mysteries of pittsburgh Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Welcome back to the Indie Spotlight, in which we list the new limited-release films being released today. Keep an eye out for when they come to your local art house or Netflix queue.

We only have three new ones this week, which should leave you plenty of time for the Janna Fontana movie.

• Anvil! The Story of Anvil (pictured) was one of the success stories at Sundance in 2008, where it played in one of the lower-profile sections and sort of came from nowhere to be a much-buzzed-about hit. It's about a Canadian heavy metal band that has been together for 30 years without ever quite hitting the bigtime. You will think it is a mockumentary, but no, it's real, and the story is inspiring, hilarious, and bizarre. Cinematical's James Rocchi loved it (he even got quoted on the poster!), calling it "a hymn to the human spirit, played loud in power chords." And hey, check out that 98% positive rating at Rotten Tomatoes! It's just playing in New York and Los Angeles for now, but just wait, it'll make the rounds.

• The Mysteries of Pittsburgh is based on beloved author Michael Chabon's first novel, a coming-of-age story adapted and directed by the guy who directed Dodgeball. (Uh-oh.) If Anvil was one of the success stories at Sundance 2008, this was one of the major disappointments. Cinematical's Scott Weinberg reviewed it then, saying it's "such an inert, episodic, and familiar piece of very typical festival fare. It's as if Mr. Thurber watched six Sundance films at random, and then just copied his favorite scenes from each one." The consensus at Rotten Tomatoes is dismal, too: only 11% of the reviews are positive. Playing in New York, L.A., San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, and Minneapolis.

Most directors' first effort is NOT a huge blockbuster smash of a comedy starring Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn, but that's how writer/director Rawson Marshall Thurber hit the scene: with Dodgeball. But based on the filmmaker's second effort, I'm guessing that Thurber took a lot of good-natured ribbing from his film-school friends and decided to snag some "indie cred" by doing a smaller movie for his second feature. That's all well and good, but it's too bad that the resulting movie -- The Mysteries of Pittsburgh -- is such an inert, episodic, and familiar piece of very typical festival fare. It's as if Mr. Thurber watched six Sundance films at random, and then just copied his favorite scenes from each one.

Based on the novel of the same name by Michael Chabon, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh is about the son of an infamous gangster who spends his last summer before "adult life" roaming around with two "free-spirited" pals. The year is 1983, and young Art Bechstein (Jon Foster) is at a serious crossroads. Completely opposed to his father's lifestyle, Art (reluctantly) plans to become a stockbroker in a few months' time -- but that means a few open months in which he can A) work at a chintzy discount book store, B) cast lovesick glances towards his new friend Jane (Sienna Miller), and C) become close pals with a bisexual street thug called Cleveland (Peter Sarsgaard). Oh, and D) nail his slightly unhinged boss (Mena Suvari).

A few month ago, we reported the exciting news that a film version of Michael Chabon's The Mysteries of Pittsburgh was in the works. (For those of you not familiar with the book, it's a coming-of-age story set in Pittsburgh during the 1980s, and focuses on Art Bechstein and the unconventional group of friends he makes during his last summer "of his youth.") At that time, Sienna Miller, Peter Sarsgaard and Max Minghella were already signed to star in the film, with Minghella playing Bechstein. It looks, however, as if things have changed: Production Weekly is reporting that Jon Foster (known primarily for his work on NBC's summer series Windfall, and a starring role in Stay Alive) is now playing Bechstein, and there's no indication of what might have happened to Minghella. The PW story also reveals that Mena Suvari has joined the cast in the role of Phlox, a "worldly, exotic, and slightly eccentric" member of Bechstein's posse.

The movie is slated to go into production in early September under the direction of screenwriter Rawson Marshall Thurber.

As Martha reported last month, Michael Chabon's Mysteries of Pittsburgh is finally slated for production, and already there's controversy. The book, Chabon's debut novel, is a coming-of-age story, and while it lacks the polish and near-perfection of Chabon's later works, especially Wonder Boys and The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, it's still an engaging little tale, brimming with the promise of Chabon's potential as a storyteller.

Now that the film is actually in pre-production, there was the little matter to sort out of where to film. One might think, since the title is Mysteries of Pittsburgh, that Pittsburgh would be the obvious location for the shoot. Pittsburgh City Councilman Doug Shields, however, is accusing Pittsburgh Film Office Exec Director Dawn Keezer of encouraging the producers of Mysteries to shoot the film in Los Angeles instead.

Why, one might rightly ask, would someone whose job is ostensibly to support filmmakers in shooting films in Pittsburgh be encouraging filmmakers to shoot in Los Angeles? Apparently, the Board of the Pittsburgh Film Office voted last week to allow Keezer to relocate her position (largely funded by the taxpayers of the state of Pennsylvania) to Los Angeles, so she can marry her boyfriend. Not that that's the sole reason why Keezer would encourage filmmakers to film outside of Pittsburgh, but it does seem a little odd that the exec director of an office promoting filmmaking in a specific city would be pushing for a film to shoot elsewhere. Fortunately, the producers of Mysteries decided to ignore her advice and, the shoot is set for Pittsburgh anyhow.

The film is being helmed by Dodgeball director Rawson Marshall Thurber, and cast at this point includes Max Minghella (Art School Confidential, Syriana) as the story's protagonist, Art Bechstein, along with Sienna Miller and Peter Sarsgaard.

[via The Amazing Website of Kavalier and Clay]

Michael Chabon is in the news again. Last week, Erik reported that Natalie Portman was considering a role in the screen version of Chabon's mindblowingly wonderful The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay (for fans of the book, Chabon himself offers a great update on the movie over at his blog, including what elements of his work will be included, and which have been cut from the screenplay), and now Production Weekly is reporting that the cast is in place for The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, which is based on Chabon's first novel. Set to star in the film, a coming-of-age story set in 1980s Pittsburgh, are Sienna Miller, Peter Sarsgaard, and Max Minghella. The novel focuses on Art Bechstein (to be played by Minghella), and the group of friends he meets during "the last summer of [his] youth." Among the group are "the witty and beautiful Arthur Lecomte [uncast], "the equally stunning Jane (Miller), her boyfriend, the legendary Cleveland (Sarsgaard), and worldly, exotic, and slightly eccentric Phlox [also uncast]." Whoa. So, if nothing else, this is going to be a damn pretty movie.

One of the main concerns of the novel seems to be sexual identity; it'll be interesting to see in what direction screenwriter-director Rawson Marshall Thurber takes the film. (Personally, I'm immediately prejudiced against him because he's wearing a Manchester United jersey in his IMDb photo.) Production begins next month in Pittsburgh; the film is due out in 2007.