Jennifer Aniston Watch

Think he’ll run all the way to Philadephia?

Although it seems like it was just yesterday that pictures of Jen and Owen on the set began to surface, the reality is that they have been hard at work in Miami for two months already. While it seems that all involved have enjoyed their time in the Sunshine State, the production is about to make its way up to Pennsylvania. The Grogans moved to Pennsylvania, Marley in tow, in 1999, and they continue to live there today with their new dog, Gracie (as seen here on John Grogan’s blog with Dog Whisperer Cesar Millan). As those who have read the book know, the family moved when John was hired as managing editor for Organic Gardening magazine, although he eventually returned to newspapers as a columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer. The Inquirer has details on upcoming locations:

Next up before cameras locally: Marley & Me (May 9), which will put Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston not only in West Chester but also on a Philly street for a scene or two (plus one day in The Inquirer’s newsroom).

With that, production in Florida is set to wrap up any moment now, and it is rumored that the cast and crew will have a very special guest to help them celebrate a job well done. x17 reports that John Mayer will be in attendance to play a quick set at the wrap party, which is, rather fittingly, rumored to be an ’80’s-’90’s theme party. I for one can’t imagine any other reason why he’d be there, although x17 is throwing around such phrases as “hot and heavy” and “he’s telling everyone what a cool chick Jen is.” But this visit, clearly, is strictly business, although I won’t go so far as to say what kind of business it is. As always, time will tell.

Are they watching the ball fly into the outfield . . . or Marley?

Friday night marked “Bark In The Park” night at Dolphin Stadium, meaning that dog owners could bring their furry friends to watch the Marlins play. However, few could have anticipated the excitement that would ensue as the evening progressed - they would be in the company of famous dog owners John and Jenny Grogan. Well, the onscreen version, anyway.

Jen and Owen were on hand along with several crew members (and “Marley”) to film a scene in which Marley, watching the Marlins play, decides that he wants in on the action. As he runs out onto the field, John and Jenny chase him down. According to Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez, Jen was in fine form - he told the Miami Herald, “She’s pretty athletic. She made some zig-zags out there.” See for yourself here - that woman can run!

She also made an injured player’s day a little bit brighter. Josh Willingham, currently on the Marlins’ disabled list due to a lower back strain, didn’t just sit idly by as his teammates took the field - he met Jen! An account of their meeting, from USA Today:

While the Marlins were in the process of dispatching the San Diego Padres, Willingham was in the tunnels of Dolphin Stadium shooting the breeze with Aniston.

“She said, ‘So why aren’t you out there playing?’” Willingham recalled. “I said I hurt myself a few days ago and I can’t play for a while. So, you guys shooting a movie here?”

Marlins fan blog Fishstripes speculates that this could trigger something of a chain reaction among the players - who wouldn’t want to hang out with Jen? For now, though, a few more pictures will just have to suffice - enjoy!

It’s all fun and (baseball) games for now . . .

. . . until someone runs away! Time to spring into action . . .

. . . and they did exactly that, in front of an audience of thousands. Well done!

It seems that we will have to wait a bit longer to see He’s Just Not That Into You - the US release date has been pushed back to October 24. There have been whisperings about this for a while, but given the somewhat ludicrous reasons for the move given by the tabloid press, I was hesitant to say anything. However, it’s now official, and cast member Bradley Cooper recently told MSNBC’s The Scoop what he thinks of the change:

“The film is great,” said Bradley Cooper, who stars in the film. “And to tell you the truth, it’s better for the film that it’s opening in October. It’s a good thing.”

Cooper also said that a summer release would have been a strange fit for the film: “It’s not a massive, blockbuster-type movie. That was never, ever the intent. This is a smaller movie, more artsy than what you expect in the summer months. I think the fall is perfect for the release.”

While I would have loved to see this movie sooner, it is good to hear something about this decision that isn’t pure speculation. And Management is still set for a September release, so those waiting for a Jen fix don’t have to wait too much longer. Patience is a virtue - I know, not one that I have in abundance either, but come fall, what patience we can muster up will pay off in spades.

