Oklahoma
Get a glimpse of home with Oklahoma-made movies in April
OKLAHOMA CITY – With an ever-exploding slate of productions and a persistently swelling national interest, Oklahoma is finally firmly on the filmmaking map these days.
But while the country at large is only now coming around to what we’ve known all along, there have still been plenty of memorable movies made in our neck of the woods over the last handful of years, from Oscar-winners and blockbuster smashes to indie darlings and underseen niche jewels.
And this month is offering no shortage of chances to catch them.
With a month-long Okie-made movie showcase, a buzzmaking streamer, and a rare spotlight on the stranger, far-out experimental side of things, April is the month for Oklahoman films.
And it starts, of course, with the father of them all.
‘Twister’ – Oklahoma Film Exchange – Saturday, April 11th
That’s right, I’m willingly wading back into the treacherous waters that are my opinions of the “Twister” franchise.
But rather than the lamentable recent sequel, the Film Exchange crew is taking it back to the original, a movie that nails all the goofy fun, serious excitement, and (at the time) groundbreaking visuals that a true blockbuster needed in the 90s.
Sure, Jan de Bont’s 1996 cow-twirling action-epic of killer storms isn’t any more concerned with science or accuracy than its 2024 sibling. But it does have loads of tone, a stacked cast of screen legends capable of making you care about the ridiculous stakes and Hollywood energy, and a pretty genuine and mature story of reconciling lovers (rather than a half-baked meteorological meet-cute.)
And yes, the entire climactic finale scene is historically dumb, but at least it has the decency to be so dumb that it’s historic, instead of trying to take itself seriously.
Regardless of any of that, though, it was just so cool to see Oklahoma represented on the big screen back in 1996, and if you were there at the time, you know it’s still fun to relive that feeling when you can.
For more, visit oklahomafilmexchange.com.
‘Elusive’ – Rodeo Cinema (presented by VHS & Chill) – Saturday, April 25th
All month long, Rodeo is actually hosting a full slate of “Made in Oklahoma” films, including Oscar-winners like “Minari” and underseen gems like “Te Ata.”
But the one absolute can’t-miss selection rounding out the schedule is “Elusive,” writer/director Nick Sanford’s 2022 “stupid Bigfoot movie” that takes the mockumentary format into some decidedly broad, moronic, and unreasonably funny territory while also, against all odds, discovering a legitimate heart at its own center.
It’s a screwball faux documentary about the search for Bigfoot. That’s really all you need to know.
But with OKC comedy lynchpin Bradchad Porter in the lead, there’s also a surprisingly heartwarming and effective story running beneath the screwball-ness of a disgraced father attempting to impress his son.
And there’s also some equally hysterical turns from Mickey Reece, Oklahoma’s alt-film king, and an unrelentingly watachable co-lead turn from the sadly departed Alex Sanchez (he didn’t die, he just moved away from Oklahoma.)
It’s funnier than it has any right to be and it’s more emotional than it has any reason to be and you can finally see it properly in a local theater with a game audience and maybe some of the cast and probably Sanford himself.
It’s an extra-special occasion, though, because this screening is part of the “farewell tour” from OKC’s premier guerilla pop-up cult screening concern VHS & Chill, who plans to hang up the travelling VCR for good after 2026.
So come out on a Saturday night and support the weirder, wilder side of Oklahoma’s indie movie scene.
For more, visit rodeocinema.org.
Wide Open Experimental Fest Festival – Oklahoma City Museum of Art & Oklahoma Film Exchange – Thursday, April 23rd through Sunday, April 26th
Speaking of weird and wild, the ever-growing, ever-strange Wide Open Experimental Film Festival returns once again this month, with a bigger-than-ever weekend of exceptionally far-out, eye-opening experiments designed to push the boundaries of what a film can even be.
Things kick off Thursday, the 23rd at the Film Exchange with a full screening and filmmaker Q&A event before shifting over to the Oklahoma City Museum of Art for three loaded days of psychedelic, expectation-shattering screenings and creative, forward-thinking panel events featuring a slew of local filmmaking minds.
