October 2003 Archives

On October 25, 2003, Steeltown organized and produced the first ever Pittsburgh Entertainment Summit ("Summit"). Many of Steeltown's most prominent advisors participated in this weekend-long entertainment forum, meeting with local civic leaders and members of the cultural community to discuss how decisions are made in Hollywood and to identify strategies as to how this region could compete more effectively for national film and television productions. Entertainment expatriates who participated in the Summit included Chicago director Rob Marshall, Jim Carrey manager Eric Gold, director Jamie Widdoes (8 Simple Rules), producer/executive Bernie Goldmann, screenwriter Peter Ackerman (Ice Age), writer/producer Maxine Lapiduss (Roseanne), Jack Smith (co-executive producer, Young & the Restless), actor David Conrad (Men of Honor), Night of the Living Dead director George Romero, and Lizzie McGuire creator Terri Minsky.

Steeltown also worked with WQED to co-produce a Mid-Atlantic Emmy-nominated one-hour television special, which allowed a wider audience to witness the dialogue that occurred at the Summit. In preparation for and during the Summit weekend, and in producing the On Q special and the promotional film, Steeltown utilized and provided professional experience to over thirty local students and filmmakers. Many others who couldn't make the Summit such as John Wells, the exec. producer of ER and West Wing, Shirley Jones (Miss Pittsburgh 1952), and comedian/actress Mitzi McCall (Ice Age) were part of a short film called Pittsburgh: Hollywood's Best Kept Secret, produced by another expatriate Laura Davis and her husband Tjardus Greidanus about how Pittsburgh nurtured them as artists, and the potential the city has to become an outpost for the entertainment industry. 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. More information: Get Reel.