Hollywood may corner the market on glitz and glamour, but it had to share the spotlight with the Byham Theater Tuesday night during its private "red carpet" screening of "The Dark Knight Rises."

Extras, grips, even some Pittsburgh Steelers, converged on the Downtown theater to see the much-anticipated film before the rest of the world.

Some wore tees with the familiar bat symbol across the front. One woman sported a neon miniskirt with a gray shirt with a picture of super villain Bane emblazoned on the chest.

"If you can film Batman here, you can film anything here," said Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, dressed in a sport coat, bluejeans and matching boat shoes. "I'm hoping Pittsburgh looks good on the big screen."

The nearly three-hour movie, which was shot partly in Pittsburgh, stars Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman and Anne Hathaway. Anticipation for the Christopher Nolan-directed blockbuster has been building as opening day for the film, the third in the Dark Knight Batman series, nears.

It hits theaters at 12:01 a.m. Friday, and tickets are on sale now.

Executive producer Thomas Tull waved to scores of people gathered outside the theater on Sixth Street as car horns blew and fans cheered on Batman in the hot sun.

"To be able to take Batman and Pittsburgh and put them together ... it has been a really big deal," said Tull, whose film credits include "Inception," "300" and "The Hangover."

"The fact is, we've got the facilities and the people to make something like this work," said Tull, a part owner of the Steelers.

Gov. Tom Corbett attended the screening, flanked by Steelers Max Starks and Greg Warren, and recently retired wide receiver Hines Ward.

Ward is famously pictured in movie trailers outrunning a series of explosions on Heinz Field. Some of the blasts were too close for comfort, he said.

"One blew up like 15 yards away from me. I had on earplugs, but you could feel it. I was screaming all the way through, just trying not to fall."

Dawn Keezer, director of the Pittsburgh Film Office, said the film served noticed to the entertainment world that Pittsburgh can be a successful motion picture hub. The film also proved the worth of a 25 percent tax credit the state grants productions that spend at least 60 percent of their budget in Pennsylvania.

"This is the highest-profile film ever shot in Pittsburgh," she said. "Everybody knows Pittsburgh after this."

Several movie houses are pulling out all stops to prepare for big crowds, including bringing in additional staff and trucking in more than the usual amount of concessions. Some, like SouthSide Works Cinema, will host Dark Knight marathons starting around 6 p.m. Thursday, with the other two movies in the series - "Batman Begins" and "The Dark Knight" - leading up to the new movie at midnight.

Tori Musial, 22 of Pleasant Hills, wants to see her work transformed on the big screen.

She worked as a costume production assistant for the film, including on the day producers filmed a climactic explosion scene at Heinz Field. That also was her birthday.

"It's exciting to see it all come together," she said.

"The Dark Knight Rises" is rated PG-13.

Chris Ramirez is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at cramirez@tribweb.com or 412-380-5682.

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