Youve been invited to a wedding between Paul Rudd and Rashida Jones. ``Im engaged to Paul Rudd!`` Look at my sparkler!, giggles Jones, showing off a huge diamond. No, you haven`t missed some essential piece of gossip; the ring is a prop and the engagement part of the DreamWorks comedy I Love You, Man which premieres Jan. 16, 2009.

So now I`m at this wedding where Jason Segel and Paul Rudd are on a stage, singing Rush’s Tom Sawyer, but the mic isn`t on. That may be a good thing. It resembles the wee hours of a party where the alcohol is already consumed and everyone is just hanging, or in this case, hanging out with Grammy winning band OK Go who just played a set as Rudd`s and Jones wedding band. And Andy Samberg is hitting on Thomas Lennon. ``I am Paul Rudd`s younger brother, Robby,`` he tells us about his character. ``I like dudes.`` And not just any dudes. Straight dudes.

To explain why Rudd and Segel are hanging out at a wedding is easiest done by describing the premise of I Love You, Man. It is a movie about platonic love between two men. Rudd`s character realizes as he`s about to get married that he has no male friends, and his fiancee, played by Rashida Jones, encourages him to find a best man. Rudd goes on a series of man-dates and hilarity ensues. After auditioning various candidates, like high-voiced guy at the Galaxy football game, he finally finds his best man in Segel, which is why today the two of them are strumming their guitars (playing I Want It Now! From Willie Wonka). And they have the bruises to show it. ``Yeah, a war wound!`` says Segel and shows us his black and blue forearm. `Also, my guitar is splattered with my own blood. You haven't rocked until you've splattered a guitar with blood.`

In this comedy Segel moves away from being Mr Nice Guy, incorporating what he calls 50 percent Russell Brand and 50 percent his brother, to become ``sort of a continental kind of guy who gestures oddly and is slightly effeminate but also a real raging womanizer.`` As Jones puts it, ``Sidney (Segel) is not necessarily the friend you would wish up for your husband. I wouldn't pick that person as my husband's best friend. At first. But he grows on you... like a fungus.`` And he knows how to pronounce the word aioli.

It becomes clear, not just from watching the action but from Rudd`s on-screen dad, JK Simmons, saying so, that they go through a lot of film on this set as the cast improvises its way to the funniest line delivery. Simmons recalls the highlight of the shoot, ``[The best part was] sitting around two different dinner tables for a total of, like, four days just blowing take after take because we were all just cracking each other up to much.`` But John Hamburg (Along Came Polly) seems to be having a blast, as are his actors. Says Jones, ``This is like my dream come true. John is so good at establishing characters and the dynamics of relationships that it makes it easy to go into what we need to go into, and hopefully add something funny.`` ``We will do these little extended bits and runs that no one will ever enjoy except us,`` says Rudd about him and new man pal Segel. ``But that`s outside of the movie.`` He`s probably right because by the looks of it, we`ll enjoy it all.

Source

Thanks to ClothesOffOurBack.org for informing us that a 60th anniversary SCRABBLE board signed by Rashida is up for auction at their website. The opening bid is $50 and the auction ends on June 30th. Proceeds from the auction benefit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Bid here.

Is Sarah Silverman the new Brett Somers? Could Norm MacDonald be the next Richard Dawson?

The comedians have signed on to be on the panel for TBS' updated "Match Game" pilot, shot this week in Los Angeles. Also taking seats are Bob Einstein, a.k.a. comic stuntman Super Dave Osborne, Kids in the Hall trouper Scott Thompson, Rashida Jones ("The Office") and Niecy Nash ("Reno 911!").

Andrew Daly ("Semi-Pro") hosted the pilot for the cable channel.

"Match Game," in which contestants try to match missing words in a given phrase with a panel of celebrity guests, originally debuted in 1962. Several incarnations followed, and the format reached its naughty heyday with the Gene Rayburn-hosted version in the 1970s -- once the questions were tweaked to allow for a generous amount of double-entendre humor.

The game is played by two contestants and a panel of six celebrities. Each contestant attempts to match the most celebrities in a series of fill-in-the-blank questions, such as "Sam is so short, he makes _____ look tall."

