Ben Affleck Apologizes To Boston

[jimithing]

I just saw his newest movie, The Town, this evening, which was very good, and I was reminded of this story:

http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7019931464?Ben%20Affleck%20Apologizes%20To%20Boston%20With%20%22The%20Town%22

Basically, the movie was shot all over Boston, and there were days on end where they closed the North End, to film. I don't know Boston at all, but apparently it is an extremely busy area and sort of the city lifeline.

Ben Affleck apologized to the residents and businesses there, and said that he hoped that the movie made up for the disruption. I read responses from people, and many of them were still really irritated, as it affected their business.

Was the apology necessary? Was it rude to close down the city, even though they had permits, etc?

[think2x]

Ben Affleck apologized to the residents and businesses there, and said that he hoped that the movie made up for the disruption

It was nice he would apologize (what can he do?), but I find the second part about the movie making up for it really funny. How could a movie make up for all that inconvenience?

[MaggieB]

I don't think it was necessary.  And if the city issued the permits, I can't blame Ben Affleck for using them to get his movie made.

But I can see how it might be nice of him/a good PR move if people in Boston are upset about the inconvenience.

[Sharnita]

Ben Affleck apologized to the residents and businesses there, and said that he hoped that the movie made up for the disruption

It was nice he would apologize (what can he do?), but I find the second part about the movie making up for it really funny. How could a movie make up for all that inconvenience?

I think the movie could bring new revenue into an area that is depressed economically.

[BettyDraper]

I agree.  Most communities are clamoring for the on-location film business, which had migrated to a great extent out of the United States; the disgruntled business owners should take up their concerns with the city and with the state film commission, not the movie makers. 

[ShadesOfGrey]

Mass filming tax credits (and the permits themselves) have been a hot-button issue here since they began, and even more so when they were set to expire.  Streets in Boston are *verysmall* and tightly packed.  And if you close down the main street, the shops lose business-these arent chain stores that can take a small hit and then recover, either.  It is a major tourist destination as well.  

I think Ben was trying to show he was still "in touch" with his old (extended) community, understands their frustrations, and really is a supporter of the neighborhood/area.   You know, "I'm still Jenny from the block" style ;-)  

I didnt see anything about "making up for it" - was there another article with that quote?


I dont think it was rude to close down the neighborhood, and was the apology *necessary?* No, but it was really good PR.  (Not to discount his sincerity, of course!)

[jimithing]

I didnt see anything about "making up for it" - was there another article with that quote?

Mass filming tax credits (and the permits themselves) have been a hot-button issue here since they began, and even more so when they were set to expire.  Streets in Boston are *verysmall* and tightly packed.  And if you close down the main street, the shops lose business-these arent chain stores that can take a small hit and then recover, either.  It is a major tourist destination as well.  

I think Ben was trying to show he was still "in touch" with his old (extended) community, understands their frustrations, and really is a supporter of the neighborhood/area.   You know, "I'm still Jenny from the block" style ;-)  

I didnt see anything about "making up for it" - was there another article with that quote?

His quote was,
"This movie is nothing if not a long apology to the people of the North End.", and then later, "I hope they like it."

That was basically my summation/interpretation of his quotes. And I do remember reading something when I first saw this apology about it "making up" for it. I will see if I can find it.

[PeterM]

Was the apology necessary? Was it rude to close down the city, even though they had permits, etc?

As others have said, whether the apology was necessary or not is less important than the fact that it might be a good idea on several levels.

I can't say 100% whether closing down parts of the city was rude or not, but I will say that just because they had permits doesn't make it non-rude. Many, many things that are perfectly legal are also rude, and a government office giving you permission to disrupt someone's livelihood to further your own does seem to fall squarely on the "Yeah, that might be rude if you don't handle it well" side of things in my opinion. For this specific case, though, I don't know enough to judge.

I do have one example of possible rudeness due to filming in Boston. Back in the 90's there was a movie about a mad bomber loose in Boston. Blown Away, that was it. They filmed all over the city, but it's not like everyone knew what was going on at the time. A friend of mine was walking through Copley Square and noticed there was a big hubbub with lots of cop cars at the opposite corner. This is not a common thing but also not completely unheard of, so he didn't think anything of it. Until a paddywagon exploded, which scared the snot out of him until he finally noticed the film crews and equipment. I'm sure they did everything they could to warn people in the area, but this is an area they simply couldn't close off and that's full of people moving from one point to another. So were they rude to essentially stage a terrorist attack in the middle of a busy city? I don't know, but I do know my attitude would be different if they did this now rather than back in '91 or so.

[sbtier]

Boston has narrow twisting streets as it was built before automobiles.  The North End is a major tourist destination as it is the Italian section with all the good restaurants and pastry stores.  It also is where the main arena, Boston Garden (or whatever it's called now) is.

[jimithing]

The interesting thing, is that while the movie is really entertaining, it doesn't really paint the suburb of Charlestown, in the most positive light. It has a few quote in the beginning of the movie which makes it sound like every young man who grew up there becomes a bank robber, just like all kids who grow up in Compton grow up to be gang members. So, in a sense, it perpetuates a stereotype.

[HorseFreak]

The interesting thing, is that while the movie is really entertaining, it doesn't really paint the suburb of Charlestown, in the most positive light. It has a few quote in the beginning of the movie which makes it sound like every young man who grew up there becomes a bank robber, just like all kids who grow up in Compton grow up to be gang members. So, in a sense, it perpetuates a stereotype.

I saw the trailer last weekend and said to my boyfriend, "I used to work in Charlestown and it's not THAT bad!" Kind of an odd premise for a movie, but the accents were worse.

[ShadesOfGrey]

It's playing on some old, well-known robberies that were committed by men from Charlestown.     It was a stereotype back in the day, actually. He's profiting off it, heh.

[camlan]

Boston has narrow twisting streets as it was built before automobiles.  The North End is a major tourist destination as it is the Italian section with all the good restaurants and pastry stores.  It also is where the main arena, Boston Garden (or whatever it's called now) is.

This. And if they close off a street or two, it's not just a matter of going one block to the left or right and continuing on your way. There are lots and lots of one way streets and almost none of the streets are laid out in nice, neat square blocks.

Back when the TV show "Spencer for Hire" was being filmed in Boston, there were nights when I was walking home from work and would have to detour several streets out of my way because the street I usually walked down was closed due to filming. It would add nearly 20 minutes to my commute.

[jimithing]

It's playing on some old, well-known robberies that were committed by men from Charlestown.     It was a stereotype back in the day, actually. He's profiting off it, heh.

Yeah, I read about it on Wikipedia, that the Irish mob was highly prevalent from the 1960's-1990's, but the neighborhood changed when a lot of middle class transits moved in. But it was set in modern day, so if I hadn't looked up the information, I would have thought it was still the case.

I just find it rather funny that he sees the movie as a long apology, when it's not exactly a giant love letter to the city, KWIM?

[Flora Louise]

I had to wait several hours in my car in a parking garage because a film crew had closed down LaSalle St. in Chicago to make Batman.  No notice was tacked up when I put my car in the garage that morning and I was one of many who were forced to wait in our cars.

I'm still waiting for my apology from Christian Bale.