EAST GREENWICH – Hollywood has returned to the Ocean State with a Rhode Island production company partnering with Leonardo DiCaprio's production company to film a new psychological thriller across the state in what the state's film and television office says will not be the last.
Verdi Productions, based out of East Greenwich, has teamed up with DiCaprio's Appian Way Productions to film "Sleepwalker." The film stars Hayden Panettiere alongside Beverly D'Angelo, Justin Chatwin, Mischa Barton and Lori Tan Chinn.
"Sleepwalker" depicts Panettiere as a grieving mother whose daughter was killed in a car accident that left her abusive husband comatose. The film follows Panettiere's character, Sarah, as she tries to make sense of reality amid surreal sleepwalking episodes.
A release date for the movie has not yet been announced.
Steven Feinberg, executive director of the R.I. Film & Television Office, says he is not surprised that DiCaprio's production company chose to film the movie in Rhode Island.
“We’re the smallest state with the greatest backlot,” Feinberg told Providence Business News. “[Rhode Island] is just 48 miles long and 40 miles wide, so everything a filmmaker would want to shoot is just a quick drive away. There are beaches, forests, Newport mansions, and all within minutes of each other.”
Production of "Sleepwalker," directed by
Brandon Auman, finished on Feb. 8 after 15 days of shooting. The film's budget was not immediately available.
Rhode Island offers production companies a 30% tax credit for filming motion pictures in the state.
Feinberg says the state has had upward of $1 billion in film and television production since his office was established 21 years ago.
Meanwhile, more than 150 locals were paid to work on "Sleepwalker." Extras in Rhode Island are typically paid $100-$150 per day, figures show.
"As a company full of lifelong Rhode Island natives, Verdi Productions wants to keep bringing productions to our great state," said company President Chad A. Verdi. "As long as the tax credit remains in place ... I expect Rhode Island to attract even more major productions in the future."
Feinberg said all of the vendors used during production were locally based. Catering was done by Filippou's Twisted Pizza of East Greenwich, as well as Gregg's Restaurant in North Kingstown.
Locals will recognize much of the movie's backdrop, with filming taking place around the southern part of Rhode Island. The movie's hospital scenes were filmed at the New England Institute of Technology in East Greenwich, while the school scenes were filmed at Academy Field, a park in East Greenwich. An art gallery scene was shot at YJ Contemporary Fine Art in Warwick.
The car crash scene was filmed at Goddard Memorial State Park in Warwick. Other filming locations included a house in Newport, a house in the village of Saunderstown in Narragansett, and Pezza Farm in Johnston.
"Sleepwalker" may be the latest movie to be shot in Rhode Island, but it is hardly the first. "Hocus Pocus 2," "Good Burger 2," "Dan in Real Life," "Underdog," "Evening" and "Normal Adolescent Behavior," among others, were all filmed in the Ocean State.
Feinberg says that in the next month his office will be announcing other "very exciting" upcoming film productions that will be shot in Rhode Island.
Verdi Productions says it will be filming a Rod Serling documentary in Rhode Island this spring. This is another co-production with DiCaprio's company, Verdi Productions said.
(UPDATE: Changes "backdrop" to "backlot" in the quote in paragraph 6, adds information on the amount of film and TV production work performed in Rhode Island in the past 21 years in paragraph 9, plus minor edits throughout.)
Matthew McNulty is a PBN staff writer. He can be reached at McNulty@PBN.com or on X at @MattMcNultyNYC.
