allen for celebrity-packed dinners during the Cannes Film Festival and Monaco Grand Prix weekend.

Pitt and Jolie are expected to remain in St Jean Cap Ferrat through the Cannes Film Festival, May 14-25. Pregnancy permitting, Jolie is scheduled to walk the red carpet for two films, Kung Fu Panda on May 15 and Clint Eastwood's The Changeling on May 20.

George to Brad: I Have An Oscar ... And You Don't!

"It makes me much harder to live with," the Best Supporting Actor winner told Britain's morning chat-fest, GMTV, on Wednesday.

In fact, the 46-year old admits he often lords his big win over Oscar-less pal Brad Pitt.

"That's what I enjoy doing with Brad – is gloating," Clooney joked.

(Angelina Jolie's other half was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for 1995's Twelve Monkeys, but he lost out to Kevin Spacey in The Usual Suspects.)

To this day, the Oscar statue takes center stage during get-togethers chez Clooney.

"I keep it back over a fireplace in my house," he said. "When my friends come over, I make them pick it up and we take photographs of them giving an acceptance speech."

The actor is in London to promote his latest film, Leatherheads, costarring Renée Zellweger.

He has been spotted dining with Matt Damon – the reigning Sexiest Man Alive – and partying at London's Bungalow 8. So where is girlfriend Sarah Larson?

"She's in Los Angeles and working," he told PEOPLE at the film's London premiere Tuesday night.

Brad Pitt Gets a Hands-on Welcome at American Idol

The crowd went wild when the actor took the stage at Hollywood’s Kodak Theater to tape a segment for Fox’s second annual Idol Gives Back special, making talking impossible.

The crowd jumped to their feet for the hunky superstar, whose efforts to help rebuild housing for families who lost everything in 2005’s Hurricane Katrina were recognized by show. (The broadcast will air Wednesday, April 9.)

After nearly 30 seconds of cheers, the 44-year-old Pitt — who was slated to introduce a film clip about former Idol contestant Chris Daughtry’s visit to Uganda — tried to say “thank you,” but his microphone wasn’t working.

That’s when Idol stage manager Debbie McVickers rushed up to see what was wrong.

As McVickers hurried to fix Pitt’s microphone, which had come unclipped from his shirt, she joked to the crowd about her “moment” with Pitt: “I just needed a reason to touch him.”

Then, when a female production assistant came out to make sure the mic was affixed properly, McVickers joked again, “We need more women to touch him.” Once properly wired for sound, Pitt was able to get through the introduction without a hitch.

Last year, the inaugural Idol Gives Back campaign raised more than $75 million for domestic and international charities. This year, producer Nigel Lythgoe told the audience minutes before the taping began that he “could feel” the show would crack the $100-million mark.

In fact, the show has already exceeded that amount thanks to a $200 million pledge by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown who, via a taped message, said the country would pay for 20 million mosquito nets for African families in need.

The impact of the evening was not lost on Miley Cyrus, who, like others in the theater, learned that even ten dollars — the cost of one mosquito net — could make a difference in someone’s life. “There’s people that can give hundreds, thousands,” Cryus said. “[It's good] to have that self-power and be able to say, ‘Okay, no matter how much I’m putting in, I’m making a difference.’ “

Other big moments of the night include performances by Cyrus, Carrie Underwood, John Legend, Annie Lennox, Gloria Estefan and Mariah Carey. And Fergie’s rendition of “Barracuda” with Heart’s Ann and Nancy Wilson brought down the house.

All of the evening’s music can be purchased on Itunes after the Idol Gives Back telecast.

`Idol Gives Back' attracts A-list celebs

"Idol Gives Back," the Fox singing competition's charity event, was taped Sunday night at the Kodak Theatre and is scheduled to air Wednesday. The star-studded gala kicked off with "Idol" finalists performing Rihanna's "Don't Stop the Music," while performers from "So You Think You Can Dance" twirled in the background.

"Idol" host Ryan Seacrest served as master of ceremonies of the event, which featured several live musical performances and celebrity appearances by Billy Crystal, Robin Williams, Peyton and Eli Manning, Jimmy Kimmel, Sarah Silverman, Reese Witherspoon and Brad Pitt.

"Tonight isn't just about raising money," Pitt told the screaming crowd. "Sometimes, to help people, we've got to travel outside of our comfort zone to really understand another situation."

One highlight was a duet by Fergie and Heart. They performed a lively but shorter-than-usual rendition of Heart's "Barracuda," which featured The Duchess launching into two cartwheels on stage.

"`Barracuda' is usually five minutes long, so we were sweatin' it with the arrangement, and so was Fergie," Nancy Wilson said backstage. "We had two chances to get it right. The first two times we got it very wrong. We actually did it right when it mattered."

Other performers included Snoop Dogg and Charlie Wilson, John Legend, Miley Cyrus, Annie Lennox, Mariah Carey, Carrie Underwood, Gloria Estefan and Sheila E. Instead of singing one of her own songs, fourth-season "Idol" winner Underwood opted to croon George Michael's "Praying for Time."

"It's not about self-promoting," Underwood said backstage. "It's not about singing your latest single. It's not about trying to be the most-downloaded whatever on iTunes. It's all about getting people to call in and do something."

Celebrities including David and Victoria Beckham, Kiefer Sutherland, Ellen DeGeneres, Jim Carrey and Whoopi Goldberg appeared in pre-taped segments encouraging viewers to make donations. Hillary Rodham Clinton, John McCain and Barack Obama also appeared in pre-taped messages.

Beneficiaries this year include the Global Fund, Malaria No More, Children's Health Fund, Save the Children, Children's Defense Fund and Make It Right, Pitt's campaign to help New Orleans recover from Hurricane Katrina.

Last year, "Idol Gives Back" raised $76 million for underprivileged children. Producers anticipate this year's event will raise $100 million.

Pitt Stop

Are George Clooney and Brad Pitt Having a 'Bromance'?

Brad Pitt Seeks 'Lost City'

According to Variety, Paramount snagged the rights to David Grann's soon-to-be-published nonfiction book "Lost City of Z" for Pitt and his Plan B production shingle.

The feature adaptation could also be a starring vehicle for the actor.

The trade paper says that the focus of Grann's book is British explorer Percy Harrison Fawcett, who vanished in 1925 while seeking the City of Z. The disappearance of Fawcett and his team has prompted countless contemporary explorers to attempt to retrace his path.

Pitt would play Fawcett.

Grann's book started as a 2005 article in The New Yorker and will be published by Doubleday next February.

Next up on Plan B's production slate is the November adaptation of "The Time Traveler's Wife."

As for Pitt's acting projects, the "Ocean's Thirteen" actor has "Burn After Reading" and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" coming out this fall.

And as for Pitt's personal life, despite rumors to the contrary, there's no evidence that he and long-time partner Angelina Jolie were married this past weekend in New Orleans. But we'll keep checking.

Source: There Was 'No Wedding' For Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie

The family spent a weekend in New Orleans two weeks ago – as Pitt broke ground on his Make It Right project to help rebuild the city's Lower Ninth Ward – but they have recently been in the Austin, Texas, area while Pitt films Tree of Life with Sean Penn.

Jolie, who stars in the action film Wanted, opening in June, is pregnant and due later this year.

Hollywood stars help sustain Darfur aid flights: WFP

The $6 million donated by Ireland, the European Union and the Clooney-backed Not On Our Watch will allow the U.N.'s World Food Programme (WFP) to hire helicopters and aircraft to ferry aid workers to Sudan's war-torn region for 30 days.

The WFP's air link carries some 8,000 aid workers from 160 organizations to, from and within Darfur each month, WFP spokeswoman Christiane Berthiaume said.

"We have received some funds which will allow us to maintain the flights for the month of April," she told a news briefing but added the reprieve is only short term as a further $71 million is needed to operate the service for the rest of 2008.

"It is vital to maintain the service especially at a time when insecurity reigns," she said.

The western Sudanese region of Darfur is the site of the world's largest aid operation. International experts estimate five years of conflict have killed 200,000 people and driven 2.5 million from their homes.

Aid workers are increasingly at risk in Darfur where rebel groups and militias have split into factions, some of them merely bandits without political agendas who prey on civilians for their own survival.

Bandits killed three WFP truck drivers in separate attacks earlier this month in Darfur and south Sudan.

Securing long-term funding for humanitarian flights in Sudan is essential, 14 international aid agencies said in a joint statement issued on Friday.

The agencies -- which include CARE Sudan, Catholic Relief Services and Oxfam International -- said that they rely on the WFP's air service to help them deliver aid to "many of the most inaccessible, insecure and poverty-stricken areas of Sudan."

In Darfur alone, the aid groups jointly assist more than 2 million people in areas currently only accessible by air, as roads are too insecure, according to the statement.

"A service upon which millions of people depend should not have to fear for its future every month," it said.

Brad and Angelina's Political Family Tree

Researchers at the New England Historic Genealogical Society have discovered that Jolie is distantly related to Hillary Clinton, while Pitt is a cousin of Barack Obama.

Jolie and Clinton are ninth cousins, twice removed, while Pitt and Obama are ninth cousins, according to a genealogical study conducted over the last three years.

In addition to her kinship with Jolie, Clinton is also related to Madonna, Celine Dion and Alanis Morissette, researchers found. Other cousins include Camilla Parker Bowles and Jack Kerouac.

Obama, on the other hand, shares his ancestry with six U.S. presidents, including current commander in chief, George W. Bush, and his father, George H.W. Bush.

Other far-reaching Obama relations include Gerald Ford, Lyndon Johnson, Harry S. Truman and James Madison, as well as Vice President Dick Cheney and Sir Winston Churchill.

Republican candidate John McCain's family tree proved tougher to trace, as records on his relatives were not as extensive as either Obama or Clinton's, researchers said. He was, however, found to be a sixth cousin to first lady Laura Bush.

Brad Pitt's Reverse Aging Amazes Tilda

As Benjamin Button, in David Fincher's upcoming movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Pitt portrays someone suffering a rare reverse-aging condition – which costar Tilda Swinton says is amazing to behold.

"The programs they developed for that are just going to blow everything out of the water," the Michael Clayton Oscar-winner, 47, gushed to MTV News about the technology employed to speed up – and turn back – the clock on Pitt. "I think it’s going to be extraordinary."

Based on the F. Scott Fitzgerald story, Pitt plays Button through nearly 80 years of his life. "There are about eight sections, and I'm one of them. I'm his first love in the '30s in Russia," Swinton said. “What's fascinating is we were all in these little films and they'll all be put together [like an anthology]."

Cate Blanchett also stars in the flick, due in December.

Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie Gave $8 Mil to Charity

All told, they gave more than $8 million in donations in 2006, with Pitt putting in $4,402,317, and Jolie donating $4,123,613, the Huffington Post reports, citing newly released federal tax filings. (These latest figures don't include 2007 – in which, among other charitable efforts, Brad's Make It Right Foundation raised $5 million.)

In terms of dispensing their funds, according to records for 2006, the foundation handed out $2,367,935, including $1 million to both Doctors Without Borders (International Division) and to the Global AIDS Alliance.

Additional gifts included $137,935 to the Namibia Red Cross Action Program (their daughter Shiloh was born in the African country); $100,000 to the Daniel Pearl Foundation (the late journalist's widow, Marianne Pearl, was played by Jolie in A Mighty Heart); $100,000 to Global Green U.S.A. and to the Epidermolysis Bulloma Medical Research Foundation.

In addition, $20,000 went to an art park in Los Angeles, as did separate $5,000 donations to two orphanages that Jolie had visited.

More Good Works

In terms of Pitt's work in Louisiana, Jolie's costar in the movie Wanted, Morgan Freeman, told PEOPLE Thursday at the Pathfinders to Peace Forum and Gala, "We were in contact with Brad about the situation in New Orleans" – and he called Jolie "such a wonderful woman."

Said Freeman: "Aside from all that physical beauty, she's a real person."

Cox calls on friends to help raise funds

Joining Cox and Arquette in the awareness- and money-raising effort are Jennifer Aniston, Orlando Bloom, Kate Beckinsale, Rashida Jones, James Marsden and Eva Longoria Parker. All will lend their famous faces and financial support to the Epidermolysis Bullosa Medical Research Foundation, where Cox, Arquette and Aniston serve on the honorary advisory board. (Brad Pitt, Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale are also members.)

"EB is very personal to me so I'm happy to be a part of this $1 million challenge," Cox said in a statement to The Associated Press. "Now is such an important time to put the spotlight on EB and ensure that research can continue at a fast pace."

Epidermolysis Bullosa is a debilitating genetic disorder that causes the skin to blister and break at the slightest touch. Victims are often covered in burn-like sores that never heal and most don't live beyond age 30.

Clinton, Pitt break ground in N.O.

"We hope to see a huge change here in the next six months," Pitt told a group of residents as he posed for pictures Sunday and signed autographs.

The 44-year-old actor and Clinton walked a street as hundreds of volunteers on either side, wielding shovels and rakes, prepared the land for homes. For hours, they cleared overgrown grass and weeds that were covering street drains and sidewalks.

The Lower 9th Ward was one of the hardest-hit neighborhoods in New Orleans when Katrina struck on Aug. 29, 2005, causing the city's levee system to fail with devastating flooding.

"We're working to get the grounds ready so construction can begin," said Anne Bouthilette, a 20-year-old sophomore history major at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn.

"It is only fitting that we culminate a weekend focused on youth service by turning words into action," Clinton said in a prepared statement.

A brass band played in the background as Clinton and Pitt shook hands and chatted with volunteers.

Bouthilette said this was her first visit to New Orleans and she was enjoying the opportunity to help with the city's recovery.

"There's a pressing need for people to come down here and do work," she said. "There are still so many things that need to be done. Everybody can do something."

Bouthilette was among some 600 college students in New Orleans for the Clinton Global Initiative University, a three-day program that began Friday and was designed to challenge college students and universities to tackle global problems with practical, innovative solutions.

The event wrapped Sunday with the volunteer effort in the Lower 9th Ward, at the site where Pitt and his Make It Right Foundation are building homes using environmentally friendly materials such as cisterns and solar panels for residents who lost their homes in the storm.

Pitt and Clinton broke ground with shovels after their mingling with the volunteers.

Bill Clinton, Brad Pitt meet in storm-hit area

"We hope to see a huge change here in the next six months," Pitt told a group of residents as he posed with them for pictures Sunday and signed autographs.

Pitt and Clinton walked a street as hundreds of volunteers on either side, wielding shovels and rakes, prepared the land for homes. For hours, they cleared overgrown grass and weeds that were covering street drains and sidewalks.

The Lower 9th Ward was one of the hardest-hit neighborhoods in New Orleans when Katrina struck on Aug. 29, 2005, causing the city's levee system to fail with devastating flooding.

"We're working to get the grounds ready so construction can begin," said Anne Bouthilette, a 20-year-old sophomore history major at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn.

Many media representatives were refused direct interviews with Clinton, who has been making public appearances around the country as Hillary Clinton seeks the Democratic presidential nomination.

"It is only fitting that we culminate a weekend focused on youth service by turning words into action," Clinton said in a prepared statement Sunday.

A brass band played in the background as Clinton and Pitt shook hands and chatted with volunteers.

Bouthilette said this was her first visit to New Orleans, and she was enjoying the opportunity to help with the city's recovery.

"There's a pressing need for people to come down here and do work," she said. "There are still so many things that need to be done. Everybody can do something."

Bouthilette was one of about 600 college students in New Orleans for the Clinton Global Initiative University, a three-day program that began Friday and was designed to challenge college students and universities to tackle global problems with practical, innovative solutions.

The event wrapped Sunday with the volunteer effort in the Lower 9th Ward, at the site where Pitt and his Make It Right Foundation are building homes using environmentally friendly materials such as cisterns and solar panels for residents who lost their homes in the storm.

Side-by-side Pitt and Clinton broke ground with shovels after their mingling with the volunteers.

Before his stop in the 9th Ward, Clinton participated in a forum with student journalists to discuss issues important to America's college students. Students from the University of Southern California, Howard University and Tulane University were among those who to participated.

The event was taped and segments are scheduled to air on March 26 on mtvU, MTV's college network which broadcasts to more than 750 college campuses nationwide.

Bonjour for Brangelina Birth?

Two weeks after debuting an apparent baby bump on the red carpet of the Spirit Awards, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are working on a top-secret birth plan.

The couple, who famously decamped to Namibia in 2006 for the birth of their first biological baby, Shiloh Jolie-Pitt, are now plotting to escape to the French Riviera for their next stork delivery, E! News has learned.

A source close the couple tells E! News that the Brangelina brood will hunker down in the south of France, the native country of her late mother Marcheline Bertrand, where Jolie plans to give birth and spend her initial postpartum months.

"They want to be in France by the summer," says the source. (It's uncertain whether they will make their move permanent.)

Both Pitt and Jolie have been working to "clear their schedules" so they can focus on the pregnancy, the source added.

Pitt's publicist, Cindy Guagenti, said she was unaware of such plans and declined to comment.

Jolie and Pitt moved into Africa for the birth of Shiloh, setting up shop at Namibia's luxury Burning Shore Beach Lodge, where bodyguards and local officials helped keep paparazzi at bay.

The couple has yet to officially announce the latest prengancy. The Jolie-Pitt brood currently numbers four: Maddox, 6; Pax, 4; Zahara, 3; and Shiloh, who turns 2 in May.

Idol Gives Back Bono, Brad, Reese

Fox has unveiled the first batch of A-list supporters to have signed on to appear in the show's second annual "Idol Gives Back" special this spring, which will once again raise awareness and funds for a slew of U.S. and international charities.

Brad Pitt, Reese Witherspoon and Super Bowl brothers Peyton and Eli Manning are among the non-performers scheduled to appear on next month's two-hour special, while Fergie, Miley Cyrus, Mariah Carey, Annie Lennox, John Legend and Snoop Dogg are set to represent the more musically minded of big-hearted stars.

Of course, no star-studded humanitarian effort would be complete without a requisite appearance from Bono, who is also on board for the charity special.

It's unclear in what capacity the latter list, U2 frontman included, will appear, whether in pleas for donations or as performers.

American Idol has also enlisted some of its own to aid in its charity special, with season four winner Carrie Underwood and season five also-ran Chris Daughtry attached to appear.

The list of big-name do-gooders, which, as always, includes judges Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul and host Ryan Seacrest, will no doubt grow longer as the event grows nearer.

Last year, the inaugural "Idol Gives Back" succeeded in raising more than $76 million for a variety of charities, all benefiting underprivileged children at home and abroad. The show drew an impressive array of talent to the Fox airwaves, including Ellen DeGeneres, Gwyneth Paltrow, Gwen Stefani, Keira Knightley, Hugh Grant, Goldie Hawn, Helen Mirren, Emily Blunt, Marc Anthony, Hugh Laurie, Kevin Bacon, Pink, Borat, Matt Damon, Forest Whitaker, Teri Hatcher, inaugural champ Kelly Clarkson and, as again this year, fellow Idol Underwood, among others.

Taking the goodwill one step further, Idol producers also held off on that week's contestant elimination, though the stay didn't last long, with two wannabes facing the chopping block the following week.

This year, by the time the charity show rolls around, the contestants will have been whittled down to a top eight, all of whom will perform during the special. Possibly hinting at things—and songs—to come, last week it was announced that the Idol producers had finally been granted access to the Beatles' songbook, a goal which had been long desired and requests for which were previously unheeded by the Fab Four's music publisher.

While last year's two-hour show was spread over the course of two nights, this time around, "Idol Gives Back" has been condensed to a one-night, but still two-hour, show. It airs Apr. 9.

Meanwhile, rounds continue this week, with the top eight men and eight women performing. On Thursday, four more contestants will be eliminated, leaving just 12 wannabes remaining in the competition.

Where Were Brad & Angelina on Oscar Night?

Jolie, 32, and Brad Pitt, 44, were at home in Los Angeles with the kids and enjoyed the relative peace and quiet, a source tells PEOPLE.

Though neither was at the Oscar ceremony, their absence didn't stop the show's host, Jon Stewart, from including Jolie in a joke about pregnant actresses, saying, "Obviously, Angelina Jolie couldn't be here – it's hard to find 17 babysitters on Oscar night."

The growing Jolie-Pitt brood currently includes Maddox, 6, Pax, 4, and Zahara, 3, and Shiloh, 1. A source close to the couple says they are "thrilled to be adding to their brood."

So Long, Sarah! Jimmy Kimmel Is, Well, 'Dating' Ben Affleck

Her song: "I'm F---ing Matt Damon." Kimmel's song of revenge, unveiled on his ABC show Jimmy Kimmel Live Sunday night immediately after the Oscars: "I'm F---ing Ben Affleck." (Watch the video here.)

"Matt, Sarah, this is for you," said Kimmel, noting that Silverman and Damon's music video has been seen by about 8 million people on ABC.com and YouTube.

And the hilarious new clip – in which the two are seen giving each other pedicures before Affleck tweaks Kimmel's bare chest – isn't just a duet: It's an all-star performance on par with "We Are the World."

When it comes to backup singers, Kimmel somehow managed to round up a who's-who of the entertainment industry, including Don Cheadle, Ashlee Simpson, Robin Williams, Cameron Diaz, Huey Lewis, Christina Applegate, Joan Jett, Macy Gray, Benji and Joel Madden, Lance Bass, Josh Groban and Harrison Ford – who blows the new couple a kiss.

Costarring Brad Pitt

Even Brad Pitt makes a cameo, albeit in a non-singing role. He plays a FedEx deliveryman who brings a cake of congratulations to Kimmel and Affleck.

Kimmel and Affleck also stand nose to nose in the video, and all but kiss. As Robin Williams rhapsodizes, "This is not a man crush."

"The reason I did it like this, I didn't want my parents finding out from the tabloids," Kimmel said after showing the video.

Affleck said his wife, Jennifer Garner, didn't take the news very well. "Thank God my daughter is too young [to understand]," added the actor, referring to 2-year-old Violet.

Retorted a straight-faced Kimmel, "Well, she's our daughter now."

Jolie-Pitts 'Thrilled To Be Adding to Their Brood'

A source close to the couple tells PEOPLE that Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are "thrilled to be adding to their brood."

Jolie's baby bump was the buzz on the blue carpet Saturday as she stepped out in a curve-hugging black dress at the Film Independent's Spirit Awards with Pitt.

The Jolie-Pitt family currently consists of Maddox, 6; Pax, 4; Zahara, 3; and Shiloh, 1. Last week the couple's adoption of Pax was made official.

Adds a source close to the couple, "They are very, very happy."

Pax Officially a Jolie-Pitt

A Los Angeles County Children's Court judge formally approved the camera-ready couple's adoption of four-year-old Pax Thien Jolie-Pitt on Wednesday.

Pax is now a legally recognized member of the ever-expanding clan, which in addition to the superstar parents includes fellow siblings Maddox, 6; Zahara, 3; and Shiloh, who turns 2 in May.

TMZ, which first reported the news, said the family held a mini celebration after the judge signed off on the paperwork at a courthouse in the Monterey Park area of L.A. Jolie reportedly left the facility with a teddy bear in hand. (The couple was later spotted, sans kids or stuffed creatures, dining with Clint Eastwood in Brentwood, according to Us Weekly.)

Pax first came into Brangelina's collective life back in November 2006, when the do-good couple spotted the tot during a visit to an orphanage in Ho Chi Minh City. A solo Jolie returned to Vietnam in March 2007 to adopt the boy.

She initially filed as a single mother, in accordance with a Vietnamese policy prohibiting unmarried couples from adopting.

Just three months after his stateside arrival, Pax's surname was officially changed to Jolie-Pitt; his older siblings' were similarly changed back in January 2006.

While an official adoption ceremony did take place in Vietnam's Department of Justice in March 2007, the U.S. had not, until now, formalized the addition.

Movie On The Move

Angelina Jolie's Onstage Revelations

She then took to the stage to discuss her career and reveal a few candid nuggets from her off-screen life.

Among Angelina's revelations:

• She retains fond memories of sharing a single acting scene in Tomb Raider with her father Jon Voight, from whom she's currently estranged. "Strangely enough, the scene was about a daughter and her father who had not spent their lives together and had a lot of questions for each other ...[It was] kind of therapeutic for us to get some things out and talk. We spent that time as two artists, and it was a special time. It was an important time."

• When her ex-husband and Pushing Tin costar Billy Bob Thornton was mentioned, she said, "I thought he was an amazing artist, and still is."

• Prior to screening the famous tango scene clip from Mr. & Mrs. Smith, she was asked if she or Pitt was the better dancer: "I think we're about equal," she replied. "Equally not so good."

• Despite starring in several high-tech productions, she's technologically challenged in real life: "As Brad knows, I don't really how to turn on a computer."

• After back-to-back clips featuring romantic scenes with Brad in Mr. & Mrs. Smith and her and Matt Damon in The Good Shepherd, Jolie said she looked like she was "out on one date and went out on another." Given the choice between former [Pitt] and current [Damon] holders of PEOPLE's "Sexiest Man Alive" title, she said, "I'm going with the first one."

• Both she and Pitt were initially reluctant to take on their roles in Mr. & Mrs. Smith, but "obviously I'm very glad I did it – It changed my life."

• Asked if her humanitarian efforts were an even greater passion than acting, she chose a third alternative: "I love being a mom, and I think that's my big passion: being with my family."

Cops Scoop Reporter at Brangelina's House

A man claiming to be a freelance reporter was arrested outside Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's Hollywood Hills abode Wednesday afternoon, Los Angeles Police Department spokeswoman Officer Karen Smith told E! Online.

The Jolie-Pitt clan, which is rumored to be expanding, was not home at the time.

Smith said that their housekeeper called the cops at 12 p.m. after noticing a silver car blocking the entrance to the house in the 5700 block of tony Briarcliff Road. She also saw a man, who police later identified as 25-year-old Eric Ray Mitchell of Hollywood, asking passersby where Pitt's house was.

When officers arrived at the scene, they took Mitchell into custody and impounded his vehicle. Smith couldn't say whether he was still in custody as of 4 p.m.

Pitt and Jolie most recently went public at the 14th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, where the latter was nominated for her heart-tugging turn in A Mighty Heart. The 32-year-old actress went home empty-handed, but she garnered plenty of attention by sipping water all evening and donning a figure-skimming gown.

Brad & Angelina Get Romantic at the Screen Actors Guild Awards

Stealing kisses at their table or just romantic glances, the twosome stuck close, returning to their table together – hand in hand, no less! – after a brief break from the main ballroom at the Shrine Auditorium. But the lovebirds soaked up the affection from at least one other person. Mickey Rooney approached the two at their table before the show, gabbed for a bit and posed for a picture.

Stargazing

"I've never been this close to them," gushed Eva Longoria, who craned her neck to catch a glimpse. "Oh my gosh, she's stunning."

Pitt and Jolie stayed on the other side of the carpet from most reporters, delighting screaming bleacher fans by signing autographs and posing for photos.

2008 People's Choice Award Winners

MUSIC:
Male Singer: Justin Timberlake
Female Singer: Gwen Stefani
Group: Rascal Flatts
Pop Song: "What Goes Around Comes Around," Justin Timberlake
Hip-Hop Song: "Give It to Me," Timbaland, featuring Justin Timberlake and Nelly Furtado
R&B Song: "Shut Up and Drive," Rihanna
Rock Song: "Home," Daughtry
Country Song: "Stand," Rascal Flatts
Soundtrack Song: "You Can't Stop the Beat," Cast of Hairspray
Reunion Tour: The Police

TELEVISION:
TV Drama: House
TV Comedy: Two and a Half Men
Male TV Star: Patrick Dempsey
Female TV Star: Katherine Heigl
Scene-Stealing Star: Chandra Wilson, Grey's Anatomy
Talk Show Host: Ellen DeGeneres
Animated Comedy: The Simpsons
Sci-Fi Show: Stargate Atlantis
New TV Drama: Moonlight
New TV Comedy: Samantha Who?
Game Show: Deal or No Deal
Competition/Reality Show: Dancing with the Stars

MISCELLANEOUS
Funny Female Star: Ellen DeGeneres
Funny Male Star: Robin Williams
User-Generated Video: Shoes, Liam Kyle Sullivan

Brad's Christmas Gift to Kids: Toy Helicopters

"I like helicopters," Pitt, 44, said Monday morning, on Live with Regis and Kelly, when asked about his favorite childhood holiday toy. "[I'm] going to try to push them on the kids."

This is the first year Pitt and partner Angelina Jolie are celebrating Christmas with their adopted son, Pax, 4, from Thailand. Pax will join sisters Zahara, 3, and Shiloh, 1, and brother Maddox, 6, in New Orleans.

"The Jolie-Pitts will be in one big assembly," Pitt said, when asked about the family's holiday plans, adding that they will be keeping the paparazzi at bay.

Pitt called this year their kids' "first introduction to Christmas," hoping that "they retain the memories" in years to come.

Celebrating with the kids would "reignite the excitement" he had for the holidays as a child, Pitt added.

The couple bought a home in New Orleans last spring, when Pitt was shooting The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

While there, Pitt and Jolie, 32, have worked to raise money for areas of New Orleans, where Hurricane Katrina left thousands of people displaced. Pitt's charity, Make It Right, aims to build new houses for affected families.

"I'm telling you, it's cool," Pitt told Regis and Kelly. "It's really exciting."

Brad Pitt May Take Heath Ledger's 'Life'

According to Variety, Pitt is in talks to join the River Road-financed project, which will also feature Sean Penn.Ledger had been attached to the lead role as recently as late October and the trade paper gives no indications as to what happened to the "Brokeback Mountain" star's participation.

Nobody knows much of anything about the Malick-scripted drama except that production would begin this spring. Ledger was circling a leading role originally earmarked for Malick's "The New World" star Colin Farrell.

Penn's role in the project would only be a supporting turn (no contracts have been signed), especially since he'll be playing the title character in Gus Van Sant's "Harvey Milk."

The trade paper says that although Pitt was expected to collect a $20 million against gross paycheck for "State of Play," which he exited last month, he'd only receive a fraction of that for "Tree of Life."

Most recently seen in "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford," Pitt has finished work on "The Curious Incident of Benjamin Button" and "Burn After Reading," both set for release next year.

Brad Pitt Plans to 'Crap Out' 7-to-9 Kids

Brad Pitt: My Kids Are Everything to Me

"The hardest job in the world, the most rewarding job in the world," Pitt, 43, tells CNN's Larry King in an interview to air on Wednesday night. (For a preview, click here.)

"We put in long days [working]," the actor said. "And to go home and have dinner with your kids, and have to discipline one of them who's out of line, and still have the energy for that is ... I can't explain the fulfillment of that, but it is everything."

Three of Pitt's four children with Angelina Jolie are adopted, and King relayed an old quote from the late Chicago writer Bob Considine: "I have four children. Two are adopted. I forget which two."

"That's great. It is so true," Pitt said with a smile. "They're as much my blood as I am theirs. And they are brothers and sisters. One came from Ethiopia, one from Vietnam, one from Cambodia, and one was born in Namibia. And they are brothers and sisters, and they have fun and they squabble and they fight, just like any other family. And it makes me so proud."

Brad Pitt plans 150 homes for New Orleans

Pitt's Make It Right project aims to revive the Lower Ninth Ward which was almost totally destroyed in the 2005 storm.

"A hundred and fifty homes is our goal," Pitt said near the spot where the Industrial Canal floodwall broke during Katrina and sent a wall of water through the neighborhood.

"But there is no reason why we can't do 1,000 homes, why we can't do 10,000 homes, why we can't do 100,000 homes," he said against an art installation of bright pink rectangles and triangles meant to draw attention to the cause.

Pitt, who with actress Angelina Jolie owns a home in the city's historic French Quarter, said the new homes would incorporate energy efficient appliances and "green" materials and would be built for an average of $150,000.

He has been a vocal critic of faltering government efforts to rebuild New Orleans and has worked with environmental group Global Green USA on a separate project to construct environmentally friendly homes in the city.

Pitt has pledged up to match up to $5 million in donations for the Make It Right project, which he announced at a conference in New York in September.

An international team of 13 architectural firms has submitted designs for the single-family homes, the first of which could be finished by May 2008. The new homes will be elevated to withstand future floods.

Brad Pitt's Ninth Ward Project Is Pretty in Pink

"I'm hoping we can start here and expand all over New Orleans," the star, 43, told Ann Curry as the two walked among pink tents ("an art installation, a social statement," he called them, admitting he'd like to see how it looks on Google Earth) erected to mark where on the site the future homes are to be built.

Calling himself "not much of a salesman," Pitt, who on Nov. 9 pledged $5 million of his own money toward the long-gestating project, is asking the general public – "foundations, individuals of means, church groups" – to donate and "help the families of New Orleans get back into their homes."

"We can do it, it's ready to go," he said, explaining that each home would cost $150,000. Should prospective contributors not be able to make such large donations, separate household items are available for what he called "Christmas adoption," such as a solar panel or family bathroom fixtures.

Love of My Family

Asked if this project were his top priority, even above making movies, Pitt said that actually his family comes first, but "that love of my family brings me here."

Pitt also explained that the prototype drawings of the new houses show the residences built on stilts because of the fear of future flooding, just as homes in California would be built to withstand earthquakes. A team of architects led by the New Orleans-based John Williams designed the Louisiana homes.

To learn more about the "Pink Project" and "Make It Right," click here. To make a donation of any size, click here.

Angelina Stops By

Already the site is familiar to Pitt. Over the weekend, his companion Angelina Jolie, 32, and their daughter Zahara, 2, were among the spectators wandering among the pink-covered fixtures – as was local resident Ivory Porter Webb, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports.

Webb reportedly started talking to Jolie only to realize who she was – so Webb apologized for interrupting the actress. "I don't want you think I'm a lunatic," Webb said.

Far from it, says the paper: Jolie invited the woman to a party Monday night, an excited Webb later revealed.

Jolie also hooked up with Pitt as he was cycling near the site, down by the river – where he posed for a photo with a fan before riding off.

Brad Pitt Vows: No More Nude Scenes

"I don't want to be embarrassed when my kids get old enough to see my films," Pitt told the BBC in an interview that aired Tuesday. "I can't see any more nude scenes [in my career.]"

Pitt previously burned up the screen in the buff for Thelma and Louise and Troy – as well as in some steamy scenes with Angelina Jolie in Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

As for his future in films, the 43-year-old who is promoting his film The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, told the BBC, "I figure I've got very few films left. Who knows how many I'll get to do now, so I want to do something I'm interested in. Otherwise, I don't want to bother. I think it's a younger person's game."

Pitt, who recently dropped out of the film State of Play, also said he wasn't interested in making any more Ocean's movies. "There's no more," he said of the series of caper flicks he's made with pals George Clooney and Matt Damon. "I think we need to put away childish things."

He did offer some hope for working with Clooney and Damon again, though: "We'll find something else. I just don't think there's anywhere to go with that particular story," he said.

David Fincher Tracks 'The Killer'

The move comes after a couple of weeks of meetings between Pitt and director Kevin Macdonald ("The Last King of Scotland") in an attempt to iron out the concerns. The script cannot be worked on because of the Hollywood screenwriters' strike.

Universal is on the fast track to replace the star. Sources said the studio is looking at Johnny Depp, whose movie "Shantaram" just got postponed at Warner Bros., as well as Russell Crowe.

Pitt was set to star with Edward Norton, Helen Mirren, Rachel McAdams, Jason Bateman and Robin Wright Penn in the Matthew Michael Carnahan-scripted adaptation of the British miniseries. He was playing a political consultant-turned-journalist who heads a newspaper's murder investigation involving a fast-rising politician (Norton).

Sources said the studio is mulling its legal options and might sue the actor.

Universal confirmed Pitt's departure in a statement: "Brad Pitt has left the Universal Pictures production of 'State of Play.' We remain committed to this project and to the filmmakers, cast members, crew and others who are also involved in making the movie. We reserve all rights in this matter."

David Fincher Tracks 'The Killer'

According to Variety, Paramount has acquired the graphic novel "The Killer" as a directing venture for Fincher and a producing job for Brad Pitt's Plan B Entertainment.

Written by Matz and drawn by Luc Jacamon, "The Killer" was first published in France in 1988 and tells the hard-boiled story of an unnamed hired assassin trying to evade a cop. Simple stuff, eh?

Archaia Studio Press published "The Killer" as a 10-issue series in the United States.

The big screen version will be written by Allesandro Camon.

The trade paper makes no suggestion that Pitt might also star in "The Killer," though he just completed "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," his third film with Fincher following "Se7en" and "Fight Club."

Jolie, Pitt Come to HBO's Aid

The couple will executive produce an untitled drama about an international aid organization, focusing on both political maneuvering at the top and the struggles of aid workers on the ground. Scott Burns, a co-writer of "The Bourne Ultimatum," will write the script and also serve as an exec producer, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Jolie has been in this territory as an actress before, starring in the 2003 movie "Beyond Borders." Both she and Pitt are also active in humanitarian causes; their eponymous foundation supports groups such as Doctors Without Borders, and Jolie has been a United Nations goodwill ambassador for the past several years.

Pitt is currently starring in "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" and has several movie projects on deck. As a producer, he's teaming with "Fight Club" co-star Edward Norton for the HBO miniseries "Undaunted Courage," based on Stephen Ambrose's book about the Lewis and Clark expedition.

Jolie starred in "A Mighty Heart" (for which Pitt was a producer) earlier this year and will next be seen (in animated form) in "Beowulf," which hits theaters in November.

Bum Trip For Brangelina Kids

The nomadic superstars, who have lived in at least a half-dozen cities in two years, may be hurting their eldest son, Maddox, 6, by pulling him from schools and the younger three by "not creating a stable environment outside the family unit," said Manhattan-based psychotherapist/social worker Puja Hall, who's been practicing for 21 years.

"Maddox is an adopted child, so he already has a sense of abandonment," said Hall. "Kids that constantly move are like army brats, in that very often they don't want to open up to people. They feel loss, and there is a problem with attachment."

So far, the Jolie-Pitt clan has lived in New Orleans, Paris, Namibia, Berlin and, most recently, New York, where Maddox attended the prestigious Lycée Francais for just six weeks. Now they're in L.A., where Jolie is shooting "The Changeling." Pitt and Jolie are rumored to have enrolled at least one of the kids at Universal Studio's child-care center.

"With the moves, the kids just don't invest in relationships, because they're going to lose them anyway," Hall told Page Six's Marianne Garvey. "They think: 'Why bother? I'm not gonna stick around. We're gonna pick up and go, and the loss of friends is painful.' "

Hall added that before Pax, 3, Zahara, 2, and Shiloh, 16 months, get any older, Angelina and Brad need to decide where to settle down. "It needs to be weighed," said Hall. "At some point, they will have to make some important choices so the kids can form those bonds and keep them."

That's not the only problem - the kids also seem to be skipping the waiting lists at the schools. "We would most likely not take a child for [just] a few months, because we have a waiting list. If we take them for two months and you pay for two months, we lose money and someone on the waiting list loses a spot," said an employee at Lycée Francais, where the yearly tuition is $18,000 plus a $2,000 contract-signing fee.

"You still have to pay for at least half the year," the staff member said.

Jolie's rep, Cindy Guagenti, said that the story was "unfair to them" and that "it's nobody's business what they do with their kids." She said Maddox only goes to Lycée schools. Pitt's rep didn't get back to us.

Brother: Angelina Jolie's Children Are 'Unbelievable'

"They're unbelievable," Haven, 34, an activist for AIDS and human rights causes, tells Marie Claire in November's issue. "Zahara likes to hide from Angie, who always knows, right when she walks in the room, that Z's playing."

As for Pax, who was adopted at age 3 in March from a Vietnamese orphanage, the child "amazed me the first time he said my name," says the proud uncle.

"He didn't know any English, and I hadn't heard him say a word yet, so I wasn't expecting it," says Haven.

Human Rights Activist

Haven, an executive board member of Artivist, which is sponsoring an L.A. film festival Nov. 8 - 9 for movies about human rights and environmental issues, says he got started in philanthropy because of his sister.

"Angie was the catalyst," he says. "She'd say, 'I just heard this is going on in Darfur ...' and I'd want to be involved."

He also was prompted by what he called his difficult home conditions growing up with father Jon Voight.

