An enterprising celebrity spotter is offering fans the chance to buy a jar of fresh air allegedly breathed by stars Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie -- for a mere US$15,000.
"Be the first to own this jar of celebrity air, which may contain air molecules that came in direct contact with Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt!!" read the seller's announcement on online auctioneer eBay.
Some 53 bidders had pushed the price of the jar to US$15,099 by last week after it went on sale with a starting bid of just US$9.99.
As proof of its provenance, bidders are offered 13 pictures of the celebrity air being scooped up as Pitt and Jolie sashayed down the red carpet at the premiere of their new film, Mr and Mrs Smith.
"We are not guaranteeing this air sample contains air molecules that came in contact with any celebrity epidermal layer or respiratory system, but the sample was captured in proximity of the celebrities and air molecules that did come in direct contact," the seller said on eBay.
Selling celebrity memorabilia online has become a major industry in recent years, but most of the items offered for sale are somewhat more substantial than jars of air.
The stars' film was the top weekend box office earner, according to preliminary figures, raking in some US$51 million.
Pitt and Jolie, playing husband-and-wife assassins, came in way ahead of the number-two film Madagascar, which earned US$17.1 million and was last week's top-grossing film.
The Encino, California-based Exhibitor Relations Co reported that Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith, came in third place with US$14.8 million, followed by The Longest Yard at US$13.5 million.
Rounding out the top five films, with a take of US$12.5 million, was the kid-flick The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl in 3-D about a youngster who creates a pair of adolescent superheroes and then dreams himself into their world.
The boxing flick Cinderella Man, starring Russell Crowe and Renee Zellweger, was sixth with US$9.5 million.
The silver-screen adaptation of the 1950s television comedy series The Honeymooners opened in seventh place, as the film starring comedian Cedric the Entertainer raked in US$5.8 million.
The teen flick The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants was eighth with US$5.6 million, ahead of Jane Fonda and Jennifer Lopez's comedy Monster-in-Law.
Crash, a film about racism, rounded out of the top 10 with an estimated US$1.9 million.
Veteran film maker Yash Chopra won top honors as best director at the International Indian Film Academy Awards last weekend, and his latest love story movie Veer-Zaara scooped multiple prizes.
The film's star, Shahrukh Khan, who arrived on stage in a white horse-drawn carriage to host the showbusiness extravaganza, won the best actor award. The movie also picked up awards for best film, best musical direction and best story.
The ceremony, staged in Amsterdam as part of the Indian film industry's drive to be a global force, attracted about 150 leading actors and actresses from Bollywood as well as some 300 producers and directors.
An international film team that apparently went missing while on assignment in a remote part of Namibia was found safe in a bizarre case said to involve a Hollywood sex guru, a Russian Rambo, a British pilot and African witchcraft.
US and British diplomatic officials said that five foreign nationals -- including two Americans, one British, one South African and a Russian -- were located in the Epupa region of northwestern Namibia.
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