Nov. 6 — Jennifer Lopez has been sporting a big pink diamond on her finger recently, and now Entertainment Tonight is reporting that she and Ben Affleck are engaged.The TV show quoted a source close to the couple as saying wedding bells will soon be tolling.

Representatives for the couple would not comment on the report, but J.Lo herself seemed to drop a hint earlier this week on MTV.

“I think everybody will know soon enough,” she said on Total Requests Live.

Lopez to Speak Soon

Amid the swirling rumors, Lopez sits down with ABCNEWS’ Diane Sawyer for a rare exclusive interview on a special Wednesday edition of Primetime next week to discuss her life, career and new love.

Lopez and Affleck first went public as a pair on July 22. They met last December while filming the movie Gigli, which hits theaters next July.

J.Lo and Ben, as they are affectionately called, quickly became one of the most-talked-about glamour couples in show business. This summer, they vacationed on Massachusetts’ Cape Cod, driving through beach communities in a Bentley.

Affleck lampoons the couple’s new status as the No. 1 target for paparazzi in Lopez’s new video, “Jenny from the Block.” In it, he pumps gas and slavishly dotes over her.

Another track on Lopez’s forthcoming CD is called “Dear Ben.” It will be released Nov. 26, when her new movie, Maid in Manhattan, hits theaters.

A wedding announcement could boost even more interest in the Bronx-born Latina singer, as she tries to duplicated her marketing bonanza last year, when her album J.Lo and her movie The Wedding Planner debuted at No. 1.

Lopez, 32, separated five months ago from dancer Cris Judd and their divorce is still pending. She had previously been married to Ojani Noa, a waiter. They were married for a year and divorced in 1998.

On New Year’s Eve 1999, the singer was thrust into controversy when her then-boyfriend, Sean “P. Diddy,” Combs was implicated in a nightclub shooting. Combs was later cleared of firearms and bribery charges. They split up in 2001.

Affleck has never been married. But after his breakthrough hit, Good Will Hunting, in 1997, he began dating Gwyneth Paltrow. They split up in 1999.

Last year, the 30-year-old actor checked himself into a rehabilitation center for alcohol dependency.

The couple are now working on Jersey Girl, a comedy in which they play husband and wife. It’s due out next November.

KEVIN SMITH’S AMAZING SPIDER-MAN

He did it for Green Arrow and Daredevil. Now Kevin Smith wants to turn his take on Spider-man into an instant hit.

As J. Michael Staczynski and John Romita Jr. move over to a bran new Spider Man title in 2003, Spider man/Black Catpartners Smith and artist Terry Dodson will take over Amazing. According to the scribe, while he hasn’t nailed his take on Spidey exactly, he’s gonna keep the wisecracks flying, much like he did in his Black Cat mini series.

“Spidey’s the one of the all time greats for me, but that’ll be an easy question to answer in retrospect,” said the director of Chasing Amy and Mallrats. “I guess we’ll find out when I’m done with my run.”

It’s about 10 past 5:00 on Saturday, November 2nd and an employee of the Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville, NY steps up to a microphone set up in the front of theatre 1. He pauses for a moment for the packed theatre to quiet before he makes his announcement. I hold my breath and brace myself to hear the words, ” Kevin Smith will not be able to be here tonight.” It takes me a second to realize this is not what he’s saying. Instead he is talking about the upcoming events at the theatre and I remember that this is Kevin Smith, not Jason Mewes we’re talking about here. I knew he’d never let us down (unlike Mewes). Meanwhile the announcer has finally gotten to tonight’s movie and is explaining that it is the first in a series the theatre will be presenting. The series is the “brain child” of N.Y. Times film critic Janet Maslin, and joins people in the film industry with some of their favorite films. Janet takes the mic to elaborate on the series and mentions that, among other people, Ben Affleck will be appearing at the Jacob Burns, date T.B.A.

