Opportunities
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Previews & PressWhirl Magazine articleApril, 2010 issue Page 73 Steven Blumenfeld. This Pittsburgh-born producer has returned after a career in Los Angeles. He worked for Baker Winokur Ryder public relations firm before starting Blumestone Productions. “Our office was right below the “D” in the Hollywood sign,” Blumenfeld says. He initially moved to Pittsburgh for family considerations, and while he still routinely flies to Los Angeles and various film locations, he has decided to stay, founding BBK Creative Partnership, with offices in Shadyside. Blumenfeld was involved with the Pittsburgh-filmed Hollywood & Wine, which will be released this year, and consulted on product placement for The Next Three Days. Growing up in Squirrel Hill: Blumenfeld graduated from Taylor Allderdice. As a young man, he loved going to the movies—The Forum Theater, the Squirrel Hill Theater and King’s Court in Oakland. He loved getting lost in the movies. “I just loved that world.” Biggest placement deal: At the end of the 2000 film The Family Man, with Nicolas Cage and Tea Leoni, there’s a sweeping shot at LAX with a United Airlines jet. Blumenfeld arranged it all. Lookie, cookie: The producer wouldn’t take no for an answer when it came to getting the Eat ‘n Park Smiley cookie placed into Hollywood & Wine. Animal welfare: He is executive advisor to the Alliance for Wildlife Rehabilitation & Education. What’ next: Blumenfeld is executive producer of The Cigar Game, a film about the Boston College basketball point shaving scandal in the 1970s. On Pittsburgh: “It has retained its soul, there’s the fact that people are hard working here. People are genuine.” What’s Changed: “It’s so hip now. There’s a young hip vibe everywhere, the art galleries and culture wasn’t here when I moved to Los Angeles.” Revenue Stream: “If we don’t have the tax credit, we’re throwing away one of the greatest revenue streams available for films continuing to come to Pittsburgh. This city deserves that kind of revenue because it’s a great place to shoot.” |
