News and Events

The Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism (MOTT) today announced that Lisa Strout, a veteran in the film and television industry and the former director of the film division in New Mexico’s Economic Development Department, will lead the Massachusetts Film Office (MFO) beginning June 15th.

Worcester this week took on some of the glitter of Hollywood as Frenemy Films LLC began shooting “Broken Silence,” an independent feature about school bullying.

It seems there is a silver lining to having a rundown and outdated high school.
People in Hollywood looking for a realistic setting for a movie may come knocking.

Stars Mila Kunis, Mark Wahlberg, Joel McHale and Jessica Stroup were nowhere to be seen yesterday around noon at an ultra-modern beachfront home that is serving as the backdrop to the Hollywood movie “Ted.” The movie has been filming in the Boston area in recent days, and reports are the production will be in Swampscott until the end of the week. The film’s stars were expected to arrive in the evening.

The casting call for Quincy locals to appear as extras in the new Kevin James movie “Here Comes the Boom” drew about 800 hopefuls ranging from government officials to the unemployed.

Boston Casting is hosting open casting calls for “Here Comes the Boom” starring Kevin James.

“And the Oscar goes to….Massachusetts! On behalf of the Commonwealth, we congratulate the cast and crew of The Fighter and The Social Network on a combined five Academy Awards.

Christian Bale won supporting actor for his role as the drug-addicted former boxer in “The Fighter.” ”What the hell am I doing here in the midst of you?” Bale said, referring to all the talent in the room. He singled out his co-stars, including Melissa Leo, who earlier had won for supporting actress for playing his mother in the film.

Massachusetts’ generous film tax breaks lured Oscar contenders Christian Bale and Jesse Eisenberg to the state,

Kevin James is gearing up to begin filming “Here Comes the Boom,” scheduled for release in 2012. Filming will take place in and round Boston, including Quincy. We got curious as to what else as been filmed in Quincy. Scroll through this gallery to see what we found.

The Oscar-nominated documentary short “Poster Girl’’ is Newton native Sara Nesson’s first film, but it was only a matter of time. After all, she’s proud to say, it was beneath her father’s editing table that she learned to crawl. Robert Nesson of Somerville, an independent producer/director whose films focus on the environment, human rights, and educational projects (he’s also an instructor at Emerson College), taught his daughter not just the nuts and bolts of filmmaking but how it can raise awareness and effect social change.

The old Quincy High School overshadowed its newer counterpart Wednesday as offices were set up inside for the production crew of a movie that will star Kevin James. The movie, titled “Here Comes the Boom,” may be about a high school teacher who turns to professional fighting as a way to save his school’s music program.

MPC President Joe Maiella talks about the film industry in Massachusetts on Fox 25.

Production is scheduled to begin in Quincy this month on a new Kevin James flick, “Here Comes the Boom,” and the comedy about a teacher who tries to save his school’s music program by becoming a mixed-martial arts fighter is going to save some real-life music programs.

The interior of the vacant school, which is next to the new high school on Coddington Street, will be the setting for scenes that are tentatively scheduled to be filmed starting next month, said Christopher Walker, a spokesman for Mayor Thomas Koch.

After receiving a public relations boost from the Academy Award-nominated films “The Fighter” and “The Social Network” and Golden Globe nominee “The Town” – all filmed in Massachusetts – state officials are looking to capitalize by attracting more major motion pictures to the Bay State.

As Oscar season enters its homestretch, Academy voters receive their final ballots, consensus gels around the favorites—and one name you hear over and over is Melissa Leo. She’s already won a Golden Globe and a SAG award for her portrayal of Alice Ward, the tough-as-nails Massachusetts mother in The Fighter.

“The Social Network,” “The Town,” and “The Fighter” — all filmed in and around Boston — received a total of 16 Oscar nominations Tuesday. The nominations included Best Picture and Best Director nods, along with possible awards for actors Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Melissa Leo, Jesse Eisenberg and Jeremy Renner.

Dicky Eklund’s last stop yesterday was Sully’s Tuxedos in Lowell. “The Fighter’’ had received an impressive seven Oscar nominations, and Eklund was thinking about what he might wear when Hollywood hands out the hardware Feb. 27.

Hollywood tilted significantly and decisively to the Northeast yesterday. An unusually high percentage of nominations for the 83d annual Academy Awards went to movies set in Boston and its environs, and featuring actors either from Massachusetts or playing local natives.