Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt

No wise men showed up when Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt made her historic debut in Namibia this weekend, but the absence of gold, frankincense and myrrh didn't do much to quell the excitement caused by Brad and Angelina's new addition. The eagerly anticipated ankle-biter begins life with the unenviable expectations of her A-list genetics (early word is she has indeed been blessed in the looks department) and the fervent prayers of a hopeful nation (no, not this one). Here's the latest on Brangelina's bundle of joy:

The delivery: According to People, Shiloh arrived Saturday night at Cottage Medi-Clinic in Swakopmund, with Angelina's Los Angeles obstetrician, Jason Rothbart, M.D., performing a caesarean delivery because of a "breech presentation." "The baby was a healthy 7 pounds," the doc tells the mag. "Brad was with Angelina in the operating room the entire time and cut the umbilical cord of his daughter. The surgery and birth went flawlessly. The staff, nurses and doctors I worked with at the Cottage Medi-Clinic Hospital were amazing, it was a team effort." The Jolie-Pitts were equally effusive about the local hospital personnel, thanking them for "their kindness and commitment in assuring the successful birth of our daughter." Mother and baby "are fantastic," a source tells People. Jolie, 30, is expected to return soon to the swanky -- and fortified -- Burning Shores lodge, where the family has been holed up since early April.

A brunette beauty with Brad's beak: Shiloh is "a beautiful baby," a loose-lipped insider tattles to In Touch. "She has tufts of brown hair, and Brad's nose." No word on whether she was lucky enough to get her mom's famous pillow lips.

The Second Coming: With Shiloh the Hebrew word for "Messiah" and Nouvel French for "new," there's been speculation that the tyke's tag may be a wink-wink, nudge-nudge nod to talk that her birth is the most heralded since that little nipper in Bethlehem. But the more popular Biblical derivation of Shiloh is "the peaceful one," which fits nicely with her do-gooder mom's work as a U.N. goodwill ambassador. There's also a theory floating around that "Nouvel" could be architecture-buff Brad's tribute to famed French architect Jean Nouvel.

Jen's congratulatory call?: Did Jennifer Aniston's put her plans for a blowout pity party on hold to wish the Jolie-Pitts well? So says Life & Style, which claims that after a discussion with her "Break-Up" beau Vince Vaughn, she "decided to call Brad's manager and give congratulations from them both." According to a snitch, Aniston was "proud of herself" for "getting over her personal feelings to pass on her best wishes to the whole family." Adds a source to In Touch (via Perez Hilton), "Jen's really relieved now that Angelina's given birth. It's finally over. The baby is born, she'll grow up and maybe now everybody will stop asking her about it."
Grandpa reaches out: Jon Voight isn't going to let a little thing like bad blood keep him from celebrating the birth of his grandchild. "I am just so happy for them," Angie's estranged dad tells Life & Style. "I wish them all the happiness in the world." Jolie's ex-husband Jonny Lee Miller was also willing to share his sentiments with the press, telling the London Sun, "I wish them all the best."

Brad's simple gift: What do you give the woman who's been incubating your progeny for nine long months? Brad, 42, went the craftsy route, presenting Angelina with a braided bracelet made locally by a young girl, reports In Touch. Family-oriented guy that he is, he purportedly picked up a matching bracelet for himself, along with three more for Shiloh, Maddox, 4, and Zahara, 16 months.

How Brangelina marked the birth: Namibia has zealously protected the paparazzi-averse Jolie-Pitts by placing severe restrictions on any press trying to enter the country (written permission from the megastars is required) and aiding their bodyguards in keeping the media at bay (police reportedly ringed the hospital where Jolie delivered). As a show of gratitude to the country that has done so much to guard their privacy, Brangelina have coughed up some cold hard cash, donating $300,000 to needy Namibian newborns. The money will be used to improve maternity wards at hospitals in Walvis Bay and Swakopmund (Namibia's infant mortality rate is 48 deaths per 1,000 births; the U.S. rate, by comparison, is 5 deaths per 1,000 births, which, by the by, is among the worst in the developed world). "We want to contribute to Namibia and the people who have been so gracious to us at this time," announced the altruistic amours, who also gave another $15,000 to a local school and community center.

How Namibians marked the birth: Brad and Angelina's decision to deliver in the poverty-stricken nation has been greeted with elation. "I have been inundated with phone calls from Namibians all over the country who have heard the news and the people are celebrating in the streets, and special prayers have gone out to them in the churches," the governor of the Erongo region enthuses to Us Weekly. "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."

