PROVIDENCE – Now a quarter-century after the release of the original “Good Burger” feature comedy, its sequel, “Good Burger 2,” will be filmed in Rhode Island, according to R.I. Film & Television Office executive director, Steven Feinberg.
Inspired by the Nickelodeon sketch comedy series “All That,” the 1997 feature film centered on the exploits of a pair of fast-food restaurant workers. Boston Casting Inc. have sent out calls for local actors and extras. The film will be released on the streaming service Paramount+ and once again star “Saturday Night Live” cast member Kenan Thompson and “All That,” co-star Kel Mitchell.
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On Thursday Feinberg confirmed that filming would begin mid-May. He said the office was limited in what they could share and were working with Paramount officials to firm up final details and that more information will be released on May 1.
“It’s always a positive when any productions come to Rhode Island,” said Feinberg, noting not only the local economic boost but also the residual marketing staying power resulting from locally shot Hollywood productions.
“The eyes and the ears of film fans will once again descend on Rhode Island,” he said. “We anticipate we are going to get a lot of people to see what’s going on.”
A full list of locations was not immediately available. But filming has been scheduled partly at the former Friendly’s restaurant location in North Providence on Mineral Spring Avenue, the last remaining franchise in Rhode Island before it permanently closed in 2019.
A flyer sent to North Providence residents circulating on social media said filming is to take place May 18,19,24, 25,26,30, 31 and June 1 and asks them to contact City Hall with any questions or concerns.
A primary draw for production companies to the state is the motion picture production tax credit, which reimburses 30% of state certified production costs incurred that are directly attributable to activity within the state.
A credit against state sales taxes, these productions need to be shot primarily in Rhode Island, meaning that 51% of principal photography must take place in the state. The total amount of motion picture tax credits was raised by the General Assembly last session from $30 million to $40 million for tax years 2023 and 2024.
The state issued $13.8 million to nine production companies in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2022.
Feinberg touted a 2022 study by Cambridge, Mass.-based Industrial Economics Inc. which found that every $1 dollar in public funds allocated resulted in $5.44 in economic activity.
The impacts from the filming of “Hocus Pocus 2” starring Sara Jessica Parker and Bette Midler, as well as the filming of the HBO drama “The Gilded Age” the following year, resulted in thousands of visitors to Newport and other locations looking to catch a glimpse of the action, said Feinberg, not only during filming but in the weeks and months afterwards.
Feinberg said that there are also union-based job opportunities for film crew laborers hired locally. Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts has built up a solid base of film workers in recent years, a desirable labor pool for film producers because it lowers the overhead costs of lodging crew members.
The “Hocus Pocus 2” production involved more than 50 drivers from Teamsters Local 251, said Feinberg.
“We have a top-notch crew base,” he said.
A new company, Palmetto Park RI Productions Inc., was incorporated on March 9, according to the R.I. Secretary of State’s corporate database. The document was signed by Ashley Chaffin, a corporate paralegal with ViacomCBS Inc., according to her LinkedIn page.
Viacom CBS was the result of a merger between CBS Corp. and Viacom in 2019. The company changed its name to Paramount Global in 2022.
Christopher Allen is a PBN staff writer. You may contact him at Allen@PBN.com.
