'What Doesn't Kill You' debuts at Boston film fest

After a brief theatrical run in NYC and Los Angeles, the made-in-Boston flick "What Doesn't Kill You" will make its hometown debut (not including the screening at Brandeis on Nov. 15) at the Boston International Film Festival 6 p.m. on Friday, April 17.

The BIFF premiere, hitting screens at the Loews Boston Common located at 175 Tremont St., will give locals a chance to see the flick before it's released on Blu-ray on Tuesday, April 28. Also, BIFF's opening night gala kicks off at 9:30 p.m. Brian Goodman, the film's director and a Southie native, will be at the screening for a Q&A.

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.

Locations include the park in Dorchester Heights in Southie, the Billerica House of Correction and East 4th St. between P street and Farragut Road.

Click here for the backstory on "What Doesn't Kill You." Click here for the lowdown on the Boston International Film Festival.

'What Doesn't Kill You' flick set for Blu-ray release

After a brief theatrical run in NYC and Los Angeles, the made-in-Boston flick "What Doesn't Kill You" will make its Blu-ray debut on Tuesday, April 28.

Among the bonus features is audio commentary with co-writer/director Brian Goodman and co-writer Donnie Wahlberg, the vignette "Makes You Stronger: The Making of What Doesn't Kill You," and deleted/alternate scenes.

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.

Locations include the park in Dorchester Heights in Southie, the Billerica House of Correction and East 4th St. between P street and Farragut Road.

Click here for the backstory on "What Doesn't Kill You."

The week in quotes from Hollywood in the Hub

"I was really, really scared. Really, really scared. I was really scared as in being really embarrassed but I swear to god, part of it is not having like really long speeches. Like if I had to do an Aaron Sorkin show with a Boston accent, it would be a disaster."

--Amanda Peet, playing Mark Ruffalo's wife Stacy in the made-in-Boston flick "What Doesn't Kill You," chats about her dead-on Boston accent in the film.

"I don't know what 'The Departed' was, it was almost like 'Who gives a sh*t?' I wasn't a big fan of it. I'm a fan of all the actors in it but I didn't really care about the story, who the rat in the crew is, who gives a f*ck? It's frustrating. The fact of the matter is Jack Nicholson wouldn't have lasted. There's no guys I know who act like he acts in that world who wouldn't get killed. He was an ***hole."

--Brian Goodman, a reformed Southie bad boy turned film director of "What Doesn't Kill You," slams "The Departed" in an interview with ComingSoon.net.

"These wimps from LA. I like to watch them shrivel up in the cold."

--Brooklyn-bred director Jon Avnet jokes with the Globe on location at the Union Oyster House set of the TV pilot "Bunker Hill" starring Donnie Wahlberg.

“It’s like a prerequisite to get a job that you have to have just gotten out of the can. If you added up the time that was served by all the guys working up here, you’d be over a century.”

--An anonymous tipster tells the Boston Herald for their tale of behind-the-scenes felon teamsters working on a slew of Boston films. The probe found a rogues' gallery of career criminals from the Teamsters Local 25 who worked on "The Surrogates" and "Edge of Darkness" including a convicted killer, robbers and drunk drivers.

"I go home, and my children ask, what happened today? I tell them, 'Well, my husband's fingers fell off.' And they love it."

--Nadia Delemeny muses about her double life as a Wellesley mother and a horror actress in the made-in-Medford slasher flick called "Drive-In Horrorshow."

'What Doesn't Kill You' film poster unveiled

Based on a true story of two childhood friends who turn to crime to get by, Brian Goodman's "What Doesn't Kill You" starring Mark Ruffalo, Ethan Hawke, Amanda Peet and Donnie Wahlberg is the latest made-in-Boston film coming from the streets of South Boston.

Click here for the full-size "What Doesn't Kill You" movie poster.

The movie is slotted for limited release in NYC and LA on Friday, Dec. 12. Click here for the latest on "What Doesn't Kill You."

'What Doesn't Kill You' trailer released

Based on a true story of two childhood friends who turn to crime to get by, Brian Goodman's "What Doesn't Kill You" starring Mark Ruffalo, Ethan Hawke, Amanda Peet and Donnie Wahlberg is the latest made-in-Boston film coming from the streets of South Boston.

Locations include the park in Dorchester Heights in Southie, the Billerica House of Correction and East 4th St. between P street and Farragut Road.

The movie is slotted for limited release in NYC and LA on Friday, Dec. 12. Click here for the latest on "What Doesn't Kill You."

'What Doesn't Kill You' film site launches

Take a sneak peek of the official film site for the made-in-Boston film "What Doesn't Kill You" here starring Mark Ruffalo, Ethan Hawke and Amanda Peet. Brian Goodman, the director and inspiration of this real-life tale of redemption, tends bar in the above clip from a Southie watering hole.

Based on comments after the preview at Brandeis in Waltham on Nov. 15, the flick is a winner.

"Look out 'Departed,' 'Gone Baby Gone," writes one filmgoer from the Brandeis screening. "Someone finally got a Boston movie right from the accents, to the whole flavor and story. It was dead on. Its success lies in the realistic portrayal of the grind of the streets. It's not all glamour and shoot 'em up but the day-to-day grind of trying to survive."

The movie is slotted for limited release in NYC and LA on Friday, Dec. 12. Click here for the latest on "What Doesn't Kill You."

Click here for the film's official site.

UPDATE: Check out the trailer to "What Doesn't Kill You" at the Los Angeles Times here.

'What Doesn't Kill You' clip shot in Billerica

Based on a true story of two childhood friends who turn to crime to get by, Brian Goodman's "What Doesn't Kill You" is the latest made-in-Boston film coming from the streets of South Boston.

The above "What Doesn't Kill You" clip features Mark Ruffalo as Brian and his wife played by Amanda Peet (sporting a convincing Boston accent) at the Billerica House of Correction.

The made-in-Boston film is slotted for limited release in NYC and LA on Friday, Dec. 12, 2008.

Click here for the latest on "What Doesn't Kill You."