FollowOklahoma Filmmaker and The Real World of Movies
Last fall, Oklahoma City’s Brent Ryan Green was in a post-apocalyptic world that was created, almost overnight, at Turner Falls in the Arbuckle Mountains.
A sinister white-haired man sat on a throne of stone, surrounded by soldiers dressed in rags and armor. Women in elaborate headdresses flanked the villain while a tan, muscled and rugged handsome hero faced his challenges.
Green spread his post-apocalyptic world to Red Rock Canyon and other locations in Oklahoma for the filming of his first directorial debut of the film, “The Veil.” The film, which had a special event screening as a work-in-progress at deadCENTER this year, was shot in the Arbuckle Mountains at Turner Falls and at Red Rock Canyon with support from the Oklahoma Film Enhancement Rebate Program. Currently in post-production, “The Veil” is set for an early 2016 release.
For Green, a veteran of short films and film production through his Oklahoma City-based film company Toy Gun Films, “The Veil” was the first full-length feature film he chose to direct. Now, the hometown filmmaker is currently a producer on Martin Scorsese’s soon-to-be released Oscar-buzzworthy film “Silence,” starring Andrew Garfield and Liam Neeson.
“I make films when I can, and ‘The Veil’ was one of the biggest in-state productions,” said Green. “I’m looking for the next feature. I’m looking for a story I respond to.”
He’s also looking to promote filmmaking in Oklahoma, and according to green, Oklahoma’s Film Enhancement Rebate Program is the answer to attracting and developing a thriving film industry in the Red Dirt state.
END OF THE SPEAR, START OF CAREER
In his youth, Green never had an interest in films. A chance opportunity in college, however, brought him to Panama for more than 40 days to work on a film that would change his perspective forever.
His father was one of the producers for a film called “The End of the Spear,” directed by James Hanon and presented by Every Tribe Productions. The movie tells the story of Operation Auca, in which five American Christian missionaries attempted to evangelize the Huaorani (Waodani) people of the jungle of Ecuador.
“I moved to Panama for 48 days,” Green said. “I ended up being the video coordinator, and because it was all digital, I had to hook up all three cameras and all the monitors, and I got to sit in a hut with the director and watch all the takes. People kill for that kind of experience, and it was a real behind-the-scenes look at movie making.”
The film bug bit, and Green bought a camera and began traveling. He went to Africa, India and other exotic locales. Eventually, he began his own film production company, Toy Gun Films, which absorbed Every Tribe Entertainment.
“I started making documentaries, because they are easier. I did five feature documentaries, and I was on track to direct a documentary, but suddenly realized I wanted to do visual entertainment,” Green said. “I started Toy Gun Films in 2009, and I decided to make shorts.”
Toy Gun Films produced its first film, “En Tus Manos” in 2010. The narrative short was inspired by a collection of true stories surrounding the issue of violence in Colombia. The film won Best Short Film at the 2010 International Beverly Hills Film Festival.
Green’s directorial debut came in 2011 with the release of “Paper Flower,” a narrative short written by Jeff Goldberg about a casual form of prostitution called enjo kōsai (compensated dating) that has become a disturbing trend in Tokyo. The film was shot in Tokyo with local actors.
“Paper Flower” was an official selection for 25 film festivals around the world and collected 13 awards.
Cape Town, South Africa provided the setting for his follow-up narrative short “Half Good Killer” (2012), about a child soldier fighting for an African rebel force. The film celebrated its world premiere at the deadCENTER Film Festival and went on to win eight awards during its 21-festival run.
Booboo Stewart, an actor best known for his role as Seth Clearwater in the “Twilight” series was the star of Green’s third narrative short film, “Running Deer” (2013), about the struggles of a high school cross country running star growing-up in a Native American
community as he prepares for the most important race of his life.
“What I learned making shorts was that better actors make a better movie,” Green said. “I’ve been so lucky in casting.”
THE VEIL
With several award-winning shorts under his belt, Green was ready for a full-length film. He and his partner Jeff Goldberg teamed up. Goldberg wrote the script.
“I looked for five years for a script we liked, and I realized no one would give us a great script,” Green said. “We had to develop our own.”
The result was “The Veil,” starring William Levy (“Dancing with the Stars,” “Addicted”) as a warrior who turns on his own empire and rises to the defense of an oppressed civilization, with William Moseley (E! Network’s “The Royals,” “Chronicles of Narnia”) and Serinda Swan (“Graceland”).
With support from the Oklahoma Film Enhancement Rebate Program, “The Veil” was able to qualify for the unique 37 percent cash back on local spending and for using a certain amount of Oklahoma music for the film.
“We applied to the rebate program in the fall of 2012, and that jump-started everything,” Green said. “We jumped into writing, etc., and had a whirlwind of pre-shooting in September 2013. The rebate was key; we were able to take this to financers and show them we already returned 25 percent of investment through the rebate. We used as much local crew, cast and resources we could.”
OKLAHOMA’S STAR FUTURE?
Green says Oklahoma still has a way to go to be a big player in the filmmaking market. The rebate program is the first step, but he says the state has to grow to a point that it can handle multiple major film projects at once.
“Every year, it grows. It would be great if we got a television show to film here, because that would bring consistency and keep crew people here in Oklahoma,” he said. “All of our good crew members get snatched up and taken away when projects come here.”
Developing talent in both crew and cast, as well as being aggressive in courting consistent filming like a television show, would help Oklahoma shine above other states when courting major film projects.
In March 2015, Green announced via Twitter his involvement as an associate producer on Martin Scorsese’s long-awaited historical drama, “Silence,” about two Portuguese Jesuit missionaries (Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver) who search for their mentor (Liam Neeson) in 17th century Japan. The film is expected to be released by Paramount Pictures in 2016.
Green and his wife, Trang Alisa Green, founder and chairman of Dress for Success Oklahoma City, live in Oklahoma City and Los Angeles.
For more information about Brent Ryan Green, visit brentryangreen.com. Learn more about Toy Gun Films at toygunfilms.com. Visit “The Veil” website at theveilfilm.com.
BY HEIDIE BRANDES | PHOTOS BY EMILY BRASHIER