"I don't want to constantly berate my father – I wish him well, and I hope he finds peace – but he put my mom through years of mental abuse, and it made me care especially for abandoned women and children," says Haven. "So that's my religion – helping widows and orphans."

A rep for Voight didn't return a call seeking comment.

On a less serious note, Haven says he still wishes people would forget about his famous kiss of his sister at the 2000 Oscars.

"So long ago!" he says. "Can we please move forward? Someday I'll get married, and on my wedding day they'll be saying, 'OK, we have to ask about that infamous Oscar kiss.'"

His Own Man

Brad Opens Up About His Faith

In high school, "I had crises of faith," Pitt, 43, tells Parade.

"I'd go to Christian revivals and be moved by the Holy Spirit, and I'd go to rock concerts and feel the same fervor," he tells the magazine in its new issue. "Then I'd be told, 'That's the Devil's music! Don't partake in that!' I wanted to experience things religion said not to experience."

Pitt, who took up journalism at the University of Missouri at Columbia, says when he started questioning religion, "It wasn't a loss of faith for me, it was a discovery of self. I had faith that I'm capable enough to handle any situation."

The young Pitt also had a little help from a college girlfriend.

"She was a Methodist preacher's kid. She wasn't that into me, truthfully, although we were together for a semester," Pitt says. "She helped me more than anyone else as far as setting off in my own direction. She was a hardcore realist. She called me on so much bull---- about any romantic ideas that I had grown up with about life."

Faith in Family

Still, Pitt, who was raised a conservative Southern Baptist, is not anti-faith today. "Religion works. I know there's comfort there, a crash pad. It's something to explain the world and tell you there is something bigger than you, and it is going to be all right in the end," he says.

For him, faith is a personal code of values. "What's important to me is that I've defined my beliefs and lived according to them and not betrayed them," he says. "One of those is my belief in family. I still have faith in that."

Pitt, who has four children with Angelina Jolie, also believes in doing charitable work. But when asked if he'd ever consider becoming a public servant – as a politician – he laughs it off.

"I never thought about it. I have no desire at this point," he tells the magazine. "Maybe I serve better by not going through that door."

But he has some ideas of some actors who should run for office. "George should do it!" he says, referring to his longtime friend, George Clooney. "He'd be quite good. I think Ben Affleck should run."

Pitt on New Orleans: Make It Right

Redoubling his efforts to help restore New Orleans to its glory days, the actor/do-gooder turned up at Wednesday's meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative in New York City and announced plans to team up with real-estate tycoon Steve Bing to create more than 150 affordable, eco-friendly homes in the Crescent City's devastated Lower Ninth Ward.

The endeavor is the first program in Pitt's new Make It Right project, which aims to revive the community and culture of one of New Orleans' poorest neighborhoods, which was wiped out in September 2005 when floodwaters breached the levees and engulfed the city.

Pitt appeared at the third annual gathering of former president Bill Clinton's nonprofit foundation, which seeks to bring together global leaders to work toward solving some of the world's most pressing problems. The Ocean's Thirteen star challenged attendees to support his campaign to make New Orleans livable again for displaced residents, many of whom don't have the money to rebuild.

Pitt pledged to match $5 million in contributions to Make It Right, while Bing promised the same, bringing the total to $10 million in matching funds.

"The heart and soul of New Orleans, specifically the people of the Lower Ninth Ward, are paramount to this project," said the 43-year-old actor.

"The words of one elderly man who is determined to return to New Orleans led to the name of our organization: He asked us, directly, simply and profoundly, to help make it right. So that's what we're doing. We're going to help make it right with 150 sustainable, affordable houses—houses that stand out for their design both aesthetically and structurally, so that these people can live in beautiful safe structures that respect their spirit and provide a good quality of life."

Make It Right will also provide a finance plan for residents who wish to return to the neighborhood without incurring huge debts.

"We're prepared to break ground by the end of the year, but we need your help," Pitt added.

This isn't the first such New Orleans-centric initiative from Pitt, who is a part-time resident himself after he and partner Angelina Jolie purchased a home there last January.

The actor and architecture enthusiast launched a design competition in April 2006 with nonprofit Global Green USA. Underwritten with $100,000 of his own money, the contest sought plans for sustainable, low-income housing for the Lower Ninth. Pitt announced the winning design last September—on the first anniversary of Katrina—and paid a visit there a few weeks ago to check on the building progress.

He and Jolie also hosted an intimate Hamptons soiree in August that drew about 70 bigwigs to raise money for both campaigns.

Speaking of Jolie, the 32-year-old U.N. Goodwill Ambassador is set to meet in the Big Apple this week with Britain's new foreign secretary, David Miliband, to discuss global diplomacy.

As for Pitt, when he's not taking time out to save the world, the one-time Oscar nominee is hanging with pal George Clooney across the East River, shooting Burn After Reading, a CIA spy-caper comedy from the Coen brothers.

After that wraps, Pitt will then join forces with his fellow Fight Clubber, Edward Norton, for State of Play, a drama about a reporter caught up in a murder case involving a politician.

Pitt is also in talks to star in The Fighter, playing a disgraced boxer who turns his life around in time to mentor his half-brother (Mark Wahlberg) in a bid for a world title.

Pitt's latest film, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, is now in theaters.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's High-Powered Day in N.Y.C.

The first stop of the day... The Clinton Global Initiative, where Pitt asked for support for his Make It Right program. He's partnering with billionaire Steve Bing on the project, which plans to build 150 affordable – and environmentally sustainable – homes in New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward. Pitt and Bing have each promised to match donations pledged during the initiative up to $5 million.

In the afternoon... Jolie is slated to attend a press conference with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guteres, to talk about a new campaign, Nine Million, aimed at improving education for refugee children around the world.

Then in the evening... Jolie, a Goodwill Ambassador for the U.N. refugee agency, is scheduled to speak at a session focused on education for children in war-torn areas such as Darfur and Iraq.

The busy day of high-powered goodwill work is hardly unusual – Pitt is already working with Global Green to create environmentally friendly housing in New Orleans, while Jolie has done extensive work in her role at the United Nations.

In was also announced Tuesday that Jolie would meet with British Foreign Secretary David Miliband in New York to discuss global diplomacy.

And if that's not enough, Pitt's doing a little acting, too: He's filming Burn After Reading, which costars his pal George Clooney.

Brad Pitt Pays a Visit to The Washington Post

In Washington to research his film role as an investigative reporter in the upcoming thriller, State of Play, Brad Pitt paid a visit to The Washington Post's newsroom on Friday and sent the hearts of hard-nosed scribes aflutter.

"It was like angels singing," the paper reported one female employee as saying. She had made eye contact with Pitt during his four-hour tour of the newsroom with State director Kevin McDonald.

Pitt also caught up with someone from his past – investigative reporter James Grimaldi, who was Pitt's Sigma Chi frat brother at the University of Missouri, the Post reports.

As Pitt toured the newspaper offices, Angelina Jolie was elsewhere in D.C., taking meetings with Colin Powell and then with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to discuss her recent trips to Iraq and Syria, Jolie's rep said.

Pitt, 43, dressed up for his tour – pairing his gray tweed cap with blue slacks and a tan blazer and white, button-down shirt (no tie) in lieu of his usual blue jeans and T-shirt. He reportedly waved and said hello to employees who halted work to glimpse the star.

State of Play, which costars Edward Norton, is a Washington-based drama about two journalists trying to solve a murder of a political staffer, the film's production supervisor said. It is based on the BBC miniseries of the same name and is set to begin shooting in November.

In the meantime, Pitt is living in Manhattan and shooting scenes for the Coen Brothers' movie, Burn After Reading, with George Clooney – assuming Clooney, who had a motorcyle mishap in New Jersey on Friday, is recovered in time. The streets of Brooklyn, reports Brooklynheightsblog.com, will double for the streets of the Washington suburb of Georgetown.

'Jesse James' is just a great, gorgeous Western

Though there is plenty of gunplay, this is a wondrously contemplative and poetic saga that offers a fresh and bewitching take on a timeworn genre.

Its deliberate pacing and majestic beauty is reminiscent of Terrence Malick's Days of Heaven. That meditative style serves to bring into startling focus the gorgeous Western landscape as well as the complex internal geography of key characters.

We know the inevitable from the title, but that doesn't stop us from being intrigued every step of the way as events play out and lead to the unavoidable violent climax.

Surprisingly, things don't stop there. The movie is about so much more than the murder of a notorious outlaw. It is a testimony to Andrew Dominik's sharp writing and luminous direction — and to the impressive acting of this ensemble cast — that events don't feel predictable.

The film, based on the novel of the same name by Ron Hansen, is heightened by a rare cinematic artistry that seamlessly melds a probing character essay with a lyrical Western epic.

Jesse James was a thief and murderer, many times over. But he fascinated people around the world in much the same way our tabloid culture romanticizes latter-day bad boys and girls. Those who think the fascination surrounding O.J. Simpson's arrest and trial is a modern phenomenon will be disabused of that notion after seeing what happened after James was killed.

And who better to play someone who fascinates the masses while still leading the solid life of a family man than Brad Pitt? Pitt possesses the ideal charismatic and enigmatic qualities essential for the part of the iconic James.

But Casey Affleck as Robert Ford is the real revelation. Though he has made his presence felt playing a quirky character among the starry cast of the Ocean's trilogy, he is of course the lesser-known Affleck. After this role, if there is any justice, that ought to change.

Affleck perfectly inhabits the role of the needy and ambitious Ford, a manipulator who idolizes James, yearns to be his sidekick and eventually manages to kill an outlaw who eluded capture in 10 states.

But what Ford didn't bargain for is the aftermath of his act of violence. The film examines the concept of celebrity from all angles. Because James daringly targeted the wealthy owners of railroads and banks, he and his gang enthralled the public. And his death only intensified his fame.

As played by Pitt, James is not writ large. He is sharp and cunning but human. Audiences get a powerful sense of the man behind the mythologized persona in this riveting and ruminative film. Even with the resplendent Western iconography, the psychological underpinning of the key characters is the film's most arresting aspect.

Brad Pitt ready to rumble in boxing movie

Pitt is putting on the gloves that were to have been worn by Matt Damon, who had to bow out because of scheduling conflicts.

What is more notable, however, is that Pitt might finally make a movie with Aronofsky, with whom he was to have collaborated on "The Fountain" in 2002. Pitt pulled out of that movie during preproduction, effectively killing it until Aronofsky resurrected it in 2005 with Hugh Jackman at half the previous budget. Relations between the two soured for a while afterward. ("The Fountain" bombed at the box office last year.)

Based on the life of boxer "Irish" Mickey Ward (Wahlberg) and his trainer brother Dick Eklund (Pitt), "The Fighter" chronicles their early days on the rough streets of Lowell, Mass., through Eklund's battle with drugs and Ward's eventual world championship in London. It is set up at Paramount.

Pitt returns to theaters Friday in the Western "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford," which opens in limited release.

Brad Pitt: Children Are an Antidote to Sadness

"It's the greatest thing I've ever taken on," Pitt said of parenting on ABC's Good Morning America on Thursday. "It's the most difficult, the most rewarding and the most fun. I think this is the greatest thing I could possibly achieve, and hats off to all the parents out there."

Pitt says his happiness as a dad was made clear to him while playing Jesse James in the new film The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.

James also grew up in Missouri, and Pitt found himself reconnecting with his past – one defined by a general sense of melancholy that he said is deeply ingrained in the prairie culture.

"He's from the same area that I'm from," Pitt said. "I was surprised how much that meant to me in the end, to do something that had a connection with home."

But it also brought back what he called the "congenital sadness" of the region. "It's something that I feel in my grandparents, in the people I've met, in a Southern way of life," said Pitt. "It's something pervasive, an undercurrent that I think Christianity answers."

For Pitt, having children helped lift the cloud. "They say the funniest things I've ever heard," he said. "They're the funniest people I've ever met."

A lot of the skill of parenting, he said, comes from instinct. But it doesn't hurt to have some help.

"One of the things I'm most happy about for my kids," Pitt said, "is that they have a mother, I think, because she's amazing."

The Assassination of Jesse James opens Friday.

Pitt turns outlaw in `Jesse James'

"I will say, I was surprised to see how tabloid journalism was alive and well even then and operating in the same way, just sensationalizing a complete fabrication of untruths," said Brad Pitt, who stars as the legendary outlaw in "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford."

"There's just more of it today. There's more of it in quantity, but the execution's the same. In that day, when you only had a newspaper to get your information, that would have been the extent of it. But it doesn't seem to have changed at all," Pitt told The Associated Press at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Pitt and Angelina Jolie, stars of the 2005 hit "Mr. and Mrs. Smith," have been the quarry of celebrity photographers and the object of incessant tabloid gossip since they hooked up amid the breakup of Pitt's marriage to Jennifer Aniston. A media vigil preceded the birth of their daughter in Namibia last year, and crowds swelled during the Toronto festival everywhere they went.

In the late 1800s, James was able to move anonymously through America under a series of aliases, but his notoriety was unparalleled. James' image as a Robin Hood-style bandit of the people — a myth he helped perpetuate himself — had made him a folk hero to the public and a demon to the railroads.

Based on Ron Hansen's novel, "Assassination of Jesse James" dissects the James myth to present a charismatic man in the last year of his life, as his sense of security crumbles and he is overwhelmed by paranoia that associates are selling him out to the law.

Into James' inner circle comes young idolator Ford (Casey Affleck), who has grown up on romanticized stories of the outlaw's deeds. Initially an intimate, Ford later becomes an object of scorn for Pitt's increasingly unpredictable James.

Ford eventually feels compelled to become James' executioner, coming to believe it's almost a civic duty.

"I don't know what led to his idea, the need to destroy the very thing that he worshipped, but that's certainly what's going on here. You have a demoralized boy, a boy who's subject to humiliation, and in his quiet hours has this lust for the Jesse James celebrity, the Jesse James phenomenon," said Pitt, 43.

"Then at the point where he meets Jesse James, meets his idol, and his idol spurns him, it becomes that thing, needing to destroy the thing you love to become equal with it again."

At two hours, 40 minutes, "Assassination of Jesse James," which opens Friday, is a challenging tale, yet one that has drawn praise for the lyrical melancholy of its 19th century landscapes and for the key performances. The film earned the best-actor prize at the Venice Film Festival for Pitt, a previous supporting-actor Academy Awards nominee for "Twelve Monkeys" who could be in contention for a lead-actor Oscar this time.

The celebrity mystique that surrounds Pitt meshed well with the mythic nature of James, said Andrew Dominik, director of "Assassination of Jesse James."

"It was the sort of part that you could cast a movie star in and it would make sense," Dominik said. "It wouldn't be miscasting Brad, who you never really feel like you know on-screen. He's always retained kind of an essential mystery. He's not a person people really identify with. He's more of an object to them. They aspire to be him, but they don't really identify with him.

"Those were really good qualities for Jesse. They're both enigmatic and charismatic."

Pitt first caught widespread notice in a scene-stealing role in 1991's "Thelma & Louise" and went on to star in such films as "Legends of the Fall," "Spy Game," "Troy" and last year's acclaimed "Babel," co-starring Cate Blanchett.

Blanchett and Pitt reunite for next year's "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," Pitt's third film with David Fincher, based on F. Scott Fitzgerald's story about a man who is born old and ages backward toward infancy.

"He's just so open. He's a great player. Brad loves a good idea and a good conversation, and I think that extends to acting, really," Blanchett said. "I think he's got a really good nose for what works, and I think people will be blown away by him in `Benjamin Button.'"

Pitt now is shooting the Coen brothers' dark comedy "Burn After Reading" with George Clooney, his partner in crime in "Ocean's Eleven" and its two sequels.

While Pitt looks for roles that offer fresh dramatic possibilities, finding good work companions such as Clooney has become crucial in his job choices.

"As I get older, it's the company I keep," Pitt said. "It means something to me to have these friends out here and people I respect ... Most of the movie is spent when the camera's not rolling, and to work with these interesting people is really the most important thing to me."

With his production company Plan B, Pitt also is active as a producer whose credits include Jolie's recent drama "A Mighty Heart." (He also was a producer on "Assassination of Jesse James.")

Pitt jokes that the advantage of today's celebrity culture is that people are not carrying six-shooters around the way they did in James' day. Even so, as a new father, Pitt is mindful of the potential dangers that come with fame.

Along with their biological daughter, Pitt and Jolie have three children she adopted from Cambodia, Ethiopia and Vietnam.

"It's something that I want to be aware of and be cautious about, especially with the family, that everybody's protected," Pitt said. "I mean 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."

When Pitt or Jolie is working, the other takes time off to tend the children, who travel with them wherever they are filming.

"We just take turns and make sure we keep the family together," Pitt said.

Pitt is quick to acknowledge reporters' questions about his and Jolie's plans for more children.

"We're not done. 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. ...

"We also made a 9-foot-wide bed" that can fit him, Jolie and all four children, Pitt said. "Just big enough. One more and we'll have to go to 11 feet."

Brad Pitt: Hollywood's most wanted man

So it's hardly shocking that Pitt, 43, relates to the desperado he embodies in the intense character study The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. The nearly three-hour film, opening in limited release Friday, just netted Pitt the best-actor award at the Venice Film Festival, though the film itself is getting mixed reviews. Pitt's Jesse James is a mercurial, mercenary killer with a mean streak, murdered by a member of his gang.

"I understand the essence of paranoia," Pitt says. "I understand being hunted, to some degree. I understand a bounty on my head. But the movie is about so much more. The real tragedy is that there was a chance he could have gotten past this moment. He's wrestling with himself and lost that battle."

If Pitt wrestles with anything these days, it's the media and fan frenzy that encroaches on his life but is necessary to sell his films and promote his causes.

For this interview at the Toronto Film Festival, Pitt at the last minute insists that director Andrew Dominik join him to keep questions squarely focused on the film. One thing is clear: He's not interested in sharing touchy-feely details of life with partner Angelina Jolie, 32, and their kids Maddox, 6, Pax, 3, Zahara, 2, and Shiloh, 1.

He's dressed casually in a tan shirt and gray newsboy cap as he lopes into the room accompanied by a small entourage of publicists and stylists. Knowing the effect his name and presence have, he makes an effort to bridge gaps and connect by extending his hand and saying, "Hi, I'm Brad." But he never once makes eye contact.

At first, he tries to shift the attention away from himself entirely, pointing to a newspaper with fellow festival attendee Terrence Howard on the cover and saying, "That boy's good."

He praises his Babel wife Cate Blanchett, exclaiming happily when he learns she's at the festival for Elizabeth: The Golden Age, calling her "exquisite" and "gorgeous," and adding, "you can't take a bad picture of her."

He eventually does share a personal detail. He misses his children, who are back in New York: "Two days without the kids," he mutters, shaking his head. But he's not here to discuss his home life: "Personal anecdotes — what does that have to do with the movie?" he asks.

Perhaps the actor is still shaken up by the previous night's premiere of Jesse James, which metastasized into a mob scene. "We had to come back here. We had to get under a garage," he tells Dominik. "Nothing was cordoned off. There were no barriers."

Toronto gossip columnist Lainey Lui (laineygossip.com), who has covered the festival for years, calls what unfolded "the biggest celebrity mob scene ever. Ever."

Jolie and Pitt were in a car together, en route from their screening to the private after-party. "The crowd was so thick anyway, from people downtown on a Saturday night. And then, they were spotted," Lui says. "The crowd started to find out that it was Brad and Angelina. People who were driving down on other streets left their cars and ran to see them. Seven people jumped on their car."

Pitt and Jolie's vehicle tried to inch forward. "We saw all these people running. People were holding up their cellphones (to take photos). 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.' "

Through it all, "Brad was yelling at the driver to drive, Angelina looked like a woman completely paralyzed. You could read her lips, and she kept saying, 'Get back to the hotel.' "

None of his buddies — Matt Damon or George Clooney, say — have to deal with anything near the furor surrounding Pitt's life.

The next day, Pitt insists that he and Jolie control and manage the fame and rarely find it overpowering. "I understand the deal. It got chaotic last night, but there was genuine happiness, and it meant something to them. It only bothers me when they get in the kids' faces."

Yet they have no plans to stop adding to their family. He has talked openly before about wanting a fifth child. Now he adds, "We're certainly not done. Sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth …"

The family's current base is New York because he is shooting the Coen brothers' Burn After Reading. Jolie and Pitt globe-trot from movie set to movie set, stopping in at their homes in Los Angeles, England and New Orleans in between. It's no accident their life starkly resembles the wandering existence of the James clan, which quietly shuffled from home to home to evade authorities.

"It's impossible for us," he says. "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." That's why "there's a constant negotiation in how to survive and how to maintain a family life."

There's also the maintenance of their charitable causes.

Jolie famously advocates for refugees worldwide, while he is active in the ONE campaign to eradicate poverty and Global Green, which is replacing homes in New Orleans destroyed by Hurricane Katrina with eco-friendly buildings.

"It's dismal down there," he says of the city. "We're expanding to a larger project that we're not ready to announce yet."

Bono, who sets the standard in celebrity activism and knows Pitt through their work on the ONE campaign, praises Pitt's efforts and his "intellectual curiosity."

"He has another thing hardly anyone else has in his position: modesty. He never wants to be the professor and always wants to be the student. His modesty belies his capability. He rolls up his sleeves and gets to know the subjects. He's not turning up for the photos, he gets into the trenches. There's a striking candor about him."

Surely, Pitt isn't perfect. Bono responds: "Would you give your house to him for the weekend? Absolutely, but you'd better check your scotch."

Dominik can't quite believe his collaborator of four years is the celebrity world's most wanted man. His first film, Chopper, starred a then-unknown Eric Bana. And Dominik is seeing firsthand the global sensation that is Brad Pitt.

"I just realized how famous he was over the last two places (Venice and Toronto). It's kind of thrilling, a sugar rush, but also really threatening. In Venice, after the press conference, a wave of 200 people ran at the table."

Pitt likens it to "a starting gun going off."

Moviegoers won't find that kind of rush in the pair's film. The movie, which Dominik admits is long and has no surging plot, moves at a saunter and lacks the furious gunplay of a standard Western. Both Dominik and Pitt acknowledge it could be a tough sell for mainstream audiences accustomed to big, brash action flicks.

But Pitt clearly believes in his director: "Andrew understands the undercurrents that propel us to behave like we do, that don't make sense. And through the whole process, he never wavered on his vision."

Dominik says after a few days of shooting, he forgot Pitt was the star of his movie. "I completely accepted him as Jesse. Even in the cast, they would talk about Jesse, not Brad Pitt," he says.

"The hardest thing about doing something with Brad is that he's Brad. When you watch Brad on screen, you never really feel like you know him. He's got an old-time mystery."

James could sniff out liars and traitors. Pitt, too, says he has honed instincts he didn't know he had.

"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. (On the Canadian set), there was a guy in total camouflage, who commandoed his way on knee and elbow. And I know that feeling. It's inexplicable, one of those instincts."

Confirms Dominik: "He would always spot the paparazzi hiding in the tree."

West Goes East

'Fight Club' Reunion for Brad Pitt, Edward Norton

Tony Gilroy ("Michael Clayton") has been working on a rewrite of the British miniseries for for director Kevin Macdonald ("The Last King of Scotland"), according to Variety.

The original miniseries was scripted by Paul Abbott and directed by David Yates. Matthew Michael Carnahan took the first crack at the American script, which features Pitt as a former political operative who uses his connections to become a reporter. Things get complicated when he begins investigating a murder involving a rising congressman (Norton) and even has an affair with the politician's estranged wife.

In the original miniseries, David Morrissey played the politician, with John Simm as the journalist.

The trade paper says that Universal hopes to have the new "State of Play" in production by this November, shortly after Norton completes his current project, Marvel's new version of "The Incredible Hulk."

Norton has most recently been seen in "The Painted Veil" and "The Illusionist." The two-time Oscar nominee already has already completed work on the police drama "Pride and Glory" with Colin Farrell.

Lee's Lust, Pitt's Jesse Top Venice

Ang Lee's Lust, Caution, a sexually charged spy thriller set in WWII-era Shanghai, took home the prestigious Golden Lion on Saturday at the 2007 Venice Film Festival.

This marks the second time Lee has been awarded the fest's highest honor, with the Oscar winner's previous film, Brokeback Mountain, taking the Lion two years ago.

Lust, Caution, or Se, Jie in Chinese, is the first foreign-language picture for the Taiwanese native since 2001's martial-arts epic, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The film is the second straight Asia-set film to win the top prize at Venice, the oldest film festival in the world still going strong in its 64th year.

In accepting the Golden Lion, Lee noted he was doing so "in the shadow of the passing of two great giants," Swedish director Ingmar Bergman—whom Lee saw while making Lust not long before Bergman's death on July 30 at age 89—and Italian auteur Michelangelo Antonioni, who passed away one day later.

"Ingmar hugged me the way a mother hugs a child," Lee said. "This hug was not for me, it was for you, the guardians of cinema."

Lust, Caution, starring Joan Chen, Indian star Anupam Kher, Chih-ying Chu and Tony Leung, follows a young woman who joins a college acting troupe and finds herself drawn into a deadly mission to assassinate a powerful political figure collaborating with the Japanese occupying the city during the war.

The Silver Lion for Best Director went to Brian DePalma for his Iraq war docudrama Redacted, based on the true story of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl raped and murdered by American soldiers. The film also delves into how the modern media sanitizes the brutal nature of that conflict for public consumption.

In a bit of a surprise, Brad Pitt edged out costar Casey Affleck and snag Best Actor for the Andrew Dominik-helmed western The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.

Meanwhile, Cate Blanchett scored Best Actress for her cross-dressing turn as Bob Dylan in Todd Haynes' offbeat biopic, I'm Not There. Blanchett is one of six actors who take turns playing the folk-rock icon.

Pitt, who attended his movie's premiere earlier in the week with Angelina Jolie—and Blanchett were MIA for the awards ceremony, but the latter sent along a note of appreciation.

"I'm sorry I can't stand here throwing my arms around Todd, weeping just like a woman," she said in a statement.

Haynes—the director of such acclaimed films as 2002's Far from Heaven, 1998's Velvet Goldmine and 1995's Safe—received a special jury prize for his work.

A second special jury award was given to Franco-Tunisian director Abdellatif Kechiche for The Secret of the Grain, a drama following a Tunisian immigrant family living in France. The film's star, Hafsia Herzi, was named Best Young Actress.

Best Screenplay went to venerable British filmmaker Ken Loach for It's a Free World, dramatizing the exploitation of immigrant workers in the U.K.

"Of course a screenplay means absolutely nothing if you look into an actor's eyes and don't believe them," Loach said at the podium. "Most of all I'd like to thank the hundreds and hundreds of workers, legal and illegal," many of whom he interviewed while making the film.

Tim Burton, whose résumé includes Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, Batman and Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, was bestowed a Golden Lion for lifetime achievement.

Legendary Italian director Bernardo Bertolucci was honored with a special Golden Lion Award to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Venice's first official wingding. The festival actually debuted in 1932, but it's only officially in its 64th year thanks to various interruptions, including World War II and local protests that caused several cancellations.

Brad Pitt doesn't take outlaw approach to stardom

Pitt has found one key way to stay grounded while paparazzi and tabloid reporters swarm around: focus on his family.

In "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford," Pitt plays the legendary bandit who was gunned down by a member of his own gang. In the movie, James becomes too consumed by his notoriety -- writers hyping his every move and fans and friends hanging on -- to keep a level head.

Pitt said he could "understand the surface similarities" between James' life and his own as an international movie star but the A-list actor has found ways to keep his ego in check.

"It's just about knowing what is of value, about understanding value," Pitt said, ahead of the movie's debut Saturday night at the Toronto International Film festival.

And what is "of value" to the actor?

"That I live according to my beliefs, that I just don't play someone I respect. In fact, usually I play people I don't respect," he laughed.

But then Pitt paused and reflected, "And my family. Family has redefined everything for me. Everything takes a back seat, and I find it very freeing."

Pitt, 43, soared to fame following his role as a roadside hunk in 1991's "Thelma and Louise." He married and divorced former "Friends" star Jennifer Aniston and his current companion is Oscar-winning actress Angelina Jolie, with whom he is raising four children.

MANAGING THE MEDIA

Pitt and Jolie attract massive media and fan attention. This week at the Venice film festival, a woman pushed past guards and tried to hug Pitt before being pulled away.

Pitt does his best to keep his personal life outside the media glare. But the attention and how he deals with it is relevant to his portrayal of James.

The slow-paced movie is not an old-style, shoot-'em-up Western. At more than 2 1/2 hours, it delves into James' personality as he grapples with the pop culture of the late 19th century that made the killer an idol.

"In some ways, (the movie) deals with the nature of celebrity and the trappings of celebrity, getting lost behind that image and not knowing how to get around it," Pitt said. "Not only celebrity but the wanting to get next to celebrity -- this idea that self-worth is connected to fame."

The other key figure in the film is Robert "Bob" Ford," played by Casey Affleck, who worshiped James as a youth, rides with the James gang as a man and eventually shoots his idol in the back.

Early reviews were mostly good and on Saturday, Pitt was given a best actor award from the Venice film festival.

"I was really surprised and remain surprised. I really didn't expect it." Pitt told reporters at a news conference at Toronto. "It's great fun."

Clooney to Pitt: I'll murder you, pal

"I'm working with him right now this Coen brothers movie, which kills me because he's going to steal the movie and I'm going to murder him," Clooney joked with reporters on Saturday.

Clooney and Pitt are at the Toronto International Film Festival this week screening major movies. Clooney has drama "Michael Clayton," about a lawyer in crisis and Pitt fields "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford," about the celebrity of the notorious 19th Century outlaw.

They scheduled back-to-back news conferences in the same room, and the juxtaposition prompted questions pitting the movies and stars against one another.

"I don't like it," Clooney said. "It's a weird thing, but you try not to compete in art. It always seems kind of strange. I could never do the things that he (Pitt) does, ever."

"I do have some competition with Matt Damon -- I'd like to kick his ass," Clooney said with a big grin. Damon, too, co-starred with Clooney and Pitt in "Ocean's Thirteen," and he was in Toronto this week for a charity event.

Clooney was on a roll. Asked to name his favorite Pitt movie, he answered "Johnny Suede," to roars of laughter.

In that early 1990s film, Pitt played a wannabe rock star who idolized 1950s pop singer Ricky Nelson. It bombed at box offices, making just about $90,000 in ticket sales, according to box office tracker, boxofficemojo.com.

But to save face -- and perhaps stave off a tongue-lashing from his friend -- he complemented Pitt.

"He's a really brave actor -- people don't often say that enough about him. What he did in 'Snatch' is just phenomenal," Clooney said.

About an hour later, Pitt entered his news conference and he, too, joined in the jokes, saying his favorite Clooney film was "Red Surf," in which Clooney played a drug-dealing surfer. It made $13,000 in theaters, according to boxofficemojo.com.

"Go see it," Pitt said with a smirk while giving an "OK" hand signal.

Brad Pitt & Jennifer Aniston Have a 'Deep Friendship'

"Jen and I still maintain a deep friendship and have a lot of life together that isn't erased in any way," the actor tells V magazine of the couple's four-and-a-half year union, which ended in 2005.

"I don't know how better to have handled [the split]. My view was, this was no one's business in the end – at least in matters of the heart," he says. "The thing guiding me then was, you don't know how many days you have, and you need life to be everything you need it to be."

Despite the intense attention to the couple, Pitt says he and Aniston did their best to ignore the frenzy. "The most important thing about that time was for Jen and me to figure out if – how do I put it? – if we didn't want to go on without any outside influence. Is this where we got off? Have we taken this as far as we wanted to go?"

Adds Pitt, who now has four children with Angelina Jolie: "Those questions had to be answered before an attraction to Angie could be answered."

Of his relationship with Jolie, 32, Pitt, 43, recalls fondly their time together when he was in Canada filming The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, which recently debuted at the Venice Film Festival.

"Angie was pregnant. It was a very nice time for us," he says. "We stayed out in the woods by a river. We were in a big log cabin. So personally, it was a magical time."

Brangelina's Kids Go French

Brad Pitt 'Liked' Turning 40

"I liked it, man," Pitt, 43, tells Details for its October issue about turning 40. "Maybe I had a crisis earlier or something. Maybe I had it in my 30s."

Of aging he adds, "One thing sucks, your face kind of goes. Your body's not quite working the same. But you earned it. You earned that, things falling apart."

When it comes to his philanthropy – Pitt is working with Global Green to build eco-friendly homes in New Orleans, among other projects – Pitt says that, too, was part of his maturation process and learning to see the world beyond Hollywood.

"I carried the standard cynicism," he says. "But it was also feeling like, I can't sit on my couch anymore, I'm going crazy. This thing I'm doing with my life, it's very nice ... But it's not doing it for me."

Now, he says, when he looks at his four children, what he sees is the future. And when he looks at the future, what he sees are even more children.

"We're not done," Pitt tells Details, echoing what he told reporters Sunday at the Venice Festival, when asked if he's prepared for a fifth child: "Yeah, we're ready."

Of the seemingly instant family he built with Angelina Jolie, "I had one kid, then two kids, then three kids [in] two and a half years or so," Pitt tells the magazine (on sale Wednesday).

But he hasn't been thrown by all the fast changes. "Listen, I've always embraced extremes, so it doesn't feel odd to me," he says. "There's a couple weeks of finding your balance, and then it's in stone."

And Pitt says he is delighted to be a dad to Maddox, 6; Pax, 3; Zahara, 2; and Shiloh, 1, who are from all over the world. "You just look at them and go, my daughter's from Ethiopia, two sons from Asia, a daughter who's born in Namibia – and they are brother and sister."

Taking a hand in improving the world, he says, is "something that brought Angie and I together certainly – she's absolute evidence for me of someone facilitating changes for the better."

Of the universe he has created with his family, Pitt says, "It pleases me so much. I get so warm. I don't even see in that, anymore, what their lives could have been. I have to intellectually think about that. They are a bond, they are a family. And I want to see those bonds and that family grow. And that right there, sitting in our kitchen, is how I want to see the world. It's how I want the world to be."

In contrast, he says of a world he shuns, "This Paris Hilton quest for fame ... she's blissfully obvious." Remembering the heiress's stint in jail, Pitt says, "We hadn't seen television for ... like a month. I'm probably exaggerating. And we just got back to the United States. And we turned on CNN. And on comes Paris Hilton, going to jail. And so we just turned it off again."

Brad Pitt muses about celebrity

Pitt, who was at the Venice Film Festival to promote "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford," has served as endless grist for the tabloid mill since he hooked up with Angelina Jolie.

"People have asked me today about the celebrity angle," the 43-year-old Pitt told Associated Press Television in an interview Monday in the lagoon city, "and certainly that's one aspect of the film — that's not the main focus of the film."

Pitts mused that James was one of America's biggest celebrities at that time, "and the funny thing to me is that it doesn't seem that different today as it was then, in the sense that a lot of it was manufactured, a lot of it was sensationalized, very little of it was based on truth and even after his death, like we just saw with Anna Nicole Smith, the melee that ensues from it." (Smith, a model and former Playboy Playmate, died in February at 39, setting off a frenzy of media coverage.)

Being a celebrity is "really quite similar, there's just more of it today," Pitt said.

Fan's Pitt Stop Jolts Star

"Assassination of Jesse James" a celluloid crime

Yet this fascinating relationship gets smothered in pointlessly long takes, repetitive scenes, grim Western landscapes and mumbled, heavily accented dialogue. The self-indulgence begins with director Andrew Dominik and infects much of the cast, who deliver meandering, unstable performances. Instead of contemplating the moral dimensions of novelist Ron Hansen's portrait of outlaw paranoia and obsession, a viewer can only think of waste -- the waste of good material and themes, a talented cast and, most crucially, the viewer's own time.

Coming from the production companies of the film's star, Brad Pitt, and Ridley and Tony Scott and based on Hansen's well-received novel, the film's pedigree probably means a solid opening week. However, word-of-mouth might kill the movie faster than Robert Ford killed Jesse James.

For the record, Robert (Casey Affleck) doesn't shoot Pitt's Jesse until 132 minutes into the 160-minute running time. Strangely, what happens afterward is at least as interesting as what leads up to the murder. So the film also suffers from an imbalance: Too much time is lavished on the inevitable and not enough on its aftermath.

In 1881, Jesse James, 34, is at the height of his infamy as an outlaw. Bob Ford, 19, is the restless, country rube and younger brother of a James gang member. He has read every nickel novel written about the gangsters and is drawn to the scary, charismatic Jesse, who heads the gang along with his older brother, Frank (Sam Shepard, who's barely in the film despite being third-billed).

Most gang members are wary if not frightened of the moody Jesse and his explosive, often murderous temper, but Robert is irresistibly drawn to him. It's never clear to either man whether Robert wants to be like Jesse, destroy Jesse or somehow become him. The film is nothing if not a meditation on a fan's obsession with a celebrity, a phenomenon now called stalking.

But Dominik, who also wrote the script, drags out this poisonous courtship with protracted scenes either virtually empty of significance or redundant. Clouds roll swiftly over western skies. The weeds flap in the breeze. Men grunt, spit and stare at one another in mockery or fear.

Then there are those accents. Whether they accurately reflect the country rube-cracker speech of 19th century Missouri, they frequently land on 21st century ears as unintelligible sounds. Couldn't this have been cleaned up on the ADR stage?

The film grimly -- but no doubt accurately -- portrays one of the most famous outlaw gangs in history as a collection of hicks, petty thieves and psychopathic murderers. Pitt's Jesse is a born killer who sometimes covers up his brutality with nasty humor and bursts of generosity. He's naturally paranoid and shoots anyone he suspects whether he has reason to or not. If Robert didn't kill Jesse, Jesse surely would have killed him and his brother Charley (Sam Rockwell).

Affleck's Robert is the most interesting character here. Affleck does something to his voice that makes him whiny: He talks in a whimper. And his body moves in odd, halting angles. He is handsome but doesn't seem to know it. He alternately exudes great enthusiasm or sulks. He is a man forever auditioning for a role but uncertain exactly what it is. Then he finds his role -- and learns to hate himself and the act that made him famous.

Charlie is a lackey but after the killing turns morose, hateful and suicidal as the two tour the country in a stage show where they re-enact the killing. Charley plays Jesse. Meanwhile, two gang members, played by Paul Schneider and Jeremy Renner, carry on a feud that proves lethal for both. The women in the lives of these men, Mary-Louise Parker as Jesse's wife and Zooey Deschanel as a sympathetic friend acquired during his "stage career," are barely glimpsed.

Missouri circa 1880 in this Canadian-shot production is a raw, untamed land of rough beauty and mean accommodations. One thing of note is Nick Cave and Warren Ellis' music. They have produced a languid, often mournful score that is almost a dirge. Cave, the Australian singer-songwriter, also appears in a saloon scene to sing a well-known song from that era about Jesse and Robert.

Cast:
Jesse James: Brad Pitt
Robert Ford: Casey Affleck
Frank James: Sam Shepard
Zeralda James: Mary-Louise Parker
Dick Liddil: Paul Schneider
Wood Hite: Jeremy Renner
Dorothy Evans: Zooey Deschanel
Charley Ford: Sam Rockwell
Henry Craig: Michael Parks
Sheriff Timberlake: Ted Levine
Gov. Crittenden: James Carville

Screenwriter-director: Andrew Dominik; Based on the novel by: Ron Hansen; Producers: Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Ridley Scott, Jules Daly, David Valdes; Executive producers: Brad Grey, Tony Scott, Lisa Ellzey, Benjamin Waisbren; Director of photography: Roger Deakins; Production designer: Patricia Norris; Music: Nick Cave, Warren Ellis; Costume designer: Patricia Norris; Editors: Dylan Tichenor, Curtiss Clayton.

Pitt and Jolie ready for fifth child

Pitt and Jolie, with children in tow, were in Venice to talk about his film on Western outlaw Jesse James. The movie is competing for the top Golden Lion award at the city's film festival.

Pitt and Jolie already have four children including a 15-month-old girl, Shiloh, born to the couple. Jolie has also adopted three children close in age from Cambodia, Ethiopia and Vietnam.

Asked by Italian state TV whether they were ready for a fifth, Pitt replied: "Yeah we're ready."

He did not indicate whether they planned another biological child or if they would adopt.

Earlier on Sunday, Pitt told a news conference fatherhood was fun and good for his work, though he's not getting much sleep.

