The book is called The Black Book of Hollywood Pregnancy Secrets, and it’s allegedly a tell-all. But from the excerpted stories, it just seems like a bunch of moms talking about their kids. Which is nice. So why all the drama? Oh, right, book sales. Authors Kym Douglas and Cindy Pearlman interviewed many Hollywood moms, including Angelina Jolie, Kate Hudson, Helena Bonham Carter, Katie Holmes and Tina Fey.

Authors Kym Douglas and Cindy Pearlman reveal Kate Hudson finds dating difficult as the single mother to her five-year-old son, Ryder.

[Hudson] says, “I do find it tough to date,” but swiftly adds, “I’d rather be at home with my son cooking dinner than going out with a guy. My son is my man.”

Jolie adds of raising her international brood of six kids with partner Brad Pitt, “We were in India (for Halloween) and Brad and the kids and I had an off celebration in the hotel we were staying at. We had candy sent up, which we said was from the saints.”

Meanwhile, American actress/comedienne Tina Fey takes a down-to-earth approach to parenting: “I don’t care how many (magazine) covers you’re on. When you’re chasing a three-year-old around with a pull-up (diaper) hoping she won’t poop on the floor, you’re just like every other mom on the planet.”

[From Contact Music]

I’m not really sure what Angie means by an “off celebration” – maybe she was misquoted? Maybe it’s like “off” the beaten path? Is there a Saint Off? Who knows. Tina Fey’s story is funny though. It reminds me of a story about my now dead dog, when he was alive and incontinent. Not to compare pets with children… *shock*… but I really wish I could have put a diaper on that dog. Anyhoo, doesn’t it seem like Kate Hudson’s kind of phoning it in? I mean, we see her out with *every* boyfriend, obviously she doesn’t love being alone with her son that much. There are other excerpts from the book, including some much juicier revelations from Helena Bonham Carter.

Helena Bonham Carter admits pregnancy made her defensive about her vices. The 42-year-old actress – who has two children with partner Tim Burton, son Billy, five and 13-month-old daughter Nell – found it impossible to give up coffee while pregnant, and developed a sharp retort for when she was criticized for succumbing to her caffeine cravings.

…If a man condemned her for drinking coffee, Helena would swiftly reply: “You try nine months of gestation and self-abnegation before you start censoring my diet. Your mother was probably on vodka, and do you have three heads?”

Helena limited her intake of the hot drink, but admits it was tough to give it up entirely. She said: “I didn’t drink caffeine as much as I would normally and try to restrict myself to one cup of coffee a day. One of my favourite dishes is carpaccio and I love sushi but I avoided them. Obviously anything with raw eggs was forbidden, too.”

The actress has previously revealed she was so desperate for a second child she took fertility drugs to boost her egg production, and also tried acupuncture and Chinese massage.

She said: “If I hadn’t got pregnant I think we probably would have tried IVF (in vitro fertilisation), yes. Obviously, you don’t know what you’d do unless you were actually in that situation. I think we might have gone for a round of IVF, but that would have been that.”

[From Monsters and Critics]

And after Helena told off Tim Burton with that “three heads” line, Burton jotted down some notes, met with some producers and started pre-production on The Three-Headed Vodka Boy, starring Johnny Depp. *rimshot* Seriously, when I think about what pregnant women used to get away with, it really makes me wonder about my mother’s generation. Pregnant women used to smoke throughout the whole nine months! They used to drink like fishes! They used to play with toxic chemicals! Well, maybe not that one, but I’m sure a couple of pregnant women tried.

Angelina Jolie is shown on 5/20/08 at Cannes. Credit: WENN. Kate Hudson is shown pregnant at the premiere of Le Divorce with Naomi Watts and Chris Robinson on 8/31/03. Helena Bonham Carter is shown out with Tim Burton on 11/28/07. Credit: Bauergriffin.

Despite constantly traveling around the globe, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie still prefer France as their home base – at least for now. Brad told “Access Hollywood that the family of eight will spend Christmas in France this year. It seems Brad and Angie might end up settling there.

Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and their six children have settled in France — for a little while.

The family will stay put while papa Pitt films his role in Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds,” according to the UK’s Hello magazine.

“I’ve been dragging them all from continent to continent lately, so we’re going to have to give them a break soon. For the long term, right now, we’re choosing France,” Brad told Hello, according to MTV UK. “It’s good living there, a really nice way of life.”

Though the family spent time this year in Germany and New Orleans, Brad said right now, France is the top.

“It’s a place where the kids can run free and not be hassled – we have a good relationship with the locals, and it’s a good base for the family,” he said.