Tonight we will be viewing A Man for All Seasons, one of Kevin Smith’s favorite movies, followed by a Q&A with Kevin. It was a little difficult sitting thru a movie that I have already seen, anticipating what was to come, but eventually I sat back and enjoyed the show. After all it is an excellent movie. I can see why Kevin would list it among his favorite films. By the way, the other four movies on Kevin’s top five list are: Do the Right Thing, Jaws, The last Temptation of Christ, and JFK.

Kevin wasn’t able to make it to the showing of the film, but arrived as it was ending and took a seat on stage with Janet. The two began to chat fairly casually about his favorite movies and the connections (or lack of) between those films and his own. They soon turned to the audience for questions encouraging the relaxed atmosphere. Kevin stayed for about an hour, answering questions and making us laugh, and laugh but then we had to clear the theatre for the next movie. A small crowd gathered around him as he tried to make his way out, but he didn’t go far. He actually stayed for almost another hour out on the sidewalk in front of the theatre signing autographs, answering questions and posing for pictures with everyone. Eventually the crowd dwindled, but he stayed and talked to every last person that approached him. He answered every last question, including all the “how do I get a part in one of your movies?” and “how do I break into the bizz?” questions, appearing less annoyed than I was that people still ask that stuff. And the worst questions of all, “Have you seen Mewes lately? Ugh! Finally, around 9:00 he and his wife, Jenn (who had arrived rather inconspicuously at some point) posed for one last picture together and then the two just walked away.

I am left completely in awe, I’m thinking: man, and I thought Brian O’Halloran was cool. Oh wait, Brian is very cool, but Kevin Smith is the man! He’s walking away and I just want to call out, “Thanks Kevin!” Thank you for making such incredible movies. Thank you for coming here tonight to hang with us. Thank you for being so freakin’ cool. Thank you. (My strong desire for Kevin, and everyone else, to not think I’m a psycho allows me to refrain from doing this, but just barely.) If anyone had any doubts about him (and I’ve read the boards) please take it from me that he is absolutely an amazing, genuine, and down to earth guy.

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Just wanted to let you know that Kevin was great last night.

It was an odd crowd however, half the audience was the normal saturday night crowd – pretentious film goers, Jacob Burns members etc…

The other half were Kevin Smith fans who were ready to see Kevin.

The woman I sat next to was actually twiddling (twiddling!) her thumbs! One girls’ question was: “Can I take a picture with you?” Another question was “On the topic of superheros… Is Batman your favorite super hero?”

Then there was Kevin himself – when he sat down on stage, he dropped his keys on the table which I thought was funny – did he drive himself up and get lost on the Saw Mill like I did?

His comments were fantastic about the film, which really is quite good. I especially love how he mixes in assf&$@ing and fart comments as part of a discussion about the finer points of filmmaking. His levity is why he is successful I think. I guess he wouldn’t be able to appear on Actors Studio any time soon with that potty mouth.

Thanks for the tip, I would have never found out otherwise!

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Just wanted to check in real quick. I was one of the MANY fans from here that got the chance to see a very cool movie and meet Kevin.

He was great, as usual. Jenn was there as well. I was just about to say hi to her when an elderly woman engaged her in conversation. I didn’t want to be rude.

Kevin talked a bit here & there about Jersey Girl. How great it looks and how well it’s coming along. You can tell that he’s really excited about this movie and how much in love with it he is. A girl in the audience spoke up about how she’s a 2nd year student at his former alma mater.

They talked about Man for All seasons, about how much Kevin enjoyed the film. Also that when he was about 13 he performed it with his class at Catholic school. Another person pointed out how they could see Dogma something like MFAS.

I can’t really remember much else. I’m still FLYING from him signing my comic. My friend who went with me took pics. He hasn’t sent them to me yet, but when he does, I’ll send them along if they are any good.

Area’s affair with Jen and Ben ends

After weeks of filming in Phila. and N.J., “Jersey Girl” is gone.
By Michael Klein

The lights and cameras are packed and gone. So are Ben Affleck’s computer, director Kevin Smith’s comic-book collection, even Jennifer Lopez’s chartreuse chaise longue.

Gone, too, are the paparazzi.

The movie Jersey Girl left yesterday after 10 weeks of filming in Philadelphia and Paulsboro, Gloucester County.

