Fox News’ Pop Tarts talked to Brad Pitt at the premiere of Inglourious Basterds, and they’ve just got around to writing up his comments now. Brad doesn’t really come across as some brilliant artist as he pontificates on the joys of “kicking ass”. He also claims that after this role, he walks with “a little more swagger”. Brad jokes about the paparazzi, but the sarcasm is sort of lost and I took him seriously for a second when he started in about how the paparazzi are “kind, generous” people. Pop Tarts also got Diane Kruger and Quentin Tarantino to talk about the history of that WWII period, and whether present-day Germany still feels it:

Brad Pitt may have turned into a humanitarian hottie since hooking up with Angelina Jolie, however the star of Quentin Tarantino’s WWII flick “Inglourious Basterds” still gets a kick of it kicking others. Literally.

“I just like kicking ass, period. Didn’t have to be Nazi, I can beat any ass. Any ass I like kicking. I just kick it,” Pitt enthused at last week’s Hollywood premiere, adding that since playing an American commando out to demoralize the Nazi regime he has become “a little tougher” and now walks with “a little more swagger”.

But oddly enough, the pesky paps actually aren’t on Pitt’s hit list.

“Paparazzi are my friends, they take good care of me,” he said with a smile. “They are really kind and generous and thoughtful people who make the world a better place.”

On a somewhat more serious note, Pitt’s German-raised co-star Diane Kruger said that educational procedures have been put in place to avoid any more Hitleresque dynasties from coming to fruition, although she feels no guilt over the historic tragedy.

“Every kid has to go to a concentration camp and it’s definitely part of making sure it never happens again,” Kruger said. “It’s been 60 years, so my generation or younger, we really don’t have any reference or any guilt feelings in that sense to our ancestors. It’s funny because it’s come up so much, how is Germany going to react? But the truth is, we don’t like to hang on to dear old Adolf any more than the rest of the world and if anything, we would have liked to kill him ourselves.”

In fact, Tarantino said that so far it’s the Germans who have given the flick the warmest reception.

“They already love the piece because we made it there. With the possible exception of Jews, if there’s anybody that’s had fantasies of bringing down the 3rd Reich, it’s the last few generations of Germans that have had to live under this shadow,” Tarantino told Tarts. “A lot of the German actors in my movie, this isn’t the first time they’ve put on Nazi uniforms, it’s just this thing that hovers over them culturally. They’ve thought about it a lot so when they read the script and when they see the movie, they’re like ‘hell yeah!’”

[From Fox News]

I found Diane’s comments the most interesting. There really aren’t that many German artists who have reached a certain level of success in America, so I think we Americans look at someone like Diane and think “If she says it’s okay, it’s probably okay.” And really, why would present-day Germany be upset with Tarantino and the film? He brought the film production to Germany, he hired a ton of German actors and extras, and he many Germans are probably happy with the added industry. There are still many questions about how Taratnino treated the era as far as historical accuracy - but I tend to think that Tarantino wasn’t really trying to make a historial film, only a bloody, kick-ass revenge film that happened to be set during WWII.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are shown at the Inglourious Basterds premiere on 8/10/09. Credit: WENN.com

These are just a few pieces of vaguely Brangelina-related news. First up, Quentin Tarantino was interviewed recently, and of course he was asked about his Inglourious Basterds star, Brad Pitt. Quentin was all compliments, saying, “What’s really cool about Brad right now is that the pretty boy is gone. He’s a man now. He can bear the weight. Brad is at the zenith of his iconicness.” While I’m not sure about the whole “zenith of his iconicness” stuff, I do agree that Brad no longer carries that “pretty boy” trophy. He’s aged the past few years, and I believe he’s grown tremendously as a man and as an actor. He’s attractive in the way a 45-year-old man with crow’s feet, a graying goatee and six kids is attractive.

Apparently, Brad is still attractive enough for his Basterds costar Diane Kruger to be lusting after him. Diane told The Sun that in her second film with Brad (the first being Troy), she still didn’t get any sex scenes with him, and she was totally disappointed. But Diane did joke, “I did get tortured by him which I guess is the next best thing when it comes to someone like Brad Pitt. Everyone has their tastes and preferences but I’m sure lots of girls wouldn’t say no to that.” Ooohhh… so he tortures her in the film, does he? That’s interesting. I’m completely in the dark about the plot of this film, so any news is interesting to me.

In one last piece of news, it seems Brad and Angelina had an adults-only date night on Saturday, when they enjoyed a “romantic dinner” at Vincenti in Brentwood. Apparently, Brad had just flown back into Los Angeles that day, after spending Friday in New Orleans, where he checked on the progress of the Make It Right Nola homes. Brad brought along sons Maddox and Pax, and Friday night the three boys went to a Kaiser Chiefs and Green Day concert. Kaiser Chiefs’ Nick Hodgson told Spinner, “Brad Pitt was there! It was totally cool. We met Brad Pitt. He had his kids with him… [There were] a couple security and that, but he was just sat in the normal seats. We had a photograph taken just like regular nerds… We had the camera set to video so we had to call him back. He was cool. It’s not the first time [that's happened].” I bet the concert was a boys-only birthday present for Maddox. Who knew that Maddox liked Green Day? I would have figured him for Nine Inch Nails.

