Steeltown Entertainment Project is co-founded by Ellen Weiss Kander, Maxine Lapiduss, and Carl Kurlander, top Hollywood expatriates, and civic leaders with the vision that the Pittsburgh region has what it takes to become a world-class player in the entertainment industry. Inspired by Carl’s op-ed piece, Steeltown hosted the Pittsburgh Entertainment Summit at WQED, the nation’s first community public television station, on the soundstage where Fred Rogers filmed his shows. There, over a dozen of Pittsburgh’s top entertainment luminaries including Steeltown advisers “300” producer Bernie Goldmann, “Chicago” director Rob Marshall, Jim Carrey/Vince Vaughn/Ellen DeGeneres manager Eric Gold, “Lizzie McGuire” creator Terri Minsky, “Two and a Half Men” director Jamie Widdoes, “Ice Age” writer Peter Ackerman, director George A. Romero (Night of the Living Dead) returned to talk about their roots and discuss ways to help their hometown become more of a player in the entertainment industry.
