Gerard Butler is annoyed. He’s annoyed by the constant speculation about who he’s dating, who he’s sleeping with, and who he’s just occasionally feeling up. Sidenote: If he really felt that strongly about it, why pose for arm-in-arm pictures with Jennifer Aniston, hm? This all comes from an interview Gerard gave to People, I suspect to promote The Ugly Truth. But he just ended up answering questions about Jennifer Aniston and the film the two of them are currently working on. Gerard calls Jennifer a “classy lady”. Of course, he also calls her “easy”, but I’m sure he meant “easy-going”. Bless his heart, the man loves his hyperbole – earlier this week he called Katherine Heigl “the sexiest, smartest, sassiest, funniest actress out there.”

The Bounty Hunter costars Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler are making headlines with speculation over their off-screen romance – but a usually humorous Butler sets the record straight on one thing he doesn’t find funny.

“That is just annoying. People say I’m always dating so and so, and sometimes it’s three people in one day,” says the actor, 39.

“I’m trying to make movies, work hard and do my best. Then this kind of thing happens and people start to associate me more with that. It gets ridiculous.”

Aside from those pesky rumors, Butler – who also stars with Katherine Heigl in The Ugly Truth, opening July 24 – has nothing to complain about when it comes to his current gig.

“She is one classy lady,” he says of Aniston. “Everyday I go to work with her I’m always surprised about how cool, easy and down to earth and real she is.”

He adds, “I’m in New York right now filming and I’m in heaven. I can’t always say that about movies, but to be filming this romantic comedy with Jennifer and a story that made my side split when I read it – I’m lucky. I’m happy as a pig in s—, as they say.”

As far as Aniston’s current love life goes – a source close to the actress, 40, says she’s still happily talking to Bradley Cooper. But when it comes to working with Butler, “They get along really well, but Jen only likes him as a friend,” says a source. “She can’t see herself dating him.”

[From People]

Aniston can’t see herself dating Gerard? What the…? I don’t get the spastic coverage of Jennifer’s love life lately, I really don’t. I get that many tabloids are just making stuff up, especially about the uncool Bermuda Triangle, but I’d appreciate a little consistency in the quotes from unnamed sources. Is the current tabloid version that Jennifer is just going to sit around and let men chase her? That might explain this unnamed source’s comment about how Aniston just sees Gerard as a friend. Or, Gerard shot Jennifer down and now she’s backtracking in the press? I have no idea. Part of me really believes that Gerard and Jennifer are hittin’ it, while another part of me thinks that Gerard maybe gets a bad rap as a womanizer, that perhaps he’s too professional to sleep with a costar. Of course, there’s another possibility: Gerard Butler is holding out for me! That must be it.

Here’s Jennifer and Gerard on the set of “Bounty Hunter” in Atlantic City on July 7th. Photo credit: VILA/ANDERSON/bauergriffinonline.com

With Jennifer Aniston’s hectic schedule of filming back-to-back films and enjoying hot “revenge sex” with random Scotsmen, you may have started to wonder how Jennifer has time to be a good Goddess Circle friend. Turns out, she doesn’t have time for those bitches anymore. Too much? I thought so. The National Enquirer has a story up called “Why Jen Aniston Hates Courteney Cox’s Guts”. Juicy, right? Like, maybe it’s drug related or maybe some huge fight over chicken salad, perchance? Turns out, there is no “hating” of anyone’s “guts”. They’re just two women in their forties with different stuff going on, and they haven’t had time to hang out face-to-face in a little while. That’s why the first Goddess Circle invented phones. Or Skyping, for that matter.

Courteney Cox has ditched her longtime BFF Jennifer Aniston!

“It seems like Courteney and Jen’s close friendship has chilled in recent months, and it comes down to their lifestyles not gelling anymore,” an insider told The ENQUIRER.

“Jen is almost a workaholic who spends her free time dating and hunting for Mr. Right, while Courteney is happily married and busy juggling work and motherhood.”

Courteney’s husband David Arquette “can’t be thrilled with the idea of Courteney developing a roving eye as she cruises parties and restaurants as Jen’s wing girl.”

So Courteney and David – whose daughter Coco is 5 – are spending more time with couples who share their interests, like kids’ play dates and family dinners, said the source. That includes actress Laura Dern and rocker-husband Ben Harper, and Spider-Man Tobey Maguire and jewelry designer-wife Jen Meyer, as well as single mom Sheryl Crow, said the source.

