Interview with Cat Woman stand-in and Pittsburgh local: Amy Staggs

Kate Stoltzfus, of Yinzpiration.com, recently interviewed Amy Staggs, the Pittsburgh local who served as Anne Hathaway’s stand-in for Cat Woman while filming Batman this summer. Amy had some great things to say about the Steel City. Check out the interview below for some great tidbits!

Meet Amy Staggs!

Amy worked as a stand-in for Anne Hathaway (aka Catwoman!) this summer during the Batman shoot. I'd heard of stunt doubles before, but a stand-in was a new concept to me. Here is what I learned: a stand-in is a person who walks through the scene for the actor before filming, for technical and staging purposes like lighting and sound.

It's not just about looking the part... but let's be honest, she does look quite a bit like Ms. Hathaway! Amy has to to be able to think quickly and learn how to interpret a scene from a very small amount of information, often that she has received moments before the shoot begins. That takes some serious talent.

All I have to say is props to Amy for wearing a pleather catsuit during the hot August heat! But seriously, what an opportunity to be a part of such an iconic movie.

When Amy is not prowling around as Catwoman or working on another movie set, she is very active in her neighborhood of Wilkinsburg. As you will find in her interview below, Amy mentioned that she loves Ms. Jean's Southern Cuisine. I had never heard of Ms. Jean's before and now I must try it. I am a huge fan of BBQ and mac 'n cheese!

I hope you enjoy Amy's Q&A.

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Name: Amy Staggs

Job title: Film stand-in/photo double

Twitter: @amystaggs

Blog: ...in progress...will let you know when it's up!

Neighborhood you live in: Hamnett Place, Wilkinsburg - across from Garden Dreams Farm - love it here!!!

Coffee Shop Drink of Choice: Square Cafe coffee bar in Regent Square

Current Shampoo Preference: Pantene Brunette Expressions

Why do you choose Pittsburgh as your home?
I'm from the area, went to Chatham, but moved away to pursue a job opportunity in Austin, TX. I could only handle being away (and hearing about Pittsburgh's growing beauty and success) for 3 years. I then (nearly burst) and ran back to the burgh! My hubby and I absolutely love it here. He can make music, I can work in film and special events, we can live comfortably, in a neighborhood we believe in, and dream towards starting a family here.

Who do you spend your time with?
My hubby Brett Staggs (who plays in The Longtime Darlings with Dough Kochmanski!), our cats (Baba Ganoush and Cous Cous), my folks (Rick and Dody), my brother (Reid) and dear friends (yinz know who yinz are)...

What are your favorite aspects of your job?
The people. Hands down. Every person has a story, and the strange thing about being in a mini camp (which is what working on a set for 6-12 weeks with the same people every day can feel like) is that a lot of people are more likely to open up and share their story, empathize, connect and support one another because of the shared "let's finish this movie and not lose our minds" common goal.

Do you have a soul food?
Ms Jean's Southern Cuisine in Wilkinsburg on Penn. Best fried chicken and mac and cheese.

What are some of your recent personal goals?
To become a mommy
To work as Anne Hathaway's regular stand-in

What are your favorite Pittsburgh restaurants?
Brgr
Ms Jean's Southern Cuisine
ABAY
Green Mango, Regent Square location

Describe your ideal day.
Breakfast with Brett (and David and Angela Seals if they are around)

What is the most memorable live show you have seen in Pittsburgh?
Sigur Ros at the Byham and Damien Rice at Club Café

What do you think Pittsburgh will be like in ten years? What do you love most about the city?
I think it will be bursting (in a good way) with people who decided to stay AND people who discovered the city and decided to call it home. I believe in the intentional communities growing in Pittsburgh, and the influence they will have over future neighborhood growth .

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About Yinzpiration
Inspired by the positive energy of the Steel City and a presentation by Nicole Crimaldi, I've set a goal to interview 100 Pittsburghers. Ms. Crimaldi challenged our class at PodCamp Pittsburgh 5 to have coffee with someone new every week. So, I decided to start an interview blog, and Yinzpiration.com was born (thanks to the help of Nik, my web developer husband). I hope you return to read what I have learned over the next 100 cups of coffee... or tea, my drink of choice. – Kate Stoltzfus.

