Morning Briefing:
Meet the Jolie-Pitts: So what if they're not an "official" couple yet? Brad Pitt has announced his intentions to become the adoptive father to Angelina Jolie's two adopted kids. His publicist announced the decision on Friday, when Pitt filed a petition to a Los Angeles court to have his last name appended to theirs, as in Maddox Jolie-Pitt and Zahara Jolie-Pitt. To the gall of tabloids everywhere, despite wanting to become parents together, both Pitt and Jolie are still mum on the nature of their relationship. (E! Online via Yahoo! News)
Meet Mrs. Marilyn Manson: In a ceremony in Ireland over the weekend, Marilyn Manson got married to dancer Dita Von Teese, and the couple defied expectations by having a pretty normal wedding. "Contrary to rumors that the pair would exchange their blood during the ceremony," People writes, "they actually traded vows they wrote for each other." Manson was decked out in a black silk taffeta tuxedo, and his bride wore a royal purple silk taffeta Vivienne Westwood gown. A source told the magazine: "Everyone expected Manson and Dita to have some sort of crazy vampire wedding, but anyone who knows the couple knew it would be the classy, stylish affair that it was." (People)
It's the Al Sharpton show: It's still in the works, but the ultra-charismatic Rev. Al Sharpton says he's working with CBS on a pilot for a TV show. The theme? His life. "I don't know if I am a good actor or not, but I will be playing myself and I have been practicing that for 51 years," Sharpton said. "It's about conflicting social and political views." The best thing about this idea has to be the working title: "Al in the Family." (Associated Press)
Politics at the Kennedy Center: Tony Bennett, Robert Redford and Tina Turner were among the entertainment icons who were recognized at this year's Kennedy Center honors. The show, which won't be broadcast until Dec. 27, went off without a hitch, but many of the stars in attendance weren't exactly thrilled to attend President Bush's cocktail party at the White House beforehand. "That's the lowest thing on my list," Glenn Close told the New York Daily News. The paper also reported rumors that for the first time in the event's 27-year history, "the White House had asked the trustees of the Kennedy Center not to be present for cocktails and the awards ceremony at the White House." And some Democratic trustees complained they were given bad seats for the show. (Miami Herald, N.Y. Daily News)
Also:
To the cheers of a fan section inside the courtroom, rap mogul Irving "Gotti" Lorenzo was acquitted Friday on charges of using the Murder Inc. rap label to launder $1 million for drug dealing. Hip-hop stars from Jay-Z and Russell Simmons to Ja Rule and Ashanti have shown up as supporters during the trial. (E! Online) ... Oprah's appearance on David Letterman's talk show drew an estimated 13.5 million viewers last Thursday, the show's biggest numbers in more than a decade. (MSNBC) ... The culture wars arrived on the set during a double episode of "Trading Spouses" in November, when devout Christian Marguerite Perrin returned home from a stint in the "ungodly" home of the D'Amico-Flishers and unloaded on her family about the "dark-sided" things she'd seen -- watch the disturbing video in Windows Media or QuickTime. (Crooks and Liars) ... The organizers behind Philadelphia's Live 8 concert are suing Trimspa for not paying for $320,000 worth of promotions and, more important, failing to control spokeswoman Anna Nicole Smith; producers claim she damaged the reputation of the concert by arriving for her part in the show "intoxicated and scantily clad." (The Smoking Gun)
Money Quote:
Madonna on why she no longer goes in for hunting: "I was mad for shooting a couple of years ago. That all changed when a bird dropped in front of me that I'd shot. It wasn't dead. It got up, and it was really suffering. Blood was gushing out of its mouth, and it was struggling ... I haven't shot since ... I realized I had a kind of bloodlust, and was manically shooting things and trying to kill as many birds as possible." (Tatler magazine via Page Six)
Turn On:
After a little break, it's a new episode of the soon-to-be-gone "Arrested Development" (Fox, 8 p.m. EDT), and TV Land presents the first installment of a five-part series of "100 Most Unexpected TV Moments" (10 p.m. EDT).
-- Scott Lamb
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