AFTER A YEAR that began with the bombshell announcement of her separation from Brad Pitt, sparking a global tabloid frenzy that saw every detail of her private life and personal anguish pored over in excruciating fashion, it is easy to empathise with Jennifer Aniston when she talks about her wish for 2006. 'I just want it to be here,' she says. 'I can't wait for it. I bow to 2005. But I will welcome 2006. Even if I don't know what the hell's going to happen.'
The love triangle involving Aniston, Pitt and Angelina Jolie was the grand-daddy of tabloid soap operas this year, the closest thing to the collapse of a royal marriage that celebrity-obsessed America has witnessed in recent times. And although the ink on her divorce to Pitt has been dry for three months, the public's appetite for news about Aniston remains as insatiable as ever, fed by an increasingly aggressive paparazzi pack. The day before Aniston arrives to meet foreign press to discuss her latest film, Rumor Has It ..., the National Enquirer's front page headline screams: 'Jen Out of Control!', speculating that her 'wild and crazy' friendship with actor Vince Vaughn is putting her life at risk.
The story is a classic of the genre - long on quotes from anonymous 'concerned friends', pitifully short on details of what it is about Aniston's behaviour these days that is supposed to be so harmful. Its veracity appears even more dubious as soon as Aniston breezes into the room with her co-star Shirley MacLaine. If this is a woman who is 'out of control', you can't help thinking that maybe unbridled hedonism is poised to become the next big thing in the fitness industry. Aniston's green eyes are as striking as ever, her honeyed complexion is radiant, and her hair shines bright. America's golden girl is, well, golden. And she has every reason to be.
As well as her leading role in the Rob Reiner romantic comedy Rumor Has It ..., Aniston's transition from television to silver screen has steadily gathered momentum, proving the 36-year-old is finally ready to leave her sitcom persona as Rachel from Friends firmly in the past. Next month, Aniston will be seen in Hong Kong cinemas starring alongside Clive Owen in the thriller Derailed, with two more films, The Break Up (opposite Vaughn) and Friends with Money also scheduled for release next year. But although Aniston would prefer to talk about her acting, the fascination with her private life endures. So it follows that in two interviews given earlier in the day, not one question concerned her role in Rumor Has It ... Does that bother her? 'What do you think?,' she sighs. 'It's just ... boring.'
Photographs of Aniston sunbathing topless at her Malibu cottage, taken by a photographer perched about 1.6km away, are the latest example of the intrusion she has put up with. Not that the relentless paparazzi attention would ever make her consider giving up the day job. 'Nothing could make it not worth it,' Aniston says. 'I love my job. I wouldn't trade it for anything, for any amount of hassle. I will never stop doing my job because then I'm giving those people the power, I'm letting them win and letting them take over my life, which is ridiculous.' Having a strong network and friends, family and associates to fall back on has also helped her through the turmoil of the past 12 months. 'I have a very great home base, a wonderful group of people around me. It's just that sometimes getting from here to there can be difficult, which is annoying. But if you don't look at the news-stands, you're okay. It's just the street stuff, going outside that can be difficult.'
The strong-arm tactics of the Hollywood paparazzi have come under scrutiny this year following a series of traffic accidents involving stars speeding away from chasing photographers. The Los Angeles County district attorney has even investigated the possibility of laying conspiracy charges against paparazzi. While not commenting directly on the official probe, Aniston believes something needs to be done. 'I believe that we do have the power somehow - and it just needs a little focus, and a little attention, and a little conversation - to change it before something really awful happens, something worse than a person's dignity being trampled. So that there will be a change, so that people won't be so aggressive and that there will be some boundaries.'
While she has no plans to leave Los Angeles, she sympathises with celebrities who have moved out of a city which prides itself as a haven where stars can be anonymous. 'I totally get that. It's a refreshing thing to get out of this bubble.'