"It's the most fun I've ever had and also the biggest pain ... I've ever experienced," he said when asked what it was like to become a family with four children in a short space of time. "I love it and can't recommend it any more highly — although sleep is nonexistent."

Having four small children "makes me much more efficient because when I work, I really have to focus. I know I've less time to get things done. Actually, I'm quite pleased by it," said Pitt.

"The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford," stars Pitt, Casey Affleck and Sam Shepherd, and was directed by Andrew Dominik. Pitt described it as "more a gangster film than a Western."

Pitt plays James in the last year of his life as he lapses into paranoia over potential betrayal by accomplices and intimates.

Pitt plays Jesse James as outlaw who saw end coming

"The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" has a long title and, at 155 minutes, is a long movie which is in the main competition at the Venice film festival and has its world premiere on Sunday.

The Hollywood star portrays James -- a bandit and heroic Robin Hood figure to many during his life and long after his demise -- as a man tired of life on the run, who foresees his end is nigh and appears to hasten his death as a way of escape.

"I saw it ... as a guy who sensed impending doom, the inevitable end, who had been trapped in a facade and living an alias for so long and didn't know a way around it," Pitt told a news conference after a press screening.

"I find that more interesting, because it's more human to me than this black and white characterization."

New Zealand-born Andrew Dominik, directing only his second film, said he wanted to focus on the characters' internal struggles more than the relationships between them.

"It's kind of like life -- you know, we struggle more with ourselves than other people," he said of the film, based on Ron Hansen's novel of the same title.

While James has more fame than he wants, Ford, played by Casey Affleck, dreams of filling his hero's shoes one day.

A social misfit who is constantly teased and bullied, he gradually sees that his easiest path to stardom would be to kill the man he idolizes, and in the film he is hired by the governor of Missouri to bring James down.

GANGSTER MOVIE

The film takes in the intimate interiors of log cabins and saloons of 1880s America and pans to stunning shots of plains and rolling hills through the seasons.

But despite the subject matter and cinematography, Pitt said he saw it as more of a gangster movie than a Western.

The 43-year-old actor, who arrived in Venice with his partner and fellow Hollywood A-lister Angelina Jolie and their children, was also a producer on "Assassination."

When asked if he might try his hand at directing, he said: "I don't have the stones for it. I would probably go crazy and my feeling is there are too many good people doing it."

Early critical reaction to the historical drama has been mixed, with journalists in Venice generally enthusiastic about the film but the Hollywood Reporter's Kirk Honeycutt calling it pretentious and vacuous.

Pitt was asked about sustaining his career while having four children, and said it made him a much more efficient actor.

"That (the children) is the main focus and it is the most fun I have ever had," he said. "It is also the biggest pain in the arse I have ever experienced. I love it and I can't recommend it any more highly ... Sleep is non-existent."

Brad Pitt, George Clooney Head to Venice Film Festival

Some 15 films from the U.S. and seven from the U.K. are among the 57 features – chosen from more than 3,000 – screening at the fest, which opens with Atonement, starring Knightley. Its director, Joe Wright, also did Pride & Prejudice, which got the actress her first Oscar nomination.

Among the U.S. films in competition: Michael Clayton starring Clooney, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, with Pitt, and Todd Haynes's I'm Not There, the Bob Dylan biopic where Heath Ledger, Richard Gere, Christian Bale and – yes – Cate Blanchett all take turns playing the folk rocker at different stages of his life.

Wes Anderson's The Darjeeling Limited starring Owen Wilson and Adrien Brody, is also on the list. Wilson, who was hospitalized Sunday, was originally expected to appear at the film's Venice premiere Sept. 3.

Among the British films premiering is Kenneth Branagh's remake of Sleuth, starring Michael Caine (who starred with Laurence Olivier in the original 1972 version) and Jude Law – aka Alfies past and present.

The Nanny Diaries, starring Johannson, will be shown out of competition. Johannson's adored director Woody Allen is also expected at the festival – with his film Cassandra's Dream (starring Ewan McGregor and Colin Farrell) and not the untitled project he's currently filming with Johannson, Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem.

Quentin Tarantino will host the festival's Spaghetti Western sidebar, featuring 32 restored prints of films from the '60s genre, featuring tales of the Old West – shot in Italy and Spain.

Brangelina grab 'dogs, hit benefit in NY

Megastars Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were spotted Friday with kids Maddox, Zahara and Pax shopping at Lee's Art Shop in midtown Manhattan. Baby Shiloh was not there.

According to the New York Post, the family then headed toward Times Square, where Pitt ordered five hot dogs from a street vendor, three with ketchup and mustard, two with just ketchup.

"I didn't know who he was," said vendor Mahmoud Omer, who added that Pitt wanted relish but he didn't have any.

The "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" stars enjoyed a culinary upgrade Saturday when they attended a fundraiser at the home of Tribeca Film Festival co-founders Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff in Watermill, N.Y.

The Daily News reported that Pitt and Jolie left the kids with nannies and helicoptered to the Hamptons for the event, where they were joined by model Christie Brinkley, actress Ellen Barkin and beach balladeer Jimmy Buffett. The dinner was a benefit for Pitt's Make it Right project, which is focused on rebuilding New Orleans' Ninth Ward with environmentally friendly homes.

Pittscopter

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt travel in style - as they take a helicopter to a party.

The superstar couple were due to host a dinner of about 50 people to benefit the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

But rather than make the three-plus hour drive from New York City, they chose instead to hop in a helicopter and fly for around 45 minutes to the event, in the Hamptons on New York's Long Island.

The party was due to take place at the home of producer Jane Rosenthal and her husband Craig Hatkoff on Saturday night.

Pitt and Jolie were expected to make a large financial contribution to the cause before returning to Manhattan the same night.

Jolie, 32, and Pitt, 43, arrived at the heliport in the NYC VIP Heliport in a black SUV before a short walk to the waiting chopper.

They were joined by another male passenger before taking to the skies.

A source said: "They didn't want to make the long trip by road so this was the logical way to get to the party on time."

Pitt recently appeared on US television to discuss his involvement with the Global Green USA project, which is building zero energy, affordable housing for victims of Hurricane Katrina.

At least 1,800 people were killed when the deadly storm ravaged the US in August 2005.

We Hear...

Brad Pitt's Jesse James Trailer Hits the Web

The movie, which stars Pitt as the outlaw James and Casey Affleck as Ford (who was also an outlaw), was shot in Canada in 2005. It will hold its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival (which runs from Aug. 29 to Sept. 8) and then play the Toronto Film Festival. The movie opens in the U.S. on Sept. 21.

Meanwhile, the picture's premiere location is stirring up some dust: The citizens of St. Joseph, Mo., want Warner Bros. to open the film in their town, reports the Kansas City Star.

Why? Although Pitt grew up in Springfield, Mo., St. Joseph is where the real-life Jesse James was gunned down, in 1812. (The town's slogan is, "Where the Pony Express Began and Jesse James Ended.")

"Please bring Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck to Northwest Missouri," the St. Joseph Convention and Visitors Bureau states on a petition on its Web site. "This is where the history behind your movie took place, and we feel it is an absolutely appropriate location for a premiere screening."

So far, the town has made no progress with the request, reports the newspaper, which quotes bureau spokeswoman Beth Conway as saying, "It started as a joke. We were discussing ways we could get attention from the studio in showcasing the film. But it's been difficult to get to the powers that be."

As for Pitt, he and his Ocean's 11, 12 and 13 cohort George Clooney are about to begin shooting a new movie together, the Coen brothers' Burn After Reading.

Its location is as far from the Old West as a guy can get: Brooklyn, N.Y.

Brad Makes Another New Orleans Pitt Stop

The actor and part-time philanthropist paid a visit to the construction site of his eco-friendly, low-income housing project in the Big Easy Wednesday, to check on the progress on the Hurricane Katrina-inspired initiative he launched with Global Green USA.

A year after announcing the winners of the Sustainable Design Competition, and three months after breaking ground on the Ninth Ward project, Pitt stopped by the construction site to assess both the undertaking, which seeks to offer affordable, environmentally-friendly housing to single family homes displaced by the disaster.

"It is really dedicated to the quality of life of the family that'll live here," Pitt told NBC's Today show of the competition's design, in contrast to the FEMA-offered trailers the families currently call home. "It is about fairness, it is about dignity.

"It's a justice issue and what we saw in Katrina is that there is a portion of our society that's being overlooked. In the aftermath, we're not going to be able to bring back their friends and family that are lost, we're not going be able to bring back their heirlooms and their photographs, but maybe we can provide a better way of life. Maybe we can find some good out of this."

Pitt, who along with Angelina Jolie purchased a home in New Orleans in January, told Ann Curry that his concern for the rebuilding of the city sprung from his own residence there, saying, "I care very much for the area."

"Any debate on should we rebuild, should we not, I'll take you on," he said, adding that he looked forward to the region becoming a "big topic" in the upcoming presidential elections as the current level of lip service paid to the continued displacement of the residents simply "hasn't been enough.

"This place here is a small victory in that direction," he said of his housing project. "It doesn't feel like much of a victory when you look at the overall problem here. Katrina was a man-made disaster.

"The misconception is that it was nature," he said of Katrina, adding instead that he blamed "decades and decades of erroneous engineering moves. Really, really bad, irresponsible moves that I believe the government has a responsibility to make right."

Pitt, for one, is doing his part. All five single-family homes, and 18 apartments, which will be built with green materials and come equipped with energy-saving appliances, dual windows and high-efficiency lightbulbs, are scheduled for completion by this time next year.

The 43-year-old, meanwhile, is also getting set to unveil plans for an all new, likely equally eco-friendly, housing project for New Orleans in the very near future.

In the meantime, Pitt is continuing his bid to help the Big Easy. According to E! Online senior editor Marc Malkin, both Pitt and Jolie are putting together an intimate dinner, at which they will be appearing together, in the Hamptons to raise funds for his New Orleans housing projects. Helping to wrangle in the big names—and bigger pocketbooks—are Tribeca Film Festival cofounders and movie producers Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff, who will host the soiree.

FX Lifts '4 Oz.' with 'Nip/Tuck' Creator

The cable network has ordered a pilot episode for "4 Oz.," a drama about a man who realizes he'd rather live as a woman and the transformation he undergoes. FX has also asked for three additional scripts, the showbiz trade papers report.

Brad Falchuk, who's written a number of "Nip/Tuck" episodes, and Murphy penned the pilot together. Murphy will also direct the pilot and executive produce with Brad Pitt -- who's taking on his first TV series project as a producer -- and Dede Gardner.

The show is the first product of an eight-figure development deal Murphy signed with FX and its News Corp. cousins FOX and 20th Century Fox TV earlier this year.

It's also undergone some tweaks since Murphy's original pitch. He sold the show as being about a sportswriter -- a premise that's currently playing out in real life with Los Angeles Times scribe Christine Daniels (formerly Mike Penner). The lead character will now be a gynecologist who shares a practice with his father.

"Nip/Tuck" has touched on transgender issues before; Famke Janssen played a woman who was once a man in the show's second season.

Brad Pitt aims to keep focus on Katrina recovery

Nearly two years after the August 29, 2005 hurricane, the "Ocean's Thirteen" star said he was at times dismayed by the pace of recovery in New Orleans, where he and partner Angelina Jolie own an elegant townhouse in the historic French Quarter.

Pitt was in the Lower Ninth Ward neighborhood to tour an ecologically sustainable single-family home being built by Global Green USA, an environmental group he backs.

The actor praised the house in the Holy Cross area of the ward as a "small victory" for efforts to rebuild the city, but said, "it's hard to find an overall victory when you see how slowly everything is still moving. And Katrina was a man-made disaster. This house is a man-made solution."

Pitt said the city's flood-protection defenses must be restored before displaced residents feel confident enough to rebuild.

"We've got to push to get these levees taken care of in the correct fashion," he told reporters at a news conference in the hurricane-ravaged working class neighborhood.

The house that Pitt toured, loosely modeled on the distinctive New Orleans "shotgun" style of long, narrow homes, will generate almost all its electricity from 28 roof-mounted solar panels, said Global Green USA president Matt Petersen.

Global Green hopes to use the house, which should be completed this fall, as a prototype for the neighborhood. Built not far from the banks of the Mississippi River and raised by three feet on concrete pilings, it is above sea level.

Some in the area, which was not as badly flooded as others in the city, are rebuilding. But a lack of funds have kept most from starting fresh.

Levee repairs are ongoing and engineers differ over how the new levees will fare in a major storm.

The environmental group has pledged to create a residential community of "green" structures, including an 18-unit, low-income apartment building near the Mississippi.

Pitt, 43, said the redevelopment project could help encourage people whose homes were destroyed in the storm to return and rebuild in a more environmentally conscious fashion.

"We knew we couldn't bring back the families and friends that were lost, bring back the heirlooms, the pictures," Pitt said. "But maybe, in the process of rebuilding, we could build something smarter, and create a better way of life for those people who live here."

Paltrow: Jolie, Pitt attract paparazzi

Or so Gwyneth Paltrow thought.

Paltrow arrived at the same time as her former fiance, Brad Pitt; his companion, Angelina Jolie; and their children. Their presence has meant more star-hunting photographers than usual, said Paltrow, in town Friday to promote perfume at a Macy's store.

The actress also stayed at The Peninsula Chicago, where the Pitt-Jolie family is living while Jolie films the movie "Wanted."

"When Brad and Angelina leave, won't they (paparazzi) go, too?" the 34-year-old said. "Don't you think they sort of blow in and out with the celebs?"

In 2003 the Oscar-winning actress said she loved coming to Chicago "because there's no paparazzi."

Brad & Angelina: Things Are 'Really Good'

"There are no problems whatsoever," the source adds. "Things are really good."

In fact, those who know the couple best say their only problem at the moment is the rumors themselves: that Jolie is fighting with Pitt, suffers from an eating disorder and is feuding with Pitt's parents, Bill and Jane.

Pitt's brother Doug, 40, who joined his parents and sister Julie at nephew Maddox's sixth-birthday party in early August in Santa Barbara, Calif., dismisses the speculation with a chuckle – and Jolie, 32, has apparently done her best to brush off the more frivolous claims, including one that she angrily threw wine at Pitt, 43, while on vacation in France.

"Ridiculous," says a Jolie-Pitt source.

Brad Pitt Shows Up for Jury Duty

The actor showed up for jury duty in Los Angeles on Thursday, TMZ.com reports.

According to the site, Pitt, 43, showed up in a T-shirt, dark jeans and a black cap. Observers said he even wore a juror badge, and then had Subway delivered for lunch.

There's no word yet on whether he'll be picked for a jury.

As for the rest of the Pitt-Jolie clan, Angelina is currently in Chicago, where she's hard at work on her new film Wanted. She and Pitt spent the weekend helping son Maddox celebrate his 6th birthday.

Matt Damon Named Best in Show (Biz)

The movie star, who just had the best opening weekend of his career with The Bourne Ultimatum, is tops when it comes to how much his films earn at the box office for every dollar he earns in salary, according to Forbes' inaugural Ultimate Star Payback list.

Besting fellow A-listers Brad Pitt and Johnny Depp and towering over the Toms (Hanks and Cruise), Damon's last three films, not including the new Bourne, have grossed $29 per buck he was paid for the roles.

Forbes calculated a film's net revenue by totaling its worldwide grosses and U.S. DVD sales and then subtracting the project's budget. The net revenue was then divided by an actor's total compensation to produce gross income. All actors were then ranked according to the average gross income of their last three films.

So, the smaller a film's budget and its star's paycheck was, combined with how popular the movie was in theaters, especially overseas, and with DVD audiences, the larger the "star payback."

Ocean's crew mate Pitt, buoyed by Mr. and Mrs. Smith and Troy's huge international showing, ranked a close second, with a gross income return of $24, and Vince Vaughn and Johnny Depp tied for third place with $21.

Vaughn's number was helped in part by the relatively low production costs that went into making the hit comedies Dodgeball, Wedding Crashers and The Break-Up. Depp, meanwhile, happened to star in one of the top-earning movies of all time, The Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.

Jennifer Aniston, largely thanks to The Break-Up (it sure wasn't thanks to Rumor Has It...), which raked in about $205 million worldwide, rounds out the top five with $17.

But, while these numbers certainly give producers something to think about, you can't measure fans' love and acting prowess in dollar signs.

"The biggest stars in Hollywood are not the actors that deliver the biggest returns," Forbes senior editor Michael Ozanian said in a statement.

Tom Hanks, for instance, isn't going to be collecting smaller paychecks anytime soon, despite the fact that his gross income of $12 is half that of Damon's. Fellow top earners Tom Cruise and Will Smith check in right behind him with $11 and $10, respectively. Leonardo Dicaprio and Denzel Washington are also $11 and $10 men, according to the list.

Meanwhile, Hollywood's leading ladies tended to fare better than their male counterparts, ratio-wise, with Angelina Jolie, Reese Witherspoon and Sandra Bullock hanging tough with $15, $14 and $13.

Affected by Forbes' use of worldwide box office as opposed to just U.S. ticket sales were comedy kings Adam Sandler ($9), Will Farrell ($8—the French just didn't love Talladega Nights) and, once upon a time, Jim Carrey ($8), whose last blockbuster hit was Bruce Almighty…five movies ago.

And despite his Oscar-winning pedigree, Russell Crowe's last three films—A Good Year, Cinderella Man and Master and Commander—didn't slay the box office competition, leaving the Aussie actor in last place with $5 in grosses for every dollar he was paid in salary.

For the full list, check out Forbes' complete report.

We Hear...

USA picks up "Ocean's Thirteen" cable rights

The network acquired rights to the movie in a package that also includes "License to Wed" and last year's "Blood Diamond." Sources said USA paid Warner Bros. just north of $25 million for the package, but both firms declined comment on the financial and other terms of the deal.

"Ocean's Thirteen's" rights kick in January 2010, while "Blood Diamond" becomes available to USA in May 2009 and "License to Wed" in December 2009, according to sources.

Sources said USA's deals for "License to Wed" and "Blood Diamond" are for four years, while "Ocean's Thirteen" is believed to be a bit longer, roughly a 4 1/2-year deal.

USA does not own rights to the first two "Ocean's" movies. Turner acquired 2001's "Ocean's Eleven," while Oxygen ponied up for 2004's "Ocean's Twelve."

"Ocean's Thirteen," starring Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Matt Damon, has raked in $114.5 million at the domestic box office since its June 8 release. "Diamond," starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Djimon Hounsou, made $57.4 million during its theatrical run. "License," which stars Robin Williams, has brought in $38.5 million since its July 3 release.

USA acquired cable rights to Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" in May; it also owns the rights to the two previous "Pirates" films -- 2003's "Curse of the Black Pearl" and 2006's "Dead Man's Chest."

Brad, Angelina & Kids Go Bowling in France

Before jetting off from their 10-day vacation in the western Charente/Dordogne region, the couple took over France's smallest family fun center "Le Palace Vert" with friend Mariane Pearl and her son.

.Le Palace Vert's owner Patrick Bernard tells PEOPLE that once they arrived, the Jolie-Pitts, Pearl and the four children (Maddox, 5, Pax-Thien, 3, and Zahara, 2, and Adam Pearl, 5) hit the lanes.

Pitt was especially attentive, Bernard adds, and encouraged all the youngsters whenever they hit a pin.

"At one point though, because the children don't have the strength to always get the ball down the lane, it sometimes stops. Brad thought he'd go down the lane to push it along. He slipped and fell on his back. Hard," Bernard tells PEOPLE.

Pitt survived the spill, but Bernard's wife was disappointed to have missed her "only chance in life to give mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to Brad Pitt."

While Jolie spent time with Pearl, whom she portrayed in A Mighty Heart, Pitt demonstrated his air-hockey prowess.

"Brad was particularly good at it," Bernard says. "He and the three boys played two-a-side teams against one another for almost an hour."

Bernard adds: "With only two lanes we're certainly the smallest bowling in France, so we're still having trouble realizing we spent Monday afternoon with the most famous couple in the world."

Before leaving, Jolie and Pitt personally thanked the Bernards – speaking a little French – and signed a Livre d'Or with an inscription to the couple's 15-year-old daughter.

This wasn't the first amusement area the crew was spotted enjoying recently. Pitt made a scene in the bouncy castle when they all spent a day at the Aventure-Parc in Massignac.

Brad & Angelina's Family Visit French Adventure Park

"We're a small little town, we're not used to having celebrities," said one employee at the Aventure-Parc in Massignac. The facility, located in France's Charente-Limousin region, features tree-climbing, rope swings and other outdoor activities for kids.

"We don't get French celebrities, so it's completely crazy to find yourself standing with Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, the most chased-after couple in the world in front of you," said the employee. "Completely crazy."

While the park's six workers were seated at a picnic table having lunch, one told PEOPLE that on Monday afternoon a blacked-out Mercedes van pulled up carrying the Hollywood couple and three of their children, Maddox, 5, Pax-Thien, 3, and Zahara, 2.

"I asked myself, 'Who is this man with a ball cap and this woman with black sunglasses?' " one staffer told PEOPLE. "We were all extremely shocked."

The awed staff offered to waive the standard 5 € entry fee, but Jolie and Pitt insisted on paying. They stayed an hour, using the playground area that included a bouncy castle and a children's obstacle course among other facilities.

"To see Brad Pitt knocking around in a bouncy castle with his children [and] screaming like wild animals was like a hallucination," said park operator Benjamin Gautier.

The three-acre park, which also features rope climbing courses between trees, normally welcomes 100-150 people during the day, but was otherwise empty because of overcast weather, according to staff.

'Most Influential' Celebs

The list of 19 famous faces, which appears in the magazine's latest issue, on newsstands Friday, was separated by editors into six categories: beauty queens, style setters, entertainers, newsmakers, survivors and body shapers.

OK! named Holmes, the 28-year-old wife of Tom Cruise and mother of their 1-year-old daughter, Suri, a beauty queen because of her "refreshing girl-next-door look" and sporty cropped haircut. Beyonce and Jennifer Lopez also made the cut.

O'Donnell, who brought ratings and controversy during her tumultuous tenure on ABC's "The View," made the list of newsmakers, as did Hollywood supercouple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, and "Grey's Anatomy" star T.R. Knight. Knight announced he was gay after it surfaced that Isaiah Washington had used an anti-gay slur against him during an on-set clash with a co-star.

The youngest celebrity on the list: 10-month-old Dannielynn Hope, who was recognized as a survivor because she has been "at the center of Hollywood's most controversial tragedies," the magazine said. Her mother, Anna Nicole Smith, died in Florida in February. A bitter paternity dispute between Howard K. Stern and Larry Birkhead was put to rest months later when Birkhead showed he was Dannielynn's father.

The top three entertainers — the "people who decide what we watch and listen to," according to OK! — were "American Idol" judge Simon Cowell, Carrie Underwood and model-TV host Heidi Klum.

Tyra Banks was among the "body shapers" who influence notions of body image. Banks, who was dubbed fat after she was photographed on the beach, later appeared on her syndicated TV talk show in a bathing suit.

Sarah Jessica Parker, Justin Timberlake and Kate Moss were named the most prominent trendsetters in fashion.

Clooney: Cast raises millions for Darfur

Clooney told The Associated Press in a telephone interview from Rome that he was joined by Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle and producer Jerry Weintraub in raising $9.3 million for Darfur, most of which was contributed at a dinner during the film's premiere last month at the Cannes Film Festival.

Clooney said more than half the money has already been donated to various charities dealing with Darfur. He said his group wants to keep emptying and replenishing the coffers of the humanitarian organization they co-founded, called Not On Our Watch, to focus global attention on the plight of the 2.5 million civilians in Darfur who have fled their homes.

"There are only a few things we can do — protect them where we can, and provide food, water, health care and counseling," he said. "We're just trying to get them to live long enough to get to the next step."

More than 200,000 people have died in the Darfur region of western Sudan since 2003, when local rebels took up arms against the Sudanese government, accusing it of decades of neglect. Sudan's government is accused of unleashing in response a militia of Arab nomads known as the janjaweed — a charge it denies.

Clooney announced the latest donation from Not On Our Watch — $1 million to the U.N. World Food Program — which will be used to help the U.N. agency deliver food and other necessities by helicopter to inaccessible villages in Darfur.

The latest donation raised to $5.5 million the amount that Not On Our Watch has given to humanitarian and relief organizations in Darfur in less than three weeks.

Not On Our Watch's first donation of $2.75 million went to the International Rescue Committee. It has also donated $750,000 to the British-based relief agency Oxfam and $1 million to the Westport, Conn.-based charity Save The Children.

Clooney said everyone on the board is committed to keep raising awareness and money.

"I have every intention of doing it in other places," he said, and the upcoming film festivals in Venice, Italy, and Deauville, France, "sound like good spots" for fundraising events.

Jennifer Aniston's Visit from Brad Pitt's Mom

In fact, on Sunday – Father's Day – Pitt's Springfield, Mo.-based mother, Jane, dropped by Aniston's Malibu home for a quick chat.

Odd that the actress is still close to her former in-laws? No way, says Pitt's brother Doug. "Jennifer is a friend of Brad's," he tells PEOPLE in its new issue. "Why wouldn't she be a friend of ours?"

This certainly wasn't the first time Aniston has connected with her ex's family – Jane and Pitt's sister Julie visited her in Chicago in 2005 while she was filming The Break-Up with future boyfriend Vince Vaughn, and Aniston told Vanity Fair she and Jane keep in regular touch.

But Aniston is hardly pining for her ex – just days before Jane's visit, she had another VIP guest: her new beau, British model Paul Sculfor, who stopped by on June 15.

Brad Pitt Didn't Know How to Offer Angelina Jolie Heart

"I knew the part had to be played by someone with Mariane's strength and understanding of the world, but I didn't know how to broach the subject," Pitt, 43, tells Newsweek.

"It feels a little like Wolfowitz trying to get his girlfriend a job," he quips (former World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz resigned last month after he was accused of using his office to give his girlfriend a high-paying promotion).

Jolie herself has said she "was nervous" about playing Pearl, especially because the women are now close friends.

Says Pitt: "Being in the room with those two women is great fun. It's like sitting down with Roosevelt and Churchill – only much better-looking."

But after Jolie was cast, some black actors were shocked that the white actress would play Pearl, who is of Afro-Cuban and Dutch descent. Jolie tells Newsweek, "I know that people are frustrated at the lack of great roles [for people of color], but I think they've picked the wrong example here."

Adds Pearl: "This is not about skin color. I wanted her to play me because I trust her. Aren't we past this?"

Sightings

Oprah, Brad, Madonna Have the Power; Paris Doesn't

The multimedia maven topped Forbes' 2007 list of the 100 Most Powerful Celebrities, a status achieved not only by her nine-figure earnings but also via Internet ubiquity, press clippings, magazine covers, shout-outs on TV and radio and the other "popularity metrics" that factor into Forbes' analysis, based on the past 12 months.

Lucas, while a power player last year, is nowhere to be found on the new list, despite being one of the richest people in Hollywood with a net worth of $3.6 billion, per Forbes. Apparently he generated less buzz than Winfrey, whose yearly pay is estimated at $260 million, bringing her net worth to about $1.5 billion. The talk show host (and so much more) also had the biggest Web and TV presence, according to Forbes.

Last year's A-list He-Man, Tom Cruise, slipped from the top spot to number eight, with his overall paycheck totaling a mere $31 million. Really, after the tabloid-crazy year that was, his number of press clippings had nowhere to go but down.

Golf superstar Tiger Woods is both the top-ranking athlete in the bunch and, considering he generates headlines every time he picks up a club and pulls in about $100 million a year, is sitting pretty right below Winfrey at number two on the list, despite having only the 16th-highest Web presence.

Madonna, although her pay is only a piddling $72 million these days, received the most press out of all the celebrities listed, had the second-biggest Internet showing, and came in at number three. (Ranked on her biceps alone, she would have been number one, of course.)

Rounding out the top five were the Rolling Stones, whose Bigger Bang tour was the highest grossing musical act in North America last year (and Keith Richards helped on the press side with that malarkey about snorting his dad's ashes), and Brad Pitt, 25th on the pay scale with $35 million but ninth in press, thanks to his roles in Babel and Ocean's Thirteen and his tabloid-friendly cohabitation with Angelina Jolie (14th place).

Meanwhile, the lower-profile (in certain ways) Johnny Depp banked more booty in a single year, $92 million, than any actor in history, thanks to his stake in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, and landed at number six.

Elton John earned $53 million, put out a greatest-hits album in April and celebrated his 60th birthday with a star-studded concert at Madison Square Garden—enough for seventh place; recently un-retired rapper and hip-hop mogul Jay-Z makes his debut on the list at number nine; and the always-influential (and rich) Steven Spielberg, who produced Clint Eastwood's twin critical darlings, Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima, and is working on a fourth Indiana Jones pic closes out the top 10.

Other fresh faces this year include the cast of Grey's Anatomy, which as a whole banked $33 million and scrubbed into 12th place; boy-bander turned jack of all trades Justin Timberlake, 34th place; George Clooney, somehow not on this list before but now on it in 40th place; Harry Potter players Daniel Radcliffe, also the top-ranking child star with $15 million, and Emma Watson; Dakota Fanning, the second-biggest underage earner with $4 million; and Heroes cheerleader Hayden Panettiere, who may not be able to regenerate in real life, but is the 98th most powerful celebrity.

Gone since last year are, among others, Paris Hilton (um, did this list include press from the past two weeks?), Nicole Richie, the now 21-year-old Olsen twins, Jennifer Lopez, Bruce Springsteen, the cast of The Sopranos (obviously this list doesn't factor in the past few days), Peter Jackson, Paul McCartney and Law & Order mastermind Dick Wolf. Other notable boldface types who made the list in the past but were MIA this year: Britney Spears (who topped Forbes' 2002 rundown) and Lindsay Lohan.

Tops in their field were:

The king of snark, TV personality Simon Cowell, whose small-screen presence and $45 million paycheck helped him achieve 21st place

Comedian Jerry Seinfeld (42nd place), still powerful on DVD and in syndication with $60 million

Brazilian model Gisele Bündchen, 53rd, who proves that she's more than a pretty face—she's a pretty face with $33 million

Celebrity chef Rachael Ray, whose 30-Minute Meal juggernaut helped her burst through that glass ceiling with $16 million and land in 66th place

Jerry Bruckheimer, who does, in fact, produce everything on CBS—or enough, at least, to make $120 million and rank 39th

Here's a recap of the top 10 from Forbes' 2007 list of the 100 Most Powerful Celebrities:

1. Oprah Winfrey, $260 million
2. Tiger Woods, $100 million
3. Madonna, $72 million
4. Rolling Stones, $88 million
5. Brad Pitt, $35 million
6. Johnny Depp, $92 million
7. Elton John, $53 million
8. Tom Cruise, $31 million
9. Jay-Z, $83 million
10. Steven Spielberg, $110 million

Angelina Jolie: Brad and I May Want Up to 14 Kids

On Thursday's Daily Show, Jon Stewart wondered how many kids Jolie wanted in all, asking: "How high we going, you think?"

Replied Jolie: "It fluctuates between seven and 13 or 14." The audience howled and Jolie laughed, and Stewart said, "Wow, I'll tell you this: I admire that, because two is kicking my ass."

Jolie quipped: "Yeah, I understand that. Four is kind of kicking our ass, but we kind of feel like, 'Damn it, we're up for the challenge!' "

The actress, 32, has been in New York City promoting her and Pitt's new movie A Mighty Heart, which premiered Wednesday.

Stewart asked Jolie about a FOX News story claiming that journalists at a junket on Wednesday had been asked to sign a contract before talking to her requiring that they not ask about her personal life – a common request at press events.

"There was a memo that went out to ask people if they would sign it that said, 'Don't get into personal questions, focus on the movie,' and things like that," Jolie explained. "It was from my representative trying to be protective of me, but it was excessive and I wouldn't have put it out there."

On Thursday, Jolie's lawyer, Robert Offer, issued a mea culpa, telling The New York Times the document was the fault of a "bone-headed, overzealous lawyer" – himself – and that Jolie hadn't been aware of it.

"This was my creating something to protect her from the press's talking about personal matters, a document that would limit discussion to the film," he said. "But it was drafted overly broadly. It was well intended, but I understand how it was received."

Also on Thursday, Jolie appeared on CNN's Larry King Live, where she described raising the latest addition to her family, 3-year-old Pax Thien, whom she adopted from Vietnam in March (he joined Maddox, 5; Zahara, 2; and Shiloh, 1). "He's wild. He's beautiful and wild," she said.

"He had no freedoms for three and a half years. ... He lived in the same place on the same cot along with 20 other cots and did things at the exact same time and had no chance to have an opinion himself or do – he lived a very structured life. But he's also suddenly very free."

She explained that her new son's name was suggested by her own mother, actress Marcheline Bertrand, before her death from ovarian cancer in January. "My mom wrote a list of names when we were going to have Shiloh," said Jolie. "One of the names that she suggested was Pax because it meant peace. [But] he's anything but at the moment."

Brangelina's 'mighty' Drama

"Ocean's Thirteen" steals No. 1 spot at box office

The Friday-through-Sunday tally for the latest "Ocean's" sequel, returning George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and Bernie Mac to the scene of their first heist, Las Vegas, was roughly on par with the debut gross of the first two films in the series.

"Ocean's Thirteen," released by Time Warner Inc. unit Warner Bros. Pictures, is the third film to team Clooney and company with director Steven Soderbergh for a franchise inspired by the 1960 "rat pack" adventure starring Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr.

Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," which had sailed atop the box office for the past two weekends, sank to No. 2 in its third week with $21.3 million in U.S. and Canadian receipts, according to studio figures compiled by box-office tracking firm Media by Numbers.

The comedy "Knocked Up," from Universal Pictures, slipped a notch to No. 3 in its second weekend with $20 million in ticket sales, while the latest animated penguin movie, "Surf's Up," from Sony Pictures Entertainment opened at No. 4 with $18 million.

Another of this summer's blockbuster sequels, the animated storybook satire "Shrek the Third," grossed $15.7 million in its fourth weekend to round out the top five. The DreamWorks Animation SKG film, released through Viacom Inc.'s Paramount Pictures, has now grossed nearly $282 million in domestic distribution.

'Ocean's Thirteen' is 'grand' theft

The corps of sharp, idiosyncratic and snappily dressed career criminals is back, plotting and executing a caper with their trademark blend of buffoonery and finesse. This time the oily bad guy is played by Al Pacino as a megalomaniacal casino owner who cheats Elliott Gould's character out of his land, money and future profits. Former bad guy Andy Garcia takes an interesting turn.

High-tech gadgetry abounds, as do perilous action sequences and hilarious disguises. As in the previous films, the banter is witty and the sets and production design are handsomely mounted.

Though it takes a little while before it really takes off, this slick bauble of a movie qualifies as the best of the summer "threequels"— at least thus far. (There remains the third Bourne film and the third Rush Hour movie, both of which open in August, as well as a new Die Hard and the second Fantastic Four).

Eminently capable director Steven Soderbergh hits a few weak notes: There is not much suspense to the caper, and the casting of Ellen Barkin as Pacino's assistant is fine, but her comic femme fatale falls flat.

Matt Damon, who attempts to seduce her as part of the elaborate heist, is very funny as a larcenous Cyrano with a pointily protruding proboscis.

The chemistry between Brad Pitt and George Clooney makes for some of the film's most winning moments. Each interrupts the other, answers questions before they're asked and finishes the other's sentences.

What makes this film most appealing may be its inherent morality within the slippery ethical context of a heist movie. The guys are not out for riches this time, but to help Gould regain his self-respect, joie de vivre and stolen money. Pacino's massive fraud lands Gould in the hospital with a heart attack and renders him deeply despondent. His pals are determined to restore his will to live.

Not only is this a glossy, alluring world of male camaraderie, but there's an undercurrent of decency and loyalty that informs their complex scheme. These suave techno-savants have always been wily rascals, but they're not heartless villains.

Ocean's Thirteen is more dazzling visually, better plotted and paced than Ocean's Twelve, though it doesn't fire on as many cylinders as Ocean's Eleven did.

In the first one, everyone seemed to be having so much fun that we were almost voyeurs watching their tomfoolery, as if we were peeping in on Clooney, Pitt, Damon and their pals goofing around and channeling Sinatra, Martin, Davis and the rest. This one feels less fresh and more forced.

There are moments when it seems as if some of the cast is going through the motions, but there is inspiration, too.

The best are a turn by Don Cheadle and a subplot involving Casey Affleck, who is sent south of the border and becomes a Zapatista, agitating for better wages and more humane working conditions.

As escapist entertainments go, Thirteen is far from unlucky: It's breezy, clever fun and ridiculously easy on the eyes.

"Ocean's" on deck to overtake "Pirates"

George Clooney and company are looking to shake up the status quo, sending "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" down a few notches while declaring themselves the new boxoffice kings.

After a month in which movies reaching for the widest possible audience dominated, this weekend the studios, though still aiming big, are starting to carve out more specific constituencies. While "Ocean's," from Warner Bros. Pictures and Village Roadshow, is expected to demonstrate broad appeal thanks to its all-star cast -- which should attract an older demographic, i.e. moviegoers over 25 -- Sony Pictures will aim for families as well as teens with its animated "Surf's Up," and Lionsgate Films will attempt to lure the hardcore horror crowd with its sequel "Hostel: Part II."

Even though "At World's End" will command a sizable audience -- if its third-weekend decline stabilizes at around the 50 percent mark, it could bring in a sum just north of $20 million -- it still should be smooth sailing for the "Ocean's" crew. The PG-13 film is the second sequel to a remake, but director Steven Soderbergh remains on board and has rounded up the usual suspects (Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and Don Cheadle) while adding Ellen Barkin and Al Pacino to the Las Vegas heist tale.

Soderbergh's first two "Ocean's" films had consistent openings: "Ocean's Eleven" bowed to $38.1 million in December 2001, while "Ocean's Twelve" debuted to $39.2 million three Decembers later. Re-outfitted as summer entertainment, the latest edition, launching in 3,565 theaters, is expected to cross the $40 million mark. Some observers have it reaching as high as $50 million.

PENGUINS POISED FOR ACTION

Meanwhile, with Paramount Pictures/DreamWorks' "Shrek the Third" starting to lose ground -- it ranked third last weekend, grossing $28 million -- Sony is betting that there's room for a new animated entry. The PG "Surf's Up," from Sony Animation, is co-directed by Ash Brannon and Chris Buck and will have to prove itself as an original; like last year's "Happy Feet," it is yet another movie about penguins. But never underestimate penguins.

Shia LaBeouf ("Disturbia") leads the voice cast as surfing penguin Cody Maverick. In a bid to give the film a hipper sheen, "Surf's Up" is shot as if it is something of a sports documentary.

Sony Animation doesn't have the track record yet of a Pixar or a DreamWorks -- its first feature, "Open Season," arrived in September to a $23.6 million opening. But if the waves break right, the new movie could find itself in the low- to mid-$20 million range, which could allow it to nudge aside "At World's End" and capture the No. 2 spot.

The competition likely will be intense for the second through fourth slots because the comedy "Knocked Up," which debuted last weekend with a strong start at No. 2, looks as if it will post one of the best holds of the summer to date. The movie more than held its own during the week; Monday through Wednesday it supplanted "At World's End" in the top spot. A strong hold would see "Knocked Up," which bowed to $30.7 million in its first weekend, hang on in the $20 million-plus region.

The new "Hostel" sequel probably will end up contending in the midteen million-to-$20 million range. Like "Knocked Up," the movie is rated R, though the former is the sweeter of the two, while the latest "Hostel" is aimed at true gore aficionados.

Directed by Eli Roth, who also helmed the original, the new "Hostel" stars Lauren German, Heather Matarazzo and Bijou Phillips as college students who wind up in a veritable meat locker of a Slovakian hostel. The first "Hostel," which opened in January 2006, bit into a first weekend of about $20 million. Because the new entry faces stiffer competition it might not reach that figure. But, debuting in 2,350 theaters, it still could find a spot in the top five.

'Ocean's 13' cast, producer get feet wet

The honor usually goes to movie stars.

"I know this is all about me and not about these three guys," Weintraub said.

Damon said: "It should be noted this isn't the first time somebody tried to put Jerry Weintraub's feet in cement."

The ceremony came hours before the Hollywood premiere of "Ocean's Thirteen," which opens Friday.

