Director White knows Boston?s game

By Carol Beggy & Mark Shanahan, Globe Staff  |  April 3, 2007

Leave it to Mike White to be the guy who badmouths the Bosox on Opening Day. The celebrated screenwriter of such dark comedies as "Chuck & Buck" and "The Good Girl" believes the city's obsession with baseball is way over the top. "[The Red Sox] are on every newscast and every magazine cover here," said White, a Wesleyan grad who was in the Hub yesterday to promote his latest laugher, "Year of the Dog." "OK, I get it -- they're the Red Sox. . . . What you realize is that baseball's a crazy, cult-like, religious thing in Boston." The new movie, which stars Molly Shannon as a woman whose life falls apart after her four-legged friend dies, is White's directorial debut. "Working with the dogs was great," he said, "it was the babies who were a nightmare." Asked to explain his famously skewed sensibility, White said he can't help himself. "I like it when people don't know if they should laugh or cry," he said. Most folks laughed at "The School of Rock," the Jack Black box-office hit written by White. Why, we wondered, did Boston bad boys Aerosmith not make the movie's soundtrack ? "A lot of people think I'm a big music fan because of that movie, but I'm not, really," he said. "When Rush comes to Hollywood, they seek me out to party. It's weird." As for Aerosmith, don't feel bad for them. "They're doing just fine without a shout-out from me," he said.

Sox fan Affleck may move to New York

Ben Affleck may be moving his family back east after all, but it won't be to Boston. Ben's better half, Jennifer Garner, tells the new issue of Allure that she and Ben are considering relocating to New York -- Brooklyn, to be exact -- in the near future. "We're trying to figure out where we can give Violet the most normal life," the actress says, referring to the couple's 1-year-old daughter. Garner graces the mag's cover, and poses for a few provocative shots inside, but don't be fooled. "I'm kind of a prude," says Garner, who plays an FBI agent in her next film, "The Kingdom." Calling herself the opposite of a party girl, Garner said she doesn't go out a lot and rarely drinks. "I might have a glass of wine, but I wouldn't have the third. Ever," she says. "I don't like to be beyond tipsy."

Newton's Tim Urban had a pretty gruesome time in Donald Trump's "The Apprentice" boardroom on Sunday night with all the requisite back stabbing and yelling. And when it came down to eliminat ing someone from the team that had botched the task of pitching mouthwash, the 24-year-old Harvard grad was given the "You're fired!" by the Trumpster. Considered by the fan websites to be among the favorites for winning this sixth installment, Urban took a lot of grief from his fellow contestants and Trump for his budding relationship with teammate Nicole D'Ambrosio, who survived this week's boardroom scrutiny. The Los Angeles-based Urban seemed to shrug off his loss in the car ride out of the LA mansion, but he was too overwhelmed yesterday hearing from everyone he had kept at bay to elaborate to us about what his plans are. We do know that the pianist and songwriter, who was dubbed "The Musician" on the show, has just released his first CD, "Turning Home." He also continues to oversee The Cartim Group, an LA tutoring company he helped launch two years ago.

Warren Beatty is finally confirming what most of us already knew, or at least suspected: He's the charming cad Carly Simon was singing about in her hit "You're So Vain." "Let's be honest," said the 70-year-old actor, according to an msnbc.com report. "That song is about me." The ID of Simon's subject has been a closely guarded secret for years, with some wondering if Mick Jagger might be the man. In 2003, at the annual Possible Dreams auction on Martha's Vineyard, NBC executive Dick Ebersol paid $50,000 for a private concert by Carly. During the show, the singer revealed, for the first time, the unnamed narcissist who inspired her 1972 song. . . . At last, the Rev. Peter Gomes is writing his memoir. The Baptist minister, who serves on the Harvard faculty, signed a deal with HarperSanFrancisco. He was represented by John Taylor "Ike" Williams of Fish and Richardson. . . . While we're at it, Globe reporter Brian MacQuarrie has signed with Da Capo Press to write a book called "A Ride to Hell and Back" about the abduction and murder of Jeffrey Curley and the transformation of his father, Robert, from vengeance-seeking victim to outspoken critic of the death penalty. . . . "Seinfeld" buddy Jason Alexander will perform at and host the Huntington Theatre Company's "Spotlight Spectacular!" April 30. Last year's gala raised more than $550,000 to support the company's programs. The Tony Award winner and BU alum will help the Huntington mark its 25-year affiliation with Boston University and honor board members Sherryl and Gerard Cohen for their years of service. . . . Pulitzer-winning composer John Adams will return to his alma mater to receive the Harvard Arts Medal as part of the Arts First weekend activities. Fellow Harvard alum actor John Lithgow will host a May 4 discussion with Adams about his operatic works, including "Nixon in China" and "Dr. Atomic."

Names can be reached at names@globe.com or at 617-929-8253.