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By BeatBoxBetty
Okay, so they're not making a new ice cream. But the relationship between Jennifer Lopez and Ben
Affleck is getting as bumpy as a double scoop of Rocky
Road.
Speculation about their dwindling affections is heating up the
tabloids, which claim that their latest spat (at the Sundance Film Festival)
began when Ben told J. Lo he wanted to go out on the town with his best buddy Matt
Damon -- and not with her!
Apparently that went over like a lead
balloon with our Little Jenny From The Block and she huffed, "If I'm not invited
to go out with you and Matt, then maybe I'm not the one you should be marrying.
Maybe you should marry Matt.'' Well throw your toys all over your room, why
don't you, Jen! And maybe he should marry Matt -- at least they have fun
together without having to bribe each other. According to reports, J.
Lo decided to forgive him after he sent $3,000 worth of pink roses. Good
lord, this man needs his dignity back!
But something smells a bit funky in here. Look, off-screen romances -- real or not -- sell tickets. Their "engagement" helps get warm bodies into the theaters to see their films. And two of their upcoming flicks in desperate need of pre-release hype are Gigli and Jersey Girl. You know their "romance" helped ring up sales for Maid in Manhattan -- and honey, that needed help big time!
So, could it all be one big fake-out? Could these two be manipulating the press for publicity's sake? That's one conspiracy theory that's been circulating around Hollywood over the past few months. Just as one source tells Britain's Daily Mirror, "Obviously when Ben and Jennifer started dating it was ideal publicity for the film companies."
Hmm, makes you wonder, huh?
Hugging and Kissing
Young thespian Derek
Luke has been a busy man as of late. Not only is he starring opposite Denzel
Washington in Antwone
Fisher, but he's also one of the stars of the new motorcycle flick,
Biker
Boyz. In this urban Western about boyz and their toyz, Derek plays a
young racing prodigy, eager to take prove himself while Laurence Fishburne plays the undefeated champ -- the "King
of Cali."
"Sir Laurence is intimidating," Derek admits. "But intimidating lovingly. We always hugged and kissed before we did our scenes ... he taught me a lot."
When asked if he was intimidated at all by any of the film's real-life bikers, Derek says, "We went to an annual dance for research before we started the film -- I think there were 2,000-5,000 bikers outside in a warehouse -- and I was scared. 'Cuz when you're in your car and you see these bikers drive by, you think 'They must have a machete on 'em.' But these guys are real family men -- nurses, doctors ... they talk about regular stuff ... they just go to a different after-party. I'm a true biker now!" Vroom-vroom!
Celebrity Bits and Pieces
The baby-dangling
incident and the ever-morphing face are synonymous with Michael Jackson. But with TV's February sweeps
now upon us, it looks like the King of Pop will become the poster child for
network ratings.
On the Feb. 6 edition of ABC's 20/20, Barbara Walters will anchor a British-produced documentary Living with Michael Jackson which claims to feature exclusive access to his private life. Then on Feb. 17, Dateline NBC is set to unveil Michael Jackson Unmasked, which will focus on his facially altered states.
But get this: The concern about being pre-scooped has NBC execs running amok. While the peacock network already scheduled its special, network sources said they were thinking about moving up the broadcast to be more in line with ABC.
Meanwhile, TeenHollywood.com reports that Gwyneth Paltrow was driving her Mercedes Benz SUV when an elderly woman crashed into her. But instead of throwing a major fit, cool-as-a-cucumber Paltrow actually comforted the 72-year-old, who was afraid she would lose her insurance after hitting the back end of a $48,000 vehicle. But wait, there's more: Gwyneth then offered not only to pay for her own repairs but the woman's as well, and she even arranged a rental car for the lady. Now that's one cool movie star.
BeatBoxBetty has had her heels firmly planted in Hollywood for over 12 years. In addition to delivering celebrity gossip and news, Betty's interviewed such notables as Angelina Jolie, Halle Berry, John Travolta, Mel Gibson and Meg Ryan.