Review: `Ocean's' sequel plays same hand

Glittery as a Vegas Strip stage revue, smooth and smarmy as a high-roller on the lucky streak of his life, "Ocean's Thirteen" wins back some of the "Ocean's Eleven" charm the franchise lost amid the sputtering sequel "Ocean's Twelve."

Yet "Ocean's Thirteen" still feels like one trip too many to the craps table, playing the same hunches, with the outcome unimaginatively clear from the start: Categorical victory for the rascally good guys planning a Robin Hood-style heist, utter defeat and humiliation for the villain (Al Pacino).

Oh, and also obvious from the get-go: a big summer hit for distributor Warner Bros., which pretty much had a sure bet just by rounding up its superstar cast (minus Julia Roberts) and director Steven Soderbergh one more time.

With jazzy, funky music reminiscent of movie scores of the 1960s, the era that spawned Frank Sinatra's original "Ocean's Eleven," the new movie dashes through a prologue meant to establish a fresh bond with our mercenary gang and the honor-among-thieves motive for their latest caper.

Vegas mogul Reuben Tishkoff (Elliott Gould), the money man of the Ocean's Eleven crew, is bilked out of his half-interest in a swanky new casino and hotel being opened by cutthroat Willy Bank (Pacino), who egotistically names his joint The Bank.

Stressed into a heart attack, Reuben lies listless, waiting to die, prompting Danny Ocean (Clooney) and Rusty Ryan (Pitt) to call out the troops for a revenge job that will break The Bank and its owner on opening night.

The absence of Roberts, who costarred in the first two flicks, is dismissed with an offhand remark by Danny, while "Ocean's Twelve" co-star Catherine Zeta-Jones also is a no-show.

Everyone else is back: Damon, Don Cheadle, Bernie Mac, Carl Reiner, Casey Affleck, Scott Caan, Eddie Jemison and Shaobo Qin. Also returning is Andy Garcia as the gang's old adversary Terry Benedict, who forges an uneasy alliance with Danny and the boys to help nail casino rival Bank.

Ellen Barkin joins the cast as Bank's top aide, Abigail Spooner, a character played for comic effect, a woman who seems too giddy and insecure to serve as lieutenant to a ruthless titan.

Eddie Izzard comes on board as a new Ocean's ally, an engineering genius whose little duel with an old school mate (Julian Sands as designer of The Bank's invulnerable security system) is one of several subplots that muddy the works without raising the dramatic stakes of "Ocean's Thirteen."

Another of those meandering subplots is Affleck and Caan's labor battle on behalf of workers at a Mexican plastics factory that makes casino dice. Another is Cheadle's brief impersonation of an Evel Knievel-type motorcycle stunt driver. Another is David Paymer's presence as a hotel reviewer hurled into the assignment from hell by Danny's machinations.

"Ocean's Thirteen" tries to give all of its players, old and new, something meaningful to do. But like "Shrek the Third" with its ever-expanding cast, too many cutthroats in the casino wind up watering down whatever's stewing in the pot.

The movie is at its best when it lets superstars Clooney and Pitt do their thing, mugging and wisecracking with style and the uber-confidence that comes with knowing you're Hollywood kingpins in a game where you and yours always have the better hand.

Damon gets a bit of a promotion with a side-story involving his character's con-man father and another in which he dons a fake nose and artificial pheromones to romance Barkin.

Pacino thankfully tones down his booming, bellowing bad-guy act, with Bank coming off as a clear megalomaniac, but at least a tolerable one.

Soderbergh remains a director alternating between noble creative forays and crass commercial successes. After the failure of last fall's film-noir throwback "The Good German," also starring his frequent collaborator Clooney, Soderbergh has a near-certain smash in "Ocean's Thirteen" that will help carry him through whatever strange, idiosyncratic experiments are next on his to-do list.

As much as Clooney and Pitt, the fictional casino itself is a key star, with sparkling interiors created on a Hollywood sound stage and dazzling computer-crafted images of the high-rise joint slicing into the Vegas skyline. A series of three wafer-thin, twisting towers dozens of stories high, The Bank seems an architectural impossibility, but it sure looks cool.

Clooney's Danny, Pitt's Rusty and some of their cohorts bemoan how Vegas has changed, pioneer casinos such as the Dunes and the Desert Inn supplanted by bigger, flashier entertainment and gambling behemoths.

The same holds for "Ocean's Thirteen." Bigger and flashier than "Ocean's Eleven," yes. Worth betting on for movie-goers? Even-odds, maybe.

At least all you'll lose is the price of a ticket and a couple of hours time, though.

"Ocean's Thirteen," a Warner Bros. release, is rated PG-13 for brief sensuality. Running time: 122 minutes. Two stars out of four.

Jolie: `We have family sleep on Sundays'

"I have no animosity toward Hollywood or the demands of the red carpet, all that silliness," Jolie, 32, tells Esquire magazine in its upcoming July issue. "That's my job, and I'm happy to have it. But when I die, do I want to be remembered as an actress? No."

"I recently had an op-ed (column) published in a newspaper," she continues. "And at the end, it didn't say I was an actress. It said that I was a UN goodwill ambassador — that's all. And I was really proud."

Jolie, an activist for issues ranging from global poverty to wildlife conservation, says she has found meaning as a citizen of the world.

"I entered this business before I had focus and purpose in my life," says Jolie. "I was very unhappy, very unhealthy, and when I sat down for an interview, I didn't know why. I felt like I didn't have anything to share. It was a very empty time."

Today, her life is far from empty. Jolie and her partner, Brad Pitt, 43, have four children: 5-year-old Maddox, who was adopted from Cambodia; 3-year-old Pax Thien, who was adopted from Vietnam; 2-year-old Zahara, who was adopted from Ethiopia; and daughter, Shiloh, who was born to the couple a year ago.

"I try to make sure that each of my children has enough of my attention to feel equal. I try to make sure that my relationship with the man in my life is solid and complete and we're very connected and having a great life together and enjoying our children and being part of the world. So that's my life," she says.

"We don't go to parties. We hardly ever leave the house. We try to schedule time when we're alone," says Jolie, who sports various tattoos, wore a vial of Billy Bob Thornton's blood around her neck during their marriage, and was blamed for Pitt's divorce from Jennifer Aniston — which Pitt has denied.

"Right now, Pax is sleeping in our bed. It's kind of nice, him immediately knowing and feeling comfortable with us," she says. "Madd slept with me until Brad and I got together. They're fun to sleep with. We have family sleep on Sundays. Everybody sleeps together."

"Some people have their lives together and then they have their children," says Jolie, who stars in Viacom Inc.'s upcoming Paramount Vantage film "A Mighty Heart." "Brad and I are starting with the children and are planning to have our time together in our later years."

Angelina's Bath Time with Brad

"I don't know how he does it, but ... I talk a lot in the bath," the actress and UN goodwill ambassador, 32, tells Marie Claire magazine for its July issue. "It's easier to talk when you're naked ... Get naked with me, and I'll talk!"

Jolie, who had been a single mother to her son Maddox, 5, before meeting Pitt, also says she's so grateful for the actor's presence in the lives of her kids.

"I'm so happy for my children – especially Mad," Jolie tells the magazine, which hits newsstands June 12. "I didn't know if he was ever going to have a dad. So when I watch them having real strong father-son time, or even when Mad tells me, 'This is a boy thing, Mom' – it's just really beautiful to see."

In addition to Maddox, Jolie and Pitt are parents to Zahara, 2, and Shiloh, 1, and Pax Thien, 3, who was legally given the last name Jolie-Pitt last week.

As for her own relationship with Pitt, Jolie says that their connection has grown over time – despite many changes in their family life.

"I think we both went on a lot of faith – we really did," she says. "Our family has grown very quickly, and we have a lot of responsibility together, and we acknowledge that we are lucky we turned out be for each other everything we'd hoped. We could have been very wrong, but every challenge we hit has brought us closer. It has been that kind of relationship."

Jolie, who recently said she plans to take a year off work, also tells the magazine that her career helps her in her personal life as well.

"My work has always been a great way for me to deal with things in my life," she says – especially when it came to her new movie A Mighty Heart, in which she plays the real-life Mariane Pearl, widow of slain Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.

"Focusing on that story on a daily basis, you certainly don't worry about your life," she says in excerpts provided by the magazine. "I mean, there isn't a better film to make you hyperaware that you should complain about nothing."

What's in the cards for 'Ocean's'?

The gang is back in Vegas, and this time they're after revenge more than loot. The film isn't the surest bet, especially in a summer in which sequel fatigue is showing after the third Spider-Man, Shrek and Pirates of the Caribbean. But the stakes are perhaps not as high, given that the Ocean's movies have brought in just over $300 million domestically, compared with the first two Pirates' take of nearly $730 million.

It'll take a good bit of luck to win audiences over. But that's something Clooney is used to.

"Think about how random things are," he says. "For me, it required a Thursday night time slot for a medical show (ER). … There had only been two shows in 16 years —L.A. Law and Hill Street Blues— and it opened up. We had a show, and immediately everything changed. And you go, 'That has nothing to do with me.' That has to do with pure luck all the way around."

But the co-stars assembled for this conversation — Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, Andy Garcia and Ellen Barkin — aren't entirely buying it.

"Even luck is created by persistence, study and dedication, and aspiring to a dream, and sticking around and taking the licks, staying in the game," Garcia says. "And then all of a sudden, you get lucky."

Adds Cheadle: "The worst thing is to get that shot and not know what to do with it because you really don't have anything but a desire to be famous. That ain't gonna get you there. And if it does, that's worse. Because if that's all you have … we've seen those meteoric rises, and then you're down the other side."

It's that other side that these veteran actors seem to fear most.

"The more difficult thing is sticking around," Pitt says.

Damon adds, "I remember vividly on Ocean's Eleven George saying to me, 'You know, if you can pull off a 10-year career in this business, you are really doing something.' "

Says Clooney: "We're on borrowed time! Enjoy!" He adds that it is all about adjusting — that's what the people who have lasted do. "The best example is (Paul) Newman. He was the greatest movie star in the world and then decided to become more of a character actor and does The Verdict. If you're able to last, it's about how you're able to work it."

Even if this gang pulls off every box-office heist, saying they've "made it" isn't an option. Says Cheadle: "We're all too neurotic."

How lucky are those 'Ocean's' cats?

George Clooney, 46: "Look where he started out, on Roseanne and The Facts of Life, and now he has evolved into this actor/director/producer. He made a decision to leave ER. That was not just luck. And he never forgot his roots there. He has carefully planned his career, and you see it. Deciding to direct — that's not luck. His teaming up with (director Steven) Soderbergh. He has made strong alliances with important filmmakers. Plus, he's got the acting side. He can do it all. Everyone thinks he's the coolest guy. He's this affable, seemingly likable person who doesn't seem affected by his celebrity. He's a regular guy who made it big. He's a real force in Hollywood."

Matt Damon, 36: "He's a talented actor. That's not luck. He has made some very interesting choices. Coming off Good Will Hunting, people tried to spread the rumor that he and (Ben) Affleck didn't write that movie. Fast-forward to The Bourne Identity and wow, this guy is really good. The rap on him is that he has the goods to back up the look. He's not a pretty boy. He can act. Matt Damon did the Farrelly brothers comedy Stuck on You — how much more goofy could that be? A lot of actors would never do that because it would take away from their cool persona. He's willing to put his vanity aside and play against type, and that's not luck."

Brad Pitt, 43: "There is some luck involved with how you look. A lot people consider Brad Pitt pretty lucky to be born with his looks. But you have to create your own luck in your own career. He has had a real mix of roles. He has aligned himself with some really great directors, like David Fincher (Fight Club, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button). That's important. You have to pick good projects and work with the right people. He's more than just a pretty face. He seems like a regular guy and very interested in architecture. Other people want to work with him. You can tell a lot about these actors by the company they keep."

Don Cheadle, 42: He's the actor's actor. He can be in Boogie Nights, and he can be in Hotel Rwanda. Cheadle can play any role. It's about choices. He's lucky to have been able to work with great directors, but those choices aren't made in a vacuum. There's a modicum of luck involved but if you don't show up on set, that has nothing to do with luck."

Andy Garcia, 50: "He's older, he's respected. He has been in some amazing films (1987's The Untouchables, 1990's Internal Affairs, 1994's When a Man Loves a Woman, the previous Ocean's films). But he has gone from small movies to the big movies, and he's one of those actors who can have it both ways. His career isn't the product of luck. He was never trying to be the next Tom Cruise. He was doing consistently good work. He's still working, and he's been acting a long, long time."

Ellen Barkin, 53: "From Diner (1982) to Sea of Love (1989) to This Boy's Life (1993), she has had some great roles, but we don't see her that often. She could have been the next big thing, but she chose not work that much. Opting out is the prerogative of any actor. Once you do that, if you're out of the loop, you could be forgotten. But she's still relevant enough today to be in Ocean's Thirteen. It's not like, "Ellen who?" She was the femme fatale back in the day. It's luck that she has that sex appeal, but you also have to be able to create it and sell it to the audience."

The Kids Rule

Angelina Jolie's Son Legally Named Pax Thien Jolie-Pitt

A Santa Monica court on Thursday approved Pax Thien Jolie's name change to Pax Thien Jolie-Pitt, a court clerk confirms to PEOPLE.

Pax, 3, was adopted from a Vietnamese orphanage in March, joining Pitt and Jolie's children Maddox, 5, Zahara, 2, and Shiloh, 1.

Because Vietnamese law makes it difficult for unmarried couples to adopt, Jolie adopted Pax on her own, but he is being raised by both her and Pitt.

In April, Jolie formally requested that the court change her new son's name to Pax Thien Jolie-Pitt.

In January 2006, after Jolie made a similar request in the same court, her other adopted children, Maddox and Zahara, were officially named Jolie-Pitt.

In other Jolie news, the actress on Wednesday applauded President Bush's call to Congress to double the funding for the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief to $30 billion, which includes money to help orphans worldwide.

(Jolie serves as honorary board chair of Global Action for Children, an organization she helped launch in April.)

"We are all very grateful that the President has made this major commitment to these children," Jolie said in a statement. "These are the world's children, and this is the world's responsibility, and we hope that other G-8 countries will follow his lead."

She added, "I will continue to actively lobby on behalf of these children and encourage Congress to follow through on this commitment."

"Ocean's Thirteen" brings series to spirited close

The new film returns to Las Vegas and recaptures much of the spirit of the original film. Of course, after six years and two installments, a new film can no longer have the bracing freshness of "Ocean's Eleven." Then again, "Thirteen" doesn't need to waste time explaining everyone's role. We know how these heist-masters operate. Familiarity also will breed solid box office for the film both domestically and internationally, as many will want to catch these cool men in cool clothes shaking down Vegas as you only wish you could.

This time, in a clever script by Brian Koppelman and David Levien (who wrote the poker drama "Rounders"), the heist is for friendship. It seems a sleazy hotel and casino operator with the name of Willy Bank (Al Pacino) has suckered Danny Ocean's (George Clooney) friend and mentor, Reuben Tishkoff (Elliott Gould), so badly that he was rushed to ICU with a critical heart condition.

Ocean gives Willy a second chance to let Reuben back into his fair share of Vegas' newest casino, called the Bank, but Willy laughs it off. Only then does the gang re-assemble. The plan is not to steal a thing. Rather the boys will rig every game so that on opening night everyone but everyone can break the Bank.

Dice, cards and slot machines are traced back to the manufacturer. Payoffs are made, and electronic equipment installed. One very amusing touch has the boys making certain that a hotel reviewer (David Paymer), who holds the key to a coveted five-diamond rating, will have a perfectly awful stay.

Then the boys hit a problem. Actually two. To devise an "exit strategy," Danny and Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt) call in a top take-down expert (played with sly zeal by Eddie Izzard). He discovers the casino operations are protected by "Greco," an artificial intelligence so great and so sensitive it can sense when even one thing is amiss, much less all things. He suggests that Ocean's gang fold a losing hand.

The boys brainstorm: What if an "earthquake" knocked out Greco, which would take more than three minutes to reboot? Would that be enough time to break the Bank? Basher (Don Cheadle), the Cockney mechanical whiz, rents the massive drill used to dig the Chunnel connecting England with France. That ought to cause an earthquake!

Then the drill breaks down. To buy, not rent, the other drill -- the one that dug from the French side -- will set the team back $36 million. Time to recapitalize.

Linus Caldwell (Matt Damon), always the most put-upon of the team, has a risky idea: Ask Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia), their mark in the first movie and nemesis in the second, to fund the drill. He agrees -- he hates Bank, too -- but on one condition: Ocean's team must steal a necklace of diamonds worth $250 million from an impenetrable room on top of the Bank. This will require Linus to seduce Willy's right-hand woman, Abigail Sponder (Ellen Barkin in a wonderfully comic role).

One or two subplots misfire due to lack of time to make them work: Frank (Bernie Mac) persuades Willy to let him operate a dominoes game on opening night. (Highly unlikely.) And Virgil and Turk (Casey Affleck and Scott Caan), sent to a Mexican factory to make certain that dice for the casino are loaded, wind up organizing a strike by underpaid workers. (Even less likely.)

Things move too fast for anyone to care much are about the misfires. Meanwhile, Clooney and Pitt smoothly MC the many-ring circus that is an Ocean's con game. Damon gets to play two roles, Linus and his sexed-up alter ego, Lenny Pepperridge, a handler for a mega-rich Asian real estate mogul, who undertakes the task of seducing Willy's vulnerable assistant. But Pacino is stuck with a wafer-thin role that denies us his usual fire.

Philip Messina's design of the fictitious hotel, a jazzy score by David Holmes and Louise Frogley's cool costumes keep everyone and everything perfectly in character.

Cast:
Danny Ocean: George Clooney
Rusty Ryan: Brad Pitt
Linus Caldwell: Matt Damon
Terry Benedict: Andy Garcia
Basher Tarr: Don Cheadle
Frank Catton: Bernie Mac
Abigail Sponder: Ellen Barkin
Willy Bank: Al Pacino
Reuben Tishkoff: Elliott Gould
Virgil: Casey Affleck
Turk: Scott Caan

Director/director of photography: Steven Soderbergh; Screenwriters: Brian Koppelman, David Levien; Producer: Jerry Weintraub; Executive producers: Bruce Berman, George Clooney, Susan Ekins, Gregory Jacobs, Frederic W. Brost; Production designer: Philip Messina; Music: David Holmes; Costume designer: Louise Frogley; Editor: Stephen Mirrione.

Pitt, Clooney, Cheadle move spotlight to Darfur

At least 200,000 people have been killed and more than 2.3 million made homeless in the Darfur conflict among African rebel groups, the Arab-dominated government and militia who back them. The United States calls it a genocide.

The trio of actors, in the midst of promoting their new movie "Ocean's Thirteen," took some time at the Cannes film festival to talk to Reuters about a fund raising group they formed, Not On Our Watch Foundation, to funnel aid to Darfur refugees:

Q: Why should people in other countries care about what is going on in Darfur when they have their own domestic issues, such as poverty in inner cities?

Clooney: "They don't have genocide in the inner cities, necessarily."

Cheadle: "And this is the highest crime, by definition, that occurs in the world."

Pitt: "There's also a self-interest argument ... If you're really looking for a peaceful world, you really feel subjected to conflicts that are raging, then investment in these conflicts is in our interest for our own safety."

Q: What can you, as actors, do to help?

Clooney: "We're not politicians. We're not able to actually make decisions. We're not able to do anything except bring attention to something, and that's the thing we can do. This is an event that needs continually for someone to bring attention to it because it completely goes off the radar because it's Africa."

Pitt: "Can I add, personally, I'm very bothered by this idea of us versus them ... It's a fact that kids are dying from diarrhea. There's something we can do about it. That just shouldn't be in this day and age. It just becomes unacceptable, and I guess it's that kind of thing I'd like to see change."

Q: There is this notion that while you can use your celebrity to raise money, some people think you are just big-time Hollywood stars looking for publicity.

Clooney: "At what point do you think any one of us needs more publicity? Brad has said he can't get out of the spotlight, and these people can't get in. I'm not going to defend what I believe is doing the right thing. At the end of the day, there is nothing to be gained for us, personally, except more work. But we are doing it because we all believe we would be criminal if we didn't."

Q: What does the money raised by the Not On Our Watch Foundation go toward?

Clooney: "The idea is to immediately affect change, which is something we've been able to do ...We've been able to dig wells, get mosquito nets, plastic covers for the rainy season that is coming -- things that will save lives immediately."

Cheadle: "You know, I co-authored a book (with activist John Prendergast called "Not on our Watch") that is No. 6 on the New York Times best seller list, and it just shows - not anything about me - but that people want to know. People are interested and want to investigate. That is very heartening."

Q: So, what can the public do to help?

Clooney: "Believe me, if you're an industry and you get 1,000 letters from people saying, "How dare you do business with a government that is committing genocide," that has an affect on whether those businesses want to sit down with the leaders of that country."

Pitt: "What people can do is gain the will to understand. It's a simple message I preach."

Clooney: "Get involved."

Cheadle: "Educate yourself, and organize."

Pitt, Clooney plug "Ocean's" and talk Darfur

"Ocean's Thirteen" debuts at the Cannes Film Festival on Thursday and the movie starring Clooney and Pitt as suave con men who rob casinos is as easy-going as the blockbusters preceding it -- "Ocean's Eleven" and "Ocean's Twelve."

"We've known each other too long -- we know each other's families -- and it's just an instantaneous rhythm that sets in" when working on the movies, Pitt told Reuters.

"And, of course, the movies themselves have never been high drama ... (fun) is the point of it."

The cast gave tongue-in-cheek responses to dispel any impression that "Ocean's" aspired to the art house cinema that was Cannes's trademark.

"This script, for instance, I think may go down in the history books as one of the great screenplays of all time," Clooney said. "This film is basically a cry for peace."

When asked about a scene he plays with Oprah Winfrey towards the end of the movie, actor Andy Garcia replied: "I had to sleep with Oprah in order to get on to the show."

The first movie delighted audiences and raked in $450 million at box offices worldwide. While some fans and critics were disappointed with "Twelve," it nevertheless reaped a sizeable $363 million.

"Ocean's Thirteen" sticks closely to the formula of the first two: a lot of laughs, some silly gags and a big heist. But there is a twist: the conmen are not in it for the money.

FROM HOLLYWOOD TO DARFUR

The charity of Clooney, Pitt, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, and producer Jerry Weintraub does not stop on the movie screen.

They also came to the world's largest film festival to raise money and awareness for refugees in the Darfur region of Sudan.

"We're not politicians. We're not able to make decisions. We're not able to do anything except bring attention to something, and that's the thing we can do," Clooney said.

"Kids are dying from diarrhea ... that just shouldn't be in this day and age, and it's that kind of thing that needs to be changed. Enough is enough," Pitt added.

The United Nations says some 200,000 people have died and more than 2 million have fled their homes since the conflict in Darfur flared in 2003 when rebels took up arms against the government.

Four "Ocean's Thirteen" cast members -- Clooney, Pitt, Cheadle and Damon -- and Weintraub launched the Not On Our Watch Foundation to raise money and draw attention to the refugees.

Earlier this week, they raised $10 million at a Cannes party, and in June they head to Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Chicago for similar charity events.

Clooney took issue with anyone doubting his motives.

"At what point does anyone think anyone of us needs more publicity?" Clooney said. "I'm not going to defend what I think is doing the right thing ... we are doing it because we all think we would be criminal if we didn't take it a step further."

Cast of 'Ocean's Thirteen' shares a lucky chemistry

Six of the Ocean's Thirteen cast members — George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Andy Garcia, Don Cheadle and franchise newcomer Ellen Barkin — sat down with USA TODAY in Cap D'Antibes, near where the film will have its Cannes premiere today.

Ocean's Eleven did a pretty fair job of turning Vegas upside down. Ocean's Twelve turned romantic, with stops in Lake Como and Rome. Ocean's Thirteen, which opens stateside on June 8, returns to Vegas, where the guys take on Willy Bank, a sleazy hotel tycoon played by Al Pacino, who cheated Elliott Gould out of his half of the next great hotel on the Strip.

"This (edition) is about stickin' up for your friends," Clooney says.

"And no, the (Bank) character is not Steve Wynn," Cheadle says. Which sets off a chorus of "Noooooot Steve Wynn."

"They kept asking me if I was playing Steve Wynn on the first one," Andy Garcia says. "And I said no …"

"No, you were (Kirk) Kerkorian," Clooney interjects.

"I was playing (Wynn's) wife," Garcia jokes.

It's a cast that seems to enjoy each other, trading wiseacre patter and ribaldries with ease. Maybe that's the result of working together and feeling comfortable — or being pros and knowing the territory. Clooney and Damon often finish each other's thoughts. And Pitt is mostly happy to take it all in from the corner.

During the six years since Steven Soderbergh remade the original 1960 Rat Pack vehicle, a lot of changes have transpired for the cast. It's Pitt, however, who takes the lead in articulating it all.

"Besides us all growing up a bit," he says, "our families have grown immensely. Mine specifically. (He now shares four children with Angelina Jolie.) That's kind of the beauty of it. … We know each other for a good amount of time now. We know each other's families, and these automatic rhythms begin immediately when we get on the set again. That's with the same crew, as well."

"You see the five or six of us here," Damon says, "but in reality it's a huge crew — the same 200 people."

More bantering ensues, proving their sincerity in pushing a movie that everyone who is involved wants to be a cash cow.

Then Damon stops things on a dime and changes the subject — to Darfur. "We've been trying to raise money and awareness here (in Cannes) to try to redirect some of the attention brought to bear on a film opening to the crisis there."

Adds Clooney: "Strangely, there's more attention on (Darfur) in the United States than here."

Six stars into 'Thirteen' equals fun

On the romance of Old Vegas:

Damon: "I like the new Vegas."

Clooney: "You know, there's a part (in the movie), whatshisname (Al Pacino as Willy Bank) says to us, 'You're analog in a digital world.' Part of this is, we're starting to become obsolete and long for those things."

Damon: "Pretty soon the Bellagio will be the Dunes, and people will be going, 'I remember when the Bellagio was here, and Ocean's Eleven will look like some old movie with these guys standing by this fountain" (like the classic Rat Pack photo).

Clooney: "No. Non-ononono. Never!"

On being back on the set for 'Ocean's Thirteen':

Pitt: "I knew something had changed when Matt (Damon) asked me in passing if I had any extra diapers — No. 1s, 'You got a 1?' "

Damon: "I got a 1."

Clooney: "I'd ask for a No. 2 … and don't think I haven't asked for diapers before."

Cheadle: "Depends don't count."

Garcia: "On the first one, only Don and I had children. Now we see each other and go, 'So how ya doin'? How's the sleep coming along?' "

Clooney: "I'm still … in the paternity test. I counted the months, and it's been like nine months, so I figure I'm clean,"

Barkin: "That's on the third kid. The other two … "

Damon: "He's not claiming them."

Clooney: (For Ocean's Fourteen), "we'll be going, 'Let's roll a Chuck E. Cheese!' "

On possibility of a fourth movie:

Cheadle: "If we do another Ocean's, we're going to have to start dropping people."

Clooney: "Yeah, people are gonna have to die."

Cheadle: "We're gonna go down, go the other way —Ocean's Ten."

Clooney: "It's gonna get ugly."

Garcia: "It's gonna be like Star Wars and go back to the beginning."

Damon: "Ocean's Begins," with a wave of the hand.

Pitt: "Yeah, George is gonna have nipples on his suit."

`Ocean's 13' cast at Cannes film fest

Friendship — and the importance of sticking by your buddies — is the running thread in the story line for the movie, the third in a series that began with "Ocean's Eleven" in 2001.

"We all love working together, and making movies is about as fun a thing as you can do," Damon told The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday. "The only thing that tops it is making it with your friends. When the call came, I think we all jumped."

After the gang's foray into Europe for 2004's "Ocean's Twelve," the new flick returns the action to Las Vegas, where Reuben (Elliott Gould) thinks he's getting in on a casino deal with ruthless, sleazy Willy Bank (Al Pacino, a newcomer to the series). But Bank double-crosses him — giving Reuben a heart attack.

That's when the crew, led by Danny Ocean (Clooney), decides to avenge Reuben's losses by sinking Bank on his casino's opening night. Robin Hood-style, they rig the casino so that all the gamblers win, sucking millions from the slot machines and blackjack tables.

Clooney said the actors "wanted to go out on a high note" in what is expected to be their last "Ocean's" film together.

"We felt that `Twelve' was not, was not certainly received as well (as `Ocean's Eleven')," Clooney told AP Television News. "So we wanted another crack at it, too."

Visual gags abound: Clooney briefly turns up in a thick mustache and gold chain. Damon, who sports an enormous fake nose for much of the movie, has to seduce the enemy's right-hand woman, played by Ellen Barkin, the lone female star in the ensemble movie.

"Ocean's Thirteen" was to have its black-tie premiere Thursday at the Cannes Film Festival. Meanwhile, cast members hosted a fundraiser for Not on Our Watch, which is working on behalf of refugees from the Sudanese province of Darfur, and gave back-to-back interviews in beach cabanas at a secluded luxury hotel outside Cannes, cracking jokes and finishing each other's sentences.

Many of them had their families in tow — a reminder of how much their lives have changed since "Ocean's Eleven." Brad Pitt and his partner, Angelina Jolie, have four young children, and Matt Damon's wife gave birth to a daughter last June.

Damon: "Brad has had it tough. He's ..."

Clooney: "Hobbled with children ..."

Damon: "And that wife ..."

Clooney: "That horrible, ugly wife."

Damon: "I mean, to go home to her every day ..."

Clooney: "What do you do?"

Damon: "Well, you have your work. That's about it. You can take refuge there."

Clooney, still single, reminisced about turning up at the makeshift bar on the "Ocean's Thirteen" set and finding it overrun by children.

"Matt said, `We should take a photo of this' because I'm in here with a bunch of, like, kids in diapers, and I'm sitting here having a vodka," Clooney said.

"Ocean's Thirteen," a Warner Bros. Pictures film, will be released June 8.

Clooney & Co gamble by taking Ocean's 13 to Cannes

The follow-up to two previous "Ocean's" capers about a group of con artists led by suave Danny Ocean (Clooney) and Rusty Ryan (Pitt), who swindle money from bad guys, opens at the world's top film festival on Thursday and lands in theatres in June.

A Cannes debut represents a risk for a major Hollywood movie like "Ocean's" because reviewers in the French Riviera resort tend to throw their support behind European, Asian and U.S. art house films, and foresake Hollywood studio fare like "Ocean's."

But Pitt, Clooney and the gang defended "Ocean's" as a form of pure entertainment that deserved its place alongside films like Cannes opening night movie "My Blueberry Nights" from Chinese director Wong Kar Wai.

"There is a fair argument for deep and thought-provoking ... types of films as well as pure, unadulterated entertainment," Pitt told Reuters.

Damon, another of the "Ocean's" stars, said: "You still want the bigger movies to be good."

But sometimes the critics in Cannes misread the mood of the public when it comes to big-budget Hollywood films.

Last year, studio film "The Da Vinci Code" opened the festival with a smattering of boos from Cannes audiences, poor reviews and newspaper headlines that immediately trumpeted the poor reception.

Yet "Da Vinci" went on to haul in $232 million in its initial weekend following the Cannes premiere, and it still ranks as No. 4 on the list of all-time worldwide debuts.

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT?

With years of movie experience behind it, the "Ocean's" crew knows as well as anyone that the marketing muscle of a major Hollywood studio can often guarantee big box office, despite what could be a round of poor reviews at Cannes.

With that box office logic in mind, the stars were happy to joke about what awaited them.

"It's really not about the film, as much as (winning) the award," Clooney quipped, referring to the coveted Palme d'Or handed out to the best film in Cannes. "Ocean's Thirteen" is not in competition and so does not qualify for the award.

"We think we're going to win," joked Damon.

In the film, the follow-up to "Ocean's Eleven" and "Ocean's Twelve," Danny reunites the crew that includes intellectual geek Linus Caldwell (Damon) and mechanical whiz Basher Tarr (Don Cheadle) to exact revenge on Vegas casino operator Willy Bank (Al Pacino).

Bank has swindled a senior member of Ocean's crew, Reuben Tishkoff (Elliot Gould), out of his share of a new casino Bank is building. The underhanded thievery gives Tishkoff a heart attack and sends him into deep despair.

Ocean calls the men together to help rouse the old man back to life, and the way to do it is to hit Bank's new casino on the night of its grand opening.

Brad & Angelina Show Heart in Cannes

The couple attended a press conference to discuss A Mighty Heart – in which she stars and he produces, through his Plan B production company.

Jolie admitted she had trepidations about taking on the project and the role of Mariane Pearl, whose husband, Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, 38, was killed by Islamic militants in Pakistan in February 2002. (Actor and Oscar-winning Capote screenwriter Dan Futterman plays Daniel.) "I was very, very nervous to get it right," said Jolie.

And the outcome? "Mariane seems to think we've done all right."

Pitt, 43, and Jolie, 31, are staying at the exclusive Hotel du Cap, in a villa with their four children: Maddox, 5; Zahara, 2; Pax, 3; and Shiloh, who turns 1 this coming Sunday.

"We got here yesterday, and we had a beautiful day with our kids," said Jolie, who flew in from the Czech Republic, where she is filming the movie Wanted, with Morgan Freeman. "We've been playing with them since the moment we landed, and we plan to go home to them as soon as we are done with this."

As for her five-star hotel in France's Cap d'Antibes. "It's also a beautiful place, and we have an opportunity to enjoy it with our family and enjoy it as friends," said Jolie.

Pitt said he was captivated by the Pearl story from the moment he started following it on CNN. "It was our goal to see this thing through," said Pitt. "And to fight hatred."

Jolie said that despite the serious nature of the film, which tracks Daniel's kidnapping and his wife's desperation to save him, she remains able to smile in her downtime. "I am still capable of being silly and have fun," she said.

At one point, Pitt humorously referred to his partner as "what's-her-name" (when the press conference's mediator unexpectedly asked him to comment on a question previously directed to Jolie). He also stressed his and her aim of working together to help improve the planet.

"As a father, too, I look at my kids and realize they will inherit this world," said Pitt. "And we want to do everything we can to throw our weight in and make it a little bit better.

After the news gathering, PEOPLE asked Pitt how he was finding Cannes. "I'm enjoying it very much, man," he replied.

Brad Pitt Says He Misses Living in New Orleans

"For me, first as a tourist, it's the most unique city that we have in the States," Pitt, 43, told the New Orleans Times-Picayune in a phone interview from the Czech Republic.

"It has an energy like no other place. You guys shouldn't change a thing. I've got to get me some of it. I absolutely love it there. We moved our family there. We've got a place there and we're intermittently going back and forth. We're in Prague now because of work. We'll be back there soon."

Pitt filmed 1994's Interview With the Vampire in the Big Easy, and purchased a home in the French Quarter while shooting The Curious Case of Benjamin Button earlier this year.

He's also committed to rebuilding the areas of the city hit hardest by Hurricane Katrina, and on Thursday ground was broken on an affordable, eco-friendly housing development in the Lower 9th Ward designed by winners of a Sustainable Design Competition he co-sponsored with Global Green USA.

But for Pitt and Jolie, the best thing about New Orleans is the anonymity it affords them. "Let me tell you, we're in this house in Prague right now and there's about 12 cars of paparazzi outside and some tourists with video cameras," the actor told the Times-Picayune. "I can't describe why we're allowed to live a more normal life [in New Orleans]."

The thing he misses the most, he said, is bicycling through the city's streets at night. "Living in the French Quarter is a thrill for us," he said. "We have some semblance of real family life. People have been very, very gracious with us. If we're on the front deck, people go by and say, 'Hi.' Then they go on their way, very friendly."

Ocean's Crew Dives into Darfur

The stars of Warner Bros. upcoming crime caper, Ocean's Thirteen—George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle—along with producer Jerry Weintruab are aiming to parlay the hype surrounding the sequel into aid for victims of the ongoing genocide in the Darfur.

The film is scheduled to hit theaters on June 8. But, to increase pressure on U.S. and international policymakers to take action to stop the mass killings, the Ocean's crew is holding a series of benefit screenings to raise funds for the International Rescue Committee, which has aided more than 2 million Sudanese refugees displaced by the conflict.

They've also set up their own organization, Not On Our Watch (notonourwatchproject.org), which will partner with the IRC to raise awareness about the atrocities that have left more than 200,000 people dead.

"All the guys have been to the Sudan this year. They saw this huge genocide and nobody doing anything about it," Weintraub tells the Associated Press. "Clooney got attention earlier, but it faded."

The producer is referring to the Oscar winner's April 2006 trip to the border area, where he met survivors in a refugee camp and recorded their stories for a documentary that aired last January. Since that visit, talk of an international force intervening to stop the genocide has failed to gain traction. So Clooney and cohorts hope to reenergize the human rights campaign to save those caught in the maelstrom before even more die.

"What we are trying to do here is bring our celebrity to raise money and bring a spotlight on Sudan again," says Weintraub. "We decided to dedicate ourselves to this. The thing I am most proud of by far is that these events will benefit a cause that is very important to me and my colleagues."

Among the events being planned is a May 24 premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, which will also double as a fundraiser for the two organizations; a June 5 North American debut in Hollywood, where Clooney and his fellow stars will leave their shoeprints in the cement outside of Graumann's Chinese Theater; and a June 6 benefit showing at the CineVegas Film Festival, where the 69-year-old Weintraub will receive the Vanguard Producer Award honoring his 50-year career.

Weintraub also said he planned to head to Darfur as well later this year to see for himself the death and destruction wrought there.

"It's not a pleasant place to go," he tells the wire service. "They don't need another tourist like me going there. I can do a lot more good here raising money. But I will go. We are all very good friends so when one does something we all get onboard."

The Steven Soderbergh-helmed flick chronicles the latest heist concocted by charming crook Danny Ocean (Clooney) and his accomplices as they even the score with a casino owner (Al Pacino) who double-crossed them.

Of course, what good's an Ocean's adventure without a little money on the line.

To help raise even more cash for Not On Our Watch, online gambling site PokerStars is planning to hold two charity tournaments—one in Cannes on May 13 and the other in Los Angeles on May 27—to benefit Darfur victims.

The top four finishers in each game will get tickets to the premiere of Ocean's Thirteen either in Cannes or Hollywood. The top 18 finishers will also each receive a copy of the crime caper's DVD autographed by all the stars; PokerStars has pledged to match the final tally in each tournament's prize pool in the final donation.

In other Ocean's-related good-works news, construction began Thursday on the winning design in an architecture competition organized by Pitt to build eco-friendly homes in New Orleans' Katrina-devastated Lower Ninth Ward.

Workers broke ground on the first home, which is being built by Global Green USA. The environmental group teamed up with the mega-star in April 2006 to launch the contest, and Pitt donated $100,000 to the effort and an additional $100,000 to cover the prize money.

Building is expected to be completed by the second anniversary of the storm this September.

Brad Pitt Breaks Ground on Green-Housing Project

Pitt, 43, tells PEOPLE: "The greatest victory for me will be when the first people move into one of these green homes – when they can put their key into that lock, sit down at the table, have dinner with their families and live their lives. That's what we're getting closer to with this announcement today."

Last year, Pitt co-sponsored a competition with Global Green USA to find an affordable, Earth-friendly plan for building housing and community centers in neighborhoods ravaged the previous year by Hurricane Katrina.

In August, he announced the winners of his Sustainable Design Competition for New Orleans: New York City architects Andrew Kotchen and Matthew Berman of the firm Workshop/APD.

"Communities need to be rebuilt here and we hope this project points the way to how it can be done using smart sustainable design," Pitt tells PEOPLE.

The actor and Angelina Jolie (who is in the Czech Republic filming Wanted) also announced Thursday that they have donated $1 million to humanitarian groups assisting more than 4 million people affected by the crisis in Darfur.

The gift, from their Jolie-Pitt Foundation, will go to three groups playing key roles in the Sudan and neighboring Chad: the United Nations Refugee Agency, the International Rescue Committee and SOS Children's Villages, according to a statement.

Jolie has met with refugees from Darfur three times. After her recent visit to the Oure-Cassoni camp, she said she was struck by the sense of hope she encountered.

