President Ronald Reagan once said that “there is nothing better for the inside of a man than the outside of a horse.”
Steven Feinberg, the executive director of the Rhode Island Film and Television Office, has no objection to this sentiment.
Just drop by C&L Stables at Goddard Park in Warwick someday and watch when he calls his horse, “Rhode Island Rusty”. The horse will come charging out of his shed and run up to him like a dog would, nudging at his pal.
True to his love of horses, Steven saved Rusty and can’t ride him due to nerve damage from a previous injury. Steven just walks along the beautiful trails with him.
But Steven would probably say that Rusty helped save him, because his previous horse, named Cruiz, had to be put down after a severe injury. An awful event that Steve describe as the “worst day of my life”.
So how does this relate to film and television for this soon-to-be newest honorary doctor of letters (to be conferred upon him by the University of Rhode Island on May 16) as well as one of the nine esteemed Rhode Islanders recently inducted into the prestigious Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame?
Having a dream, working hard
Spend five minutes with Steve and you’ll find out it’s all about “having a dream and working hard.”
Steven Feinberg is one of the lucky ones.
He didn’t have to bounce from one career to another to find out what his passion was.
At age eight, the Cranston native made his first movie, “Charlie Chaplin meets Dr. Jekyll”.
His dad Ross, a beloved teacher at Coventry Elementary School was his lone camera man, using an old 8mm Kodak Brownie camera. I’m sure that his mom, Lotte (a gemologist who fled Nazi Germany with his grandmother and grandfather) was also there with all the support and encouragement.
The following year, Steven got his own camera, a Super 8 with all the bells and whistles.
He filmed at the airport and near the Warwick Mall, creating his own brand of a James Bond film, once again with the assistance of his mom and dad and brother Robert.
His parents would tell him “If you put in half the money (to buy new equipment) we will put in the other half.” So, Steven did what a lot of kids did at that time, he cut lawns, shoveled snow and did odd jobs to bring his share to the table.
I asked him when he knew that making films and being in the industry would be his life’s devotion?
I was startled when he answered, “I was 10 years old and driving with my parents. I remember the exact moment when I thought “maybe one day I will be in charge of movies in Rhode Island.”
Time moved quickly.
He took a filmmaking “after school” class at Western Hills Junior High in Cranston and was the only student in the class to make a movie. He did so with no instruction, as the supervisor was a Home Economics teacher with no knowledge of film but was curious about it. He was rocketing down his life’s path.
Fast forward a few years. Steven would spend a year at the University of Rhode Island and then head to UCLA Film School, followed by USC Film School.
He was offered a great job at 20th Century Fox with just two classes to go to get his degree and decided to jump at the opportunity.
His life would change when he heard of an opportunity to apply for a position as Director of the Rhode Island Film office, which was under the umbrella of the Council of the Arts.
With support from heavy hitters like Disney and others, Steven beat out over 300 other applicants for the position.
So, he loaded up 32 boxes of clothes and equipment and drove from LA to RI.
The pay for this new job and his life’s dream? $45,000.
Now, 21 years later, though his ambitions were realized, he still has the unbridled enthusiasm, energy and creative juices that he had as that 8-year-old kid in Cranston.
This is a guy who loves his job.
What his office has brought to RI is sometimes overlooked and underreported.
It’s not from lack of style. Steven’s ever-present signature cowboy hat and duster certainly make an impression.
$1 billion to the state
In simple terms, under his leadership, the office has brought nearly $1 billion in film and television productions into the state. That includes more than 130 feature films that used the industry-setting Motion Picture Tax Incentive Program that provides a 30% tax credit on qualified expenditures in the state.
Think of how remarkable that is when you consider that the Governor and legislature puts a cap on the amount available each year. States like Massachusetts and California (30 in all) have no caps. Competition is extremely strong.
But as Steven likes to say, “We’re the smallest state with the greatest backlot.”
Undaunted by the competition, they have delivered in a big way with countless major stars and major productions utilizing our rich and diverse state with its spectacular coastline.
When I asked him what the most rewarding production were to him personally, he immediately mentioned “The Gilded Age,” “The Brotherhood” and “Ella McKay,” though he cautioned that the list is a lot longer than 3.
Employment opportunities
He also was proud about the employment opportunities films bring, remarking that a production like “Ella McKay” requires about 400 crew and cast members and 1200 or so background actors, as well as utilizing local vendors, clean-up crews, tenting, florists, cleaners, lumber and other needs.
He also remarked that, according to a Cambridge study, “for each $1 provided as tax credits for film production in Rhode Island, the state realizes a return of $5.44 in economic activity.”
Again, referring to the recent production of “The Gilded Age”, in one year alone, the state benefitted from 5,925 hotel nights for cast and crew, hiring over 1,450 local employees for the production.
Is retirement in the cards?
“I plan to be here until I’m no longer able to be here,” he said. “I’d like to do another feature film in Rhode Island. Maybe take a sabbatical. I also want to build a studio here.”
A big task but no one would doubt that if Steven Feinberg sets his mind to it – it will be done.
The guy in the cowboy hat and duster doesn’t know the word “can’t.”
His philosophy is simple.
“If you daydream and work hard and find like-minded people to support that dream – it can come true.”
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here