Angelina Jolie receives 2007 Golden Globe nomination

Little Pink Houses

Brad Pitt’s latest production is an attempt to make things right for Katrina’s still-suffering survivors.

By Nicki Gostin | Newsweek Web Exclusive

Hot pink tents, 150 of them, have sprung up around the Katrina-ravaged Lower 9th Ward. It looks as if Christo—the avant-garde artist who once wrapped an island and put hundreds of saffron gates in Central Park—was here. But the man behind the little pink houses is a movie star. Brad Pitt—you’ve heard of him?—is launching a program to help rebuild New Orleans. “Make It Right” calls for 150 actual homes, worth $150,000 each, to replace the tents. He spoke with NEWSWEEK’s Nicki Gostin.

NEWSWEEK: What is your project called?
Brad Pitt: Makeitrightnola.org. It’s a rebuilding effort that’s beginning in the Lower 9th Ward but I think should work as a catalyst for all over.

Did you get involved in the blueprints, like “No, the kitchen should not go there”?
No, no. We didn’t want to stifle these minds in any way. We put forth the criteria that the housing would have to be sustainable, afford­able, safe and beautiful. This has been one of the age-old challenges in architecture: how do you find aesthetics with affordability?

It’s great you’re doing this, but don’t you think it’s the government’s job to rebuild?
It certainly illuminated that a certain portion of society is not being looked after. I think it should be one of the major issues of the upcoming campaign. This is a proving ground for so many issues: education, health reform, poverty level, unemployment, violence that comes from these conditions.

You know what I’m thinking? Senator Brad Pitt.
Not a chance. The same reason I won’t di­rect. I don’t think it’s my place. Besides, you can create acts of social disobedience from the outside.

Are you going to help build, like Jimmy Carter?
I would like to.

You guys have a house in New Orleans.
We get back there several times a year.

How does the adopt-a-house program work?
This is kind of operated like a segmented telethon. I’m going to be checking in every week. These homes are roughly $150,000, and you can buy a solar panel or a corner of a house [for the family that will ultimately move in].

You know what would be great? If you sang “You’ll Never Walk Alone” and cried on TV.

Who did that?

Jerry Lewis at the end of every Jerry’s Kids telethon.
He did that?

Wouldn’t it be fantastic if you did that?
Uh, I don’t think so.

Are you handy with a hammer, or do you al­ways hit your thumb?
No, I’m all right. I’m pretty good.

Do you wear a tool belt?
[Laughs] Where are we going with this? Yes, and I do it in the naked.

You could do a calendar.
Yeah, to raise money. If I get desperate that will be next.

And Chippendale’s.
Oh, dear God.

If we go out for lunch, will I have to pay?
Give me a call next year and we’ll see.

So we’ve got a date for lunch?
Yeah, I would love you to check on where we are.

What are your Christmas plans?
Just the holiday with the family.

Lots of cooking and caroling?
I wouldn’t say we have real singing talent in our family.

Do you guys get any sleep? I can’t imagine having four kids.
It’s workable. It’s doable. You find your rhythms.

With Xanax?
Without. You’ve got to be coherent in case one of them has a problem or a bad dream.

Just think, two years ago you had no kids.
Yeah, I did. I know it seems extreme from the outside, but it feels quite natural to me.

Do you still ride a motorcycle?
I’m on a bike every day.

Do you ever think maybe it’s not such a good idea now that you have kids?
You try to be as safe as possible, but, you know, you gotta live your life.

Does your mom ever tell you off?
Nope. She knows better. She doesn’t waste her breath.

© 2007 Newsweek, Inc.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/77962/page/1

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Finally, Brad has settled the record straight. When it comes to mommy - she knows better not to go there. So anyone of your fanistons still thinking Jane can tell Brad to go back with Jennifer are kidding yourself. It appears like she can never make him do what he does not want to do.

# 2294 boo! @ 12/16/2007 at 2:24 pm # 2300 hey boo @ 12/16/2007 at 2:29 pm ,God you haters get more pathetic each day!

boo! @ 12/16/2007 at 2:24 pm

All angie has to say is that she and Brad talk in the tub and people lose their sh@t. others bring up the nu de word(she didnt), the interviewer says, yeah get me naked and I will talk and this is attributed in error to Angie. A look at Brad’s finger rubbing a small area of angie’s bare skin, excites.

