What's it going to take?

[TheGerbil]

^^Kaufmann does have Pittsburgh connections, but why the bad guy to be named Kaufmann, maybe Bellichek or T. Boone Pickens or something, but Kaufmann was a good guy, Fallingwater and all

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes but he was also very rich. Romero probably just wanted to come up with a rich, local name. Maybe it was supposed to be some descendent of the famous Kaufmann.

[*Sweetkisses*]

First of all, you people have to realize that Americans are always judging a place without having been there or experiencing the whole thing. Just have pride in your place and rep it everywhere you go. Pittsburghs a great city, with its own style and feel. (Ive been twice)

Oh and celebrities DONT make cities.

[PghUSA]

SK I agree celebs don't make cities, but for the average joe or jane out there looking to plop down there mulah on everything shaving cream to lunch to car lube not to mention vacations and conventions, celebs or at least the hollywood type marketing has been proven to sell. Terry Bradshaw in all his bald ex-dumb jock splendor is living proof that everything from cleaning services to cell phones can see a boost in sales and interest when its a "celeb" or packaged right.

I am in total agreement though, short of something radically changing it will be a "grass roots" effort that gets Pittsburgh up and running again, not some centralized hollywood sleek message but just the ordinary everyday residents and expatriats and Pittsburgh lovers that go out there and personally become ambassadors for the city

[blueblackcat]

I saw Land of the Dead at Loew's, it was hillarious and definitely held onto its B-movie roots. I liked the social commentary but some of it was a little ambiguous because it was mixed in with the typical b-movie themes. My favorite thing about it was how anti-climatic and anti-heroic it was. In a way, Pittsburgh as a character makes for the perfect anti-hero, too. That's what the city is and the movie really is a true Pittsburgh film. But what I *really* loved was the way they took "the back way" to get on top of Mt Washington. LOL that's my way of getting home! Too bad they didn't film just that one scene on location with Grandview Ave, they would have had a million dollar scene; it would have made this movie a classic and help make Mt Washington famous outside of Western PA.

On another topic related to this thread, I have the July issue of the Atlantic and in the Primary Sources section they have a report taken from Economy.com that lists Pittsburgh as the 128th out of the 142 biggest US real estate markets in terms of average housing costs versus average income and interest rates. In laymen's terms, Pittsburgh is one of the most undervalued cities we have, a far cry from the housing bubble going on in the cities that we're typcially compared to (ie Boston, San Francisco). And that's not a bad thing. Would you guys trade the jewel of an opportunity we have for here for a reputation that would draw every Yuppie in America to want to live here? Think of Land of the Dead.

[PghUSA]

^^where you get the MOST for your MONEY . . . Pittsburgh PA

[Kasper]

I saw Land of the Dead yesterday. (It was pretty good, by the way). It was clearly set in Pittsburgh, but they didn't actually mention Pittsburgh. Only someone who is familiar with the city would realize it.

I read a bunch of movie reviews from newspapers around the country just to see if people were catching on that Land of the Dead is based in Pittsburgh and I was really suprised to see that almost every reviewer in all the major cities did know it was Pittsburgh.

Only one didn't. A reviewer for one of the New York papers said that it takes place in a city that looks to be Manhattan. That made me laugh - NY always thinking it is the center of the universe (my family is from NYC originally so I know it's true).

[blueblackcat]

I read a bunch of movie reviews from newspapers around the country just to see if people were catching on that Land of the Dead is based in Pittsburgh and I was really suprised to see that almost every reviewer in all the major cities did know it was Pittsburgh.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It helped that we had fanfare of the premiere to drive the point home to the critic types. If it wasn't for the cultural district coming around to what it is now, none of that would have ever happened and I bet many of those critics wouldn't be so aware.

[TheGerbil]

Glad to know it. I figured most people would have no idea it was Pgh. I am glad to know I was wrong, it gives me hope!

How funny that the NYC critic thought it was Manhattan. From what I have seen, many New Yorkers really do think their city is the end all and be all. It makes me laugh when they brag about something which other cities have too, but they don't seem to realize it

[PghUSA]

You would think that those NYers would know what their own skyline looks like. But this is fine with me . . . come to the city that won the "is it Manhattan" blind taste test, nope that's not Park Avenue that's Pittsburgh! Surprise

[urbanophile]

Glad to know it. I figured most people would have no idea it was Pgh. I am glad to know I was wrong, it gives me hope!

How funny that the NYC critic thought it was Manhattan. From what I have seen, many New Yorkers really do think their city is the end all and be all. It makes me laugh when they brag about something which other cities have too, but they don't seem to realize it

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Its funny for a while but then it gets really annoying. Many of them have never been beyond their own state and thus think every city outside of "THE City" is something like Albany or Binghampton. They're often surprised that other cities have alot of the things that they assume only New York has (like public busses, zoos, department stores, and indoor plumbing). I'm only being a *little* sarcastic.

[TheGerbil]

Its funny for a while but then it gets really annoying.  Many of them have never been beyond their own state and thus think every city outside of "THE City" is something like Albany or Binghampton.  They're often surprised that other cities have alot of the things that they assume only New York has (like public busses, zoos, department stores, and indoor plumbing).  I'm only being a *little* sarcastic.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

LOL. That is true. I am so tired of the whole "Greatest city in the world," "Why would you live anywhere else?" Etc.

I will tell you why I prefer to live here, Mr./Ms. New Yorker: I can still see Broadway shows, eat at good restaurants, and all that stuff, but my rent is actually affordable!

NYC isn't the only city to do that though. I was once visiting friends in Chicago, and they took me on a driving tour of Downtown. They were raving about all the old buildings. I was thinking "Hey, guess what, we have nice old buildings where I come from too. Duh."