Friday, July 17, 2009

Boston Movie Tours Featured in New Book

A few years ago Andy Mosely came from the UK for the summer to visit the US. Along the way he came on our very own Boston Movie Mile Walking Tour. He has now written a book about his travels called Around the States in 90 Days now available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, BetterWorld, and Powells.

Andy was kind enough to write a feature in his book about his Boston Movie Tour:

"Back on ground level we took the Boston Movie Tour, a walking tour starting in the Common and covering a square mile from there. Any hope we had of getting to know real Americans was shattered when we discovered the only other people on the tour were also British, and were here for a wedding. This did however give me renewed hope that I could win the tour quiz, unless they also happened to know anything about obscure American films that had not got UK releases.

First stop on the tour was part of the Common used in The Departed, which at this time was a forthcoming film, rather than an Oscar winner. I went into an early lead guessing that Matt Damon co-wrote Good Will Hunting with Ben Affleck. We left the common and went past scenes from A Civil Action, Legally Blonde, Mystic River, the US version of Fever Pitch and a whole host of films they’d never heard of and were never likely to. I maintained my slender lead as we passed John Kerry’s house, and the mansion used in the original The Thomas Crown Affair.

In spite of it being a movie tour, we also went past Ally McBeal’s office, and down Beacon Street to that famous Boston Bar, “just in case you haven’t already seen it” as the tour guide said - yeah, right. Somewhere along the way I realized the biggest difference with Boston TV scenes and Boston film scenes is that in films Boston buildings are used as stand-ins for buildings in other cities, whereas in TV the buildings are in Boston but the rest of the filming is in LA. I also realised I was way ahead in the quiz as we entered the final phase of the tour by the bench on the Common where Matt Damon and Robin Williams sat in Good Will Hunting. My joy in victory was short lived as the prize was a mini Boston clapperboard, and everyone else also got one. And to think of all the effort I’d put in."

If you would like to take a tour just go to our website at bostonmovietours.net. Don't worry, the winner of any Boston Movie Tour Trivia Game now gets their very own prize to themselves.

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