The Road Will Have a Midnight Show Next Tuesday

If you've been following the long and winding story of the production and distribution of The Road, you know that the release has been delayed a few times. What was supposed to be a "wide" release on November 25 has been restricted to 31 cities.

Luckily, Pittsburgh is one of those cities. And, Fandango has just announced that there will be a midnight show over at the AMC in Homestead on Tuesday night.

I'm really looking forward to seeing this. I'll probably have to wait until Wednesday to see it (I haveinsomnia, and driving the 30+ miles home at 2am doesn't appeal to me). But that'll be fine.

Extra Call for "The Chief"

(E-mail forwarded from Fourth River Casting)

The Chief, a one-man show about Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney starring favorite Tom Atkins, is being retired after several hit seasons of presentation at the Pittsburgh Public Theater.

A live performance of The Chief is being taped on November 12th at Shadyside Academy, and we're looking for audience members interested in being part of this historic event. Audiences will see a full production of the show and be provided with refreshments. Participants will be required to wear clothing appropriate for a night at the theater, be available to stay through the estimated 5 hours of taping, and will act as extras, filling various areas of the theater and recreating reaction shots.

THERE IS NO CHARGE. This may be one the last opportunities to see this tour de force, but all audience members must be confirmed to attend. Spaces are limited, and will be filled on a first-come, first-serve basis. Participants will not receive financial compensation, but will have the chance to see the production free of charge, and additionally will receive small refreshments (not a full meal) and a copy of the DVD when released. The shooting will take approximately 5 hours, beginning in late afternoon.

If interested in being a part of this historic taping, please send an e-mail to fourthrivercasting@yahoo.com for more information.

Don't miss your chance to see this incredible play, saluting one of the legends of Pittsburgh sports history and featuring one of the legends of Pittsburgh entertainment!

Great Post-Gazette Article on Love and Other Drugs

I'm a big fan of Ed Zwick, Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway and Hank Azaria and am glad it sounds like the filming is going well. I would have liked to have been an extra, but between getting a contract job and being away, I missed the extra call for the Civic Arena last week.

The Three Rivers Film Festival Announces Its Schedule

Every year, I intend to see something at the Three Rivers Film Festival. Last year, I got to see The Passion of St. Joan of Arc, but that's because I was in the choir singing the accompaniment.

This year, there are some small local films and many foreign films. It would have been nice to have seen one of the film shot here last year, like In Northwood, Shelter, or The Road, but none of them are in the schedule.

The festival does include Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus with Heath Ledger and many others and Young Victoria with Emily Blunt and I might try to go see them. I hadn't heard of any of the other movies being shown except for Precious...et.c. which was the People's Choice winner up at the Toronto Film Festival.

Is Liam Neeson Coming to Town?

Russell Crowe has been seen about Pittsburgh, working on his thriller The Next Three Days with Elizabeth Banks. Liam Neeson has apparently signed on to join this movie.

Three Rivers

Back in March, I was one of a bunch of extras who worked on the pilot for Three Rivers. We spent a very long day at a piece of the Convention Center that overlooked the Allegheny River, walking back and forth as hospital employees. Well, I made a day's pay and walked for probably six of the fifteen hours I was on site. I met Beth and Jojo that day, and heard that Chad was there on another day.

Everyone kept saying they were sure that the pilot would get picked up and that it would be filmed in Pittsburgh.

*sigh* I wish I'd taken a bet with everyone who said that. I thought the show might get picked up, but I knew it was going to be filmed in Los Angeles.

So, since the filming of the Three Rivers pilot in Pittsburgh, the doctor in charge was recast, and the pilot was reshot at least twice in Los Angeles. The show itself is being shot in LA. While there are some very lovely aerial shots of Pittsburgh in the show, as far as I can tell no one from Pittsburgh had anything to do with the show as it was broadcast.

I'm glad that the show was at least set in someplace other than New York or LA. But I think it'll be a lot like Grey's Anatomy in that you have one shot that screams SEATTLE and no evidence that the writers know much about the city.

I have mixed feelings about the show. On the one hand, the issue of organ transplantation is an important one and it's shocking how many people ignore it. So to have a TV show that discusses it every week is an interesting choice on CBS's part.

On the other hand, it's a tough issue to dramatize. Usually, one person dies (except in the case of kidney or partial liver transplants) and one person lives (unless they have major rejection or infection issues). So how can you dramatize this issue without coming off as being hopelessly manipulative? I hope they find a way.

The Road's Release Pushed Back from 10/16 to 11/25

Yes, you guessed - the "genius marketers" behind The Road are opening a movie about a starving family...on Thanksgiving. That's holiday fare for you!

It looks like a very good movie. It's gotten overwhelmingly positive reviews at the Telluride and Venice Film Festivals. It's not the kind of movie that will ever be a block-buster, but it could find its audience if it's not coming out over a holiday weekend. You just have to wonder "What were they thinking?"

The Road Premieres in Venice (and, Also, Apparently, at Telluride)

The interviews have begun, the reviews are starting to come out, and initial word on The Road is mostly positive.

I'm keeping a link list of reviews at: Reviews Page at The Road News and Rumors.

It'll hit Pittsburgh six weeks from tomorrow, on October 16.

Three Movies in Preproduction Locally

The new Tony Scott flick Unstoppable with Denzel Washington and Chris Pine is in pre-production in Pittsburgh. Sets are being built, trains are being painted. Extra casting has started for the scenes that will be filmed in Ohio; filming will also happen in Weirton.

Edward Zwick's flick Love and Other Drugs with Anne Hathaway, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Judy Greer has had some local casting calls recently. Register with Nancy Mosser Casting if you are interested in being an extra.

Paul Haggis's The Next Three Days with Russell Crowe and Elizabeth Banks will also be shooting in the area this fall. Banks last spent a few months shooting in Pittsburgh two years ago when she made Zack and Miri Make a Porno for Kevin Smith.

Good News for Movie Fans in the Western Suburbs

The new Cinemark at Settlers Ridge is opening on 10/6/09!! Just two more months to wait for a state-of-the art 16-theater multiplex in our area. I've been up to the Cinemark in Monaca a few times and was favorably impressed.

Visit http://www.cinemark.com for more information on Cinemarks.