We’re No. 3 for locales to produce TV, movies
Pittsburgh has seen a boom in movie and television production over the past decade, and now the city is getting national recognition.
Movie Maker magazine on Tuesday released its annual list of the best places to live and work for entertainment industry workers. The publication “focused on the art and craft of movies and cinematic TV” creates two lists, one for big cities such as Boston and Washington, D.C., and another for small cities and towns.
The Steel City moved up this year from No. 4 to No. 3 on the second list, ahead of places such as Tulsa, Okla., Savannah, Ga., and Providence, R.I. New Orleans ranked No. 1 and Santa Fe, N.M., No. 2 on the small cities list.
“[Pittsburgh] could qualify as a big city, but always emphasizes a friendly, folksy, small-town feel that keeps visiting moviemakers from feeling homesick,” said MovieMaker. “The ’Burgh is a magnificent movie town, home to top-tier productions from David Fincher’s ‘Mindhunter’ to Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Dark Knight Rises.’”
It went on to say the region drew “$100 million in direct spending in 2020” from production companies and credited Pennsylvania’s enticing tax credit of up to 25%, Carnegie Mellon University’s status as a destination for aspiring thespians and local art-house movie theaters like Row House Cinema.
“The homes, meanwhile, are affordable and often stunning, and you’ll be surrounded by museums, culture and sports,” the MovieMaker blurb continued. “Plus, as political commentators reminded us constantly in 2020, Western Pennsylvania is a complex, storied, unpredictable place — which should make it an endless source of inspiration.”
In case you’re wondering about the big cities list, Albuquerque, N.M., was No. 1 with the understanding that New York City and Los Angeles weren’t up for consideration. One could quibble with
Cleveland (No. 14) being included in the big cities list and not Pittsburgh, but it’s still a high honor, according to Dawn Keezer, director of the Pittsburgh Film Office.
“We’re thrilled to be included,” she said. “We know Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh region is a great place to make movies, TV and any type of media. We have the best crews in the business that live and work here, the best infrastructure supported by elected officials and our neighbors and community.
“All that makes it a great place to film, and we’re glad to have others telling our story.”
Recent projects filmed around Pittsburgh include “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” on Netflix, LGBTQ+ romcom “Happiest Season” on Hulu and retro thriller “I’m Your Woman” on Amazon.
Television productions are also ramping up this year. The Netflix series “Archive 81” is resuming filming on the North Side, the Showtime series “Rust” is in pre-production mode and another Netflix series, “The Chair,” is casting extras.