Jennifer Aniston | The New York Observer

The Week in DVR: 30 Rock Returns! Plus, Early Coen Brothers, Vampires, Jennifer Aniston, and Very Cute Dogs

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 07:54:21 -0400

Monday: From Dusk Till Dawn
Now that vampires have taken over the pop culture universe, it might be time to revisit the glorious insanity that is From Dusk Till Dawn. Written by Quentin Tarantino and directed by his longtime friend Robert Rodriguez, the film splits nicely into two halves: the first deals with the Gecko brothers (George Clooney and, in a hilarious bit of miscasting, Mr. Tarantino himself) and their murderous...

Box Office Breakdown: Meatballs Anything But Cloudy, Jennifer's Body Goes to the Morgue

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 08:59:03 -0400

It was all sunshine and rainbows for Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs at the box office over the weekend. The 3-D animated jaunt topped the charts with an estimated $30.1 million, a number that nearly tripled second place finisher—and fellow newcomer—The Informant! Sadly, it was stormy weather for the other freshman entries: Love Happens landed in fourth place with $8.4 million, while Jennifer’s Body...

Opening This Weekend: Movies You May Actually Want to See!

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 09:15:19 -0400

Don’t be confused by what you see on Fandango: there are actually a bunch of movies possibly worth seeing this weekend. September starts to come out of the doldrums today with four films hitting theaters, and, as usual, there is something for everyone. As we do every Friday, here’s a handy guide to the new releases.

Jennifer’s Body

What’s the story: Here’s a...

Opening this Weekend: Tom Hanks to the Rescue! Plus, Adrien Brody and Jennifer Aniston Go Indie

Fri, 15 May 2009 08:52:52 -0400

We think even Don Draper would object to the ad campaign for The Road. John Hillcoat’s adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s bleak, end-of-the-world novel doesn’t come out until October 16th (up against New York, I Love You and Where the Wild Things Are—can you say counterprogramming?), but the trailer was released yesterday and it seems borderline criminal. As put together by the Weinstein company, The Road...

Motel Chronicles

Tue, 12 May 2009 14:42:24 -0400

Management
Running time 93 minutes
Written and Directed by Stephen Belber
Starring Jennifer Aniston, Steve Zahn, Woody Harrelson

Stephen Belber’s Management, from his own screenplay, is based on a one-act play he wrote as part of a projected series that took place in motel rooms. The series idea was abandoned, but the one-acter was eventually directed onstage by Mr. Belber’s wife, Lucie Tiberghien. Now, the play’s two central characters, Sue and Mike, have become the...

20 Pine: The Conniption

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 19:51:44 -0400

"I would be a fool to sit here and tell you we didn’t have challenges,” the well-tanned real estate marketing guru Michael Shvo said Sunday, April 19, from Dubai. It was a few days after he had last seen the nearly completed, long-delayed mega-condo 20 Pine: The Collection. “Unfortunately, the problems we faced here were not problems under Shvo’s control.”

Once, long ago, 20 Pine was supposed to be one of the great condos...

The Week in DVR: Our Favorite Underrated Actor, Pre-nose Jennifer Aniston, and Funny People on Starz

Sun, 15 Mar 2009 11:43:41 -0400

Monday: Gossip Girl
After going into hibernation for the winter, Gossip Girl returns tonight to make the grown ups who watch feel bad about themselves. Since the show hasn't aired in nearly two months, here’s a refresher: Dan Humphrey is busy screwing his teacher, who looks younger than him; Chuck Bass is honoring the 10th anniversary of Stanley Kubrick’s death by participating in a subplot straight out of Eyes Wide Shut;...

The Movie That Made Me Never Want To Date Again

Tue, 03 Feb 2009 15:18:12 -0500

I was really looking forward to seeing He’s Just Not That Into You. Don’t judge! Admit it—you were, too. It’s been a cold, dark and depressing winter (and I’m not just talking about the weather), so is it any wonder that the ubiquitous and sunny trailer for the film—chock full of beautiful people like Jennifer Aniston, Ben Affleck, Ginnifer Goodwin, Scarlett Johansson, Jennifer Connelly, Drew Barrymore, Kevin Connolly and Bradley Cooper, bumbling around in...

He Won't Be That Into You If You Make Him Watch This Movie

Tue, 03 Feb 2009 13:43:08 -0500

He’s Just Not That Into You
Running time 129 minutes
Written by Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein
Directed by Ken Kwapis
Starring Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Connelly, Kevin Connolly, Bradley Cooper, Ginnifer Goodwin, Scarlett Johansson, Justin Long

Up to the eyeballs in dumb movies about zit-faced teenagers trying to get laid, we now have to suffer through a...

