Below is the new trailer for The Town, which is Ben Affleck’s second time out as a director. Ben also stars, along with Jon “The Hamm” Hamm, Jeremy Renner, Rebecca Hall, Blake Lively and Chris Cooper. I never saw Gone Baby Gone, so I didn’t really know what I was expecting from this film and from Affleck as a director. Can I just say something? I. Am. Blown. Away.

It has elements (from what I can see) of Point Break (truly underestimated film, in my opinion) and The Dark Knight. But it still looks like its own film, and Affleck looks like he had the vision to make a truly taut action film with a great dramatic core. In Boston, of course! The Hamm generally looks better in his Mad Men gear, what with the slicked back hair and the fabulous suits, but The Hamm is still giving me major fever in his FBI gear. The Hamm with a gun (plus his sexy voiceover) = my new sexual fantasy. Renner looks badass too, and Affleck actually looks like a totally solid lead, bringing together everyone’s performances. I’m totally hot for this film. It comes out in September.

Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck just celebrated their fifth wedding anniversary. For the momentous event, they went out to dinner, just the two of them. These are photos of them leaving the restaurant. CB noticed that Jennifer seems to be wearing the gigantic diamond ring that Ben bought her last year.

Here’s a question: did you think they would make it this far? I didn’t. I honestly thought Ben’s self-destructive nature would win out, and he would send this marriage down in flames. I thought he was too damaged from Jennifer Lopez to jump right into another long-term commitment. I also thought it probably wasn’t the best idea for Jennifer Garner to get pregnant like two seconds into their relationship and then run off and get married. But I guess this shows, sometimes shotgun marriages do work out, and they can be very happy.

Although they don’t look all that happy in these photos. That could be because they’re being photographed, and they don’t like the paparazzi. Or it could be that Jennifer’s hair is really bothering her, because she seems way more into her hair than her husband. Maybe I’m just overanalyzing (I do that). Do you think Ben and Jennifer will make it another five years? Or are they already white-knuckling it?

Jennifer and Ben on June 28, 2010. Credit: BauerGriffinOnline.

This news is in Mike Walker’s column in the National Enquirer. Sometimes Walker runs suspicious celebrity hero stories, but he’s had some notable scoops about upcoming movies and did break the news about the new Wall St. sequel. He may have some good sources for industry information. Anyway Walker claims that Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, my favorite BFFs since Good Will Hunting, will again star together on screen. They’re going to do a film based on the true story of two Yankees pitchers and best friends who “actually traded spouses, houses, kids and dogs.” Given that Matt and Ben are both married with two biological daughters at home (Matt also has an older adopted daughter) their lives closely parallel each other and would be a huge selling point for this film. I hope this is true and am really looking forward to it. As Walker mentions, this is also a big deal because Matt and Ben, both Boston natives, are Red Sox fans.

Looks like real-life best pals Ben Affleck and Matt Damon finally get their wish and reunite on screen for another buddy movie… The Boston-bred Red Sox fans will… don New York Yankee uniforms in “The Trade,” based on the shocking true tale of two Yankees pitchers who were best pals, fell in love with each other’s wives, and actually traded spouses, houses, kids and dogs… A source says Ben, who’ll direct, wanted to cast Wifey Jennifer Garner and asked: “How’d you like to be married to Matt, but have an affair with me?”… Jennifer’s response: “Me playing Matt’s wife, but sleeping with both of you? Eww… yuck! I don’t think so!”

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, Mike Walker's column, May 10, 2010]

I went to Google “Yankee Pitchers” and one of the suggested searches was “Yankee Pitchers Swap Wives,” so I went ahead and googled that to come across the story of Fritz Peterson and Mike Kekich, two pitchers for the Yankees in early 70s. These guys were best friends each with families with kids and they actually swapped wives and lives when they found themselves falling for the other’s spouses. It didn’t work out so well, but I won’t recount it all here because it contains a lot of potential spoilers if this movie is actually going to happen. Here’s an article in Time Magazine from 1973 that explains how it all went down. Wikipedia also has some more details. Peterson just published a memoir last July called Mickey Mantle is going to Heaven and I would bet that either Matt or Ben read it and came up with the idea for this film. It’s a great concept and could be an incredible dramedy with these two Oscar winners on board.

