My Tale of Two Cities
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		Pittsburgh, Neighborhood, poignant, funny, heartfelt, America, Pittsburgh Steelers, Mister Rogers

Film Overview

Directed By: Carl Kurlander View Official Website	Running Time: 0:00 Content Rating: not yet rated
Genres: Comedy >> Family Influences: Roger & Me, Super Size Me, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Annie Hall

Synopsis

Filmed in the style of "Super Size Me" and "Roger & Me", "My Tale of Two Cities" is a funny and heartfelt movie has been called a "Mr. Rogers & Me" as it tells the "comeback story" of "St. Elmo's Fire" screenwriter Carl Kurlander who moved back to his hometown, the real-life "Mister Rogers Neighborhood", only to discover both himself and the city of Pittsburgh going through mid-life crisis. This is a surprisingly feel-good, timely tale of people and cities reinventing themselves for a new age.

As the film opens, Kurlander finds himself as a guest on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" for leaving his Hollywood world behind in search of a more meaningful life. But just as he tells Oprah how happy he and his wife are raising their daughter there, Pittsburgh's favorite neighbor Fred Rogers dies and the city declares itself "financially distressed."

Trying to figure out how this once great industrial giant can come back and once again become "The City of Champions", Kurlander pursues his neighbors-- going shopping for cheese with Teresa Heinz Kerry, tossing a football with Franco Harris and his son Dok, and eating breakfast with former Treasury Secretary Paul O' Neill at a local diner.

But the journey also turns intensely personal as Carl discovers that like Pittsburgh, he too must deal with his past before moving on to the future. In scenes which are alternately heartbreaking and hilarious, there is a visit with his old gym teacher who continues to tease him about his lack of athletic prowess, a fishing trip where he and his brother eat a fish caught from the once polluted Allegheny River (where afterwards they visit famed coroner Dr. Cyril Wecht to see if they will live), and a reunion with a first infatuation, the girl who inspired "St. Elmo's Fire," where a scene from the movie is re-enacted with her daughter. But the most compelling and surprising scene in the movie occurs when Carl and his mother return to the apartment he grew up in, as they discuss a dramatic decision she made during his childhood.

"My Tale of Two Cities" features a crescendo which includes a Mister Rogers' "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" sing-a-long in Times Square, Beverly Hills, and Pittsburgh which is reminiscent of Chicago's singing "Twist & Shout" In "Ferris Bueller's Day Off." But ultimately, this movie is a story filled with redemption and hope, proving that "It's never too late to come back."

Cast

neighbor: Franco Harris | bio
In his rookie year, Franco Harris caught a pass in the play-offs, which became known as "The Immaculate Reception." That single play transformed the Pittsburgh Steelers, a once losing franchise, into one of the most successful teams in NFL history, as Franco helped lead the Pittsburgh Steelers to four Super Bowls during the 1970s. Following his Hall of Fame career, Franco continues to live in Pittsburgh where he is active in many local charities and as a businessman whose company Super Bakery is a leader in bakery nutrition producing "Super Donuts" and "Super Buns" which are marketed to school systems in all fifty states.
Neighbor: Paul O' Neill | bio
A world-renown businessman, Paul O'Neill came to Pittsburgh in 1987 to serve as Chairman and CEO of Alcoa just as many other companies were leaving the city. Restructuring the way this "old school" company did business, by the time Mr. O'Neill retired in 2000, Alcoa was one of the top stocks among the Dow Jones Industrials as Mr. O'Neill was credited with "running an Old Economy company as though it were a New Economy company." He also served as Treasury Secretary of the United States from 2001-2002. A local and national leader in addressing issues of patient safety and quality in healthcare, O'Neill helped establish the Pittsburgh Regional Healthcare Initiative 1997.
Neighbor: Teresa Heinz Kerry | bio
Though known elsewhere as the wife of Senator John Kerry, Teresa Heinz Kerry has deep roots in Pittsburgh, having come here as the young bride of Senator John Heinz in 1971. Following the tragic death of Senator Heinz in a 1991 airplane crash, Teresa Heinz decided to remain in Pittsburgh to raise their three sons and run the Heinz Endowments, a philanthropic organization that 'uses the Pittsburgh region as a laboratory for the development .of solutions to challenges that are national in scope.' Mrs. Heinz married Senator Kerry in 1995 and together they have authored "This Moment on Earth", a book about our planet.
Neighbor: Joanne Rogers | bio
Joanne Rogers was married to Fred Rogers for over fifty years, during which time they became parents to two sons and grandparents to three grandsons. Since Fred's death, Joanne has participated in the celebration of Fred's legacy, including writing the forewords to, The World According to Mister Rogers, Life Journeys According to Mister Rogers, and Many Ways to Say I Love You.
Neighbor: David Newell | bio
Best remembered for his role as Mr. McFeely, the mailman in Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, and his famous catchphrase, Speedy delivery! Speedy delivery! David Newell continues to tour the country to this day promoting the show and espousing the positive values that characterized Fred Rogers' show. His work is also featured in the documentary "Speedy Delivery."

