Former lead anchor for San Diego’s Channel 4 –  and all-around “big deal”  - Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell) demanded that his legion of fans stop what they were doing yesterday and listen to his latest announcement: starting today, the first look at the long-awaited sequel to 2004′s Anchorman, Anchorman 2, will debut in the form of a teaser trailer.  The trailer will air before the latest Sascha Baron Cohen flick The Dictator.

Burgundy took to Twitter to drop the bombshell, in his own inimitable way. “Don’t know what a teaser is,” he wrote. “World is crazy? Having a scotch.”

News of the sequel officially broke when Burgundy made an appearance on “Conan” in late March and announced that Paramount had given the project the green light.

This is the first real look at the film, the plot of which has only been teased by writer and producer Adam McKay: “Keep in mind we’re still writing the story, but I’ll say one phrase for you: custody battle,” he told Salon.com in April.

Featuring host-of-the-week and returning alum Will Ferrell and countless other celebrity cameos, The Lonely Island’s 100th (and, perhaps, final?) bite size music video “Digital Short” aired last Saturday.

In the typical laugh-out-loud, what-just-happened fashion that the group has seemingly perfected over the years, two of The Lonely Islands’ founding members – Andy Samberg and Jorma Taccone – teamed up with honorary member Justin Bieber to announce their raunchy and offbeat plans to celebrate their centennial effort. Tuxedo-clad and beaming with pride, they announce to the Biebs that they’re going to…well, congratulate themselves, so to speak.

References to past Shorts appeared throughout, including Natalie Portman’s psychotic alter-ego, Justin Timberlake’s mustached”Dick in a Box” character, and Kenan Thompson’s Reba McEntire, among others.

To count the throwback references yourself, or to simply appreciate the song in all of its R-rated glory, watch below:

Forbes has compiled a list  of the 10 most overpaid actors in Hollywood. The numbers are deduced by the amount of money the stars earned for their past three films in comparison to the overall income for each movie.

The results are as follows:

1. Drew Barrymore
2. Eddie Murphy
3. Will Ferrell
4. Reese Witherspoon
5. Denzel Washington
6. Nicolas Cage
7. Adam Sandler
8. Vince Vaughn
9. Tom Cruise
10. Nicole Kidman

What oh what is NBC going to do with those abysmald ratings? It averaged a 1.1 in the demo last night, bolstered if you will, by a 1.3 from “Chuck,” and a new low for “Law and Order: LA” with a 1.0.

All ratings bets for NBC have gone out the window. With its relative failure as a broadcast network this season, it’s hard to predict exactly what will survive and what will not.

“Cougar Town” returned from a long hiatus with a 2.3 in the demo, and 8.5 million viewers, in the higher range for its total viewers for the season. That’s not bad, and is about or better what ABC’s several replacement shows have been drawing in its Wednesday time slot.

“Dancing with the Stars” led the night with a 3.9 over 90 minutes, and more than 19 million viewers.

CBS had misfortunes for the night, as a new “How I Met Your Mother” hit a series low  at 8 pm, hitting a 2.5 in the demo, equalled later at 9:30 by “Mike and Molly,” a series-low. Both were down from their upper 3.0 demo averages.

“Hawaii Five-0″ returned in line with recent performances, winning the hour with a 2.6 in the demo.

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8 pm

Dancing with the Stars (90 minutes): 3.9 demo, 19.6 million viewers

House: 3.2 demo, 8.7 million viewers

How I Met Your Mother: 2.5 demo, 6.3 million viewers

Chuck: 1.3 demo 4.2 million viewers

90210: 0.8 demo, 1.7 million viewers

8:30 pm

Mad Love: 1.9 demo, 5.6 million viewers

9 pm

*Two and a Half Men: 2.0 demo, 7.3 million viewers

The Chicago Code: 1.9 demo, 6.4 million viewers

The Event: 1.1 demo, 3.7 million viewers

Gossip Girl: 0.8 demo, 1.5 million viewers

9:30 pm

Mike and Molly: 2.5 demo, 9.7 million viewers

Cougar Town: 2.3 demo, 8.5 million viewers

10 pm

Hawaii Five-0: 2.6 demo, 10.9 million viewers

20/20: 1.7 demo, 7.6 million viewers

Law and Order: LA: 1.1 demo, 4.9 million viewers

Sources confirm what other outlets are reporting, that “The Good Wife” is approaching a multi-year renewal despite low ratings that would seem to put it in danger of cancellation next month.

One cast-member, Alan Cumming, signed a multi-year contract early Monday, odd given the critically adored but low-rated drama hasn’t yet received a third season order.

Now comes word that multiple members of the cast are locking up multi-year deals, and CBS is looking to renew the drama for not one, but two seasons.

This is becoming a trend for the net; it renewed “The Big Bang Theory” for three seasons this year and “How I Met Your Mother” for two.

