Angelina Jolie on The Huffington Post

Angelina And Brad's Deal With People Mag: Baby Photos For Positive Coverage

2008-11-21T00:03:03Z

LOS ANGELES - When Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt negotiated with People and other celebrity magazines this summer for photos of their newborn twins and an interview, the stars were seeking more than the estimated $14 million they received from the deal. They also wanted a hefty slice of journalistic input -- a promise that the winning magazine's coverage would be positive, not merely in that instance but into the future.

According to the deal offered by Ms. Jolie, the winning magazine was obliged to offer coverage that would not reflect negatively on her or her family, according to two people with knowledge of the bidding who were granted anonymity because the talks were confidential. The deal also asked for an "editorial plan" providing a road map of the layout, these people say.

Angelina On Breastfeeding Twins: "Harder Than It Looks" (VIDEO)

2008-11-18T17:59:52Z

While in London to promote "Changeling" Angelina talked to a morning show GMTV about the challenges of breastfeeding twins Knox and Vivienne, born in July. She said she weaned them at three-months old, adding that Brad and she had brought them to London for the night.

"It's very hard. You look at the books and you see that there's this football hold. You think, 'Ah, if anybody can do that, I can do that. And it's a lot harder than it looks in the books. I did that a few times. I would take turns. It just takes a long time."

Jolie also talks about how she doesn't go out much, doesn't read press about herself, got pregnant while filming, and doesn't plan to marry. (See Jolie cry over her mom, also while in London, here)

Breastfeeding conversation starts 1:30 in.

WATCH:

Angelina Cries Talking About Late Mother (VIDEO)

2008-11-18T08:58:33Z

Actress Angelina Jolie welled up with tears as she talked about her late mother at a press conference for her new film 'Changeling' in London on Monday, even cursing as she welled up (the word "fuck" is muted in the video below). Her mom Marcheline died of cancer early last year.

'We used to call her Marshmallow, as a joke, because she was just the softest, most gentle woman in the world.

'She was really sweet and was never angry - she couldn't swear to save her life. But when it came to her kids, she was really fierce and so this (film) is very much her, her story.

'She was the woman I related to, who had that elegance and strength for knowing what was right.'

WATCH:

Angelina Jolie Hopes To 'Fade Away,' Be A Grandma

2008-11-13T23:18:17Z

With six children at home, Angelina Jolie says her days as an actress are numbered.

"I don't plan to keep acting very long," she tells the BBC. "I'm ready to do a few things now and fade away and get ready to be a grandma one day."

Jolie, 33, currently starring in The Changeling, says she plans to "work for a few months" in February, then take a year off.

Jennifer Aniston On Oprah (VIDEO)

2008-11-13T16:38:55Z

As reported yesterday by People magazine, Jennifer Aniston appeared on Oprah Thursday to promote her Christmas film "Marley & Me," but first talked about her Vogue interview in which she called Angelina Jolie's comments about the genesis of her relationship with Aniston's then-husband Brad Pitt "uncool." She also talked about Brad, her pride for him, and her feelings on their movies coming out the same day (his is "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button).

Also on the show, but not in the clip below, Aniston talked about her dogs (who skyped in on video conference from California) and her election night with David and Courteney Cox Arquette, for which she made an Obama-icing-ed cake.

WATCH:

Joyce McFadden: The Other Woman Can't Break Up Your Marriage. It's Impossible.

2008-11-13T14:00:00Z

If you have the misfortune to be heterosexual, as many of us do, you have enough on your plate just trying to bridge the divide on how differently men and women go about all things sexual. Women don't need the extra headache of watching their backs with their own gender. But when it comes to affairs, the focus often shifts from The Marriage to The Other Woman.

This morning I turned on the Early Show just in time to hear the breaking news that there was a "Battle Over Brad" (!) and that in Vogue "Jennifer Aniston breaks her silence and blasts Angelina Jolie for breaking up her marriage."

The segment went on to pull up quotes from the article in which Aniston didn't appear to use that language at all. She seemed to express more of a distaste for the way Jolie handled it rather than accusing her of husband stealing.

So this is the problem I have with CBS: it took the sexist route. You never hear people say The Other Man stole someone's wife, and men are never referred to as home wreckers. But because the appeal of a catfight is apparently news worthy, CBS pit woman against woman and obfuscated the realities of affairs which are these:

No woman can steal another woman's man, and no woman has the power to break up a marriage. It's always a decision the husband makes, a choice to step deeper into his marriage, or to step further outside it. Women aren't omnipotent sirens who lure poor helpless men, and this is true even of women who might have predatory leanings.

None of us has control over anybody -- which is usually a big fat drag, as anyone who's ever tried to change someone knows, but in this case it's a tremendous relief because it means we only have to worry about our couple -- those outside it don't need our attention because ultimately, they aren't the threat.

Obviously whoever participates in an affair is accountable for their actions, but that's not the same thing as being accountable for the end of a marriage.

If a husband is having an affair, it's the husband who threatens the break up the marriage. If a wife is having an affair, it's the wife.

Jennifer Aniston Talks To Oprah About Angelina "Uncool" Comments, Brad

2008-11-12T21:33:24Z

In a new interview with Oprah Winfrey Wednesday, Jennifer Aniston continues to open up about her love life - past and present.

When asked about her candid interview with Vogue, and it's cover line calling Angelina Jolie's past behavior "really uncool," Aniston says she was merely responding to the reporter's question. "I basically just answered it as honestly as I could," Aniston says on The Oprah Winfrey Show, airing Thursday.

The actress has kinder words for ex-husband Brad Pitt, saying, "He's done some amazing things in the last couple of years. So I just think he's doing great."

Brad Balfour: Clint Eastwood As a Changeling

2008-11-12T12:22:47Z

An avowed Republican in Hollywood is nearly as rare as the giant Komodo Dragon -- and with the spiteful bite of one as well. But with Barack Obama's victory, they've made themselves pretty scarce since election day.

