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July 2nd 2009

Brad Pitt’s Make It Right Intros News Green Duplex Designs

Filed under: buildings and construction, cars-houses — Michael Andre d'Estries @ 10:42 am

Make It Right, the green building foundation started by actor Brad Pitt, has released 14 new designs that will be among the 150 houses reconstructed in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Up to now, the homes on site have been single-family residences only — but Make It Right Director Tom Darden knew that residents were interested in duplex designs as well. “Before the storm, there were a number of duplexes and doubles in the neighborhood,” he said. “Families who want to come back to the Lower 9th have been asking us to build them so extended families can live together. And duplexes are right in keeping with Make It Right’s mission: They allow more people to live together with less impact on the environment and are more cost-effective to build.”

14 firms submittted designs for eco-efficient homes — with 8 of those being new participants in Make It Right’s green rebuilding mission. To view all of the new designs, jump here.

June 18th 2009

Angie And Brad Give Another Million To Aid Pakistani Refugees

Filed under: campaigns, donations — Michael Andre d'Estries @ 11:17 am

Over the past several days, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have definitely been in a giving mood. Last weekend, the pair donated $1 million dollars St. John’s Hospital to help to establish an endowment fund for children’s care specialists, as well as construct a new pediatric unit. Now, as Cele|bitchy tells us, another $1 million is going to aid refugees in Pakistan. From the article,

“Saturday is World Refugee Day and it seems that the Jolie-Pitts are doing their best to bring awareness to the plight of displaced people around the world. Angelina recently released a short PSA for the UNHCR, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, for which she has worked for eight years. It was a very moving 30 second spot in which Jolie told us to remember refugees while scenes of war and people in peril were shown in the background.”

Jolie will be appearing tonight on CNN in an interview with Anderson Cooper to discuss World Refugee Day. To help support her cause, please visit the UN Refugee Agency to make a donation.

Photo credit: PR Photos

June 15th 2009

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie Donate $1 Million To St. John’s Hospital

Filed under: donations — Michael Parrish DuDell @ 10:24 am

Oh, Brangelina - can’t you just do SOMETHING wrong!

The past weekend, the powerful celebrity duo donated $1 million to St. John’s Hospital to help to establish an endowment fund for children’s care specialists, as well as construct a new pediatric unit.

Pitt and Jolie love children, so it isn’t surprising that they’re using their wealth to help improve the lives of thousands of kids.

To honor Pitt’s mother, the treatment unit will be renamed the Jane Pitt Pediatric Cancer Center in recognition of her advocacy.

Of course I joke about my annoyance with Brangelina’s seemingly perfect life. It’s always rad when celebrities open their wallets for amazing causes and I’m stoked to see the duo doing good! Keep up the fan-tas-great work, ya’ll!

June 2nd 2009

Not On Our Watch Donates Cash For Programs Supporting Zimbabwean Refugee Children

Filed under: contests — Michael Andre d'Estries @ 4:29 pm

Not On Our Watch, the international advocacy and aid organization founded by actors George Clooney, Don Cheadle, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, producer Jerry Weintraub and human rights lawyer David Pressman, has awarded the U.S. Fund for UNICEF a grant of $438,000 to assist at-risk Zimbabwean refugee children living on the South Africa-Zimbabwe border. The grant will provide critical support for child protection and welfare services for 1,500 unaccompanied and vulnerable children in the border town of Musina, South Africa.

“I’ve seen first-hand how dire the situation is for Zimbabwean refugees in South Africa. Women are being raped, orphaned children have no protection, and thousands of people are without even the most basic supplies. Every-day survival has become a harrowing task,” said Not On Our Watch board member Matt Damon. “As the situation in Zimbabwe remains unresolved, the international community must stop sitting on the sidelines and instead take action to help those who need it most. Not On Our Watch is proud to support UNICEF’s work in this critical time.”

For more information on the organization, jump here.

