All hail the cabs: Pittsburgh has a chance to ride in big-city style

This is great news for the city! It’s hard to really enjoy everything downtown has to offer if you don’t have a car.

In New York or Washington, D.C., people complain that it's hard to get a cab when it rains. In Pittsburgh, people complain that it's hard to get a cab in any weather, unless the rider is at a hotel or the airport.

Pittsburgh just isn't a cab town. Several theories abound but, whatever the reason, the lack of taxis is a legitimate complaint of visitors who are used to better service elsewhere. The city has great hotels, fine restaurants and lively communities to visit -- if you have your own way to get there and back.

In a city where it is not the custom for cabs to be hailed from the street, it's not just visitors who suffer. The dreams of Pittsburgh being a true destination point are parked at the curb. Fortunately, that may change.

On Tuesday, Pittsburgh Transportation Group --which includes Yellow Cabs, shuttle vans and coaches and limousines -- announced a service by the new Pittsburgh City Cab, which will offer short runs between Downtown and nearby neighborhoods, such as the North Shore, the South Side, Mount Washington and Oakland.

The six black-and-white cars are not cabs to catch for a trip to Pittsburgh International Airport -- and that's not the only big difference from usual practice. Jerry Campolongo, director of Yellow Cab Co. and Pittsburgh City Cab, said riders can hail these taxis from the curb if they are not occupied. (Next year, regular cabs might be allowed to stop for hailing customers.)

The new idea is to promote service in the city's core, connecting restaurants and other businesses with desirable destinations nearby. Cars will be added as needed, so there is a Field of Dreams element to the plan -- provide it and they will come.

We hope the riders do come, filling more cabs and patronizing a service that other great cities have and Pittsburgh deserves.

Read more at The Post Gazette.

You Can Hail A Cab In Pittsburgh Now?

Pittsburgh has made a lot of progress over the years. But this takes things to a whole new level. Who else is psyched for more cabs downtown??

City Cab is a new taxi service serving downtown Pittsburgh and many of its surrounding city neighborhoods.

The fleet of six black-and-white cabs was launched into service on Tuesday morning by Pittsburgh Transportation Group, which also runs Yellow Cab.

City Cab provides service to downtown Pittsburgh, Oakland, the Strip District, the North Side, the South Side, Uptown, the West End and Mount Washington.

"It's going to bring more people in here. They're going to feel like, 'Hey, it doesn't matter that I have to go to the Strip District now. If it's raining, I don't have to walk. I can take a city cab,'" said Jeremy Waldrup, of the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership.

Potential riders said the cabs may help ease recent cutbacks to the Port Authority's bus service.

"All the routes being taken away, I think it'd be a big benefit to a lot of people -- students, people employed down here in the city," said Jeff McGee of Oakland.

Director Jerry Campolongo said they will adjust their service areas, based on demand. He realizes that it may lose money at the beginning, but they see a future in it.

He also cracked a joke as he acknowledged the historic difficulty of hailing a cab in the city.

"Here's the deal in Pittsburgh," Campolongo said. "Up until today, if you put your hand up and wave for a taxi cab, the cab driver will wave back at you and keep going. After today, you hail these guys, they're going to pull over, they're going to take you for a ride."

"I'll be looking for better customer service with my customers, to try to get them local places. I'm looking forward to being a more reliable service," City Cab driver Danny Waajid said.

City Cab is expected to add 14 more vehicles by the end of the year.

"A lot of people can't get taxicabs. I send them over to the hotel every day for a taxicab. We need good people like this," said Ken Price, who works at a parking garage.

Read more: http://www.wtae.com/news/30723525/detail.html#ixzz1pyJVyXpp

Lights, cameras ... : Action at a new studio keeps Pittsburgh on film

Love seeing news like this!

Pittsburgh is used to street closures and traffic jams due to movie shoots. Whether doubling as Batman's Gotham City or providing scenic backdrops for the new Tom Cruise film, Pittsburgh has become an ideal place for shooting movies and TV shows. The state tax credit, the skill and flexibility of labor unions and the diversity of architecture and terrain have worked to the region's advantage.

Since 2009, movie shoots have pumped $300 million into the regional economy, so it makes sense to attract more high-tech and post-production work here, too. Last Monday, Pittsburgh entered a new phase in its relationship with Hollywood. Four movie-making entities announced an alliance that will make the region even more appealing to future productions.

The 31st Street Studios in the Strip District will host Paramount On Location, the special effects giant Knight Vision and classes for Carnegie Mellon University's Entertainment Technology Center. CMU students will work on high-tech movie productions in a 300,000-square-foot space on 10 acres along the Allegheny River.