Shiloh, Citizen of the World: The newest member of the world's most beautiful family (as dubbed by People, which is believed to have the inside track on the first photo, a sought-after shot that will reportedly be acquired in exchange for a whopping $5 million donation to UNICEF) will share a connection to Africa with her siblings. Jolie adopted Maddox from Cambodia but assumed custody of him in Namibia while shooting "Beyond Borders," and she adopted Zahara, with Pitt by her side, from Ethiopia last summer. By law, Shiloh is eligible for Namibian citizenship, says tourism Minister Leon Jooste, who adds that he plans to discuss the matter with her parents "at a later stage."

Brad's dad dream: Hard to believe, but it was only a year and a half ago that Pitt opened up to Diane Sawyer about his loudly ticking biological clock. "Yes, I have got family on the mind," he emotionally admitted in December 2004. "Jen and I have been working something out. Little girls, they just crush me -- they break my heart." While that "something" didn't quite work out with Jen, his headlong sprint into domestic bliss with Jolie has. According to In Touch, the proud pop has been gushing about his offspring to pals over e-mail and passing out cigars.

What's next: The Jolie-Pitts will reportedly spend a few more weeks in Namibia before returning to Paris, where they're expected to rendezvous with Brad's family. After that, says In Touch, they'll head back to the Los Angeles, where Pitt is due to start work on "Ocean's Thirteen" in July.

Da Vinci Code Takes in $463 Million Worldwide

They may not have topped X-Men: The Last Stand in the domestic box office, but Sony got a nice welcome call this Memorial Day Weekend with the news that The Da Vinci Code won the international box office for the second straight week taking in $90 million. Playing in over 12,000 theaters internationally and 3700 in the US, the Ron Howard-directed film hit a total $463 million worldwide. Fox's X-Men: The Last Stand came in second internationally with $76 million. Mission: Impossible III finished a distant third internationally in its fourth week with just over $12 million to push the worldwide total to $299 million.Fox also made it a hit with Ice Age: The Meltdown which took in $3 million to push its foreign total to $434.7 million and worldwide up to $625 million. Disney's animated flick The Wild rounded out the top 5 internationally also taking in $3 million to hit a total of $36 million overseas; it hasn't faired so well domestically.

Zellweger in Case 39

Christian Alvart is set to direct the horror thriller, Case 39 for Paramount Pictures.Renee Zellweger is starring as a social worker who saves an abused girl from her parents, but later discovers things are not as they seem.

Case 39 is due to start shooting this summer in Vancouver; Ray Wright penned the script.

Also, Zellweger is set to star in the Janis Joplin bio pic written by screenwriter, Anne Meredith.

American Idol Hysteria

Almost 64 Million Votes. CONTESTANTS. Songs. Cheering. Simon. Paula. Randy. Burt Bacharach. Dionne Warwick. The artist currently known as Prince. And finally, Wednesday night, after two hours of glittery solo and group singing performances, a winner: Taylor Hicks was chosen as the new American Idol. He wins a record contract and at least 15 minutes of Idol fame.

Why the obsession over a television show? Maybe because it's high school all over again, these years when big dreams of glossy success are wholly appropriate. ``American Idol" is a big lush high school talent show. Popularity matters -- fiercely. Winning means looking and sounding great every time the camera gazes. There are beauties, nerds, talents, and fat kids all competing for the spotlight. Even better than in high school, the millions who have no chance of winning matter because they have the destiny-shaping power of voting. In the final showdown, millions of voters weighed in, most choosing Hicks and his soul sound over Katharine McPhee. The tribe -- to borrow a phrase from Survivor, a very different show -- get to speak without leaving the comfort of their couches and cordless phones.

And just as in any adolescent contest, the voting is not always kind nor merit-based. Pretty faces can beat out good voices. One off song can doom a would-be star. This leads to high school-style intrigue. Fans claimed a conspiracy was afoot when Chris Daughtry was voted off the show, despite his talent. Last year, tabloids speculated about who was the teachers' -- or in this case the judges' -- pet, when a contestant said he was having an affair with Paula Abdul, a judge. Did they? Paula says no. But like a good high school rumor, the possibility floated on.
Like the fashions? Go to Idol's website and shop for the contestants' clothes, from their leather jackets to their evening gowns. But here's a heart-breaking thing about high school and American Idol: They end -- with no promise of continued success. Winners can lose their fizzle. Losers mature into BMW-driving MBAs.

Fans can just move on, traveling in a merry caravan to next season's American Idol.
For Taylor Hicks, it's winning a handful of moonlight. It's lovely. And it's a better shot at a dream than he had before. But it's still only a shot. He'll need pluck and luck and loyal fans as he faces an even more grueling, untelevised contest of how to become a long-term American success.

Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams have both joined the star-studded cast of I'm Not There, Todd Haynes' unconventional bio of Bob Dylan. Ledger, who replaces Colin Farrell, will be one of a half-dozen prominent actors to play the iconic singer-songwriter in different stages of his life and various humors of his nature. The others will be Cate Blanchett, Richard Gere, Christian Bale and Ben Wishaw (who is the lead in the upcoming adaptation of Perfume). One more actor to portray Dylan is yet to be cast. The film also stars Julianne Moore and Charlotte Gainsbourg.

