Jennifer Aniston Watch

While Jen is typically modest about her charity contributions, she does make her voice heard when she has the opportunity to raise awareness for a cause that she believes in, much as she has often done for organizations such as St. Jude Children’s Hospital. Well, she’s now putting her star power behind the U.S. Campaign for Burma, a petition campaign to back the release of Burmese political leader Aung San Suu Kyi, whose democratic rule was overthrown by a military regime. Jen appears in a rather clever video on BurmaCantWait.org, and she is joined by Management costar Woody Harrelson and longtime pal (and yoga instructor) Mandy Ingber. Check out the site for Jen’s video, along with others - and for an opportunity to make your own voice heard.

Just a reminder - check out Oprah’s Big Give at 8/7c tonight to catch Jen’s special appearance! Word is that Jen appears to deliver some big news; wonder what that could be?

Miami reader JK wrote to me with details on a Sunday night sighting at Mandarin Oriental’s Martini Bar:

“I was at the bar polishing off my second lychee martini when a group of about five people came in and sat down. As they ordered their drinks one of the voices sounded awfully familiar - sure enough, I looked up and it was none other than Jennifer Aniston, surrounded by friends. One tall, dark, and extremely handsome man had his arm around her - at first, I was willing to dismiss this as simply, you know, friends being friendly.

“However, as they sat down the two of them kept giving each other knowing glances, and once their drinks arrived, the entire party raised their glasses in a toast. Then another gentleman at the table asked Ms. Aniston if he could see ‘it’ again, at which point she extended her left hand towards him. After looking at something on her hand for a moment, he made an inaudible comment on it and then asked her when the ‘big day’ would be, so that he could clear his schedule. After glancing at Tall, Dark and Handsome for a moment, she said that it wasn’t set in stone but that he’d be the first to know, since obviously, she’d need his help. Then a woman at the table raised her glass in another toast . . .

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Jen with Eva Longoria and Orlando Bloom at Tuesday’s EBMRF dinner at Beso (WireImage)

More pictures have surfaced from Tuesday’s fundraiser for the Epidermolysis Bullosa Medical Research Foundation at Eva Longoria’s restaurant Beso, including pictures of Jen palling around with Courteney, Eva, and Orlando Bloom. Furthermore, not only did the event raise money for EBMRF, but it was announced today that Stiefel Laboratories, a pharmaceutical company noted for its contributions in the field of dermatology, will match all funds raised via Courteney and David’s recent fundraising challenge for the cause. According to this press release, this was announced to guests at the event. At Beso, guests enjoyed good food and great company, all for a very good cause!

More pictures of Jen and friends under the jump!

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David Schwimmer at the New York premiere of Run, Fatboy, Run on March 24

After honing his skills during the Friends days, Jen’s onscreen “lobster” has made his feature film directorial debut with Run, Fatboy, Run, a comedy in which Dennis (played by Simon Pegg) clumsily attempts to win back the affections of Libby (Thandie Newton), the woman whom he’d previously dumped at the altar - while pregnant. Also appearing in the film, as Libby’s new love interest, is Hank Azaria; not only did he play Phoebe’s “scientist guy” love interest on Friends, but he took a hilarious turn in Along Came Polly as clothing-averse scuba instructor Claude.

David recently did an interview with The Onion’s A.V. Club about his directing experience on Friends, the challenges that were particular to this shoot, and his approach towards future work. The interview is a very interesting read; I particularly enjoyed reading what he had to say about public perception of his post-Friends work:

I just said to myself, “Stop thinking about it. You can’t change people when they want to think something, or when they want to believe something.” So I just decided then, I was just going to do what I wanted.

Run, Fatboy, Run is now showing in select theaters.

It was recently reported that Jen attended the opening of Eva Longoria’s restaurant Beso on Tuesday night. As it turns out, the event was a fundraiser for Epidermolysis Bullosa Medical Research Foundation, an organization that Jen and Courteney have both supported for a long time. The event’s proceeds supported the foundation’s objectives of research and treatment for Epidermolysis Bullosa, a rare and extremely painful skin condition characterized by extreme blistering and chronic sores. Many notable names showed up in support of the cause, including Orlando Bloom, Kate Beckinsale, Ken Paves, and Jessica and Ashlee Simpson. In Style has a gallery of photos of the event - Jen can be seen in two of them, wearing something rather familiar . . .

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Jen’s been a busy woman, hard at work on the Miami set of Marley & Me. However, she had a bit of a break this week, as Owen’s been filming scenes without her at the Fort Lauderdale offices of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, where John Grogan worked during his early “Marley days.” Owen and Eric “McSteamy” Dane have been filming their scenes this week; People shows the onscreen colleagues on the set on Monday. The Sun-Sentinel has shared their inside account of the action, as well as the insights of Sun-Sentinel employees who worked as extras and saw it all! While some of John’s actual former colleagues were on the set (including one who actually dogsat Marley), one thing has changed from real life to reel life - Eric’s character, Sebastian Tunney, is completely fictional.

