It certainly didn’t hurt that Glen Powell was there.

But for Shauna Rupp, being a part of a Hollywood-esque movie premiere was more than just being in the presence of the strikingly handsome lead actor of the most popular movie in America.

It was also another chance for Rupp to be proud of the place she calls home…the place she works so hard to promote.

••• People were lined up - literally - out the door of the 89er Theatre last Friday.

That was the impressive draw of not only the biggest movie in Kingfisher last weekend, but in all of America.

Twisters led the box office in its opening week as it brought in just under $81 million, far ahead of Despicable Me 4’s $24 million.

“We had over 1,000 people for the weekend,” said 89er Theatre Manager Nancy Striegl.

That’s more than twice the amount of a normal solid weekend, she said.

Twisters showed in two of the three screens at the 89er Theatre “and that’s going to continue through next week,” said Striegl.

Why so popular here? For one, Kingfisher County is a part of “Tornado Alley” in the United States, but the movie had more allure than just the weather phenomenon that is a tornado.

Parts of one of the biggest hits of 2024 were filmed in Kingfisher County in May 2023.

“We started working with Universal Pictures in April of last year,” noted Rupp, the Kingfi sher Chamber of Commerce executive director.

The chamber was contacted by a studio representative who was seeking help finding properties that met certain criteria.

“We were able to point them to several different homesteads north of town and they ended up picking Kingfisher as a location to film,” Rupp said.

(Ed. note: In an edition next month, the Times & Free Press will feature a story about a specific homestead used in the filming.)

Although not in Kingfi sher County, there were scenes shot on the south end of Okarche near the overpass. The scene, depicting damage of a tornado that recently passed, led many passersby to believe there had been a massive road accident.

As for the county, Undersheriff Jonathan Riedlinger noted four different locations east and northeast of Kingfisher in which the studio shot scenes.

Some were just two miles outside of city limits and others north and east of the Big Four Fire Department.

Once filming ended, the waiting began for the movie to be released.

It already had a strong following thanks to the 1996 hit movie Twister that starred Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton, among others.

This 2024 version is billed as a “stand alone sequel,” meaning it has no meaningful connections to the original other than - of course - the tornadoes.

As the release date approached, Rupp got some good news.

The chamber was given two tickets to the movie’s premiere last Tuesday at Harkins Theatres in Bricktown.

Rupp invited Kingfisher High School counselor Paula Leffingwell, a member of the chamber’s board of directors, to attend the event with her.

On hand for the premiere were the movie’s director, Lee Isaac Chung, as well as some of its stars including Anthony Ramos, Daisy Edgar-Jones and, of course, Powell.

Before the movie was shown, Rupp said each actor spoke about their time working in Oklahoma and how much they enjoyed it, though they did experience multiple rounds of severe weather while filming.

She noted Ramos quipping: “You people who live here are very brave!”

Those closer to home also appreciated the work put forth by the chamber.

Yousef Kazemi is the outreach and production manager for the Oklahoma Film and Music Office, which is a division of the Oklahoma Department of Commerce.

He worked with Rupp and others in similar positions as well as the studio reps.

“It felt like a ‘once in a lifetime’ moment, but maybe we will get lucky and get to do it again!” he wrote in an email to Rupp after production had stopped. “It’s certainly been an exciting time for the film and television industry in Oklahoma. Thank you and the leadership of Kingfisher for all you did to support the film and your continued support of our industries. We look forward to staying connected!”

Rupp called the experience - from scouting locations to the movie premiere - “an opportunity of a lifetime.”

“Getting to be involved in our local community promotions is so rewarding, but being able to be involved at the state level was an honor,” she said. “Oklahoma is such a great place to live and it is just grand that we are being promoted in a big way, even if it’s ‘twisted!’”