Cinematical's SmartGossip: 50 Ways to Thwart Paparazzi

Oh, that wacky George Clooney: He's announced that he'd like to outwit the paparazzi, who are continually linking him with this actress or that one, by going out to dinner every night with a different celebrity, whether male or female, and letting everyone draw (incorrect) conclusions. Today's my little sister's birthday, George ... she's not famous, but she'd love to help you thwart photographers and gossipmongers.

So how many of the following news items do you think were staged by the celebrities themselves, either for publicity or to intentionally diminish the credibility of gossip columns?

• Actress/singer Avril Lavigne has not been handling the paparazzi in such a classy fashion. Last weekend, she had to apologize for spitting on some of the photographers.
• Peter Sarsgaard (pictured at right, mmm) and Maggie Gyllenhaal have announced the birth of their daughter. The baby, born Tuesday night, is named Ramona. No other details are available, although I guess that refutes the rumor I heard about Sarsgaard being spotted holding hands on the beach this week with Clooney.

• TMZ examines in-depth the possible breakup of Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn. I never realized they were officially dating in the first place. Apparently TMZ is questioning that too, especially since the "breakup" coincided with the DVD release of The Break-Up.
• Scary photo time: Defamer brings us a collage of some all-male skinny-dipping from the production of the film Wild Hogs. It's not as hot as it sounds, believe me. No, Clooney is not among the nekkid men in the water, sadly.
  
• More scary Matthew McConaughey (although not as bad as last week): It's nice to see the man believes so strongly in good dental hygiene. Perhaps someone could cite hygiene as an excuse to convince him to lose the beard? (Warning: the video in that article will resize your browser window if you're not careful.)