First of all, how hot does Matt Damon look? He shaved off that horrible mustache and you can see all of his lovely, boyish, “I’ll always look this young” face. Also, he seems to have settled into a nice weight where he doesn’t look all Jason Bourne-tight, but yet he still looks fit and healthy, and he’s growing out his hair, and it looks crazy sexy. Matt Damon is so yummy, damn. Anyway… these are photos of Matt and assorted Hollywood types who turned out on Saturday to salute Matt with the American Cinematheque “lifetime achievement” tribute. Matt Damon is 39 years old. Lifetime what? Granted, Matt’s a really talented actor who has already had a really outstanding career, but since when is 39 years old the “lifetime” point for an actor’s career? EW explains why Matt was being honored, and they included some of the funnier moments from the night:

For a guy known for being a serious actor, Matt Damon is pretty funny — or at least he seems to be when the room is filled with his longtime pals and colleagues, such as Ben Affleck, Robin Williams, Don Cheadle, Clint Eastwood, Charlize Theron, Greg Kinnear, Casey Affleck, Jennifer Garner, Jimmy Kimmel, and Sarah Silverman.

On Saturday they all gathered at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in L.A. to honor Damon for his film and philanthropic work. A taped version of the event, “Hollywood Salutes Matt Damon: An American Cinematheque Tribute,” will air in April on ABC.

So, a lifetime achievement award for an actor who hasn’t even turned 40? According to American Cinematheque, who’s been hosting similar events since 1986 to raise money for their cinemas and public programming operations (past recipients include Michael Douglas, Mel Gibson, Tom Cruise, George Clooney and Julia Roberts), it’s more of a “mid-career” award. But that didn’t stop Jimmy Kimmel from lampooning the proceedings in his opening monologue: “They must be running out of stars for awards. Who will we honor next year? Vanessa Hudgens?”

There was definitely a casual vibe at the black-tie affair. The audience (about 700 people, most of whom paid between $500 to $2,200 for a ticket) was light on celebrities, and heavy on industry types, fans, and members of American Cinematheque. Cell phone cameras were clicking constantly. Clint Eastwood, who was seated next to Charlize Theron and Sarah Silverman, got up and down from his chair so much to oblige the line of people wanting to snap a pic with the legend, he probably didn’t have time to finish his salad and salmon entrée.

Damon’s table (which included his parents, brother, and wife, along with Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner) didn’t seem too interested in sitting and eating either, as they stood and chatted happily before the official proceedings. Damon and his wife, Luciana, held hands constantly, while Ben and Jen whispered into each other’s ear, with Garner giving Affleck man an affectionate stroke under the chin.

The official ceremony, which only lasted about an hour, consisted of short, scripted “roasts” of Damon and a slew of clips, from Damon’s first role, in 1988’s Mystic Pizza, to this year’s Green Zone. (The reel showed how little his boyish good looks and sandy highlighted hair have changed over the years.) There were so many Jimmy Kimmel moments (including the famous viral video with Sarah Silverman, and the more recent Handsome Men sketch) that at times it seemed more like an ep of Kimmel (and a serious cross-promotion for ABC).

Surprisingly the professional comedians, Robin Williams and Sarah Silverman, were the most subdued, while the laconic Eastwood (the only presenter who didn’t read from a teleprompter) delivered some of the funniest lines: “Matt Damon is one of the finest actors of our generation. I know that because when he came into my office for Invictus, he said, ‘Clint, I am one of the finest actors of my generation.’ In fact he couldn’t understand why I cast Morgan Freeman as Mandela, he felt he could handle it.”

Casey Affleck, who’s known Damon since he was 7, got the biggest laugh of the night from the room and Damon himself when he pulled up a slide of a so-called “vacation shot” of the two of them lying around naked, with a very small black bar hiding Damon’s privates and an extremely large one over Affleck’s. (It will be interesting to see if that makes it to the broadcast.)

Of course there were more serious moments. Charlize Theron (who starred with Damon in The Legend of Bagger Vance) paid tribute to the actor’s philanthropic work and introduced a taped message from President Bill Clinton, who thanked Damon for his efforts in Darfur and Haiti, and for his commitment to bringing clean water to those areas.

Another taped messages came from Ben Stiller, who has never worked with Damon and aptly prefaced his remarks by saying that this was the reason he couldn’t be bothered to actually show up. A misfired sketch featuring the absent George Clooney dressed in a hospital gown and pretending to be getting a proctology exam while addressing the room was about as excruciating as the actual procedure would be.

It was left, of course, to best pal Ben Affleck (who Jen Garner introduced as “my husband’s husband”) to actually present Damon with his award, noting dryly: “Wow! A lifetime achievement award? I started the same time as the guy — so it’s a special night for me too. I actually accepted an award recently as well from the Elks Lodge!”

In the end it really proved to be Damon’s night when he took the stage to receive the award and proceeded to dish out all that he gotten over the course of the night. In fact most of it was off the cuff, as he ignored the lines scrolling in front of him on the teleprompter. He thanked Affleck (who he referred to as his hetero lifemate) and assured him that. “Next year I’m sure you will be on this stage (presenting this award to someone else).”

He did perfect impressions of Clinton and Eastwood, saying his award paled in comparison to Eastwood’s lifetime achievement award from AARP. To Silverman, he said: “Well, it was over before it started — and in fact that’s what you told me about Jimmy.” He also wondered aloud why Ben Stiller was even invited to speak (“I guess you heard there was something being made in Hollywood that didn’t have you in it”) and called Clooney’s taped message “strange” (to say the least).

He finished his 12-minute response by thanking his family until he was yanked offstage by Kimmel and Guillermo of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, who said Damon had run out of time. So what’s next for the career achievement recipient? “I don’t know. I guess I go back to work and try and earn the award,” he told EW.

[From Entertainment Weekly]

Aw, it sounds like a nice night. I guess the American Cinematheque tried to keep the focus on the “tribute” aspect rather than the “lifetime” aspect. Which is fine, I guess. If someone wants to just to a tribute to Matt’s work thus far, they chose a good actor for it. He works so much! He’s done no fewer than 30 films over the past decade! And you know what? As much as rail against the state of romantic comedies these days, I would love to see Matt as a romantic lead, which he rarely does. Of course, I’d also love to see him in another action-thriller franchise, like the Bourne series. And I’d like to see him work with Martin Scorsese again. So basically, I’d like to see Matt work for another 39 years.

Matt Damon and others in LA on March 27, 2010. Credit: WENN.

Last night after the Oscars and local news Jimmy Kimmel aired a funny skit called The Handsome Men’s Club featuring cameos by such attractive souls as Sting, Patrick Dempsey, a shirtless Gilles Marini (from Sex and The City), Rob Lowe, John Kraskinski, Matthew McConaughey, Ethan Hawke, Josh Hartnett, Taye Diggs, Tony Romo, Keith Urban, Lenny Kravitz, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. The bit went on way too long and was just an excuse to add cameos by countless celebrities. Every time you turned around it seemed a new celebrity was shown sitting around the ever-expanding table. The premise was that Kimmel was the head of the self-obsessed Handsome Men’s Club and was being voted out by the members for not being handsome enough. Matthew McConaughey challenged Kimmel’s presidency and then Rob Lowe pointed out that Kimmel was wearing Spanx. Kimmel countered that he looked just like Taye Diggs, to which Taye and the members objected.

