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[Cotuit]

It’s Showtime for latest R.I. Hollywood pitch
By Bridget Botelho, Staff Writer | 09/04/2004

Rhode Island may give Canada some competition as a backdrop for Hollywood films.

A Showtime pilot called “The Brotherhood” is being shot in Rhode Island, despite the producers’ initial desire to save money up north in Toronto – one of numerous Canadian locations that have become a hotbed for movie-making.

The decision to shoot the cable show’s pilot might have something to do with possible tax breaks being dangled by Rhode Island officials, who hope to get the support of the General Assembly next session.

Showtime is also leaning toward shooting in the Ocean State because “The Brotherhood’s” fictional story takes place in Rhode Island.

“There is a creative benefit to having a show actually based in the place it is supposed to be happening. It brings life to a show – like ‘The Sopranos’ being filmed in New Jersey,” said Bob Greenblatt, president of Showtime Networks Inc.

He added, “We always had Providence in mind but we thought we’d end up in Toronto, because it’s just more economical to film there.”

Steven Feinberg, director of Rhode Island’s film and television office, is working with state legislators to pass a bill that would make Rhode Island competitive by offering financial incentives to filmmakers.

“Billions of dollars have been lost to other states and across the border because we haven’t offered good enough deals to Hollywood. I want to change that, and I will have legislation introduced to make sure Hollywood can film here,” Feinberg said.

Showtime hired 150 crewmembers, 300 film extras and is spending millions of dollars during the three weeks it takes to film that one episode, Feinberg said. Filming started Aug. 30 and will be winding down next week. It is being shot on Federal Hill, the State House, and other locations throughout the Providence, Greenblatt said.

When Showtime representatives were in the state scoping out scenery for the show, Feinberg quickly got the right people together – including the mayor of Providence and a number of state representatives – to get the pilot episode filmed in state.

The state could not compete financially with what Canada offers, so instead the state gave Showtime hotel space, office space and police officer details and use of locations like the Armory.

“Financially, what I offered them is a minuscule part of their budget, but creatively, I knew I could compete (with Canada).

The director (Philip Noyce) really wanted the show filmed here. ...From a director’s point of view, being here is telling the truth,” Feinberg said.

Canada is a popular place to film movies and shows because it offers filmmakers a 25 percent labor tax credit and a 30-percent dollar exchange rate. In the United States, Louisiana is the most competitive place because it offers a 10 to 15 percent labor tax credit.

If the pilot is a hit with Showtime executives and the test audience when it is viewed in January, a decision will be made as to where the rest of the series will be shot.

“It’s important for me to have legislation passed by January so when Showtime decides where to continue filming, I can offer them a good deal,” Feinberg said.

The bills Feinberg plans to introduce will likely offer filmmakers a labor tax break competitive with Louisana’s, a state tax exemption and local investment tax credit.

He already has two politicians to introduce and sponsor the bill, and other state officials like House Speaker William J. Murphy and Providence Mayor David Cicilline, promised to support the effort to attract films during a welcoming ceremony for The Brotherhood at the State House State Reception Room Aug. 27.

“When the show ‘Providence’ aired, people wanted to come here and go to the places it was shot. We want to put Rhode Island on the map in the film industry again,” said Lt. Gov. Charles Fogarty. “It gives us the chance to showcase our state and pump millions of dollars into our economy.”

The pilot is the very first episode of a television series that introduces the character and story line. “The Brotherhood” is about two Irish brothers; one a hardened criminal and the other a rising political star who struggles to be an ethical leader.

The series is being directed by Phillip Noyce (“Clear and Present Danger,” The Quiet American”), and produced by Henry Bronchtein, whose resume includes “The Sopranos”, stars Jason Clarke (“Rabbit-Proof Fence”) who plays a local politician, his wife, played by Annabeth Gish (“The X-Files,” “The West Wing”), and Jason Isaacs (“The Patriot”, “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets”) as his criminal brother.

The Film and Television Office is a department of the State Arts Council, and has in the past attracted several leading Hollywood directors directors including Steven Spielberg (“Amistad”), James Cameron (“True Lies”) and The Farrelly Brothers (“Something About Mary”) and famous actors like Jim Carrey (“Dumb & Dumber”) and Brad Pitt (“Meet Joe Black”), the state Economic Development office reports.

