Lights, Camera…Action!
We hope you enjoyed the May 2020 edition of This Awful Awesome Life. We have a special issue for you this month. We’ve taken the June 2017 issue and combined it with our June 2020 issue. Why? Because the June 2017 issue was the only issue we hadn’t reproduced on Square Space. It was also the final issue I worked on with Jay Speyerer. In fact, we have one of his articles in this issue which we thought was lost.
When Jay and I started This Awful Awesome Life, we decided each article would have a theme. For the June 2017 issue we selected the Pittsburgh movie scene. Along with these articles, I made a few updates and we have a few new articles and our regular columns – reading recommendations, What’s for Dinner? Ask Linda and June 2020 in The Twelve Months of Pie.
Pittsburgh is home to the Nickelodeon, the world’s first theater exclusively devoted to showing motion pictures. It opened on June 19, 1905. The Pittsburgh film industry dates back to 1914, but the film Tancred Commandery Pittsburg was made here in 1898.
Pittsburgh has been called the “Hollywood of the East” because of its growing popularity as a filming venue for major motion pictures, independent films, documentaries, and television shows. Over one hundred-twenty motion pictures and television productions have filmed here since 1990, and Pittsburgh is currently home to the largest sound stage outside of Los Angeles or New York.
Jay and I decided to take a look at some of the people in Pittsburgh involved in various aspects of the film industry. We spoke with actors, producers, independent filmmakers, authors, and movie lovers. Many of these people were suggested to us by our readers.
I found some incredible footage of Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh films on YouTube. I highly recommend you watch, “Pittsburgh: The Movie” which features amazing clips from some of the movies made here. You will gain a renewed appreciation for the unique beauty of our city. If you are not a Pittsburgher, this video and hopefully our magazine will make you want to get in your car or jump on a plane and visit. Well, maybe you’ll just go on Netflix or Amazon and rent one of these films.
Don’t forget to test your knowledge of the Pittsburgh movie scene. Match the actor to the movies(s) filmed or partially filmed in Pittsburgh in this month’s quiz.
Samantha Sayers is still missing. She disappeared on August 1, 2018 after a day of solo hiking at Vesper Peak near Seattle, Washington. Sam was raised in the Erie, Pennsylvania area where her parents Ron and Lisa still live. Her family is exploring all avenues of inquiry to find and bring her home. In the face of such an enormous challenge, they have chosen hope. Please keep sending positive thoughts to Sam and her family. As promised, we will be displaying a yellow ribbon for Sam on the opening page of each issue of This Awful Awesome Life until she is home.
If you are a person of faith, please pray for her safe return to her family. Because we are an online publication, we can update this article with any news. We will also post information on our Facebook page. Thank you!
Please share our link, thisawfulawesomelife.com with your friends and family.
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Happy Reading,
Fran