Angelina picks up Maddox Jolie-Pitt from Lycee Francais School on 10/5/07. Credit: Michael Carpenter / WENN
Angelina Jolie and her father Jon Voight had a falling out five years ago when he told Access Hollywood that she had mental problems and begged her to let him see his year-old grandson at the time, Maddox. Now Angelina’s family has grown to six and she has had tentative phone conversations with her father, but it’s thought that he has yet to see any of his grandchildren. Jon Voight famously called his grandaughter Shakira by mistake, and he continues to talk to the press about his daughter’s family. In an interview with Fox news, Voight said he was surprised that Angelina has so many kids now since she didn’t even play with dolls when she was a little girl:

Angeline Jolie’s pop is at it again, blabbing to Fox & Friends about his daughter and her growing brood.

“You know, she wasn’t the kind that played with dolls, and then all of the sudden she has all of these children,” Jon Voight said Thursday on the Fox News Channel.

“She loves kids though,” he added. “She’s very playful. It’s wonderful.”

It’s not like Voight’s giving away any big secrets. He confirms the twins, Knox and Vivienne, are “healthy” and “doing well” and says Brad and Angie “are really happy and over the moon.”

[From E! Online]

There isn’t anything particularly controversial in what he said and considering how open Angelina is with the press she probably won’t take offense that her dad said he’s surprised she ended up with a big family. It’s doubtful Voight has ever seen any of his grandchildren in person. Both Angelina and her brother, James Haven have been open about their difficult childhood, in which they were raised by their mother after their parent’s divorce. They paint a picture of a verbally abusive father who was unsupportive and generally absent during their childhood. If anything can help mend a family rift, it’s a bunch of cute grandkids, though.

John Voight is shown below at the premiere of Pineapple Express on 7/31/08. Credit: Nikki Nelson/ WENN

Angelina and Shiloh on 5/19/08. Credit: WENN
Many of you commented on some of the (very heated and amusing) Brangelina threads that we have no way of verifying reports that there’s a bidding war for the first photos of the twins and it’s possible that those stories are false. Some of you thought that Brad and Angelina might be trying to preserve their privacy by refusing to sell the photos. Brad recently issued a cease and desist demanding the removal of photos taken with a telephoto lens of his family playing in their backyard, and that could be a sign that they’re working to keep their children out of the public eye. The first photos of Pax and Shiloh were published in Hello! and People, but that doesn’t mean that they’re necessarily going to sell the photos of Knox and Vivienne, even though the money will go to charity.

A report has come out exclusively in Just Jared that the twin photos have been brokered to People Magazine for a staggering figure that’s somewhere between $10 to $15 million. This story isn’t sourced or even credited to an insider so it’s hard to tell where they’re getting their information. JustJared is a member of the Buzznet network and they were possibly given a tip by someone there or another insider source. It’s also of course possible that this is another bs story:

JustJared.com has just learned that People magazine has drummed up the winning bid for the first pictures of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s twins - Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline. It is rumored that the winning bid is between $10 million and $15 million. The pictures will come up in a future People magazine issue (but not this week!). The money paid to Brad and Angelina has already been earmarked for charity.

[From Just Jared via We Smirch]

Babies are cute and I enjoy seeing the glamorous posed photos of the newborns at home with their parents, but that’s a hell of a lot of money. At least we know that a worthy charity will benefit from it, which cannot be said of the baby photo money given to celebrities like Jennifer Lopez, Jessica Alba, Nicole Richie, and Christina Aguilera. (Our new writer Sammie is working on a story about OK! Magazine’s full coverage of Matthew McConaughey’s new baby, Levi, and she mentioned that OK! gave a donation to his jk livin foundation. From the way she worded it, I got the impression that McConaughey got the full $3 million and an additional donation was given to his charity. I’ve asked her for clarification and we’ll be reporting on that later in the day. At this point I’m not sure whether McConaughey and Alves pocketed the baby money.)

Celebrities that have chosen not to sell photos of their newborns include Salma Hayek, Halle Berry, Naomi Watts and Nicole Kidman. Berry brought criminal charges earlier this week against a photographer that captured a faraway picture of her in her backyard with four month old Nahla. She issued a statement that said “I will do everything I can for the sake of her safety and well-being to keep her out of the public eye.” As commenter Anastasia pointed out, maybe Brad and Angelina are trying to keep the paparazzi away by releasing photos of their twins. That way, they won’t get photographers hanging out in the surrounding woods in camouflage and attacking their security guys. For the type of money those first pictures are worth, photographers are willing to go to extraordinary measures to capture the twins on film.

The Dark Knight has only been out for a couple of weeks and already buzz is starting on the sequel. It’s sad that Heath Ledger won’t be able to reprise his brilliantly creepy Joker, it looks like director Christopher Nolan is looking to tap another big Hollywood name to play the villain. 60s TV catwoman, Julie Newmar, says that Angelina Jolie would “own the part” and claims that she’s asked about it:

Hollywood beauty ANGELINA JOLIE has been tipped to play CATWOMAN in a future BATMAN movie - by the actress who made the role famous, JULIE NEWMAR.
Newmar, 74, prowled across the small screen, playing the feline villain in the 1960s Batman television series.

And she would love Jolie to take on the role - if The Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan decides to resurrect the character in a future sequel.

Newmar tells the New York Daily News, “Angelina would own the part. My industry friends tell me (she) has made inquiries about the role. I can understand how it would pique her interest. Catwoman is Batman’s one true love. She’s tremendously popular with women because she’s both a heroine and a villainess.”

Since Newmar, the Catwoman role has been played by Eartha Kitt, Lee Meriwether, Halle Berry and Michelle Pfeiffer.

[From Contact Music]

It would take a brave, fearless actress to pick up Catwoman’s whip after the stinker of a film starring Halle Berry that came out a few years ago. Jolie is the kind of woman who could pull it off, provided the script is good enough and she’s not pregnant again. Personally, I think Catwoman should have been retired after the fabulous Michelle Pfeiffer played the role in “Batman Returns.” I would like to see some new villains on the big screen.

Last week Denise Richards dragged Charlie Sheen into court for the 283,492 time – this occasion being some sort of legal “emergency” regarding their daughters. Of course Denise made a big to do about it –that’s what you’ve got to do when the ratings for your crappy show are in the toilet. Must make sure everyone’s aware of every little detail in your life. As a result of the vague phrasing, the internet was abuzz with speculation regarding just what type of emergency had taken place.

The New York Post says Denise accused Charlie of molesting their daughters. The article isn’t clear about exactly what type of molestation Richards accused Sheen of, but no matter what the judge thought the accusations were baseless and threw the whole thing out.

Denise Richards went too far when she falsely accused her ex, Charlie Sheen, of molesting their daughters - and now Sheen will move for full custody of the kids by charging that their mother is a liar. A source said, “Denise’s accusations were vile. She was basically trying to say Charlie [manipulated] the kids and acted inappropriately with them. It’s disgusting and totally untrue. Charlie is furious . . . Denise has really pushed it too far this time.

“She came after Charlie because the ratings on her E! reality show ['It's Complicated'] have tanked and they were threatening not to renew,” the source said. “She thinks a court battle would be good for ratings so she wants all overnight visits with the girls ceased, and monitored visits with her nanny. She invited the media circus to the hearing and even wanted reporters in the judge’s chambers - which wasn’t allowed. It’s ridiculous.”

Sheen is said to be so furious, he’s “out to prove Denise’s lack of veracity and sue her in civil court for defamation. Then he’ll sue for child custody… Charlie has now been forced to take a stand and do what’s best for the girls,” our insider said. Reps for Richards and Sheen declined comment.

[From the New York Post]

If Denise really fabricated these accusations to get ratings for her show, I truly hope she loses custody of her kids. Not just as punishment, but because that kind of behavior is truly indicative of severe mental and emotional instability. Both Sheen and Richards seem off their rocker – to the extent that a lot of commenters have said they can’t figure out who the crazy one really is. I think it’s seeming more and more likely that Denise is the real head case. If she’s prioritizing her television show over her daughters, she should be severely, severely punished. And they should be safeguarded.

Here’s the media drama surrounding Denise Richards as she left the courtroom after the emergency hearing in Los Angeles last Monday. Images thanks to WENN.

In highly unlikely news out yesterday, The Mirror claims that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie plan on naming U2’s Bono as their new twins’ godfather. In April the rumor was that it was going to be George Clooney – and the couple certainly have a wide array of celebrity friends to choose from.

It’s the Sweetest Thing for Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s newborn twins. Little Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline are only a few weeks old, but they’ve already shot straight to the top of the showbiz A-list by bagging a superstar godfather - U2’s Bono. After giving birth two weeks ago, Angelina, 33, and Brad, 44, spent a week bonding with their new bundles of joy at Bono’s bolthole in a leafy village in the South of France.

And in return for the kind gesture, the Hollywood couple have asked him to be a permanent fixture in the lives of their tots. Sources tell me thrilled Bono, 48, accepted the offer immediately. A pal of the A-list parents revealed: “Brad and Angie think the world of Bono. They have been friends for years. Brad is a massive U2 fan and told Bono how much he admired him when they were introduced at a party a few years back.

