We've never found much of what Josh Hartnett does particularly funny, with the possible exception of the scraggly 'stache that he's been sporting unironically for years. So how will the stiff-as-a-board actor fare when cast opposite the likes of Tina Fey and the rest of her comedically blessed cohorts on 30 Rock? OK! is reporting that Hartnett recently read for a part on the Emmy-winning laughfest as Fey's next love interest, a role that may last four to six episodes. And while this latest bit of stunt casting would be a major boost to Josh's embarrassing-of-late resume, the Emmy-winning show hardly needs a swarthy guest star to save it from sinking. So what does the much cleverer than us Tina Fey have up her sleeve?

Or maybe he's for real, in which case, seriously: Do not call the number.

When we suggested this morning that comedian Jordan Carlos might be a good candidate for President of Saturday Night Live Obama Impersonators, little did we know that Carlos actually has an Obama impression. One that is available to watch! Sometimes we are impressed by our own keen powers of prediction (which flow from ignorance—thanks, tipster!). Below, the comedian's "BA-L-ACK OBAMA" sketch from Funny Or Die. Lorne Michaels: consider this an audition. Whether Jordan Carlos wants it to be or not!

Before he turned his cinéma vérité antics into a big-money business called Funny or Die, Will Ferrell apparently liked to practice a little guerilla theater on his neighbors at CNBC, as seen in this funny-and-disturbing-all-at-once video. Shot probably in 2004 — the Kerry/Gephardt joke is a dead giveaway — the vid sees Ferrell crashing Power Lunch, where Sue Herera is all guffaws but Bill Griffeth and his offstage help (UPDATE: John McEnroe!) are having none of it. For evidence that this sort of mischief eventually pays, see Portfolio's January piece on how Ferrell has raised $15 million for his business.

World's most famous blogger Perez Hilton is now trying his hand at comedy, via Funny Or Die. The video (after the jump) is basically a ribald premature birth joke, and also contains a very astute ejaculation sight gag. I know, I know. Too sexy! [BWE]

There's one interesting angle to the sighting in Las Vegas of Julia Allison, Star Magazine's talking head, with Mark Kvamme. The Silicon Valley venture capitalist is the main backer of Funny Or Die, the comedy site co-founded by Will Ferrell; and Julia Allison's said to be pitching her own show. Related? One hopes not. The former sex columnist's humor, despite all her other talents, is usually inadvertent. Allison would be better off choosing a platform in which the options — be funny, or die — are less stark.

Valleywag is of course known for its dead-on accuracy, so our predictions for 2008 need no introduction. Inside, my 25 predictions (made without inside information) cover the futures of Facebook, Google, Digg, YouTube, Twitter, the Wall Street Journal, Apple, Yahoo, Gawker Media, AOL, Dell, LOLcats, the president, and more.

"Funny or Die", the funny web video site that has Will Ferrell and Adam McKay but no traffic or "buzz", got another $15 million from their venture capital benefactors at Sequoia (and unnamed others). There are still absolutely no reports of anyone on the internet having watched any video from that site besides the one where the little girl is mean to Will Ferrell. [PaidContent]

Problem is, despite attracting talent such as Bill Murray, Jenna Elfman, John C. Reilly, Jimmy Fallon, Jeremy Piven, John Mayer, and a writing staff of 30, "The Landlord" remains Funny Or Die's only real hit. This despite 16,000 subsequent efforts by the company and its users. In fact, the video's sequel and the site's second biggest hit, "Good Cop, Baby Cop," (see above) garnered just a tenth as many views.

• The Hills with James Franco and Mila Kunis [Funny or Die]

Should this "Green Team" video, featuring the environmentally friendly, rape-crazed antics of Will Ferrell, Adam McKay and John C. Reilly, achieve Landlordesque viral penetration, "I have a murder-boner!" will soon become the most-invoked catchphrase at our nation's finest fraternity parties. [Funny or Die]

If you've never had the pleasure of factchecking at a magazine, congratulate yourself. And stay far, far away. Writers (and editors) have a tendency to pull facts out of thin air. That means the poor factcheck department is often sent scavenging for ridiculous facts like the number of fish in the ocean. Worse, it has to verify information gathered from the Web's most trusted source, Wikipedia. In the above clip from comedian Will Ferrell's Funnyordie.com, Peter Karinen and Brian Sacca of the "Fact Check Unit" must verify that Bill Murray's sleeping aid is a warm glass of milk. The source is Wikipedia."That's a user-generated site," exclaims the duo, "that could have been written by a 7-year-old." Hilarity ensues. The moral: Don't use Wikipedia as a source. (And don't become a factchecker).

Back in the good old days of the web—say, circa April of 2007—when one's CAA-backed, Will Ferrell-supported comedy video-sharing site had an amusing clip starring an attention-grabbing A-list talent one wished would go "viral," one simply posted it and let the internets work their magic, confident that endlessly forwarded links would efficiently deliver their work to the eyeballs of bored employees across the globe. Now, however, we live in far more complicated times, when newly retained PR firms dare not leave anything to chance, as evidenced by this e-mail invitation enlisting the help of the "internet press" to turn Bill Murray into Funny or Die's next drunken, swearing baby:

When it comes to Web launches, Valley A-listers (Truemors, Mahalo) can't compete with baby landlords (Funnyordie). [Compete.com]