Jen has used her time off to spend some time with friends back in LA. PopSugar has pictures of Jen leaving Courteney’s house earlier this week, looking gorgeous and with MacBook Pro in hand. The friends would meet up again very soon, in a more festive setting, as Splash News reports that Jen was later spotted at last night’s opening of Eva Longoria’s new restaurant Beso; Courteney and David were also reported to be in attendance, along with Jason Bateman, who played realtor Riggleman in The Break-Up. The video on Splash indicates that Jen’s trek into the restaurant was a swift one, as she almost evaded the paparazzi. Anyway, it looks like Jen’s fully enjoying her break!

Jen spent her St. Patrick’s Day hard at work on the Miami set of Marley & Me, wearing shorts bearing the logo of Central Michigan University (Jenny Grogan’s alma mater?). PopSugar has more pictures of Jen on the set; I’m particularly fond of this one, as it’s wonderful to see her sharing a laugh with her good friend Chris!

On a side note, here’s something totally random that I noticed: Jen’s next four movies will be released in alphabetical order! Check it out:

He’s Just Not That Into You - August 1, 2008
Management - September 19, 2008
Marley & Me - December 25, 2008
Traveling - early 2009

Clearly I spend entirely too much time geeking out about Jen’s new movies, but I think that it’s understandable when they all look like they’re going to be so good!

One of Jen’s costars in her upcoming film Management is Woody Harrelson, who plays Jango, a yogurt mogul (and yes, there is such a profession). He can be seen in Semi-Pro, coming out Friday, but many viewers came to know him during his days on Cheers; fittingly, his character was named Woody, and from then on everybody knew his name. Many years later, he made a brief return to the small screen with a turn on Will & Grace as Grace’s “bran flake” boyfriend Nathan, but he has firmly established himself as a cinematic presence, with memorable roles in Natural Born Killers and White Men Can’t Jump. Recently, he appeared in critical favorite No Country for Old Men, a film that triumphed at last weekend’s Academy Awards.

It’s a small world, and Hollywood’s even smaller; Woody is good friends with Jen’s soon-to-be costar Owen Wilson, who was recently spotted vacationing with Woody and his wife Laura! The group hit locales that included Maui and Peru; the trip to Peru was of particular significance, as Owen and Woody paid a visit to an orphanage there that they support. Woody also spends time in Jen’s social circle; in a recent interview with ReelzChannel to promote Semi-Pro, Woody shared a very sweet (if somewhat odd) story from the time he has spent with Jen:

“I was at this party in Malibu at Courteney Cox’s house, and it was so funny because I was freezing,” recounts Harrelson. “I was barefoot. Now I won’t say how I came to be barefoot, but Jennifer Aniston was so nice. She was like, ‘You’re freezing! You must be so cold.’ She’s very maternal that way. And I’m like, ‘Yeah, I’m a bit cold.’ So she takes her boots off and then takes her socks and gives them to me.”

“So these are my ‘Jen’ socks,” he declares. “And they’ve become kind of my lucky socks.”

Like the “lucky” socks, it does seem that everything that Jen touches turns to gold, and I am sure that Management will be no exception. It is set for release on September 19.

As many anticipated, Jen did attend this weekend’s Night Before The Oscars party, held at the Beverly Hills Hotel on Saturday night, as one of the event’s hosts. According to Variety, the evening was a huge success, raising $6 million for the Motion Picture & Television Fund. Abiding by the motto “taking care of our own,” MPTF is an organization dedicated to meeting the health and social needs of those working in the entertainment industry and their families. Jen was one of many, many stars in attendance that evening, and she kept company with many friends and costars at the bash; in fact, the evening’s guest list read like a game of Six Degrees of Jen! Some notable faces in the crowd:

Christina Applegate (Amy on Friends)
Courteney Cox & David Arquette
The Break-Up costar Jason Bateman
James Burrows (director of some early Friends episodes)
Sacha Baron Cohen
Kristin Davis (Erin on Friends)
Laura Dern
Cameron Diaz
Traveling costar Aaron Eckhart
Melissa Etheridge
He’s Just Not That Into You costar Ginnifer Goodwin
Former Plan B partner Brad Grey
The Good Girl costar Jake Gyllenhaal
The Object of My Affection costar Allison Janney
Universal exec Ron Meyer
Along Came Polly costar Ben Stiller
Derailed executive producer Harvey Weinstein

Meanwhile, the gossips among us have already discussed who was not there, so it would be redundant of me to discuss that as well. Ultimately, what matters is that a lovely time was had by all, as money was raised for a wonderful cause.

Jen continues to film Traveling in Vancouver, and continues to look gorgeous all the while. As you can see in the above picture, her character is named Eloise! As more details continue to surface, I am getting even more excited about this movie. PopSugar has other pics of Jen and Aaron on the set; looks like they’re having fun together on the set, which can only mean good things for the costars’ chemistry. Jen looks particularly joyful lately, and it is wonderful to see.

It can be said that the true definition of a star is one who brings light into other people’s lives, and Jen’s new costar is not the only one who can attest to that. Someone whom Jen has known for far longer has recently revealed just how devoted Jen is to her friends.

