Oliver Stone, who is at the Venice Film Festival for his Sept. 11 drama, World Trade Center, has accused Hollywood of glorifying war.
"Pearl Harbor and Black Hawk Down - these movies worshiped the machinery of war," Stone said. "And I think America went back to the concept of war too easily."
Unlike previous decades, which also produced antiwar films, Stone said, the '90s were dominated by pictures "that promoted the concept of war."
"I have reasons to be depressed as a Vietnam veteran," said Stone, who made the Vietnam film Platoon. "And I can say many Vietnam veterans are depressed about why we are in Iraq."
Stone, who said his film had a message of hope, said "things have gotten very dark" since the Sept. 11 attacks. "There is more terror, there is more death, there is more war."
Calling Elmer Fudd
* Playboy Enterprises Inc. has joined the Metrosexual Age, launching a line of menswear, including shirts, jackets and swimwear, some of which are tastefully silkscreened with images of centerfolds from the '70s. (Alas, no velvet Elvis bum pads.) To let the world see what a tacky, desperate loser you are, the clothes are all emblazoned with the Playboy bunny logo.
Now, either they're clueless, or Playboy execs are glibly upfront about their apparent contempt for consumers.
Here's Aaron Duncan: "If they [young males] can't gain access to the Playboy mansion (because they're working-class nobodies with acne scars?), then they'll buy a T-shirt that makes them feel like they're affiliated with the lifestyle." (Why not just buy three Model Barbie Dolls and become Hugh Hefner!)
Brangelina's Big Easy
* Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie vow they will watch over New Orleans, like so many angels, as the hurricane-ravaged city rebuilds itself.
Brad was in town Wednesday and Thursday, when he announced the winners of a design contest he launched in April to rebuild houses and whole neighborhoods using ecofriendly designs and materials.
The contest winners, New York architects Matthew Berman and Andrew Kotchen of Workshop APD, will build a set of homes and a community area that will be replicated throughout the city.
"This is a social-justice issue," Pitt said after touring the city.
"In a catastrophe, you help the most vulnerable first, and we failed to do that."
Aniston: Just do it
* Jennifer Aniston, 37, is about to sign an endorsement deal with Nike, which will pay her the largest sum the company's ever paid to its celeb hucksters, Adrants.com reports. The global ad blitz also may include a spot during the Super Bowl in February.
Aniston, reportedly, has vowed to donate a large chunk of the Nike money to cancer charities.
Meanwhile, the sportswear goliath, which has been embroiled in controversies stemming from charges it uses sweatshops, has a design deal with Motor City rapper Eminem, who is designing an autographed line of Air Max training shoes, with proceeds from the sales going to charities in Michigan.
Beer date down under
* Dave Grohl has made a solemn vow on Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio that when he visits Australia in October, he will follow through with his offer to buy a beer for Brant Webb, 37, and Todd Russell, 34, the two miners who said they had listened to Grohl's band, the Foo Fighters, during the two weeks they were trapped when their mine in Tasmania, an island state off the southeastern corner of Australia, collapsed in May.
"You know what? I'm not just having one beer with those dudes - we're going for it," said Grohl, 37, who's always had this good-guy vibe. "This is going to be a big night."
World's greatest mom?
* According to the New York Post, music legend Diana Ross helped her son Evan celebrate his 18th birthday by giving him an unlimited shopping spree at Maxfield's clothing store in Los Angeles. The price tag: $100,000.
Contact "Newsmakers" at 215-854-5797 or newsmakers@phillynews.com.
This column contains information from Inquirer wire services.
