Occupy Wall Street has its fair share of celebrity supporters, including many whom have gone down to Zuccotti Park to check out the encampment. And while their mission extends far past kudos from Hollywood, they just received one of their biggest movie star endorsements.

Brad Pitt, as star of this fall’s “Moneyball,” has done a lot of talking about rethinking baseball’s financial system, but in doing so, he’s also made a lot of allusions to broader fiscal issues. In a press conference to promote the film in Japan earlier this week, Pitt brought up the OWS protestors as necessary agents of change.

“I think what you’re seeing in America is questioning a system that has not served us very well,” the star said. “A system that, I mean for example, is defined for corporate lobbyists instead of the best needs for the people and people are feeling screwed a little bit there.”

Pitt went on to comment, in a seeming allusion to OWS, that those protesting a system need to have answers, too.

Read more.

Brad Pitt is the latest star to add his name to an auction to be held next week to help victims of Tropical Storm Irene. Pitt and the person he played in “Moneyball,” Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane, have autographed an A’s jersey for the auction.

The event, “Going To Bat For Vermont Farmers,” will be held November 12th, and includes autographed memorabilia from numerous stars including David Beckham, Evan Longoria, Albert Pujols, and CC Sabathia.

Pitt’s jersey was just added to the collection last night and is already up to $420.

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This is an email I received over the summer but it got lost in my permanently filled SB inbox and thus I couldn’t warn you all about the auction. In case you had a spare $1,750

Hi there. My name’s Maggie and my Uncle, Henry Chalfant, directed a film called ‘Style Wars’ in the early 80′s. It’s become cult classic, documenting the very beginnings of hip hop, grafitti and breakdancing.

Style wars

Catherine Keener helped us organize a massive celebrity art auction to restore the original negative and some never before seen b-roll and transfer it to hd. A very expensive process. We threw a huge party here in nyc that was a big hit but we want to get the word out to all the fans / collectors about this incredible auction.

Brad Pitt was amazing and and agreed to participate. He donated an incredible original piece that incorporated his meticulous design element with his off-color humor, lol, and it’s great. it’s truly my favorite piece from the show.

We’d like to get the word out to any of his fans who might be interested in putting a bid down. the opportunity is incredible and we would be so thrilled if you were to link the information below to your site.

Read more. Thanks Maggie.

Comedian and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres is coming home on March 10 to help Brad Pitt “Make It Right” in the Lower 9th Ward.

DeGeneres has signed on to host “A Night to Make It Right,” a gala that aims to raise enough money to finish Pitt’s goal of building 150 environmentally friendly houses in the neighborhood that was virtually wiped out after the levee breaches in 2005. Seventy-five ultra-modern homes are finished, and DeGeneres and her fans have raised more than $1.6 million, so far helping 300 people return home.

“I’m so happy I can be a part of this incredible foundation,” DeGeneres said. “Brad Pitt is amazing — not only for what he started, but also because, who else can make a hard hat look like a jaunty fall fashion accessory?”

Pitt probably will leave the hard hat at home in the French Quarter that night, when Mayor Mitch Landrieu serves as honorary co-chair. Details are still being worked out, but a press release promises the party will feature “a guest list of major entertainers, political leaders, corporate donors and philanthropists … a dinner menu celebrating the finest culinary traditions of New Orleans, and grand afterparty.”

Read more. Thanks Gabriella.

The Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland and Stand Up To Cancer through Oakland A’s Community Fund is partnering with Columbia Pictures’ Moneyball for a benefit screening this Monday (09/19).

Moneyball, starring Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, and Philip Seymour Hoffman, is directed by Bennett Miller and centers on the true story of Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane and his succes in putting together a baseball club on a budget by employing computer-generated analysis to draft his players.

Event Details:
Film premiere, 6 p.m., Monday, Sept. 19
Paramount Theatre of the Arts, 2025 Broadway, Oakland.

Read more/discuss. Thanks Anu.

BIG-HEARTED Brad Pitt halted filming his zombie epic in Scotland yesterday (08/21) – to back a hard-up kids’ football team.

Brad, 47, put his £80million blockbuster World War Z on hold to pose for fundraising photos with Cardonald Thistle under-14s.

The star had been filming in a disused branch of budget superstore Kwik Save in Glasgow.

The boys, based just a goal kick away, turned up on spec to ask for a picture and were stunned when Brad said yes.

The team had been taking part in a sponsored 10k challenge to raise money for a tournament in Spain.

Coach John Paterson said: “We only got five minutes with him but he was great with the kids. He asked them how they were and about the run.

