The cast of this story is small: some movie guys from California and some touchscreen geeks from Pittsburgh. The scene: the August Wilson Center -- as a CIA surveillance room.

It began last month when the film crew behind the "Abduction" thriller shooting around Pittsburgh needed a touchscreen for one of the movie's closing scenes. They asked local tech companies for help and suddenly a wannabe shot at stardom wasn't just limited to the extras lining city streets to watch star Taylor Lautner tie his shoe.

Two companies at very different points in their development, Kore Image Technologies on the North Side and Industry Weapon of Dormont, were considered as possible suppliers of the device. Ultimately, it ended up being outsourced to Silicon Valley -- and not even touched during filming -- but that's how the movie biz works sometimes.

While the final decision proved disappointing for the local companies, it offered a glimpse into the gadgetry around town that can replace a computer mouse with your finger. The little drama also served as an unofficial kick-off to a new tech community initiative determined to keep Pittsburgh in Hollywood's sights.

It all started with a request for a 60- to 72-inch touchscreen. It would have taken between 15 to 20 days for Kore Image to fill the custom order with a purchase price of about $8,000 because the screen was so big.

"Abduction" needed it in less than a week.

"It takes two days just to get through customs," said Robert Sands, owner of the new firm. His company is a major North American distributor for touchscreen technology from Europe.

The Kore technology is a techie's dream: The touchscreen interface is on glass as thin as plastic wrap and, with the right tricks, the screen can remain touch-sensitive but become see-through.

Mr. Sands envisions a future where touchscreen displays cover storefront windows -- and the stores never close because pedestrians can shop via touch at any time.

The company plans to have a showroom up and running in the North Side by the end of the month. For now, demos are held near the dining table at the owner's home.

Mr. Sands and his vice president of product development, Andy Muhl, met last month with Todd Marks, the video playback supervisor on "Abduction."

Mr. Marks is in charge of all the screen displays that will be seen in the film -- making sure the television screens comply with camera equipment or that a computer screen acts true-to-life. It's vital work on a screen-heavy set that at times looks more like a Best Buy display than a fictionalized CIA war room.

The screen displays also have to seem plausible: A real-life crashing computer doesn't flash red messages screaming, "WARNING!" so you can't go for such cartoonish effects in a movie, said Mr. Marks.

When it comes to the wires and equipment, "It's always easier to have a local company provide us with what we need," said Mr. Marks. He admitted the time constraint for the touchscreen was "very, very tight."

Mr. Sands described the conclusion as an "amicable" split.

Though the Kore Image team, and another team contacted at Industry Weapon, had hoped to see their names in lights -- or at least in the credits -- they can take comfort in what happened to the touchscreen technology from the West Coast that was chosen instead.

It wasn't used.

After a one-day FedEx shipment from Silicon Valley arrived with a touchscreen from PQ Labs, the film was shooting at the August Wilson Center Downtown when the director decided to not have anyone actually touch the screen in the scene.

Instead, an actor posed with a remote control that appears to determine the action on the screen. No fingers needed.

"RATS!" said Kim Chestney Harvey when she learned the technology was commissioned from a California company. The creative director of art and technology at the Tech Council, Ms. Chestney Harvey thought the movie shoot was the perfect premiere for a new initiative, the Pittsburgh Entertainment Technology Project.

Scheduled to launch in January, the project will market Pittsburgh companies to film crews looking for a place to not only film their movie but also develop tie-in video games, robotic equipment or software.

Besides a tight partnership with the Carnegie Mellon Entertainment Technology Center, the project also will work with the Idea Foundry, SteelTown Entertainment and the Pittsburgh Film Office.

And it will create a community ready for rapid deployment when something like a touchscreen is needed.

"We didn't have our network built then," she said. "But we want a mailing list, contacts and events -- we'll know how to get the word out immediately."

For this project, some quick phone calls and a blog posting were enough to interest Kore Image and the other prospective local supplier, Industry Weapon, whose Hollywood-ready name came to its CEO one night with help from a buddy and a case of Yuengling beer.

Industry Weapon started in 2003 with the mission of making touchscreen technology more accessible. Its office is on Dormont's main drag but President and Chief Executive Officer David Wible said about "98 percent" of his clients are based elsewhere.

As a touchscreen software developer for clients such as the Mobile County Public Schools in Alabama or Under Armour sports gear, Industry Weapon stresses a customized approach that cuts down on "dwell time" in front of the screen. Every consumer is treated to a unique touchscreen display meant to make maneuvering as efficient as possible.

In Las Vegas casinos, a bachelor party celebrant whose member card is read by Industry Weapon technology might see beer specials or a gentleman's club coupon rather than have to wade through honeymoon packages.

When the Pittsburgh Tech Council called and asked about the movie shoot, Mr. Wible said the project would be easy since his company works in real-life network operation centers all the time.

But the "Abduction" team didn't see in the company's inventory a touchscreen in the size they needed.

Mr. Wible doesn't let the missed "Abduction" opportunity get to him. He's more excited by the prospect of his high-ranking Cisco clients using his technology than a movie star from "Twilight."

"No one watching the movie would say, 'You know what, we need to call Industry Weapon for more business,'" he said.

But more business is just what he might get in the end.

After hearing about one another from Mr. Marks, leaders from Kore Image met for lunch with Industry Weapon representatives last week. Mr. Wible thinks they could partner on a touchscreen project at Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland.

Hollywood's loss may be Cleveland's gain.

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