Movie making couple gets the book on Boston

By Mark Shanahan & Meredith Goldstein  |  June 6, 2009

Steve and Paula Mae Schwartz, the Gloucester couple who are producing the movie based on Cormac McCarthy's novel "The Road," are next looking to bring a Boston book to the big screen. They've bought the film rights to "Killer Instinct," a bestselling corporate thriller by Boston author Joseph Finder. The Schwartzes are producing with their son, Roger, who suggested the book, and also Barbara De Fina, whose credits include several Martin Scorsese movies. The book is about a young sales executive at a high-tech firm in Boston who's struggling to find the "killer instinct" needed to advance in the corporate world. "It's a book that is smart and timely and succeeds on two levels," Steve Schwartz told us yesterday. "It's a terrific thriller but also a parody of the business world." Finder's book "High Crimes" became a movie starring Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman, and "Paranoia" is being adapted now by Barry Levy. "My sense is the [Schwartzes] really get it and have the juice to get it made," Finder told us yesterday. "And it's their intention to shoot it here, which is great because there's a lot of Boston sociology in the book."

Broadway never really beckoned Todd Dagres, but the Boston-based venture capitalist knows a good investment when he sees one. Dagres (inset) is one of the producers of "Rock of Ages," the Broadway musical that's up for no fewer than five Tony Awards, including best musical. (Word is Bret Michaels and Poison will perform with the "Rock of Ages" cast during tomorrow night's awards show.) Dagres, who produced the movies "Transsiberian" and "Pretty Persuasion," said the musical was initially conceived as a Vegas show. (His fellow investors are Boston-based guys Kevin Starr and Rich Aldrich.) "We really just wanted to get it to a venue where it could take on a life of its own," said Dagres, whose venture firm is called Spark Capital. So has the success of "Rock of Ages" whet his appetite for the Great White Way? Not really. "I'm still focused on film," he said, "but this certainly has opened my eyes to Broadway.". . . ART artistic director Diane Paulus, whose production of "Hair" is a Tony favorite, picked out her gown at the Christian Lacroix Boutique in New York. (In case you're wondering, her husband, Randy Weiner, is wearing Calvin Klein.)

It didn't take long for Wale's music video featuring Lady Gaga to surface online. You'll recall that the hip-hopper (left) was in the Hub a few weeks back to shoot "Chillin'," a tune from his forthcoming debut CD "Attention Deficit." Director Chris Robinson shot Lady Gaga at Eastern Minerals in Chelsea, and later lensed Wale at the cool Harvard Square store Concepts. Rap superstar Kanye West has even posted a short clip showing Wale chillin' in the downstairs lounge at Concepts. Store manager Deon Point has seen the vid and likes the look. "It was a hectic day. They filmed from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m.," he told us the other day. "We did it as a favor to Chris, who we've had a relationship with for a while." (Robinson's also directed videos for Alicia Keys, Young Jeezy, T.I., and Beyoncé.) You can check out "Chillin' " on YouTube.

This week's Consignment for a Cure event raised money for the twoAM Fund at Dana-Farber. The highlight of the evening was a consignment sale featuring new and vintage clothing, jewelry, and handbags and accessories from designers such as Hermes, Marc Jacobs, Dolce & Gabbana, Armani, YSL, Chanel, St. John, Akris, Escada, and Ralph Lauren. . . . Diane Sawyer was at the Bristol Lounge yesterday.

Former President George Bush and his wife, Barbara, paid a visit to the Ogunquit Playhouse a few days ago to see "A Chorus Line." The couple brought a few friends and afterward joined the cast, which includes Lorenzo Lamas (far right), for an informal meet and greet. The Bushes tried on the top hats and even took a crack at the choreography.

Eventually, MTV will run out of exotic locales and be forced to make "Real World: Saugus." But the network's not there yet. The sun-splashed new season, debuts June 24, and features a few locals. Emilee (left) is a 21-year-old aspiring model from South Hamilton and Joey (inset) is a lad from Lawrence, a tattooed rocker who likes the ladies and the liquor. "Oh, Joey's a great friend of mine now," Emilee told us yesterday. "He's got his rock vibe going on, but he's a great guy." (Joey plays guitar in band called Late Nite Wars.) Plucked from a casting call at Ned Devine's, Emilee said people have always told her she'd be great on "Real World." "I can be a little dramatic, but I'm also funny and outgoing," she said. "Obviously, people are going to butt heads once in awhile, but I left there with a good feeling." She had a boyfriend back home when she arrived, but that didn't last. "It is what it is," she said, channeling Bill Belichick. "I was in Cancun." In all, Emilee and her seven roommates spent three months living it up in a luxury hotel on the Mexican coast. Does she want her 13-year-old sister and 9-year-old brother watching "Real World: Cancun"? "I was myself the entire time while we were filming," she said. "But I don't want them watching. Not all of it is appropriate. I don't even like them watching 'Hannah Montana.' "

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