'Hangar 18', the CIA, and the Mormon Church

By Robbie Graham Silver Screen Saucers

Embedded below is a detailed write-up of my ongoing research into the historical corporate, political and religious connections of the film studio Sunn Classic Pictures -- the early output of which reflected a strong interest in Biblical figures and the idea of extraterrestrial visitation.

In the context of UFOs, the studio is perhaps best known for its 1980 conspiracy movie, Hangar 18...

This article was originally published at Earthfiles.com

 

Related:

Hangar 18 and Predictive Weirdness (by Mike Clelland)

A History of Government Management of UFO Perceptions through Film and Television

Quickie Review: "The ABCs of Death"

As you may recall, I wrote about "The ABCs of Death" a while back in my last INDIE FILMS YOU SHOULD BE STOKED FOR article. When I first heard of the project, I was quite excited for it. The poster was extremely cool, and the concept was something that hasn't really been done before (at least not on such a large scale). Twenty-six Horror directors signed on, got a letter of the alphabet, and had to come up with a short based off the letter. (For example: A is for Apocalypse.)

Well it came out on Video on Demand this past week, and I couldn't help myself. I just had to give this a look! Plus, I'd rather spend ten bucks now instead of twenty-five later when it came out on Blu-ray, especially if it sucked. Last night, I took the plunge, paid my "pre-theatrical rental" fee, and sat through two hours of total "what the f*ck" cinema.

So how was it you may be wondering? Well... pretty disappointing actually. I'd say that out of the twenty-six shorts, I only really liked about five or six of them. I'm not saying the rest were all horrible, but some were just too weird (all of the Asian ones) or too artsy ("O is for Orgasm") for their own good. Here are some of the better shorts:

C is for CYCLE
This one was kind of cool; I was honestly expecting this one to be C for Clone. Multiple realities merge when a guy witnesses his own murder.... by himself. Is he having a glimpse of the future? Is he about to be replaced by an evil doppelganger or twisted twin brother? It is never really revealed, but hey I'm cool with that because this was a cool idea.

D is for Dogfight
This one was pretty weird. A guy prepares for an underground dogfight against an actual dog. As he and the hound trade blows and bites, they eventually stop and turn on their abusive masters. This was gritty and cool. Still wondering if the guy that was fighting the dog, was actually a dog the entire time?

H is for Hydro-Electric Diffusion
This one was INSANE and I loved it! It's World War II and a fighter pilot walks into a bar to catch a stripshow. The twist? The pilot is an anthropomorphic dog, and the stripper is a fox... literally! It's a twisted cartoon brought to life, with the brave pilot being captured and nearly tortured to death by the Nazi fox-woman in disguise. Is is weird for me to find a weird human/fox hybrid sexy? Hahaha.

This ain't Disney's "Fox and the Hound!"

Q is for Quack
Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett think outside the box on this one. Filmed as a "behind-the-scenes" video of their creation of their "Q short," the two brainstorm but can't come up with anything. Eventually they decide to snuff a duck on camera with some funny results.

T is for Toilet
After sitting through a lot of toilet and sh*t-themed shorts (seriously, a lot of these directors have a toilet/bodily fluids fetish), here was one that I could get behind. Lee Hardcastle, the genius behind "The Thing" and "The Raid" with claymation cats,  tells us the story of a child that's afraid to use the toilet. This short was picked in a contest hosted by Drafthouse Films; you can check it out for yourself below.


V is for Vagitus
This one really took the ball and ran with it. Set in a dystopian future where childbirth is controlled by the people in power, we watch as a police officer and her GIANT ROBOTIC PARTNER WITH A FORE-ARM MOUNTED MINI-GUN break into a warehouse and start gunning people down. The crime? Having a child without government consent. There's a lot more to this short film that I won't spoil, but after all the other toilet humor and weirdness, this one was a breath of fresh air.

So what about the rest? Well some are mediocre, some are OK, and many are just plain... f*cked.... up. Noboru Iguchi's "F is for Fart" is insanely bizarre and had me staring slack-jawed at the screen. Timo Tjahjanto's "L is for Libido" is perhaps the most f*cked up short in the entire anthology. A guy is stuck in a life-or-death game where he has to masturbate and reach climax before his competitor. The thing is, they have to whack-off to some truly disturbing stuff, like masturbating amputees and child rape. It's really disturbing and shocking and kind of left a bad taste in my mouth.

"X is for XXL" features an overweight woman being brutally picked on by everyone that sees her. When she arrives home, she stuffs her face with food, then goes into the bathroom with a knife and begins hacking off her fatty flesh. Then there's "W is for WTF!" which totally lives up to its name, and "Z is for Zetsumetsu" which is full of mutants, penises, and capped off with a parody of "Dr. Strangelove."

Now I'm all for filmmakers taking a chance on making something different, and like I said earlier, the concept is really cool, but in the end "The ABCs of Death" just didn't do it for me. The good shorts are too few, and the majority of them are obsessed with bodily-fluids other than blood. It's a movie that'll have you laughing one minute, staring in shock another, and will ultimately have you asking "What the f*ck is wrong with Asians?!"

Do I recommend "The ABCs of Death?" No, not really, but there are a few diamonds in the rough so it isn't a total waste of two hours. In the end, it was all one gloriously failed experiment. There is definite room for improvement in the future though, and I am totally ready to embrace a followup film. But next time guys and gals, could you please toss more blood and less poop at the screen?

NOW PLAYING: WARM BODIES, BULLET TO THE HEAD, & HAUNTING IN CONNECTICUT 2

We did it! We survived January 2013's parade of mediocre theatrical releases! Last month saw Horror movies reign supreme at the box office (TEXAS CHAINSAW 3D, MAMA, and HANSEL AND GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS all took the number one spot on their opening weekends), and saw several action films fail miserably (PARKER and THE LAST STAND flopped big time; GANGSTER SQUAD is still limping along with $40 million).

But now it's February: Punxsutawney Phil will see his damned shadow tomorrow, dooming us to more Winter. Valentine's Day will happen in two weeks; love will be discovered; hearts will be crushed; oh yes, there will be drama! It's also Black History Month (ever notice that it takes place on the shortest month of the year? I'm surprised no one's complained yet.) so students will be learning about Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, and the dozens of others who fought for equal rights.

That's fine and all, but what why not expand the curriculum to include black actors, actresses, and filmmakers? I think that at least a full week in Black History Month should be dedicated to the blaxploitation genre! (Kids should know who Richard Roundtree, Jim Brown, Pam Grier, and Fred "The Hammer" Williamson are!) Finally, February is now also "Women in Horror Recognition Month," where little seen, and unknown women in the Horror genre (particularly those working in independent film) try to get more exposure (other than going topless) and promote themselves. Read more about it here.

Anyway, February, like its predecessor, is usually another month where studios drop the films they don't consider to be Summer blockbuster material. Luckily we're getting plenty of decent-looking flicks to choose from at the cinema this weekend. First up is WARM BODIES:


At first I had written this off as a goofy "Twilight" type zombie flick, but after seeing the trailer(s) for it, I've changed my tune and am in fact, going to see it today! It gives us the usual zombie stuff (shoot them in the head to kill them; they crave the flesh of the living), but then goes in an entirely different direction. Aside from "My Boyfriend's Back," "Fido," and "Deadheads," there really aren't a lot of romantic "zombedies" out there, and it is rare for any zombie-themed film to try something different.

Note: I saw "Warm Bodies" earlier today and it was (for sake of a better word) cute. It's relatively bloodless, and is essentially a modern day retelling of Romeo and Juliet, with a post-apocalyptic zombie twist. My fiancee liked it quite a bit, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy it myself. THIS is the romantic comedy to take your ladies to this (or next) weekend guys!

Next up, here's a little something for the menfolk! Enjoy the trailer for BULLET TO THE HEAD!


Stallone plays aging hitman James Bonobo (a.k.a. Jimmy Bobo) that teams up with a Washington D.C. cop when both of their partners get iced by Keegan (Jason Momoa), a kill-crazy mercenary. The movie looks action packed and has the two main protagonists exchanging insults while beating down / murdering some henchmen. It is good to see Walter Hill back in the director's eat I tell ya!

Note: Just saw this tonight as well. It was pretty good, but it seems like a lot of the Stallone and Sung Kang banter was left on the cutting room floor. The movie certainly lives up to its title (there are a lot of bullets fired into a lot of heads), and though the main baddie is a bore (his plot is to buy up property and convert it into CONDOS! GASP!), his main henchman played by Momoa is a lot of fun to watch. I enjoyed this one, and I'd readily recommend a matinee viewing of it!

Finally here's the trailer for a film that I've already posted about recently, namely A HAUNTING IN CONNECTICUT 2: GHOSTS OF GEORGIA:


I've already discussed the asinine title of the film (which TAKES PLACE IN GEORGIA, NOT CONNECTICUT!) but I'll admit that it looks like a solid rental. It's playing in limited theaters at the moment but will probably expand into the video on demand market soon.

