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Season’s Greetings from the Oklahoma Film + Music Office! We hope the latest issue of our monthly newsletter “Now Playing” finds you feeling festive as we wrap the Thanksgiving holiday and head into Christmas.
One of the greatest gifts of the year is seeing how much Oklahoma’s film and music industries have accomplished in 2021 and celebrating the role our local workforce, businesses, educators, communities and state & city leadership has played in these accomplishments. Whether you’re indulging in the seasonal sounds of Oklahoma musicians on our new Spotify Christmas playlist or catching a screening of the Oklahoma-produced films “Agnes” or “American Underdog”, which is based on the true story of legendary quarterback Kurt Warner, in theatres, we hope you’ll take some time this year to recognize the skill, hard work, talent and professionalism of our local filmmakers and musicians. Don't miss our Spotlight video interview this month! Hear what one of the producers of "Reagan" has to say about filming in Oklahoma.
We look forward to the journey ahead with you in the new year, and wish you all a wonderful holiday season with the ones you hold dear!
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Stay in Touch with Our *NEW* Emails!
With our recent move to the Oklahoma Department of Commerce, make sure to stay connected with us by accessing our updated contact information, including phone numbers and e-mail addresses. We look forward to hearing from you!
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| JOIN OF+MO AT THESE EVENTS
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| | The Film Education Institute of Oklahoma Gearing Up for Film Production Workshop
The Film Education Institute of Oklahoma (FEIO) is gearing up to produce their semi-annual Film Production Workshop, which will take place in Oklahoma City December 27-30. The workshop provides students with the opportunity to get their hands on industry standard equipment while learning under the guidance of industry professionals. Along with tips and tricks the instructors picked up over the years, the workshop allows students to network with others in the industry who could become their colleagues or bosses. Spots are limited and registration will be closed soon. In addition, FEIO is looking for four individuals to intern throughout pre-production to wrap of this workshop.
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Oklahoma City Community College to Offer New Grip and Electric Intensive, in Partnership with Prairie Surf
Oklahoma City Community College (OCCC) will offer a new Grip and Electric Intensive starting Monday, January 3, 2022, in partnership with Prairie Surf to produce highly trained entry level grips, a role that specializes as camera and lighting technicians, and electricians, a position that plans and executes the lighting plan for shoots, who are prepared to enter the workforce upon completing the course. The intensive runs five days a week, for five weeks, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
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Francis Tuttle Partners with Prairie Surf to Offer Film Training Classes
Francis Tuttle Technology Center offers a broad range of programs and services in support of developing and maintaining a quality workforce in Central Oklahoma with four campuses located throughout Oklahoma City and the surrounding region. As Oklahoma’s booming film and television industry continues to create thousands of new local career opportunities, Francis Tuttle has partnered with Prairie Surf Media to launch a series of training classes geared towards growing a strong, skilled film workforce to meet the industry’s current job demand.
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Current Casting Calls
CASTING
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| BUSINESS + INFRASTRUCTURE
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| | City of Bethany Creates Incentive Package to Bring Filmmakers to Community
The City of Bethany and the Bethany Economic Development Authority (BEDA) are proud to announce the creation of an incentive packet for qualifying filmmakers as an invitation to work in one of the most promising cities in the metro. Sitting Northwest of Oklahoma City, the City of Bethany is the heart of Route 66, the home to two universities, and an historic
downtown that are proven attractions for the arts. The organization says it has set aside $20,000 annually to offer incentives to filmmakers who want to use Bethany in filming. Implementing economic incentives to draw more business to communities statewide illustrates how the film industry can diversify the state's economy.
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FEATURED BUSINESS
Guitar House of Tulsa
Based in Tulsa, Guitar House of Tulsa is nationally known for its museum collection and vintage instrument selection.
"Oklahoma, specifically Tulsa, is unique in the music industry. There’s a certain seasoning within the sound of Tulsa, OK. It can’t be articulated, but it is as distinct as a Monet. To have boots on the ground in this magic city is possibly essential to the business. I can operate in a lot of different places, and in many capacities, but I take great pride in being an Okie."
