All of you are aware by now that yesterday brought us the awful tragedy of explosions at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. As of this morning, information is still forthcoming and will be for quite some time. According to CNN, three people are dead (including an 8-year-old boy who wanted to watch his father finish), and over a hundred more were injured with many victims suffering lost limbs. Police have searched an apartment in connection with the explosions, but the investigation is still in its very early stages.

This is the worst terror attack on US soil since 9/11, and the sheer timing of the explosions — which went off at about 4:09, the average finish time on the Boston course — is chilling. Just about everyone realizes the Boston Marathon is huge in terms of the sport. Any runner can tell you that it’s easily the most prestigious race in the entire country and one that you will work for many years to qualify for, if ever. Only the best of the best make it to Boston at any point in their lives, and now all those runners (and their families) who worked so hard to make that goal happen have been rocked by this horrific act of violence.

What struck me most poignantly about the news coverage is one particular video that played on repeat on all of the news channels. The footage shows the initial moments of the blast and the reaction by runners on the course. These people were already wearied and discombobulated by 26 miles of running, and they were all completely shocked to hear the first explosion. It absolutely killed me to watch a runner named Bill Iffrig get knocked off his feet by the sheer force of the blast. Fortunately, Bill is okay and (miraculously) only suffered a scraped knee, and he was able to walk to the finish line. Sadly, so many people in attendance at that event were not so lucky.

Naturally and since we are a celebrity blog, here’s a quick rundown of Bostonian celebrity responses to the tragedy. First up, Mark Wahlberg tweeted, “Thoughts and prayers with my hometown Boston today.”

Wahlberg also spoke to Us Weekly last night at his latest film premiere. Here’s what he had to add to the melee:

“It’s just so upsetting,” Wahlberg, 41, told Us Weekly at a Cinema Society screening of his new film, Pain & Gain, in New York City April 15. “Obviously I’ve got a huge family and so many family and friends back in Boston. I don’t know what exactly happened, and I don’t know if everyone’s okay. I’m just trying to be here [at the screening] and put on a brave face and just be a professional.”

The Oscar-nominated actor added, “The world obviously needs to change. If you think about all the events over the last couple years, if we can’t protect our innocent women and children, then we have a serious problem.”

[From Us Weekly]

Many other celebrities — including Ben Affleck, Mindy Kaling, Chris Evans (from Sudbury), and Eli Roth (from Newton) — who hail from the Boston area took to their Twitter pages too. Here are some of their responses to this terrible tragedy.

Ben Affleck: “Such a senseless and tragic day. My family and I send our love to our beloved and resilient Boston.” [From Twitter]

Mindy Kaling: “My heart aches for my hometown. My love and support to the many worthy Boston area hospitals who are helping the wounded, St. E’s, Mass General, Beth Israel and many more.” [From Twitter]

Chris Evans: “[T]houghts and prayers are with everybody in boston. heartbreaking… [From Twitter]

Eli Roth: “Thoughts and prayers for everyone in Boston. Can’t believe what I’m reading. Stay safe.” [From Twitter]

UPDATE: Several of you have requested that we mention Patton Oswalt’s amazing Facebook post on the subject. He’s not Bostonian, but it’s well worth reading his essay, which in which he concludes, “When you spot violence, or bigotry, or intolerance or fear or just garden-variety misogyny, hatred or ignorance, just look it in the eye and think, “The good outnumber you, and we always will.”

Photos courtesy of Boston Herald and WENN

Here are some photos from last night’s Miami premiere of Pain & Gain, the latest Michael Bay masterpiece. The film is set in Miami, they filmed in Miami, thus the Miami premiere. Have you seen the ads for this? It looks bad. But it looks bad in an interesting way, and the whole “based on a true story” thing seems… interesting? Basically, Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson and Anthony Mackie play professional bodybuilders/trainers who decide to heist a lot of money from Tony Shalhoub’s character. Rebel Wilson is also in it. So… it will definitely be a hot mess of a film, but perhaps it will be a watchable trainwreck, you know?

