Growing up in Dorchester, Mass., Wahlberg was once a member of a Boys & Girls Club. He will be speaking to the teenagers as they gather in Anaheim to challenge their peers to make positive changes in their lives, community and country during Boys & Girls Clubs of America's 35th National TEENSupreme(R) Keystone Conference. 

Sponsored by the Taco Bell Foundation(TM), the Keystone Conference in Anaheim will host teens from across the country to begin "Making Waves From Coast to Coast." Planned and led by a steering committee of youth leaders, the three-day event, March 21 - 23 at the Anaheim Marriott, challenges today's youth to make the tough choices needed to lead productive lives in our increasingly hi-tech and culturally diverse world. Discussion topics include drug and alcohol abuse, tolerance, the benefits of achieving a higher education, improving society's outlook on teens and more. 

The Keystone conference will begin on Thursday, March 21 at 7:00 p.m. with a welcome by B&GCA President Roxanne Spillett and Greg Creed, chief marketing officer, Taco Bell Corp. followed by an address by Wahlberg. Wahlberg will return on Saturday March 23 at 12:15 p.m. to celebrate and recognize the outstanding programs and projects conducted by Keystoners around the globe. The national conference is part of TEENSupreme(R), a $15 million outreach initiative targeting at-risk teens, sponsored by the Taco Bell Foundation and administered by Boys & Girls Clubs of America. Keystone Clubs are leadership groups, ages 14-18, within Boys & Girls Clubs that focus on community service. "During the last six years, the contributions we've collected helped more than 500,000 at-risk teens become productive young adults and active members in their communities," said Hillary Niblo, Executive Director, Taco Bell Foundation. "By donating money or time, every one of us can make a difference in the life of a teen and the future of this country." 

The Taco Bell Foundation, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, was established by the Taco Bell Corporation as a public charity in 1992 to help the communities it serves. Money for the TEENSupreme program is raised by the foundation through charitable donations collected in canisters in the company's restaurants as well as participating franchise restaurants. 

Boys & Girls Clubs of America comprises a national network of more than 3,000 neighborhood-based facilities annually serving some 3.5 million young people, primarily from disadvantaged circumstances. Known as "The Positive Place for Kids," the Clubs provide guidance-oriented character development programs on a daily basis for children 6-18 years old, conducted by a full- time professional staff. Key Boys & Girls Club programs, such as Youth of the Year, emphasize character and leadership development, education and career enhancement, health and life skills, the arts, and sports, fitness and recreation. SOURCE Boys & Girls Club of America 

CONTACT:          Amy Ruttkamp, +1-404-487-5894, or +1-404-493-3330, or Jan Still
                  Lindeman, +1-404-487-5739, or +1-678-656-6252, both of Boys & Girls Club of
                  America

NEW YORK (Variety) - Mark Wahlberg is hatching "The Entourage," a comedy series for HBO about the chaotic existence of the core group of people behind a movie star. 

Along with his manager Steve Levinson of Leverage Ent., Wahlberg will executive produce and develop the series, which hopes to do for assistants, bodyguards, agents, lawyers and publicists of an A-list feature star what "The Larry Sanders Show" did for the harried staff of a late night talk show. 

The show is the first attempt as a series creation for Wahlberg, who will not star but expects to be involved behind the scenes. HBO has ordered a pilot script, which will be written by Doug Ellin ("Kissing A Fool"). While the movie star will likely be seen only in glimpses, it is unclear yet whether they will target a real one who might cameo or get a fictional composite of a star like Wahlberg's "Perfect Storm" captain George Clooney or Bruce Willis. 

Wahlberg will next be seen starring with Thandie Newton in the Jonathan Demme-directed Universal drama "The Truth About Charlie."

DULLES, Va., Feb 7, 2002 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Clark, Wahlberg and Other Notables Dish on Their Favorite Weekend Activities

What are you going to do this weekend? Why not ask Bostonians Anthony Clark and Mark Wahlberg what they recommend? America Online recently asked Clark, star of CBS's sleeper hit Yes, Dear, and Wahlberg, star of the upcoming film The Truth About Charlie, to spill their secrets for a perfect weekend in their hometown of Boston. Among Clark's favorites, shopping on Newberry Street or Copley Square. Among Walhberg's favorites, a late-night stop for pastry in Little Italy or a horse and buggy ride at Faneuil Hall Square for a romantic Valentine's Day date. 

