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.

Film makers just don't learn their lesson in Eastie

Back in 1993, East Boston had a minor cinematic mishap when an oceanliner explosion blew out about 8,000 residential windows. The action thriller Blown Away caused quite a few problems out on the harbor and served as a lesson to all future films coming to the area: don't use the Harbor as your own personal soundstage.

Well, Martin Scorcese tried to live on the wild side while filming Ashecliffe, the film adaptation of Dennis Lehane's novel, Shutter Island.

Boston Herald reports that as per usual, the set was in lock-down mode, but there was some drama visible from the street. A pair of cranes hoisting a huge black screen over the water lost control of the in the wind yesterday.

One insider reports to the Herald “It took off like a kite and crashed into the back of the boat, damaging the American flag,” said our spy on the scene. “They decided it was too dangerous in the 30 knot winds, so they dismantled it.”

Another crisis averted. Well played, Marty.

The crew heads to a warehouse in Hyde Park for filming later this week. The production will be in the Boston area until June, so keep your eyes peeled and steer clear of any cranes!

Ashecliffe Filming Hits Tauton

Martin Scorsese's long awaited Ashcliffe with Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo and Ben Kingsley is finally set to begin filming. Ashecliffe is based on Dennis Lehane’s novel Shutter Island.

According to the Boston Herald, the filmmakers have converted Whittenton Mills in Taunton into a concentration camp and filming is going on now.

Later this month, the abandoned Medfield State Hospital is slated for the backdrop of several hospital scenes. As of Tuesday, Boston Movie Tours confirmed some Ashecliffe activity in a remote part of Medfield. Pics coming on Friday.

Shutter Island Becomes Ashecliffe

The new Martin Scorsese movie based on the Dennis Lehane book Shutter Island recently received a name change. The movie is now being called Ashecliffe. Go try to spell that one correctly.

One of the places you'll the stars roaming about is in Tauton, Mass. According to the Boston Herald, the crew will set up for 4 days at Whittenton Mills in March.

Scorsese and DiCaprio Team Up Again

What happens when you mix The Departed with Mystic River? You get another potential Boston blockbuster.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese are teaming up on another Boston crime drama called Shutter Island. They originally teamed up on the award winning The Departed. Mark Ruffalo and Ben Kinsley have also joined the cast.

Shutter Island is base on a book by local author Dennis Lehane (Mystic River and Gone Baby Gone). Set in the 1950s, Shutter Island follows the stories of two United States Marshals (Ruffalo and DiCaprio) 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.

According to the Inside Track, Scorsese was in Boston the other day scouting locations. Keep your eyes out. Shooting is scheduled to begin in March.