Other recent Ferrell features have suffered at the box office as well, including “Semi-Pro” which only made $43 million. For comparison, past hits such as “Elf” made $220 million and “Talladega Nights” came in at $162 million. While “Step Brothers” did better with $128 million in total, it still wasn’t enough to keep Ferrell from topping the list, since he regularly commands such a high salary.

For every dollar Ferrell was paid, his films earned an average $3.29. Compare that to Shia LaBeouf, who topped Forbes’ list of Best Actors for the Buck in August. For every dollar LaBeouf was paid, his films earned an average $160. As if you needed another reason to love Shia over Will!

Hollywood’s second-worst offender is Scotsman Ewan McGregor. Although he doesn’t earn as much as some of the other actors on the list, his recent movies have performed very poorly. For every dollar McGregor was paid, his films earned an average $3.75.

Here’s the rest of the list:

3. Billy Bob Thornton ($4.00)
4. Eddie Murphy ($4.43)
5. Ice Cube ($4.77)
6. Tom Cruise ($7.18)
7. Drew Barrymore ($7.43)
8. Leonardo DiCaprio ($7.52)
9. Samuel L. Jackson ($8.59)
10. Jim Carrey ($8.62)

Throughout the episode, it really seemed like anyone could be the winner of the Marie Claire spread, Paris vacation and $100,000 to start their own line. The judges liked the cohesiveness of Irina’s look, which incorporated a lot of accessories, but Nina Garcia criticized her for using nearly all-black, a decision she had warned Irina against. “Black doesn’t get a lot of editorial,” she said. Nina did love Irina’s t-shirts, though. 

Althea was praised for her sportswear and knitwear, and for having a great sense of what’s going on “on the streets.” I’m not really sure where the judges get that from. I do like a lot Althea’s big sweaters, but I don’t feel like there’s anything really innovative about them.

Carol Hannah’s always been my favorite. She’s only 23, but her dresses are colorful, interesting, feminine and flattering. Judges did commend her for her playing with color the best of all three finalists, but were disappointed that her collection didn’t have a cohesive theme. I think they have a point too, but come on! Her pieces were by far the most attractive, and I bet women around the country would most want to wear those clothes.

So, you guessed it — Carol Hannah didn’t win. Irina is the winner of Project Runway Season 6!

Total, undergraduate tuition will spike from $7,788 to $10,302 next fall, not including living expenses. Students will see a midyear increase of 15 percent starting in January. ”I absolutely had to vote for this,” Assembly Speaker and Regent Karen Bass said after the vote. As an architect of the state’s budget — which has contributed to a UC deficit of more than $800 million over the last two years — “it would have been hypocritical of me not to.”

Outside the meeting, about 2,000 students chanted loudly before the vote and long after the meeting was over. They beat drums and shouted, “No justice! No peace!” and collapsed to the ground to symbolize what they called the death of an affordable UC education. California is going through a massive budget crisis, but is this the way to raise funds? It’s clear that the state needs to get creative, but it’s disheartening that college education is getting even less affordable, especially when students need to prepare themselves for a dismal job market. Suddenly supporters of the legalization of marijuana sound pretty smart — maybe that’s a better way to help California.

Before you start crying over the loss of celebrity interviews, cool products and inspiring stories, though, remember that she’s starting up her own cable network, OWN, which will launch in 2011. She hasn’t announced if she’ll host a new talk show there, but she’s expected to have a major presence on the network. 

“We have the greatest respect for Oprah and wish her nothing but the best in her future endeavors,” “Oprah” distributor CBS said in a statement. “We know that anything she turns her hand to will be a great success. We look forward to working with her for the next several years and hopefully afterwards as well.”

Insiders said new episodes of The Oprah Winfrey Show won’t be moving to OWN, but Winfrey will have a daily presence on the channel via series and specials or promos. And OWN will have the rights to the entire 25-year Oprah Winfrey Show catalog beginning in September 2011, so they could rerun the episodes.

But will specials, promos and reruns be enough to whet our Oprah appetite? Personally, I’ve never really watched her show, so what do you guys think? Should Oprah continue hosting a talk show, or is the world sick of her?

Dun dun dun….Nicole Fox! According to E! Online, the pale redheaded 18-year-old from Colorado won the honor, which also includes a contract with Wilhelmina Models, a six-page Seventeen spread and cover, and a $100,000 deal with CoverGirl cosmetics. When she found out she had won, Nicole burst into tears. “I’m a dork and I’m America’s Next Top Model!” she exclaimed. Check out the video:

“This journey was incredibly hard,” Nicole said. “I had to learn to embarrass myself—and to speak, which was a struggle. Sometimes I didn’t think I was going to survive the journey. Like, I remember during casting week I went home and I cried because I was like, ‘What have I gotten myself into? I can’t deal with this.’ And I didn’t think it would be OK to be that dorky girl.” Hmm… maybe we have different definitions of dorky. Sure, she sometimes wears glasses — but come on, she’s stunning!

