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Published by Transit Publishing Inc.

2009 Transit Publishing Inc. and Ian Halperin

The reproduction or transmission of any part of this publication in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording, or otherwise, or storage in a retrieval system, without the prior consent of the publisher, is an infringement of copyright law. In the case of photocopying or other reprographic production of the material, a licence must be obtained from the Canadian

Copyright Licensing Agency (Access Copyright) before proceeding.

ISBN: 978-1-926745-43-5

Editor: Timothy Niedermann
Copyeditor: Shannon Partridge
Proofreaders: Nachammai Raman,
Tami Xanthakis and Aime Verret
Cover design: Franois Turgeon
Text design and composition: Nassim Bahloul
Photos insert design: Pierre Pommey

Cover and back cover pictures:
Valery Hache/AFP/Getty Images
Lester Cohen/WireImage
Francois Durand/Getty Images
Sean Gallup/Getty Images
P. Lapoirie/Maxppp/Zuma/Keystone Press

Transit Publishing Inc.
1996 Saint-Joseph Boulevard East
Montreal, QC
H2H 1E3

Tel: 1-514-273-0123
www.transitpublishing.com

Printed and Bound in U.S.A.

To my family, for always being there.

To my daughter Clover-Sky,
for bringing me each day all the joy and
happiness in the world.

This book would not have been possible but for the help and encouragement of many others. My heartfelt gratitude to:

Pierre Turgeon, the amazing head of Transit Publishing, for his continuous support and for structuring the shape of the book. Thank you for being there every step of the way.

Jarred Weisfeld, certainly the best agent in the world and also the most devoted friend. My daughter advised me to keep Jarred on for lifedone deal! You are there at every moment.

Francois Turgeon, the whimsical genius whose creativity and insight has inspired me to keep going.

Timothy Niedermann, my undying gratitude for being a first-class editor. Heres to you!

Max Wallace, for your insight, vision, and relentless hours of fact checking. Heres to continued friendship, health, and success.

Sean OBrien, my business partner at ianundercover.com. You have always been a rock. Heres to much continued success for your design business.

The brave people who spoke on the record and those who spoke off the record because they are still affiliated with Brangelina.

The entire staff at Transit Publishing for your incredible support and friendship.

Thanks to (in completely random order):

Ruth Fishman, Alan Kaufman, Anthony Ziccardi, Ian Kleinert, Howard Stern, Judith Regan, Shloime Perel, Ron Deckelbaum, Alison Moyet, Randolph Freedman, Dylan Ratigan, Geraldo Rivera, Charles Small, Paris Match, the City of Oslo, Skavlan, Samantha Lockwood, Denise DuBarry, Michele Frenire, Robert Brouillette, Fran Weinstein, D. J. Petroro, Mancow Muller, Isabelle Dub, Stuart Nulman, Larry and Belinda Seidlin, Dax, Renee Bosh, Andrew Rollings, Dr. Tony Stanton, Michael Cohen, Jeffrey Feldman, Jesse Jackson, Elliot MacDonald, Jon Reisler, Fleeze Fleming, Mitch Melnick, Christopher Heard, George Thwaites, Paula Froelich, Page Six, Noah Levy (In Touch), Lloyd Fishler, Karin Thomsen (1969-2009), Vanesa Curutchet, Peter Daley, Nate Colbert, Miles Wilkerson, Jimmy Davidson, JetBlue, Sofitel L.A., The L.A. Public Library, Norah Lawlor, Samantha Harris, Kia Zalewski, Annette Witheridge, Kevin Stinson, Jack Stinson, Amy Stinson, Meredith and Matt, Liz Jote, the gang in Austin (Christine, Angie, and Nuno), Morgan Nicholls, Jillian Harris, Esmond Choueke, Jim Nelson, Paul Santana, OTR, Dany Bouchard, Varda, Noir Chocolat, David Gavrilchuk, Elisa Gross, Irwin Gross, Bill Reed, Julius Grey, Nathalie McLennan, Al Barry, Pumpkin Jones, Kate and Keane, Kris Kostov, Michael Peshev, Denny Jacobsen, Nancy Grace, Terrance Hutton, Laura and Amanda, Petro Karloski, Sean Gottlieb, Rudy Bing, Alain Sommet, Brigit Laferrire, Daschl Wallace, Steven Sherman, Aldon James, The National Arts Club, Dawn Olsen, Mike Hess, Tommy Mays, Jacob Cohen, Al Reed, Stanley Hart, Laurent Medelgi, Gerry Gorman, Jennifer Robinson, Bob Shuman, Bryan White, Cynthia Jackson, Robert Lee, Ella Donaldson, Justin St. Marie, Peggy Allison, Clarissa Young, Bonnie Fuller, Michael Thomas, Terrance Dean, Ceasar DiSantos, Allison Lewis, Mr. Keating, Jerome Sabu, Yitzhak Klein, Bob White, Ted Ridder, Paul Carvalho, J. P. Pawliw Fry, Joe Franklin, Carl Horowitz, Leonard Wexler, Harvey Levin, Britt Taylor, Wendy Peterson, Jean Anne Rose, Lynn Grady, Matthew Benjamin, and Etienne Champagne. If Ive forgotten anyone, mucho thanks!!!!

Maybe its because Id seen One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest too many times, but when I set out to infiltrate the psychiatric hospital where Angelina Jolie was once committed, I couldnt help but be nervous.

In my career as an author and documentary filmmaker, I have specialized in undercover investigations. I have posed as a male model to expose the fashion industry, a gay actor to get the goods on Hollywood and Scientology, a hairdresser to meet Michael Jackson, a paparazzo to expose the behind-the-scenes reality of the movie industry, and I have assumed countless other guises. But those experiences merely required chutzpah; there was no real risk involved.

This time, I had recurring nightmares of being found out and ending up like Jack Nicholsons character, Randle P. McMurphya lobotomized vegetable. Still, it seemed the only way I could hope to gain any insight into the central question that kept popping up as I tried to make sense of Angelina Jolies remarkable life and career: is she really crazy, as she once would have had us believe, or is it all an act?

Having followed her and Brad Pitt for a number of years, spoken to countless friends and colleagues, and watched her astonishing transformation almost before my eyes, I still couldnt make up my mind. One person who had known her for more than fifteen years insisted to me that she was still crazy as a loon. Her father publicly echoed that assessment, referring to her mental problems on national television. Yet many others who knew her insisted that she had put all that behind her and that her metamorphosis into a philanthropic humanitarian who just happened to be a Hollywood idola virtual Saint Angelinawas both sincere and inspirational.

I knew all too well that in Hollywood nothing is as it appears. For almost a century, the town has perfected the art of illusion, both on and off the screen. Our perceptions about celebrities are often tightly controlled by a publicity machine that makes us believe only what it wants us to. Piercing that illusion to discover the truth about any star is difficult, even for a probing journalist. In the case of Jolie, it was proving next to impossible. In order to get a handle on what makes her tick, I decided to visit the place where she reached rock bottom a mere eight years earlier, when she self-destructed for reasons still unknown.