Read more http://www.yinzpiration.com/content/interview-38-amy-staggs

Light Up Night - Holiday Cheer, Pittsburgh Style

Cast and crew members - if you do one thing this holiday season while in the 'burgh, please make it Light Up Night. Trust me, you won't regret it.

You better bet we're making a list — or two — and checking everything more than twice to get ready for the 51st annual celebration of Downtown Pittsburgh's Duquesne Light Light Up Night(R) this coming Friday and Saturday. Always the biggest, brightest and most joyous neighborhood party of the year, Light Up Night(R) officially opens the Downtown holiday shopping season with family activities, food, concerts and an awesome big-bang display by Zambelli Fireworks Internationale called The Pittsburgh Brewing Company 150th Anniversary Fireworks Celebration.  It'll fill everyone with the spirit of the season.


And when you're asking everyone in Downtown to keep the lights on for the party, there's no better sponsor than Duquesne Light to trip the lights fantastic for this high-wattage blast that attracts hundreds of thousands people to just about every nook and cranny of the radiant Golden Triangle. Of course, Market Square will once again be party central during Light Up Night(R) with dozens of hot spots to grab a bite to eat or sip a beverage to help you get your glow on as Downtown transforms into the Center of the Season. If you haven't been back in a while, check out this video on some of the new places opened in 2011.


Since last year's two-day festivities left everyone yelling "Encore, encore," Light Up Night(R) 2011 is another doubleheader with a full slate of activities on Friday evening and all day Saturday.
The stars will be out over Pittsburgh this weekend as some of our biggest performers take the stage.  And one of the biggest is the big guy himself — Santa Claus. This year Jolly Old St. Nick will prove that Mr. Claus is quite the song and dance man during the Celebrate Santa! Stage Show in Market Square, starting at 8:30 p.m. on Friday. With a little help from his friends — including Eat'n Park's Smiley cookie mascot — the merriest elf of them all will entertain the crowd before switching on the Eat'n Park Market Square Season of Lights.  This holiday light show has nearly 150,000 LED lights and stars a 33-foot tall, one ton "tree" made of giant spheres that twinkle, blink and flash along with a synchronized soundtrack of beloved holiday songs.


For a different musical interlude, Etta Cox, Joe Negri, Billy Price, No Bad Ju Ju, Johnny Angel and the Halos and other hometown favorites will perform over the two days, on the Clemente Bridge on Friday evening and in the Square both days. And remember to bring your holiday shopping lists because Downtown's department stores, boutiques and restaurants will be open late just for you. So join us this weekend for Light Up Night(R) as we usher in the Spirit of the Season and Downtown's most wonderful time of the year. For a look a back at last year's 50th Golden Anniversary of Light Up Night, click on the video below.

Read more http://networkedblogs.com/q935E

Katie Holmes Praises Pittsburgh on Live with Regis & Kelly

Everyone loves the Burgh!

Actress Katie Holmes (and wife of Tom Cruise) was on Live! With Regis & Kelly to promote her new film, “Jack and Jill” and spoke about Pittsburgh. Regis asked how her, Tom, and Suri celebrated Halloween and she said, “We were in Pittsburgh because Tom is shooting One Shot.” (Which got a few cheers from audience members!) Kelly Ripa then said, “Pittsburgh — Pittsburgh is GREAT! I love Pittsburgh.” Kelly and Katie discussed the mall “near the airport” and Regis chimed in that nowadays “so many movies are coming out of Pittsburgh!” Katie then said that she shot “Wonderboys” a few years back, right here in Pittsburgh, as well, and spoke about a few other movies that have been filmed here as of late.

Watch the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=dTag7mnBKEE

Talk of the town: Cruise and family sighted around Pittsburgh

Tom, Katie and Suri have apparently been checking out quite a few Pittsburgh establishments and neighborhoods while in the city for filming. Check out what the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review has to say about the famous family in the Steel City:

There is no truth to the rumors that the Bigfoot Society has been enlisted to track Tom Cruise while he's in town shooting "One Shot."


A devoted legion of Tom Cruise-watchers has sprung up since the Pittsburgh Film Office announced that the A-lister would star in the action thriller. Also starring is British actress Rosamund Pike -- you know the beautiful Bond girl from "Pride & Prejudice" and "An Education." And famed German director Werner Herzog plays a very bad man known as the Zec.


Paramount reportedly has been more secretive than most film companies when it came to access to the star.


"One Shot" is being filmed entirely in the Pittsburgh region, according to Pittsburgh Film Office executive director Dawn Keezer.