Leo, Rosie make Time's most influential

The list of 100 most influential, on newsstands Friday, also includes Queen Elizabeth II, presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama (news, bio, voting record), YouTube founders Steve Chen and Chad Hurley, director Martin Scorsese and model Kate Moss. It does not include President Bush.

In a piece she wrote for the magazine, Barbara Walters, the creator of "The View," had kind words to say about O'Donnell, who announced last week she was leaving the ABC talk show in June because she and the network couldn't agree on a new contract.

"And so, last September, we began a thrilling roller-coaster ride," Walters wrote. "We followed Rosie's passion and compassion, her feuds and fearlessness, her humanity and humor."

Walters said she and O'Donnell "remain respectful and affectionate friends."

Roseanne Barr weighed in on Baron Cohen, also known as Borat. "He does offend some people's sensibilities, but the youth of today are offended if they're not offended," she wrote.

Scorsese, who often casts DiCaprio in his films, praised the 32-year-old screen idol/activist as a "true actor."

"DiCaprio is another guy a lot of us underestimated as a pretty-boy type," Adi Ignatius, a deputy managing editor at Time, told AP Television News.

The list includes 71 men and 29 women from 27 countries.

Other entertainers making the cut were Oprah Winfrey, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Justin Timberlake, Tyra Banks, Cate Blanchett, America Ferrera, Tina Fey, John Mayer, Brian Williams, Michael J. Fox, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and "American Idol" creator Simon Fuller.

Separately, Time named 14 "power givers" such as Bill and Melinda Gates, Angelina Jolie and Queen Rania al-Abdullah of Jordan.

Japan warning: "Babel" may make you sick

At least 15 people have complained of feeling sick while watching the film starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett since it was released in Japan on April 28, a spokeswoman for distributors Gaga Communications said.

The film, about the spiraling international consequences of a shooting in Morocco, became a media sensation in Japan well ahead of its release, as Rinko Kikuchi was nominated for an Oscar for her performance as a deaf mute schoolgirl -- rare recognition for a Japanese actress.

But a scene in which Kikuchi's character visits a night-club where strobe lights flash for about a minute has made some Japanese movie-goers queasy.

"This feature presentation includes some highly stimulating effects and some customers have complained of feeling ill," reads part of the warning, which the distributors have added to their Web site and also requested be displayed on posters at about 300 cinemas.

The film has already been shown in about 40 countries, Gaga said.

In 1997 an episode of the Japanese children's cartoon series "Pokemon" featuring flashing lights was blamed for hundreds of reported cases of symptoms from nausea to convulsions.

We Hear...

Barrymore is People's 'most beautiful'

"I just think happiness is what makes you pretty. Period," she tells the magazine. "Happy people are beautiful. They become like a mirror and they reflect that happiness."

Barrymore, 32, graces the cover of the issue that hits newsstands Friday. It's her fourth time on the list, but first as cover girl.

Making the cover "made my peacock feathers shine in the golden-hour light and extend to the heavens," says Barrymore, who stars in the upcoming Warner Bros. film "Lucky You," opposite Eric Bana.

Inside, she weighs in on a host of beauty-related topics. Her beauty rules for dating? "The only fundamental rule for me is to just be yourself," she says. "Let your freak-flag fly, and if someone doesn't get you, move on."

Barrymore is one of 11 celebrities — including Eva Longoria and the three Jessicas (Simpson, Alba and Biel) — photographed for the issue without makeup.

"I find that men, in my past, have preferred me without it," Biel, 25, says of makeup.

Among others on the "Beautiful People" list: Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, George Clooney, Oprah Winfrey, Alicia Keys, Leonardo DiCaprio, Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Garner, Scarlett Johansson, Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Halle Berry, Julia Roberts and Jennifer Lopez.

Jolie seeks to add Pitt to new son's name

Jolie, who adopted Pax Thien Jolie from a Vietnamese orphanage in March, filed a petition in Los Angeles County Superior Court that would change the 3-year-old boy's name to Pax Thien Jolie-Pitt.

The filing, a formality required to legally change the boy's name, was first reported on the celebrity Web site TMZ.com.

Pitt has a daughter, Shiloh, with Jolie and has become the adoptive father of her other two adopted children, 5-year-old son, Maddox, from Cambodia, and 2-year-old daughter, Zahara, from Ethiopia.

Shiloh, Maddox and Zahara already share the last names of Jolie and Pitt, though the couple has not married and say they have no plans to wed.

The 31-year-old Oscar-winning actress co-starred with Pitt in "Mr. and Mrs. Smith."

Jolie's representatives have explained that she adopted Pax as a single mother from Vietnam because that country does not permit unmarried couples to adopt children.

Sightings

Pitt feels the "Burn" for Coens

The project, which also stars Frances McDormand, centers on a CIA agent who loses the disc of the book he is writing. Like the film's title, the screenplay is shrouded in secrecy, and it was unclear what role Pitt would play.

The actor will begin shooting the film in late August.

Joel and Ethan Coen penned the screenplay, and Joel Coen will direct. Focus Features will distribute worldwide.

Pitt, whose "Ocean's Thirteen" will unspool at next month's Cannes Film Festival, recently wrapped "The Assassination of Jesse James." The "Babel" star's upcoming films also include "Benjamin Button," which he is finishing in New Orleans.

Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie to Light Up Cannes

The couple will present their film A Mighty Heart out of competition when the fest kicks off on May 16. In the movie, which Pitt's company, Plan B, produced, Jolie plays Mariane Pearl, the widow of slain Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.

("The story unfolds like a mystery," Jolie tells Entertainment Weekly. "You've got people collecting clues and trying to solve what happened. But it's also very real and personal. We didn't want it to be too melodramatic or too polished. We didn't want it to be a typical movie.")

Other celebs expected at the 11-day, 60th annual festival range from Jude Law and Leonardo DiCaprio to Jane Fonda, Quentin Tarantino and Bono, festival organizers in Paris said Thursday.

Some highlights:

• Law, Natalie Portman, Rachel Weisz and singer Norah Jones will set the red-carpet standard on opening night when they appear for director Wong Kar Wai's romance My Blueberry Nights.

• Pitt himself stars in Ocean's 13, and will be joined in Cannes by George Clooney, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle and the rest of the cast for that film's world premiere.

• DiCaprio is due to promote a special screening of the environmental documentary The Eleventh Hour, which he produced and co-wrote with filmmakers Leila Conners Petersen and Nadia Conners.

• Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Wahlberg will be seen alongside Eva Mendes in director James Gray's gritty crime story, We Own The Night, which already has award buzz.

• Past Palme d'Or winner Michael Moore will present the world premiere of his latest documentary, Sicko, a critique of the U.S. health care system.

• Already generating demand for tickets: the weekend midnight screening of U2 3D, a 3-D film made during the band's most recent Latin American tour. Officials say the film will be shown in a theater specially equipped for the event and the band members will be on hand to greet fans.

• Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Woody Harrelson, Josh Brolin and a posse of other actors are riding in for No Country For Old Men, a sprawling Western adventure from perennial festival invitees Joel and Ethan Coen.

• Taylor Momsen and Gabe Nevins will skate in with director Gus Van Sant's Paranoid Park, about a skateboarder who accidentally kills a security guard.

• After the film's lukewarm reception from American audiences, Quentin Tarantino will debut a special, longer version of his Grindhouse episode "Death Proof" alongside stars Rosario Dawson and Kurt Russell.

Unveiling a poster featuring festival veterans Bruce Willis, Penelope Cruz, Samuel L. Jackson and Juliette Binoche, organizers also announced that this year's nine-person jury, headed by The Queen director Stephen Frears, will include actresses Toni Collette, Maria De Medeiros, Maggie Cheung and Sarah Polley.

Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt Donate to Clinic in Sudan

The Duk Lost Boys Clinic is the brainchild of John Dau, director of the non-profit organization Direct Change's Sudan Project and himself one of the "Lost Boys" of the Sudan.

His story is featured in the documentary God Grew Tired of Us, which Pitt executive produced.

Pitt and Jolie, who donated the money through their Jolie-Pitt Foundation, first learned of his efforts to build the clinic at the film's Hollywood premiere in January, according to a statement from Direct Change.

The clinic, set to open in the spring and serve more than 150,000 people, is located in the village Dau fled as a boy during Sudan's civil war in the late 1980s.

"Words cannot express my gratitude and the gratitude of the people of Duk County," Dau said in the statement. "Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt demonstrate the American spirit of generosity. Hopefully, their donation will inspire others to join with us to rebuild southern Sudan."

Jolie, 31, has a personal connection to the troubled African nation: As a goodwill ambassador for the United Nation's refugee agency, she recently traveled to Chad, where she met with refugees from Sudan's war-torn Darfur region.

Later, in an op-ed piece in The Washington Post, she called upon the international community to intervene to stop the violence there.

Earlier this week, Jolie adopted her fourth child, 3-year-old Pax Thien Jolie, from Vietnam. "We are slowly beginning to build his trust and bond," she tells PEOPLE in its new issue. "But it will feel complete only when we are all together."

Jolie says newly adopted son Pax is "very strong"

"You can imagine what courage it takes to be in all new surroundings with new people and a new language," Jolie said in an issue that hits newsstands April 2. "He is very strong."

Jolie, 31, flew to Vietnam earlier this week to adopt 3-1/2-year-old Pax, and on Wednesday returned to the United States to be with her companion, actor Brad Pitt, with whom she is raising three other children.

The Oscar-winning actress has a 5-year-old son, Maddox, and 2-year-old daughter, Zahara, both of whom were adopted. She gave birth last year to daughter Shiloh, who was fathered by Pitt.

"It will take (Pax) a while to realize he has a family, and that his new life is permanent and that it won't keep changing," she said. "I will stay at home to help Pax adjust to his new life."

As Jolie flew back to the United States, several reports surfaced that she was paid up to $2 million by People magazine for exclusive photos of her and the newly adopted boy, but a magazine spokeswoman said the figure was false.

"We never comment on the specifics of any negotiations but that number is completely inaccurate," People's spokeswoman said.

Jolie's representative also called the figure "not accurate" and noted any money received for the pictures goes to a non-profit foundation that disperses the funds to "a variety of charities."

Meanwhile Jolie, whose movie roles range from action hero Lara Croft in the "Tomb Raider" movies to a mental patient in "Girl, Interrupted" which won her the Oscar for supporting actress, told People she was content to stay at home and tend to her growing brood.

"I have four children now, and caring for them is the most important thing for me at the moment. I am very happy to be their mother," she said.

Pax's New Life

The actress and 3-year-old Pax Thien Jolie, whom she adopted last week from an orphanage in Ho Chi Minh City, left Hanoi's Noi Bai Airport in a private jet on Wednesday, bound for home – and, for Pax, a new life – in the U.S.

Jolie, 31, understands the challenges her new son will face as the latest addition to the world's most famous multicultural family. "You can imagine what courage it takes to be in all new surroundings, with new people and a new language," she tells PEOPLE in its new issue. "He is very strong."

But she is committed to making his transition as smooth as possible. "It will take him a while to realize he has a family," she says, "and that his new life is permanent and that it won't keep changing."

The boy with the sweetly shy smile and the big brown eyes joins big brother Maddox, 5 (adopted from Cambodia), sister Zahara, 2 (adopted from Ethiopia) and 10-month-old Shiloh, the daughter born to Jolie and Brad Pitt, 43, in May.

As for Dad, because Vietnamese regulations don't allow unmarried couples to co-adopt, Jolie adopted Pax as a single parent while Pitt remained in Los Angeles, where he is filming The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. "He has specific days on the movie that couldn't be changed or production would run over," says his rep.

But Jolie still made sure to bring a welcoming committee: Joined by Maddox and Zahara – Shiloh has been on the Button set every day with her father – the new mom used her first few days with Pax to begin gently bonding with him and to allow her other kids to do the same.

"We are slowly beginning to build his trust and bond," Jolie says, "but it will feel complete only when we are all together."

For exclusive photos – plus details on Angelina and Pax's first moments together, what Pax's life was like at the orphanage and more – pick up this week's PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday.

Jolie finalizes adoption of Vietnamese boy

Jolie has remained out of public view since arriving in southern Ho Chi Minh City last Wednesday to pick up the 3 1/2-year-old boy from an orphanage and traveling to Hanoi on Monday to complete the adoption.

The boy's birth name is Pham Quang Sang but Jolie has renamed him Pax Thien Jolie, a name that combines the Latin word for peace and the Vietnamese word for sky or heaven.

"The Vietnamese authorities had already cleared the adoption, and the U.S. Embassy approved the adoption on Tuesday," said spokeswoman Laura Feragen on behalf of Philadelphia-based nonprofit agency Adoptions From the Heart.

"They will pick up Pax's visa on Wednesday and they are free to go home," she said.

Oscar-winning Jolie, 31, traveled to Vietnam with her 5-year-old son Maddox, who was adopted from Cambodia, and 2-year-old sister Zahara, adopted from Ethiopia.

She also has a biological child Shiloh Nouvel with actor and companion Brad Pitt.

An online newspaper on Tuesday reported that as Jolie finalized the paperwork, her adopted sons played and communicated by sign language in the lobby of the historic luxury Metropole Hotel in Hanoi.

"Maddox and Sang played in the lobby and they seemed to get along really well," the online VNExpress quoted an unidentified hotel staff member as saying. "They don't understand each other's language, but they used sign language to communicate."

Jolie, her family and their assistants arrived in Hanoi on Monday and checked into the white facade Metropole Hotel, which opened during French colonial rule in 1901. It has rooms named for Charlie Chaplin, an early Hollywood star, and the English author Graham Greene.

During Tuesday's lunch hour, a silver minivan with darkened windows -- thought to be carrying Jolie -- drove quickly into the Rose Garden Tower, one of two U.S. embassy buildings in the Vietnamese capital. The vehicle left about 35 minutes later.

Security in front of the embassy increased noticeably before the vehicle arrived.

U.S. officials declined comment on Jolie's adoption, saying it was a private matter.

"Last King" director pushes "Play" with Pitt

Based on a 2003 BBC miniseries, the Universal Pictures project revolves around an elected government official and his former campaign manager (Pitt), who is now a journalist for a high-profile national paper. When two seemingly unrelated slayings are linked by a single phone call, the friends find themselves on opposite sides of the investigation.

The action will be moved to Washington. A late 2007 start date is eyed.

Macdonald won an Oscar of his own, as director of the Munich Olympics documentary, "One Day in September."

Angelina Jolie: I'll Be a Stay-at-Home Mom

"I will stay at home to help Pax adjust to his new life," Jolie told Friday's Ho Chi Minh City Law newspaper, according to a translation on the Associated Press. "I have four children and caring for them is the most important thing for me at the moment. I am very proud and happy to be their mother."

Jolie and her new son went through an emotional introduction at Thursday's formal welcoming ceremony, during which the 3-year-old Vietnamese boy started crying when his new mom knelt down to talk to him.

As for all the attention brought to her new son, Jolie tells the newspaper: "Photographs and press coverage will make him upset. I'm very worried about that. I would like to say I'm sorry for bringing this into Pax's life."

Since arriving in Vietnam on Wednesday, Jolie, 31, and her son, Maddox, 5, have been followed by a horde of photographers and reporters.

But in answering those who have questioned the adoption, Jolie says, "Everyone would agree that children need to have a family. I have the ability to help children fulfill that desire. Why should I say no?"

Pax, whose given name before he was adopted was Pham Quang, is the fourth child for the actress and her partner, Brad Pitt. Their brood includes Maddox, who was adopted from Cambodia, Zahara, 2, who was adopted from Ethiopia, and 10-month-old Shiloh, who was born to the couple last year.

Jolie completes Vietnam adoption signing

Officials said the boy had been renamed Pax Thien Jolie and the adoption would be final once U.S. consular and embassy officials give approval.

The boy had been registered as Pham Quang Sang at the Tam Binh orphanage in the city, Vietnam's largest urban area with 8 million people.

Jolie and the child were driven by car from the orphanage to the nine-storey Justice Department building in the city center to sign adoption documents. Jolie's car was seen leaving the underground parking area 30 minutes later.

"It is lucky for him. It's wonderful to be adopted by someone really famous. You can have a good life," said Nguyen Thi Thuong, 39, who was at the office with her British husband to register their child's birth certificate.

The boy adopted by Jolie is aged between 3 and 4. She has three other children -- an adoptive son and daughter and a biological daughter with actor and partner Brad Pitt.

Jolie flew into Ho Chi Minh City late on Wednesday from Japan on a chartered plane, accompanied by her son and daughters.

The boy, described by adoption authorities as healthy, had been abandoned at a local hospital in 2003 and cared for since at the orphanage.

Senior officials said Jolie's adoption had been speeded up, partly due to her celebrity status.

The actress, 31, filed adoption papers in early March through an unidentified American agency without Pitt. Under Vietnamese law, a single person may adopt a child but an unmarried couple may not.

In Vietnam, adoptions can take as little as one month if background checks are quickly completed along with confirmation the adopting family can support a child. The process can drag on for six months or more.

Jolie and Pitt visited Ho Chi Minh City last November and met children at the orphanage.

The couple say they have no plans to marry but are committed to raising their children together. Their biological daughter, Shiloh Nouvel, was born last year. Jolie adopted Maddox from Cambodia and Zahara from Ethiopia before her relationship with Pitt, who has now become their adoptive father.

The couple starred in the 2005 movie "Mr. & Mrs. Smith." They are also working together on the film "A Mighty Heart" about the killing of a U.S. journalist by Pakistani militants.

Jolie won an Oscar in 1999 for best supporting actress in "Girl, Interrupted." She starred in the 2001 movie "Tomb Raider" which was filmed in Cambodia, neighboring Vietnam.

Jolie to soon bring home adopted son

Officials in Ho Chi Minh City are reviewing Jolie's file and should complete their work by the end of the month at the latest, said Vu Duc Long, director of Vietnam's International Adoption Department.

Jolie can pick up the child anytime after the application is approved, he said.

The child was abandoned at a Ho Chi Minh City hospital as a baby and then taken to the nearby Tam Binh orphanage, where he has lived ever since, said Nguyen Van Trung, the orphanage director.

Shortly after he arrived at the orphanage, the Tam Binh staff tried unsuccessfully to locate the boy's birth parents.

"He is in good health," Trung said. "He is a little bit shy."

The boy gets along well with other children and loves to play soccer, Trung said.

The adoption is being processed quickly because the boy is an older child, and his files were nearly complete before Jolie decided to adopt, Trung said.

Jolie and Brad Pitt have three children: 5-year-old Maddox, adopted from Cambodia; 2-year-old Zahara, adopted from Ethiopia; and another daughter, Shiloh, who was born to the couple in May.

The pair made a surprise visit to the Tam Binh orphanage at Thanksgiving, when they were spotted cruising around Ho Chi Minh City on a motorbike.

Official says Jolie plans to adopt boy

Jolie chose the boy, who is between 3 and 4 years old, during a recent visit to the Tam Binh orphanage on the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City, said Vu Duc Long, the head of the justice ministry's international adoption department in Hanoi.

Under ordinary circumstances, it takes about four months to process an adoption after the forms arrive, Long said. If the prospective parent already has chosen a child, the adoption can be completed in just three months.

"Three months would be the longest," Long said, adding that Jolie's case could be processed faster than that.

Long confirmed last week that Jolie had filed adoption papers, but did not provide any details about the child or how long the process would take.

Jolie initiated the adoption process in the United States, but her application only arrived at Long's office last week. His department has approved the application and sent it to officials in Ho Chi Minh City, who also must review it.

Jolie and her partner, Brad Pitt, have three children: 5-year-old Maddox, adopted from Cambodia; 2-year-old Zahara, adopted from Ethiopia; and another daughter, Shiloh, who was born to the couple in May.

The pair made a surprise visit to the Tam Binh orphanage at Thanksgiving, when they were spotted cruising around Ho Chi Minh City on a motorbike.

Angelina Jolie to adopt Vietnamese child

A U.S. adoption agency representing the 31-year-old actress filed the papers at Vietnam's International Adoption Agency, said Vu Duc Long, the agency's director.

"She just filed the papers this week," Long said.

Jolie and her partner, Brad Pitt, have three children: 5-year-old son Maddox, adopted from Cambodia; 2-year-old daughter Zahara, adopted from Ethiopia; and another daughter, Shiloh, who was born to the couple in May.

Long would not name the U.S. adoption agency working with Jolie, who applied to adopt as a single parent.

A phone message left with Jolie's Los Angeles-based manager, Geyer Kosinski, wasn't immediately returned.

Jolie and Pitt, 43, made a surprise visit to Vietnam at Thanksgiving, when they visited the Tam Binh orphanage, on the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City.

Their pictures were splashed across the front page of Vietnamese newspapers, showing the couple cruising around Ho Chi Minh City on a motorbike.

Nguyen Van Trung, the director of the Tam Binh orphanage, declined to comment. He said he was awaiting the papers from the International Adoption Agency.

Oscars Burning Questions

Jolie, Pitt to Adopt Vietnamese Boy?

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie may be trying to adopt a fourth child, this one from Vietnam, according to press reports.

The Hollywood couple have reportedly filed papers with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to adopt a boy from the Tam Binh orphanage in Ho Chi Minh City, the country's former capital where the stars spent Thanksgiving.

According to Long Duc Vu, the head of the Bureau of International Adopted Children -- aka the Ministry of Justice -- authorities in Vietnam still haven't been contacted. The director of Tam Binh Orphanage, Trung Van Nguyen, is still awaiting direction from the Ministry of Justice.

If the adoption goes through, the boy would join the family-in-progress consisting of adopted boy Maddox, 5, adopted girl Zahara, 2, and Jolie-Pitt blood offspring Shiloh, 9 months. The couple is reportedly looking to adopt a boy around the age of 3 or 4.

The Jolie-Pitts currently make their home in New Orleans, but have been jetting around the world for various work-related, personal and humanitarian purposes. Jolie, 31, last starred in "The Good Shepherd" and can be heard as the voice of Grendel's mother this summer in "Beowulf." Pitt, 43, starred in the Oscar-nominated "Babel," and next stars in "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford," which will be released in the fall.

The babble over how to pronounce `Babel'

"Thank you for honoring our film `Babble.' Or `BAY-bel' or `Bah-BELL,'" Brad Pitt said after the film received an earlier award at a film festival in Palm Springs, Calif. "We're still arguing how to pronounce it."

The uncertainty over something as basic as the title is fitting, since the movie percolates with cultural confusion. It takes place over three continents in four different languages, five if you count sign language.

Robin C. Barr, the linguist-in-residence at American University in Washington, studies the phenomenon called folk-etymology — speakers' incorrect reinterpretations of, and anecdotes about, words — and notes that the name of the city first pops up in the texts of Sargon, an Akkadian king about 2300 B.C.

Which leaves us, oh, about 4,300 years for those reinterpretations and anecdotes to develop.

Such as the Tower of Babel story in Chapter 11 of the Bible's Book of Genesis. It tells of how, when humans all spoke the same language, they determined to build a tower up to heaven. Alarmed, God ended the project by confusing their language: They couldn't understand each other and couldn't work together anymore.

"The ancient storyteller of Genesis 11 is using the name in a satirical word play in the story," says Wayne T. Pitard, a religion professor at the University of Illinois.

Both Barr and Pitard offer that the word is actually a form of the name of the city of Babylon, and it has nothing to do with the Hebrew verb "balal" (confuse) in the Bible; it derives from the Mesopotamian Akkadian language and means "gate of the gods." The longer form of the ancient word "bab ilani" (hence, Babylon) is an alternative form that means the same thing.

Barr says the English word "babble" is not at all related etymologically to the Hebrew/Akkadian "Babel."

It's onomatopoeic, like boo or hiss.

"There are words for `babble' in many languages that have arisen independently via the imitation of children's speech or other unintelligible language," Barr says. She adds that the ancient Greek word for "barbarian" originally simply meant anyone who didn't speak Greek — "their language sounded like `bar-bar-bar-bar' to the Greeks, apparently."

The Middle English "babelen" (the source of "babble") is unrelated, but is also imitative of child language or flowing water (the common "babbling brook"), she says. And the Sanskrit word "balbala" means "stammer."

But before we all get tongue-tied, Barr avers that none of the pronunciations can be held up as the sole "correct" one.

And, really, does it matter?

George Orwell once wrote: "But if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought."

Or as two other deep thinkers of the 20th century, George and Ira Gershwin, wrote (and Fred Astaire sang):

"You like potato and I like potahto, "You like tomato and I like tomahto; "Potato, potahto, tomato, tomahto! "Let's call the whole thing off!"

'It's the state of the world,' says 'Babel' star Pitt

This movie awards season features doom and gloom for many a movie tyke. They face various perils and creepy creatures.

What's the deal?

"It must have to do with the state of the world at this time," says Brad Pitt, father (with partner Angelina Jolie) to Maddox, 5, Zahara, 2, and Shiloh, 7 months. In Babel, Pitt and Cate Blanchett play the parents of two young children who get lost in a Mexican desert.

"I found it bordering on impossible to watch when those children were lost," admits Blanchett, real-life mom to sons Dashiell, 5, and Roman, 2.

In Blanchett's Notes on a Scandal, her teacher character is the one presenting the threat: bedding one of her high school students.

"There's nothing more salacious and topical than teachers who have sexual relationships with students," she says.

In Little Children, Kate Winslet plays a mom in a neighborhood haunted by a child sex predator. Children in "terrifying plights," says Winslet, "is something that has come into our consciousness so much more in the last few years — and perhaps that's giving screenwriters ideas." Mom to Mia, 6, and Joe, 3, Winslet says, "I'm always mindful of my children and incredibly aware of who is around them."

Adds Pitt: "We're thinking harder about the safety of our children, and certainly their futures."

Jolie leaves Hanoi with adopted Vietnamese son

Reuters photographers saw a private jet leave Hanoi's Noi Bai airport carrying the Hollywood star, children and assistants. Earlier, the group checked out of the historic French-colonial era Metropole Hotel.

Jolie, 31, finalized the adoption of a Vietnamese orphan on Tuesday at the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi, according to the U.S.-based adoption agency that helped her.

The Oscar-winning actress arrived in southern Ho Chi Minh City a week ago, staying largely out of public view in hotels.

The boy's birth name is Pham Quang Sang but Jolie renamed him Pax Thien Jolie, a name that combines the Latin word for peace and the Vietnamese word for sky or heaven.

He is her fourth child she is raising with her partner, Hollywood star Brad Pitt.

The 3- year old had lived in a Ho Chi Minh City orphanage since being abandoned at birth until last Thursday when Jolie completed adoption procedures with Vietnamese authorities there.

She traveled to Hanoi on Monday for the obligatory U.S. embassy appointment and collection of a visa so the child could travel to the United States, the adoption agency said.

Jolie traveled to Vietnam with her 5-year-old son Maddox, who was adopted from Cambodia, and 2-year-old daughter Zahara, adopted from Ethiopia. She gave birth last year in Namibia to her first biological child, a daughter fathered by Pitt named Shiloh.

Jolie's adopted boys play in Hanoi's Metropole

Jolie has remained out of public view since arriving in southern Ho Chi Minh City last Wednesday to pick up the 3 1/2-year-old boy from an orphanage and traveling to Hanoi on Monday to complete the adoption.

The boy's birth name is Pham Quang Sang but Jolie has renamed him Pax Thien Jolie, a name that combines the Latin word for peace and the Vietnamese word for sky or heaven.

"The Vietnamese authorities had already cleared the adoption, and the U.S. Embassy approved the adoption on Tuesday," said spokeswoman Laura Feragen on behalf of Philadelphia-based nonprofit agency Adoptions From the Heart.

"They will pick up Pax's visa on Wednesday and they are free to go home," she said.

Oscar-winning Jolie, 31, traveled to Vietnam with her 5-year-old son Maddox, who was adopted from Cambodia, and 2-year-old sister Zahara, adopted from Ethiopia.

She also has a biological child Shiloh Nouvel with actor and companion Brad Pitt.

An online newspaper on Tuesday reported that as Jolie finalized the paperwork, her adopted sons played and communicated by sign language in the lobby of the historic luxury Metropole Hotel in Hanoi.

"Maddox and Sang played in the lobby and they seemed to get along really well," the online VNExpress quoted an unidentified hotel staff member as saying. "They don't understand each other's language, but they used sign language to communicate."

Completion of the adoption came as Hollywood trade paper Daily Variety reported on Tuesday that Jolie has been cast in her next movie, an action film called "Wanted," set to begin shooting in Eastern Europe in May. Variety said she will play an assassin who teaches the ropes to an aspiring hitman.

Jolie, her family and their assistants arrived in Hanoi on Monday and checked into the white facade Metropole Hotel, which opened during French colonial rule in 1901. It has rooms named for Charlie Chaplin, an early Hollywood star, and the English author Graham Greene.

During Tuesday's lunch hour, a silver minivan with darkened windows -- thought to be carrying Jolie -- drove quickly into the Rose Garden Tower, one of two U.S. Embassy buildings in the Vietnamese capital. The vehicle left about 35 minutes later.

Security in front of the embassy increased noticeably before the vehicle arrived. U.S. officials declined comment on Jolie's adoption, saying it was a private matter.

Brad Pitt: 'Strippers Changed My Life'

Talking about one of his first jobs at Newsweek's annual Oscar roundtable Saturday in Hollywood, Pitt said, "My job was to drive them to bachelor parties and things. I'd pick them up, and at the gig I'd collect the money, play the bad Prince tapes and catch the girls' clothes. It was not a wholesome atmosphere, and it got very depressing."

But it was not without its perks: Just before quitting, Pitt made a critical show business contact.

"This girl – I'd never met her before – was in an acting class taught by a man named Roy London," a famous acting coach, he said, according to excerpts in this week's Newsweek. "I went and checked it out, and it really set me on the path to where I am now."

He added: "Strippers changed my life."

On a more serious note, the Babel star, 43, talked about how becoming a dad has put things in perspective.

"When I started, I had this idea that the films I did defined me, and that my life would be interesting based on the characters I'd chosen," he said. "I don't feel that way anymore. I'm a father now. There are other things that are important to me. I was chasing something that wasn't fulfilling."

He added: "I caught myself on the phone the other day – Leo (DiCaprio) has been playing some real strong men these last few years, and I found myself saying, 'I want to play more of a man.' I got off the phone and I thought, 'No. Live like a man, and the movies will follow.' "

Curious Kiss

Brangelina Move to New Orleans

Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt and their three children have moved from Hollywood to New Orleans, reports Us Weekly.

"We love it there," says Jolie. "The kids are going to go to school there. We're really looking forward to it."

Son Maddox is already 5-years-old and thus ready for kindergarten or the first grade. Daughters Zahara, 2, and Shiloh, 7 months, won't be old enough for school for a while.

While Pitt is shooting locally for his film "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," Jolie is reportedly doing the mommy thing. The couple recently purchased their fourth house there, a $3.5 million, six-bedroom, four-and-a-half-bath mansion in the French Quarter.

Earlier in April, architecture enthusiast Pitt had teamed up with Global Green USA to sponsor an eco-friendly design competition to rebuild parts of the city that were the hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina. It's likely that with it newest celebrity residents, New Orleans will get a tourism boost as well.

Pitt, 43, received a Golden Globe nomination for his supporting role in "Babel." This year, he'll star in the heist sequel "Ocean's Thirteen" and then the western "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford."

Jolie, 31, last starred opposite Matt Damon in "The Good Shepherd." She next stars in "A Mighty Heart," which Pitt is producing, and the voice of Grendel's mother in "Beowulf."

Brad Pitt: More Kids on the Way

Pitt also said that the globe-trotting clan (who recently traveled to Panama) will add to their frequent-flier miles, temporarily relocating to New Orleans for the next several months to film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

"I do like it there," Pitt said. "It's one of our most unique cities and it certainly needs some help right now. I know it will do fine, and the people are just fantastic."

Pitt has visited New Orleans for the Hurricane Katrina recovery effort, cosponsoring with Global Green USA a contest to find an eco-friendly plan for housing and community centers. He also has been working with organizations helping AIDS orphans.

The family's most recent stop has been the Caribbean, where Pitt and Babel costar Cate Blanchett were on location for Benjamin Button.

"We wrapped at 6 in the morning, got on a plane and got our crusty asses here," he told PEOPLE.

Jolie and the children stopped over in Los Angeles while Pitt headed to Palm Springs with Blanchett for the film festival's awards gala. The festival honored the Babel cast as well as Blanchett for career achievement and director Alejandro González Ińárritu. (The movie is also nominated for several Golden Globes, including a best supporting actor nod for Pitt.)

"For us, it's about the ensemble award," said Pitt. "Given the international nature of our cast, it's a really nice honor."

During the gala, Pitt joined the cast on stage and the 1,800 people in the audience in singing happy birthday to costar Rinko Kikuchi, who turned 26 on Saturday.

Winslet, Pitt films win in Palm Springs

Both drew multiple honors at Saturday night's festivities in this desert resort city 100 miles east of Los Angeles.

"Babel," which starred Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Adriana Barraza and Rinko Kikuchi, took the Ensemble Performance Award. Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu took home the director's award for the film, which has struggled at the box office.

Pitt, 43, told Associated Press Television News: "I love the undercurrent of this film, and that is the inability, sometimes, to understand where the other side is coming from."

Inarritu, Barraza, Kikuchi and Pitt are nominated for Golden Globe Awards, to be handed out Jan. 15, and all said they would attend.

Blanchett accepted the festival's Career Achievement Award. She apologized for making so many movies released in 2006, including "Babel," "Notes on a Scandal" and "The Good German."

Kate Winslet won the festival's Desert Palm Achievement for Acting.

Winslet said the attention for her performance in the drama "Little Children" has done nothing less than resuscitate the commercial prospects of the $30 million film, which has earned less than $3 million in ticket sales since hitting theaters in early fall.

"That's the thing that's so fantastic about the nominations," she said. "It does mean that hopefully people will go and see the movie."

"Little Children" director Todd Field also won the Sonny Bono Visionary Award. Bono, who died in 1998, founded the film festival in 1989 as Palm Springs mayor.

Actor Sienna Miller presented Jessica Biel with the Rising Star Award. Biel, who has logged 10 seasons as a regular and a guest star on the TV series "7th Heaven," said she gladly accepted the festival's Rising Star honor.

"You know, I was nothing but pleased, even though I've been working for a long time," Biel said.

Actor Adam Beach accepted the male actor Rising Star award for his portrait of an American Indian World War II soldier in "Flags of Our Fathers."

"Little Miss Sunshine" took the Chairman's Vanguard Award, and Jennifer Hudson won for breakthrough performance in "Dreamgirls."

The Palm Springs International Film Festival runs through Jan. 15.

SAG Awards

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture:
"Babel"
"Bobby"
"The Departed"
"Dreamgirls"
"Little Miss Sunshine"

Lap Of Luxury

Brad, Angelina Play Tourist in Panama City

Their visit was so low-key, one amazed resident shouted, "Are you Brad Pitt?"

According to the newspaper Panama America, the actor replied with a smile: "Sometimes."

The day before, the couple dropped in on a former U.S. military base and the construction site of Panama's new Biodiversity Museum, which will trace the country's natural history and include a botanical garden, the Associated Press reports.

The museum's designer is Pitt's pal, Los Angeles-based architect Frank Gehry, with whom the actor collaborated on designing a seaside development in Britain, PEOPLE reported in August 2005.

The AP reports that the couple planned to ring in the New Year in Costa Rica, where they'd spent Christmas with refugees from Colombia.

Pitt and Jolie visit the Panama Canal

One resident yelled, "Are you Brad Pitt?" The actor smiled and said: "Sometimes," according to the newspaper Panama America.

Besides touring the capital, where they shopped for souvenirs and walked around a colonial neighborhood, Pitt and Jolie on Thursday visited a former U.S. military base and the construction site of Panama's new Biodiversity Museum, designed by Frank Gehry, at the entrance of the canal in the Amador district.

The newspaper said Pitt, who has a love of architecture, and Jolie were considering investing in the $56 million project and buying land in Panama.

The museum, which will trace Panama's natural history, will include a botanical garden.

Publicists for Pitt and Jolie couldn't be reached for comment.

The couple, who arrived Thursday, were to return on Saturday to Costa Rica, to celebrate the New Year at a beachfront resort where room prices range into the thousands of dollars a night.

Jolie, 31, arrived in Costa Rica last week as part of her work as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. She and Pitt spent Christmas Day with Colombian refugees.

She co-stars in the Universal Pictures drama "The Good Shepherd" with Matt Damon and Robert De Niro. Pitt stars in "Babel," a Paramount Vantage release.

Jolie & Pitt continue stay in Costa Rica

A telephone call to Pitt's publicist in Beverly Hills, Calif., wasn't immediately returned Thursday.

Accompanied by their three children, a nanny and a personal chef, the Jolie-Pitt entourage, registered as "the Black family," have been staying at the resort since last Friday, the report said.

Jolie and Pitt have three children: 5-year-old Maddox, adopted from Cambodia; 23-month-old daughter, Zahara, adopted from Ethiopia; and 6-month old daughter, Shiloh, who was born to the couple in May.

The hotel's Web site describes the facility as "spilling down a lush mountainside to an isthmus of golden sand," and says room rates range from $470 to $6,800 a night.

Jolie, 31, and Pitt, 43, spent Christmas Day in Costa Rica with refugee children and families from Colombia, also part of Jolie's ambassadorship for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, the agency said.

There are about 11,500 refugees in Costa Rica, most of whom fled Colombia because of the conflict among leftist guerrillas, soldiers and paramilitary forces.

"I am deeply affected by having had the opportunity to be with them," said Costa Rica's former Culture Minister Guido Saenz, who gave the couple a tour of the country's art museum. "They have a mixture of physical beauty, great talent and an altruistic attitude."

Jolie co-stars in the Universal Pictures drama "The Good Shepherd" with Matt Damon and Robert De Niro. Pitt stars in "Babel," a Paramount Vantage release.

Brad & Angelina's New Year's Resolution: Help Cambodia

Back in November, during a stealth family visit to the homeland of their son Maddox, 5, the couple pledged to expand the scope of the Maddox Jolie-Pitt Project (MJP), which Jolie launched more than four years ago as a conservation initiative.

They've donated millions of dollars and teamed up with Dr. Jeffrey Sachs and his antipoverty organization Millennium Promise on an economic-development program in northwestern Cambodia. Seventy MJP workers will work with Sachs's group on activities – including rice planting, distribution of bed nets to fight malaria, school meal programs and providing medicines for clinics – to create Asia's first Millennium Village.

"We have learned so much," Jolie, who was awarded honorary Cambodian citizenship in 2004, tells PEOPLE, "and I think we are on the right track."

During their stay in November, the family also traveled to the capital city of Phnom Penh to visit the Maddox Chivan Children's Center, a facility to care for kids affected by tuberculosis and AIDS, which was opened this past February with substantial financial assistance from Jolie.

"They arrived and just couldn't hold enough kids," says Anne Goldfeld, cofounder of the Cambodian Health Committee, which operates the center. "They were very natural, very real, very respectful and very interested. We wouldn't have been able to do it without her."

In the coming year, Jolie and Pitt also hope to boost Cambodia's economic development by encouraging tourism. "We hope people will travel to Cambodia," says Jolie. "The people there have overcome so much."

No matter what, Cambodia has a permanent place in their own hearts. "It was incredibly moving," says Pitt, "to visit my son's country."

To find out more about efforts supported by Pitt and Jolie, go to millenniumpromise.org, cambodianhealthcommittee.org and tourismcambodia.com.

For more on this story, pick up the new issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday.

Brad & Angelina Spend Christmas with Refugees

"We had a wonderful Christmas both with the Costa Rican people and the Colombian refugee families we met," Jolie said in a statement. Her visit was part of her work as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

About 11,500 refugees have come to Costa Rica, most of them from Colombia, where an armed conflict between leftist guerrillas, soldiers and paramilitary forces has forced them to flee, says the UNHCR. All told, an estimated 3 million Colombians have been forced from their homes.

"The conflict in Colombia is the greatest humanitarian tragedy in the Western Hemisphere, but it receives very little international attention," Jolie said after her arrival in San Jose. "My Christmas message to Colombian refugees and to the millions of displaced people in Colombia is that the world has not totally forgotten them."

