Mark Wahlberg donates $10,000 to Malden teen center

The Boston Globe reports that the Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation recently donated $10,000 to the Malden Teen Enrichment Center. Here is the article:

Mark Wahlberg has pledged $10,000 to the Malden Teen Enrichment Center through his charitable foundation, according to Scott Saia, a security coordinator for the Wahlberg's and Malden native. 

Saia organized Home for the Holidays, a street hockey tournament fundraiser for the teen center held on Dec. 23. The tournament was a success -- raising about $7,000 for the center on its own. The next day Saia was notified that the Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation would chip in another $10,000. 

Saia, who has worked in various security capacities for Wahlberg and his brothers, Donnie and Jimmy, said he had told mentioned the tournament to the brothers, but didn't expect them to get involved. 

"It floored me when I got that phone call," Saia said Friday. "Not that it surprised me, knowing the Wahlbergs, but it wasn't something I expected. It was the best Christmas present I could get." 

The teen center, located at 1 Salem St., opened Dec. 12. It offers leadership and educational programs for teens, as well as gym access. The center is set to receive about $125,000 in funding from the city in 2013, but also relies on donations to operate. 

"That money's going to allow for a lot of great programs for these kids," Saia said.

Mark Wahlberg at the BevNET Live Conference

Mark was recently interviewed by BevNET Live Conference. He talks about promoting Aquahydrate and more. 

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Watch Trailer for 'Pain and Gain'

Here is the trailer for Mark's upcoming movie "Pain and Gain":

New movie poster for 'Pain and Gain'

Here is a new movie poster for Mark's upcoming movie "Pain and Gain" which is due to hit theaters on April 26, 2013.

Mark Wahlberg talks about Transformers 4 with MTV News

Here is a short video clip of Mark Wahlberg on MTV News about "Transformers 4".

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Mark Wahlberg on the set of 'Broken City'

MTV News interviewed Mark while he was on the set of "Broken City". Here is the video:

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Mark Wahlberg talks about Transformers 4

Here is a short interview clip from IGN.com of Mark talking about Transformers 4

Watch new trailer for 'Broken City'

Here is another trailer for "Broken City" which comes out on January 18th.

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Update on Transformers 4 and Ted 2

Collider talked to Mark about his plans for filming a sequel to "Ted" and "Transformers 4". Here is a quote from Mark.

“We’re shooting Transformers in May, and then I believe we’re gonna do Ted 2 right after. They’re working on it now and we’ve kind of gone through the negotiation process. The great thing about it is Seth’s ideas for the second one are sick. He comes from the world of episodic television so he knows how to tell the stories, man, in a way that most people don’t, like for instance The Italian Job we’ve been trying to do the sequel for 10 years. He’s a different kind of guy.”

Source Collider.com

Mark Wahlberg To Produce Movie About a Hacker

Mark has singed up to produce a movie about hacker Luis Mijangos. Here is an article from Cinema Blend:


Mark Wahlberg To Produce True-Life Hacker Thriller For Universal

Mark Wahlberg has been behind a surprising number of critically-acclaimed television shows and movies as a producer, from The Fighter to HBO shows Entourage and Boardwalk Empire, and now he hopes to bring his magic touch to a new project about a digital terrorist. The star is pairing with Universal Pictures to make a new currently-untitled film about real-life incident involving a hacker and the student population of a high school.

THR says that the actual events were documented by David Kusher in a GQ article that ran in January of this year, and that Jonathan Herman has been hired to write the screenplay. Herman wrote the script for the long in-development remake of Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds, but has also been featured twice on the annual Black List, with his scripts Conviction (which is set to be produced by Joel Silver's Silver Pictures) and Rites of Men (which is also set up at Universal). In the real story, hacker Luis Mijangos went much further than just looking into people's email accounts and sending instant messages - he dove into students' hard drives and even went as far as to spy on them through their own web cameras. And what's more he did it all from his wheelchair.

Wahlberg will soon start work on Michael Bay's Transformers 4, but has a good number of films already set to be released in 2013, including the crime drama Broken City, Bay's dark comedy Pain & Gain, Peter Berg's marine story Lone Survivor, and the comic book action flick 2 Guns.

Mark Wahlberg's interview with Globe and Mail

The Globe and Mail interviewed Mark about investing, his business Real Partners, the Canadian film industry and more.

When Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce needed to close a bond deal Wednesday, it turned to an unlikely source: Mark Wahlberg.

The Boston-born actor, producer, and former singer, now known for Ted, Boogie Nights and the forthcoming Broken City, took a turn on CIBC’s Toronto trading floor Wednesday as a celebrity broker for the bank’s annual Miracle Day charity drive. First on the agenda: CIBC needed to move some bonds. A broker for the bank handled logistics, and Mr. Wahlberg – who technically can’t trade in Ontario since he doesn’t hold a licence – got on the phone with the client to provide some extra convincing on the deal.

