As we all know by now, the Jolie wasn’t with Brad Pitt at the Killing Them Softly premiere last night. We’ll get to that in a minute. Without Angelina, Brad stayed close to his team, preferring to pose with them in a group instead of alone. Not that he blended in...

He was definitely the leader. They moved when he moved. They stopped when he stopped. They waited while he spent time with fans. They waited for him to finish waving to his public. Behind his shades the whole time, pointing, directing, controlling, that carpet was his show. And there’s something so irresistibly cool about the way he owns it, even Dylan, a man’s man if there ever was one, who was with me shooting the arrivals, had to concede. As Dylan put it, “yeah, that guy’s a badass”. And that’s 20 years of understanding and living with fame, and learning how to manipulate it in your favour.

Also, he’s a lot more attractive and impressive in person than he is in photos. You know that “It” they talk about? Brad Pitt is it: a real Movie Star.

Who also takes video with his iPhone.

He pulled it out several times towards the photographers and the fans. I’ll go ahead and assume it’s to show Angelina and the kids. He was 10 feet away from me at one point when he was shooting. Um, I did not try to get out of his shot. In fact, I may have been waving to Miss Zahara.

What?

OK so about the Jolie’s absence...

No, they are not fighting. I’m told they apparently left London together on Monday. Last night the house in London where the Family Brange has been staying the last few weeks is empty. No Angelina, no kids, no idea where they are, no idea when they’ll be back. But all indications point to him leaving Cannes right after his press obligations today. He said at the press conference that she’s prepping Maleficent. I’m not sure Angelina Jolie couldn’t get one day off to fly with him and show up at the top of those red steps as the King & Queen of Cannes. It’s not like she’s a struggling supporting actor, you know?

She is Angelina Jolie. Half of the best at this game. What’s she playing at then? Well, she’s playing us, as usual. They all called for her to make her first red carpet post-engagement appearance here in Cannes. We all marked it on our calendars. Entertainment tv shows were lined up around it with teasers the previous day. And then she decided that was too easy. Too easy to forgive us for sh-tting on her leg. She’s making us miss her. I miss her.