Morning Memo: L'Oreal Heiress Invested with Madoff; Dina Lohan Turns in Early; Donald Trump Loses Lawsuit

Fri, 26 Dec 2008 09:39:36 -0500

L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt, who is 86 years old, had invested money with Bernie Madoff through French fund manager Thierry Magon de la Villehuchet, who committed suicide on Tuesday. [Bloomberg via The Cut]

Dina Lohan left 21-year-old son Michael's birthday party at 1Oak early, probably because he is not as fun as his sister. [P6]

At least Jennifer Aniston is open about the amount of Photoshopping her recent GQ cover received. [NYDN]

Donald Trump lost his lawsuit...

Sara Vilkomerson's Guide to This Week's Movies: Bow-Wow, Wow! Jen, Owen and Marley Make Terrific Trio

Sat, 20 Dec 2008 12:50:04 -0500

How come it's taken Hollywood this long to match up Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston onscreen? Not only is their chemistry nice and totally believable, these guys actually look like they could have been set up through friends, or met at a bar or whatever: His shaggy hair and busted nose compliments her I'll-always-just-be-the-girl-next-door-no-matter-how-many-times-I-get-naked-in-GQ attitude. It's great!

They play John and Jenny Grogan, aspiring journalists who move to Florida. They get jobs at competing...

Morning Memo: Judith Regan Not Thrilled With Michael Wolff; Jennifer Aniston Auditioning 'Boyfriends'; Vacancies in St. Barts

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 06:29:18 -0500

Volatile publisher Judith Regan on Michael Wolff and his portrayal of her in his recent The Man Who Owns the News: "He's grossly irresponsible. I'm going to sue him personally, so he'll have to spend his own money. He projects his own perverted view of the world on everyone else. He is consumed with hatred, vitriol and pathological envy." [R&M]

Mort Zuckerman and charities run by Steven Spielberg and Elie Wiesel were among those...

Morning Memo: Jennifer Aniston Talks About Angelina Jolie Again; No Love for Bronx Mowgli Wentz; Chris Martin vs. Madonna

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 08:46:49 -0500

CNBC host and advertising mogul Donny Deutsch was caught on a private eye's camera kissing hedge funder Andrew Sandler's wife, Lisa. [P6]

Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin are "holed up" in London trying to fix their troubled marriage. However, a source says, "Gwyneth has the Madonna bug bad. … It's eerie. Gwyneth acts normally until Madonna comes around, and then Gwyn is all about Madonna, all the time." [Gatecrasher]

In the upcoming of issue of GQ,...

Paper of Record Goes Team Aniston

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 16:47:33 -0500

Today, The New York Times' Brooks Barnes offered a hard-hitting A1 investigative report on how Angelina Jolie manipulates the press, especially how she uses access to her family to further her own agenda.

Writes Mr. Barnes:

Shifting the focus is one of Ms. Jolie’s best maneuvers, magazine editors and publicity executives say. When she became romantically involved with Mr. Pitt, for instance, she faced a public relations crisis — being portrayed in the tabloid...

Morning Memo: Return of the Spitzer Scandal; Hillary Clinton's 'Courteous' Harlem Reception; Jennifer Aniston Strikes Back

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 09:37:30 -0500

Page Six is reporting that a former callgirl named Natalie McLennan, whose name was exposed by an unnamed website, was responsible for blowing the whistle on Ashley Dupre. [P6]

In an interview with Vogue, Jennifer Aniston says it was "very uncool" of Angelina Jolie to publically discuss the beggining of her relationship with the then still-married Brad Pitt: "There was stuff printed there that was definitely from a time when I was unaware that...

Morning Memo: Madonna News Roundup; Lindsay Lohan's Straight Answer; Jennifer Aniston Not Pregnant

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 09:40:54 -0500

Madonna has been drawing complaints from her neighbors at Central Park West's Harperley Hall with her practicing at "all hours of the night." [Full Disclosure]

Meanwhile, sources claim that Alex Rodriguez has been telling ex- wife Cynthia that his affair with Madonna "is just a phase he is going through, and asking her to hang on and wait for him." [Page Six Magazine]

However, Mr. Rodriguez is supposedly planning on accompanying Madonna on her...

Single Person's Movie: Office Space

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 08:34:03 -0400

It's 2 AM and you awake with a jerk, alone in your fully-lit apartment and still on the couch. On TV, the credits of some movie you've already seen a billion times are scrolling by. It feels like rock bottom. And we know, because we're just like you: single.