Jennifer was noticeably absent from Courteney’s 45th birthday celebration at Nobu in L.A. on June 15.

“Courteney and Jen will always be friends,” said the source, “but right now they’ve drifted apart because they’re at different stages in their lives, with different priorities.”

[From National Enquirer]

We have just witnessed the not-so-popular “Jennifer Dumped Again… by her best friend” story. It comes around every so often (like two or three times a year) when tabloids get tired of running the standard configuration of Jennifer Aniston + Random Dude + Brad Pitt = Confusion/Jealousy/Lust/Revenge/Babies. The last time this story was recycled was when Courteney and Brad Pitt alleged ran into each other and talked like normal adults. Apparently, Jen hates that kind of thing.

Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox and David Arquette are shown out after seeing a Fleetwood Mac concert in LA on 5/28/09. Credit: WENN.com

Well, we knew this one was coming, didn’t we? After two weeks of stories about how Bradley Cooper totally shafted Jennifer Aniston with the whole “just friends” thing and the date-with-Renee Zellweger thing, we now have Star Magazine’s cover story: “Jen’s Revenge”. Which sounds like a horror film. And I think “Jen’s Revenge” has been used several dozen times for tabloid covers over the past four years.

Anyhoodle, “Jen’s Revenge” is apparently having sex with Gerard Butler. Personally, I think having sex with Gerard would be a reward unto itself, without adding any “I’m going to get back you, Bradley Cooper” revenge fantasies into the mix. The cover photo is from yesterday’s “candid” paparazzi shots that seem… posed. TMZ and Lainey already pointed out that this Butler-Aniston pose is identical to the Pitt-Aniston pose in Mexico, just before their separation was announced. But let’s not let the photo op get in the way of a good story:

Jennifer Aniston’s not wasting any time when it comes to finding a new man. After a failed fling with Bradley Cooper, she’s already moved on to her sexy costar Gerard Butler!

“Let me put it this way,” says a source on the New York set of their movie, The Bounty. “They’re both hot and single! After they finish a scene, they stick around so they can hang out with each other. Neither is in a rush to leave.”

In fact, Jen and Gerard are so affectionate on set, sources tell Star, that they often practice kissing scenes even after the cameras stop rolling! “Jen will say, ‘I think we need to do that again,’” the source says. “She says Gerard’s a great kisser.”

The pair have adjoining trailers, and they’ve been seen dashing off to Jen’s haven for a private “lunch.” During one recent visit, Gerard stayed in Jen’s trailer for 30 minutes.

And the chemistry doesn’t fizzle after work, an insider adds. The new couple have even continued their heated make-out sessions in Gerard’s hotel room! But insiders aren’t surprised, noting that the romance has been almost a year in the making.

“Gerard’s been after Jen ever since they met at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2008,” a source tells Star. “He really has a thing for her. He wants to date her, not just have a fling — or at least that’s what he is telling her! He has a reputation for being the biggest cad in Hollywood, and Jen knows that. She said no to him for almost a year, but he never gave up.”

[From Star Magazine]

You know what gets cut out of the picture on the cover? Gerard is carrying a plate and fork in his right hand. He was eating when Jennifer persuaded him to walk arm in arm with her! Did she whisper, “This will be the cover shot! It will help you promote The Ugly Truth!” As far as whether or not Gerard and Jennifer are actually hitting it, I think the chances are pretty good, even though he denied “getting cozy” with Aniston in his Esquire interview. My guess is that, at the very least, Gerard and Jennifer are very friendly and he’s happy to be associated with her romantically.

Header photo via CoverAwards

Oh, this just made my day. My immortal beloved, Gerard Butler, is August’s Esquire cover boy. The photographs of Gerry are just lovely – they have some of the photos online, if you’d like to see him looking sexy, smiling and driving a convertible. Sigh. I love me some Gerard. His cover interview is all to promote The Ugly Truth, the romantic comedy he has coming out later this month, costarring Katherine Heigl. Unfortunately, Esquire Magazine is crazy and weird, and they sent a reporter who had never heard of Gerard Butler to interview Gerard Butler. I’d imagine that would be incredibly insulting for nearly every celebrity, to be interviewed by someone who hadn’t done any research, but Gerry is a good sport. It’s a long interview, so I’m going to try to break down the highlights.