Here’s Brad Pitt, Quentin Tarantino, and Diane Kruger attending the premiere of “Inglorious Basterds” in Berlin on July 28th. Images thanks to Fame Pictures .

Forgive the huge amount of photographs, but I took these pictures! I had the thrill of photographing the red carpet at the Inglourious Basterds premiere tonight in Berlin. Thanks to the people who didn’t give me a hard time about getting a press pass, and a ladder that was there, I was able to get these photos. This was such a thrill for me after missing Pitt’s last premiere in Berlin in January while I was on vacation in Florida. Brad took time to sign autographs and chat with elated fans tonight. He told Pro Sieben that he was happy to be in Berlin in the summer for once and that he has many friends here. He also let it drop that he’d “already hit the bars.” (Or “bar,” I should have videotaped it as I don’t remember what he said exactly, but that’s pretty close.) He didn’t seem inebriated at all and came across as perfectly sober while making the rest of us, or at least me, a little giddy in his presence. (I was probably the only photographer screaming with the fans in delight, and while I tried to keep it down I just couldn’t contain myself.)

Also shown at the premiere are boxing great Wladimir Klitschko, director Quentin Tarantino, and Brad’s co-stars Diane Kruger and Til Schweiger. Diane looked lovely in a little neutral-colored dress. It was Brad who stole the show, though, just by showing up.

Update: The video from Pro Seiben is not yet on their website, but reader Kay e-mailed me to say that Brad might have just been using the expression “I’ve already hit the bar” to say that he was tired. It was loud and I couldn’t hear the question, so she’s probably right.

Here are links to German-language video reports on the premiere.

ZDF’s coverage: (Brad appears around 2:20 into the video. He says he has good friends here and that Berlin has great architecture and he feels comfortable here. He also says he had a lot of fun filming with Tarantino.)

Bild.de’s video of Brad at the premiere. (Brad comes in around 1:10 in and compliments Tarantino and says he enjoyed working with him.)

Raw video of Brad signing autographs, thanks to the Berliner Morgenpost.

RTL’s report. When asked why he’s the top celebrity in the world, Brad replies “I have been working at it for about 20 years.” He also tells the interviewer that “there’s always hope” to make it big. A drunk Til Schweiger makes a joke at the after party that he’s going to have sex with Brad later. That guy is really growing on me. Till says (roughly translated) “We will probably make love and try some new things.” In German, “Wir werden uns wahrscheinlich so ein bisschen lieb haben und irgendwelche neue Praktiken ausprobieren.”
DSDS Videos: alle Castings, Recalls und Mottoshows bei Clipfish.de

[love to my husband for finding these videos and helping translate]

A few months ago, I made an error of judgment and posted a speculative article about whether Colin Farrell was Minnie Driver’s secret baby daddy. The story was based on a paparazzi video of a protective Colin yelling at photographers taking pictures of his son while he was on the beach with heavily pregnant Minnie. It turned out that Colin was also at the beach with his girlfriend that day, an author named Emma Forrest who just happens to be one of Minnie’s best friends. I issued a retraction a few hours after the story was published, but the damage was done - it got picked up by news outlets and became a rumor. A new writer on the site even submitted the story based on other gossip sources reporting it. (It’s also of course possible that other outlets jumped to the same conclusion that I did based on that video, but I felt somewhat responsible.)

This kind of thing happens with the news constantly in this era of quick typing and publishing. In my case I like to justify that it was an honest mistake and was at least based on some slim amount of evidence. Maybe Star Magazine’s writers and editors tell themselves the same thing when they run salacious cover stories every week, like the one about Angelina being jealous of Brad Pitt’s supposed on-set flirtation with lovely German actress Diane Kruger, 32.

My husband has been reading in the German press that Pitt is rumored to be angering Jolie by getting unduly close to Kruger on the set of Inglourious Basterds, which is currently filming in Germany. The story originated in Star Magazine, though, and like a lot of the crap in that rag it seems like complete BS to me. Kruger has a longterm boyfriend, actor Joshua Jackson, with whom she seems very much in love. She has worked with Pitt before though, on the epic Troy, and to Star that means they’re familiar with each other and barely resisting their urge to jump into bed together. This would be good gossip - if it were true:

What goes around comes around! Hot on the heels of Angelina Jolie’s stunning admission that she fell in love with Brad Pitt on the set of Mr. & Mrs. Smith while he was still married to Jennifer Aniston, Star has learned that Angie is burning up with jealousy over Brad’s pretty new co-star. And Brad hasn’t exactly been acting like a father of six in a committed relationship while whooping it up in Berlin!

Angie, 33, is living, sources say, over Brad’s recent freewheeling behavior with the happily single costars and director of his latest movie, Inglorourious Basterds. But what’s really sending Angie over the edge is the blatant flirtation between him and his gorgeous leading lady, German actress Diane Kruger.

