Score free tickets to 'Shutter Island' film premiere

Want to be the first kid on the block to see Martin Scorsese's made-in-Massachusetts flick "Shutter Island" on Tuesday, Feb. 16 in Boston?

You're in luck.

Here's the quiz: Can you name the fictional dead-end bar location from "Mystic River," an Oscar-winning movie that was shot in Boston and inspired by Dennis Lehane's epic novel?

One of film's more iconic locations featured in the climax of "Mystic River" was built from scratch by set designer Henry Bumstead on an empty industrial lot on Border Street in East Boston. The fictional pub was torn down after filming.

Can you name this mystery location? Simply respond to this blog post with your name and e-mail address (your contact info will not be posted) along with the correct name of the "Mystic River" watering hole. Or, send a direct message via Twitter here. Some readers are also e-mailing me directly at sjbaltrusis [at] yahoo.com.

From those who correctly identify the Lehane-inspired location, Loaded Gun Boston will send e-mails to 50 randomly selected readers by Thursday, Feb. 11.

Want a clue? Click here for a previous post from Loaded Gun Boston called "Local dive bars featured in made-in-Boston movies."

From Oscar®-winning director Martin Scorsese, "Shutter Island" is the story of two U.S. marshals, Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo), who are summoned to a remote and barren island off the coast of Massachusetts to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a murderess from the island’s fortress-like hospital for the criminally insane.

Based on the epic novel "Shutter Island" by Lehane, the Massachusetts-shot flick features DiCaprio, Ruffalo and Ben Kingsley and was shot in Taunton's Whittenton Mills Complex (recrafted as the horrific Nazi concentration camp Dachau) as well as the Medfield State Hospital and Peddocks Island. Other locales include Borderland State Park, Hyde Park and Wilson Mountain Reservation in Dedham.

"Shutter Island" hits theaters on Friday, Feb. 19.

Click here for the latest on "Shutter Island." Also, click here for the giveaway rules and disclaimer.

Justin Timberlake brings sexy back to Harvard

Justin Timberlake, who co-stars in the upcoming partially made-in-Boston flick based on local author Ben Mezrich's tell-all book about the founding of Facebook, picked up his Man of the Year pudding pot on Friday, Feb. 5 during a roast at the New College Theatre orchestrated by Harvard's Hasty Pudding Theatricals.

But, JT did manage to get in a jab regarding the locally shot film "The Social Network" during the press conference.

"I just wanted to say that Harvard wouldn't allow us to film here," he jokes, alluding to the fact that crews with "The Social Network" had to shoot the script's Harvard scenes at Wheelock College and Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, Maryland. "My manager dared me to say that. Ha ha ... just kidding."

During the roast, "The Social Network" star was courted by a Harvard drama queen dolled up as Britney Spears and sported a bra made out of boxes in an obvious homage to his "Dick in a Box" skit from Saturday Night Live.

"Ive never felt more like a man than I do right now," the former *NSYNC performer muses. His girlfriend and actress, Jessica Biel, laughed in the audience.

In the locally shot movie "The Social Network," Timberlake plays Sean Parker, the Napster co-founder who became the founding president of Facebook.

"The Social Network" follows founder Mark Zuckerberg, played by Jesse Eisenberg, getting dumped at a Boston-area bar (shot at the Thirsty Scholar Pub in Somerville) and ends with him adding his former girlfriend to his friend list on his multibillion-dollar social networking site. The story is based on Mezrich's latest book, "The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook. A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal."

Timberlake, who joins "Bride Wars" actress Anne Hathaway as the 2010 roastee, says he was honored to snag the prestigious Hasty Pudding award. "This is cooler than any Grammy or Emmy that I've ever won," he adds.

Renee Zellweger and James Franco were honored last year. Christopher Walken and Charlize Theron were tapped as the Hasty Pudding Theatricals’ Man and Woman of the Year in 2008.

Click here for photos from Anne Hathaway's Harvard visit on Thursday, Jan. 28.--Copyrighted hotos for Loaded Gun Boston by Ryan Miner, Beantown Photo

'Survivor' beauty hosts TV viewing party in Saugus

Danielle DiLorenzo, a Lynnfield native who schemed her way to the finale of "Survivor: Exile Island" in Panama to lose in a 5-2 vote to Aras Baskauskas for the $1 million prize, is slotted to host a viewing party starting at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 11 at Za Za Restaurant & Nitery, located at 114 Broadway Street in Saugus.

DiLorenzo, who attended Northeastern University and earned a degree in business with a concentration in both finance and marketing and a minor in theater, returns to the CBS competition reality show "Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains" where she competed on the South Pacific island of Samoa.

Don't remember her? You're not alone. The "Survivor" runner-up flew under the radar and spent many days as an outcast with her personality and game play fueling her tribe to banish her to the game's first Exile Island.

She joins Rob Mariano, also known as Boston Rob, in the 20th season of the Emmy-award winning TV show. No surprise here, but DiLorenzo and Mariano are on the "villains" team.

After leaving Boston, DiLorenzo moved to Florida to work as a medical sales representative where she made the cast of the popular CBS show. Following her first-time stint on "Survivor," DiLorenzo returned to the states and continued her acting in Los Angeles.

At the viewing bash on Thursday, Feb. 11, Za Za will serve up complimentary hors d'oeuvres and cocktail specials. The hot spot will air the "Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains" episode beginning at 8 p.m. on eight of their flat screen, high-def TVs.

Click here for details.

Holliston native Adam Green directs 'Frozen' flick

Adam Green, a Holliston native and director of the thriller "Frozen" hitting Boston-area theaters on Friday, Feb. 5, says his indie flick following three snowboarders stranded on a chairlift and forced to make life-and-death decisions was inspired by childhood treks to local ski slopes.

"Growing up in the greater Boston area, I couldn’t afford to ski at the nicer resorts like Stowe or Okemo in Vermont. Instead, I often found myself slumming at the ski mountains in Massachusetts that were so small that they only stayed open on the weekends and consisted of three rickety lifts that offered to take you to an easy, medium or expert hill," he recalls.

"For the skier on a budget there was none of the glamour and awe that a 'real' East or west coast mountain resort has to offer, but it was the best we could get and so that’s what we did. Those experiences are where this film was born," the director continues.

Green, who penned the script to the movie while producing Cambridge homeboy Paul Solet's horror flick "Grace," says the premise behind "Frozen," starring Kevin Zegers from "Transamerica," Shawn Ashmore from "X-Men" and newcomer Emma Bell, tapped into real fears from skiing in New England.

"They were low-rent mountains with merely a few operational chairs that were often only operational on the weekends due to lack of business during the weekdays. I started thinking about how shady some of those lifts seemed back then and how terrified everyone on the lift would get when it would inevitably stop for a few moments," Green recalls.

The Los Angeles-based director, who shot the New England-set flick in Utah, says the concept seemed simple and straightforward ... until he began filming.

"It’s just three people in a chair. How hard could it be? Man, were we wrong," he muses. "And boy, were we in for it."