“Since then, they’ve become very close, which Brad is thrilled about. Angelina is inspired by Bono’s humanitarian work and gets on with his wife Ali Hewson. Ali’s given Angelina some clothes from her ethical clothing range Edun.” I’m told the couple are planning a christening ceremony to welcome Bono into the extended family. But they have not yet decided if he will be sharing his duties with a godmother. Angelina has spoken about asking her ex-lesbian lover Jenny Shimzu [sic], but that has yet to be given the nod by Brad.

[From The Mirror]

I could maybe have accepted the POSSIBILITY that Brad and Angelina were considering Bono as a godfather until that last part about Jenny Shimzu. We’re really supposed to believe that the woman who Angelina used to sleep with – who talks about Angelina every chance she gets and is always telling the press that Brad is just a temporary distraction– would be considered by Brad Pitt as the godfather to his children? I call bullshit on that. It makes for good press and I’m sure a ton of sites will pick it up by the end of the day tomorrow, but I can’t imagine that it’s possibly true.

Yesterday Celebitchy reported on the shockingly brutal altercation between Brangelina’s security team and photographers. At first it seemed like a relatively minor incident, but later in the day it was revealed that a lot more was involved, including a good bit of blood. Literally.

One can’t help but think that neighbors in the small French village of Brignoles are getting pretty annoyed with all the drama – and according to E! that’s very much the case. Residents are upset not just by the attention, but by the way Brad and Angelina are constantly monopolizing the town’s resources.

Sources tell E! News that a main point of conflict between the privacy-seeking superstar couple and the residents of Brignoles is that the village only has a few police officers, whose primary civic duty, the neighbors say, should not be to help ward off paparazzi.

“They told them to hire more security and that they can’t be called out every day because Brad and Angie aren’t happy,” a police source says. “They have other crimes like burglaries and muggings to look into. French tax payers shouldn’t have to pay to protect a couple of American celebrities.”

Residents also say the Jolie-Pitts could take a page from the playbook of fellow locally dwelling celebs Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis, who have lived in the area for years without ever feeling the need to use up police resources. Instead, Depp and Paradis simply sue if a publication uses any privacy-invading pictures, and the paparazzi, locals say, have learned to leave the twosome alone.

And unlike the Jolie-Pitts, Depp and his common-law missus have never sold photos of their brood, so locals complain the Jolie-Pitts are bringing their paparazzi problems on themselves by seeking to control which shots are allowed for general consumption.

[From E! News]

Another issue that’s already garnering a lot of attention is the planned schooling of the Brangelina clan. Other parents don’t want the herd attending the same school as their children, for fear the paparazzi will stake out the area and invade their own children’s privacy.

But it’s not just the strain on the fuzz that has locals barking at Brangelina. A group of citizens has already voiced dissent over the possibility of Maddox & Co. enrolling in a local school this fall, grousing about the possibility of shutterbugs camped outside the campus.

“This is a beautifully peaceful area of the world, and Brad and Angelina are threatening that peace,” says one disgruntled resident.

“Their kids have the right to go to school but not if it means strange men hanging around at the gates with cameras threatening local kids’ privacy. A lot of villagers aren’t happy at all that they’ve moved here and wish they’d move away again.”

[From E! News]

It stinks for the kids, because parents can – and probably will – make that argument anywhere they attend school. Maddox has been attending the prestigious Lycee Francais schools, which has a network of over 400 schools around the world. Presumably attending schools that are somewhat linked like that gives the kids a bit of continuity they wouldn’t otherwise have. But it makes perfect sense that other parents wouldn’t want to bring that level of drama into their kids’ lives. Brad and Angelina need to find some way to make peace with the locals. Maybe following the Johnny Depp plan really is a good idea.

Brad Pitt issued a public cease and desist earlier in the week declaring that he would sue any publication that printed photos taken with a telephoto lens of his family on their property in what was “a malicious violation of Mr. Pitt’s right of privacy, including under the laws of California and France.” Agency Bauer-Griffin secured those first post-twins photos of the famous family playing in their backyard with a giant inflatable ball. The twins were not outside, but their older kids were seen playing along with Brad, Angelina, and Brad’s mother and brother. Bauer Griffin removed the photos from their website after Pitt’s legal letter, but it was a little too late for In Touch, which purchased the exclusive rights and ran a huge spread with the pictures this week.

