One of today`s strongest and most versatile film actors, is also a successful film producer. Brad Pitt was an Academy Award nominee for his performance in David Fincher`s The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Terry Gilliam`s Twelve Monkeys, for which he won a Golden Globe® Award. He was also a Golden Globe Award nominee for his performances in Edward Zwick`s Legends of the Fall and Alejandro González Iñárritu`s Babel.

Born in Shawnee, Oklahoma, Brad Pitt grew up in Springfield, Missouri, and attended the University of Missouri at Columbia where he majored in Journalism. Right before graduation, he moved to Los Angeles to study graphic design, but instead began to pursue an acting career, studying with the late Roy London. Soon after, he began securing roles in television, including the series "Glory Days" and the acclaimed telefilms "The Image" directed by Peter Werner and "Too Young to Die?" directed by Robert Markowitz.

It was Mr. Pitt`s role in Ridley Scott`s Academy Award-winning Thelma and Louise that first brought him national attention. He soon went on to star in Robert Redford`s Academy Award-winning A River Runs through It, Dominic Sena`s Kalifornia and Neil Jordan`s Interview With The Vampire. He has also starred in Tom DiCillo`s Johnny Suede, which won the Golden Leopard Award for Best Picture at the 1991 Locarno International Film Festival; Ralph Bakshi`s Cool World, Tony Scott`s True Romance, Barry Levinson`s Sleepers, Alan J. Pakula`s The Devil`s Own, Jean-Jacques Annaud`s Seven Years In Tibet, Martin Brest`s Meet Joe Black, and two previous David Fincher films Seven and Fight Club. More recent films include the massive 2005 hit - Doug Liman`s Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Wolfgang Petersen`s Troy, Patrick Gilmore and Tim Johnson`s animated feature Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas, Tony Scott`s Spy Game, Gore Verbinski`s The Mexican, Guy Ritchie`s Snatch, as well as cameo roles in Soderbergh`s Full Frontal and Clooney`s Confessions of a Dangerous Mind.

Brad Pitt`s Plan B Entertainment develops and produces both film and television projects. Plan B has thus far produced numerous outstanding films including Martin Scorsese`s The Departed, which won four Academy Awards®, including Best Picture and Best Director, Michael Winterbottom`s A Mighty Heart, for which Angelina Jolie received Golden Globe, Independent Spirit, Critics` Choice, and Screen Actors Guild Award® nominations, Robert Schwentke`s Time Traveller`s Wife, Rebecca Miller`s The Private Lives Of Pippa Lee, and the Oscar-nominated The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford starring Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck, and directed by Andrew Dominik.

Considered one of Hollywood`s most handsome men, the early sex symbol adored by women around the world has evolved today as not only the ruggedly handsome, charming man that he is, but also a massive talent as a notable producer, and powerful, daring actor. Brad Pitt is truly one of the greats of our time in modern cinema, and what is even more remarkable, is that he gets better and better.

An artist who has evolved greatly not only as an actor but as a human being, he once stated, "I believe you make your day. You make your life. So much of it is all perception, and this is the form that I built for myself. I have to accept it and work within those compounds, and it´s up to me." An absolute gentleman, and a star worthy of the title, Brad Pitt is a true class act whose talent has and will continue to lift up audiences around the world for time to come.

Cr Thesop.org

Easily done, I do that a lot.

Clooney, Kony, soldiers, spy satellites: Celebrity philanthropy goes high-tech

When George Clooney was arrested earlier this month in front of the Sudanese Embassy in Washington, it was more than just a civil disobedience public relations stunt to raise awareness of human rights violations in Sudan and South Sudan.

For the past year, Clooney has been one of the most vocal backers of a private satellite network — the Satellite Sentinel Project — to track human rights violations across Sudan in real-time. The project, which also has the backing of Don Cheadle, Matt Damon and Brad Pitt among others via the Not on Our Watch organization, offers the prospect of global accountability for genocide and war crimes anywhere in the world. Based on its initial success, we could be witnessing the beginning of a new age of high-tech celebrity activism, in which traditional awareness stunts and fundraisers are replaced with innovative technology.

In this brave new world of celebrity activism, technology has the potential to bring about regime change and concrete political results. The data from Clooney’s satellite network is collected, analyzed and corroborated by the likes of Harvard and Google. Meanwhile, the International Criminal Court, which is deciding the case against individuals such as Sudanese Defense Minister Abdelrahim Mohamed Hussein specifically cited the months of satellite results from Clooney’s private satellite network, according to a Dec. 3, 2011 report by Time Magazine’s Mark Benjamin. The network reportedly has the ability to track troop movements, burned and bombed villages and massive population re-locations.

While celebrity activism is a notably fickle endeavor, it’s clear that new Web-based tools are leading to radically new types of initiatives to bring about political change. Look no further than the hyper-viral Kony 2012 campaign, which raised awareness around the world about Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony. What made the campaign so powerful was the ability to message 20 major "culturemakers" (i.e. celebrities) to get the word out about Kony, via social media. With a simple tweet, these celebrities were able to recruit thousands of people to the cause and attract the attention of U.S. legislators. After all, it’s one thing when the United Nations comments on Kony, but it’s quite another when Oprah or Kim Kardashian messages a veritable army of followers with the plea: “Stop Kony!!!”