“Angie loves Brad and wants to trust him, but she also knows that their own love blossomed while working on a movie together,” and insider tells Star. “Now she’s convinced that Diane has a crush on Brad, and she’s scared something could happen.” And even though Diana and boyfriend Joshua Jackson are trying to make a long-distance relationship work, Joshua recently confessed to Star, “I don’t know that we’re getting married.”

Angelina’s instincts first kicked into high gear in September when Brad and divorcée Diane both attended an intimate cast dinner without her in Berlin. “They went through several bottles of wine,” Mimmo Bianco, manager of Italian restaurant Al Contadino Sotto le Stelle tells Star. “It was obvious he was having a great time.”

And that’s exactly what makes Angelina so nervous. Brad shared a connection with beautiful blonde Diane when she played Helen in his 2004 epic, Troy. “I have lots of scenes with him,” Diane gushed to a German newspaper about working together again. “Troy was my first international film, and I was still married back then. I’m excited to work with Brad.”

Diane made sure Brad knew just how excited she was during their night out, says a source. “She kept putting her arm around Brad’s neck to whisper something in his ear because it was so loud. He was clearly charmed by her, and Diane definitely looks smitten. She’s thrilled to be around him again.”

[From Star Magazine, print edition, November 11, 2008 - online version is slightly different]

There’s not much more in that article to support any relationship between Pitt and Kruger and I would bet that the part about her whispering to him is either made up or based on her having to yell something in his ear when the party got too loud. That was a cast party where everyone got to know each other and is hardly enough to base a supposed flirtation on. That seems to be enough for Star, though. Unfortunately this story is now all over the German press and a lot of people are believing it.

Some of you have accurately pointed out that we run these salacious stories without questioning them when they’re about Jennifer Aniston, but not when they’re about Brad and Angelina. This is true, but we have different authors here with different opinions about the celebrities, and we all have different styles. There are going to be stories we don’t all agree on, and that’s is both a fun and frustrating aspect of having a blog with many writers. We’re sure you’ll let us know when you think we’re not being fair, and we’ll do our best to take it into account.

Here are photos of Diane Kruger and Joshua Jackson looking very much in love. They’re all from earlier this year.

Credit: Fame Pictures

Brad Pitt out at dinner last night with his castmates. Credit: WENN
The German press is closely following Brad Pitt’s every move, but he has only stepped out alone since arriving in Berlin Tuesday afternoon with his family. Angelina and the kids are probably holed up in that giant house.

Pitt went to the doctor yesterday - it looked semi-urgent, but he went out afterwards
Brad Pitt went to an orthopedic doctor in Berlin’s Charlottenburg district yesterday. He was seen holding a large envelope on his way in which was presumed to have been X-Rays. It was thought to be urgent as he interrupted a meeting with Quentin Tarantino to go to the doctor, where he was for about a half an hour. Maybe he was just hanging out with Tarantino though and there was an opening at the doctor’s office so he took it. [Details from German language Bild.de, translated by my husband]

Pitt went out to dinner with director Tarantino and castmates, left at 2:00 am
Pitt went out to dinner last night at the Italian restaurant Vino e Cucina in Berlin-Mitte, or central Berlin, with Quentin Tarantino and his castmates from the film Inglorious Bastards. The future co-workers were there for several hours and Pitt didn’t emerge until 2:00 am, looking slightly tipsy, according to reports. He just looked tired to me. Also at dinner were Diane Kruger, Christian Berkel, Daniel Brühl, Michael Fassbender, Gedeon Burkhard, and Till Schweiger, who is often called “The German Brad Pitt.” (And here’s why - the guy is hot!) [Details from German language pressporte.de, translated by my husband]

Rent on their estate is €30,000 Euro a month, around $44,000 USD
The monthly rent on the Palais Parkschloss is said to be €30,000 Euro, which works out to 10 Euro a square meter, which is average for rental rates in desirable areas of Berlin. Limousines were seen entering their compound many times today and a few curious onlookers drove by. There wasn’t much to see though. The Palais was built in 1907 and the main mansion has 20 rooms. As we reported yesterday, the estate is 130,000 square feet, with three mansions totaling 30,000 square feet of living space.

German reaction to ‘Brangelina Fever’ is muted
Just about everyone knows where the Jolie-Pitts are staying, it’s in all the papers and is big news, but they’re not really flocking there except for the paparazzi. Germans are not a celebrity-obsessed culture in general, and tend to be pretty low-key about this sort of thing. They don’t make a big deal out of things or hype it like the US media is apt to do. Here’s a German-language video from Stern.de that only shows the house and footage of the last time they were in Berlin in the spring of 2006. The people on the street interviewed say things like ‘It doesn’t matter [that Brad and Angelina are here],’ and ‘Even if you got to see them, you don’t know them.’ I have a four year old in Berlin and he’s visited Bambooland and Aquadom, the two places the family is shown during their 2006 visit, multiple times.

Brad Pitt is shown out to dinner last night and this morning at the studio in Potsdam. Also shown are Quentin Tarantino, Christian Berkel, Diane Kruger, Daniel Brühl, Gedeon Burkhard, and Til Schweiger. Credit: WENN