Remember how two weeks ago a Pittsburgh city councilman said the director of the Pittsburgh Film Office didn’t want Mysteries of Pittsburgh? Well now an independent producer on work on the film is speaking out, and the city film chief, Dawn Keezer, is responding.

In an interview with The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, producer Todd Eckert said that when he moved to Pittsburgh five years ago, he was surprised when Keezer complained about Pittsburgh.

“She maligned Pittsburgh,” Mr. Eckert said. “She told me it was a backward, hick town. If she’s not successful in getting something, she falls back on blaming the city, saying it is a backward, cronyistic place.”

Keezer denies the accusation.

“Those who know me know the word ‘hick’ is not in my vernacular,” she said.

“Who is Todd Eckert?” she asked. “Did you ask him what he’s done? He’ll tell you he’s made a movie in Germany. But who is he?”

Eckert shrugged off her criticism. “She can get nasty rather quickly,” he said. “She is very high school. If you criticize her, she immediately gets personal.”