http://chud.com/nextraimages/paulruddpremiere.jpgWhat’s this? A Paul Rudd/Jason Segel vehicle not produced by Judd Apatow? Is that even possible?

Just as Seth Rogen can leave the fold to co-star in a Kevin Smith movie, Rudd and Segel are evidently free to work with other people sans fear of punitive spanking from The Apatow. Actually, Rudd already does plenty of freelance acting with those yuksters from The State, while Segel has a very popular sitcom about meeting mothers or somethin’; in other words, they kinda have their own careers outside of the forty-three movies Apatow produces every year. Interesting.

And they’ll appear together in I Love You, Man for John Hamburg (director of three Undeclared episodes!). Hamburg also wrote the screenplay, which concerns a groom-to-be’s fervent search for a best man. Variety doesn’t specify who will be playing whom, but I do believe it is incumbent on Hamburg to cast Leslie Mann as the bride. Or would that be excessive?

I Love You, Man is set up at Dreamworks, and will be produced by Hamburg and Donald De Line. Ivan Reitman, Tom Pollock, Bill Johnson and Jeff Clifford will exec produce. Principal photography is scheduled to begin in March. Oh, and Segel hasn’t officially committed yet, but Rudd’s involvement has to be a clincher.