From The Providence Business News

[Cotuit]

It'll soon be Showtime in Providence
Filming will begin in June on Brotherhood, a 12-episode series on the premium cable network.
BY ANDY SMITH Journal Television Writer | January 14, 2005

It might not have cute puppies and Melina Kanakaredes, but another TV series is coming to Providence.

Cable channel Showtime has approved production of an hour-long dramatic series called Brotherhood, which centers on two brothers -- one a politician, the other a mobster -- who grew up in a fictional Irish neighborhood called "The Hill" in Providence.

Unlike the NBC series Providence, which was set here but filmed largely in Los Angeles, Brotherhood will be made in Rhode Island.

"It's unprecedented in our state," said Steven Feinberg, director of the Rhode Island Film & Television Office. "This is the first time a TV series has been shot entirely in the state of Rhode Island."

The pilot for Brotherhood, was filmed here in early September. It was directed by Phillip Noyce, whose movie credits include Clear and Present Danger, Patriot Games and The Quiet American.

Among the locations used were a residential street on Federal Hill, and the State House.

Showtime has ordered 11 more episodes of Brotherhood. Feinberg said Showtime crews will probably start preparations in April and begin filming in June. The show should air early next year.

"This is a huge thing for us. A lot of people in the state worked very hard to make this happen," Feinberg said. "This will put hundreds of people to work, and inject millions of dollars into the state's economy."

Brotherhood will star Jason Isaacs, best known as the villainous British officer in Mel Gibson's The Patriot, as the criminal brother, and Jason Clarke, who appeared in the Australian film Rabbit-Proof Fence, as the politician brother.

Annabeth Gish, who has appeared in The West Wing and The X-Files, will play Clarke's wife.

The show, written by Blake Masters, was originally set in an unnamed New England city. Masters grew up in Western Massachusetts and New York.

Producers considered Boston for a time before settling on Providence.

One of the show's executives, Elizabeth Stephen of the Los Angeles production company Mandalay Entertainment, is a 1986 graduate of Brown University who majored in theater arts.

The plan was to set Brotherhood in Providence, but film most of it in Toronto, where costs are generally lower than in the United States. But Feinberg and other state officials lobbied hard to keep the show in Rhode Island.

"The producers stressed how pleased they were at the cooperation they were getting from public officials at all levels," said Lt. Gov. Charles J. Fogarty.

"We wanted to show that you can get what you want to get done quickly and with a minimum of red tape. Hopefully, the good reputation we get will attract more productions here."

State Rep. Paul E. Moura, D-Providence, said the House leadership is currently drafting legislation that would provide tax breaks to film and TV productions that work in Rhode Island.

The state found an ally in Noyce, the pilot's director. (Feinberg said Noyce will probably direct two more episodes of Brotherhood.)

"It's as good a location shoot as I've ever had," he said in an interview with The Journal last December. "The people are not cynical about the movies, and everyone was incredibly helpful."

Noyce also pointed out that, for a filmmaker, the state has some remarkably diverse locations -- Colonial architecture, Victorian mansions, triple-decker houses, the State House -- in close proximity to one another.

Today at 1 p.m., Feinberg is holding a news conference on Brotherhood at the State House Rotunda.

Governor Carcieri, House Speaker William J. Murphy, Senate President Joseph A. Montalbano, Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline, and Fogarty are scheduled to attend. The news conference is open to the public.

From The Providence Journal

[CtownMikey]

With a Pilot episode recorded and 11 more on the way, how do you think it will affect our city and state, and how well do you think it will do in general?

[Frankie811]

CtownMikey, on Apr 28 2005, 12:36 AM, said:

With a Pilot episode recorded and 11 more on the way, how do you think it will affect our city and state, and how well do you think it will do in general?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Who cares            

[Recchia]

whats it about?

[Cotuit]

Recchia, on Apr 28 2005, 07:04 AM, said:

whats it about?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It's very original for Rhode Island... A story about two brothers, one in the mob, one in polictics, the viewers have to figure out which is which   OK, that last part I made up.

Some are calling it Rhode Island's Sopranos, but I'm not sure that the Sopranos have really done anything for New Jersey as far as boosting tourism. Filming in the state will have a bigger economic impact I think than the actual show enticing people to come here. Also if the producers have a good experience in Rhode Island, they may tell their producer friends that this is a good place to work.