Disappointed runner-up Laura Kirkpatrick (whose Kentucky accent I will NOT miss) sobbed into Tyra’s arms. “You go out there, and continue to do that beautiful thing that Laura does,” Tyra said.

Officer Bruce Borihanh says she was booked at the Hollywood police station and was held for about five hours. She was released at about 5:30 a.m. after posting $5,000 bail.

Alexandra is the eldest daughter of the Massachusetts senator, the Democrats’ 2004 presidential nominee. She has produced documentaries and has had several small acting roles. She last co-produced the documentary Be Like Others, which was provocative look at a generation of young Iranian men choosing to undergo sex change surgery.

Alexandra has made headlines for being scandalous in the past; she wore a see-through dress at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival, leaving very little of her chest to the imagination. She’s definitely one of the more interesting political kids. Although the Bush Twins have been involved in some of their own controversies, Jenna has certainly settled into a pretty squeaky clean life as a teacher and correspondent for The TODAY Show.

Alexandra is also an author; her 2008 book Notes From the Trail tells an unlikely account of an artist reporting the behind-the-scenes madness of her father’s presidential campaign.

It’s easy to assume that since Caster is keeping her medal, the results indicate that she’s female. But gender testing is a lot more complicated than that; Australian newspapers said in September that Caster has no ovaries, but rather has internal male testes, which are producing large amounts of testosterone. The IAAF has refused to confirm or deny those reports. Caster’s fans in South Africa were in an uproar that the IAAF had invaded her privacy to begin with – what do you guys think?

Caster was expected to keep her medal regardless of the gender test findings because she did not cheat; any advantage that she has is from the way her body has always been. I hope this matter can be put to rest and she can keep doing what she loves – running!

“I decided this year to take charge of my health, and get back on the ice after five years,” Scott told Fox New York. ”It’s taken 12 months to get to this point but I’m a work in progress. Onward and upward. If you don’t ask your body to do something, you’ll never get an answer.” Check out the entire interview:

Scott will skate alongside fellow cancer survivor Dorothy Hammill, as well as Kristi Yamaguchi and Nancy Kerrigan. The special is intended to inspire viewers to triumph over illness. “It’s about using entertainment to get the word out about cancer and awareness,” Scott said. “This one is mostly about women’s cancers.”

Olivia Newton John will also perform. “The cast is incredible, the show is beautiful,” he said. “What a thrill to be back in front of an audience.” You go, Scott! Keep skating!

 ”I had absolutely no idea what was going to happen with it,” he said. Robert also insisted that despite his mega fame, he feels exactly the same as he always has. “I speak in an American accent when I’m talking to crowds, because it’s so separate to my actual life. I still feel like I’m kind of acting. I think that’s the way so I don’t go completely mad.” Shockingly, he said that he was going to quit acting the day before his Twilight audition because he never got any jobs!

Robert insists he doesn’t mind that he has less screen time in New Moon, which comes out tonight at midnight. “I always liked this book,” he said. “I always thought it was the most complex, especially for Edward’s character. The more in love with someone you fall, the more you lose control of the relationship and kind of attack and destroy it. I always thought that was interesting.”

As usual, he skirted the question about whether he’s dating Kristen Stewart. Let’s hope the fans don’t attack and destroy their beloved Robert.

Our favorite scissor-handed swashbuckler was also awarded the honor back in 2003, making him one of only three heartthrobs to make the list twice (Brad Pitt and George Clooney are the others, which isn’t a huge shock).

But does Johnny still have it going on? He’s a 46-year-old father of two, and he’s starting to look a bit weathered. Is that what makes him hot? That his old boots marched through so many places, that his smoldering eyes have seen so many (surely dangerous) things? 

“Johnny Depp has magical powers. He’s unlike anyone else,” says actress Isla Fisher, who’s married to Sacha Baron Cohen. “He’s funny, generous and clever. It’s just a shame he’s so hard on the eyes.” Oh, Isla. How you live with Borat every day, I’ll never know.

I definitely understand why so many women go for the sexy mystery of Johnny Depp. But I may have to pick up the mag to see if my faves made it on the list of 109 other hotties, who include Ryan Reynolds, Jake Gyllenhaal and Bradley Cooper (yes, yes, & yes!), and obviously, New Moon star Robert Pattinson. All I have to say though is…Chace Crawford better be on that list!