Knight Vision is best known for its spectacular digital effects on "Avatar," the highest-grossing film of all time. Knight Vision 31, the Pittsburgh division, promises even more innovation. The company's founder was attracted to the project because of the opportunity to work with CMU's Entertainment Technology Center.

Paramount On Location, a division of the Paramount Studio Group, will be the regional base for supplying lights, rigging and equipment to movie shoots in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic states. Together, these four groups bring a formidable alliance of skills, resources and experience.

The region has been fortunate to have the leadership of the Pittsburgh Film Office laying the foundation for this alliance by attracting so much business in the first place. The administrations of former Gov. Ed Rendell and now Gov. Tom Corbett also deserve credit for helping the film industry bloom in Western Pennsylvania.

Read more at the Post Gazette.

Matt Damon and Christian Bale movies may start filming here in spring

Pittsburgh’s filming schedule is really starting to pick up! Are any of you working on these new movies?

April will be anything but the cruelest month for filmmaking in Pittsburgh.

"Promised Land," a Gus Van Sant movie starring Matt Damon, John Krasinski and Frances McDormand, is looking for office space and advertising for crew on the Pittsburgh Film Office website and could start production in late April.

In addition, "Out of the Furnace" directed by Scott Cooper ("Crazy Heart") and starring Christian Bale and Robert Duvall is headed to Braddock and elsewhere, according to the film office and State Rep. Paul Costa, D-Allegheny. "Out of the Furnace" is also accepting resumes for crew, according to the job listings portion of the film office site.

Mr. Costa issued a press release Tuesday afternoon touting the 250-plus full-time jobs the $45 million movie will bring. "Filming will begin this spring and run for approximately 16 weeks," he said.

However, Relativity Media, which is producing "Out of the Furnace," had no comment Tuesday afternoon. The trade publication Variety has pointed out that producers are aiming for a late spring start but Relativity has not yet green lit the picture or firmed up deals with the actors, including Mr. Bale, Mr. Duvall and Zoe Saldana, in "early talks" for the project.

Variety has described the movie as a gritty throwback to 1970s movies, originally based on Brad Ingelsby's script "The Low Dweller" and revised by Mr. Cooper. It's about an ex-convict torn between his freedom and the temptation to avenge his brother's death.

Mr. Cooper directed Jeff Bridges to an Oscar as a broken-down country singer in "Crazy Heart" and helped Maggie Gyllenhaal score a nomination for supporting actress.

Talking about Mr. Damon, who came here in 1998 to make "Dogma" with director Kevin Smith, film office director Dawn Keezer said Tuesday, "We're happy to welcome him back to southwestern Pennsylvania."

Mr. Damon, who won an Oscar for co-writing "Good Will Hunting" with Ben Affleck, had planned to direct the movie but changed his mind due to scheduling issues, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He co-wrote the drama with Mr. Krasinski, best known for "The Office" but a big-screen actor with credits such as "Big Miracle," "It's Complicated" and "Away We Go."

The trade publication says Mr. Damon will portray a salesman who arrives in a small town, only to have his life changed.

Mr. Van Sant is an Oscar-nominated director for "Milk" and "Good Will Hunting" -- movies which earned Academy Awards for Sean Penn, supporting actor Robin Williams and their screenwriters. "Having the acclaimed director Gus Van Sant in town is great. We're thrilled to have him for this production and hope he comes back for many, many more," Ms. Keezer said.

The return of Mr. Damon and, perhaps, Batman minus cape and cowl is the message the film office wants to send. "What it does is it tells the story that we always say, once people come to Southwestern Pennsylvania, see it and experience it, they want to come back. We're getting to showcase that now."

She anticipated no problem providing crews for both movies.

"We've been running four and five productions at a time. Thanks to the success of the Pennsylvania film tax credit program, we have quadrupled our local crew base and as the amount of work continues to increase in the film industry, we expect the crew to grow as well."

Both movies are expected to take advantage of the tax credit which, in the past, lured such projects as "One Shot" and "Perks of Being a Wallflower" to Pittsburgh.

One movie that has dropped off the radar, however, is Charlie Kaufman's "Frank or Francis," a musical satire about a film director and an online blogger.

" 'Frank or Francis' is not starting production at this point. We're hoping they may put this deal together and still make the movie at some point in the near future but at this point, it's not shooting in Western Pennsylvania," Ms. Keezer said.

That scenario proves that until the cameras roll, nothing is ever definite.

Read more: http://www.postgazette.com/pg/12067/1214877-60-0.stm?cmpid=newspanel0#ixzz1odeahIe8