At the beginning of the interview, the Esquire guy doesn’t really have any feel for Gerry, and he notes several interesting things – first, Gerard owns a house in LA, which I didn’t know. Apparently, the exterior of the house is very nice, spacious and European. I’m making a note in my fangirl notebook. Gerry has a pinball machine and a pool table in his living room – such a bachelor, right? Gerard offers the Esquire guy a drink, asking “You can have whatever you want — vodka, gin?” The guy says he’ll have whatever Gerry’s having, and Gerry responds, “I don’t drink. But I don’t give a sh-t.” Yes, I’ve heard that before, but if he doesn’t drink, why does he always look half in the bag coming out of bars? No matter.

Okay, for all die-hard Gerry fans, just go to the Esquire site and read the whole interview, it is interesting, if a bit annoying. I’m just going to cull the highlights here:

On Megan Fox: Gerard picks up the June issue of Esquire with Megan Fox and says “Look at this. After Megan Fox, who’s ever going to want to look at me on the cover of Esquire?” Later when the guy asks Gerard if he’s read the article about the 75 best films in that copy of Esquire, Gerard admits, “I haven’t looked at it. I was gonna look at it, but I couldn’t get past Megan Fox.”

Favorite Movies, his own and others: “Cool Hand Luke — that’s one of my favorites. You know, this is a great list. But how could they not put 300 in here? F-ckers.” Gerard loves 300, and considers it a “classic”. He also says “Dear Frankie’s a gem.”

On Marriage: Gerard has never been married, and he admits, “People would go, ‘That’s great. You’re still young.’ Over the last couple years, though, it’s become, ‘Wow. Really? Why?’”

On relationship rumors and Jennifer Aniston: “You know what’s funny? In the last year, there have probably been rumors of ten different women I’m supposed to be involved with. I think maybe one is true. You can walk around with a hundred of your buddies and it’s cool, but the second there’s a woman involved…the new one is Jennifer Aniston. I start filming with her in two weeks. I think it’s because she’s single and I’m single. The sum total of our conversation was about four minutes at the Toronto Film Festival. The next day, the story is: Gerry Butler and Jennifer Aniston get cozy at the Toronto Film Festival. Cozy? We were standing up and surrounded by forty people.”

On his early studies to become a lawyer: “I wasn’t going to be an actor. I was going to be a lawyer. I came from a family just above working class, just below middle class, a great family of wonderful values. The idea of me having a chance for a law degree was enticing. Enticing to me but also very enticing to my family. Wow, one of our own is studying law at university!”

On his childhood dreams of being an actor: “I did spend a lot of my childhood playing out movie scenarios in my head. I’d walk along the road, pretending like I was in the army, talking on the radio, and doing maneuvers. I dreamt a lot about performing in movies and living in fantasies. I had a lot of powerful dreams — some of them terrifying. One was about being in an underground tunnel, and this train was coming behind me. I smashed up my room trying to get away and then climbed out the window. My mom had to pull me back in by my legs. When I woke up, I thought my heart was going to explode. These were the kind of dreams I had. Some were fantastical, like skateboarding through planets and space. I’d wake up and wish I could manipulate these dreams and control them. The problem with my mind is it sways from side to side. The idea of me fantasizing about becoming an actor quickly led to depression. No, it was never going to happen to me. I was a sixteen-year-old kid on the other side of the world from where they made movies. Scottish actors never really got play. There was Sean Connery, and that was it.”

[From Esquire]

The biggest chunk of the interview is Gerard talking about his wayward youth. It goes on forever, and it seemed really convoluted and epic. Apparently, Gerry took some time off in the middle of law school, and he came to Los Angeles and just spent some serious time getting wasted with “three Irishmen roommates”. Gerry says, “Something very compulsive and dark and lusty and pleasurable but damaging took over.” I think I just had a hot flash. That sounds like a really fun apartment, doesn’t it? Gerard and his Irish friends can be damaged all over me.

Anyway, eventually Gerry realized he needed to stop getting sh-tfaced every damn day (“I ended up in L. A. County Jail. I was in a cell with my 501s and my tight leather jacket and my long hair thinking I was Jim Morrison”), and he stopped drinking and returned to law school. When he graduated “with honors” (that’s so hot), he got a position at a law firm. He then got fired – and went on to become a hot actor, so it’s all good. Now excuse me, I need to stare at this cover for several hours.