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Despite what the rumor mill would have us believe, it seems that Jen is spending the season with those who mean a lot to her - her friends. On Christmas Eve, a smiling Jen was spotted and snapped leaving Mastro’s, with Courteney close behind. Looking at that grin, it seems that a wonderful time was had by all; not even the paps could dampen her spirits! Check out more pics of the girls’ night out at PopSugar.

It looks like the festive fun will continue into the new year! Faded Youth has pics of Jen boarding a private jet with Courteney, David, and Coco. And is that Jon Favreau in the fedora? The pals often spend New Year’s Eve in Cabo San Lucas, and it seems that they may be headed there once again.

Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, sightings, Christmas Eve

It’s been a quiet couple of weeks for Jen watchers, as Jen’s managed to fly under the radar while enjoying her downtime between projects (Traveling is set to begin production in January). However, the eagle eyes at People spotted her enjoying some fine cuisine - and greeting the chef. From Caught In The Act:

Jennifer Aniston, offering a personal greeting to chef Nancy Silverton while dining at Hollywood’s Osteria Mozza with a female friend. The actress approached the counter – where Silverton was prepping – and waved ‘hello.’ The chef reciprocated with a “virtual wave” since her hand was covered with flour.

Not only that, but X17 has pictures of her leaving the restaurant that night, keeping warm for the quick dash to the car. And didn’t People say that she was with a female friend? I’m pretty sure that I see Chris in the background of one of the shots. There’s a joke in there somewhere that I’ll just skip. Maybe she was with both him and a female friend. Anyway, see the snaps here.

Jennifer Aniston, sightings, candids, Mozza

Back in 2001, Jen filmed The Good Girl with Jake Gyllenhaal, who at the time was a relative newcomer (his credits at the time included Donnie Darko and Bubble Boy). Not only did they share the screen in the quirky flick, but they shared a love scene, which for both actors marked a first. Jen was notably apprehensive about simulating such a private moment for all to see; she told In Style upon the film’s release that “unless you’re someone who gets off on having people watch you - which I’m certainly not - it’s weird having 40 crew members look at you in such an intimate situation.”

However, she did find solace in Jake’s own approach to the moment, as she told the magazine that “Jake was as nervous as I was. Finally you just go for it. I couldn’t ask for a better, sweeter person to be devirginized on film with.” For his part, Jake discussed his experience working on the scene: “We had been making out for weeks in other scenes, and this was just some more hip grinding; some more kissing. Jennifer turned to me at one point and said, ‘That wasn’t so hard. I’ve faked it before.’” Throughout the production, he developed something of a protective stance toward his leading lady; he says that at one point, “I remember we were in bed one day, and Miguel Arteta screamed, ‘Stop joking around.’ And I thought, ‘This is Jennifer Aniston, motherf***er. You don’t yell at her.’”

Furthermore, they have continued to show a great deal of respect for each other’s work over the years. In 2005, Jen was on hand at the Hollywood Film Festival to present Jake with a Hollywood Breakthrough Award. Earlier this year, Jake returned the favor, presenting Jen with her GLAAD Vanguard Award. He gave a great presentation speech, citing Jen’s warmth and integrity as traits that he has come to know personally, and upon her arrival onstage he greeted her with a kiss. As Jake himself put it, “Everybody falls in love with Jennifer, and I have to say, it’s always her fault.”

Jennifer Aniston, Jake Gyllenhaal, The Good Girl, costars, GLAAD Media Awards

According to recent reports, Jen has been quite the social butterfly lately! In recent weeks, she has been spotted mingling with lots of people, from friends to fans, and remaining down-to-earth all the while.

While filming Management, Jen took the time to meet a very special fan. According to The National Ledger, Jen met with Isaiah Beeson, an 8-year-old with brittle bone disease. When Jen learned that Isaiah wanted to meet her, she made arrangements for the boy to be brought to the set. She signed a photo for him and according to relatives, Isaiah remarked that Jen was “super nice.” No surprises there, but it’s always nice to hear of her kindness with fans.

Monsters And Critics reports that last week, Jen took a trip to New York City to attend a reunion at the Rudolf Steiner School. As previously mentioned, Jen discovered her passion for acting while attending the Steiner School, and it seems that she also formed many close friendships. A fellow alum reported that “Jennifer was really happy to see everybody. She didn’t play the star and was genuinely interested in finding out how everyone else’s lives had turned out.” Once again, while this is not surprising, it’s always nice to hear.

Finally, Jen was spotted back in Malibu over the weekend; video posted at x17 Online shows Jen leaving a gathering at the Arquette residence. Fellow guests included Scott Caan, Sacha Baron Cohen, Isla Fisher, and baby Olive. However, on a less festive note, other footage shows Jen evacuating her beach house this weekend with Norman and Dolly in tow. Here’s hoping that all Malibu residents are safe from this current round of wildfires.

Jennifer Aniston, Management, Isaiah Beeson, fan stories, Rudolf Steiner School, reunion, Courteney Cox Arquette, David Arquette, Sacha Baron Cohen, Isla Fisher, Scott Caan, Malibu wildfires