"I don't really know what I'm doing here," deadpanned Will Ferrell to a crowd of 200, Tuesday night at the Museum of Modern Art, "because I'm high on cold medicine." In fact, the comic was moderating MoMA's fourth annual A Work in Progress: An Evening With…, in this case, Marc Forster. Neither the former SNL funnyman nor the director, whose Oscar-approved films include Monster's Ball and Finding Neverland, was feeling well, hence the surplus of tea and cough drops at their on-stage table. "I have to apologize," Ferrell continued, "I happened to sneeze on the painting 'Starry, Starry Night'… about ten times."

Held at the newly opened Roy and Niuta Titus Theater, the two-hour long symposium featured clips and commentary from a few of Forster's devotees. Those waxing poetic about the Swiss-reared auteur included Megan Mullally, who looked sharp in a Chanel jacket and kept mentioning how she felt "superfluous" on the panel. Sean Combs confessed he wants more work: "Everybody thinks, with the whole P. Diddy thing, I don't really need a job, but I do," he joked.

On Wednesday, it was a Canadian not a comedian in the social spotlight. Bryan "Summer of '69" Adams celebrated his third volume of photos, American Women, with a cocktail party at the Madison Avenue Calvin Klein store (the book's 90 subjects, from the definitely American Sen. Hillary Clinton to the decidedly Danish beauty Helena Christensen, wore Calvin in their portraits). Greeting such guests as Marley Shelton, Lauren Bush, and Linda Evangelista, the man of the moment—who conveniently timed his May 17 book release with that of his new album, Room Service—admitted to "pinching himself every minute," because he has been shooting for only seven years. "I'm usually on the other side of the camera," he said. "But I prefer this one."

—Sarah Cristobal