However, “The Good Wife” is not a hit of that caliber; instead its limping along by averaging more than 12 million viewers Tuesday’s at 10 pm, but has lately been landing with just a 2.0 in the adults 18-49 demo, pretty terrible by network standards.

Stay tuned for an update.

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“Rio” took the top spit at the weekend box office, besting the latest installment of the “Scream” franchise $40,000 to $19,000.

The $40 million opening for the Johnny Depp animated films a good sign, as it carries a $90 million price tag. “Scream 4″ will have to hold up however to match its $40 million cost.

The start is disapointing fie the film, following disappointing reviews. Most prognostications had the film opening much higher; “Scream 2″ and “Scream 3″ both opened with box offices north of $33 million and went on to earnings of over $90 million. It’s looking unlikely “Scream 4″ will match that. (Check out the Blast review with spoilers or spoiler-free).

“HOP” maintained a healthy presence, upping it’s total to $82,000. However, “Arthur,” “The Source Code” and “Your Highness” continued to underperform.

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The Top 10:

1. Rio: $40,000,000, NEW
2.Scream 4: $19,279,000, NEW
3. HOP: $11,200,000, $82,642,400
4. Soul Surfer: $7,400,000, $19,996,627
5. Hanna: $7,326,624, $23,326,936
6. Arthur: $6,940,000, $22,348,417
7. Insidious: $6,856,554, $35,982,822
8. Source Code: $6,300,000, $36,989,522
9. The Conspirator: $3,924,000, $3,924,000
10. Your Highness: $3,900,000, $15,957,765

Will Ferrell began his stint on “The Office” Thursday night, as the countdown to Steve Carrell and Michael Scott’s exit comes to just two weeks.

While Ferrell and Carrell showed nearly instant chemistry, the episode that followed didn’t live up to the hype, prompting the question, can this series survive the exit of its star?

Ferrell portrayed DeAngelo Vickers, and while he wasn’t quite as vapid as Michael Scott, he’s still crazy in his own way, perfect for this nutty little universe “The Office” has created.

But in that, the show goes wrong. Instead of taking an opportunity to change the pace with the boss of the show, they keep going in the same direction, just with a different high-profile comic. Instead of trying to evolve the jokes, it’s more of the same-old, ridiculous and awkward situations created by the boss.

Michael Scott and Vickers take an immediate liking to each other, that is until the rest of the office loves Vickers. No one goes more out of character than Darryl, who goes to great lengths to impress the new boss, for reasons that aren’t exactly clear. This all makes Michael a little jealous, prompting him to attempt to one-up the new boss.

Vickers himself causes more than one situation that are somewhat humorous, but ridiculous. No boss would have these traits, at least not one who continues to find gainful employment. While Michael Scott’s unlikely rise has always had some basis in his strange effectiveness as a salesman, we don’t really get an explanation why someone with such strange eccentricities like Ferrell keeps getting work.

Ferrell’s got more episodes this season, including a few after Carrell’s last episode. But here’s hoping for a different boss, because this one didn’t exactly feel right.

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Loud whispering. Knowing Santa. Incorrect ideas about nutrition. These things have made Buddy the Elf a beloved holiday character since comedian Will Ferrell created him in the 2003 movie “Elf.”

Buddy is on Broadway this season in “Elf the Musical” playing at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre with Sebastian Arcelus in the title role. And in the likely event that Buddy the Elf will fans get their way, Buddy — again played by Will Ferrell — will host the 2010 Saturday Night Live Christmas Special.

Betty White ended up as host of Saturday Night Live last year after a Facebook campaign to put her there reached almost half a million members. Now Buddy’s fans have a politely-named Facebook page, “Dear SNL, Please Let Buddy the Elf Host the 2010 SNL Christmas Special.” It has over 135,000 members.

Ferrell was an SNL cast member from 1995 to 2002. But unlike some other characters that SNL alum have portrayed in movies, Buddy the Elf didn’t premier on that show, nor was the “Elf” film made by SNL Studios. This means there might be some copyright agreements to be worked out between New Line Cinema, MSNBC, and their respective corporate octopi. There are no other obvious reasons why Will Ferrell, Lorne Michaels, and every else involved with SNL wouldn’t go for it.

Will Ferrell, as himself, hosted SNL in 2005 and 2009. But Buddy the Elf won’t be the first fictional character to host an SNL episode (if the Christmas Special, a clip show, is considered an episode). That honor probably goes to Pee Wee Herman, played by Paul Reuben, who hosted in 1985.

Image media credit/Christopher Crosby

I admit it: this goofy, screwball, popcorn movie made me laugh out loud more than any anything else I’ve seen this summer. Will Ferrell and his gang (like writer/director Adam McKay) are hit or miss for me; This time they slug it way out of the park.

"The Other Guys" is equal parts cop-buddy-picture-spoof and SNL-style star vehicle. It starts off with Danson and Highsmith, the ultimate large-and-in-charge, superstar police detectives, played by Dwayne "The Rock" Jonson and that paragon of badassery and inveterate self-satirist, Samuel L. Jackson. Danson and Highsmith specialize, of course, in driving at impossible speeds, through buildings when available, converting mundane city features into roaring plumes of orange flame, and shooting up as many perps as they can. Sure they’re unnecessarily messy, but they know how to work a crowd like rock stars, so all is more than forgiven.

When this invincible-seeming duo meets a sudden precipitous demise, there is a power vacuum back at the force. The first runners-up for their spots are Martin (Rob Riggle, formerly of the "Daily Show,") and Fosse (Damon Wayans, Jr.), a pair who are less talented, equally cocky and more douchey. Then there are our heroes: Gamble (Will Ferrell) and Hoitz (Mark Walberg), "The Other Guys."

Like all buddy-cop duos, Gamble and Hoitz start off hating each other. Walberg’s Hoitz is a tough-guy whose career and emotional stability have been crippled by a (very funny) tragic error from his past. Even so, Hoitz believes that his biggest cross to bear is being shackled to Gamble, a cheerful bureaucrat who seems to long for nothing more than maximum efficiency at endless desk work. Gamble and Hoitz are the laughing stock of the force and the bane of their football-coach-like police chief (Michael Keaton). To turn this around, they must, of course, learn to love each other, to rely on one another, and to unleash each other’s hidden potentials.

The pairing of Walberg and Ferrell turns out to be inspired. Walberg has already proved his comic chops, most notably in 2004′s "I Heart Huckabees," and this role takes full advantage of his gift for absolute, intense sincerity and commitment to the stupidest premises that can be served up to him. Ferrell, for his part, whom we all know can go so far off the deep end he’s left our orbit, is best when he’s playing a character like Gamble who is supposed to be a model of restraint. The skit here becomes Ferrell inventing new and creative ways to bait Walberg by being as inane as his partner is ferocious, and for Walberg to find new and inventive ways to respond without killing him.

"The Other Guys" has a few missteps. While it sets up the case Gamble and Hoitz try to crack as a caper featuring a major financial institution—a timely and crowd-pleasing villain—it never really delivers on this promised therapy of Wall Street-bashing. It gets too caught up in the fun of Gamble and Hoitz’s bumbling to spend any time building up its villains or their crimes. Fortunately, the "other guys" are funny enough that the whole ride is worthwhile.

Here’s the last musical clip from Conan O’Brien’s “Tonight Show.”

The fitting final performance was the song “Free Bird” with Will Ferrell, Billy Gibbons, Beck, Conan O’ Brien, Max Weinberg, Ben Harper and the Tonight Show Band.

O’Brien will receive some $32 million, and his staff $8 million spread out among them, to depart NBC. O’Brien can’t contractually land another late night show deal with another network until this fall.

There’s a simple joy in going to see a movie that doesn’t take itself too seriously. It is that propensity for its creators to think a film is better than it is that made so many of this summer’s anticipated hits such terrible disappointments. Even from the TV ads, claiming this film is starring Jeremy Piven, Ed Helms and all those other people from your favorite funny movies whose names you can’t remember (aka Ving Rhames, Kathryn Hahn, Tony Hale, Ken Jeong, Craig Robinson and David Koechner, among many others) it is clear “The Goods” knows exactly what will make it a success: One liners from all the people whose one liners in other films stole the show.

“The Goods” isn’t good per se, but it is funny as hell. The plot is ludicrous: four mercenary car salesmen are called in to save a dying car lot from a land-hungry boy band lead singer, but it is the range of secondary actors stuffed into the film that makes it so great. For people who have made their career off one or two funny lines and scenes (like Hahn in “Step Brothers” and Jeong in “The Hangover”), putting them into the foreground only emphasizes their humor. None of the characters make sense, but “The Goods” isn’t about making sense. It’s about making you laugh, which it succeeds in with flying colors.

Unfortunately, and probably due to the fact “The Goods” doesn’t have much star power to speak of, Will Ferrel’s cameo was already revealed in TV ads to try to get people more interested in seeing the film. But, while Will Ferrel in cameo roles always is a show-stealer, some of the best parts of the film came from its defying stereotypes. It is the rogue alpha male of the story who gets turned into a one night stand, the father-son subplot never turns out the way you expect, and ‘Querque is nothing like what you expect it to be. Somehow, in a genre where everything has been done and overdone, “The Goods” still manages to be surprising and unique.

Without a doubt, “The Hangover” is still the best comedy of the summer, but “The Goods” shouldn’t be written off as fast as its A-lister stars can be named. If you leave your brain at home, “The Goods” will make you laugh, and laugh hard. You’ll just have no idea what is going on.