Click here for the Loaded Gun Boston interview with Cambridge native Paul Solet on his Green-produced horror flick "Grace."

Made-in-Massachusetts movie action in 2010?

With Gov. Deval Patrick's latest budget proposal slotted to restrict tax credits for the film industry--slashed to $50 million a year for 2010 and 2011--expect a meaner and leaner film-production season in 2010.

Yep, say "bye-bye" to big-budget flicks with talent like Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz who filmed "Knight & Day" in Boston in 2009.

The good news is that the state's 25 percent incentive will subsidize $200 million worth of production and there are a handful of possible film projects that are in the works.

Here's a list of potential made-in-Massachusetts films for 2010:

Missing Links
Steve Carell from "The Office" is tee-ing up to produce the set-in-Boston comedy "Missing Links" following a crew of golfing buddies. According to the trade pubs, Jay Lavender ("The Break-Up") is attached to adapt Rick Reilly's tale of a group of golfing pals at a run-down Boston course. The group discovers they've been playing next to an elite club and holds a competition over who will be first to play a round.

The Other Side
Lindsay Lohan is still greenlit to star in "The Other Side," a flick following a graduate student sent to spend the summer working at a scientific institute at an island off the coast of Massachusetts. Lohan, raising eyebrows with her new flick "Machete" after reportedly going topless, is set to act alongside Woody Harrelson, Giovanni Ribisi, Dave Matthews and Alanis Morisette.

Hamlet
Original "Twilight" director Catherine Hardwicke teams up with actor Emile Hirsch in this modern retelling of the Shakespeare classic "Hamlet." The story takes place at a small New England liberal arts college where Hamlet’s father is the president. The story will begin with Hamlet (Hirsch) returning home for his father’s funeral, only to learn that his uncle, who has taken over his father’s post, is responsible for his father’s murder.

The Fallen
Word is that the on-and-off film following a Boston firefighter based on Emilio Mauro and Mike Yebba's screenplay is greenlit for 2010. According to a new site called Beantown.Name, actor Paul Walker has signed on as the film's lead. James Mottern is directing. The film follows a clean-cut Southie firefighter who turns to Oxycontin after being injured in the line of duty. The drug threatens his health career and relationships.

Other contenders:
The buzz is that Steve Carell may do a Kevin James and film two flicks in the Hub this year. Carell, an Acton native who spends his summer in Marshfield, may reprise his role as Maxwell Smart in a sequel to the "Get Smart" remake with Hasty Pudding diva Anne Hathaway as Agent 99.

Also, since Loaded Gun Boston last checked, the on-and-off again indie flick from "Townies" writer/director Mike O'Dea is scheduled to begin filming on March 17, 2010 or St. Patrick's Day. "Code of Silence" follows boxer Mickey Callaghan with an extraordinary family legacy ... his father John Callaghan is a feared and ruthless Winter Hill crime boss.

The week in quotes from Hollywood in the Hub

"There were some hardcore fans who said that he's a gift from God and one fan even said that she 'rides the crazy train everyday.' Some fans were in tears or shaking from excitement."

--Loaded Gun Boston photographer Ryan Miner says Ozzy Osbourne, signing his book "I Am Ozzy" at the Barnes & Noble in Kenmore Square on Thursday, Jan. 28, still has bite among his legions of diehard, Boston-area fans.

"Ah, yes. I should have had a scene there shouldn’t I? Dunkin’ Donuts. Well of course they were invented in Boston. Absolutely in fact, you can’t go into any street in Boston with finding Dunkin’ Donuts. No, it’s a very good point. Well, I just slipped up. I fucked up."

--Martin Campbell, director of the made-in-Boston flick "Edge of Darkness" with Mel Gibson, jokes about his lack of a Dunkin' Donuts product placement in the locally shot film.

"His writings have changed the consciousness of a generation, and helped open new paths to understanding and its crucial meaning for our lives."

--Noam Chomsky, a left-wing activist and MIT professor, eulogizes BU professor Howard Zinn whose "People's History of the United States" was inspiration for a memorable scene in the Matt Damon and Ben Affleck flick "Good Will Hunting."

"It sounds really cliche, but I worked with the most wonderful crew out here. A lot of Bostonians took really great care of us. I also lived right by Boston Common, so I really enjoyed taking my dog there. I especially loved that I never got a ticket for letting my dog run off the leash.”

--Anne Hathaway, snagging the Hasty Pudding Theatricals' 2010 Woman of the Year award on Thursday, Jan. 28 in Harvard Square, says she had a blast filming "Bride Wars" in Boston.

--Ozzy Osbourne photos by Ryan Miner, Beantown Photo

Anne Hathaway snags Harvard Hasty Pudding pot

Actress Anne Hathaway, known for her work in movies ranging from the made-in-Boston film "Bride Wars" to "Rachel Getting Married," today made the trek down a snowy Mass. Ave. to the university's renovated New College Theatre to accept the Hasty Pudding Theatricals' 2010 Woman of the Year award.

Tucked between two Harvard men (Hasty prez Clifford Murray and VP Derek Mueller) dressed in drag, Hathaway donned a bright red jacket and waved to the crew of onlookers gathered to catch a glimpse of the Oscar-nominated beauty as she was escorted through Harvard Square.

During the roast, Hathaway said she loved filming "Bride Wars" in Boston adding that she was able to walk her dog in the Common without getting a ticket. The actress also joked that she will use her Pudding Pot for some after-roast cocktails.

Justin Timberlake, who co-stars in the upcoming partially made-in-Boston flick based on local author Ben Mezrich's tell-all book about the founding of Facebook, has been tapped to receive the "Man of the Year" award on Friday, Feb. 5.

Both Timberlake and Hathaway have ties to all of the locally shot film action. In the upcoming movie "The Social Network," Timberlake plays Sean Parker, the Napster co-founder who became the founding president of Facebook.

Unlike Hathaway who shot a majority of her locally-shot flick "Bride Wars" in town, Timberlake filmed his scenes in California and never made the trek to Boston when director David Fincher shot scenes here in October.

Renee Zellweger and James Franco were honored last year. Christopher Walken and Charlize Theron were tapped as the Hasty Pudding Theatricals’ Man and Woman of the Year in 2008.

Hathaway's stint after Harvard? She's been tapped to unveil the 82nd Academy Awards® nominees on Tuesday, Feb. 2.

Click here for the lowdown.

--Photos for Loaded Gun Boston by Ryan Miner, Beantown Photo

Life's a drag for Boston-based comic Jim Lauletta

Boston-based comedian Jim Lauletta, armed with national TV credits including stints on Comedy Central, NBC and HBO, gave new meaning to "a call to arms" during a performance at a drag cabaret show Monday, Jan. 25 at Jacque's Cabaret in Boston's Bay Village.

The 42-year-old comic ripped the tendons in his bicep muscles during a choreographed routine with performance artist and show headliner Eileen Dover.

Yep, Lauletta was seriously hurt on stage trying to hold up a drag queen while she performed Pink's "Sober." No joke.

