Jennifer Aniston: 'Marley & Me' Fresh Start

Jennifer Aniston would love nothing more than to keep the thunder focused on her upcoming Christmas Day release, Marley & Me, a three-hankie (and one pooper-scooper) adaptation of writer John Grogan's best-selling memoir, in which Aniston stars opposite Owen Wilson and an unruly Labrador retriever. It's been two and a half years since her last film, the romantic comedy ] The Break-Up, a period during which — aside from popping up as a psycho sexpot on 30 Rock last month — Jennifer Aniston has been overshadowed by Jennifer, the tabloid icon.

Marley & Me, with its built-in fan base and cute-as-a-puppy holiday appeal, represents Jennifer Aniston' best bet to get her often wobbly movie career back on solid footing. Sometimes you're not always so thrilled about the movie you're pushing, she admits, whistling past a graveyard of clunkers like Rumor Has It and Derailed. But this is a good one.

Jennifer Aniston misses the days when they hid behind bushes. Then, at least, Aniston could enjoy the illusion that Aniston was free from their telephoto lenses. Now the paparazzi are always there in the open — staked out at the bottom of her driveway, climbing the walls of a restaurant patio where Aniston's eating — like zombies in a George Romero movie. Needless to say, She's standard of what constitutes a private moment is not like most people's. "The way I gauge it is, are there 6 cars behind me today or not?" Aniston says.