Gisele's a fan

By Globe Staff  |  January 29, 2008

Being Wendy to Mikhail Baryshnikov's Peter Pan was a "dream come true," supermodel Gisele Bundchen told photographer Annie Leibovitz. Tom Brady's girlfriend was one of a dozen celebs picked by Disney Parks to appear in an ad campaign that will run in the March editions of Conde Nast magazines. "[Gisele] kept talking about how 'Peter Pan' was her favorite story as a child," Disney spokesman Rod Madden told us yesterday. While Leibovitz was setting up the scene inside studios at Pier 59 in Manhattan in October, Bundchen regaled those present with a story from when she was young. "[Gisele] said she used to have recurring dream 'that I could fly, and here I am portraying Wendy, who gets to fly with Peter Pan,' " Madden said. "She kept saying how it was a dream come true for her."

Brady's 'hotness' cools
Tom Brady may be the hottest thing in Boston, but he may have cooled down in the eyes of single women around the country. In a survey of 1,900 singles by the Boston-based online dating service OkCupid.com, No. 12 ranked seventh among the single pro quarterbacks in the NFL. Who bested our MVP QB? The Baltimore Ravens' Kyle Boller was chosen as the best looking single quarterback, and Brady lagged behind the Giants' Eli Manning on "the hotness scale." OkCupid CEO Sam Yagan said he thought Brady would be a lock on the top spot but wondered whether backlash to the perfect season and his supermodel girlfriend affected the voting. "I think it all comes down to the fact that most women can no longer see themselves dating Tom Brady - he's in a different stratosphere now," Yagan said, "unlike celebrities like Matt Damon, who have remained pretty grounded and married women that most single women can relate to."

Patients (and nurses) are a virtue
Taunton and Medfield have landed roles in Martin Scorsese's new film, "Ashecliffe," based on Dennis Lehane's novel "Shutter Island." The pic, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Michelle Williams, drew a few thousand people to an open casting call at Boston University this weekend. Casting directors were looking mostly for people to play mental patients, concentration camp prisoners, and soldiers. Dylan Smith of Medfield hoped to play a patient, but others had different roles in mind. "They don't just need mental patients; they also need nurses," said Dana Sullivan, 23, of Wayland. Mary Hunt of Westford arrived in costume in hopes of working as an extra. "I'm an imposter nurse," Hunt said. East Bridgewater's Susan Conant figured being a real psych nurse at Brockton Hospital would give her a leg up. Three months of filming is scheduled to begin in March at Whittenton Mills in Taunton and the former Medfield State Hospital.

With less than two hours to go in the six-hour casting session, movie reps walked through the lines asking for SAG actors to move forward to be seen for possible speaking roles in the movie that is expected to film for three months starting in March. "I caught a break," said Becki Dennis who has worked on more than a half dozen films since moving back to Andover. "I got to go ahead of the line. I keep seeing some of the same people on the different movies."

Learning that his Boston Harbor Hotel earned five stars in the Mobil Travel Guide was like "winning an Oscar" for general manager Paul Jacques. The announcement that the waterfront landmark - along with longtime five-star winner the Four Seasons - received the top designation was made live on yesterday's "Today" show. The Mobil guide gave five stars to 41 of the 7,000 hotels it reviewed last year.

The good news is that Gang of Four is recording again. The bad news is that drummer Hugo Burnham, who lives in Gloucester, is sitting this one out. Billboard reports that Burnham, who teaches at the New England Institute of Art, won't be keeping the beat because of "unnamed health reasons." Said bassist Dave Allen: 'It's a personal issue that will be discussed at a later date."

Former New Kid on the Block Danny Wood used his MySpace page yesterday to debunk a People magazine report that the Kids are reuniting. "I wanted to address the rumors of the NKOTB Reunion Tour. There has been no talk of this and you are getting it from source directly," Wood posted from Miami, where he's working on his new album, "Coming Home." Wood added: "Never say never, and you can't believe everything you read." People reported on its website over the weekend that Wood, Donnie Wahlberg, Jordan and Jonathan Knight, and Joey McIntyre were getting back together and that an official announcement was imminent. That came days after word that another Boston-based group, the Funky Bunch, were heading back into the studio and out on tour without their frontman, Donnie's kid brother Mark.

It will be a reunion of the Velmas when Catherine Zeta-Jones and Bebe Neuwirth honor Chita Rivera in Boston. Rivera will receive the lifetime achievement award March 8 at Swellegance, the annual fund-raiser for Boston Youth Moves. Rivera originated the role of Velma Kelly in the 1975 Broadway production of the hit musical "Chicago." Zeta-Jones won an Oscar for her portrayal in the 2002 film version, while Neuwirth took home a Tony for her role in the 1996 Broadway revival.

The country's former chief poet Robert Pinsky hosted a welcome reception last night for Charles Simic, the new US poet laureate. The two took the stage at the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum to discuss poetry and read their favorite poets.

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