Though it’s a truly international fest this year, convention-shirking shorts from local filmmakers abound, with new offerings from creative Oklahoman forces Lily Tucker and Jessi Kyle (who will both be in-person during the weekend,) as well as plenty of locally-focused panels featuring the likes of director/photographer Lauren Bumgarner, deadCenter’s Julia Witcher, OK Film Exchange’s River Lunsford, and more.
Sunday the 26th is even set for a special event from Dissociation OK co-founder (and regular Free Press feature) Andrew Lee, who will be screening his experimental film offering “Myein” alongside a full live accompaniment by his audio alter ego, ut mutem.
The WOE Film Fest is a total trip every year, and this one is looking to be the biggest and boldest yet.
For more, visit wideopeneff.com.
‘Salt of the Earth’ – Now on digital
And how about a streaming option as well?
Yeah, you can keep supporting Okie cinema without even getting up off the couch, because brutal, blood-soaked apocalypse drama “Salt of the Earth” is available now on digital platforms for purchase and rent.
It’s the newest offering from Oklahomans Kara and Jeremy Choate, the duo behind breakout “Tenkiller,” and it sports a who’s who of local faces, including Adam Hampton, Jessi Kyle, Cate Jones (leader of the band Lover Girl,) Ben Hall, Mary Buss, Jacob Ryan Snovel, Alex Sanchez (again,) and the Choates’ frequent collaborator, Raygun Busch of Chat Pile.
If you missed it when it tore up deadCenter last year, then you can dive into all the boiling family drama, the rabies-infected freakouts, the shootouts, and the relentless, abject bleakness of a backwoods world in the ruins of hat used to be civilized society.
You can check it out on Amazon now.
Catch Brett Fieldcamp’s film column weekly for information and insights into the world of film in the Oklahoma City metro and Oklahoma. | Brought to you by the Oklahoma City Museum of Art.
Brett Fieldcamp is the owner and Editor in Chief of Oklahoma City Free Press. He has been covering arts, entertainment, news, housing, and culture in Oklahoma for nearly two decades and served as Arts & Entertainment Editor before purchasing the company from founder Brett Dickerson in 2026.
He is also a musician and songwriter and holds a certification as Specialist of Spirits from The Society of Wine Educators.
What you need to know about Oklahoma ahead of the College World Series
North Carolina will face a dangerous Oklahoma team that is on a roll.
Oklahoma (41-22) has been just as dominant. The Sooners, making their 13th College World Series appearance and first since 2022, surged through the postseason as road warriors. They won the Atlanta Regional by upsetting No. 2 seed and ACC champion Georgia Tech in the final, then swept Big 12 champion and No. 15 seed Kansas by a combined score of 21-3 in the Lawrence Regional.
The Sooners, who are 3-0 in Omaha after beating No. 7 seed Alabama and knocking off No. 3 seed and SEC champion Georgia twice, are seeking their third national championship. Oklahoma won titles in 1951 and 1994 and finished as runner-up to Ole Miss in 2022.
Here are a few things to know about Oklahoma:
Best player: Catcher Deiten LaChance
LaChance is Oklahoma’s most powerful hitter. He is batting .333 with 12 doubles, two triples and team highs of 16 home runs and 65 RBIs.
Throughout the postseason, he is hitting .326 with four home runs and 15 RBIs. In Omaha, he is 5-for-14 (.357) with one home run and five RBIs.
Strengths
Like North Carolina, Oklahoma is a balanced team that is good at a little bit of everything and is built to frustrate opponents.
Oklahoma is a balanced hitting team like UNC, but the Sooners have hit a few more homers with 91, compared to the Tar Heels’ 82. That is largely due to the Sooners smashing 26 home runs in their 10 postseason games. In Omaha, OU has homered eight times, including five homers in its win over Georgia in its previous game.
The Sooners have stolen 129 bases this season. That is good for 24th nationally and second in the SEC.
Pitching-wise, OU is 18th nationally in strikeouts per nine innings and leads the SEC in shutouts.
