"Carl Kurlander's movie is the wry, funny tale of the fulfillment he found moving back home to the city of his youth. A cross between Woody Allen and Fred Rogers, he reminds us that our cities are the real "Real America" because they are the creative, connected places in which we can best renew ourselves, our country, and our hope for all humanity." -- Howard Fineman, Newsweek
A funny and heartfelt story of coming home and people and cities reinventing themselves for a new age, My Tale of Two Cities tells the tale of the hopeful urban comeback of the city of Pittsburgh--which happens to be the real life "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" where Fred Rogers filmed his TV programs for 40 years-- while telling a more universal story about how we must confront our pasts in order to move on to our futures.
When St. Elmo's Fire screenwriter and Saved By The Bell producer Carl Kurlander left Los Angeles for what he thought would be a one year Hollywood sabbatical to teach at the University of Pittsburgh, little did he think the journey would lead him to become a guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show on a program about people who had changed their lives, much less inspire this unlikely feature documentary. But shortly after Kurlander told Oprah how happy he and his wife were raising their daughter in Pittsburgh-- the real-life "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" where Fred Rogers had produced his TV show for 40 years, Fred Rogers passed away and the City of Pittsburgh went bankrupt. With both himself and his hometown in a mid-life crisis, Kurlander set out on a Don Quixote quest to make a film to help the city he had grown up in.
Armed with a cranky cameraman, funded by his dermatologist, (a scene actually shown in the Film) and often battling his wife who longs to return to the sunny West Coast, Kurlander and his film crew explore whether you really can go home again and how post-industrial cities like Pittsburgh can remake themselves. Because the movie uses the metaphor of "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" to represent neighborhoods everywhere, the film has been called not a "Roger & Me," but a "Mr. Rogers & Me" which inspires each neighbor to think of how they can make a difference in their communities. My Tale of Two Cities includes a "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" sing-a-long somewhat reminiscent of Chicago's "Twist & Shout" sequence in Ferris Buellers' Day Off. But in the end, this quirky, personal, and often funny, film may be most about what Oprah said to Kurlander when he was on her show-- the search for a more "authentic life."
COMING TO THE GENE SISKEL FILM CENTER ON SEPTEMBER 11th & 13th! BACK TO CHICAGO WHERE IT ALL BEGAN!
Part of the proceeds of these screenings benefit the "youth and media program" of the Steeltown Entertainment Project, which works with at risk youths helping them tell their own stories on film and exposing them to careers in the entertainment industry.
Having become the first film ever invited to play the U.S. Capitol at the new U.S. Capitol Visitor's Center on March 23rd where Congressman Mike Doyle called the film "a comeback story that can inspire cities around the country", My Tale of Two Cities has gone on to play in theaters in Harrisburg, New Haven, Cleveland, Boston, and Portland, Maine this summer, My Tale of Two Cities will next be playing the Gene Siskel Film Center on Sept. 11th & 13th and at the Cape Ann Film Festival on October 15th.
THE TRAILER:
COME SEE WHAT EVERYONE HAS BEEN TALKING ABOUT:
From Windsor, Ontario, to Santa Fe, New Mexico to Capitol Hill, cities across North America cannot enough get of this funny and hopeful comeback story.
Listen to the WKSU "All Things Considered" NPR story which aired the day of the SOLD OUT Cleveland premiere. "The answer to all of Cleveland's problems will be shown on the silver screen tonight... It may be the answer for Canton, Youngstown, and Akron too..." CLICK HERE TO LISTEN. Read the article in the Cleveland Jewish News.
Film Critic Paul Hood gives the film FOUR STARS as he writes: "Tale is the type of refreshing documentary film that exposes the realities of life on top as well as the bottom... With Kurlander's witty, heartfelt look at his conflicted life.... leaves you wanting to know more... My Tale of Two Cities breeds hope for ailing cities" Read the rest of Hood's review here.
"A movie that is timely, moving, and - above all - entertaining. You can't get an entire city into therapy - but this film is the next best thing." -- Mitch Teich, Milwaukee Public Radio
"A delightful, quirky, heartwarming film that is as funny as it is revealing..." -- Don Roy King, director, "Saturday Night Live"
"Dorothy Gale, meet Carl Kurlander. Both fervently believe there's no place like home and that it tugs at the heart whether you've traveled to Oz in a twister or simply moved to Hollywood to work in the film and television industry.... a story of comebacks, coming back and what a beautiful day in the neighborhood can mean." --Barb Vancheri, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Please spread the word about the film. Join the facebook group by clicking here,
THE MOVIE:
My Tale of Two Cities is told through the eyes of screenwriter (St. Elmo's Fire) and TV writer/producer (Saved By The Bell) Carl Kurlander, who was living in Hollywood when he received an offer to go back to his hometown and teach at the University of Pittsburgh. After his wife Natalie pointed out that if they continued to live above the Sunset Strip, their one year old daughter's habit of dancing naked on coffee tables might become an acceptable profession, Carl moved his family back to Pittsburgh-- the real life "Mister Rogers' Neighbohood" in search of a more meaningful and balanced life. This journey led the Kurlanders to being guests on The Oprah Winfrey Show on a program about people who had changed their life, where Oprah herself was struck by the fact that the Kurlanders had found happiness "in Pittsburgh, even," But shortly after that, Fred Rogers died, and the city of Pittsburgh went bankrupt.
With both himself and his hometown in mid-life crisis, Kurlander set out on a Don Quixote quest to make a film to help the place where he grew up. Armed with a cranky cameraman, funded by his dermatologist, and often battling his wife who longs to return to the sunny West Coast, Carl asks his neighbors from the famous (Steeler legend Franco Harris, Teresa Heinz Kerry) to the not-so-famous (his old gym teacher and the girl who inspired St. Elmo's Fire) how this once great industrial giant, which built America with its steel, conquered polio and invented everything from aluminum to the Big Mac, can reinvent itself for a new age.