AOL caught up with Clark, Wahlberg and other celebrities and public figures, such as Enrique Iglesias, Darius Rucker, Brian Vander Ark, Dave Navarro, and Suzanne Vega to get the scoop on their favorite hometown hangouts, restaurants and stores. The Celebrity Weekend guide marks the launch of the new AOL Weekender, a one-stop online resource for comprehensive and timely information on entertainment activities taking place each weekend in cities across the country. 

According to Jupiter Media Metrix, the Internet is becoming a popular way for people to fill up their social calendars, with nearly 60% of Internet users going online to find information about local events and restaurants in their hometown. The Boston Weekender is updated just in time for weekend planning and offers top picks for dining, special activities for kids and families, places to hear live music, arts and cultural events, and where to go for the best shopping bargains and weekend sales. 

    Anthony Clark's top picks include:
    --  Weekend Essentials: A walk on the Esplanade along the Charles
        River and pizza at the Pizzeria Regina in the North End
    --  Best Romantic Date: Top of the Hub or in Copley Square
    --  Favorite Spot as a Kid: Spending the day at the Children's
        Museum

    Mark Wahlberg's top picks include:
    --  Weekend Essentials: A stop at Bridgeman's Restaurant in Hull,
        Massachusetts for Italian cuisine (his brother is one of the
        chefs), Bill Hill's Reservation for hiking and Whiskey Park
        for exciting nightlife
    --  Best Spot for a Rainy Weekend: Loews Theatres Boston Common
        for a movie (they hosted his charity premiere for Planet of
        the Apes)
    --  Favorite Spot as a Kid: In Dorchester, Pope John Paul II Park
        for outdoor movie screenings
    --  Must-stop Shopping Spot: House of Culture on Newbury Street
        (they designed clothes for Mark in his early rap years) and
        Jordan's Furniture in Waltham
    --  Best-kept Secrets: Castle Island, the site of the 19th century
        Fort Independence, on a summer evening

The complete Celebrity Weekend guide can be seen on the AOL service at AOL Keyword: Celebrity Weekend. 

"The AOL Weekender gives the 'who, what, when and where' on neighborhood and area events that can simplify weekend planning for busy people and their families," said Neil Smit, Senior Vice President and General Manager of AOL Local. "Increasing our emphasis on local programming has been the #1 request from AOL members who want access to important information about their hometowns wherever they are online. We're excited to bring the AOL Weekender to our members with the help of some hometown celebrities and public figures. We hope this will inspire people to go out and explore the towns they live in and visit." 

Research clearly shows that local information on the Web is not only bringing greater convenience to people's lives, it's also transforming how local businesses, particularly shopping merchants, are reaching consumers online - driving foot traffic as well as Web traffic. According to Jupiter Research, 74% of online consumers research their purchases online before buying them offline. And, 80% of all purchases take place within 20 miles of a person's home (The Kelsey Group). 

AOL Local has registered rapid growth and usage, reaching more than 10 million people per month on the AOL service and the Web according to Jupiter Media Metrix December 2001 data. AOL's local city-specific programming and services cover more than 320 DMAs (30,000 towns and neighborhoods), compared to the nearest competitor coverage of 52 DMA's. 

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts form a talent triumvirate when it comes to packing movie theatres and getting films financed, according to a new survey of celebrity bankability.

Industry executives ranked the three stars at the top of a list of 130 actors based on their ability to secure financing for a film, obtain studio distribution and guarantee huge box office receipts on the strength of their name alone.

The full Star Power 2002 Survey will be published this week in The Hollywood Reporter.

Rounding out the top 10 were Mel Gibson, Jim Carrey, George Clooney, Russell Crowe, Harrison Ford, Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt.

The survey revealed a crop of new stars whose power is on the rise.

Actors such as Reese Witherspoon, Kirsten Dunst, Josh Hartnett and Kate Beckinsale rated higher on this year's list compared to last year's ranking. Several new names debuted on the list, including Heath Ledger and Hugh Jackman.

A separate list for musician/actors ranked Will Smith, Jennifer Lopez and Mark Wahlberg at the top, along with Madonna, Britney Spears, Whitney Houston, Ice Cube, Janet Jackson, Cher and Courtney Love.