Need a movie to keep you company until you literally can't keep your eyes open? Join us tonight when we pass out to Office...

Morning Memo: Madonna and Guy Ritchie Split; Jennifer Aniston and John Mayer Back On; Ivanka Trump's New Lunch Plans

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 09:32:42 -0400

Madonna and Guy Ritchie have prepared a statement announcing that they plan to divorce. Silver lining? Madonna is reportedly planning to move back to New York! [NYDN]

On-again: Jennifer Aniston and John Mayer were seen together at La Esquina. [P6]

A rep for Janet Jackson claims migraines are the reason she keeps canceling tour dates. [People]

Ivanka Trump is partnering with food conglomerate ConAgra to "free working Americans from the lunch rut of eating the same...

Morning Memo: Scarlett Johnansson Slights Bouncer; Chace Crawford Lives Like a Pig; Travis Barker and DJ AM Expected to Recover

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 09:12:53 -0400

Scarlett Johansson informed a photo-seeking bouncer at Lower East Side bar National Underground that she is "not the Statue of Liberty." [P6]

Gossip Girl star Chace Crawford brought a girl back to his apartment and she reported that the bathroom is covered in "crusty toothpaste and self-tanner." [Full Disclosure]

Former Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker and DJ AM, both of whom were badly injured in a plane crash on Friday, are expected to make a full...

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie More Likely to Marry in the Possibly-Not-So-Distant Future!!!

Thu, 18 Sep 2008 15:53:36 -0400

This morning, we learned that Brad Pitt donated $100,000 to fight a ballot initiave to overturn California's legalization of same sex marriage. In a statement to reporters, Pitt explained why he was supporting the cause:

Because no one has the right to deny another their life, even though they disagree with it, because everyone has the right to live the life they so desire if it doesn't harm another and because discrimination has no...

Jennifer Aniston, Tobey Maguire, Meg Ryan! The Fashion Week Party You Wish You Went To

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 16:29:15 -0400

Monday evening, the most celeb-packed event in town may not have been the photographer-infested Marc Jacobs show, but an all-but-unpublicized affair across town that took place concurrently—we can only assume this was intentional, in hopes that the fashion machine would be otherwise occupied—on far West 31st Street, where David Arquette and Ben Harper were launching their organic clothing line, Propr, at a bash that doubled as Mr. Arquette's birthday party.

There was no red...

A Reader's Guide to Celebrity Parent Tell-All Books

Mon, 08 Sep 2008 18:05:25 -0400

Apparently, an increasingly coherent and aware Britney Spears is upset about her mother Lynne's forthcoming tell-all, Through the Storm. The book reveals, among other things, that the pop star lost her virginity at 14 and began drinking in middle school, along with embarrassing details about Britney's many, many crack-ups. No longer content to act as a passive, panty-less A.T.M. for everyone in her circle, Spears is "furious" with her mother, especially since she thinks...

Jennifer Aniston to Guest Star on 30 Rock

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 16:25:53 -0400

Guys, remember when Jennifer Aniston was actually a TV actress and not just a Hollywood beefcake's weepy ex or current arm candy? Well, she's about to remind us on an upcoming episode of 30 Rock. John Mayer will be eating his shorts!

She'll definitely appear on the show, which airs on NBC, the channel that gave her a household name (and haircut) on Friends, a publicist confirmed, but he has no further details,...

Morning Memo: Gossip Girl's Creator "Feels Bad" About New Ads; Why Are Lindsay and Samantha Shopping for Baby Clothes?

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 08:28:38 -0400

The new ads for Gossip Girl that use criticisms of the show as complimentary slogans--"Mind-blowingly inappropriate"--make the show's creator, Josh Schwartz, feel bad. [Daily Intelligencer]

A Los Angeles cop, who was said to be fearful for his safety, pulled a gun on P. Diddy and his entourage during a routine traffic stop. [NY Daily News]

Casey Johnson, the billionaire heiress previous linked to Courtenay Semel, showed up at Kathy Lee Gifford's...

Morning Memo: No New Baby for Madonna?; The Beatrice Inn's Neighbors Speak Out; Who Owns AshleyDupre.com?

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 09:24:03 -0400

Madonna's head flack Liz Rosenberg is insisting that the singer has no plans to adopt a three-year-old girl from Malawi in the near future, as had been reported. [Us]

Sources say actress Michelle Williams is taking extra steps to avoid the paparazzi in her Brooklyn neighborhood, reportedly "having a bodygaurd go around her block and make sure there are no photographers" each time she leaves the house. [P6]

West Villagers--including Amy Sedaris--are opposing...