Hell, even a straight-shooting, no bullshitter like actor/director Clint Eastwood -- long known as a registered Republican who supported Richard Nixon in 1968, and who has made other forays into politics (he won a term as mayor of Carmel in 1986; was on the the California State Park and Recreation Commission from 2001 to 2008 and is on the California Film Commission) -- distanced himself from the Republicans before this election. At a recent press conference that Eastwood gave at this year's New York Film Festival -- where Changeling, his latest directorial effort premiered -- it was uncanny how even he wanted to clarify his position away from them.

Of course, that wasn't the only interesting thing he had to say about himself and his film, so with a little juggling and a few delays, here are the comments from this 78-year-old grand master -- the man who defined so many cinematic archetypes from the hard-boiled, hardened cop (Dirty Harry) to the laconic gunslinger with a heart (the Man With No Name from Sergio Leone westerns). This Oscar-winning director (Unforgiven) and longtime actor is also a jazz musician and composer as well.

Given that Changeling -- starring Angelina Jolie as a mother searching for her nine-year son Walter who is then given the wrong kid by corrupt L.A. police officials and is then carted off to the looney bin when she protests -- the film has a very current political tenor. Especially since it deals with out of control authorities drunk on their own power, it makes Eastwood's remarks particularly telling.

Q: As a noted Republican, former elected official, and supporter of John McCain, what are your thoughts on the election?

CE: My mortgage just went down the tube [laughs]. I haven't been very active in politics. Yes, I started out as a Republican in 1951, when I was a young 21-year-old in the army, and I wanted to vote for Dwight Eisenhower, because he, like all politicians, was promising something, and he promised to go to Korea and end the Korean War.

But the Republican Party, as [with] the Democratic Party, have changed dramatically since the 1950s, and so I've drifted towards a more libertarian point of view. It never really got going as a party, but just the idea of, "Let's leave everybody alone, and not over-regulate," was very appealing to a guy like myself who came up in the 1930s and watched my parents struggle through the Depression. And nowadays of course, everybody's promising everything because that's the only way you can get elected. It's kind of perverted politics, as far as I'm concerned.

Whether Mr. McCain or Mr. Obama... what ever happens there, who knows... there are promises going on there too of what people will do and what people won't do, and it's very confusing. But yeah, my wife and I are both Libertarian; she was a Democrat and I was a Republican, and we both met in the middle somewhere.

Q: Both this film and Million Dollar Baby deal with female protagonists rebelling against a very male-dominated society. Prior to this, your earlier films were involved with very male-centric cinematic universes. So what triggered this change in adopting the female perspective?

CE: It just got very feminine in here [laughs]. I know I've done a lot of action films in my early days, but I've always been curious about these stories. I remember doing Bridges of Madison County some years back, and that was a story written from a man's point of view. The book was a story of a guy who's a photographer, and he drifts across the country, and he meets a war-bride, and the writer in that case took the woman's point of view, so the screenwriter actually had a better take on it than the novelist.

But I don't know, every story has its demands, and I think women have had a much more uphill battle than men had, so it becomes a more dramatic situation. It's like Million Dollar Baby, with a woman who's destitute, and broke, and wants to make something of herself in the world.

Q: There are moments in the film that have a very powerful, contemporary resonance, almost as if, while you're talking about a specific case from 1928, these issues and themes have a very strong pertinence today, especially concerning corruption, and the way the powerful justify the use of corruption.

CE: Yeah, well there's definitely a correlation to corruption of today, as it was then. And it's the egos of the police department, and they can't be wrong, and we see that happen nowadays very often, and if you can make that connection to what's happening today, then that's a good thing. At the same time, you don't want to leave the vernacular and the character of that time.

Q: Why did you want to turn the actual historical incident into a film?

CE: I didn't know too much about the incident, and was surprised that I hadn't heard about it because it was such an unusual event. Historically, Los Angeles has had some crazy situations, but this one was very unusual.

I didn't know anything about it until I read the script, but the writer [J. Michael Straczynski] did a very interesting thing: he took all of the clips from the Los Angeles Times and The Herald -- newspapers of that day -- and pinned them on the back of every page [of the script]. It came to life as a very horrible time, and he did a very interesting thing by taking the story of a woman, as opposed to the story of a crime.

Q: The period detail was very impressive in Changeling -- in particular, the use of vernacular which captured the feel of the way people lived in the 1920s. How did you accomplish this?

CE: The writer had a pretty good take on it. I was born in 1930, and since I was raised through the '30s, the vernacular is still fresh in my brain... somewhat [laughs]. But anyway, I guess I can remember my parents were very young when I was growing up, and you listen to it, and you know what people said then, and how they were much different from what they are now.

To do a 1928 film in Los Angeles, or any city really, but especially Los Angeles because it's changed so much over the years and wasn't a very centralized or big city, compared to New York... Things have changed a lot. So to go back and do that is very difficult, and it takes a lot of scouting around, and good art direction.

Q: Did you shoot all of the exteriors in Los Angeles?

CE: Yeah, we shot everything there. And we found neighborhoods that were still antique, and we antiqued them some more. We'd go into a neighborhood that's rundown and we'd ask people if we could use their neighborhood, and then we'd fix their house, and make it look like a new house that's from 1928.

Q: The character played by John Malkovich -- the crusading, muckraking preacher -- was intriguing. Was he based on an actual historical figure or is he an amalgamation of several people?

CE: These figures all existed. It's actually a true story. Detective Ybarra [Michael Kelly], he existed; Malkovich was a Presbyterian minister [Rev. Gustav Briegleb] who had a church down by the Coliseum in Los Angeles -- that church is no longer there -- but he was very much of an activist, and he had a radio show that he broadcast. He loved high-profile cases, and he had a big deal against the LAPD, so he had quite a few cases that he did this with.