Gerard Butler is shown on the NY set of The Bounty on 7/13/09. Credit: REVOLUTION PIX/bauergriffinonline.com

There are all sorts of tabloids stories about the alleged Aniston/Cooper/Zellweger triangle and Aniston/Cooper/Butler triangles. It’s hard to tell if the reports have any basis in truth at all or if the gossip rags are just filling in the blanks after witnessing some most likely orchestrated dates between Bradley Cooper and two well known actresses who have helped raise his profile considerably.

The latest from the National Enquirer has Jennifer Aniston “devastated” that Bradley Cooper kind of dumped her to the press by saying she was “simply a friend.” The story goes that she called him up to figure out what he meant by that and ended up getting dumped over the phone:

Actress Jennifer Aniston rarely responds to even the most ridiculous romance gossip, which might explain why she didn’t expect her once-rumored beau, Bradley Cooper, to deny their relationship. According to the National Enquirer, Cooper’s recent comments left his “He’s Just Not That Into You” co-star reeling.

“Jennifer was devastated when Bradley told reporters in Paris that she was ‘just a friend’ and denied they had any romantic involvement,” an insider told the National Enquirer. “It makes her look desperate — which is the one thing she dreads coming across more than anything else.”

At first, Aniston allegedly assumed Cooper’s public stance was merely an attempt to keep their relationship private, but the source explained that the actress soon learned otherwise.

“When (Aniston) confronted (Cooper) about it, he took the opportunity to let her down gently and say he only wanted to be friends,” the source revealed. “It was a huge embarrassment for Jennifer — now she feels used and upset — her confidence has taken yet another knock and she’s back at square one in terms of dating.”

Which really isn’t so bad, as long as “square one” isn’t code for “round three” with revolving-door-ex John Mayer.

[From MSNBC's The Scoop]

Given that this news isn’t coming out until now, over two weeks since Cooper made that “friends” statement and then stepped out with Renee Zellweger, it has some credibility. At the same time, it’s possible that the tabloids are rehashing this because Aniston’s love life sells copies and they don’t want to let go of the Cooper story. The whole thing smacks of the “poor Jen” angle that we’ve come to expect. I trust The National Enquirer with more serious coverage, but with these “insider” stories they probably aren’t above embellishing. We also heard from the Enquirer that Aniston gave Cooper a “relationship timeline” that included a pregnancy by the end of the year and a marriage to follow. I really hope that wasn’t true at all, because it just sounds outrageous. This story is less of a whopper and is a little more believable, but it’s hard to tell if it’s true at all.

Jennifer Aniston is shown on the NY set of The Bounty on 7/11/09. Credit: Bauergriffinonline. BRadley Cooper is shown at Much Music in Toronto on 5/26/09. Credit: PRPhotos

We officially have a new uncool Bermuda Triangle! For the new one, we still have player named “Jennifer Aniston” and a player named “Bradley” (Cooper). The new player is none other than Oscar-winner Renee Zellweger. I’m sure everyone remembers what went down, but just a quick recap: Jen went on a date with Bradley Cooper (Bradifer 2.0!), who then claimed they were just friends (he said it in French too!), and then he went on a date with Renee Zellweger (just 12 days later!), and then the sh-t hit the fan (“Jen’s Love Implosion”) Last week we were regaled with stories of What Went Wrong between Jen and Bradley – we heard neediness, relationship timelines, and some mutterings about Lake Bell and “don’t hate the player, hate the game, ladies”. I’m making that last one up. Although it would be funny if Bradley said that.

So Star’s story this week is “Renee Steals Jen’s Man”. Epic, right? Perhaps it should be “Renee and Jen Try To Steal Lake Bell’s Man”. Or perhaps “How Do You ‘Steal’ A Man, Anyway?” This story is told more from a pro-Renee point of view, as opposed to the version yesterday that had a friend of Jen’s calling Renee “Needy Edie”. Although the “Needy Edie” motif still exists in this version:

“Renee is totally into Bradley,” a source close to the actress tells Star. “Behind the scenes, she’s really throwing herself at him.”

Just 12 days after [Bradley and Jennifer’s date], Renee got her own intimate alone time with the star of The Hangover at another Italian restaurant.

“They were really comfortable with each other,” says a restaurant employee, who noted Bradley, 34, acted the perfect gentleman and pulled out Renee’s chair for her. “She was so happy – they were talking and smiling the entire time. It certainly looked like a date.”