"Honestly, it was a choreographic error on stage that was planned but went wrong and unfortunately poor Jim was hurt when I landed in his arms," recounts Dover via Facebook.

Dover continues, "The fall was planned and rehearsed but didn't come off right and Jim was injured. As you can imagine, I feel awful."

Lauletta, who was slotted to emcee Dick's Beantown Comedy Vault at Remington's on Tuesday, Jan. 26, spent the entire evening in the emergency room recovering from the drag debacle.

Illusionist Ashley Michelle, who shared the stage with Lauletta, tells Loaded Gun Boston that Dover and crew are organizing a benefit on Tuesday, Feb. 16 to help raise money to help pay for hospital bills including surgery and to cover expenses while he's out of work.

"Jim's an absolute angel," Michelle says. "We're coming together as a community to help him out."

Justin Timberlake heads to Harvard on Feb. 5

Justin Timberlake, who co-stars in the upcoming partially made-in-Boston flick based on local author Ben Mezrich's tell-all book about the founding of Facebook in a Harvard dorm, has been tapped as the 2010 Man of the Year by Harvard's Hasty Pudding Theatricals.

Slotted to receive the award on Friday, Feb. 5, the former *NSYNC performer joins actress Anne Hathaway as this year's Harvard honoree. Both Timberlake and Hathaway have ties to all of the made-in-Boston film action. In the upcoming movie "The Social Network," Timberlake plays Sean Parker, the Napster co-founder who became the founding president of Facebook.

Unlike Hathaway who shot a majority of her locally-shot flick "Bride Wars" in Boston, Timberlake filmed his scenes in California and never made the trek to Boston when director David Fincher filmed scenes here in October.

"The Social Network" follows founder Mark Zuckerberg, played by Jesse Eisenberg, getting dumped at a Boston-area bar (shot at the Thirsty Scholar Pub in Somerville) and ends with him adding his former girlfriend to his friend list on his multibillion-dollar social networking site. The story is based on Mezrich's latest book, "The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook. A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal."

The flick shot in Boston beginning Monday, Oct. 19 and moved in November to Los Angeles, where it's scheduled to wrap in February.

While in Boston, crews transformed the upscale South End gift shop Posh, located 557 Tremont Street, into a Harvard-esque bookstore called the "Crimson Emporium." The storefront boasts "clothing & collectibles."

They also set up shop at Wheelock College, located at 200 Riverway, as a stand-in for a certain Ivy League hot spot in Cambridge. Crews spent the afternoon of Monday, Oct. 19 covering the college stand-in with fake snow.

Hathaway will receive her Pudding Pot on Thursday, Jan. 28--an honor given by Harvard's undergraduate drama troupe--preceded by a parade kicking off at 2:30 p.m. in Cambridge's Harvard Square where the star will be escorted in a convertible followed by several Harvard men dressed in drag. The Hasty Pudding ceremony will take place at the university's renovated New College Theatre, 10-12 Holyoke St.

Renee Zellweger and James Franco were honored last year. Christopher Walken and Charlize Theron were tapped as the Hasty Pudding Theatricals’ Man and Woman of the Year in 2008.

Click here for photos of Timberlake snagging his pudding pot.

The week in quotes from Hollywood in the Hub

“I need to look successful. I can’t just look like another a–hole with a résumé.”

--Ben Affleck, starring as Bobby Walker in the made-in-Boston downsizing drama "The Company Men," muses to his on-screen wife played by Rosemarie DeWitt after getting the ax from his high-paying job. The flick, slotted to premiere in Boston at the Coolidge Corner Theatre on Thursday, Jan. 28, is already earning rave reviews at Sundance.

"You steal the time. You steal a date, you steal a kiss, you steal a whisper. You sit next to each other on the couch with computers on your laps. After the kids are asleep you . . . well, you know. Whatever it is."

--Jennifer Garner, star of several made-in-Boston flicks including "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" and "The Invention of Lying," gives Parade magazine the lowdown on how she keeps the romance alive with Cambridge homeboy Ben Affleck.

"Putting 20 years of work into 90 minutes is a hard task that can never be put on screen."

--Lori Gorski, spokesperson for the Cambridge-based Genzyme, says the real behind-the-scenes story of trying to find a cure for Pompe disease which served as inspiration for the flick "Extraordinary Measures" starring Brendan Fraser and Harrison Ford was more dramatic than any "based on a true story" movie.

“You better give me a part in your [expletive] movie."

--Erica McDermott, a 36-year-old actress and mom based in Scituate, impressed casting scouts and earned a role in the Mark Wahlberg flick "The Fighter" after spewing a few well-chosen words.

MTV's 'Jersey Shore' is heading to Boston area

Time to whip out the fake tan and hair gel. Two castmates from MTV's oh-so-popular reality TV show "Jersey Shore" are fist pumping their way to the Boston area.

On Friday, Jan. 22 at 10 p.m., the guilty pleasure's self-proclaimed "guidette" Snooki, also known as Nicole Polizzi, is slotted to hit the Foxwood's super-swank club Shrine at MGM Grand in Mashantucket, CT.

Admission is $10 and ladies get in free before 10 p.m. Click here for the details.

On Thursday, Jan. 28 from 7-9 p.m., the folks over at McFadden's Boston, located 148 State Street in the Financial District, will roll out the red carpet for Pauly "Pauly D" Delvecchio.

Admission is $20 and includes a complimentary Italian buffet, guaranteed entrance before 8 p.m. and a chance to win the McFadden's Wave Runner which will be given out by Pauly D. Click here for tickets.

In other "Jersey Shore" news, a writer over at Slate echoes ESPN's Bill Simmons suggestion to orchestrate a spin-off of the MTV show set on the North Shore of Boston.

Yep, instead of Italian-American "guidos" and "guidettes," the hypothetical "North Shore" house would sport a crew of "massholes" who "possesses a nearly carnal love for the Red Sox, Patriots, Celtics, and Bruins; operates motor vehicles in an aggressive fashion; drinks Sam Adams; and overuses the adjective 'wicked.'"

Can't get enough of the MTV show? Click here for the wicked hilarious "Jersey Shore" nickname generator. For the record, our Jersey-inspired moniker is "Danny Tan-ner." Can I have a fist pump, please?

Robert Altman celebration hits Brattle Theatre

A handful of director Robert Altman regulars including Elliot Gould, Sally Kellerman and Michael Murphy are slotted to celebrate the late filmmaker's work this weekend with the first event hitting Boston University's Tsai Performance Center at 5:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 22.

Sponsored by BU's College of Communications, the bash includes a screening of the Altman classic "M*A*S*H" coupled with a panel discussion with Gould, Kellerman, Murphy and a crew of experts including Altman's wife Kathryn, film critic Ty Burr, professor Paul Schneider and Altman biographer Mitchell Zuckoff.

Admission to the event listed here is $10 and free for students.

On Saturday, Jan. 23, the Altman pack heads to the Brattle Theatre located at 40 Brattle Street in Cambridge's Harvard Square.

