Posts Tagged ‘Boston’

So what’s the deal? Summertime in the city just got ‘squared’. As the heat rises, the Seinfeld Food Truck will be serving into town.  Wear sunblock!

Food trucks are all the rage here in Boston, and this Friday, August 3^rd, we will get tempered ‘occupying’ “The Soup Nazi” and his truck!  I mean…if you can move along. If not, NO soup for you!

George wanted his ‘free bread” and asked.  Will you? Even when your best friend says, “…let it go”.

“The Soup Nazi” truck has been fueling through city to city and now, BOSTON! We think the “Soup Nazi” is deciding which square to spare. Seinfeld Truck moves to Boston? I want in on production! He has already made it in New York City. Why not reside here? Lights, camera, action!

For over a decade he has told us NO, and because of a Facebook campaign of Seinfeld fans, “The Soup Nazi” is saying, “Yes”, 17 years later! Larry Thomas the “Soup Nazi” will be parked in Harvard Square from 12- 2 p.m., and at the infamous occupy Boston, Dewey Square from 3-4 p.m.

Have a Twix with the  “Soup Nazi”?! He wouldn’t give George something for free, but he will be handing out muffin tops, Junior Mints, black and white cookies, Twix, and SOUP to you for FREE!  Swill it down with a Snapple too. If you can make it through the line with no charge, “The Soup Nazi” will be signing autographs and taking pictures.

Next stop South Station or Harvard Square? MBTA is your best bet. It’s Friday, the commute will sizzle us up. HEC will be’ occupying’ the FREE SOUP as well.

Guess what the “Soup Nazi’s” favorite soup is? New England Clam Chowdah! Ask him tomorrow and order him up on FB!

Reality series are charging up the streets of Boston! And we feel it. So let’s get ‘Plugged In’. This week Yahoo and Ford juiced the World Wide Web with a teaser of, ‘Plugged In’, a weekly net reality competition that syncs up with ejecting the all-new 2012 Ford Focus Electric and airing exclusively on Yahoo! Screen.

And today production crews are ‘Plugged In’ @ Boston University with Hollywood Chef Rocco DiSpirito who also

graduated from BU back in 1990. He’s come full circle since his days of pursuing a bachelor’s degree in business. DiSpirito is known for his Italian-American cuisine and his innovative fusion cooking.

“With at least eight out of 10 Internet users now watching online video, this is the perfect time for Yahoo! and Ford to launch ‘Plugged In,’” says Erin McPherson, Vice President and Head of Video at Yahoo!. “We know from our insights and data that our audience is passionate about celebrity-related content and travel content, and we combined those insights with Ford’s brand goals for a truly engaging program.”

The reality web series will jolt up May 29th featuring two-person teams competing weekly against each other.  Coast to coast challenges as they shake it in the hometowns of ten celebrities.

Celebrities like DiSpirito will be guides to their hometown city. All while staying electric. Boogie, woogie, woogie. We thought Rocco was from New York City but excited Boston is his home! The winning teams in each city will drive on to participate in the finale event in LA, where they will groove for the chance to win a Ford Focus Electric. Now that’s movin’!

David A’rquette will steer the first episode in LA then it’s up the Pacific Coast Highway to San Francisco with Alicia Silverstone. Ali Wentworth in Washington, DC, Jenna Bush Hager in Austin and JUNE 26th BOSTON with Rocco DiSpirito! Off to Chicago with Bill Rancic, Adrian Grenier in the Big Apple, North Carolina with Emily Procter, Atlanta with J.R Martinez, Seattle with India Arie and the FINALE boom back to LA!

Ford is sparking it. By the end of the year Ford Focus Electric will be available in 19 markets across the United States. I’m charged! Are you? Tell us on HEC FB what you think about this new electrifying reality web series?

As the acclaim surrounding Hollywood East continues to grow, and it’s reputation for bringing quality projects to the entertainment world carries on, it’s important to recognize all the pieces of the puzzle that have contributed to this phenomenon. One such being, the immense amount of home-grown talent that has arisen, particularly from the Boston area. A new photography book is helping pay homage to the Beantown women in particular who have helped make our city great, many of which happen to be in the entertainment industry.

The book is titled Boston, Inspirational Women, and is the work of father-and-daughter photographers Bill Brett and Kerry Brett. Together, they compiled more than 125 black-and-white portraits of women with Boston ties for their project, which was recently released by it’s publisher.

While the book is not solely about women in the entertainment, many of those featured are actresses or TV stars. Among those highlighted:

Maura Tierney, best known for her work on “ER”, was born and raised in Hyde Park. She’s the daughter of the late Joseph Tierney, who served on Boston’s City Council for 15 years.

Rachel Dratch is a Lexington native who graduated from Dartmouth College before going on to star on “Saturday Night Live.”

Many are unaware that movie star and glamazon Uma Thurman was born in Boston and grew up mostly in Amherst, Massachusetts.

The Food Network’s Rachael Ray spent time as a child in Mashpee and Falmouth on Cape Cod, where her family owned a restaurant called The Carvery.

Watertown’s Eliza Dushku starred alongside Jamie Lee Curtis and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s daughter in True Lies as a teenager.

Medford’s Maria Menounos is an alumna of the city’s public high school and Emerson College. She’s gone on to become the youngest cohost of Entertainment Tonight and the Today Show, and the youngest person to report for NBC’s Nightly News.

A launch party was held for the book at the new Smith and Wollensky on Congress Street in Boston on November 15. Over 500 people were in attendance, including a number of women from the book, such as chef Lydia Shire and socialite Marilyn Riseman.

All photos taken from the Boston, Inspirational Women slide show on Boston.com

The comics are coming home to Boston!  In November, comic Denis Leary will bring his “Comics Come Home” stand-up event to Boston University’s Agganis Arena.  ”Comics Come Home,” the longest-running stand-up comedy benefit in the nation, will raise funds for the Cam Neely Foundation for Cancer Care and the Neely Cancer Fund, created to aide the Tufts Medical Center’s Cancer Center.

For some of the CCH comedians this really his a homecoming.  The event’s host and creator, Denis Leary is a native of Worcester, Massachusetts, who got is start in Boston’s comedy clubs while studying at Emerson College.  Leary’s longtime friend, Lenny Clarke will also be apart of the November, 12 festivities.  Clarke was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts and was one of Boston’s most famous “saloon comics” of the 1980′s.  Leary and Clarke both wrote and appeared in Clarke’s local television series, “Lenny Clarke’s Late Show.”  Currently, Clarke is set to star is Chelsea Handler’s NBC series, premiering mid season 2011.

Fellow Massachusetts comics and frequent guests on the Opie and Anthony Show, Nick DiPaolo and Robert Kelly will also be performing at CCH.  DiPaolo, a native of Danvers, Massachusetts, has been featured on four Comedy Central Roasts, including that of Denis Leary.  Kelly was born in Boston and toured with Cambridge comedian Dane Cook’s “Tourgasm” in 2005.

While not a Bay Sate native, Artie Lange will also be on-hand at the event.  He is known best as Howard Stern’s sidekick, but also wrote, produced and starred in his own film, Artie Lange’s Beer League, which featured CCH comic Nick DiPaolo as a police officer.  

Tickets for the 17th “Comics Come Home” are available now on Ticketmaster and range in cost from $38-$123.

Photo Credit: Getty

Proving brawn and beauty make a killer combo, Patriot’s quarterback Tom Brady and his supermodel wife, Gisele Bundchen top the Forbes list of the World’s Highest-Paid Couples.  The financial magazine reported the estimated combined sum of the couple’s earnings to be $76 million, beating out music moguls Beyonce and Jay-Z ($72 million) and Hollywood heartthrobs Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt ($50 million) for the top spot.

Brady, who has been with the New England Patriots since 2000, signed a $72 million contract extension with the team and took home $31 million this year.  His supermodel wife, Gisele Bundchen is on track to be the world’s first billionaire model and pocketed $45 million from endorsement deals and business ventures.  Tom has also done his share of modeling as the face of Ugg and Under Armour in recent years.

The couple own a Boston home on Commonwealth Avenue, which they share with their son Benjamin, and Tom’s son with actress Bridget Moynahan, John.  They also give back to the Greater Boston area as Tom participated in the Best Buddies Challenge bike ride from Boston to Hyannis Port this June.  Brazilian Bundchen is particularly charitable, serving as Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nation’s Environmental Programme, nabbing a Global Environment Citizen Award from the Harvard Club this year and most recently donating $1 million to the Red Cross Japanese earthquake fund in March.

This month, the historic Wilbur Theatre in Boston’s theatre district is hosting a bevy of hot television stars including two favorite soap actors; Steve Burton and Bradford Anderson from General Hospital.

The comedy and music venue already hosted top TV comics Louis C.K. and Doug Benson earlier in August. The famed Second City comedy troupe is on the road this summer with their Laugh Out Loud tour, stopping at the Wilbur on August 19.  The improvisational group was a starting point for many of today’s greatest TV comedians, including Tina Fey, Steve Carrell and Stephen Colbert.

