Pattinson on Leno tonight

If you or your daughter cannot get enough of  Robert Pattinson - the $70 million man from "Twilight" - tune into "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" on Thanksgiving Eve.

The actor who plays Edward Cullen will chat with Leno on Nov. 26 before an audience that will include 200-plus Southern California firefighters who battled wildfires in their state. A few teens no doubt will be sprinkled among them.

Heidi Klum and Seal are also scheduled to appear. The show airs at 11:35 p.m. on NBC.

'Mysteries of Pittsburgh' premieres

 As Arthur Lecomte likes to say: "Some people really know how to have a good time."

On Sunday, that meant going to the one-time showing of "The Mysteries of Pittsburgh" at the Regent Square Theater, a bonus at the end of the Three Rivers Film Festival courtesy of Pittsburgh Filmmakers.

One woman, surveying the line stretching down South Braddock Avenue and dog-legging past the Sunoco gas station, muttered, "This is like ‘Star Wars.' "

Or, in teen parlance, "Twilight."

In the end, just over 300 lucky people got inside the theater and another 150 were turned away - and "Mysteries" doesn't even have a vampire with heavenly hair.

Of course it also doesn't have Arthur Lecomte. He is noticeably absent from the movie based on the 1988 novel by University of Pittsburgh graduate Michael Chabon. Lecomte's ghost (sort of) inhabits Cleveland Arning, played by Peter Sarsgaard. And, if you're a purist about these things, that is just one of the changes from the book.

"Mysteries" is set in 1983 and stars Jon Foster as Art Bechstein, spending the summer in suspension between college graduation and real life and caught in a romantic triangle with Cleveland and Jane (Sienna Miller), his girlfriend and an aspiring concert violinist. The cast also includes Mena Suvari as Phlox, Art's sometime girlfriend, and Nick Nolte as his gangster father.

Only in Pittsburgh, would the line, "I'm starving, do you want to stop at the O?" merit applause. And only in Pittsburgh, perhaps, would moviegoers sneer and jeer when Miller's character suggests she and Cleveland should leave and go "anywhere that isn't Pittsburgh."

That's because no one has forgotten that Miller insulted the city in Rolling Stone magazine and later got into a kerfuffle over admission to a South Side bar without proper ID. Both incidents were recounted, with relish, by people standing in line.

"Mysteries" filmed around the city for more than two months in 2006. It seemed consigned to limbo while other movies, such as "Smart People" and "Zack and Miri Make a Porno," hustled their way into theaters.

It finally has a distributor, which means it should open here in early 2009. If that happens, a full review will run in the paper and on our website but applause at the movie's end on Sunday was lukewarm, at best.

Director-writer Rawson Marshall Thurber brought a fresh eye to the city and "Mysteries" is a good-looking movie. It's just not the same story that prompted critics to declare the novel astonishing, remarkable and extraordinary.

In an interview over coffee at the Omni William Penn in October 2006, Thurber explained eliminating the Lecomte character this way: "It always seemed to me a more efficient cinematic engine to employ a love triangle versus what exists in the book, which is a four-pointed rhombus, for lack of a better term."

In other changes, he shot the famous "cloud factory" in Rankin, eliminated the Hillman Library location and turned Phlox into Art's boss at the discount book store. Still, he said he tried to capture the novel's heart and spirit.

"Mysteries" debuted in January at the Sundance Film Festival. Variety's Dennis Harvey said it was a surefooted screen translation that "will likely irk diehard fans of the book, as helmer-adaptor Rawson Marshall Thurber takes considerable liberties and arrives at a more conventional general tone.

"Still, this engaging '80s flashback embroiling a hitherto vanilla protagonist with some wild characters during one heady summer has appeal for straight and gay 20- to 40-something auds."

Duane Byrge from The Hollywood Reporter called it a "reverential and smart distillation" in which Thurber captured the essence of the coming-of-age novel. "Undoubtedly, literal-minded readers of the novel will be disrupted by the film's shrewd condensation of characters, but select-site audiences will warm to the craftsmanship and storytelling."

Byrge said the film's "glossy sheen and artful compositions are often distracting, bracketed by seeming calendar shots for a Pennsylvania tourism office." And that's a problem how?

In the end, Sarsgaard is probably the best thing about "Mysteries," although a dark-haired, haggard-looking Nolte proves very capable as a cold-hearted mobster. Foster is oddly bland and tossing in a bit of narration just reminds us how much we miss Chabon's original text.

Twilight tops $70 million

More numbers are in for the opening weekend of "Twilight" and both the Associated Press and Variety are reporting $70.6 million.

That is more than $20,000 per theater, which explains why the sequel has been given the go-ahead. See the next posting.

High in the tree top: stars Robert Pattinson, who's committed to two sequels, and Kristen Stewart.

Twilight sequel gets green light

Anyone who heard the contagious enthusiasm in fans' voices, watched some of them arrive in costume for a preview or lug homework to AMC-Loews on Thursday hours before the midnight shows, knew "Twilight" would be a blockbuster. Early figures confirm that, which is why Summit Entertainment has given the go-ahead for a movie based on "New Moon," the second novel in the four-book series.

Variety reported that news today, less than an hour after the trade publication's website said "Twilight" grossed $35.7 million on Friday. Catherine Hardwicke just proved female directors can deliver the goods, which also is reason to cheer.

When I spoke to actor Robert Pattinson (he plays vampire Edward Cullen, of course)  before his King of Prussia appearance, I asked about his involvement with sequels and he said, "I'm committed to the next two, if they happen." At least one is about to happen.