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Upcoming Oklahoma Film Friendly Community Program Meeting December 8
OF+MO will host its fourth quarterly Oklahoma Film Friendly Community Meeting December 8 as we highlight the current momentum in Oklahoma’s film and television industry and the resources afforded to our statewide communities through OF+MO’s film friendly initiative.
This being our final quarterly meeting of 2021, OF+MO looks forward to celebrating the accomplishments of our communities in this first year of our re-imagined Film Friendly Program as well as share some valuable insight we’ve sourced from film producers, locations professionals and other industry members that we know will further help communities as we look ahead to future film friendly development and our program next year.
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City of Ada Achieves Oklahoma Film Friendly Community Certification
OF+MO, in conjunction with the City of Ada, is proud to announce the community of Ada has achieved ‘film friendly’ certification after completing the requirements for OF+MO’s Oklahoma Film Friendly Community Program. Located in the rolling hills of southeastern Oklahoma, the historic City of Ada is known for its pioneering spirit and hospitality. The City of Ada also serves as the headquarters for The Chickasaw Nation, which has produced a number of feature films throughout Oklahoma over the last decade including “Pearl,” “Te Ata” and “Montford: The Chickasaw Rancher,” the latter of which debuted on Netflix in November.
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City of Chickasha Achieves Oklahoma Film Friendly Community Certification
OF+MO, in conjunction with the Chickasha Economic Development Council, is proud to announce the City of Chickasha has achieved ‘film friendly’ certification after completing the requirements for OF+MO’s Oklahoma Film Friendly Community Program. In recent years, the City of Chickasha has hosted portions of production on the feature films “Infamous” and “What Josiah Saw” as well as worked with Oklahoma musicians Maggie McClure and Shane Henry of The Imaginaries to produce the music video for “Hometown Christmas”, which also served as a tourism promotion highlighting a number of the community’s attractions, and winning the annual Redbud Award for Best Overall Marketing in 2020. This year, the City of Chickasha served as the host community for the Samuel Goldwyn feature film “A Cowgirl’s Song”, and once again collaborated with The Imaginaries on the music video for their new holiday single, “Christmas Town”, which you can watch here.
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Listen to Oklahoma Holiday Music on Spotify
Get into the holiday spirit with songs from your favorite Oklahoma artists with our Oklahoma Christmas playlist on Spotify! Hear music from past years of A Blackwatch Christmas albums, including Jabee, Samantha Crain, Colourmusic and more!
Do you have a Christmas song or album? Let us know and get it added! If you’re an Oklahoma artist who is registered in the Oklahoma Music Directory, we invite you to be featured on our Christmas playlist by updating your listing with your Spotify page or emailing us at filminfo@oklahomafilm.org.
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FEATURED LOCATION
Mustang Public Schools Performing Arts Center
Located on the Mustang High School Campus, the Mustang Public Schools Performing Arts Center is a premier facility for the arts in Oklahoma. The newly constructed 65,000 square foot venue is camera-ready for filmmakers, boasting a 1,500-seat performance hall, black box theater, art gallery, spacious lobbies and instructional spaces. In addition to showcasing the school’s band, choir, theatre and visual arts programming, the world class venue will become available to rent in July 2022 providing the community further access to a broad range of creativity to inspire, educate and entertain.
Many thanks to the Mustang PAC for allowing us to share this location in consideration of the community’s pursuit of film friendly certification through the Oklahoma Film Friendly Community Program.
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| OKLAHOMA FILM + MUSIC SPOTLIGHTS
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MARK JOSEPH | film producer
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| The Oklahoma Film + Music Office (OF+MO)’s “Oklahoma Film + Music Spotlight” features various filmmakers, musicians and industry leaders who have experienced the positive benefits of making film and music in Oklahoma.
December's Spotlight features Mark Joseph, producer on the film "Reagan", which was filmed in Oklahoma. The production of "Reagan" chose to film in Oklahoma due to the positive feedback from other filmmakers touting hard-working local crew, diverse locations and heartland hospitality.
Click the image to watch this month's Spotlight video!
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FEATURED FILM CAREER
Will R. Dougherty | costume designer
"The highlight of my career has been meeting so many new creatives both from Oklahoma and from various other places, as well as being able to explore the state’s unique filming locations."