While Second City launched the careers of “Saturday Night Live” greats like Bill Murray, Gilda Radner and John Belushi, an up-and-coming SNL star will be taking the stage at the Wilbur on August 20.  Featured player and gifted impressionist, Jay Pharoah is best known for his spot-on Denzel Washington and Will Smith impressions during Weekend Update and will surely display his best characters for the Boston audience.

Four musically-inclined cast members of daytime soap “General Hospital” formed a band of their own and are taking the group on tour this summer.  Port Chuck, named after the fictional town of Port Charles, that serves as the setting for “GH,” stop at the Wilbur on August 26.

The band even holds a connection to New England, as Bradford Anderson, band member and Spinelli on “General Hospital” is a native of Meredith, New Hampshire.

Comedian and “MADtv” alum, Bobby Lee performs at the Wilbur on August 27 as a part of his summer comedy tour.  The San Diego native is known for cracking jokes at the expense of his Korean American family.

Following his hilarious appearance in “The Office” season finale, Boston native, James Spader has officially joined the cast of the popular NBC sitcom.  After weeks of speculation, it was officially announced that Spader will play the new CEO of Sabre Dunder Mifflin, replacing actress Kathy Bates.

Spader was born in Boston and attended private schools in Massachusetts before dropping out in eleventh grade to pursue acting in New York City.  He started his career appearing in popular 80′s movies, Pretty In Pink and Mannequin before returning to his New England roots as brilliant attorney, Alan Shore, in David E. Kelley’s “Boston Legal.”

In “The Office” season finale Spader appeared as Robert California, a businessman interviewing for Michael Scott’s vacant position at the Scranton branch.  Last month, “The Office” executive producer Ricky Gervais announced Spader would be joining the show as a permanent cast member, but not as a replacement for Steve Carell’s character.  He will instead replace Kathy Bates, who is committed to a second season of her own NBC show, “Harry’s Law.”  Spader will join fellow New England natives on “The Office,” John Krasinski, B.J. Novak and Mindy Kaling.

Angie Harmon stars in the Boston-based crime drama, Rizzoli and Isles.

The nanny from Queens is back with a sitcom based on an interesting twist in her marital life.  Fran Drescher’s “Happily Divorced” satires the star’s life after her husband of 18 years revealed he is gay. Portraying Drescher’s newly-outed ex-husband, Peter is Boston native, John Michael Higgins.

Higgins was born in Beantown and attended Amherst college, where he was the leader of the school’s all-male a cappella group.  His acting credits include Boston-based shows “Ally McBeal” and “Boston Legal,” as well as major films, The Break Up, Evan Almighty and Couples Retreat.

“Happily Divorced,” a TV Land original series scored big ratings with its premiere on June 15.  The premiere and three encore episodes drew in 4.4 million viewers, a great success for the ‘Nanny’ and the network.

The series airs on Wednesday nights at 10:30, following TV Land’s smash hit, “Hot In Cleveland”.

Boston-based production company, Camp 9 Films released their first movie this week, a detective drama appropriately named, Boston.  The film, penned by Ralph Celestin, chronicles a father and son detective duo who risk their badges to try and take down Boston’s most notorious criminal.  The first three episodes of the film are available for online viewing now on Camp 9′s website.

Camp 9 Films CEO, Wes Williams founded the company in December, 2009 with a group of eight friends interested in making films in Boston.  Although many of the founders dropped out of the project when the real work began, Williams kept the company going and kept the business in Boston.

“We have so much talent here, it’s ridiculous,” said Williams in reference to the East Coast’s talent pool.  ”I’m tired of Hollywood acting like Hollywood is it.”

Camp 9 Films has focused mostly on professional photography and music video shoots since its beginning, but Boston is the production company’s first major film.  William stresses that the end result is a combination of some of Boston’s greatest talents.

“My focus for this whole thing is collaboration and working with people,” Williams said.

Williams reached out to the Boston University Center for Digital Imaging Arts, whose students were eager to help out on a real film set.  Other aspects of the film were completed with help from local companies, such as Cybersound Recording Studio on Newbury Street and Kutroc Records.

Williams has opted to use unique techniques to release the film.  Starting June 20, three episodes of Boston were released on the web, similar to a web series.  The film will we be released in full though Comcast and RCN, with a screening planned for early September.

Despite some setbacks due to a snowy Boston winter, Williams says shooting in Beantown was a great experience.

“I think working in Boston definitely does not hold you back,” says Williams.  ”Working in Boston provides a lot of opportunities.  There is a lot of underdeveloped stuff.”

Up next for Camp 9 Films is a comedy, set to release in 2012 and Williams plans to keep working in Boston.  He is also full of encouraging words and advice for those looking to make it in the Hub’s film industry.

“Keep your head up and all the hard work will definitely pay off,” said Williams.  ”Go for the gold.”