Anyway, I’m making this a “who would you rather?” post because I know many of you have love/lust for Dwayne Johnson. I don’t hate The Rock, and I can smell what he’s cooking, but for me, the hotness in these photos is all about my love Anthony Mackie. Do you even know how much of a crush I have on Mackie? He’s so lovely! He’s so adorable! He has such a beautiful smile! I want to make out with him a little bit. And then… well… then things won’t be so G-rated. As for Mark Wahlberg… who? Sorry, I can only see Mackie and The Rock. I’m also including some bonus Michael Bay just because I want Miami hookers to be on the lookout.

Here’s the redband trailer for this glorious mess.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Unfortunately for the Fassloonies, the headlines yesterday were not about our love, Michael Fassbender. Fassy appeared on Friday night’s Graham Norton Show, only no one was talking about his appearance. Everybody was too busy talking about Mark Wahlberg and to a lesser degree, Sarah Silverman. All three (plus singer Laura Mvula) were featured on Norton’s Friday show, and Twitter exploded in the UK during and after the show. It was all about how Mark seemed extra-friendly with Sarah Silverman, and how he also seemed like he was drunk or high (or both). I’m including the whole episode (it’s split into three parts):

I agree that Mark acted like he was drunk or high or something. I think he pretty much admits that when he comes out too, that Norton’s green room is basically an open bar in which guests are encouraged to drink heavily. It wouldn’t be the first talk show where guests are kept toasty. I’ll also admit that Mark was kind of funny and he made me laugh several times. Yes, he was rude at a few points (especially when poor Fassy was trying to tell a James McAvoy story), but he was also so rude that it was kind of hilarious. And this is honest the God the most I’ve ever liked Sarah Silverman. She was really cracking me up here, and she rarely makes me laugh.

I don’t even think Fassy had anything to promote, right? He wasn’t there pushing any particular project or film or anything. I think he just came to hang out. And yes, he was totally making eyes at Laura Mvula. I wanted to yell at her and tell her to keep her hands off my man, but it’s not her fault. Bless his Irish heart, Fassbender just has such a thing for beautiful black women. He looked like he could eat her up. *sigh*

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet and WENN.

Here are some photos of Mark Wahlberg on the set of Pain and Gain in April of this year. This is, of course, a movie directed by Michael “Blinding Douchebaggery” Bay, so it’s sure to be cheesy as hell and not exactly an intellectual viewing experience, which is fine if you’re into that sort of thing. As a side note, I wonder if Wahlberg had to wash Bay’s Ferrari to get this role. In his Calvins, no less. What a mental picture.

This story is a bit of a roundabout mess, and it centers upon some initially internet-based rumors about Mark taking over the lead role in the Transformers 4 movie. Michael Bay inititally denied the veracity of the rumors involving Mark’s involvment, but word on the street is that the fourth movie in the franchise would revolve around “an adult star and his teenage child with the idea being that the child would then grow to be the focus of subsequent entries in the series.” Regardless of whether or not Wahlberg is actually involved with the project, it sure sounds like Shia LaBeouf’s Sam Witwicky character is being written out of the franchise, doesn’t it? Maybe this has something to do with Shia’s alleged salary demands and assumption that he’s on board for the fourth movie after crapping all over the franchise by saying, “I would just like to make movies about people now” as well as whining about the studio system, right? In an interesting move, Bay has decided to publicly declare that having Wahlberg on board for the T4 lead might not be such a bad idea after all:

Rumors had been swirling around the Internet that Mark Wahlberg was in talks to star in Transformers 4 (a.k.a. Trans4mers), until Michael Bay quickly dismissed them; however, the rumors apparently sparked something in Bay’s part-human, part-robot-alien brain. He writes on his website:

“I had such a great time working with Mark on Pain and Gain, and he gave such a great performance — well let’s say that very internet chatter gave me some ideas. We are at the inception of our story process right now on T4. Let’s say some ideas are gaining traction with me and my writer — so I’m here to say thanks internet chatter.”

So there you go, Internet. You have no one to blame but yourselves for this.

