'Ella McCay’ opens Friday but RI cast and crew got an early look
PROVIDENCE – Twenty-two months after filming began in Rhode Island , the first Rhode Island audience – invited local members of the cast and crew who gathered at the Avon Cinema – got to see the James L. Brooks movie "Ella McCay" Wednesday night, Dec. 10.
The 20th Century Studios drama-comedy officially opens nationwide in theaters only on Friday, but several theaters in the Rhode Island area will screen the movie beginning at 2 p.m. Thursday.
The movie is about a lieutenant governor in a fictional, unnamed state – which looks like Rhode Island but couldn't be, because of one key detail – who rises to the top job when the current governor leaves for a Cabinet job in Washington.
The Ocean State's real-life governor – a former lieutenant governor who first got his job when former Gov. Gina M. Raimondo took a Cabinet job in the Biden administration – was in the audience and reacted to the film: "Wasn't it wonderful to see Rhode Island highlighted in a movie that's going to be seen all over the country?"
His lieutenant governor, Sabina Matos, shared similar praise. "I was excited to see our State House on the big screen," she said. "It's a feel-good movie about someone who's idealistic and wants to do the right thing."
The movie's opening scene is an aerial shot of the south face of the State House, and then narrator Julie Kavner, who voices Marge on Brooks' animated series "The Simpsons," sets the movie in 2008, a time of economic struggles, but "we all still liked each other."
Who's in 'Ella McCay'?
"Ella McCay" stars Emma Mackey in the title role, with:
-
Jamie Lee Curtis , as Ella's aunt Helen
-
Woody Harrelson , as Ella's father, Eddie
-
Rebecca Hall , as Ella's mother
-
Spike Fearn , as Ella's brother, Casey McCay
-
Ayo Edebiri , as Casey's ex-girlfriend Susan
-
Jack Lowden , as Ella's husband, Ryan
-
Kumail Nanjiani , as Ella's driver, Trooper Nash
-
Albert Brooks , as Governor Bill
-
Julie Kavner , as Ella's secretary, Estelle, and the film's narrator
A unique audience watched 'Ella McCay' Wednesday night
While the movie got laughs throughout, some of the biggest applause gave away the cast-and-crew nature of the audience: It came deep into the smaller-type section of the credits, when many of them cheered for themselves and their friends.
Among those in the audience were background actors, hair technicians and production interns.
For Amber Voner, of Pawtucket, who worked in the hair department, just seeing old friends and reminiscing about the experience working on the film was reason enough to come.
"I'm super excited to be here with the crew. It's always nice to reconnect," said Voner. "You get thrown back to being cold on Broadway, filming outside Helen's."
Helen's is a bar in the movie, owned by Ella's aunt Helen, played by Jamie Lee Curtis. It was constructed in a vacant storefront on Broadway and got audible "oohs" when its lushly detailed exterior made its first appearance Wednesday night.
Several scenes play out at Helen's bar and her house next door, including the movie's climactic confrontation.
'Really cool' rain made an impression
Sarah Frank was a production intern for the movie. Originally from Florida, she was at Brown University and has since moved to Bristol with her boyfriend, Benjamin Nelson, who was a set decorator intern, originally from Pennsylvania.
"I was there bouncing around, doing random things," like delivering things from one place to another, said Frank. One of the scenes she was looking forward to in the finished movie was one that she was on-hand for as it was created: a stormy scene outside the State House. "They used fake rain, which was really cool," she said. "Everybody got soaked."
A background actor gets face time on-screen
"Oh, my God, I loved it!" Scout Lyons said, coming out of the theater. "The end made me cry, which I didn't expect."
Lyons is a background actor in the movie, a member of a crowd at the State House. And she got one of the payouts that extras hope for: "You saw my face," she said, "very briefly, very briefly."
What's the key detail in 'Ella McCay' that rules out RI as its setting?
One scene shows the exterior of the state's governor's mansion, and then Ella McCay's husband roaming around inside. But Rhode Island is one of a handful of states that doesn't have a governor's mansion.
The making of 'Ella McCay'
"Ella McCay" came to town Feb. 1, 2024, when Hollywood legend writer-director James L. Brooks and members of the cast, including Emma Mackey, Jamie Lee Curtis and Woody Harrelson joined Gov. Dan McKee at a State House press conference announcing the start of filming, which would include displacing McKee for several days to use his office and the rest of the State House.
Filming began Feb. 5 that year in a quiet neighborhood off Blackstone Boulevard. Even before cameras rolled, the movie created a stir when what turned out to be a movie set made residents of a Broadway neighborhood think they had a new nightspot .
Over the following three months, production crews were spotted around Providence , Pawtucket , Cranston , East Providence and Bristol . They even took over the Rhode Island State House.
Filming wrapped on May 3, 2024, on a sidewalk across Westminster Street from the West Side Diner.
After initially announcing a September premiere, 20th Century changed the official release date to Dec. 12, in a move that signaled the studio's hopes of Oscar consideration.
How to see 'Ella McCay' in theaters in the RI area
For now at least, "Ella McCay" is available only in theaters. Although the official release date is Friday, Dec. 12, some area theaters are offering Thursday screenings, including:
-
Showcase Cinema de Lux , North Attleboro, Massachusetts
-
CW Theaters Lincoln Mall 16 , Lincoln
-
Showcase Cinemas , Warwick
-
AMC Dartmouth Mall 11 , North Dartmouth, Massachusetts
See some 'Ella McCay' trailers on YouTube
Those who can't wait for the theatrical release can get more than a few glimpses in online promotional material posted by 20th Century Studios:
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Jamie Lee Curtis, Woody Harrelson Star in RI-Filmed Movie 'Ella McCay'
