Guess it was a miscalculation when so many on here said this was a waste of the city’s resources and wouldn’t work. Lol.

Some investments pay off, others don't. Tulsa King is fun just spotting the landmarks like the state fairgrounds.

Prairie surf has wildly exceeded my expectations has been an amazing add to OKC

Guess it was a miscalculation when so many on here said this was a waste of the city’s resources and wouldn’t work. Lol.

Anything that doesn't go up 10 or 20 stories and isn't covered with glass, is a waste of city's resources. J/K.

Under the terms of the lease, PSM will pay $1 in rent for the first year and $75,000 the second year, and the amount will ramp up to $250,000 for the fifth year. While giving the company a break during the startup period, the city will be made whole by the end of the agreement, said Assistant City Manager Aubrey McDermid.

The city will front expenses for relocating the OKC Blue team and previously contracted events, and PSM will repay a portion of those costs to the city. PSM would pay 75% of an estimated $1.1 million in utility costs per year.--Journal Record, December 8, 2020


“Our agreement with Omni prevents us from using it (Cox Center) as a convention center, specifically in primary use,” McDermid said. “It was able to be used for smaller and spillover events. The agreement was that it couldn’t compete with the new convention center for the services it and the Omni will be providing.

KOCO ABC 5 News: https://www.koco.com/article/new-oklahoma-city-movie-studio-provides-options-other-studios-dont/35716468

Don't know if this is the optimal thread for it (maybe the "in the press" thread?), but CBS has a feature about Oklahoma/OKC's booming film industry: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/oklahoma-prime-destination-tv-movie-productions-hollywood-on-the-prairie/?intcid=CNM-00-10abd1h

there's a thread OKC in the Press.

Does the Myriad work well for them the way it is or are there plans to renovate the space? It's been quite a while since I've been in there but as I recall it has a ton of space but it's divided up oddly. It feels like it could be redone to make a more efficient use of the space.

^

They only have a 5-year lease and they are already a year in. There are options to extend, but the city can quit the deal when the base term expires.

It's assumed the new arena will go on this site and Prairie Surf will have to find new space.

I know they have been talking to the Strawberry Fields group.

...

I know they have been talking to the Strawberry Fields group.

Does anybody think that will actually bear any fruit?

I hope they're in Strawberry Fields forever.

^

They only have a 5-year lease and they are already a year in. There are options to extend, but the city can quit the deal when the base term expires.

It's assumed the new arena will go on this site and Prairie Surf will have to find new space.

I know they have been talking to the Strawberry Fields group.

Thanks for the info, Pete.

^

They only have a 5-year lease and they are already a year in. There are options to extend, but the city can quit the deal when the base term expires.

It's assumed the new arena will go on this site and Prairie Surf will have to find new space.

I know they have been talking to the Strawberry Fields group.

It would be interesting to see the Strawberry Fields area develop into a movie lot part of town.

It would be interesting to see the Strawberry Fields area develop into a movie lot part of town.

It would be interesting to see the Strawberry Fields folks develop anything...

I hope they're in Strawberry Fields forever.

I can’t read anything about Strawberry Fields without hearing that in my head each time.

It would be interesting to see the Strawberry Fields folks develop anything...
This made me laugh hard.

Oklahoma becomes prime destination for TV and movie productions: "Hollywood on the prairie"

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/oklahoma-prime-destination-tv-movie-productions-hollywood-on-the-prairie/

Oklahoma becomes prime destination for TV and movie productions: "Hollywood on the prairie"

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/oklahoma-prime-destination-tv-movie-productions-hollywood-on-the-prairie/

Very good crafted article. Let's hope Prairie Surf Media can build its own studio and we see more of our state universities and
colleges follow Oklahoma City Community Colleges (OCCC) with a department offering film & digital production:

OCCC Named a Top Film School in the Nation: https://www.occc.edu/news/2022/top-film-school/

Very good crafted article. Let's hope Prairie Surf Media can build its own studio and we see more of our state universities and
colleges follow Oklahoma City Community Colleges (OCCC) with a department offering film & digital production:

OCCC Named a Top Film School in the Nation: https://www.occc.edu/news/2022/top-film-school/

Love the recognition. Hopefully the program will continue to be a leader following the death of Gray Frederickson; he put it on the map.

https://twitter.com/thelostogle/status/1628761740879052802?s=46&t=1-UYqAYNjiN0ATNQfquXAg doesn’t seem great

Wow. There is something off about their constant self promotion. A lot of talk with not much action.