[From Vulture]

Something tells me that ungrateful loudmouth Shia LaBeouf might be soon experience a sharp downward trajectory from his current lofty (and inexplicable) “Hollywood leading man” status. If Bay can easily replace Megan Fox, he can replace Shia in a douche-laden heartbeat too. Watch out, Shia! And get back to spit-polishing Bob Redford’s shoes before he dumps you too.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet

Look at the photo above. If you saw these people at your kid’s football* game and didn’t realize who they were, you would think that the dad totally scored with that hot wife, right? Mark Wahlberg, 41, looks very schlumpy here, and like he’s just an average guy. He needs a haircut and a shave and he’s wearing khaki shorts with white sneakers and a blackberry (?) strapped to his waist. Meanwhile his wife is rocking skinny jeans, booties and a stylish striped tee and she looks like she’s barely tolerating him. It’s amusing to me.

Mark and Rhea were at a football game in Brentwood, CA for their son Michael, 6. They have three other children: Ella, 9, Brendan, 4, and Grace, 2, and have been together since 2001. (Thanks to Huffpo for those stats, I didn’t have to consult wiki.) As for Mark’s look – I’m hoping it’s for a movie. He has a few in the works according to IMDB, but there’s no excuse for that outfit.

In contrast we have super hot tattooed dad Ryan Phillippe, 38, also at a soccer game in Brentwood and looking like he’s too cool to be there. He went to see his son Deacon, 9. Look at Ryan’s girlfriend, a model named Paulina Slagter whom he’s been dating for almost a year. She’s also a student studying history and political science at Loyola Marymount University in LA and she recently turned 21. (She was 20 as of this summer.) How young does she look? She is young too at 17 years younger than Ryan. She could be his daughter.

Honest question: how would you feel if your ex started dating a coed and bringing her around your kids and their activities? Reese is remarried and she’s busy with her new baby now, but I have to say she puts up with a lot and she hasn’t said a peep – publicly. Then again, she married an age-appropriate guy while her ex keeps dating younger and younger women. It’s probably amusing on some level. I’ll say something nice – I like that Ryan’s girlfriend is hiding from the paps. Also, Deacon and Michael are adorable! They’re little stars. I want to know who won these games and what the scores were. My kid played soccer this year and loved it. I’ll tell you I was way more invested in the games than I thought I’d be.

*Note: The photo agency identified Mark Wahlberg as being at a soccer game. However none of the kids were wearing shin guards, Mark was seen throwing a football around, and there was a table set up for football

Photo credit: FameFlynet

Did I call it or what? I’ve been saying for a month now: “I wonder when Mark Wahlberg’s wife is going to get pregnant again?” Turns out, she was pregnant this whole time. Star Magazine reports this week that Rhea Durham is pregnant yet again… with the couple’s FIFTH child. Allegedly, she’s still in her first trimester.

It appears five children may be the charm for Mark Wahlberg and Rhea Durham! A source tells Star Rhea is pregnant with another child.

“She just found out in May and is thrilled,” says the insider. The 34-year-old former model and her hubby, 41, started dating in 2001 and got married in 2009. The happy couple already have a full house with Ella, 8, Michael, 6, Brendan, 3, and Grace, 2, but they’re making room for more.

“She’s going into her third month,” adds the source. Mark, who was the youngest of nine children, knows a thing or two about being a part of a big family.

[From Star Magazine, print edition]

As I said, I think this is perfectly possible because… you know, Rhea seems like she’s constantly pregnant. I can’t believe she’s only 34 years old and could be pregnant with her fifth biological child! Some women just have an easy time with it, and it seems like Mark is really happy with a big family, so good for them. Maybe with the fifth child, Rhea will finally get that platinum AmEx she’s had her eye on. I guess I should mention that Gossip Cop has a denial – but it’s a denial from an unnamed source close to the couple. Which, to me, carries just as much weight as Star’s report. My verdict: Rhea is totally knocked up again.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

As an avid movie fan, I am very rarely caught off guard by box-office results, but since I’ve been looking forward to Magic Mike (because I’m one of those laaawbreakers) to an absurd degree, that’s exactly what happened this weekend. What is this Ted that you speak of? Oh right, it’s that movie for which Mila Kunis walked the red carpet last week. Silly me. The big winner this weekend was indeed Ted with an estimated $54.1 million in ticket sales even though it was a movie about a foul-mouthed stuffed bear who hangs out with Mark Wahlberg.

However, Magic Mike also did much better than expected even though it came in at second place. Basically, all of the dudes went and watched the teddy bear film while da ladies went for the stripper movie. Go figure.

