We’re assuming it’s innocent, but we still don’t like the way this lady is touching Ben Affleck. Who is she, and why does she have her hands all over Ben? They seem to be involved in an intense conversation – at one point Ben’s reduced to tears. Okay he’s probably just wiping his nose, but let’s make this dramatic! Either way, he doesn’t seem to be buying whatever she’s selling.

Affleck was photographed on a balcony at the Excelsior hotel during the Venice Film Festival today. He’s at the festival to premiere his latest film The Town, which is getting solid reviews. Ben shared a funny/frightening story about shooting the movie at Fenway Park: “They actually have weddings on the field. I think you can get married there for $25,000. So we were shooting with automatic weapons there and we fired off a full mag and, we didn’t know it, but there were some people getting married. People were screaming! They thought they were under attack! I don’t know if we ruined a wedding or if it will end up a great story.” (via PopWatch)

Thanks to the kindness of one of our helpful readers, we’ve learned the woman with Ben is his assistant Chay Carter. Which explains why it looks like she’s picking fuzz off his sweater at one point.