The State Properties Committee on Tuesday unanimously approved a seven-month lease for the use of the Cranston Street Armory for the filming of director M. Night Shyamalan’s next Hollywood movie, which will star Jake Gyllenhaal and Phoebe Dynevor.
The agreement allows Two Beacons Productions LLC to film a “supernatural romantic thriller” at the Cranston Street Armory beginning May 1. Two Beacons, which has its principal offices in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, is managed by Blinding Edge Pictures Inc., founded in 1998 by Shyamalan, the director of the 1999 supernatural thriller “The Sixth Sense” and the 2016 horror-thriller “Split.”
Rhode Island Film & Television Office Executive Director Steven Feinberg told the committee Blinding Edge Pictures will pay the state $10,000 a month to use the armory through the end of 2025. Shyamalan’s production company will also have to cover any utilities used in the 118-year-old building in Providence’s West End.
A copy of the lease agreement was not immediately made available. Rhode Island Current submitted a public records request to the Rhode Island Film & Television Office after making an inquiry to the Department of Administration.
“We’re really excited to have the production here,” Feinberg told the committee. “We’re promoting Rhode Island to a worldwide audience.”
Filming will happen primarily in Providence beginning some time in June, Feinberg told reporters after the meeting. Other locations in the state will also likely be in the film, but he declined to say where.
Gyllenhaal is best known for his role in the 2005 romantic drama “Brokeback Mountain” and is now appearing on Broadway as Iago in the 2025 revival of William Shakespeare’s tragedy “Othello” opposite Denzel Washington.
Dynevor, who portrayed Daphne in the first two series of Netflix’s “Bridgerton,” will also appear in Shyamalan’s new film, according to IMDB.
For the project, Shyamalan is collaborating with author Nicholas Sparks, best known for the 2004 romantic drama “The Notebook.” Shyamalan will independently write the screenplay and Sparks will write the book relating the same original love story, Feinberg said.
Feinberg declined to name a title. However, a collaboration between Sparks and Shyamalan on a story titled “Remain” is in the works, according to Penguin Random House.
Sparks announced his writing partnership on the project in January.
“It’s unlike anything we’ve done before,” he wrote in a Facebook post. This collaboration is a dream come true, and I’m so grateful for the chance to work with such extraordinary artists.”
Feinberg has tried to court Shyamalan to film in the Ocean State before. He told reporters he sought to have the acclaimed filmmaker shoot his 2024 psychological thriller “Trap,” which starred Josh Hartnett, at the former Dunkin Donuts Center in downtown Providence. But they were unable to seal the deal because of ongoing work to the roof of what is now the Amica Mutual Pavilion.
Ultimately, “Trap” was shot in Hamilton, Ontario in Canada.
Feinberg said he hopes Shyamalan’s latest production will turn him into a repeat customer for future projects and bring even more directors to Rhode Island.
“This is the best place to make a movie,” he said. “It’s the smallest state with the greatest backlot.”
But Feinberg said maintaining a film industry in Rhode Island isn’t always feasible because of the $20 million tax credit cap his office can’t exceed when reimbursing production 30% of their budgets.
“I’ve turned away Academy Award winners, I’ve turned away TV series because we don’t have enough credits,” Feinberg said. “We’d love to get that raised.”
The state has so far received two applications from film productions seeking tax credits under the state’s motion picture company tax credit law for 2025, according to the Department of Revenue’s Division of Taxation website.
Names of each production are left off of the impact analysis posted online. One production, which filed an application on Dec. 23, is expected to spend $31 million and get $9.3 million in credits.
Rhode Island has landed its fair share of Hollywood screentime in recent years.
Sections of Providence, including the Rhode Island State House, recently served as a backdrop for the romantic drama “Ella McCay.” The film starring Emma Mackey, Woody Harrelson, and Jamie Lee Curtis wrapped up production last summer and is expected to be released in September, according to Variety.
The Cranston Street Armory was also used for filming of Disney’s “Hocus Pocus 2” in 2021.
“With our unique landscape and talented local artists, Rhode Island is an ideal location to film a motion picture or television series,” Gov. Dan McKee said in a statement. “Every time a production shoots here we see a positive impact on our local businesses. This is the type of energy that keeps moving our economy forward.”
Feinberg estimates that Shyamalan’s production will create 400 full-time jobs for movie crews and roughly 2,000 positions for extras, who will likely be scouted by Boston Casting and Rhode Island Casting.
This story was originally published by the Rhode Island Current.
