Angeline Jolie: Brangelina Interviews To Ann Curry, Not 'Today'

My, look at the clout in Ann Curry's corner.

The former co-host of NBC's "Today" might have handled her dismissal with professional grace, but Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are big fans feeling no such obligation to niceties. The Oscar winner told Curry personally in the immediate days after Curry's sudden "Today" departure that neither she nor her husband-to-be would give NBC the time of day unless it was Curry doing the asking, RadarOnline.com reports.

Jolie also reportedly explicitly nixed a talk with anyone currently appearing on "Today" after Curry's exit. It comes back to Jolie's personal respect for Curry's previous reporting on the ongoing crises in Darfur.

"Ann has developed a professional relationship with Angelina and Brad, and they trust her implicitly because of her integrity," an insider told Radar. "Their working relationship has developed in a friendship, and it meant the world to Ann that Angelina had reached out to her. Angelina made it clear to Ann that no one from the current 'Today' show cast would get an interview with Angelina or Brad, and with rumors of an upcoming wedding for the couple, NBC will lose any interviews with the actors in the future if Ann isn't allowed to do it."

It could be said that since Curry's sudden axing from the show in June in favor of longtime correspondent Savannah Guthrie, NBC has experienced a karmic ass-kicking. Monday's Nielsen ratings indicated that even NBC's previous two weeks of exclusive London Summer Olympics coverage and resulting dominance couldn't keep "Today" ahead of ABC's "Good Morning America" in the week following. "Today" got spanked by a reported average of 162,000 viewers, with NBC losing every day except Monday.

During the games, "GMA" was trounced by an average 1.5 million viewers tuning in to "Today." Of course, that did follow "GMA" pounding "Today" in the ratings for the five weeks leading up to the games.

"There are several producers that have been with 'Today' for a very long time, over 10yeras, and Matt Lauer is now hated by them because they feel that he is responsible for Ann Curry's being fired," a source stooged. "Ann was tremendously popular with the producers, cameramen, and other staffers of the show because she truly is a team player. Ann was all about the news, and breaking stories, just a true pro.

"Angelina doesn't have a publicist, she never has, and she she hand-picks who she does press with. Angie doesn't like how Ann has been treated by NBC. Yes, she is a very busy mom of six, and her work as an actress and activist, but she has been very aware of what is going on with her friend. Angelina told Brand he should let Ann interview him for all of his work in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, and Brad feels the same way about Ann that Angie does."