On the grid

Imagine the look on Jennie Bass's face when she got to 111 across in Sunday's crossword puzzle in the Boston Globe magazine. The clue? "Generic Proposal." The answer? "Will you marry me?" While most puzzlers just scribbled in the answer and moved on, not Bass. Those 14 letters were an actual marriage proposal by Bass's boyfriend Aric Egmont, who'd contacted the magazine to ask if a crossword could be specially created for him. "On our fourth date, I knew I had found the kind of dork I could love," Egmont wrote to the mag. (Both inveterate puzzlers, he's in communications at Fidelity and she's studying food policy and public health at Tufts School of Medicine.) Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon, the puzzle-writing pair who've been crafting the magazine's crosswords for years, accepted the challenge. Their puzzle was titled "Popping the question," and each entry was a variation on proposals. The tricky part, of course, was writing a puzzle - including an official proposal - that would be clear to the happy couple but not obscure to everyone else. Hence, 111 across: "Generic proposal" (Jen + Aric = generic). "We get to the 'Will you marry me?' clue," says Egmont, "and I said, 'Will you marry me, Jenny?' I got up, got the ring, and got down on one knee and she screamed and hugged me." It took her a minute to answer, but, yes, she'll marry him.

Our boy Ben Affleck was back in town last night for a screening of his new movie "Gone Baby Gone." Ben introduced the flick, based on Dennis Lehane's book of the same name, and then hosted a VIP reception afterward at Ivy. Affleck's directorial debut, shot in and around South Boston last summer, was well received earlier this month at the Deauville American Film Festival. The movie, which premieres here next month, stars Ben's kid brother Casey, as well as Ed Harris and Morgan Freeman. "This is the start of a 35-year career directing movies, so this [film] had to be right," Affleck said afterward. The Cambridge-bred actor, who also co-wrote the "Gone Baby Gone" script, said he was influenced by a number of directors with whom he's worked, including Martin Brest, Kevin Smith, Richard Linklater, and Roger Michell, director of "Changing Lanes." As much as he loves Lehane's book, Affleck said he wasn't completely faithful. "[Linklater]used to say a movie produced as written is an underachievement," he said.

Word is we'll get our first look at Tom Brady's lil one on the cover of the new issue of OK!, which comes out tomorrow. We're told Brady's ex Bridget Moynahan did a photo shoot with young John Edward Thomas over the weekend, and the mag is scrambling to put one of the pics on the cover. No word on what, if anything, Bridget was paid for the photos, but OK! has certainly demonstrated a willingness to open its wallet. For the Eva Longoria/Tony Parker wedding pics, for example, the mag wrote a check for $2 million.

A pool party in the backyard of your Weston home isn't a bad way to spend the last hours of summer. Particularly if you are venture capitalist Geoff Rehnert and the occasion is your 50th birthday. The Audax Group's honcho, who formerly worked at Bain Capital, was feted by his wife, Laura, with a swanky gathering the other night that included Celtics bigwig Wyc Grousbeck and his wife, Corinne, venture capitalist David Fialkow, Mandarin Oriental Hotel's Robin Brown, and Staples founder Tom Stemberg.

Norman Mailer canceled all his public appearances this month, but books by the scribe keep on coming. Word is that Random House has set an Oct. 16 release for "On God: An Uncommon Conversation," a series of "Platonic dialogues" between the 84-year-old Pulitzer winner and literary executor Michael Lennon. "He presents . . . an artistic God who often succeeds but can also fail in the face of contrary powers in the universe, with whom war is waged for the souls of humans," the publisher said in a statement yesterday.

Kudos to Kevin Youkilis, who's created a nonprofit to support local children's charities. Called "Hits for Kids," the Sox first baseman's new organization will support Christopher's Haven, Italian Home for Children, and Joslin Diabetes Center's Pediatric Health Services. "As athletes in this city, we have such a huge fan base, and what better way to use that than to help children," Youk told us yesterday. (As examples, he cited the charitable work done by teammates Tim Wakefield, Curt Schilling, Mike Timlin, and Jason Varitek.) Youkilis kicks off "Hits for Kids" with a fund-raiser Nov. 10 at Mohegan Sun hosted by funnyman Mike O'Malley and featuring a "Newlywed Game"-style show written by Seth Meyers of "SNL."

Moviemaker Eli Roth is set to try his hand at TV. Word is the Newton native, who directed both "Hostel" films, will write and direct an episode of "Heroes: Origins," a spinoff of NBC's hit show "Heroes." Roth is actually the second big name to get the nod on the new series. "Dogma" director Kevin Smith is writing and directing the first episode.

We won't see "Dancing With the Stars" cohost Samantha Harris do her best mead-hall wench imitation this fall at King Richard's Faire, which her mom, Bonnie Shapiro, produces. That's because Harris and her husband, Michael Hess, just welcomed their first child, Josselyn Sydney Hess, who was born in LA on Sunday. Harris has been a regular each fall in Carver, where her mom, a Plymouth resident, runs the show. Harris will skip her cohosting duties this season on "Dancing With the Stars" with former Boston TV guy Tom Bergeron.

"The Women" star Meg Ryan has been hanging out in the city - even when she's had a few days off from filming. Ryan, seen here on Sunday with daughter Daisy, has attracted the attention of the out-of-town paparazzi. . . . Yesterday, it was Debra Messing's turn to film scenes for the film at a swank Brookline condo. . . . Also, we're told that crews from "The Women" stopped by Heidi Thiede's South End home goods shop Voila to pick up a few things for the shoot.

"Bachelor No. 2" stars Jason Biggs and Dane Cook took time out from filming on the Boston Common yesterday morning to sign autographs for Emerson College students. We hear their lovely costar Kate Hudson wasn't on hand for the crack-of-dawn shoot. Biggs will make a return to Emerson next week for a meeting with students in the school's acting program.

Doug Most of the Globe Staff contributed. Names can be reached at names@globe.com or at 617-929-8253.