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Monday, 13 February 2012 17:28

Written by Carl Kurlander

NIGHT OF LIVING DEAD PANEL AT UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH with screenwriter Jack Russo, "first Zombie" Bill Hinzman, and producer Russ Streiner.

Bill Hinzman passed away earlier this month, leaving behind quite a legacy in Pittsburgh.  Best known by some for playing the first zombie to appear in the classic 1968 film Night of the Living Dead, Bill was loved by fans for his eagerness to show up to all sorts of horror film events and conventions, dress in costume, and tell stories.  But I first met Bill in 2002 when I first came back from L.A. to teach at the University of Pittsburgh at a gathering which I will never forget on Halloween night where he and some of the other cast and crew had graciously agreed to speak to students of a new club called "Pitt In Hollywood" that I was faculty advisor for.  

Truth be told, I had never seen the Night of the Living Dead when growing up as I was afraid of scary movies.   I, like the makers of Night of the Living Dead, had watched Chilly Billy Cardille on the local NBC.   And my mother actually appeared in one of George Romero's movies, Hungry Wives (which I have never seen for fear she may be naked in the movie.)  But one of my students wanted to get a guy named Bruce Campbell to speak on campus, and we didn't have any budget, so I heard Pitt had an original print of Night of Living Dead which seemed like it might be a good special event.  Then another student suggested getting the cast and crew to attend.  When I asked how, someone got a phone book and we remarkably discovered that many of those involved in the movie still lived in Pittsburgh.  

And so on October 31, 2002, Bill Hinzman joined screenwriter John ("Jack") Russo, producer Russ Streiner (who also utters the classic line "They're coming to get you Barrbarra", and actors Karl Hardman and Marilyn Eastman.   They shared with us how Night of the Living Dead came to be, a story that is now somewhat legendary in the world of independent film. Shot on a budget of sixty thousand dollars, with cameramen filling in as zombies, a automobile borrowed from Streiner's mother, and chocolate syrup used as blood, the film represents a unique group effort that embodies the spirit of the Pittsburgh film scene.   Because of their low budget, Bill and his cohorts had to be creative.   For instance, if you look at the graveyard scene, the lightning only appears in close-ups.   And if you watch closely when Barbara's car crashes, their is a dent before it hits the tree-- because Russ Streiner mother had had an accident with her car between days of shooting.    

But what really came across that evening was the wonderful comraderie that still existed between the filmmakers.   They had not just made this film on a whim.  They had worked for years on their craft, doing commercials, working on the legendary Rege Cordic radio show.   They had collectively chosen to write a horror script because they could be done on their budget.   Everyone did whatever had be done on the set-- including Bill helping out as on camera-- as he would go on to be a DP and a director of his own films.    

There is also a wonderful story of how Bill ended up saving the brother of Russ Streiner, Gary Streiner who was doing sound, when his arm accidentally caught fire during a special effect mishap.  Bill, in full zombie make-up, tackled Gary to the ground and helped put out the flames. 

What came across most when I finally did get to watch Night of the Living Dead with that crowd was how wonderfully the movie holds up.   It is far more than a horror film.   Though it was not planned while they were making it, the film held great meaning in the era of the 60s with the Vietnam War and Civil Rights movement in full swing.   But it also speaks to the importance of us working together in crisis-- that all we have is each other.

Ironically, or perhaps because of Pittsburgh, when we were filming My Tale of Two Cities in a Steelers bar in Burbank, I got to meet a nice young woman named Heidi Hinzman-- Bill's daughter who has worked on many shows in L.A.   Pittsburgh is everywhere. 

Although more and more mainstream films are beginning production in Pittsburgh, the film community here remains tight-knit and collaborative. Myself and the rest of those involved in this community are saddened by the loss of Bill Hinzman, but grateful for all the things he contributed to Pittsburgh and the world.

P.S. 

Shortly after this, I learned that Russ and Gary's mother Josephine also passed away just shortly after Bill.   We send along our deepest condolescences to both families.   