^

I've said from the beginning that Prairie Surf's primary business seems to be charging people for workshops.

You can't deliver quality production with a crew of people with only a few days in a workshop. The two principals of PS are a former writer and a former actress.

The anti-union stuff is troubling because unions are the heart and soul of TV and film. If union workers are excluded as claimed, it will be cheaper but everything is going to suffer in terms of experience and professionalism.

Oklahoma becomes prime destination for TV and movie productions: "Hollywood on the prairie"

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/oklahoma-prime-destination-tv-movie-productions-hollywood-on-the-prairie/

This didn't age well. Not that we couldn't, we just made bad decisions and don't want to actually work with experience professionals in the industry.

Is there any real oversight into the taxpayers monies going to Prairie Surf? Socialism is fine with me, I.e. Maps, but the money needs to be well spent, there needs to honest oversight and accountability, not some con job.

Would love to see Prairie Surf Media (PSM) become successful in the Film Industry based right here in Oklahoma and attract other film makers.

Once the City of Oklahoma City and the NBA Thunder decide on a new arena (preferable PSM/old Cox Convention Center site) are there buildings at the Fairgrounds were PSM could set up permanent shop and expand their operations.

My opinion the 440 acre Fairgrounds and its buildings could be utilized for more permanent commercial use (like PSM) in addition to the annual State Fair of Oklahoma.

I thought no one trusted Twitter anymore.

The credability of Twitter is not at issue.

The allegation of putting students into professional positions to avoid union labor is.

There were union issues with Praire last year.

Prairie Surf shouldn't have blocked local workers from joining a union if they wanted to become "successful in the Film Industry based right here in Oklahoma and attract other film makers."

Tulsa King leaving looks bad for Oklahoma's film industry as a whole, but especially for Prairie Surf. Green Pastures Studio sounds like a more legitimate operation.

Attracting businesses that create well-paying jobs involves a ton more than "we are cheaper than anywhere else".

That's a mindset and strategy that only attracts call centers.

You have to have highly skilled professionals to recruit and keep the companies that pay well. And I can tell you that even though the TV and film industry cares about costs, the people making the big decisions care much more about a quality product because the upside of revenues is massive (often hundreds of millions) and that only comes with well-regarded shows and movies.

The percentage of the budget for the production crew is extremely low; a single actor usually makes many multiples of the entire staff. Anyone who makes their business decision on saving pennies is never going to bring much money into the state.

A friend of mine who is now an associate producer told me that Green Pastures is the more legitimate operation, and that while she likes them personally, the people at Prairie Surf are mostly big talkers.

I had forgotten about the union-busting move. Wonder if there is an ideological component at work, but I agree with Pete: What a dumb move.

Not sure if this is going to leave a black eye like OKC losing GM, but it's not a good look at all for our nascent film industry.

The amount of typos in that "Ogle Mole" email scream hit piece to me, but I am just an innocent bystander.

The amount of typos in that "Ogle Mole" email scream hit piece to me, but I am just an innocent bystander.

In my anecdotal experience, the amount of people that struggle to write properly despite their prominence in their industry is high enough that it shouldn’t give reason to doubt outside of an official line of communication. If every “leak” was dismissed because of the amount of mistakes in the writing, there would be very little we could trust.

In my anecdotal experience, the amount of people that struggle to write properly despite their prominence in their industry is high enough that it shouldn’t give reason to doubt outside of an official line of communication. If every “leak” was dismissed because of the amount of mistakes in the writing, there would be very little we could trust.

Makes them more real if you ask me. Their just talking freely and not trying to convince anyone. We live in a day and age where people try to squeeze things into short tweets or tiktoks.

Would love to see Prairie Surf Media (PSM) become successful in the Film Industry based right here in Oklahoma and attract other film makers.

Once the City of Oklahoma City and the NBA Thunder decide on a new arena (preferable PSM/old Cox Convention Center site) are there buildings at the Fairgrounds were PSM could set up permanent shop and expand their operations.

My opinion the 440 acre Fairgrounds and its buildings could be utilized for more permanent commercial use (like PSM) in addition to the annual State Fair of Oklahoma.
The fairgrounds stays busy 50 weeks a year. I don’t think Prairie Surf would be a positive

We don't need anonymous emails to know:

1. A big production that specifically chose OKC and Prairie Surf has now decided to leave after their first season
2. There had been problems with the unions and productions at PS for some time; this was documented in the press
3. PS has been pushing paid workshops almost from the day they started and the productions hired at least some of those who had given PS money

I'd be very surprised if they land another big production anytime soon, if ever.

