Back in July, there was some speculation and gossip that Jon Hamm might be fooling around on his girlfriend of 13 or 14 years, Jennifer Westfeldt. The Daily claimed The Hamm had been seen all over New York City, buying girls drinks and talking up whatever lady he fancied. LaineyGossip had a blind item that many thought was about The Hamm and Westfeldt too – all about how a dude was screwing around on his girlfriend with younger costars. Well… whatever happened around that time, Jon and Jennifer seemed to weather it. They stepped out looking couple-y a few weeks after the reports, and for the past month, I really haven’t heard anything positive or negative about either of them.

So what happened? If you believe The Enquirer, Jon got his act together because Will Ferrell told him to. What the what?

Happily married Will Ferrell has taken on a surprising new role – relationship counselor to close pal Jon Hamm. And Will’s telling Hamm not to cheat on his live-in girlfriend.

Ferrell leaped into action when he heard that Jon and Jennifer Westfeldt were having problems after reports that Jon has returned to his old ways – boozing and hitting on women.

“Jon has been sowing wild oats, and Will is worried that his friend’s antics could wreck his relationship with Jennifer,” revealed an insider. “So he sat Jon down recently for a man-to-man conversation. He told him he needed to recommit himself to the happy home life he’s built with Jen.”

Ferrell also suggested it might be time for his 41-year-old friend to anchor the relationship by getting married and having or adopting a baby, said the source. “And Will also let Jen know he was talking sense into Jon and setting him straight.”

Ferrell has been married to Viveca Paulin for 12 years, and they’re parents to three sons. “Will is determined to get Jon refocused on his home life. Will and Viveca have been hosting couples’ dinner parties, and Jon and Jennifer are regular invitees. The counseling seems to be working like a charm. Jen has even called Will to thank him.”

[From The Enquirer, print edition]

First of all, I’m not even sure if I believe Will and Jon are this tight. I think The Hamm is friendly with most people, and I could see a casual friendship between the two men. But I don’t buy that they’re close enough for Will to act as some kind of relationship counselor, nor do I think Will would ever feel the need to act that way with ANY of his friends. Right? Mind yo’ business, Will. And Jon… God, I don’t even know what to do with you. If he’s really been hooking up with other ladies… he’s not the man I thought he was. Sad.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Will Ferrell has a new movie coming out, a “telenovela spoof” called Casa de mi Padre. Did you know it’s all in Spanish with English subtitles? Is that weird/racist? Or is it simply a universal truth that Will Ferrell is funny when he speaks Spanish? I can’t decide. Oh… I just looked it up. Diego Luna is in it!!! OMG. AND Gael Garcia Bernal!!! OMG. It’s going to awesome, right?

Well, at least Gael and Diego look like they’re having fun. It’s nice to see them in another movie together, isn’t it? Anyway, Will has a new interview with Rolling Stone, which you can read in its entirety here. Here are some highlights:

On Casa de mi Padre: “I can’t tell you where I first thought of Casa de mi Padre and I can’t tell you when, but a light bulb went off that said putting me in a Spanish-speaking movie with the cast being entirely Latino, and myself playing a kind of Latino actor, and the joke not being that I’m speaking poor Spanish, that it would be hilarious. I guess I did it specifically to raise the question ‘Why did you do this?’ It’s one of the craziest things I’ve done.”

Ass-shots: “I did full ass in Old School, but this is its longest appearance.” Makeup? “Yes, someone had the either wonderful or horrible task of putting makeup on my ass.” He shrugs. He goes on, “This kind of thing is not a big deal to me. In college, they had this thing where you’d run naked on fraternity row, and if anyone challenged me, I’d be happy to do it.”

He’s normal in real life: “Meeting fans, I’ll be like, ‘Oh, hey, how are you?’ And, literally, they’re like, ‘What are you going to do? Do something! Are you sure that’s him? He’s not doing anything!’ Yes, I fear they’re horribly underwhelmed.”

Tina Fey on Will Ferrell: “There’s something about Will that is so completely American. A tall, white version of America that you used to see in Seventies movies and TV. He’s like one of the Bad News Bears grown up. He’s like a superfunny Jon from CHiPs. He’s the Trapper John of comedy. If I describe it any more, I’ll fall in love with him.”

