Dead man talking

Chuck Lamb has had 45 million hits on deadbodyguy.com, where he outlines his dream of being in a film - as a dead body. Now with his film debut as a corpse in the Boston-made "Stiffs," Lamb gets about five seconds of glory. "I'll take it," the Columbus, Ohio-based father of six told us yesterday. "I put my plea on the Internet, and it was answered. I was just praying they didn't cut me." Lamb, a senior analyst for a large insurance company, is seen briefly as a body bag is being zipped up in Joe and Frank Ciota's dark comedy that premiered the other night at the Boston Film Festival. "This shows you can have your dreams come true," said Lamb, 49, who has since filmed several other scenes - always dying in the end. "I didn't want to die and have a dream that I hadn't pursued. . . . Even to be a dead guy."

The roster of women starring in "The Women" just got a bit longer with Bette Midler, Cloris Leachman, and Joanna Gleason joining the cast that includes Meg Ryan, Annette Bening, and Eva Mendes. Carrie Fisher, Lynn Whitfield, Ana Gasteyer, and Debi Mazar have finished filming their scenes, and Midler was in town yesterday doing her bit, but writer-director Diane English and her crew are slated to decamp today for a few days of shooting in the suburbs.

Making "Bachelor No. 2" has taken Dane Cook to nightspots like "Centerfolds" and other places his cad of a character is supposed to frequent. But the Arlington-raised comic says he doesn't drink or do drugs and would prefer to be a homebody. "I can be very introverted and very shy. I never felt like I needed to be the guy at the party who had to stand on a table and get attention," Cook told Reuters during an interview to promote "Good Luck Chuck," which opens in theaters today. But with several movies out and "Bachelor No. 2" and other projects in the works, the 35-year-old says he doesn't strive to be at the top of the heap. "I did everything I promised my family. It's been lucrative. I've been smart with my time and my money," he said. "I don't feel like I have a lot of pressure to be No. 1."

Since her employer is the film's chief sponsor, we're not surprised Bank of America exec Anne Finucane scored an invite to the New York premiere of Ken Burns's latest epic "The War." She wasn't the only familiar face at the fete for the New Hampshire filmmaker. Also making the scene at the Museum of Modern Art were Pat Mitchell, former WBZ newswoman and past PBS president; Caroline Kennedy; Mike Wallace; actor Eli Wallach; New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly; "Doonesbury" creator Garry Trudeau with wife Jane Pauley; and tennis legend Billie Jean King.

Not usually one for meet-and-greets, Stevie Wonder made an exception before his gig at the Bank of America Pavilion last night. We're told the legendary singer wanted to say hello to a few kids from the Perkins School for the Blind.

Disney rolled out the pink carpet last night for dozens of young dancers from the Boston Ballet School arriving at a special screening so they could see their scenes in Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's movie "The Game Plan." The students worked with Johnson, Madison Pettis, who plays his daughter, "Without a Trace" star Roselyn Sanchez, and Anna Luntz, who was assistant choreographer on the movie and is a faculty member at the Boston Ballet School. The flick, shot in Boston last year, opens next week.

No matter how hard he tries, Michael Madsen knows he may never shake his image as a Hollywood heavy. "I say my [tough guy] acting days are over," Madsen told us the other night. "But then [Humphrey] Bogart made 30 pictures playing a [tough guy], and it wasn't until 'Maltese Falcon' that he was thought of as a leading man." Madsen, who'll always be Mr. Blonde to us, was in Boston this week to promote "Strength and Honour." In the movie directed by first-time Irish filmmaker Mark Mahon, Madsen plays an aging fighter and single father who breaks his dying wife's last wish by boxing again. "It's a movie about fighters, not fighting," said Madsen. "You know, I got over seeing myself on screen a long time ago, but watching this film really affects me." Before Wednesday's screening, the actor and wife De Anna Morgan stopped by 33 Restaurant. Asked whether she schlepps everywhere with her husband, Mrs. Blonde laughed. "We have six children," said Morgan, whose first husband was Stray Cat Brian Setzer. "And it's kind of nice to be a grown-up without them."

Kevin Bright traded his duties as executive producer of "Friends" to teach at his alma mater, Emerson College. Now he's added another title to his resume: documentarian. Bright's film "Who Ordered Tax" got its premiere last night at the Boston Film Festival. Bright made the 30-minute documentary about his father, Jackie Bright, who attempts to attend his grandson's wedding in New Jersey after he finds out he has bone cancer.

Musician and philanthropist Nassiri received the World Visionary Award from "New York City Serenade" star Freddie Prinze Jr. as part of the 23d Boston Film Festival. The presentation was made at the AMC Loews Boston Common theater where Nassiri's film "Love Sees No Color" made its premiere. The movie takes its title from a song the Iran-born former clothier wrote seven years ago. Its message? "It's one of understanding," Nassiri told us. "The music must be pure for the message to be healing."

Tony-winning Broadway actor Brian Stokes Mitchell and Grammy-winning clarinetist Richard Stoltzman tested out the acoustics in WGBH's new studios in Brighton last night. The two performed for a gala to mark the opening of the Guest Street building before guests were treated to a dinner prepared by Blue Ginger's Ming Tsai, known to the rest of the PBS-viewing world as "Simply Ming."

Names can be reached at names@globe.com or at 617-929-8253.