Oscar docs narrowed to 15

The list of documentary features in contention for the 2008 Academy Award has been narrowed from 94 to 15:

• "At the Death House Door"
• "The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)"
• "Blessed Is the Match: The Life and Death of Hannah Senesh"
• "Encounters at the End of the World"
• "Fuel"
• "The Garden"
• "Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts"
• "I.O.U.S.A."
• "In a Dream"
• "Made in America"
• "Man on Wire"
• "Pray the Devil Back to Hell"
• "Standard Operating Procedure"
• "They Killed Sister Dorothy"
• "Trouble the Water"

The Documentary Branch will trim that roster to five nominees, which will be announced on Jan. 22. The Oscars will be handed out Feb. 22 at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.

Hugh Jackman on leaps of faith

Aussies are risk-takers, which sets them apart from their American show-biz counterparts. In an interview in the December issue of Playboy, actor Hugh Jackman says, "It's hard to put us all in the same basket, but a couple of things may set Australians apart on the whole. We like to take risks," including in sports.

"You look at Cate Blanchett taking on Katharine Hepburn in a Martin Scorsese film or what Nicole and Russell and the others do - it's all about risks." That's Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe to the rest of us.

"We're also very well trained by the time we hit America. We've had a few films under our belts and made our mistakes. I was 30 before I made my mark," he said.

Jackman is promoting "Australia," which co-stars Kidman and opens Nov. 26. In the interview, he touches on the stage production of "Beauty and the Beast," creating a lean, veiny look for Wolverine in "X-Men: Origins," his late friend Heath Ledger, watching "American Idol" and - since it's Playboy- come-ons from women.

'It's a Wonderful Life' times seven

 If it wouldn't be Christmas without George Bailey, Uncle Billy, rotten old Mr. Potter, Clarence the angel and little Zuzu's petals, mark your calendars.

"It's a Wonderful Life" will air twice on NBC - including Christmas Eve, the perfect time to watch it - and play for free five times at the Regent Square Theater. Those big-screen showings are courtesy of Pittsburgh Filmmakers.

NBC plans to air the movie Dec. 13 from 8 to 11 p.m. and on Christmas Eve, also 8 to 11 p.m. Through a process called Descriptive TheatreVision, the movie will be described for the blind and visually impaired by former President George Bush.

If you want to take the family to see the movie on the big screen, head for the Regent Square at 8 p.m. on Dec. 19, 20, 21 and 22. A 5 p.m. show also will be held on Saturday, Dec. 20. At a time when virtually nothing is free, this is truly a gift.

The film is set in Bedford Falls, where small-time banker George Bailey (Jimmy Stewart) decides he might be worth more dead than alive - until an angel shows him what his hometown, family and friends would be like had he never lived. It's a charmer, a tear-jerker and an inspiration.

'Twilight' star Pattinson talks!

 You'll have to wait till next week to read it but I talked to Rob Pattinson today. Oh ... my ... God.

Now, if you're my age that may not mean anything unless you have a teenage daughter who is in love with Pattinson, one of the stars of the movie "Twilight" opening Nov. 21. He plays the supernaturally beautiful vampire named Edward Cullen who falls for a human girl named Bella Swan.

To even score 10 minutes with him on the phone is a coup. Teenage girls have been lining up for hours, buying T-shirts and declaring their eternal love for him to TV crews as they wait to get a glimpse  or score an autograph. Or breathe the same overheated air.

He was in Philadelphia and headed for the King of Prussia mall. A recent appearance at a San Francisco mall produced "pandemonium," according to one newspaper account as 3,000 people (mostly teenage girls) showed up. One fan reportedly broke her nose in the crush.

"Twilight," based on the Stephenie Meyer novel, also stars Kristen Stewart. I haven't seen it yet but I have read the first book and it seems to have the bones of a good vampire romance. Some theaters will have special midnight screenings on Nov. 20, just as they did with the new James Bond movie.

I am happy to report he was friendly  and thoughtful, although a bit overwhelmed by the swirl of attention around him.

Deuce has fan in Japan

After writing about the documentary "Deuce" playing during the Three Rivers Film Festival, I got this email from Japan:

"I have known Deuce for over 50 years and I can say that he has seen more sports events than most sports writers. He goes back so far that some of the high schools that he watched play don't even exist now, let alone the school districts like North Braddock Scott where he went to high school.

"Ask him who won a game back in 1965 and he could give you, not only the score, but who was the leading rusher in football or how many baskets they made in basketball. The man doesn't need a computer, he is one. WAY TO GO LARRY, YOU'RE THE MAN !!!!!!!

Dennis Evans

Nagasu-Kumamoto Pref. Japan

Turns out Evans reads the Post-Gazette online, lives in North Braddock but works in Japan. He returns home every eight weeks for a week, he said in a follow-up email.

E.T., call Greg Mottola

Greg Mottola, who made "Adventureland" at Kennywood Park in fall 2007, will direct an extraterrestrial comedy called "Paul," Variety reports today.

Mottola, a Carnegie Mellon University graduate who took classes at Pittsburgh Filmmakers, is best known for directing the blockbuster "Superbad." The trade publication reports "Paul" will be made for Working Title and Universal Pictures and star Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, the duo behind "Shaun of the Dead."

Variety says, "Story revolves around two British slackers who, after visiting Comic-Con, go on a road trip to Area 51, where they encounter a small alien named Paul, who enlists them to help him find his way home." The movie will be shot, in full or part, in New Mexico which lures filmmakers with a generous incentive program.

"Adventureland" is scheduled to be released in spring 2009. Set in summer 1987, it's about an uptight, recent college grad who is forced to take a minimum-wage job at an amusement park when he realizes he cannot afford his dream European tour. Our set visit story: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07302/829298-254.stm

Cast includes actors Jesse Eisenberg, Ryan Reynolds, Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig, Kristen Stewart and others. Stewart will next be seen in "Twilight" as a girl who falls for a vampire.