Along with Somers and Dawson, Charles Nelson Reilly was another longtime regular on the show. Other panelists over the years included Vicki Lawrence, McLean Stevenson, Betty White, Orson Bean, Fannie Flagg and Nipsey Russell.

The most recent version of "Match Game" ended its run in 1999. Reruns air regularly on cable network GSN, effectively exposing younger audiences to the format.

Beverly Hills, CA. (June 13, 2008) Hasbro, Inc., maker of SCRABBLE, the irresistible word game that grew from underground craze to cultural icon, celebrates the 60th anniversary of the popular game with the national launch of its best-ever version, the SCRABBLE: Diamond Anniversary Edition Game. Hollywood celebrities were among the first to play the new SCRABBLE: Diamond Anniversary Edition Game last night at an exclusive charity event, hosted by SCRABBLE enthusiast Jimmy Kimmel of ABC-TVs Jimmy Kimmel Live! show. Kimmel and his producer Daniel Kellison were crowned the Celebrity Doubles Champion after a night of heated game play.

To raise funds and awareness for St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital, the premier center for the research and treatment of pediatric cancer and other catastrophic childhood diseases, Hasbro donated $50,000 and partnered with Clothes Off Our Back to feature SCRABBLE: Diamond Anniversary Edition Game boards signed by celebrities during event game play. The public can bid on those items and others at www.clothesoffourback.org through June 30, 2008, with proceeds benefiting St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital.

The invitation-only SCRABBLE soiree was emceed by actor, writer and comedian Aisha Tyler and held at the private Goldstein Estate overlooking the lights of Los Angeles, where VIP players competed in eight teams of two for the coveted title of SCRABBLE Celebrity Doubles Champions. Kimmel and Kellison along with Skeet Ulrich and teammate Seth Green accumulated the most points at the end of two qualifying rounds and advanced to the finals, earning the chance to vie for the championship on a one-of-a-kind SCRABBLE: Swarovski Encrusted Board Edition featuring more than 30,000 sparkling Swarovski crystals, which is also available at auction through Clothes Off Our Back. Meanwhile celebrity game players including Rashida Jones, Dave Annable, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Sarah Chalke and Natalie Maines enjoyed SCRABBLE-inspired cocktails from Grey Goose Vodka; wine and champagne courtesy of The Little Penguin; beer from Heineken and hors d oeurvres courtesy of Chef Andrew Humbert.

“Everything about SCRABBLE sparkled last night at the 60th Anniversary celebration, from the crystal-encrusted game board to the Hollywood stars in their finery, marking a fitting tribute to Americas most popular word game,” said Jay Bruns, Director of Marketing, Hasbro Games. “Now, with the launch of the SCRABBLE: Diamond Anniversary Edition Game, weve created special new features that make it easy for everyone to enjoy their favorite game anytime, anywhere.”

Consider this only a rumor for the time being. However, word has been rippling through the TV biz today that Rashida Jones (aka Karen Filippelli, presently of Utica, New York) may star in the upcoming NBC spinoff of The Office.

Sounds pretty amazing to this Office (and Rashida) fan, so I did a little digging, and here's where this stands: While one inside source (who has always been reliable) says "it's true" that Rashida will be a part of the new series, another source inside Rashida's camp says, "As far as I know, she has not been approached." Hmmm...

Meanwhile, a rep for Universal (which produces The Office) tells me: "Universal Media Studios has a talent holding deal with Rashida. It is premature to speculate about any potential projects she could be involved with."

So where does that leave us? Right back where we started, with this being—so far—just a fascinating, plausible and wholly unconfirmed rumor. (Hmph.) Still, I know many of you fellow fans are jonesing for a little Office fodder right about now, so I thought I'd share.

And since you asked (What? You didn't?), I'm definitely rooting for Rashida/Karen to join in on the spinoff fun. And if we can have Phyllis drop by for a makeover from time to time? Well, it'd be so good it almost hurts.

(That's what she said.)

What say you?

This site can now be found at RashidaJonesFan.com. But don't worry about updating any bookmarks, if you type in the old address (Rashida.Fan-Sites.org) you will be redirected to the new site automatically.

