Finish Line tells the story of those affected by the bombing at the Boston Marathon in 2013 ©Finish Line

Filming has begun in Boston on two major features dealing with the bombings at the finish line of the city’s 2013 marathon – and a drama entitled Finish Line, based on testimony of those caught up in the trauma, has begun a preview run ahead of the 120th running of the marathon on April 18.

Mark Wahlberg, star of The Departed and The Fighter, has begun working on Patriots’ Day, a joint CBS and Lionsgate project which also features Oscar winner J K Simmons and Michelle Monaghan.

Wahlberg is a composite Boston Police Department officer who has a key part in the investigation and manhunt, and Monaghan plays his wife.

Simmons will play Sergeant Jeffrey Pugliese of the Watertown Police Department, who distinguished himself in the firefight which ended with the arrest of one of the brothers who had planted the bombs, Tamerlan Tsarnaev.

The film, which recreates the bombings that left three dead and more than and the pursuit of those responsible, is due to open in Los Angeles, Boston and New York on December 21 before a world launch on January 13 next year.

Meanwhile, filming has also begun for Stronger, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, which is based on the autobiography of the same name written by Jeff Bauman, who lost both legs in the Boston bombing while waiting at the finish line for his girlfriend.

Bauman went on to become one of the main witnesses at the trial of the surviving younger brother, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

On Tuesday last week (April 5) fans of the Boston Bruins ice hockey team stayed behind following their match against the Carolina Hurricanes to take part in a recreation of the inspirational occurrence that took place less than three weeks after the bombing when Bauman, in a wheelchair, acted as the Bruins’ banner captain, waving their flag before their second play-off game against Toronto Maple Leafs.

After playing his part as Bauman, Gyllenhaal thanked all the fans who had stayed behind to take part in the filming - the results of which are due to be on general release next year.

Jeff Bauman, who lost both legs in the Boston Marathon bombings of 2013, makes a public appearance later that year and his story is now to be turned into a film called Stronger ©Getty Images
Jeff Bauman, who lost both legs in the Boston Marathon bombings of 2013, makes a public appearance later that year and his story is now to be turned into a film called Stronger ©Getty Images

Finish Line, a Boston Theater Company production, is running until April 23 at the city’s NonProfit Center ahead of its world premiere opening next April.

This Boston Theater Company production draws from interviews with 88 people involved in the traumatic events of that day, including numerous runners who survived injury.

The 10 actors involved use verbatim transcripts to convey a multiple viewpoint on the bombing and its aftermath.

Joey Frangieh, co-creator of Finish Line with Lisa Rafferty, commented: "It's about the runners, it's about the spectators, it's about a city, a state, a country that chose to not allow an act of evil, an act of terrorism, an act of violence to define who we are."

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