He just didn't expect it to literally happen.

But that was the case when Stimmel decided to direct the documentary "The Art of Failure," which is currently airing on HBO.

"The Art of Failure" chronicles the rise and fall of Philadelphia painter Chuck Connelly, who coincidentally hails from the Pittsburgh area.

"There were a few fistfights and some beer bottles thrown," Stimmel says of his time with Connelly. "Every other month there was some other crisis with him."

Mister Rogers intern

Stimmel was born and raised in Mt. Lebanon and graduated from Mt. Lebanon High School in 1984. While studying film at the University of Pittsburgh, he worked as an intern on "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood." After graduating from college, he worked as a location scout for local films such as "Wonderboys," "Dogma" and Stephen King's "The Dark Half."

"I was making $400 a week," Stimmel recalls from his Los Angeles home he shares with his wife, Joanna, and their 6-year-old daughter Hanna. "At the time, that was a lot of money."

Stimmel eventually landed a job with the New York Times Documentary Channel and relocated to New York. In October 2002, he met Connelly.

"I didn't know anything about him before I met him," Stimmel says. "I went to an art opening and his art seemed really good. I wondered why he isn't more successful."

Once Stimmel met Connelly, it didn't take long for him to realize why Connelly is shunned by the art world.

Out of control

"He was completely out of control, but that's part of his charm," Stimmel says. "The more time I spent with him, I realized he was totally fascinating."

But even Stimmel admits to growing weary of Connelly's antics.

"There were a number of occasions where I felt like giving up," Stimmel admits.

Stimmel persevered and in the end he shot more than 300 hours of film over a span of five years with Connelly, alternating spending weeks at a time at the painter's Philadelphia home and traveling back to New York. While Stimmel returned to New York, Connelly's wife also did some filming.

"Nothing was off limits," Stimmel says. "You should see some of the stuff that didn't make it into the movie."

During filming, Connelly's pet bird died and his wife left him. "It was strange because I realized I was the only person in his life," Stimmel says.

Local composers

When it came to time to compose music for the documentary, Stimmel turned to a couple of Mt. Lebanon connections. He hired boyhood friends Paul A. Anderson, who is now a professor at the University of Michigan, and Riley McMahon, a music producer, to compose and record music for the film.

"We all grew up together and it just sort of worked out that we ended up meeting again and working together on this film," says Stimmel.

Despite all the hard work, Stimmel says the effort is paying off for him. He's in discussions with Paramount Studios about a possible fictionalized version of "The Art of Failure" and he has two other documentaries in the works.

Stimmel also said "The Art of Failure" received a thumbs up from the toughest critic of all: Chuck Connelly.

"He said it was honest," Stimmel says. "I was surprised that he liked it because he was always complaining. I never knew what he was feeling."

For more information, visit www.theartoffailure.com.