Jersey Girl is a story about the bond between a father and his daughter. For Philadelphia, it was a story of love and stardom, tabloids and money.

The money part is eye-opening. According to what city film-office head Sharon Pinkenson yesterday called a conservative estimate, the production had a regional economic impact of $35 million. (Coincidentally, the film’s budget also is $35 million.) The impact includes the spending generated by such things as rents, meals, and salaries of 150 Philadelphia-based production workers over 10 weeks. Philadelphians represented three-quarters of the crew.

For the love, stardom and tabloids, we turn to Affleck and Lopez, who play husband and wife on screen and play house off-screen.

As Jersey Girl hit town in August, tabloids were buzzing over the It Couple, the hunky Affleck and the glamorous (and still married) Lopez. The Star paid a Northeast Philadelphia father big bucks for photos of the couple holding his babies on the set. Us magazine bought candid shots of the couple buying lingerie at the boutique Platinum on South Street.

Though Affleck and Lopez were spotted having dinner twice at Alma de Cuba on Walnut Street, they managed by and large to keep a low profile. (Wednesday night, for example, while producers and crew celebrated at a wrap party at the Old City restaurant Tangerine, sources said at least Affleck stayed in.)

Whenever they filmed on location, they drew autograph-seeking crowds and long-lens-wielding shutterbugs. Observers point to 1995 as the last time the region was caught in such a media frenzy; Brad Pitt arrived in Philadelphia to shoot 12 Monkeys just days after he was named People magazine’s sexiest man alive.

To while away their off-camera hours, Affleck, 30, and Lopez, 32, rented a penthouse suite on the 16th floor of the Phoenix, a ritzily renovated – and secure – apartment building in the former Insurance Company of North America building at 16th and Arch Streets.

Their assistants stayed in an adjoining 2,700-square-footer listed at $8,000.

The Phoenix, whose penthouse suites command views from the Ben Franklin Bridge to the Parkway from their terraces, comes equipped with marble-manteled fireplaces, hardwood floors, high ceilings, and doormen with amnesia.

According to those who visited, the Lopez-Affleck accommodations included plenty of white candles and family photos to provide a feeling of home.

Among the suite’s modern furniture, rented from Cort, was a chartreuse chaise longue. (All the better to match the chartreuse-and-chocolate-brown color scheme.) There was a large-screen television that glowed late into the night, particularly when Lopez was out of town.

A stream of staff – masseuses, drivers, makeup artists, personal assistants, hair stylists, manicurists – visited under the eye of Lopez’s bodyguard. The couple’s personal chef shopped at a Whole Foods store and prepared their food on Corian countertops. Affleck’s friend Matt Damon and Jersey Girl costar Liv Tyler visited for dinner. The couple’s guilty pleasure: Twizzlers.

To keep fit, they had a personal personal trainer. Gunnar Peterson, the Los Angeles-based trainer to the stars, moved East to work out with the actors at local gyms.

About 200 people – including Smith and producer Scott Mosier and their families – joined the Philadelphia crew at Wednesday’s wrap party. Tangerine – its chairs and tables cleared out in favor of a pool table and dance floor – served miniature crab cakes, petite filet-mignon skewers and tomatoes stuffed with lamb. Party planners hired a tarot-card reader and set up a photo booth while a New York disc jockey spun records.

Jersey Girl will do final shooting in Highlands, N.J., and New York. It is due in theaters in November 2003.

Meanwhile, the film office’s Pinkenson is scouting for more work. Philadelphia’s sole big-budget project is the new CBS series Hack, which this week got the go-ahead for a full season. Pinkenson said the 22 episodes would have an economic impact of $60 million on the city.

Pinkenson said she planned a trip to Hollywood next week to woo a television series and two feature films. “But I may have to postpone,” she said. Next week, film producers are due to tour Philadelphia. “How can I go out there if someone’s coming here for us?”

Taciturn

DEFINITION: silent, not talkative

EXAMPLE: The clerk’s taciturn nature earned him the nickname Silent Bob.

SYNONYMS: laconic, reticent