In San Jose, Jolie and Pitt dropped in on several small businesses established by refugees thanks to UNHCR economic initiatives. They also talked with young refugees, learning about the problems they and their families have faced.

"It's been sad for me to hear so many negative stories that show confusion between refugees, who are the victims of the conflict, and some criminal elements," Jolie said.

The UNHCR said this was Jolie's second trip to the region in her five years as a goodwill ambassador. She also went to Ecuador in 2002 and later wrote a personal journal of her meetings with Colombian refugees there.

Holiday visits with the underprivileged has become something of a tradition for Pitt and Jolie. In 2005, they spent their first Thanksgiving together aiding earthquake victims in Pakistan.

That same holiday this year, before visiting Ho Chi Minh City, Jolie paid an unannounced visit to son Maddox's birth country, Cambodia, where she pledged to aid conservation efforts.

2007 Golden Globe Nominations

BABEL
BOBBY
THE DEPARTED
LITTLE CHILDREN
THE QUEEN

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE

BEN AFFLECK- HOLLYWOODLAND
EDDIE MURPHY- DREAMGIRLS
JACK NICHOLSON- THE DEPARTED
BRAD PITT- BABEL
MARK WAHLBERG- THE DEPARTED

Jolie says she & Pitt are proud parents

Zahara, who will be 2 next month, is the couple's middle child. They have a 5-year-old son, Maddox, and a 6-month-old daughter, Shiloh.

"Mad is very smart, but he's got a certain sense of calm. Zahara is possibly the funniest person I've ever met in my life. So dramatic and creative and loud and charming," Jolie says. "She's definitely the biggest personality in the house."

Who's the family disciplinarian?

"I am," Jolie says. "Brad can be, but if Z doesn't get the bottle from me, she'll very quickly run to Daddy."

Jolie, who stars opposite Matt Damon in the upcoming drama "The Good Shepherd," says she and Pitt are proud parents.

"Somebody said to us recently that they were happy kids, and we talked about how much that meant to us to hear," she says. "And they're good kids. God knows how we managed to do that — but they're good kids."

The Jolie-Pitt clan, frequently photographed visiting far-flung and exotic places, is a nomadic one. Jolie has traveled throughout the world as a goodwill ambassador of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Maddox was adopted from Cambodia, Zahara was adopted from Ethiopia, and Jolie gave birth to Shiloh in Namibia, where the family had traveled for privacy.

"It's hard, and maybe one day we'll have to stay in one place," Jolie says. "I'm sure (the kids are) going to be 18 and say, `God, I just want to stay in one place.' They'll never want to leave home!"

BRAD GIVES ANGELINA ROOM

Pitt, Jolie tour Wright's masterpiece

The unique home spans Mill Run, a creek that flows through woods about 50 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. Wright built the home for department store magnate Edgar Kaufmann Sr. in the 1930s. The American Institute of Architects voted it the "Building of the 20th Century."

"Brad said he had wanted to experience Fallingwater ever since he took an architectural history course in college," said curator Cara Armstrong. "He and I talked quite a bit about design and art. He was incredibly well-informed about architecture."

Armstrong said she led Pitt and Jolie on a two-hour tour Thursday that was followed by a private birthday celebration for Pitt in Fallingwater's living room. The actor will be 43 on Dec. 18.

"Brad said he had a visual sense of Fallingwater but experiencing it in person, hearing the sound of the waterfall cascading under the house and smelling the wood from the fireplace, was better than anything he could have imagined," Armstrong said.

Pitt's new movie, "Babel," from Paramount Vantage, is now in theaters. Jolie, 31, has been filming "A Mighty Heart," based on a memoir written by Mariane Pearl, the widow of slain journalist Daniel Pearl.

Jolie's new film, "The Good Shepherd," will be released by Universal on Dec. 22.

Pitt, Jolie spend Thanksgiving in Vietnam

Pitt was spotted driving the motorbike through the city center with Jolie perched on the seat behind him Thursday in a country where virtually everyone travels on the two-wheeled machines. The couple later dined at a popular Vietnamese restaurant converted from an old temple.

Pitt and Jolie arrived unannounced in Vietnam after an earlier surprise visit this week to Cambodia where on Wednesday they toured a former Khmer Rouge death camp, which is now a genocide museum.

The 31-year-old actress, who has an adopted son from Cambodia, also met with officials to discuss a forest conservation project in the country's northwest near Pailin, a former Khmer Rouge stronghold. She has pledged up to $1.3 million over five years for the program.

Jolie's Cambodian son, Maddox, is 5 years old. She and Pitt also have a 1-year-old daughter, Zahara, who was adopted from Ethiopia. Jolie gave birth to the couple's daughter, Shiloh, in Namibia in May.

Pitt defends bodyguards after racist abuse row

Police received a complaint on Thursday that the British security guards had manhandled students and parents, and called them "bloody Indians" as they tried to enter the school, or madrasa, in Mumbai to collect their children.

"As a film unit and as individuals we respect all religions and human beings," Pitt, also the producer of the film, was quoted by the Times of India as saying.

"We are committed to tolerance and human values ... It is unthinkable that anyone would have uttered the things that are being attributed to them. But if any misunderstanding has been caused, we apologize for it," he added.

Pitt and Jolie along with their children have been in India for almost a month, shooting "A Mighty Heart" based on the life and death of Daniel Pearl, an American journalist kidnapped and murdered in 2002 in Pakistan by Islamist militants.

Indian police had detained three of Jolie's guards on Friday but they were later released on bail of 25,000 rupees ($556), the Times of India said.

Pitt-Jolie wax wedding on ice in Vegas

"I personally found it a little odd that they were re-creating a wedding that never really happened," said Cindy Guagenti, Los Angeles-based spokeswoman for Pitt. "As Brad's representative, I found it disturbing."

Adrian Jones, general manager of the wax museum at the Venetian resort, said in a statement that the decision was made to not cross the stars.

"Since Madame Tussauds enjoys excellent relationships with the celebrity community, we made our own decision not to create the wedding scene," he said.

The Brangelina wedding had been scheduled Wednesday to mark the unveiling of a Jolie wax figure. Pitt's already got one.

The scene would have had wax figures of George Clooney, standing in as best man, and the Rev. Robert Schuller, pastor and president of the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, Calif., officiating.

Wax witnesses would have included the likenesses of the likes of Elvis, Liberace, John Wayne, Bugsy Siegel, Frank Sinatra, Ben Affleck and Luciano Pavarotti.

Instead, Jolie's wax figure will be introduced Wednesday, without the wedding bells.

Guagenti said Pitt was unaware of Madame Tussauds' plans. He and Jolie were with their three children in Mumbai, India, where Jolie is filming a movie about slain journalist Daniel Pearl.

Pitt told Esquire magazine for its October edition that he doesn't intend to marry Jolie until legal restrictions are lifted in the U.S. and "everyone else in the country who wants to be married is legally able."

2007 People's Choice Award Nominees

Television:Favorite TV Comedy: The King of Queens, My Name is Earl, Two and a Half Men
Favorite TV Comedy – Animated: Family Guy, King of the Hill, The Simpsons
Favorite TV Drama: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Grey's Anatomy, House
Favorite Competition/Reality Show: American Idol, Deal or No Deal, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
Favorite Female TV Star: Jennifer Love Hewitt, Eva Longoria, Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Favorite Male TV Star: Patrick Dempsey, Charlie Sheen, Kiefer Sutherland
Favorite Talk Show Host: Ellen DeGeneres, Jay Leno, Oprah Winfrey

Music:Favorite Female Singer: Faith Hill, Shakira, Carrie Underwood
Favorite Male Singer: Trace Adkins, Kenny Chesney, Toby Keith
Favorite Group: The Black Eyed Peas, Nickelback, The Red Hot Chili Peppers
Favorite R&B Song: Christina Aguilera, "Ain't No Other Man"; Justin Timberlake, "SexyBack"; Mariah Carey, "Shake It Off"
Favorite Hip-Hop Song: Nelly, "Grillz"; Chamillionaire, "Ridin'"; Eminem, "Shake That"
Favorite Pop Song: Shakira, "Hips Don't Lie"; Nelly Furtado, "Promiscuous"; Pink, "Stupid Girls"
Favorite Country Song: Carrie Underwood, "Before He Cheats"; Rascal Flatts, "What Hurts the Most"; Tim McGraw, "When the Stars Go Blue"
Favorite Rock Song: Evanescence, "Call Me When You're Sober"; Red Hot Chili Peppers, "Dani California"; Bon Jovi, "Who Says You Can't Go Home"

Miscellaneous:
Favorite Funny Female Star: Ellen DeGeneres, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Queen Latifah
Favorite Funny Male Star: Will Ferrell, Adam Sandler, Robin Williams

Fans can vote for their favorites in movies, TV and music online at pcavote.com. Winners will be announced when the show airs live on CBS Jan. 9.

Brad Goes Gray

Pitt Says Cover Pic Ain't Fair

Brad Pitt is considering taking legal action against Vanity Fair, according to his publicist, after learning the publication used an "unauthorized"—not to mention quite steamy—photo of the actor on its December cover without his permission.

A blue-hued Pitt appears dripping wet in nothing more than white boxers and socks while holding a gun on the cover of the magazine's inaugural art issue, and while women of the world may hold no objections, the Babel star is less than pleased.

According to Angelina Jolie's better half, Pitt voluntarily donned the underthings for the camera, though his intention was never to have the footage be so publicly displayed.

He claims the cover shot is actually a still taken from a video portrait he made with artist Robert Wilson in September 2005 and that he never gave the okay for any portion of it to appear in print. (The avant-garde video depicts a silent Pitt getting soaked by water, and ends with the actor raising a water pistol and firing toward the camera.)

"We are very disappointed that Vanity Fair has chosen to put an unauthorized cover on their magazine," the 42-year-old's publicist told E! News. "It seriously makes me question their integrity and motives."

According to Pitt's camp, he only found out he would be gracing the magazine's cover when publicity photos for the issue began making the Internet rounds last week.

Reps for Vanity Fair, however, deny allegations that they came into possession of the footage by illicit means and claim Pitt knew of his coverboy status well in advance of the magazine's printing.

"Brad Pitt posed for a Robert Wilson video portrait and, in the photo release (signed by Pitt), agreed to allow Wilson to use the portrait or any images from that sitting in connection with any publicity on Wilson's video project," the magazine said in a statement to E! News.

Enter the magazine's inaugural art issue and their decision to showcase portions of Wilson's art installation within their glossy pages.

"Vanity Fair decided to do a story on Wilson's video portraits and obtained rights to the entire collection of photographs from those sittings, which included Pitt's," the mag said.

As for Pitt's claim that his presence on the cover was news to him, the magazine said Wilson himself informed the actor's reps that stills from his sitting would be included in the publication last month.

"In a letter dated October 5, 2006, and sent to Pitt care of Brillstein-Grey, Wilson informed Pitt that a still image from his portrait was going to be featured in the December art issue of Vanity Fair."

In the issue, though perhaps not on.

But semantics aside, the issue will reportedly also feature stills—undisputed, at that—of Isabella Rossellini, Sean Penn, Willem Dafoe and Winona Ryder, all of whom Wilson has caught on film.

Authorized or not, the underwear-clad Pitt, who has willingly graced the cover of Vanity Fair in solo shots twice before, appears on newsstands later this month, while Wilson's complete works will be shown in New York early next year.

Brad Pitt joins Jimmy Carter building Indian homes

Pitt, who is in India with partner Angelina Jolie for a film shoot, dropped by the tourist town of Lonavla on Monday to briefly lend a hand to thousands of volunteers from Habitat for Humanity.

Each year since 1984 Carter and his wife Rosalynn have spent a week building homes for the organization around the world and promoting its work. This week they were also joined by former Australian cricket captain Steve Waugh among others.

Photographs showed Pitt, wearing a white shirt, dark jeans, goggles and a baseball cap, fixing a window grill with gloved hands. Another showed him intently slapping cement on bricks.

This week, the organization is building 100 simple, affordable homes for the poor in Lonavla, about 85 km (50 miles) southeast of Mumbai, India's financial and entertainment hub.

Pitt spent about half an hour working under the hot sun and talking to volunteers, newspaper reports said.

The actor and his partner are spending a month in the western Indian city of Pune shooting for "A Mighty Heart," a film about American journalist Daniel Pearl who was kidnapped and murdered in Pakistan in 2002.

Pitt is producing the film while Jolie is playing the role of Pearl's wife.

Brad Pitt Seeks Trespassing Charges Against E!

"Yes, we have filed trespassing charges against E! and are exploring our legal options against both the crew that actually trespassed and the network itself," his rep tells PEOPLE.

A Los Angeles police spokesperson says the incident, first reported by TMZ.com, is still under investigation.

The cable network, meanwhile, is denying any intentional wrongdoing. "E! Networks is investigating allegations that a producer and cameraman who were filming locations for a program about Brad Pitt went onto property last week that is reportedly owned by Mr. Pitt," according to a statement from the cable channel.

"E! Networks did not instruct or authorize anyone working on its program to improperly intrude onto private property, and the individuals involved have been terminated. While neither Mr. Pitt nor his family were at the property when the incident took place, the network in no way condones or encourages such behavior and would like to offer its most sincere apologies to Mr. Pitt and his family."

Brangelina chopper lands in trouble in India

The celebrity couple are in India shooting for "A Mighty Heart," a film about American reporter Daniel Pearl who was kidnapped and murdered in Pakistan in 2002.

The couple's chopper landed at a palace-turned hotel in Jodhpur city in the desert state of Rajasthan on October 20 after claiming it needed to make an emergency landing, the Times of India newspaper quoted a government official as saying.

"After speaking with the Umed Bhawan Palace (hotel) management, the district administration would now ask Jodhpur's air traffic control for it's report," the Jodhpur official, Bhura Ram Delu, was quoted as saying by the daily.

Delu said the helicopter, operated by an Indian firm, did not have permission to land at the luxury hotel's private helipad. The penalty for the violation was not immediately known.

The couple's month-long visit to India -- which has sparked intense media coverage -- has been eventful with Jolie's minders roughing up a persistent photographer, and on another occasion, a car in her convoy knocking down a motorcyclist.

Brad Pitt a wedgie jokester on set

In an interview in Entertainment Weekly's Oct. 30 issue, the 42-year-old actor says he amused himself and his colleagues by yanking up his pants to give himself a wedgie, sticking out his rear and waddling about like a duck. "Throughout the movie, I'd walk around like this," he says.

"You've gotta find things to make you laugh during the shoot," he adds. "Cate (Blanchett) called it the Hungry Bum."

He explains: "When your bum's so hungry it's trying to eat your pants."

His character's story line in "Babel," in theaters Friday, is not as amusing. He and Blanchett play husband and wife in the multinational drama that follows several families linked by a tragedy in the African desert.

Pitt felt a personal connection to the movie's one-world message — he is, after all, the adoptive father to girlfriend Angelina Jolie's children, Maddox, from Cambodia, and Zahara, from Ethiopia.

"Our kids come from different parts of the world, and it's the perfect example of, if we didn't have these perceived differences we wouldn't be defined by geography," he said.

"What I liked most (about the script) was this idea that we're all the same, and it's our lack of understanding and lack of communication that gets in the way."

Tears For Pitt Flick

Madonna Takes Advice From Jolie Over Adoption

Jolie, who has two adopted children - Maddox and Zahara - from Cambodia and Ethiopia respectively, is well aware of the red tape Westerners must overcome in their bid to adopt a tot from the developing world.

And the concerned star is believed to have put the Ritchies in touch with her own adoption lawyer, in case of difficulties with British authorities.

A friend tells British newspaper the Evening Standard, "Brad and Angelina know all about the adoption and have been helping Madonna and Guy in every way they can. They know how important it is to them and how difficult the process can be."

Madonna recently had to defend herself against reports she and her director husband had broken African adoption law to become the legal parents of a one-year-old Malawian boy - and she insists she has "gone about the adoption procedure according to the law, like anyone else who adopts a child."

Brad & Angelina Donate $100K to Daniel Pearl Foundation

The gift, made through the recently formed Jolie-Pitt Foundation, was presented on Tuesday, which would have been the late Wall Street Journal reporter's 43rd birthday.

"On this day our thoughts go out to Danny's family," Pitt and Jolie said in an exclusive statement released by their rep, Trevor Neilson, to PEOPLE. "The Daniel Pearl Foundation is celebrating this day, his birthday, with music festivals around the world. The festivals are a great reminder of not just Danny's work as a journalist but of his life and his love of music."

Pitt and Jolie arrived last week in Pune, India, to film the Pearl biopic, A Mighty Heart, based on the book written by the journalist's widow, Mariane Pearl, whom Jolie portrays in the film.

At the time of his death, Pearl was investigating links between the terrorist group Al Qaeda and Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence.

Pitt and Jolie formed their foundation last month in order to give away $2 million, to be evenly divided between the Global Action for Children and Doctors Without Borders, to help families affected by HIV/AIDS and extreme poverty.

Pitt, Jolie give baby ride in rickshaw

The celebrity couple were chased by photographers, cameramen and reporters forcing them to turn back after a 20-minute ride that took them past shops and department stores in downtown Pune, in western India.

Several traffic signals slowed their short rickshaw ride. At every red light, security men traveling in a rickshaw behind jumped out and surrounded the three-wheeler to prevent the media from snapping pictures of Pitt and Jolie.

They then returned to the Le Meridian hotel where they have been holed up since arriving on Thursday.

Security for the star couple has been tight since their arrival in Pune by private jet along with their children Maddox, 5, Zahara, 18 months and 4-month-old Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt.

On Saturday, one of Pitt's and Jolie's bodyguards manhandled a British photographer as he tried to take their picture at the hotel, an incident caught on video by an Indian television station.

When Pitt and Jolie tried to leave the hotel, a security guard caught the photographer trying to take their photo, grabbed the man by his neck and verbally abused him.

Video of the incident was broadcast on India's CNN-IBN news channel, and the Hindustan Times newspaper identified the photographer as Sam Relph of Barcroft Media.

The newspaper reported that the security guard had shouted at photographers to stop shooting the couple and moved for Relph when he refused to put down his camera.

"He said if I took his pictures he would kill me," the Times quoted Relph as saying. "I couldn't breathe. He had his fingers on my windpipe and he knew what he was doing."

Two Indian journalists also complained that they too had been threatened by the same security guard, who was not identified in the report.

A weekend call to the office of Pitt's publicist in Beverly Hills, Calif., was not immediately returned.

The couple are reportedly scheduled on Monday to start shooting scenes for "A Mighty Heart," in which Jolie plays Pearl's widow, Mariane.

The movie is based on an adaptation of Mariane Pearl's book, "A Mighty Heart: The Brave Life and Death of My Husband Danny Pearl," and will be co-produced by Plan B, a production company founded by Pitt and his ex-wife, actress Jennifer Aniston.

Photographer roughed up while trying to shoot Pitt, Jolie in India

Pitt and Jolie were in Pune, India, to shoot scenes for a movie about the life of the slain journalist Daniel Pearl.

The celebrity couple have been holed up at the city's Le Meridian hotel since arriving late week, presumably trying to avoid the horde of photographers, reporters and TV cameramen camped outside.

On Saturday afternoon, when Pitt and Jolie tried to leave the hotel, one of their security guards caught a British photographer trying to take their photo, grabbing the man by his neck and verbally abusing him.

Video of the incident was broadcast on India's CNN-IBN news channel, and the Hindustan Times newspaper identified the photographer as Sam Relph of Barcroft Media.

The newspaper reported that the security guard had shouted at photographers to stop taking pictures of the couple and moved for Relph when he refused to put down his camera.

"He said if I took his pictures he would kill me," the Times quoted Relph as saying. "I couldn't breathe. He had his fingers on my windpipe and he knew what he was doing."

Two Indian journalists also complained that they too had been threatened by the same security guard, who was not identified in the report.

The couple were reportedly scheduled on Monday to start shooting scenes for "A Mighty Heart," in which Jolie plays Pearl's widow, Mariane.

The movie is based on an adaptation of Mariane Pearl's book, "A Mighty Heart: The Brave Life and Death of My Husband Danny Pearl," and will be co-produced by Plan B, a production company founded by Pitt and his ex-wife, Jennifer Aniston.

Jolie, Pitt in India to film Pearl movie

Neither Pitt nor Jolie made any public comments Friday, but were spotted at the Le Meridian Hotel in Pune.

In the nearby suburb of Aundh, about 50 workers readied a spacious bungalow for the start of filming next week, according to a set manager who did not want to be named because the crew has been warned that leaking information to the media could cost them their jobs.

Elsewhere in the city, assistants scouted more locations for "A Mighty Heart." Jolie is playing Pearl's widow, Mariane; Pitt is a producer for the film.

Pearl, a Wall Street Journal reporter, was kidnapped and murdered in Pakistan in 2002 while researching a story on Islamic militancy.

The set manager said the Pune bungalow was chosen becomes it closely resembles a home in Karachi, Pakistan, where Pearl and his wife spent time.

Security for the star couple was so tight that their arrival in Pune by private jet Thursday was missed by television reporters and journalists waiting at the airport.

"They were whisked out of the airport from the cargo section so that the press and no one else could catch a glimpse of them," said Deepak Shastri, the airport director.

In Pakistan, crew members ran into trouble in July while filming without permission near Karachi's Village restaurant, where Pearl had planned to meet a contact shortly before his abduction.

Officials halted the filming and police and federal agents arrested three Pakistani men — who were wearing police uniforms and carrying guns — for impersonating policemen.

The movie is based on an adaptation of Mariane Pearl's book, "A Mighty Heart: The Brave Life and Death of My Husband Danny Pearl." It is being co-produced by Plan B, a production company founded by Pitt and his ex-wife, Jennifer Aniston.

Stealthy Smarts

Bio Baby Only

Tidbit

Jolie and Pitt give $1 million gifts

The recipients are Global Action for Children and Medecins sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders.

"In the most troubled parts of the world — places that much of the world has abandoned — MSF is always there," said Jolie in a statement issued by Trevor Neilson, the couple's philanthropic and political adviser. "I have seen these brave men and women working in war zones and horrific conditions and I deeply admire them."

Jolie, who co-starred with Pitt in the 2005 film "Mr. & Mrs. Smith," is a goodwill ambassador for the U.N. High Commission for Refugees.

Jennifer Delaney, U.S. director for Global Action for Children, expressed her thanks for the gift from the Jolie-Pitt Foundation.

"Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt not only care, but more important, are taking concrete action to address the fact that there will be 20 million children orphaned by AIDS by 2010, and millions more orphaned by tuberculosis, malaria and conflict or whose parents are sick and dying," she said.

Delaney said the vast majority of these children are in the care of extended families and communities that need support to overcome the ravages of HIV/AIDS and poverty.

Wannabe Brangelina Bodyguard Arrested

A man was arrested Thursday for impersonating a federal employee after purportedly telling Sunset Protective Services and Investigations--the firm that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie rely on for security--that he was a special agent with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

When applying for a position with the company, bodyguard Nelson Mercado, 46, specifically asked to be assigned to Pitt and Jolie's security detail, according to court documents obtained by E! News. Per the indictment filed in U.S. District Court, Mercado was carrying a phony DHS credential and driving a Ford Crown Victoria (your typical law enforcement car) with tinted windows and police lights that was fraudulently registered to the government agency.

The Torrance, California, resident allegedly kept up the charade from August 2005 to May 2006. Before requesting Brangelina duty, Mercado says that he worked as a security consultant and professional bodyguard for a number of people, including athletes and entertainers, according to the indictment.

Mercado is facing up to three years in federal prison if he's convicted.

Meanwhile, it certainly seems as if Jolie and Pitt are attracting far more felonious behavior while together than either celebrity ever did on his or her own.

A Jordanian salesman was arrested in Dubai in June after he used a fake I.D. with Pitt's photograph--but not his name--on it in an attempt to collect more than $23,000 from a currency exchange bureau. Apparently not looking like Brad Pitt gave him away. The man claimed not to know who Pitt was, saying he had downloaded a random photo from the Internet.

Shortly after the Middle Eastern malfeasance, FBI raided the Massachusetts home of a Connecticut camera shop employee and found pictures from Jolie's baby shower that had been swiped off a digital memory card belonging to the actress' brother. Federal authorities then opened an investigation into whether the Massachusetts man and his coworker were attempting to sell those snapshots to the highest bidder.

Then, in honor of the no-privacy agreement Jolie and Pitt must have signed when they got together, a paparazzo was nabbed in July at Maddox Jolie-Pitt's Malibu daycare center while allegedly trying to snap a quick pic of the youngster. Clint Brewer, 25, was taken into custody but the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office eventually determined there wasn't enough evidence to file a trespassing charge against him.

Brad's Diaper Drama: Readers to the Rash-cue

So on Monday PEOPLE.com asked readers for advice for Pitt and Angelina Jolie – and they came through.

In less than five hours nearly 900 people had responded with remedies ranging from cornstarch to drying Shiloh's tush with a hairdryer ("on a very, very low setting"). But the one product they overwhelmingly recommended was Boudreaux's Butt Paste.

"I swear by that stuff!!" Jamie C wrote. Seconded Vita Migues, "When my little boy had diaper rash the pharmacist told me about this, and so did several other mothers. They were right. It's the best out there. I buy it for baby shower gifts now."

So what is Boudreaux's Butt Paste? It's a mixture of zinc oxide, castor oil, mineral oil and Peruvian balsam invented by Covington, La., pharmacist George Boudreaux in the late '70s – and now sold nationwide at stores including Wal-Mart and Walgreen's.

Boudreaux is delighted that his product has been so highly recommended to Pitt and Jolie. "Give me their address and we'll take care of it!" he says. "If they use our product, I guarantee you it'll work."

This isn't Butt Paste's first rub with celebrity – according to Boudreaux, the ointment, which also helps athletes keep chafing at bay, has been used by Lance Armstrong, Shaquille O'Neal and Peyton Manning. And Boudreaux says he even sent a case to Donald Trump when little Barron was born.

Movie Pitt-Fall

Pitt humbled by non-actors in "Babel"

Directed by "21 Grams" director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, "Babel" made its North American debut at the Toronto International Film Festival this weekend.

An intense tale of four interlocking stories spread across three continents, the film was a favorite at the Cannes film festival earlier this year and is generating Oscar buzz.

"Being a part of an ensemble is always more fun, you don't have to carry the film," Pitt told reporters in Toronto on Sunday, one day after throwing fans into a frenzy at the red-carpet screening of the film.

"For me, I consider myself more a citizen of the world, and I have great pride as I sit up here with all the people from different cultures, and know that we all came together," he said.

Pitt stars alongside Cate Blanchett as a couple on vacation in Morocco when tragedy strikes. Their story is linked to that of two shepherd boys living in a remote village, and also to two narratives taking place at the U.S.-Mexican border near San Diego, and in Japan.

Pitt's and Blanchett's scenes were filmed on location in Morocco, and Inarritu used several non-actor locals to fill out the cast, which he said was the most difficult challenge he had faced as a director.

He singled out one scene in which Blanchett's character needs medical attention, and the only help available is the village veterinarian.

"We were in this room with the veterinarian who stitched up Cate, and he was the real veterinarian of that town. His hands didn't smell so good, because he came from some goat surgery," he said.

For Pitt, who during the news conference brushed aside a suggestion he had become an icon, the experience was humbling.

"How easily they picked it up and understood what they were trying to get across. ... I was just pretty surprised. It took me down a notch as well," he said.

HIGH POWER, LOW PROFILE

Pitt has kept a relatively low profile since the birth of his daughter, Shiloh, with Angelina Jolie in May, and he did not appear in Cannes.

His has been the most sought-after face at a Toronto festival already boasting considerable star power with the likes of Russell Crowe, Jude Law, Sean Penn, Penelope Cruz and Jennifer Lopez.

At the news conference on Sunday, the moderator twice chided photographers to "calm down" so Pitt's answers could be heard over the sound of clicking cameras. That prompted Pitt to wave his hands and mug for the photographers.

"That's the picture that's going to end up when I have breakdown or something ... if I get arrested for a DUI (drunken driving charge) later on, make racial slurs or something," he joked.

Inarritu said he considered the film at its core to be about parents and children, a theme that resonated with Pitt.

"It becomes the one thing that keeps you up at night, how can you protect your children? It's less about yourself, and it's more about the kids," he said.

Pitt added fatherhood would definitely influence roles he accepts in the future.

"I'll try to be a little bit more mature about my decisions, but this one I'll be proud for them to see, once they're old enough to really understand it."

"Babel" is scheduled for limited release in October.

Brad walks Toronto red carpet without Angelina to promote new film, Babel

Clad in a black suit, shirt and tie, Pitt paused for several minutes to sign autographs for the horde assembled outside of Roy Thomson Hall at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Pitt had high praise for his castmates and for Babel director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu.

"I'm just really happy," he said. "Anytime you put a lot of work into it and it comes out nice - it really goes to the cast and Alejandro. He did an exquisite job - an amazing job."

The new dad said he wouldn't be partying at the fest Saturday night because he had an "early call."

"I'm here because it's important and we want our film to be seen here," he said.

Pitt has kept a low profile since the birth of his daughter with Angelina Jolie earlier this year.

Hundreds of fans were elated to see the star back in the spotlight Saturday night, screaming Pitt's name and holding up signs. One woman even hoisted a giant painting bearing his likeness.

Brad Pitt: I'll marry when everyone can

The Mr. and Mrs. Smith star told Esquire he plans to wed Angelina Jolie only when the institution has been democratized.

If that promise doesn't mobilize the American vote, nothing will.

"Angie and I will consider tying the knot when everyone else in the country who wants to be married is legally able," the cover boy told the magazine in its October issue, according to the Associated Press.

The 42-year-old papa of three revealed his caveat for a vow swap in a list for the magazine, divulging "15 things I think everyone should know."

Pitt also waxed on about the state of his family with Jolie, something he said he "cannot imagine life" without.

Of adopted children Maddox, 5, and Zahara, 1, Pitt told the magazine "they're as much of my blood as any natural-born, and I'm theirs. That's all I can say about it. I can't live without them. So: Anyone considering [adoption], that's my vote."

Pitt also discussed his parenting style with regards to Maddox, Zahara and exalted baby Shiloh.

"I try not to stifle them in any way," he said. "If it's not hurting anyone, I want them to be able to explore. Sometimes that means they're quite rambunctious."

Still, Pitt knows when to leave the tots to themselves and when to enforce--er, encourage--the quality bonding.

"I feel it's really important to have that time to sit and talk to them. I really like that last minute before they fade off," he said, adding what might be the first semblance of parental advice offered from a men's magazine.

"Always give them a heads-up before you jerk them out of something. You need to tell them, like, 'You have three more minutes.' "

As for Jolie, Pitt reinforced the competitive nature of the camera-ready couple's relationship in discussing his new favorite (Jolie-influenced) pastime, flying.

"Everything can go wrong very fast," he said of manning the cockpit. "It's humbling."

Pitt also boasted that he has earned his American pilot's certification, though his qualifications have been bested by his baby mama, who's earned both the American and the tougher British certifications.

"She gives me total s--t for that," he said.

Pitt next appears on the big screen in Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's time-traveling drama, Babel, set to debut this week at the Toronto International Film Festival and then in general release Oct. 27. He's also produced a documentary on the so-called Lost Boys of Sudan, titled God Grew Tired of Us, due out in November.

The Esquire issue hits newsstands Sept. 19.

Pitt, Jolie to watch New Orleans rebuild

They were in New Orleans on Thursday, though only Pitt appeared at an afternoon news conference to announce the winner of the design competition he started in April to rebuild hurricane-ravaged neighborhoods using environmentally friendly designs and construction.

"We're going to be spending a lot of time down here," Pitt said.

Preproduction for his next movie is scheduled to begin in November, and Pitt said he would be in New Orleans for much of January and February for filming.

Around that time, he also hoped to break ground on the first phase of the neighborhood redevelopment project slated for a section of the devastated Ninth Ward, he said.

The winning plan was submitted by Matthew Berman and Andrew Kotchen of Workshop APD in New York. It includes designs for six single-family housing units, 12 multifamily units, a community center and play area, and a pedestrian bridge leading from the neighborhood to the top of the levee.

Pitt said the goal is to replicate the project in other parts of the city.

The designs had to pass certain standards to account for future emergencies and they incorporated architectural influences found in many New Orleans homes, such as gabled rooftops over windows and doors.

Pitt headed the jury of architects, city residents and others who decided on the top designs that use energy-saving materials such as metal roofing and recycled textiles. More than 100 individuals and architect firms submitted designs for the competition. Six finalists were announced in July, when Pitt got his first up-close look at the devastation left by Hurricane Katrina.

Pitt said Thursday he's still appalled — embarrassed even — that people in many New Orleans neighborhoods cannot return because of the lack of basic services like hospitals and schools.

"This is a social justice issue," he said. "In a catastrophe, you help the most vulnerable first, and we failed to do that.

Pam Dashiell, a Ninth Ward resident who served on the committee that judged the designs, sat beside Pitt at the news conference. She said the rebuilding plan will likely urge residents to come back home.

"It's the first real redevelopment project in the Ninth Ward," she said. "This is hope."

Matt Petersen, president and CEO of Global Green USA, the national environmental organization working with Pitt on the project, said 50,000 homes rebuilt according to the energy cost reduction goals in the competition could save residents as much as $50 million.

Pitt initially contributed $100,000 to help underwrite the contest. It was announced Thursday that he contributed another $100,000 to help cover prize money. The winning team will get $75,000 and two others — Fred Schwartz of Schwartz Architects in New York and Steve Dumez of Esckew-Dumez-Ripple in New Orleans — will receive $7,500 and certificates of excellence.

Brad Pitt shows "green" New Orleans housing design

Two New York City architects won a contest, underwritten by Pitt, for an affordable, environmentally sound housing design.

Their complex of single family homes and apartments would be built from modular pieces into long houses on a site that connects to the neighboring Mississippi River levee with a wide pedestrian ramp.

But Pitt said the recovery would not work if the city did not assure critical services such as schools, and that he did not see much progress in the area that needed it most.

"I am appalled and embarrassed that residents still do not have the opportunity ... to decide if they want to get back into their neighborhoods and recreate their communities," Pitt told a news conference.

While historic and tourist-friendly areas such as the French Quarter look barely touched by the storm that hit a year ago, killing about 1,500 across four states, many parts of New Orleans remain sparsely populated and full of ruined houses.

There is a housing shortage, which Pitt and partners said they hoped to help address.

Environmental group Global Green USA, which sponsored the effort with Pitt, is raising money to build the project for roughly $3.5 million to $5 million, a spokesman said.

Ninth Ward resident Pam Dashiell, a community association leader who was part of the jury for the contest, said that it was the first quasi-commercial development in the area since Katrina roared through, flooding 80 percent of the city.

Architects Andrew Kotchen and Matthew Berman of Workshop/APD dubbed their design Greenola, which plays on the nickname for New Orleans, Louisiana -- NOLA.

The plan, modified after discussions with the community, calls for six houses, two multifamily units and services such as child care and a community garden.

Using resource-saving appliances and fixtures, solar electricity and hot water heaters, and recycled building materials, the team hopes to cut pollution and decrease operating energy use by 50 percent to 60 percent compared with traditional homes.

Whether the new homes will look like they belong in New Orleans may depend on the eye of the beholder. Berman said that exterior materials and the addition of porches, as well as the long forms, could make them echo other buildings in the area, but the core building is intended to be reproducible anywhere.

Global Green USA's Web site is (http://www.globalgreen.org).

Party Spoiled

Toronto film festival promises stars, premieres

Organizers said on Tuesday that the 10-day festival, which starts on September 7, will include 352 feature films and shorts from 61 countries and 107 world premieres.

The festival has grown in influence over the years and is now seen, along with Cannes, Berlin Sundance, as one of the leading showcases for the movies that will be vying for Oscars and other awards early next year.

Actors Liam Neeson, Jude Law, Dustin Hoffman, Peter O'Toole, and Anthony Hopkins are also expected to bolster the festival's celebrity contingent.

Most of the features will be world or North America premieres and many of the films are entered in the hope of finding distributors from the 5,000 industry professionals who will be attending.

"The festival's tentacles are truly in every part of the world," said festival director Piers Handling.

Among the movies premiering are "All the King's Men,' starring Penn in a remake of the classic film about the rise and fall of a Southern politician, and German director Werner Herzog's "Rescue Dawn," about an American airman who escapes from a Laotian prison during the Vietnam War.

Also being screened is Ridley Scott's 'A Good Year," starring Crowe and Albert Finney about a British businessman who takes a year off in Provence.

Red-carpet treatment will be given to "The Journals of Knud Rasmussen," directed by Zacharias Kunuk and Norman Cohn, which will kick off the festival and "Dixie Chicks: Shut up and Sing," one of the more politically-charged offerings.

The film focuses on the aftermath and fallout of Dixie Chicks singer Natalie Maines' criticism of President Bush at a concert in London in 2003.

"The Journals" is based on the writings of a 1920s Danish ethnographer about the clash of cultures between European Arctic explorers and Inuit natives.

"Not only do our selections have a big impact (on) ... the Oscars and the Golden Globes, but increasingly the biggest directors and stars are coming here to Toronto to introduce their new films to audiences for the first time and to secure distribution," said festival co-director Noah Cowan.

The festival will include Spike Lee's four-hour documentary "When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts" which tells the story of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Sightings

KIDS' PITT STOP

They Started On Soaps 6

THEY STARTED ON SOAPS 6

THURSDAY, AUGUST 24 AT 12AM ET/PT

Featured Stars Include Halle Berry, George Clooney, Heath Ledger, Lindsay Lohan, Brad Pitt And Brandon Routh.

Before they graced our film and television screens, find out where Brad Pitt, Lindsay Lohan, Halle Berry, Morgan Freeman, George Clooney, Parker Posey, Matthew Fox, Sienna Miller, Heath Ledger, Michelle Williams, Mark Harmon and the cast of The West Wing including Alan Alda, Jimmy Smits, Martin Sheen, and Mary Louise Parker got their start on soaps.

SOAPnet presents the sixth installment of their original franchise, They Started on Soaps August 24 at 12AM ET/PT.

Watch as experts, including casting directors and reporters discuss how daytime paved the way to Hollywood stardom for such celebrities including this year's Emmy-nominees Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer) and Allison Janney (The West Wing). Cast members Justin Chambers and James Pickens Jr. of the Emmy-nominated Grey's Anatomy are also daytime alumni.

Pitt May Follow 'Button' With 'Play'

According to Variety, Pitt is spending his late summer at work on Steven Soderbergh's "Ocean's Thirteen" for Warner Bros. Following that collaboration, he'll reunite with "Fight Club" director David Fincher and his "Babel" co-star Cate Blanchett for "Button," a project that has been in development for years at Paramount and Warner Bros.

"Button," based on the story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, tells the story of a man who begins aging backwards after he turns 50. The script was written by Eric Roth ("Forrest Gump").

Shooting on "Button" will begin in late fall and given Fincher's production tendencies, it may never finish shooting.

However, should it end, the industry trade reports that Pitt is interested in Universal's adaptation of "State of Play," the highly acclaimed British miniseries. That film is being written by Matthew Carnahan and could feature Pitt as a journalist investigating a murder involving his former friend and boss, a popular politician.

As an actor, Pitt has "Babel" and "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" set to come out either at the end of 2006 or beginning of next year. His Plan B shingle is also producing the recently announced "A Mighty Heart," starring Pitt's baby mama Angelina Jolie as Marianne Pearl, wife of murdered journalist Daniel Pearl.

The Waxing of Shiloh

The exalted offspring of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt has been chosen to be the first infant ever memorialized in wax by Madame Tussauds, the New York outpost of the museum announced Tuesday.

Shiloh, "the world's most famous baby," per Madame Tussauds, will be unveiled in wax form to the public on Wednesday.

The figure, complete with her mother's "signature pouty lips and delicate features," will be displayed in an "African-themed nursery," where it will rest "peacefully" in a woven basket, according to the museum's description.

Wax figures of Pitt and Jolie will stand proudly over their waxen daughter. Wax versions of Shiloh's siblings, on the other hand, did not make the cut for the family tableau.

Visitors to the New York exhibit will have the opportunity to pose for a photo with the waxen Jolie-Pitt clan--almost as if they had journeyed to Namibia themselves.

