'Wild Hogs' chill out in the Hub

As he pumped his arms in the air, Martin Lawrence was complaining about the " 'cicles in my ears." It was that cold at City Hall Plaza yesterday as the stars of "Wild Hogs" -- Lawrence, Tim Allen, John Travolta, and William H. Macy -- presented the city with a check for $10,000 for the PD's Crime Stoppers Program . The movie, about four biker wannabes who find trouble when they hit the open road, is in theater s March 2. With a police escort, the actors were whisked from the Four Seasons to City Hall where Mayor Tom Menino, Police Commissioner Ed Davis, and the city's arts and tourism chief, Julie Burns, waited with a group of semi-frozen fans. Allen challenged city officials to try and cash the over sized check, to which Davis replied: "I don't think I'll have a problem." Later, Travolta, who filmed "A Civil Action" in Boston, told us he likes the city and doesn't even mind the weather. "It's great to return to Boston," he said. One last order of business before the four stars jumped back into the warm SUVs -- Hizzoner had to sign the proclamation designating yesterday "Wild Hogs Day" in Boston.

Sedgwick sold on ‘Factory Girl’

Between John Sedgwick's book and Sienna Miller's movie, it's all about Edie at the moment. But the Cambridge writer swears it's just serendipity that his book about the screwy Sedgwick clan was released around the same time as "Factory Girl," director George Hickenlooper's heavily hyped film in which Miller stars as Warhol waif Edie Sedgwick . "Edie deserves all of the attention that she's getting," said Sedgwick, who spent three years researching and writing "In My Blood: Six Generations of Madness and Desire in an American Family." "In the book, Edie's but one ornament on the family tree." Sedgwick's book has received good reviews, but the same cannot be said for the movie. Still, Sedgwick attended the New York premiere of "Factory Girl," and liked it. "I thought Sienna played a very convincing Edie, really inhabiting her, and Guy Pearce's performance as Warhol, while perhaps harsher than the reality, was very good." Asked if the movie will help move copies of his books, Sedgwick's hopeful. On the DVD, which is likely to be out sooner rather than later, he talks about his famous first cousin.

MIT gambling film gets rolling in Vegas

Before it begins shooting in Boston, the big-budget movie based on homeboy Ben Mezrich's bestseller "Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions " is filming scenes now in Sin City. Directed by Robert Luketic , the flick features A-listers Laurence Fishburne , Kevin Spacey , and Cohasset cutie Kate Bosworth . Mezrich, who consulted on the script, is on the Vegas set in part because his lovely wife, Boston jewelry designer Tonya Chen , has landed a small speaking role in the film. Previously titled "21," the film's now being referred to only as "the untitled blackjack picture." Preproduction crews are camped out at Boston's InterContinental Hotel, gearing up to shoot at BU, Cambridge, the Seaport District of South Boston, and elsewhere. "I'm really just here for the thrill of it," Mezrich told us yesterday from a casino in Vegas. "This is really a dream come true."

During his sold-out show at the TD Banknorth Garden, Justin Timberlake gave a cryptic shout-out to "you Tufts girls, you know who you are." We were confused at first, but then we remembered that a certain sexy starlet who's been romantically linked to Timberlake actually attended Tufts. No, not Scarlett Johansson, silly. Jessica Biel. The pneumatic actress was a Tufts student for three semesters beginning in the fall of 2000. (She quit to concentrate on acting and later told Movieweb, "For me to go back to Medford, Mass., where I don't know anybody anymore is like starting as a freshman all over again.") The friendly folks in the Tufts PR office knew of no Timberlake tie, but were happy to hear the singer sends his love. . . . The new Sox-centered dating show from the creators of "Queer Eye" has launched a website to attract potential participants. Single male and female Sox fans looking to round the bases should log on to sox-appeal.com. Called "Sox Appeal," the show, produced by NESN and Scout Productions principal David Collins, will be shot during games at Fenway Park, with each episode focused on a guy or girl and three prospective partners. Casting begins soon and the show debuts in July. . . . Congrats to Godsmack bassist Robbie Merrill and his wife, Heather, on the arrival of their first child, Nianni Chay Merrill. Conveniently, the Lawrence-bred band is on hiatus while singer Sully Erna hypes his book, "The Paths We Choose." . . . Former New Kid Jordan Knight was knocking around the VIP area at Timberlake's show at the Garden Tuesday night.

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