Scene and Heard – Chad Verdi: Fly Low, Soar High

Flying under the radar is his style. The result, however, is soaring high among the stars. Literally.

For Chad Verdi and his home-grown East Greenwich company, Verdi Productions / Woodhaven Production Company, this is certainly the case. He has produced six feature films in Rhode Island over the past four years. Bleed for This is his most ambitious project to date, with an estimated budget of $16,000,000.

This film is scheduled to begin principal photography in Rhode Island this fall. Bleed for This tells the true-life story of world champion Rhode Island boxer Vinny Pazienza as he recovers from a near fatal car accident and goes on to win three additional world boxing titles, one of the most incredible and dramatic comebacks in sports history.

Oscar-winning producer Bruce Cohen (American Beauty, Silver Linings Playbook) will join Chad, along with Oscar-winner Martin Scorcese (The Departed, Goodfellas), Emma Tillinger Koskoff and Noah Kraft as producers on the project. Writer/Producer Ben Younger (Boiler Room, Prime) will direct the film, slated to start principal photography in Rhode Island this fall.

As I chatted with Mr. Verdi from his Martha’s Vineyard home, he surprised me by saying that film is not his first love. Technology is, as he has made a name for himself in nuclear waste and homeland security. He is also the largest independent shareholder in a tech company called NXT-ID. The company will soon be trading on the stock exchange as early as next week under the symbol NXTD, just having received  SEC approval; business partner Gino Pereira serves as the CEO.

“I don’t need much sleep – only two to two and half hours per night – and I’ve never missed a soccer game or anything my kids were involved in,” Verdi says. As a matter of fact, he chatted with me while doing an 8-mile walk that he does every day – and never misses a breath. His energy is just as impressive as his accomplishments, but he puts his family first always. In fact, his family plays a big part in his film business. Chad’s wife Michelle is his talent supervisor, and his son Chad Verdi Jr. often puts in 15- to 18-hour days on set.

Verdi has been very successful in his other endeavors as well, including companies in property, food and the restaurant business after graduating East Greenwich High School in ’85. He makes it a point to meet the key players in anything he becomes involved in to make his vision happen. In fact, after taking it easy for a bit in 2004, he learned all about the film business while working on the Vinny Paz story, and optioned the rights to it in 2009.  He maintains a low profile here in his home state, but is well-known in LA and the entertainment business there. Verdi’s latest two productions, A Bet’s a Bet and Army of the Damned, have just wrapped. His two previous films, Infected and Self Storage, are being released through Screen Media and each will reach more than 100,000,000 homes through Universal’s VOD platform, starting this month with Infected.

Steven Feinberg, Executive Director of the Rhode Island Film & TV Office, who is presenting Verdi with the Producer of the Year Award on August 8 at the Biltmore Hotel, said, “Over the past four years, Chad and his talented team have consistently invested in Rhode Island, putting hundreds of citizens to work, utilizing local resources and building a filmmaking foundation. He has created an amazing infrastructure by mentoring students and helping local crew learn the business from the ground up. Chad has one of the most aggressive production schedules we have ever seen,” added Feinberg. “He plans to produce six feature films locally over the next 24 months. With his proven track record, we know he will succeed. We could not be more proud of him for making so many dreams come true for so many Rhode Islanders in our beautiful Ocean State.”

Verdi cites Senator Sheldon Whitehouse as being instrumental in helping him develop his projects. “I was introduced to Martin and Emma through Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, who has been a great help to me in developing these films,” Verdi said.

I’ll have to agree with Mr. Feinberg.  We know he will succeed, there’s just no other alternative for Verdi. He continues to bring jobs to RI – and more importantly, he inspires and brings the dreams of many Rhode islanders to fruition. One of those Rhode Islanders is Tom Paolino, an up-and-comer in the acting biz. Paolino has been in all six of Verdi’s films, and he hopes to have a role in the Paz film as well. I’ll be doing an article soon on Mr. Paolino, so stay tuned for that, as there are some very exciting things coming up for  him in the future.

Verdi’s success in the film industry, along with the many new projects that are being done in the area only prove that Rhode Island is becoming a hot spot for the industry and is able to draw big names.

With that being said, remember that the RI International Film Festival is this month, from the 6^th through the 11^th,. And check us out on “Take Two,” the film review show I do with Nick Iandolo online. Nick gets to pick the next film, and I’m really hoping he picks Pacific Rim.

Film is rolling, people.