'Fighter' trying to catch a break

Could "The Fighter" -- the big-budget movie starring Mark Wahlberg and Matt Damon and based on the life of Lowell boxing champ "Irish" Micky Ward -- be shot entirely in Massachusetts? It could if some adjustments are made to a particular tax incentive law, says state film czar Nick Paleologos. There's evidence that state incentives, created to lure film and TV production here, are working. Three major movies have been shot in Boston in the past 15 months, compared to four big-budget flicks in the previous seven years. The problem is, tax credits are limited, Paleologos says, making it less attractive to produce big-ticket blockbusters in the Bay State. "I met with some studio executives who said of our [tax credit] cap" that filmmakers are better off if they make "four $25 million movies in Massachusetts, but not one $100 million film," Paleologos said. The buzz is that "The Fighter," helmed by director Darren Aronofsky, could cost as much as $100 million to make. "If you could save $3 million and make New Haven, Conn., or a location in Rhode Island look like Lowell, wouldn't you?" Paleologos mused. "I think if we work out a few technical issues [on the tax incentive law], the flood gates could open."

Eckert happy to be No. 2

Playwright Rinde Eckert isn't disappointed that "Orpheus X," which made its world premiere at Harvard's American Repertory Theatre in 2006, didn't win the Pulitzer Prize for drama. In fact, Eckert didn't know his work was among the three finalists until a Los Angeles Times reporter called and told him on Monday afternoon. "It's a wonderful recognition, especially for something so different," Eckert said yesterday. "Had they picked it, it would have been a very controversial choice. People would have argued. . . . At least we avoid the whole argument by coming in second," he deadpanned. But the choice of South Boston native David Lindsay-Abaire's "Rabbit Hole " as the 2007 winner of the prize did come with a bit of controversy. The Pulitzer Prize board didn't pick from the three nominees chosen by the jury and instead picked Lindsay-Abaire's more traditional drama. "It's a good play. I don't think anybody should feel it's not prize worthy," Eckert said of "Rabbit Hole." "Orpheus X," which was directed by outgoing ART artistic director Robert Woodruff, was chosen for the Edinburgh International Festival, and has been talked about for a possible New York run. "It's nice to be recognized," Eckert says. "It helps get [the work] some notice."

Legendary actress and civil rights activist Ruby Dee was greeted by students at Harvard's Wadsworth House yesterday before heading to the Memorial Church to receive the Harvard Foundation's 2007 Humanitarian Award.

Rodrigo Y Gabriela -- the Dublin-based recording artists Rodrigo Sanchez and Gabriela Quintero -- were at First Act Guitar Studio yesterday as part of WBOS's Studio 7 series. . . . Harvard professor Ross McElwee was given the 2007 Career Award at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival in his native North Carolina. McElwee, a Brown alum, began making his own films in 1976. He's won numerous awards , including best documentary at the 1987 Sundance Film Festival for "Sherman's March." Because of its innovative first-person narrative style, "Sherman's March " was also selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry. . . . The man Jerry Seinfeld immortalized -- and fictionalized -- as "the Soup Nazi" now has a toehold in Boston. The Original SoupMan, created by Al Yeganeh, opens its doors today in the Longwood Galleria, according to owner Manny Capela. To celebrate, the company is donating 1,500 clams, er dollars, to the Greater Boston Food Bank.

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