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| | | FEATURED MUSIC CAREER
Nicholas Poss | music composer + teacher
"Oklahoma’s film rebate has attracted a lot of investment in the entertainment industry. All the films coming into town are creating a lot of new and exciting opportunities for Oklahoma musicians."
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LEARN ABOUT OKLAHOMA'S FILM INCENTIVES
Film and television projects interested in applying for incentives under the ‘Filmed in Oklahoma Act of 2021’ can learn more information on the Incentives Page of our website.
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- "The Studio"
- "Little Dixie"
- "The Adventures of Juassic Pet II"
Please note that these dates are subject to change pending the production’s compliance with the benchmarks and administrative rules for the rebate programs. For a current listing of films in the rebate queue, please visit the Now Filming section of our website.
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THAT'S A WRAP
OF+MO is pleased to announce the completion of one project in the last month, utilizing Oklahoma's film incentives.
- "Finding Cricket's Choir"
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WATCH: Projects Filmed in Oklahoma Releasing this Month!
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Click the image to watch the trailer for "American Underdog".
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| “American Underdog” in Theatres December 25
The inspirational feature film “American Underdog:The Kurt Warner Story” will be domestically released in theatres by Lionsgate on December 25. Based on the memoir “All Things Possible: My Story of Faith, Football and the First Miracle Season”, the film tells the true story of NFL star and Super Bowl MVP Kurt Warner, an NFL longshot who later became a champion quarterback and Hall of Famer. “American Underdog” features an all-star cast, including Zachary Levi (“Shazam”) in the titular role of Kurt Warner alongside Academy Award winner Anna Paquin (“The Piano”), Academy Award nominee Virginia Madsen (“Sideways”), Golden Globe nominee Dennis Quaid (“The Rookie”), Chance Kelly (“American Sniper”) and Ser’Darius Blain (“Jumanji” films).
From the Erwin Brothers, who previously produced “I Can Only Imagine” in Oklahoma as well as the forthcoming "Unbreakable Boy", the majority of “American Underdog” was produced in central Oklahoma with locations in Oklahoma City, El Reno, Edmond, Arcadia and Okarche, and created over 704 local career opportunities.
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| | Start your new career in the Oklahoma film industry!
As the entertainment industry continues to flourish both globally and here in Oklahoma, the need for the continued development and expansion of our local film industry workforce and companies is critical. We invite you to explore resources to learn more about ways you can plug in to the industry and start your careers now!
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Start your new career in the Oklahoma music industry!
Home to some of the most renowned musical acts and venues in the world, there are more exciting opportunities in Oklahoma’s music industry than ever before. We invite you to explore our website’s resources to learn more about ways you can plug in to the industry and start your careers now!
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Listen to Oklahoma Music on Spotify
OF+MO has made it easy to listen to Oklahoma music with 18 playlists (so far) on Spotify. Genres include blues, hip hop, indie, pop, Red Dirt, Oklahoma music in film, and more!
Get your music added! If you’re an Oklahoma artist who is registered in the Oklahoma Music Directory, we invite you to be featured on one of our playlists by updating your listing with your Spotify page or emailing us at filminfo@oklahomafilm.org.
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At Your Fingertips!
Instantly access the Oklahoma Production, Locations and Music Directories with the OKLAHOMA FILM + MUSIC OFFICE APP to explore and connect with Oklahoma's talented crew, accommodating support services, diverse locations and legendary musicians. For more information, visit the iTunes Store.
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Stay Connected with Your Legislator
Connect with your local area state legislators at oklegislature.gov or by using the Oklahoma Legislative Guide for the 58th Legislature app, which provides current contact information and photos of each representative. This free app is provided by the Oklahoma Association of Electric Cooperatives (OAEC). Find it in the app store.
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| About the Oklahoma Film + Music Office:
Under the Oklahoma Department of Commerce, the Oklahoma Film + Music Office (OF+MO) works to promote the state as a viable hub for film, television and music production as well as further develop opportunities for workforce, business and community growth within these sectors. For more information on the Oklahoma Film + Music Office, including the state’s film incentives and additional resources, visit okfilmmusic.org.
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SUPPORT • CONNECT • PROMOTE
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