Jessica Simpson's Flirt-Fest With Oscar Nominee Jeremy Renner

Wonderwall, Thursday, March 4, 2010, 12:17pm (PST)

By Kat Giantis

Isn't it nice when Cupid cooperates with the Hollywood PR machine? People magazine reports Jessica Simpson, who is out promoting her upcoming series "The Price of Beauty," was spotted enjoying a tête-à-tête with Jeremy Renner, the Oscar-nominated star of "The Hurt Locker" and newly anointed next big thing.

The chat-fest took place during a recent shindig for the actor's critically hailed war flick at the Los Angeles home of Guy Oseary (aka Madonna's manager). Jess happens to live next door, so she popped by with her BFF-cum-coif-wrangler Ken Paves.

"Jeremy spent the night hitting on Jessica like crazy," enthuses a spy. "They were really flirting up a storm."

RELATED: See more pics of Jessica

Paves, supportive wingman that he is, cheered on the pair and, according to the snitch, "Jessica loved it!"

When the bash wound down, Simpson and Renner reportedly entered each other's digits in their phones, seemingly with a promise to have "my people call your people."

Word of their friendliness follows the starlet's well-received sit-down with Oprah, during which she discussed former squeeze John Mayer branding her "sexual napalm" (go ahead and insert your own "Hurt Locker" improvised explosive device joke here) and "crack cocaine" in his something-offensive-for-everyone interview with Playboy.

RELATED VIDEO: Jessica talks to Oprah about John Mayer

While she could have gone the angry ex route, Jess, who was last linked to chrome-domed Smashing Pumpkins front man Billy Corgan, instead came across as mature, sweet and self-deprecating, even joking that in light of the crooner's ungentlemanly comments, her "phone is ringing off the hook."

But if Renner does decide to give Simpson's overworked number a call, it looks like it could be a rebound romance: The Associated Press reports he's in the midst of a breakup.

On the plus side, the actor has laughed off whispers of a relationship with his "North Country" co-star Charlize Theron, insisting they're just great friends.

"We're crazy about each other," he says of the statuesque Oscar winner, who reportedly just handed longtime love Stuart Townsend his walking papers. "I can go hang out with her and play her piano and sip Scotch."

RELATED VIDEO: Jeremy Renner's Oscar happiness

As for Jess, she appears to have learned a thing or two from her failed marriage to Nick Lachey and string of fizzled relationships (see Mayer, Tony Romo, etc.).

"You can't love someone else to change them," she tweeted last weekend. "Happiness comes from accepting who they are. It is our decision to REALLY know who we love."

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