Famous Faces In Rhode Island For Filming And New Set Revealed

Rhode Island is once again the backdrop for a major motion picture and the stars of this latest film have begun arriving in the Ocean State.

Last November news of a new film from legendary director/producer James L. Brooks began to leak online. Brooks was returning to his role as director for the first time in 13 years on a project titled Ella McCay and people were, of course, excited.

Even more exciting was the fact that Ella McCay was going to be filmed in Rhode Island and would bring some pretty big names to the Ocean State.

At first Deadline.com could only speculate that Jamie Lee Curtis, Woody Harrelson, Albert Brooks, Kumail Nanjiani, Emma Mackey, Spike Fearn and Ayo Edebiri would appear in this picture. Yet recent photos on social media seem to now confirm at least half of the actors on this list.

Last night Bacco Vino & Contorni in Providence posted photos of owner Armando Bisceglia and other staff members with not only James L. Brooks, but Woody Harrelson, Jamie Lee Curtis, Emma Mackey and Albert Brooks, too.

The cast seemed to throw a small filming kickoff party inside the Federal Hill hot spot and everyone looked like they had a great time.

But that cast won't just be partying in Providence. Filming seems to be happening there as well.

In a recent post on Reddit, user @cometpants posted a photo featuring a new (yet old) restaurant at 445 Broadway in Providence. The picture showed a business called Helen's and the signage claimed it was established in 1972.

Helen’s 445 @ Broadway/Almy - any info on this new spot?
byu/cometpants inprovidence

The user was confused, since Helen's doesn't really exist and definitely hasn't been in Providence for the last 52 years. It turns out this is going to be one of the locations for Ella McCay.

According to IMDB,

The film will follow an idealistic young politician who juggles familial issues and a challenging work life while preparing to take over the job of her mentor, the state’s longtime incumbent governor.

Emma Mackey is confirmed as the title character of the film, leading to speculation Jamie Lee Curtis would be her mentor. As to the other roles in the project, IMDB doesn't have any information on them yet.

There is information on other film locations, however. Last fall it was established that the Cranston Armory would be part of the film and this week Steve Feinberg, executive director of the RI Film and Television Office, said more information on the movie will be released at a press event this week.