Posts Tagged ‘Boston Herald’

Three Brothers, Paul, Donnie and Mark Wahlberg have a license to sell burgers. The Wahlburgers will in fact be the newest kid on the block at the swanky Hingham shipyard where condos go for a million bucks.

The burger joint dream had been flipping for some time, but the Dorchester boys first needed to get the rights to Wahlburger’s from a Rochester, N.Y restaurant owner Tom Wahl, who serves a cheeseburger called Wahlburger and owns the trademark. The Wahl brothers Tom and Bill opened the first Wahl’s restaurant in Avon, south of Rochester, in 1955.

“We were definitely surprised about finding out about the trademark, Ed St. Croix, Paul Wahlberg’s business partner, told the Boston Herald. “It was a thing we had talked about for several years.” The Wahlburgers’ group, which is incorporated as Paragon Funding Group III LLC, cooked up a deal and secured the rights to the Wahlburgers name.

Wahlburgers will be hanging with fellow family restaurant Alma Nove located across the street at the posh Hingham bay is already in pre-production and was approved for a full liquor license. And if your not in the mood for a Wahlburger, the natives are in talks of spinning up a pizza place too. Now that’s one funky bunch.

He might be most well-remembered for playing a leather-jacket wearing, motorcycle riding, ladies man who had more onomatopoetic catch-phrases than anyone, but Henry Winkler is doing more than riding his mid-70s to mid-80s success into eternity. The actor, now in his 60s, is spending time talking to others about caring for stroke victims.

Winkler’s mother, Ilsa, suffered a stroke in 1989 at age 76, and lost her hand and arm mobility as a result. Winkler was unable to help her recover from these losses, and became one of her caregivers. Yesterday afternoon at the Faulkner Hospital at Brigham and Women’s in Boston, Winkler spoke to a stroke support group at the hospital about his experiences.

The star also has been known to work with the Annual Cerebral Palsy Telethon, the Epilepsy Foundation, Toys for Tots, and the National Committee for Arts for the Handicapped, and the Special Olympics, and has collaborated on a series of children’s books for those with learning disabilities. Winkler was diagnosed with dyslexia at age 31.

Winkler, who happened to also be in town shooting scenes for the new Kevin James comedy, Here Comes the Boom, was also spotted looking rather cheery in a yellow puff jacket on set at the old Quincy High School by the Boston Herald. Another one of his costars on the movie, Salma Hayek, was also spotted lunching at Stephanie’s on Newbury on Monday. Winkler himself has certainly been making the rounds, also popping up to talk to J.C. Monahan on “Boston’s View” on channel 5 and NECN to talk about his iconic role, his new movie, and to talk about his work with the Open Arms Campaign. The Emerson grad even taught some acting classes at his old alma mater.

★ Dorchester born Mark Wahlberg gets career advice from his Catholic priest.

★ Ann Curry commits major error in her Wheaton College commencement address.

★ Celeb sightings around Boston and New England, a la the Boston Herald.

★ Friendly’s invites Conan O’Brien to come grab a special “Cone-an” when he comes to Boston on his comedy tour.

★ Rock metal legend Ronnie James Dio of Portsmouth, NH, passes away.

★ Local chefs Jason Santos of Gargoyles on the Square and Benjamin Knack of Sel de la Terre compete on the new season of “Hell’s Kitchen”, debuting June 1 on Fox.

★ Come to McFadden’s every Wednesday night to watch MTV’s “Fresh Meat” with Vinny from the show and C.T. from “The Real World: Paris”.

★ Two Boston Globe videos win regional Emmys.

On Friday, CBS Films released Extraordinary Measures to theaters, a film that chronicles a father’s journey to find a cure for his children’s debilitating illness. The movie costars Harrison Ford and Brendan Fraser. As first reported in the Boston Herald,

“the film is based on a true story that has its roots in Boston, but the city and Genzyme Corp., the company that found a treatment for Pompe disease, aren’t in the film.”