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Monday, 06 February 2012 01:36

Written by Carl Kurlander

In case you haven't heard, "Pittsburgh Dad” is a webseries which has taken the world by storm attracting over 1.5 million views and counting since the first episodes were shot on Chris Preksta's cellphone with his friend Curt Wootton for what began as just goofing around to make their friends laugh.  Special Episodes of "Pittsburgh Dad" and Chris' remarkable film "Mercury Men" which was picked up this past summer by SyFy Network as a webseries will screen Tuesday February 7th at 7 p.m. at the Hollywood Theater in Dormont.    

Preksta is a truly talented filmmaker, building on this region's rich tradition of independent film which began with Night of the Living Dead.  (A sad note at the passing of Night of the Living Dead Zombie  Bill Hinzman yesterday. Bill had played many roles in front of and behind the camera in some classic Pittsburgh films.  http://zombie1.com/)

Starting as a short concept film that was featured at the 2008 Comic Con in San Diego, “Mercury Men” harkens back to the great serials like Flash Gordon which inspired Raiders of the Lost Ark.     With its special effects, you will never believe the film was shot locally for just $7000.   And Preksta just won "Best Director" from the International Academy of Web Television.  http://iawtvawards.org/winners

And Pittsburgh Dad's popularity grows stronger each week as many identify with its nostalgia, reminding viewers of childhoods with their own Pittsburgh dads.  Chris Wooton, who also stars in "Mercury Men" with Mark Tierno, is "Pittsburgh Dad".

See the adventure movie, THE MERCURY MEN, on the big screen and meet PITTSBURGH DAD himself, in the classic Hollywood Theater in Dormont, PA. Winner of Best Director and Best Visual FX at the IAWTV Awards, The Mercury Men is a throwback to the movies that inspired Star Wars and Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. Preceding the movie will be a few select episodes of the hit internet series, PITTSBURGH DAD.

For more about Mercury Men: http://www.mercuryseries.com/

For Pittsburgh Dad: http://www.youtube.com/pittsburghdad

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Saturday, 28 January 2012 10:39

Written by Carl Kurlander

50 years ago this year, a Chatham College graduate named Rachel Carson wrote a book “Silent Spring” which has become a classic credited with launching the environmental movement.   Several decades later, three young filmmakers left the Rachel Carson Homestead on a quest to visit 50 states looking for ways to save the planet while living only on a shoebox of trash a month.    That film, “YERT” or “Your Environmental Road Trip” has become a movie which is sweeping awards at film festivals around the country, and which will be having a free screening this Sunday January 29^th at the Heinz History Center at 2:30 p.m. 

The "Your Environmental Road Trip" screening will be introduced by Andy Masich, the President of the Heinz History Center, and after the movie will be comments from YERT star and producer Mark Dixon, and Dr. Patty DeMarco, the President of the Rachel Carson Institute.    Email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  with questions, but this screening is free and open to the public.

This screening is part of kick off of the 2012 “Take A Shot At Changing The World” contest which encourages middle school and high school students around Southwestern PA to “Make a Movie and Make a Difference”, for which they can win up to $10,000 of cash and prizes for various awards such as films on the environment, polio eradication, the Heinz History Center Pittsburgh Innovation Prize and the Jefferson Award Globechangers Award which gives $2500 to the best idea to change the world and comes with a free trip to Washington, D.C. to attend the black-tie Jefferson Awards.   Last year's winner Tyler Anderson will also be present to show his winning film on polio and polio eradication.   The winner of this year's polio prize gets their video on the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation website.  

Just go to www.yert.com to see the very funny “Yert” trailer and www.takeashotcontest.org to learn more about the contest.

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Thursday, 05 January 2012 09:51

Written by Carl Kurlander

            Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Entertainment Capital of the World?