The whole thing was ridiculous and was capped off in true Kimmel style with his buddies Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. Affleck voted against Kimmel, shamefaced, and then Damon entered at the end and laughed maniacally, telling us we were out of time (a long running Kimmel gag). Next we saw Kimmel in bed spooning with his lover Affleck, realizing the whole thing was a bad dream. Affleck reassured Kimmel that he was attractive and was his “big daddy handsome,” at which point Ben’s wife, Jennifer Garner, popped out of bed and said “Ben, that’s enough, it’s getting weird.”

I didn’t think Kimmel could top his “f’ing Ben Affleck” response to then-girlfriend Sarah Silverman’s viral video, “I’m f’ing Matt Damon.” He did, though, sort of. It was more by sheer star power rather than hilarity, although I was pretty amused, particularly by Damon. He always manages to crack me up.

Last week, there was a report on Radar that Ben Affleck was downing straight vodka while at Sundance. As I stated at the time, Ben is a recovering alcoholic who has been to rehab at least once (in 2001) that we know of. While I questioned the veracity of the report from Radar, I have to say that I wouldn’t be surprised if Ben was drinking again. Which is just my opinion, and I’m only making that judgement from photos of Affleck over the past year - he looks like he’s unhappy. Anyway, In Touch Weekly says that Ben is definitely drinking again, and it’s not just one isolated incident at Sundance. ITW claims that though Ben has “fallen off the wagon” a few times since 2001, he has “largely remained sober for nine years… until now.”

At Sundance, “Ben was definitely drinking,” a witness tells In Touch. “He had vodka on the table in front of him. This comes just 10 days after Ben was seen purchasing bottles of wine in LA.

“Ben’s started to have the odd beer and go out to bars,” a friend explains. Ben’s wife, Jennifer Garner, knows that he’s been drinking again - and she’s very upset about it.

“Jen laid down the law and asked him not to do it, and he promised he wouldn’t,” the friend adds. But not long after Ben landed in Utah, he hit the bottle. “Jen was hurt.”

While Jen knows Ben love her and their daughters with “all of his heart”, she worries that there’s a part of him that misses his old life. While recently filming The Town, Ben lit up whenever he was around Blake Lively. “It’s obvious that Ben’s been itching to let off some steam… he’s dying to have fun.”

But if Ben keeps drinking, his four-year marriage to Jen might be at risk. Although friends say he has no intention of slipping back into his destructive behavior, specialists not that “when a onetime alcoholic begins dabbling in drinking again, it can quickly turn into a full-fledged problem.”

Also troubling: Ben has already started smoking again, a friend reveals: “It’s the worry of one addiction leading to another that scares Jen.”

Jen is keeping an eye on Ben to ensure he doesn’t fall back to his old ways, but she knows that nagging could drive Ben away, and she doesn’t want to lose him to his addictive nature.

[From In Touch Weekly, print edition, February 15, 2010]

The ITW report finishes with this hilarious/bitchy/probably-true quote from Gwyneth Paltrow: “Ben’s ideal woman would be a stripper with a Budweiser in each hand.” Touché, Goop. Well… let’s see. If this is true (big “if”), Ben is back to being a recreational drinker, a smoker (which I do believe, just because it’s so ridiculously easy to start smoking again) and a guy who might need to “scratch his itch” with Blake Lively. However, as many may point out, there are certainly people who have gone through AA or other other programs and then, years later, drink every now and then without it being a problem. And quite honestly, it doesn’t sound like Ben is having any big problems, other than his wife is worried. Except for the Blake Lively thing. I don’t think they had an affair, but I do think Ben was flirting his ass off. And that sucks.

Radar Online is calling out Ben Affleck for drinking vodka while at the Sundance Film Festival. According to eyewitnesses, Affleck sat down beside Tommy Lee Jones at one of the parties, and Ben grabbed a bottle of Absolut and poured himself a drink. This is a big deal because Ben is an alcoholic, assumed to be in recovery since he attended rehab back in 2001, although if memory serves, Ben fell off the wagon a few times since then, and admitted as much. But this is the first report of Ben drinking in public that I can remember in years and years. Radar has photos of Ben allegedly drinking, but I really can’t make out what’s in his hand - but there are alcoholic beverages on the table in front of him… which still doesn’t mean anything. Here’s more:

Ben Affleck has fallen off the wagon and is boozing again despite swearing off alcohol for good when he checked into rehab in 2001, RadarOnline.com is reporting exclusively.