My Tale of Two Cities is filled with rawly honest, often hilarious scenes such as when Kurlander visits on a playground with the girl who beat him up there as a child (complete with an hysterical recreation of the event); offers to buy cheese for Tereas Heinz Kerry at a produce shop which almost ends up consuming the film's budget; a fishing excursion where Carl and his brother catch and, even more boldly, eat a catfish from Pittsburgh's once polluted rivers (and then visit famed coroner Cyril Wecht afterwards to find out if they will live.)
But the film also thoughtfully explores what it means to come home again and what it takes for both cities and people to reinvent themselves for a new age. We hear from Ms. Heinz Kerry about her late husband John Heinz's belief that sometimes your worst problems can become your best opportunities; see famed Steeler Franco Harris with his son Dok who is surprisingly not an athlete, but a Princeton grad who came back to his hometown to go to business school and law school and make a difference; watch Andy Warhol's nephew Marty who runs a scrapyard ponder what would have happened had his Uncle Andy never left Pittsburgh; and are reminded by David Newell, the actor who played Mr. McFeely and Fred Rogers' widow Joanne, of Mister Rogers' challenge to us all to "make good attractive."
The film becomes highly personal as the Kurlanders must decide whether to stay in their new life or go back to the Hollywood dream they once knew. Ultimately, My Tale of Two Cities is a feel-good film which shows us, that even in dark times, as articulated by Pittsburgh's late Mayor Bob O' Connor, if we work together and believe in ourselves, it can still be a "beautiful day in the neighborhood."
"My Tale of Two Cities" was HELD OVER at the SouthSide Works in Pittsburgh and attracted an audience of over 400 who showed up at The Capitol Theater in Windsor Ontario to hear the film's hopeful message. Read The Article in the Windsor Star: "Believing in Ourselves"
Forbes Magazine named Pittsburgh 2010's "Most Livable City!"
"If you believe in miraculous comebacks, you've got to catch this film."
-- Franco Harris, Hall of Fame Steeler
My Tale of Two Cities has received national attention in The Washington Post, USA Today, and on The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. Having sold out 1300 seats at its Pittsburgh premiere, My Tale of Two Cities has played in film festivals around the country and, for international audiences at the G-20 Media Center, and conventions for MENSA and the International Downtown Association. The film is being distributed by Panorama Entertainment.
To book the film in your neighborhood, please contact Stuart Strutin of Panorama Entertainment at (914) 937 1603 or panent@aol.com.
HELP US SPREAD THE WORD:
Please join this FACEBOOK GROUP for "My Tale of Two Cities" to help us spread the word about the movie. And tell your friends and family about it.
Read the article from San Antonio Business Journal about My Tale of Two Cities: "Film Plays Role In Re-Energizing Cities"
LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW ON "LAKE EFFECT" on MILWAUKEE PUBLIC RADIO ABOUT "My Tale of Two Cities" and rust belt cities reinventing themselves by clicking here.
The Washington Post mentions "My Tale of Two Cities" in its article on "Pittsburgh Shows How Rust Belt Can Be Polished Up" Also, read this Newsweek article: "Pittsburgh shows other countries visiting it for the G20 how postindustrial America can still bounce back."
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING:
"Whether you're a boomerang, comeback kid, recent transplant, or dyed-in-the-wool Burgher, you won't want to miss "My Tale of Two Cities," the much-buzzed about new film by St. Elmo's Fire screenwriter Carl Kurlander, which proves once and for all, that yes, you can go home again. With 1,300 people packing the film's sold-out debut (and delivering a standing ovation!),... ("My Tale of Two Cities" is)... a sort of collective cinematic homecoming for Pittsburghers everywhere... the film stars beloved local icons like Franco Harris and Mr. McFeely, and traces the city's storied role in building America's steel, conquering polio, and inventing everything from aluminum to the Big Mac. A classic comeback tale for a town in transition, the film follows the witty and charming Kurlander as he tosses a football with Franco Harris, shops with Teresa Heinz Kerry, has breakfast with Paul O' Neill, and ponders the time honored question: Can you go home again? Dubbed a "funny valentine to Pittsburgh,"... you know you'll cry black and gold tears as Pittsburghers from Times Square to Beverly Hills to Point State Park sing in unison to the city's anthem, "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" Pop City Media.
-- Jennifer Baron, Pop City Media
Read the full article here:
Talk about a "comeback story." Despite the economic headlines, there are over 20,000 jobs listed in the Pittsburgh region at www.imaginemynewjob.com
PIECES ON NPR, CNN, THE AP, AND THE NEW YORK TIMES ABOUT THE PITTSBURGH COMEBACK STORY AS A MODEL FOR THE NATION:
Wall Street Journal
Pittsburgh Scores the G20 Summit
NPR: "Factory and auto towns shift gears"
AP: "Despite recession, Pittsburgh on a building boom"
Randi Kaye of Anderson 360 on CNN: "Can Pittsburgh Save Detroit?
New York Times: The Greening of Pittsburgh
Visit the Pittsburgh Comeback Story Blog.
THE SOUNDTRACK:
The "My Tale of Two Cities" SOUNDTRACK FEATURING SOME OF PITTSBURGH'S FINEST MUSICIANS, INCLUDING DONORA'S GREAT COVER OF FRED ROGERS' "IT'S SUCH A GOOD FEELING" IS AVAILABLE NOW AT CD BABY. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO SOME SAMPLES.
THANKS:
We hope you enjoy this film that proves "it's never too late to come back" and that the whole world really is "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood."