Angelina Jolie managed to escape the paparazzi in what seems like a nearly impossible escape. Somehow she and her newborn twins managed to sneak out of Lenval Hospital in Nice, France in the middle of the night last on Saturday morning. Which you’d think the paparazzi would be expecting. Given Angelina’s security team, if I were a photographer I’d half-suspect them to teleport her out of there somehow. In comparison, her departure was relatively low-key.

Jolie’s departure began at about 3:50 a.m. when, according to an eyewitness, a grey Volkswagen minibus with darkened windows arrived outside the hospital on its Promenade des Anglais.

“There was a sudden spray of light out of the hospital’s garage way and then four or five people came out of that through a rear doorway,” the witness said. “They stood behind the hospital in a small courtyard in the dark.”

The courtyard entrance, a gated area for emergency access has been closed during Jolie’s stay, “was suddenly opened by someone who was waiting in the bus stop beside the hospital,” the witness said. “This group of people got into the van, very quickly. . . . It was all done in a hurry. And they were very quick organizing themselves inside. Very rapid. And then ‘Pouf!’ they were gone.

“With all the press attention around them, a constant watch on the front of the hospital, they managed to leave so quickly, my hat’s off to them,” the witness added.

At 9 a.m., Dr. Michel Sussmann, who delivered the twins by Cesarean section on July 12, confirmed the family’s departure, telling reporters, “You can go home. The story is over.”

Added Bauer: “We enjoyed having her and her family here very much.”

[From People]

Yeah I bet it was a blast for all of you. I love the description of Angelina’s exit. Especially the “sudden spray of light.” It’s very heaven-sent, isn’t it? I half-expected the next line to be something about the magnificent glow emanating from their halos” or something. It was cute, but a little overdone.

A few less reputable sources said that Brad was along for the departure, though no one seems 100% certain about that. Still, it seems like the kind of thing he’d probably manage to show up for. Supposedly Angelina had originally wanted to leave the same way she arrived – by helicopter. But the hospital told her she couldn’t, because that was for emergences only. Which begs the question: was there some sort of emergency when she arrived?

No matter what, it sounds like Angelina’s security team did a remarkable job with her exit and ensuring whatever amount of privacy she could get. It sounds like she and the twins are all doing well, and now will get to have some family bonding time.

I don’t buy into the notion that Jennifer Aniston is nearly as obsessive or upset over the whole Brad Pitt/Angelina Jolie romance. It’s been a long time, I’m sure she’s moved on. However magazines keep asking – or her friends keep feeling compelled to share – just how she’s doing. So Jen has to make the requisite “I wish them all the best” speech.

Jennifer Aniston couldn’t be happier for her ex Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.

“She hopes the twins are beautiful,” a pal of the actress, 39, tells Us Weekly in its latest issue, on stands now.

“She’d never want anyone to be unhappy with their kids,” the friend adds.

Aniston – who would have celebrated her eighth anniversary with Pitt, 40, on July 29 – has been heating up her summer with John Mayer.

[From Us Magazine]

Oh come on. Look I doubt that Jen’s wishing evil on Brad’s babies or anything, but I doubt she hopes they’re beautiful either. Who the hell would in that situation? I think the best you can do is feel nothing at all. It’s certainly not a Tom Cruise/Nicole Kidman thing where one sends the other a roomful of flowers after the birth of their child. It’s not fair to expect Jen to wish years of pristine happiness on the couple or their offspring; and it’s kind of unnatural to imply that she should.

Despite what the tabloids say, I highly doubt Jennifer is sitting at home crying over Brad’s life. She has bigger things to worry about – like what’s bound to happen when you date John Mayer. Who would have thought he’d already be hitting on other women?

Here’s Jennifer Aniston doing a spot of shopping at one of her favorite stores ‘Noodle Stories’ in West Hollywood yesterday. Images thanks to Splash.

It’s all about the Brangelina twins today, and since Angelina reportedly wants to shed that moniker I’ve decided to use it as much as possible. It’s a lot easier than calling them Knox and Vivienne, which sounds suspiciously similar to the names J.Lo chose for her fraternal boy and girl twins, Max and Emme.