The one time he shoplifted: Even when he shoplifted, he got away with it. Always the first one up in the morning, he passed the time playing Monopoly against himself and was always ticked off at how few $500s there were, so one day, at the local drugstore, he pocketed a spare pack of the bills. But that was it. “I never stole anything before,” he says solemnly, “and I never stole anything since.”

Early comedian: “I learned in first grade how to open a door and have it hit the bottom of your foot and then snap your head back like it hit you in the face, and I started doing that, making the other kids laugh, and it became a new way to make friends. It was also an easy way to talk to girls, to go up and be funny. I was never really bullied much, either. I was big for my age and fairly athletic.”

Deciding to become a comedian: “One day, I said to my father, ‘I’m thinking of giving the comedy thing a try, what’s your advice?’ He goes, ‘If it wasn’t based on luck, I wouldn’t worry about it, because you have talent. Just know that there’s a lot of luck involved and if you eventually decide to do something else, don’t treat it as a failure. Just know it’s one-in-a-million.’ Those words took all the pressure off, and I just treated it like a game.”

He lost his virginity at age 21 during his junior year of college: “In my mind’s eye, it seemed like the way it was supposed to happen,” Ferrell says. The Saturday Night Live alum says his mom assumed it happened much earlier with a rather loose classmate. “She said, ‘If you slept with this girl, you’d better slap a condom on that pecker of yours.’”

[Via Rolling Stone & Us Weekly]

He sounds nice. He does sound like a normal guy, only somehow… more so. Like, he’s bigger than average, funnier than average, crazier than average. One of Will’s friends describes him as having a “healthy ego” – I think that’s what’s throwing me off a little. Will isn’t humble-bragging, he’s not trying to convince us of how A) cool/amazing/special or B) pitiful/victimized he was and is. He’s just… confident and normal. He thinks highly of himself, but not to the point of being a d-bag. It’s nice.

Photos courtesy of WENN and Fame.

Okay, I have barely been watching The Office this season, just because… you know, I have other junk to do, other stuff to watch and the show really isn’t that good anymore. But I had seen the promos that last night’s episode was going to be “The Proposal” and since Bones was a repeat, I watched it. I was shocked to find myself crying for a good five minutes! It was a beautifully written episode, and they gave fans of the show the perfect Michael Scott proposal. And I simply love Amy Ryan – she’s such an incredibly gifted dramatic actress, and she’s so wonderful and dry and moving in this role of a funky, sweet, cheesy HR rep. I don’t want to spoil it for those who haven’t watched it yet, but it’s really, really good, and they gave Michael Scott a really good reason to leave the show.

So, yes, Michael Scott/Steve Carell is leaving, and there has been endless speculation as to who would replace him. I had my money on Will Arnett, alum of Arrested Development and one of my favorite guest stars on 30 Rock (he was on last night’s 30 Rock too, as was Oscar-winning screenwriter AARON SORKIN, which was one of the most awesome things ever). Anyway, it turns out that Carell’s replacement is… Will Ferrell! Well, Will is coming in for four episodes, after that, who knows? Show runner/producer Paul Lieberstein (Toby!) tells Deadline: “We are proud to continue The Office’s tradition of discovering famous talent… and we hope that once America gets a good look at Will, they’ll see what we see, tremendous raw sexuality.”

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Last year, it was announced that Brad Pitt had signed on to do voice work the animated film Oobermind. I hadn’t really been following the production, but I remember hearing that Brad had joined Will Ferrell, and that Brad was the voice of the superhero. I wasn’t expecting this though – this sh-t looks hilarious. The project was renamed Megamind, and Ferrell plays Megamind, and obviously, the film is about Megamind. It seems like what would happen if they made a cartoon about Dr. Evil. That’s probably how they pitched it, actually.

Anyway, Brad has voiced the “hero” Metro Man, and Tina Fey is the voice of the lady in distress. There’s additional voice work by Jonah Hill. The film is directed by Tom McGrath, who also did Madagascar. It comes out in theatres in November.

Thanks to Seriously OMG WTF for the heads up!

Header: Pitt at the Clinton Global Initiative on September 24, 2009. Credit: WENN.

Every year, Parade reveals its list of top celebrity earners in its “What People Earn” issue. This year, the list includes everyone from Jennifer Aniston ($27 million) to Tiger Woods ($110 million) and John Grisham ($25 million). Check out the full compilation below:

Jennifer Aniston $27 million
Alex Rodriguez $34 million
Kelly Ripa $8 million
Britney Spears $2.25 million
Patrick Drempsey $3.5
Tiger Woods $110 million
John Grisham $25 million
Rod Blagojevich $177,400
Will Ferrell $31 million
Sarah Palin $125,000
Chelsey Sullenberger $100,000
Beyonce $80 million
Taylor Swift $5.5 million
Carolyn Murphy $4.5 million
Jay-Z $82 million
Barbie $3.3 million
Michael Bloomberg $1 million
Tyler Perry $125 million
Danica Patrick $7 million
Rush Limbaugh $38 million
Tina Fey $4.6 million

from [Parade]

Parade doesn’t do a good job of explaining how they came to these numbers; I assume they are 2008 figures, and take into account the salaries the celebrities were supposed to receive directly (that is, no royalties were taken into consideration).

There are some surprises on the list, including Britney Spears’ lowly $2.25 million (though this may be due to her meltdown and absence from the entertainment scene last year). Even Taylor Swift was able to beat out Britney’s earnings. And I know Tyler Perry’s movies do well at the box office, but geez. $125 million is a lot of dough.

And talk about a power couple: Beyonce’s $80 million along with Jay-Z’s $82 million should make them a nice little nest egg when, and if, they decide to retire.

Say what you will about whether or not celebrities deserve the salaries they get; it’s always interesting to be able to compare the salaries of the celebrities themselves.

Photo credit: PRPhotos

Jada Pinkett Smith and her husband Will opened a K-6 elementary school last fall in California called the New Village Leadership Academy. The two homeschool their own children and felt they had the money and knowledge to open their own school. The Smiths have close ties with the Cruises, and Will has donated money to the Church of Scientology. Smith’s school uses some of the teaching methods of Scientology, although Will Smith denies that it is primarily a Scientology school.

Jada now plans to start a high school, one that presumably follows many of the teaching methods of the elementary school, including Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard’s unproven “study tech”:

Jada Pinkett Smith is adding another title to her resume: schoolmaster. The actress-producer and her husband, Will Smith, opened the New Village Leadership Academy in Calabasas, Calif., last fall. The school is for pre-kindergarten through sixth grade.

Now Pinkett Smith hopes to open a companion high school.

Pinkett Smith says she decided to open the elementary school after developing a home-school program for her children.

The school generated some controversy because it relies on instructional methods developed by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. But the school’s director has said it isn’t a Scientology facility.

[from Star Pulse]

The school’s website says that it has a no-sugar policy; serves organic, fat-free lunches; teaches children at their individual level, not their grade; and has an emphasis on hands-on learning. One wonders how much of the policies they’ll translate into the high school – it will be hard to convince 16-year-olds not to smuggle in candy and chips. But hopefully the individualized teaching and hands-on aspects won’t be put aside. It’s easy for kids to just fall through the cracks, especially in high school. It’s a little surprising, however, that they don’t have plans for a middle school. It seems like that would be the logical next step.

Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith are shown at the Vanity Fair Oscar party on 2/22/09. Credit: WENN.com

Shortly after Will Ferrell left Saturday Night Live, and a several months after the Iraq War started, I read an interview with Ferrell that has always stuck with me. Ferrell was taking about how much he missed SNL and being able to spoof the president on a weekly basis. He then recalled Bush’s famous “Mission Accomplished” speech, where Bush was wearing that flight suit, the incident only a few months old at the time. Ferrell said (and I’m paraphrasing), “I thought, that’s it! From here on out, every time anyone does an impression of Bush, he should wear the flight suit and stand under a ‘Mission Accomplished’ banner. Bush going out to eat, in the flight suit. Bush standing in the Oval Office, in the flight suit.”

To say that Ferrell has genius-level comedy instincts is an understatement. Now it seems that Ferrell is going to play perhaps his greatest character one last time. Will Ferrell will be playing George W. Bush in “You’re Welcome America: A Final Night With George W. Bush”, a Broadway show that plays February through March. The stage show will also air on HBO.

Will Ferrell, the man who invented “strategery” and other Bushisms, is taking his spoofs of the 43rd president to Broadway and HBO.

The “Saturday Night Live” veteran will star in “You’re Welcome America: A Final Night With George W. Bush” at New York’s Cort Theater, with previews in line for Inauguration Day.

The show will take a chronological look at Bush’s life — from his college days and time as the governor of Texas to the 2000 race for president and his two terms in office. Ferrell, who poked fun at the president with his successful impersonations on “SNL,” told CNN he likes that Bush “never thinks he’s wrong.”