Kellerman and Murphy will appear at the 4 p.m. screening of "Brewster McCloud" followed by a Q&A with Gould at "The Long Goodbye" event at 7 p.m.

The Brattle also plans to screen the hard-to-find flick "Come Back To The Five & Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean" starring Cher and Altman regular Karen Black at 1:30 p.m.

An all-day pass to "Celebrating Robert Altman" is $30 to the general public and $25 for Brattle members.

Click here for the lowdown.

'The Company Men' movie trailer showcases Boston

The official trailer for the made-in-Boston downsizing drama "The Company Men," starring Ben Affleck, Kevin Costner, Maria Bello, Tommy Lee Jones, Chris Cooper and Rosemarie DeWitt, yesterday surfaced online.

The clip, a montage of footage showcasing various Boston locales, is a nicely shot sneak peek of what moviegoers will see when the film premieres at Boston's Sundance Film Festival screening slotted for Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brookline on Thursday, Jan. 28, 2010.

There's no dialogue. So, it's hard to tell if the indie flick has punch. But, the cast alone is enough to generate some pre-Sundance buzz.

In the film, Affleck plays a corporate bigwig whose six-figure salary is suddenly cut after he gets a pink slip. The trailer begins and ends with the Cambridge homeboy standing in front of the he Fiduciary Trust Building located at 175 Federal St. near High Street in the Financial District.

Other locations showcased in the clip include the Hodgdon House located at 174 Highland Street in the Fort Hill section of Roxbury, Gannon Municipal Golf Course in Lynn, interior shots at a three-story brownstone located at 5 Union Park and one at 78 Waltham St. as well as Fish and Richardson in South Boston, a private residence in Wellesley and an impromptu football scene with Affleck in the Boston Common.

At the Sundance screening on Thursday, Jan. 28, Wells will unveil the made-in-Boston drama about three company men attempting to survive a round of corporate downsizing while trying to fend off its effects on their families and their identities.

Click here for the latest on "The Company Men." Also, click here for photos from the Hodgdon House set in Roxbury.

'Bride Wars' star Anne Hathaway heads to Harvard

Here comes the bride?

Anne Hathaway, known for her work in movies ranging from "The Devil Wears Prada" to "Rachel Getting Married," has been tapped as the Hasty Pudding Theatricals' 2010 Woman of the Year.

Nope, her stint in the less-than-stellar, made-in-Boston flick "Bride Wars" didn't dissuade Pudding officials from honoring the Oscar-nominated beauty.

"What impressed us the most has definitely been her range and the ability with which she can play such diverse characters," press manager David J. Smolinsky tells the Harvard Crimson.

Hathaway will receive her Pudding Pot on Thursday, Jan. 28--an honor given by Harvard's undergraduate drama troupe--preceded by a parade kicking off at 2:30 p.m. in Cambridge's Harvard Square where the star will be escorted in a convertible followed by several Harvard men dressed in drag. The Hasty Pudding ceremony will take place at the university's renovated New College Theatre, 10-12 Holyoke St.

Harvard's Man of the Year award will be announced in the coming weeks, with a celebration slotted for early February.

Renee Zellweger and James Franco were honored last year. Christopher Walken and Charlize Theron were tapped as the Hasty Pudding Theatricals’ Man and Woman of the Year in 2008.

Click here for the lowdown.

The week in quotes from Hollywood in the Hub

“Every scene that I had was a heavy scene. I mean, the scenes were - I hate to sound dramatic, but they were cataclysmic. I’m screaming, I’m crying, I’m fighting, I’m on drugs, I’m in the hospital. They were all very, very rough. Rough to perform, rough to watch or to experience. But they were rewarding, because you feel like, wow, I can do that. I did that.”

--Blake Lively, known as Serena van der Woodsen from "Gossip Girl," tells Esquire magazine that her role as Ben Affleck's troubled ex-girlfriend in the blue-collar heist flick "The Town" was a challenge.

"The whole movie kind of hinges in a lot of ways on her performance, and I knew it was going to be the hardest part to cast. This girl came in, and no one had said to me beforehand, 'Hey, look for this person.' And obviously she was really attractive, and so I thought, 'Oh, here comes some blonde girl.' She came in, did one reading, and just crushed it."

--Ben Affleck, director and star of the made-in-Boston movie "The Town," echoes the Lively's enthusiasm regarding her performance in the locally shot flick.

“I cannot express in words how much I enjoy hosting this program and what an enormous personal disappointment it is for me to consider losing it. But I cannot participate in what I honestly believe is its destruction.”

--Brookline native Conan O'Brien slams NBC execs after refusing to take an after-midnight time slot as host of "The Tonight Show" to accommodate Jay Leno's move back to late night.

"Nobody is without sin. You have to try to make amends if you can. You have to shut up and move on and not whine about it. And you have to deal with it like a man. … You've just got to accept your own culpability."

--Mel Gibson, star of the made-in-Boston thriller "Edge of Darkness" slotted for theaters on Friday, Jan. 29, sympathizes with Tiger Woods and the scandal surrounding his alleged affairs.

INTERVIEW: Tom Everett Scott on TNT's 'Southland'

Tom Everett Scott, an East Bridgewater native currently in Boston to promote the upcoming season of his TNT crime drama "Southland," says he jumped at the chance to revisit his hometown roots.

"It's just like home. I never got to know the city of Boston as well of some of friends who went to school here," he says, sitting on a couch in the posh Bristol Lounge at the Four Seasons. "But growing up in Bridgewater, I would come into the city a lot to visit my dad who was a civil engineer."

Scott continues, "I love Boston. I really do. I can't believe they put me up in the Four Seasons overlooking the Boston Common. There's snow on the ground. It's just beautiful."

On Thursday, Jan. 7, Scott's mother (who recently relocated to Holden) and sister joined the 39-year-old native at an exclusive screening of the first episode of the new season of "Southland" at Ned Devine's Parris Room.

"I don't often get to do this sort of thing," he says, adding that it's been years since he made the trek home to film the flick "The Love Letter" in Rockport. "While I was making that movie, I became friends with the couple who owned the condo I stayed at in Rockport, which was right on the water in front of this beautiful rock jetty. The last time I was in town was eight years ago where we ate some great food and was able to take in a game at Fenway."

For the record, his wife's brother was a chef at Audobon Circle, a place he says was his favorite Boston hot spot.

Scott, known for his break-out role in "That Thing You Do!" as well as parts in "Boiler Room" and "Saved," made the return trip home from Los Angeles to celebrate the acclaimed cop show's move from NBC to TNT. The revamped series is slotted to begin airing the first 13 episodes with an extended version of the explosive pilot scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 12.

The "Southland" run on TNT includes six brand-new episodes, which are set to hit the small screen on Tuesday, March 2. "Southland" is a raw, authentic look at police work in Los Angeles that takes viewers inside the lives of cops, criminals, victims and their families.

In the series, Scott co-stars as Det. Russell Clarke, a complex man struggling with an unhappy marriage and a difficult living situation. At the end of the season finale, his character is gunned down on the front porch of neighbor during a climactic Fourth of July sequence.

