‘Ella McCay,’ shot in RI, comes to theaters Dec. 11

• A new film, “Ella McCay,” about an idealistic young politician, was filmed in various Rhode Island locations.
• The movie features a star-studded cast including Emma Mackey, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Woody Harrelson.
• Many Rhode Island residents had encounters with the celebrities and production, with some even serving as extras.
• Directed by James L. Brooks, the 20th Century Studios film is set for an official theatrical release on Dec. 12.

PROVIDENCE – On Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024, director James L. Brooks and stars Emma Mackey, Jamie Lee Curtis and Woody Harrelson joined Gov. Dan McKee at the Rhode Island State House to announce the impending start of filming of “Ella McCay,” about an idealistic young politician.

On Thursday, Dec. 11 this year, they will be back in Rhode Island – on the big screen, if not in the flesh – as the 20th Century Studios film pitched as a holiday feel-good movie hits screens.

In addition to Mackey, as Ella McCay; Curtis, as Ella’s aunt Helen McCay; and Harrelson, as Ella’s father, Eddie McCay, the comedy-drama includes:

• Jack Lowden, as Ella’s husband, Ryan
• Rebecca Hall, as Ella’s mother
• Kumail Nanjiani, as Ella’s driver, Trooper Nash
• Spike Fearn, as Ella’s brother, Casey McCay
• Ayo Edebiri, as Casey’s ex-girlfriend Susan
• Albert Brooks, as Governor Bill
• Julie Kavner, as Ella’s secretary, Estelle, and the film’s narrator

Filming began Feb. 1, 2024, 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.

Everyday RIers had brushes with celebrities

From spectators who gathered near some of the filming locations to patrons of local businesses stars visited to those with more intimate connections to the world of “Ella McCay,” everyday Rhode Islanders got a chance to see some of their favorite celebrities in 2024.

In Providence, Jacqueline Grullon had been going to fetch her mail from the office at her University Heights apartment complex one day in March when she stumbled on crews shooting the movie at the corner of Pratt and Olney streets.

“It’s great that we’re going to see part of where we live in a movie,” she told The Providence Journal at the time. “It’s wonderful.”

In Pawtucket, Ros Johnson sat on her front steps on Glenwood Avenue one April day and watched moviemaking magic directly across the street. “I think it’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing,” she said at the time. “I’ve never seen anything like this. I’d never expected this much hullabaloo. It’s fascinating.”

Pawtucket’s Lydia Breckon moved out so ‘Ella McCay’ could move in

The house Johnson was watching belonged to neighbor Lydia Breckon, whose kitchen was portrayed as being in the home of one of the characters in the movie, though it wasn’t publicly revealed which at the time.

“I relocated out of the house for the last three days so that they can go in there and dress it,” Breckon explained at the time. “You know it is a little discombobulating to move out of your house and give other people free license to kind of redo it.

Providence’s Dan Hornby owns Aunt Helen’s house and bar

When filmmakers were looking for a spot to become the bar run by Ella McCay’s Aunt Helen, they fell in love with Dan Hornby’s vacant storefront at 445 Broadway and converted it to a movie set. They also loved Hornby’s own house next door and used it for exterior’s of Helen’s home as well as a place for cast members to wait when they weren’t needed on the set.

Hornby and his wife, Charle, and their three young children got to see Jamie Lee Curtis and Emma Mackey walk up to their house and pretend to walk in. (The interior of the movie house was built on a sound stage in the nearby Cranston Street Armory.) And Woody Harrelson did card tricks in their kitchen during downtime.

After the storefront was done with its time in the limelight, movie crews dismantled Helen’s bar, and Hornby now serves as landlord to Sawyer’s, a restaurant and coffee shop in the exact same space with the slightly different address of 447 Broadway – the building occupies both addresses.

Are Warwick’s Mike and Maria Sanda in ‘Ella McCay’?

For one retired Warwick couple, the premiere of the movie will resolve a personal mystery: Are they in the film?

Mike and Maria Sanda were extras on the lawn of the State House during the April 8 solar eclipse. But being cast as extras doesn’t guarantee they’ll be in the movie shown in theaters.

“That’s part of the excitement of this,” Mike told The Journal for a story about working in movies and TV. “We don’t know whether we got any prime screen time.”

A few RIers had random encounters with celebrities

While making the movie, the stars got around Rhode Island on their time off, too. Jamie Lee Curtis recommended “a lovely” spot for brunch in Providence, and Woody Harrelson headed to Cranston for some bowling.

Filming ended and the wait began

Filming wrapped May 3, 2024, on a sidewalk across Westminster Street from the West Side Diner.

Unlike some movies – this summer’s M. Night Shyamalan film “Remain,” as an example, that have release dates announced before filming ends – there was not a word from 20th Century Studios when the production left town a year and a half ago.

Then, in February this year, the studio announced a Sept. 19 theatrical release date.

But in May, in a move that signaled the studio’s hopes of Oscar consideration, the release date was pushed to Dec. 12.

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:

20th Century Studios posts slew of ‘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:

Interviews with ‘Ella McCay’ stars promoting the movie

Here’s what the stars have to say about the film: