Cinematography, Curling & Cranston

Lights. Camera. Cranston.

For the past several months, film crews have been all over the state, mostly based in Cranston to shoot the comedy film “The Roaring Game.”

Filming started Sept. 16 and wrapped early Saturday morning, Oct. 5, with days running anywhere from eight to 12 hours.

The director Tom DeNucci is from Cranston and graduated from Cranston High School West in 2002. His resume since graduation has included being involved with almost 40 films, and was awarded the 2013 Rhode Island International Film Festival Robert Burgess Aldrich Award (Aldrich was also from Cranston).

Producers Chad Verdi Jr. and his father, Chad Verdi Sr., have family members that still live in Cranston. They also lived in Cranston for a time themselves.

The film is also produced by Michelle Verdi, Paul Luba and Anthony Gudas. Sera Verdi will executive produce and Ed Brady is an associate producer.

The Plot

The premise for “The Roaring Game” is a true underdog tale of redemption.

Rickey is a high school janitor who loses everything when his love, Kelly, is picked to play for Team USA hockey.

To win her back, Rickey creates a misfit curling team and uses his sweeping skills to compete for gold and complete a comic quest for redemption that captivates the nation.

“Cranston is a beautiful city and one of the state’s most prominent cities,” said Verdi Jr. “With so much to offer we were able to capitalize on the city’s diverse landscape — from public parks, to city buildings, to private event space, the city really welcomed us with open arms. It makes it easy to operate and run a smooth film set when you are able to work closely with the city itself and, on top of that, everything is so centrally located so the convenience factor is huge.”

The Verdi family has invested heavily in DeNucci throughout his career, funding many of the movies he has written and directed.

“It has been truly incredible working with this team and seeing the next generation of artists,” Brady said.

With over 50 Cranston residents as extras in the film, DeNucci was very inclusive with the casting, even using 22 students from the Cranston West Theater department, courtesy of Principal John Fontaine and teachers Christine Baum and Evan Lancia.

“With so much negativity in the world, I really wanted to tell a story that embraces the lighter side of life,” DeNucci said. “Directing my first comedy has been all about providing an escape and creating a space where audiences can just have a good time. We’ve had so many laughs on set. I cannot wait to share them with the world.”

City Collaboration

 “The city worked with us on a number of things and we wouldn’t have had a successful film without the city’s help and collaboration,” said Verdi Jr. “We had an open line of communication with them, which allowed us to know exactly what we were and weren’t allowed to do. When you get the rules up front, it makes it easy to follow them. So we are very grateful for the city’s help and transparency.”

A lot of great memories were made.

“The most memorable is the fact we were able to build an official curling rink inside of the Cranston Veterans Memorial Ice Rink,” said Verdi Jr. “Seeing that transformation was truly remarkable and it is not nearly as easy as it seems.”

The cast and crew were delighted by the culinary scene in Cranston as well. Twin Oaks takeout was a cast favorite. Saugys and Luxe Lemon were also popular.

“The energy and culture I was around every day needs to be studied,” Brady said. “It was truly electric and inclusive.” He said he “learned a lot” from “this young producing team” and that he is “very very very proud” of them.

Winter Olympics

 The producers expect a commercial movie release date may coincide with the Winter Olympic games in 2026.

“The cast on this film covers multiple generations and decades,” said Verdi Jr. “We are going for the gold with this project and targeting a release to coincide with the upcoming Winter Olympics.”

DeNucci took to his Facebook page to express his gratitude and appreciation to everyone connected to the project: “The journey behind this project just about spans the entire length of my career,” he wrote. “When I was 24 I sold a script to the only producer who believed in me at the time, Chad Verdi. The script was written but the timing wasn’t right. We went on to make dozens of other films together and ‘The Roaring Game’ was tucked away for safe keeping. Last spring the movie planets aligned and we began prepping the movie. It’s hard to describe the feeling of finally crossing the finish line. This was my first comedy and I can safely say I’ve never laughed so much in a four week stretch in my life. That’s gotta be a good sign. So thankful for this phenomenal cast. They took the simple words on the page and bringing them to life in ways I could have never imagined. This cast of strangers quickly became a team. That team became a family. I’ll never forget their efforts and can’t wait to share the laughs we created with the audience.”

Recent projects released by Verdi Productions include “Chosen Family,” starring Heather Graham and Julia Stiles; “Junction” starring Bryan Greenberg, Griffin Dunne and Sophia Bush; and “Knockout Blonde,” the documentary about transgender boxing manager Kellie Maloney.