Brad and Angelina went to great pains to secure their privacy by leasing an 880 acre estate in the South of France that includes a lake, moat and surrounding forest. Their security team consists of four body guards and six French ex-military who patrol the perimeter. ^[1] Photos of the family are worth a mint, though, and all that land and protection won’t deter persistent photographers when the payoff is so big.

There was an altercation between two paparazzi photographers dressed in camouflage and two of their ground security men earlier today. Both sides escaped with minor cuts and bruises and were taken to the local police department for questioning. Fights aren’t supposed to be funny, but the whole scenario sounds humorous, particularly since the two security guys who were involved applied for four days off work for their pain and suffering. You know they’re going to be loafing around on the beach with their families:

French police say camouflaged 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 said Friday the two photographers were wearing camouflage clothes. She said 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 said both sides filed legal complaints accusing the other of battery and causing injury. She said she believed the injuries were bruises and scratches and “nothing nasty.”

Nevertheless, the guards got doctors’ notes giving them four days off work; the photographers did not, she said…

oupot said she didn’t know how long the paparazzi had been on the chateau grounds or further details about the “altercation with the guards.”

“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 glamor couple.”

[AP via The Huffington Post]
So the police are basically saying they’re not that concerned about the photographers staking out Brangelina’s place and don’t want to be bothered with all the b.s. that goes along with taking care of those relatively minor issues. Meanwhile the security guys are taking this as an excuse to take a vacation. If I learned anything from those “Year in Provence” books it’s that things can work a little slower in France than outsiders are used to, and maybe it’s not unusual to take a few days off there after some on the job stress. (With apologies to our French readers if my opinion is overly biased or wrong, and I hope you’ll let me know.) These guys could have been hurt worse than was reported, but it doesn’t seem like it.

You can see the security guys sitting there smoking and playing cards when they spot the photographers crawling around on the ground in their combat gear, black stripes painted under their eyes and wearing fanny packs with their camera equipment. The photographers try to run away and the security barely catches up to them huffing and puffing, and pulling them down to the ground where a minor scuffle ensues. It had to be the most exciting thing that happened all week for those photographers apart from those photos that they’re likely to get sued over.

Update: Reality is much more sobering than our imagination. People Magazine reports that there are accounts by both the paparazzi and the security staff about alleged brutality by the other side. A male and female photographer were there, and the male claims he was attacked with a walkie talkie bash to the head and defended himself by smearing blood on the guards and telling them he was HIV positive. He says he bit one guy and broke another one’s finger in what sounds like retaliation. Brad and Angelina’s rep confirms the incident, saying their staff member was attacked. No one has been arrested and it’s up to a judge what happens next:

The photographers, identified as freelancers Luc Goursolas and Marianne Saint-Arroman, clashed with the Pitt-Jolie security in the woods around Chateau Miraval, where the couple have been staying following the birth of their twins.

Trevor Neilson, a spokesperson for the couple, tells PEOPLE one of the paparazzi “viciously attacked a staff member, breaking his finger and wiping blood on his neck, arms, legs while saying he had Hepatitis C.”

Goursolas confirms to the AP that he fought with guards, saying he broke one guard’s finger and bit another, drawing blood. A guard, he claims, bloodied by hitting him on the head with a walkie-talkie.

“I was pouring blood. I threw myself at them, put blood all over them, and told them that I had HIV so they would stop hitting me,” Goursolas told the AP.

But both sides conflicted on whether the guards were actually on the Pitt-Jolie’s property.

[from People]

[1] We usually don’t do footnotes as they’re too formal, but I wanted to let you know that the detail about their security team is from the National Enquirer, print edition, August 4, 2008 in a story about how Angelina is having a hard time after the birth of the twins. I haven’t read it elsewhere yet and wanted to provide a reference.

Photo credit: Fame

Angelina Jolie is going to play the lead in the sequel to the 1999 film The Thomas Crown Affair, titled The Topkapi Affair. She will star as Pierce Brosnan’s love interest and producers have told her that she needs to be at least somewhat voluptuous to carry it off. According to Female First, which is not a reliable source, she’s been ordered to gain 28 pounds for the part. Jolie was painfully thin in the action film Wanted, and filmmakers supposedly don’t want to see Angelina looking super tiny on screen, so they’ve told her to bulk up:

The 33-year-old actress must gain up to 28lbs by the bosses of ‘The Thomas Crown Affair 2′ - who she also worked with on her last movie ‘Wanted’ - because they are desperate to avoid her fainting on set as she did while filming the assassin thriller.

A source said: “Ideally they want Angelina to put on 28lbs for the role. It is going to be very physically demanding, which is why they want her to carry the extra weight.

