Brad & The Boys Blast Off to Mars

CHECK THIS OUT!!

Hollywood’s Men Are Mostly Where the Action Is

Angelina Jolie is the rare actress who can carry action films that do big business abroad. Hollywood typically counts on actors such as Will Smith, above, in “Hancock”; Denzel Washington, Matt Damon and Tom Cruise

Want to be a big deal in the movie industry? There’s one sure-fire way to increase your chances: Be born male.

The result: Men vastly outnumbered and outranked women by a wide margin. Only four actresses (Angelina Jolie, tied for No. 2; Julia Roberts, No. 11; Meryl Streep, No. 16; and Nicole Kidman, No. 22) ranked among the 30 most bankable. Just 28 women were among the top 100, and only 185 were in the top 500 (for the record, the Hollywood suits rated Will Smith as the most bankable of all).

The only actress who has consistently broken into this men’s club is Jolie, points out Anne Thompson, a film blogger and the former editor of the movie magazine Premiere. In hit movies like “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider,” “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” and the recent “Wanted,” audiences have accepted Jolie as a gun-toting, butt-kicking spitfire — a track record no other actress in history can claim, she says.

A few women — Sigourney Weaver in the “Alien” films, for example — have occasionally pulled this off, but only when the plots call for them to protect a child. Jolie, on the other hand, isn’t dependent on this story device. “I don’t think the culture was ready for this before,” Thompson says of Jolie’s action-heroine status. “It wasn’t able to accept women with guns.”

But this raises a question: Since not every film is an action pic, wouldn’t women be as important, as “bankable,” as men in other kinds of movies, such as romantic comedies? Don’t women, more so than men, flock to movies like “Sex and the City” and “Mamma Mia!”?

Yes, but the market for these films is far more limited than comic-book blockbusters like “The Dark Knight” and “Iron Man.” Romantic comedies tend not to open with the same box-office numbers as the latest action, sci-fi or horror movie, and don’t play as well outside the U.S. market. Romantic comedies also carry a dreaded label: “chick flick.”

“Men [dismiss] a ‘women’s’ film as a chick flick,” Dergarabedian says. “Women see an action film as a movie.”

Nevertheless, some observers think the pattern could be slowly changing. Noting Jolie’s breakthrough status and the success of romantically themed movies like “Twilight” and “He’s Just Not Into You,” (?) Forbes editor John Burman, who conducted the magazine’s “bankability” survey, says, “I think women are making inroads. Audiences are becoming more accepting of seeing more types of [actors and actresses] in different roles.”
ad_icon

But others are skeptical. Jolie seems to be a singular figure among actresses (does anyone see Reese Witherspoon or Kate Winslet becoming the next action hero?). What’s more, some of the most popular romantic comedies of recent vintage have thrust men into the lead roles, cutting further into the small territory that women have claimed for themselves. Movies such as “Wedding Crashers,” “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” and “Superbad” were about the romantic misadventures of men and teenage boys.

“It’s called the entertainment industry for a reason,” comments Aufderheide. “Hollywood isn’t in the business of social change. It’s not in the feminist industry. It’s in the business of maximizing its sales. . . . You don’t look to Hollywood to buck a tide or tradition.”

Entire article here.
http://justjared.buzznet.com/2009/03/12/angelina-jolie-scales-walls/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/13/AR2009031304179_2.html?hpid=topnews
sorry, here.

What a great Dad. I am really proud of both Brad and Angie, not that they care what I think and I am okay with that. They are just such great parents and they are both good people.

eh @ 03/13/2009 at 9:43 pm he looks like a bad father.
__________________________________

Go scamper off and show your girl Butuglipher some love, getting dumped for the 9 millionth time has got to be hard on the ol girl. You can ooohh and aaahh over her shiny hair extensions.

well, OK is not a reliable tab but this one is fun to read:

http://www.okmagazine.com/news/view/12530
.
Brad’s Boys Day Out
.
With mom Angelina Jolie busy shooting scenes uptown in Washington Heights, her two older sons, Maddox and Pax, enjoyed a boys-only lunch with proud pop Brad Pitt at one of their favorite Manhattan restaurants on Friday afternoon.
.
Of course, the boys being boys, their favorite restaurant isn’t some 4-star, $150 a plate celebrity haunt, but alien-themed tourist fave Mars 2112.
.
According to restaurant insiders, Brad called ahead to arrange a VIP table for him and his sons. And the A-lister definitely got that VIP treatment from the staff. “Waiters were squabbling over who got to serve them,” one witness tells OK!. “I overheard one of them complaining to a co-worker, ‘It was my turn to wait on Brad!’”
.
But perhaps that’s because the last time Brad brought his brood to Mars 2112, he dropped a $100 tip on a $45 check!
.
Diners at the restaurant tell OK! that the two boys - and their kid-at-heart father - certainly had a good time in the restaurant’s arcade area, where they’re regulars when staying in NYC.
.
“A lot of times, they just go straight to the game room,” one insider tells OK!. “They love the video games.” And on Friday, they were loving Crazy Taxi, Tekken 5 and Madden Season 2 in particular. One diner says that Brad even played a few games by himself while his sons worked out their excess energy.
.
Maddox and Pax also got their photos taken with a few of the Mars 2112 staff who stroll the floor of the restaurant dressed in full alien costume. “They seemed really into the whole alien thing,” a witness says.
.
Brad even made one boy’s day when he crashed a group of youngsters having a birthday party.
.
“He just went over to these little boys and asked, ‘Is it someone’s birthday?’” the witness recalls. “One of the kids pointed to his friend and said, ‘It’s his.’ Brad smiled and said, ‘Happy birthday, man!’ to the boy, and before he left he handed him a gift card loaded with credits to play games.”
.
Those lucky enough to sit within earshot of Brad’s table tell OK! that he calls Pax “Paxie” and Maddox, “Mad.” Meanwhile, “they just call him ‘dad.’ It’s really sweet.

I know parenting is stressful but I’m happy they all get through this and think of the positive things to come. It’s what makes them so loveable.

This blog is becoming like celebrity babies.com They look alright.

I’ll say it cause nobody else has the balls to call it like it is. brad pitt is using his children for ANOTHER photo-op. what a coinkidink that the star release that story and out he comes with Children for the cameras. can you say TRYING TOO HARD, old man?

I think they’ve been there before right? Anyhoo thanks Jared.

Dana Milbank:

Anticipating today’s most important question: I did not actually meet Brad Pitt yesterday. But I stood about 10 feet away from him. And I spoke to somebody who touched him. So I feel as if I have met him. And, believe me, he is waaaaay cute. Almost as cute as Post political editor Tim Curran. And while Brad has been taken by Angelina (and Nancy), Tim is still available.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2009/03/05/DI2009030501710.html

Brad’s plastic face @ 03/13/2009 at 9:59 pm
________________________________

i love it when haters lose their sh!t everytime they see photos of the JPs and the kids. they can’t help but be jealous!

Hope the boys had fun. I think Maddox has been there a couple of times and this maybe Pax’s first time.

i know it has been said before but it must be said again, cute kids, hot oh so hot dad.