Steve Zahn’s Mike enjoys the view

Some time ago, I mentioned that very little is known about Management, even though filming wrapped several months ago. Well, thanks to IMDB, we now know at least a little bit more. Their new plot synopsis reveals that Jen’s overworked traveling saleswoman character is named Sue Claussen, and Steve Zahn’s slacker motel manager is named Mike Crenshaw. The film will be released in the United States on September 19; if you just can’t wait that long, check out some spoilers under the jump!

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Jen at Miami’s Cardozo Hotel, April 18 - WireImage

New pictures have surfaced of Jen and Owen doing some more filming for Marley & Me. They were snapped at Miami’s Cardozo Hotel on Friday, both at the hotel and on the beach outside - they were even joined by Gloria Estefan! Check out more pics of Jen looking stunning as always under the jump!

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Owen and Jen on set as John and Jenny

One of the really cool things about playing the part of a real person is, if you’re lucky, the opportunity to meet the person you’re playing. Well, according to John Grogan’s blog, the real John and Jenny paid a visit to the set recently, affording Jen and Owen the chance to learn a bit more about their characters - and have a bit of fun.

John describes the experience of seeing other people playing himself and his wife as “out-of-body,” and indeed it must be surreal to watch what is essentially a reenactment of an earlier time in your life. He also spoke to the accuracy of the production in recreating the period, even going so far as to say that Jen “looked like she had raided Jenny’s wardrobe from the early ’90s.” However, perhaps my favorite bit is this moment between the two Jennifers:

Later, during a break, my smart-ass wife couldn’t resist sidling up to Jen Aniston as she sat in her Jenny chair and deadpanning, “Excuse me, but I believe you’re in my seat.” Fortunately, the actress has a good sense of humor.

This movie’s Christmas Day release cannot come soon enough!

And so it begins . . . the publicity for Jen’s new films is officially underway! New stills from He’s Just Not That Into You can be found at Yahoo! Movies. Jen appears alongside an all-star cast that includes Ben Affleck, Jennifer Connelly, Drew Barrymore, and Scarlett Johansson. Check them out!

Photo 1 Jen’s character Beth gets decked out in Princess Bubble-Yum finery as a fellow bridesmaid looks on.

Photo 2 The Jennifers share the screen.

Photo 3 Jennifer, Jennifer, and . . . Ginnifer. I’ll bet that wasn’t confusing at all.

Photo 4 Drew and Scarlett share a girly moment.

Photo 5 Male bonding on the high seas - Ben with Bradley Cooper.

Now, excuse me while I go geek out . . .

Management is the one of Jen’s upcoming movies about which perhaps the least is known. During filming, set pictures were few and far between, and despite extensive searching, I still have not found out the name of Jen’s character! What is known is that in this film, Jen plays a traveling saleswoman whose one-night stand with a motel manager (another nameless wonder) leads to a more persistent pursuit, as he then follows her in her travels. All this, despite the fact that that she is otherwise involved with yogurt mogul Jango, played by Woody Harrelson.

This gentleman, who may either be a hopeless romantic or just hopeless, is played by Steve Zahn, a versatile actor who got his start on the stage, first in his local theater in Minnesota and then in New York City. The Harvard alum went on to play memorable roles in Reality Bites (a personal favorite of mine), That Thing You Do!, and Saving Silverman. He has actually shared the screen with Jen twice prior to their most recent endeavor; not only did he make a hilarious turn on Friends as Phoebe’s secret husband (maybe it was Jen’s neat bird-in-a-pot trick that piqued his interest), but he also appeared in The Object Of My Affection as George’s brother Frank.

Steve has been a busy man lately. In addition to Management, he has also recently wrapped upcoming releases Calvin Marshall and Night Train and is currently filming A Perfect Getaway. We will see plenty from him in coming months, and I am very much looking forward to that!

