Locally-Filmed Movie Becomes A Hit Nationwide

One of the biggest movies in theaters right now is Family Camp. It was all filmed in Oklahoma with a lot of local actors in starring roles.  

Brian Cates, the director and one of the writers of the movie, graduated from Putnam City North and studied film and video at The University of Oklahoma.  

He developed a love for video at a young age.  

“When I was 17, my parents bought a video camera and I took it, and I never gave it back," Cates said.

Brian eventually began making videos for his church youth group, and later connected with Tommy Woodard and Eddie James, who are also known as “The Skit Guys."

“We’ve made over 500 short films for the church and created a distribution network at www.skitguys.com where we make creative content for churches,” said Cates. 

It wasn’t long before the videos got the attention of the right people.  

“Bill Reeves, who is now the president of Air One and KLOVE radio, said, ‘Hey, have you guys ever thought about making a movie?’ And we said, ‘We have a script right here,’” said Cates.  

The movie was shot entirely in Edmond and Guthrie and stars best friends and Edmond Memorial grads Woodard and James.  

“We want people to laugh, we want families to get in there and laugh together, it’s been a long time since we’ve been able to laugh together as families,” said Eddie James, who plays Eddie Sanders in the movie.  

Cates is excited about making a movie that the entire family can relate to and enjoy.  

“There is a story line in it for teenagers, there is a story line in it for kids, there is a story line in it for soon-to-be empty nesting parents,” said Cates.  

“We filmed most of the movie about 15 minutes from my house and so, yeah, I was sleeping in my bed at night,” said Woodard, who plays Tommy Ackerman in the movie.  

“The special thing about Family Camp is, when you leave the theater, you’re going to want to call your parents and hug your kids,” said Cates. 

The movie opened on 900 screens for its opening weekend and was the No. 2 film nationwide.

Due to the success, the movie has been added to an additional 200 screens for this weekend.