PITTSBURGH — It took about a year of waiting and then five months of shooting during a particularly erratic spring and summer of Pittsburgh weather, but "American Rust" is finally done and ready to premiere on Showtime.
At 10 p.m. ET Sunday, viewers will get their first taste of the fictional western Pennsylvania town of Buell, cobbled together from shoots in places ranging from Braddock to Ambridge. The show follows police chief Del Harris (Jeff Daniels) as he's caught in a potentially compromising situation when Billy Poe (Alex Neustaedter), the adult son of his love interest, Grace (Maura Tierney), is accused of murder. The series is based on the novel of the same name by Philipp Meyer.
Daniels, Tierney and showrunner Dan Futterman recently spoke to the Post-Gazette about what audiences could expect from "American Rust." For starters, this is more than just a crime show set in western Pennsylvania.
"We brought something to Pittsburgh that isn't just 'CSI: Pittsburgh' or another TV show you forget as soon as you watch it," Daniels said. "We're trying to do something that people want to see more of and impacts them."
Steel town challenge
Neither Daniels nor Tierney were familiar with Pittsburgh prior to signing on to "American Rust," but figuring out the area's idiosyncrasies helped inform their character work.
"It's a challenging city," Tierney said. "It's freezing cold and then it's boiling hot, and there's very little in between. There's a certain point of pride in the Pittsburgh people saying, 'Yeah, I live in Pittsburgh.'"
Driving in Pittsburgh wasn't their favorite thing either. Daniels lamented that it "takes a while to learn that your exit is like 100 feet on the left, like, now." But all those experiences taught them what makes this region tick and how to best portray, as Tierney put it, "a living thing that just happened."
There were certainly many positives, too, especially the local actors and crew members who, despite pandemic restrictions, helped the production stay on track. Futterman said the production went only one day over what was scheduled.
"This is not an easy show to shoot," he said. "There are locations everywhere, sets everywhere, a big cast. That's a function of a really competent, skilled crew. We also had great local actors playing decent parts. You don't go to Vancouver and find ... southwest Pennsylvania flavor. You can tell when a New York City show is shot in Toronto."
Western Pennsylvanians will probably react to "American Rust" with the same passion displayed by those who enjoyed all the urban landmarks on screen in the recent Netflix action-thriller "Sweet Girl." Futterman pointed to a Victorian home in McKeesport and a bar under a bridge in Rankin as prominent shooting locations, while Daniels was taken with the region's rivers, bridges and the Carrie Blast Furnaces.
A funeral scene shot on a hill struck Daniels as epitomizing everything this area has to offer.
"Only near Pittsburgh could the cemetery be on the hill, and the tombstones are stacked everywhere," he said. "And behind me, you can see one of the three rivers. Way across on the other side of the river is this train that's going through the middle [of a mountain]. You can't build that. You point the camera at it and you shoot that."
Cliff jumping
Daniels and Tierney, who had never worked together before, had to quickly establish the rapport of lovers facing an impossible situation. Tierney's introduction to Daniels was an email that read, "Welcome aboard. I'm not much for chatting, but I'm happy to chat if you want. Or we can just jump off the cliff."
"It was really a generous, funny, succinct way to start, because I felt the same way," she said. "That's how we proceeded to work."
Coming in cold like that is "a dangerous way to work," Daniels said, but it also fostered a sense of "complete collaboration that the camera happens to be catching." It also helped that Tierney and Daniels spent lots of downtime together due to COVID-19 protocols and delays. Tierney said that "it's really easy to chill with Jeff," who would often break out his guitar during shooting breaks.
"They're two really good actors who are listening to each other," Futterman said. "They definitely have chemistry. I love seeing Jeff in a dynamic you don't see him in much, this woman having him wrapped around her little finger."
The entire production of "American Rust" worked under strict pandemic safety rules that meant masks had to be worn at almost all times even after Pennsylvania ended its mask mandate.
"The city opened up, but we didn't," Tierney said.
One thing the safety protocols almost prevented was Daniels meeting the man internet commenters said was his lookalike, Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald. They finally were photographed together during the last week before "American Rust" wrapped.
"He's very nice," Daniels said. "I had seen the thing on the internet before I came down to Pittsburgh that there was this doppelganger who worked for the county. I said, 'I should probably meet that guy.'"
Tierney didn't quite see the resemblance between Daniels and Fitzgerald, "but it's a good photo of you two," she said. The Michigan-raised Daniels agreed.
"I look like everybody's brother from the Midwest," he said, adding that Fitzgerald sort of looks like him "about a year or two after 'Dumb and Dumber' — and I mean that in a good way, Rich."
Authenticity
"American Rust" is striving to be a show about "people living with tough stuff in their lives" who experience a relatable collection of highs and lows, according to Futterman.
"We have a tendency to label or dismiss people who didn't get the breaks," Daniels said. "This show points the camera at a lot of good people who didn't get the break but are trying for something decent in their lives."
Daniels is aware of the perception that Hollywood has a tendency to "drop down from their exalted places" while attempting to portray small-town America, and that's the last thing he wanted to do on "American Rust." That's also why Futterman shied away from having actors try to approximate a Pittsburgh accent. He didn't want to distract audiences with "some dialect coach's idea of what this place sounds like."
Those interviewed were aware of comparisons between "American Rust" and "Mare of Easttown," HBO's hit crime thriller set in the Philadelphia suburbs. They all respected what that show accomplished and agreed that their goal with "American Rust" was to capture everyday life in rural western Pennsylvania.
"We wanted to blend in, the character and the look and the makeup and hair," Daniels said. "We wanted to look like we lived here and were from here. There was an authenticity to the approach to this in every facet that we went for. ... I don't know what anyone else did. All I know is what we did and were aiming at. I'd like to think we hit it."
Futterman said that if "American Rust" is picked up by Showtime for a second season, "We're coming back [to Pittsburgh], 100%."
Many of the show's sets are currently still stored here and ready for use again.
Both Tierney and Daniels are excited about the prospect of returning to a post-COVID Pittsburgh. They both checked out the Pirates while they were here, and Daniels even caught the first pitch before a game in June. Tierney said she's "dying" to see them play again at PNC Park.
"I enjoyed the people, I enjoyed where I was living, I enjoyed going to the Pirates game," Daniels said. "Really nice people. If you take COVID away, and if we're lucky enough to get a second season, I look forward to being back."