That's led to numerous sightings of Tom, wife Katie Holmes and 5-year-old daughter Suri, around the region -- from Soergel Orchards and Farm Market in Franklin Park to the Starbucks in Shadyside. Katie and Suri visited Dad on the set and were seen strolling around town.


Thursday, the Daily Mail British tabloid ran photos of Katie exiting a local yoga studio. Tom was spotted taking Suri trick-or-treating in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood on Halloween.


Thursday, reporter Carly Noel at WPXI-TV revealed that Tom has been using their helipad for a week to chopper to and from a movie set in Saltsburg.


Tom would pull up in a black Chevy SUV, climb over a short brick wall and pose for photos and sign autographs for WPXI employees before boarding the helicopter, which is owned by Cherokee Helicopter Service in Ford City. A video on the WPXI website shows Tom disembarking from the helicopter on the grounds of the station in a gray hoodie and accepting a Terrible Towel from a fan.


Katie and Tom visited the Milk Shake Factory on the South Side, home of Edward Marc Chocolatier. Daughter Suri liked the chocolate turtles, or terrapins. They liked it so much, Katie brought Suri back for a return visit.


The couple also gave repeat business to Meat and Potatoes in the Cultural District. The dined at the gastropub Oct. 22. Hostess Sara DeShantz says they've since placed phone orders for food. The family is staying in a Downtown hotel.


"One Shot" filmed for two days last week at the former Sewickley Country Inn on Route 65. It became the Three Rivers Motel for the two-day shoot.


The shoot evoked varied reactions from the clientele at Sewickley Spa, director Jonelle Connelly says.


"We had a few customers coming in saying they thought they had seen Tom Cruise," she says. "Other customers complained about the traffic. But it did generate some nice buzz."


Sewickley spa massage therapist Christine Kohun says her husband, Frederick, got a glimpse of Tom while driving on Route 65.


"I kept on saying, 'I have two girls who live in New York City, and I've never seen a famous person anytime I've been there, and here my husband sees Tom Cruise where we live,' " she jokes.


"One Shot" director Christopher McQuarrie wrote the screenplay, which is based on the novel by Lee Childs. McQuarrie knows how to deploy suspense and plot twists. He wrote the script for "The Usual Suspects," the 1995 double-triple-quadruple cross caper film.


Tom is an executive producer on "One Shot," which is scheduled to open in February 2013.

Read more: http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/s_765628.html#ixzz1dPi5Dkiv
Picture from: http://www.infdaily.com/2011/10/pics-suri-cruise-carries-her-baby-doll-around-on-tom-cruises-pittsburgh-set.html

Nicolas Cage, Steve Carell may film in Pittsburgh

After serving as the setting for Batman and Tom Cruise’s latest movie, Pittsburgh is poised to host a film production that features singing, an animatronic disembodied robot head, a director feuding with a blogger, and four very well-known stars.

The production is called “Frank or Francis” and is the latest project by Charlie Kaufman, the visionary, quirky filmmaker who wrote “Being John Malkovich” (1999) and “Adaptation” (2002), and wrote and directed “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” (2004) and “Synecdoche, New York” (2008).

New York-based production company Likely Story Inc. has been awarded a $4 million tax credit to shoot .

Read more: http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/print-edition/2011/11/04/nicolas-cage-steve-carell-may-film-in.html

Three Rivers Film Festival Runs Through Nov. 19

Don't forget to go to the Three Rivers Film Festival, which runs through November 19! Which film are you most looking forward to seeing?


You don't need to trek all of the way to Park City to experience some of cinema's top new documentaries, contemporary international films and restored classics. For three decades and counting, the homegrown Three Rivers Film Festival has invigorated the local cinema community with its November program of visiting filmmakers, informal and insightful discussions, live music, and a celebratory opening bash.



Channel your inner auteur for the next 16 days, with more than 50 films at Pittsburgh's Filmmakers' three city theaters. Featuring films that span 29 countries, the 2011 Festival highlights documentary subjects, riveting storytelling, experimental cinema, and regional and global issues.


Much more than movies on a screen, the largest film festival in Western PA brings the craft of cinema to life, with a robust repertoire of accompanying programs, including the chance to meet contemporary filmmakers, view compelling classics alongside pioneering new works, and go behind the screen as visiting artists discuss their creative practice in Pittsburgh's hippest theaters. Last year, more than 7,400 film fans attended.