"He was shot in the stomach and is having a hard time walking because of a spinal injury," he tells Loaded Gun Boston. "As an actor, it was cool that he was shot. It's a challenge playing this guy who was having trouble with his marriage and wasn't doing well connecting with people in his personal life."

Scott says he's enjoying Clarke's character arc. "He needs this job. It's his way to connect to the world," he explains. "And now that he's been injured it's going to be hard for him to come back. It''s great writing and as an actor, this is the sort of thing I really like to play."

Besides its obvious ties to homeboy Scott, "Southland" is helmed by Emmy-winning producer John Wells. For those in the know, Wells wrapped filming the made-in-Boston downsizing drama "The Company Men," starring Ben Affleck, Kevin Costner, Maria Bello, Tommy Lee Jones and Rosemarie DeWitt, during the summer.

Scott, who originally met Wells during his stint as Eric Wyczenski on "ER," says he chatted with the filmmaker during "The Company Men" shoot.

"The cast of that film is amazing," he says of the locally shot downsizing drama. "I remember being jealous that he was in Boston and had a chance to see the Red Sox during the summer."

When asked about all the made-in-Boston film action, Scott says he would welcome the opportunity to snag a role in a locally shot flick.

"There's always a chance and I would jump at the chance to work here. Maybe someday they'll film 'The Love Letter 2,'" he adds with a laugh. "You never know."--Photos by Ryan Miner, Beantown Photo

Gordon Ramsay's 'MasterChef' casting in Newton

Gordon Ramsay, the tough-as-nails chef who takes the concept of tough love to the extreme on "Hell's Kitchen," has his knife drawn for some Boston fresh meat for his new FOX reality show called "MasterChef."

Casting directors are holding a regional casting call for amateur chefs from 1-5 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 10 at Create A Cook, 53 Winchester St. in Newton Highlands.

Expect a kinder, gentler Ramsay in this competition show geared for non-professional foodies.

In fact, the promo says that "MasterChef" is a show "that celebrates great people who make great food. The show will give contestants the opportunity to put their skills to the test while being encouraged, mentored and evaluated by the industry's best."

Encouraged and mentored? Nope, definitely not the Ramsay we love to hate on "Hell's Kitchen."

Producers are looking for amateur chefs who are passionate about cooking and are hungry to prove their talents. Those interested in auditioning should have no experience in professional kitchens and are at least 18-years-old.

Click here for more information.

The week in quotes from Hollywood in the Hub

"There were fewer of them, and they hide behind things, so my kids aren’t aware of them, which makes all the difference in the world. (In L.A.) if I try to go to the supermarket, the police come (to escort her).”

--Jennifer Garner, who spent the summer in Cambridge while hubby Ben Affleck filmed two made-in-Boston flicks, says her family has considered moving to Boston to avoid the onslaught of paparazzi in Hollywood.

'It’s been a good year…what can I say? And it’s an honor to be asked to attend Sundance and be part of the entire team, maybe it’s not location, location, location…maybe talent finds a way to poke its head out considering our team is some of the most talented people in the world and they don’t all have salons on Rodeo Drive, 5th Ave or yes…even Newbury Street."

--Naz Kupelian, a Lexington-based salon owner, muses over the news that he's been tapped to style celebs at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.

“We got him back. He always said he wanted to do it after, you know, taking care of his family.”

--Film producer Bobby Farrelly insists that the on-and-off again Sean Penn is on again as Larry in the soon-to-be-shot film adaptation of the "Three Stooges."

“I hope that they don’t make it seem like I was doing things that maybe I wasn’t doing that could potentially upset the community. I anticipate it’s going to cause me, probably, a tremendous amount of anxiety.”

--Kim Daly, the former medical director from Gloucester High, says she's not looking forward to the upcoming Lifetime Television movie called "The Pregnancy Pact," airing on Saturday, Jan. 23. The small-screen flick delves into the drama surrounding a 2008 controversy surrounding a group of 17 North Shore teens allegedly planning to become teen mothers.

Tom Everett Scott will unveil 'Southland' in Boston

For up-and-coming actor Tom Everett Scott, there's no place like home.

The East Bridgewater native is slotted to unveil the first episode of the new season of his acclaimed cop show "Southland" at an exclusive bash at Ned Devine's Parris Room located at Faneuil Hall from 7-9 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 7.

Scott, known for his break-out role in "That Thing You Do!" as well as parts in "Boiler Room" and "Saved," is making the return trek to the Boston area to celebrate the show's move from NBC to TNT. The revamped series is slotted to begin airing the first 13 episodes with an extended version of the explosive pilot scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 12.

The "Southland" run on TNT includes six brand-new episodes, which are set to hit the small screen on Tuesday, March 2.

"Southland" is a raw, authentic look at police work in Los Angeles that takes viewers inside the lives of cops, criminals, victims and their families.

In the series, Scott co-stars as Det. Russell Clarke, who is struggling with an unhappy marriage and a difficult living situation.

Besides its obvious ties to homeboy Scott, "Southland" is helmed by Emmy-winning producer John Wells. For those in the know, Wells wrapped filming in Boston on Saturday, June 6 with the downsizing drama "The Company Men," starring Ben Affleck, Kevin Costner, Maria Bello, Tommy Lee Jones and Rosemarie DeWitt.

As previously reported in Loaded Gun Boston, Wells will screen the made-in-Boston drama about three company men attempting to survive a round of corporate downsizing while trying to fend off its effects on their families and their identities at the Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brookline on Thursday, Jan. 28, 2010.

Interested in the "Southland" bash on Thursday, Jan. 7? Click here to get the lowdown on the event with Scott at Ned Devine's.

'Prisoners' flick moving from Boston to Connecticut

Before the much-hyped script for "Prisoners" by Aaron Guzikowski started generating buzz on the Left Coast, it was set in Massachusetts and rumored to star Dorchester homeboy Mark Wahlberg.

Not so fast.

The soon-to-be-filmed thriller directed by Antoine Fuqua is getting a geographic makeover. According to reports here, filmmakers are shooting the flick in Derby, Conn. and Shelton beginning February 2010 ... and not in the Boston area as originally penned in the script.

John Starke, the movie's executive director, sent a letter to Derby officials promising not to make the Connecticut town look bad.

"I'm writing this letter not only to thank you for your and Mayor Lauretti’s help so far, but also to assure you that in no way is your town, local police or residents of the town depicted in any negative way in the script," Starke writes.

"Prisoners" centers around a Boston father (now Derby, Conn. dad?) whose 6-year-old daughter and her best friend are kidnapped. The film’s protagonist, a role once eyed by native Mark Wahlberg, takes matters into his own hands by kidnapping the man he suspects is responsible.

Endeavor, who represents Wahlberg, snapped up the script earlier this year. Insiders say the tone of the revenge-fantasy flick is in the same vein as the made-in-Boston thriller "Mystic River" by director Clint Eastwood.

Wahlberg, who explores a similar plot in "The Lovely Bones" by Peter Jackson, filmed a bio-pic in Lowell this past summer chronicling the early days of Boston boxer “Irish” Micky Ward called “The Fighter.”