LOS ANGELES (AP) - A background actor from last summer's "Planet of the Apes" movie accused the filmmakers of harming him and hundreds of others with dust used in a climactic desert fight scene. Jeffrey Clark seeks unspecified damages from studio Fox Entertainment Group for alleged fraud, battery, conspiracy and negligence, according to the proposed class-action lawsuit filed Tuesday.

About 80,000 pounds of Fuller's Earth, a sedimentary clay used for absorbing chemicals and oils, were tossed into the air with giant wind machines during the production, the lawsuit said.

Extras involved in the scene - a battle between human slaves and their ape rulers - were exposed to the dust for hours at a time without breathing masks, according to the lawsuit.

As a result, Clark said he suffered lingering eye irritation and respiratory problems.

It is unclear, however, whether other background performers have joined the lawsuit. Clark's attorney did not immediately return calls for comment. Fuller's Earth is routinely used to produce dust effects in movies. The International Cinematographers Guild recommends limited use of the product and only in well-ventilated areas. The guild also suggests that crews wear proper
breathing protection.

Limited exposure to the clay is not dangerous except for those with chronic asthma or other respiratory ailments. Fuller's Earth is also used in some cat litter and oily skin health treatments, and the dust is not toxic unless previously used to soak up a poison.

Clark alleges he was exposed to the dust for 10 to 12 days at six or eight hours at a time. He and other extras were paid about $8 an hour.

Fox officials did not immediately return calls for comment.

The 2001 movie, a remake of the 1968 Charlton Heston thriller, chronicled the adventures of an Earth astronaut (Mark Wahlberg) who lands on a planet populated by intelligent primates who enslaved a race of humans.

Directed by Tim Burton, best known for 1988's "Batman," the $100-million sci-fi adventure earned about $180 million domestically. 

Hundreds of movie extras who acted in the film Planet of the Apes have sued its producers for allegedly exposing them to cancer-causing powder during the shooting of a dust storm scene.

Court documents today showed the bit-part actors had filed a class action suit against Fox Entertainment Group Inc for alleged wrongs including fraud and deceit, battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

The suit, which demands unspecified compensation and punitive damages, was filed in Los Angeles on Tuesday by Jeffrey Clark, representing extras in Tim Burton's remake of the 1968 simian classic. 

The actors, who played apes and humans, claim they were exposed to about 36,000kg of "Fuller's Earth" powder that they say contains a lung irritant and known carcinogen called crystalline silica.

"There are hundreds of Class Plaintiffs who were subjected to heavy toxic dust with over-exposure to cold weather and many developed respiratory problems consisting of coughs, sinus and respiratory infections," the suit said.

During the scene, the extras, some dressed as people and others as apes, had to run down a hill as the powder was blown into the air by wind machines to recreate a dust storm on a planet inhabited by monkeys, the suit alleged.

The scene was filmed over 10-12 days in a desert outside Los Angeles during which time the actors were exposed to the dust for six to eight hours a day without the face masks recommended by the powder's makers, it said.

"The dust was so hazardous that it stuck to each Class Plaintiff's face and hairpiece," the suit said, adding that the studio had removed labels from bags of the powder that warned of its possible cancer risk.

"Hair that started as black or grey soon turned to a walnut brown within minutes. Many of the hairpieces started to disintegrate after a short period of time in the dust," the suit said.

In addition to damages, the bit-part actors are seeking any profits the studio may make from the movie that starred Mark Wahlberg and Helena Bonham-Carter.

Dirk Diggler and friends may be boogie-ing once again.

Citing a report in Total Film magazine, Moviehole.com reports that director Paul Thomas Anderson is considering a sequel to his 1998 feature Boogie Nights, which traced the odyssey of aspiring '70s porn star Diggler (Mark Wahlberg) in the world of adult entertainment. 

The sequel would focus on supporting-cast members Amber Waves (played by Julianne Moore) and Roller Girl (Heather Graham), as they try to adjust to life in the porn biz during the 1980s, when even the low-budget production values and storylines of '70s porn were dumped for fast-and-cheap video production and increasingly graphic sex. 

