The tragedy of Hurricane Katrina brought out the best in American volunteerism. Actor Brad Pitt, who has a home in New Orleans, responded with extraordinary creativity and commitment. The Lower 9th Ward houses of Pitt’s nonprofit Make it Right Foundation – individualistic and energy-efficient – are among the most inspired responses to the storm’s ravages. As the fifth anniversary of Katrina approached, Pitt spoke with historian Douglas Brinkley, his longtime friend, about his love of the city and his dreams for its future. Brinkley provided this exclusive interview to The Times-Picayune.

Whenever actor Brad Pitt is in New Orleans, he gets on his old thrift-store bicycle and tools around the city enjoying the architecture and ambiance. It’s his way of staying in shape. His favorite destination is pedaling across the retractable North Claiborne Avenue Bridge to the Lower 9th Ward to inspect his Make It Right Foundation houses.

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You can catch the replay of this documentary that played tuesday on HBO. Thank you Kat and Norma.

Thank you Gabriella.

Is anyone in the USA able to record this for the website? Please contact me asap, even if just on a disc, I can work with it, thank you.

This year’s best sustainable buildings include an elementary school, two universities and a New Orleans home designed for Brad Pitt’s Make It Right Foundation, according to the American Institute of Architects.

Each year, the AIA picks 10 buildings that show how design can reduce environmental impacts by reusing materials, connecting to public transit, conserving water and energy and improving indoor air quality.

The “Special No. 9 House,” shown above, was designed to provide storm-resistant, affordable and sustainable housing for New Orleans residents displaced by Hurricane Katrina. The 1,520 square foot, single-family home is poised for mass production as part of Pitt’s Make It Right Foundation.

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Add Brad Pitt to the list of celebrities grounded from appearances due to the volcano.

The actor was scheduled to appear this evening in New York at a tribute dinner, sponsored by the government of Tanzania, in honor of his brother Doug Pitt’s humanitarian work.

But Brad Pitt was traveling from Europe – or trying to. His plane has been grounded, like thousands of others, thanks to the power of the volcano beneath Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull glacier.

Doug Pitt, a professional photojournalist, is a director of Africa 6000 International, which has been active in supplying fresh water to those in need, according to its web site.

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SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina — Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt visited Bosnia on Monday, intending to spotlight the plight of 117,000 people who have not able to return to their homes, even though the Bosnia war ended 15 years ago.

But they tried to do so while evading the spotlight themselves: There were no reported media sightings of the celebrity couple.

The two arrived Sunday evening, said Aida Prljaca, the spokeswoman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Sarajevo.

Jolie, who has been a UNHCR ambassador since 2001, will visit projects meant to help Bosnians who cannot return home, either because their homes have not been rebuilt or the infrastructure in their villages has not been repaired.

Some 7,000 people live in dozens of refugee centers throughout the country. The other 110,000 live primarily with relatives or in rented housing.

Jolie is currently filming “The Tourist” with Johnny Depp in Italy.

Read more/discuss. Thanks Dulci & Gabriella.

Quentin Tarantino, Upper Playground and The Weinstein Company have teamed up to present, The Lost Art of Inglourious Basterds — a benefit for Haiti this Thurday, February 18th 2010 from 6:00-9:00pm in Downtown Los Angeles. A bunch of artists have created their own posters based on Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds. You can check out eleven of the thirteen posters after the jump. The event will be held at The Upper Playground Art Gallery, and all proceeds from this program will be donated to The American Red Cross to help the victims of the Haiti Earthquake. Each print will be numbered and signed by Quentin Tarantino, in a extremely limited edition of only six prints per poster.

Thanks to Gabrielle.

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You can watch a video from Brad’s speech, here.

Thanks to maria and Gabriella.

“Hope for Haiti Now” will feature Wyclef Jean in New York City, George Clooney in Los Angeles, and CNN’s Anderson Cooper reporting from Haiti, as well as President Bill Clinton, Ben Stiller, Brad Pitt, Chris Rock, Clint Eastwood, Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, Jon Stewart, Julia Roberts, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Meryl Streep, Morgan Freeman, Nicole Kidman, Robert Pattinson, Samuel L. Jackson, Tom Hanks, and Muhammad Ali.