According to reports here, local officials in Derby have been told that Hugh Jackman is now attached to the "Prisoners" movie.

Click here for the back story on "Prisoners."

'Furry Vengeance' trailer boasts animals gone wild

The trailer for the made-in-Topsfield comedy "Furry Vengeance" starring Brendan Fraser and Brooke Shields was unleashed last week. Similar to the state switcheroo in Sandra Bullock's "The Proposal," Massachusetts is once again a stand-in for an unlikely locale ... Oregon.

For the record, the movie's fictional West Coast location is called "Rocky Springs." Based on the trailer, set designers went to great lengths to transform the film's regional aesthetic--including an Oregon license plate on the vehicle driven by a pesky raccoon.

The locally shot film follows a real estate developer who faces an unlikely group of protesters: a crew of local woodland creatures who don't want their homes disturbed.

Shields, in her first movie role since the 1999 hip-hop drama "Black and White," looks stunning. Fraser, who sports an on-screen beer gut in the flick, could use a few more rounds on the treadmill. But, he's in character, right?

Dick Van Dyke, "The Hangover’s" Ken Jeong and Samantha Bee also star in the film. Matt Prokop, an up-and-coming actor from "High School Musical 3: Senior Year," plays a city kid forced to move to rural Oregon with his father, whose efforts to build a housing development there are complicated by the feisty local wildlife.

Base camp for the film was at the Topsfield Fairgrounds located at 207 Boston St. In the trailer, the Topsfield Fairgrounds is a major player. However, a majority of the movie was shot in a small, wooded housing development chock full of big digs and new construction known as the Hickory Beech subdivision on High Street.

Crews also shot at the Beverly Municipal Airport showcasing the Delta taxiway near Bradford Street.

Click here for the latest on "Furry Vengeance."

'Knight and Day' teaser movie trailer unveiled

The teaser trailer for the made-in-Boston spy flick "Knight and Day," starring Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz, was unveiled at a sneak peek "Avatar" screening last Thursday and has officially hit the Internet.

Now, that was fast.

Moviegoers at the screening were shocked at the quick turnaround. In fact, the James Mangold action comedy was still filming a scene in Spain when the promo screened last week.

A movie trailer released before the film actually wraps? Oh, the magic of Hollywood.

The good news is that Boston locales are definitely showcased in the two-minute promo, including shots at the Worcester Regional Airport, exteriors of the plane crash in Bridgewater, the bridal party at Jacob Wirth, shoot 'em up scenes filmed at a warehouse in East Boston as well as a scene at the classic Parisian brasserie Gaslight located at 560 Harrison Avenue featuring Cruise, Diaz and Marc Blucas.

One of the locally shot chase sequences, which was primarily filmed in South Boston's Waterfront District, involves Cruise jumping from a moving car with Diaz in the backseat.

In "Knight and Day," Cruise and Diaz have a glamorous and sometimes deadly adventure, where nothing and no one--even the now fugitive couple--are what they seem.

Amid shifting alliances and unexpected betrayals, they race across the globe, with their survival ultimately hinging on the battle of truth versus trust. "Knight and Day" is slotted to hit theaters on July 2, 2010.

Co-stars include Peter Sarsgaard (“An Education”) as a federal agent relentlessly pursuing the couple; Viola Davis (“Doubt”) as a CIA director trying to decipher the true purpose of their high-wire activities; Paul Dano (“There Will Be Blood”) as an eccentric genius behind a revolutionary technology; and Olivier Martinez (“Unfaithful”) as a ruthless arms manufacturer. Co-starring are Maggie Grace (“Taken”) and Blucas (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer”).

Click here for the latest on "Knight & Day."

--Photos by Ryan Miner, Beantown Photo

More holiday gift ideas for made-in-Boston film fans

Still on the hunt for a perfect gift for that made-in-Boston movie fan? Don't fret.

With more than a dozen big-budget flicks shot in Massachusetts in 2009 ranging from Kevin James' romantic comedy "Zookeeper" to Ben Affleck's heist flick "The Town," inspiration is literally around the corner.

Here are a few additional holiday gift ideas--roused by films recently shot in town and others already released in theaters--pulled from the influx of made-in-Boston movie action:

'The Lightkeepers' screening
The Cape Cod-shot flick "The Lightkeepers," starring Richard Dreyfuss and Blythe Danner, will have an exclusive two-week run beginning Christmas Day at the Cape Cinema located at 35 Hope Lane in Dennis. The story centers on a lighthouse keeper in 1912 who, having disavowed any association with females, must deal with the appearance of two attractive women who move into a nearby cottage for the summer.

Also, Dreyfuss is slotted to unveil his new flick in person at 7 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 27. The actor will give a brief talk on the Dreyfuss Initiative, a nonprofit corporation formed to revive, elevate and enhance the teaching of civics in the U.S. His talk will be followed by a Q&A. This will be Dreyfuss's only public appearance at the cinema. Tickets are $20. Click here for details.

Boston Gliders
Who knew that the goofball antics of a misfit security guard in and his cast of mall-rat pals would segue … or is it Segway … its way into slacker infamy? Tap into the "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" within by gifting one of those Boston Gliders Segway Adventures here.

Boston Movie Tours
Speaking of film-inspired tours, the crew over at Boston Movie Tours are offering gift certificates for their Theater-On-Wheels bus tours returning to the streets of Boston in April here.

Made-in-Boston DVDs
The ultimate last-minute holiday gift idea? DVDs are a no-brainer. A slew of made-in-Boston flicks are now available on DVD including "The Proposal," "Paul Blart: Mall Cop," "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" and "Bride Wars."

However, below are a few locally shot movies available on DVD for the die-hard movie buff:

'The Child King'
This locally shot holiday film follows two brothers upset over the recent death of their mother who set out to find proof that Santa Claus is real. Snag the DVD for $19.95 here.

'What Doesn't Kill You'
This hidden gem had a brief theatrical run in NYC and Los Angeles and a premiere at the Boston International Film Festival. The real-life crime drama "What Doesn't Kill You," originally titled "Real Men Cry," is set in Boston and stars Ethan Hawke and Mark Ruffalo as childhood friends "who grew up in an Irish-Catholic neighborhood where small-time crimes were as common as confessionals." Fast forward 15 years where the duo is trapped in a cycle of scoring quick cash, drug addiction and an ever-changing South Boston landscape. Click here to purchase.

BBC's 'Edge of Darkness'
With the Americanized Mel Gibson version of the BBC drama series "Edge of Darkness" hitting theaters Friday, Jan. 29, made-in-Boston movie fans should check out the 1985 original featuring the late Bob Peck now available on a two-disc DVD here.

'The Maiden Heist'
Missed this straight-to-DVD film on the big screen? You're not alone. Starring Morgan Freeman, Christopher Walken and William H. Macy, this made-in-Boston flick is a comedy of errors following three museum security guards and their attempt to steal artwork after it's been transferred to another museum. DVD available for $9.99 here.

