Oklahoma
‘Twisters’ tears through Oklahoma on the big screen. Moviegoers in the state are buying up tickets
Grace Evans lived through one of the most powerful and deadly twisters in Oklahoma history: a roaring top-of-the-scale terror in 2013 that plowed through homes, tore through a school and killed 24 people in the small suburb of Moore.
A hospital and bowling alley were also destroyed. But not the movie theater next door — where almost a decade later, Evans and her teenage daughter this week felt no pause buying two tickets to a showing of the blockbuster “Twisters.”
“I was looking for that element of excitement and I guess drama and danger,” Evans said.
Her daughter also walked out a fan. “It was very realistic. I was definitely frightened,” said Charis Evans, 15.
The smash success of “Twisters” has whipped up moviegoers in Oklahoma who are embracing the summer hit, including in towns scarred by deadly real-life tornadoes. Even long before it hit theaters, Oklahoma officials had rolled out the red carpet for makers of the film, authorizing what is likely to wind up being millions of dollars in incentives to film in the state.
In its opening weekend, the action-packed film starring Daisy Edgar-Jones and Glen Powell generated $80.5 million from more than 4,150 theaters in North America. Some of the largest audiences have been in the tornado-prone Midwest.
The top-performing theater in the country on opening weekend was the Regal Warren in Moore, which screened the film in 10 of its 17 auditoriums on opening weekend from 9 a.m. to midnight. John Stephens, the theater’s general manager, said many moviegoers mentioned wanting to see the film in a theater that survived a massive tornado.
“The people who live in Tornado Alley have a certain defiance towards mother nature,” he said, “almost like a passion to fight storms, which was depicted by the characters in ‘Twisters.’”
Lee Isaac Chung, who directed the film, considered placing the movie in Oklahoma to be critically important.
“I told everyone this is something that we have to do. We can’t just have blue screens,” Chung told the AP earlier this year. “We’ve got to be out there on the roads with our pickup trucks and in the green environments where this story actually takes place.”
The film was shot at locations across Oklahoma, with the studio taking advantage of a rebate incentive in which the state directly reimburses production companies for up to 30% of qualifying expenditures, including labor.
State officials said the exact amount of money Oklahoma spent on “Twisters” is still being calculated. But the film is exactly the kind of blockbuster Sooner State policymakers envisioned when they increased the amount available for the program in 2021 from $8 million annually to $30 million, said Jeanette Stanton, director of Oklahoma’s Film and Music Office.
Among the major films and television series that took advantage of Oklahoma’s film incentives in recent years were “Reagan” ($6.1 million), “Killers of the Flower Moon” ($12.4 million), and the television shows “Reservoir Dogs” ($13 million) and “Tulsa King” ($14.1 million).
Stanton said she’s not surprised by the success of “Twisters,” particularly in Oklahoma.
“You love seeing your state on the big screen, and I think for locals across the state, when they see that El Reno water tower falling down, they think: ‘I know where that is!’” she said.
“It’s almost as if Oklahoma was a character in the film,” she added.
In the northeast Oklahoma community of Barnsdall, where two people were killed and more than 80 homes were destroyed by a tornado in May, Mayor Johnny Kelley said he expects most residents will embrace the film.
“Some will and some won’t. Things affect people differently, you know?” said Kelley, who is a firefighter in nearby Bartlesville. “I really don’t ever go to the movies or watch TV, but I might go see that one.”
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Follow Sean Murphy at www.x.com/apseanmurphy
The Oklahoma City Thunder are taking on the Phoenix Suns in Game 2 of their opening-round series. The OKC Thunder are hoping that they can repeat their Sunday afternoon performance in this contest. Game 2 will be an interesting test with the Suns having more time to prepare.
Phoenix was up against a rock and a hard place in the series opener. The Oklahoma City Thunder not only have the talent advantage but the rest advantage as well. Phoenix punched their ticket to the NBA Playoffs on Friday night by staving off the Golden State Warriors on Friday night before landing in Oklahoma City on Saturday and playing on Saturday afternoon to the tune of a 119-84 blowout Thunder victory.
The NBA has seen plenty of upsets already. The Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers and Portland Trail Blazers have all stolen games from the higher seed. The Thunder know they have to keep the foot on the gas in this contest.
“These series are unpredictable. No 2 games are the same. The minute you make an assumption, you are overconfident, or the minute you go down and you’re overly urgent, that can impact your ability to be present in the next game,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said pregame on Wednesday night.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are seeing the Suns make an adjustment with their starting lineup by inserting Collin Gillespie to give Phoenix a trio of ball handling scoring options alongside Devin Booker and Jalen Green. This gives the Suns hope to be able to find better shot quality against this stifling Thunder defensive unit.
Oklahoma City is healthier now than they have been all season. The Thunder only are missing rookie Thomas Sorber (ACL) who is out for the year. This allows the Bricktown Ballers to roll out their traditional first five in this contest.
Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Phoenix Suns, Game 2 Starting Lineup
Oklahoma City Thunder Starting Lineup
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, G
- Lu Dort, G
- Jalen Williams, F
- Chet Holmgren, F
- Isaiah Hartenstein, C
Phoenix Suns Starting Lineup
- Devin Booker, G
- Jalen Green, G
- Collin Gillespie, G
- Dillon Brooks, F
- Oso Ighodaro, C
The series will shift to Phoenix this weekend as the Oklahoma City Thunder hope to head into Saturday afternoon’s Game 3 with a 2-0 advantage in the series.
Stay tuned to Thunder on SI for complete coverage of the NBA Playoff run for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
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OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLA (KOKH) — The Oklahoma City Fire Department responded to a home fire late Tuesday evening, around 10:42 p.m.
According to OKCFD, fire could be seen from a window of the home located in the 4200 block of N. Phillips Avenue.
Firefighters were able to rescue an adult female from inside the home. No injuries were reported in connection with the fire.
Investigators believe that the fire may have originated from an outlet near the refrigerator that had a power strip plugged in that was supplying multiple appliances.
There was also no smoke detector present within the home.
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NORMAN — The Sooners were behind the eight ball for much of Tuesday’s game against Oral Roberts.
But one swing of the bat got them in a more favorable position.
Shortstop Jaxon Willits blasted a grand slam in the sixth inning to give No. 14 Oklahoma its first lead before eventually winning 7-6.
The Sooners trailed by as many as five runs before they rallied late.
In the first inning, Oral Roberts’ Cooper Combs hit a two-out grand slam to give the Golden Eagles a comfortable cushion. OU infielder Deiten Lachance got the Sooners on the board in the second inning with a solo home run, but ORU responded with a solo shot of its own in the next frame.
The Golden Eagles made it a 6-1 run game in the top of the fourth, and they appeared to be on cruise control. But in the bottom of that frame, OU’s rally began.
Dasan Harris made it a four-run game again with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fourth before Camden Johnson hit a sacrifice fly of his own in the fifth.
Then, in the sixth, the Sooners took their first lead of the game.
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Harris singled before Kyle Branch and Connor Larkin walked to load the bases. Willits then swung at the first pitch he saw, sending it well over the right-center field fence.
Neither team scored after Willits’ home run, as OU relief pitcher Xander Mercurius retired nine ORU batters in a row to seal the Sooners’ one-run win.
Michael Catalano started on the mound for Oklahoma, but his outing was short-lived — he gave up four earned runs on two hits and five walks in 1 ⅓ innings.
After coach Skip Johnson relieved Catalano in the second inning, six different OU arms entered the game. Reid Hensley collected the win, while Mercurius got the save.
OU improved to 28-12 overall with the win, while Oral Roberts dropped to 23-15. The Sooners are 7-3 in midweek games this season, and they clinched the season sweep of the Golden Eagles on Tuesday.
Next, the Sooners will hit the road for a three-game series against Auburn. The Tigers, ranked No. 11 by D1Baseball, are 10-8 in SEC play and took two of three games against Florida over the weekend.
The series will open on Friday, and first pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
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