According to a source within Senator John McCain’s camp, McCain’s Nov. 1 appearance on “Saturday Night Live” was something he’d been hoping to do for a long time.

“He’s always been up for going on ‘SNL,’” said the source. “He’d been wanting to do it for a while, it’s just tough with the scheduling.”

Unlike Gov. Sarah Palin’s “SNL” appearance , McCain was very involved in the night’s sketches.

“He’s funny, a lot of people don’t realize that," the source said. “And he was totally up for anything. He can take a joke — actually the only jokes that can bother him sometimes are jokes about Sarah. He really defends her.”

That could, in part, explain what some described as “frosty” chemistry between Tina Fey and McCain.

“It seemed a little awkward,” said one person who saw McCain and Fey rehearse just before the live dress rehearsal, “but he really was up for anything, being as involved as the show wanted him to be. Everyone got along great.”

Latest on Guy-Madonna battle

It looks like fans — at least the crazed ones — are siding with Madonna over Guy Ritchie as their divorce battle heats up.

Ritchie called security on the set of his new movie “Sherlock Holmes” when a Madonna fan reportedly threatened to stab him to death. According to Britain’s Sunday Mirror a 16-year-old boy burst onto the set shouting, “I’m Madonna’s biggest fan! I’m gonna kill Guy!”

The latest news from this side of the pond comes from the New York Post, which reported that Madonna and Yankee slugger Alex Rodriguez whisked themselves away via separate helicopters to Jerry Seinfeld’s home in the Hamptons Oct. 21.

According to a source who spoke to the Post, the two spent four hours at the Seinfeld abode before heading back via the same helicopters that took them there. Reps for Madonna and A-Rod had no comment.

Could Obama beat out Colbert for an Emmy?

Stephen Colbert joked during his Oct. 30 show that Barack Obama’s infomercial, which was watched by more than 33 million viewers, could rob him of an Emmy win (Colbert has been nominated, and lost, three years running).

The joke was made in good fun, but it got some industry types wondering: could the slick, paid-for spot earn the senator a statue? The Hollywood reporter looked into it and according to a Television Academy spokesman, Colbert is safe.

"I don't have a specific reference in the rules that would make it ineligible," says John Leverence, senior vice-president of awards for the Academy. "But telethons are eligible only if they are not political. Though the ad was not specifically for raising money, it would be close enough to the spirit of that rule to be ineligible."

In the past, Colbert has lost to Barry Manilow (2006), Tony Bennett (2007), and Don Rickles (2008) in the individual performance in variety or music program category. Good luck in ’09, Mr. Colbert.

Weekend box office

Not much of a shocker here. “High School Musical 3” took over the number-one spot at the box office for the second week in a row.

While ticket sales were down 55% over last weekend, the film still earned $19 million, bringing its the two-week total to $65 million. Not far behind was “Zack and Miri Make a Porno.” Early estimates put the film at $16 million, but even the flick’s own studio Miramax think that estimate is overblown. As for the rest: “Saw V” came in third, and “Changeling,” which had a wider release last weekend, came in fourth with an $11 million take.

Courtney Hazlett delivers the Scoop Monday through Friday on msnbc.com.