In recognition of the family's commitment to philanthropy, Madame Tussauds has even pledged to donate $1 of the proceeds from every photo purchased to UNICEF.

The charitable donations to be earned through photos of her waxen alter-ego are just another act of goodwill that can be attributed to Shiloh.

At only two months old, the celebrated tot has already raised millions for her parents' charities of choice via her very first baby photos, which were auctioned off to the highest bidder--namely, People magazine.

Her birth further inspired her parents to donate $300,000 to hospitals in the region where she was born and $15,000 for a school and community center.

Meanwhile, at three months old, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes' (mostly) unseen offspring has yet to accomplish anything of note--except maintaining her anonymity.

Which, in this day and age, is not an unimpressive feat.

Brad Pitt says fatherhood is `a true joy'

Pitt is working with Global Green USA, a national environmental organization, on a competition to choose ecologically sound designs for rebuilding neighborhoods in post-Katrina New Orleans. Last week, he got his first up-close look at the devastation that remains almost a year later.

"I've had my day," Pitt said. "I made some films and I've really had a very fortunate life. And it's time for me to share that a bit."

Pitt and his partner, Angelina Jolie, have three children, 6-week-old Shiloh, 18-month-old Zahara and 4-year-old Maddox. Jolie, 31, has traveled the globe as a U.N. goodwill ambassador.

"I'm so tired of thinking about myself. I'm kinda sick of myself," said Pitt, who was nominated for an Oscar for his role in 1995's "Twelve Monkeys." His screen credits also include "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" with Jolie, "Legends of the Fall" and the upcoming "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford."

He said being a parent is "a true joy."

"Best thing I ever did," he said. "You know, you can write a book, you can make a movie, you can draw, paint a painting, but having kids is really the most extraordinary thing I've ever taken on."

"And, man, if I can get a burp out of that (baby), that little thing," said Pitt, referring to daughter Shiloh, "I'll feel such a sense of accomplishment."

Pitt still shocked by Katrina devastation

"I was not prepared," the actor said, describing how he drove for miles and saw street after street of devastation.

Pitt was in New Orleans to give an update on a project he's promoting — a competition to choose ecologically sound designs for rebuilding neighborhoods.

"There's a big opportunity here," he said, to rebuild the city using energy-efficient building materials and appliances that would improve quality of life, particularly in low-income communities.

Global Green USA, a national environmental organization, is working with Pitt on the design project. Pitt heads a jury of architects, city residents and others who decided Friday on the top five environmentally friendly designs out of more than 100 entries. The designs were submitted by individuals and architect firms.

He admits the new designs, which use energy-saving materials such as metal roofing and recycled textiles, might not reflect the historic architecture often found in New Orleans. But, he said, it's time to look to the future.

"It's impossible to replicate the past," Pitt said. "The original designs are really good. They're really efficient." But, he added, "we can do better."

Design project finalists are to be announced Monday.

Global Green USA is also providing technical assistance in green standards for 10,000 buildings in New Orleans. It opened a resource center in the city last month to give residents free design advice and information about environmentally friendly building products and strategies.

Pitt was not asked about his girlfriend or their three children. Personal questions were put off limits by a publicist for Global Green who said the news conference would be ended if such questions were asked.

"It wouldn't have ended it. It just wouldn't have been a question that we would have answered," Global Green communications director Ruben Aronin said later.

Police seize camera with Pitt-Jolie photos

Local police, accompanied by state police and Secret Service officers, went to the Westfield home of William Keys on Tuesday to recover a digital camera's memory stick after three photos that appeared on the Internet were tracked to Keys, police said Friday.

Officers then went to Precision Camera and Video Repair in Enfield, Conn., where Keys works, and recovered the camera. It remains in custody of Westfield police.

No one has been arrested or charged in the case. It was unclear who took the photos.

Keys did not return telephone calls Friday.

"It's an ongoing investigation, and we cannot comment," said Jane Robison, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County prosecutor's office.

Embezzler busted for posing as Brad Pitt

The Gulf News said the 29-year-old Jordanian had been told by his brother, who worked at the Dubai money exchange, that more than $23,000 in cash had been transferred to the bureau for a client who had not picked it up for more than three months.

The Jordanian then forged an ID using the client's name and a picture of Pitt. He hoped his brother would then be able to hand over the cash and keep a photocopy of the fake ID as record of the transfer.

The man, who was arrested on a tip from an informant, told police when he was caught that he did not know whose picture he had downloaded from the Internet. The Dubai prosecutor's office has charged the man with forgery and attempted embezzlement.

Brad Pitt honored for charity work

Pitt, a constant target of the paparazzi, told the magazine that he figured if the cameras were going to follow him and girlfriend Angelina Jolie everywhere, they might as well lure them somewhere that needed the world's attention.

"It's the first time I've actually felt like we have some degree of control over it," Pitt told Newsweek for an issue on newsstands Monday. "I can't describe what an immense relief it is for me."

Pitt and Jolie also sold the first picture of their daughter Shiloh to People magazine for a reported $4 million, saying all proceeds would be donated to charity.

"Knowing that someone was going to hound us for that first photo — and was going to profit immensely for doing it — I just couldn't live with it," Pitt told the magazine. "We were able to turn that around and collect millions for people who are really going to need it."

Also among the 15 people or corporations named were Soledad O'Brien, an anchor on CNN's "American Morning" who the magazine said showed an "inner rage" while reporting on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina; and Rick Warren, author of "The Purpose Driven Life."

BRANGELINA ACTING 'COLONIAL'

Photographer arrested near Pitt-Jolie son's school

Clint Brewer, 25, was detained by a private security officer for Pitt and Jolie about 10:30 a.m. local time and jailed briefly by Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies before being released on $1,000 bail.

"He was seen hiding in the bushes at about the time parents tend to drop off their kids, trying to get a shot of (Pitt and Jolie)," a sheriff's spokesman said.

He said it was not clear whether the Hollywood couple or their adopted son, Maddox, who attends the school, were present at the time of the arrest, and the spokesman did not know if Brewer was employed by a photo agency.

Brewer will be ordered to appear in court to face the trespassing charge, the spokesman said, a misdemeanor that carries a maximum penalty of one year in the county jail.

Pitt, 42, and Jolie, 30, have been at the center of a tabloid frenzy since the birth of their daughter, Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt, in the southern African nation of Namibia late last month.

They also have a daughter, Zahara, an Ethiopian native who is about 16 months old, part of a blended celebrity clan labeled "the World's Most Beautiful Family" by People magazine. Maddox was adopted from Cambodia.

Jolie, Pitt eye adoption next

"Next we'll adopt," Jolie told CNN in an interview to be aired on Tuesday.

"We don't know which -- which country. But we're looking at different countries. And we're -- I'm just-- it's gonna be the balance of what would be the best for Mad and for Z right now. It's, you know, another boy, another girl, which country, which race would fit best with the kids," she said, referring to her adopted children.

Jolie's adopted daughter Zahara, now about 15 months old, is from Ethiopia, and son Maddox, 4, is from Cambodia.

The couple's younger daughter, Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt, was born on May 27 in Namibia in one of the most highly anticipated celebrity stories of the year.

Jolie said she had given birth in Namibia because she loved Africa and had wanted to bring Zahara back to Africa.

"My other daughter's African," she said in excerpts of an interview to be aired on CNN's program Anderson Cooper 360. .".. And I wanted to take her back to Africa."

Jolie said she was frightened during the birth, which was by Caesarean section because the baby was in a breech position. Pitt was in the operating room for the delivery, she said.

"And you know, because you're there for the birth, which I wasn't for my first two kids, you're just suddenly terrified that they're not gonna take a first breath," she said.

"That was my whole focus. I just wanted to hear her cry. And I was sure everything would go right -- at the last minute, I became the mother that was sure everything was gonna go wrong. And she's healthy, and it was amazing."

The Oscar-winning actress, who said she gives a third of her income to refugees and other causes, is a goodwill ambassador for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees and the CNN interview will be aired on June 20, World Refugee Day.

"I had a stupid income for what I do," she said.

The money does make a difference and Jolie does see change. She said she feels "lucky" because she is able to visit the places that receive her money.

"I can meet some people who say, 'God, we really need a well, or these cars are broken. Or we need something in the camp that's ... at school.' And I can go back a year later and see it built or see the cars."

Forbes Annual Power List

Pitt outbids DiCaprio for zombie film rights

The production labels of the two stars -- Pitt's Plan B and DiCaprio's Appian Way -- were engaged in a competitive bidding war through their respective studios, Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures, over an upcoming zombie horror book by Max Brooks titled "World War Z."

By Wednesday afternoon, the dust settled with Plan B/Paramount winning the movie rights.

In 2003, Brooks wrote "Zombie Survival Guide," which explained in great deadpan detail how to survive a supposedly impending zombie apocalypse. The book went on to become a surprise cult hit.

"World War Z" also tackles the zombie genre but is set 10 years after a great global zombie epidemic and is a serious oral history of the zombie future told from many perspectives around the world. Crown Publishing is putting the book out in the fall.

The galleys of the book went out around town late last week, but interest took awhile to ignite. By the time execs finally realized they had a potential "tentpole" franchise, the battle lines were drawn between Plan B and Appian Way.

The bidding went back and forth between the two into Tuesday night and carried over into Wednesday. Sources say the rights sold for six figures, with the deal going to seven figures if the film actually gets made.

Brooks was a writer on "Saturday Night Live" from 2001 to 2003 and did voice work on the "Justice League" cartoon series.

There are said to be no hard feelings between the companies, and DiCaprio is starring in "The Departed," the Martin Scorsese crime drama that Pitt and his Plan B are producing.

IMAGINE SHILOH

Pitt, Jolie leave Namibia with newborn daughter

Samuel Nuuyoma, the governor of the Namibian region of Erongo, confirmed the family's departure but would not say when they left or where they went.

The couple thanked the Namibian government and its people at a news conference Wednesday for the peace they enjoyed in the southwest African country.

"We are very proud that our daughter was born here, and we leave with fond memories and definitely hungry to return," Pitt, 42, said.

It was the couple's first public appearance since Jolie, 31, gave birth to Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt on May 27 at a private clinic in the resort town of Walvis Bay. The baby weighed 7 pounds and was said to be in good health.

Pitt and Jolie had retreated to Namibia for government-assisted privacy in the weeks leading up to Shiloh's birth. They were accompanied by Jolie's children, 16-month-old Zahara, adopted from Ethiopia, and 4-year-old Maddox, adopted from Cambodia.

Both children had their surnames legally changed to Jolie-Pitt after Pitt announced his intention to adopt them as well. But the couple has denied rumors of an impending wedding, saying they want to concentrate on the children for now.

Pitt and Jolie were first linked romantically after appearing in the 2005 movie "Mr. & Mrs. Smith." Jolie, who won an Oscar for her supporting role in 1999's "Girl, Interrupted," is divorced from Billy Bob Thornton and Jonny Lee Miller.

Pitt and Jennifer Aniston divorced last year.

Pitt says baby's birth 'truly peaceful'

In the interview, conducted by the Namibian Broadcasting Corp. and obtained exclusively Thursday by AP Television News, Pitt and Jolie sit side by side, reflecting on their experience in the African country where Shiloh Nouvel was born May 27.

"I'd just like to thank the people of Namibia," Pitt says. "They've been so gracious and made our stay here very special, and because of that we've had an incredible time with our family exploring the country, and (had) a truly peaceful birth of our daughter."

A relaxed and smiling Jolie, wearing a black dress, says their visit has been "an amazing adventure."

"We just love this part of the world," she says, adding that their 4-year-old son, Maddox, made many friends during their stay.

Pitt, 42, and Jolie, 31, made their first public appearance since their daughter's birth at a news conference for local journalists in Swakopmund on Wednesday, thanking Namibia for the government-assisted privacy they enjoyed.

The broadcast interview wasn't the only new snapshot of the celebrity family. Pictures of newborn Shiloh were published in People magazine, on newsstands Friday. In six photos taken at a private shoot, Pitt and Jolie are shown snuggling and holding Shiloh, who appears to have inherited one of her mother's characteristic traits.

"She's got Dad's baby blues and just a soft crop of fair hair, but it's those lips — check out the super-size pout — that most give her away," the magazine writes. "Yes, Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt is definitely her mother's daughter."

Pitt and Jolie sold the rights to the photos to Getty Images, saying all proceeds would be donated to a charity, not yet named. People paid a reported $4 million for the North America rights and London-based Hello! magazine obtained the British rights.

A spokesman for People would not comment on how much the magazine paid.

Besides Shiloh and Maddox, the couple have a 16-month-old daughter, Zahara. Maddox was adopted from Cambodia and Zahara was adopted from Ethiopia.

We Hear...

Photos of Jolie and Pitt's baby published

Photographs of Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt and their infant daughter appear on the cover and inside the pages of People magazine, on newsstands Friday. In six photos taken at a private shoot, the parents are shown snuggling and holding Shiloh, who was born May 27 in Namibia.

"She's got Dad's baby blues and just a soft crop of fair hair, but it's those lips — check out the super-size pout — that most give her away," the magazine writes. "Yes, Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt is definitely her mother's daughter."

People quoted James Haven, Jolie's brother, as saying the couple's 4-year-old son, Maddox, "imitated the way Brad held her just perfectly. To see the father, mother, daughter — it was such a beautiful image that it overtook me."

Pitt and Jolie sold the rights to the photos to Getty Images, saying all proceeds would be donated to a charity, not yet named. People paid a reported $4 million for the North America rights and London-based Hello! magazine obtained the British rights.

A spokesman for People would not comment on how much the magazine paid. On Wednesday, both People and Hello! launched legal action against two Web sites that had published one of the pictures before the magazines appeared on newsstands.

Pitt and Jolie made their first public appearance since their daughter's birth at a news conference for local journalists in Swakopmund, Namibia, on Wednesday, thanking the country for the privacy and peace they enjoyed, and denying they were making wedding plans.

Besides Shiloh and Maddox, the couple have a 16-month-old daughter, Zahara. Maddox was adopted from Cambodia and Zahara was adopted from Ethiopia.

Pitt, 42, and Jolie, 31, who were first linked romantically after appearing together in the 2005 movie "Mr. & Mrs. Smith," retreated to Namibia for government-assisted privacy in the weeks leading up to the birth.

Pitt-Jolie thank Namibia for protecting their privacy

In their first press conference since they arrived in the southern African desert nation two months ago, Jolie and Pitt heaped praise on the country that has shielded them from hordes of paparazzi vying for pictures of the glamour Hollywood family.

"We are very grateful to the people of Namibia for making our time so special ... we could not have picked a better place to have our child," Jolie said at the briefing in the west coast tourist town of Swakopmund, amid tight security.

Asked if they planned to marry soon, the couple gave no answer but said that for now Pitt would focus on work while Jolie looked after Shiloh and adopted children Maddox and Zahara.

Pitt is due to begin filming on the set of Ocean 13 in July.

The couple's first biological child, Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt, was born on May 27 and instantly became one of the hottest celebrity stories of the year.

A leaked picture of the child and her proud parents on the Internet has sparked controversy and legal action by Hello! magazine, which is trying to stop sites from publishing it.

Experts say worldwide rights to the pictures could sell for anywhere from $5 million to $7 million.

Jolie and Pitt -- dubbed Brangelina by the tabloids -- sparked a media frenzy in April when they arrived in Namibia, prompting bodyguards and police to patrol roads and beaches near their luxury resort in the tiny seaside village of Langstrand.

The briefing on Wednesday was tightly controlled with only selected Namibian journalists invited to attend and photographers kept at bay on the streets outside a luxury Swakopmund hotel.

Uniformed and plainclothed police, and other security patrolled the area for gatecrashers while the selected reporters were moved as a group to the venue.

The couple are expected to return to the United States within the next few days.

Jolie and Pitt deny marriage plans

"There is nothing in the air. The focus is the kids, and we are obviously extremely committed to the children and as parents together," Jolie told a news conference. "So that kind of says it for us, and to have a ceremony on top of it is nothing."

Meanwhile, in London, People and Hello! magazines launched legal action Wednesday against two Web sites that published a picture of Jolie and Pitt with their newborn daughter.

Pitt and Jolie sold rights to the images of Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt, born May 27 in Namibia, through Getty Images photo agency. The couple said all proceeds would be donated to a charity, not yet named.

People magazine paid a reported $4 million for the right to release the pictures in North America, while Hello! obtained British rights.

The embargo on the images was broken when two gossip Web sites posted an apparent image of the front cover of Hello!

Hello! denies leaking the photo, saying its cover was kept strictly under wraps. The magazine said it and People "have taken immediate legal action to prevent publication of its cover prior to it going on sale" Thursday in Britain.

Pitt and Jolie made their first public appearance since the birth of their daughter, thanking Namibia for the privacy and peace they enjoyed.

"We have been able to have a very special, peaceful time for our family here, exploring your country and more importantly helping with the delivery of our daughter Shiloh," Pitt told a news conference for local journalists at a hotel in the coastal town of Swakopmund. "So for that we are eternally grateful."

Jolie, 30, gave birth to Shiloh Nouvel at a private clinic in Walvis Bay. Delivered by Caesarean section, the baby weighed 7 pounds and was said to be in good health.

Pitt, 42, and Jolie retreated to the southwest African country for government-assisted privacy in the weeks leading up to the birth. They plan to leave in the coming days, without specifying a date.

Jolie, relaxed and smiling in a long black dress, said the couple had sought a place where they could spend some special time with her children, 16-month-old Zahara, adopted from Ethiopia, and 4-year-old Maddox, adopted from Cambodia. Both children had their surnames legally changed to Jolie-Pitt after Pitt announced his intention to adopt them as well.

"We both had traveled to Africa and loved this part of the world," the actress said.

Pitt and Jennifer Aniston divorced last year.

Magazines Sue Over Leaked Brangelina Baby Photo

In the case of the Chosen One, aka Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's biological offspring Shiloh Nouvel, her baby photos have leaked onto the Internet, directly after two magazines won a fierce bidding war for exclusive publication rights.

A day after the Hollywood couple announced the proceeds from selling the photos would go to charity, People magazine bought the North American rights for a cool $4.1 million, while Europe's Hello! bought the pic for roughly $3.5 million.

Unfortunately, before the official pictures could hit newsstands, two gossip websites (unnamed, so don't bother looking) posted the cover shot of the couple and their newborn from Hello!. The magazine denies leaking the shot and immediately, along with People, launched legal action against the two sites "to prevent publication of its cover prior to it going on sale" Thursday.

Jolie, 31, and Pitt, 42, are also the parents of adopted children Maddox, 4, and Zahara, 16 months.

Pitt's upcoming films include "Babel," Alejandro González Inarritu's drama opening in limited release this fall, and "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford," scheduled for a 2007 release.

Jolie co-stars with Robert De Niro and Matt Damon in De Niro's "The Good Shepherd," opening in December.

Purported Jolie-Pitt baby photo surfaces on Web

Even as People magazine announced it had landed exclusive North American rights to the first pictures of the baby, a purported image of the newborn Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt and her parents popped up on at least two Web sites as the cover shot for British-based weekly Hello!

The photo shows Jolie, 30, her hair swept back, lying sideways with her head propped on her hand, looking down at the sleeping infant beside her. A smiling Pitt, 42, is seen in profile, gazing down at the child from the opposite direction.

The headline beside the magazine's masthead reads: "The biggest exclusive of the year. Angelina and Brad with their new Baby Shiloh Nouvel."

The authenticity of the image could not be immediately verified, but others in the magazine industry said they presumed it was the real thing.

"Somebody from Hello! must have leaked it. ... I'm sure it's a legitimate cover. I don't know how it got there," a spokeswoman for rival People magazine told Reuters.

No representatives for Hello! were available for comment, but the magazine's online site carried a blank space at the bottom of its page with the message: "The most eagerly awaited baby exclusive of the year ... On sale from Thursday, June 8."

People magazine, which broke the news of the March 27 birth in the southern African nation of Namibia, said its photos of the Jolie-Pitt baby would run in this week's issue, which hits newsstands on Friday.

People's spokeswoman declined comment on a New York Post report that the magazine had outbid its North American rivals by agreeing to pay $4.1 million for rights to the pictures, making it one of the biggest such purchases ever.

She also refused to give any details of People's photos, other than to say they had been taken in Namibia.

Pitt and Jolie announced on Monday that they had agreed to let photo agency Getty Images market pictures of their newborn to other outlets, with all proceeds going to charities. Experts estimated worldwide rights to the pictures would range from $5 million to $7 million in all.

Getty Images spokeswoman Deb Trevino said lawyers for her agency were investigating how the baby image made it onto the Internet. The picture surfaced on celebrity-lampooning Defamer.com (http://www.defamer.com) and the LiveJournal gossip blog (http://community.livejournal).

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie to sell baby photos for charity

The images, taken at a private photo shoot, will be distributed by Getty Images, the photo agency said Monday. All profits will be given to charity, though no specific foundation was announced.

"While we celebrate the joy of the birth of our daughter, we recognize that two million babies born every year in the developing world die on the first day of their lives," the couple said in a joint statement. "These children can be saved, but only if governments around the world make it priority."

Deb Trevino, a spokeswoman for Getty Images, told The Associated Press the family would later name the charity that will receive the funds. She would not disclose how much the photos were being sold for, or when they would be distributed.

A call by the AP to Pitt's publicist, Cindy Guagenti, was not immediately returned Monday.

Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt was born May 27 in Namibia. In the weeks leading up to the birth, the couple retreated to the African country for government-assisted privacy. Delivered by Caesarean section, the baby weighed seven pounds and was said to be in good health.

The couple have yet to make a public appearance since the birth.

Jolie, 30, has two adopted children: 16-month-old Zahara, from Ethiopia, and four-year-old Maddox, from Cambodia. Both had their surnames legally changed to Jolie-Pitt after Pitt announced his intention to adopt the children as well.

Pitt, 42, and Jennifer Aniston divorced last year.

Shiloh Jolie-Pitt: The Duchess of URL

The domain names ShilohNouvelJolie-Pitt.com, ShilohPitt.com and ShilohNouvel.com, and even more variations, were snapped up by Jolie through her Los Angeles lawyer on Saturday, the same day the Oscar-winning actress gave birth a world away in Namibia, online records show.

ReveNews.com's Shmuly Tennenhaus smoked out ShilohNouvelJolie-Pitt.com on Wednesday. In his blog, he wrote that he looked up the URL on a hunch. (He also found a gag Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt MySpace page: "Shiloh's interests: "Africa, eating.")

Jolie attorney Evan Spiegel wouldn't comment on the URL registrations Thursday. It's understood, however, that the practice is one that his firm, Lavely & Singer, commonly provides for clients seeking online security.

Previously, Lavely & Singer registered MaddoxJolie-Pitt.com and ZaharaJolie-Pitt.com on behalf of Jolie. Those URLs were created last December, just days after Pitt confirmed he was seeking to become the adoptive father of Jolie's two older children, Maddox and Zahara. In January, a Santa Monica, California, court approved the addition of Pitt's surname to the children's.

Similarly, SeanPrestonFederline.com, after Britney Spears and husband Kevin Federline's first child, was registered to Spears through the firm. Unlike the Jolie URLs, SeanPrestonFederline.com was pounced on by a party other than the celebrity mother before Lavely & Singer got it back for her.

Apparently leaving nothing to chance, or cyber-squatters, Goldring, Hertz & Lichtenstein, the Beverly Hills law firm representing No Doubt rocker Gwen Stefani, registered at least one URL in her name for her and husband Gavin Rossdale's newborn, Kingston James McGregor Rossdale, on May 25, online records show. That's a day before press reports had the baby boy, late of KingstonRossdale.com, being born.

While celebrities may have special security concerns, they're not the only parents giving their babies head starts on the Web.

"We/ve noticed that this [Websites for babies] is a trend," Sally Lee, editor in chief of Parents magazine said Thursday in a statement responding to a request for comment. "Technology has been a major communications tool for parents for keeping friends and family up to date. It's certainly a no-stress way of showing the baby's arrival."

Owing to those special security concerns, though, none of the URLs for the offspring of Jolie/Pitt, Spears/Federline and/or Stefani/Rossdale actually lead to Websites. Apparently, that only happens if you don't register your star baby's URL.

Tom Cruise's camp didn't lock up SuriCruise.com, hence the unauthorized site counting down the days, hours, minutes and seconds until Cruise and Katie Holmes' daughter Suri, born Apr. 18, comes of legal age.

Offers the site: "With Tom Cruise as her father and Katie Holmes as her mother, it's not a question of whether or not Suri will be good looking, but rather how hot she'll really be!

That's one discussion Shiloh Jolie-Pitt doesn't have to face. At least not at her own URL.

Celebs turn the spotlight on global warming

"Dealing with politicians, that's a little different. But government doesn't change until people demand it," says David, 47, a producer of former vice president Al Gore's documentary An Inconvenient Truth and April's HBO climate special, Too Hot Not to Handle. Elle magazine, which she co-edited in May, calls David, wife of Curb Your Enthusiasm's Larry David, "one of the most powerful environmentalists in America."

The critical acclaim for Gore's big-screen warning about the dangers of warming seems likely to only increase David's influence and that of other celebrities mobilizing to get the word out.

"We're talking about the climate of the planet," David says. "This is about as urgent an issue as there is." Even her famously curmudgeonly husband has signed on, first buying a hybrid Toyota Prius, seen in his show, then giving it away for the cause.

Gore's movie has turned the spotlight on climate change, but scientists have long been concerned about rising temperatures fueled by increased concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which capture energy from the sun. Feared effects include rising seas, extreme weather and drought. Activists often focus on the need to cut emissions of carbon dioxide, one of the greenhouse gases, by burning less fossil fuel.

Celebrities often get knocked for speaking out, acknowledges David, who worked not only for The Late Show but also as a talent manager and comedy-special producer before turning to global warming full-time a decade ago. "Everyone has a right to speak out," she says. "I couldn't live with myself, with the opportunity I have, if I didn't try to do everything I could."

Other celebrities who are talking about global warming:

• Brad Pitt will narrate Design: e2, a series about environmentally friendly architecture. The series is scheduled to air in June on PBS.

• Keanu Reeves and singer Alanis Morrissette narrate The Great Warming, a climate documentary that had its U.S. premiere in April.

• On his website, Leonardo DiCaprio narrates a short global-warming primer. The actor is working on his own environmental documentary, called 11th Hour, according to the site.

• Oscar winner Joanne Woodward, a longtime supporter of The Nature Conservancy, spoke out on Earth Day, calling for action.

And Gore has blended Hollywood with Washington in a high-profile way that has some pundits, such as TheWashington Post's Richard Cohen, saying the effort could pave the way for a second Gore campaign for the White House.

David's most ambitious effort may be "The Stop Global Warming Virtual March," an effort to build an Internet coalition. She says more than 360,000 people have joined.

"It's not that different from being a producer; everything I've done in my career comes into play," David says. "Environmental communicators are too cautious. I throw caution to the wind. Once people learn what global warming means, they start to pay attention."

Latest Hollywood script deals

Edward Norton and Brad Pitt are executive producing the still-untitled miniseries, based on the book "Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson and the Opening of the American West" by Stephen F. Ambrose.

Ashford's recently served as a writer-producer on the 2002-03 NBC drama series "Boomtown" and the 1998-99 CBS drama "L.A. Doctors."

Jolie's baby delivered by Cesarean

Details of the birth, which occurred on Saturday at the Cottage Medi-Clinic Hospital in the Namibian town of Swakopmund, were first disclosed in a statement the couple furnished exclusively to People magazine.

Pitt's publicist, Cindy Guagenti, later confirmed the magazine's report.

The infant, named Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt, weighed 7 pounds (3.18 kg) at birth and was described as healthy, though a surgical delivery was necessary because the baby was in a potentially risky feet-first breech position in the womb.

"Angelina underwent a scheduled Cesarean due to breech presentation," said Dr. Jason Rothbart, the couple's Los Angeles-based obstetrician, who oversaw the delivery.

"Brad was with Angelina in the operating room the entire time and cut the umbilical cord of his daughter. The surgery and birth went flawlessly," he said.

Rothbart added that the doctors, nurses and other staff who assisted him were "amazing," and he called the delivery "a team effort."

"We would like to deeply thank the staff of the Cottage Medi-Clinic Hospital for all their kindness and commitment in assuring the successful birth of our daughter," Jolie, 30, and Pitt, 42, said in a joint statement.

The infant Shiloh joins their two adopted children, Cambodian-born son Maddox, 4, and daughter, Zahara, an Ethiopian native who is about 15 months old, in a blended celebrity clan recently labeled "the World's Most Beautiful Family" by People magazine.

But so far, no pictures of the family's latest addition have emerged. Photographers from all over the world have flocked to the southern African nation in hopes of capturing first images of the newborn that are expected to be worth millions of dollars.

Jolie, who won an Oscar for her role in the 1999 movie "Girl, Interrupted," and serves as a goodwill ambassador for UN High Commissioner for Refugees, took a shine to Namibia during production on the 2003 film "Beyond Borders."

Jolie and Pitt became acquainted in 2004 while working together on the film "Mr. and Mrs. Smith," a dark comedy in which they co-starred as a couple of assassins whose marriage gets rocky when they're assigned to kill each other.

Rumors of an affair between the twice-divorced Jolie and Pitt heated up after the actor and his ex-wife, former "Friends" star Jennifer Aniston, split up in January 2005.

While their relationship quickly became one of Hollywood's most talked-about open secrets, Pitt and Jolie only confirmed their romance about five months ago, when they announced she was pregnant with his child.

Charity follows Shiloh

"We want to contribute to Namibia and the people who have been so gracious to us," Jolie, 30, and Pitt, 42, said in a statement released Monday by the country's deputy minister of environment and tourism.

The baby — Shiloh (meaning "peaceful one" in Hebrew) Nouvel (meaning "new" in French) Jolie-Pitt — was born Saturday night at a private hospital in the southern African country. The Jolie-Pitt family, including Maddox, 4, and Zahara, 1, has been holed up in a resort there since early April.

Jolie and Shiloh were healthy and doing fine on Monday, said Samuel Nuuyoma, governor of the country's Erongo region.

Still an open question is the child's citizenship. Prime Minister Nahas Angula said Monday that the child is entitled to become a Namibian citizen. "We hope ... when she gets older, she will take Namibia as her homeland," he said.

Ever since the superstar couple retreated to Namibia, the government has rallied to protect their privacy. Police have arrested photographers, and tourism officials have refused to grant visas for journalists without written permission from the couple.

It's no surprise that among the first to offer congratulations were Namibian officials.

A round-up of good wishes:

• "Namibia is celebrating in the birth of a star. ... I wish Angelina and Brad good luck and a healthy life with their beautiful daughter. Just like Angelina, this precious Namibian-born baby will be our ambassador." — Nuuyoma

• "It's an exciting time for Brad and Angie, and we are really happy for them and the kids." — Pitt's family, via an e-mail statement from brother Doug Pitt to the News-Leader in Springfield, Mo.

• "I'm so excited; this is wonderful. I am just so very, very happy for both of them. ... I wish them all the happiness in the world. God bless them both." — Jolie's father, Jon Voight, to Life & Style

• "He loves children. He's very good with them." — Pitt's grandmother Betty Russell to In Touch Weekly

Brad Pitt has a baby daughter plus Cannes award for his new movie

A doctor at the Welwitschia Clinic in Walvis Bay said Sunday there were no complications during the birth Saturday of Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt, and that the baby and its mother, Angelina Jolie, were doing well. "She is a healthy baby," the doctor said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release information.

Police ringed the hospital with tight security, refusing to admit journalists and photographers into the building. The government has gone to extraordinary lengths to protect the privacy of Jolie and Pitt, who came to Namibia to avoid the media prior to the birth.

Pitt disappointed fans in France but warmed the hearts of pregnant women everywhere when he sent an e-mail last week to the Cannes Film Festival that he was unable to attend the screening of his new film Babel because of the baby's "imminent arrival."

In Babel, directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, the 42-year-old Pitt plays a husband and father trying to cope with a crisis on vacation in Morocco. Cate Blanchett plays Pitt's wife. The film also stars Gael Garcia Bernal.

"I am tremendously proud of Babel and want to congratulate everyone involved for this great achievement," Pitt said in the e-mail.

On Sunday, Inarritu won the directing prize at Cannes. The Mexican director said more than 1,000 people contributed to the production of the film and that "I'm receiving this award on behalf of all of them."

In Springfield, Mo., Pitt's family was delighted with the news of Shiloh's birth.

"It's an exciting time for Brad and Angie, and we are really happy for them and the kids," Brad's brother, Doug Pitt, told the News-Leader in an e-mail.

Jolie and Pitt were linked romantically shortly after appearing together in the 2005 movie Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

It's a baby girl for Brangelina

"She is a healthy baby," the doctor said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release information.

Police ringed the hospital with tight security Sunday, refusing to admit journalists and photographers into the building.

Pitt's publicist Cindy Guagenti announced the birth Saturday night, but said no other information or photographs would be released.

Samuel Nuuyoma, the governor of the Namibian region of Erongo, confirmed the birth at the Welwitschia Clinic in Walvis Bay and seemed to hint that key details would be released shortly.

"Any information relating to the birth of the baby will be made available to the public soon," said Nuuyoma, who has become friends with the celebrity couple.

The government has gone to extraordinary lengths to protect the privacy of Jolie and Pitt, who came to Namibia to avoid photographers and in the weeks leading up to the birth of their first child.

Namibia put tight security around their hotel and the hospital, set up large green barriers to protect their privacy from photographers and refused to grant visas to any foreign journalists unless they had written permission from Jolie and Pitt to cover the birth.

Police have also arrested photographers and confiscated film.

Speculation about the birth escalated Tuesday when Pitt sent an e-mail to the Cannes Film Festival that he was unable to attend the screening of his new film "Babel" because of the baby's "imminent arrival."

In "Babel," directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, the 42-year-old Pitt plays a husband and father trying to cope with a crisis on vacation in Morocco. Cate Blanchett plays Pitt's wife, and the film also stars Gael Garcia Bernal.

"I am tremendously proud of `Babel' and want to congratulate everyone involved for this great achievement," Pitt said in the e-mail.

Jolie and Pitt were linked romantically shortly after appearing together in the 2005 movie "Mr. and Mrs. Smith."

Jolie, 30, is a frequent visitor to Africa and serves as goodwill ambassador for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. She has two adopted children: toddler Zahara, from Ethiopia, and 4-year-old Maddox, from Cambodia. Both had their surnames legally changed to Jolie-Pitt after Pitt announced his intentions to adopt the children as well.

Pitt and actress Jennifer Aniston divorced last fall.

Jolie, who won an Oscar for her supporting role in 1999's "Girl, Interrupted," is divorced from Billy Bob Thornton and Jonny Lee Miller.

It's a baby girl for Brangelina

"The night of May 27, 2006 in Namibia, Africa, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt welcomed their daughter Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt. No further information is being given," publicist Cindy Guagenti said in a statement.

No photographs were being released, she added.

The baby's arrival had been the subject of intense press speculation in recent months, compelling the superstar couple to decamp to Africa for privacy.

The actors were linked romantically shortly after appearing together in the 2005 movie "Mr. and Mrs. Smith."

Jolie, 30, is a frequent visitor to Africa and serves as goodwill ambassador for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.

Jolie has two adopted children: toddler Zahara, from Ethiopia, and 4-year-old Maddox, from Cambodia.

Both had their surnames legally changed to Jolie-Pitt after Pitt announced his intentions to co-adopt the children.

Pitt and actress Jennifer Aniston divorced last fall.

Jolie, who won an Oscar for her supporting role in 1999's "Girl, Interrupted," is divorced from Billy Bob Thornton and Jonny Lee Miller.

Pitt, Jolie--and Permission Slips

Any journalist wishing to travel to the African republic to cover the pending birth of the celebrity couple's first child together must include a letter of consent--from the celebrity couple, the Namibian embassy in Washington, D.C., confirmed Wednesday.

It was not known if Pitt and Jolie had actually drafted any missives on behalf of reporters. It wasn't even known who'd been drafted to draft the missives. "I don't know anything about it," Pitt publicist Cindy Guagenti said Wednesday. An email inquiry to Jolie's manager was not immediately returned Wednesday.

Some 200 journalists are currently in Africa on the Pitt-Jolie beat, Namibian embassy official Selma Ashipala estimated.

"There are so many," Ashipala said. "We have never seen so much attention given to Namibia."

Asked Ashipala of the reporter interviewing her: "Are you going to Namibia?"

Pitt, 42, and Jolie, 30, arrived in Namibia last month, reportedly taking up residence at the luxury Burning Shore Beach Lodge, where, per NamibWeb.com, "the dunes rise like the crested back of a monstrous serpent." Their much anticipated joint production is due any day.

Namibian officials have been solicitous of the expectant and camera-shy couple, with police helping keep reporters, and even locals, at a distance.

John Liebenberg has learned the hard way--twice--about the consequences of crossing the line. The photographer, arrested last week for trespassing in the act of staking out a local hospital, was arrested again on Wednesday. This time, he was nabbed while trying to get a look at Jolie at a beachside restaurant, Reuters reported.

Chapter 3, Article 13 of the Namibian constitution states "no persons shall be subject to interference with the privacy of their homes," or, apparently, beachside restaurants. The provision was cited by the Namibian embassy as to why Pitt and Jolie essentially were being allowed to sign off on which journalists get visas, and which don't.

Namibia is a country of 2 million, bordering Angola, Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe. A recent online poll conducted by Radio Wave, "Namibia's Number One Hit Music Station," found that 48 percent saw Pitt and Jolie's decision to have their baby there as a "major PR boost for the country." Only 16 percent saw it as "a chance for sycophantic losers to seek fulfillment."

Still, there is a limit to Namibians' reverence. In the current Radio Wave poll, the idea that Jolie's birth day be declared a national holiday was being rejected Wednesday by a 53-48 percent margin.

And there is a limit to Namibians' patronage. A Namibian governor vehemently denied to the Associated Press Wednesday that he was going to name the Pitt-Jolie child himself.

On Tuesday, Pitt announced that he was remaining in Namibia and skipping the Cannes premiere of his new film, Babel, owing to the "imminent arrival of the newest addition of our family."

Jolie is presently the mother of two, a son and daughter, both adopted. Pitt's surname was formally added to the children's in January.

"Babel" a towering masterpiece

Inarritu and screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga involve six families, most of them not known to one another, in four countries on three continents in their story of random fate and the perils of being unable to communicate.

Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett and Gael Garcia Bernal give committed ensemble performances alongside seasoned character performers and nonactors as the story ranges from Morocco to San Diego to Tokyo.

The film, which also features exceptional work by director of photography Rodrigo Prieto, production designer Brigitte Broch, editors Stephen Mirrione and Douglas Crise and composer Gustavo Santaolalla, is headed for major prizes and large, appreciative audiences.

As with his previous films, Inarritu tells his story using scenes out of order so that the pieces fall together in a jagged form that heightens the tension. It starts in the Moroccan desert, where a man buys a Winchester rifle from a neighbor to help keep the jackals away from his herd of goats. A Japanese hunter had gifted the neighbor with the rifle in gratitude for his work as a guide.

The rifle is entrusted to the goat herder's two young sons, who end up firing it from a mountainside at a coach filled with Western tourists just to see how far the bullet would go.

The bullet, however, strikes an American named Susan (Blanchett) who is traveling with her husband Richard (Pitt) in attempt to patch up their marriage following the death of a child.

Four hours from the nearest hospital, the coach takes a detour to a remote village, where a local man offers shelter while the other tourists argue over whether to stay or leave.

Desperate, Richard phones the U.S. embassy pleading for help and also calls home in San Diego, where their longtime maid Amelia (Adriana Barraza) is caring for their other two children. With Susan bleeding and near death in the desert, he begs Amelia to remain with the kids as he tries to get help.

Amelia's son, however, is getting married across the border and, having exhausted attempts to find another sitter, she decides to take the kids with her to the wedding in a car driven by her friendly but hot-headed nephew Santiago (Bernal).

As Richard fights to keep Susan alive with the help of a wise and calm old Moroccan woman and a veterinarian, the shooting escalates into an international incident with security forces believing terrorists to be responsible and hunting for the perpetrators.

Meanwhile, in Tokyo, a young deaf-mute woman named Chieko (Rinko Kikuchi) is grappling with the loss of her mother by suicide, fighting with her equally bereft father (Koji Yakusho) and trying to deal with the frustrations of adolescence.