There are new details emerging about the birth of the twins that seems like way too much information. People are clamoring for details and Brad and Angelina have only so much control over what leaks out, but I think that birth room scenes are privileged information despite all the “Baby Story” episodes I watched on TLC when I was pregnant.

People Magazine has a whole section of their website dedicated to the birth of the twins with a big red banner across the top in all-caps italics that reads “ANGELINA & BRAD’S TWINS ARE BORN!” and it’s really too much. They had the babies, we’ll get to see them soon, good for them.

Brad “Very Emotional” at Birth, Angelina was talking and laughing during C-section
Angelina’s doctor revealed in his statement that Brad was “very emotional” when the babies were born. What dad isn’t, even for the fifth and sixth child? Dr. Sussman gave a lot of information to the press and I’m not sure I would want all those details made public if it was my family even though it’s all perfectly normal stuff.

During the labor and delivery, the couple “were talking, they were together,” Dr. Michel Sussmann told reporters outside Fondation Lenval Hospital in Nice, France, where twins Vivienne Marcheline and Knox Leon were born on Saturday. “It was an epidural, so [Angelina] was awake and speaking and laughing. They were happy.”

Pitt never left Jolie’s side – “he was my assistant!” Sussmann said jokingly – and even cut the babies’ umbilical cords.

“He was … perfectly calm, totally determined, very pleased to be at the birth of his children, very moved and very emotional,” said Sussmann.

Asked whether the birth had been a textbook delivery, Sussmann replied, “absolutely no problems.”

[From People.com]

Dr. Sussmann said Angelina will stay in the hospital for a few more days, which is how they do it in Europe and that “it isn’t like in the United States, where the patients go home after three days. ” He later clarified that the babies are in good health at 5 pounds each, but that they need to gain some more weight before they go home and are likely to stay in the hospital for about a week.

Dr. Sussmann also told the press that Angelina’s c-section was moved up ten days “for the mother’s comfort.”

The Associated Press reports that Brad Pitt chose to give the French daily newspaper the Nice-Matin the scoop on the birth because he wanted a local paper to have the story before the other outlets.

The mayor of Nice held a press conference and gushed in his praise for Angelina and Brad. He said it was a great honor that such big stars had chosen his city to give birth. He stood on the steps of the hospital while holding Knox’s birth certificate and said:

“On behalf of the inhabitants of Nice, I congratulate the happy parents, the most famous couple of the world who have chosen our city for this happy event.”

He also called the birth “a pride to Nice and all its citizens.” [Details From People.com]

It’s all a bit over the top, but congratulations to Brad and Angelina and it is kind of amazing that they had twins to add to their brood of four other children - whether they had IVF or not. And let’s wish them well for their babies no matter how you feel about them personally. They’re certainly willing to be open with the press and there are millions of people who want to read every little tidbit about them. Maybe they think if they open up all the doors and unlock everything people will get bored and go home. It’s pretty damn comfortable and perfect-looking in their house, though.

The media is all up in a tizzy. Reports are coming in again that Angelina Jolie may have given birth to her twins, following an article in the French newspaper Nice-Matin. The paper claims that Angelina gave birth sometime before 10 p.m. on Saturday night; and had a boy and a girl, named Knox Leon and a girl named Vivienne Marcheline. A few other websites are claiming she gave birth to two girls. Many other magazines have jumped on board announcing the birth, but even more are holding off, after the Entertainment Tonight debacle last month.

First thing’s first: As far as we know, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s twins have not made a break for it just yet. Nadine Bauer, the spokeswoman for Fondation Lenval, Jolie’s five-star seaside hospital, told E! News Saturday night that any official word on the birth would be posted on the facility’s website.

That appears to shoot down two reports claiming les bébés had been liberated earlier today. Saturday started off innocently enough, with the general consensus that Jolie-Pitts 5 and 6 were due to arrive via C-section this Tuesday. But then In Touch Weekly reported that twin girls arrived around 7 p.m., citing an unnamed hospital source. After which, Bauer was quoted in various outlets, including Us Weekly, Extra and OK!, that ITW had “wrong information.”