And when the Christine Collins case became very high-profile he jumped in, and became very helpful in encouraging her, because women at that particular time -- they were much more reticent about being outspoken, so you can imagine how uphill it was against a predominantly male police department and political establishment.

Q: Because of the sensational aspects of the story, how did you avoid melodrama?

CE: Los Angeles was sort of glamorized years ago in film noir, but sometimes reality is much more interesting than fiction, and the melodrama just comes out of the reality of the situation. It sort of harkens back to films that we grew up with -- films like Gaslight where people are trying to bend your [woman's] mind, and tell you things that aren't really as they are.

And that's exactly what the LAPD tried to do with Christine Collins. They convinced her to the point where they had pictures of her sitting there smiling with this young child that doesn't look anything like her child. And then they put her in the psychopathic ward just because they figured they'd get her out of the way. They didn't have the information age that we do now with TV and the Internet, so one can't imagine how many cases were swept under the table.

Q: What were some of the major changes between the story we see onscreen and the real story?

CE: The story you see onscreen is the real story, but the writer J. Michael Straczynski took it and concentrated on the woman's point of view, and what happened to her. There's a few things left out. If you read the material on [the serial killer] Gordon Stuart Northcott [Jason Butler Harner], it's just horrendous. It's very hard stuff to read, because the guy was such a deviant, and the whole family was rather inbred -- or they seemed that.

It's kind of a tough story to get a line on. I was surprised [that Straczynski] took the line he did, but it was great that he did that, because then the detective story and the unraveling of the mystery all comes later on. [Collins] gets all the way up to where she's put into a psychiatric ward before we even start on the story of what happened to the child.

Q: And what was it like working with Angelina Jolie?

CE: [Grimaces] I forgot... [laughs]. Very good. I didn't know Angelina very well before doing this. I had met her on a few occasions, but I always thought of her as a very interesting actress, a very good actress. And in recent years of course she's had so much publicity, being on the cover of every possible publication in the world here, and you start taking it for granted. A lot of people get on the cover of magazines and it doesn't necessarily mean they're talented but in her case, she is really talented. And she's the most prepared actress -- or certainly as prepared -- as any actress I've ever worked with.

She came in with the material in her mind, with an attack on the character, was very amenable, and you could shoot almost immediately, which was something I like to do. I like to catch somebody before they have a chance to think about it too much; like they haven't spoken the words so many times that it's flat, and there's a subliminal thing where you look in their eyes, and it's the 10th or 20th time they've done it... you try for it in the early moments when they're still reaching for it and still trying to figure it out, but she's very amenable to that. And she does have the most striking face that one could imagine.

Q: You got some great performances from the actors you cast as the cops, the serial killer and the kids; how was it working with such fine young actors?

CE: Well, it's a great thing. That's one of the reasons in my senior years I stay behind the camera, and let the younger people out there take the ball and run with it. It's a great pleasure these days to watch the talent come along. I'm always amazed at how good some of them are at such young ages, because it took me forever to say my own name [laughs].

Q: And then there's your role as composer of the film...

CE: Well, he does exactly what the director wants [laughs]. When you're making a film you start living with it, and I find myself sitting down and figuring out a sound or melody that would go with a film, or a particular period. It's not brain surgery, you just kind of feel it along.

I wrote a theme for Unforgiven years ago, and I wrote that long before I made the film. I just sort of felt like a guy would be playing a guitar somewhere with a very lonely feel, and I wrote that, and developed it later on. This one I wrote a lot of times as we were editing the film.

Q: Do you contemplate giving up your own acting career in favor of directing?

CE: Well I thought about it after watching all those young actors, but since this picture was completed this year, I've done another film in which I performed in, even though I said I wasn't going to do that anymore.

I started saying that a few years ago: "I don't think I'll act anymore and stay behind the camera," and then Million Dollar Baby came along, and I liked that role. And I said, "Well I'll do this role, because I think I'm right for it." And then I did another one which is called Gran Torino [Eastwood plays a disgruntled Korean War vet] which we just finished and is in post-production now. It's with Warner Brothers, and it comes out in December.

Jennifer Aniston On Angelina: "Uncool" And "Inappropriate"

2008-11-11T14:28:42Z

UPDATE: Watch Aniston Talk Angelina On Oprah

Jennifer Aniston is on the December 2008 cover of Vogue (READ WHOLE THING HERE) and speaking out about Angelina Jolie.

Aniston asked the reporter, Jonathan Van Meter, to turn off the tape recorder when first asked about her ex-husband Brad Pitt's partner. Here's what she did say on the record:

On being bothered that Angelina recounted a detailed timeline of how she fell in love with Brad Pitt on the set of Mr. & Mrs. Smith: "There was stuff printed there that was definitely from a time when I was unaware that it was happening. I felt those details were a little inappropriate to discuss. That stuff about how she couldn't wait to get to work every day? That was really uncool.

On if she ever speaks to Brad: "[We've exchanged] a few very kind hellos ... and congratulations on your babies... [We] had an amicable split ... The marriage didn't work out."

More the marriage:

"The marriage didn't work out... Pretty soon after we separated, we got on the phone and we had a long, long conversation with each other and said a lot of things, and ever since we've been unbelievably warm and respectful of each other."

Anistonays she's been "unbelievably lucky in love," but adds, "Whoever said everything has to be forever," she says. "That's setting your hopes too high. It's too much pressure. And I think if you put that pressure on yourself ... that's unattainable."

On her romance with John Mayer: "People need to mind their own business! Did you ever think Claudia Schiffer and David Copperfield made sense? Love just shows up....

"It's funny when you hit a place in a relationship and you both realize [that] we maybe need to do something else, but you still really, really love each other. It's painful. There was no malicious intent. I deeply, deeply care about him; we talk, we adore one another. And that's where it is."

On when Mayer bragged about dumping her: "Trust me, you'll never see that happen again from that man."

Angelina Steps Out, Says Twins Getting "Smiley"

2008-11-09T21:40:01Z

Actors Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's twins may be only four months old, but they're already characters of their own.