As much fun as I had with my foray into creative writing the other day, April Fools’ Day is now over and with that, it’s back to the truth for me!

The truth is that Jen is looking stunning these days! Jen spent her April Fools’ Day on the set of Marley & Me with screen husband Owen Wilson and a rather rambunctious canine costar (see more photos at PopSugar). I, for one, can’t wait until this movie comes out (on December 25); without a doubt, Jen will shine in the role of Jenny Grogan.

One thing’s for sure - when Jen’s new movies come out, baseball player John Maine will be one of the first in line. He has recently cited her down-to-earth nature and her beauty as factors in his long-standing admiration of her. From recordonline.com:

Let all the other jocks have the hots for Pamela Anderson or Jenna Jameson or Paris Hilton.

“I’ll take Jennifer over all of them every day of the week,” said Maine, who will make his regular-season debut for the Mets tonight against the Atlanta Braves. “I just love her soft and natural, girl-next-door looks and the way she carries herself, her whole demeanor.

“And, oh, yes, the hair,” he suddenly added with a jolt before seeming to drift off into fantasy land. “The hair is unbelievable.”

What can I say? The lad has excellent taste.

Jen hit the road rolling today, as she and Owen were snapped filming another scene for Marley & Me. Clearly one of the earlier (early ’90’s) scenes in the book - gotta love the scrunchie! Wait a second . . . she somehow even manages to make that look good. She truly has magical powers. Including the ability to defy age - is she really 39? She looks so young!

Check out I’m Not Obsessed for even more pics of Jen behind the wheel of this very period-appropriate vehicle!

After Jen’s break during Owen and Eric’s newsroom scenes, it seems that she’s returned to Miami and jumped right back into filming Marley & Me! According to reports (including one from the Herald-Tribune), Florida governor Charlie Crist paid a visit to the set on Friday, and Jen and Owen were both there that day. City Manager Pete Hernandez was on hand, along with Miami Mayor Manny Diaz, who blogged about his experience on the set, as well as the benefits that a city like Miami can reap from the film industry. Check out his entry (as well as a sweet group shot) here.

Also, Marley fans may want to check out the Sun-Sentinel’s Marley & Me quiz. Test your smarts on the world’s worst dog! And no cheating - save your visit to www.marleyandme.com for after you take the quiz!

Judy Greer, star of ABC’s Miss Guided (Arrested Development fans like myself might remember her as the recurring character Kitty Sanchez), costars in Traveling as one of Eloise’s employees. Fans know Judy best as a blonde, but she has recently been seen sporting red hair; as it turns out, this change came about for her Traveling role. On a recent appearance on The Late Show With David Letterman, Judy revealed that producers encouraged her to change her hair color - because they felt that she and Jen looked too similar! From Defamer, where you can also see a clip of Judy’s interview:

In this case, Judy was asked (probably not so politely) by the production team of Traveling to dye her hair red so audiences in Iowa wouldn’t get her character confused with leading lady Jennifer Aniston. As ridiculous as that notion (and request) was, Judy Greer is a trouper and, of course, went for it.

As lovely as both ladies are, I doubt that there are too many people who would mix them up! Anyway, Traveling is now listed by IMDB as being in post-production, and it will be released early next year.

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!

Now you see ‘em . . .

now you don’t!

Are those bangs just a bit of movie magic? New Marley & Me set pictures show Jen sporting bangs . . . sometimes. Other pictures, presumably taken upon her arrival onset and prior to hair and makeup, show her without the fringe. It seems that some sort of styling trickery is involved, but as the old Clairol ads used to say, only her hairdresser knows for sure!

Anyway, PopSugar has other pics from the set, including an adorable one of Jen getting affectionate with her own furry friend Norman! Wonder if this project will afford Norman the opportunity to get back to his acting roots with a cameo, alongside Dolly, Jen’s other dog - either way, it does seem like fate that someone like Jen, with her real-life love for dogs, is involved in Marley’s tale.

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!