OMEN
05-19-2006, 08:49 AM
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HOLLYWOOD'S hottest parents-to-be Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have reportedly signed a million-dollar deal for the first pictures of their unborn baby.
The couple has signed a deal with a US weekly magazine for the first snaps, London's Daily Mirror reported.
"They've signed a 2.6 million ($5 million) deal with a publication and the money will go to children's charity UNICEF," a source close to the couple said to the paper.
"Angelina's very private but they figured they might as well use the opportunity of one child being born to help a lot of others."
Paparazzi have flocked to Namibia and are stalking the pair, with tabloids predicting the celebrity baby of the year is due any day. But Brangelina have so far remained almost invisible in their remote Namibian resort, ducking reporters intent on getting a career-making scoop.
Despite a widely reported due date of May 18, there was little sign the baby was about to make its appearance today, leaving gossip hounds panting for news.
A newspaper today quoted sources saying Jolie was to give birth within the next two days, possibly opting for a home birth with a special aircraft on standby.
"Jolie ... is expected to go into labor in the next 48 hours," The Namibian said.
There are three private hospitals in the two closest towns of Walvis Bay and Swakopmund.
But other baby-watchers have concluded the real due date could still be weeks away, making for an even longer wait for what one New York magazine dubbed the most eagerly anticipated birth since Jesus.
Residents of the southern African desert country known chiefly for its giant sand dunes say they are confounded by the relentless media interest in their famous guests, who arrived six weeks ago with adopted children Maddox and Zahara.
"I think it is such a big fuss, I couldn't give a damn to be quite honest. I feel sorry for them, they should just be left alone," said Ingrid Wheal, who owns a local curio shop.
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Mum-to-be ... Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are in hiding in Namibia
TOUGH SECURITY
Brad, 42, and Jolie, 30, sparked a media frenzy when they arrived in Namibia six weeks ago, prompting the stars' bodyguards and security to try hound journalists out of town.
Reporters that remain lurk in coffee shops or quietly scout the area, latching onto any movement or scrap of information from the lodge, and keeping a low profile out of fear of possible deportation.
Green cloth screens mask the beach resort, while pepper-spraying bodyguards and police in camouflage have made the task almost impossible.
Security around the lodge was heightened even further today, as bodyguards cased the surrounds for prying lensmen hoping to earn the multimillion-dollar paycheck the first pictures of the baby are expected to earn.
Namibia, a country of deserts and diamonds neighboring South Africa, was seen as a perfect getaway for Jolie, with its sparse population largely unfazed by the Hollywood buzz.
Jolie spent months in the area while filming Beyond Borders largely unrecognised by the local residents
Reuters
HOLLYWOOD'S hottest parents-to-be Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have reportedly signed a million-dollar deal for the first pictures of their unborn baby.
The couple has signed a deal with a US weekly magazine for the first snaps, London's Daily Mirror reported.
"They've signed a 2.6 million ($5 million) deal with a publication and the money will go to children's charity UNICEF," a source close to the couple said to the paper.
"Angelina's very private but they figured they might as well use the opportunity of one child being born to help a lot of others."
Paparazzi have flocked to Namibia and are stalking the pair, with tabloids predicting the celebrity baby of the year is due any day. But Brangelina have so far remained almost invisible in their remote Namibian resort, ducking reporters intent on getting a career-making scoop.
Despite a widely reported due date of May 18, there was little sign the baby was about to make its appearance today, leaving gossip hounds panting for news.
A newspaper today quoted sources saying Jolie was to give birth within the next two days, possibly opting for a home birth with a special aircraft on standby.
"Jolie ... is expected to go into labor in the next 48 hours," The Namibian said.
There are three private hospitals in the two closest towns of Walvis Bay and Swakopmund.
But other baby-watchers have concluded the real due date could still be weeks away, making for an even longer wait for what one New York magazine dubbed the most eagerly anticipated birth since Jesus.
Residents of the southern African desert country known chiefly for its giant sand dunes say they are confounded by the relentless media interest in their famous guests, who arrived six weeks ago with adopted children Maddox and Zahara.
"I think it is such a big fuss, I couldn't give a damn to be quite honest. I feel sorry for them, they should just be left alone," said Ingrid Wheal, who owns a local curio shop.
http://network.news.com.au/image/0,10114,5156103,00.jpg
Mum-to-be ... Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are in hiding in Namibia
TOUGH SECURITY
Brad, 42, and Jolie, 30, sparked a media frenzy when they arrived in Namibia six weeks ago, prompting the stars' bodyguards and security to try hound journalists out of town.
Reporters that remain lurk in coffee shops or quietly scout the area, latching onto any movement or scrap of information from the lodge, and keeping a low profile out of fear of possible deportation.
Green cloth screens mask the beach resort, while pepper-spraying bodyguards and police in camouflage have made the task almost impossible.
Security around the lodge was heightened even further today, as bodyguards cased the surrounds for prying lensmen hoping to earn the multimillion-dollar paycheck the first pictures of the baby are expected to earn.
Namibia, a country of deserts and diamonds neighboring South Africa, was seen as a perfect getaway for Jolie, with its sparse population largely unfazed by the Hollywood buzz.
Jolie spent months in the area while filming Beyond Borders largely unrecognised by the local residents
Reuters