But judging that response semantically, it could be that the birth simply didn’t occur, that it took place at a different time or that it didn’t involve two girls—those latter storylines were covered by a local newspaper.

Apparently in an earlier incarnation of that story, though, the newspaper had some strikingly different information. According to the Agence France Press wire service, Nice-Matin initially reported Jolie and Pitt are now the parents of another daughter and a son, even going so far as to give the little ones’ names, Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline, and weights.

[From E! News]

So Angelina may or may not have had babies. And they may or may not be girls or boys. If she didn’t have them… she is still pregnant. Really, the story here is that everything is still up in the air. Angelina was widely reported to be scheduled for a C-section on Tuesday. It would make sense for the hospital to circulate a later date if they wanted to throw the press off. We’ll keep you updated and let you know if Brangelina #5 and #6 have indeed entered the world in all their sparkling glory.

Brad and Angelina on 1/27/08 when her pregnancy was just a rumor. Credit: PRPhotos
In the $6 million deal with People Magazine for the first photos of her rarefied twins, Jennifer Lopez reportedly stipulated that People never refer to her as “J. Lo” again.

The first photos of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s twins could fetch nearly three times the amount paid for J.Lo’s babies Max and Emme. And like Lopez, Brad and Angelina also have a moniker they’d like to shed in the deal. TMZ claims that bidding for the first photos of the fifth and sixth editions to the Brangelina clan has reached the astronomical price of $16 million. Angelina doesn’t want to put up with the blended name for her relationship any more and is throwing that into whichever contract she signs. She supposedly hates the nickname “Brangelina” and will strike it forevermore from the magazine that buys the rights to those coveted first photos:

A source in the know tells TMZ that one of the conditions of getting the J-P twins’ first pictures is that the winning mag is forbidden from using “Brangelina.” Multiple sources tell us the couple hates the moniker — but no one more than Angelina.

BTW — the bidding is now at $16 million. Take that Levi Alves McConaughey.

[From TMZ]

$16 million for photos of babies who are going to be stalked and photographed for the rest of their lives? At least it will probably all go to charity. It hardly seems worth it for the magazine it if you think about how much the babies are going to change in a few months. It’s also doubtful that whichever magazine(s) they’re featured in will sell well enough to justify that exorbitant amount. The glossies are said to be shelling out insane amounts of cash for baby and wedding photos in order to forge valuable relationships with the celebrities, not to necessarily recoup their investment in one issue.

I always thought Brangelina had a nice kind of ring to it and am surprised that it bugs Angelina so much. It’s fallen out of fashion recently, but we occasionally rely on it to write titles that are short enough to fit on our homepage. It’s kind of amusing that the name pisses Angelina off and now I want to use it more. It’s like a dumb nickname for the prom queen that seems benign but bugs the sh*t out of her. Of course you’re going to use it to refer to her behind her back whenever possible.

Though they haven’t even been born yet, the mayor of Nice, France is already bestowing quite a bit of praise on Brangelina’s upcoming double bundles of joy. He’s praised them quite a bit, and has announced that the children will be honorary citizens of Nice for the rest of their lives. They’ll also have the opportunity to apply for French citizenship when they turn 18.

They’ll always have Nice. 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.

“That is for the citizens of Nice a very great honor 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 5 years after age 11.

“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 honor,” Estrosi said. He was waiting eagerly to extend his congratulations on behalf of all the city’s residents.

[From the Huffington Post]

That’s really sweet. Somehow the mayor sounds so into it, I imagine him giving his speech with little squeals of delight or something. Angelina is expected to give birth in the next couple of weeks, but no one can really narrow it down beyond that. With twins it’s very rare to go full term, but her doctor has said she has a ways to go.

Brad has been bringing their children to visit her – in batches, since there’s a lot of them. Between all of their traveling, it seems like the whole bunch of them would be better off getting some kind of all-encompassing citizenship. I realize that doesn’t exist, but – as with most things - I’m pretty sure everyone is willing to make an exception for the Brangelinas.

