PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The country's smallest state isn't mentioned in the news very often, except as part of somewhat derogatory comparisons — "a postage stamp-size country no bigger than Rhode Island," for example — the implication being "poor little Rhode Island," as the old song goes.
But the Ocean State has come a long way. Providence has been spiffed up into a New England jewel, complementing Brown University, the Rhode Island School of Design, and Trinity Repertory Company with a nationally acclaimed restaurant scene. Rivers have been moved, parks have been built, and the Roger Williams Park Zoo has become one of the best small zoos in the nation. (Okay, the former mayor responsible for much of this is in a federal prison for racketeering, but who's perfect?)
Now there's a new manifestation of this renaissance: Rhode Island has become a moviemaking mecca of sorts. A new Disney film, budgeted at an estimated $80 million, is currently in preproduction here. Feature films such as Hard Luck (starring Wesley Snipes, Mario Van Peebles, and Cybill Shepherd) and the Showtime series Brotherhood have been shot here in the last year and a half. And a series for CBS called Waterfront, starring Joe Pantoliano of The Sopranos, is expected to be filmed entirely in Providence later this year. Add commercials and independent films, and some have estimated that more than $120 million has flowed into the local economy. Randall Rosenbaum, executive director of the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, didn't want to quantify the economic activity, but he called the difference "night and day."
At least one reason for this isn't hard to figure out. In 2005 Rhode Island enacted a 25% transferable tax credit for producers, and this has been the catalyst for the state's growth as a production center, according to Steven Feinberg, a Rhode Island native and a graduate of the University of Southern California's School of Cinema-Television, who spent 22 years as a writer and producer in Los Angeles. The credit is in the "top tier" of state inducements to film companies, he says.
In true Hollywood fashion, the tall, energetic Feinberg, who heads the Rhode Island Film & Television Office, takes a measure of credit for the credit. He was, he says, "a haunt" to legislators around the Providence Statehouse as he pressed for passage of the incentive.
"I mean, look at what we have to sell," he says. "This state is small and very diverse. There are great locations in close proximity. Every move of a production costs money. If a move only takes 10 minutes, that's great. And Rhode Islanders are eager and excited about having a movie shot here. It's the smallest state with the greatest back lot."
Clearly, Feinberg has used that line before. But director Michael Corrente (American Buffalo, Outside Providence, the forthcoming Brooklyn Rules) echoes it, calling the state "a film-friendly place. I don't think you get all Rhode Island has to offer in such close proximity anywhere in the country."
Both Corrente and Feinberg estimate that Rhode Island currently has only enough experienced movie-production people to shoot one and a half films at a time, but Boston and New York are nearby, they point out. Corrente plans to film The Prince of Providence — about the aforementioned former mayor, Vincent (Buddy) Cianci, and expected to star Paul Giamatti — in the state.
When asked if industry people can even place Rhode Island on a map, Corrente says, "Hey, you know what? Studio executives? They'd shoot a movie on Mars if they could get a 25 percent tax break."
Feinberg notes that at least three more feature films or television series are in the pipeline. This being the secrecy-embracing movie business, he can't talk about them. But he does point out that a monumental 1907 stone armory in Providence is being converted into a film production center and that he gets calls "literally every day" from people in the industry inquiring about the state.
Will it continue? That remains to be seen. Massachusetts just passed a tax credit scheme, and the Hartford Courant recently sounded an alarm about the need for Connecticut to enact one, too, arguing that Rhode Island "has got to be the hottest ticket around."
But for now, Rhode Islanders are thinking about all the money, publicity, and jobs expected to be generated by the upcoming big-budget Disney film with a particularly apt title. It's called Underdog.