REEL FACTS ABOUT OKLAHOMA FILM/TV INDUSTRY

REEL FACTS ABOUT OKLAHOMA’S FILM +TV INDUSTRY

BEHIND THE SCENES OF “GREAT PLAINS” PHOTO CREDIT: ZACHARY BURNS

Despite a year that saw challenges for many industries amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Oklahoma’s film and television industry continued a positive trajectory in 2020 with 34 film and television projects produced in our state utilizing the state’s film incentive program administered by OF+MO. This was due in part to Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt declaring the motion picture and sound recording industries an essential business, helping avert future shutdowns in this sector. In Fiscal Year 21 (July 1, 2020 – June 30, 2021), over 42 different statewide communities served as location sites and were impacted by film and TV productions in Oklahoma. In 2021, Oklahoma hosted its first full-season scripted television series, FX’s “Reservation Dogs”, as well as its largest motion picture to date, Apple’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” from acclaimed director Martin Scorsese. In 2021, MovieMaker Magazine ranked Oklahoma City #15 out of 25 big cities & Tulsa #7 out of 10 small cities/towns as the Top Places to Live and Work as a Filmmaker on its annual list. While OF+MO remains the only government agency statewide to offer a film incentive program, the state has seen the creation of additional film offices who support production in their respective cities and regions - the Tulsa Office of Film, Music, Arts and Culture (TFMAC), the Cherokee Nation Film Office, the El Reno TV & Film Commission and the Shawnee Film & Music Office. Oklahoma offers over 30 film festivals, including the top-rated deadCenter Film Festival, which annually attracts over 25,000 attendees. Oklahoma has over 40 recording studios, including state-of-the-art facilities around the state where several film productions have utilized the additional music incentive offered by the state’s film rebate program to record their project’s soundtrack or score with Oklahoma musicians and talent. Oklahoma has the longest stretch of drivable Route 66 miles in the United States. With 12 distinct eco-regions, Oklahoma has the most diverse terrain per miles in the United States.

• Oklahoma has 55,646 miles of shoreline - more than the Atlantic & Gulf Coasts combined.

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Oklahoma City and Tulsa have been named Top 20 Cities for lowest cost of living. • Oklahoma has over 145 universities, community colleges and trade schools with new academic programs and curriculum solely focused on film production and training. Visit page 8 of the Oklahoma Look Book for more cultural, natural and business statistics.