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Us Weekly pays big bucks for pix of Brad & Angelina
Us Weekly pays big bucks for pix of Brad & Angelina
Here they are - the pictures that sparked a massive magazine bidding war.
These are just some of the two dozen pictures taken last Tuesday of Brad Pitt, 41, vacationing with his reputed girlfriend, Angelina Jolie, 29, and her son, Maddox, 3, on a Kenyan beach.
Us Weekly paid a record sum for the pics, which will be in its May 9 issue, coming out tomorrow. While the word inside the mag is that Jann Wenner's celebrity title parted with an amount in the mid-six figures, another source close to the heated negotiations says the figure for the coveted pics may have been closer to a million dollars.
Although the photographer didn't capture even one kiss between Hollywood's sexiest stars, there is no mistaking the intimacy of their relationship.
"Depending on who you are, it's either a great scandal or a great romance," Us Weekly editor-in-chief Janice Min told the Daily News.
While Pitt and Jolie's reps have been pouring cold water on speculation that the "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" co-stars are Hollywood's hottest couple, it seems the secret is out. "The proof is in the pictures," Min said. "This is the story that everyone who talks about celebrities has been following for five months now, and to finally have the proof right there in your hand is great."
Pitt's ex, Jennifer Aniston, has been in low spirits on the set of "Friends with Money," according to a source. (Her next project, with Vince Vaughn, is titled "The Breakup." wink The former "Friends" actress, 36, filed for divorce in Los Angeles Superior Court on March 25, after the couple announced their surprise split in January.
"The Brad and Jen breakup was the biggest celebrity news story of the year. ... It would be incredibly damaging to both stars to have there be any implication that there was a third party involved," Min said.
But how did these pictures come to be? In the absence of any statement from the stars' reps, the rumor mill has been churning with theories.
Pagesixsixsix.com, a gossip Web site that published early word of the pictures on Friday, yesterday cited an "inside source" saying: "Turns out Ange [Jolie] tipped off the [photo] agency herself on the condition they didn't reveal they were on holiday till they left."
A Daily News source adds: "When you're Brad Pitt and you're Angelina Jolie and you're tired of hiding, this is a great way to do it. You do it in a remote location, bring your child out and don't have physical intimacy that's obvious in photos. This is a way to break the news softly."
Pitt met up with the Jolies at the Alfajiri Villas, a kid-friendly Kenyan resort, on his way to Ethiopia, where he is collaborating with U2's Bono on the One Campaign to fight AIDS and extreme poverty.
But will the public warm to a Brad and Angelina double act?
"It really depends on how they play it out right now," Min said. "The one thing all fans and celebrities seem to have in common is that they love a good romance."
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