Glory day

Bruce Springsteen told the audience to put the chicken fingers down and turn the television up as he and the E Street Band rocked the Super Bowl last night. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer pulled out the stops with a pyrotechnic-enhanced, twelve-minute set that included versions of "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out," "Born to Run," and "Glory Days," with the Boss retrofitting the latter with lyrics about football instead of baseball. With the help of a gospel choir, the group also performed the title track to Springsteen's new album "Working on a Dream," released last week. Tickets for Springsteen's shows April 21 and 22 at the TD Banknorth Garden go on sale today. - SARAH RODMAN

The MTV-sponsored cheerleading contest this weekend was timed to the release of the new movie "Fired Up," which stars Sarah Roemer, Molly Sims, and Eric Christian Olsen. The competition, which was held Saturday at the Area IV Youth Center in Cambridge, was open only to amateurs between the ages of 13-25, and the winners received $300 for their cheer organization as well as VIP passes and free popcorn and soda at a "Fired Up" screening in Boston. In the front here, among the winners wearing "Fired Up" T-shirts, are Sierra Boardman, Toni Fields, and Danielle Cook.

Karl Sims will never be mistaken for Brad Pitt, but the founder of Cambridge-based GenArts is a genuine star. For 11 consecutive years, software produced by his company has been used in films nominated for an outstanding visual effects Oscar. This year, Academy Award nominees employing GenArts include "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" and "Iron Man". When Sims started the company 12 years ago in his Cambridge barn, he had a modest goal. "We just wanted to package a bunch of special-effects tools and make them available to folks editing films, videos, whatever," he said. A year later, GenArts's Sapphire software was used by James Cameron's crew in "Titanic," and the rest is history. "The movie won an Oscar for visual effects, and I'd like to think we made a big difference in making that possible," said Sims. Other examples? In "Lord of the Rings," when Frodo's sword glows blue, or in "X-Men," when Halle Berry is in the middle of a maelstrom, that's GenArts. And where will Sims be on Oscar night? "Sitting at home," he said. "It's nice to watch it on TV."

Matt Cassel made the scene at this weekend's Super Bowl parties, such as they were. (Playboy and Sports Illustrated both canceled their razzle-dazzle bashes because of the economy.) The Pats quarterback and wife Lauren Killian were at the Coors Light Super Bowl party, where guests included Cassel's QB comrades Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, and Jeff Garcia, Hall of Famer Dan Marino, event planner Kimberly Krouse, SI swimsuit models Jarah Mariano and Jessica Gomes, and the evening's featured performer, Nelly.

No wonder Yari Film Group is in trouble. Last week, we sent the company an e-mail asking if its made-in-Massachusetts movie "The Maiden Heist" will ever see the light of day. This was the reply from Yari's Emily Lambert: "I don't anticipate any screenings of 'The Maiden Heist' in the near future." Hmm. That might come as a surprise to the Worcester Art Museum, which has announced it's hosting the world premiere of the picture March 7, and director Peter Hewitt, producer Rob Paris, writer Michael LeSieur, and actors Christopher Walken and William H. Macy are all expected to attend. Why Worcester? The movie, about three museum security guards upset about the new curator's decision to change the museum's collection, was shot at the Worcester Art Museum. In December, the distribution division of Yari Film Group, which also produced Brian Goodman's flick "What Doesn't Kill You," filed for bankruptcy.

Hundreds of folks showed up at a party hosted by the Massachusetts Film Office to celebrate a successful year of moviemaking in the state. Lisa Simmons, director of the Color of Film Collaborative, and Mass. Film Office pooh-bah Nick Paleologos were just two of the familiar faces at the Castle Saturday. . . . Olympic gymnast Alicia Sacramone dropped the puck at the Bruins/Rangers game Saturday. The petite Winchester native was joined at center ice by 6-foot-9 Zdeno Chara, the B's captain.

John Forte, the hip-hop artist whose cause Carly Simon championed, is out of prison and trying to put his life back together. Released after Pesident George Bush commuted the remainder of his 14-year sentence, Forte is writing a bi-weekly column for TheDailyBeast.com and has recorded a song called "Homecoming" with Talib Kweli. (Forte spent seven years behind bars for a nonviolent drug offense.) Through his lawyer and publicist, the singer declined to talk to us, saying he's not doing any media while he works on his music. A graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy, Forte is friends with Carly's kid Ben Taylor, and Simon was instrumental in the effort to spring him. "I left the 'free world' prior to BlackBerry addiction and iPod accessorizing," Forte writes in his first Daily Beast dispatch, titled "First Day Out of Prison." "I learned how to use that multifunctional phone in the car ride, dialing a half-dozen people who fought tirelessly in my defense over the years. The calls were all similar in words . . . 'Thank you. I'm coming home.' "

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