Chicago, IL

Last night, Chicago acted like Hollywood again as it hosted the premiere of the new film Gone Baby Gone. The film was shown at the Music Box Theatre, as part of the Chicago International Film Festival, which runs through September 17th.

The movie marks the feature film directorial debut of Ben Affleck and the movie stars his brother, Casey Affleck. Ben also co-wrote the screenplay. The film is about a young girl who is abducted and Casey’s character, a private investigator, is hired to find her. The film was delayed in Europe after the filmmakers were concerned that it would hit too close to home for the family and friends of Madeline McCann.

Ben’s wife Jennifer Garner and daughter Violet were not at the premiere. Ben said that the subject of the movie is of increasing importance to him now that he has a child. He said that parents have to worry about security issues when they have a child and the film addresses the worries that all parents have regarding their children.

Casey joked with reporters that not only did he not have to audition for his role in the film, he made Ben auditioned for him, to ensure that he would be a good director. Ben, on the other hand, said that Casey had to beg his way onto the film.

The Chicago International Film Festival shows 360 screenings of 160 different films of wide-ranging subjects and budgets. The screenings take place at several venues throughout the city and the filmmakers come from 44 different countries to show their films in Chicago. For more information on the festival, visits the festival site.

Photos: Chicago Sun-Times

Gone Baby Gone, Ben Affleck, Casey Affleck, Chicago International Film Festival

In addition to doing his part to try to ensure that the Chicago Cubs have a place in the post-season, Chicago Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee is also trying his hand at acting.

The slugger filmed a cameo for the television show ER last Thursday in Chicago. He will play himself and reportedly appears on the camera for less than a minute as he signs an autograph for a fan.

Lee agreed to do the cameo after learning that ER will have an episode later this season which features a story about a young girl stricken with Leber’s Congenital Amaurosis, the rare eye disease Derrek’s daughter Jada also struggles with. The disease causes blindness and Jada is blind in one eye.

Derrek has founded Project 3000, an organization which helps to bring awareness to Leber’s Congenital Amaurosis and help find a cure.

The Derrek Lee episode of ER is scheduled to air on October 18th on NBC.

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Chicago Cubs, Derrek Lee, ER, Leber’s Congenital Amaurosis, Project 3000

If you are a fan of Family Guy, you have a chance to see the actors that voice the characters live on stage. The event is taking place on Saturday September 15th at the Chicago Theater. The event will help launch the syndication of the show on WGN.

In the stage show, creator and star Seth MacFarlane leads the cast, including Alex Borstein, Mila Kunis, Seth Green and Mike Henry, in musical numbers from the show. Event includes a table read of an episode, a Q&A with the cast, and a preview of the “Star Wars”-themed season premiere.

For more information and to purchase tickets, head to Ticketmaster.

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Family Guy Live, Family Guy, Mila Kunis, Seth Green, Alex Borstein, Seth MacFarlane, Mike Henry, Chicago

Here are some photos of Angelina Jolie filming the movie Wanted here in Chicago this week. It looks like she is enjoying doing the stunt on top of the Dodge Viper.

On Saturday, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, and all of their children were treated to an after hours visit at the Field Museum here in Chicago. The Field Museum is always a big hit with kids because it features dinosaurs and other fun natural history exhibits.

Here are several photos of the clan leaving the museum. You can see that Pax has a couple of temporary dinosaur tattoos on his arm.

Angelina Jolie, in town to film Wanted, visited the Borders on Michigan Avenue over the weekend. The photos below are her leaving the store with her son Maddox.

Angelina Jolie, Maddox Jolie-Pitt, Chicago, Borders