Celebrity can be the Pitts
Posted: Sunday, December 09, 2007 7:18 PM by Jen Brown
Filed Under:
Celebs
(From Paul Manson, TODAY producer)
Let’s face it. It’s tough to feel bad for those in the entertainment business who are raking in millions per picture, even when they lose a little privacy. A fair trade for the price of fame isn’t it? I recently accompanied Ann Curry down to New Orleans to produce a live and a taped interview with Brad Pitt regarding his new effort to rebuild the 9th Ward of New Orleans (Right: That’s me in the blue shirt ... hey look I’m famous) Ann asked Brad about this very subject:
Ann: Given how much fame takes away from you -- I know you don’t like to complain about that -- but fame comes at a personal cost ...
Brad: It’s a trade off you know it’s...fame is a price on your privacy but then there’s also other great benefits and this is one of them.
Ann: So in some way if this works does it make all the price you’ve paid in terms of your personal cost worth it?
Brad: It’s worth it now, listen if I don’t like it I’ll get out...it’s all worth it now but yeah this will work it’s all just a question of scale that’s all.
Tough to pity those in the limelight who lead a life many of us think we’d like: Homes around the world, exotic vacations, the whole nine. But when you consider the level of fame Brad and partner Angelina Jolie have, when you consider how pervasive their image is in the press, when you consider what it must be like to raise children when you’re family is under a constant microscope ... you wouldn’t blame the guy for complaining just a little. But he doesn’t. He’s focused and sincere and believes that the attention that he can bring to this neighborhood and the plan that his team has mapped out will work, and you have to admire him for it.
It’s been said a million times already, but you really don’t need to do much to become famous these days. With endless lists of reality shows, YouTube and blogs (including this one ... hey look I’m famous again) there are so many vehicles to public life, big and small, anyone determined enough can get a little attention. It’s what you do with that attention once you get it that matters.
Consider the word celebrity for a moment. The word derives from the idea that we celebrate someone. And while some may celebrate the fact that Britney decides not to wear underwear on a certain day or Lindsay served her 15 minutes in jail, I personally don’t get it.
It was refreshing to be interviewing a celebrity for something you ACTUALLY want to celebrate. Mr. Pitt’s plan to build 150 green homes in New Orleans is ambitious. He hopes to have the initial homes built by this summer. And I believe him when he says it’s possible.
Having spent some time in New Orleans during Katrina, it was nice to see some smiles return to this hard hit neighborhood. Brad and his team from ‘Make It Right’ threw a party for the residents of the 9th ward on Monday evening. Jerry Lee Lewis played to an excited crowd.
My dad used to play one of Jerry Lee Lewis’ albums for me when I was a kid and it was a real treat to see what I imagine is a rare performance. It occurred to me while I was watching in a crowd of people jumping up and down (the old man still has it) that it was probably the first time in over 2 and a half years that any group of people has gathered in this area to laugh and smile. It was a nice moment.
The biggest challenge in getting this interview done? Convincing Brad he’d need to wake up at the crack of dawn if he wanted to reach our widest audience. Turns out he’s not much of a morning person. But who is at 4:00 a.m.? Once he was on board it occurred to me that it would mean a 4:00 a.m. wake up for me too. Doh!
You can see the rest of Ann’s conversation with Brad Pitt on Monday morning.
