When Steven Feinberg sees a beautiful seascape, a cobblestone roadway or a
vast open space in Rhode Island, he pictures it on the big screen.
The 40-year-old Cranston native seems a bit sad when he says he had to move to the West Coast to make it in the film industry 22 years ago. As the new director of film and television for the state, he is on a mission to change that.
“You can make it here, and I know I can make that a possibility. I had to go 3,000 miles away to make it, and I don’t want other people to have to do the same thing,” he said. “If Hollywood people come here, I want the Rhode Island film people to get the production jobs. I want them to be able to make the home runs.”
Feinberg left Rhode Island for UCLA to study cinematography after graduating Cranston High School West. He then went on to study film and television production at the University of Southern California Cinema School, and since 1986 he’s been involved in film and television projects on the West Coast.
The Rhode Island Arts Council appointed Feinberg to the office in March; he replaced longtime director Rick Smith on April 5.
Feinberg has worked with major Hollywood studios in television, film and music industries as a writer, producer and script analyst. His screenplays (Fortress and Fortress 2: Re-Entry) have been adapted into films – a luxury only about 5 percent of scriptwriters experience.
He has a new idea for a story every day and plans to make his own movie in Rhode Island one day, but for now, he is focusing on getting other filmmakers to Rhode Island.
“The best part of Rhode Island is it is unexposed and very accommodating. Besides the beautiful architecture, we are the smallest state, and that makes us attractive,” he said.
Attractive not because the novelty of being the smallest state, but because it costs less for a production crew to move from one side of the state to the other – compared to California, where it can take hours to move from one location to the next, he said.
His enthusiasm about Rhode Island’s movie potential is obvious when he rattles off ideas on pitching the state to the West Coast. He plans on putting together a newsletter for filmmakers and developing a new production guide to replace the state’s most current one – last updated four years ago.
He is talking to venue owners about building a sound stage so films can be screened in the state. And he recently hosted the “Film & TV Town Hall Meetings” in Providence and Newport to find film opportunities in the state.
He also has the details for an entire state film Web site mapped out in his head – which most states already have, but it has never developed in Rhode Island. The site he describes will have everything a film location manager would need; PDF (Portable Document Format) files of Rhode Island laws, weather updates, maps, location photos and databases of scenery like cobblestone streets, ocean views, forts and bridges in the state, he said.
Right now, the old Jamestown Bridge is of particular interest to Feinberg; he wants a filmmaker to blow it up on camera. Rhode Island Department of Transportation plans to hire contractors to demolish the 66-year-old bridge sometime this year. It will take a year and a half to take down and is scheduled to cost $14.5 million, DOT information shows.
“I read the trade magazines every day, so when I see a film is going to be made, I use my imagination and think, ‘If I were making that film, which locations would I use,’ and I make some calls,” he said.
“I read that Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise are remaking the ‘War of the Worlds,’ so I called DreamWorks and asked if they wanted to blow up a bridge. It would save the state millions of dollars.”
Though he wouldn’t disclose the name of the show or any details, he said he is in negotiations to get a new television show filmed in Rhode Island.
Movies made in the state inject revenue and, through exposure from the film, increase tourism to the state, Feinberg said.
“The smallest film crew imaginable, eight people and some models, came here for three and a half days to shoot a Brooks Brothers advertisement recently. With the hotels and the food, they spent $10,000,” he said. “When films are shot here, it is great for the economy. They stay at hotels, eat at restaurants and when they are done shooting for the day, they go out and spend more money. It’s great for the economy.”
Feinberg is talking to state representatives to create an amendment to the Rhode Island Investment Tax Credit (44-31-1) so that filmmakers who shoot primarily in Rhode Island with a budget between $300,000 and $5 million will have a tax incentive to film in the state.
“I want to make it easier for films to be created here,” he said.
The Rhode Island Film & Television Office, a department of the State Arts Council, has attracted high-profile directors such as Steven Spielberg (“Amistad”), James Cameron (“True Lies”) and The Farrelly Brothers (“Something About Mary”) in addition to famous actors like Jim Carrey (“Dumb & Dumber”) and Brad Pitt (“Meet Joe Black”).