Balenciaga Baby! Jennifer Connelly Is Fashion House's New Gal

Mon, 07 Jan 2008 17:15:07 -0500

In the years since Cristóbal Balenciaga launched his eponymous fashion label on Avenue George V in Paris during the summer of 1937, his maison de mode has outfitted more than a few recognizable dames. And, as an in-depth New Yorker profile from last year pointed out, Balenciaga, the company, has long depended on the celebrity of its more powerful, repeat patrons, which have included: the de Rothchilds, Paul Mellon, the Duke of Windsor, Prince...

Gossip Roundup: Vincent Gallo and Terry Richardson Wish You an Annoying Thanksgiving; Nicole Richie's Turkey-Day Good Deed!

Fri, 23 Nov 2007 09:59:27 -0500

Yawn. What? Right. Here's the gossip round-up for Nov. 23, 2008, Thanksgiving Friday and possibly the slowest news day ever.

An eight-months-pregnant Nicole Richie and her friend, the society disc jockeyess Samantha Ronson, volunteered at a Hollywood soup kitchen yesterday.

Jennifer Aniston recently attended her 20th high school reunion at Rudolf Steiner on the Upper East Side.

Gallerist Larry Gagosian and collector Adam Lindemann are involved in some crack-up over a Jeff Koons which we...

More From the Moth: Aaron Eckhart Likes Milk Duds

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 01:48:51 -0400

It didn’t take Aaron Eckhart, a guest at last night’s The Moth event in Union Square, long to place his most memorable New York moment.

Ten years ago, when Mr. Eckhart, now 39, was a “struggling New York actor,” he was out for an evening stroll in the midst of the winter holiday season. “Snow on the street, lights in the trees of Gramercy Park—beautiful, the night, gorgeous, holding hands...

Aniston Wants to Move to New York

Tue, 16 Oct 2007 15:10:52 -0400

What is that strange aroma that’s been wafting over our fine city of late? That unmistakable stench of sweet no-foam Coffee Bean lattes, pungently fresh Birkin-bag calfskin and sour paparazzi exhaust can mean only one thing: the sudden invasion of Hollywood celebrities!

It seems Jennifer Aniston is just the latest of a long list of Tinseltown stars who, bearing the considerable weight of both actual and personal...

Mommies Unite! You’ve Got Nothing to Lose!

Sun, 01 Apr 2007 20:00:00 -0400

Before reading this book, I was familiar with the name Leslie Bennetts primarily because, as a Vanity Fair contributing editor, she’d conducted the first major post-Brangelina interview with the actress Jennifer Aniston. O.K., I’m shallow. But, thank God, not alone in my shallowness! According to Ms. Bennetts’ biographical blurb, that was “the best-selling issue in the history of the magazine.” Of course, Ms. Aniston could’ve been interviewed by a pygmy marmoset and it still...

Us Editor Janice Min Dictates: In Raw Times, Jessica, Jen, Jolie

Sun, 02 Jul 2006 20:00:00 -0400

“The whole age of the soft interview is gone,” Janice Min said. Ms. Min, 36, is approaching her third anniversary as editor of Us Weekly. She ascended to the job in July 2003, the same month that George W. Bush, savoring a quick and tidy army-on-army victory, dared Iraqi insurgents to “Bring ’em on.” Ms. Min has had a better three years than Mr. Bush. Circulation has doubled, to 1.75 million. Since January, Us—“the...

Defending Break-Up: Snuffling, Bile Meet Non-Romance of Year

Sun, 25 Jun 2006 20:00:00 -0400

The first time I saw The Break-Up, the woman next to me sighed and shifted and muttered under her breath at Vince Vaughn’s inability to perform basic household tasks: Oh. My. God …. Jesus Christ, I’ll fucking kill him. I’ll kill him. I will. The second time I saw the film, the woman next to me just wept, all throughout the last half. Both times the audience laughed, and often. Most big-league critics despised...

It’s Puzzling! But Wordy Drama Entertains Up and Down

Sun, 25 Jun 2006 20:00:00 -0400

Patrick Creadon’s Wordplay, written by Mr. Creadon and Christine O’Malley, and produced by Ms. O’Malley, cheerfully and winningly celebrates the passionate practitioners of crossword puzzles, of whom there are an estimated 50 million in the United States. The film’s main focus is Will Shortz, the crossword-puzzle editor of The New York Times and the “Puzzle Master” on National Public Radio’s Weekend Edition. Among the celebrity enthusiasts appearing in Wordplay are former President Bill Clinton,...

Slevin's Debt to Tarantino: Who Cares as Long as It's Fun?

