heist in Providence in the seventies , Johnny & Clyde , and a recent documentary , My Father Muhammad Ali . “ He ’ s a loving guy , not someone who puts up walls and is hard to reach ,” DeNucci says . Feinberg is a calming force , DeNucci says . “ He ’ ll come to a set , he pulls me aside and says , ‘ Buddy , why are you stressed out ? You ’ re making a movie !’ He ’ s just this calming presence in the very stressful cesspool this industry can be .”
He is also known for his impish sense of humor . Lew Place was his assistant for eighteen years before retiring last year and remembers one time he and Feinberg were driving home from Newport with music from the 1966 TV show “ Batman ” blaring from a compact disc . When they stopped at the tollbooth and handed over the money , Feinberg smiled at the attendant and said , “ Thank you , citizen !” in his best Adam West voice . “ I still laugh when I think about that ,” Place says . “ Typical Steve .” Feinberg ’ s older brother Rob knows all about his kid brother ’ s mischievous attitude . One time he was babysitting a bratty Stevie who refused to go to bed .
“ I pleaded with him , he refused , he goaded me and finally went outside — in the snow , in his underwear — and tells me ‘ I ’ m going across the street to tell Mrs . Lipsey you ’ re not a good babysitter !’” Rob Feinberg says with a laugh . “ He got to stay up late . He ’ s very persuasive .”
Feinberg is humble , but breaks character with a wide grin when he talks about landing his dream job . When he first started out in 2003 , he thought , “ I ’ ll know in six months if they will understand what I ’ m trying to do to bring film and TV productions to Rhode Island . If they don ’ t get it , I ’ ll move back to Los Angeles .”
Thankfully , the state welcomed Feinberg ’ s film finesse and embraced the new Showtime series , “ Brotherhood ,” which went on to win a Peabody Award and aired for three seasons .
Not only did Feinberg know what he was doing , it seems he knew it fifty years ago .
“ They filmed part of The Great Gatsby in Newport in 1973 , and one day we were driving to see our grandparents , and mom was reading a Providence Journal story out loud about it ,” he says . “ I ’ ll never forget , I was looking out the window from Route 37 turning on Route 95 north and said , ‘ Maybe one day I ’ ll be in charge of the movies in Rhode Island .’”
“ I never thought I ’ d have my hands in LA and my feet in Rhode Island ,” Feinberg says . “ It ’ s a great balance . I ’ m the luckiest guy , doing what I love . And I ’ m doing it in my favorite place in the world .”
IT ’ S HARD TO FIND A BIGGER CHEERLEADER FOR the state than Feinberg . Or as he likes to say , “ You can love Rhode Island as much as me — but you can ’ t love it more than me .”
One filmmaker who admires Feinberg for that love of location is Phillip Noyce , who directed and filmed “ Brotherhood ” in Providence , and directed hit movies like Patriot Games , Clear and Present Danger and The Bone Collector .
“ I don ’ t know how we contacted him , but it was one of the best calls ever made ,” Noyce says . “ We were setting up to film in Toronto , even had an office with our name on the door but couldn ’ t find a location — until we called Steve .”
“ Brotherhood ” was originally a Boston story based on the Bulger brothers that was scheduled for production in Toronto , but Feinberg altered the future . “ They were considering shifting the story to possibly take place in Rhode Island and when they arrived , I arranged meetings with many of our elected officials all in one day ,” Feinberg says . “ They were blown away by the speed and access . Then they decided to make it a Rhode Island story , but they intended to only shoot in the Ocean State for three days and film the rest in Toronto .”
Feinberg met with Noyce on the State House balcony overlooking the city and said , “ If you film this Rhode Island story in Toronto , you ’ re not going to be telling the truth . Will you help me keep the show here in Rhode Island if I can make it happen ?”
Noyce agreed , and they worked in tandem to keep the show about Rhode Island and made in Rhode Island . It was the first television series filmed entirely in the Ocean State .
Feinberg moved metaphorical mountains , Noyce adds , “ and we filmed there without knowing if there ’ d be a tax credit . It was in the works and we believed in the governor , the speaker of the house , but mostly relied on the charm of Steve .
“ I learned that if you hear a Rhode Islander make a promise , you can bank on it ,” Noyce says .
Feinberg ’ s proud of the locations available to filmmakers , from the bucolic environs of northern Rhode Island to the sandy beaches of the shore , and the ease of getting from one to the other .
“ We have diverse locations in close proximity , and since time is money on a production , rush hour here is only five minutes ,” he says . “ In a big city , you ’ re a number . In Rhode Island , you ’ re a neighbor .”
The full force of Feinberg is on display at the made-in-RI premiere of Hocus Pocus 2 . Feinberg describes the location of the premiere as , “ It ’ s at Showcase in Warwick … you know , near where the 1149 Restaurant used to be .”
Feinberg walks in wearing his signature attire — black hat , duster , cowboy boots — and a smile . The place is buzzing , nearly all 1,200 seats filled in the thirteen-screen complex to see a movie filmed across the state with audience members cheering madly when something familiar flashes on screen , like Newport ’ s Eisenhower Park transformed into the faux Salem Scare Fest .
“ Film contributes to the economy , but also is a source of pride ,” says Governor Dan McKee , one of many local notables at the premiere . “ And it attracts a lot of people to the state .”
Not to mention dollars . Mary Ann Hughes , a Feinberg fan and vice president of film and television production planning for the Walt Disney Company , says Hocus Pocus 2 hired more than 2,500 extras , employed 260 local vendors and had 250 full-time crew members on the job . In 2021 alone , due to this film and “ The Gilded Age ” being filmed partly in Rhode Island , around $ 100 million was generated in local spending , Feinberg says .
Those who know Feinberg best , like Scot Finck , longtime friend and now senior vice president of promotion at Disney Music Group , know the power of dreaming that thrives in Feinberg . They became best friends during 1981 orientation at the University of Rhode Island . Feinberg left after one year to pursue his dream in Hollywood by studying film at the UCLA summer program , and then went on to the University of Southern California film school in 1983 , where there were more than 3,000 applicants and only thirty-six accepted .
“ I quietly had the notion to go , but not the guts ,” Finck says . “ Steve had the guts . His spirit is indomitable . My heart was breaking when he left . We were brothers , really , and still are .
“ Steve ’ s the one who showed me you could give up everything you know and live on soup if you had to . It ’ s why he ’ s built for this business , has been since day one .”
70 RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY l JUNE 2023