“He’s arrogant with a school-boy attitude, and combine that with the fact that he is commander in chief — and, unfortunately, it’s very funny.”

He says viewers should “expect the unexpected” from the show — and some goofy nicknames, something Bush is known to dole out to members of his administration. The show will premiere on February 5 and run through March 15. HBO has also picked up the show, to air live on an undetermined date.

[From CNN]
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Will Ferrell’s George W. Bush was and is a thing of beauty – he’s the only comedian to really give the “character” of Bush the needed pathos, snark, silliness and oblivion. I was happily surprised when Ferrell returned on one of the Thursday night SNL mini-episodes, before the presidential election, to play Bush to Tina Fey’s Sarah Palin. I tend to think that Ferrell should have done this show a few months ago, but perhaps the timing is apt. By February, President Obama will be in office, but Bush’s legacy will still be affecting the world for decades to come.

Photo credit: PRPhotos

Former SNL star Will Ferrell made a comeback Thursday night on the primetime, pre-election, weeknight Saturday Night Live special as President George W. Bush, opening the show with an address to the nation where he said the election was between “the hot lady and the Tiger Woods guy,” both of whom were very “patriotized” and display “much characterization.” But his main reason for being there was for the opportunity that had been evading the “President” to publicly endorse John McCain and Sarah Palin. Claiming to finally have the chance to make it official since the country was on such an upswing and his approval rating was so high, Bush was surprised when told by an “advisor” that the country was, in fact, in a downward spiral and his numbers have never been lower. He apologized for not knowing that, but explained he had no way to know since he had declared the Oval Office a “bummer free zone” about four months ago.

Ferrell’s George Bush introduced Senator John McCain and Sarah Palin, but only Tina Fey as Palin entered the Oval Office. When the President asked her where McCain was she said that when the Senator heard Bush was going to publically endorse them, he disappeared. But not to worry, Todd was tracking him. Asked what she’d been doing lately, Fey’s Palin answered she’d been travelin’ around, talkin’ ’bout change, talkin’ bout Ayers and doin’ a little shoppin’.

When Palin uttered the Larry the Cable Guy line, “Git ‘er done”, Bush commented on Palin’s folksy image. Palin thanked him and she said she likes to think of herself as one part practised folksy, one part sassy and a little bit of high school bitchy. Bush told her he tried to do the folksy thing but after awhile it just came off as douchey.

Bush took it upon himself to advise Palin that she was going to be very important if they won the election, telling her that the VP is the most important position in the land, the President can do nothing without checking with the Vice President. Fey said she didn’t want to go all Katie Couric on him, but it’s actually the opposite, to which Ferrell said that’s not what Cheney told him!

Enter “Todd” in his snowmobile gear with the missing Darrell Hammond as McCain after having found him in the Adirondacks, still not wanting to be there to accept the endorsement of the President. Not speaking a word, and trying to pull away out of every photo op, the McCain impersonation was the exact opposite of the Palin impersonation in how they played to Bush. With pain visible on Hammond’s McCain face, Ferrell did his best George W. and looked into the camera and said “When you think of John McCain, think of me, George W. Bush… when you’re in the voting booth, before you vote, think of this face. A vote for John McCain is a vote for George Bush.”

Then they all delivered the opening line of the show in unison. Another hilarious night of over the top impressions and fun with this crazy election!

A friend of Will Ferrell’s who works as a struggling actor recently got married. According to Mike Walker’s column in the National Enquirer, Will arranged for a scam to get the guy and his new bride a first class European honeymoon without letting him know that Will was footing the bill. He set it up with the actor’s agent to tell him he had an audition in Paris and that all expenses would be paid. Then they told him the audition was postponed for a week, then moved to Rome. Once a few days passed in Italy with no audition, the guy called his agent and was told Will had arranged for his vacation:

Knowing his just-married pal would never accept a big cash wedding gift – or anything that smacked of charity – Will staged a scam a con man would envy! First, he had the guy’s agent call with good news: He’d landed a movie audition in Paris – and could even take his wife with him, courtesy of the producers. “The script will be waiting for you at the hotel,” said the agent. After Will’s pal and his new bride arrived in Paris, the agent phoned and said: “The audition’s postponed a week, so just stay and enjoy the city!” Five days later, another call: “The audition’s been moved to Rome. They’re sending over plane tickets, and you’ll find a revised script at your hotel.” Finally, after days in Rome and still no audition, Will’s friend got suspicious and phone his agent, demanding to know what was up. That’s when Will finally contacted his old buddy – and told him the truth: There’d never been a movie audition! He just wanted him to enjoy a great honeymoon without sweating the dough. Touched and teary-eyed, the guy couldn’t stop thanking Will, who cracked: “Hey, don’t kid me – you’re just bummed you’re not getting the movie job!”

