Next year marks the 50th birthday of the Oregon Film and Video Office.

The agency, along with the Kick Ass Oregon History podcast and the Hollywood Theater, are celebrating the anniversary early, though, with a Nov. 16 screening of the movie that started it all, “Paint Your Wagon,” in Portland.

Gov. Tom McCall created the office in 1968 to support the production of the movie, filmed in the Eagle Cap Wilderness outside of Baker City.

“Paint Your Wagon” is a musical about the California Gold Rush days; it starred Clint Eastwood, Lee Marvin and Jean Seaberg.

According to the trailer, the film is “about a lusty group of people who one day look civilization in the eye, and spit.”

That sentiment seems just about right for a movie filmed in our fair state — with loads of “hippie” extras — which the New York Times as recently as 2011 described as known for “flinty independence.”

The Beaver State has since had a storied history of providing settings for popular movies and TV shows, from “The Goonies” to “Portlandia.”

These days the OFVO is a tiny operation based in Portland. They have four full-time employees, including an executive director, and administer state incentives for filmmakers and promote the state’s film industry.