Backstage with Boston Movie Tours

The Boston Hollywood scene including Boston Movie Tours was recently featured on the award winning Backstage with Barry Nolan.

Sara Edwards takes you on a little movie tour of her own highlighting Boston's filming hotspots. If you live in the Boston area, check it out on Comcast OnDemand.

Otherwise, here it is.

Filming in Boston

Hollywood has hit the Hub. Here is what is filming in Boston.

Shooting in 2008

Ashecliffe: Based on the book Shutter Island by local author Dennis Lehane (Mystic River and Gone Baby Gone), Ashecliffe follows the story of two United States Marshals who investigate a mental patient’s disappearance on a Boston area island. They uncover that nothing is quite what it seems on this mysterious island.

- Starring: Directed by Martin Scorcese: Mark Ruffalo, Sir Ben Kingsley and Leonardo DiCaprio
- Filming: East Boston, Taunton, Medfield, Hyde Park and Boston Harbor Islands (Peddocks Island)
- Status: Currently filming as of April 2008; for release in 2009

Bride Wars: Best friends become rivals when they schedule their respective weddings on the same day.

- Starring: Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway
- Filming: South Station, Public Gardens and Back Bay
- Status: Currently filming as of April 2008; for release in 2009

The Fallen: A true-life story of a Boston Fire Fighter whose life is turned upside down after a devastating injury leaves him with a severe drug addiction.

- Starring: TBD
- Filming: TBD
- Status: Filming soon

Ghosts of Girlfriend's Past: The romantic comedy is about a bachelor who attends his younger brother’s wedding and is haunted by the ghosts of his past girlfriends.

- Starring: Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner
- Filming: South Street, Wellesley, Ipswitch and Hingham
- Status: Currently filming as of April 2008; for release in 2009
- Tidbit: Ben Affleck was originally slated to play in McConaughey's role

Paul Blart: Mall Cop: Paul Blart: Mall Cop is a comedy about a security guard who tries to stop a group of crooks who are taking over a mall.

- Starring: Executive Producer Adam Sandler; Kevin James
- Filming: Boston Harbor Islands, Burlington Mall, Hanscom Fields in Concord, MA, Centre Street in West Roxbury.
- Status: Currently filming as of April 2008; for release in 2009

The Proposal: A pushy boss marries her young assistant in order to keep her Visa status in the U.S. and avoid deportation to Canada.

- Starring: Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock
- Filming: Financial district, Rockport area
- Status: Currently filming as of April 2008
- Tidbit: While in Massachusetts, Bullock got in car accident but was not hurt.

The Surrogates: The Disney a sci-fi thriller story is set in the near future where humans interact with one another through surrogate robots.

- Starring: Bruce Willis
- Filming: Seaport District
- Status: Currently Filming

This Side of the Truth: A comedy about a town where no one has ever lied - until a writer decides to give it a shot for his own personal gain.

- Starring: Written/Directed by Ricky Gervais: Tina Fey, Jennifer Gardner, Christopher Guest, Jason Bateman (rumored) Rob Lowe
- Filming: Lowell, MA
- Status: Currently filming as of April 2008;

Filmed in 2007

21: Based on Ben Mezrich’s bestseller, Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions, 21 shows how some MIT students beat Vegas.

- Starring: Jim Sturgess, Kevin Spacey and Kate Bosworth
- Filming: South Street Diner, Boston Convention Center, Harvard Medical Center, Copley Mall, Boston University
- Status: In theaters

The Box: This thriller/horror focuses on the the story of a mysterious wooden box that brings both fortune and misfortune into the lives of a couple after being opened.

- Starring: Cameron Diaz and James Marsden
- Filming: South Boston, Boston Public Library, Ipswitch
- Status: Post production for release in late 2008

My Best Friend's Girl: Comedy about a guy who men hire to take their ex-girlfriends on bad dates so they crawl back to their boyfriends.

- Starring: Dane Cook and Kate Hudson
- Filming: Castle in the South End, Boston Common, South Street Church, Copley Square
- Status: Post production for release in September, 2008

The Great Debaters: A 1930s African American debate team takes on Harvard and wins.

- Starring: Dane Cook and Kate Hudson
- Filming: Acorn Street in Beacon Hill, Wang Center
- Status: Released in theaters December 2007
- Tidbit: Wang Center doubles as a train station

The Lonely Maiden: The comedy centers on three museum security guards who devise a plan to steal back the artworks to which they have become attached after they are transferred to another museum.

- Starring: Morgan Freeman, William H. Macy and Christopher Walken
- Filming: Public Garden
- Status: Post production for release in late 2008

On Broadway: A playwright stages a production of his work in the back of an Irish pub.

- Starring: Joseph McIntyre, Eliza Dushku and Will Arnett
- Filming: Dorchester, Waltham, Boston Public Library
- Status: Awaiting distribution

Pink Panther 2: Insp. Jacques Clouseau teams up with a squad of International detectives who are just as bumbling as he is.

- Starring: Steve Martin and Andy Garcia
- Filming: Chelsea, Wang Theatre, Financial District
- Status: Post production for release in 2009
- Tidbit: Boston doubles as France

Real Men Cry: The story follows two childhood friends as they go through life surviving through petty robbery and other crimes in South Boston.

- Starring: Mark Ruffalo, Ethan Hawke, Amanda Peet and Donnie Wahlberg
- Filming: South Boston
- Status: Post production for release in 2008

The Women: A wealthy New Yorker leaves her cheating husband and bonds with other society women at a resort.