Affleck was seen drinking vodka at a Sundance Film Festival party this past weekend.
The actor flew to Utah to attend DirecTV’s The Company Men after party at Village at the Yard. He had just finished participating in the Haiti telethon, which taped in Los Angeles.

At the party for his new movie, Affleck “immediately sat down at a VIP table and grabbed the bottle of Absolut in front of him and poured a drink,” a source told RadarOnline.com.

Publicists, staffers and others were stunned because they know that Affleck is an admitted alcoholic. They got rid of all the photographers near the area to protect Affleck.

Affleck checked into Promises rehab in 2001. At that time his publicist said: “Ben is a self-aware and smart man who had decided that a fuller life awaits him without alcohol. He has chosen to seek out professional assistance, and is committed to traveling a healthier road with the support of his family, friends and fans.”

But Affleck has cleared veered off that healthier road. The source told RadarOnline.com that there was a lot of whispering about Ben drinking again, as staffers watched him toast with Tommy Lee Jones and pour down the vodka while they talked.

Affleck has been married to Jennifer Garner since 2005 and they have two children together.

[From Radar]

Of course it could all be crap. I want to believe that Ben has won the long-term battle with his alcohol and substance abuse, and with his gambling problem. I want to believe that he’s happy with Jennifer Garner and their two beautiful girls, and that he’s no longer that old Ben, the one that overshared and loved the limelight and ruined his promising career. We’ll see.

By the way, after publicly calling his wife out on her overshare, Ben and Jennifer were snapped together yesterday afternoon, both looking very happy and comfortable. So maybe there’s no trouble in paradise.

Ben Affleck in Sundance. Additional photos of Ben and Jen on January 26, 2010. Credit: Fame Pictures.

Last week, Jennifer Garner’s interview in Parade Magazine came online, and many were surprised with how much Jennifer revealed. Mostly, I was surprised with how much Garner discussed her divorce to Scott Foley seven years ago, but she also talked with some detail about how her current husband Ben Affleck, saying that he is a “very persuasive” and “very good” writer, and that he may have wooed her via e-mail initially, I think. Jennifer also said that Ben is “sexy and kind, but he’s also a riot. We can be very goofy together” and that they steal time away together, “You steal a date, you steal a kiss, you steal a whisper.”

Well, Ben is now at Sundance, promoting his new film The Company Men, and it seems like most of the questions he’s been fielding are about his wife and those pesky e-mails. Which seems to be annoying Ben:

BEN AFFLECK has chastised his wife Jennifer Garner, after she embarrassed him by revealing he pursued her with a string of seductive emails.

Garner, who married the Pearl Harbor star in 2005, said in a recent interview with Parade Magazine that Affleck had wooed her online, gushing that he’s “sexy and kind” and a “very persuasive writer”.

But the candid comments left Affleck cringing, because now he is repeatedly fielding questions about his personal emails in interviews.

Speaking to Access Hollywood, Affleck says, “I do write e-mails to my wife, that is true. Sounds like the kind of thing that my wife was looking for something to say in the interview… and that’s what she came up with. So, thanks for that, because now here I am, doing another interview and then they ask me about that. So, thank you honey.”

