There was some Pitt Porn posing on Saturday night in Palm Springs but mostly, for both of them, it was Work Time. Both of them were selling, and separately.
About half an hour before arrivals, a publicist representing Angelina’s film In The Land Of Blood and Honey came down the press line to confirm that Jolie would indeed be taking questions on the line, and that she preferred that they be about the movie.
So they came and they posed together, and they’re, like, ridiculously goodlooking together, and then he started with his interviews first and she followed on her own because he needed to hustle for his own Best Actor chances and, of course, she had to pursue her goals for Blood and Honey independently, so as not to compromise the chances for either.
Blood and Honey?
Yes, Blood and Honey. It was screened for Academy members last week and received a standing ovation. Deadline reports that the film elicited an impressively emotional impact and that the Jolie put in her time with the audience, staying for over an hour afterwards to answer questions and lobby, subtly of course, for votes. Brad, with his cane, has also been hobbling around shaking hands and cradling babies with Academy members for Moneyball and Sony and I’ve never seen him spend so much time with the media as he did in Palm Springs on Saturday night. Like, he actually stopped to talk. Stopped. Normally Brad Pitt doesn’t stop. He keeps walking, he points his finger at you, he answers you in motion, “Yeah, yeah, that’s right man, that’s right”, but he doesn’t ever stop. Unless of course we’re in Palm Springs where a lot of old Academy members spend most of their time and the nomination voting still hasn’t closed. In that case, Brad stops. Even for Canadian networks, blogs, and tabloids. Yes, yes, tabloids too. And it was such a novelty for all of us that, well, it ended up just being a lot of shouting. Everyone cramming their mics in his face, yelling questions on top of each other.*
When he came down to my area, he was quick with his explanation about his leg and the cane, saying simply that he tripped over his daughter. So when Angelina followed a few minutes later and was asked about him “tripping over their daughter”, she rolled her eyes exasperatedly like any wife who has to pick up after her husband (really cute) and was like, no no, he didn’t trip over her, he was carrying her while skiing and took the fall for her instead” and, you must know, that has made every headline since - Brad Pitt sacrifices leg for daughter! Please. These two know exactly what they’re doing. Always.
By the time Angelina arrived in front of me, all the questions about the movie had already been answered. So we talked instead about being sexy with a cane. She did this thing where she bites her lip, pauses, then throws open her mouth, and she heavily suggested, “Oh yeah...I like it”, in that way only Angelina Jolie can manage, for exactly the intended visual, and, well, I ended up getting my Pitt Porn after all.
How did they look? Jolie is never ugly, even when she’s not at her best, I’ll tell you that. And she was gorgeous on Saturday night. That blush coloured dress worked surprisingly well on her skin. I made a point actually, given the drama from last week, of taking a close look at his skin. Brad Pitt has middle aged skin. I mean, he’s a handsome man but there’s no sign of Nicole Kidman there either. And for all the talk of how thin she is (she’s skinny but in person she also looks strong; I mean you don’t see her and recoil in horror, at least not at an event like this when they’re all that skinny), it’s not like Brad Pitt is fleshy either. Brad is very, very lean right now. About as lean as I’ve ever seen him. So much that I didn’t really like the way his tuxedo was hanging on him. The jacket is so loose it almost looked borrowed, non?
*Behaviour like this surrounding the Brange went on inside the ballroom too. All those rich Palm Springs locals pulled out their iPhones. Click here to read Angelina’s reaction.