Keeping their night out a secret from Jennifer Aniston wasn’t a top priority for Bradley and Renee. After spending more than two hours openly flirting with each other, the two headed outside to waiting photographers.

“We could have snuck them out through the downstairs,” the restaurant employee tells Star. “But they weren’t really concerned about privacy.”

Word of the date getting out is all just part of Renee’s plan. She’s felt a special connection with Bradley since they started filming the upcoming thriller Case 39.

“It was obvious from the moment she met him. And since Bradley’s on the fence and playing it cool with Jen, Renee saw her chance and took it. She doesn’t care if Jen knows about their date, because she’s sure Bradley is all hers now!”

But even casual observers note that Bradley could be toying with both Renee and Jennifer and dating on his own terms.

“He was so charming,” says one diner who witnessed Bradley and Renee. “I could see why these women are falling for him. But I think they should be careful, because he obviously has great game.”

Jennifer’s making it known she does too! “Jen is the better match for Bradley, but she’s not going to cry into her pillow over him,” says a friend. “She just thinks Bradley’s not ready for something serious yet. She says when he is, he’ll be with her.”

But Renee won’t go down without a fight! “She’s dying to get married and have a baby, and she believes Bradley is the right guy,” insists the source. “She’s determined to keep him for herself!”

[From Star Magazine, print edition, July 20 2009]

I just enjoyed this story so much. It’s like Star’s trying to make the case that both women feel very confident in their “triumph” over the other one. Renee’s all “I totally stole him from you, Jennifer! Cry on a pillow!” and Jen’s like “I didn’t want him in the first place, but he’ll come back to me when he’s tired of bones, sister!”

At first a felt badly for Bradley because I thought he was a hard-working guy experiencing his first brush with career success, and he might be getting manipulated by some very experienced public relations wheelers and dealers. Now I’m just starting to think that Bradley’s going for the one-two punch of modern Hollywood careerism – he’s got the big hit movie, so now he’s going for the tabloid drama. Anything to be a household name.

Gerard Butler and Jennifer Aniston have been photographed extensively through the film shoot for Bounty Hunter (which might be renamed The Bounty). It seems a lot of the film shoot is made up of exteriors around Queens and Atlantic City – although there was a rumor Butler and Aniston were filming inside one of Trump’s casinos, which just means this film is extra classy. We’ve already seen some nice photos of the two of them in a blue convertible, but this new batch might be my favorite. Gerard Butler has pulled a gun on Aniston, and then they look like they’re arguing and then maybe he’s reconsidering the urge to shoot her.

For a quick update, this film has a similar sort of plot as Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Butler and Aniston are playing ex-spouses, and something happens and Butler’s character has to track down or kill Aniston’s character. Something like that. It’s supposed to be comedy-action, and from the overturned trucks, I guess they filmed some kind of car chase or something earlier in the day.

Sidenote: Hell is about freeze over, because I’m going to give Jennifer Aniston credit for something. In most of the paparazzi photos I’ve seen from this film shoot, she’s been wearing the same two basic outfits, and her hair has looked awful. This is absolutely thrilling because it shows that the film isn’t some sort of Aniston vehicle that just shows her off in cute outfits and perfectly tousled hair. Nice work, Jennifer. This is what it’s like to make a movie where you’re not playing just another picture-perfect version of Rachel Green.

Images thanks to BauerGriffinOnline and INF Photo.

This piece of gossip was too good to pass up. It’s probably total bullsh-t, but I would love it just for sheer hilarity’s sake if it was true. So, everyone remembers that Jennifer Aniston went on a “date” with Bradley Cooper a couple of weeks ago. The tabloids had a field day, probably grateful that they had someone new to connect Jennifer to, and so they sort of made a mountain out of a molehill – it was just one dinner date, after all. So when Bradley Cooper had a “date” with Renee Zellweger just one week later, the tabloids threw another party, this time bashing Jennifer Aniston for being “too needy” et cetera. Only one tabloid – Life & Style – chose to go the nice route, claiming that Jennifer had her pick between Bradley and Gerard Butler.

Ever the self-perpetuating drama – because at this point, Bradley Cooper has gone on exactly two dinner dates with two different women – this week’s tabloids stories are going to be taking out those pesky men that women fight over like a tube of lipstick. This week’s OK! Magazine has Jennifer Aniston’s “pal” being very bitchy about Renee Zellweger. The words used to describe Renee are “Needy Edie”. Ha!

