A special for the star-struck

Last summer, star-struck fans of Boston's Hollywood history had to hoof it on their Boston Movie Tours as they reminisced beside the ``Good Will Hunting" bench or gawked outside Ally McBeal's law office. This year they can roll in style (and air conditioning) on the tour's new bus -- a bright red shuttle painted with film reels and stars.

It has 25 cushy seats, five screens showing made-in-Boston clips, and, of course, popcorn. The seats are named for Massachusetts stars: Ben Affleck , Matt Damon , Lenny Clarke , Mark Wahlberg . The Theater-on-Wheels will depart at 1 p.m. every Saturday from the Rack beginning July 29. Groups can also book the bus, said the owner, Jeff Coveney.

Coveney and his wife, Rachel, got into the movie trivia biz with their walking tour last summer; tourists saw movie sites around the State House and got the dirt on favorites like ``Cheers," ``Alex and Emma," and ``A Civil Action." The Beacon Hill walking tour will still be offered daily. The new bus tour will hit the old favorites, then roll on to less accessible backdrops in Fenway, South Boston, and Charlestown. Special tours may even trek to Gloucester for ``The Perfect Storm," Coveney said. And new locations will be added as films-in-progress hit theaters.

``It's an evolving tour because we keep making movies," he said. Last Monday, industry types, actors, and politicians celebrated the tour -- and legislation that took effect in January offering six months of Massachusetts tax credits for filmmakers -- at a muggy Fenway Park soiree. The incentive means more movies, more tourists, and more money for the state and local businesses, said state Representative Thomas O'Brien, the Kingston Democrat behind the law. With $79 million in film industry dollars pumped into the state since January, business is good, he said. And ancillary businesses like the Boston Movie Tours are ``taking advantage of it, and they're doing a great job."

PAYSHA STOCKTON RHONE