"They're great. They're still so little, but they do [have their own personalities]," Jolie told reporters at the DVD launch for Kung Fu Panda and the premiere of its companion adventure story, Secrets of the Furious Five in Hollywood on Sunday.

Knox and Vivienne are "starting to get very smiley," their proud mom said. "They're at that [stage] where their personality really starts to shine."

As for the rest of the brood, they share a love of their mom's work. "I think it's a great film, and it's brought a lot of joy to children - and to my children, absolutely," Jolie told PEOPLE at the event.

Colleen Perry: A Scathing Look at "Celebrity"

2008-11-07T14:23:14Z

When I read the news yesterday that Joaquin Phoenix was giving up acting and getting out of the business, I felt strangely proud and full of admiration for him. I have always wondered why more celebrities don't come to this same decision, especially the ones who are always complaining about the lack of privacy and the pressure to stay physically competitive. I mean, when you have tens of millions of dollars in the bank, doesn't that give you the luxury of "opting out"? I've always fantasized about it, haven't you?

But then I saw the video clip of the interview wherein he reveals this startling information and I was embarrassed for the interviewer. Joaquin Phoenix came across as smug and arrogant when Extra's Jerry Penacoli laughed at his statement, assuming he was just joking. The scorn and derision on Joaquin's face was obvious. I couldn't believe how self-important he came off, as if to say "How dare you question the great and powerful Oz (Joaquin)!" And then it dawned on me... this is why celebrities have trouble giving up "celebrity." They are so accustomed to someone hanging on their every word; ready to fulfill every wish and desire that normal every-day life would be a tremendous adjustment.

Case in point: Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. Here are two people who have committed themselves to many worthy causes, and for that I am very grateful. They have the power and the money to contribute to the world in a way that I can only imagine. But correct me if I'm wrong, didn't they also make a commitment to parent and raise 6 children? They certainly have enough net worth to be able to take a break from working in entertainment, continue their charitable work, and focus on raising emotionally stable children. Can someone please tell me why these two can't stop making movies? Is it the ego-gratification that is so alluring and impossible to let go of? Is it the guilt of disappointing managers, agents, studio execs and others that make money off of them? Is it the fans?

Frankly I don't care what it is. I have a judgment about raising children...if you're not going to make the full commitment, then don't do it! Children are not objects through which we look for our own shiny reflection. They are human beings that have varying individual needs from the day they are born. Studies in neuroscience suggest that the quality of attachments made to the mother or caretaker in the first year of life is the most profound determinant of healthy relationships and good mental health in the future. How then can healthy attachment occur when the parent is out of proximity to the child? As humanitarian as Angelina is; recently traveling to Afghanistan for 3 days, her children remain estranged from their mother for that time. Who is the priority here? What about the needs of her own children?

Mia Farrow was the first celebrity I can remember who adopted children from many cultures and ethnic backgrounds. Unlike the Jolie-Pitts, I have nothing but admiration for her. Why? Have you heard anything about Mia Farrow in the last 2 decades other than her husband, Woody Allen, seducing and marrying their daughter? No, she stepped out of the lime light to raise her children. That became her job. And don't get me started on Woody Allen! I am disgusted that he is still making movies and hasn't been shunned for being a child molester. This is a man who began taking semi-naked pictures of his adopted daughter while underage. Not that waiting until she was 18 years old would have been excusable. But for all intents and purposes, this was the only father figure she had ever known. For him to have broken that trust is deplorable. And then what... all is forgiven because he married her and exclaimed "The heart wants what the heart wants." Oh, it was the "heart" was it? Yeah, right.

And now that I'm on a tear... who is this Jennifer Lopez? How much attention does one woman need? It's unbelievable to me that she would compete in a triathlon Sunday morning in Malibu and then be celebrating her husband's birthday, which she planned, for $400,000, that same night in New York! Where are the twins? Having competed in the same triathalon several years ago, I know how many hours of training go into preparing for such an event. Trust me, it's obsessive. Although a woman has a right to do with her body as she sees fit, and there is enormous pressure to "lose that baby weight" immediately, I have to question the amount of hours she is choosing to spend away from her newborn twins. That's not time you can get back as far as establishing consistent attachment. I wonder if this is simply nothing more than ego-gratification. I have another example to support my musings... two weeks after J Lo's $400,000 soiree, she and Marc renewed their wedding vows in a lavish suite at Caesar's Palace. All done spur of the moment in the pre-dawn hours. So if you're both out partying all night, who's taking care of the children's feedings? Not them, that's for sure! How much stimulation and excitement does this woman need anyway?

It may not be fair of me to judge since I am on the outside looking in. But as a psychotherapist with plenty of experience seeing "the writing on the wall," I would bet that my observations are right on the money. So Joaquin, best of luck with your music career. Just don't be too disappointed when no one cares!

Brad Pitt Talks To Oprah About Love Of Angelina, Fatherhood

2008-11-07T09:56:41Z

In an upcoming interview on The Oprah Winfrey Show, the daytime diva acknowledges to Brad Pitt that Angelina Jolie is the love of his life.

Then, she asks him if he's the happiest he's even been, according to TheseBootsAreMadeForStalking.com.

"Dare I say," Brad replies in the interview, set to air Nov. 18.

"Dare I see," says Oprah.

It is Pitt's first sit-down with Winfrey since his 2005 split with Jennifer Aniston (a Winfrey pal).

Winfrey asks Pitt -- who is raising six kids with Jolie -- if he wants more children.

"Probably. It's the greatest endeavor I've ever taken on," he says. "Why stop now?"

He calls his kids the "funniest people," but admits he can only handle being alone with four of them at a time.

Asher Goldstein: Changeling: The Film That Wouldn't End

2008-10-31T04:35:29Z

I think it relevant to point out that I am not one who abhors the work of Mr. Clint Eastwood. In fact, I have the utmost admiration for the man. His films are generally interesting character studies that are well paced, neatly told, and, more often than not, contain the defining performance of many an actors' respective career. This however, is not the case with his new film Changeling.

