Pawson wins big

By Mark Shanahan & Paysha Rhone, Globe Staff  |  March 25, 2009

Dan Pawson - a legislative aide to state Senator Bruce Tarr - has won $250,000 in the 2009 Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions. And - after last night's show - everyone finally knows it. The 27-year-old Allston dad took the tourney back in January, but has kept his triumph mostly to himself. He planned to watch his win last night with State House and college friends at the Sports Depot. "I'm covering everyone's first drink," he joked. "I think that's generous enough." Pawson said he was almost eliminated during his very first game, back in 2007; he also had trouble with fashion questions during the championship. "There was a category all about . . . who designed what dress. That did not go well." Still, his love of politics and study of world capitals more than made up for it. The most fun has been deciding - with his wife, of course - how to spend his haul. Student loans, charity donations, a house down payment and European vacation have all made the list. Interestingly, the tourney's second-place winner was Larissa Kelly, originally from Newton, who took home $100,000, according to producers.

Is Boston big enough to support two film festivals simultaneously? We're about to find out. The Boston International Film Festival, which used to be held in June, has changed its dates to April, conveniently coinciding with the more popular and slickly produced Independent Film Festival Boston. We're told the switch has caused considerable confusion for filmmakers, some of whom thought they were submitting movies to the independent film fest only to learn later they entered the international film fest. Organizers of the independent fest told us yesterday they've heard from at least three moviemakers who made such a mistake and are trying to move their film to the independent fest. Adam Roffman, founder of Independent Film Festival Boston, said he's puzzled by the change and suspects the Boston International Film Festival is trying to piggyback on his press. "It's hard to believe they didn't know they were moving their date by several months to coincide with our festival," said Roffman. "We have huge press coverage, ads on the T, lamppost banners, radio ads. . . . We're kind of everywhere and over 20,000 people attend every year." As soon as he heard about the switch, Roffman said he called and e-mailed organizers of the other festival, and never heard back. The independent film fest takes place April 22-28 while the international film fest now runs April 17-26. Though both are in their seventh year, Roffman's festival has a larger following and lineup, making use of the Somerville Theatre's five screens, the Brattle Theatre, the Coolidge Corner Theatre, and the Institute of Contemporary Art. By comparison, the international film fest uses two screens at the Loews Boston Common. Boston International Film Festival founder Patrick Jerome told us there's nothing sneaky about the switch from June to April. "We were competing against blockbuster movies in the theaters," he said. "We target more inner-city parts of Boston. . . . I don't think we have the same audience. I don't have any information about confusion. We're doing this to make people happy. I don't want bad feelings." The Independent Film Festival Boston lineup includes "The Brothers Bloom," starring Mark Ruffalo, Adrien Brody, and Rachel Weisz; "The Burning Plain," starring Charlize Theron and Kim Basinger; and "500 Days of Summer," starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel. Opening the Boston International Film Festival is Brian Goodman's directorial debut "What Doesn't Kill You," starring Ruffalo and Ethan Hawke.

Wondering when tickets for U2's concert at Gillette Stadium will finally go on sale? Monday at 10 a.m., we're told. Bono, the Edge, Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullen Jr. have so far announced just one show, Sept. 20, but depending on the demand, there's likely to be another added Sept. 21. By the way, even though U2 bolted Boston right after their March 11 gig at the Somerville Theatre, the band didn't leave locals holding the bag. A flack for Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone tells us the lads cut a check to cover all costs incurred by the city of Somerville, including public safety and overtime.

Hampshire House hosted a bash last night for longtime barkeep Eddie Doyle, who poured pints for 35 years until being laid off recently as a result of the bum economy.

Boston-bred actress Maura Tierney won't be in the wilderness long. "ER" is ending, but Tierney's already got another prime-time gig lined up, an NBC pilot called "Parenthood" with Peter Krause. Based on the 1989 movie, Tierney and the "Dirty Sexy Money" star are in negotiations to play the characters portrayed in the movie by Steve Martin and Dianne Wiest. Craig T. Nelson and Dax Shepard are also in negotiations, and Mae Whitman and Sarah Ramos are set to costar in the pilot. "Parenthood" revolves around adult siblings, the Bravermans. Krause will play Adam Braverman, a married man with two children, and Tierney will play his sister, Sarah, a single mother.

Patriots player Ben Watson planned to deliver the keynote speech at the Ron Burton Training Village Legacy of Love dinner last night at Tremont Temple Baptist Church, sponsored by Steve DeFillippo's Davio's. Burton's sons - Paul, Steve, and Ron Burton Jr. - were expected to join 100 inner-city kids and their parents at the event.

We hear actress Jennifer Love Hewitt may tag along when her boyfriend, comedian Jamie Kennedy, performs at the Wilbur Theatre Friday night. Kennedy is also performing at the Hu Ke Lau Chicopee on Saturday.

A few dozen aspiring "Community Idols" sang their hearts out at the Strand Theatre yesterday, vying for the chance to perform during intermission at the venue's "Ain't Misbehavin' " performances. The musical, which opens April 10, stars "Idol" champ Ruben Studdard and contestants Frenchie Davis and Trenyce Cobbins. Lynette Gittens of Berklee, Tyrone Sutton, a musician and teacher at Boston Arts Academy, and WGBH Arts and Entertainment reporter Jared Bowen judged the contestants. Gotta be better than Simon Cowell.

Much of the division champs Bruins roster, as well as team brass and past players, turned out for a party at the Hard Rock Cafe last night to celebrate the team's new DVD, "The Original Six: History of the Boston Bruins." The party was also a fund-raiser for the Boston Bruins Foundation and the Ellis Memorial & Eldredge House, which provides social services for needy families. During the event, former stars Ray Bourque, John Bucyk, Fern Flaman, Cam Neely, and Milt Schmidt - along with current Bruins captain Zdeno Chara - planned to do a Q&A with NESN commentators Andy Brickley and Gord Kluzak. Also expected to mingle with fans: current players Patrice Bergeron, Milan Lucic, Marc Savard, Blake Wheeler, Tim Thomas, Phil Kessel, David Krejci, and Dennis Wideman.

"We're at a fork in the road when it comes to health and food," Michael Pollan told the crowd at Tufts University yesterday. At the home of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, the author of the influential "Omnivore's Dilemma" and "In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto," is the equivilent of a rock star. The auditorium's 600 seats were full, as were two overflow areas. The choices: Surrender to the Western diet and treat medically the problems it creates, or come up with a new way of eating. The latter, he said, seems an infinitely better approach. To that end, he discussed the connection between a healthy diet and healthy agriculture. He gave a shout out to Tufts's Kathleen Merrigan, recently tapped by Barack Obama as deputy secretary of agriculture, and he laid out a few rules. They include: Don't eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food, don't eat foods that have more than five ingredients, and don't eat foods that won't eventually rot. Even bacteria know better. Pollan keeps a Twinkie on a shelf in its package. "After two years, it's as soft and spongy as the day I bought it," he said. "Think about what rot is, bacteria and fungus going after food. And they're not interested in my Twinkie!"

Celts center Kendrick Perkins took son Kendrick Jr. to the Rainforest Café in Burlington the other day to tape a piece that airs tonight on Comcast SportsNet's "Celtics Now." Perk talks about balancing his responsibilities as a pro athlete and a dad.

Devra First of the Globe staff contributed. Names can be reached at names@globe.com or at 617-929-8253.