Vicoria is much more explicit, but for me, it is less compelling or sexy to hear.

People who talk about sex a lot usally aren’t getting very much of it. Dont know if this is true about V and D, but…Victoria clearly wants to let us all think they are having a lot based on some of her words.

Angie has too much class these days to speak about Brad’s ‘member’ in that way…not to mention more important things to speak about. Victoria’s a bobblehead with two grapefruits strapped to her chest. It’s not like she knows anything about Darfur or the UNHCR. All ‘boo’ has accomplished is showing the juxtaposition between a woman of substance and Vapid Victoria. Way to go boo! :D

hey boo @ 12/16/2007 at 2:29 pm
++++++++++++
rumor is wrong, JLM has a very tiny one.

Brad Pitt’s stature in this country and the world cannot help but renew that attention and commitment, and will no doubt inspire others to take a similar stand.
The positive effect that Brad Pitt’s efforts will have on the lives of so many people is the greatest gift he could hope to receive, and he has our deepest thanks.

boo! @ 12/16/2007 at 2:24 pm

you know size is not important,how youuse it is so important.and Angie also talked about brad’s member not like VB,she talked in the way that only people with comprehension’s ability and brain can understand it.

I know it is not for you. :lol:

you have just reinforced my opinion that Angie has way more class than that vulgar Victoria. (wonder what her sons think of what she says about their dad?)

good job.

yeah,grandma jane trying brad to get back with vajenjen.hhhmmmmh the look of der baby must be quentin tarantinos copy.

# 2321 boo @ 12/16/2007 at 2:46 pm ,Wow you haters are hitting the gutter yet again,lol.Having a rough patch huh?:lol:

http://www.nola.com/timespic/stories/index.ssf?/base/news-10/1197619928166360.xml&coll=1
For all the Jr High trolls, read, learn and appreciate.

Janice @ 12/16/2007 at 2:15 pm New Orleanians Harry Connick Jr. & Branford Marsalis show their support for Brad’s MIR project.

Musicians appreciate effort of fellow entertainer

Friday, December 14, 2007

We wanted to express our appreciation for the very important home-building project that Brad Pitt and his Make It Right Foundation have launched in New Orleans’ Lower 9th Ward.
As native New Orleanians who retain deep ties through family and friends, we know that our gratitude mirrors that of countless residents, both those who have already returned and those still hoping to return to this beautiful and unique city.
It became clear in the days immediately following Hurricane Katrina that not only a community but also a culture was placed at risk, and that the provision of housing and other long-term solutions would be the top priority in providing relief. The hurricane and the flooding that followed destroyed entire neighborhoods filled with residents who, even before Katrina, were in need of safer and more affordable housing. The overwhelming amount of work to be done, the delays and failures we have seen in the response to this disaster, and the loss of focus as the public’s attention shifted to other concerns also threatened to frustrate relief efforts in the absence of effective initiatives that could attract broad public support.
Our answer was to join with the New Orleans Area Habitat and build a Musicians’ Village in the Upper 9th Ward. And while the Village has brought many families back home, there are thousands more in need of help.
In the more than two years since the initial catastrophe, we have seen a level of commitment on the part of folks such as NOAH and its volunteers that is truly inspirational. At the same time, despite the tremendous amount of work that remains to be done, the situation on the Gulf Coast has inevitably been eclipsed in the public’s mind by subsequent events.
Continued progress requires that every opportunity be taken to keep public attention focused upon the needs of New Orleans and its residents. Brad Pitt’s stature in this country and the world cannot help but renew that attention and commitment, and will no doubt inspire others to take a similar stand.
The positive effect that Brad Pitt’s efforts will have on the lives of so many people is the greatest gift he could hope to receive, and he has our deepest thanks.

Harry Connick Jr.
Branford Marsalis

New York

http://www.nola.com/timespic/stories/index.ssf?/base/news-10/1197619928166360.xml&coll=1

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THANK YOU FOR THIS. Good for Brad. :)