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BRAD PITT has called on the American public to donate money to his green housing project in New Orleans, Louisiana.
The Ocean’s Eleven star and philanthropist Steve Bing have each pledged $5 million (£2.5 million) to help build 150 new homes in the city’s Lower Ninth Ward district, the area worst hit by the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
And while Pitt claims families left homeless by the disaster will be living in the 150 new properties by the end of summer 2008, he has asked people to donate whatever they can afford so more locals can be housed.
He says, "To build those 150 homes, we need the help of the American people.
We need to all join together to do this. There is no reason why we can’t do a thousand homes.
"You’re going to see life coming in. We’ll have people in homes by the end of next summer."

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Rap producer TIMBALAND is holding off competition from RIHANNA at the top of the European singles chart for a second week - his collaboration with ONE REPUBLIC, APOLOGIZE, remains the continent’s number one song.
Rihanna sits at two with Don’t Stop The Music, while Alicia Keys climbs a place to three with No One.
Meanwhile, Celine Dion’s Taking Chances is Europe’s most popular album for a second week.

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JOHNNY DEPP credits punk icon IGGY POP and horror movie stars LON CHANEY and BORIS KARLOFF with helping him create the character of SWEENEY TODD for pal TIM BURTON’s new movie musical.
The actor, who famously found inspiration for his Pirates Of The Caribbean character Jack Sparrow in Keith Richards, turned to another rocker for his spark as he prepared to play the musical demon barber of Fleet Street.
He says, "Iggy has a beautiful deep quality about him and he’s a real crooner, so that’s where the musical element of Todd came from, I guess.
"And early on, Tim and I spoke about silent film and the king of silent cinema, especially the horror genre, was Lon Chaney Sr. So using him was an inspiration, as was Boris Karloff. We liked the classic, iconic image of movie monsters."

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The mother of R&B star USHER’s baby boy has lashed out at the singer’s jealous fans, who have made her life a misery ever since the couple announced its engagement.
Tameka Foster, who wed Usher in September (07) and gave birth to their son last week (26Nov07), can’t believe how the black media and black women, in particular, have turned on her.
She insists her love for the Yeah! hitmaker is for real, despite claims she’s using Usher to boost her fashion empire.
Foster tells Essence magazine, "We (black women) don’t like ourselves. If I were Hispanic, Usher would have the sexiest wife alive. If I were mixed, he’d have the sexiest wife alive.
"But he has a black girl, and it’s like, ‘She’s horrible and she’s ugly!’ "OK, maybe I don’t fit the cookie-cutter standard - 25 and a size two - but this is who he loves." And Foster insists those that just want to bad mouth her should turn their attentions to more pressing matters.
She rants, "There are women getting raped in Darfur, young girls being turned out every single day right here in Atlanta. We have bigger issues to worry about than two people in love with each other." And soul star Patti LaBelle, who refers to Foster as her "second daughter", backs her up in the article, adding, "Tameka is a pretty black woman who has been married before… but Usher knows her past and he loves her."

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Actress KEIRA KNIGHTLEY shuns modern technology because it prevents her from spending time alone without interruptions.
The 22-year-old infamously became so fed-up with her BlackBerry during the shooting of Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World’s End, she threw the communications device into the sea.
She says, "I hate them (computers). Mobile phones - don’t like those.
BlackBerrys - hate BlackBerrys.
"It (Blackberry) ended up in the ocean. I don’t like the fact people can always be in touch with you, you can never be on your own, you’re constantly having to email people.
"I just got really angry with it and then felt really bad because I thought a fish was going to eat it and die or something. It’s somewhere in the Bahamas."

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TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS will follow the likes of SIR PAUL McCARTNEY, U2, THE ROLLING STONES and JANET JACKSON when they perform during half-time at the Super Bowl in February (08).
The American Girl rockers, who are back in vogue thanks to Peter Bogdanovich’s acclaimed band documentary Running Down A Dream, will take to the stage in Glendale, Arizona.
According to Billboard.com, nearly 140 million Americans watched Prince play at the American football final earlier this year (07).

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MAGNUM, P.I. star TOM SELLECK has ruled out running for political office, insisting he has no aspirations to follow in ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER’s footsteps.
The moustachioed ’80s heart-throb has frequently spoken of his conservative views, and has donated money to both Democratic and Republican political candidates.
It was recently rumoured Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis had encouraged him to turn to politics.
But Selleck insists, "I’ve had a couple of people make a phone call saying, ‘We want you to run for governor.’ And I say, ‘Why? Do you know how I’d govern or do you think I’m famous enough to get elected?’ "I’m not interested. I’m an actor."

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HEROES star ZACHARY QUINTO feels uncomfortable about the ongoing Hollywood writers strike because he’s required to work on the new STAR TREK prequel while friends and colleagues protest.
The actor reveals he finished working on Heroes on the Friday before the strike began (05Nov07) and started work on Star Trek with director J.J. Abrams the following Monday.
Many of his TV castmates have not returned to the set since the strike forced producers to halt filming - but he can’t even show his support.
Quinto explains, "To be working through this and to be required to work is really strange. It’s a combination of feeling really fortunate and oddly awkward and guilty and weird." But the actor sympathises with the striking writers, even though he won’t benefit from the outcome of the action.
He tells the Los Angeles Times newspaper, "The unfortunate need for the sacrifice of individuals to benefit for the group is uncomfortable and painful.
The crew doesn’t benefit from the outcome of the negotiations. That’s difficult for me."

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Artist/director JULIAN SCHNABEL’s harrowing new movie about a real-life stroke victim facing death with a new lease on life is to be used in French hospitals to encourage those fearing death.
Schnabel’s acclaimed film about late Elle magazine editor Jean-Dominique Bauby, The Diving Bell & The Butterfly, was shot in the French hospital where the writer received treatment after a stroke left him paralysed.
And staff at the hospital were the first to approach the director and ask him if they could screen the movie to give other stroke victims hope.
Schnabel says, "Doctors and nurses asked if this movie could be shown in hospitals, so it would make the patients feel like there was hope.
"It made them feel like somebody understood that there was communication going on with Jean-Do and the therapists. And I never even thought about that when I made it. I think there’s a lot of good feeling about it.
"I think, ultimately, what it ended up being was a movie about love and compassion." Schnabel admits he was stunned to find the nurses who worked with Bauby were still active in the hospital - and he gave them all roles in the film.
He adds, "The first person you actually see in the film is Virginia Delmotte, his real nurse. The guy who holds him in the swimming pool is Daniel Lapostolle his physiotherapist.
"These people are selfless. I mean they have committed themselves to helping people that hardly do anything but the people have a soul and a heart and a mind and there’s a value to that."

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TIM ROTH’s dream of working with movie mogul FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA turned into a nightmare when the director made the Brit wade into the freezing waters of the Black Sea - in his pyjamas.
The Reservoir Dogs star and his onscreen Youth Without Youth lover Alexandra Maria Lara were shooting wintry scenes in Bulgaria when Coppola suddenly decided it was time to get wet.
Roth shivers as he recalls, "It was the Black Sea in Bulgaria and it was so cold that it literally sucked the breath out of your body.
"It was a horrible day and the scene was not supposed to be shot in the water; it was supposed to be shot in the bedroom at the hotel.
"We came down in the morning to have coffee and Francis said, ‘How about if we shoot it here instead?’ And that’s where we ended up in the water.
"I was holding onto the rocks for dear life - in just pyjamas. It was a very, very low budget so they had a tent that they built with a heater that we could huddle in and then we had to go out and do it again.
"The worse thing was that we had to keep doing it."

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British director MIKE LEIGH has launched a $14 million (£7 million) fundraising appeal to expand the London Film School.
The Vera Drake filmmaker, a graduate of the school, is now chairman of its governors, and he is seeking money so the establishment can move from its current Covent Garden location to a new building in the British capital’s West End district.
He says, "The London Film School is going to create a permanent centre, which will bring together film students, graduates, industry professionals and others who are generally passionate about film culture from all over the world." Joining Leigh in the campaign are 13 patrons, including actress Tilda Swinton and director Franc Roddam.

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Actor/writer MICHAEL BLODGETT has died after suffering a heart attack. He was 68.
Blodgett, who is best known for his role in 1970 cult movie Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls, passed away in Los Angeles on 14 November (07).
Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, he moved to Los Angeles as a young man where he started his career as a TV host on local pop music programme Groovy, before moving on to present his own talk show, The Michael Blodgett Show.
As well as Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls, Blodgett also starred in films such as There Was A Crooked Man and The Velvet Vampire.
Blodgett became a novelist in the 1970s - his books included the bestseller Captain Blood.
He also wrote the screenplays for Burt Reynolds’ 1987 film Rent-A-Cop and the 1989 Tom Hanks movie Turner & Hooch.

