Jon Hamm and Rebecca Hall in the August issue of W.
(Nathaniel Goldberg)
Names
‘Town’ actors dish on Affleck
Jon Hamm and Rebecca Hall in the August issue of W.
(Nathaniel Goldberg)
Jon Hamm of “Mad Men’’ and Rebecca Hall of “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,’’ who costar in Ben Affleck’s upcoming crime thriller, “The Town,’’ grace the cover of the August issue of W, which hits stands July 20. The issue features a steamy spread of the gorgeous actors by photographer Nathaniel Goldberg, as well as interview dish about what it was like to work with Affleck as a director in his hometown. “He’s kind of what you expect: He’s incredibly smart; he’s good fun,’’ Hall tells the magazine. “It’s got to be odd being that famous, especially in Boston, where he can’t walk a block without having to put his hood up. He is Mr. Boston.’’ Hamm adds, “I mean, the guy is a patron saint of that city. [When you’re] walking around with him, everybody of every walk of life is like, ‘Hey, Ben!’ ’’ Hamm also comes to Hall’s defense when W asks her whether she broke up director Sam Mendes’s marriage to Kate Winslet, which is what the tabloids began reporting not long after Hall wrapped “The Town.’’ “The reality is that I broke them up,’’ says jokester Hamm. “The Town,’’ which is based on a crime book by local author Chuck Hogan, stars Affleck as a Boston bank robber and Hamm as the FBI agent trying to catch him. Hamm tells W, “That was fun to be the counterpoint to Ben’s charming rogue.’’ We’re sure Matt Damon would agree. “The Town’’ is set to be released in September.
Henning remembered
More than 500 mourners filled a church in Boston’s West End yesterday to say farewell to longtime local anchorman John Henning, whose stints on channels 4, 5, and 7 spanned 25 years. One of his sons, Greg, delivered the eulogy, calling his dad his compass and mentor. He said his dad read two newspapers a day, a habit that left ink on his favorite chair at home. Among those paying their respects at the church or at the reception at Amrheins afterward were Henning’s brother, Dan (the A spy plot on Boston streets
Attractive women in white coats and tiny red hats hovered around Park Street and various other Boston locations yesterday to build buzz for the USA Network’s new show, “Covert Affairs,’’ which debuted last night. USA tells us the women were dressed like clandestine spy types (do spies wear white coats and red hats?) not only to hype the show but to announce the network’s Spy the World Sweepstakes, which awards one winner a 22-day trip all over the world. “Covert Affairs’’ stars Piper Perabo of “Coyote Ugly’’ fame. No word on whether the publicity stunt boosted the ratings; we haven’t seen the numbers yet. In other TV news, actors James Wolk and Eloise Mumford were in Dedham at our local Fox station yesterday for a screening of their new show, “Lonestar.’’ Wolk is a newcomer who played a sailor in an episode of “As the World Turns’’ a few years ago. Mumford is also a newcomer, who was on an episode of “Mercy.’’TV glitch takes the (cup)cake
About 75 fans of the Davis Square sweet shop Kickass Cupcakes showed up for a viewing party at the Liberty Hotel on Monday to celebrate the shop’s appearance on the Food Network show “Kid in a Candy Store’’ — but they didn’t end up seeing the segment. “The satellite was down in the hotel,’’ Kickass owner Sara Ross told us afterward. “Who would think that your biggest problem would be the TV? They were getting other channels. I don’t know what happened.’’ When it became evident that the crowd wasn’t going to be able to watch the episode about Kickass’ deep-fried cupcake at the Liberty’s Alibi lounge, Ross and her guests moved the celebration to nearby bar-restaurant Harvard Gardens. But by the time they had relocated, her segment had aired. “I couldn’t even get angry,’’ she said. “I was just so traumatized by it. How do you explain it to people?’’ For the record, the Liberty Hotel says it does get the Food Network — there was just a glitch that night.Discriminating diners
In town for Bastille Day, celebrated chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten hosted a dinner for some of his fellow foodies last night at Market at the W Hotel. Spotted were chefs Tony Maws, Joanne Chang, Jamie Mammano, Marc Orfaly, Ming Tsai, Michael Schlow, Gordon Hamersley, Lydia Shire, Tony Susi, Dante de Magistris, Barbara Lynch, and Tony Ambrose.Hot scene
PR poobah George Regan hosted a party the other night for Nadav Tamir, Israeli consul general for New England, at his Marina Bay manse. We’re told Tamir’s heartfelt speech was punctuated by Regan’s barking pooches, and someone accidentally flipped the switch for the fireplace, causing the room to become unbearably hot. Guests included gubernatorial candidate Tim Cahill, Congressman Bill Delahunt, Treasurer candidate Steve Grossman, Channel 4 GM Ed Piette, Barry Shrage of Combined Jewish Philanthropies, Phoenix bosses Steve Mindich and Peter Kadzis, former TV newsman Tom Ellis, Reebok’s Paul Foster, TD Garden exec Mary Clivio, and attorneys Jeff Denner and Jeff Robbins.Hoop scene
It was lights, camera, action at the TD Garden yesterday as Anna Faris and Sudbury’s own Chris Evans filmed a scene on the parquet. We’re told the stars of “What’s Your Number?’’ were working a basketball scene.Hip scene
About 500 people showed up to see local rapper Sam Adams at the FYE downtown, according to the store. Employees at the Washington Street retailer told us that most of those 500 people were teenage girls. Read the Names blog at www.boston .com/namesblog. Names can be reached at names@globe.com or at 617-929-8253. 
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