PROVIDENCE – A local businessman and a film industry veteran said Wednesday they plan to join forces to produce five movies in Rhode Island starting in 2010.
The first film, scheduled to begin production early next year, will follow the life of Italian-American boxer Vinny Pazienza. The Cranston-born boxer known as “The Pazmanian Devil” became a rising star in the boxing world during the 1980s and early 1990s, before a car crash left him hospitalized wearing a neck brace. Doctors suspected Pazienza would never walk again.
But the boxer recovered and went on to stage a remarkable comeback that Chad A. Verdi and Michael Corrente plan to depict in “The True Story of Vinny Paz,” which is to be produced by their company, Verdi Corrente Production LLC. The East Greenwich-based business was incorporated on Sept. 9, according to the secretary of state’s office.
Verdi said in a news release he is a Rhode Island businessman who has been involved in more than $750 million in business mergers, reverse mergers, start-ups and acquisitions over the past decade. He owns, co-owns or has investments in more than a dozen businesses in diversified industries with more than 500 local employees and sales of over $100 million nationwide, according to the release.
Corrente’s film industry credits stretch back to the late 1980s. He directed the 1999 movie “Outside Providence” and other works such as “A Shot at Glory” and “American Buffalo.”
“It is very exciting to have a partner who understands the world of finance as well as I understand the world of independent film,” said Corrente, a native Rhode Islander.
The Vinnie Paz film will be produced by Corrente and Verdi and directed by Glenn Ciano. Corrente said he has worked closely with Ciano over the past 15 years, and this will mark his feature film directorial debut.
The news release said the film is fully funded and casting is ongoing. The release did not say whether the company will seek to use state film produce tax credits or outline what the next four movies will be.
RI has so much to offer to the film industry. It’s a trip around the world in miniature. And who to bring it to view as bigger than life but the films. Our history is deep and it’s people unique. I’m proud of the State and that Vinnie Pazienza’s story is going to make it to the big screen. We are a people that rally behind what is good and this is all a very good thing. I’m so happy to be given the chance to work in the state I love.