Pittsburgh Post-Gazette from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania • Page 26

Jun 1 2005 PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1, 2005 C-8 Group marking 10 years of PUMPing up residents By Bob Batz Jr. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Its original full name still sounds a bit like a sub unit of Carnegie Mellon Robotics Institute. This being Pittsburgh, building young people from scratch might have seemed more doable than trying to attract and keep them here. The Pittsburgh Urban Magnet Project PUMP may have sounded as unlikely to succeed in this town as the New Organization for Proper English (NOPE) or Fashion Ubiquity a la a New New York (FUNNY). And yet, PUMP has made it to being 10 years, well, old.

That decade positive growth and positive is what the group will be celebrating on June 10. The 10.0” party, from 6 to 10 p.m., will include drinks, appetizers from Bossa Nova and music from DJ Soysos, and will be held at Impact Place, a raw space on the sixth floor of 121 Seventh Downtown. Tickets are $75 and include a PUMP membership. The night, like the group, is about more than just young people; for who supports efforts to make Pittsburgh vibrant and says executive director Mike English. The organization with its mission to advance affecting young and young-thinking people in Pittsburgh, making the region a more dynamic, engaging and diverse place in which to has pretty English says.

It now has more than 1,100 members, having merged last year with another youthful group, Next. Most of them are age 25 to 39. Since the original group of young people were brought together by an op-ed piece in this newspaper by grad student Michelle Fanzo, who lamented how all of her friends were leaving, PUMP has pushed projects from parties to political action to engage younger Pittsburghers. Its accomplishments, to be looked back on during a program at 7 p.m., include M-Squared (bashes on Market Square that started in 1996); 40 Under 40 (the recognition program started in 2000); the Pittsburgh Sports League (also started in 2000 and now serving 4,000 players each year); ImPAct (the annual statewide young professionals conference started in 2001); and Flicks on Bricks (movies screened on building walls) rolling into its second summer. going to try to continue growing the number and strength of our says English.

When members were surveyed earlier this year, big theme that came out is we should get more involved in economic So PUMP plans to promote downtown living and entrepreneurship as well as continue to work on ways to keep college graduates from leaving. English will be honored at this 10th anniversary event, as leaving his post after about two years in August. But he says not planning to leave the region. definitely going to try to stay in the Pittsburgh nonprofit Also being honored is longtime PUMP supporter Elsie Hillman. Other big names on the host committee from city Mayor Tom Murphy to county Chief Executive Dan Onorato to U.S.

Sen. Rick Santorum reflect not only how politicians resist kissing young people, but also political clout. Still, as from the beginning, PUMP loves to have a good time. English says going to be very fun, informal event where we kind of pause to appreciate what done in the past 10 years and start to prepare for the next 10 For tickets and more information, visit www.pump.orgor call 412-338-2133. Bob Batz Jr.

can be reached at or 412263-1930. Nice materials, poorly cut in By Barry Paris Pittsburgh Post-Gazette How do we love Sisterhood of the Traveling right off the bat? Let me count the ways. First for a lovely title. Second, for the promising plot device it provides. Third through sixth, for cool casting of a quirky quartet.

Our fab four teens mutually adoring best friends since childhood are about to go their separate ways for the summer: Introverted Lena (Alexis Bledel) will visit her grandparents in Greece. Budding writer Carmen (America Ferrera) will have a longed-for reunion with her dad in South Carolina. Wild, impetuous Bridget (Blake Lively) will be the star of her soccer camp in Mexico. Only poor Tibby (Amber Tamblyn) is staying home, making docu-videos when not working hideous shifts as a stock clerk at On a last shopping spree before breaking up, the girls come across an ordinary pair of jeans with an extraordinary feature: It somehow fits and looks good all four of them. In a farewell bonding pledge, they decide each will wear the pants for a while (and have a meaningful experience while doing so), then send along to the next sister with good vibes and good luck for an equally good time.

Three of the four are slender in the grass But sassy Carmen is a pudgy teen imagine Audrey Hepburn and Roseanne Barr sharing the same leotards. The idea of those jeans fitting Carmen is literally and figuratively a stretch. It would take a miracle of Fatima or Lycra to get her into those low-riders some kind of divine intervention, either way. But never mind. Suspension of disbeliefis required.

More disbelief must be suspended when we meet stereotypical Zorba-the-Greek relatives, straight out of Central Mediterranean Casting, forever fussing and feuding with one another. Ditto with Southern belle stepmom-to-be (her dad forgot to tell her he was getting remarried). And double ditto with the blond soccer coach whom Bridget woos on and off the field. I wonder if the writers ever actually met any boy from Columbia University. First of all, there are only two blonds in the male student body.Second, no Columbia guy ever stops talking.