Read more/discuss. Thanks Anu & Gabriella.

Steffani was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a cancer found in lymph tissue, in 2007 at the age of fourteen. While going through treatment, Steffani was referred to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Central & South Texas. The Foundation grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions. When asked what would be the one thing she would wish for if she could have anything, Steffani replied, “I wish to be an actress.”

The Make-A-Wish staff went to work to create a magical experience for Steffani. In the spring of 2008, her dream came true when she was given the opportunity to visit the set ofThe Tree of Life, a movie being filmed in Austin. Her mother, Tamara, said it couldn’t have come at a better time as she had finished her treatments just six weeks prior.

Read more/discuss. Thanks Anu.

FYI. Webmiss was away for a couple days to visit Krakow, Poland. I’m home now. A big thanks to my lovely friend and SB staffmember La_miga for keeping SimplyBrad.com updated!

Through their foundation, Springfield native Brad Pitt and partner Angelina Jolie on Friday contributed $500,000 to the Community Foundation of the Ozarks, to bolster the recovery effort in Joplin.

“Rebuilding after a disaster is a long process,” said Brian Fogle, President of the Community Foundation of the Ozarks. “As our neighbors in Joplin begin to deal with the devastation, this donation from the Jolie-Pitt Foundation gives them the hope and confidence they will need to rebuild their lives, homes and community.”
The money will be used to support mid- and long-term rebuilding efforts in the storm-ravaged city.

Read more/discuss.

Brad Pitt’s brother, Doug Pitt, is climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro in an effort to bring safe drinking water to African communities. Philanthropy apparently runs in the family. Doug Pitt – a photojournalist, father of three and Brad Pitt”s brother – is on Day 4 of a climb up Africa’s highest peak, Mt. Kilimanjaro. It’s part of an effort to bring clean, safe drinking water to African communities.

Pitt blogged on Sunday: “After an early wake-up call of 5:45 a.m. the team walked more than nine miles reaching an elevation of 14,800-feet for lunch. The pace has slowed to make sure that everyone’s bodies adjust to the new altitudes, but spirits are still high despite cold temperatures and frequent rain.”

Read more. Thanks Gabriella.

Generous Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have donated $2 million to the African wildlife sanctuary where they spent Christmas with their kids.

The superstar couple’s Jolie-Pitt Foundation has made the donation to the Naankuse Wildlife Sanctuary in Namibia to help its efforts to protect animals and improve the lives of local people.

The couple, whose daughter Shiloh was born in Namibia, are close friends of the directors and founders of Naankuse, Rudie and Marlice van Vuuren.

The donation to the Naankuse Mission project is being made in Shiloh’s name.

Angelina said: ‘We want her to be very involved and grow up with the understanding of her country of birth. “We have known Rudie and Marlice for many years and continue to be impressed by their hard work and dedication to the people and conservation of the land and wildlife of Namibia.”

Brad and Angelina and their six children spent a week at the sanctuary over the festive period.

Read more. Thanks Gabriella.

On Wednesday, just days after celebrating the holidays in Namibia, Africa, the couple made an impromptu stop at the St. John’s Jane Pitt Pediatric Cancer Center in Springfield, Mo., the town where Pitt grew up.

“They called a little bit ahead, about an hour ahead, and requested to tour the pediatric center,” hospital spokesperson Cora Scott said Thursday. “They stayed about 45 minutes. It was a very nice visit.”

Last year, Pitt and Jolie, along with Pitt’s brother and sister and their families, donated $1 million to St. John’s Foundation for Community Health and dedicated the pediatric cancer center to Pitt’s mother, Jane.

“Jane Pitt is a gem in our community,” Scott said. “She’s a very wonderful woman who cares so very much about the well being of children.”

Read more.

The Jolie-Pitt Foundation today announced a donation of $150,000 to SOS Children’s Villages – USA. The donation is given in recognition of National Adoption Day, which celebrates adoptive families and highlights the needs of the over 100,000 children still waiting for adoptive families in the United States. SOS Children’s Villages play a vital role in the healing and stabilization of foster care children, and constitute a critical step along the way to family reunification or adoption for many children. SOS Children’s Villages provides loving, stable homes to children around the world whose biological families cannot properly care for them. Founded over 60 years ago, SOS operates over 500 Villages in 130 countries including Illinois and Florida in the US. The Jolie-Pitt Foundation donation will provide the supplemental long-term financial support needed for a family of four foster children in an SOS Village in the US.

Read more.