The movie begins filming in Montreal this July. The soundtrack will include music from Jack White of The White Stripes, PJ Harvey and REM's Michael Stipe.

Newmarket Films Takes God Grew Tired of Us

Newmarket Films has bought the rights to the documentary God Grew Tired of Us which is produced by Brad Pitt.

The film was a double winner at this year's Sundance Film Festival for documentary grand jury prize and audience award. Variety says the film, narrated by Nicole Kidman, chronicles the odyssey of three Sudanese men in the world of America and how they strive toward a brighter future. The trio, known as 'The Lost Boys,' are John, Daniel and Panther; they travel from Africa to Syracuse, NY and Pittsburgh, PA.

A late fall release is scheduled for planned for God Grew Tired of Us.

M. Night Shyamalan's Lady In the Water

Warner Bros. Pictures has provided The Hollywood Bureau with your first look at the new poster for writer/director M. Night Shyamalan's, Lady In the Water.

Cleveland Heep (Paul Giamatti) has been quietly trying to disappear among the burned-out lightbulbs and broken appliances of the Cove apartment complex. But on the night that irrevocably changes his life, Cleveland finds someone else hiding in the mundane routine of the modest building - a mysterious young woman named Story (Bryce Dallas Howard), who has been living in the passageways beneath the building's swimming pool. Cleveland discovers that Story is actually a "narf" - a nymph-like character from an epic bedtime story who is being stalked by vicious creatures determined to prevent her from making the treacherous journey from our world back to hers. Story's unique powers of perception reveal the fates of Cleveland's fellow tenants, whose destinies are tied directly to her own, and they must work together to decipher a series of codes that will unlock the pathway to her freedom. But the window of opportunity for Story to return home is closing rapidly, and the tenants are putting their own lives at great risk to help her. Cleveland will have to face the demons that have followed him to the Cove - and the other tenants must seize the special powers that Story has brought out in them - if they hope to succeed in their daring and dangerous quest to save her world...and ours.

Chris Rock to Direct I Think I Love My Wife

Chris Rock has signed on to direct his own comedy, I Think I Love My Wife for Fox Searchlight. Chris has also written the script and will star in the film as well.Charles Stone III was originally set to direct the film, but dropped out; that's when Chris jumped into the spot. Kerry Washington and Gina Torres are also starring in the remake of Eric Rohmer's 1972 French comedy, Chloe in the Afternoon. The Hollywood Reporter says the movie centers on Richard Cooper (Rock), who is married to Brenda (Torres), with whom he has a young daughter. When his old flame (Washington) enters the picture, Cooper soon discovers he is in way over his head. I Think I Love My Wife begins shooting later this month in New York; a 2007 release is scheduled.

Tommy Hilfiger's Rags

Tommy Hilfiger has invested $20 million into the new film, Rags.The fashion maker recently sold his corporation for $1.6 billion and says, "Now that I closed the deal to sell my fashion company, I plan to invest more personal time and capital in productions within my own entertainment company. I opened Tommy Hilfiger Entertainment six years ago; we've been involved in the music business and we've done some television, but now I'd like to become more serious about media."

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Rags is set to go into production in the summer in New York.

Dimension Films to Make the Devil's Knot

Dimension Films has bought the rights to the Mara Leveritt book Devil's Knot: The True Story of the West Memphis Three. The drama centers on an infamous Arkansas murder case that ended with the conviction of three teens based largely on their alleged fascination with the occult, reports Variety. Three children were savagely murdered in 1993. Weeks later, police announced the arrest of three teens accused of committing the murders as part of a satanic cult ritual. Scott Derrickson and Paul Harris Boardman to pen the script, with Derrickson to direct; no production date has been set.

The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is a supreme test in scheduling. There's simply no way to catch everything worth seeing and hearing, given that the festival offers more than 80 acts on five stages.

Do you watch Sigur Ros or Damien "Jr. Gong" Marley? My Morning Jacket or Kanye West? She Wants Revenge or Daft Punk? Sleater-Kinney or Bloc Party?Those are the types of problems that a music fan loves to have.

Once again, the Coachella festival presented an absolute smorgasbord of musical talent during its two-day run (4/29-30) at the gigantic Empire Polo Fields in Indio, CA. Some 70,000 plus fans turned out each day to see such major headliners as Depeche Mode, Franz Ferdinand, Cat Power, Tool, Scissor Sisters, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Matisyahu and Digable Planets.