Click here for additional holiday gift ideas from Loaded Gun Boston.

Holiday gift guide for made-in-Boston movie fans

On the prowl for a perfect present for that hard-to-please movie buff with a lot of hometown pride? You're in luck.

With more than a dozen big-budget flicks shot in Massachusetts in 2009 ranging from Adam Sandler's ultimate buddy movie "Grown Ups" to Tom Cruise's spy flick "Knight & Day," inspiration is literally around the corner.

Here are a few holiday gift ideas--roused by films recently shot in town and others already released in theaters--pulled from the influx of made-in-Boston movie action:

Rob Schneider @ Wilbur Theatre
Missed Adam Sandler and his crew of former SNL cohorts filming "Grown Ups" throughout Massachusetts? Didn't satiate your in-person "Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo" cravings at Water Wizz of Cape Cod, the Boston YMCA on Huntington Avenue as well as the Pilgrim Congregational Church in Southborough? No worries. Snag tickets (435-$42) to see "Grown Ups" co-star Rob Schneider at the Wilbur Theatre, 246 Tremont St. at 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 9 here.

Lehane-inspired T-shirts
So, your movie fan is a Dennis Lehane junkie? The homegrown author of a series of made-into-movie novels like "Mystic River," "Gone Baby Gone," and the latest "Shutter Island," has teamed up with PROTECT, a political lobby group for child protection based in Knoxville, Tenn. for a series of T-shirts inspired by his novels. For a mere $24.95, snag an Ashecliffe Hospital for the Criminally Insane T-shirt straight from the pages of "Shutter Island." Because at Ashecliffe, you definitely want to make sure you're on the right team. The Protect.org shop also boasts a Hurley's Drive-In shirt from "Mystic River" and a Kenzie & Gennaro Investigations Novel-Tee from his series featuring Patrick and Angie including "Gone Baby Gone."

'The Company Men' premiere
Downsizing drama for Christmas? Try early 2010. The Sundance Film Festival USA plans to unveil the made-in-Boston drama "The Company Men," starring Ben Affleck, Kevin Costner, Maria Bello, Tommy Lee Jones and Rosemarie DeWitt, at the Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brookline on Thursday, Jan. 28, 2010. Tickets will be available online here and at the theater's box office beginning Monday, Jan. 4 for Coolidge members and Wednesday, Jan. 6 for the general public.

Kelly's Roast Beef T-shirt
Speaking of "The Company Men," crews with the downsizing drama filmed scenes with Harvard Alum Tommy Lee Jones at the private Marblehead residence of Brian and Nancy McCarthy of Kelly's Roast Beef fame last May. As part of the agreement to use the stunning Crowninshield Road home, Ben Affleck agreed to sport a Kelly's Roast Beef T-shirt, like the one seen here for $15.95, in the indie film slotted for theaters in 2010.

'Boston Noir'
The short-story anthology "Boston Noir" hit shelves last month and the Brooklyn-based publisher offered a limited-edition hardcover version of the book, autographed by editor Lehane himself. While the "Boston Noir" series is also available in paperback, 100 copies of the hardcover were printed armed with a specially designed black-and-silver cover. This collector's edition costing $100 is available here.

'Big Screen Boston'
Also, film critic Paul Sherman penned a stellar homage to former made-in-Boston films called, "Big Screen Boston: From Mystery Street to The Departed and Beyond," available for $12 here.

Director's Clapper Clock
If anyone watched the film action going down on the streets of Boston, it's obvious that most Hollywood types have issues with being on time. For a mere $89.99, buy a Director's Clapper Clock here, which includes an alarm as well as the exact date and time. It's perfect for the die-hard cinemaphile with a penchant for tardiness.

Click here for additional holiday gift ideas from Loaded Gun Boston.

--Rob Schneider photo by Ryan Miner, Beantown Photo

Boston Public Library showcases locally shot films

The Boston Public Library, the Copley Square mainstay that has been a hotbed of made-in-Boston film action including an elaborate chase sequence for Cameron Diaz's flick called "The Box" as well as a location in Tom Cruise's upcoming spy flick "Knight & Day," announced plans for a free film series called "Made in Massachusetts" showcasing 40 locally shot flicks.

The film series kicks off on Monday, Jan. 4, 2010.

With a roster of movies dating back to 1937's "Captains Courageous" to recent films including "The Box" and "Pink Panther 2," screenings are free and are slotted for Mondays at 6 p.m. at the Boston Public Library’s Rabb Lecture Hall at the Central Library in Copley Square (click on the image to the right for a complete schedule).

The series begins with a historical theme in January with "Little Women," "Glory" and "Amistad," followed by romances in February with "Starting Over," "Sabrina" and "Next Stop Wonderland."

In May, the series will focus on local artists, including appearances by filmmakers who will answer questions about their work after the screenings.

In addition to "Knight & Day," the BPL has been a favorite location for filmmakers. In early October, Copley Square was transformed into a Hollywood-esque movie lot with the cast of the Adam Sandler-produced "Zookeeper," including Kevin James, Rosario Dawson and Leslie Bibb, filming scenes at the upscale Fairmont Copley Plaza. For the scene, designers lit up the Boston Public Library with dramatic lighting.

In April, MTV aired two made-in-Boston episodes of the Justin Timberlake-produced competition reality show "The Phone." In the episode called "The Russians," 22-year-old Brighton native Mitch hung out in a towel at a so-called Russian sauna, found the name of a piece of music at the Boston Public Library to use as a password for a Russian informant and helped his partner dodge green lasers to snag the show's top prize of $35,000.

Also, back in September 2007, the Boston Public Library was the scene of the crime in "The Pink Panther 2" starring Steve Martin as Inspector Jacques Clouseau. While filming at the BPL, there were reports that a priceless marble bust was knocked on the floor of the Grand Staircase. Fortunately, the damage wasn't caused by the movie crews.

Click here for the Boston Public Library's online calendar.

-- Copley Square photo by Ryan Miner, Beantown Photo

'Dancing with the Stars' couple cha-chas in Boston

Alec Mazo and Edyta Sliwinska, the waltzing couple from the ABC hit show "Dancing with the Stars," plan to unleash an evening of dance at the Boston Park Plaza, located at 50 Park Plaza at Arlington Street, from 9:30-11:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 11.

In support of the AdMeTech Foundation’s “Dance for the Cure of Prostate Cancer,” the Park Plaza event will begin with a welcome reception, followed by a dance workshop conducted by the Russian-born Mazo and Poland-bred Sliwinska where the duo will teach guests to dance like the stars in a 45-minute session. After the performance, guests are invited to enjoy a meet and mingle with the stars.

Sliwinska has won over viewers as the only professional dancer to appear on all nine seasons of "Dancing with the Stars." The Polish beauty married her professional dance partner and former co-star Mazo, the winner of "Dancing with the Stars" debut season. They have danced together for over six years, have won national and international dancing competitions and performed numerous times on the ABC competition reality show.

Tickets, $150 in advance and $175 at the door, can be purchased by calling 617-523-3535 or online at admetech.org.

'The Company Men' premiere slotted for Brookline

The Sundance Film Festival USA announced yesterday that the made-in-Boston downsizing drama "The Company Men," starring Ben Affleck, Kevin Costner, Maria Bello, Tommy Lee Jones and Rosemarie DeWitt, will have its world premiere at the Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brookline on Thursday, Jan. 28, 2010.

Director and screenwriter John Wells will unveil the made-in-Boston drama about three company men attempting to survive a round of corporate downsizing while trying to fend off its effects on their families and their identities.

Filming locations included Daisy Buchanan's on Newbury Street, Gannon Municipal Golf Course in Lynn, a three-story brownstone located at 5 Union Park and one at 78 Waltham St., Fish and Richardson in South Boston as well as the Hodgdon House located at 174 Highland Street in the Fort Hill section of Roxbury.

Additional locales include Milton Cemetery, the Fiduciary Trust Building located at 175 Federal St. near High Street in the Financial District, a private residence on Crowninshield Road in Marblehead as well as Wellesley.

In "The Company Men," Affleck plays a corporate bigwig whose six-figure salary is suddenly cut after he gets a pink slip. Costner, a blue-collar construction worker who is boasting a posh Kennedy-esque Boston accent, offers Affleck a job installing drywall.

Tickets for the Coolidge Corner Theatre event will be available online here and at the box office beginning January 4 for Coolidge members and January 6 for the general public.

Click here for the latest on "The Company Men.

'The Social Network' flick slotted for 2010 release

Word is that "The Social Network," the partially made-in-Boston flick based on local author Ben Mezrich's tell-all book about the founding of Facebook in a Harvard dorm, is slotted for release on Friday, Oct. 15, 2010.

In the film, Justin Timberlake plays Sean Parker, the Napster co-founder who became the founding president of Facebook while Jesse Eisenberg stars as Mark Zuckerberg. Andrew Garfield stars as Eduardo Saverin, a former founder who had a fallout with Zuckerberg

The script follows founder Zuckerberg getting dumped at a Boston-area bar (shot at the Thirsty Scholar Pub in Somerville) and ends with him adding his former girlfriend to his friend list on his multibillion-dollar social networking site. The story is based on Mezrich's latest book, "The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook. A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal."

The film shot in Boston beginning Monday, Oct. 19 and moved in November to Los Angeles, where it's scheduled to wrap in February.

While in Boston, crews transformed the upscale South End gift shop Posh, located 557 Tremont Street, into a Harvard-esque bookstore called the "Crimson Emporium." The storefront boasts "clothing & collectibles."

They also set up shop at Wheelock College, located at 200 Riverway, as a stand-in for a certain Ivy League hot spot in Cambridge. Crews spent the afternoon of Monday, Oct. 19 covering the college stand-in with fake snow.

Click here for the latest on "The Social Network."

--Copyrighted photo by Ryan Miner, Beantown Photo

The week in quotes from Hollywood in the Hub

"All my friends from Boston are either dead or in jail. The stuff they did, you don't get out of jail."

--Dorchester native Mark Wahlberg, seen in the sneak peek photo above from the made-in-Lowell flick "The Fighter," talks about his rough-trade past and reveals that he's planning to make a movie on the HBO series "Entourage."

"It was a bigger action thriller than I had ever been a part of and we shot in Boston and I got to employ a Southie accent. To prepare I hung out mostly with the teamsters and some of those accents were fantastic."

--Caterina Scorsone, who snagged the role of Melissa Conway with Mel Gibson in the made-in-Boston thriller "Edge of Darkness," says it was difficult to master a Southie accent in the film slotted for release in January 29, 2010.

"She was nice and really quiet. She asked me about the finals clubs at Harvard."

--Emma Watson, the British actress known as Hermione Granger from the "Harry Potter" franchise and frosh at Brown University, impressed Harvard student Antonia N. Silvera during a visit to the Hasty Pudding on Saturday, Dec. 5.

"We're a discovery festival, but we're not just about the discovery of films. We're about the discovery of talent."

--Sundance Film Festival director John Cooper unveils the list of the 13 films screening out of the Utah fest's competition, including the made-in-Boston downsizing drama "The Company Men" starring Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones, Maria Bello and Kevin Costner. Sundance is slotted to expand this year to include major markets across the country including an event planned for Brookline's Coolidge Corner Theatre on Thursday, Jan. 28.

Local dive bars featured in made-in-Boston movies

Bottoms up? Loaded Gun Boston was approached by a freelancer on the prowl for regional dive bars used as sets for locally shot films.

Here's our beer-soaked list:

Murphy's Law Bar in Southie, the colorful black-and-red neighborhood pub known for its quirky collection of bar decor including old superhero characters and barbie dolls was featured in Ben Affleck's "Gone Baby Gone."

Speaking of Affleck, he shot scenes for his upcoming blue-collar heist flick "The Town" at the ultimate dive bar, Old Sully's, located at on Union Street near the Community College Station Orange Line T stop.

Affleck's other recently-shot flick, "The Company Men," filmed a scene last May at Daisy Buchanan's pub located at 240 Newbury St. with Tommy Lee Jones.

Crews with the Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz spy-comedy "Knight & Day" set up shop outside of the Jacob Wirth Restaurant, an authentic German beer hall opened since 1868, located at 31 Stuart St. in Boston's Theatre District.

The scene centers around a wedding reception for Cameron Diaz's on-screen sister played by Maggie Grace, known for her work as the poor little rich girl Shannon Rutherford on ABC's "Lost" series. In the film, Diaz will stand-in for their late father and walk Grace's character down the aisle.

Doyle's Pub in Jamaica Plain has been featured in a slew of made-in-Boston flicks making cameos in "Mystic River" and was a location in the Dane Cook flick "My Best Friend's Girl." Also, actor Mel Gibson, recently in town filming "Edge of Darkness," was spotted there in August '08. And in "21," Jim Sturgess's character Ben Campbell downs a few and strolls down Washington Street with his mom played by Helen Carey.

"Good Will Hunting," starring homeboys Matt Damon and Affleck, filmed a scene at L Street Tavern, 658 East Eighth Street in South Boston. Crews also filmed a pivotal scene at the now-defunct Harvard haunt Bow and Arrow Pub in Cambridge. It's where Matt Damon's Will first meets Minnie Driver's Skylar which leads to the "How 'bout them apples?" confrontation at the Tasty Sandwich Shop (also torn down).

One of film's more iconic dives, the Black Emerald Bar in "Mystic River," was built from scratch by set designer Henry Bumstead on an empty industrial lot on Border Street in East Boston. The fictional pub was torn down after filming.

Also, Boston's quintessential booze-fueled movie, "The Friends of Eddie Coyle," was shot in the '70s at former Kentucky Tavern which is currently a Best Buy on the corner of Newbury and Mass. Ave. Most of the haunts featured in the Robert Mitchum flick are no longer standing. However, they did film a scene at Dorchester's Boston Bowl located at 820 Morrissey Blvd. which is still packing in the locals.