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HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL star ASHLEY TISDALE has become the latest celebrity to undergo rhinoplasty to treat a deviated septum.
Jennifer Aniston and Cameron Diaz have both had the nose problem corrected this year (07), and now 22-year-old Tisdale reveals she had the five-hour procedure at a Los Angeles hospital on Friday (30Nov07).
She tells People magazine, "Growing up I always knew I had a deviated septum on the right side of my nose, which caused trouble breathing.
"The older I got, the worse it got. I went to get it checked out, and the doctor told me the septum was 80 per cent deviated and that I had two small fractures on my nose." Tisdale hopes her operation won’t encourage any of her fans to opt for cosmetic surgery.
She adds, "I didn’t do this because I believe in plastic surgery. I did this to help my health. I literally almost could not breathe out of the right side of my nose."

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RATATOUILLE and SURF’S UP look set to dominate the 2008 Annie Awards for film and television animation after landing 13 and 10 nominations respectively.
Rodent movie Ratatouille is up for awards including Best Animated Feature, while its vocal stars Janeane Garofalo, Ian Holm and Patton Oswalt have all been nominated for Best Voice Acting In An Animated Feature Production.
Among Surf’s Up nominations are nods for Best Animated Feature, Best Animated Effects and Best Directing for Ash Brannon and Chris Buck.
Elsewhere, Bee Movie has five nominations, while The Simpsons Movie and Persepolis both received four apiece.
The nominees for Best Animated Television Production are Jane And The Dragon, Creative Comforts America, Moral Orel, Robot Chicken: Star Wars and Kim Possible.
The 35th annual Annie Awards ceremony takes place at Royce Hall in Westwood, California on 8 February (08).

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A judge has warned actress VIVICA A. FOX to get herself booked at a police station by 11 December (07) or a warrant will be issued for her arrest.
The Kill Bill star was arrested in March (07) after she was allegedly caught driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) on a Los Angeles freeway.
According to police, the 43-year-old was travelling at around 80 miles (128 kilometres) per hour in a 65 mile (105 kilometre) per hour zone.
Fox, who denies two misdemeanour charges of drink-driving, didn’t attend her DUI hearing in Los Angeles on Monday (03Dec07) - but a judge told her lawyer to make sure the actress has her fingerprints and mugshot taken before 11 December.
Should Fox not comply, then a bench warrant will be issued for her arrest, reports TMZ.com.

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GARTH BROOKS has donated a treasure chest of personal memorabilia to the Smithsonian Institute.
The semi-retired singer has handed over his first gold record, a pair of elephant-skin cowboy boots and a pieced-together Takamine guitar he smashed onstage during his first TV special in 1991.
The items will go on show at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum Of American History in Washington, D.C.
The museum houses numerous musical collections from artists like Patsy Cline, Duke Ellington, Ray Charles and Dizzy Gillespie.
Barry Manilow recently had items he donated to the museum returned to him after joking about the Smithsonian during a televised concert.

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A rap song THE BEACH BOYS star BRIAN WILSON recorded as a limited edition gift giveaway to fans and friends is causing a stir in cyberspace after a copy of the 1989 cassette single was unearthed.
Fans can now download Smart Girls, which Wilson recorded with his psychotherapist Eugene Landy, at radio station WFMU’s Beware Of The Blog website.
Only 250 cassette versions of the tune, which features samples of famous Beach Boys riffs, were cut.
The Smart Girls recording has remained a musical myth since the early 1990s when Wilson played the song while he was a guest on Dr. Demento’s Los Angeles radio show.

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Reggae legend LEE ‘SCRATCH’ PERRY has quit smoking marijuana after more than 45 years, claiming he has "had enough".
The 71-year-old Jamaican still performs live and doesn’t want any drug to interfere with his music.
He tells High Times, "I had all the amount I need. Since I was 25, I have been smoking pot, and it overloaded the brain.
"I don’t smoke anymore and I never go back on my word.
"Everything I do, I overdo."

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