Jon Hamm is going from Mad Men to funny man in an untitled comedy from director Greg Mottola (Superbad).  Plot details are thin at the moment, but reports have Hamm playing a nemesis to Larry David’s protagonist. Showbiz411 reports that David will, of course, be playing a Larry David-like character in the partially improvised comedy.  David and his Curb Your Enthusiasm writers are still working out the details and they plan to shoot this fall.

Hamm is making full use of his hiatus from AMC’s dramatic series.  He was already reported to be the lead in Disney’s true life sports pic, Million Dollar Arm and is currently set to star in the British miniseries, The Young Doctor’s Handbook opposite Daniel Radcliffe.  Hamm is also partnering up with Bridesmaids alumni Paul Feig and Melissa McCarthy for the in-development project, Dumb Jock.  After seeing Hamm’s performance on this year’s live 30 Rock show, I’m definitely looking forward to seeing more of his comedic turns.

Mad Men’s Jon Hamm is going from the board room to the baseball diamond in Disney’s Million Dollar Arm.  Hamm won’t be on the mound himself, but rather the man behind the talent, playing sports agent J.B. Bernstein.  Million Dollar Arm tells the story of how two Indian cricket players, Dinesh Patel and Rinku Singh became finalists Bernstein’s titular reality show and landed Major League contracts.  Bernstein, burnt out from too many high-stress dealings with top-level talent, watched a cricket game on TV late one night and decided that the pitching motion was similar enough to baseball that there might just be a potential for some cross over.  Where could a stunt like this possibly work? Why, with the Pittsburgh Pirates, of course!  Hit the jump for more on Million Dollar Arm, a dramatization of this unlikely, but true, story.

A very exciting team-up of actors may be in the works.  Though the watercooler British series Downton Abbey has moved from the Miniseries category to the Drama Series category for this year’s Emmys, none other than Harry Potter and Don Draper may be starring in a period British miniseries of their own.  A report originated in The Sun that Daniel Radcliffe is circling a role in the four-part post-WWI miniseries that would see him playing the younger version of a character played by Jon Hamm.  Hit the jump for more.

It’s always a fun treat when a now-famous actor pops up in a small role in an older movie you haven’t re-watched in a while.  We previously posted a “Before They Were Famous” supercut, but now someone has edited together a montage of actors in their very first feature film roles. While you’re most likely aware of the majority of these appearances, I’m willing to bet you’ll find at least a few surprises in this video.  I had no idea Jon Hamm was in Clint Eastwood’s “old guys can be astronauts too” movie Space Cowboys, but I now feel compelled to move the pic to the top of my Netflix queue.

Watch Jack Nicholson, Woody Allen, Emma Thompson, Zach Braff and many more make their feature debut after the jump.

Yesterday came the joyous news that we would finally be getting a sequel to Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.  We know that Will Ferrell, Paul Rudd, and Steve Carell will all be reprising their lovably buffoonish character, Adam McKay will return to the director’s chair, and filming is set to begin in February.  If Anchorman 2 returns with only people from the original cast, I have no problem with that.  But sequels usually bring new faces, so I’ve compiled a list of 12 actors who would fit well within the Anchorman universe.  Keep in mind: I have no idea what the plot will be, or if there will be roles for these actors, and how radically McKay will change the look of the first movie.  The Legend of Ron Burgundy has a goofy 70s vibe, but it’s possible they’ll reset the time and place (the first movie ends with Ron and Veronica leaving San Diego to become worldwide news anchors).  Also, I’m not saying that all of these actors should be in the movie.  I’m just saying I can see them fitting into an Anchorman sequel.

Hit the jump for my criteria on making the list and who made the cut.

Holy crap John Hamm is handsome. We’ve been around a lot of mega celebrities but, woah, this guy is made from some sort of interplanetary comet dust that just looks like skin but has mystical properties.

Despite our desires to, we didn’t just gaze into his eyes when we had the good fortune to speak to Kristen Wiig and he this week.  They play one of the side couples in Jennifer Westfeldt‘s very funny and very touching relationship comedy Friends With Kids.  In fact, the “can’t keep their hands off one another” to “drinking and slamming doors” character arc is some of the best (and, alas, truest) stuff in the film.  In the video after the jump you can hear them talk about their characters, making this film post-Bridesmaids and what Kristin Wiig really wants to see on the next season of Mad Men.  Hit the jump to watch and look for more cast interviews later this week.

With writer-director Jennifer Westfeldt’s (Kissing Jessica Stein) Friends with Kids opening March 9, we’ve been provided with seven clips from the very funny comedy.  Boasting an incredible cast featuring Westfeldt, Adam Scott, Jon Hamm, Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Chris O’Dowd, Megan Fox and Edward Burns, Friends With Kids centers on a pair of thirtysomething best friends (Scott and Westfeldt) who observe the toll that having kids has taken on the couples they know and resolve to bypass that stress by having a child and then date other people.

Right after the film premiered at last year’s Toronto Film Festival, I landed exclusive interviews with Megan Fox, Jon Hamm and Adam Scott.  Just click the links to read or listen to them.  Hit the jump to watch the clips.

The premiere of the long-awaited fifth season of Mad Men is just around the corner with a two-hour return slated to air on Sunday, March 25th at 9/8c. Until then, the marketing campaign should be enough to whet our appetite, especially with this strange and cryptic poster that AMC just debuted. Speaking with The New York Times, series creator Matthew Weiner commented on the image, inspired by the work of Italian artist Giorgio de Chirico, saying, “This is a dreamlike image, a nonverbal representation of where my head is at and where the show will be. By the end of the season, I guarantee you’ll know what it is about.” I can’t wait to see Jon Hamm back as Don Draper and see what’s he’s been up to this whole time. See the new poster after the jump.