[From Access Hollywood - link has automatic video and sound]

They’re clearly very happy in France, although despite what Brad said they have had some run-ins with the paparazzi and their neighbors, who have complained that they monopolize the town’s police resources. Nonetheless it’s probably still quieter than any existence they could have in America.

Yesterday Brad noted that he and Angelina try to keep their Christmas spending reasonable and don’t spoil the kids. He also said they have a Christmas tradition where everyone has to give a gift they’ve made themselves. That’s pretty cute. Kids are good at making things, since they do it in school. But I’m curious about what Angie and Brad make. Brad’s a photographer, so perhaps he gives one of his pictures. But I’d love to know what Angie does. I’m hoping it’s something made out of popsicle sticks and too much Elmer’s glue.

Here’s Brad and Angelina at the “Benjamin Button” screening New Orleans on December 1st. Images thanks to Splash.

In 2006, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt decided to pool their charitable contributions into one blanket foundation that could direct funds to the charities of their choice. In the past three years, The Jolie-Pitt Foundation has directed hundreds of thousands (sometimes millions) of dollars to such organizations as The Daniel Pearl Foundation, Doctors Without Borders, Global Health Committee, Human Rights Watch and Global Action for Children. Jolie and Pitt support the Jolie-Pitt Foundation in addition to the individual charities that they have either started or work in concert with, like Make It Right (in Louisiana), The Maddox Jolie-Pitt Foundation (in Cambodia) and the UNHCR (for which Angelina is a special goodwill ambassador).

It’s always seemed like Angelina’s priorities were more international, focusing outside of America and the West, prioritizing the international needs of refugees, women and orphans, in a kind of triage of international need. Brad seems to be as focused with local poverty issues, even if that poverty is in America – Make It Right NOLA is a good example of that focus. So it’s my guess is that Brad is the instigator behind this latest charitable giving.

A $50,000 gift to buy emergency needs for Springfield Public Schools children has become a $250,000 gift, instead, with a match from the Jolie-Pitt Foundation and other philanthropists.

St. John’s Clinic physicians and co-workers raised the first $50,000 through their Force for Good campaign, directing the money to the Foundation for Springfield Public Schools’ Care to Learn fund, officials announced today at St. John’s. The $200,000 match, which will be available in April, was offered by the founders of the Care to Learn fund.

Local businessman Doug Pitt, the Jolie-Pitt Foundation (which includes actors Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt); local philanthropist Jim D. Morris and a private donor started the Care to Learn fund with the Foundation for Springfield Public Schools to support schools and students in meeting basic needs.

The needs can include food, health care and hygiene products. The fund so far has provided staple items such as underwear, socks and other personal hygiene supplies to 300 students in schools throughout the district, according to a St. John’s news release.

The Jolie-Pitt Foundation, Morris and the private donor match every donation the fund receives 4 to 1 up to $50,000, the news release said. “Care To Learn is about immediate funding for emergency needs that are disrupting their classroom experience,” Doug Pitt said. “Upon meeting those needs, my greatest satisfaction is restoring a child’s respect and dignity to walk amongst their peers.”

[From The Springfield News-Leader]

The Doug Pitt that is quoted is Brad’s brother, a local Springfield businessman. Doug probably alerted his brother to the under-funded Force for Good, as well as the mission of the charity. Force for Good not only provides local students with backpacks, clothes, hygiene products and winter wear, but also provides bus vouchers for student and family transportation and food for low-income families.

Too many charities are having budget shortfalls this year, and it will likely continue through next year with this economy. Charities are often hit with the double-whammy in a recession – not only do the donations dry up, but the number of people seeking charitable services increases. No matter what you think of Brad and Angie, there will be a lot of kids in Springfield thankful for their charitable giving.

Brad and Angelina are shown on 5/15/08 at the Cannes Film Festival. Credit: WENN

Brad Pitt, the weakest point of the Uncool Bermuda Triangle, will be turning forty-five tomorrow (December 18th), and what could we possibly get the man who has everything? Diapers? A tie? A leather hood? Binkies? Something in a whip?

Angelina Jolie has seen this birthday challenge and answered it’s call with a brilliant gift. And no, she’s not “gifting” him with another set of twins. She’s getting him a bike, of course!

Angelina Jolie has splashed out on a new set of wheels for Brad Pitt’s birthday.

The actor turns 45 [December 18th] and Angelina, 33, is hoping to have the motorbike shipped over for him from Italy.

