Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are putting down serious roots in France.

In addition to recently making a deal to move into the $70 million Château Miraval, the couple has enrolled son Maddox into a local school in Brignoles, sources in the village tell E! News.

"They've got Maddox signed up in the nearest school to their château, and he'll carry on where he left off at his French school in New Orleans," says a local source.

While the entire family awaits the birth of the twins, Maddox is already doing his homework. Says a source: "He's got a French teacher to help him over summer and to make sure he doesn't forget how to speak French, and the kids are all watching cartoons in French as well, rather than via English cable like they had at their last place."

"The French teacher's coming three times a week and spending time with all of the children, as well as Brad and Angelina," adds the source, saying that they're trying to get the other kids into a local nursery in September, as French kids don't start school until they are six anyway.

"They both want the kids to live normal lives, and they're going to stay in France."

Labels: Entertainment

Now that she can end her story on a high note, Lynne Spears is ready to sing.

Britney and Jamie Lynn's mother is eyeing a September release for her upcoming memoir about raising a family in the glare of what turned into an increasingly harsh spotlight, according to Nashville-based publisher Thomas Nelson, which deals largely in inspirational books and Bibles.

Thomas Nelson announced the project in October (to originally be due on Mother's Day), but the venture was "postponed" a couple months later after Spears' then-16-year-old daughter revealed she was 12 weeks pregnant.

Not to mention 26-year-old Britney was gearing up for her first middle-of-the-night trip to the hospital.

"When Jamie Lynn got pregnant, it was put on hold,"a rep for the publisher told People. "Lynne never stopped working on it, because she wants to express her love for her children and tell their stories through a mother's eyes."

But while the publisher isn't offering any teasers as to how many details Spears is planning to divulge, at least Through the Storm: A Real Story of Fame and Family in a Tabloid World can end on a happier

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OK, so Ashton Kutcher's been growing this crazy beard for months now, and all of a sudden I see today he's shaved it off. What gives?
—Janice, Santa Fe, N.M.

Yep, Ashton Kutcher had a beard there for a quite a few weeks all right. He grew it as part of a Jewish tradition, per In Touch. Kutcher isn't Jewish, and neither is his wife, Demi Moore, but, like their mutual friend Madonna, they like to study Kabbalah, a mystical offshoot of Judaism.

"He is growing [the beard] because of the Jewish and Kabbalah holiday called Lag Ba'Omer," one "insider" told the magazine.

Um, not quite. Experts tell me that this insider didn't get it quite right. Here's the real deal behind Kutcher's hot fuzz...

Some Jews and Kabbalah followers adjust their habits during a 50-day stretch in the springtime. In honor of one the sadder periods in their history, they forego certain indulgences, such as weddings, music, shaves or haircuts. Indeed, according to photos, Kutcher started growing his beard right around Passover, the start of that 50-day phase.

At the other end is Savuot, which ended yesterday, leaving Ashton clean to scrape that beast off his face. Which he did.

There's only one day during that stretch when it's A-OK to whip out the Gillette Mach Five, and that's a day called Lag Ba'Omer. This year it fell on May 23. Lag Ba'Omer is supposed to be like a little oasis of happy in the middle of the sad. You can even light bonfires, if you're into it.

In other words, you don't grow your hair because of Lag Ba'Omer, as In Touch reported. You cut it off, if you want to, on Lag Ba'Omer.

Got that? Good. Now just wait till you see what shenanigans Asthon's planning for the Fast of Tammuz in July!

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While Angelina Jolie also discussed acting, her two upcoming films and her time spent as an activist and (once upon a time) as Billy Bob Thornton's wife in her recent sit-down with Entertainment Weekly, it's difficult not to be distracted by what she had to say about her current marital status, that mysterious etching on Brad Pitt's back and why being pregnant with twins has forced her to get creative in bed...

• On her relationship with Pitt and their tendency to go to "extremes" as a couple: "Well, certain things are private! But there's a side of us that's so mommy-daddy and then there's a side of us that's...very man and woman. I'll leave it at that."
• On not being married: "It's not a big intentional thing not to marry. We immediately were a family when we became a couple, and children were the priority, and we're both legally committed to the children. And that seemed to be the right thing."
• On how it feels to know they'll soon have six kids: "Well, we weren't expecting twins! So it did shock us, and we jumped to six quickly. But we like a challenge. We really don't know...The only thing for us when a new child comes home is just balancing the others. Our real focus now is: How do we make sure that the babies' coming is not upsetting to other kids and makes them feel included."
• On that new tattoo Pitt's sporting: "I drew that. We went to Davos [Switzerland]. It's not that we were bored at the World Economic Forum, but one night we didn't have anything to do, so I was drawing on his back...The picture everybody saw was kind of awkward, but it just lines up beautifully on his back, just enhances the part of the body I like."

Oh, and the only way Jolie's pregnancy could get any sexier would be if she dipped herself in chocolate before slipping into those billowy dresses.

Pregnancy is "great for the sex life," the Oscar winner said. "It just makes you a lot more creative. So you have fun, and as a woman you're just so round and full."

Labels: Entertainment