Jolie-Pitt Money Zoned for War
The Jolie-Pitt Foundation’s good intentions are once again pointed eastward.
The nonprofit set up to dole out the namesake thespian couple’s excess dough to good causes has made a $1 million contribution to a handful of groups benefiting kids affected by the war in Iraq.
Half the hefty sum will be spread out among three education and relief organizations in the embattled Middle East nation, according to the Education Partnership for Children of Conflict, which said that nearly 5,700 kids will benefit from the donation.
The other $500,000 will go to the U.S.’ Armed Services YMCA Operation Hero Program, which provides tutoring and counseling for children who have a parent stationed overseas or have lost a parent in the fighting.
Meanwhile, the clothes off of Angelina’s back are slowly doing their part to help hurricane victims on these shores.
The current bid for the zip-up leather jacket Jolie wore in her new action flick Wanted stands at $1,500 on CharityFolks.com, with all proceeds going to the Morgan Freeman-championed Plan!t Now fund.
“Angelina was nice enough to donate the original jacket she wore and used in one of the coolest scenes of the movie,” Charity Folks founder Kelly Fiore told News Wednesday. “We have big expectations. Last time, she donated jewelry she wore to the Golden Globes, and it sold for $20,000.”
But considering it’s summer and not exactly leather-jacket weather, it makes sense that a round of golf with Freeman is currently going for $5,000 and four tickets to The Country Girl on Broadway, in which the mellifluous-voiced actor is making a rare theatrical appearance, are valued at $2,500.
And, Fiore said, friends of Freeman’s such as Ben Affleck, Alice Cooper and Sheryl Crow are set to give a little piece of their heartsor possessions, at leastas well. Plus, memorabilia from the upcoming Batman sequel The Dark Knight will be on the block soon.
“Morgan’s friends have been stepping up and saying, ’I want to donate!’” Fiore said. “We are still in the brainstorming phase, thinking of cool movie memorabilia that fans will love.”
Additional reporting by Whitney English
Everybody hates Isaiah Washington
Isaiah Washington may be the least liked cast member on the set of Grey’s Anatomy. After the Golden Globes, he ticked off Katherin Heigl, who plays “Izzie” on the show. After the cast won the Golden Globe for Best Drama, Washington faced some tough questions from the media about an explosive incident on the set last year where Washington reportedly called T.R. Knight a “faggot”, and nearly got in a fistfight with Patrick Dempsey over his comment. The entire thing led to T.R. Knight admitting his homosexuality to the national media.
On Monday night, Washington told the media types that the whole incident “never, never happened.” Katherine Heigl disagrees and sounded off to Access Hollywood, saying that Washington is full of crap. Knight concurs. It sounds like Washington makes his work environment rather uncomfortable.
Isaiah Passes on Emmy
Isaiah Washington is in a no-win situation. At least when it comes to an Emmy.
Coming off a season racked with enough off-screen drama to rival the busiest day at Seattle Grace, the Grey's Anatomy star did not submit his name for Best Supporting Actor consideration this year, according to Washington's publicist.
"It's all about the acting, not the awards," rep Howard Bragman said Friday, the deadline for actors, producers and so on to throw their hats into the ring in time for the Sept. 16 ceremony.
Despite having scored his second acting honor in a row at the NAACP Image Awards last month and sharing in the Grey's Anatomy cast's win for Best Ensemble at the Screen Actors Guild Awards earlier this year, perhaps Washington figured it would be best to lie low in the interim.
The 43-year-old actor nearly took a scalpel to his career in January when he told reporters backstage at the Golden Globes, where Grey's Anatomy had just been named Best Drama Series, that he never called costar T.R. Knight a "faggot" during an on-set dustup last October. "Never happened," Washington said.
After much condemnation from ABC, civil rights groups such as the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and costar Katherine Heigl (who called Knight her best friend and declared that she was "not okay" with what Washington said), Washington slowly climbed his way out of the doghouse by apologizing profusely, seeking treatment for his behavioral issues and throwing himself back into work with a vengeance.
Ironically, "Where the Boys Are," the male-bonding episode that supposedly left Washington in a huff regarding Knight's punctuality (the huff that purportedly prompted the nasty slur), won for Outstanding Individual Episode at the 18th Annual GLAAD Media Awards last weekend.
If Washington had scored an Emmy nod, it would have been his first for the hit show, which lost out to 24 for Outstanding Drama Series last year.
But instead of passing the time this summer waiting for the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences to announce the 59th Annual Primetime Emmy nominations, Washington will be busy filming the indie thriller The Least of These, playing a Catholic priest who returns to teach at the high school where he was sexually abused as a teenager.
Presumably Washington will be prepping for the fourth season of Grey's Anatomy, as well, although his name was listed among the list of players whose paychecks got bumped up last month, per trade reports. Online's Kristin Veitch reported Friday, however, that rumors suggesting he and Knight are leaving the show (to star in a redo of The Odd Couple, perhaps?) are "completely bunk."
Bad News For Katharine McPhee
Bad News For Katharine McPhee
While the New Year is usually a time for fresh starts and new beginnings, getting dropped from her label probably wasn’t what Katharine McPhee had in mind. However, it looks like she’ll be taking her songs somewhere other than RCA Records in 2008.
The American Idol runner up (spotted at the Golden Globes gift bag event this past Wednesday at the Voda Spa in West Hollywood) only sold 366,000 copies of her album last year, failing to garner the coveted “Gold” record status.
Industry insiders are speculating that success on Idol doesn’t always translate to mainstream stardom. A source told press, “Winning ‘American Idol’ is no longer a guarantee that you’re going to make it. Katharine was hot for a few months. But audiences are fickle.”
But an executive at BMG Music Group contends, “It’s preposterous to say this franchise has lost its luster. It’s the envy of the music industry. We’ve sold over 50 million albums by ‘AI’ artists since the show started. We put millions behind Katharine. Many of us at the label still love her songs. But we’re in the major leagues. We didn’t think she could break into the mainstream. We would rather be honest.”
So what’s next for Katharine? Well, she’s in talks with another undisclosed label, and she’ll be starring in the upcoming film “I Know What Boys Like.” Not too shabby!