TULSA, OKLAHOMA, OK, UNITED STATES, September 10, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Todd Gatewood, a Tulsa-based film restoration expert and photo archivist, has wrapped up a major undertaking — one centered on a Bigfoot subject.
Quick background: Gatewood holds a distinctive niche in Tulsa’s film history. He served as Matt Dillon’s stand-in during production of three movies shot in Tulsa (“Tex,” “The Outsiders,” “Rumble Fish”), all adapted from novels penned by Tulsa author S.E. Hinton.
That chapter is past. Here’s the current news:
Gatewood has revealed that he finished a fresh restoration of the renowned Patterson-Gimlin Film.
Captured by Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin in 1967, this 60-second film clip depicts an unidentified, humanoid shape moving through Northern California’s Bluff Creek region. That shape was claimed to be a Sasquatch or Bigfoot-like entity.
For decades, the Patterson-Gimlin Film has been central to scientific, photographic, and cultural investigation.
Gatewood stated in a press release that his restoration will reignite focus on “one of the most examined pieces of motion-picture footage in modern history.”
The updated version of the film is scheduled for release on October 20, coinciding with the 59th anniversary of the day the footage was purportedly recorded.
Gatewood, a lifelong Tulsan who has devoted years to extensive work with the surviving film imagery and historical materials tied to the Patterson-Gimlin Film, carried out the restoration project.
According to the release, Gatewood’s restoration prioritizes preserving and showcasing the original photographic film. For the first time, the effort involved using high-resolution scans of the original 16mm Kodachrome II color film and carefully reconstructing imagery for modern viewing.
“This isn’t about creating a new version of the film,” Gatewood said. “It’s about historically preserving what was actually recorded to museum-quality standards and giving people the opportunity to examine the footage while respecting the original photographic material.”
When asked what drew him to the project, Gatewood explained: “I grew up looking at this image and, as I saw different ones, I knew there was something better. The film is important in establishing Native American truths about a people that were hunted by the U.S. government, just like Indigenous people in America were.”
The finished restoration forms part of a documentary titled “Bigfoot Revealed: The Unseen Patterson-Gimlin Film,” which is being readied for distribution — initially via Vimeo and later across all major streaming platforms.
The project acknowledges individuals whose efforts and contributions have been vital to the film’s history, including Patterson, Gimlin, researcher Bill Munns, and others “whose extensive analysis and documentation have contributed to the continuing study of the footage.”
Is it real or a hoax? That’s the long-standing question about the Patterson-Gimlin Film.
Patterson, who passed away in 1972, insisted during his lifetime that the footage showed an actual Bigfoot-type creature rather than a person in a furry costume. Gimlin stated this in a 2020 KNKX Public Radio interview: “I strongly believe that if a real (Bigfoot) walked in the house and sat down at a table — or, the best it could — they’d say ‘No, it’s a fake. It’s somebody in a suit.’ That’s how naive they are. So that’s just the way I’d tell them until the day they spank me in the face with dirt.”
Todd Gatewood
Hot Weather Films
1967bluffcreek.com
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