Weaknesses
The most glaring weakness is the pitching staff, despite its ability to strike out opposing batters and record shutouts.
The Sooners have a 4.98 ERA as a staff. Only one pitcher with 10 or more appearances has an ERA under 3.60.
They also allow 4.51 walks per nine innings, which ranks 138th nationally.
Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.
It was a Friday Night Lights in June kind of moment for the Oklahoma State Cowboys as Israel “Izzy” Hammons made his commitment announcement.
The Choctaw, Okla., rising senior announced his decision to commit to Oklahoma State on Friday during an Instagram Live session. The Cowboys beat out a roster of schools vying for the linebacker, most notably Texas.
Hammons made just two official visits — one to OSU and one to Texas last week.
His commitment pushed the Cowboys’ 2027 recruiting class back to nine players after the defection of Mount Carmel (Chicago, IL) offensive lineman Chase Clark to Purdue.
Commitments are non-binding. The earliest that Hammons can sign with OSU is in December.
Izzy Hammons to OSU
Hammons is the first four-star player to commit to the Cowboys this cycle. Their previous commitments all came from three-star players. The 6-3, 225-pound linebacker was considered a Top 200 player in the country by both On3/Rivals and 247Sports. Both services had him ranked as a Top 10 player in the state of Oklahoma at any position. He’s also considered the No. 1 linebacker in the state.
He also runs track and field, competing in the high jump and the 100-meter days, with a personal best of 11.30 seconds in the latter.
The Longhorns came in hot at the end but already had linebackers committed to the program this cycle. For the Cowboys getting a pledge from a player like Hammons is key to shore up a position where they didn’t have a commitment and where they plan to use senior transfers as starters in 2026. That means OSU and head coach Eric Morris must start building a pipeline now.
OSU’s Class of 2027
After Clark’s decommitment the Cowboys were down to eight recruits for 2027 entering Friday, most of which were on the offensive side of the ball and starting with Iowa Colony (Texas) quarterback Carson White, who was the cycle’s first commitment in April.
Up front, OSU has two offensive line commitments Jake Baker of Ensworth High School in Nashville, Tenn., and Sonny Mullen of Troy, Texas. When it comes to skill positions players the Cowboys have three commitments as well, including two wide receivers — Cooper Hooker of Pryor (Quapaw, Okla.) High School and Ake O’Neal of Argyle, Texas. Oklahoma State also has a pledge from tight end Talan Scott of Queen City, Ariz.
Defensively, the Cowboys have commitments from safeties Chayce Davis of Euless (Texas) Trinity High School and Bryson Brown of Broken Bow, Okla.
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OKLAHOMA CITY (KOKH) — As an Oklahoma utility company seeks a multimillion-dollar rate increase, two Oklahoma state representatives are asking the Oklahoma Supreme Court to give customers a voice.
The Oklahoma Corporation Commission is currently deciding on a $29 million rate increase for Oklahoma Natural Gas.
If approved, officials say it would mark the fourth rate hike the OCC has approved for ONG in the last four years and has led to an $128 million increase in customer bills.
Rep. Tom Gann, R-Inola, and Rep. Kevin West, R-Moore, have filed an appeal with the Oklahoma Supreme Court, saying customers weren’t given a chance to participate in the case.
“The OCC has gone completely off the beam,” ONG customers Gann and Kevin West told the Supreme Court in their June 17 petition.
In the filing, they claim that the OCC set a March 27 deadline to intervene in ONG’s rate case but only set it after the deadline had already passed.
They say ONG’s customers weren’t notified about the case until late April.
“This case was rigged from the start to keep ONG ratepayers out,” said Gann. “The federal courts have said utility customers have constitutional due process rights – including a right to timely and adequate notice about these cases. We are asking the Supreme Court to uphold customers’ rights and require the OCC to change its rules to respect them. ONG ratepayers should be allowed to exercise their right to participate without being muzzled.”
The commissioners are expected to make a final decision on the $29 million rate increase later this year.
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ONG, the OCC, and the attorney general have 30 days to respond to Gann and Kevin West’s latest ONG appeal.
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