This is Brad Pitt leaving what was probably a bitchin’ party last night in Los Feliz, California. Fame Pictures says that Brad was out with a “buddy” but no Angelina, and Brad drank “2 margaritas and 3 tequila shots”. Fame Pictures then gets a little snippy and says Brad’s “domestic family issues which might have lead to this stress-induced booze binge.” Right. Because no guy ever goes out for margaritas and tequila shots just because.

At first, I was going to get snippy because a lot of these photos are of Brad looking drunk as a skunk, getting into an SUV. I thought he was driving at first, but he’s not. He’s in the passenger seat. And he can barely open his eyes. I kind of think Brad has gotten to be that sad drunk guy – the one who falls asleep in the bar like a damn narcoleptic. I’ve never slept in a bar. I have passed out in the middle of a party though. But that was after a lot more than three tequila shots and two margaritas. Anyway, that seems to be the big Brad Pitt story today. He went out, got drunk, got a ride home, and probably drank a lot of water. Just looking at these photos makes me feel dehydrated.

There is one other story, though. Brad’s only film release this year, Inglourious Basterds, is looking more and more like it’s going to be picking up some big Oscar nominations. Christoph Waltz has been nominated by the Golden Globes, the SAGs, and most critics’ awards for Best Supporting Actor. Diane Kruger has even been mentioned as a contender for supporting actress. Director Quentin Tarantino will likely campaign hard for another Best Director nomination, and maybe even a screenplay nom. And the film is probably a shoo-in for one of the Best Picture noms, which have been expanded to ten films this year. So far, Brad hasn’t gotten anything other than a mention in the SAG ensemble nom, but it will be interesting to see if he and Angelina show up for any of the awards shows. To celebrate the Basterds DVD release this week, People Magazine did this rather cloying story about what all of the Basterds cast thought of Brad:

It’s a glorious week for Brad Pitt and the Inglorious Basterds, with several major awards nominations and the film’s debut on DVD. Now, Pitt’s fellow cast members are sounding off on what their leading man was really like off-screen.

The consensus: Brad’s anything but “basterdly.”

Director Quentin Tarantino says Pitt is all dude. “The thing that really just comes to my mind when you say something like that is – he is a guy,” Tarantino told PEOPLE at the launch party for the Basterds DVD at Los Angeles’s New Beverly Theater. “He’s a cool guy. You can have cool and fun man/boy discussions with him.”

The director has witnessed Pitt’s evolution since the star appeared in 1993’s True Romance, which Tarantino wrote. “One of the things that I loved working with him for on this movie was that I think that I’m working with the best Brad Pitt that I could be working with. He’s really grown into his iconic star status,” he says. “He’s a man now. He can be the sort of soldier.”

Costar Diane Kruger called Pitt “a devoted father. He’s really good with his kids, really amazing. They look up to him. It’s really nice to see that he’s so devoted.”

The Office star B.J. Novak, who plays one of Pitt’s soldiers in the film, described the star as “thoughtful” and “caring.” “He wanted to strike up conversations. He was thoughtful and he worked as hard as anybody,” Novak said. “I really felt like all that security around him, those vans and guards and stuff that looks like he would use to keep his life cooler, I think he just uses that to shut out the world and be more normal. Once he got in past the security team and everything, he was as normal and collaborative and happy as you can be.”

His cast members were also eager to ask about Pitt’s past film roles. “We all wanted to ask him about Kalifornia, True Romance, Fight Club, and he was totally fine with that! He loves it. He’s into making great movies,” said Eli Roth, the Hostel director who also played one of the war film’s basterds.

Roth adds: “He watched Hostel and then came in the next day and said, ‘Roth, you bastard! I couldn’t sleep at all last night, damn it!’ He was like, ‘You are way sicker than I thought.’ I think I went up a few notches in his book.”

[From People]

Total overkill. Sure, I’ll buy that Brad’s probably nice to work with, but he’s not the pope, for God’s sake. There’s no reason to ask everyone for their Brad Pitt story.

Here’s another little interesting piece of gossip that keeps getting more and more interesting: if there ever is a Sherlock Holmes sequel, Brad Pitt keeps getting mentioned as potential casting for Prof. Moriarty, Sherlock’s biggest nemesis. MTV got Guy Ritchie and Robert Downey Jr. to go on the record about the rumors – but they still aren’t confirming! Let’s see… did Prof. Moriarty drink tequila? That’s one way to get Brad to sign on!

Brad Pitt in Los Angeles on December 16, 2009. Credit: ODuran/Fame Pictures.