The filmmakers succeed brilliantly in weaving these stories together, taking time to explore depth of character and relationships. The suspense builds throughout as everyone involved becomes lost in a place they don't understand with people they don't know if they can trust.

Several astonishing Tokyo sequences replicate what it might be like to be deaf-mute, and equal imagination is applied to scenes at night in the wasteland of the Mexico/California border and the barren mountains of Morocco.

This is not a fear-mongering movie, but it is unpredictable and shocking, with compassion hanging on for dear life.

Cast:
Richard: Brad Pitt
Susan: Cate Blanchett
Santiago: Gael Garcia Bernal
Yasujiro: Koji Yakusho
Amelia: Adriana Barraza
Chieko: Rinko Kikuchi
Ahmed: Said Tarchani
Yussef: Boubker Ait El Caid
Debbie: Elle Fanning
Mike: Nathan Gamble
Anwar: Mohamed Akhzam
Tom: Peter Wight
Hassan: Abdelkader Bara
Abdullah: Mustapha Rachidi
Alarid: Driss Roukhe

Director: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu; Screenwriter: Guillermo Arriaga; Based on an idea by: Guillermo Arriaga and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu; Producers: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Jon Kilik, Steve Golin; Director of photography: Rodrigo Prieto; Production designer: Brigitte Broch; Editors: Stephen Mirrione, Douglas Crise; Composer: Gustavo Santaolalla.

Photographer on Jolie trail arrested again

John Liebenberg, 48, was ordered to appear in court on Friday in Swakopmund, a small town on the southwest African country's coast near the resort where Pitt and the heavily -pregnant Jolie are staying.

"He has been charged with trespassing. We have organized him bail of 1,000 Namibian dollars ($151) ," his lawyer Hilla Kogh told Reuters.

Liebenberg was detained last week for three days on a similar charge.

Police said he was on private property when he tried to find a vantage point to photograph Jolie while her group was relaxing at a beach bar and restaurant on the outskirts of the town.

Liebenberg says he was still on public land, a dry river bed that runs near the restaurant.

Pitt, 42, and Jolie, 30 -- dubbed "Brangelina" by the tabloid press -- have been at the center of a media frenzy since arriving in Namibia over six weeks ago to have their first biological child.

Green cloth screens mask the beach resort where they are staying and bodyguards and Namibian security have kept a tight cordon around the family, hounding some journalists out of town.

Liebenberg was freed by a Namibian judge on Monday on a warning after being arrested for trespassing at a police barracks and detained in a communal cell for three days.

He could now face a fine of up to 1,000 Namibian dollars or one year in prison, or both, Kogh said.

Jolie is expected to give birth within the next week.

Pitt, Jolie stay secluded in Namibia

Pitt, a pregnant Jolie and their children Zahara and Maddox taking a holiday under tight security at an exclusive African resort as the due date nears, and the Namibian government has threatened to expel anyone trying to cover the birth without permission.

Interest has heightened in recent weeks, as the baby had been expected in mid-May. Pitt sent an e-mail to the Cannes Film Festival, read to reporters at the French resort Tuesday, saying he was unable to attend this year's event because of his third child's "imminent arrival."

Photographers on the hunt in Namibia have gotten a few shots, but for the most part had to settle for shots of large, green barriers set up on the beach to shield the family from prying lenses. Journalists desperate for news have resorted to quoting Namibian government officials — not always accurately, apparently.

The governor of the Namibian province where the family is staying has been quoted as saying he would visit the hospital and name the baby.

"No. No. That's absolutely not true," Samuel Nuuyoma, who has met the couple, told The Associated Press Wednesday.

"I never said such a thing. Never in history," he said, abruptly ending the phone conversation.

Sine the co-stars of "Mr & Mrs. Smith" and their entourage arrived in the sleepy coastal town of Walvis Bay in April, they have been shielded from reporters by their own body guards and Namibian police at the luxury Burning Shore hotel in an area where Namibia's famed desert sand dunes descend spectacularly to the sea.

Namibians are well aware Pitt and Jolie have increased the international profile of the country's brilliant scenery and plentiful wildlife. Namibian station Radio Wave conducted a far from scientific poll and determined listeners were evenly divided on whether the day Jolie gives birth should be declared a national holiday, according to the station's Web site.

Holidays aside, Namibians have championed their celebrity visitors' right to privacy.

The government has said foreign journalists wanting to cover the birth must have written permission from Pitt and Jolie to enter the country.

South Africa's Sunday Times said last month its own photographer and three French photographers were ordered to leave Namibia or face arrest.

"This lady is expecting," Namibian Prime Minister Nahas Angula told the paper at the time. "You guys are harassing her. Why don't you allow her some privacy? Harassment is not allowed in Namibia."

The couple's security chief last month gave a local journalist a statement appealing for privacy.

"We love Africa and to be here in Namibia with our family is very special for us," it said. "To the local people who have been so kind and gracious, thank you for making us feel at home."

"As for the press, we kindly ask for privacy so that we can enjoy this beautiful country with our children." It was signed Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt.

Jolie, goodwill ambassador for the U.N. refugee agency, has continued with her charitable work while in Namibia, visiting school projects and community centers involved in education. She took part in a telephone conference call with reporters to publicize efforts to raise money to provide an education for 100 million children in poor nations who are not now in school.

Namibia, a country half the size of Alaska, is rich in diamonds and strategic metals, but most of its 1.8 million people are poor.

Jolie has traveled to Africa frequently to shoot films and as a goodwill ambassador. She has called the continent one of hope and possibility, and she adopted her daughter, Zahara, from Ethiopia last year. She adopted Maddox in 2002 in Cambodia, where she filmed "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider." Both children have since also been adopted by Pitt and have legally had their surname changed to Jolie-Pitt.

Jolie's reputation attracted the attention of Botswana's beleaguered bushmen of the Kalahari desert.

"Dear Ms. Jolie, WE, First People of the Kalahari, have heard that you are in Namibia, near us in Botswana, for your holidays. We also heard you are pregnant and want to wish you our blessings," said a letter printed in Wednesday's edition of the Namibian newspaper.

The letter went on to seek Jolie's help resisting the Botswanan government's campaign to evict the bushmen from the Kalahari Game Reserve and move them to resettlement camps, "where our lives have totally changed and we are about to lose our culture."

Brad Pitt Skips Cannes; Baby Is 'Imminent'

Henri Behar, who moderates Cannes' news conferences, read a message from Pitt, who has been in Namibia with his "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" co-star, Angelina Jolie, awaiting the birth of the couple's first child.

"With the imminent arrival of the newest addition to our family, I am unable to join Alejandro, Cate, Gael and the rest of the cast and crew in introducing" his new film, "Babel," the 42-year-old actor said in the message.

"I am tremendously proud of `Babel' and want to congratulate everyone involved for this great achievement," Pitt said.

In "Babel," directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Pitt plays a husband and father trying to cope with a crisis on vacation in Morocco. Cate Blanchett plays Pitt's wife, and the film also stars Gael Garcia Bernal.

Jolie's children, Maddox and Zahara, have legally had their surname changed to Jolie-Pitt.

Namibians call for a "Brangelina" baby holiday

"We have a tie, it's 50-50," the DJ for popular local radio station Radio Wave announced on Tuesday after listeners were asked whether the "Brangelina" baby should be accorded the honor. She said voting was still going on.

Hollywood stars Jolie and Brad Pitt sparked an international media frenzy when they arrived in Namibia with her two adopted children to have their first child.

But while residents of the southern African country have so far been unfazed by the visit, local media is now getting into the act, with the daily Namib Times speculating that the baby might arrive at the weekend or early next week.

The couple have remained almost invisible in their beach resort in the tiny village of Langstrand on the country's desert coastline, shielded by tight security.

Pitt, Blanchett star in Cannes favorite "Babel"

In competition at the Cannes film festival, the movie by Mexican "21 Grams" director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu is seen as one of the favorites for the coveted "Palme d'Or" prize, although there are eight films still to show.

Pitt and Blanchett portray a couple on holiday in Morocco when tragedy strikes, and their story is linked to that of two shepherd boys living in a remote village.

A third narrative takes the audience to the U.S.-Mexican border where a trusted nanny becomes embroiled in a terrifying journey of her own, and in Japan, a deaf and mute girl struggles to get over her mother's death and break down social prejudice.

Inarritu weaves the plots together into a rich cinematic tapestry, where established actors like Pitt, Blanchett, Mexico's Gael Garcia Bernal and Japan's Koji Yakusho appear alongside little known actors from northern Africa.

Misunderstanding and miscommunication appear on every level, between father and son, husband and wife, police and civilians and country to country.

For Inarritu, the main theme of the film was not language. Its title is taken from the Biblical story of people seeking to build a tower to God who are punished by being divided through language.

"For me that (language) is not the problem," he told a news conference. "Language can be very easy to break.

"For me the problem is the ideas and the preconceptions we have from one to another which really pull us apart. I want this film to be basically about not what separates us but what gets us together.

"We see the other always as a threat. Being different means being dangerous."

POWER AND ITS ABUSE

While the film was mainly about barriers on a personal level, it sends clear messages about political problems including misunderstandings on the U.S.-Mexican border and those surrounding the issue of religious extremism.

"On the border what is happening is terrible, and the way they try to pretend everybody is a terrorist," Inarritu said of the United States.

The shooting incident involving the characters played by Pitt and Blanchett is immediately seized upon by the world's media as an attack by Islamic radicals, but the truth is far less sinister if not less tragic for the victim.

Blanchett praised co-star Pitt, who was not in Cannes due to the impending arrival of his child with Angelina Jolie.

An e-mail from him was read out to journalists before the briefing began.

"With the imminent arrival of the newest addition to our family, I am unable to join Alejandro, Cate, Gael and the rest of the cast and crew in introducing the film," he wrote, adding that he was "tremendously proud" of Babel.

Blanchett's words about working with Pitt were even warmer.

"In terms of working with Brad, it's like chocolate. He's glorious and wonderful and I really wanted to work with him for a long time."

For many of the actors, the press conference on Tuesday was the first time they had met.

Babel is one of three South American films among the 20 in competition in Cannes this year. The others are "Pan's Labyrinth" by Mexican director Guillermo del Toro and "Cronica De Una Fuga" by Uruguayan director Israel Adrian Caetano.

Clooney, Witherspoon make Time magazine list of influential newsmakers

The list of 100 most influential, in the issue on newsstands Monday, also includes world leaders Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and Ehud Olmert of Israel, director Ang Lee, plus entertainers Daddy Yankee, Ellen DeGeneres and Meryl Streep.

There are 104 names on the list, with Tom Anderson and Chris DeWolfe, founders of the MySpace Internet sites, and former Presidents Clinton and George H.W. Bush sharing spots.

The list includes 79 men and 25 women from 29 countries including Bhutan, Liberia and Luxembourg.

Separately, Time named 15 power couples such as Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie and Jay-Z and Beyonce, plus five couples from history including Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera.

Angelina Jolie Tops Most Beautiful List

The pillow-lipped actress graces the cover of People's "100 Most Beautiful People" issue, on newsstands Friday. It's her fourth time on the list, but first as cover girl.

"She looks the most beautiful when she's in the field — natural, no makeup, nothing," the magazine quotes musician Wyclef Jean, who worked with Jolie on a relief effort in Haiti. "Because you see Angelina, the angel. It doesn't get any better than that."

The magazine didn't forget her boyfriend Brad Pitt, or her two children, either. People named the globe-trotting Jolie-Pitt clan the "World's Most Beautiful Family."

The world may have to wait several more weeks for the arrival of the Brangelina offspring: Jolie told NBC News that she is shy of eight months pregnant, according to MSNBC's web site.

In the interview, which was set to air on Thursday's "Today" and on "Dateline" Sunday, Jolie also said she knows the baby's gender but did not disclose it, according to MSNBC. The actress, interviewed in Namibia, is awaiting the birth at an African resort.

Also making the "Beautiful People" list, which until this year was limited to 50: Halle Berry, Julia Roberts, George Clooney, Scarlett Johansson, Kirstie Alley, Ryan Seacrest and University of Southern California quarterback Matt Leinart.

All 26 spokesmodels of the NBC game show "Deal or No Deal" were also chosen.

Paparazzi struggle as Pitt-Jolie birth nears

Little wonder paparazzi from around the world are lurking outside the Burning Shores Lodge in the seaside resort of Langstrand where the couple are staying ahead of the birth, due in mid-May.

"It would be one of the biggest celebrity pictures of all time if there was a genuine exclusive," said Darren Lyons, founder of London-based Big Pictures, one of the biggest celebrity photo agencies.

"It would be over a million dollars."

He confirmed he had a "team" in Namibia, a sparsely populated land with deserts, huge sand dunes and game reserves, but would give no other details. He, like many others, believes however that the odds are stacked high against a genuine scoop.

Not only must the paparazzi contend with cloth screens surrounding the luxury resort.

The police have joined private security guards to protect Jolie, 30, and Pitt, 42, from prying lenses, and one guard has used pepper spray to keep a photographer at bay.

The couple may also throw a spanner in the paparazzi's works by posing for a selected media outlet or holding a carefully staged photo call giving everyone access.

"There are two options," said Rhianne van der Linde, account manager at Images 24, the pictures arm of South African media group Media 24 which runs a stable of newspapers and magazines.

"Either Brad and Angelina decide to schedule an exclusive photo shoot with a reputable magazine and photographer, or they are going to make a public appearance and the paparazzi can gather and everybody gets the same shot.

"That would take the price down to normal levels," she said.

SPOILERS AND SAND DUNES

South Africa's Sunday Times reported that Jolie had sold exclusive rights of the first pictures of the baby to U.S. celebrity magazine People, which would in turn donate $3.5 million to UNICEF. This could not be independently confirmed.

People magazine also reported that the couple have a plane on standby should they decide to have the baby elsewhere, though doctors usually advise against flying late in pregnancy.

U.S. television news magazine Dateline NBC has already had access to the couple, with correspondent Ann Curry traveling to Namibia for an exclusive interview with Jolie.

Few will find the going so easy.

Namibia has already expelled several photographers from the seaside resort, and the government warned other journalists it would take all measures to ensure the couple continue to enjoy their stay.

In addition to temporary working papers, any journalist visiting to cover the Pitt-Jolie stay "will have to be accompanied by proof of consent that the couple had agreed to meet with them," a Ministry of Information statement said.

Paparazzi on the ground are clearly finding life tough.

"I'm disguised as a sand dune but I'm getting absolutely nothing," one foreign photographer said jokingly, although he added quickly that he did not want to be identified for fear of immediate reaction by Namibian officials.

"This has really gotten out of hand. There is a no-fly zone over the hotel, it is an unprecedented display of police power. It is really ominous."

Similar fears were raised by Namibia's National Society for Human Rights, which said Tuesday the visiting celebrities were gutting Namibia's constitutional guarantees of press freedom by agreeing to the extraordinary security.

"It is a dangerous precedent, especially that tomorrow any government official can use the same example to claim that his or her right to privacy is being violated or they are being harassed by the media," said a society spokesman.

Comedies Dominate MTV Awards

"The 40-Year Old Virgin" and "Wedding Crashers" lead with five nominations each, MTV announced Monday. Both films will compete for best movie along with "Batman Begins," "King Kong" and "Sin City."

"Virgin" star Steve Carell is up for three awards, including best performance, best comedic performance and best on-screen team with Paul Rudd, Seth Rogen and Romany Malco.

Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn will also vie for best on-screen team for "Wedding Crashers." Both actors received nominations for best comedic performance.

Nominees for best kiss include Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger for "Brokeback Mountain" and Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie for "Mr. & Mrs. Smith."

"Crash," the Academy Awards best-picture winner, didn't receive a nomination.

One of the more unlikely groups of nominees is for sexiest performance, a newly added category. Rob Schneider, star of "Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo," competes with Beyonce Knowles, Jessica Alba, Jessica Simpson and Ziyi Zhang.

MTV has also added a category for best hero and will present an mtvU Student Filmmaker Award. For the first time, acting awards won't be divided by gender, and instead will be grouped under best performance.

A host and performers will be announced later.

The 2006 MTV Movie Awards will take place June 3 at Sony Picture Studios in Culver City, Calif. The show will air June 8 on MTV (9 p.m. EDT).

Namibia moves to protect privacy of Pitt, Jolie

The couple released a statement through one of their security guards, asking the paparazzi to leave them and Jolie’s two adopted children alone.

“We love Africa and to be here in Namibia with our family is very special for us," said the statement, which was signed by both Jolie and Pitt.

"To the local people who have been so kind and gracious, thank you for making us feel at home. As for the press, we kindly ask for privacy so that we can enjoy this beautiful country with our children."

South Africa’s Sunday Times newspaper said its photographer and three French photographers were ordered to leave the country or face arrest. Journalists need accreditation to work in Namibia.

The paper reported the photographers were issued letters by the country's Directorate of Immigration “stating they are prohibited/illegal immigrants and given 48 hours to pack up and leave or face arrest.” '"Harassment is not allowed in Namibia."-Prime Minister of Namibia, Nahas Angula'

Jolie is pregnant and is expected to give birth in the country, which she fell in love with while filming the movie Broken Borders in 2002. The couple, who starred together in Mr. and Mrs. Smith, have been dodging the media since Jolie's pregnancy was revealed in February.

Namibian Prime Minister Nahas Angula told the Times that the couple should be left alone.

"This lady is expecting. You guys are harassing her. Why don't you allow her some privacy? Harassment is not allowed in Namibia,” he told the newspaper.

"If a person says they don't want to be photographed then, of course, that person deserves protection."

Jolie, Pitt and their security detail are holed up at the luxurious Burning Shores resort near Walvis Bay, which known for its dramatic sand dunes.

Photographers have been able to snap a few pictures of the couple at a local Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet with her children, Maddox and baby Zahara, and at a pet store where they bought a turtle. Pitt and Jolie were also seen at a jewelry store.

Namibia gained independence in 1990 from neighbouring South Africa after a 23-year war. It’s a popular tourist destination for South Africans for its abundant wildlife and spectacular scenery.

Brad Pitt announces design competition for green rebuilding in New Orleans

"It is our hope that this competition will generate and uncover new and innovative ideas which will advance the practicalities of responsible architecture, as well as spark a long overdue rebuilding effort for the people of New Orleans," the actor said in a statement.

He added: "This competition asks the question, can this catastrophe be turned into opportunity? Can we create for these neighbourhoods and its families something even better than they had before? We encourage anyone with an idea to get involved."

Pitt, who is currently in Namibia with Angelina Jolie and their children, is teaming up with Global Green USA, a national environmental organization, on the design project.

Pitt will lead a jury made up of architects and local leaders to choose designs by six finalists who will then work with local neighbourhoods on more detailed proposals.

Matt Petersen, president of Global Green USA, said that Pitt had "a great passion for architecture".

"He has really educated himself not just on architecture, but green design as well. We'll probably have a vice-chair as well on the jury to help Brad. There will be a lot of experienced people on there as well as Brad."

One Down: World Awaits Pitt, Jolie's Baby

On Tuesday, Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise — aka TomKat — welcomed into the world their first child together, a daughter named Suri. The name has its origins in Hebrew meaning "princess" or in Persian meaning "red rose," according to Cruise's publicist.

Israeli newscasts were good-naturedly skeptical about Suri being a Hebrew word. "We seem to have learned a new Hebrew word, and from Tom Cruise, no less," said the Channel 2 anchorman.

Meanwhile, Jolie is nearing the end of her pregnancy as she and Pitt lay low in the southwest African country of Namibia. Us Weekly readers and genealogists alike crouch with bated breath for the coming of what could be the human race's most beautiful spawn.

With two of the biggest celebrity births in decades occurring in such proximity, the questions abound. Will the two babies forever be linked? If they wrestled, who would win? Will Suri and the as-yet-born Brangelina Baby eventually ascend to rule us like dictators? Or will they merely run the Church of Scientology and the U.N., respectively?

"They will probably go down as a marker of our generation for the saturation point of this celebrity obsession," says Corynne Steindler, the editor of gossip blog Jossip.

"Had they been born on the same day or even the same week, I don't even know if the weekly (magazines) could handle it," she says.

Of course, the naming of celebrity babies has become its own arms race of sorts, with star parents trying to find a yet more obscure moniker. Suri joins a pantheon of Apple, Lourdes and Phinnaeus.

Pitt and Jolie have said they may give their child a Namibian name, which could certainly rival the exotic quality of Suri — which actually may not be as beautiful in meaning as it sounds.

Bruce Lansky, a "baby name guru" and author of "100,000-plus Baby Names," says it means "pointy nose" in Todas, a language spoken by a Southern India tribe. Though he suspects Suri will enjoy the unique name when she's older, she may be annoyed by teasing classmates.

"Typically, Hollywood parents are thinking about themselves," says Lansky. "They're sort of playing, `Aren't I cool to think of this cool name.'"

Many expect the two couples to take very different approaches to raising their children in the spotlight. While Cruise and Holmes have been exceedingly public in their relationship, Jolie and Pitt have guarded their privacy and shrouded Jolie's pregnancy in secrecy.

"Some react to it by protecting their children and providing cocoons around their children," says Janice Wood, an associate professor at the University of Northern Florida who specializes in child development. "And some want their children to grow up with a pretty good idea of what their parents are and what comes with being a celebrity."

Wood says neither way is necessarily better than the other.

"What I tell parents," Wood says, "is always put yourself in your child's shoes."

Media circus comes to Africa in Jolie baby race

With the news that movie star Tom Cruise and actress Katie Holmes have produced their first child, celebrity baby hunters are focusing their lenses on a remote corner of Africa where the next glittering arrival is expected.

Hollywood heavyweights Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, who are expecting a baby within weeks, remain holed up in a bleak coastal resort in the African country of Namibia, playing an edgy cat-and-mouse game with photographers eager for pictures that could earn them a fortune.

The spotlight on the celebrity pair -- dubbed "Brangelina" by gossip media -- has jolted Namibia, a southwest African country famous chiefly for its empty spaces and some of the largest sand dunes in the world.

Despite warnings from Namibian officials that Jolie and Pitt's privacy will be protected, journalists are streaming to the isolated hamlet of Langstrand, where the couple have taken up residence in the Burning Shore Beach Lodge with stark views of the cold Atlantic and the vast Namib desert.

"They are enjoying the peace and security in Namibia. The security is to keep off you people," Samuel Nujoma, governor of Namibia's Erongo area which covers Long Beach, told Reuters.

"We don't want them to be harassed and you have been trying to harass them."

Regional newspapers have said Jolie, who they say "fell in love" with Namibia when making a film there in 2003, is determined to give birth in the country and may be considering giving the child a Namibian name.

She and Pitt already have two adopted children, one from Cambodia and another from Ethiopia.

BIGGER THAN JESUS?

How and where the infant is born is of more than passing interest to celebrity "paparazzi" photographers, who are hoping to score big with the first pictures of the baby, said to be due on about May 18.

"New York" magazine, in a recent feature on the hysteria surrounding the Pitt-Jolie pregnancy, said their baby would be more sought-after than that of Cruise and Holmes -- themselves the subject of an intense media hunt before the announcement out of Los Angeles of their daughter's birth on Tuesday.

"Not since Jesus has a baby been so eagerly anticipated," said the magazine, which quoted a gossip insider as speculating the child "could be the most beautiful baby in the world."

Newspapers in Namibia and South Africa have offered tidbits about the high-profile visitors.

Namibia's Afrikaans-language daily "Die Republikein" said Jolie's gynecologist had approved the maternity facilities at a private hospital in nearby Walvis Bay for what could be an unconventional delivery.

"It's going to be a waterbirth," the newspaper said.

But hard news on the baby -- or its celebrity parents -- is almost impossible to come by. The Namibian government is backing a beefy security team that blocks photographers who try to get too close to the hotel, using pepper spray in one case.

The hotel itself is shielded from prying lenses by new shadecloth barriers, while Pitt, Jolie and their entourage fly out of airstrips on visits to other parts of Namibia, including one trip to a game park where it was suggested that lions would keep the paparazzi at bay.

Pitt, Jolie May Choose Namibian Baby Name

Samuel Sheefeni Nuuyoma, the governor of the Namibian province where the couple is staying at a heavily guarded lodge, said he had breakfast Friday with the two stars, according to The Sunday Times of South Africa.

He said Jolie had made those choices because "she loves Namibia."

Namibian immigration officials confirmed earlier this month that the couple and five other people, including two children, arrived in Walvis Bay on a chartered jet from Paris, prompting speculation their baby will be born in Africa.

The couple has been shielded from reporters by heavy security at a secluded beach resort near Walvis Bay, in an area where Naimbia's desert sand dunes descend spectacularly to the sea.

But the Sunday Times carried what it billed as "exclusive" pictures of Jolie hugging 1-year-old Zahara and Pitt carrying sleeping Maddox, 4, to a sports utility vehicle. Both Pitt and Maddox sported matching haircuts.

It also had a photograph of a security official chasing a photographer along the beach.

The newspaper also said Pitt had managed to evade paparazzi and go riding on an all-terrain vehicle in the Namibian desert and the couple and the two children have visited various game reserves and wildlife foundations.

Nuuyoma said he wanted his guests to feel "at home and free."

"Namibia is a country where everyone has the right to freedom of movement, and they must not feel inhibited when they visit this beautiful country of ours," he was quoted as saying by the Sunday Times.

Nuuyoma could not immediately be reached for more comment.

The Namibian government, anxious to keep its high-spending visitors, has warned journalists entering the country without a valid work permit that they risk arrest.

Pitt's publicist, Cindy Guagenti, said on Jan. 11 that Jolie, 30, is pregnant with the actor's child. It was unclear when the baby will be born.

A judge in California since granted a request to change the names of Jolie's two children to Zahara Marley Jolie-Pitt and Maddox Chivan Jolie-Pitt to reflect that Pitt intends to become their adoptive father.

Pitt, 42, and Jolie, who co-starred in the 2005 film "Mr. & Mrs. Smith," have rented all 14 rooms and suites at the Burning Shores resort, a luxury boutique hotel on Long Beach north of Walvis Bay.

The actress has traveled to Africa frequently to shoot films and as a goodwill ambassador for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. She spent several weeks in Namibia in 2002 while shooting the film "Beyond Borders."

Jolie has called the continent one of hope and possibility, and she adopted her daughter, Zahara, from Ethiopia last year, accompanied by Pitt. She adopted Maddox in 2002 in Cambodia, where she filmed "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider."

Pitt and Jennifer Aniston divorced last fall.

Jolie, who won an Oscar for her supporting role in 1999's "Girl, Interrupted," is divorced from Billy Bob Thornton and Jonny Lee Miller.

Namibia, a country half the size of Alaska, is rich in diamonds and strategic metals and home to 1.8 million people. It gained independence from neighboring South Africa in 1990 after a 23-year war and has since been ruled by a democratically elected government.

Namibia suffers from deep poverty and perennial food shortages but is a popular destination for South Africans for its brilliant scenery and teeming wildlife.

Douglas Denies Brangelina-Bashing Quotes

In the GQ story, written by Jeanne Marie Laskas, Douglas is quoted as saying: "I don't know about Brad Pitt, leaving that beautiful wife to go hold orphans for Angelina.

"I mean, how long is that going to last?"

The Brangelina-bashing comments were picked up widely.

However, in an interview that was to air Monday, Douglas tells TV's "Extra" he denies having said it.

"It was a lengthy article," he says. "(It) must've been 20 hours of tape recording, so I asked to hear the tape recording and the reporter said, 'Well, I turned the tape recorder off.' And I said, 'Well, you had it on for the whole time, so I didn't say it.'"

Andy Ward, the magazine's executive editor, fired back in a statement Monday, saying Laskas "spent many hours over the course of four months with Michael Douglas. His comments about Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie — along with many other quotes from that long night at a hotel bar in Washington, none of which he is disputing — are in Jeanne Marie's notebook.

"We stand behind them 100 percent. For him to suggest we made them up is laughable. Still, we like the guy and hope all this attention will help his movie."

Pitt and ex-wife Aniston divorced in October 2005. Since then, Jolie's children, Maddox and Zahara, have legally had their surname changed to Jolie-Pitt, and Pitt is expecting a child with the bombshell actress this summer.

The 61-year-old actor, a "Messenger of Peace" for the United Nations, tells "Extra" he wrote the high-profile couple an apology and considers Pitt "a good friend, and (Jolie) does wonderful work for the United Nations, which is what I'm also involved in."

Douglas adds that he feels that the alleged misquotes stem from pressure on magazines to be "exploitative" in order "to try to attract people for their circulation."

After a three-year hiatus, Douglas returns to the big screen this year in the psychological thriller "The Sentinel," starring opposite Kiefer Sutherland, Kim Basinger and Eva Longoria.

Lions to protect pregnant Jolie's privacy: paper

The celebrity couple and their two adopted children Maddox and Zahara arrived in the southern African country last week, fuelling media speculation the Oscar-winning actress plans to give birth in Namibia away from the spotlight.

Namibian Afrikaans daily newspaper Die Republikein said the pair had moved from a luxury beach resort in the harbor town of Walvisbay to a lodge in the Etosha National Game Park in northern Namibia, where lions are a top tourist draw and would help deter intruders trying to photograph the couple.

U.S. tabloids say Jolie and Pitt's baby is due on May 18. The media had speculated that Jolie would give birth in France as a tribute to her French mother, who is dying of cancer.

Namibians Say Give Pitt, Jolie Privacy

The stars' private security detail kept journalists at a distance, and one government official warned Saturday that any foreign paparazzi found working without official approval would be kicked out of the country.

Immigration officials confirmed that the couple and five other people, including two children, arrived in Walvis Bay on Monday morning on a chartered jet from Paris, prompting speculation their baby will be born in Africa.

Mark Bongers, an advertising executive, said he expected their visit to be good for business.

"It puts Namibia in the spotlight as a tourist destination, but people mustn't go too crazy about it," he said. "I would imagine that they would like a bit of privacy, and I think if people here screw it up for them, then maybe they won't come back."

Media reports have said that the couple has rented all 14 rooms and suites at the Burning Shores resort, a luxury boutique hotel near the famous dunes of the Namibian desert.

A receptionist reached by telephone at The Burning Shore denied that the couple was there, saying the hotel heard they had gone to Cape Town, South Africa.

Pitt's publicist said Jan. 11 that Jolie is pregnant with Pitt's child. It was unclear when the baby was due.

Jolie has traveled to Africa frequently to shoot films and as a U.N. goodwill ambassador. She spent several weeks in Namibia in 2002 while shooting the film "Beyond Borders."

Jolie has called the continent one of hope and possibility, and adopted a daughter, Zahara, from Ethiopia last year. She also has a son, Cambodian-born Maddox, adopted in 2002.

Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie in Namibia

Namibian media reported that immigration officials confirmed the stars and five other people, including two children, arrived in Walvis Bay Monday morning on a chartered jet from Paris.

Pitt's publicist said on Jan. 11 that Jolie, 30, is pregnant with the actor's child. It was unclear when the baby will be born.

A judge in California since granted a request to change the names of Jolie's two children to Zahara Marley Jolie-Pitt and Maddox Chivan Jolie-Pitt to reflect that Pitt intends to become their adoptive father.

Pitt, 42, and Jolie, who co-starred in the 2005 film "Mr. & Mrs. Smith," have rented all 14 rooms and suites at the Burning Shores resort, a luxury boutique hotel on Long Beach north of Walvis Bay and near the famous dunes of the Namibian desert.

A private security firm and local police officials cordoned off the area and threatened to confiscate any cameras, Namibian media reported Friday.

The actress has traveled to Africa frequently to shoot films and as a goodwill ambassador for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. She spent several weeks in Namibia in 2002 while shooting the film "Beyond Borders."

Jolie has called the continent one of hope and possibility, and she adopted her daughter, Zahara, from Ethiopia last year, accompanied by Pitt. She adopted 4-year-old Maddox in 2002 in Cambodia, where she filmed "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider."

Pitt and Jennifer Aniston divorced last fall.

Jolie, who won an Oscar for her supporting role in 1999's "Girl, Interrupted," is divorced from Billy Bob Thornton and Jonny Lee Miller.

Brad Pitt Scouts Dominican Republic Sites

The actor took a helicopter to the Samana peninsula, on the island's north coast, and the eastern towns of Miches and Punta Cana to look into real estate projects with art dealer and promoter George Nader.

He was photographed Friday afternoon following a meeting with German architects Lars Kruckeberg and Wolfram Putz at a hotel in the capital's colonial district. The architects had previously refurbished Pitt and girlfriend Angelina Jolie's house in Los Angeles.

The couple, who costarred in 2005's "Mr. & Mrs. Smith," are expecting their first child later this year.

Jolie — who was in the Caribbean nation in January filming the movie "The Good Shepherd" with Robert De Niro — did not accompany Pitt, said her publicist, Holly Goline, who confirmed Pitt's trip.

Pitt will narrate a series on environmentally friendly structures and sustainable architecture in June on American public television.

'Ocean's Thirteen' Secures July Start Date

While "Ocean's Eleven" went to Las Vegas to shoot and "Ocean's Twelve" went off to Europe, "Ocean's Thirteen" will do most of its work on five soundstages on the WB lot in Burbank. Steven Soderbergh is returning to direct, this time working off a script by the "Rounders" team of Brian Koppelman and David Levien.

While "Ocean's Eleven" went to Las Vegas to shoot and "Ocean's Twelve" went off to Europe, "Ocean's Thirteen" will do most of its work on five soundstages on the WB lot in Burbank. Steven Soderbergh is returning to direct, this time working off a script by the "Rounders" team of Brian Koppelman and David Levien.

Returning cast members include George Clooney, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, Don Cheadle, Bernie Mac, Casey Affleck, Scott Caan, Eddie Jemison, Shaobo Quin, Carl Reiner and Elliott Gould. Not surprisingly, the ASAP shooting start is at least partially to make things convenient for top bananas Clooney, Damon, Pitt and Soderbergh.

Notice a few names missing? It seems that previous "Ocean's" love interests Julia Roberts and Catherine Zeta-Jones won't be playing along. With those two A-listers out of the picture, the producers sent out an offer to the industry's biggest star who hadn't been in the previous movies. That's right. Joining the cast of "Ocean's Thirteen" is Ellen Barkin.

All producer Jerry Weintraub will tell Variety is that Barkin ("The Big Easy") "gets closely involved with Damon's character."

Released in late 2001, "Ocean's Eleven" made over $450 million worldwide and also scored some very positive notices from critics. "Ocean's Twelve" dropped three years later. While it still made $360-plus million worldwide, the reviews weren't nearly so friendly.

Pitt, Affleck Auctioning Motorcycles, J-LO Shoes

Celeb pals Brad Pitt, Ben Affleck and Laurence Fishburne have donated sleek, custom-made motorcycles to an online charity auction to benefit a planned memorial in Washington for the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

"People are always quoting" King, Freeman said in an interview Monday with The Associated Press. "He's remembered as our prince of peace, of civil rights. We owe him something major that will keep him and his memory alive."

The four bikes — two from Affleck and one each from Pitt and Fishburne — are up for bid on the Charity Folks Web site through Friday, Freeman said.

Freeman, who won an Oscar for his role in "Million Dollar Baby," said he hopes "people will overbid" for a good cause.

Other celebrity items are being offered in the auction, including wedge-heeled shoes designed and signed by Jennifer Lopez and a DVD of "Catch Me if You Can" signed by Tom Hanks.

The memorial will be built on the National Mall, according to the Web site for Build the Dream, which is promoting the project. The centerpiece of the memorial, the "Stone of Hope," will feature a 30-foot likeness of King.

Its location will create a visual "line of leadership" from the Lincoln Memorial, where King gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech, to the Jefferson Memorial, the Web site says.

Groundbreaking is scheduled this year, with the goal of dedicating the site in 2008.

On the Net: http://www.charityfolks.com/ and http://www.mlkmemorial.org/

Italian lakeside towns buzz with Brad Pitt-Angelina Jolie wedding rumours

George Clooney is a friend of the Hollywood couple and his lakefront villa in the town of Laglio is cited in Italian news reports as a credible location for such a ceremony. Saturday has been mentioned as a possible date. Clooney's press representative, Stan Rosenfield, told The Associated Press on Thursday: "Rumours are rumours."

Pitt's representative, Cindy Guagenti, declined to comment.

Reports about an impending wedding at the northern Italian lake were rife last year, but quickly fizzled out after Clooney denied his friends were scheduled to marry at his villa.

Meanwhile, Monica Mantero, the wife of Laglio Mayor Giuseppe Mantero, said Thursday her husband could marry the couple on an hour's notice.

"There's a lot of movement at the villa, a lot of people there. We were expecting Clooney today but he didn't show up," Monica Mantero told the AP.

She said Pitt and Jolie hadn't fixed a date with her husband, but that "even if they contacted him an hour before he could still marry them."

Mantero, who lives across from Clooney's villa, said preparations taking place on the grounds were the ones routinely done ahead of the actor's arrival and that a reception in the garden didn't seem to be in the works.

"I can tell you Clooney isn't here (in Laglio), because whenever he's here a motorboat is tied up to his dock and there's no motorboat. I'm looking right now from my window," said Mariuccia Riva, whose husband's boatyard often rents boats to Clooney's guests.

Jolie - who starred alongside Pitt in the 2005 film Mr. & Mrs. Smith - is expecting his child this summer. Pitt and Jennifer Aniston divorced last fall.

Another rumoured location for the marriage is a luxurious hotel in the nearby town of Cernobbio that often hosts stars and international conventions.

"We don't have any booking under their name, but if they show up we'll be happy to take them in," said Annamaria Duvia, a spokeswoman for the Villa D'Este resort.

"Of course I can't rule out they've booked under a false name," she told the AP.

Giuseppe Salvioni, a spokesman for Cernobbio city hall, said there was no official indication of an upcoming ceremony.

Michael Douglas on Brangelina

At you and girlfriend Angelina Jolie. "I don't know about Brad Pitt, leaving that beautiful wife to go hold orphans for Angelina," Douglas sniped in GQ's April issue, hitting newsstands March 21. "I mean, how long is that going to last?"

Pitt and ex-wife Jennifer Aniston divorced in October 2005. Since then, Pitt has adopted Jolie's children, Maddox and Zahara and is expecting a child with the bombshell actress this summer.

Calls by The Associated Press to Pitt's representative, Cindy Guagenti, and Jolie's manager, Geyer Kosinski, were not immediately returned Tuesday.

The 61-year-old actor also took swipes at actresses Renee Zellweger and Julia Roberts.

"I mean, don't ask me what happened with Renee Zellweger. I don't know how you get married for four months."

"And Julia with Lyle."

Zellweger annulled her four-month marriage to country singer Kenny Chesney last fall, while Roberts divorced singer-songwriter Lyle Lovett in 1995 after a two-year marriage.

As for his seven-year marriage to actress Catherine Zeta-Jones, Douglas said he's "been fortunate."

"You learn to respect something of value and nurture it and treat it well."

Douglas and Zeta-Jones, 36, were married in 2000 and have a son, Dylan, five, and a daughter, Carys, two. Douglas also has a son, Cameron, 27, from a previous marriage.

After a three-year hiatus, Douglas plans to return to the big screen this year in the psychological thriller The Sentinel, starring opposite Kiefer Sutherland, Kim Basinger and Eva Longoria.

DO-GOODER BRAD

Aniston and Pitt Come to Terms

Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston have reached an agreement about how they will split their assets, according to published reports. The couple was married for more than four years before splitting, and their divorce was finalized in October.

In court papers, Aniston will get their $29 million Beverly Hills mansion, while Pitt will take control of their film studio, Plan B Productions, which produced "Troy" and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."

She will retain a "minor stake" in the studio, which is also behind the upcoming Martin Scorses film "The Departed," "Running with Scissors" and Pitt's starring vehicle, "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford." The company is estimated to be worth $50 million.

Pitt, 42, will release "Jesse James" later this year. He's also expecting a baby with his "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" co-star Angelina Jolie.

Aniston, 37, next stars in the indie dramedy "Friends with Money" and the comedy "The Break Up" opposite Vince Vaughn.

FRENCH-OBSESSED

THE LAST WORD ON FIRST KISSES

Bad Brad Debate On

JOLIE CALIFORNIA DREAM-HOUSING