Enough of the bear talk though. Let’s talk about the future of “male objectification” movies that will spring forth from the loins of Magic Mike, which actually fared very well on its $7 million budget to rake in an estimated $39.155 million, which — if the numbers are correct — will beat Soderbergh’s previous opening weekend record of $39.154 million for Ocean’s Twelve. That means that a male stripper movie would have beaten all of Soderbergh’s other pictures, including not only all of the Ocean’s films but also Erin Brockovich and Contagion (a.k.a., “The One With Goop’s Crazy Stroke-Face”). Not too shabby, Mr. Soderbergh:

After nearly two months of Summer movies targeted at younger audiences, this weekend served as a good reminder that adults like to go to the theater too. Seth MacFarlane’s Ted scored one of the best R-rated comedy debuts ever, while R-rated male stripper flick Magic Mike proved to be a very attractive option.

Ted scored a very impressive $54.1 million from 3,239 locations. That bests the first Hangover movie’s $44.98 million for highest debut ever for an original R-rated comedy. Among all R-rated movies it ranks eighth all-time, and it ranks third among comedies behind The Hangover Part II and Sex and the City.

Ted’s success is due primarily to the strength of its broadly-appealing, completely original premise: what’s not to like about a foul-mouthed, pot-smoking teddy bear hanging out with Mark Wahlberg? It didn’t hurt that this felt like a logical transition to the big screen for “Family Guy” creator Seth MacFarlane, and previews maintained the general humor of that show while clearly bringing something new to the table.

According to Universal’s exit polling, Ted‘s audience skewed male (56 percent) and younger (52 percent were 30 years of age and under). They awarded the movie a very good “A-” CinemaScore, which implies that strong word-of-mouth should help Ted play well for at least the next month or so.

Magic Mike had to settle for second place behind Ted, though its estimated $39.16 million was a very impressive tally indeed. It’s the third Channing Tatum movie this year to open north of $36 million, and if estimates hold it will become director Steven Soderbergh’s highest opening ever ahead of Ocean’s Twelve ($39.15 million).

This is a great initial showing for the somewhat artsy male stripper movie, and credit belongs to Warner Bros. for selling the hell out of it. The aspirational plot, which can be a bit of a downer, was largely ignored in favor of glimpses at stripping scenes involving an assortment of outrageous outfits. Instead of portraying the dark, seedy side of the movie’s world, the ads focused on the fun and excitement (not to mention plenty of abs). Late in the game, as the movie was building steam, Warner Bros. ramped up the “event movie” signals to try and get large groups of women to ditch their boyfriends and head to the movies. As expected, the men didn’t really come along: the audience was 73 percent women, and 57 percent under the age of 35.

[From Box Office Mojo]

Did I watch Magic Mike over the weekend? Hell yes. As promised, there was plenty of male nudity to be found (Vulture has made a handy set of graphs to illustrate the point).

SPOILERS BELOW!

I’m not going to really go in-depth with an analysis of this movie because what I enjoyed about it was what the trailers promoted — filthy, filthy dancing by barely dressed men. Channing Tatum (or if you prefer, Charming Potato) nearly charmed my pants off, and I received a much needed, quick-and-dirty Matthew McConaughey fix. However, the marketing of this movie was rather deceptive in that it’s a fairly dramatic movie with some heavy themes on drug use and falling down the spiral, particularly in the case of Alex Pettyfer’s character, who is nicknamed “The Kid.” Honestly, all I wanted to see were some attractive (for once, unlike in reality) male strippers gyrating and taking their clothes off. And I got what I wanted, but I still left the movie feeling somewhat depressed at the end. So while Magic Mike delivers what it promises, it’s also a bit of a lady-boner killer too. Still, I think it’s great that the movie already obliterated its budget, which means that we’ll hopefully get more movies with attractive, nearly naked dudes on display. Overall, that’s a win.

