Friday, April 21, 2006

The Mysteries of Pittsburgh

Hey this is great:
Apparently, they are making a movie based on the book, "The Mysteries of Pittsburgh" by Michael Chabon. This is a book that I have read recently, and enjoyed at least a fair amount, if only for the neat descriptions of Pittsburgh. (I still get that "Hey I know that place!" kind of feeling when I read books about places where I live. See "Less Than Zero" and "Liquor" for further proof.)

Anyway, the big question is whether or not they will film the movie in Pittsburgh. There are of course tons of money issues, and lots of posturing and back and forth. What it boils down to is whether or not the studio can get workers cheaply enough, or whether or not the city will be willing to give the studio even more incentives. But in a perfect world it would be filmed right here in the good 'ole Burgh. I would love to see CMU's steam plant (otherwise known as the Cloud Factory) as a central character in a Hollywood movie.

In other news, because of this Carnival thing, it's absolutely dead around here. How am I supposed to get work done when I know that everyone else is enjoying themselves so thouroughly?

1 comment:

  1. First of all, I consider myself THE #1 "Mysteries of Pittsburgh" fan, and somehow I only JUST learned about this film adaptation... which I've been waiting for since 1993 when I first read the book. And I am SO angry about it, I want to cry.

    Who does this director/writer think he is, CHANGING the story? I read in article that he got into filmmaking so he could one day make this movie (because of his love for the book) and then he combines Arthur and Cleveland into ONE character! What the f***!? (And why is Peter Saarsgard playing the role when he's clearly 10 years too old?)

    I checked out the official website and watched the behind the scenes footage. The director's wearing a Tigers cap and tossing a football around like some Total Jock. Doesn't look like a true “Mysteries” fan to me! (And his comment about "the gay sex comes later" slightly offended me. Not to mention the thought of Art Bechstein having sex with Cleveland...Dude, it would NEVER happen!)

    All I can say is, I got my MFA in Dramatic Writing at Carnegie Mellon (right behind the REAL "Cloud Factory," where it doesn't look like they're actually shooting) just so I could one day adapt this wonderful novel into a film...Which is EXACTLY what I will do, once this so-called version miserably fails.

    After doing MUCH online research and learning more about the ridiculousness of this film, I’m seriously considering organizing a boycott. Anyone wanna join me? Email bechstein@yahoo.com

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