The Departed

We saw "The Departed" last night - the Martin Scorsese Irish mob movie set in Boston. It had been getting some rave reviews and the city was buzzing when the production was in town months ago. I was really looking forward to it, so I was surprised how hard it was for me to get into at first. Between the Scorsese staples of a mobster voice over, tracking shots and Rolling Stones "Gimme Shelter" soundtrack - I felt like I was watching somebody rip off a Scorsese movie. I was also initially distracted by all the "local boys" - Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg; as well as the non-locals doing their best Bahston accents. But the complicated, layered plot and performances quickly pulled me in. This is Leonardo DiCaprio's best performance as far as I'm concerned - he doesn't seem like a kid anymore. The cast is full of great performances from Damon, Wahlberg, Alec Baldwin, Martin Sheen, and of course Jack Nicholson.
This is a remake of "Infernal Affairs", a 2002 Hong Kong flick that pits a mob informant working in the police against a cop undercover in the mob. The stakes are constantly raised and deciding who is really a good guy or bad guy is a whole lot of fun. The script crackles with some great dialogue. A very enjoyable film that I look forward to viewing again.

Lori Accepted for 2007 Boston Marathon

Lori got the big news this weekend - she's been accepted to run for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in the Boston Marathon on April 16, 2007. She is very excited about this - as am I (but thankfully I don't have to run!).

Now the fundraising campaign kicks off. You can visit Lori's personal web page and help in her efforts to support Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and The Jimmy Fund.
http://dfmarathon.kintera.org/faf/r.asp?t=4&i=186498&u=186498-146062217&e=783331703

Goodbye Crazy Apple Lady

Sue Gardner who played Sarah Jennings (better known as Crazy Apple Lady) in my award winning short film "We've Got Johnny" has passed away. Del and I found Sue actually speaking in the apple orchard we were going to shoot the movie in. She was going on and on about apple growing to a group of people who were there picking apples and Del and I looked at each other and knew we'd found our girl.

Sue was truly a one-of-a-kind and she will be remembered fondly through out all of PlasticVille. I'm starting to feel like the movie's I'm involved with are cursed. Sue died of ovarian cancer Sunday Sept 17. You can read her obituary here.

Goodbye Daniel Smith

Anna Nicole Smith's 20 year old son Daniel died suddenly Sunday in the Bahamas while visiting his mom in the hospital. I can't imagine what she's going through; on Sept 7 she gives birth to a baby girl then on Sept 10 her son dies sitting in her room. Looks like the investigation into this will drag out for awhile.

I met Daniel and his mom on the set of "Illegal Aliens" almost exactly a year ago. He was a pretty quiet kid and kept close to Anna's entourage but we did speak enough to make it obvious he was a decent and smart guy. He was on the set anytime his mom was, looking out for her, making sure things were funny and light. He even hung out with Larry The Lizard at the wrap party.

I always expected "Illegal Aliens" to get lots of attention. Exec Producer John James and Director David Giancola have been all over the news and were even on "Larry King Live" last night along with Joanie "Chyna" Laurer, but not for this reason. "Illegal Aliens" will now be dedicated to Daniel Smith and here's hoping that Anna and all Daniel's family and friends can laugh again soon.

Boston by Foot

Today Lori led a weight-loss talk and walk through Boston that I tagged along for and it was surprisingly fun. It was very cool to actually stop and pay attention to all the things I ignore while trying to drive in Boston. Normally, the only thing I'm focused on is open parking spaces. We did a two-hour walking tour of the Back Bay and South End, learning about the history of each neighborhood and some of the many cool pieces of architecture. This is first time since I was a kid that I did any sort of tourist thing in Boston. There were so many little architectural details and stories I didn't know, it felt like we were visiting some other country. Boston By Foot put the tour together and I highly recommend doing one. They have a special Halloween tour we might do this year too.