The talk of the town centered on Madonna, who was making her debut appearance at the festival. The Material Girl is about ready to kick off her own mega-tour, but she was savvy enough to make time for Coachella first.That's the kind of juice that this festival has in the biz. Folks like Madonna really want to play Coachella and they are willing to rearrange their schedules to do so. Some acts are even willing to go to more extreme measures on Coachella's behalf. For instance, Massive Attack made its first stateside appearance in more than eight years at Coachella. Also, Daft Punk played its first live show in some six years in Indio. Going into the weekend, the two days seemed pretty evenly stacked in terms of talent.

Saturday was going to be a better time for hip-hop heads, given that Kanye West was on the bill, and Sunday would be a bigger thrill for hard rockers, thanks to Tool. Both days, however, looked like winners for music lovers in general. And that's exactly how it turned out. One of Saturday's true highlights wasn't one of its most heralded. Lyrics Born, performing fairly early in the day on one of the smaller stages, delivered a knock-out set of tunes from 2003's great "Later That Day," many of which were later remixed on 2005's equally fine "Same !@#$ Different Day."The San Francisco Bay Area has received much media exposure as of late due to E-40 and the hyphy hip-hop movement, but Lyrics Born, an Oakland-based rapper, showed again with his set that he might be the most talented MC in the "Yay Area."The most talented rapper in the entire entertainment business, however, is probably Kanye West. The fantastic Mr. West delivered what was arguably the finest show during Coachella Day One. Using a dynamic string section and more charisma than should be legal, West had the crowd jumping to such selections as "Jesus Walks" and "Gold Digger."Although hip-hop fans have heard these pop-smart tracks a zillion times by now, West's best tracks aren't getting old in the slightest. Those previously mentioned tunes, as well as an armload of others, keep getting better and more powerful each time they are played. Plus, no rapper does a better job in translating his music from the studio to the stage than Kanye. A truly impressive outing.

Sigur Ros, which immediately followed West on the main stage, was nearly as impressive. As the sun began to set and a nice breeze cooled the sun-baked music worshipers, this Icelandic band delivered its patented blend of uniquely intoxicating music. In an industry where everybody seems to be trying to sound like someone else, Sigur Ros is one of the few bands that boasts a truly unique sound. Part of that has to do with the lyrics, which are sung in the band's native Icelandic dialect as well as in a made-up language that the group has deemed "Hopelandic." But, mostly, it has to do with the sound, which shares as much in common with classical music and, well, whale noises as it does indie rock. In contrast, Cat Power, one of the most buzzed about performers of 2006, didn't quite cut it. Her show had its moments, but she also seemed a bit distracted and overwhelmed by the magnitude of the setting. It's easy to venture the guess, however, that she would be much better in a more intimate setting.Depeche Mode closed the main stage offerings on Saturday in expected fashion. The synth-pop trio wowed its longtime fans, as well as converted a few thousand newcomers, with memorable renditions of both old and new songs. New songs such as "A Pain That I'm Used To" and "John the Revelator" proved to be even more powerful than many of the old fan favorites. This band clearly isn't ready for the senior-citizen rock-star circuit yet.

On Sunday, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists kicked off this critic's viewing schedule with a set that bristled with punk-rock energy and Who-alicious '60s-garage-rock 'tude. It was amazing that Leo was able to deliver as much energy as he did, given how draining the midday sun was in the desert."I would so gladly change places with James Blunt right now and be in one of those [expletive] tents," he said, squinting in the blistering sun and sweating profusely on one of the outdoor stages.It was almost too hot to dance at this point in the day, but that surely didn't stop fans from moving their feet to the sounds of Matisyahu. The artist (born Matthew Miller) mixed reggae, hard rock and hip-hop as toasted his way through tracks from his latest release "Youth."The vibe changed considerably once Sleater-Kinney took the stage. The riot grrl-inspired trio rocked hard enough to make one wonder why Ozzy hasn't thought of booking the band for Ozzfest. The dueling guitars and vocals of SK's Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein were superb as usual, but Janet Weiss' drumming, both ferocious and tuneful, seemed particularly inspired on this afternoon.

After catching a brief bit of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the majority of the crowd made its way over to one of the DJ tents to watch Madonna perform a very brief set. It was a mob scene over there and most of the audience surely couldn't see what the Material Girl was up to on stage. Still, it was Madonna, the one true legend on the festival's bill, and that made the whole thing worthwhile for most fans. She sounded pretty strong as she worked the kinks out for her upcoming tour by playing a number of her new club tunes. Most people will remember Coachella 2006 for being the one that featured Madonna. That's unfortunate in a way, given that Tool definitely brought the most paying customers to the house.The band put on its regularly heavy show, complete with dramatic lighting and wacko videos, and got this crowd ready for the release of "10,000 Days," which hits stores on Tuesday (5/2). There's a saying that one needs the right tool to do the job. Along those same lines, organizers need the right band to close a festival. Tool, without a doubt, was that band.