Changeling is epic in scope, a surprising choice considering at its core, there is a much more intimate story that is trying to be told. The film follows the "based on a true" narrative of a Los Angeles woman, Christine Collins-- played by the sometimes brilliant Angelina Jolie-- whose young son goes missing from her home in 1928. Her story becomes local news and it attracts the attention of a muckraking preacher by the name of Reverend Briegleb (a well cast John Malkovich). Briegleb is quickly painted as a man on a mission, which he has decided to be the exposing of corruption in the Los Angeles Police Department, who he blames for the lack of progress in the case of the missing Collins boy. Soon after, the LAPD delivers Christine's son back to her arms, though to her surprise (and weak protest)-- the boy is not hers. What ensues is nothing short of tragic--Christine fights, cries, struggles, cries some more, and is persistently shut out from the truth by the LAPD as they try and uphold their flailing image and cover up the lie that has been constructed to bring a positive end to the Collins case. The film takes its needed twists and turns, then right when you think we are going to come to a mature unresolved ending, the film starts taking more twists and turns. And right then, when you think we will now come to a mature, but this time resolved ending, the film decides, again, to take more twists and turns. The dramatic ebb and flow becomes excruciating; as the film continues into its second hour, one can't help but hope that some mechanical god of yore would appear on screen, wiping the whole mess of characters out and thereby ending the movie at that exact moment...but it never does.

To be fair, this is be no means a bad movie, in fact, it is probably better than 90% of the films released by the studios this year. That said, and I know I will catch flack for being unable to separate the film from the filmmaker, but this is a Clint Eastwood Picture--I expect more. I expect those aforementioned gleaming performances, I expect classic storytelling at its best, I expect craftsmanship and maturity. Instead what I found in CHANGELING were over-performed roles that were under-written. Scribe J. Michael Stracynski, a talented veteran, finds himself somewhat lost in the vast landscape that is attempted here while he constructs scenes and sequences that could be quite powerful if given the time to breath, but are not. Instead they play like shallow abbreviations of the greatness that they could have been. I genuinely feel that if he had been given or taken the narrative space this film required, the screenplay could have been world's better, and moreover, the film.

The performances, as mentioned, are sub par, surprisingly. When I get the chance to see Ms. Jolie spin a dramatic role, I generally jump at the chance-- here she seemed to have only been given two notes to play and I'm disappointed because she plays them well, I just wish the depth and complexity that she is so capable of could have been on display. In general, the acting is as previously stated, over the top--characters are nothing more than caricatures delivering mostly hokey dialogue in a way that is more consistent with a 1940's comic book than anything else. I do think it is of interest to note that Mr. Stracynski has found much work in more sci-fi and comic fare--the residue on this film is apparent and I feel that it does not work well with the approach to filmmaking that Mr. Eastwood generally employs. The plasticity extends to the picture's design, which feels rather sterile and generally unauthentic. I wonder if our director was hoping to put on display the cinematic stylings of the era (and those that followed closely thereafter) just as Scorsese had done with The Aviator; another film made by a landmark director whose over-reaching cost him what could have been an otherwise great film. On a more positive note, I do think it is worth mentioning cinematographer Tom Stern's excellent work. His expressive use of a light and shadow is dynamic and interesting. He creates emotional depth with the frame, at times giving what is happening on screen more legitimacy than it at times should have.

CHANGELING is a good film that is trying to be a great film--therein is its failure, because in the end, it can only be paraded as a mediocre one. Should you ignore this picture? Definitely not, it is perfect fodder if you want to get through a film that is more than passable--one to enjoy with an accepted sense of fleeting; in other words, don't go in with the expectations that you are to see a trophy winner, you most certainly are not.

CHANGELING opens nationwide October 31st.

Harold Pollack: Trick or Treat for UNICEF!

2008-10-30T21:58:50Z

Faithful readers may recall that back in April, I raised a lot of money for mosquito nets to mark World Malaria Day.

Well it's that time again. Trick or Treat!

Back then, before I knew Barack would do so well, widespread public interest in global health was one of the few bright spots. Bono, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, and the rest of my buds were ahead of the wave. They are all using their celebrity to promote public health. OK I put these names in so people would find me on Google. But it's true. UNICEF is certainly a rare bright spot on Holloween--an otherwise rather wretched occasion to all reasonable people.

For some of you, this comes not a day too soon. You might fear you will collapse from psychological whiplash the day after November 4. You might fear that you will have no place to donate money to channel aggressions stimulated by William Kristol and FOX News. You know who you are.

Fear not, There is a thirsty, mosquito-bitten Sudanese toddler who is here to help.

OK she's not here. She's a little busy trying to find clean drinking water. She asked me to stand in and help.

It takes seconds to make a donation. And don't worry about maxxing out. If you hit the legal limit, you can always contribute to my UNICEF Victory fund.

Yeah I know. Some of us asking for money are like that guy with the hockey mask, or was it that guy from "Holloween" part whatever who climbs out of the grave when you hoped he would stay dead. My bad, but it's for a good cause. Kids around the world really need you.

Did you know that Barack's campaign raised enough money to run UNICEF's global operations for three months? Don't get me wrong. Senator Obama's impending victory is a wonderful, wonderful thing. I've been canvassing in Indiana.

We must be equally jazzed about bringing the world's children basic sanitation, nutrition, and who knows: maybe a few reading lessons. Seven dollars protects a kid against malaria--not to mention the itchy bites. Fifteen dollars buys a carton of high energy protein biscuits--not the crud people hawk on cable TV--the kind that supports three severely malnourished kids for a whole month. Twenty dollars vaccinates nine kids against polio. To quote PBS, Forty-five hundred thousand dollars.... well, you get the picture.

Last time around, many economists donated through this post, because they realized that UNICEF and related charities are among the most cost-effective strategies to improve the world.