Here’s what I’m told is Brad Pitt looking through the window at Lenval hospital on July 2nd. Header of the couple at the Changeling premiere in Cannes on May 20th. Images thanks to WENN.

Update: This story is false, according to reps for the couple.

After owning their New Orleans home for a little over two years, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have sold it, according to Ted Casablanca from E!. Who says it’s a bad time for real estate? The news is a little surprising, considering the homes Brad’s been helping build in the Lower 9th Ward with the Make It Right project - and his often mentioned love of the city. Last year he noted:

“I can’t describe why were allowed to live a more normal life (in New Orleans).”

The thing he misses the most, he said, is bicycling through the streets of New Orleans 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.”

Pitt visited New Orleans in the early 1990s during the filming of “Interview with a Vampire” and took up semi-permanent residence early this year while filming “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.” He said that he has been impressed with the city’s never-say-die post-Katrina spirit, especially in the hardest hit areas.

“For me, first as a tourist, it’s the most unique city that we have in the States,” he said. “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.”

[From The Times-Picayune]

I guess not so much. Considering how much the entire Jolie-Pitt clan supposedly loved New Orleans – and Brad’s comment that it’s “the most unique city that we have in the States,” the sale of their home seems to be further evidence that the family will probably continue to live overseas for the near future.

The couple has been just as plagued by paparazzi in their French town of Correns, where they’re leasing a home. However it appears the locals have generally taken to the couple. According to Reuters, you get a free glass of pastis if you can get a ridiculous Brangelina story published. I guess they’re trying to keep the paparazzi on their toes. Or annoy the crap out of them.

Here are Brad Pitt and Bill Clinton breaking ground on the Make it Right project in New Orleans in March. Images thanks to Splash.

Update: This story is false, according to reps for the couple.

Angelina Jolie is hoping to have a natural delivery for the upcoming birth of her twins. According to an “insider” (gotta love those anonymous, chatty insiders) Angelina was planning on a natural birth with 2-year-old daughter Shiloh and was disappointed when she had to have a C-section instead. This time Angie’s really hoping to go the natural route – twice.

Amid swirling reports that Angelina Jolie is on bed-rest and close to giving birth — so close, that the French media jumped the gun and announced the actress had already delivered her twins last week — the heavily pregnant actress has begun telling friends that she hopes to give birth naturally to her twin girls.

“She prepared for a natural child birth for Shiloh and was very disappointed when her doctors told her she would have to undergo a Cesarean section,” a source close to Angelina tells OK!. “She is praying everything will go her way and she will be able to enjoy a natural birth.”

[From OK! Magazine]

According to OK! Brad and Angie are quasi-fanatical about the safety of their babies. Luckily they don’t sound like they’re J-Lo crazy, and aren’t requiring surgical masks and hand sanitizer dispensers be installed around their home. But they do have a plethora of security, along with a midwife and two private nurses. The source also says there’s no way Angelina will be able to go full term with the babies.

The most important thing to Angie, however is to protect her babies. The actress and her partner Brad Pitt are taking every pre-caution to ensure a safe delivery, reserving a private birthing room at Le Centre Hospitalier Princesse Grace in Monaco, and hiring a midwife and two French nurses who are currently staying with her at Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen’s compound in St.-Jean-Cap-Ferrat.

“Whether Angelina experiences natural childbirth or has a scheduled C-section, she will not go to full term with the twins,” the source says. “She’s been told to expect the babies early, and that was the reason she and Brad went early to France — so they would be ready for their babies whenever they decide to make their appearance.”

[From OK! Magazine]

It sounds like they’re putting in the expected amount of planning for massive celebrity babies. Twins seem to be all the rage right now. Julia Robert, Jennifer Lopez, and now Angelina. I bet she ordered them that way; gotta stay trendy.

Here’s Angelina at the “Kung Fu Panda” Photocall in Cannes on May 15th. Images thanks to PR Photos.