So what's not to miss during this year's installment?


One aspect that makes the Festival so lively is its impressive lineup of visiting filmmakers, who will be on hand to introduce and discuss their work. Don't miss the directors of the two opening night films, Farmageddon and Resurrect Dead, as well as the mid-festival highlight, The Encore of Tony Duran, with local Central Catholic and Carnegie Mellon grad, Gene Pietragallo.


On Nov. 12 at 7:30 p.m., Brooklyn-based director-editor team Michael Galinsky and Suki Hawley will be in town to present their new award-winning documentary, Battle for Brooklyn, which will be followed by a panel discussion featuring local architect Rob Pfaffmann. Shot over seven years and compiled from 500 hours of footage, Battle for Brooklyn chronicles the very public and passionate fight waged by owners and residents facing condemnation of their property to make way for the controversial Atlantic Yards project, a massive plan to build skyscrapers and a new NBA basketball arena in the heart of Brooklyn. Described as a "gripping David and Goliath story," the film examines issues surrounding eminent domain, historic preservation and the use of public dollars to support private development.


Additional film screenings featuring visiting directors, producers, actors and crew members include Fallingwater: Frank Lloyd Wright's Masterwork, Effects, Empty Quarter, Joanna, Mister Rogers & Me, Torn, and Patagonia Rising.


Mark your cinema calendar now for Black Power Mixtape on Nov. 11 and 12. Created from recently discovered archival footage recorded when a group of Swedish TV journalists came to the US in the late 1960s, the audio-visual collage chronicles the Black Power movement. Co-produced by Danny Glover and directed by Goran Hugo Olsson, the film also features newly added commentary by prominent African American voices, and original music by Questlove and Om’Mas Keith.


If classics are your cuppa joe, don't miss the chance to see some cinematic wonders on the big screen. Boasting new, restored prints, you'll relive the magic of the silver screen with the legendary Katharine Hepburn in The African Queen and Bringing Up Baby, and Robert DeNiro in Taxi Driver. For horror fans (and there are plenty here in Zombieville, USA!), don't miss the last remaining 35mm print of Effects, a creepy cult classic made right here in Pittsburgh.


What's new this year?


Turning its lens to the environment, the Festival will spotlight five documentaries that address a broad range of timely issues that impact our planet, the global economy and our daily lives. Ever since An Inconvenient Truth raised a new level of awareness back in 2006, there's been a flood of films made by equally impassioned and informed directors, and the Festival is now providing a regional platform for these important voices. Works and topics in the Festvial's new "Enviro Cinema" series include: Farmageddon (local farming); Bophali (chemical spills); Into Eternity (nuclear waste); Eco-Pirate: The Story of Paul Watson (oceanic crusader); and Patagonia Rising (hydroelectric dams).


Back this year is the Festival's focus on contemporary Polish cinema, featuring five outstanding contemporary films and accompanying receptions. Don't miss the chance to experience The Adventures of Prince Achmed, a kaleidoscopic paper cut-out version of the Arabian Nights. Thought to be the first animated feature film, the dazzling work will feature live piano accompaniment by Rochester, NY-based Phillip Carli.


For cutting-edge contemporary cinema, Sync'd 4 is your ticket. The program will feature local experimental films and live music by Pittsburgh groups Gangwish and Lung Face Feet.

Always a Festival highlight, Boston-based Alloy Orchestra is back in town with a matinee of family friendly short films and live sound effects, including crowd pleasers by the legendary Buster Keaton. For the immersive cinematic experience, don't miss Alloy's closing night presentation, a premiere of the recently rediscovered German expressionist silent film, Morning to Midnight. Directed by Karl Heinz Martin, the 1920 masterpiece features radically stylized sets, which will be further enhanced by Alloy's live score.


Ready to help The Three Rivers Film Festival turn 30 and Pittsburgh Filmmakers turn 40? The flick festivities kick off during an opening night bash on Nov. 4 at 9 p.m., with films, live music by Colonizing the Cosmos, drinks and fare, and even a birthday cake and champagne toast.

Read more http://www.popcitymedia.com/features/3rff110211.aspx

'Warrior,' Filmed in Pittsburgh, Gets a DVD Release Date

If you weren't able to go see 'Warrior' in the theaters, you can rent it or buy it starting December 20, 2011.  You can get it as a Blu-ray combo pack, DVD, digital download and also on demand.

