4 Oscar-winners tied to new Oklahoma-centric film projects

BY MICHAEL SMITH World Scene Writer
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
2/26/13 at 7:30 AM

Osage County. Bartlesville. Ponca City. Everywhere I looked in the last hour of the Oscars, I saw northeastern Oklahoma.

Sunday's Academy Awards show is one that won't last long in the memory bank for the hosting job of Seth MacFarlane (oafish, crude, juvenile ... shall I go on?). Even he lost interest in himself in the last hour.

The ceremony won't have much historical impact, either. Those years in which the Academy spreads the wealth among the awards never do, and the 85th Oscars had party favors for almost everyone: A remarkable eight of the nine best-picture nominees won at least one Oscar, with "Beasts of the Southern Wild" the only picture to go home without a trophy.

But as the biggest awards of the night were being handed out, I couldn't help but think of all the movies about Oklahoma - and for the most part shot in Oklahoma - that will be coming to movie theaters in the next year or so.

'August: Osage County'

As Oscars were handed out to George Clooney and Grant Heslov, it was impossible to not think: Can these two win best picture in back-to-back years as the producers of "August: Osage County," the star-studded film based on Tulsa native Tracy Letts' play?

The play won Tony Awards and won Letts a Pulitzer Prize, so the pedigree is in place. What has been called the great American play of its generation attracted Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts in the combative mother-daughter roles, and they aren't the only former Oscar winners/nominees in the cast of this caustic comedy/drama.

The Weinstein Company has not announced a release date for the picture, but it appears that an international release date (in the Netherlands) has been set for November.

Consider this: The film finished filming in Osage County, Pawhuska and Bartlesville in November. Without any special effects to delay post-production, there is no reason to believe that "August: Osage County" can't be an Oscar contender in multiple categories later this year.

'To the Wonder'

Accepting the best-picture Oscar as well was Ben Affleck, director and fellow producer of "Argo," who returns to acting in April with "To the Wonder," the Terrence Malick-directed drama shot in the Bartlesville area in the fall of 2010.

The film opens in New York and Los Angeles on April 12 and is tentatively set for an April 19 Oklahoma premiere at Circle Cinema. "To the Wonder" premiered last fall at the Toronto Film Festival to critics and audiences deeply divided over Malick's abstract style and the lack of dialogue in favor of narration, but its theatrical release was delayed to 2013.

Affleck stars with Rachel McAdams, Javier Bardem and Olga Kurylenko, along with a number of Oklahomans in small roles gained through local auditions in Tulsa and Bartlesville.

The art film is described as a romance between a couple (Affleck and Kurylenko) that comes apart as they return to Oklahoma, where the woman meets a priest (Bardem) struggling with his faith, while the man reconnects with a woman (McAdams) from his past.

'The Ends of the Earth'

Chris Terrio won the adapted screenplay Oscar for "Argo" in his first feature-film script, and he's found an Oklahoma tale to tell with his next screenplay. That film will star yet another Oscar winner from Sunday night: best actress Jennifer Lawrence.

"The Ends of the Earth" is the story of former Oklahoma first lady Lydie Marland, who was the niece, and then the adopted daughter, and later the wife of oilman Ernest Marland, Oklahoma's 10th governor. Their controversial love affair included their life at the Marland Mansion, a Ponca City landmark.

This film has no production dates set, but last week a major development found David O. Russell coming aboard as director, reuniting Lawrence with her Oscar-nominated director from "Silver Linings Playbook."

"The Ends of the Earth" is most likely a 2014 or 2015 release for the Weinstein Company.

Now the big questions: Will this high-profile film also shoot scenes in Oklahoma? Will stories set in our state make for awards contenders for the next couple of years?

Tune into next year's Academy Awards for answers.

Original Print Headline: Okie-tied Oscars

GREEN COUNTRY TO RED CARPETS: OKLAHOMA’S OSCAR CONNECTIONS

Grant Heslov

What he won Sunday: Best picture as producer for "Argo"

Oklahoma connection: Producer on "August: Osage County," which was filmed in Osage County.

Ben Affleck

What he won Sunday: Best picture as producer for "Argo"

Oklahoma connection: Stars in "To The Wonder," which was filmed in Bartlesville.

George Clooney

What he won Sunday: Best picture as producer for "Argo"

Oklahoma connection: Producer on "August: Osage County," which was filmed in Osage County.

Jennifer Lawrence

What she won Sunday: Best actress for "Silver Linings Playbook"

Oklahoma connection: Lawrence has been cast as former Oklahoma first lady Lydie Marland in "The Ends of the Earth."

Chris Terrio

What he won Sunday: Best adapted screenplay for "Argo"

Oklahoma connection: Terrio wrote the script for "The Ends of the Earth," which will tell the love story of Ernest and Lydie Marland, the former Oklahoma governor and first lady.

Associated Images:

Ben Affleck, who won a best picture Oscar on Sunday for his work on "Argo," stars alongside Rachel McAdams in "To the Wonder," a Terrence Malick-directed drama shot in the Bartlesville area in the fall of 2010. Courtesy

AP Photo

"Argo" producers George Clooney (center) and Grant Heslov (center left) were in Oklahoma last year during filming of "August: Osage County." MIKE SIMONS / Tulsa World file

Chris Terrio: The Oscar-winner for best adapted screenplay for "Argo" will tackle an Oklahoma-based story for his next work: "The Ends of the Earth."