A Note to Scott Mendelson on Adventireland

[Gandalfthegeek]

I've just read your review and was intrigued on your noticing that the location of the park was underutilized. There is a very simple reason for this which geography has imparted to me by absolute random chance.

I live in a town called Belle Vernon PA, 45 minutes out of Pittsburgh and not far from a theme park called Kennywood, a.k.a. Adventureland. Now, for no apparent reason I kept my television on channel 8 for the local 5 O'Clock news. It turns out that the cast wasn't able to use the rides because, as the park was closed at the time, the rides weren't inspected, and were therefore potentially dangerous.

Now I've only lived here since '06, and I moved from Riverhead NY, 45 minutes away from, well, NY, NY. And me and my family have noticed something about the way things are run around the Pittsburgh area. This will likely surprise you, but things in this area proceed at a more, relaxed (read: nonexistant) pace.

Therefore it doesn't surprise me that when the people running the park found out that someone wanted to make a movie there,no one bothered to ask if a technician wanted to come down and o.k. the rides so that they could be a more a part of the set.

Another example of this was when my sister went to get a state ID. My mom waited two hours before she'd finally had enough and left.

I'm sure the movie will turn a profit in local theaters. Everyone at my school is talking about it since it was filmed here. And I can't blame them. Poor Pittsburgh. The whole city got a 2 hour delayed school start so people could celebrate superbowl sunday. People here are so desperate for contact from "outside" that the 961 Kiss radio spends just about every day auctioning off tickets to Britney Spears and (gag) the Jonas Brothers. So of course everyone within 2 hours of Pittsburgh in any direction will see the movie in theaters eventually.

And like I said, can't blame them: it's why I'm going to school 30 minutes out of Philadelphia after I graduate.

[The Baron]

Having grown up just outside of Pittsburgh, I can thoroughly sympathize with you.

You actually paint a much prettier picture of the 'burgh than I recall. I always refer to it as "a great place to be from." I've been in L.A. for 30 years now, and whenever I get a chance to go back to Pittsburgh, I avoid it like the PLAGUE. With few exceptions, most of the people there are provincials. As an artist, I was an outcast among the millworker mentality. Growing up a punk and an actor was tough there, but it built character.

Good luck leaving Belle Vernon. (I've been there, dude.) Just remember, no matter how much the locals try to convince you that you can't/shouldn't/won't leave... HAUL ASS!

[Gandalfthegeek]

Originally Posted by The Baron

Having grown up just outside of Pittsburgh, I can thoroughly sympathize with you.

You actually paint a much prettier picture of the 'burgh than I recall. I always refer to it as "a great place to be from." I've been in L.A. for 30 years now, and whenever I get a chance to go back to Pittsburgh, I avoid it like the PLAGUE. With few exceptions, most of the people there are provincials. As an artist, I was an outcast among the millworker mentality. Growing up a punk and an actor was tough there, but it built character.

Good luck leaving Belle Vernon. (I've been there, dude.) Just remember, no matter how much the locals try to convince you that you can't/shouldn't/won't leave... HAUL ASS!

I would say it may have gotten worse since you left. There is no steel industry here anymore. Belle Vernon desperately wants to be to be a quiet little midwestern hamlet, but you mine as well live in nowhere like Courage the Cowardly Dog.

I'm actually surprised that Pitt is considered a city at all. There's more shops than there is in a small town, I guess, and some culture and stuff, but the overall impression is that of a once greater, now decrepit old town, with few people and very little to do. Having been through the heart of NYC on my way the the Museum of Natural history and seeing the immensity of it all left me very underwhelmed when I first beheld the "City" of Pittsburgh.

And the problem is that its really the WHOLE area we're talking about. I went to Seton Hill University for a reading competition, and the college was a nice looking, competant place. It was the location that bothered me. Greensburgh is an absolute slum. I don't even think I saw a single person outside the college who was actually alive.

But I'm almost certainly going to Ursinus College (20 minutes from Philly) on full scholarship, and I'll probably take my ass to Madrid in my junior year. I guess that's the good thing about being a broad minded person in Western PA: your only thought is to get the hell out of here.

I don't think the area will be absent any future generations of locals. Almost everyone in BVA High is going to Cal U Penn, 15 minutes away from my house. Except the smarter ones, is there really going to be some majestic "futre generation" of scholars coming out of that school. I've seen the future binge drinkers, uh, I mean students, and honestly, I think not.

Luckily, I spent a day in Philly and I think its similar to New York-you know, with actual "energy" and "places of interest". I'm not sure what I'll end up doing in College-I'm an English type guy and I don't know whether to go for journalism, freelance, creative writing, or whatever.

Thanks for the encouragement. And don't worry, come August, I AM GETTING THE FARTHEST THE FUCK AWAY FROM HERE THAT I POSSIBLY CAN.