Boston Film Industry in the Spotlight

This week as you walk the streets of Boston you may think you are in Hollywood. Two big Boston Based movie events are taking place this week. Ben Affleck is kicking off the premiere of his locally filmed movie The Town tonight at Fenway Park. Later this week the Boston Film Festival is taking place at the Stuart Street Playhouse in Boston’s Theatre District.

Though Ben Affleck’s film has gotten quite a bit of publicity the film Locked In with Eliza Dushku may not be familiar to many.  The film is set to premiere at the 26th annual film festival that takes place from Friday the 17th to Thursday the 23rd.  Tickets are already on sale at the Boston Film Festival website.

I am looking forward to seeing both movies and not just because they were filmed in Boston.  Locked In falls into the category of suspense thriller that always attracts me.  The Town looks both suspenseful and meaningful perhaps because of its local roots.  I will have to say that as a born and bred Bostonian I have not spent that much time in Charlestown and based on an interview Ben Affleck gave the Today Show “the heyday” of Charlestown based bank robbers was in the 90’s.  I for one am glad that Ben Affleck took another shot at directing a film in Boston.  Gone Baby Gone was a good movie even if it was not as commercially successful as it was critically acclaimed.

Both Eliza and Ben are from the Boston area for those that may not know(Really?).  Ben Affleck was raised in Cambridge and Eliza Dushku grew up in Watertown Massachusetts which is next to Cambridge.  They both portray the pride of place that Ben Affleck attributes to the Boston area.

The Town is premiering tonight at Fenway Park which is featured in the movie.  Warner Brothers put together a neat contest to get fans tickets to the exclusive event.  The contest was/is a scavenger hunt of sorts which features clues about places in the film.  Sadly the contest started earlier this morning.  The first 15 finishers will win tickets to the premiere with the top 2 also getting tickets to the after party.  The film will be in theaters on Friday September 17th.

The Boston Film Festival is a week long event that culminates in awards being given out including one to Roy Schneider’s widow for a lifetime achievement award.  The film and actor lineup are quite impressive so I would take a hard look at the schedule that you will find on the Boston Film Festival website.  Also noteworthy for being Boston area inspired is the movie Conviction which stars Hilary Swank and is based on the story of a Ayer woman fighting for justice for her brother.

Take advantage of the opportunities to see Boston based movies and support our budding movie industry this weekend!

Here is coverage of the premiere at Fenway by NECN followed by
the trailer for The Town:

The Town Trailer: