Comedy 'World's Greatest Dad' filming in Seattle

Writer/director Bobcat Goldthwait ("Crank Yankers") and his friend, actor/comedian Robin Williams ("RV," "License To Wed"), have begun a 25-day shoot in the Seattle area.

The new independent comedy is "World's Greatest Dad," in which Williams plays a high school poetry teacher who finds his son dead under embarrassing circumstances.

The comedy chronicles the father's attempt to spare his son and himself the humiliation by writing a fake suicide note. Realizing an opportunity to breathe life into his own moribund writing career, the father also manufactures a fake journal, ostensibly written by his departed son.

The film crew is set up this week at a former elementary school in Wallingford, thanks in part to WashingtonFilmWorks, which had a hand in Goldthwait's decision to shoot there. Since last year, the state has offered financial incentives to production companies. If feature films spend more than $500,000 on expenses such as food, housing and labor, WashingtonFilmWorks will pay 20 percent of the costs back to the production company.

Amy Lillard Dee, executive director of WashingtonFilmWorks, said "World's Greatest Dad" is expected to spend $2 million in the state on local food, labor, transportation and lodging, netting the producers $400,000 in return.