'Christmas' to screen in February in OKC
Midweek update: Outsiders Productions screening set for Rodeo Cinema
A socially awkward 32-year-old high school janitor is inspired to become a costumed vigilante in his small Oklahoma town in a film made by a group of tenacious Oklahomans.
“The Unusual Calling of Charlie Christmas” debuted back in 2012 from the Oklahoma outlaw filmmakers Outsiders Productions, and it will be shown as part of Rodeo Cinema’s “Made in Oklahoma Weekend” from Feb. 21-23.
The Outsiders are a group of filmmakers from mostly rural Oklahoma who have been behind a series of Oklahoma productions, including most recently the “Play it Loud” series. Kenny Pitts, Jason Alexander, Adam Hampton and Chad Mathews are among the principal Outsiders; “Charlie” was their fourth feature film together. Hampton, who recently won the national Kinolime screenplay contest and wrote the upcoming Mel Gibson film “Blood of Man,” wrote and directed “Charlie Christmas.” Pitts, also a noted musician, starred as the title character and produced. The film was primarily made in and around Shawnee, Oklahoma.
“Charlie” will screen as a 1 p.m. matinee on Feb. 22 and again at 6 p.m. Sunday evening, Feb. 23, at the Rodeo Cinema Stockyards, 2221 Exchange Ave., in Oklahoma City. A Q&A with the Outsiders will follow the Sunday screening; tickets are $10.
“I am just happy that we’ve been asked to screen it again,” Hampton said. “That movie has given me so much. So many memories and the opportunity to try and say what I was feeling in that moment of my life. Anything beyond that and everything since has been bonus.”
For more info, visit: https://rodeocinema.org/events/theunusualcallingofcharliechristmas/
Matthew Price, matthew@matthewlprice.com, has written about comics, entertainment, film, and a variety of Oklahoma topics and industries for more than two decades. He is the co-owner of Speeding Bullet Comics in Norman.