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, Mike Walker's column, March 24, 2008]

That’s a great story, but it sounds like one of those “too good to be true” tales of celebrity heroism that Walker loves to write. If it’s true, it’s a very inventive way to give someone the gift of a lifetime and that was generous of Ferrell. Maybe the poor guy was sweating his upcoming audition though, and the more time passed on that sweet free vacation the more pressure he felt about the film role that never materialized.

Ferrell’s latest film, the 70s pro basketball comedy Semi Pro, was a disappointment at the box office compared to his other blockbusters. It was released on February 29 and has taken in $33 million total at the box office, which brings it below his other comedies like Talledega Nights and Blades of Glory, which each earned more in their opening weekends than Semi Pro has to date. Ferrell will next appear in Step Brothers with John C. Reilly, which is due for release in July, and is currently filming Land of The Lost.

Will Ferrell is shown on 2/25/08 outside of MTV’s TRL, thanks to PRPhotos.

Will Ferrell is promoting his new 70s basketball film Semi-Pro, which also stars Woody Harrelson and is out in US Theaters on February 29. Ferrel has an awesome retro photo shoot with a scantily-clad Heidi Klum and accompanying interview on SportsIllustrated.com, and he says he had a lot of fun doing the shoot with Heidi and didn’t even get in trouble with his wife for horsing around on set with the gorgeous model and mother of three. Unlike Klum, Ferrell was reluctant to get his kit off for the shoot, and says that people are getting sick of seeing him in his underwear and he has to be conscious of it. As for how he got along with Klum, he says “she’s a wildcat,” and if you look at the photos it shows:

When you and Heidi got together for the Swimsuit shoot, the atmosphere seemed …
Hot! Yeah, she’s a wildcat. Pretty much every shot came down to one of us trying to get the other’s pants off. The one where I’m biting her — can I say A-S-S? — that was one of the craziest moments. She told me, ‘You need to just bite my ass.’ I was kind of mimicking, half-doing it, so she stopped and said, ‘No! Really bite it!’ It was one of the most surreal moments in my entertainment life.

How did Mrs. Ferrell feel about that?
My wife is incredibly accepting of all these things. She just rolled with it. She came by the shoot and walked in right at the moment when I was biting Heidi’s butt. Heidi felt slightly self-conscious for a second — and then she went right back into it. [Will stops to tend to his 3-year-old son, Magnus.]

I bet he’s going to appreciate these photos some day.
Yeah. He’ll either be incredibly proud or incredibly embarrassed by it. One or the other. Probably the latter.

Do you have any Swimsuit memories from, well, not Magnus’ age, but after that?
I wasn’t exactly a Playboy-under-the-bed kind of kid, but I do remember — I think — a Christie Brinkley shoot down in the Seychelles Islands. I remember thinking, ‘Wait. This is Sports Illustrated? WHAT is going on here. Mooom?’ It threw me for a loop, but I remember being extremely excited about it after that.

You were one of the rare models who had issues about disrobing for SI. Why?
Well, Heidi kept trying to get me in my underwear. Begging, really. I had to say, ‘Believe me, I don’t have a problem [disrobing]; I do it a lot in my movies. But I’m riding the line of people who celebrate that and the people who are getting sick of it.’ There isn’t a moratorium on pants removal; I’m just trying to be a little more judicious about it. It put me in the unimaginable position of turning Heidi Klum down when she asked me to take my pants off.

[From SportsIllustrated.com via The Huffington Post]

There’s also a video clip from the photoshoot, but as of press time I could not get it to play. (It just plays a commercial and then stops for me.) I’ll keep checking and let you know, because I definitely want to see it.

Here’s the trailer for Semi-Pro, it looks goofy and fun.

There’s also a Semi-Pro music video contest currently on YouTube, with the chance to win prizes when you submit a clip.

Thanks to SI.com for these photos.