Crew

Director: Carl Kurlander | bio
For over two decades, Carl has worked as a screenwriter ("St. Elmo's Fire") and TV writer/producer (NBC's "Saved By The Bell" franchise) before returning home to teach at the University of Pittsburgh for what he thought would be a one year Hollywood sabbatical. Carl now divides his time between Los Angeles and Pittsburgh.
Producer: Stephanie Dangel | bio
A graduate of The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and Yale Law School, Stephanie Dangel Reiter is a former Rhodes Scholar, law clerk for Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun, and attorney. Her involvement in My Tale of Two Cities began when she took a graduate screenwriting class with Carl Kurlander to work on a screenplay she was writing on civil rights pioneers Marian Anderson and Walter White. Stephanie subsequently became involved in the Steeltown Entertainment Project, serving as the research coordinator on Pittsburgh: Hollywood's Best Kept Secret, a short film featuring Shirley Jones, Chicago director Rob Marshall, E.R. producer John Wells, 300 producer Bernie Goldmann, and other Pittsburgh expatriates talking about how Pittsburgh nurtured them as artists and their hometown's potential for becoming a hub in the entertainment industry. This short film premiered at the Andy Warhol Museum during the "Steeltown Entertainment Summit." Stephanie is now Board Chair of Steeltown Entertainment Project, a non-profit working to develop a sustainable entertainment sector in Southwestern Pennsylvania (See www.steeltown.org). She also continues to work with Carl on documentaries about the conquering of polio and the work of Manchester Craftsmen's Guild and Bill Strickland.
Producer: Janet Driscoll Smith | bio
Janet Driscoll Smith began her film and video production career at her hometown public television station, WQED/Pittsburgh. After four years of working on nationally broadcast television documentaries for WQED, she embarked on a freelance career that found her working with a wide variety of television and documentary production companies, including WGBH, the BBC, The Discovery Channel, the National Geographic Society, WETA, the World Wildlife Fund, Sea Studios, and NBC/Dateline.Ý As a producer and production manager, Smith has coordinated the efforts of both small and large teams of diverse people, often working in extremely challenging locations. Highlights include the WGBH/BBC biotechnology series "The Secret of Life" and the Emmy-nominated PBS environmental special "Web of Life." She recently produced the NOVA program "Car of The Future" with writer/producer Joe Seamans (who was also the consulting producer for "My Tale of Two Cities.")
Director of Photography: Mark Knobil | bio
Mark Knobil has been the cinematographer on numerous award-winning projects, and has individually been nominated twice for an Emmy for outstanding cinematography. His extensive credits include the award-winning independent feature The Bread, My Sweet, Director of Photography on the Discovery Channel special Titanic: Anatomy of a Disaster, Supervising Director of Photography on an eight-part National Geographic Series for PBS, The Shape of Life, about the science of evolution, as well as Strange Days on Planet Earth, a four-part series, hosted by Edward Norton, about mysterious changes in the ecosystems of the planet. Mark served as videographer for many years on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood and considers his work on Mister Rogers Visits USSR a career highlight.

Accolades

Press Reviews

Post-Gazette | show/hide snippet
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, successfully, in the film and television industry.

...That's what Kurlander did until he and his wife, Natalie, weighed leaving their home above the Sunset Strip -- not exactly an ideal place to raise their young daughter -- and moving to Pittsburgh, where Kurlander grew up. His journey, which landed him in Mister Rogers' real neighborhood for far more than a year, and Pittsburgh's coincidental attempt to reinvent itself are chronicled in Kurlander's movie, "My Tale of Two Cities." It's a story of comebacks and coming back.
Pop City Media | show/hide snippet
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.