The kid and "The Company Men"

Fourteen-year-old Anthony O'Leary credits Ben Affleck and Kevin Costner for making him feel comfortable on the set of "The Company Men," director John Wells's fine new film about corporate downsizing. It's O'Leary's first film and he plays Affleck's son. "While John was setting up scenes, Kevin played football with me and some other kids," said O'Leary, who lives in Norton and goes to the Moses Brown School. "Ben just talked to me about normal stuff, asked me about my life." The made-in-Massachusetts movie, which also stars Tommy Lee Jones, Maria Bello, and Rosemarie DeWitt, got good reviews at the Sundance Film Festival and a rave response at this week's screening at the Coolidge. Another local actor with a plum role is Lance Greene, the bloodless lawyer who has pivotal scenes with both Affleck and Tommy Lee. Could this be a big break for Greene, who produced and starred in "On Broadway"? "I do think it's a step in the right direction," he told us yesterday. "If people see that you've worked with that type of talent, it can open up a lot of doors."

Caption: John Wells chats at the Coolidge Corner Theatre (Bill Brett photo)