Sun, 16 Apr 2006 20:00:00 -0400

Paul McGuigan’s Lucky Number Slevin, from a screenplay by Jason Smilovic, masterfully manages to materialize as a fast-talking play on words, plots and fatally mistaken identities, with acknowledged debts to Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest (1959) and the James Bond series, and an unacknowledged debt to the convulsively trick-and-corpse-laden cinema of Quentin Tarantino. The point is that you may feel disoriented or even cheated by all the twists and turns of the plot and...

Onetime 'It' Girl Back as Bettie

Sun, 16 Apr 2006 20:00:00 -0400

In The Notorious Bettie Page, Gretchen Mol gives a juicy performance as the palpitating pin-up girl from Tennessee whose provocative poses turned pop culture upside down and led to a Senate investigation into pornography. Written, directed and documented by fearless Mary Harron ( American Psycho), the movie provides us with a titillating keyhole peek at the innocent sexuality of 1955 and the evil religious hysteria fueled by the anally retentive right-wing do-gooders who tried...

Slevin’s Debt to Tarantino: Who Cares as Long as It’s Fun?

Sun, 16 Apr 2006 20:00:00 -0400

Paul McGuigan’s Lucky Number Slevin, from a screenplay by Jason Smilovic, masterfully manages to materialize as a fast-talking play on words, plots and fatally mistaken identities, with acknowledged debts to Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest (1959) and the James Bond series, and an unacknowledged debt to the convulsively trick-and-corpse-laden cinema of Quentin Tarantino. The point is that you may feel disoriented or even cheated by all the twists and turns of the plot and...

Onetime ‘It’ Girl Back as Bettie

Sun, 16 Apr 2006 20:00:00 -0400

In The Notorious Bettie Page, Gretchen Mol gives a juicy performance as the palpitating pin-up girl from Tennessee whose provocative poses turned pop culture upside down and led to a Senate investigation into pornography. Written, directed and documented by fearless Mary Harron (American Psycho), the movie provides us with a titillating keyhole peek at the innocent sexuality of 1955 and the evil religious hysteria fueled by the anally retentive right-wing do-gooders who tried to...

Rumor Has It Aniston Stinks

Sun, 15 Jan 2006 19:00:00 -0500

The dull days of January are a good time to play catch-up. In the onslaught of holiday movies, I missed a few. Here they are: Rumor has it that Rumor Has It … is not very good. Rumor no more. It is awful. Forced to endure lame direction by Rob Reiner and a diabolically, dumbfoundingly dreadful screenplay by T.M. (Ted) Griffin, a game, attractive and usually reliable cast is reduced to the shameful...

Soderbergh, Clooney and Co. Make Mideast Mess Too Simple

Sun, 04 Dec 2005 19:00:00 -0500

Stephen Gaghan’s Syriana, from a screenplay by Mr. Gaghan, suggested by the book See No Evil by Robert Baer, seems to position itself as a serious-minded political statement by studiously, even laboriously, avoiding all the compromises and clichés common to mere commercial entertainments. This is to say that it’s hard to follow, overloaded with characters who come and go with little fuss or fanfare or much in the way of exit lines, excessively simplistic...

Soderbergh, Clooney and Co. Make Mideast Mess Too Simple

Sun, 04 Dec 2005 19:00:00 -0500

Stephen Gaghan’s Syriana, from a screenplay by Mr. Gaghan, suggested by the book See No Evil by Robert Baer, seems to position itself as a serious-minded political statement by studiously, even laboriously, avoiding all the compromises and clichés common to mere commercial entertainments. This is to say that it’s hard to follow, overloaded with characters who come and go with little fuss or fanfare or much in the way of exit lines, excessively simplistic...

When America Lost Its Way

Tue, 29 Nov 2005 05:30:00 -0500

When journalists get too close to the makers of the story's skein, when their access becomes a giddy ride of power, the ability to faithfully interpret the news unfolding before them becomes impossible. This is a story (as they always say in first paragraphs of the bad feature pieces) about a nation led astray by corruption and intoxication, by the unholy ass-grab in the corridors of power, by the simple delight of cavorting with...

A Winning Jennifer Aniston Plays a Texan Emma Bovary

Sun, 11 Aug 2002 20:00:00 -0400

Miguel Arteta's The Good Girl , from a screenplay by Mike White (who also appears in the film), turns out to be one of the most pleasant surprises of this long, hot, harrowing summer. This is to say that the derisive premises of the movie's plot and characterizations could have resulted in a sour experience for the viewer, were it not for the insightful, incisive direction, writing, acting, editing and cinematography, The film's intonation,...