“It’s about weight loss, it’s not about being The Biggest Loser for me. It’s about getting my life back.” That’s the thing about The Biggest Loser; as much the monetary prize is a significant motivator, all of the contestants who are able to lose weight and become healthier really do win. Personally, I think the show would be a lot more entertaining if they spent more time on challenges and exercise and nutrition and less time with all the crying about who gets voted off each week.

Although Rebecca was initially very upset about being voted off the show, she channeled her anger into a very successful home program. Rebecca went from 304 pounds to 157, and now she’s rocking a teeny waist and seriously defined legs and arms.

She said she has always struggled with her weight, even as a child. To all her tormentors in high school, she says: “What up now!”

You go, Rebecca! You’re my idol.

Random tidbit: I wish I had seen Steamboat Willie since I once appeared on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and I had to use my “ask the audience lifeline” to find out about it! Fortunately, the audience was, apparently, filled with 1920s cartoon buffs. Check out the famous cartoon:

If you’re near San Francisco, you can celebrate with a visit to the Walt Disney Family Museum. It includes galleries of the earliest known drawings of Mickey Mouse, vintage Mickey merchandise, an interactive station that demonstrates how sound is synchronized to animation, and much more. The Museum is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Wednesday through Monday.

Wal Mart also has a huge array of Mickey Mouse items at Black Friday prices, from tricycles to DVDs to bedding. Toys R Us also has a nice selection of Mickey stuff. Finally, The Disney Store features Mickey items for both kids and adults, including collectible ornaments, figurines and art.

Celebrity status didn’t help Aaron Carter stay on

“Last night was pretty tough,” she told “Good Morning America” today. “I wasn’t too shocked to find out I was leaving. I was competing against huge names. … I was prepared for it, but I am bummed, I won’t lie. I tried my best.”

Joanna and professional dancing partner Derek Hough were some of the most consistent dancers on the show and earned 81 out of 90 points from judges for their Viennese waltz on Monday’s show. Judge Carrie Ann was so captivated that she told them, “you took my breath away.” But fan votes count too, and Kelly Osbourne is the clear fan favorite. “She came in raw with no experience. She deserves a chance to win the title,” Joanna said of the reality TV star. “She’s a doll face. I adore her.”

Now there are just three couples left: Kelly will be up against Donny Osmond and Mya for the finals on Monday. Who do you think is going to win? I definitely have a soft spot for Kelly, but Mya is a fabulous dancer too.

According to The Los Angeles Times, Gossip Girl is known for its interesting musical selections. Lily’s and Rufus’ wedding included a performance from Sonic Youth, season one’s Cotillion episode featured The Pierces’ “Secret,” and another recent ep featured a kickass cover of T.I.’s “Whatever You Like” by Anya Marina. Lady Gaga added her song “Bad Romance” into the mix last night, as part of Blair’s plot to get the artsy Tisch students to like her by bringing a pop star to NYU to perform.

Gaga rocked her usual voluminous platinum ‘do and a giant red gown that dancers held out around her like a sea of blood (or something).  Check out the video:

What do you guys think? If you’re already a Gaga fan, you know that her wacky outfit and performance were pretty standard. I did like that the song’s lyric “I want your love” fit in thematically with the Dan-Olivia-Vanessa love triangle. (FYI, Olivia pretty much dumped Dan for kissing Vanessa like he never kissed her during their threesome.) Silly Dan. You know you’ve let things go too far when Lady Gaga is the soundtrack to your love life.

In an interview to promote their new book, “How to be Famous: Our Guide to Looking the Part, Playing the Press, and Becoming a Tabloid Fixture,” the couple said they’re shopping the idea around to various networks. I am praying that nobody’s interested.

As much as the title of that book makes me want to puke, I have to admit that Heidi and Spencer do seem to know what they’re talking about when it comes to being famous for no reason. But we have to make the madness end and not keep fueling their ridiculous “careers.”

Heidi and Spencer claim that The Hills is limiting because it doesn’t really focus on their characters’ fame. ”You don’t get to see our everyday lives and what we do,” Heidi said. Their proposed new show would be more inclusive and even feature live segments. But even if they do get their proposed show, they would still plan to stay on The Hills and balance both shows.

Hollywood, please hear my plea. One Heidi & Spencer show is enough! In fact, more than enough.

