Bartlesville transforms into filmmaking hub with 'The Book Of Jobs' production

You might not have noticed, but Bartlesville was transformed into Silicon Valley for the last month as the city hosted its largest film production since "Killers of the Flower Moon."

"The Book Of Jobs," a coming-of-age film set to begin principal photography in Tulsa and Bartlesville, features a notable cast including Victoria Pedretti, Judy Greer, Rich Sommer, Abigail Donaghy, and Lola Flanery, with Utkarsh Ambudkar co-starring.

Directed and written by Kayci Lacob, the film tells the story of a girl growing up in Silicon Valley during Steve Jobs' return to Apple, influencing her dreams and relationships.

"I put a lot myself into the story," Lacob told the EE during a recent visit to the Bartlesville set. "It's not the story of my childhood, but it's emotionally true of how I grew up."

It is described as a rite of passage film and marks Lacob's directorial debut, influenced by her experiences in the San Francisco Bay area. The film explores themes of obsession and ambition in the tech world.

With the film primarily taking place indoors, producer Tom Nunan said that Bartlesville ended up having many locations similar to what you find in Palo Alto, California, where the film takes place.

But ultimately, Nunan said they chose to film in Oklahoma because of the film incentives. The film took advantage of incentives from the State of Oklahoma's Film and Music Office and the Cherokee Film Office.

"I would say it's one of the best in the nation because it's not a tax credit — it's a cash rebate," Nunan said. "We wouldn't be filming here if we didn't get it."

Nunan partnered with Tulsa-based production company Rebellium Films to make the film in Oklahoma.

"We originally applied for the tax credit and we didn't get it," Nunan said. "The [Oklahoma] film office encouraged us to find a local production company to help us reapply, and that's how we found Randy."

Randy Wayne, co-founder of Rebellium Films, is no stranger to Bartlesville, having used the town as a backdrop for many films this year.

Wayne credits Maria Gus, executive director of Visit Bartlesville, for making filming in Bartlesville easy. He described how her connections with the community helped him find suitable locations to turn Bartlesville into Silicon Valley.

"I love filming in Bartlesville," Wayne said. "Honestly, we wouldn't be filming here if it wasn't for Maria."

2023's film financial influence on Bartlesville

The City of Bartlesville hosted a series of feature films and TV shows in 2023, resulting in at least $1.5 million in economic impact.

"We take the number of overnight guests and estimate how much they would spend each day based on the state average adjusted for the city of Bartlesville and then factor how that money ripples out into the economy," Gus said. "So that's how we get to the $1.5M."

Gus noted that three feature films were filmed in their entirety in Bartlesville and she estimated around six other projects were filmed partially here.

"They are like regular visitors on steroids regarding spending," Gus said. "A location scout told me years ago that a convention or conference is three days of economic impact, and a film is three months or more of impact."

Gus noted that her estimates are conservative and could be much higher, but tracking how much they spend is hard.

"These films are like operating a company in town, and those involved in the films become like temporary residents," Gus said. "They go to our stores to buy the things they need, everything from food to paper, all while renting hotel rooms and paying lodging tax."

She noted the last film to wrap up filming, 'The Book Of Jobs,' rented a couple of homes for weeks, parking lots and other locations around town, and the money went directly to Bartlesville residents.

"Those types of things don't go into the economic impact estimates, but those do have an impact on our local economy," Gus said.

Gus estimated that from the projects she tracked this year, at least $660,000 was injected into Bartlesville, which resulted in $26,000 in sales tax. She estimates Bartlesville took in $11,000 in lodging tax from the films.

"When films come here, it's like free money," Gus said.

This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: Behind the scenes of 'The Book of Jobs' in Bartlesville