The week in quotes from Hollywood in the Hub

"People would say this guy's just an airhead celebrity and he doesn't know anything, and at the time of course, I didn't. So I thought: well I should learn about this and I traveled there.”

--Cambridge homeboy Ben Affleck, speaking at the Children Mending Hearts Gala at Los Angeles' House of Blues, says he had initial fears that people would think of him as “just an airhead celebrity” when he got involved with charity work in Africa. Affleck received a surprise visit at the gala last night from his wife, Jennifer Garner.

"Yeah, I guess I wasn't a man until tonight."

--Actor James Franco, during last Friday night's Harvard's Hasty Pudding Theatrical's 2009 Man of the Year award roast at the university's renovated New College Theatre, endured a bar mitzvah officiated by "Rabbi Spider Man" coupled with a drag rendition of "Havah Nagila" performed by the "Yentl Express" dancers

"Maybe, maybe not. All those reports are unfortunately not true. I'm in a great spot in my life. I have a lot of people that care about me that I love and I love being around. My girlfriend is certainly one of them."

--Patriot's injured QB Tom Brady manages to evade a definitive answer on whether or not he's engaged to Victoria's Secret model Gisele Bundchen at a press conference held at the West End Boys & Girls Club in Allston.

“We desperately need a professional studio space in the Boston area because we have all these productions that are being drawn to Boston and really the only thing that’s missing is a major set of sound stages, places where you can shoot that are not based on being on location."

--Boston University's College of Communication department of film and television chair Charles Merzbacher spills to the Daily Free Press that the addition of Plymouth Rock Studios will help the industry bloom in Massachusetts.

"Want your cat to pee in the toilet instead of the litter box?"

--Guess you can teach your dog ... and cat ... new tricks. Animal Planet is casting animal owners and their pets for a new reality show. They're holding an open call 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21 at Boston Casting, 129 Braintree St. in Allston.