Jennifer Aniston has a “high school crush” on Bradley Cooper. She’s not worried by the fact that he recently went on a date with Renée Zellweger — a pal says: “It looks like Needy Edie is throwing herself all over him. We joke about how Renée’s face stopped moving a few years ago. I doubt Jennifer will see her as competition.”

[From OK! via Jezebel]

Wouldn’t you just love it? If this was really the way Jennifer Aniston and coven of goddess-circle friends really talked? Hey, it might be the case. And it’s a pretty low blow to disrespect Renee’s immovable face when Jennifer’s face grew magical, puffy cheekbones in Marley & Me, and then she deflated.

In other Jennifer Aniston news, her dog Norman is jealous. I kid you not, this is an actual tabloid story. Jennifer couldn’t bring Norman on the Marley & Me set because he would get all territorial and take issue with all of the “Marley” dogs. Yeah, that happens. Boy dogs get extra territorial about their bitches. My puppy thinks the UPS truck is trying to kill me, so he really gets upset when the big brown truck goes down the street.

Here’s Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler on the set of “The Bounty Hunter” in NY on 7/6/09. Credit: WENN.com. Bradley Cooper is shown on the set of “Valentine’s Day,” which is being shot at LAX on 7/7/09. Credit: Jeff Steinberg/INFphoto.com

Last week the National Enquirer and In Touch Weekly threw a little party over what appeared to them as the rotting corpse of Jennifer Aniston’s love life. After going on one date with Bradley Cooper, Bradley totally pulled a “just friends” in the press, which was viewed by some as a humiliating public denial of a perfectly good made-for-tabloid romance. The Enquirer claimed it was Aniston’s “Love Implosion” and created a story about Jennifer giving Bradley a “relationship timeline” in which he was to provide her babies and marriage within a year. Meanwhile, In Touch had some “insider” quotes about how Jennifer is needy, clingy, and how she scares men away.

So Aniston was due a nicer portrayal of what exactly is happening in her love life. This version comes via Life & Style, and it definitely shows the past two weeks’ events in better light. They’re basically saying that Jennifer has to choose between Bradley Cooper (who, I guess, still wants to date her in this version) and Gerard Butler. Apparently, Aniston and Butler have been flirting up a storm while shooting Bounty Hunter. An insider claims that Aniston says she and Gerard “have a strong physical attraction.” Uh… yeah, he’s Gerard Butler. He could have a strong physical attraction with a mailbox. He’s that sexy.

“Between takes, Jen and Gerard were definitely flirting with each other,” says an eyewitness on the Atlantic City, NJ set of Bounty Hunter. “She was rubbing his face, touching his arm and laughing.”

[During] a late night shoot in the Trump Taj Mahal casino, “Jen was very chatty with Gerard during the breaks,” another onlooker said. “Gerard was getting really close to her on the escalator. You could definitely notice a connection between them.”

Jen’s flirtation with Gerard came less than a week after [she went to dinner with Bradley Cooper]. “They were very flirty and taken with each other,” a witness says.

In other words, Jen appears to have her pick of two of Hollywood’s hottest stars.

“I’m having a great time working with her,” Gerard told Life & Style on June 16 at the beginning of filming. “She’s a lot of fun to be with.”

But nearly four years after her split with Brad Pitt, Jen isn’t in any rush to walk down the aisle. She’s determined not to commit to a serious relationship unless she’s sure it’s worth her time, according to an insider. In the meantime, she’s just having fun.

“She has strong and sincere feelings for Gerard, and she’s very curious about what’s going to happen between them on set,” the insider says. “She says they have a strong physical attraction.”

Confirms an insider close to the Scottish actor, “She’s always liked Gerard, and now he likes her.”

As for Bradley, [Jennifer] is interested in going out with him to see how their relationship develops. But for now, they’re just friends, Bradley insists. And Jen’s not choosing either guy. She’s keeping her options open.

[From Life & Style, print edition, July 13 2009]

As much as I want to shake Aniston and use any and all negative reinforcement to dissuade her from ever, ever flipping her hair in Gerard’s direction, I have a feeling that it’s on. I think Aniston will get into Gerard’s pants – if she hasn’t already. They will make the sexy time. But I do seriously doubt that Gerard will become some tabloid-friendly romance for her. Gerard doesn’t seem to go in for those clever little “insider” quotes about how he’s just looking for a nice girl (like Aniston!) to settle down with (and get Aniston pregnant!). The last time he was rumored to be romancing some Hollywood lady, it was Cameron Diaz, and Gerard shot that down with this rude/hilarious comment: “So if I take my dog for a walk apparently I’m f—ing my dog? No, it’s not true!” So, will there be another denial?

