As Charles Dickens wrote in his "Tale of Two Cities," "it was the best of times, it was the worst of times."

If that sounds like Pittsburgh, you're thinking like a filmmaker or a screenwriter. Carl Kurlander, to be exact, who is making a movie about Pittsburgh with Dickens' title and exploring its past as the city that built steel, cured polio and invented everything from aluminum to the Big Mac and now is trying to reinvent itself.

"Tale," which could be completed this summer, has a subplot about Kurlander's journey from Hollywood back to the 'Burgh, where his dermatologist offered him money to make a personal and Pittsburgh film. His contribution was supplemented by others who wanted to see the city's comeback told in the style of "Super Size Me" or "Roger & Me."

Kurlander and cameraman Mark Knobil started filming, appropriately enough, in January 2005 with Steelers tailgaters and have documented such Pittsburgh notables as Joanne Rogers and David Newell from "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood," Franco Harris, Dr. Thomas Starzl, Teresa Heinz Kerry and regular folks cruising the rivers or celebrating the Super Bowl.

They captured the November Times Square sing-along of expatriates and plan to shoot a similar gathering in Los Angeles. They hope to end the movie with a group sing at the Point.

A delightful 12-minute DVD clip is making the rounds as Kurlander seeks out festivals and national distribution for the film. We'll be writing more about the movie as it progresses.

In the meantime, he describes its message this way: "If we are going to survive as a city, a country, a world, we all have to remember that we are neighbors and that is what makes us great." Somewhere, Fred Rogers is smiling.

For more information, visit www.thepittsburghmovie.com