ENID, Okla. — After two years of nurturing her movie script from a concept to a budding Enid-based film, Oklahoma native Erin Elizabeth Cook’s baby just witnessed a major growth spurt with legendary actor Martin Sheen officially signing as part of the main cast of “The One.”
“I think it was God, like, literally putting him right into our lap,” Cook said.
Sheen will play the role of Jefferson, “the mysterious train conductor that helps Hawk around Enid find food and shelter in the cold.”
The part is one of five main roles in the film, which already has completed some filming but will begin in earnest in Enid in early January, Cook said. Filming will last at least a full two weeks, she said.
Local residents can watch from afar as they film scenes near The One Enid Christ Tree downtown and even try out for volunteer or casting roles for extras. Those opportunities will be announced through a casting agency, Cook said, encouraging anyone interested to sign up for the email list at https://www.frei hofercasting.com. Information about the film will be released through The One Enid Facebook page.
Cook did say there will be a scene scheduled for Jan. 9 at Emmanuel Enid.
“That’s one day where we’re asking for as many volunteer background actors as we can get,” she said, adding there still would be paid background opportunities in days ahead.
Anyone interested in volunteering for the Emmanuel Enid scene, which tentatively is set for after school time, should email her at theonechristmasmovie@yahoo.com.
“The One,” directed by Lisa Arnold and written by Cook, who also produces the film with Adam Ropp, will star Jana Kramer (“One Tree Hill,” “Friday Night Lights”), Nick Zano (“DC’s Legends of Tomorrow,” “Obliterated”) and Olivia Sanabia (“Homestead,” “Just Add Magic”) in addition to Sheen (“The West Wing,” “Grace and Frankie”). The film also introduces Noah Redclay as Hawk. All of the actors will be in Enid filming at some point in the coming days, Cook said.
Getting Sheen to take the role, Cook said, resulted from “pulling all of your cards together:” a combination starting with good story content, following proper channels through casting directors and, in the end, a little luck with connections.
“And for me, it was really just the God thing, if I’m being perfectly honest,” she said.
The film already had shown interest in the veteran actor and casted an “avail check” with Sheen, Cook said. She was talking to her attorney about finalizing contracts with Kramer and Zano when he asked about the Jefferson role and she told him she hoped to get Sheen.
“He goes, ‘Oh, you did you know that I used to represent Marty when he was on ‘West Wing’.’ And I was like, ‘No.’ So he’s like, ‘You want to give him a call?’”
The next day it was a done deal, she said.
Cook said a cool story with how suited Sheen is to this role is she was told the actor disappeared once from a practicing hospital set for multiple hours. It turns out he was visiting patients, signing autographs, taking pictures and asking if they wanted to pray.
“And I was like, Oh, this is crazy. So, yeah, it’s a little bit of connection. It’s a little bit of luck, but also it has something to do with the content. … So, you know, it was just a full team effort, good content, good storyline. We already had other good stars that believed in it that had signed on as well, and he was the last one. So, yeah, it’s true blessing.”
‘Everything just kind of fell into place’
Three years ago Cook was invited by Kyle and Carol Williams to experience the Christ Tree opening night during its second year in Enid.
After meeting the Williamses, she sat down and poured out a 10-page movie outline.
“Someone said there’s someone that, you know, has this tree in Enid, and you should check it out. They were talking about doing a Christmas movie, maybe. And so that’s how I was introduced to Kyle … Everything just kind of fell into place from there.
“I just sat down and started writing the ideas as they came into my head, you know, based around just The One. … That’s the only thing I had to work off of.”
It was not her first foray into the world of acting, however.
Cook said she has been in the film industry since she was 5 years old. She has trained under bigger producers, worked as a production intern, associate or assistant on more than 30 sets across the nation, but her main love was always acting.
“As I say, I did time in L.A. It’s a hard, hard place to live, but it’s definitely like going to film school just living in L.A. for a year.”
Eventually, she decided to come back home to Yukon to raise money and ended up getting “a normal job” and just moving away from the industry for a time. But then things in the film industry started picking up in Oklahoma, so Cook started an acting program at her church.
As a strong Christian believer, Cook said that is why the Christ Tree in Enid became such a turning point in her career. She said she understands Christianity for some is not important, but it is to her.
“And for me, it was really, it was really God. This is like, ‘Hey, you’re supposed to be making faith based or Christian films in a different kind of way.’ And I didn’t really know what that would look like, but I just kept, you know, getting this resounding message of … you need to be doing something different.”
‘Not your typical Christmas movie’
Based around an annual event in Enid, “The One” is billed as an “inspirational, faith-forward film” that follows Hawk, a Native American foster teen who ages out of the system and uses his one train ticket out of Chicago to see the tallest Christmas tree in the United States.
“‘The One’ is not your typical Christmas movie,” Cook said in a press release about the film. “It deals with some pretty difficult topics, including PTSD, loss of cultural identity, and really tackles our broken foster system head-on. The film is strewn with surprise, comedic characters and twists and turns that will not only open eyes to the plight of our foster system, but also remind us of the true meaning of Christmas.”
As a producer, Ropp stated in the release that he was “honored to tell a story that highlights the challenges and triumphs within the foster care system in the United States.”
“My hope is that this film sparks meaningful conversations and greater awareness about the children and families it affects,” he said.
The film is funded through private equity and will utilize the state’s production incentives under the Filmed In Oklahoma Act of 2021 through a partnership with the Oklahoma Film + Music Office, which was really helpful, Cook said.
She added that she is proud of the fact when all the filming wraps and the movie premieres that money from this production still will be circulating in her home state.
In addition to the film, “The One” also will feature original music from the American rock band We The Kings, which will contribute a new single, “Are You Here?” — inspired by the children’s book of the same name, written by lead singer Travis Clark’s wife, Jenny Robinson-Clark. Both song and book will be published and released early 2025. We The Kings will be on tour with Avril Lavigne in May and June 2025 in the United States and Canada.
The film also features performances by Ben Hall (“Killers of the Flower Moon,” “Minari”), Leah N.H. Philpott (“Hell Hath No Fury,” “Country Gold”), P.J. Sosko (“The Girls on the Bus,” “The Equalizer”), Bruce Davis (“All Eyez On Me,” “The Vast of Night”), James Austin Kerr (“Queen of the South,” “Reagan”) and Cook (“Awake,” “If Looks Could Kill”).
Filming is set to wrap in late January in Enid, and audiences can expect to see the film, cast by Beverly Holloway and Chris Freihofer, next holiday season in November 2025. Cook said they have had distribution offers but are being patient to respond, with the recent confirmation from Sheen and end of filming approaching.
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