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.

I love lists, especially lists of people. Any type of ranking system that lets me quickly know who to love and who to hate is aces with me. Every year, Autograph magazine releases a list of the best and worst celebrities for autograph signers. Johnny Depp has been number one for the past three years, so that’s not really surprising. What is surprising is that Will Ferrell is at the top of the worst list. Apparently he mocks people and embarrasses them when they ask for autographs, though the article wasn’t specific. He always seemed like such a nice guy to me – not like Cameron Diaz, who was at the top of the worst list for years. She used to bitch people out when they asked for autographs – and there were several reports of her telling people to f*** off over the years.

Johnny Depp, take a bow. The “Pirates of the Caribbean” star who turns menacing in his new role as murderous barber Sweeney Todd, has been named the best celebrity autograph signer for the third year running. “It’s the third consecutive year Depp has topped the list of the 10 best signers. Whether at a premier, in a restaurant or on location, Depp may just be the best Hollywood autograph signer of all time,” Steve Cyrkin, the magazine’s editor and publisher, said in a statement.

And the worst? Comedian Will Ferrell and Tobey Maguire. The list does change from year to year as stars mellow and start to make time for their fans. For example Australian actor Russell Crowe, who has made newspaper headlines for his bad-boy behavior including pleading guilty in 2005 for throwing a faulty telephone at a hotel concierge moved from number 10 on the 2006 worst list to number 10 on the 2007 best list. “He may still be a bit grumpy at times, but now he signs pretty much anytime someone asks,” said Cyrkin.

“What’s so frustrating about Will Ferrell being the worst autograph signer this past year is that he used to be so nice to fans and collectors, and a great signer. What makes him so bad is that he’ll taunt people asking for his autograph.”

[From Yahoo! News]

To be fair, I get really annoyed when people ask me for my autograph too. It’s like, “Look, I’m just at the grocery store trying to get my grapefruit like everyone else. You want me to do what?” And when the lady said something about signing my credit card receipt so they could charge me, I told her to go to hell, she wasn’t getting my autograph if she was going to be a bitch about it. And as the police were leading me away, my only clear thought was, “Shit, now Autograph magazine is really going to have a beef with me.”

My easily-influenced self really doesn’t like Will Ferrell anymore. Joking aside, I’m sure it’s annoying to get asked for autographs, but isn’t that the first thing you think about in terms of the infamous “price of fame?” Even before swarms of paparazzi, I think of people hounding you for your autograph. I thought a lot of people fantasized about that before they were famous. Annoying as it probably is, to me it just says that you’re ungrateful if you won’t do it. That said, I will keep a taser with me at all times when I become famous. No way am I dealing with that shit.

Here’s the rest of the list. Alter your judgments of celebrities appropriately.

The Best

1. Johnny Depp

2. Matt Damon

3. George Clooney

4. Jack Nicholson

5. Rosario Dawson

6. John Travolta

7. Katherine Heigl

8. Jay Leno

9. Dakota Fanning

10. Russell Crowe

The Worst

1. Will Ferrell

2. Tobey Maguire

3. Joaquin Phoenix

4. William Shatner

5. Renee Zellweger

6. John Malkovich

7. Julie Andrews

8. Bruce Willis

9. Terri Hatcher

10. Scarlett Johansson

Picture note by Jaybird: Here’s Will Ferrell at the “Dewey Cox” premiere on December 12th. Images thanks to PR Photos. Header image of Johnny at a special screening of ‘Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street’ held at the Paramount Pictures Studios on December 5th. Images thanks to WENN.

In continuation of my vow to write a “Good Celebrity” article every day, we have a wonderful story about the always endearing Will Ferrell. He’s not one of those starlets that’s always snorting coke with a needle still hanging out of his vein and his man bits hanging out like some starlets we know (ahem, Britney). Yes I realize what I just said. Anyway, Will is a pretty decent, low-key guy who’s always up for self-mockery. He also has an odd compulsion to show his hairy belly whenever he gets the chance, and that makes him loveable. What else makes him loveable, you ask? He’s auctioning off a cameo role in his new movie “Step Brothers” to benefit his college fraternity brother’s charity foundation, Cancer for College.

“Will Ferrell is auctioning a cameo spot in his new movie to raise money for a fraternity brother’s cancer foundation. Ferrell came up with the idea to help Craig Pollard’s Cancer for College foundation. The two were fraternity brothers at the University of Southern California. Online bidding will begin Monday and close Sept. 26. Ferrell will announce the winner on Sept. 27, and that person will meet the actor the next day at the 14th annual Cancer for College golf tournament dinner at Temecula Creek Inn. The opening bid for the movie appearance is $5,000.

“In October, the winner will join Ferrell on set of his new movie, ‘Step Brothers,’ and appear in a scene. ‘What a perfect Christmas present for your son or daughter,’ Ferrell said. ‘It is the surefire way to win the parent of the year award. Support this amazing cause, by buying them me.’ Pollard, a two-time survivor of Hodgkin’s disease, started Cancer for College to provide college scholarships to current and former cancer patients. The charity has awarded $200,000 to 50 cancer survivors since 1993.”

[From USA Today]

Props to Will Ferrell. I know it’s not quite as fascinating to read about someone doing something good as it is to read about Lindsay Lohan possibly selling her body for crack and/or crack money, but I think it’s important that we don’t encourage the notion that only bad behavior deserves recognition. So to make this post a tad more entertaining, I leave you with some Will Ferrell PSAs from “Talladega Nights.”

Picture note by JayBird: Header image of Will at the “Blades of Glory” L.A. premiere. Right image with wife Viveca Paulin. Images thanks to PR Photos.