The site said the discussed sequel would feature Roller Girl becoming the biggest star in porn, while
Amber tries to create a life beyond skin flicks. Other cast members from the original film, including
Wahlberg, John C. Reilly, Luis Guzman, and Burt Reynolds, may also be involved in the sequel, the
report said. 

Anderson's most recent film was 1999's Magnolia. His next film, the Adam Sandler/Emily Watson comedy Punchdrunk Knuckle Love, is set in the world of the phone-sex trade. It is due out this year. 

"Are you wearing eyeliner?" an amazed office clerk asks Mark Wahlberg as he repairs a photocopier in his new film Rock Star. "I'm in a rock band," Mark explains testily. Of course, he isn't really. He's in a Steel Dragons tribute band and he's a facsimile of its lead singer Bobby Beers (who is, as it happens, a facsimile of the former gay Judas Priest frontman, Rob Halford). But one so eerily accurate that he ends up taking his place (just as a fan ended up taking the place of Rob Halford). And Rock Star, like most Marky Mark films, isn't really a film but a facsimile of one. 

Perhaps this is why Mr Wahlberg always seems to be cast as a photocopier repair man: in Three Kings this was his job when he wasn't a reservist pretending to be a soldier in the Gulf War (a war which we are solemnly informed by Marky Mark's CO is a "media war"). In Planet of the Apes, he's essentially trying to solve a jam in the cosmic photocopier of evolution. Even when he's the star, Wahlberg seems to be tinkering away in the background. 

As the oddly - yet fondly - duplicitous nick-name "Marky Mark" suggests, Mr Wahlberg is the facsimile star of a facsimile world, a plastic icon for a Planet of White Trash, an extra who appears to have blundered into the lead role. His own story always overshadows that of his movies: a white boy who became a rapper, a "hustler" who became a Calvin Klein model, a novelty act who is now hailed on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine as "Hollywood's leading man" and "the next Cary Grant". Not bad for a boy who used to have to drop his pants to get our attention. 

Wahlberg, of course, achieved global fame in the humongously successful Calvin Klein underwear poster campaign of the early Nineties - in which he was depicted masturbating on the side of buses. Or more precisely, grabbing his bulky lunch-basket through his Calvin's and showing off his pumped pecs - stimulating millions of men around the world to buy Calvins in the especially vain hope that they might look like Marky Mark in them. 

So it was either ironic or simply a case of more photocopying that Mr Wahlberg's big screen breakthrough was in Boogie Nights (1997), in which he plays a mega-hung hustler who "jacks off for men" and who is "talent spotted" by a porn director played by Burt Reynolds. Of course, the main reason anyone went to see Boogie Nights was to finally get a butchers at Marky Mark's cock - one which was already much more famous than that of John Holmes, the unfeasibly hung Seventies pornstar Dirk Diggler was based on. Which is why the director made damn sure that you don't even catch so much as a glimpse of it until right at the end - and then all we get is a deliberately plastic-looking prosthetic. 

Which serves us right, since Wahlberg has made a career out of a perpetually deferred, postponed, polymorphous, plastic manhood. This is also the reason why he is so closely associated with homosexuality and homosexuals, who are experts in facsimile masculinity. It was media regents David Geffen, Calvin Klein and Herb Ritts who launched his career into the stratosphere with posters that looked like they'd cut and pasted an Irish altar boy's face onto a gay hustler's body. Marky is the man-boy for a man-boy age of facsimile manhood in which men no longer grow up, their chests just get bigger instead. 

In his "adult" movie career, Wahlberg never seems to play a healthily heterosexual role. In Boogie Nights, he's a freak show surrounded by failed men and sick women; in Rock Star he replaces a gay star and ends up trading Jennifer Aniston for a life of sad, groupie debauchery. And the way we know he's really hit rock bottom is not that he loses Jennifer but because he loses his six-pack. Meanwhile, in Planet of the Apes, his main romance is with a creature that is a cross between Michael Jackson, Bubbles and Helena Bonham Carter. (Apparently, in what passes for real life, Mr Wahlberg, who is now 30, avoids relationships and still lives with his mum.) 

