Lights! Camera! Action! Cut!

Area residents and visitors observed film crews give some of these commands while several spots in Osage and Washington counties were used as movie sets for August: Osage County.

Crews started filming the movie on Sept. 24 at several locations in Bartlesville and Pawhuska, spawning several movie star sightings in the region. Crews have also filmed scenes in Barnsdall with McGregor and other actors.

August: Osage County is based on the award-winning Broadway play written by Tulsa native Tracy Letts and features an all-star cast including Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Ewan McGregor, Juliette Lewis, Dermot Mulroney and Chris Cooper.

Actor George Clooney is also a producer for the movie and was spotted on the job as movie crews filmed a scene next to the Triangle Building in Pawhuska on Sept. 28.

That day, crews, actors and film extras spent more than six hours at the corner of Kihekah and Main Street where a bus departure scene was filmed featuring actors Cooper and Benedict Cumberbatch.

Private security guards and local law enforcement authorities surrounding the area heavily guarded the intersection. Curious spectators watched from the front of City Hall across the street while some took photos hoping for a sighting of Clooney or other actors.

According to the play’s Web site, August: Osage County is described as a dark comedy with the action revolving around the Weston family who is forced to confront their reality both from their past and their present. The plot unfolds over a series of weeks in the Weston family home outside Pawhuska.

The film company (August OC Films) purchased the historic Boulanger home north of Pawhuska for the setting to be used in most of the movie. Filming started Oct. 8 and stretches into mid-November, according to a flyer circulated by the film company to area residents.

So far film crews have filmed other scenes around the region in areas including: Bad Brad’s BBQ; the Osage County Fairgrounds; in front of the ON Gaming Commission; at McCartney Johnsons Funeral Home; and Jane Phillips Medical Center in Bartlesville.

First and secondhand reports of movie star sightings are keeping area people occupied as Facebook and casual conversations tell of seeing Roberts at a Bartlesville liquor store; Clooney at the Osage Casino in Bartlesville and JPMC; Lewis at Starbucks Coffee and so on.

Got a movie star encounter story to share? The Osage News is interested in hearing from you and using any photos captured of the encounter. Email the newspaper at bpolacca@osagetribe.org. The film is slated for release next year.

See Osage News photos of the Sept. 28 film set by the Triangle Building in Pawhuska. The photo set is online at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/osagenews/sets/72157631700317646/