The director of the Rhode Island Film & Television Office says the national strike by movie and TV writers, which began Nov. 5, has hurt efforts to bring productions to Rhode Island, costing the state potential jobs and revenue...

...Steven Feinberg, who heads the state agency, said he had been in discussions with TV studios about filming three pilot episodes in Rhode Island for shows that would air in this year’s season. Because of the writers’ strike, he said, those pilots will not be made here...

...Feinberg also said there were two movies that were considering shooting in Rhode Island this year. The status of those films is now uncertain because of the strike...

The writers’ strike has occurred as the state is making an aggressive effort to woo TV and film production to Rhode Island, highlighted by a tax incentive passed by the General Assembly in 2005. Feinberg estimated that film and TV productions have spent $188 million in the state since the tax incentive passed... 

...Even as the state faces a serious budget deficit, House Speaker William J. Murphy said he wants the state to consider creating a movie studio, possibly at the Cranston Street Armory in Providence. The state’s director of facilities management, responding to legislative inquiries, estimated that renovating the 175,600-square-foot armory into “Class A office space” would cost $34.85 million.