And Marky always seems to be a victim in his films, as if he has to pay for his narcissism - or at least, pay for our interest in his narcissism. In Boogie Nights he's a sad loser who is exploited by other losers and ultimately falls victim to his own vanity - even ending up being queer- bashed. In The Perfect Storm he is the victim of terrifying, gigantic special effects. In fact, The Perfect Storm is merely 90 minutes of watching Marky Mark drown, deliciously. Even in Planet of the Apes, where he was supposed to be playing an action hero, he was the passive victim of circumstances: just when he thought he'd won, he discovered he'd lost (the Apeman Lincoln moment). 

In Three Kings he is captured by the Iraqis and stripped down to his underwear (again) and tortured by a rather nice looking but very cruel young Iraqi officer. Poor Marky is beaten up, electrocuted and has oil poured down his throat. He also gets shot and has to have a valve painfully inserted into his famous chest in extreme, invasive close-up to allow him to breathe. 

All this is very peculiar - especially when you consider that Wahlberg is definitely not a victim or a homo; he is a multi-millionaire success story with hordes of women and Hollywood directors pursuing him everywhere he goes. Moreover, Marky has a proven track record as a bully. This former, dissed rapper is much "badder" than that contemporary white rapper with another double "M" moniker who is all mouth; he's even badder than most black rappers. This "motherfucka" did time when he was 16 for assaulting two Vietnamese men in an attempted robbery. 

In other words, our facsimile film star really can act. It's just that his act is convincing us that he's more altar boy than hustler, more lovable loser than wily winner, more bottom than top - the photocopier boy with eyeliner. 

With his long flowing hair, priapic posture and swaggering attitude, Mark Wahlberg looks every inch the metal guru in his new movie Rock Star. And judging from the on-set rumours -- including tabloid allegations of an affair with his co-star Jennifer Aniston -- he lived up to the title role throughout the six-month shoot. 'I basically lived the part,' he told one interviewer. 'It got a bit dangerous at times, because you're hanging out with the real guys, so there's no going half-way.'
But however immersed he was in rock'n'roll, Wahlberg was always ready for a laugh. He has a sharp wit, not unlike his buddy George Clooney, the film's co-executive producer. Asked at a press conference if his long hair was a wig, Wahlberg replied: 'In Boogie Nights the penis was fake, in Three Kings the dead body was fake, but my hair now is real.' He also mouthed off about Tom Cruise's penis being small, but didn't get into any trouble over the comments.

His response now? 'Yeah, you know, you can't really hold me, Mark Wahlberg, responsible. Not while I'm making a movie,' he shrugs with a cheeky smile. 'That's always an excuse if I get pulled over, you know, or get arrested or something.' It's a defence that is unlikely to hold up if his bodyguard Leonard Taylor presses his $2 million lawsuit, which alleges that Wahlberg beat him and bit his arm outside a New York restaurant last November.

At any rate, Wahlberg evidently enjoyed his role as a rabid metal fan who so idolises his favourite band that he forms a tribute band -- only to find himself hired as the replacement singer of the real group, Steel Dragon . 'It was kind of a licence to go crazy,' he says of the film, loosely based on Birmingham hard rockers Judas Priest. 'I could go out and act a little wild.' 

However, the shoot was arduous. The last concert scene alone involved 30,000 extras and took three weeks to film. Wahlberg's voice became so hoarse from performing one song 50 times that he had to quit smoking.

'I was smoking an awful lot in The Perfect Storm and I had to be thin, but I was still 10 pounds off what the director [Stephen Herek] wanted me to be for Rock Star. I had to quit smoking to sing and just get through it . I tell film-makers all the time, 'I'll do whatever you ask me' -- but I didn't think quitting smoking and losing weight was possible. I had to starve myself. Apparently there weren't any muscular, heavy-set metal stars in the 1980s. They couldn't find any Spandex to fit me so I lost the weight.'

Rock Star didn't have Wahlberg pining for his former life as a rap star. 'I miss the freedom of being a musician,' he admits. 'You show up when you want, you go on when you want, you can change the show. But movies gave me the discipline that I needed at that stage of my life.'

Wahlberg grew up as one of nine children in working-class Dorchester, near Boston, not far from where the fishing disaster drama The Perfect Storm was filmed. At 12, he was already beating up grown men and making loan collections. He developed a cocaine problem and by 16 found himself in jail for gouging out the eye of a Vietnamese refugee in a liquor store he was robbing. He was high at the time. He was saved from what seemed to be his dismal fate by his elder brother Donnie, formerly of the group New Kids On The Block, who helped him develop a career with his band, Marky Mark And The Funky Bunch. Their first album, Music For The People, went platinum.