- Starring: Annette Bening, Meg Ryan and Eva Mendes
- Filming: South End, Back Bay, Newbury Street
- Status: Post production for release in 2009
- Tidbit: Boston doubles as New York. Rumored not to have a single man in the cast.

Information compiled from various sources including IMDB.com, the Boston Herald and the Boston Globe.

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past Departs Boston

It looks like the Ghosts of Girlfriends Past starring Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner wrapped up filming in Beantown last week.

According to the Boston Herald's Inside Track, the filmmakers used a sound stage in Chelsea for some of the final shoots. The movie is expected to hit theaters in 2oo9.

Show your Mom how much you love her by taking her on a tour!

This weekend brings the day all moms love: Mother's Day! The sun will be shining, the birds will be chirping, and what better way to celebrate the day than to take Mom on a Movie Tour! Even better, MOMS GET HALF OFF TICKETS FOR ANY MOTHER'S DAY TOUR! Email scostello@bostonmovietours.net to get you and your mom on board!

MAY SCHEDULE

BOSTON MOVIE MILE WALKING TOUR

Leaves Boston Common Visitors' Center at 2PM.

• Friday 5/9 (changed to bus tour), 5/16, 5/23, 5/30
• Saturday 5/10, 5/17, 5/24, 5/31
• Sunday 5/11, 5/18, 5/25

RESERVE/CHECK ONLINE SCHEDULE

THEATER ON WHEELS BUS TOUR

Leaves Boston Common Visitor's Center at 11AM (check back for added tours too!)

• Fri 5/9 @ 2pm
  
• Saturday 5/10, 5/17, 5/24, 5/31

• Sunday 5/11, 5/18, 5/25

Reserve/check online schedule

Group/Private Tours: Available anytime. Request a Quote. mailto:groups@bostonmovietours.net

Meeting Location (All Tours) - Boston Common Visitor Center
For check-in, you can check in at the Boston Common Visitor Center with your Boston Movie Tours guide starting 30 minutes prior start time.

After checking out a filming location on the Boston Common, we will board the bus for the complete Theater-on-Wheels experience.

Boston Common Visitors Center. 148 Tremont Street Next to the Park St. MBTA stop.

MAP OF MEETING LOCATION

If you have any last minute questions, please call 866-668-4345, ext 2. Or email us at info@bostonmovietours.net.

Ricky Gervais ruffles some feathers

Among several other towns, Lowell, Massachusetts is now home to a film cast and crew. For most people, the Hollywood hustle and bustle is new and exciting, but for others, some feathers are getting ruffled. Writer/director Ricky Gervais (of the hit UK sitcom The Office) has been keeping a video blog via YouTube. The Bostonist reports that Gervais was reading local paper The Lowell Sun and curled his lip in a gesture of distaste as he catches a typo. Apparently, in a later blog entry, Ricky shoots a nerf gun at a friend, and the Sun jumped all over it saying "These guys must be dying to shoot. We know we are". This raises questions as to whether or not the production is creating bad blood between the city and Gervais. It will be interesting (and probably entertaining) to see how this Hollywood vs. Small Town rumble works itself out.

Great Video on Massachusetts Movies

The Massaschusetts Film Office has put together a great 3-minute video on numerous films shot in the Bay State. Personally, I love the Boston soundtrack by the band Augustana.


Check out the Video

Backstage with Barry Nolan Weds Night

Tonight, Backstage with Barry Nolan will focus an episode on the Hollywood invasion of Beantown. You can catch the show on Comcast at 8pm (Channel 3 in Boston).

To prepare for the story, co-host Sara Edwards recently joined a Girl Scouts tour with co-founder Rachel Coveney and Hollywood Tour Guide Nick Pistori.

The Surrogates Hits Seaport Area

While out around Boston today, we came across the filming of the Surrogates, the sci-fi film starring Bruce Willis. It looks like the crew is setting up shop in a building on Necco Street in the Seaport District.

The filmmakers kept shooting two cars driving down Necco street; one vintage and one new. We did not have any Willis sightings but the cars were pretty darn cool. Both were rented special for the shoot.

Kate Hudson Filming at Fairmont Copley Plaza

The Fairmont Copley Plaza continues to be a hotspot for Hollywood. The other day, Kate Hudson made her way there to film a wedding scene for Bride Wars.

Most known for being the location of Tom Cruise's famous offer in The Firm, the Fairmont Copley Plaza was recently used in the upcoming My Best Friend's Girl with Dane Cook.

For Your Flying Pleasure

If you are flying on US Airways during April, check out the US AIRWAYS MAGAZINE to get the skinny on Boston movie making - and Boston Movie Tours.

Or read it here.

Casting: Wanna be a Star?

Interested in being part of a movie? Boston Casting is the premier casting agency in Boston. Here are some of their current casting calls.

http://www.bostoncasting.com/

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Close Encounters of the Drunken Kind

Here in Massachusetts, we've got some quips to remember to stay safe when driving. We've got "click it or ticket" and "buckle up- it's the law." Last Friday, Cape Ann learned why we have these safety limericks. The Proposal star Sandra Bullock's SUV was hit head- on by an allegedly drunk driver, Lucile Gatchell. Boston Herald's Inside Track reports that no injuries were sustained with anyone involved and filming has not been postponed. In fact, Bullock made sure to stop by Gloucester bakery, "Last Stop" to get one of her pups a birthday cake (complete with dog bones and a few cases of water) just days after the accident!

The Proposal will be filming in Cape Ann until early June. You can probably catch Sandra on foot and steering clear of the roads nowadays!