Boston’s basking in glory today, with a second World Series win for the Sox and Ben Affleck’s Gone Baby Gone earning real accolades for being a fantastic little film that absolutely must be seen. Right now, the town looks pretty good, which means the location scouts are out working overtime.
The Sox championship might be indicative of a dynasty in the making and it might not, but as a cinematic setting, the joint is definitely in its prime. The resurgance started with Mystic River, continued with The Departed and Affleck’s picture, and is about to get a couple more chapters. One will (fingers crossed) be Darren Aronofsky’s boxing bio The Fighter, and the other could be Real Men Cry, a(nother) South Boston crime saga.
This one is semi-autobiographical, however. Directed and co-written by bit player Brian Goodman, the story concerns a pair of childhood friends played by Ethan Hawke and Mark Ruffalo who get into petty robbery before joining a gang. The Hollywood Reporter says that "First-time feature director Goodman based Ruffalo’s character on
his own experiences with a friend who is now serving 100 years in
prison for armed robbery." Also in on the script were Boston folks Donnie Wahlberg and Paul T. Murray.
Ruffalo’s always going to seem like ideal casting for this sort of gig, but until Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead I would have been unconvinced about Hawke. He really changed my perception of his work with the turn in Lumet’s flick, though, and now I’m eager to see him top it.
The Yari Film Group is financing; Yari execs Bob Yari and Marc Frydman are producing with Rod Lurie, who’s got a solid thing going with the company.