Morning Briefing:
Welcome, Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt: It's somehow fitting that the privacy-craving Jolie-Pitts managed to have their eagerly awaited baby during the media calm of Memorial Day weekend -- but yes, Angelina Jolie gave birth to a daughter, Shiloh Nouvel, on Saturday in Namibia. The couple's publicist, after announcing that much, said, "No further information is being given," but the resourceful gossips at Star say Jolie had a cesarean section and that both mother and daughter are doing well -- this despite Fox 411's crowing about the dangers of giving birth in Namibia (headline: "Brad and Angelina's Baby Lucky to Be Alive"). While the news was certainly big in the United States, it apparently led to dancing in the streets in Namibia and talks about granting the baby citizenship, with the governor of the region where the couple has been staying writing Us Weekly to say: "Just like Angelina, this precious Namibian-born baby will be our ambassador. This family has opened the doors for us to the world, who now look upon Namibia with new eyes." On Tuesday, the Jolie-Pitts went one further, announcing they are giving $300,000 to help Namibian hospitals and $15,000 to a local community center. (TMZ, Star, Fox 411, Us Online, Associated Press)
"X-Men" rakes in huge mountains of cash: Even with mixed reviews, "X-Men: The Last Stand" had a record-breaking weekend at the box office. With its take as of Monday coming in at $120.1 million, it had the biggest opening weekend in history, surpassing the previous record of $115.8 million set by "Spider-Man 2" in 2004. (Hollywood Reporter, ShowBizData)
Loach takes home the Palme d'Or: The glitz and glamour of Cannes came to some kind of a head on Sunday for the awarding of the festival's various prizes, with British director Ken Loach taking home the top prize, the Palme d'Or, for his "The Wind That Shakes the Barley," and another Brit director, Andrea Arnold, winning the Jury Prize for "Red Road." You can see a full list of winners here. (Hollywood Reporter, Deadline Hollywood)
Leto not as gay as a goose after all: Jared Leto's jokey admission to being gay during an AOL AIM interview last week turned out to be just that -- a joke. Late Friday, AOL added this editor's note: "After this interview was published, Jared Leto contacted us to say that he was, in fact, not gay, and that his 'coming out' should not be taken seriously. What a tease." (AOL Music)
Also:
Beating Shiloh to the delivery room by a day, Kingston James McGregor Rossdale was born to Gwen Stefani and husband Gavin Rossdale on Friday afternoon, also via C-section, in Los Angeles. The little bundle of joy tipped the scales at seven pounds, eight ounces. (E! Online) ... Madonna is reportedly to be paid the highest amount ever for a TV broadcast of a concert -- $15 million from NBC to air her current "Confessions" tour. No word yet if either her crucifixion on a huge mirrored cross or a long anti-Bush montage will remain a part of the show for the network special. (Rush & Molloy) ... It's all over for Chad Lowe and Hilary Swank: After publicly separating in January, the couple has announced they're going to be jointly filing for divorce. (People) ... British rapper MIA has apparently been denied entry to the U.S. by immigration officials over some of her lyrics, which come out as supportive of the rebel Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka. (Post Chronicle) ... On Tuesday night, Roy Horn -- of Siegfried and Roy fame -- will return to the theater at the Mirage Casino for the first time since he was mauled by one of his trained tigers in 2003. (ContactMusic) ... Character actor Paul Gleason, best known for his role as borderline-sadist principal Richard Vernon in "The Breakfast Club," died of a rare form of lung cancer in Burbank, Calif., on Saturday. He was 67. (BBC News)
Money Quote:
Ice Cube, the most recent rapper to accuse Oprah Winfrey of an anti-hip-hop bias, on how he has never been invited to appear on "Oprah": "She's had damn rapists, child molesters and lying authors on her show. And if I'm not a rags-to-riches story for her, who is?" (Page Six)
-- Scott Lamb
Turn On:
"Rescue Me" (FX, 10 p.m. EDT) kicks off its third season, and "Last Comic Standing" begins its fourth (NBC, 8 p.m. EDT). Also, "Rodney" (ABC, 8:30 p.m. EDT) is back after a months-long break.
On the Talk Shows:
Larry King (CNN, 9 p.m. EDT): Elizabeth Taylor
Jay Leno (NBC, 11:35 p.m. EDT): Tom Hanks
-- Lamar Clarkson
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