CIA advised secretly on 2009 Disney UFO movie

An active operative of the Central Intelligence Agency provided detailed, on-set advice to the makers of the 2009 Disney film Race to Witch Mountain - this according to the film's director, Andy Fickman. In a September 2010 interview, Fickman revealed to me that his CIA advisor - who had been hired "through back door channels" - personally designed the written alien language seen in the flying saucer during the film's climactic scenes. The advisor also recommended that certain UFOlogical content be removed from the script.

Along with an active Air Force Colonel (also advising uncredited on the film), the CIA man even accompanied Fickman and selected members of his production crew on a private tour of NORAD's sensitive Cheyenne Mountain facility, where Fickman discussed the UFO question with top-ranking military personnel, including the heads of NORAD themselves.

The full details of the CIA's clandestine involvement in Race to Witch Mountain will feature in the Spring 2011 issue of 49th Parallel - a peer-reviewed, interdisciplinary academic journal devoted to North American Studies - in a new article co-authored by myself and Matthew Alford.

The in-depth article, entitled: A History of Government Management of UFO Perceptions through Film and Television, brings together six-decades-worth of concrete cases in which the US government and military have attempted - often successfully - to shape the content of UFO-themed film and TV products. I'll be providing a direct link to this article as soon as the journal publishes it online this April.

MIB III due May 2012

Things haven't been going too smoothly of late for the third installment of the Men in Black franchise with its script having been subject to a number of rewrites and the film's production currently on hiatus. Nevertheless, Columbia Pictures is standing firm on its scheduled release date of 25 May, 2012.

The film's plot will see Will Smith's 'Agent J' travel back in time to 1969 to team-up with a younger version of Tommy Lee Jones' MIB curmudgeon 'Agent K' in order to once again save the world from 'the worst scum of the universe.'

With Josh Brolin in the role of the young 'Agent K' and with other new cast members including Emma Thompson and Alice Eve (with the latter playing a younger version of the former), as well as Jemaine Clement on villian duty, Columbia Pictures clearly is hoping that some fresh faces and a temporal change in scenery will breath new life into the MIB universe. The other added ingredient this time around, of course, is 3D.

UFO MATRIX conference

UPDATE (AUG. 2011): UNFORTUNATELY, THE UFO MATRIX CONFERENCE HAS BEEN CANCELLED.

I'll be speaking on the subject of 'UFOs and Hollywood' at the UFO MATRIX conference in Yorkshire this October. Keynote speaker at the event will be Travis Walton, whose now famous abduction experience in the White Mountains of Arizona in 1975 inspired the Hollywood UFO movie Fire in the Sky (1993).

Conference details below as provided by UFO MATRIX editor Philip Mantle:

UFO MATRIX MAGAZINE

PRESENTS

50 YEARS OF CLOSE ENCOUNTERS

October 15^th & 16^th, 2011

 King’s Croft Hotel, Pontefract, West Yorkshire, England

To commemorate the 50^th anniversary of the Betty and Barney Hill alien abduction account, UFO MATRIX is staging a two-day conference. The conference will have a line-up of UFO researchers and experiencers plus new books signings and other unique UFO items for sale.

The full line-up of speakers is:

Travis Walton (USA):

Abductee whose experience was made into the l993 Paramount movie ‘Fire in the Sky’, and author of the book of the same name.

Kathleen Marden (USA):

The niece of Betty Hill and co-author of ‘CAPTURED – The Betty & Barney Hill UFO Experience.’

Nick Pope & Bridget Grant (A joint researcher/experiencer presentation)

Mike Hallowell

Philip Mantle & Rosalind Reynolds (A joint researcher/experiencer presentation)

Robbie Graham

Malcolm Robinson & Garry Wood (A joint researcher/experiencers presentation)

John Hanson

Dave Hodrien

This will be Kathleen Marden’s first ever presentation in the UK and Travis Walton has not lectured here since the release of his movie in 1993. Kathleen will be speaking on both days and each presentation will be different.

All speakers subject to change.

Ticket Prices:

Single day £25.00 per person

Saturday & Sunday ticket: £40.00 per person.

Tickets for this event are strictly limited so you are advised to order early to avoid disappointment. There is ample free parking at the venue but accommodation is limited. There will be a hot buffet lunch available for purchase on both days and refreshments can be obtained all day from the hotel bar. There will also be two vendors’ rooms selling a wide variety of ufological items such as books, DVDs and a whole lot more. Accommodation at the venue is very limited; you are therefore advised to book alternative accommodation nearby if you plan to stay overnight.

Tickets will go on sale shortly. To be placed on our mailing list please email: philip.mantle@gmail.com

On behalf of everyone at UFO MATRIX we look forward to seeing you in October.
UFO MATRIX MAGAZINE:www.healingsofatlantis.com

Recommended book: Reel Power

If you're interested in the politics of Hollywood and the powerful interests working tirelessly to exploit this so-called 'Dream Factory', both from outside and within, then you should take a look at Reel Power: Hollywood Cinema and American Supremacy, by my colleague Dr Matthew Alford.

Though not about UFOs, the book nevertheless provides much food for thought for anyone intrigued by the notion of a 'Hollywood UFO conspiracy', shining a light on the corporations (including leading defence contractors as well as the parent companies of the studios themselves) and political agencies (including the CIA) that can and do influence the content of Hollywood productions on a regular basis.


Description from the publisher:

Hollywood is often characterised as a stronghold of left-liberal ideals. In Reel Power, Matthew Alford shows that it is in fact deeply complicit in serving the interests of the most regressive US corporate and political forces.

Films like Transformers, Terminator: Salvation and Black Hawk Down are constructed with Defence Department assistance as explicit cheerleaders for the US military, but Matthew Alford also emphasises how so-called 'radical' films like Three Kings, Hotel Rwanda and Avatar present watered-down alternative visions of American politics that serve a similar function.

Reel Power is the first book to examine the internal workings of contemporary Hollywood as a politicised industry as well as scores of films across all genres. 

No matter what the progressive impulses of some celebrities and artists, Alford shows how they are part of a system that is hard-wired to encourage American global supremacy and frequently the use of state violence.

If any of this appeals to you, then you should also check out the following articles co-authored by Matthew and myself focusing on the 'deep politics' of Hollywood:

Lights, Camera... Covert Action

In the Parents' Best Interests

UFO movies in 2011

With alien vistation movies Paul (left) and I Am Number Four currently making their mark at the box-office, 2011 is set to be another bumper year for the UFO/alien subgenre.

Hitting the big screen in the coming months - in order of their US release dates - are:

Battle: Los Angeles (11 March)
Mars Needs Moms (11 March)
Apollo 18 (22 April)
Super 8 (10 June)
Green Lantern (17 June)
Transformers: Dark of the Moon (1 July)
Cowboys and Aliens (29 July)
The Darkest Hour (5 August) 
The Thing (14 October)
Area 51 (October)

Aliens set to invade in June

Spielberg's epic alien invasion series Falling Skies is headed for TV screens in the US this summer and is previewed here. Or check out the official website here.

Spielberg's obsession with UFOs, of course, dates back to his childhood and has over the years resulted in the production of numerous UFO-themed films and TV series bearing his name. For an in-depth expolration of Spielberg's intriguing UFO connections, see my co-authored article on the subject over at The Presidents UFO Website.

Welcome!

Welcome to Silver Screen Saucers, a new blog providing news and commentary on Hollywood's UFO movies, old and new.