[From Contact Music]

I also saw on E! News last night that all Ben Lyons seemed to want to talk about was Jennifer and Ben’s directing of Blake Lively in The Town. Ben seemed to take the questioning in stride, not saying much about Blake (especially not anything about his rumored crush on her), but calling Jennifer a “fantastic” mom. Anyway, The Company Men sounds like a real downer of a movie, but it’s nice to see Affleck working in dramas again. It costars Rosemary DeWitt (she was on the first season of Mad Men, and in Rachel Getting Married) as Affleck’s character’s wife (below):

Jennifer Garner is the cover girl for this week’s Parade Magazine, and she sat down for a pretty interesting interview. I realize that “Jennifer Garner” and “interesting” rarely go together in the same sentence - and I’m not picking on her, she claims that she’s trying to be this boring. She talks about Ben and their girls, of course, but what I found most interesting in this interview is that she’s really, really talking about some stuff from her divorce to Scott Foley, her first husband. I’m seriously waiting for Garner’s People Magazine cover with the headline “Jennifer Garner Is Fabulous Seven Years After Scott!!!” Anyway, Garner rarely talks about what happened between them, and I have always been curious. My theory was always that she got really famous really fast, Scott’s ego couldn’t handle it, she was really career-focused, she withdrew emotionally from the marriage, and then a dude named Michael Vartan made his move. While Garner doesn’t say that’s what happened (damn her!), she does say that she “had a lot of growing up to do” and that “I realized I needed to be more like my character in Alias.” By having sex with Vartan?

Admitting it’s an emotional struggle.
“I adore going to movie sets and being part of a team trying to create something. And yet, I hate to miss even one bedtime with my girls.”

Understanding that the push-pull she faces is hardly unique.
“My sisters both are working mothers. I understand that my being an actress as well as being at home isn’t some heroic thing. That doesn’t mean it isn’t confusing or difficult–especially that question of how you find a balance.”

She knows how lucky she is.
“I’m privileged, because I have a lot of freedom. I want to use it to make as warm and normal a life as I can for our daughters.”

On co-starring opposite Patrick Dempsey and Ashton Kutcher in the romantic comedy “Valentine’s Day.”
“I go home and say to Ben, ‘Do you know what I’ve been doing at work all day?’”

Her own romance with Ben Affleck.
“Ben is sexy and kind, but he’s also a riot. We can be very goofy together.”

Finding the time to be romantic.
“You steal the time. You steal a date, you steal a kiss, you steal a whisper. You sit next to each other on the couch with computers on your laps. After the kids are asleep you…well, you know. Whatever it is. You slip away for a night, which we’ve only just now done for the first time. Of course, I call home while we’re away. Ben would be surprised if I didn’t.”

Why her divorce from actor Scott Foley in 2004 was a turning point.
“I had a lot of growing up to do. I’m still conflict-averse. I don’t like to argue. But back then I couldn’t have a fight. I couldn’t work things out because I wasn’t able to say what I needed to say. I didn’t have a voice. I didn’t dare to express myself. It was a huge heartbreak for me to have something fail like that. I knew that this was either an opportunity for growth or I would sink. It’s easy when you’re hurt and angry to just say, ‘Oh, it’s them.’ But I had to come into my own. I thought, ‘Why did this relationship not work? What part of the failure is my responsibility?’ So I went to work on it. I started therapy.”

Gaining a powerful self-awareness.
“It’s not like I didn’t realize I had any issues until I got a divorce. But I had this professional confidence that wasn’t equaled by my own personal confidence in any relationship, not just with men. There was a disconnect. I realized I needed to be more like my character in ‘Alias,’ who was so powerful and confident and an inspiration to me. I understood very well how to be nice and how to take care of people. I didn’t know how to ask for anything that I needed. It was important to balance it out.”

Finding a new relationship with friend Ben Affleck.
“Well, it helped that we were both single at the time. He’s a very good writer.”

So did he woo her with letters?
“Don’t make assumptions. I didn’t say that! Okay…e-mail. He’s a very persuasive writer.”

Counting on friends and family for support.
“I will tell you what I can’t abide–and I think the Internet has really created a space for it–women criticizing other women and mothers criticizing other mothers. It just makes me crazy, whether it’s between staying at home, going to work, how long you breast-feed, if you use formula. I feel like we should just assume everyone is doing the best they can. Women should take care of each other, not tear each other down. I would just like to see a mother who really believes that she has done it all so right, you know what I mean?”