“Since Angie is always in a dilemma over what to buy Brad, she’s getting
him the new Ducati Monster 1100S titanium,” an insider tells In Touch Weekly. “It’s a surprise. She ordered it from Italy months ago. It’s new and I believe it’s not out yet in Ducati stores. I guess a guy can never have too many bikes!”

[From Now Magazine]

Surprise! Whoops, who’s going to jump out of the cake? Fine, I’ll do it. But seriously, I like that Angie is so ambivalent with Brad’s insistence on being middle-aged on an expensive bike. It’s charming – she’s his “No really, honey, you can pull off that look” enabler.

Note by Celebitchy: I was trying to figure out whether we should run this because there was an earlier story about Pitt supposedly feuding with Tom Cruise over first dibs on a Ducati motorcycle that turned out not to be true, and this story sounds fake to me. Angelina bought Brad a bike for his birthday in the past, though, she even had one inscribed with the name of a Jeff Buckley song, “To My Sweetheart The Drunk,” so it’s possible that she bought him another one.

Brad Pitt is back in Berlin. He was videotaped eating lunch with his bodyguards at a restaurant today in Mitte, or the center of the city. Pitt is in the German capital filming Inglourious Basterds, directed by Quentin Tarantino.

Brad and Angelina are shown at the premiere of Benjamin Button on 12/8/08. Credit: PRPhotos

The modern Oscar Campaign is a thing of beauty. Much more than “For Your Consideration” ads and glad-handing at Academy screenings, the modern Oscar campaign is about image, press resources, personal narratives, who’s “turn” it is and oh, yeah, the best performance. The past half-dozen years of Oscar campaigning have elicited enough gossip to keep the tabloids in business for a decade. There was the rumor that Ryan Phillipe and Reese Witherspoon’s marriage only stayed together in 2005-6 for sake of her 2006 Walk the Line Oscar campaign. Oscar firmly in Reese’s hand, the marriage died. Also, in 2006, Geroge Clooney found campaigning for Good Night and Good Luck and Syriana so unseemly that as soon as an Oscar was resting in Casa de Clooney, George began advocating for Darfur as way to improve his “karma”.

It is into this public relations muck that Brad and Angelina will try to get their duel Oscar nominations this awards season – him for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, her for Changeling. This is actually not the first time (in their history together) that Brangelina has run an Oscar campaign. In the past two awards seasons, they ran stealth campaigns – him for 2007 Best Supporting Actor for Babel, her for 2008 Best Actress for A Mighty Heart. Both failed to get the Oscar nominations, but it wasn’t a total loss. Brad garnered 2007 Best Supporting Actor nominations at the Golden Globes and SAG Awards while Babel got a nomination for the Best Picture Oscar. Angelina was nominated this year for a Globe, a SAG, a Critic’s Choice and an Independent Spirit Award.

So what has changed? Does The Academy hate Brangelina? Did “badass” girl pilots, African orphans, French chateaus and the whiff of ZOMG Homewrecking destroy their chances of ever receiving another Oscar nomination? Or does a campaign of beautiful twin babies, hit movies, a happy mother-in-law and the stamp of approval from Oscar-approved living-legend Clint Eastwood change the Academy’s minds?

Damn. The Brange is campaigning HARD for this one.

…LA premiere of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Big grins on the red carpet, lots of family love, finally dismissing rumours of a rift between the parent Pitts and the Jolie, all in service of Brad’s Oscar hopeful…Benjamin Button needs momentum.

So the Brange, they did their best to deliver.

Angelina was downright exuberant at the premiere. Happy, giddy even, and beautiful yes, even with that weird waxy sheen she’s been rockin’ on her face lately, and that dress that made her bulgy in awkward places.

Am told the two were very loving and affectionate, lots of little giggles in between poses, long meaningful glances, he’d rub the small of her back now and again like a habit, they’d both make sure everyone was watching.

Turn up the sales pitch, it’s time to sell.

[From Lainey Gossip]

Another factor in the Oscar campaign that often goes unspoken is ratings. The past two Oscar ceremonies have been two of the lowest-rated shows in the history of televised awards ceremonies. No surprise, because there was a distinct lack of both big-name celebrities nominated and of big-tent hit films vying for Best Picture. Perhaps if the Academy nominates the late Heath Ledger, Brad, Angelina, Tom Cruise, Robert Downey Jr. and/or Anne Hathaway (all of whom had hit films this year) the audience will come.

Oscar nominations will be announced in January.

Photos are from the Benjamin Button premiere on 12/8/08. Credit: WENN

Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, and their unstoppable baby making skills are at it again, according to Star. The tabloid claims that the pair are trying for more babies, just five months after their twins were born. What’s the rush? Supposedly Angelina has been told that if she gets pregnant within two years of the last pair of twins, she’s more likely to conceive another pair.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are unstoppable!

