Fighting Batman and Other Links

There is a bit of a ridiculous article on Grantland titled "Dear Pittsburgh: Leave Batman Alone" critical of how folks are treating the filming of Batman. I have seen no complaints from anyone associated with the film as they, especially the movie company, probably love the buzz. Anyway, I felt the need to contact the author, but since he didn't have an e-mail address posted, I contacted Grantland directly.

Dear Grantland,

I am writing to respond to the “Dear Pittsburgh: Leave Batman Alone” column by Andy Greenwald. While I agree with the premise of the story that Pittsburghers should let the filmmakers work in peace, there are certain aspects that make this request impractical. First, the film used nearly 10,000 extras to fill Heinz Field for the football scenes. When you incorporate several Pittsburgh Steelers, including QB Ben Roethlisberger and Dancing with the Stars Champion Hines Ward, along with Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and former coach Bill Cowher, into the movie, that’s national news which will naturally receive coverage. If Cleveland brought out their football stars, um Peyton Hillis and Colt McCoy, for the filming of Avengers, you would see the same pictures and videos throughout the internet, including the Hollywood Reporter. (Perhaps Cleveland Browns “stars” is a poor example though.)

There is one particular part of the article that is a bit hypocritical. The column starts with a video of the Batwing “flying” through the streets of Pittsburgh. If the author wants people to leave Batman alone, why share the video that is doing the exact opposite by rewarding the individuals who filmed the Batwing and showing off spoilers that people may not want to see?

Sean

I actually received a reply:

Sean,

Thanks for the feedback. You are far from the only person who had that reaction. We’re working on getting our commenting system up and running, but until then, you can respond to Andy directly on our Facebook page. We’re going to talk to him about diving in and answering some of the questions/criticisms leveled at him there too.

http://www.facebook.com/GrantLand33

All best,
The Editors

I didn't feel the need to post my e-mail on Facebook, but I'm curious to see if the author responds.

Speaking of Batman, check out the very cool pictures (like the one below) of the Bat signal with the Pittsburgh skyline. Actually, don't look because you may bother Andy Greenwald. [That's Church]



Congratulations to Get Fresh Designs on five years of blogging. Buy one of his cool T-shirts! [Get Fresh Designs]

An interview of Ron Lippock of the Pittsburgh Daily Sports Bulletin [Behind the Steel Curtain]

Not only are there six Woodland Hills football players almost certain to play in the NFL this season, but there are also four other graduates in training camp and three others about to start playing at Pitt. Go Wolverines! [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]

This is funny. [h/t Puck Daddy]