There is a downside to all of this activism, of course. Writing in the March 26 issue of The New Yorker, John Colapinto explains in-depth how and why celebrities get into the philanthropy game. Many celebrities, to nobody’s surprise, have a shallow understanding, at best, of what they are supporting or why. Often, these efforts are merely the fad du jour or an attempt to rehabilitate a reputation over the short-term. In hindsight, the whole Kony 2012 campaign was deeply flawed from the beginning — even before the series of bizarre and unfortunate incidents that enveloped the organizers of the campaign.

However, there is something wonderfully romantic in the notion that the leading men and women of Hollywood are real-life heroes in addition to playing them on the big screen. Now that social media — especially Twitter — has empowered celebrities to get their messages out to a truly global audience, will they be looking for new ways to use technology to further their philanthropic causes? Clooney’s satellite network, which he refers to as the "anti-genocide paparazzi", could be just the beginning of a new era of high-tech celebrity activism. Now that non-profit organizations are acclimating to the idea of using drones to monitor abuses around the world, it’s possible to envision a future in which celebrities operate their own private drones and satellite networks to achieve their philanthropic goals.

Cr WashingtonPost

What You Should Be Thinking When Standing Next to Brad Pitt

You might remember a couple of months ago, when word began spreading around the building that one of the few remaining superstars in the world, Brad Pitt, was inside Mars 2112, aka the Cavernous Vag Restaurant, located in my very office building. Perhaps it was the musk of the Eastern European paparazzi lurking outside, or maybe the humid June air, but I turned into a different sort of monster that +%*. A bloodthirsty, stalkery monster that I really did like. And in the end, I didn’t even catch a glimpse of Brad and Co.

Now, today, over 2 months later, news arrived in our office that Brad was in fact back at Mars 2112, with Pax in tow. Myself and a few officemates went downstairs to see if there was a mass hysteria like the last time. Strangely, there weren’t really that many people outside — a couple of photographers and tourists, but nowhere near the Beatles-esque proportions of last time.

This is the time when I give a little explanation telling you that I am not, in fact, a celebrity stalker. Don’t get me wrong — my Celebdar© is on at all times, a curse that I can never shut off. It was not by coincidence that last week, I was the only person to spot Good Morning Miami actor Mark “Jewish Josh Lucas” Feuerstein at a “swanky” Times Square bar. But even when the Mark, i.e. “the best part of In Her Shoes“, pulled up a stool next to me, did I look at him, much less say anything? Of course not. I’m a New Yorker, that’s how we do. In fact, I did my best to look at anything BUT him. What interesting sconces! And don’t get me started on that crown molding…

So when a couple of coworkers insisted that I follow them into Mars 2112 to spot Brad, it was with EXTREME hesitation. It’s one thing to be coincidentally eating there alongside Mr. Jolie, it’s another to actually go inside with the intention of finding him.

After the jump, my encounter with Brad (for real), and a little guide as to “What You Should Be Thinking When Standing Next to Him.”

OK, let’s be honest for a second. The real reason why I wasn’t supes gung-ho to go Brad-huntin is I’m a touch hungover from an impromptu Sunday night “Martinis at Midnight!” party. I’m at work wearing glasses, no makeup, a less than supportive bra, and the type of utilitarian outfit that might make some wonder if I work 3 jobs, 2 with the MTA. My hair is styled into what I lovingly refer to as “The Golda Meir“. In other words, I’m not wearing the Vera Wang lavendar bridemaid dress I bought at Loehmann’s for this very occayzh.

My coworkers remained undeterred, and after some mild protesting on my part, we entered Mars 2112. Rather than sit through the stomach-churning ride that “re-enacts” a Mars space landing ($2 a person? Get real) I steered my co-stalkers into the gift shop, where I was pretty sure you could bypass the ride and enter the resty.

But before I could ask the extremely relaxed cashier where the trapdoor for cheap people was, I noticed a very familiar looking porkpie hat.

Resting on the head.

Of Mr. Brad Pitt.

Holy SH*T.

He was right there. Fleshy real person with arms and legs Brad Pitt. And now, I’d like to take you through my thoughts while standing in the same room with Brad Pitt (and an adorable Pax).

“Oh look, Pop Rocks! I love these. I’m going to touch this bag of Pop Rocks right now because there’s nothing to worry about. That is just a man and his son over there. And a security guard. Who will probably break my legs. So let’s just continue touching this bag of Pop Rocks. In fact, pick one up and show it to your coworkers. ‘They have Pop Rocks!’ my mouth says; ‘Don’t look at the man in the hat’ my eyes say; ‘Don’t collapse’ go my knees.

Now my legs are walking over here. My hands are going to touch this, and part of my brain will check the price, while the other part is making sure to ignore that sweet Dad over there and his child. Why don’t I move a little to the right? There we go.

Oh my, that nice tall handsome man wearing khakis and a trendy buttondown is passing right by me. Oh look, his body is only inches from mine. How completely meaningless. Hmm… I wonder why he just sort of almost gave me a dirty look?

Now I am walking to the register and looking for something in my purse. I wonder why my coworkers are staring at this strangely drop dead gorgeous DILF who is innocently playing with space toys? And isn’t it strange that my heart is seriously racing, and air is barely going into my lungs? I must be oddly aroused from these Pop Rocks I’m purchasing.

Let me ask the cashier for a shopping bag. This will make it seem like I’m thinking about other things, and not the fact that right now, on planet earth, I am standing in a store with BRAD MOTHERF**KING PITT AND OH JESUS CHRIST JUST GET OUT OF HERE BEFORE SOMETHING GOES WRONG.”

Cr Bestweekever.tv

Issue with 10 Questions for Angie, full article for subscribers only

Issue dated 04/09/12

Credit TIME