May 20th 2009

Brad Pitt And Bro Donate $600K To Help University Go Green(er)

Filed under: buildings and construction, cars-houses, donations — Michael Andre d'Estries @ 8:32 am

It’s good to see that even in an economic downturn, some celebrities continue to give big. In Brad Pitt’s case, the actor is steadfast as ever in supporting green building initiatives. This time — not in New Orleans — but in his childhood city of Springfield, Missouri.

Brad and his brother Doug banded together to donate $600K so that Drury University could take their planned new 65,000-square-foot sporting arena from a minimum Silver Leadership in Environmental Energy and Design (LEED) certification to a Gold. This would make it the first sporting arena in the nation with such green credentials. In return, Drury has honored such generosity by deciding to rename the court of the arena after Brad and Doug’s father, William A. Pitt.

According to sources, the building now features “low-flow water fixtures, a dedicated recycling area and a solar-reflective roof and pavement materials”. We imagine there’s also a bit more — since I don’t believe these features alone would be enough to qualify for Gold LEED. But kudos to Brad and Doug for giving back and making this arena even greener than what was planned!

For a computer-generated fly-through of the new arena, hit the fold below:

Click here for the video…

April 17th 2009

Adrian Grenier, Erykah Badu Design Labels For Kiehl’s Earth Day Initiative

Filed under: business, campaigns — Michael Andre d'Estries @ 10:57 am

Remember when Brad Pitt hooked up with Kiehl’s on a new “biodegradable body cleanser” to support environmental initaitives? Well the company is reaching out to some additional celebs to help with their Earth Day initiative to benefit the Waterkeeper Alliance. Adrian Grenier, Erykah Badu, Kelly Slater and a team of students from Parsons The New School for Design have all lent their art skills in designing new unique labels for Kiehl’s “Superbly Restorative Argan Body Lotion”. The lotion is made with fairly-traded, organic, Moroccan Argan Oil and Argan Leaf Extract, and the bottles are made from 100% Post Consumer Recycled packaging. 100% of net proceeds from the sale of the lotion will benefit Waterkeeper.

The Limited Edition bottles will be available in Kiehl’s free-standing stores and Kiehls.com on April 20th, in time for Earth Day 2009. Each is $55.

March 13th 2009

Jessica Alba Enjoys The Velib Bike Sharing System In Paris

Filed under: cars-houses, transport — Michael Andre d'Estries @ 6:45 pm

On my first visit to Paris in Summer 2007, I had the opportunity to try out their newly installed Velib bike-sharing service. It’s an incredibly well-designed networked system that allows Parisians to rent bikes all around the city and avoid using cars or crowded subways — while also taking in the beautiful sites all around them. Earlier this week, I was watching a special on PBS talking about the success of the system two years later — narrated by none other than Brad Pitt. (”Success” might be a loose word, as HuffPo is quick to point out that there have also been some gripes about the system.)

Now, Jessica Alba has been spotted in Paris taking advantage of Velib to get around the city. According to People, the actress peddled over the river to St. Germain, where she parked her wheels in a rack and settled down to a steak frites lunch at Relais de l’Entrecôte.”

Ahh, Paris.

Photo via celebrity-gossip.net

March 11th 2009

Sacha Baron Cohen’s New “Bruno” Film Has A Celeb Charity Twist

Filed under: film-tv, movies — Michael Andre d'Estries @ 5:49 pm

If you’re not interested in learning too much about Sacha Baron Cohen’s upcoming mockumentary Bruno, please do not read further.

A few reviews of the new film Bruno, scheduled for release on July 10, have leaked out — and the news for Cohen fans is very postive. For those not in the know, Bruno is one of the characters Cohen created for his Channel 4 and HBO series, Da Ali G Show. As Wikipedia desribes, Bruno is a ” homosexual character claiming to be a reporter from an Austrian television station and interviews unsuspecting guests about topics such as fashion, entertainment, celebrities and homosexuality, with an emphasis on the latter as each interview progresses.” Needless to say, just like Borat, he’s absolutely hilarious. And he’s getting his own movie.