[Soren]

Sounds like an adaptation of James Carroll's "The City Below", which is loosely based on the Bulger brothers in MA.

[Recchia]

Well I'm stupid.  Brotherhood is about Irish brothers.

Edited by Recchia, 29 April 2005 - 11:56 AM.

[Cotuit]

ProJo article about The Brotherhoods production.

[EPBOY]

Cotuit, on Jul 6 2005, 10:23 AM, said:

ProJo article about The Brotherhoods production.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I wonder if they will publish the shooting schedule.  It'd be pretty cool to get into a couple of scenes as a background extra .

I'm ready for my close up!

[Armory Mike]

It's probably too late for you today, EPBOY, but there's a film crew shooting on Valley St. in Olneyville today. I don't know for sure if it's "The Brotherhood," but I can't imagine what else it would be.

The trucks all have Paramount logos on the cabs -- does Paramount produce the show?

[EPBOY]

Armory Mike, on Jul 6 2005, 01:54 PM, said:

It's probably too late for you today, EPBOY, but there's a film crew shooting on Valley St. in Olneyville today. I don't know for sure if it's "The Brotherhood," but I can't imagine what else it would be.

The trucks all have Paramount logos on the cabs -- does Paramount produce the show?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks!  I need at least a days notice so I can call in a sick day and stalk the cameras!

[Cotuit]

Armory Mike, on Jul 6 2005, 01:54 PM, said:

It's probably too late for you today, EPBOY, but there's a film crew shooting on Valley St. in Olneyville today. I don't know for sure if it's "The Brotherhood," but I can't imagine what else it would be.

The trucks all have Paramount logos on the cabs -- does Paramount produce the show?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I see your name lurking so often, I feel like you're a forum regular, how can this be your first post?  

[Baines]

Recchia, on Apr 28 2005, 07:23 AM, said:

Well I'm stupid.  Brotherhood is about Irish brothers.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The series is based on the life of two Providence (not Rhode Island) brothers and the interaction of traditional American organized crime in daily personal and political life.

Remember, from 1950-1980, Providence was the center of organized crime in New England (the Patriarca Family). It ended with Raymnd's death and the takeover by the Gambino Family of NYC.

It is an effort to pull viewers from the Soprano's and using Providence's name recognition. Yes, outside New England, the city is highly regarded.

When is the last TV show or movie based in Pittsburgh, Tampa, Kansas City, etc?...BORING PLACES.

[Recchia]

Baines, on Jul 6 2005, 08:07 PM, said:

It is an effort to pull viewers from the Soprano's and using Providence's name recognition. Yes, outside New England, the city is highly regarded.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You're definitely right about this.  Even my friends from New York, who love to bash everything that is not New York or Long Island, think that Providence is synonomous with mafia.

[Frankie811]

Baines, on Jul 6 2005, 09:07 PM, said:

It is an effort to pull viewers from the Soprano's and using Providence's name recognition. Yes, outside New England, the city is highly regarded.

When is the last TV show or movie based in Pittsburgh, Tampa, Kansas City, etc?...BORING PLACES.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hmmmmm  Plenty of mafia in Pittsburgh and Kansas City.

[Frankie811]

Recchia, on Jul 6 2005, 10:09 PM, said:

You're definitely right about this.  Even my friends from New York, who love to bash everything that is not New York or Long Island, think that Providence is synonomous with mafia.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yeah, like the meat and fashion districts in NYC aren't infested by the mob. Not to mention the construction industry and Brooklyn.

[provid]

A few of the brotherhood folks are in Peerless.

[matt]

mikepl, on Jul 7 2005, 07:59 AM, said:

A few of the brotherhood folks are in Peerless.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Pretty sure I drove by some Brotherhood action last night.  Big lights, police traffic control, and a cool looking van... I was about to get annoyed at the traffic then I realized what was going on, and had a change of heart.  

I was a student at URI during the filming of Outside Providence.  On one hand, it was cool to have a movie being filmed featuring my campus, on the other hand, it was a pain having film crews roping off the quad and asking the campus to be quiet.     But a couple of my friends ended up being extras, and now I own the DVD and have a nice record of what campus looked like when I was matriculating.

[Lova]

It's called The Hill today. I guess they changed the name again.