Commission from the trade went to charity, part of more than $4-million each year that CIBC raises for children’s groups across Canada from the event. Previous celebrity brokers have included musicians Geddy Lee of Rush and Alice Cooper.

After closing a handful of trades, Mr. Wahlberg spoke about his own approach as an investor (how not to end up as a broke celebrity), his own aspirations in the financial sector (teaching other celebrities not to waste their fortunes), and his strong opinions on the Canadian film industry (bring back those tax incentives).

What kind of investor are you, the conservative Warren Buffett-type, or do you like to take a bit of risk?



I’m fairly conservative. I work hard to make the money, so I wouldn’t be okay with somebody calling and telling me, ‘Oh, by the way, we lost $400,000 in this hedge fund’ and so on.

But as I learn more about the market I start to feel a little bit more comfortable. But it really depends.

You are now dabbling in financial services, with a firm for athletes and celebrities. What’s the strategy there?



We started a business called Real Partners because, if you look at most of the athletes, they’re bankrupt before they end up retiring. And they don’t really have people in their lives that tell them ‘No.’ And it’s really important to understand that guys get these cheques. And they just assume it’s going to last forever. But the longevity of athletes is, at the most, you play until you’re 40 in certain sports and after that there’s not really any income. So we’ve got to get these guys to think about that.

I learned the hard way: when I got my first cheque, I got a cheque for $100,000, I went to a Mercedes dealer and I bought a car, and I didn’t have money to register or insure it. And fortunately enough, my career continued to stay on the right path. But a lot of guys aren’t as fortunate. So we just want to make sure to help them make the right decisions, and have somebody in their life that can tell them what they can and can’t do, especially when it comes to their finances.



Banking isn’t too far from your roots. Is it true your mom used to work at a bank?



She did … in Boston. Now she just pulls from my account as regularly as she likes.

You’ve been vocal calling for more government support of the film industry in Canada. Why?



We are really trying to encourage the government to reinstate these tax incentives to bring film and cinema back to Canada. I’ve made four movies in Toronto and three in Vancouver. It’s the best working experience, some of the best crew, the best people I’ve ever worked with, and there’s just not enough film being made here.

We want to reopen Eastern Studios [in Toronto] and encourage people to come back here and make films. I made Fear and Shooter in Vancouver. I made The Big Hit, Corrupter, Max Payne [in Toronto]. It was some of the best work experiences that I’ve had. And it’s just a shame that films are going to other places. We want to really bring it back to Canada.



What sort of reception are you getting on the government front on that?



Mixed. But if we’ve got the right people in the right places, maybe we can make that happen, because Canada loves the arts. And they have the best film festival in the world. They need to have the best film production here. We need to encourage everybody to make that happen.

Mark Wahlberg visits CIBC in Toronto to raise money for children’s charities

The Toronto Star posted an article about Mark's appearance at the CIBC Miracle Day.

Oscar nominated actor and producer and philanthropist Mark Wahlberg along with his good friend ex leaf Tie Domi met kids and employees and made calls to clients to raise money for children charities on the trading centre on December 5th 2012 for CIBC Miracle Day.

Mark Wahlberg is grateful. He’s had success as a singer, actor and producer, as a husband and father of four children.

Which is why he showed up on the CIBC equity trade floor in Toronto on Wednesday, where he was swarmed by an army of traders armed with nervous jokes and smart phones recording his every step and word.

The crush was so overwhelming that at one point Wahlberg took refuge with his entourage in a glassed-in office, where he leaned back in a chair and hoisted a workboot-clad foot onto the desk until things calmed down.

Yes, the executive producer of the hit HBO series Entourage had an entourage, and yes it included a brother, James Wahlberg, executive director of the Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation.

The foundation is mandated to improve the quality of life for inner-city youth, which is where the Wahlberg boys began their lives and where they could easily have ended them.

Mark Wahlberg’s early life as a thug and petty criminal in a tough Boston neighbourhood landed him in jail at 16. Jail was not cool, not fun, not where he wanted to be. Wahlberg decided to turn his life around, and he did.

A lifetime later, having succeeded at virtually everything he tried – his debut album as rapper Marky Mark went platinum; he launched an obsession with six-pack abdomens by baring his own as a model for Calvin Klein underwear; he won praise as an actor for his roles in Boogie Nights, ThePerfect Storm, The Italian Job and I Heart Huckabees; his life in Hollywood with his friends was the inspiration for the hit HBO series Entourage, which he executive produced; he was also executive producer of the hit show Boardwalk Empire – he’s giving back and urging others to do the same.