Photos courtesy of AllMoviePhoto

When he’s not too busy disrespecting the victims of 9/11 and/or singlehandedly saving the world from all of the terrorists ever, Mark Wahlberg is just a quiet family man. For real! At least the “family man” part. Mark has been with Rhea Durham for 11 years now, and they have four children together. I was just wondering the other day if Rhea was about to get knocked up again – she’s due for another pregnancy, isn’t she? Like Matt Damon’s wife Lucy. I can’t believe she’s not knocked up again too. Where was I going? Ah, yes. Rhea has given birth to four of Mark’s children and Rhea finally got Mark down the aisle back in 2009. They seem to have one of the most solid marriages in Hollywood (as if that’s saying much, but still). You never hear much about them, scandalous or otherwise. Until now! Star claims that Rhea and Mark do fight about one thing: money. Mark is such a cheapskate that he picks a fight with Rhea when she spends a few hundred dollars. Ugh.

Mark Wahlberg and Rhea Durham seem like the perfect couple – but behind-the-scenes, they’re just like any other married couple, fighting over money!

“Mark doesn’t like it when Rhea gets spendy,” an insider tells Star. Rhea, 34, who has been with Mark, 41, for 11 years and has four children with him, isn’t even a big spender.

“She’ll drop, like, $500 and it’ll be a big fight.”

With his net worth at $150 million, that way off the Mark!

[From Star Magazine, print edition]

$500 isn’t nothing, although I’m speaking from my cheapskate tunnel vision. If I had $150 million, I would let some $500 shopping sprees slide, you know? I get that it’s HIS money, etc. But they’ve been together 11 years, they have four kids, and Rhea helped build Mark’s empire in her own way. It’s time to give Rhea her own Platinum AmEx. Unless Mark has that money earmarked for “single-handedly fighting the terrorists.”

Photos courtesy of WENN.

These are photos from the Hollywood premiere of Ted (or TED), that film with Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis and a computer-generated talking teddy bear voiced by Ted’s writer/director, Seth MacFarlane. This is Seth’s first full-length feature film as writer/director, and I kind of love that he cast Mila Kunis, an actress he has worked with for more than a decade on Family Guy – Mila does voice work as Meg Griffith. So here are some pics of Mila on the red carpet… ugh.

To be fair to her, CB thinks Mila looks beautiful, save for the drag queen makeup. But I’ve noticed something weird – Mila seems to look worse now that she’s with Ashton Kutcher. Maybe it’s just my perception of her, or maybe she’s just in a style rut independent of Ashton, or maybe it’s something else entirely. I don’t know. I think she looks rough. Her dress is Christian Dior – she’s one of the faces of the Dior brand. I think the dress might have been cuter is the makeup was less “dramatic”. And maybe with her hair up? The styling is definitely an issue.

Here’s Mark Wahlberg and his wife Rhea. Rhea looks pretty. Isn’t it about time for her to get pregnant again?

I can’t help it, I think Seth MacFarlane is sexy. It’s totally his voice. And he seems like such a smug bastard, which is one of my weaknesses (along with a great voice). Also: I f–king love American Dad. I couldn’t care less about Family Guy, but I adore American Dad. Sigh… Seth is such a d-bag. I would totally hit it.

Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame/Flynet.

These are photos of Mark Wahlberg in Miami, Florida over the past few days. He’s shooting a new film there called Pain and Gain. In which he seems to have bulked up for the role? Or is this how he always looks? I could have sworn that his muscles weren’t quite so BULGY just a few months ago. But then again, I haven’t seen shirtless photos of him in a while. Here’s a question for all of the ladies (and some of our gentlemen readers): when a dude gets this bulgy, is it a turn-on, a turn-off, or do you just not care either way? Like, I appreciate when a man is well-built, when he’s muscular and fit. I appreciate when a man’s muscles fit his frame too – someone like, say, Michael Fassbender or Brad Pitt or Ryan Gosling is NOT supposed to be all bulgy with giant arms – that’s not their frame. But someone like Jason Momoa? That man bulges all over the place, and it’s just fine with me. My point? I think Mark Wahlberg looks kind of gross and ‘roidy. His upper-body is too over-developed for my taste. He looks better when he’s leaner all over.

Also, the new red-band trailer for Mark’s new film has come out. The film is called Ted. It was written and directed by Seth MacFarlane, and Mark costars with Mila Kunis and… a talking stuffed bear…? This video is NSFW because of language.

Yes, it looks like a giant pile of “WTF?” I cringed during “The Thunder Song”. But I laughed at Mark’s commitment to the “white trash name” bit. Of course, I laughed because I didn’t hear my name in there. Thank God.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.