Anyways, according to the reviews, part of the plot involves Bruno drawing inspiration from people like George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Angelina Jolie to, as he says, find a “new shithole to save”..and…”Clooney has Darfur, I need to find my Darfive…” In his quest to become a big time celebrity, Bruno feels that the only way he can accomplish this is by giving back. He even flies to the Middle East to negotiate peace between Israel and Palestine by telling them “Why are you all so mad at Hamas, Pita bread is the real enemy, yes?”

The best part? Apparently there’s a giant charity song at the end of the movie featuring Bono, Coldplay, Elton John and Snoop Dogg. Any other movie and I’d call bullshit — but this is Sacha Baron Cohen, so expect it. Can’t wait.

March 11th 2009

E! Television Donated $250K To Brad And Angelina’s Foundation

Filed under: donations — Michael Andre d'Estries @ 2:33 pm

We’re not sure whether they were being generous or just attempting to pull some favor — but either way, E! Entertainment Television certainly flashed the cash by donating to Brad Pitt and Angelina’s Jolie’s foundation last year. The media entity’s gift was one of only four received by the charity last year — with only one other not coming from Brad or Angelina themselves. From the article,

The E! donation certainly added to the stunning amount Jolie & Pitt gave away through this foundation in 2007: $3.4 million.

Where did the money go? It’s nice to say it did not go to any kooky religions or cults. Instead, the couple put the money to causes they’ve been vocal about. The largest single recipient was Pitt’s Make it Right Foundation in New Orleans, which got $1,364,320 million. They also split $1 million evenly among three different UN based organizations working in Darfur, Pitt’s other pet cause. Another $400,000 went to Cambodia’s children’s causes, a country from which they adopted a child, plus $150,000 to a project in his name: the Maddox Chivan Children’s Center.

It’s interesting to note that if E! was expecting more face time with the couple, those expectations certainly have not been met. Host Ryan Seacrest was famously snubbed by the couple during the ‘09 Golden Globe Awards — and only received a brief hello from Pitt during the Oscars. As FOXNews.com points out, any favor E! might hope to gain from their act of kindness could be tempered by headlines like this one from February 20, 2009: “Angelina — From Sex Kitten to Emaciated Mama.”

March 6th 2009

Brad Pitt Meets With President Obama To Discuss Green Building In New Orleans

Filed under: buildings and construction, campaigns, cars-houses, politics — Michael Andre d'Estries @ 9:57 am

In a surprise event, Brad Pitt paid a visit to the White House yesterday for meetings with both President Barack Obama and Democratic congressional leaders. The actor was in town to discuss his charity and green rebuilding efforts in New Orleans through the organization Make It Right NOLA. “I just want to say thank you to the Speaker for opening up her doors for us to come in and discuss the rebuilding effort, the current rebuilding effort going on in New Orleans and how we can expand this idea of affordability and sustainability, because we think we have a model that works,” he said. On Wednesday, Pitt also met with Energy Secretary Steven Chu.

Apparently, Pitt’s meeting with Obama was kept secret — an interesting decision, since the President’s meeting with George Clooney last week was made public well in advance. Once word got out, however, the White House went star crazy. From the AP,

The Power of Pitt drained entire congressional offices of their female employees and quite a few male aides as well, all of whom could be picked out by the way they suddenly appeared in the Senate’s doorways and halls, nonchalantly cupping cell phones and cameras at their sides and hanging around waiting news crews.

Hopefully, Pitt was able to get a few people to pay attention to his effort in ‘Nawlins. Make It Right officially opened several of its planned 150 green, sustainable homes in the Lower 9th Ward last December. The project has been a great success — and the overarching goal of the organization has always been to expand its model of sustainability to other areas in need. Fingers crossed that this administration will back the org to make that vision possible.

[Update: Video available after the jump!]

Click here to view video of Pitt’s press conference…