Steven Feinberg leads the charge to promote filmmaking in the Ocean State. He helped establish the state’s film tax credit, created about five years ago as the first in New England. He played a lead role in bringing to Rhode Island such productions as “Brotherhood” and “Body of Proof” and has several potentially lucrative production projects in the works. He recently spoke with Providence Business News on the state of the film industry in Rhode Island.
PBN: Why did you come back to Rhode Island?
FEINBERG: I love Rhode Island so much. … It was a Sunday, my folks and I and my brother were going to my grandparents’ in Massachusetts and my mom was looking at the paper – it was the early 1970s when they were filming “The Great Gatsby” [and] there was an article about filming in Newport. I was making my little 8-mm films at the time, I remember looking out the window on [Interstate] 95 at Jefferson Boulevard where there was a [Howard Johnson hotel] and I said to my folks, “well, maybe one day I’ll be in charge of all the movies and TV in Rhode Island” I was about 9 or 10 years old.
So when the job opportunity opened up, when [his predecessor] Rick Smith stepped down, I was like, “Oh my God,” and my hair stood up on the back of my neck and I thought, “That job is supposed to be mine.”
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PBN: Do you still have connections in California and Los Angeles?
FEINBERG: Oh, absolutely. I was in Los Angeles in April for the film-location expo, three days chock full of meetings with friends and acquaintances, and that’s how I was able to bring the ABC TV series “Body of Proof” here. There’s another film that’s going to be coming in October, starring James Franco, called “Iceman.” … Ariel Vromen is the director, it’s a feature film drama.
PBN: Where in Rhode Island will it be filmed? PBN: What is the state of the film industry now in Rhode Island? PBN: What could the state do to attract more film business? PBN: Is it a movie? PBN: You can’t tell us any more? PBN: So will you be looking to raise the cap when the General Assembly returns in January? Or abolish it? INTERVIEW
FEINBERG: As a result of our meeting in April, Ariel came [to Rhode Island] in June and we did a scout throughout the state and he’s going to be coming back [this month] to do another scout. It’s going to be filmed throughout Rhode Island, but we haven’t figured out which particular cities and towns.
FEINBERG: I think it’s very good. … The series “Providence” only filmed three or four days in Rhode Island and then the rest was in Los Angeles. … If that option ever happens again, I will fight like a pit bull to keep that project entirely in Rhode Island. [He was in Los Angeles at the time].
So, [the Showtime TV series] “Brotherhood” was supposed to be filmed primarily in Toronto … [or] Massachusetts and then I convinced them [to come to] Rhode Island.
Having “Body of Proof” here is fantastic. It provides long-term job opportunities in a sustainable industry and is a magnet for people to put their roots here, to come back home. A lot of the crew members have lived in New York or Los Angeles, but they’re originally Rhode Islanders. Now they’re living the dream they always had, to live in a place that is wonderful, usually in their hometown and close to their family, and making a nice living.
Michael Corrente is now flourishing. He did the “Incubus” movie and now he’s directing “Loosies.” Peter Facinelli is the writer and is starring in it. He’s one of the main actors in the “Twilight” series. [The production] is housed in the old Cranston police station and started [in late July]. …
Rhode Island is a great place to do business, where the locations are diverse, they’re in close proximity, we have the people in power primarily under one roof at the Statehouse, we have incredible cooperation between the cities and towns and the state.
Part of the way I’ve been selling our state for the last five years, I say: “In a big city, you’re a number. In Rhode Island, you’re a neighbor.”
FEINBERG: I’ll give you an example. There is a really big, high-profile, A-plus production that we want to bring to Rhode Island in 2011. One of the issues is the cap [on the tax credit that returns 25 percent of production costs]. We have a $15 million cap [on credits issued in any calendar year.] Well, that means I can only bring in $60 million of production per year. If it’s an $80 million film, we’re not going to get it because that’s $20 million of production where they’re not going to get a credit.
FEINBERG: Yes.
FEINBERG: I can’t. I can tell you that I met a legend at his home on my last trip [to Los Angeles] who I’ve always wanted to meet. I made [an eight-minute] film for him that showcased our locations and put it to the music of the film they intend to do. He said, “you nailed our movie” and he sent a screenwriter to Rhode Island. When I went out [to Los Angeles] he invited me to his home and said, “Look, we’re very interested in bringing this movie to Rhode Island.” It’s high-profile, the story is steeped in Rhode Island and we would love to have it here.
FEINBERG: I have two requests for next year.
One is to lower the threshold. Right now, you have to have a minimum budget of $300,000 [to qualify for the tax credit]. What I would like to do is get that down to $50,000, because I think that would give opportunities to our young, independent filmmakers.
The other thing I would love to do, I would love to get that $15 million cap raised to $30 million, if we have to have a cap at all. Or remove it. … Out of the $15 million in tax credits this year, I probably have about $1 million left. •
Steven Feinberg
POSITION: Executive director of the R.I. Film & Television Office
BACKGROUND: He was a professional screenwriter with 20th Century Fox in Los Angeles, Calif., and also co-produced feature films for worldwide release with various movie companies, including a now-defunct production company he co-founded. He took over his current role in 2004.
EDUCATION: Attended the University of Rhode Island, the University of California and the University of Southern California, where he has two classes to finish to earn a bachelor’s degree in cinema production.
FIRST JOB: Food preparer at Chelo’s Hometown Bar & Grill in Cranston
RESIDENCE: Cranston
AGE: 46