I won't be surprised at all if they end up lobbying for even bigger taxpayer incentives.

Holt has been awfully silent about this failure. But sure had a lot to say about the show while it was in production.

According to the sources I read Stallone just didn't like Oklahoma

According to the sources I read Stallone just didn't like Oklahoma

Link?

Holt has been awfully silent about this failure. But sure had a lot to say about the show while it was in production. He hardly ever comments about something negative regarding OKC, and if he does he claims someone else is responsible.

I read he didn't care for the heat. We did have a brutal summer last year. Hope we don't have a repeat.

Stallone made one post about it being hot; it was an unusually hot summer almost everywhere last year.

That hardly qualifies as a 'source' that he didn't want to film in Oklahoma.

In fact, he made a bunch of posts like this:


Greetings from the set of “Tulsa King “ I’m in the wonderful state of Oklahoma enjoying every second of it, KeepPunching and go for it every time you can!

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cc3hU1QJ0ws/

We don't need anonymous emails to know:

1. A big production that specifically chose OKC and Prairie Surf has now decided to leave after their first season
2. There had been problems with the unions and productions at PS for some time; this was documented in the press
3. PS has been pushing paid workshops almost from the day they started and the productions hired at least some of those who had given PS money

I'd be very surprised if they land another big production anytime soon, if ever.

I won't be surprised at all if they end up lobbying for even bigger taxpayer incentives.

I was at a luncheon where they spoke this week, and they are in the process of lobbying to increase the taxpayer incentive pretty significantly (I want to say it was $80-100mm?). From what they presented, the current incentive in place is very low compared to other states we're in competition with (i.e. Georgia), and Killers of the Flower Moon ate up what little they had left. I know very little about the film industry, but it sounded like they were in over their heads getting started, but are slowly getting things ironed out.

They did say they are in the final negotiation stages to get the Spielberg-helmed Twister sequel, but have had some ups and downs in negotiations. While it's not a recurring TV show, that would be a nice shot in the arm to continue their momentum.

^
I would take absolutely everything Prairie Surf says with a big grain of salt. The OK Film and Movie Office specifically said that Tulsa King hasn't even reapplied for 2nd season incentives. If incentives were the issue there would at least be a negotiation.

And of course, they want more taxpayer money.

The Twister sequel is supposed to start this spring, so we'll know very soon about their plans.

Take it for what it is worth I guess.

https://uproxx.com/tv/taylor-sheridan-tulsa-king-leaving-oklahoma-stallone/

^

Basically repeating the one Stallone post I mentioned.

It's just rumors based on conjecture and ignoring his positive posts.

The more info that comes out, it really does sound like a Prairie Surf problem, and not an Oklahoma problem. However, with PS being the one getting all the press (good or bad), it will likely become an Oklahoma problem unless someone else can step in and change the narrative.

Oklahoma benefited from Covid, also. So much production happened here because we had looser restrictions.

Now that things are pretty much back to normal, we will have to win out in other ways.

It's a step forward that OKC has its own film office now, but one wonders if they are able to confront the issues that appear to afflict Prairie Surf, or if they will just act as if they're boosters, since they are part of the Chamber.

Prairie Surf planning to install two promotional banners on the south end of the building (facing Paycom); nevermind Tulsa King left as soon as they possibly could:

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/prairiesurf051623a.jpg

Prairie Surf planning to install two promotional banners on the south end of the building (facing Paycom); nevermind Tulsa King left as soon as they possibly could:

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/prairiesurf051623a.jpg

Kinda cringeworthy tbh.

Don't hold your breath for Tulsa King Season 2.

Don't hold your breath for Tulsa King Season 2.

They’ll film it just not here I can’t understand for the life of me why they chose jume to sept to film. . And as much of downtown okc was used? Not sure they care about authenticity. They can use B roll and do any exterior shots in any downtown and pass it off. My Guess is Texas and Louisiana are too hot. Maybe a q or KC

They’ll film it just not here I can’t understand for the life of me why they chose jume to sept to film. . And as much of downtown okc was used? Not sure they care about authenticity. They can use B roll and do any exterior shots in any downtown and pass it off. My Guess is Texas and Louisiana are too hot. Maybe a q or KC

Probably not KC since they were going to call it Kansas City King before moving it to Tulsa.