Here’s Jennifer and Gerard on the set of “Bounty Hunter” in Atlantic City last month. Photo credit: VILA/ANDERSON/bauergriffinonline.com

Jennifer Aniston photo thanks to Pacific Coast News. Bradley Cooper photo thanks to Fame Pictures.

After spending last week proclaiming Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Aniston “The Next Big Couple”, this week’s tabloids seem to be taking stock of What Went Wrong (And In Such A Short Time). Most versions have Jennifer Aniston as the poster girl for clingy neediness, The Girl Who Can’t Keep A Man. Yesterday’s National Enquirer report had Aniston giving Bradley a “relationship timeline” on their first date, a story that seemed to reek. Now In Touch is chiming in with the same kind of version of events. Apparently, the Aniston-Cooper relationship didn’t get off the ground for several reasons: Bradley Cooper is seeing Lake Bell, amongst others; Bradley’s head isn’t in the game because he hit it big so suddenly; Bradley was just being polite to Jennifer and he doesn’t really feel anything for her; and lastly, Jennifer comes across as “needy” and she “scares” guys off:

The morning after the date, Jennifer called a friend to dissect every detail. “She said they had a real connection,” a confidante tells In Touch. “She was hoping they’d see each other again. She was on a real high.”

But Jen’s giddiness was short-lived. Another friend called her to break some bad news – Bradley had also been seeing actress Lake Bell for the prior two weeks and was spotted openly flirting with her at the Whitney Museum gala on June 17 – the night before his date with Jen.

“Bradley and Lake were whispering intimately,” the witness tells In Touch. “he had his hands all over her legs.” It wasn’t the first time the two were seen together. Bradley and Lake both attended the CFDA awards two days earlier.

Ever since The Hangover premiered, Bradley’s been bombarded with attention from women.

“Everyone’s looking at [Bradley] differently,” his pal says. “He has no idea how to handle the craziness, but he’s not complaining. He wants to ride it out.”

Is Jen moving too fast?
Jen was crushed when she heard that Bradley was seeing other women – but not surprised. “She thought it was too good to be true,” the confidante adds.

Jen has asked Bradley to spend a long weekend in Mexico with her in July, but he had turned her down, saying he was busy. Then she invited him to a barbecue at her house later in the summer. “He said he would try to make it,” the confidante adds.

Jen’s friend thinks Bradley was just being polite and has no intention of getting serious with her.

“She can sometimes come off as needy and has no idea that she’s not coming off as fun and spontaneous. She ends up scaring guys off,” the friend says.

“She’s pinning all of her hopes on [Bradley] being ‘The One’.” the confidante explains. “He simply isn’t.”

[From In Touch Weekly, print edition, July 13 2009]

I really, really hope that Jennifer doesn’t think in terms of a certain guy being “The One” after one date. I do think In Touch has it right on a few points, though. First, I think if Bradley is with any woman, it’s probably Lake Bell. There were rumors about the two of them before this whole Aniston drama, but of course, he and Lake could be “just friends” too. Secondly, I do think that for men (and some women), Aniston doesn’t come across as spontaneous. Just my take.

In Touch also has this little blurb about what will likely be Aniston’s next tabloid conquest – none other than Gerard Butler. It sort of contradicts their report that Bradley just isn’t that into Aniston, but here goes:

Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler “flirt, but it’s pretty innocent,” says her pal. “If [Bradley Cooper] doesn’t work out, she would certainly be open to dating Gerard.”

But according to another source, Gerard and Bradley have become pals, and since Jen personally chose Gerard to star in her new movie Goree Girls, which she is also producing, “she’s keeping it strictly professional,” adds the pal.

[From In Touch Weekly, print edition, July 13 2009]

That’s right, Aniston. Keep it professional. Move it along. No need to bring Gerard into this. Need I remind you? Get. Off. My. Boyfriend. On an added note about my boyfriend, my immortal beloved Gerard “Not Capable of an Innocent Flirtation” Butler might be headed to the pokey for allegedly beating up a paparazzo. The court date was set for this month, but yesterday it was pushed back until August 18. He could go to jail! Maybe Aniston will visit him.