shooting the entire pilot
episode in Providence with
nothing more than an appeal to the director’s artistic
integrity.
“I knew how [Noyce]
worked,” recalls Feinberg, a
fan of Noyce’s Clear and Present Danger, Patriot Games,
The Quiet American and Dead
Calm. “He’s about telling the
truth, and that’s what
I really admire.
“I said, ‘Are you going to shoot
the majority [of the pilot] in Toronto?’ and
he said, ‘Yeah.’ I said, ‘Phillip, you’re not
going to be telling the truth.’” After glaring at Feinberg for a few heart-stopping
moments, Noyce agreed and decided to
shoot the pilot in the state’s capital.
To seal the deal, Feinberg promised
Noyce’s moneymen at Showtime that
he’d try to get a $300,000 legislative grant
to partially compensate the studio for
shifting the bulk of its production from
Toronto, where it already had set up an
office. The grant was approved, showing
not only Showtime but also the rest of
the Hollywood establishment that Rhode
Island really wanted its business. The tax
incentive was passed shortly afterward.
ABOUT TIME
The uptick in activity is all the sweeter in a state that saw much of the
economic boom of the 1990s and
early 2000s pass it by. In the past four
years, starting about the time that
former Providence Mayor Vincent
“Buddy” Cianci Jr. was shipped
off to prison for corruption (he’s
due back in town at any moment),
the state has been undergoing an
economic and cultural renaissance.
Much of it has been powered by tax breaks
and incentives similar to the one now available to film and TV production companies:
For every dollar the company spends in
the state, it will get a Rhode Island state
income tax credit worth 25 percent of the
expenditures. The tax credits are transferable, which makes them like cash. The
credits make Rhode Island competitive
with other states that have similar tax credits, like New York and Louisiana, as well as
cities in Canada that have become popular
film production venues.
“Film crews spend money like it’s
going out of style,” says State House
Speaker William Murphy, who, with
State Senate President Joseph A. Montalbano, spearheaded the tax incentive
legislation. The incentive has been highly
successful, he says. “It’s been great for
the state. I’m looking at multiplier effect.
The indirect benefit to state tourism is
going to be substantial.” Murphy recalls
that when the NBC series Providence was
in production (1999 through 2002), the
crews shot only some exterior scenes in
the city, which was good for Providence’s
image but didn’t put much money in the
economy or sustain the local TV and film
production community.
Those days are gone. Since the incentive, the state has hosted the entire
production of the Showtime series
Brotherhood, CBS’ new series
Waterfront and full-length features The
Education of Charlie Banks, Hard Luck,
Normal Adolescent Behavior and
Underdog. Evening and Dan will be shot in
2007, as will The Prince of Providence, a
biopic about Cianci based on Providence
Journal reporter Mike Stanton’s book
by the same name. It’s to be directed by
Michael Corrente (who directed
American Buffalo and Outside Providence,
Due to Providence’s Hollywood
success, Mayor David Cicilline has
created the Film Squad to provide
assistance for filmmakers.
among others). Russell
Crowe is rumored to be interested in
the title role.
RHODE ISLAND’S SECRET WEAPON
Rhode Island was the first New England
state to pass a film and TV tax incentive,
but Massachusetts and Connecticut recently enacted similar legislation. That
will make local competition for the movie
business even stiffer. Although those
states may have the incentives, they don’t
have Feinberg, and his part in bringing the
movies to his home state cannot be understated. Before the tax credits were even
a twinkle in Murphy and Montalbano’s
eyes, Feinberg stood on the steps of the
State House with Phillip Noyce, the director of Brotherhood, and talked him into
DOES FILMING REALLY HELP BUSINESS?
Although locals in Providence regularly deal with parking restrictions, film crews,
closed streets and production trailers blocking their driveways, they genuinely
seem thrilled that Hollywood has discovered their little piece of the world.
Hugo Zuccolo and his brother, Joseph, have owned the men’s clothing store Zuc-
colo’s on Providence’s Federal Hill for 24 years. Hugo says the films have been great
for business. Crews often call the store for costumes, suits or fittings for productions.
“People like the films,” says Zuccolo. “I think it’s kind of neat. The way they’ve
handled it hasn’t caused too much of a disruption. It’s still a novelty. New Yorkers
are more jaded than we are, but here it’s still new.”