To donate, click on my tacky personal donation webpage

If that's too tacky for you, the UN foundation's website is pretty cool, too:

PS: Your kids might like this fun time-wasting flash link.

PPS: Please comment and spread the word.

Angelina Jolie's Surprise Tribute To Clint Eastwood

2008-10-28T09:46:33Z

The actress - who recently returned from a humanitarian mission in Afghanistan - made a surprise appearance at Monday night's Hollywood Film Festival Awards Gala, where she payed tribute to director Clint Eastwood.

In fact, Jolie's appearance was so unexpected, the A-list crowd gasped audibly when she was introduced.

The mother-of-six took time out of her busy schedule to present Eastwood - who helmed her most recent move, The Changeling - with the director of the year award.

"There are some people in this business that are icons, and we often wonder if, when we meet them, they'll live up to what we imagine them to be," she told the audience. "And Clint Eastwood in person is even better."

Angelina Jolie Goes To Afghanistan

2008-10-24T23:01:15Z

Angelina Jolie has returned from a two-day humanitarian trip to Afghanistan this week, visiting poverty-stricken families, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

The actress traveled Wednesday and Thursday to regions where thousands of former refugees have returned to the country to face crowded, squalid conditions.

"The courage, resilience and quiet dignity of returnee families rebuilding their lives against the kind of adversity few of us can imagine shows the human spirit at its best," Jolie said.

Jolie, 33, is a Goodwill Ambassador for the UNHCR, which reported the trip on its Web site.

Angelina Jolie Talks Family, Hints Marriage

2008-10-23T11:25:31Z

Asked if she plans to make an honest man out of Brad Pitt, the actress hints that they may end up tying the knot - under pressure from the kids.

"Usually people fall in love and everything revolves around the ritual of marriage, children are an afterthought. We did everything backwards," says Jolie.

"But sooner or later it will be the kids who ask us [to get married]. You know, they see films and start asking questions. Such as, 'Why are Shrek and Fiona married and you're not?' "

Angelina Jolie Supports Refugees, Speaks At Darfur Panel

2008-10-19T10:19:47Z

Angelina Jolie is furthering her work on behalf as refugees beyond her role as Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Refugee Agency. She has teamed up to help refugee children:

Actress Angelina Jolie and a team of 25 powerful law firms are joining forces against the government's attempt to deport thousands of unaccompanied and illegal immigrant children - including hundreds from New York City.

Backed by Microsoft Corp., Kids in Need of Defense will provide free legal representation to children separated from their parents. The group will open offices in New York and other several other cities...

"These children often have nothing - no money, no support and no family," Jolie said in a statement. "Many end up becoming lost, traumatized, and ultimately forgotten."

Jolie also spoke Friday at the Council on Foreign Relations, introducing a panel on the International Criminal Court and the prosecution of perpetrators in Darfus, sponsored by the Jolie-Pitt Foundation.

"Over the past seven years, I've worked with UNHCR and I've traveled around the world trying to bring attention to refugees," she said. "It's been a remarkable education."

Jolie, who has visited dozens of war-torn countries around the world, spoke passionately on behalf of the victims she's met. "I've seen refugees return to live among the same people who attacked them," she said. "They are returning to the same lawlessness that sent them running in the first place. I've seen aid workers tear up as they put ladies on a bus and say, 'I don't know what we're sending them back to...

"I don't know if the ICC is the answer. And I don't know what type of court is, or what it would need to be to make all of us agree and make it strong enough," Jolie admitted. "But I do know this: No mother who had her children killed in front of her, no young girl sold into slavery, no boy kidnapped and forced to be a child soldier and no young girl like the 3-year-old I met in Sierra Leone, who had her limbs cut off, should be expected to simply forget. No one should have to choose between peace and justice."

Vanessa Richmond: Why Teen Mothers Like Jamie Lynn Spears Keep Getting Shocked Up By The Media.

2008-10-16T14:51:08Z

Here's a game. Match the tabloid quote to the new mom it is discussing: Jamie Lynn Spears or Angelina Jolie.

"Having [another] baby now would only be a recipe for disaster,"

"[Her] family is hysterical [about the news that she is pregnant again] and pressuring her to abort."

"I was considering her for an upcoming cover," CosmoGIRL! editor-in-chief Susan Schulz told Usmagazine.com Friday. "But with this news, I'd have to rethink that."

Ding, ding, ding. You guessed, I'm sure, that all three of these are about Jamie Lynn Spears. In a story that starts "Whoops -- she did it again!" The National Enquirer broke the news that "Teen Prego Queen Jamie Lynn Spears has another bun in the oven... and her pals are begging her to abort." And the quotes above are from the Enquirer and Us Weekly.

What's really at stake isn't whether it's true or not (the story has since been declared not true, then true again) but the way pregnancy news is delivered (har har) depending on the age of the mother, and then the way that pregnancy and birth are treated by the media and public.

The Spears story was one of the two top tabloid stories this week. The other was that of Angelina Jolie's recent interview in W magazine, about her happy pregnancy and family life, accompanied by "intimate" and "private" photos of her and the kids taken by Brad Pitt (all of which was subsequently written up in all the tabs).

It's an understatement to say the two women's stories were treated differently.

Reportedly, friends and family are encouraging Spears to abort and Casey Aldridge, the baby's father, "erupted in anger when he found out."

Most commenters under the TMZ version of the story weren't pleased either: "YOU KNOW IT"S TRUE THATR GIRL IS A STUPID REDNECK WHORE!!! FILL HER VAGE WITH CEMENT!!!!!!" (sic) offered one.

And "The stupid redneck whore is Sarah Palin's daughter. Like mother, like daughter" added another.

In a related story, Us Weekly had a call out to "see more shocking photos of teen pregnancies." They were all photos of smiling, wealthy, well-nourished teenagers, so I guess the pregnancy alone is enough to classify the photos as shocking.

