Oklahoma City has four major film productions rolling cameras or preparing to shoot this fall. It is a first for the city, according to the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber, driven by rebates worth up to 40% of qualifying expenditures.

The projects include "Copperhead," a crime thriller starring Miles Teller, Jason Momoa and Kiefer Sutherland; "Pipecleaner Boy," a road trip comedy starring Abigail Breslin; "His Heart," a faith-based drama starring Kelsey Grammer and Esai Morales; and "The Effigy," a survival thriller expected to begin filming in November. The chamber called the simultaneous activity a first, the Journal Record reported Oct. 27.

"Copperhead" and "His Heart" both started filming in the Oklahoma City area, with "Pipecleaner Boy" also beginning production Oct. 19, according to the Journal Record. "Copperhead," directed by Tulsa native John Swab and produced by Black Label Media, has a production budget of about $39.7 million and is projected to generate roughly $13.7 million in local spending, the Oklahoman reported.

The OKC Economic Development Trust approved a rebate for "Copperhead" not to exceed $1 million.

Rebates tipped the scales

Jill Simpson, executive director of the Oklahoma City Film & Creative Industries Office, said the city's incentive was the difference-maker.

"Early on, Black Label Media, producers of 'Copperhead,' were planning to film in Fort Worth," Simpson said, according to the Journal Record. "The additional rebate offered by OKC was the deciding factor that landed both films here."

Simpson was referring to both "Copperhead" and the 2024 film "Twisters," which also filmed in Oklahoma.

Oklahoma offers a 20% to 30% state rebate on production costs. Oklahoma City layers on an additional 5% to 10%, bringing the combined incentive to as much as 40%, according to the Journal Record.

$4 million in rebates, $373.8 million in impact

The chamber said the city has committed $4 million in rebate funds that generated $108 million in direct spending and an estimated $373.8 million in total economic impact, according to the Journal Record. The time period for those figures was not specified.

The city has prequalified 16 projects for its rebate program, with two more under review. Ten of those applications arrived in the last nine months, the Journal Record reported.

"The Effigy," produced by Effigy Movie LLC and Tulsa-based Red Clay Studios with Oklahoma producer Cassidy Lennon, received a 5% rebate allocation not to exceed $90,265 from the OKC Economic Development Trust, the Oklahoman reported Oct. 1. Simpson told the trust the survival thriller plans to hire 50 local crew members over 25 workdays, with filming scheduled for Nov. 16 through Nov. 18.

Local workforce pipeline

The film office partners with more than 10 workforce training programs across the metro, including colleges and career tech programs, to build a local crew base, according to the Journal Record. Statewide, film industry employment has grown 56.2% and wages have risen 135%, the publication reported, though the baseline period for those figures was not specified.

The city's film incentive fund had a remaining rebate balance of $3.87 million after the trust approved "The Effigy," Simpson told the trust, according to the Oklahoman.