One thing Wahlberg misses about being in a band is the female fans. 'When you're on tour, the girls are constantly following you around,' he says with a grin. 'But when you're making a movie you're in Mexico or Arizona, in the middle of nowhere. It can be an advantage though. When I was younger I had to get a girl drunk just to try to get lucky. And it was usually a girl who nobody else wanted to talk to. Now I'm hoping that I can find myself in love with someone who loves me for all the right reasons and have a happy family.'

Wahlberg says he is haunted by the trauma of his early years and his time in prison and says he rarely stays in a relationship for long. But now he seems serious about settling down. 'I come from a large family and everything to me is family. The hardest part about doing what I do is I don't like being away from my family. And not having opportunities to meet somebody,' he takes a deep breath, 'who is going to love me for me.'

Wahlberg's past lovers include his Fear co-star, Reese Witherspoon and the model China Chow. Paparazzi caught him at Paris functions with various women while he was shooting his new film The Truth About Charlie. While making Rock Star, Wahlberg was in a relationship with the much younger actress Jordana Brewster (The Faculty, The Fast And The Furious), while the tabloids were pairing him off with Aniston.

'My mother believes everything she reads,' Wahlberg recalls animatedly. 'She called me up screaming at me, 'You leave that boy's girlfriend alone! You have a girlfriend! What are you doing with Brad Pitt's girlfriend?''

The tabloids have also accused him of stealing Winona Ryder from Matt Damon. 'I got shit for that one, too,' he admits. 'Matt's a great guy. Ben [Affleck] is as well. But he doesn't want to be from Hollywood and be a movie star. He wants to have been from jail so he can say he's tough. They're very lucky that they didn't have to grow up in Dorchester. There are a lot of guys in Hollywood who want to f*** up their careers because they want to believe the parts they play.'

Wahlberg has always been ambitious and willing to take risks. As a Calvin Klein underwear model his buff and beautiful body graced New York's Times Square. He wasn't inhibited by his third nipple, even though it was airbrushed away for Rock Star. In 1992 he published an autobiographical picture book, irreverently dedicated to his penis.

His first two screen roles were as Danny DeVito's keen student in Renaissance Man and alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in The Basketball Diaries. But the role that brought him fame was as porn star Dirk Diggler in Boogie Nights. 'I'm very proud of that film,' Wahlberg says now, 'but it's not the one I want to be remembered for.'

George Clooney was charmed by Wahlberg who lobbied for him to appear in Three Kings and A Perfect Storm. Fronting Tim Burton's malformed blockbuster Planet Of The Apes might not have been such a great idea, but the US$10 million pay cheque can't have been bad. 

A forthcoming role is set to stretch Wahlberg in a new direction -- as a romantic lead. Jonathan Demme's The Truth About Charlie is a remake of Stanley Donen's Charade, in which Wahlberg and Thandie Newton reinterpret roles created by Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn. Later, he'll join forces with Jude Law and Ashley Judd for a remake of the incestuous love-triangle drama Forbidden Relations.

In last year's The Yards, Whalberg played a man recently released from prison, a role that might have seemed too close to home. Yet, when promoting the film, Wahlberg spoke openly about his jail experiences. But perhaps taking on torturous roles has been a way for him to tackle his demons. Leo Handler, his character in The Yards, was also a master at repressing his emotions. 'It's something I've been dealing with my whole life, you know,' says Wahlberg. 'It's becoming a little easier to talk about personal things and be able to trust, but it's taken a while. It's all kind of a reflection of my upbringing.'

Wahlberg's brother Donnie, who is also an actor (appearing in The Sixth Sense, Ransom and Band Of Brothers), describes their family as 'dysfunctional, Irish Catholic and bossy'. The six boys and three girls were raised in a three-bedroom apartment. Mark shared a room with his five brothers and their parents divorced when he was 11. He recently discovered his father had three more children outside his marriage. 

Of the brothers, only Mark remains single -- he still lives with his mother in his hometown, where he has established a local Boys' Club, to create opportunities for neighbourhood kids. 'If I can inspire these kids then I feel as if I'm doing some good,' says Wahlberg, a regular church-goer who says he has found solace in God. 'I just strayed for a while. Once I started to refocus my faith, things started to happen.'