On the other hand, the most popular quotes from W's interview with Jolie that ran in all the tabs were: "I think one of the life changing things that [Brad Pitt] did, one of many, is that I was absolutely never going to get pregnant. I never felt that it was the right thing to do. Now I wouldn't trade that experience for the world. It taught me a lot about life, just the process of it, and now we have three other beautiful children that wouldn't otherwise be here."

And then "I'm with a man who's evolved enough to look at my body and see it as more beautiful, because of the journey it has taken and what it has created," she says. "He genuinely sees it that way. So I genuinely feel even sexier."

People commenting after the Jolie interview said such things as "I love her," and "I love that family."

Pitt's photos that ran with the piece show Jolie laughing with her kids, breastfeeding a baby, smiling. The photos of Jamie Lynn Spears were of her looking stressed while shopping in Wal-Mart.

"Angelina is the Madonna and Jamie Lynn is the whore," as the media plays it, says Deirdre Kelly, a professor of educational sociology at UBC and the author of Pregnant with Meaning about teen mothers. The word "whore" has come up repeatedly in the Spears story, and Kelly says there's a long history of using it in this way. Even in Victorian England, "whore" didn't mean prostitute or sex worker, but was a slur directed at women, often middle or upper class ones who broke the rules of propriety. It was a way to suggest the woman was lower than her class, and cheap, as a result of behaving in sexually stigmatized ways. The term also has racialized implications, much like the racist slur "white trash" that's sometimes applied to teen mothers (and has often been applied to her sister Britney).

Kelly says that even though Spears is wealthy, and the star of a TV show, Zoey 101, she's "coded" as working class because of becoming a teen mom, and because of the various scandalous behaviors of her sister Britney.

Angelina Jolie, however, is as far from working class as it's possible to be. She's glamorous, successful, powerful and partnered with a man who's equally so. "Instead of being from a supposed family from hell, she's seen as altruistic, giving money to charity and helping developing countries. She's the Madonna."

On the other hand, even though it was the norm to be pregnant at 19 even a few decades ago, it's now heavily stigmatized. Even if teen moms are wealthy or highly capable, they're always seen as too young and therefore immature." And there are hints that they will be abusive or neglectful." All doubly so if they're living in modest situations or receiving social assistance.

Is it the case that they're not up to the job? "There's nothing inherently about young mothers that makes them less able" says Kelly. When she was writing her book, she interviewed about 50 teenaged mothers in depth, "and most of them were excellent."

The key is that "women of all ages need support to do a good job. It's just that if you're middle or upper class, you can buy that support." It's well publicized that Jolie and Pitt have many nannies, including several that are there during the day and others that stay through the night. Whereas, of course, most teen moms wouldn't be able to provide that.

But certainly most mothers in their 20s, 30s and 40s can't afford that either and they're considered OK. Further, there's been no media criticism of Ashley Simpson, who's 23 and expecting. Or Nicole Ritchie, who also gave birth at 23. "Most of the so-called teen mothers are 18 or 19 years old. They're old enough to vote, they're full-fledged citizens. I think the distinction between 19 and 23 is arbitrary. We all know people who are immature at age 40 because of their lack of life experience, and others who are mature at a young age because of what they have to handle."

And women in history, who tended to have kids very young, weren't all considered terrible mothers. My parents tell me quite the opposite -- that one woman they knew, who was 34, my age now, was labeled an "elder prima" by the hospital, and friends urged her to think carefully about keeping the baby since she might be too old to deliver and raise it healthily.

One reason for the shift to thinking teenaged motherhood is a bad thing, according to Kelly, could be that women now are largely expected to be co-breadwinners. Many teenage mothers can't afford to get support so that they can attend post secondary, "and we know women can't find jobs that pay a living wage without it."

So, in a sense, society is stigmatizing teen moms for prioritizing breeding over climbing the job ladder, even though they could do both if we stopped stigmatizing them.

The other factor is that "there's something Puritan about our society -- that we want to punish people." Nobody thinks about how we could all do better by providing good sex education or providing better support to teen moms. Instead, we want teen moms to "wear a scarlet letter." Ironically, she said that means teen moms don't always get the support and resources they need since they sometimes forego getting medical and community help rather than deal with judgmental attitudes.

I've never met either Spears or Jolie and know nothing of either's actual parenting skills. I'm just wondering why we automatically assume that Jolie, a woman who encourages her son to use knives, is a good mother. And Spears, who risked public censure and her career to have a child, is automatically unfit.

This post originally appeared on The Tyee.

Angelina Jolie's Mastered Mommy Track

2008-10-16T08:43:52Z

ANGELINA JOLIE does not travel light. A few weeks ago, when she arrived for the New York Film Festival premiere of "Changeling," the new Clint Eastwood drama in which she stars, she brought along her partner of three years, Brad Pitt, and their sons, Maddox, 7, and Pax, 4, daughters Zahara, 3, and Shiloh, 2, and 3-month-old twins Knox and Vivienne. The eight of them had flown in from Germany, where the family has settled while Mr. Pitt shoots Quentin Tarantino's World War II adventure "Inglorious Bastards."

"We're all a little jet-lagged," she said, not looking jet-lagged in the least as she settled in for a brief stay at the Waldorf-Astoria before moving the clan on to New Orleans. Carrying a lot of baggage is something Ms. Jolie seems to greet with serenity -- as a mother. As an actress, however, she knows it poses a potential problem.

At 33 she occupies a rare place within Hollywood's uppermost tier of female stars. Wherever she goes, whatever she does, she cannot escape her several identities. The serious actress who won an Oscar for 1999's "Girl, Interrupted" and much acclaim for playing Mariane Pearl, widow of the murdered journalist Daniel Pearl, in last year's "Mighty Heart" is also the dominatrix-ish action dynamo who can open slam-bang guy movies, like this summer's "Wanted." There's also the humanitarian activist who has served as a United Nations good-will ambassador and is now a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. And there's her role as half of Brangelina, an unincorporated business that remains the celebrity magazine industry's best bet for surviving the economic crisis.