An ardent Roman Catholic, Wahlberg, 41, wears a rosary around his neck and says he prays on his knees each morning and visits church nearly every day. He wears a gold watch on his left arm. He is informal, playful, charming and soft-spoken, and kept his cool although the scene on the trading floor was somewhat chaotic.

At a press conference after ringing the bell to open a day of trading, Wahlberg said his success puts him in the position of wanting to help others.

“Jail’s not a nice place; I am trying to encourage kids not to ever go there. I’ve been very fortunate – most of my friends didn’t get an opportunity to have a second chance to turn their life around. I don’t want to screw it up and I want to make sure that I give back and provide an opportunity for kids to not make the same mistakes that I made and give them an opportunity to pursue their dreams and make things happen.”

Wednesday was the 29th Miracle Day for the CIBC, which donates the commissions of trades made on one day a year to children’s charities in Canada. Last year the event raised more than $4-million. The money raised Wednesday will be distributed throughout 2013 to 650 children's charities across Canada.

Wahlberg donated his time to this year’s event, and the money raised will go to Canadian charities of his choice.

“There’s people in need everywhere you look,” said Wahlberg. “You just have to get involved, whether it’s your time, whether you’re giving money, it’s your obligation to help people in need if you’re in a position to. I come from the real world. I had a very difficult upbringing and it’s important to me to give back.”

Mark Wahlberg to Canada: Restore Film Tax Breaks for Hollywood

Mark Wahlberg talked to The Hollywood Reporter about filming movies in Canada.

The movie actor called on Canadian politicians to reinstate subsidies for Los Angeles producers shooting movies locally, as he raised money in Toronto for kids charities.

TORONTO – Hollywood actor and producer Mark Wahlberg was in Toronto Wednesday to pass the hat around for kids charities – and for subsidies to draw Hollywood film production back to Canada.
While the Entourage executive producer visited the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce’s trading floor to raise money for childrens’ causes, Wahlberg urged the Canadian government to restore lost tax breaks for Hollywood film and TV shoots here.

“We are really trying to encourage the government to reinstate these tax incentives to bring film and cinema back to Canada,” Wahlberg told The Globe and Mail newspaper Wednesday.

The Hollywood celebrity was in Toronto to participate in the CIBC Miracle Day, an annual fund-raiser where bank employees, including market traders, donate their fees and commissions to charities.
“I’ve made four movies in Toronto and three in Vancouver. It’s the best working experience, some of the best crew, the best people I’ve ever worked with, and there’s just not enough film being made here,” he added.

Wahlberg was last in Toronto to shoot Max Payne in 2008, and a year earlier made Shooter in Vancouver.

Both locales popular with Hollywood film and TV producers have since sweetened their provincial tax credits, with Ontario in 2010 introducing a 25% all-spend film tax credit to remain competitive with Louisiana and New Mexico.


Other Canadian provinces like New Brunswick and Saskatchewan have either rejigged or scrapped their refundable film tax credits.
Even so, Wahlberg urged the Canadian government to do more to ensure Hollywood kept coming north.
“It was some of the best work experiences that I’ve had. And it’s just a shame that films are going to other places,” he said.

“We want to really bring it back to Canada,” Wahlberg told the Canadian newspaper.

Mark Wahlberg to paticipate in CIBC Miracle Day

Mark will be volunteering in Toronto on Wednesday. Here is an article about it from Global Edmonton.

TORONTO - Actor and producer Mark Wahlberg will be working in Toronto's financial district Wednesday morning - and it's for a good cause.

The Hollywood star is scheduled to be on the CIBC trading floor to call clients seeking donations for children's charities.

"I know first-hand the important work done by charities and organizations that support kids and youth," Wahlberg said in a press release. "As a kid, I was fortunate enough to spend my free time in the positive and nurturing environment of the Boys and Girls club."

Wahlberg is supporting CIBC Miracle Day, an annual one-day fundraiser where CIBC wholesale banking employees and participating CIBC Wood Gundy Investment Advisors donate their fees and commissions. The initiative has raised nearly $65 million since 1984.

Wahlberg, a father of four, runs an eponymous youth foundation.

The actor and Entourage executive producer is no stranger to Toronto, having made several movies in the city since the late '90s: The Big Hit, The Corruptor, Four Brothers and Max Payne. He's also a regular guest at the Toronto International Film Festival, where his film Boogie Nights premiered in 1997.

The former rapper and underwear model is a close friend of ex-Toronto Maple Leaf star Tie Domi and recently purchased a condo at 36 Hazelton in the Yorkville neighbourhood.

Wahlberg's next movie, Broken City, opens January 18.



Read it on Global News: Global Edmonton | Mark Wahlberg to support charity in Toronto

Photos of Mark Wahlberg on the set of "Lone Survivor"

You can view a few still photos of Mark Wahlberg on the "Lone Survivor" set on KOAT channel 7.

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