Affleck on both sides of the camera
While he waits to hear if "Hollywoodland" earns him an Oscar nod, Ben Affleck's staying busy. The Cambridge-bred actor jetted back to Boston after Monday's Golden Globe Awards to work more on his directorial debut, "Gone, Baby, Gone." We're told Affleck will be doing several re-shoots here as he readies the film for release this year. Based on Dennis Lehane's book of the same name, the bulk of "Gone, Baby, Gone" was shot around South Boston last summer with a stellar cast that includes Casey Affleck, Michelle Monaghan, and Morgan Freeman. Affleck didn't grab a Globe, but many film fans think his fine performance as TV Superman George Reeves in "Hollywoodland" could win him a second Academy Award. (Nominees will be announced Tuesday.) Affleck next appears in front of the camera in director Mike Binder's "Man About Town." Inexplicably, the movie co-starring Rebecca Romijn and John Cleese is going direct to DVD on Feb. 13.
Golden Globe nods enough for Perrotta
Belmont author Tom Perrotta was neither upset nor surprised to return empty - handed from the Golden Globes. Nominated for best screenplay for "Little Children," Perrotta lost to Peter Morgan , screenwriter for "The Queen." Why so insouciant? Maybe it's because Perrotta partied with Prince. OK, maybe partied is overstating it. Perrotta and his Purpleness were seatmates for the evening. "He was very shy. We only spoke about the absence of bottled water at our table. He was just as disappointed as I was," Perrotta told us. The night's other pleasant surprise was meeting Dustin Hoffman , to whom Perrotta was introduced by former Bangle Susanna Hoffs. Had Hoffman actually heard of him ? "He nodded," Perrotta said, chuckling. "I got a nod."McKeown finds Theo just dreamy
Erin McKeown has a funny fantasy life. At the first of her two shows at Club Passim this week, the folkie told fans she was so excited about coming back to Boston -- she attended nearby Brown -- she had a bizarre Bosox-related dream. In it, McKeown was at a sports bar when a "butch woman" wearing a Sox jersey walked in. Intrigued and attracted, the singer said she was staring at the woman when someone leaned in to explain: "That's Theo Epstein." To the delight of the crowd, McKeown said she kissed the Sox GM. The singer then played "The Taste of You," dedicating the tune to Theo.Legends turn out for, well, ‘Legends!’
Spring Sirkin , the Tony Award-winning producer and Boston area resident, was at the LA premiere of "Legends!", a comedy reuniting "Dynasty" divas Joan Collins and Linda Evans . Others at Tuesday's opening included new 007 Daniel Craig, classical pianist Van Cliburn, former astronaut Buzz Aldrin, and a Tinseltown types such as Robert Wagner, James Farentino, Jacqueline Bisset, Rip Taylor, and Michele Lee. Sirkin is co-producer of the national "Legends!" tour that makes an early March stop at Boston's Shubert Theatre at the Citi Performing Arts Center.What's old is new again. Just check out the TV cartoon "Codename: Kids Next Door," which will feature Boston's most regal rockers, The Upper Crust, on an upcoming episode. The legendary band, five fanciful fops who play power chords while wearing puffy shirts and powdered wigs, play themselves on an episode airing Jan. 26 on the Cartoon Network. "I've been a fan of theirs for years," the show's creator, Tom Warburton, told us. . . . We can't say for sure which indie act will take the Symphony Hall stage in the spring as part of the "Pops on the Edge" series, but Keith Lockhart lets drop a few names on his website. The Boston Pops bandleader says the Flaming Lips, Belle & Sebastian, Sufjan Stevens, and Death Cab for Cutie are all in heavy rotation on his iPod. Two years ago, Guster played with the Pops, and last year Jim James and My Morning Jacket got the joint jumping.
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