So, recently, the Washington Post listed the very hip Portland as "Out" and "Pittsburgh" as "In." And I’m told that Mayan Elders are predicting that in 2012, there will be a great convergence, and that because of Pittsburgh’s three rivers (and secret fourth year) Pittsburgh may become “Peaceburgh” and usher in a whole new way of being for the human race.  Well, I'm not sure it's such a good thing for Pittsburgh to be "in" (please Pittsburgh, don't go Hollywood on us) and I'm no Mayan expert, but as 2012 begins, I feel like this may be a good time to comment on the flows of several streams of the entertainment industry which have been converging in Pittsburgh in a way which is beginning to feel very powerful for this region.

In 2003, many of Hollywood's top players gathered at the Fred Rogers Studios at WQED to form the Steeltown Entertainment Project, a non-profit whose mission is to build an entertainment industry in Southwestern Pennsylvania.   Back then, Steeltown's Founding Executive Director Ellen Weiss Kander, predicted that “entertainment could be Pittsburgh’s new steel”, and indeed, based on what is happening here in film, television, and digital media, that dream is becoming closer to a reality.

                                          Ellen Weiss Kander, Rob Marshall, Maxine Lapiduss

FILM. A few years ago, it would be hard to believe that a common complaint among Pittsburghers would be the traffic problems caused by major movies shooting in town.   It can’t get much bigger than Dark Knight Rising, Tom Cruise, and the new much heralded Charlie Kaufman movie (the Academy Award winning screenwriter of Being John Malkovich) filming in Pittsburgh.   But balancing out those traffic snarls are the hundreds of millions of dollars that these films have brought into the region’s economy—not only in hiring crews, but in spending in hotels, restaurants and related businesses like dry cleaning, rent-a-cars, and other related businesses.   As New Castle native and Lionsgate producer John Dellaverson stated when he was back in March for the Steeltown Film Factory, “Pittsburgh has become Lionsgate’s number one choice for location.”  And since John met with Governor Rendell and legislators in April 2007 urging the change of new film tax credits, Lionsgate has put their money where there mouth is shooting “Warrior,” “Abduction”, “The Next Three Days”, and “One For the Money” here, with plans to film even more in the region.

Of course, Pittsburgh has experienced this surge in film production before and in order to make it truly sustainable, one of the things which is being talked about in this New Year is a regional entertainment fund which would give the Pittsburgh region more of a partnership with these Hollywood productions, and give added incentive for films to shoot in the region on a continual basis (and hire local crews) beyond the already effective film tax credits.

Another great asset to Pittsburgh's growing film industry is 31^st Street Studios where the new Batman and One Shot have been filming.  Belle Vernon native Chris Breakwell has turned this former steel mill into one of the finest studios between New York and Chicago.   31^st Street Studio is looking towards the future and partnering with many leaders in the region and the industry involving aspects of production and post-production which could lead to jobs coming and staying in Pittsburgh. In fact, several weeks ago, I met James Pastorius, a Pittsburgh native whose company Savage Visual Effects has done work for “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”, “Social Network”, “X-Men”, and “Twilight” who is looking to open a Pittsburgh office in addition to his one in Redondo Beach, CA.    And the truth is, as both “300” producer Bernie Goldmann and “Avatar” Special Effects producer and Pittsburgh native Heide Waldbaum have mentioned in panels as part of the Film Factory, both of those movies were produced in warehouses which could have just as easily has been in Pittsburgh—and soon, they might well be.

Tom and Suri at Schenley Park

TELEVISION. Pittsburgh should be very proud that Fred Rogers’ legacy will continue in the New Year as the Fred Rogers Company is producing Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, a new animated series based on Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood which will air on PBS nationally this Fall.  This program starring Daniel the Striped-Tiger will be produced by Blues’ Clues creator Angela Santomero and will allow a new generation to discover a program focusing on the emotional life and development of children which what Fred was all about.

And later this month, as a recent Post-Gazette article detailed "Filming Here: The Next Oprah?", the director of television’s number one comedy, Two and a Half Men, and Squirrel Hill native, Jamie Widdoes, is scheduled to direct a TV pilot in Fred Rogers’ Studio for the Pittsburgh Innovative Media Incubator, a new co-venture between WQED and the Steeltown Entertainment Project.   Jamie was back in Pittsburgh last February for the Film Factory and discovered through his producing partner Peter Isacksen, Anea Bogue, an expert on women and girls issues, and thought she would be the great host of a talk show.  More Pittsburgh Innovative Media Incubator projects are also in development with Guardian creator David Hollander and Emmy Award winning MTV Made producer Bob Kusbit.