“They don’t want a reprise of what happened with ‘Wanted’, where she was fainting and they had to take her costumes in. She was also slated for being too skinny to portray an action woman, and for ‘Thomas Crown’ they want a convincing female lead.”

Angelina - who gave birth to twins Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline earlier this month - is due to play the leading lady opposite Pierce Brosnan, who reprises his role as billionaire art thief Thomas Crown.

Brosnan will also produce the movie.

[From Female First via WeSmirch]

This story could be total bullsh*t, but you could see how they would want Angelina to gain weight - or at least keep some of the weight on that she gained while pregnant with the twins. Her facial features looked so much better filled out when she was pregnant and seeing the photos for Wanted I was struck by how different she looks when she’s really thin. She doesn’t seem as sexy or womanly to me.

Rene Russo was gorgeous and kicked ass in the 1999 remake of Thomas Crown. I tried to figure out if Angelina Jolie will be playing Russo’s same character, Catherine Banning, or if she’ll be a new love interest for Brosnan’s art thief in this sequel, but I couldn’t find the details online. While I can see why they’re replacing Russo to get better box office results from Angelina it doesn’t quite seem fair. Russo is 54 and still looks great. Hollywood is of course ageist, but it’s about the bottom line after all. They could have made Russo just as appealing and I would personally rather see the film with her in the role again. Maybe Angelina will play some new character, though, we’ll have to see.

Here’s Renee Russo on 5/13/08. Credit: Fame

Us Magazine says they have a “well placed source” within the Brangelina circle who claims that the couple’s newborn twins were conceived via in vitro fertilization because they were impatient to get pregnant again.

Forget Mother Nature – Us Weekly reports in its new issue, on newsstands now, that Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt turned to fertility treatments to quickly conceive twins Knox and Vivienne.

“They conceived through in vitro fertilization,” a well-placed source within their camp tells Us. “They both desperately wanted more babies soon.”

The chance of having fraternal twins at Angelina’s age (33) naturally is under 1 percent; with in vitro, the chances are 25 percent. Says Dr. Arthur Wisot of L.A.’s Reproductive Medical Group (who did not treat the couple), “We live in an era of reproductive freedom, so anybody can do anything they want within legal limits.”

The actress chose the procedure (which can cost around $12,000 a pop) so “she wouldn’t have to deal with the stress of trying to get pregnant,” the source tells Us. “She could just knock it out.”

Indeed, Jolie has spoken about her goal to do just that.

“If we’re going to have 10 kids, we’d like to raise them while we’re young,” she told Elle U.K. last year. Brad Pitt turns 45 on December 18.

A source adds: “They were too impatient.”

Knox and Vivienne – born in Nice, France on July 12 – join the couple’s adopted brood of Maddox, 6, Pax, 4, Zahara, 3, and biological daughter Shiloh, 2.

[From Us Weekly]

There has been a lot of speculation regarding how the babies were conceived because Jolie was very thin in the months leading up to her pregnancy. Statistically, if a mother is underweight, her chances of conceiving are reduced. Star Magazine reported way back in January that the couple had relied on in vitro, but, you know, it’s Star. In interviews, Jolie has made it sound like she and Pitt conceived the twins the old fashioned way. In her recent Entertainment Weekly interview, she gestures to her belly at one point and says, “I got myself in this state!” I suppose that could be interpreted a number of ways.

Brad and Shiloh shopping on 5/19/08. Credit: WENN

Brad Pitt and his lawyers are planning legal action because photographers took pictures of their family playing in their backyard.

Lawyers for Brad Pitt on Thursday threatened legal action against anyone publishing recent photographs they say were taken by paparazzi of the actor and his newly enlarged family at their French estate.

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 (http://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.

Rueters

Now I understand that the backyard is a private place and they should be able to play there and not get photographed. I even think that they should be able to walk down the street and get milk, or take their kids for a seatbelt-free ride on a golf cart without getting their picture taken. But somehow I think that the family is going to lose a bit of sympathy in this lawsuit. You have sold pictures of your children to various magazines for huge profit, even if that money has been donated to charities. Just let it pass, and enjoy your time with the family. You have two new babies to get to know, and could probably really use some sleep!

France has much stricter laws about paparazzi photographers than any other country in the world, but if someone secured the first pictures of the twins it would be a huge financial boost. How can a fine and a few days in jail compare to that kind of windfall?

The Smoking Gun website, which got the letter from Camp Brangelina, says that they have never purchased a paparazzi picture in the eleven years of their site being in action. You can view the full letter there, which states that it is a “confidential legal communication and not for publication”.