She was determined to get 'Unhitched'

Rashida Jones (left) says she was determined to land one of the leads on "Unhitched," the Farrelly brothers' first foray into TV seriesdom, debuting Sunday on Fox. "I heard about the show and I called them," says the Harvard-educated actress best known for her role as Jim's former girlfriend on "The Office." Typical for Peter and Bobby Farrelly, the show is a little offbeat: A Reuters critic called it a "raunchy version of 'Friends.' " (Case in point: In the first episode, Jones, who plays an unlucky-in-love divorce lawyer, is dating the diminutive dude who's the Celtics mascot Lucky the Leprechaun.) "Yes, it's got that Farrelly brothers imprint - they push it, but you still connect," said Jones, daughter of legendary music producer Quincy Jones and former actress Peggy Lipton. So what's it like working with the Farrellys? Not as far out as you might think. "It's actually quite calm on the set," Jones told us.

One of Rashida Jones's costars on "Unhitched" is Craig Bierko (inset), who's got an even wackier show in the works. Called "Bathing With Bierko," the off-the-wall Web show on Ted Turner's Super Deluxe broadband channel features Bierko, er, sponge-bathing guests. No kidding. His first guest is John Malkovich, the A-list actor who calls Cambridge home. "He's an adventurous, terrifically funny, amazingly down-to-earth guy," Bierko told online busybodies Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith. "I went to ask [Malkovich] to be on the show, and he said, 'Yeah, I'll do it.' And, I said, 'Let me explain one more time. . . .' And, he said, 'Yeah. Yeah! I'll do it.' I had to keep myself from asking him why." Will Bierko be bathing female guests, too? "Maybe a female guest would have to get behind me and bathe me."

Casting continues for "Ashecliffe," Martin Scorsese's new movie based on Dennis Lehane's book "Shutter Island." In addition to the previously announced Leonardo DiCaprio, Patricia Clarkson, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, and Michelle Williams, the cast now includes Max von Sydow, Jackie Earle Haley, and Emily Mortimer, who was in Boston not long ago filming "Pink Panther 2." The flick, which begins filming in Boston shortly, revolves around two US marshals, played by DiCaprio and Ruffalo, who come to a Massachusetts island to investigate the disappearance of a patient from a hospital for the criminally insane. Von Sydow will play one of the physicians, Mortimer plays an escaped hospital patient, and Haley, who was convincing as a child molester in the movie based on Tom Perrotta's book "Little Children," will play an inmate.

Kingston's own Chris Cooper was in town yesterday with director Ira Sachs hyping their new film, "Married Life." The movie is described as an unconventional fable about the irresistible power and utter madness of love, and judging from the story line - Cooper's character concludes he must kill his wife because he loves her too much to let her suffer when he leaves her - that sounds about right. "Married Life" opens March 14. . . . Actor Paul Sorvino, who was in town for the International Boston Seafood Show, dined at Rocca before departing, and regaled diners with "O Solo Mio."

The Harvard Foundation yesterday announced it's chosen Grammy winner Herbie Hancock as its 2008 Artist of the Year. Hancock will be awarded the foundation's most prestigious medal, which bears the university president's signature, at Harvard's Cultural Rhythms ceremony Saturday. Past winners include Sharon Stone, James Earl Jones, Andy Garcia, Will Smith, Matt Damon, Halle Berry, Jackie Chan, Denzel Washington, Salma Hayek and, last year, Laurence Fishburne.

Cooking up a special time
The gang from ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" took a break the other day to host a barbecue in Maynard for everyone helping to rebuild Paul and Renee Giunta's house. More than 500 friends, family, and community volunteers are working on the house while the couple is in Florida. Paul Giunta was nearly killed in a car accident two years ago. In the course of completely rebuilding the house, Ty Pennington's "Extreme Makeover" crew is making the Giunta's house wheelchair accessible.

She’s bullish for Hillary
If anyone is hoping Hillary Clinton can resuscitate her faltering presidential campaign, it's Heidi Dallin. The Gloucester actress makes decent money impersonating the New York senator at parties and trade shows, but business would be a whole lot better if the former first lady could start winning a few primaries. So Dallin's doing her part to help. In advance of next week's all-important primaries in Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Vermont, she's made a few funny videos, which are posted on comedian Mo Rocca's AOL blog. (You can also find them on YouTube.) In one, Hillary tries to impress Texas voters by riding a mechanical bull - a first for Dallin - and getting into a bar fight. "Hillary has opened new horizons for me," Dallin told us yesterday. "And she'll do the same for Americans if elected."

Plan on a lot of shooting soon
Word is director Michael Mann is set to start shooting the movie about famous FBI agent Melvin Purvis, father of BU professor Alston Purvis. Titled "Public Enemies," the film stars Christian Bale as Purvis's dad and Johnny Depp as John Dillinger. ("La Vie en Rose" Oscar winner Marion Cotillard plays the gangster's girlfriend.) Fish & Richardson's John Taylor "Ike" Williams repped the Purvis project.

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