  Peter Isacksen, Jamie Widdoes, Shelli Wright, Anea Bogue, Carl Kurlander, Deb Acklin

And Pittsburgh is even a force on the reality front,  Dance Moms is a hit TV show based on Pittsburgh’s Abby Lee Miller studios and the History Channel just aired a pilot of Inventionland, a show based on George Davison’s Willy-Wonka-esque inventor’s shop here.

Dance Moms and Daughters

And I should also mention the hit webseries, Pittsburgh Dad, which has just crossed over 1 million views and was filmed on an Iphone by Mercury Men director Chris Preksta and actor Curt Wootton.  

MUSIC. “Blue Slide Park”, Mac Miller’s new album inspired by his growing up in Point Breeze, debuts number one on the Billboard 200, the first independently distributed album to do so since 1995.  Mac and Wiz Khalifa are both signed to Rostrum Records, a label started by visionary Benji Grinberg who moved back to Pittsburgh after working at Arista Records.   Now kids are around the world are wearing “Taylor Gang or Die” gear, having no idea that Taylor Allderdice is the high school where Mac, Wiz, and Benji all graduated from.   It is still kind of surreal to know that people in Paris are singing “Frick Park Market”, and it is somehow even cooler that this on fire 19 year old Point Breeze rapper has taken his mother and his grandmother on tour with him.

And then of course, there is young phenom Jackie Evancho, who has become an international sensation with her operatic voice.   You may have seen her on PBS which also is featuring a huge “Pop, Rock, and Soul” PBS concert put together by Pittsburgh’s own T.J. Lubinsky who has produced the famous Doo Wop specials there.   Pittsburgh has always had an amazing and under-touted musical history, from Stephen Foster, the World’s first professional songwriter to Rusted Root who played the New Year’s show downtown and whose “Send Me On My Way” has become ubiquitious in films, TV shows, and commercials.   With Bruce Springsteen jamming here with Joe Grushecky, it seems like the Pittsburgh music scene is on its way.

MASTERS OF THE DIGITAL AGE

Of course, these days, entertainment is not just film, TV, and music, but things related to entertainment technology—and Pittsburgh has many stars in that area too.

Pittsburgh is home to CMU’s Entertainment Technology Center, co-founded by the late Randy Pausch and its current Executive Producer Don Marinelli which offers a graduate degree in entertainment technology and which over the past decade has produced a disproportionate amount of gaming and animation which too often goes out to L.A. and Silicon Valley after graduation.

But thanks to CMU ETC professor Jesse Schell who is also the CEO of Schell Games all that is changing.   Schell Games has gone from 5 to over 75 employees as its company designs games and rides for Disney and other major entertainment industry players, including working on internet and gaming aspects of the new "Daniel's Neighborhood" show.  

And CMU’s Project Olympus has helped nurture some of their brilliant talent such as Marek Michalowksi who designd KeepOn the Robot for research on autism, but KeepOn is now a star toy for Toys R Us this holiday season.    And Jesse Schell and CMU spin-off Bosa Nova have designed “Mechatars” which CNN Money named as “One of 7 Toys You Have To Have” in 2011.    Speaking of Robots, there is also Marilyn Monrobot, a robot who does stand-up comedy, which is the brainchild of CMU graduate student Heather Knight and was recently featured on CNN.

