wfn.org | Pittsburgh crosses paths with Hollywood

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2002-022

Pittsburgh crosses paths with Hollywood

by Ronda Carman

     Early last spring, on the same morning that Richard Gere, Laura Linney and Debra 
Messing graced the front steps of St. Paul's in Kittanning, Pennsylvania 40 miles north 
of Pittsburgh, over 100 Episcopalians from eight different dioceses were in the process 
of making their way to the church. The occasion? A Faith Alive weekend and filming of 
the movie Mothman Prophecies.

     The Rev. David Wilson, vicar of St. Paul's, recalls his first contact with the 
studio, "I was in the middle of a prayer group when my secretary interrupted me to say 
there were two men from Hollywood that wanted to speak with me."

     The producers of the movie chose the church, not because of its denomination, but 
because of its proximity to a bridge that was key to the making of a particular scene.  
However, Wilson noted, "The filming of the scene did provide the congregation with some 
increased name recognition."  The production brought more than 500 people from the 
community to the church on the day of the filming.  "A lot of people from Kittanning 
had never been inside St. Paul's before they were chosen as extras," Wilson added. 
"Many commented on the beauty of the 80-year-old gothic building." According to Wilson, 
everyone involved with the film was professional and polite, even Gere engaged Wilson 
in a brief conversation and expressed curiosity about the church itself, but was unable 
to follow up on an invitation to Sunday services.

     Mothman Prophecies, a science-fiction thriller in which a reporter is drawn to a 
small West Virginia town in order to investigate a series of strange events revolving 
around the sighting of a huge winged creature, will premier nationwide on Friday, 
January 25, 2002.  

Ronda Carman is Editor of TRINITY and Director of Communications for the Diocese of 
Pittsburgh.