I didn’t learn this until recently, but it is legally possible for one adult to adopt another adult. There are all sorts of reasons people do this: to will rent-controlled apartments, to circumvent laws, etc. But it happens. As such, I will be petitioning Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie to adopt me. We already know they’re into adoption. We know they like to adopt in unconventional ways – no common American babies for them. What would cause more of a stir than adopting an adult? Nothing. And I am now damn sure they’ve got the money. And compared to what they’re spending on their other kids, I am a relative bargain.

Brad and Angie have set aside $20 million for the birthing expenses of their twins, according to Life & Style.

Angelina Jolie had been keeping a low profile in recent weeks. But on May 15, after the premiere of her new animated movie, Kung Fu Panda, at the Cannes Film Festival in France, she looked thrilled to be out in public — and showing off her pregnancy. “She seemed so happy,” says an onlooker. “She let Jack Black and Dustin Hoffman [her co-stars] hug her belly.” And as Angie schmoozed with other celebrities, Brad Pitt was by her side. “She looked so comforted by his affection,” says the onlooker. “She was always smiling.”

As her due date nears, Angelina, 32, finally seems eager to talk about her babies. And she and Brad, 44, are clearly willing to do — and spend — anything to bring them into the world secure and healthy. In fact, insiders estimate Brad and Angie will spend at least $20 million in France on security, medical costs and shelter for their growing brood.

“Brad and Angelina love all their children and will do everything to protect them and keep them healthy,” says an insider. “Money is no object when it comes to the kids.” That’s true when it comes to the twins as well. “They can drop thousands of dollars on them in a day,” says the insider. “They’d do anything for them.”

[From Life & Style]

The sample breakdown is pretty damn impressive too. I know they’re worth an insane amount of money, but it still boggles my mind that anyone can go through this kind of cash.

* $332,000 is going toward a helicopter, which remains on call for when Jolie goes into labor
* $3.3 million is the cost for the Florentine-style villa in the French Riviera that the couple reportedly rents
* Nearly $100,000 goes to the nine cars the couple is renting.

[From the Scoop]

I’m sure a large amount of their money goes to security – and one would think the nine cars are a part of that. Can you imagine having a helicopter on call for your birth? At this point, why not just have a hospital built next to your house? I mean they’re spending so much as it is. That’s the only thing more dramatic than a helicopter.

Life & Style points out how happy Angelina has seemed in the last few weeks, and that’s very true. It’s easy to forget she used to be such a dark character. She’s been beaming from ear to ear, despite carrying around 2 fetuses that look bigger than she does. At $10 million a kid, those are two lucky babies.

Here’s Brad and Angelina at the ‘Kung Fu Panda’ premiere in Cannes on May 15th. Images thanks to WENN.

I think we all see those screaming kids in airplanes/supermarkets/movie theatres and think ‘I shouldn’t have kids’. I know I do, except it’s usually my kids doing the screaming. George Clooney, the man with the anti-marriage shrine in his house, says he is put off babies by none other than the Jolie-Pitt clan.

He said: “Even one kid running around my villa makes me nervous, so I’m definitely not a candidate for father of the year!

“If I need to surround myself with children and feel like I have this big extended family, I can always call Brad and Angie and ask them to stay with me, just to remind me why I’m so happy without.”

Clooney, 46, also said he is unlikely to invite the celebrity couple to stay in his villa on Italy’s Lake Como this summer because he doesn’t have the room to accommodate their ever-expanding brood.

He added to Britain’s Heat magazine: “I really don’t have enough space for all their children. Also, Brad and Angelina need a security deal of about 20 guys wearing dark suits and carrying walkie-talkies, and that tends to attract attention.”

Melbourne Herald Sun

While the rest of us say ‘oh, look at those cuties (how much does Shiloh look like the Gerber baby?) he says ‘Please, just don’t touch anything!’

I’m kind of on George’s side here. I think just about anyone is intimidated by the idea of 5-6 kids. Sure, when they’re small you can have nannies to do a lot of the dirty work (even the most devoted parent has no enthusiasm for poopy nappies) but have Brad and Angelina considered what it is going to be like to have six hormonal teenagers hanging about the house? I mean, every teen on earth harbors resentment towards their parents, can you imagine six kids all directing that at you?

Brad and Angelina are expecting another baby, or maybe two.