                                     Heather Knight and stand-up Marilyn Monroebot 

And then there is the growing world of animation, graphic novels, and puppeteers, many of whom have gathered around the Toonseum, one of three museums of cartoon art in the country which now resides downtown, and where I have met everyone from Kris Boban, a brilliant L.A. animator who worked on shows like “Yo Gabba Gabba” in L.A. and has moved back to work with Animal, the production house behind the talking Taco Bell dog and many other things; Jim Martin, who directed shows like “Sesame Street” and “Bear In the Big Blue House” and lives in Pittsburgh; and even Doug Bradley, the actor who played “Pinhead” in the Hellraiser films who I met at the Toonseum Halloween party and who has now moved to Pittsburgh because of his significant other.     And I should also mention here Tom Savini’s world-famous make-up and special effects school in Monessen.

KIDS & CREATIVITY -- The Next Generation is Digital

We all know that there is a new generation growing up who are digital natives, meaningful they have grown up in a world connected by the internet and literally a trillion devices talking to each other.   We who have grown up as “digital immigrants” who must ask our 10 year olds how to use our Iphones must realize that, like it or not, this next generation will grow up in a digital age just as last century was part of the great industrial age.    Realizing that Fred Rogers used the technology of his day, television, to help better the lives of children everywhere, Grable Foundation president Gregg Behr started what has now become a “Kids & Creativity” movement of educators, technologists, media producers, and parents who have taken on the challenge of using this new technology to better the lives of children in Western Pennsylvania.   Now 400 strong, and aligned with the Sprout Fund’s Spark Grants, this group has already come up with many prototype which soon may be transformative in the lives of our children here.   See the “Kids & Creativity” video below:

CRITICAL MASS

Several years ago,  when Google CEO Eric Schmidt was visiting Pittsburgh and talking with Pittsburgh Technology Council CEO Audrey Russo (where he declared Pittsburgh the best technology council in the country), I was able to ask him why if we had all this great technology, we did not have a  Sand Hill Road here—the famed street which connects to the Stanford campus that has invested in companies like Google and Yahoo which all came out of Stanford graduate student projects (and which are in some ways entertainment companies.)   Eric replied that we don’t have the investors here yet because we don’t have “critical mass.”  It’s coming, he said.  But it is just not here yet.   But it does feel like that critical mass may be happening now in Pittsburgh’s world of entertainment.

In 2003, Steeltown Entertainment Project’s founding executive director Ellen Weiss Kander helped produce a short film “Pittsburgh: Hollywood’s Best Kept Secret” where folks like “Chicago” director Rob Marshall, “300” producer Bernie Goldmann, and “Two and a Half Men” director Jamie Widdoes talked about the potential of this city to become a real player in the entertainment industry.    Well, as evidenced by all the above the secret is out.   (See http://www.steeltown.org/growingpittsburgh.php for “Pittsburgh: Hollywood’s Best Kept Secret.”)

Entertainment is one of this country’s largest exports.   And has more influence on our culture than almost anything you name.    As all this continues to build here in regards to our emerging entertainment sector, one has to wonder if perhaps the Mayan’s are right=-- and that this year, there truly will be a great convergence in Pittsburgh—that like our rivers--- will flow out to the world.

Perhaps the town which has a history of innovation-- where the first Nickelodeon movie theater, the first commercial radio station, and the first public television station and which spawned entertainment legends like the Warner Brothers, Gene Kelly, and George Romero-- is on its way to becoming the new Entertainment Capitol of the World.

Hollywood Out?  Pittsburgh In?  It's a bit scary to even type it.  And careful, Pittsburgh, we don't want you to go too Hollywood.

A few websites to all this are linked below: 

www.31ststreetstudios.com

http://www.dec.edu/pages/makeupeffects.html

www.etc.cmu.edu

www.fredrogers.org

http://www.youtube.com/user/pittsburghdad/featured

www.pghfilm.org

http://www.pghtech.org/networks/creative-technology/default.aspx

www.rostrumrecords.com

www.schellgames.com

http://www.sproutfund.org/spark/

www.steeltown.org

www.toonseum.org

www.wqed.org

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/arts-post/post/portlandia-your-15-minutes-are-up-long-live-pittsburgh/2012/01/03/gIQAMUlSYP_blog.html

http://www.2012pittsburgh.com/about.htm

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11362/1199581-67-0.stm?cmpid=news.xm