This past December and January, locals may have noticed a lot of buzz about “The One,” a holiday film that has been filming in and around Enid. “The One” is the latest of several Hollywood films to be shot, at least partially, in our own backyard. Others have included “Wildlife” (2018), “To the Stars” (2019), “The Killer Inside Me” (2010), and “Dillinger” (1973).
Besides the fact that we have The Christ Tree, how did such a movie come to be made in Enid? The answer is a fun dive into Oklahoma’s Film +Music Office (OF+MO). The office serves as a focus point for Oklahoma’s efforts to attract entertainment producers, and a large part of that is an attractive slate of financial incentives. Participating locations can be certified as especially hospitable and helpful to film producers, and in fact, Enid was certified as a “Film Friendly Community” in 2021.
If a producer is interested in filming in Enid, their first step is contacting OF+MO. The state then contacts the City of Enid, and that is where Rob Houston, Director of Visit Enid, comes in. The filmmaker fills out a form on the City of Enid’s website, and there they list all dates, locations, and any other relevant details. Rob spends a lot of time discussing everything with them, saying, “I typically will meet the directors,” in order to get everything hammered out. If any city locations or resources are required, such as street closures or a city park, Rob reaches out to Karen Haggard-Perez, who “reaches out to police or whoever is required to set up those things.”
Karen is the Events Coordinator at Enid Public Works—Parks and Recreation, and she works hard to ensure that any city-related details happen smoothly. “Like if they’re doing something with firearms or fire, the police department and fire department get involved. As far as road closures go, the parks department handles all of that,” Karen explained. Anything on city property goes through Karen, and she coordinates with the proper departments to make sure that things go off without a hitch.
In addition to hosting bigger budget fares, Enid is also home to some delightfully hardworking homegrown film producers. Have you ever passed Simpson’s Old Time Western Museum on Randolph Street? You probably didn’t know it, but the museum also serves as home to Skeleton Creek Productions, which has produced commercials, documentaries, and a slate of western movies.
The Old Time Western Museum was not always home to movies, but it was always home to Rick Simpson and his late brother, Larry. Situated on the outskirts of downtown Enid, the large building used to house a mercantile store owned and operated by Larry and Rick’s father, Ken. The business started as a war surplus but soon focused on western wear, eventually stocking a variety of things, including up to 3,000 pairs of boots. Ken passed in 2000, and in 2006, the brothers decided to close the business portion and focus on operating as a museum. “People would come in when it was still a mercantile and say, ‘this is just about as much of a museum as it is a mercantile.’ We had a lot of stuff. Larry suggested that what we ought to do is just make this a free museum, so that’s what we did,” said Rick, reflecting on how they made the transition from mercantile to museum. “The people have been very good to us. It’s been a great town.”
Skeleton Creek Productions grew out of the brothers’ love of western movies. Over time, they even built a series of movie sets in the museum, including a church, jail, and of course a saloon. They have used the sets in the filming of their own movies, which includes titles such as “Cactus Creek” and “Showdown at Devil’s Butte.” But the sets can also be rented. In fact, Rick reports that “We’ve had 56 weddings in that church,” and apparently it is the most popular set. Coming at a close second is “The saloon. Definitely. Birthdays, family reunions, anniversaries… we had a guy’s 100th’ birthday party there one time. He died before his birthday, so we had his funeral.” Rick hastened to assure that he was kidding—the elderly gentleman celebrated his birthday without mishap—but he did state that the chapel has hosted two real-life funerals.
Over the years, the Simpsons have produced six western feature films and two documentaries. In addition to Oklahoma, filming has taken place in Colorado, Kansas, and New Mexico. Rick said, “There’s nothing more fun than making movies …it’s a long day. You go out there and work your tail off, but it’s a good tired. And you’re with people that grow into a family.” He also shared that one of the main goals with the westerns has been to give today’s children entertainment in the mold of the Westerns of the 1940s and ‘50s, so main characters Texas, Stormy Lane, and Cimarron “…do not use foul language, they do not smoke, and they only drink sarsaparilla.”
Because it is a small, independent company, the actors in the Skeleton Creek movies all have day jobs. Among their ranks is Enid resident Andrew Kunkel, who owns several local businesses. One of the most recent is Froz’n Shakes Mini Golf on East Maine, which is operated by Andrew and several of his hardworking family members. It is a great place to get a double dip chocolate cone and play a few rounds of neon lit-putt putt golf. Behind the ice cream counter and day glo lights, though, is Andrew, whose entertainment resume is growing slowly but surely. His experience includes a stint as an extra in “Twister” and roles in several TV episodes, including “Web of Spider-Man.” Closer to home, he has also had a supporting role in Skeleton Creek’s most recent western film (currently in production).
