Steeltown
STEELTOWN ENTERTAINMENT PROJECT
"The Steeltown Entertainment Project connects entertainment professionals, with Southwestern Pennsylvania (SWPA) ties, to projects, people and partnerships in order to support and invest in the socially and commercially significant film and media industry of the Pittsburgh region."
Steeltown accomplishes its mission by educating emerging talent through intensive mentoring experiences, and fostering economic development by nurturing and seeding entertainment projects that will provide employment and investment opportunities. By connecting local resources with filmmakers and agents active in the national film industry, Steeltown is helping to establish Southwestern Pennsylvania's entertainment economy. This economy will help to market the region in a unique and powerful way, attract and retain talent, and jump-start a dynamic industry that will ultimately provide a robust return on the region's investments.
Since its formation, Steeltown has recruited over 40 former Pittsburghers who are now successful filmmakers in New York and Los Angeles to serve as Steeltown advisors. Steeltown has endeavored to have them bring their film and television productions to the Pittsburgh region, and has, in collaboration with the student organization, Pitt-in-Hollywood, presented over 30 speakers from the entertainment industry at local events.
A BRIEF HISTORY
2003 - Steeltown produced the first ever Pittsburgh Entertainment Summit, which was held at WQED and the Andy Warhol Museum. Steeltown's advisors from the national film industry met with local civic leaders and the cultural community to discuss Hollywood's decision making processes in order to identify strategies to make this region more competitive for their film and television productions. Entertainment expatriates who participated in the Summit included Chicago director Rob Marshall, Jim Carrey's manager, Eric Gold, director Jamie Widdoes ("Two and a Half Men"), producer Bernie Goldmann ("300"), and television series creator Terri Minsky ("Lizzie McGuire"). The Summit included public events at WQED and the Andy Warhol Museum that were attended by more than 500 people from a diverse cross-section of the region.
Steeltown also worked with WQED/OnQ to co-produce a Mid-Atlantic Emmy-nominated one-hour television special, "Pittsburgh: Hollywood's Best Kept Secret," which allowed a wider audience to witness the dialogue that occurred at the Summit. It explored the region's rich cultural history and included interviews with the Summit's expatriate attendees, including producer John Wells ("E.R.") and actress Shirley Jones ("Oklahoma," "Carousel"). The Summit and the television special utilized the volunteer efforts of over thirty film students and local filmmakers.
2005 - With the help of producers Bernie Goldmann and George Romero, Steeltown hosted a premiere of Romero's "Land of the Dead," which sold out the Byham Theater and raised funds for the Steeltown Film Factory. The event attracted such prominent filmmakers as Quentin Tarantino ("Pulp Fiction," "Kill Bill") and Robert Rodriguez ("Sin City," "Spy Kids"), and was declared by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette to be "as close to a love-fest as Pittsburgh gets without sports being involved."
2006 - Supported by special effects wizard and Steeltown adviser, Greg Nicotero ("Land of the Dead"), Steeltown attracted The Hatchery, an LA based entertainment company, to Pittsburgh to film best-selling author of "Goosebumps", R.L. Stine's "Don't Think About It." Steeltown raised over $900,000 for this project with one-third equity interest. The production, available on DVD, aired on Cartoon Network, resulted in over $2.16 million of spending in SWPA, employed 115 local residents, and used of support services such as catering, wardrobe, equipment rentals, hotels, and restaurants. To date, Steeltown has earned back over $250,000 from its partner with Universal Studios, California-based production company The Hatchery, making this a model of non-profit sustainability.
2007 - Steeltown brought New Castle native John Dellaverson, Chairman of Lionsgate Entertainment (Hollywood's premier independent studio), to Pennsylvania to meet with film students, government officials, foundations, and potential investors. Dellaverson, through Cinegate and Lionsgate ("Crash," "American Psycho"), had helped to spur growth in tax incentivized film productions in Canada, and New Mexico which lead to increases from $5 million to $450 million a year. He then helped to convince Governor Rendell to pass similar Film Industry Tax Incentive legislation in Pennsylvania, a measure that has had significant economic impact on the region. It has increased film related spending in SWPA to over $78 million since July 2007 and has contributed to the growth in jobs and ancillary services.
2008 - Steeltown partnered with Visit Pittsburgh & 1905 Productions for the premiere of "My Tale of Two Cities" produced by Steeltown's Carl Kurlander at the Sonoma Valley Film Festival. Its Pittsburgh premiere at the Byham Theater during Homecoming Week sold out, raising much-needed funds for Steeltown's Youth and Media Initiative and its pilot program at Holy Family Institute. It organized a fundraiser for the Pittsburgh premiere of "Bottle Shock" produced by Pittsburgh native Marc Lhormer, and partnered with Allegheny Conference on Community Development to celebrate "Pittsburgh 250."
2009 - Steeltown Entertainment Project and Pittsburgh Filmmakers began collaborating to launch the Steeltown Film Factory. As part of this collaboration, Pittsburgh Filmmakers will provide Steeltown with editing facilities, office space, library access, and screening rooms to further the goals of the Film Factory and premiere the Film factory as part of the 2009 Three Rivers Film Festival.
