Beauty and the poor quarterback

(SANG TAN/ASSOCIATED PRESS)

If Tom Brady isn't going Dutch when he dines with girlfriend Gisele Bundchen , he should be. Considering how much money the Brazilian supermodel is making, she certainly can afford to pay her own way. Bundchen is by far the world's richest model, according to Forbes.com , earning a whopping $33 million in just the past 12 months. Wealthy waifs Kate Moss and Heidi Klum finished a distant second and third. Even without Victoria's Secret, with whom she split in May, Bundchen has "more contracts than any other model on the planet," according to Forbes.com, including lucrative deals with the likes of Apple, Dolce & Gabbana, and Roberto Cavalli . By comparison, her boyfriend is wildly underpaid. The three-time Super Bowl champ earns a paltry $750,000 in base salary, but, with guaranteed bonus dough, will collect a check of more than $6 million from the Pats.

Proving to be the consummate newswoman to the end of her time at the WCVB-TV anchor desk, a stoic Natalie Jacobson helmed her final newscast solo last night. The news anchor announced last week that she was signing off after 35 years on Channel 5 and plans to launch a multimedia company geared toward baby boomers looking for their next endeavor after retirement. Others on the broadcast -- Dick Albert, Mike Lynch, and Mike Dowling -- made references to Nat's departure, but she delivered the day's news, saving her remarks to viewers and staff until the end. "My years here at WCVB have more than fulfilled my dreams of making a difference," she said. "Together we have lived through the events that defined us. . . .It's not easy to walk away from this. I'm ready for my next big thing. I thank you for sharing this moment with me."

Tufts University in Medford has matriculated some famous names in Hollywood including William Hurt, Hank Azaria of "The Simpsons" and Rainn Wilson of "The Office." A few more thespians and movers-and-shakers can be added to the list. Sendhil Ramamurthy, who plays dreamy genetics professor Mohinder Suresh on NBC's "Heroes," is a 1996 graduate. "Tufts, quite frankly, is why I started acting," Ramamurthy said the other night at a rooftop party at the Beverly Hilton to celebrate NBC's new and returning shows. A former competitive tennis player, the 33-year-old had no previous interest in acting and was pre-med at Tufts. "I had to have the arts credit to graduate, so I took 'Intro to Acting' because I thought it would be easy." ("Heroes" writer Joe Pokaski and newly installed NBC Entertainment co chair Ben Silverman are also Jumbos.) Ramamurthy couldn't reveal too much about the upcoming season of the show, but did hint that Dr. Suresh may not be the good guy we think he is.

Across the rooftop, Newton native B.J. Novak doled out hints about what's in store on the fourth season of "The Office." In last season finale's, Novak's character, Ryan, was promoted to a job at the corporate offices of Dunder-Mifflin. "It's one of the big new elements of next year that Ryan will be Michael's boss," said Novak, who is also a writer on the show. As fans know, office chatterbox Kelly, played by Cambridge native Mindy Kaling , was unceremoniously dumped by Ryan in the final scene. Kaling has vowed that Kelly will make life miserable for Ryan, and Novak jokes: "Mindy's a writer too, so we can battle it out."

Give the governor credit -- the guy knows a photo-op when he sees one. Deval Patrick plans to sign new legislation tomorrow intended to lure more movies to Massachusetts, and his peeps desperately want Denzel Washington there. Will he show up? Maybe. The Oscar winner arrived in town Monday and starts shooting "The Great Debaters" in the lobby of the Citi Wang Theatre tomorrow. But it's unclear whether Washington's schedule -- or the film's budget -- will allow this bit of political theater to take place. (Once the cameras start rolling, it can be costly to yell "cut!") Then again, Washington, who's directing and starring in "The Great Debaters," may feel an obligation to be there. After all, he's benefiting from the new law that gives moviemakers a financial incentive to shoot in the state.

Even before lawmakers sweetened the pot for movie producers, Massachusetts was getting mighty popular with Tinseltown types. Believe it or not, the Bay State ranks No. 2 on a list of the top 10 places to shoot in the United States, according to the new Production Guide magazine. (New Mexico ranks No. 1; Rhode Island is fourth.) That said, the town of Chatham might be happy if they never see another film crew. Local merchants have been carping for months that they were stiffed by the producers of "Chatham," an indie film shot on the Cape in April and starring Bruce Dern, Mariel Hemingway, and David Carradine. The Cape Cod Times yesterday quoted the director Dan Adams as saying he still owes local businesses up to $60,000, which he hopes to pay back soon. Said Sheila Macomber, whose refuse company rented filmmakers a construction dumpster: "If we knew it was going to be a charity, we might have rethought it."

For the first time since 1971, you'll be able to have a cold beer or enjoy a glass of wine while listening to Emmylou Harris or Branford Marsalis at both the Newport folk and the jazz festivals next month. The festivals ' founder and organizer -- George Wein and The Festival Network -- have gotten approvals to run the Open Air Cafe at the Dunkin' Donuts Folk Festival on Aug. 4-5, and the JVC Jazz Festival the following weekend. After a raucous jazz festival in 1971, the music event was banned by the city. In 1981 it returned to Newport sans alcohol. But there are still restrictions. We're told that they still won't allow any libations to be brought into Fort Adams State Park for the concerts and that all beverages must be consumed in the cafe tents.

"Goodfellas" guy Paul Sorvino was at Abe & Louie's in the Back Bay last night to talk about one of his passions -- food. The former "Law & Order" star was on hand to launch his new Paul Sorvino Foods, which will be sold to restaurants and at grocery stores.

Sarah Rodman and Johnny Diaz of the Globe Staff contributed. Names can be reached at names@globe.com or at 617-929-8253.