Did Affleck have to work hard to win over Garner’s mom and sisters?
“He doesn’t have trouble wiggling his way in anywhere. Ben is charm personified when he wants to be. He’s not easily threatened or made uncomfortable–he’s very secure in that way. Maybe he just knows I’m nuts about him, and he doesn’t have anything to worry about. Don’t forget we were friends first for a long time.”

There’s nothing wrong with being “nice.”
“I can’t complain. This mix is perfect for me. I am the model middle child. I am patient and I like to take care of everyone. Being called nice is a compliment. It’s not a boring way to describe me.”

[From Parade]

That’s another thing I’ve always wondered about - how and when exactly did she and Ben start? Because once again, I have a theory that there was some overlap between Vartan and Affleck. Even though Jennifer says “we were both single at the time” - that still doesn’t answer my questions, damn it! Sigh… I’ll never know, will I?

Oh, regarding Garner’s appearance at the Golden Globes this past Sunday (photo below)… I didn’t put her on the fashion post because that’s how forgettable this look was. I hated her big mall hair, I was ambivalent about her dress, and she looked much too thin for my taste. But, you know, my mom swooned and yelled “There’s my girl!” Sigh. My mom wishes Garner was her daughter.

Parade’s photos of Jennifer Garner, courtesy of Parade online. Additional photos of Jennifer at the Golden Globes, credit: WENN.

Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck are parents with a predictable schedule and a ton of paparazzi who follow them everywhere. If you watch videos of them dropping their older daughter Violet off at school, they’re surrounded by photographers. No wonder they often look annoyed when they’re out together - they’re being tailed by people shouting rude things. I’m hoping that the new paparazzi law in effect in LA this January, which makes it a crime to “take and sell unauthorized photos of celebrities in ‘personal or familial activity’” will help them get some relief from the constant surveillance.

To make matters worse for the Afflecks, Garner has a stalker who has been trailing and threatening her for seven years. She obtained a restraining order against the weirdo last year, but he still turned up outside her daughter’s school yesterday. Steven Burky was arrested Monday for violating that restraining order by being near Garner. Radar has his mugshot and he looks creepy as hell.

Jennifer Garner’s stalker, Steven Burky, was arrested Monday for violating a court order and stalking while violating a court order after he was found to be near Garner’s daughter Violet Affleck’s school.

Garner was granted a restraining order against Burky in November 2008. Burky was ordered to stay 100 yards away from Garner, her husband Ben Affleck and their daughter Violet, as well as being prohibited from contacting Garner in any way.

Garner claimed Burky had been stalking her since 2002, following her around the country and sending her packages and letters. At the time the order was granted Garner wrote in court papers, “This past year, Mr. Burky has resurfaced and his obsessive and harassing behavior has escalated to the point of becoming dangerous and threatening.

“He has now shown up at my private residence and has repeatedly expressed his belief that God has sent him a vision of me being persecuted in some manner that might result in my death.”

[From Radar Online]

That guy looks like a serial killer, right? I would be so scared for myself and my family. It’s to Garner’s credit that she’s handling everything with grace and just trying to maintain a sense of normalcy for her daughters. Garner and Affleck are swarmed by paparazzi in LA, but if she’s also being stalked by a potentially violent creep she does have the security that goes along with being hounded by a ton of photographers. In a recent interview in W Magazine, Garner discussed potentially moving her family out of LA to avoid the media circus. “We talked forever about leaving Los Angeles, but anywhere you go some dodo is going to buy a camera and start following you.” Or there could be one really scary guy and no one else around to help.

Maybe it’s time that the Afflecks hired a bodyguard. Kate Gosselin has a bodyguard for no apparent reason. It’s not like there are tons of fans trying to get a piece of that beaver hair. The Afflecks have a very good excuse and a pretty scary situation to deal with.

Image above is from 12/10/09. Credit: Fame Pictures