George Clooney is going to put his money where his mouth is.

On Friday night’s telethon, sources tell me that the star of “Up in the Air” and “The Fantastic Mr. Fox” is planning to open the show by donating $1 million of his own money to Haiti relief.

This is in addition to, and separate from, the $1 million donation his group Not On Our Watch made last week.

Clooney’s rep didn’t return calls, but I’m told the plan is solid. A friend tells me that the actor is doing i to inspire others into action.

And who knows what will happen because of this? Clooney’s Hollywood pals like Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio will be taking calls from donors during the two hour telethon. They may also decide to step up and make big donations. Pitt has already made a large donation with Angelina Jolie to Doctors without Borders.

Other stars who’ve made big donations to Haiti Relief in the last week include Sandra Bullock, who put in $1 million herself, and Madonna, with $250,000. John Travolta offered a plane of supplies and Scientology ministers.

EXCLUSIVE: This column has learned that Quincy Jones and Lionel Richie are planning a massive 25th anniversary re-recording of “We Are the World.”

The timing couldn’t be better, sadly enough.

The duo is summoning lots and lots of talent from Grammy weekend to stay an extra night — Monday Feb. 1 — and come to the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles. There, they will celebrate a quarter century since Ken Kragen, Richie and Michael Jackson organized the original “We Are the World” with Quincy.

This time the artists invited include Usher, Natalie Cole, and John Legend. But you can bet that more names will be added shortly and that all the Grammy nominees and participants will be asked to come as well. Grammy producer Ken Ehrlich will produce the event, which will then be turned into a video and single just like it was in 1985. Don’t be surprised if Wyclef Jean joins in, along with Sting, Fergie, Alicia Keys, Justin Timberlake and other distinctive voices.

Read the rest of this entry »

Wyclef Jean — who  has worked tirelessly for the Haitian people — posted this on his website Tuesday. I thought I’d bring it over here to get more exposure:

“Haiti today faced a natural disaster of unprecedented proportion, an earthquake unlike anything the country has ever experienced.

The magnitude 7.0 earthquake — and several very strong aftershocks — struck only 10 miles from Port-au-Prince.

I cannot stress enough what a human disaster this is, and idle hands will only make this tragedy worse. The over 2 million people in Port-au-Prince tonight face catastrophe alone. We must act now.

President Obama has already said that the U.S. stands ‘ready to assist’ the Haitian people. The U.S. Military is the only group trained and prepared to offer that assistance immediately. They must do so as soon as possible. The international community must also rise to the occasion and help the Haitian people in every way possible.”

Many people have already reached out to see what they can do right now. We are asking those interested to please do one of two things: Either you can use your cell phone to text “Yele” to 501501, which will automatically donate $5 to the Yele Haiti Earthquake Fund (it will be charged to your cell phone bill), or you can visit Yele.org and click on DONATE.