Celebrity Mound

President Barack Obama might be powerful and well-known, but the White House got some Hollywood star power Wednesday: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie stopped by for a chat with the chief executive.

The actors were spotted in the Oval Office by photographers waiting outside for the president to take off for a trip to Chicago.

The White House confirmed Pitt and Jolie were in town to screen Jolie’s movie about Bosnian war crimes at the Holocaust museum. They dropped by so the president could talk with Jolie about her work on preventing mass atrocities and combating sexual violence against women.

Pitt was seen sporting a cane, which he’s been using following a skiing injury.

It’s not the first time Obama’s met with one of the pair. In 2009 the president met with Pitt to discuss his working rebuilding New Orleans’ 9th Ward after Hurricane Katrina.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie may be looking to buy in Manhattan.

We hear the star couple has been quietly checking out the Apthorp, the century-old upper West Side landmark that’s undergoing a condo conversion.

Until now, Pitt and Jolie have rented when they’ve come to town. Recently, while Angie’s been shooting “Salt,” the Brangelina brood has divided its time between the Waldorf Towers and Rupert Murdoch’s Rosehearty estate on the North Shore (where Rupe reportedly has been charging them $100,000 a month).

But the fortress-like luxury of Apthorp is apparently making the Pitt-Jolies consider settling down here.

“The gated courtyard means they can get in and out of their car without being hassled by paparazzi,” says a source. “The building also has several other exits.”

The Pitt-Jolies are said to be thinking about putting together three units in the building. “I heard they’re ready to spend as much as $25 million,” says a source.

That could buy them a lot of space, considering Douglas Elliman has slashed prices from $3,000 per square foot to as low as $1,500. (The most expensive unit – 6,197 square feet – sells for $15.5 million.)

Pitt, who is something of an architectural historian, is bound to be beguiled by the handwrought period details of the residence, built in 1908 by the Astor family. Some apartments are as large as 13 rooms and boast 11-foot ceilings and 44-inch-wide hallways. And restoration-minded buyers can customize the raw space to their liking.

What’s more, the Apthorp has long been celebrity-friendly. Nora Ephron and Cyndi Lauper are among those who rented before the condo offering. Among those who’ve checked out the conversion have been actors Alec Baldwin, Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick, and Knick David Lee and his model-girlfriend Sabina Gadecki.

The globetrotting Pitt-Jolies already have grand homes in L.A. and New Orleans but could be attracted, like a lot of Hollywood wanderers, by New York’s private schools.

Buying in the Apthorp does come with some uncertainty. Prudential Douglas Elliman must sell 25 of the available 32 units so that the owner’s offering plan can continue to operate for another year. A Douglas Elliman rep says that there are currently 12 to 15 units “in negotiation.” But – who knows? – maybe Brad and Angie will decide to buy up the rest.

(source)