I mean but who cares? It's just how the industry works. Rarely does something get filmed in the city its set in. All they need is establishment shots to tell the audience where they are (drones even give that these days) and then the rest can be in any studio in the world. And with CGI the way it is now, you could even do large shots like sports venues and even change the team if you want. There's just less and less of a reason for it to have to be in city A.

What Prairie Surf has to do is convince someone that it makes economic sense to come here instead of somewhere else. Is it a tax break? Are the workers cheaper? Union vs non-Union? There are benefits to not being in California, but there are also a lot of drawbacks. The biggest one being where the talent lives. And NY/LA have a high concentration of big name talent in their borders, OKC does not. So when you bring someone in, you have a lot of factors that play in to that as well.

They have their work cut out for them to make it a recurring option for the industry. Especially once they lose the Myriad (and yes it will always be the Myriad to me...such a better name than Cox Business Services Convention Center or Arena). Whatever the new location offers, will determine if it sinks or swims.

I mean but who cares? It's just how the industry works. Rarely does something get filmed in the city its set in. All they need is establishment shots to tell the audience where they are (drones even give that these days) and then the rest can be in any studio in the world. And with CGI the way it is now, you could even do large shots like sports venues and even change the team if you want. There's just less and less of a reason for it to have to be in city A.

I mean, it was set in Tulsa and filmed in OKC. The loss isn't because they should shoot it here because its set here (it was never actually set here), but because it was a high profile show being shot here.

Probably not KC since they were going to call it Kansas City King before moving it to Tulsa.

I think KC king was only in the running until they found out about the huge mafia presence and history of Kansas City. Totally worked against the plot of the show. That bugged me for authenticity purposes because KC has a huge Italian community. Has a huge mafia history. It’s like the writers hadn’t thought of that. Tulsa on the other hand. Nothing. Roger Wheeler maybe. But that was a Boston crime thing. Works much better for the fish out of water plot.

I thought Tulsa had a big mafia history regarding old oil money or something like that.

I wish OKC had more of a mafia presence. That kind of stuff is exciting even if I despise shakedowns

I thought Tulsa had a big mafia history regarding old oil money or something like that.

I wish OKC had more of a mafia presence. That kind of stuff is exciting even if I despise shakedowns

They have a bigger wild west history. Kind of similar.

I thought Tulsa had a big mafia history regarding old oil money or something like that.

I wish OKC had more of a mafia presence. That kind of stuff is exciting even if I despise shakedowns
There's probably a bigger presence than we realize. There's still an unsolved murder of an Edmond housewife whose husband was a big time poker player. And I don't mean at the casinos.

They have a bigger wild west history. Kind of similar.

No, Tulsa didn't really exist in the old west era.

Tulsa's biggest gang-land time was the 1920s and 30s. The Ma Barker gang was based in Tulsa for awhile, Bonnie and Clyde, Dillinger, Pretty Boy Floyd and others all spent time in Oklahoma around Tulsa. It was the oil boom era with lots of money, and therefore lots of money to steal. Post depression Tulsa was a minor outpost for the Kansas City mafia. The KC Mob helped fight liquor by the drink in the 80s because they owned a lot of the liquor by the wink clubs back then. I think the passing of liquor reform back then was the end of the mob here.
.

I thought Tulsa had a big mafia history regarding old oil money or something like that.

I wish OKC had more of a mafia presence. That kind of stuff is exciting even if I despise shakedowns
Exciting? Wow. You do know how the mafia works and how they do it, right? They are despicable people. To want them to infest your city because it’s “exciting” is warped.

Exciting? Wow. You do know how the mafia works and how they do it, right? They are despicable people. To want them to infest your city because it’s “exciting” is warped.
I probably didn’t word it right sorry but I just mean the lore behind it all but yeah they are POS.

I think KC king was only in the running until they found out about the huge mafia presence and history of Kansas City. Totally worked against the plot of the show. That bugged me for authenticity purposes because KC has a huge Italian community. Has a huge mafia history. It’s like the writers hadn’t thought of that. Tulsa on the other hand. Nothing. Roger Wheeler maybe. But that was a Boston crime thing. Works much better for the fish out of water plot.

if you watch the show, Tulsa not being a mafia town was kinda the whole point. It’s why Stallone was sent there…to create one.