Holy Bat-Bombs!

It's no secret that there is filming going on this week, in Oakland, Lawrenceville, and downtown Pittsburgh. last week, in fact. Tonight, by chance, I got to see some really cool stuff.

My husband and I were on our way home at around 7 p.m. tonight, and decided to spin through Oakland on the way just in case there was still any filming going on. There was, so we pulled over, got out of the car, and joined the crowd of onlookers poised at Fifth and Bellefield, across the street from the set. We weren't sure what we were going to see, but, we weren't prepared for the explosion.

The advisories were clear that there might be "pyrotechnic effects within the building and the scenes may involve gunfire." There was an earth-shattering bang, a large explosion, and a block's worth of blue smoke billowing outward from the blast. Shortly afterward, everyone on the set let out a loud cheer, because apparently, the money shot had happened exactly as planned.

Soon afterward, the extras were apparently dismissed, and filed past. Some were in fatigues, while many others were dressed as police officers adorned with "GCPD" (Gotham City Police Department) on the back. Apparently though, the GCPD is not an equal opportunity employer; we saw no female officers. What was up with that?

We did NOT see any stars or anyone in a Batman costume. We DID see vehicles with tarps over top, one of which had to be the Batmobile because of its size and proximity to the ground. I did see one crew member who had also recently worked on "Steel Town." I wanted to ask him what substance the production was using to simulate snow, because it seems to react like real snow when rain falls on it.

This was a situation I call "epic cool." My only bummer was realizing that this is the closest I'll get to the production. They are filling Heinz Field on Saturday and Sunday with "Gotham Rogues" fans, and I was signed up to take part.

Unfortunately, though, the casting folks have made it known that the scene takes place in winter, so participants will need to wear winter clothing and be comfortable that way regardless of the actual temperature. I am someone known to react badly to heat, even when wearing summer clothes, so this suddenly becomes a losing proposition for me. I will be very sorry to miss it, but...that's show biz.

In the meantime, if I could only see one thing up close from this film (realizing that I missed the Highmark building), I'm pretty stoked that it was the money shot.