How 'Twisters' Will Impact The Film Industry In Oklahoma

'Twisters,' the sequel to the 1996 movie 'Twister' premieres Friday to worldwide audiences.

The 2024 movie stars Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar Jones, who are storm chasers following a swarm of tornadoes in Oklahoma.

Both movies were filmed in Oklahoma, with the sequel utilizing many locations in downtown Oklahoma City, including Prairie Surf Studios.

CEO of Prairie Surf Matt Payne and Executive Vice President of Studio Operations Hagan Hunter joined News 9 at 9 to talk about their experience with the filming and what it means for the film industry in Oklahoma

Prairie Surf started with small projects and has worked its way into bigger projects such as 'Tulsa King,' but Payne said this movie is a huge milestone for them.

"When you think about the summer blockbusters, this is the one everybody's been looking forward to. So, having that in our studio was a real feather in our cap and in the cap of the state," Payne said.

Hunter said they were honored to be a part of bringing the story back to Oklahoma and providing jobs to residents during filming.

"Those thousands of cast and crew member jobs that were available for local residents, the larger-than-life sets that are built inside of our studio, as well as Prarie Surf kind of being the headquarters statewide for the production during the filming was really an honor," Hunter said.

As far as economic impact, Payne said the movie brought in hundreds of millions of dollars for the state and impacted several industries, such as the lumber to build sets, local dry cleaning for costumes, and so much more.

"$42 million direct and then total economic impact of over $250 million, it was massive from a job creation perspective," Payne said. "You're seeing this extrapolate out all over, so it's not just the film industry and film jobs, but it's, really the whole state, citywide and statewide."

Payne said the premiere in Oklahoma City earlier this week was exciting because it brought the state together.

"It was really, really a special night for Oklahoma," Payne said.

Hunter said he looks forward to seeing the lasting impact it will have.

"It's going to continue and create more and more jobs, more avenues for local Oklahoma residents to kind of get into the film industry and be part of this larger-than-life industry," Hunter said,

Prairie Surf Studios is working on legislation that it hopes will attract more films to our area.

"We want there to be the incentive increase so that we can continue to bring more and more of these big budget projects and smaller budget projects into the state," Payne said.