It's a real pet project

In addition to Wilson ("He has no temper, no ego, he's collaborative and funny and sweet," Aniston says) and the canine scene-stealers, eight children played the couple's three kids at different ages. "And it wasn't just children or a dog in a scene or two, this was every day," the actress points out, adding that the old adage about never working with kids and animals didn't hold. "It was perfect. Everybody was in love with everybody."

Aniston has played pregnant characters in film and television, and certainly does her share of love stories, but this is her first wife and mother role, the part that starts after her boy-meets-girl movies end.

So how did she prepare for her role as a mother? She didn't. Director David Frankel ("The Devil Wears Prada") asked her not to do anything in advance of the shoot in Miami, to just let the role unfold organically. "I said, 'You're the boss, I'm your actor, so let's go,' " says the actress, who usually works with a coach for her movies. "It was all on the page. There was really nothing to do, except be."

Aniston is delighted to be able to go back and forth between studio and independent films -- "one for me, one for you" as she puts it -- but feels like she accomplished both with this one. There are some movie sets that are a blast to be on, but "it didn't quite make it up on the screen. Or it was hell, but it worked," she says. "When you actually can have [the finished film] be as fantastic and fulfilling as the experience itself was, it's called a home run. A creative, emotional home run. Those moments don't happen that often."

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