Last Thursday, LiLo attended the launch of Jermaine Dupri’s new watch line “NuPop” in collaboration with famed jewelry designer Pascal Mouawad at Kitson, but wanted more than just a nice watch as a souvenir. Although she was apparently already being paid to show up, sources say Mouawad offered the actress $500 to spend at Kitson, which she successfully bargained up to $1000.

Then the sad tale continued as she went crazy in the store, pulling out drawers and demanding various items, eventually racking up a $15,000 bill. When she was told she had exceeded her limit, Lindsay said that “Pascal would take care of it because I’m the only celebrity here.”

“Pascal said no, so she went and started talking smack about him to Jermaine Dupri who doesn’t even know her,” said an insider. “He was totally bewildered and couldn’t believe it. Eventually Pascal said she could have $2000 to spend but that was the absolutely limit.” Whoa, whoa. Why did she get her way? Why is it that the more rich and famous you are, the more free stuff you expect?

I would imagine that Westwood is still recovering from its recent vampire infestation; New Moonpremiered last night, surrounded by a frenzy of glammed-up celebs, dizzying flashbulbs and screaming fans.

The often strangely dressed Kristen Stewart looked stunning in a silvery Oscar de la Renta gown, while Robert Pattinson rocked a trim Gucci suit. The LA Times has some great photos, and here’s E Online’s gallery, which includes some juicy interviews that will air tonight at 7:30 pm as part of their Live From the Red Carpet: New Moon special. When asked if he has some sort of plan to relax after all the pandemonium, Robert said, “I don’t really have one. Just not waking up early in the morning. I am so not a morning person. I don’t handle it well at all.” I guess that whole can’t-be-out-in-sunlight thing isn’t such a problem for him.

Kristen said that the hysteria wasn’t actually as bad as she imagined. “I was actually able to get really excited because I was prepped for how crazy it was gonna be, and it’s not as crazy as everybody said it was gonna be. As an actor, you don’t get the opportunity to share what you love with so many people. This will never happen to me again.”

Hmm – the movie studio and millions of adoring fans may have something to say about that!

And check out U-Stream’s Interview with Robert Pattinson at last night’s premiere

And check out the an Interview with Taylor Lautner at last night’s premiere

Swift got to know the other Taylor on the set of the upcoming romantic comedy Valentine’s Day, which follows several couples on the infamous holiday. “He and I have gotten really close,” she says. “It would be confusing on the set with two Taylors in the same scene. They were like, ‘Taylor, on your mark – no, not you, the other one!’ So halfway through the shoot, I said, ‘How about you guys call me Swifty and call him Taylor?’ ”

Many thought her recent Saturday Night Live monologue confirmed they were dating, since she mouthed, “Hi Taylor,” and blew him a kiss. But in In Style, she denies being in a relationship. ”I’ve never thought it was a curse to be single, and at this point in my life, I’m in the mind-set where I choose to be single –] like I got to light scented candles and write in my diary and I wouldn’t have time for that if I had a boyfriend right now!”

Lautner certainly had nice things to say about Swifty. “Taylor is hilarious,” he said. “It was definitely not hard to play her love interest.”

The administration defended Obama’s gesture, telling Politico.com that Obama “observes protocol” and that the greeting “enhanced both the position and the status of the U.S. relative to Japan” — where a bow is just another version of a handshake.

Who really cares whether he bowed or not? Conservatives are just trying to bash Obama and shift focus from what’s actually important. Ironically, Obama’s speech to students at a town hall meeting today in Shanghai indirectly supported this sort of criticism.

According to CNN, Obama told the students he is against censorship and is a believer in the free flow of information, calling it a “source of strength” in a democracy despite the sting that sometimes comes with it.

“I have a lot of critics in the United States who can say all kinds of things about me,” Obama said. “I actually think that that makes our democracy stronger and it makes me a better leader, because it forces me to hear opinions that I don’t want to hear. It forces me to examine what I’m doing on a day-to-day basis to see if I’m doing the very best that I could be doing for the people of the United States.”

If you don’t live close enough to see your favorite vamps and werewolves in the flesh, you can watch a streaming feed of the premiere at the New Moon Premiere MySpace page. The red carpet arrivals will began at 6 p.m. PT (9 p.m. ET). Anya Marina, writer and performer of “Satellite Heart” on the movie’s soundtrack, will co-host the broadcast with the winner of the Red Carpet Correspondent Contest.

The Twilight Saga: New Moon Trailer and Premiere Announcement

New Moon Premiere | MySpace Video

The much-anticipated sequel officially hits theaters Friday, and if you buy tickets online at Fandango.com or MovieTickets.com, you can get a free, exclusive soundtrack song remix on iTunes. The release has been surrounded by speculation about whether the film’s stars are dating. They were caught holding hands on an airport runway in France. What do you think they’ll do on the red carpet tonight?