The animation is hokey, the storyline is outrageous and the creatures are as bizarre and corny as they come, but the reason “Land of the Lost” was so damn great can be summed up in five words: Will Ferrell and Danny McBride.

Without the charisma and chemistry that both actors have together, Universal’s “Land of the Lost” remake would have remained flat and stupid and definitely a kid’s movie. Whether it’s remnants of their work together on HBO’s “Eastbound and Down” or the fact that Danny McBride can’t open his mouth without cursing, the twosome brought an edge to a film that otherwise could have easily passed under the box office radar.

Though the 1974 TV show and its 1991 remake are both marketed as children’s shows, this remake is marketed more as a parody than an adaptation. The bottom line: Don’t bring your kids to this film unless you want them to walk our grabbing each other’s breasts to say hello, dropping the F-bomb and wanting to get intoxicated off alcoholic fruit. “Land of the Lost” more than anything else, is a kid’s movie made for adults.

Creators of both the original series and its remake, Sid and Marty Kroft, were involved in the story’s big screen adaptation, and it can be seen through the story’s slightly distorted similarities. The original series followed the adventures of Rick Marshall and his kids Will and Holly. Here, the film follows the adventures of Dr. Rick Marshall (Ferrell), but with the help of his lovely British assistant and fan Holly (Anna Friel) and their unexpected companion, Will (McBride). Cha-Ka, a T-Rex named Grumpy and Enik all are involved again in the story in slightly altered, comedic forms.

What’s best about “Land of the Lost” is that it doesn’t shy away from its corniness; it embraces it. The acting feels cartoonish “" something Ferrell exhibited in his films like “Anchorman” and “Talladega Nights” and Friel mastered in the unfortunately deceased “Pushing Daisies” “" and it fits the film perfectly. Both portray their characters as completely involved in the theory of alternate universes and the lost land they discover, but to such a point that it’s funny for the audience to watch.

McBride’s wry cynicism “" which he has perfected in just about every role he’s ever been in “" is the perfect counterpoint for Ferrell’s and Friel’s dedication to their cause. Every scene that has Ferrell and McBride interact in any way is better than it would have been with a different actor in their place. Ferrell and McBride alone make “Land of the Lost” worth seeing.

“Land of the Lost” isn’t the best comedy film out this summer by a long shot. If you’re looking for a movie that will have you howling with laughter from the absurdity of it, you should have gone to see “The Hangover” instead. But “Land of the Lost” was a surprising addition to the summer comedy line-up and will definitely surpass whatever expectations you had for it.

Thanks to everyone who participated in our “Land of the Lost” giveaway contest! The winners received free passes for two to a “Land of the Lost” pre-screening in Boston. Keep an eye on Blast for more screening giveaways and contests!

“Land of the Lost” hits theaters June 5.

1. Emily

Emily and her friends running from danger

2. Ribet

Ribet as one of the creatures in the Land of the Lost

3. Joshua

Joshua traveling down the river to escape the T-rex!

4. Daniel

Daniel captured by a ravenous T-Rex

5. Susie

Susie skillfully turned her fiance into Will Ferrell. Sneaky sneaky

6. Yusef

Yusef is caught in an alternate dimension

In Universal Pictures’ upcoming film adaptation of “Land of the Lost,” Dr. Rick Marshall (Will Ferrell), his research assistant Holly (Anna Friel) and redneck survivalist Will (Danny McBride) find themselves transported to an alternate dimension where dinosaurs still roam the land and crabs are the size of small trucks. They must either escape to their own world and become heroes or stay trapped forever in the Land of the Lost.

In the spirit of the movie, Blast is holding a contest to give away passes to a pre-screening of the movie to be held Monday, June 1 at 7:00 p.m. in Boston. Submit a picture of yourself trapped in the Land of the Lost to schwartz.t@blastmagazine.com. Our 10 favorite submissions will win tickets to the pre-screening and have their pictures posted to the site. The contest ends Wednesday, May 27. Good luck!

“Land of the Lost” is directed by Brad Silberling and hits theaters June 5.

Funnyman Will Ferrell returned to Saturday Night Live during the intro of one of SNL’s special Thursday updates.

We stood beside Tina Fey’s Gov. Sarah Palin, making it the only time the two most highly-rated SNL parodies of all time appeared together. SNL regular Darrell Hammond’s reluctant John McCain later appeared in skit, where Farrell’s GW endorses McCain/Palin.

SNL has generated some of its highest ratings of all time during the 2008 presidential election.

There was also a hilarious Fred Armisen impersonation of CNN’s John King and his super-touchscreen-computerized-election-map

Blast’s Posterboy Sports Blog has the R-rated trailer of Will Ferrell’s new sports comedy movie “Semi-Pro.”

The movie also stars Woody Harrelson and Andr© Benjamin and comes out on leap day, February 29.

Check it out!