Angelina Jolie controls Hollywood

The New York Times put up a report today alleging Angelina Jolie has gained complete control over the media and is able to spin any story in her favor. The NYT claims that when Angelina sold PEOPLE the rights to exclusive photos of her twins for $14 million there was also a clause that any coverage had to reflect positively on their family. The magazine also had to provide an “editorial plan” as well as never using the “Brangelina” moniker to describe them. Brad and Angelina apparently hate that (Now you know what to call them on the red carpet). Times Inc. which owns PEOPLE sent out a statement denying these allegations but The New York Times plodded on.

Ms. Jolie expertly walks a line between known entity and complete mystery, cultivates relationships with friendly reporters and even sets up her own photo shoots for the paparazzi.

Most skillfully, she dictates terms to celebrity magazines involving their coverage of her and her family, editors say, creating an awkward situation for publications that try to abide by strict journalistic standards.

When Angelina stole Brad away from Jennifer Aniston, she also spun the coverage in her favor.

Shifting the focus is one of Ms. Jolie’s best maneuvers, magazine editors and publicity executives say. When she became romantically involved with Mr. Pitt, for instance, she faced a public relations crisis — being portrayed in the tabloid press as a predator who stole Mr. Pitt from his wife, Jennifer Aniston.

This time, it was Ms. Jolie’s charity work that helped turn the story. Long interested in international humanitarian work, Ms. Jolie appeared in Pakistan, where she visited camps housing Afghan refugees, and even met with President Pervez Musharraf. Ms. Jolie and Mr. Pitt made a subsequent trip to Kashmir to bring attention to earthquake victims.

In conclusion, don’t cross Angelina Jolie. She will crush you. And it won’t be the good kind of crushing that you pay for where a girl sits on your chest. It’ll be the other kind. The non-erotic kind.