IESB chats with the lovely Rashida Jones on the set of her newest film I Love You Man starring alongside Paul Rudd and Jason Segel.

First I have to say that Rashida is even more beautiful in person than she is on TV. WOW!

So after interviewing most of the guys from the film we were finally treated to talking to the multi-talented Ms. Rashida Jones who we were told recently has become somewhat of a fan of Rock legends Rush, okay maybe I'm just exaggerating just a bit.

Q: We're going to destroy Andy Samberg.
Rashida Jones: Thank you! I was waiting for someone to say that! Besides myself.

Q: No Hot Rod 2.
Rashida: Ooh. See?

Q: Best movie ever. Why?
Rashida: For Selfish reasons, this is like my dream come true. But I do think it's the best movie ever because it has something for the dudes, and it has something for the ladies. The dudes will very much relate to what it's like to fall in love with another dude - in a platonic way, of course. And then the ladies will appreciate the female perspective of thinking it's super weird and hard to deal with.

IESB: She seems sympathetic to the fact that he has no male friends.
Rashida: She is, but even though she's symptathetic, there's just some things she doesn't understand and can't get past. They're very affectionate and intimate in a heterosexual way - (laughing) I have to keep saying that - but she wants him so badly to find a friend. And Sidney (Segel) is not necessarily the friend you would wish up for your husband. He's not [what you'd wish for] on the outside, but once you see through it... motive. I wouldn't pick that person as my husband's best friend. At first. But he grows on you... like a fungus.

IESB: With the improvisitional nature of this film, is it a bit like doing The Office?
Rashida: The Office is brilliantly written by a huge team of people, and then they give us the opportunity to be a part of that towards the end when we're doing takes and stuff. I don't necessarily feel 100% comfortable that my contribution would be in any way near as brilliant as the writers' contribution, so I keep it to a minimum. But with somebody like John [Hamburg], he's so talented. And he's so good at establishing characters and the subtleties... dynamics of relationships that it makes it easy to go into what we need to go into, and hopefully add something funny. He lets us be that *thing*. He's created such a good groundwork that it makes it easy to do.

IESB: Favorite moments from the film thus far? There have got to be some amazing moments.
Rashida: There are so many. And so many of them are like when you're so tired, and the dumbest thing sounds like the funniest thing you've heard in the world. And then you can't stop saying it, and then the more you say it, it gets *not* funny, and then it gets funny again. That's been the common bond of everyone on this movie: saying something ad nauseum, and then making it funny again.

IESB: Is there a lot with you and Jason and Paul?
Rashida: We have a couple of scenes. Mainly, it's been me and Paul or Paul and Jason. But I would say probably my favorite scene thus far is... are we allowed to say this stuff? (Checks with unit publicist, who says "Yes".) Okay. We go to a Rush concert, and I'm trying to be down because I love my husband, and I want to support him in his endeavor. But Rush is just, as much as they're really great music, they're not *geared towards women necessarily, so I feel left out very quickly even though I try to join in - to the point where they're being super intimate with each other and, without even knowing it, Paul is physically pushing me out of the scene. Which made me laugh very hard.

IESB: John said you've been really getting into Rush.
Rashida: Is that what he said?

IESB: Yes.
Rashida: (Displeased) Did he. (Laughter) I do actually... we've been listening to the same song for two days straight, and the thing that's good about it is that it's really complicated. And I feel like most songs, you'd want to shoot yourself in the head after two days straight of listening to it. But I still like hearing it, because there's all these, like, weird changes in time signature; it's like weird and cool. I actually do like it. And the guys [from Rush] are like the coolest guys I've ever met. That makes it easier to like them, per se.

IESB: What's next for you?
Rashida: I'm not sure! I'm playing it by ear, trying to be in the moment, trying to enjoy my job, so... I don't know.

IESB: Did I miss something? Are you engaged?
Rashida: I'm engaged to Paul Rudd in the movie! (Shows off her prop ring.) Look at my sparkler! It just looks weird because I'm wearing a normal outfit and not my wedding dress.

I Love You Man opens in theaters everywhere January 2009.