Seeing stars
Fourteen-year-old Anthony O’Leary credits Ben Affleck and Kevin Costner for making him feel comfortable on the set of “The Company Men,’’ director John Wells’s fine new film about corporate downsizing. It’s the first film for O’Leary, who plays Affleck’s son. “While John was setting up scenes, Kevin played football with me and some other kids,’’ said O’Leary, who lives in Norton and goes to the Moses Brown School in Providence. “Ben just talked to me about normal stuff, asked me about my life.’’ The made-in-Massachusetts movie, which also stars Tommy Lee Jones, Maria Bello, and Rosemarie DeWitt, got good reviews at the Sundance Film Festival and a rave response at this week’s screening at the Coolidge. Another local actor with a plum role is Lance Greene, the bloodless lawyer who has pivotal scenes with both Affleck and Jones. Could this be a big break for Greene, who produced and starred in “On Broadway’’? “I do think it’s a step in the right direction,’’ he told us yesterday. “If people see that you’ve worked with that type of talent, it can open up a lot of doors.’’
In limbo
Last year, “Late Night’’ writer and Newton native Brian Kiley uprooted his family, moving from New York to Los Angeles to join his employer - and former fellow CCD student in Brighton - “Tonight Show’’ host Conan O’Brien. Now, after just seven months, it’s all over, and Kiley isn’t sure what’s next, including how much severance he’ll receive. (You’ll recall that O’Brien reached a $45 million deal with NBC to exit the show and, of that, $12.5 million would be earmarked for his staffers.) “They haven’t told us,’’ says Kiley, who has written bits for O’Brien for 16 years. “I don’t know if they haven’t figured it out.’’ LA doesn’t feel like home, but Kiley says he’s reluctant to move his 12- and 14-year-old kids twice in a year. He told us he’s been touched by all of the pro-Conan rallies, and says he and other former staffers are looking forward to being back at work soon. “We’re hoping that [Conan’s] back on the air in just a few months.’’
Theater benefit
The ART, Punchdrunk, and the cast of “Sleep No More’’ are doing a benefit performance of the sold-out show Wednesday. Proceeds will benefit Partners In Health’s relief efforts in Haiti. “I salute the artists involved in Sleep No More for making this contribution possible,’’ said ART artistic director Diane Paulus.
She draws a crowd
So many handsome men, so little time. Hasty Pudding honoree Anne Hathaway enjoyed a feast with a group of Harvard fellows before bolting Boston. Following her Hasty fete, the Oscar-nominated actress joined the Harvard Krokodiloes - the university’s oldest a cappella singing group - for a dinner prepared by Henrietta’s chef Peter Davis. The menu included herb-crusted breast of chicken, grilled salmon, oven-roasted veggies, and, of course, a hasty pudding dessert.
DeCordova fete
Neither rain, nor sleet, nor gloom of night could keep the crowd away from Thursday’s opening-night reception for the 2010 DeCordova Biennial at the DeCordova Museum in Lincoln. Over 1,100 people attended, including collectors Barbara Lee, Don Stanton, and John Shore: artists William Pope.L, Oscar Palacio, August Ventimiglia, Karin Weiner, and Laurel Sparks; gallerists Abby Ross and Kristen Dodge, Russell LaMontagne, Camilo Alvarez, and Howard Yezerski; and assorted others, namely the MFA’s William Stover, Skinner CEO Karen Keane, Art Forum’s Nuit Banai, and art critic Francine Koslow Miller. We’re told police had to turn away over 100 cars and some people parked a quarter mile away and hoofed it.
Around town
Comedian Eddie Griffin’s doing his bit to stimulate the local economy. Griffin, who’s doing two shows at the Wilbur tonight, had a lengthy list of needs. The comedian’s rider included bottles of Veuve Clicquot, a carton - no, not just a pack - of American Spirit cigarettes, and a brand new pair of White Nike Air Force Ones. . . . Boston Blazers stars Nick Cotter and Kyle Ross joined the Sparks dancers to mingle with moviegoers at a screening of “From Paris With Love’’ at the AMC Loews Boston Common. . . . Onetime “Bond’’ girl Jane Seymour lunched yesterday at the new Legal C Bar at Legacy Place in Dedham.
Globe correspondent Nick A. Zaino III contributed. Read the Names blog at www.boston.com/namesblog. Names can be reached at names@globe.com or at 617-929-8253.
Source:boston.com/
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