In any case, he seems to be handling fame well. 'It doesn't put pressure on me personally but I've seen what it can do to people, and I've been fortunate to learn from a lot of people's mistakes. I've worked with guys like Burt Reynolds and James Caan, and my brother had a huge amount of success really early on. It's taken me a while to be in a movie that's made a lot of money. It's been a gradual process building a body of work and not taking on more than I can handle. I'm in it for the long haul.'

Rock Star is out on Friday

After the concert tour parody This is Spinal Tap, how can anyone ever take heavy rock seriously again? Cucumbers fleshing out spandex leggings, stage decor featuring Stonehenge in miniature and guitar amps that go "up to 11" - every ludicrously overblown aspect of the public and private life of old metal rockers laid bare for ridicule in a mockumentary which doesn't, in fact, seem all that far from the truth. 

By contrast, Mark Wahlberg's new comedy Rock Star takes a true story from the many myths of metal and remixes it, Hollywood style, as a rags to riches tale. 

The film is based on the life of Tim "Ripper" Owens, the singer with a Judas Priest tribute band whose dream came true when his heroes asked him to replace their outgoing vocalist. In the film the Owens character is recast as Chris Cole (played by Wahlberg), who gets to live his dream with English rockers Steel Dragon. "It was cool," says Wahlberg. "When I got my hair extensions, it was a licence to go crazy. I couldn't be Mark Wahlberg and have the leather pants and

long hair extensions. I lived the part for the whole six months of shooting. It got a bit dangerous at times because you are hanging out with the real rock guys, so there's no going halfway." 

However, disagreements over aspects of Owens' story saw Judas Priest part ways with the production early on. Owens and the band now argue the film isn't their story, and Warner Brothers have rather conspicuously failed to mention the band in any of the publicity material. Yet Rock Star's source of inspiration remains unquestionable. 

And it's because of the source material that Rock Star is a celebration of heavy rock, from the OTT music to the OTT lifestyles, rather than the parody that is Spinal Tap. Although writer John Stockwell calls Rock Star a "Horatio Alger in leather tale of wish fulfilment", he nevertheless attempted to give his story some basis in fact. "I hooked up with the band Pantera, and they kidnapped me," he says. "They took me on their tour bus and warned me that I better get it right. They were intent that it be a credible movie about the hard-charging lifestyle." 

To that end, various working rock musicians have been cast as members of the film's three fictional bands - Steel Dragon, Blood Pollution, Cole's tribute act, and rival band Black Babylon - among them Jason Bonham, son of late Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham, and Ozzy Osborne's former guitarist, Zakk Wylde. Then there was the Los Angeles Sports Arena concert, where Steel Dragon opened for White Snake, Great White, Wasp and Megadeath. 

"In order to get the concert scenes for the film we performed a benefit show," says Wahlberg. During the scene in which Cole makes his stage debut with Steel Dragon, he falls down a staircase while making his entrance. "I had a tube of blood in my pocket and squirted it all over me," explains Wahlberg. "The audience was completely taken in, until I came out to do take two. Then they started to get upset when they realised we were wasting their time making a movie." 

Much as Wahlberg and Stockwell would have us believe their film is an accurate portrayal of the rock lifestyle, Rock Star suffers from the Hollywood treatment. Like Almost Famous, last year's film about the 1970s rock scene, Rock Star is overly sentimental. The extreme elements of the lifestyle are sanitised. Drink, drugs and women are kept in the background, while creativity and free-spirited nature are honoured. It is a disingenuous film and worse, it lacks a sense of humour. 

Only Stephen Jenkins, vocalist for the band Third Eye Blind who plays Cole's Black Babylon rival, has some grasp of the potential scope for overwrought theatrics and self-parody. "It's very Shakespearean," he says. "Sort of Romeo and Juliet - Mark is Romeo and I'm Tybalt - with a little West Side Story and a touch of Spinal Tap thrown in." 

If only Rock Star lived up to that description. It will appeal to those who spend their weekends saluting those about rock, but for the rest of us, Spinal Tap remains the last word on the heavy rock experience. 

Rock Star goes on general release on Friday.