More Angelina Jolie Photos From W Released

2008-10-13T13:19:59Z

After the media frenzy created last week with the release of the W cover showing Brad Pitt's photo of Angelina Jolie breastfeeding, more of the photoshoot has been released. On W's website is a slideshow of seven photos showing Angelina making fish faces, Maddox laughing, Pax with facepaint, Shiloh and the Jolie breastfeeding shot. The rest of the issue is out in a week.

Also online is the accompanying article, which talks about Angelina's role in "Changeling," out Friday, and how the kids are welcome in her bedroom with Brad - if they knock first. She also says she plans to start flying again this fall and is taking her plane to Germany where Brad is filming "Inglorious Bastards."

Scroll down for a few pictures, or click here. Here is the interview. Here is the Angelina breastfeeding cover. Here is Angelina in Vanity Fair talking about how Obama would be good for her family.

Angelina Jolie: "Obama Would Be Great For My Family"

2008-10-10T15:28:45Z

Angelina Jolie won't officially endorse a candidate, despite one being actively sought from both campaigns, but she had nice words for the Democratic nominee in the the German edition of Vanity Fair:

"Obama is fighting for international justice, he wants to intervene militarily in genocides abroad, and he wants to close down Guantanamo Bay. They are things which could move me to vote for him, not his roots. Of course, an American president like Barack Obama would be great for my family."

But that isn't "reason enough to vote for him."

On being American:
"I am very proud of being American, and all my children have got American passports.

"For me, our family is just what America is - a melting pot, a mixture of many different races and nations," she says. "My children should be proud of their Asian and African roots, but that in no way means [is] a lack of respect for the fact that they and their parents are Americans."

On having twins:
"It's a damned arduous business, and we are often simply whacked out because it is twice as hard with two babies as with one.

"But it also makes for double the fun. After we flew back from Europe, we were all suffering a bit from jetlag. We were all in bed early, but at half past four, they were awake and making a real racket.

"Brad took care of them. He said to me, 'Go back to sleep, you're back to work in the morning,' and moved into the kids' room with them. He is an astounding father, full of devotion.

"Every three hours they get hungry, then I have to satisfy them. But that's OK, the two of them are totally sweet.

"When you see them, you think they were made for each other. They laugh together, they sniff each other, touch each other. It is beautiful."

On her relationship:
"Sometimes, at the end of the day, we try to retire to the bathroom to be undisturbed. But then [the kids] hear the water running and want to come in and, yet again, we are all together. But that doesn't disturb us because they are great kids."

On fame:
"I would like to have more freedom, especially to have the chance to be more spontaneous with my kids.

"Would I like to be able to walk through the streets with my kids? Of course. Would I like to be able to wander around Manhattan and buy them an ice cream like other mothers? Of course. But it is not possible.

"On the other hand, every morning I wake up with the people who are the most dear to me in the whole world. That's why I don't feel isolated from that, which is important to me. It helps, of course, that Brad knows all about it, but he's experienced it even more than me. We often talk about it and try to make the best of things. But I am very grateful for our life and everything that we have."

In Vogue: The New Testament

2008-10-10T11:21:56Z

The glossy coffee table tome, titled Bible Illuminated: The Book, is a bold attempt to capture the attention of modern readers. Instead of following the usual Bible format - lots of words but somewhat lacking in celebrity portraits - Swedish ad man Dag Soderberg has decided to repackage it in the style of Vogue.

Passages are written out in a magazine-style format and accompanied by striking images. Jolie's picture is included alongside Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and U2 frontman Bono, to illustrate the importance of doing good deeds. They were selected after the publishers asked the Swedish public which famous figures in modern times represented goodness and compassion

Keep reading.

Or buy the book.

Angelina Breastfeeding: Pitt's Private Photo And A New Interview

2008-10-10T08:53:26Z

UPDATED WITH TEXT:
Brad Pitt's long-awaited photos of Angelina Jolie for W , shot in August, are finally coming out. Today the cover, featuring Jolie breastfeeding one of the new twins Knox and Vivienne is out. The whole thing hits newsstands next week and was shot at the house the couple and their six kids have leased in France, Chateau Miraval.

The black and white cover of the November 2008 issue is below. Here are some excerpts:

On Brad changing her mind about giving birth to her own children: "I think one of the life changing things that he did, one of many, is that I was absolutely never going to get pregnant. I never felt that it was the right thing to do... I suppose I just looked at him and loved him and just felt open to (getting pregnant). I suddenly wanted to. It's one of those things you can't explain."

On Brad seeing adopted children Maddox and Zahara: "I knew that he would never see them as different, and that gave me a certain peace."

On having three children with Brad: "I wouldn't trade that experience for the world. It taught me a lot about life, just the process of it, and now we have three other beautiful children that wouldn't otherwise be here."

On baring her body for the intimate W pics taken by Brad just weeks after the twins' birth: "I'm with a man who's evolved enough to look at my body and see it as more beautiful, because of the journey it has taken and what it has created. He genuinely sees it that way. So I genuinely feel even sexier."

On Brad being perfect for her: "[I have] a lot of respect [for Brad. He helps me] to be better and fight hard for the things that I love. I do think that I'm in a good partnership now. I think it just needed to be the right man."

Brad Pitt's First "Make It Right" Homes Completed

2008-10-10T07:59:42Z

NEW ORLEANS — The first homes in Brad Pitt's Make It Right rebuilding project are complete, and some three years after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, 68-year-old grandmother Gloria Guy was on hand to give the actor a big hug.

Pitt, his partner Angelina Jolie and their family of six children privately toured the hard-hit Lower 9th Ward district earlier this week. The celebrity couple bought a home in New Orleans about a year after Katrina struck and became involved in launching the project to help rebuild the city's hardest-hit neighborhood.