Brad Pitt's Make It Right gala takes in over $5 million

Make It Rights Communication Director Taylor Royle reports that Saturdays A Night to Make It Right celebrity-fueled fund-raising gala was a stunning success. Though the charitable foundation is still calculating all the pledges made at the event, Royle said, we raised over $5 million.

large_Pitt.jpgDoug MacCash / The Times-PicayuneJanice Porter, whose family had a home in the Lower 9th Ward, shares a laugh with actor Brad Pitt in 2007 in the flood-ravaged neighborhood, where Pitt would soon begin the Make It Right development.

The stellar hosts of the event included New Orleans-born TV talk-show star Ellen DeGeneres, Saints quarterback Drew Brees, American Idol judge and Baton Rouge native Randy Jackson and, of course, Hollywood leading man Brad Pitt, who founded Make It Right in 2007 to help restore a Lower Ninth Ward neighborhood largely wiped out by the 2005 flood.

The 1,200 guests, who paid between $1000 and $2500 each to attend, were reportedly treated to dinner prepared by New Orleans culinary heroes John Besh, Emeril Lagasse, Donald Link and others and a private concert by pop luminaries Rihanna, Sheryl Crow, Seal and Dr. John. A silent auction included items such as a guitar custom inscribed by rocker Bono.

Five million is enough to keep Make It Right building architecturally unique, ecological and storm-safe houses for a year, said foundation director Tom Darden last week. The gala windfall was one million higher than the $4 million Darden hoped for on the eve of the event that coincided with Make It Right completing 76 of 150 houses. Visit Make It Right at the halfway point in the video below.

Brad Pitts Make It Right development at halfway point Brad Pitts Make It Right development at halfway point Of all the plans to restore the fabric of New Orleans after the nightmare of Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent flood, Make It Right may have been the dreamiest. Little was left intact after a towering wall of water washed across the modest neighborhood along the Industrial Canal, near the foot of the Seeber Bridge on August 29, 2005. Houses left their moorings and collided as they floated. Some residents, who had stayed behind to brave the storm, lost their lives. What remained of the low-lying enclave was mostly ruined and eventually bulldozed. The families that had called it home, sometimes for generations, were scattered. Actor Brad Pitt, who visited the area in the aftermath of the destruction, was compelled to help correct the situation. He dedicated himself to rebuilding 150 homes and providing them at a reasonable cost to former neighborhood residents. A modern architecture enthusiast, Pitt called on some of Louisianas and the worlds leading designers to draw up replacement homes that would be stylish, energy efficient, ecologically sound and safer that the previous structures. Make It Right recently passed the halfway point, with 76 completed houses. Minimalist music derived from the ice cream truck. Watch video

Read the story: Make It Right at a crossroads halfway through its Lower 9th Ward rebuilding project here.

Doug MacCash can be reached at dmaccash@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3481. Read more art news at nola.com/a! rts. Follow him at twitter.com/DougMacCashTP.

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