Brad Pitt’s new look is actually for a zombie film. photo by ruben nepales
CANCUN, MEXICO—Brad Pitt arrived here for the photo call and interview for his new movie, “Moneyball,” with a new look.
The actor is sporting long hair, a beard and mustache these days for “World War Z,” a zombie film that he took a break from to be in Cancun. But he cut a clean, stylish figure with a top-to-bottom ensemble in taupe, and aviator glasses for extra dash.
In “Moneyball,” a big screen adaptation of Michael Lewis’ nonfiction book, Brad plays Billy Beane, the Oakland Athletics’ general manager, who thinks outside the box and hires solid but undervalued baseball players to shore up his team without breaking the bank.
“I try to live outside the box,” Brad said about his own approach in life. “I mean, look at my family. We’re way outside the box, aren’t we?”
Brad’s costar and director, Jonah Hill (who also surprised journalists with his trim new look) and Bennett Miller, respectively, joined him in this Mexican coastal paradise. We’ll feature our interview with the other half of Hollywood’s reigning couple in a future column.
Stunning LA
Before we went out of town, we were invited to watch a taping of “Fashion Police,” E! Network’s show starring Joan Rivers, Kelly Osbourne, Kimora Lee Simmons (subbing for Giuliana Rancic, who was away on a trip) and George Kotsiopoulos.
Obviously, the queen on this set was Joan, brash and quick with the zingers as they discussed the week’s fashion achievers and transgressors. Joan sat virtually still, save for her arms, but her caustic sling arrows were everywhere.
Taped with a live audience (a Barbra Streisand look-alike was among the spectators), “Fashion Police” has Joan’s daughter, Melissa Rivers, as co-executive producer.
After the pauses for commercial breaks, Melissa’s acerbic mom sometimes asked the audience to laugh with her by literally going “Ha ha ha…” Joan being Joan, she peppered her language with “colorful” words during breaks.
We didn’t recognize Kelly—she’s had a complete makeover. In the past she had also landed on the worst-dressed list compiled by the fashion press, but on this day she looked good with her blonde hair and leopard print dress.
Joan may score with her catty comments but many eyes in the studio were glued on guest cohost Kimora Lee Simmons. The stunner, who began modeling for the House of Chanel as a 13-year-old, is 6-feet tall. With mile-high heels, the svelte Kimora—whose mom is a Korean-born Japanese and her father, an African-American —simply stood out. Kimora is smart and quotable, too, so she was quite a natural scene-stealer.
High marks
Brad Pitt sports long hair, a beard and mustache at the photo call for his new movie “Moneyball” in Cancun, Mexico with costar Jonah Hill (left, showing off his new slim figure) and director Bennett Miller.RUBEN NEPALES
Poor Mary J. Blige, whose photo from the Black Entertainment Television (BET) Awards showed her in bangs and a wacky-looking white dress, was among those skewered by Joan. “Doesn’t she look like Barbara Eden (in ‘I Dream of Jeannie’) if she slept in a tent?” Joan carped.
Getting high marks from the hosts was “Transformers 3” starlet Rosie Huntington-Whiteley for her look during a night out in London. Joan had trouble pronouncing the new actress’ full name, to her and everyone’s amusement, and needed a second take to get it right.
After the taping, we talked to Kimora about her own TV show, as well as the fashion world, racial diversity in the networks, and being mistaken for a Filipina. “I have been called a Filipina-mixed mutt-Asian girl,” said Kimora, who recalled visiting the Philippines with her mom when she was quite young. “The Philippines, like my family, is a melting pot.”
She admitted that she probably has more shoes than Imelda. “But I was not a First Lady,” she said. I am not in a political office. I’ve been doing this since I was 13.”
The former model added that she’s “a little bit of a hoarder” and reportedly has the largest collection of Louis Vuitton handbags.
Kimora is divorced from Russell Simmons (co-founder of pioneering hip-hop label Def Jam), with whom she has two young daughters. She has a son with current husband, actor Djimon Hounsou.
The entrepreneur behind the online shopping empire, justfab.com, has her own reality show, “Kimora: Life in the Fab Lane,” which is airing daily on the recently launched E! Philippines.
“Kimora: Life…” and “Fashion Police” are among the programs initially available to SkyCable’s gold and silver digital subscribers.
The ex, the next
Kimora, who also wrote a book, “Fabulosity: What It Is and How to Get It” and has a skin care line, was asked how she prioritizes all these endeavors. “My family comes first,” she said. “I have three small kids—Kenzo Lee, 2, Aoki Lee, 8 and Ming Lee, 11. I have two husbands—the ex and the next. My next is trying to knock me up again. You try to prioritize. I have a great team and they are very supportive. We try to get it done.”
She described her reality show as “a docu drama. It is a live look behind the scenes of my life which is fashion, beauty, business and a sprinkling of my family. My kids are funny and crazy. But I am really a fashion girl. I was discovered by Karl Lagerfeld at 13. Fashion and beauty is my life. Whatever I am doing, I never deviate from fashion. My consumers, fans and supporters come to me as an authority. I earned that place. I lived that place. I didn’t get there just overnight and came up with a hot shoe or song.”
While Kimora is part of the emerging breed of racially diverse faces on US television, she’d like to see more representation in other fields as well. “My entire career has been about embracing diversity,” said the woman who experienced being called “Chinky Giraffe” when she was growing up. “I feel that the more [racially] mixed-up you are, the better. On the runway, I want to see all girls in different shapes, sizes and colors. Not everybody is tall. The world is not homogenous. It is very mixed.”
Does she edit herself while being filmed for her reality show? She replied: “The truth of the matter is—and I never said this so this is your great sound bite—I edit myself all the time. But you should not edit yourself. The reason I edit myself is that I am a truly crazy bitch. A friend said that I am crazy 24 hours a day. It’s only because I want to be in the moment. I like to be spontaneous in my show.
“When I am on the set with Joan, I go with the flow. I am too crazy. Other people, when they fall in the self-editing trap, they end up becoming insecure, calm, nervous and they cannot speak. I am like Elton John. I will give you all of this. I still give you some craziness. It is about being comfortable and being yourself.”
Of Joan, she said, “I love her,” and added, “I did not know she is 78 but you said it, not me! I only said she is great!”
E-mail the columnist at rvnepales_5585@yahoo.com