Two character actors are here for Jersey Girl: Mike Starr (who was Mental in Dumb & Dumber) and Stephen Root (Jimmy James on NBC’s old NewsRadio). Both play buddies of George Carlin’s character. Starr and a friend popped into Smith & Wollensky in the Rittenhouse Hotel to see an old friend, executive chef Tim Flaherty.

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J.Lo & Ben can’t stand being apart

WHILE RUMORS have Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck already saying “I do,” a new development has surfaced that has the filmmaking lovebirds playing house in our loving city.

Currently cohabitating at the Phoenix while filming Kevin Smith’s “Jersey Girl,” they’ve rented an entire floor in the Center City building, for $17,000 per month. A source tells Us Weekly that “they almost never leave [the building] or return solo.”

Affleck, 30, and Lopez, 32, “can’t keep their [hands] off each other,” and are constantly “holding hands, cuddling and hugging when in the lobby,” Us reports.

Though adopted homeboy Ben has yet to drop to one knee, he has gifted his main squeeze with plenty of sparkling jewels. And despite earlier reports in the New York Post that have the pair walking down the aisle before the end of the year, Us says no can do. J.Lo’s pending divorce with Cris Judd isn’t final till Jan. 26. A J.Lo spokesperson has made the official “there are no plans in the works” announcement.

But, a very close friend of the singer-actress tells the magazine, “They are going to get married.” When? “They won’t get engaged or anything – they’ll just get married.” We just hope we’re invited.

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Ben’s talking like he’s ready to wed

LOOKS LIKE amor, J.Lo-style, has gotten Ben Affleck thinking about the big picture. We’re talking home and hearth with a certain Latina lovely.

“It feels like a family life is waiting for me. I’m almost surprised that I don’t dread it. But the most important things in life are family, love and the relationships you have,” the actor told the Swedish paper Aftonbladet.

Wait a minute. Ben’s talking to a daily in Sweden, but Dude can’t give an interview to the Daily News, the People Paper in his adopted city?

But back to Ben and his future. Ben, who’s purportedly living with his honey Jennifer Lopez at the Phoenix for a cool $17,000 a month, glowed about his love, saying, “She stands with both feet on the ground…People think that she’s a diva. But she’s just a normal family girl from the Bronx.” When normal means you have an entourage with 100 people, she sure is!

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AFFLECK A GOOD SAMARITAN

DREXEL HILL’S Grace Linkmayer, a patient, was getting some fresh air outside Thomas Jefferson Hospital when she noticed a crowd gathered at the corner.

A handsome gentleman was kind enough to separate the crowd and wheel her up front. In addition to the push, Ben Affleck also gave her a kiss on the cheek and some kind words.

The crowd had gathered to watch the actor shoot a scene for “Jersey Girl.” (Linkmayer’s roommate at Jefferson was Northeast resident Lillian Kadlec, mother of Flyers fan services director Joe Kadlec.)

Philadelphia doubles for Manhattan in the romantic comedy which started 10 weeks of filming in late August. Aside from dropping some $20 million across the city, the production’s the talk of the town.

It’s in the papers. It’s all over the news.

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“You’re not waiting to see J-Lo, are you?” the Paulsboro cop asks several men across the street from the Bronx diva’s trailer. “Well, she ain’t here today–and she’s why I signed up for this job in the first place!”

On this overcast Thursday morning before a holiday weekend, no one heeds the warning. She’ll be here. She has to be here.

Awestruck teens carry video cameras, ready-to-autograph DVD cases and pictures. One rolled out of bed and just threw on clothes to get down here in time.

“I don’t want no autograph,” he says. “I want a hug.”

In the “Action Commentary” by Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn, Favreau mentions how they had $250,000 to shoot the flick and instead of trying to make a “real” movie and have it come out looking lame with not enough extras, etc, they decided to shoot it like Clerks with existing locations, friends in the roles, etc. Many times they mention how the “Clerks” method of shooting the flick resulted in happy results in shots, scenes, locations, actors, etc.

(By the way, if you haven’t seen one of Vince and Fav’s “Action Commentaries”, check them out on ‘Made’ or the new ‘Swingers’ DVD. They use a telestrator (the thing that TV football commentators use to write on the screen during replays) to point out funny/interesting things in the scenes. On both DVDs they play tic- tac-toe during slow parts of the commentary as well.)

In an interview with director Doug Liman, he also cites Clerks as an inspiration on the look and feel of Swingers.

In yet another interview, Favreau mentions Clerks again and speaks about how making a Clerks-type movie with $250,000 makes said quarter-mil a lot of money. Trying to make a “real” movie with the same $250,000 makes that quarter-mil not nearly enought money.