“Hope for Haiti Now” will air across ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CNN, BET, The CW, HBO, MTV, VH1, CMT, PBS, TNT, Showtime, COMEDY CENTRAL, Bravo, E! Entertainment, National Geographic Channel, Oxygen, G4, CENTRIC, Current TV, Fuse, MLB Network, EPIX, Palladia, SoapNet, Style, Discovery Health, Planet Green, CNN en Espanol, HBO Latino, and Canadian networks including CBC Television, CTV, Global Television, and MuchMusic. The event will be live streamed online globally across sites including YouTube, Hulu, MySpace, Facebook, Fancast, AOL, MSN.com, Yahoo, Bing.com, BET.com, CNN.com, MTV.com, VH1.com, and Rhapsody and on mobile via Alltel, AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, and FloTV. “Hope for Haiti Now” will also air internationally on BET International, CNN International, National Geographic, and MTV Networks International, which is available in 640 million homes worldwide. “Hope for Haiti Now” will be available non-exclusively to all terrestrial radio stations around the globe and SIRIUS XM Radio as a one time only radio broadcast via the MTV Radio Network and Westwood One.

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Pledge a few bucks and maybe talk to a vampire.

Robert Pattinson will be manning the phones at Friday’s telethon for Haiti, joining Brad Pitt, Bill Clinton, Clint Eastwood, Jon Stewart, Matt Damon, Meryl Streep, Morgan Freeman, Julia Roberts, Leonardo DiCaprio, Nicole Kidman and Tom Hanks.

Added to the previously announced musical acts are Madonna and Beyoncé. Haitian artist Emeline Michel is also on the lineup.

The two-hour Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief, begins at 8 p.m. ET and will be hosted by Wyclef Jean in New York, George Clooney in Los Angeles and CNN’s Anderson Cooper in Haiti.

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Not on Our Watch– the charity formed by George Clooney, Don Cheadle, Brad Pitt, producer Jerry Weintraub, and David Pressman–has directed $1 million to aid for Haiti.

The money is going to Partners in Health, a group that already has emergency medical efforts underway in Haiti.

PIH is sending 30 surgeons to Haiti, as well as medical supplies.

Not on Our Watch was originally created to help the people of Darfur.

Thanks to Gabriella.

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Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s foundation is contributing $1 million to the emergency medical operation responding to the devastating 7.0-magnitude quake in Haiti.

“It is incredibly horrible to see a catastrophe of this size hit a people who have been suffering from extreme poverty, violence and unrest for so many decades,” says Jolie.

Adds Pitt: “We understand the first response is critical to serve the immediate needs of countless people who are now displaced from their homes, are suffering trauma, and most require urgent care.“

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Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt expressed their deep sorrow tonight at the widespread lost of life that has occurred in the Haiti earthquake.

In a written statement, they said:

“We are devastated by the news from Haiti. We will work closely with our good friend Wyclef Jean to support the humanitarian efforts on the island and help those who have been injured and left without homes and shelter.”

Ms. Jolie and Mr. Pitt have visited the island in recent years to assist Wyclef Jean’s charity Yele Haiti.

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If you wanna help, you can donate through YELE HAITI FUNDATION.

SOS Children’s Villages – USA today announced a gift of $100,000 from Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt to support its two American SOS Children’s Villages for Christmas.

SOS-Florida and SOS-Illinois were founded over fifteen years ago to provide an alternative form of foster care in the U.S. that puts an end to multiple placements, separation from siblings, physical and sexual abuse or neglect and abandonment.

Ms. Jolie said of the donation, “We have seen first-hand the remarkable job SOS does to raise orphaned and abandoned children and keep families together. No one ‘ages out’ of an SOS Village: vocational training, advanced education, living assistance and moral support are there forever.”

SOS Children’s Villages – USA CEO Heather Paul stated, “The Jolie-Pitt Foundation has been a strong and loyal supporter of SOS Children’s Villages around the world. We are deeply grateful that this year this couple has included in their generosity our villages in Illinois and Florida and our 300 children who call SOS ‘home.‘” Brad Pitt: “In this holiday season, many of us take for granted that we are surrounded by loving family members. The poor outcomes for foster children indicate that we must do a much better job of supporting them.“

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