Pittsburgh worlds will collide again in a bio-pic of NFL Hall of Famer Joe Namath, to be written by Mt. Lebanon native David Hollander.

The untitled Namath film, from Universal Pictures, will star Jake Gyllenhaal of "Zodiac" and "Brokeback Mountain," and follow the quarterback from his upbringing in Beaver Falls to the University of Alabama and stardom with the New York Jets.

Hollander, writer and creator of CBS-TV's "The Guardian," said he was approached two years ago about writing the film and his storyline, which starts in Beaver Falls, helped get Namath's approval of the project.

"Part of Joe's comfort, I think, in my approach was we have similar backgrounds, Hungarian ancestry, parents raised in a mill town," Hollander said yesterday from the set of "Personal Effects," a film he is directing in Vancouver.

"You can't come from Western PA and not want to do a football movie. It was a no brainer," he said of his interest in the project.

Hollander has not yet written the Namath screenplay due to the Hollywood movie and TV writers strike. That strike and Gyllenhaal's workload will likely drive when -- and where -- the Namath movie is filmed, he said.

-- Tim McNulty, Post-Gazette cultural arts writer

'Mysteries' at Sundance

The Mysteries of Pittsburgh" will have its world premiere at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival in Utah in January.

"Mysteries," from the 1988 novel by University of Pittsburgh graduate Michael Chabon and starring Peter Sarsgaard, Sienna Miller and Nick Nolte, filmed around the city for more than two months last year. It was directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber ("Dodgeball").

It will be one of 16 American fictional films in competition during the nation's top independent film showcase, being held Jan. 17-27 in Park City, Utah.

-- Tim McNulty

Net lures striking writers

The operators of Internet entertainment sites such as MyDamnChannel, Break, Heavy and others have a message for striking Hollywood writers -- give us a look.

Many writers are doing just that, with the hope of retaining total creative control over their work and collecting as much as half of all revenue -- a potentially sweet deal compared to a typical TV gig.

The actual dollars generated by such Internet sites remain minimal, but operators hope that luring veteran entertainment writers will jump-start their bottom lines.

"Everyone has been awakened to the potential," said Kristen Stavola, a screenwriter who is helping launch a site to host short videos created by top talent.

Fellow screenwriter Peter Rader said the effort results from the interest expressed by writers on the picket lines.

"It is taking the studio model and flipping it on its head," Rader said. "Content providers will own and retain their own copyrights."

Movie and TV writers have had plenty of time to consider other options since their strike began Nov. 5 against studios, networks and producers represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.

Writers are demanding more money when TV shows and films are sold on Internet sites such as Apple Inc.'s iTunes. They also want a share of revenue when advertising-supported episodes and films are streamed for free on sites such as ABC.com.

-- The Associated Press