Edge of Darkness Causes Mass Pike Traffic

When film crews shoot in busy areas here in Boston, they generally do it off hours so the general public is not inconvenienced. It looks like someone missed that memo.

As reported in Hollywood in the Hub last week, the new Mel Gibson movie, Edge of Darkness was shot in the Mass Pike area today. The filming took place around the Route 30 on-ramp in Weston. However, filming occurred during rush hour increasing traffic and angering numerous commuters. I hope some rubberneckers at least got a glimpse of Mel.

According to WBZ Boston, a statement was issued by the Mass Pike.

"We apologize to the commuters who were stuck in this morning's quagmire near
the Weston interchange. In hindsight, we should not have allowed the filming to
take place during the morning rush hour. In addition, work reconfiguring the
lanes at the Weston interchange compounded the problem and should have been
stopped when the backups began. Again, apologies all around. It won't happen
again."

Mel Gibson Filming Mass Pike

Talk about rubber necking.

According to the Boston Herald's Inside Track, Mel Gibson’s crew will be on the Mass Pike early this week filming some his new movie Edge of Darkness. Just make sure to keep your eyes on the road.

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, Nahant Beach, Hyde Park and Boston Harbor Islands (Peddocks Island), North End
- Status: Filming completed (March-July 08); 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, Suite nightclub and Back Bay
- Status: In Post Production as of July 2008; for release in 2009

Edge of Darkness: A police officer investigates the death of his activist daughter.
-Starring: Mel Gibson
-Filming: South Boston
-Status: Filming as of 09/09/08

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, Chelsea, and Hingham
- Status: Post production as of July 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, Centre Street in West Roxbury, South Shore Plaza
- Status: Post Production as of July 2008; for release in January 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, Salem
- Status: Post production as of July 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, Old Worcester Courthouse, Worcester, MA, Back Bay
- Status: Completed Filming as of August 2008

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: Completed filming as of September 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: on DVD

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 September 19, 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, Debra Messing
- Filming: South End, Back Bay, Newbury Street, Boston Public Library
- Status: In Theaters
- 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.

De-Nied by De Niro!

It appears that Boston will have to wait before Bobby dearest graces the city with his presence. After being in Boston just a few days, A-lister Robert De Niro left the production of Edge of Darkness. Varitety reports that a De Niro spokesperson explains "Sometimes things don’t work out, it’s called creative differences."

The filmmakers are planning to shoot around De Niro's character's scenes until he is re-cast. Maybe we can get a full week out of the next guy!

Mel comes out of hibernation to Film in Boston

Actor Mel Gibson has finally come back to the Big Screen. He decided to come back after a couple years break to film act in the Movie Edge of Darkness which is being filmed in our beloved city of Boston. It is a movie similar to Mystic River where Mel’s characters daughter gets murdered and he is trying to find the killer. But instead of being an ex con, he is a cop looking for justice. In this role he is playing opposite Robert Deniro who is a CIA operative trying to cover up all of this hubbub. Among these Veteran incredibly talented actors, are a couple of new faces such as Danny Huston who can be seen in films such as the Aviator and Bojana Novakovic who has had the opportunity to work with talents such as Will smith and Sam Raimi. This film is thought to be one of the next big blockbuster hits to come from the City of Boston.

You can catch the A-lister staying at the Ritz Carlton downtown, keep your eyes out!

Passion of the Hub

As the summer starts to wind down, the film scene is slowly starting to pick up again in Boston. The summer has brought the wrapping up of several films shooting from the spring, but April showers did not bring May movie sets. Luckily, these lovely August thunderstorms are bringing us.... Mel Gibson! Set to start filming Edge of Darkness next week, Gibson flew into the city last night and hit the ground running! Boston Herald's Inside Track reports that unlike Departed and Ashecliffe star Leo DiCaprio, Gibson is very social and loves to get in good with the locals. Just last week, Mel was seen schmoozing at Kings bowling alley in the Back Bay, Mantra night club, and even grabbed a bite to eat at JJ Foley's downtown! This just goes to show that you just never know when you'll be in the right place at the right time. The cast and crew- which, by the way, includes Robert De Niro will be here until Christmastime, so keep your eyes peeled, moviegoers!

Edge of Darkness gets underway....and maybe with a new addition?

At the end of the month, movie cameras will start rolling again in the great city of Boston. The past month or so has been relatively quiet, but now it is starting to pick up again with the feature film, Edge of Darkness starring Mel Gibson.

Boston Herald's Inside Track reports that producers are in talks with the one, the only Robert DeNiro about co-starring in the film with Gibson. If he accepts, this will be DeNiro's first picture in Boston, and we'd love to have him!

In additon to Edge of Darkness, The Other Side, starring Katie Holmes and Woody Harrelson is also set to start filming in early fall around Boston. Apparently, the director ahs checked into the Millennium Bostonian Hotel to meet with producers to scout locations on the North Shore.

High Five, Boston, for keeping the momentum going on Hollywood East!

Edge of Darkness and Britney to Boston?

A popular TV series is coming to Boston and is being made into a movie. According to the Boston Globe, filming will take place this summer for Edge of Darkness which follows a police investigator whose activist daughter is killed under mysterious circumstances.

Mel Gibson is set to begin filming the flick in August with Boston local William Monahan penning the script. The movie is being produced by Graham King who last worked with Monahan on the Oscar winning The Departed.

Also ,according to another Boston Globe article, rumored to join the cast is Britney Spears. Is Boston ready for Britney? We’ll have to see.