In September, Michael Machosky of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review gave some background and insights into the film's production. Here is what he had to say:

"The setting for the new mixed martial arts flick "Warrior" was supposed to be Long Beach, Calif., a gritty working-class port town. The hardheaded father and coach played by Nick Nolte was meant to have worked on the docks.


Then writer-director Gavin O'Connor found Pittsburgh.


"It was working-class poetry," he says. "It smelled right.


"Also, it's wrestling country. There's a hardness and athleticism and love of sport that just felt right for this story. Literally, I was there a day, and said, 'Tell the studio this is where we're shooting.''"


[The film] was shot in Pittsburgh in spring 2009.


O'Connor hadn't want to travel far from home, so he set it in Long Beach. But budget concerns put the production on the move.


"When I had to get it to a certain budget -- which was $28 million -- to make it, it was required of me to find a city or state with tax breaks or rebates," he says. "So I started traveling to all these cities and states, and also Canada, that have them. When I got to Pittsburgh, which was high on my list for a number of reasons, I said, 'OK, we don't need to go anywhere else. This is it.'"


So, for all of Pittsburgh's efforts to show that it has moved on from its rusting industrial past, the city is still the answer to Hollywood's need for gritty authenticity and "working-class poetry." Shots of the Edgar Thomson Works in Braddock feature prominently in the beginning of the film.


"Warrior" concerns the return of two sons to the orbit of their father. Son Tommy (Tom Hardy) is an emotionally scarred Iraq war veteran. His brother Brendan (Joel Edgerton) is a physics teacher and family man in the Philadelphia suburbs who frets over the impending foreclosure of his home. Both grew up fighting -- taught by their father, Paddy, a wrestling coach. Both were driven away, at different times, by his alcoholic rages.


In the past, this might have been a boxing movie. Now, mixed martial arts is all the rage, drawing in fighters of all backgrounds, sorting out the toughest regardless of style. "Warrior" depicts the two brothers as polar opposites -- Tommy as a rage-fueled wrecking machine, Brendan as a canny technical fighter with untapped reserves of heart.


O'Connor, who already has one successful sports movie under his belt -- "Miracle" (2004), about the 1980 Olympic USA Hockey team -- first became interested in the sport in 2000.


"I had executive produced a documentary called 'The Smashing Machine,'" he says. "That was my introduction, and I've followed it ever since."


He doesn't fully embrace the "sports movie" label.


"It's a drama," says O'Connor, who insists the mixed martial arts action is just a backdrop. "It can't be about the sport. It has to be about the characters."


Still, he says, "you have to get the sports right."


To that end, he hired professional mixed martial arts fighters to portray the opponents for Tommy and Brendan. Nate Marquardt, a rising star in the UFC, fought Edgerton in the film.


"I was in Pittsburgh for five weeks, and my scene is probably two or three mintues long," Marquardt says. "I could not believe how many times they'd film the same scene over and over again -- and get the wide angle three times, the close angle on me three times, the close angle on him three times, the view from the audience, the view from the referee, the view from the corner.


"Then you have to do it again with the stunt double. It's just a lot of filming. I couldn't believe how much work goes into these films. It's amazing."


There was one fighter in the film from outside the mixed martial arts world -- Pittsburgh's own wrestling legend, Kurt Angle, who played the unstoppable Russian fighter Koba.


"I honestly didn't know who Kurt was," O'Connor admits. "I'm not a (pro wrestling) guy. I met him, and thought he was great."


Sports movies are challenging to make, because the outcome is rarely in doubt. If the good guys win in most movies, that goes double for sports flicks.


"The challenge to 'Miracle,' for me, was that everyone knew how it ended," O'Connor says. "What I was going for in 'Warriror' was to turn that upside down and do something you haven't seen before in a sports movie -- to get the audience invested in two different people. Usually, you're rooting for a person, or a team."


"Instead, you're rooting for Tommy and Brendan. You're emotionally invested in both of those guys. As they slowly go on this collision course to fight each other, as they go through this Grand Prix tournament, you're faced with a choice -- who are you rooting for? That, you haven't seen before."

Read more: Pittsburgh's 'working-class poetry' drew 'Warrior' here - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/ae/movies/s_755729.html#ixzz1cfMy0lNL