Celebs are game to ring in Sox opener
STAR-STUDDED START That Red Sox opening day would be a tough ticket was a given. But just how big do you have to be to get into Fenway for Monday afternoon's game that kicks off with the World Series ring ceremony? Look for Ben Affleck and his ''Good Will Hunting" co-writer Matt Damon, we're told. A slew of celebs are in town for movie producer Todd Dagres's
WELCOME HOME, INDEED After the game, the Red Sox Foundation takes center stage with a ''Welcome Home" dinner at the Sheraton Boston Hotel where all the players, their wives, and other family members will join fans for a fund-raiser. Although the official types are mum, last year's MCs were Affleck and ''Saturday Night Live" comic Seth Meyers, both of whom will be in town for the poker tourney and the game. A repeat performance wouldn't be surprising.
SPEAKING OF CHAMPS Bob Kraft and his three-time Super Bowl-winning Patriots will head to the White House on Wednesday. The team captains will make their way to the Oval Office for a photo with President Bush before a presidential meeting and photo op with the entire team. . . . After being feted at the White House, QB Tom Brady will make his way to the Big Apple to begin rehearsals for his stint as host of ''Saturday Night Live." Although an official announcement won't be made until tonight's show, it appears Brady's musical guest will be Beck.
MEMOIR TO BIG SCREEN Writer-director Paul Weitz ( ''About A Boy," ''American Pie," ''In Good Company") will adapt Boston writer Nick Flynn's ''Another [expletive] Night in Suck City" for Columbia Pictures, according to yesterday's Hollywood Reporter. Flynn's memoir begins when he is 27 and meets his father for the third time while Flynn is working as a caseworker in a Boston homeless shelter.
OVER EXPOSED His credentials as a Boston sports nut are well established, so it's no surprise Mike Schuster -- Patriots Fan of the Year, 1999 -- shows up in ''Fever Pitch." (He's the guy wearing the inflatable baseball on his head at the concessions stand.) We weren't prepared, however, for his performance at the ''Fever Pitch" red-carpet rally at Fenway. As Jimmy Fallon was leaving the field, Schuster leaned over the dugout and lifted his shirt, revealing the ''Fever Pitch" logo painted on his ample tummy. ''I used high-quality theater paint," Schuster told us. ''I figured if it's good enough for actors performing under hot theater lights, it's good enough for my big fat beer belly." Good thinking. To his credit, Fallon, who actually mentioned Schuster on an episode of ''Dr. Phil," did not run away at the sight of Schuster's bare midriff.
STORARO HONORED Guests at this week's ceremony honoring Italian cinematographer Vittorio Storaro included former New York Times film critic Elvis Mitchell, journalist Bob Fisher, and Richard Crudo, president of the American Society of Cinematographers. But the big surprise was taped congratulations from Warren Beatty, who worked with Storaro on ''Reds," ''Dick Tracy," and ''Bullworth." Storaro received the Coolidge Award for his contributions to film from the Coolidge Corner Theatre Foundation.
Names can be reached at names@globe.com or at 617-929-8253.
