More "Gone Baby Gone"

Ben Affleck is obviously everywhere in this blog, but I figured anyone who reads this and is from the Boston area will appreciate this New York Times photo slide show on Ben Affleck and photos of places where he filmed Gone Baby Gone. Enjoy!

The Premiere of Gone Baby Gone

Last night the boys from across the river came back to their homestead for the Boston premiere of Gone Baby Gone.

Director Ben Affleck, brother and star, Casey Affleck and best bud, Matt Damon all attended the premiere held at the AMC on Boston Common last night.

According to the Inside Track in today's Boston Herald, the boys were worried that they would miss game 2 of the ALCS with their beloved Red Sox, who played the Cleveland Indians. (Unfortunately, they did not miss much since the great ole sox lost hardcore!)

Said Damon:

“This is the biggest night of Ben’s career but we have our priorities straight. We’ll be sneaking out back as soon as the film starts. Are you kidding, we’re watching the game live.”

This is a film I have talked about quite a bit through the evolution of my posts and for a good reason. The film is getting rave reviews around the world (standing ovation in France of all places!) and it seems as though it is only just the beginning of the Oscar praise that Boston has been getting and will seemingly continue to receive in the coming years.

Ben, who arrived with this starlet wife, Jennifer Garner said something very poignant in today's Boston Globe:

"This is the only premiere that makes me nervous," he said. "This has an
audience that'll know if it's real or false."

The Boston Herald gave the film an A- in its review today, saying that Gone Baby Gone, "set beside Mystic River, and The Departed, completes an unholy trinity of Boston-based crime dramas."

One aspect that I love about this movie is how Ben Affleck casted it. He used many locals in the film and sometimes all it took was to ask him politely. Affleck, who shot the entire film in Boston, would sometimes have to knock on door to get more people onto the streets for certain scenes in the film. In an article in yesterday's Boston Herald, he said:

"One of the advantages of being a known actor is that people weren’t outraged
when you bang on their door. A lot of times they shrug and go, ‘OK, let me get
my coat.’ That was spectacular because they looked perfect. No makeup on, come
right down the street and be in the movie. People would just walk right out of
their life and right into the movie. You couldn’t ask for anything better.”

Needless to say, I will be seeing this film as soon as possible. It opens nationwide on Friday.

I Smell Another Oscar for Ben Affleck...

Seriously, the trailer for Gone Baby Gone is so amazing! This film is definitely this year's The Departed and I predict another Oscar winning year for the city of Boston!

Ben Affleck's directorial debut, which filmed mainly in and around South Boston and Dorchester in the summer of 2006, is based on Dennis Lehane's book of the same name. Lehane is also famous for another Oscar winning title, Mystic River, which finally won Sean Penn (love him!) a Best Actor award in 2004.

Here is what IMDB has to say about the plot:

Dorchester, one of the toughest neighborhoods in all of Boston, is no place for the weak or innocent. Its a territory defined by hard heads and even harder luck, its streets littered with broken families, hearts, dreams. When one of its own, a 4-year-old girl, goes missing, private investigators Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro don't want the case. But after pleas from the child's aunt, they open an investigation that will ultimately risk everything -- their relationship, their sanity, and even their lives -- to find a little girl-lost.

Sounds pretty intense if you ask me! According to the Boston Globe's Name column yesterday, Gone Baby Gone will be screened next week by SAGIndie as part of its AFI Directors Series Screenings in Los Angeles. The series, "showcases movies that reflect diversity in casting and "the demographic realities of American society."

Ben Affleck's debut has also been lauded around the world. The film debuted at the Deauville American Film Festival in France back on September 5th and received a standing ovation!

And little Affleck, Casey has seriously got it going on. The guy stars in his big brother's hit new film, while also starring opposite Brad Pitt in his new The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. Casey plays Ford, which should be another break out role for him.


Hmm...he just might be my new favorite Affleck.

Beantown is the Next Hollywood

Just as I predicted, so did the Improper Bostonian in their latest issue: Boston IS the next big Hollywood stopover for the film industry.

In the Improper Speaking column, the twice monthly magazine talks about the three movies currently being filmed in our lovely city. Apparently the new found love for Beantown in Hollywood is due to the success of The Departed and Mayor Menino's great tax breaks, making the city a lot more attractive to potential filmmakers and hotshot producers.

Bachelor No. 2 location manager Greg Chiodo sees more projects on the horizon, adding "people are definitely testing the water and taking advantage of the [tax] program." Which means that in addition to these films--plus Ben Affleck's Gone Baby Gone, the Rock's The Game Plan and Kevin Spacey's 21--you could be seeing a whole lot more of the Bean on the silver screen.

Hopefully we are both right, then maybe I can finally get my wish granted and be an extra in a movie!

First post, first celeb sighting

Boston has never been the city of celebrities or any of those other Hollywood beacons of light that are only seen in Los Angeles and New York. Sure, we have our fair share of stars that grew up here (i.e. Damon, Affleck and Wahlberg) or went to college here and are now starring in some crappy television show on Fox, but other than that, Boston is more known for its clam chowder, baked beans and Sam Adams than it is known for its movie legends.

Usually when a big budget movie is filmed in Boston, it is because there is some sort of Massachusetts or Boston element surrounding it, like in The Departed or Good Will Hunting. The story lines in those films make it imperative that the movie be shot in and around Boston.

However, things have changed lately. There are currently three Hollywood movies being filmed here! And all of them could be filmed in other locations, but Boston is apparently the new choice city. We've got an array of celebs walking down Comm Ave and Newbury street everyday it seems! The other day when I walked out of the T to go into work, they were filming at the Old South Church on Boylston street. I had been reading about "Bachelor No. 2" for a while. The movie stars Kate Hudson, Dane Cook (from Arlington, Mass!) and Jason Biggs. Biggs plays a jilted ex lover of Hudson, who then hires Cook to swoon Hudson then dump her so she'll go back to him. Hmmm...this sounds just like all of those other Kate Hudson movies I've seen before. Nonetheless, I was very giddy when I got a glimpse of her filming a wedding scene with two men dressed in tuxedos. She looked absolutely gorgeous in a red bridesmaid dress and also a lot skinnier than she normally looks, but doesn't the camera always add ten pounds?

I will be very excited to see what kind of press this movie will receive when it finally hits theaters and how well it does at the box office. As for the other movies filming in town right now, we have "Pink Panther Deux" with Steve Martin. According to the Boston Herald, they are using the Boston Public Library to film specific indoor scenes, since the movie takes place in Paris. "The Women" is also being filmed sporadically around town. This film stars Annette Benning, Meg Ryan, Eva Mendes and Debra Messing.

This blog will mainly provide information and my take on new movies, old movies and independent movies alike. I will always try to relate it to Boston in one way or another. I'll reference a lot of my favorite Boston newspapers and magazines and hopefully have some more celebrity sightings a long the way. Hopefully Boston as a filming location isn't a new trend that will disappear as quickly as the Ugg boot and mini skirt look, but will stay around like a classy pearl necklace and black cocktail dress.