Style, debauchery, deception, adultery, jealousy. That about sums up AMC’s Mad Men, which returns for it’s fifth season on March 25th. We already brought you the series promo and some fantastic marketing, but now the creative team has gotten a little more specific.  They’ve released some short character trailers featuring your favorite ad men and women. So far they’ve highlighted Peggy (Elisabeth Moss), Joan (Christina Hendricks), Roger (John Slattery) and, of course, Don (Jon Hamm). Mad Men returns for it’s fifth season on March 25th on AMC. Hit the jump to check out the character trailers.

In preparation for the two-hour season five premiere of Mad Men on March 25^th, AMC has rolled out some new marketing. It’s a tricky thing to do, and do well, when your popular show centers on the men and women of an ad agency, but as usual they’ve nailed it. With all the color and clutter of New York City’s skyline vying for your visual attention, these clean and minimalist billboards are refreshing, eye-catching and iconic. We’ve also got the first promo video for season five which ties in nicely to the rest of the marketing. Mad Men, starring Jon Hamm, Elisabeth Moss and Vincent Kartheiser, returns to AMC on March 25^th. Hit the jump to check out the marketing.

A red band trailer for the comedy Friends with Kids has gone online. Written and directed by Jennifer Westfeldt, the story centers on two best friends (Westfeldt and Adam Scott) who decide to have a baby together without being in a relationship. The cast is fantastic (Jon Hamm, Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Edward Burns, Megan Fox, and Chris O’Dowd), and I’m excited to see Scott take on his first leading role. This trailer delves more deeply into the plot and, as it’s red band, there are a few more off-color jokes (who doesn’t like masturbation humor?). The jokes work, and I really like the chemistry between Scott and Westfedlt. I’m looking forward to checking the full film out. You can read Matt’s review here.

Hit the jump to watch the red band trailer. Friends with Kids opens March 9th.

The first trailer for the comedy Friends with Kids has gone online. Written, directed by, and starring Jennifer Westfeldt (Kissing Jessica Stein), the film boats a fantastic cast that includes Adam Scott, Jon Hamm, Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Chris O’Dowd, Megan Fox and Edward Burns. The story centers on a pair of thirtysomething best friends (Scott and Westfeldt) who observe the toll that having kids has taken on the couples they know and resolve to bypass that stress by having a child and then date other people. The trailer looks right up my alley, as it highlights some promising performances, chemistry, and a fair amount of laughs. Matt caught the film at TIFF and wasn’t exactly won over, but Scott has been killing it in supporting roles for years and I’m excited to see him finally take on a lead.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer. Friends with Kids opens March 9th. If you missed them, be sure to check out Steve’s interviews with Hamm, Scott, and Fox from TIFF regarding the film.

Coming into 2011, Bridesmaids looked like it might be another in a string of recent Judd Apatow-related misfires. But appearances are deceiving as the film quickly found an audience and was one of the biggest hits of the summer. Boo-yah for director Paul Feig, and co-writer and star Kristen Wiig. They nailed it. The film is a charming and real look at a woman in her thirties whose best friend (Maya Rudolph) is about to get married, and how friendship can be strained – but is often resilient – during such stressful but happy times. Our review of the Blu-ray of Bridesmaids follows after the jump.

While a slew of films at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival have already been picked up for distribution, there are other high-profile titles still hammering out their deals.  Variety reports that Lionsgate has acquired Jennifer Westfeldt’s new comedy Friends with Kids.  The story stars Westfeldt and Adam Scott as lifelong friends who decide to have a kid but keep their relationship platonic and open.  I was slightly disappointed by the film, but it’s got a great cast (the film also stars Jon Hamm, Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, and Chris O’Dowd) and I can see the flick having wide appeal.

In other TIFF picks-ups, Music Box has picked up the U.S. rights to Terrence Davies’ romantic drama The Deep Blue Sea starring Rachel Weisz and Tom Hiddleston.  Weisz plays the wife of a high court judge who leaves her husband to move in with a dashing young ex-RAF pilot (Hiddleston), with whom she has fallen passionately in love.  Weisz picked up strong notices for her performance and I’m glad I’ll have a chance to see the film eventually.  No U.S. release dates have been announced for Friends with Kids or The Deep Blue Sea.  Hit the jump for Music Box’s press release regarding The Deep Blue Sea.

At this year’s Toronto Film Festival, I was able to sit down with Jon Hamm for an exclusive interview about Friends With Kids.  Written and directed by Jennifer Westfeldt (Kissing Jessica Stein), the plot centers on a pair of thirtysomething best friends who observe the toll that having kids has taken on the couples they know and resolve to bypass that stress by having a child and then date other people.   Adam Scott and Westfeldt play the lead couple, while Hamm (who also produced), Kristen Wiig, Chris O’Dowd and Maya Rudolph play the couples with kids. Edward Burns and Megan Fox are also in the film.

During the interview, Hamm talked about being back at TIFF (he was there last year for The Town), was it tough to get Friends with Kids made and how did the project come together, his recent comedic work on 30 Rock, Bridesmaids and Funny or Die, and we ended the interview talking about Mad Men and his thoughts on the show coming to a close.  Hit the jump to either read or listen to the conversation.