It’ll also be interesting to see what Kristen wears to the premiere, since her recent red carpet clothes have ranged from ultra-casual ripped jeans to pretty white dresses to bizarre, mismatching separates. I hope she glams it up with a designer dress.

While Urban Dictionary supplies a couple meanings for Twilf, the new phrase might be a little less about sex and more about following our favorite Alaskan GILF (Governor no longer applies, so it’s just grandma) on Twitter. The cartoon also shows Palin at her computer with her Twitter user name as “GUN-HO.”

The cartoon, “A Stupid Virus,” is a spoof of some people’s obsession with President Barack Obama’s identity and whether or not he is truly a citizen of the United States of America. It pokes fun at Rush Limbaugh, Bill O’Reilly, and other right-wing figures. Palin tweets that “Barack Obama is the anti-christ.” Brian Williams is also featured, saying “Sarah Palin twittered…that’s right, tweets are now news,” with Palin’s image and the word “twilf?” in the upper right hand part of the screen.

It’s a cute video, but unfortunately it’s making this woman even more popular. Her highly anticipated interview with Oprah will air today, and her book has already become a bestseller before hitting shelves.

According to a report published Wednesday in the new journal Science Translational Medicine, humans need such bacteria to help convert otherwise indigestible foods into digestible form. And when people eat too much fat and sugar, the change in bacteria can happen in as little as 24 hours.

Many factors play a role in the propensity to gain weight, including genetics, physical activity and the environment, as well as food choices. But there’s increasing evidence (including this study, which tested mice) that bacteria in the gut also play a key role.

Ninety percent of the bacteria fall into two categories: the Firmicutes and the Bacteroidetes. Previous research had shown that obese mice had higher levels of Firmicutes, and lean ones had more Bacteroidetes. Scientists concluded that the Firmicutes were more efficient at digesting food that the body can’t.

Animals that have a higher proportion of Firmicutes convert a higher proportion of food into calories that can be absorbed by the body, making it easier to gain weight.

Now you can have a very intellectual reason to skip that second slice of pie this Thanksgiving!

“Girls think I’m a slut, and I’ve been in the same relationship since I was 18. The problem is, if they think you’re attractive, you’re either stupid or a whore or a dumb whore. The instinct among girls is to attack the jugular.” What do you gals think? Does Megan come across as a slut? And do we hate that? I do think she’s right that sometimes women are intensely powerful when it comes to taking down other women. But she has also dug her own grave a bit in terms of giving herself a slutty image: her first big claim to fame was being in love with a stripper named Nikita that never really existed, and she’s also mentioned that she has her boyfriend’s name tattooed “next to my pie.”

But maybe it’s not the slut thing that’s the problem; maybe women are contemptuous of Megan because she seems to be portraying the sexpot that men want her to be. ”When I sit down to talk to men’s magazines, there’s a certain character that I play,” she told the Times. However, it seems that she doesn’t know how to turn off that persona and relate to women.

“I have to pull back a little bit now,” Megan said. ”I do live in a glass box. And I am on display for men to pay to look at me. And that bothers me. I don’t want to live that character.”

In the movie, Jessica plays a teenage girl who is fiercely independent and questions authority when the government tries to convince everyone that aliens are taking over. She really enjoyed playing such a strong women. ”I wanted to be in this movie because I liked the idea that the character was a strong woman that young girls could look up to as a role model,” she said.

Unfortunately she’s not used to reading scripts with a strong female character. “It’s rare to see good scripts that show good strong women,” she said. ”In Hollywood the number of well-written and great scripts which show women in strong positive roles are rare. On top of that there are so many talented women and there are not enough projects for everyone to really blossom. It’s so disappointing that there isn’t more material out there for actresses.”

Amen, sister. I get so annoyed that we even use the phrase “female-driven.” We never use the term “male-driven” — we just say movie! It’s also interesting that there seems to be such a huge divide between the strong women on TV versus film. Shows like The Closer, Damages and Mad Men are critically acclaimed and feature meaty roles for women. And if you argue that men don’t want to buy a movie ticket for a movie featuring a strong woman, I know it’s not just women watching those shows.

It seems that the only solution is for actresses to stay picky and demand good roles, for women writers to be encouraged to provide those roles, and for more women to try their hands at directing. It also couldn’t hurt for the men in Hollywood to think twice before writing a damsel in distress or a thinly developed love interest.