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'Dodgeball' dude tackles 'The Mysteries of Pittsburgh'

Rawson Thurber will adapt and direct the pic, which is set to star Nick Nolte and Peter Saarsgard.

Aug 23 2006

'Dodgeball' helmer Rawson Marshall Thurber has finally got his dream project off the ground, an adaptation of Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Chabon's first novel, 'The Mysteries of Pittsburgh'.

Thurber will adapt and direct the film, which will star Nick Nolte, Jon Foster, Peter Sarsgaard, Sienna Miller and Mena Suvari.

In the film, Foster will play Art Bechstein, a high school student who desperately wants to sever ties with his mobster dad, played by Nolte. Over the course of a summer, he becomes entangled in a love triangle with a charismatic couple (Saarsgard and Miller) who encourage him to finally confront said father.

The film will be the first project from new independent outfit Groundswell Productions, with shooting set to start in Pittsburgh in September.

User comments on this story

franQ said...

First of all, I consider myself THE #1 "Mysteries of Pittsburgh" fan, and somehow I only JUST learned about this film adaptation... which I've been waiting for since 1993 when I first read the book. And I am SO angry about it, I want to cry.
Who does this director/writer think he is, CHANGING the story? I read in article that he got into filmmaking so he could one day make this movie (because of his love for the book) and then he combines Arthur and Cleveland into ONE character! What the f***!? (And why is Peter Saarsgard playing the role when he's clearly 10 years too old?)
I checked out the official website and watched the behind the scenes footage. The director's wearing a Tigers cap and tossing a football around like some Total Jock. Doesn't look like a true “Mysteries” fan to me! (And his comment about "the gay sex comes later" slightly offended me. Not to mention the thought of Art Bechstein having sex with Cleveland...Dude, it would NEVER happen!)
All I can say is, I got my MFA in Dramatic Writing at Carnegie Mellon (right behind the REAL "Cloud Factory," where it doesn't look like they're actually shooting) just so I could one day adapt this wonderful novel into a film...Which is EXACTLY what I will do, once this so-called version miserably fails. Posted on Oct 07 2006 23:28

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