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.

Gone Baby Gone Boston Scenes

Ben Affleck, Casey Affleck and Dennis Lehane all give their views on the importance of filming the riveting new crima drama Gone Baby Gone in Boston.

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Stars are out for Gone Baby Gone Premiere

We were fortunate to see a sneak peak of Gone Baby Gone last week (SEE FULL REVIEW) with author Dennis Lehane introducing. But tonight was the OFFICIAL Boston premiere and the stars were out in full force along with just about every Boston media outlet.

Let me start out by saying these may be the WORST movie premiere pics you will ever see. That’s what happens when you leave your camera home and have to resort to a camera phone. If any of you have some good ones, please send them along to info@bostonmovietours.net.

First on the scene was Matt Damon, long time friend of Ben Affleck. After arriving in a SUV, he worked the red carpet (in reality, just a sidewalk) for 10 minutes or so. Lehane then made the rounds. But the big applause was saved for the last guests; star Casey Affleck and director Ben Affleck. Ben was there wife Jennifer Garner who looked spectacular.

Other actors in attendance: Robert Wahlberg, Amy Ryan, Matthew Maher, Trudi Goodman, Jay Giannone and others. Ben’s co-producer Sean Bailey was also on hand.

Gone Baby Gone is Terrific

“Wow” is the first word that pops into my mind after seeing Gone Baby Gone, a Boston based crime drama about an abducted girl starring Casey Affleck, Ed Harris and Morgan Freeman.

Last night, I got a chance to see a sneak peak at the AMC Boston Common hosted by Eckerd College alumni Dennis Lehane. Lehane, of course is famous for writing crime dramas such as Mystic River, Shutter Island and Gone Baby Gone.

When Gone Baby Gone was being filmed around Boston, there were definitely some question marks. Sure, the screenplay was adapted from the author who wrote one of the best Boston movies of all time (Mystic River). But we also had Ben Affleck making his directorial debut and Casey Affleck starring. Would Ben bring us his moments of excellence as he did with Good Will Hunting or show us the flipside as he did with Jersey Girl? Would Casey use this as his breakout role or would we see he works best playing supporting parts (Ocean’s series)?

Well I am happy to report Boston brought out the best in both Affleck brothers. Casey shined in his role as the detective hired to find the little girl. He definitely stepped it up a notch and may get some consideration for a Best Actor nomination. And Ben worked his magic keeping the audience engaged the entire movie. Harris, Freeman and Michelle Monaghan also gave excellent performances.

Without giving away the plot, there were plenty of twists and turns throughout the experience. Along the way, Ben weaves in a number of moral quandaries about the two sides of right and wrong. I call it an “experience” because the movie is terrific but pretty emotionally draining. Watching a movie about a kidnapped child is not exactly like watching an episode of Saturday Night Live. But if you love crime dramas, Gone Baby Gone needs to top your list for movies to see in 2007.

From a Boston perspective, Boston made for a spectacular backdrop. It is rare for a studio released movie to properly hit the authenticity of Boston. But Gone Baby Gone hit a homerun in that aspect thanks to Affleck’s strong Boston ties. From the supporting cast hand picked for their Boston flavor to the accents, Boston was right on in terms of the movie’s theme.

Gone Baby Gone gets 4.5 out of 5 stars and is one of the best dramas of the year.