The trades reported this morning that Will Ferrell and his writer-director pal Adam McKay have signed a two-year, first-look deal with Paramount's specialty division, Paramount Vantage. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the deal will be focused on low-budget films ($10-20 million), not for Ferrell to star in, but to enable the pair to "grow a brand via their newly formed Gary Sanchez Prods." Vantage president John Lesher, feeling that Vantage is leaning too high-brow (they're making both No Country for Old Men and Paul Thomas Anderson's oil epic, There Will be Blood), was eager to add some projects that would broaden the division's base, both in terms of genre and target audience. Lesher, however, is not slumming: He feels McKay's and Ferrell's contributions will be "sophisticated and fresh material," just like the rest of the Vantage slate.

I gotta say that I'm not going to instantly call BS on Lesher's ravings here, though that's my normal inclination with studio spin. I mean, sure, Anchorman is full of stupid humor. But it's also way weirder and smarter than most mainstream comedy -- it could have been a lucky accident, I guess, but at least until Talladega Nights comes out, we can remain hopeful about the quality of the films that will come out of this deal.

The stars in Hollywood aren't the only ones who get face-lifts. Paramount Classics is having so much work done, you probably won't recognize it after today. The art-house division of Paramount Pictures, founded by the studio in 1998 to compete in the booming indie-film market, had a big shake-up last fall that resulted in different leadership. Now John Lesher, the company's new president, is announcing his decision to break up the division and rename it Paramount Vantage. The old label is not going away completely, though. Paramount Classics will exist within Paramount Vantage mostly for the acquisition and distribution of foreign films and documentaries. The new company will be handling the rest of the art-house category including low-budget comedies and horror films. Its first release will be Babel, which is premiering at Cannes this month and comes out in theaters this October.

As much as the changes sound confusing and unnecessary, Lesher's plans are pretty smart. The name Paramount Classics -- it always seemed to imply its films are old -- was a bad idea on the part of Paramount, which built the division from scratch while most studios were buying existing indie-film distributors. Also, as a major player in the art-house market, the company has never seen the level of success that its competitors have, and starting fresh with a new name could distance Paramount Vantage from its weak past. Already on deck for distribution are new films from Noah Baumbach, the Coen brothers, Paul Thomas Anderson and the directorial debut of Mike White.