This one in never starts. For that matter, no man in this chick flick says much of anything until his final scene when he has one glib speech to make up for everything done wrong before. The one exception is Kostas (Michael Rady), Greek hunk This colossus of Rhodes is a wonder of the world for both his speech and his teeth. They say sex starts in the mind? I say less mental than dental. Best of the girls is Tamblyn, a chip off father (and Sgt.

rebellious block. Her scenes are very funny, and her relationship with a precocious 12-year-old (Jenna Boyd) is the most touching thing in the film, suggesting that happiness and fulfillment might actually hinge on something other than a cardboard male. But no more point waxing philosophical than waxing my car equally thankless chores. As this feel-good flick drags on, I feel less good about it. not about Chekhov, after all.

What also not much about, curiously, is the jeans. That connecting device does precious little connecting, the periodic referential mentions being more obligatory than plot-driving in any way. a poor job of utilizing a plausibly good idea. And no help from the sappy, syrupy songs that kick in awkwardly now and then when you most expect (and least need) them. Director Ken Kwapis Said, She and his nice cast had some good things going for them at the outset but succumb to author Ann and relentless pursuit of a happy ending.

The emotional candy that sustains this is too artificially sweetened to be filling, unless you really believe that one sentimental size fits all. Post-Gazette film critic Barry Paris can be reached at Stefano Press Sisterhood of the Traveling Rating PG for thematic elements and sensuality Starring: Amber Tamblyn, Blake Lively, Alexis Ble- del, America Ferrera. Director Ken Kwapis equitable Although details are subject to change, a call for screenplays will go out in the fall at a public workshop designed to give writers of all stripes the chance to learn about screenwriting. The only stipulation: Screenplays would have to be for low-budget movies that could be made in Pittsburgh. The winner, chosen after a series of lectures, workshops, evaluations by professional readers, pitch sessions, rewrites and more rewrites, will shoot a trailer (as previews are called) or representative scene, with support from Pittsburgh Filmmakers and other professionals.

He or she then will be flown to Los Angeles to meet with studio executives and Steeltown advisers who have Pittsburgh roots. And if the movie gets a green light, the film office would step in to secure permits, scout locations and help with other details. Steeltown Entertainment, co-founded by Kurlander, Weiss Kander and Maxine Lapiduss, organized an entertainment summit here in fall 2003 and attracted the likes of Romero, producer Bernie Goldmann, ubermanager Eric Gold, creator Terri Minsky, writer Peter Ackerman, sitcom producer Jamie Widdoes, actor David Conrad, writers Maxine and Sally Lapiduss and others. It was at that summit where Romero met Goldmann, who agreed to produce of the and later proposed the Pittsburgh premiere. And it was at that summit that participants talked about developing indigenous talent and resources, educating them about how the industry works and using their clout in Hollywood to nurture potential projects.

And movie is the perfect premiere to help bring that goal into focus. Movie editor Barbara Vancheri can be reached at gazette.com or 412-263-1632. Romero premiere to aid movie project ROMERO, FROM PAGE C-1 of the premiere and parties When: June 22 at the Byham Theater, Downtown. Parties: At the pre- party at Cafe Euro in U.S. Steel Tower, ticketholders can mingle with Romero and other distinguished guests, nibble on food and sample beer, wine and The party afterward will be held from 9:30 p.m.

to 2 a.m. at the Deja Vu Lounge, 2106 Penn where DJs will play music on the three levels. Once again, partygoers will be treated to food, beer, wine and zombie drinks. Tickets, now on sale: $50 for the movie, which is rated and starts at 7:30 p.m.; $85 for the movie, a party afterward and parking; $175 for the movie, parties before and after, plus parking; and $1,000 for four tickets, parking, admission to both parties, plus a sponsorship listing in the event program. For $50 or $85 tickets, call 412-456-6666.

For others, to www.steeltownentertain ment.org for more information on the event, corporate or personal sponsorships and the filmmaking competition. Barbara Vancheri Michael Gibson In of the Asia Argento, left, and Simon Baker star as mercenaries deployed to defeat the growing army of the dead who roam the wasteland outside of the perimeter. Sisterhood of the Traveling stars, from bottom left clockwise, Amber Tamblyn, Alexis Bledel, Blake Lively and America Ferrera. movie review film preview.