In the Dec. 22 issue of Star — on newsstands now — we report that nearly five months after the arrival of babies Vivienne and Knox, the couple are adding another pair of twins to their brood, upping the total to a whopping eight.

Angelina is taking prenatal vitamins, visiting her ob-gyn, undergoing secret fertility treatments and gearing up for another set of twins.

“Angie’s doctors told her that she has a strong chance of conceiving twins if she does it within two years after having her first pair,” a friend tells Star. “She’s been seeing a fertility doctor regularly. She and Brad are monitoring when she’s fertile. And they’re trying really hard in the bedroom!”

We bet! Another of Angie’s conception secrets? Yams! “A friend told her that yams and orange juice will increase her chances [of getting pregnant with twins],” says the pal.

[From Star]

I have never understood the desire for twins. Babies are wonderful but stressful, at least for those not moneyed like Brad and Angie. Two at a time just doubles the nighttime feedings, the crying, the diapers… everything. Of course if you’ve got an employee whose sole function is to change poopie diapers, might as well crank out the kids in multiples.

Frankly I thought Brad and Angelina would adopt again at least once before having another biological child or two. I can’t help but wonder what their maximum number of kids is – if they even have one. Something tells me it’s in the high teens. They’ve certainly got the resources to support a small nation of kids. I think it’s safe to assume that we will be on permanent “pregnancy watch” for Angelina at least until she hits menopause. Maybe longer – as Star noted, they are “unstoppable.”

Here’s Angelina and Brad at the Los Angeles premiere of ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’ on Monday. Images thanks to WENN.

Brad Pitt is on the upcoming cover of Rolling Stone Magazine and US Weekly has some advance details of the interview. He talks about his mortality and defends his partner, Angelina Jolie, against accusations that she manipulates the press. As for when he fell for Angelina, he volunteers the potentially controversial tidbit that they fell in love on the set of Mr. and Mrs. Smith, confirming a statement that Angelina made to the NY Times. He’s got to know that he’s fueling the gossip press with statements like that, but maybe he’s just firmly standing behind Angelina and showing that he supports what she said:

“Angie and I do not fight anymore,” he says. “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.”

Adds the actor, 44, “I don’t want to waste time being angry at someone I love.”

During the interview, Pitt also gets defensive about Jolie, with whom he has six children.

Asked about a recent New York Times article stating how good Jolie is at controlling the press, Pitt says, “It sounded to me like the story made Angie out to be manipulative in some way. She is savvy.”

He continues, “I get defensive. [They're] talking about not only the woman I love, but one of the people on this planet who I have the greatest respect for. I think she’s as honorable as anyone I’ve ever met.

He adds Jolie got him into flying.

“She’s definitely more experienced,” he says. “Yeah, she’s badass.”

[From US Weekly]

Rolling Stone has a segment of the article available online in advance of the print version, which is out Friday. The writer says that Pitt was nervous during the interview, pacing and fidgeting, which sounds consistent with the way he’s looked in other interviews recently. He doesn’t seem entirely comfortable promoting his films, and who can blame him with the way that his words are twisted and his family’s privacy is invaded?

Pitt does tell a couple of anecdotes that might show that he needs to keep a closer watch on this children’s access to media. He says that he saw Maddox on looking at a white supremacist website he accidentally stumbled on when searching for weapons online. Pitt also admits he took Maddox to see the Clint Eastwood Western The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Is that violent film appropriate for a seven year old?

“Our seven-year-old was searching the word ‘weapons’ on Google the other day and ended up on some white-supremacist site. I’m sure now we’re on all kinds of watch lists…”

Pitt took his oldest son, Maddox, to see The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Maddox loved it. “I have this fantasy of my older days, painting or sculpting or making things,” Pitt says. “I have this fantasy of a bike trip to Chile. I have this fantasy of flying into Morocco. But right now, more and more, it’s about getting the work done and getting home to family. I have an adventure every morning, getting up.”

[From Rolling Stone]

It’s called “Net Nanny,” Brad, you should really install it. Despite saying that he fantasizes about his youth, Pitt told Extra that “I like wisdom that comes with age. I wouldn’t trade it for youth any day.” We all fantasize about the older days, but I know when I was young and free I was also dreaming about true love and a family someday. Sometimes it’s hard to appreciate all the great things that you have.

Angelina Jolie looked elegant and dressed down at the premiere of Gran Torino in LA last night. Wearing a simple gray sweater with slim black slacks and nude peep-toe heels, Jolie was on hand to support Clint Eastwood, who directs and stars in the film. Her makeup looks great and I really like Jolie’s very understated style. I’m not sure those shoes go with that outfit, but if anyone can make a trend it’s Jolie. She wore the same shoes with a black dress to the Kung Fu Panda DVD release last month.

Jolie told The Insider (link leads to video) that Eastwood is so talented a director you don’t even know he’s there:

“He’s original, he’s classic. There’s just nobody like him. He’s strong you don’t know he’s directing you. You feel like you’re just having a conversation with him, but he is a really good director. You kind of walk away and think wow he snuck one in there. But he’s great, he’s just the best.”

Eastwood’s wife said she had reservations about him taking the part at a time when she needed him at home, but that it didn’t change their family life at all and that he was the same person.

Gran Torino is about a Korean War veteran who confronts a gang that threatens a neighbor family. It’s out in theaters on January 9. Here’s the trailer, it looks good and maybe it should have come out before the end of the year in order to be eligible for Oscar season.

Photo credit: Fame

A few months ago Angelina Jolie said that her children watched the movie “Shrek” and were confused as to why Shrek and Fiona were married but their own parents weren’t. She said she thinks at some point the kids will ask Brad and her to get married, since they’re already questioning their status. Brad was recently asked if that whole discussion made him feel some matrimonial pressure or changed his mind at all, and apparently it didn’t.

When Access’ Maria Menounos asked Brad about reports that the animated film “Shrek” had caused his kids to question why he was not married to Angelina, the actor had a good chuckle. “You know more than I do,” Brad said with a laugh. Maria explained reports of an ogre-inspired marriage conversation that the Pitt-Jolie kids supposedly had with he and Angelina. “Yeah, oh then, then it must be true,” he said smiling.

Maria pressed further asking if the kids had changed their stance on marriage. “No, I mean, it’s something… the idea of it hasn’t helped or hindered us at this time,” Brad said. “There may [be] a time when we feel it’s important.”

Brad, who donated $100K in the effort to defeat California’s anti-gay marriage initiative, Proposition 8, in September, said he still longs for marriage equality. “I’m a believer that it should be [important],” Brad continued. “It’s important for everyone and everyone should be able to.”

[From Access Hollywood]

Something tells me the pair will eventually get married. Brad started off by saying no, but then opened up the possibility for it someday with the comment that, “There may [be] a time when we feel it’s important.” So that was kind of a no and a yes answer. Combined with Angelina’s previous comment that, “sooner or later it will be the kids who ask us [to get married,” it seems like they’re very gently laying the groundwork to more seriously considering the idea without coming out and directly saying so.

Here’s Brad and Angelina in New Orleans on October 7th. Images thanks to Fame.

This sounds like one of those wishful thinking stories from Star Magazine, but it’s too amusing to pass up: Pete Wentz and Ashlee Simpson are said to be huge fans of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie to the point where they copy their fashion and even named their son with an “X” at the end of his name because they wanted a boy’s name like Maddox, Pax and Knox.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have two more admirers: Pete Wentz and his wife, Ashlee Simpson-Wentz! The Fall Out Boy rocker “has a man crush no Brad,” says a source close to the couple. “He practically gets googly-eyed when talking about how much he admires Brad.” Ashlee is just as enamored of the mom of six. “She wore black maxi dresses throughout her pregnancy, copying Angie. And privately, she gushes about how she wants to follow Angie’s lead and do more philanthropic work.” The new parents are such huge fans that they copied the superstar couple’s practice of ending their sons’ names with an X – Maddox, Pax, Knox and now Bronx. “Ashlee worried about being perceived as a copycat, so Pete labored over a name that was similar but unique.”

[From Star Magazine, print edition, December 15, 2008]

Ashlee Simpson made her first post-baby appearance last night at a private Fall Out Boy show at the Troubador club in west Hollywood. She attended along with her mother and father. Ashlee looks amazing and I hope she doesn’t lose the small amount of baby weight all at once – or at all.

As for this story that Ashlee and Pete are obsessed with Brangelin, Ashlee did wear a lot of black dresses during her pregnancy, and you can imagine Pete and Ashlee naming their son with an “X” at the end of his name because it’s the style now. I would bet that they’re just following the general trends in Hollywood, which are often set by high profile couples like Brad and Angelina.

Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz are shown out in LA last night in the photos below. Wentz was performing, which explains his face paint. Credit: Fame. Header image is of Ashlee and Pete on 2/9/08 and Brad and Angelina on 1/27/08. Credit: PRPhotos.