Andrew also has experience behind the camera. Most notably, he co-wrote “XIX Nineteen” with Erin Elizabeth Cook, who is one of the producers of “The One.” Like that movie, “XIX” was filmed here in Enid. When describing the filming process, Andrew echoed the sentiments of Rick Simpson, eager to convey how much support they found in Enid. The production ended up bringing about 50 people to Enid for two nights in a local hotel, and “they gave us a great deal,” Andrew recounted. And the hotel wasn’t the only one to get involved. Andrew said, “There’s a lot of businesses that jumped on board. Sandy’s Tacos actually catered for us, and we had other people who donated money just to help out with the film. The City of Enid was a big help as well.”
It wasn’t just closing off a street corner or using park pavilions, either. Andrew and his team were able to get some heavy-duty local players involved, and he related that “Woodring Airport helped us film there…there was a scene where it was a military checkpoint. That was kind of a great deal.” In addition, they secured special permission from Vance Air Force Base to be able to fly drones. “They said we can fly on these two days and at this time. They were super nice about it, and they stopped air traffic for us to fly those drones,” said Andrew.
From the support of local businesses to that of Woodring and Vance, Andrew said, “It felt amazing that the whole town came together.” And perhaps even more importantly, Andrew’s vision does not end with “XIX.” He said, “I want to bring more films to Enid,” and his hard work and boundless enthusiasm has earned the respect of those with whom he has worked. For example, Karen the Events Coordinator related that “He was extremely passionate…grew up here, wanted to film a movie here, wanted to bring people here. He’s all about bringing stuff to the community in which he grew up, which I think is really great.”
Besides feature films, one of the more unusual things to have been filmed in Enid was a 2019 episode of “Mummies Unwrapped,” a series on the Discovery Channel. In a nutshell, it was about the legend that John Wilkes Booth may have escaped capture and died not in Virginia, but in Enid. According to Rob Houston, the mummies production team “reached out to us, and we got them set up with Russ Frazee, who owned Garfield Furniture.” Rob said they also got the team connected with the Simpson brothers, for extras and western 1800’s-style costumes. The episode filmed their scenes at both the movie sets at Simpsons Museum and at Garfield Furniture. According to Garfield employee Cynthia Unruh, “It was a very interesting show. They filmed everywhere, but there’s a room with that period furniture [that they used].” Rob and the late Larry Simpson even got to be extras in the episode, which can be viewed on the Discovery+ streaming platform.
When asked if they had anything special that they wanted readers to know, everyone we spoke with had slightly different responses. Rob wanted people to know that if you ever see Hollywood types filming in Enid, to “be respectful of the actors and just realize that they’re normal people doing a job.” It isn’t every day that Jake Gyllenhaal is wandering around Enid (he filmed 2018’s “Wildlife” here), but the day may come that you see another famous actor filming here. If that day comes, be supportive and have fun, but just “hold off on posting until afterwards,” suggested Rob. The more that Enid can improve filmmakers’ experiences, the more likely we are to draw similar business in the future, and that is a good thing for all of us.
Andrew wanted young people who are interested in breaking into the industry to understand one thing: “You gotta be strong, and you just gotta hold on because you get a thousand rejections to get one ‘yes.’” And you don’t have to move to California: Andrew lives in Enid, and Erin Elizabeth Cook lives in Oklahoma City. Andrew suggests that those aspiring to break into acting keep an eye on regional Facebook pages where casting calls are posted. He cautions not to expect anything glamorous. “It might be paid credit, it might be free food, or it might be free in general with credit and your name on it…But it only takes that one. And then that film can lead you to another film,” he said.
Within a year or so, Enid residents should be able to watch these upcoming films, and regardless of what platforms these works are eventually distributed on, it will be a chance to see a bit of our hometown onscreen. Through movie magic, their stories will take viewers on adventures (heartwarming in the case of “The One,” thrilling in the case of “XIX”) and introduce them to new people. In particular, “The One” with its holiday theme and family story will showcase Enid and northern Oklahoma to a whole new audience. For local viewers, though, it will be particularly special, bringing to light what Rick Simpson said when asked about living in Enid: “We’ve always loved it, or we’d have moved. We go travel, go see the world, do what we want. But it’s always good to come home to Enid.”
