At the Langham, we told hotel staffer Rachelle Boudreau about the nearby shoot. “It happens all the time,’’ she said. “Sarah Jessica Parker got her hair and makeup done here while she was shooting ‘I Don’t Know How She Does It,’ ’’ Boudreau said. “Without her makeup, dressed in a winter coat, nobody knew who she was.’’ And the hotel got a little screen time, she added. “You see our bright red awnings very prominently.’’
According to Lisa Simmons, communications director for the Massachusetts Office of Travel Tourism, three major films recently wrapped in Boston: “R.I.P.D,’’ the action-thriller we encountered, plus “Ted’’ with Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis, and “Here Comes the Boom,’’ starring Kevin James. A TV pilot, “Gilded Lilys,’’ is slated to shoot locally in March. Other big-budget films are considering the state as a location for summer filming, Simmons said. As Adam Sandler, who made “Grown Ups’’ here in 2010, might say, “Not too shabby!’’
Simmons noted that tourists, especially international guests, love Boston’s movie connection. “It’s exciting that you can sit in the same restaurant where Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz filmed ‘Knight Day’ [Gaslight Brasserie in the South End], or watch a scene being filmed on the Boston Common. It adds a little bit of magic to the city,’’ she said.
The city even has its own movie tour, The Boston Movie Mile. Our curiosity piqued by our movie shoot sighting, we signed up for the 90-minute walking tour. (The company also offers a three-hour bus tour.) Since Massachusetts began offering tax incentives to moviemakers in 2006, 65 movies have been shot here, according to our tour guide, Javier Marin. These include acclaimed films such as “The Fighter’’ and “The Departed,’’ and stinkers such as “My Best Friend’s Girl.’’