The disease, which is also known as glycogen storage disease type II, seriously hampers the body’s ability to break down stored sugar, when progressed, can leave its victims unable to eat, walk, or breathe on their own. Cambridge based scientists at Genzyme Corp. that worked on trying to find a cure for this horrifying condition are excited by the notion that this story is coming to the big screen.

“I hope it increases awareness not only of these diseases and gives more hope to people with other rare diseases.”  Dr. Robert Mattaliano, a vice president at Genzyme told the Boston Herald.

Brendan Fraser’s character was based on the real-life John Crowley, a Harvard Business School graduate who quit his job to launch a biotechnology company in Oklahoma when he learned his young son and daughter have the disease. Years later, a drug treatment was successfully brought to the market, and the Harvard Business School and a Wall Street Journal reporter both published works chronicling Crowley’s inspiring journey. Crowley’s own memoir will be on bookstore shelves soon.

Despite Extraordinary Measures not being filmed in Beantown, star Brendan Fraser is not unfamiliar with making movies in the Boston-area. This past summer, he spent much of his time in the Bay State filming Furry Vengeance, costarring Brooke Shields, and is set to be released in April.

Boston is currently the hub of The Wheel–“Wheel of Fortune” that is. According to WBZ, the show recently wrapped up a 15-episode run at the Boston Convention and Exposition Center. The three weeks of shows–scheduled to air in November–are reportedly all Beantown-centric: Historic Boston, College Week, and Boston’s Got Game. The Boston Globe explained that bringing the show here was an attempt to set Boston’s economic wheels in motion: “Officials say the ‘Wheel’ will be a televised postcard to the rest of the country when it airs on 211 affiliates.”

Host Pat Sajak and the Queen of the Alphabet–Vanna White–caught up with the Boston Herald Inside Track, discussing everything from spinning to shopping and ice cream to ice rinks.

Sajak will return to our beloved Beantown with his son, Patrick, on New Years Day to catch the Bruins take on (read: take down) the Washington Flyers in the Winter Classic at Fenway Park. An avid hockey fan, the host holds season tickets to the Washington Capitals and the L.A. Kings, but something tells us that the Bruins logo is a better fit for the captain behind The Wheel.

The Town isn’t the only film in town. On September 6, the Boston Herald Inside Track reported that Oxymorons is now filming in Charlestown. Based on the life of reformed Oxycotin drug lord John Hickey, the film will chronicle everything from the legend’s jail time to his conflicts with rival dealers.

“It’s about the dirty reality of drugs,” said executive producer and actor Damien DiPaola to the Herald. He explained that unlike many silver-screen trips, Oxymorons doesn’t glorify the drug trade.

Robert Scali is set to direct the cast of locals, including Waltham resident Richard DeAgazio, Boston transplant Stephanie Lemelin, Boston talk radio hostess Michele McPhee and Mainer Tim Sylvia.

The low-budget indie flick is reportedly enjoying a growing fund and fan base as locals that support the film’s message offer some financial footing or favors. Charlestown Against Drugs, St. Catherine’s Church, and the Barnstable County Sheriff’s Department are just a few of the local establishments throwing their support behind Oxymorons.

Moral of the story: Stop making drug deals and start making movie deals.

Cambridge cutie Ben Affleck just wrapped up a week of shooting for his made-in-Massachusetts flick The Town. According to the Boston Herald Inside Track, principal shooting began in Charlestown on August 31. Affleck, Gossip Girl Blake Lively, and Jeremy Renner of “The Unusuals” were on location at the Bunker Hill Monument shooting a barbecue scene at a triple-decker home.

The Town—based on Massachusetts native Chuck Hogan’s heist novel Prince of Thieves—is Affleck’s second directorial effort after Gone Baby Gone. The screenplay, adapted by Peter Craig and Affleck, follows a group of blue-collar Charlestown locals as they rob a Kenmore Square bank. According to a September 1 post on Hollywood in the Hub, Kingston local Chris Cooper of The Company Men is in negotiations to play Affleck’s father in the film.

Catch The Town before it hits theaters at a filming location near you.