Aside from several documentaries that are getting a small release, these three are your best bets in theaters this weekend, and I can totally vouch for two of them! But if none of these strike your fancy, you can always try STAND UP GUYS which stars Christopher Walken, Al Pacino, and Alan Arkin.

CIA Manipulation of Hollywood UFO Movies: New Details Emerge

By Robbie Graham Silver Screen Saucers

 

For the past few months I’ve been conducting fresh research into two Hollywood UFO movies that would appear to bear the fingerprints of the CIA: The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) and Hangar 18 (1980).

I recently discussed this research with Linda Moulton Howe and our conversation was aired last night on Coast to Coast AM with George Noory.

The full uninterrupted audio is also currently available for free at Linda’s Earthfiles.com, along with a complete transcription and accompanying images. The interview is split into two parts...

Part One deals with my research into the 1980 movie Hangar 18 and the corporate, political and religious connections of the studio that produced it – Sunn Classic Pictures.

Part Two deals with the iconic 1951 movie The Day the Earth Stood Still and the political and intelligence connections of the legendary movie mogul who oversaw its production – Darryl F. Zanuck. Particularly revealing is a memo Zanuck wrote to the movie’s screenwriter in 1950. Learn more at Earthfiles.com

PLEASE NOTE:

My discussion with Linda Moulton Howe, although detailed, really only skirts around the edges of my two case studies. For the full details of my research into both Hangar 18 and The Day the Earth Stood Still, please read the two articles (with full references) that will soon accompany the audio on Earthfiles.com. These same articles will also be posted in-full at Silverscreensaucers.com in the coming days.

Vault Master Rants: Being a "film buff" and b-movie fan.

Note: This post wasn't written with anyone particular in mind; I was just venting, mainly because I get a lot of flack from friends and coworkers about my viewing habits. Also I'm not a big fan of people that think that their opinions of movies are the only ones that matter. So don't be afraid to actually contact me online and ask me if I've seen something, or to discuss movies. Sorry for any confusion!

Before I delve into the point of this post, allow me to get all nostalgic and set the backdrop for you:

I've been obsessed with film since I was a tyke. During (and for a while after) my formative years, making friends was difficult for me, so I turned to the fantastical world of cinema to occupy my pre-adolescent mind. Growing up I had two awesome things going for me in this respect: Video stores (still in their infancy) were everywhere, and numerous television channels had awesome late night programming on the weekends.

I'd take weekly trips to the local mom and pop video stores (Electric City Video and National Video... oh how I miss you), or Blockbuster when one of them finally opened nearby. I would comb the Horror and Sci-Fi sections, looking for anything with a really cool cover, and though my picks were not always mom approved, some cool stuff did slip by. (Like "Q: The Winged Serpent!") Along with the weekly video store raids, I also stayed up late on weekends and caught some really cool and oddball flicks on USA UP All Night, and TNT's Monstervision and 100% Weird. Also, had it not been for my late night viewing habits, I would never have discovered Mystery Science Theater 3000.

I'll give you two reasons why I watched USA UP All Night religiously.....

During this renaissance (if you want to call it that) I developed a fondness for certain types of films. Sure, I liked action and adventure films, and Comedies were fine by me, but in the end, I always found my way back to Horror and Science Fiction. In a time in my life where I was a social outcast (i.e. ahead of my time), it was films from these two particular genres that kept me going. I watched them, studied them, and in my teenage years, I began to collect them.

By the time I was in high school, I was known as "the movie guy" in my group of friends, and owned somewhere in the ballpark of seven-hundred VHS tapes (maybe even more). I also got my first decent computer and began exploring the web and discovered Badmovies.Org, a site that would forever change my life and lead me to a hobby that I continue to this day.

Eventually I quit collecting VHS, and moved onto DVD (and now from DVD to Blu-ray), continued to write about movies on my own site, and also over at Rogue Cinema, attended Horror cons & film fests, read numerous books about film, and collected lots of movie memorabilia. Heck, I even dabbled in filmmaking in my one year at college, where I was majoring in Radio & T.V. Broadcasting, and I've worked in three video stores over the course of my life.

I guess it comes as no surprise that I am forever pigeonholed as "the movie guy" wherever I go. I don't necessarily mind that since I'm a devout lover of films, but it has its drawbacks.

My first main pet peeve about being a "film buff" is that people simply assume I am one. I was never a self-proclaimed expert on cinema, but since I have an above average knowledge on the subject, people just presume that I know everything there is to know about movies. This of course leads to frequent vague questions about films, like "Who was that guy in that one movie?" or "What movie has that part where [insert action here] happens?" or "Which movie is it where that one actress gets naked?"

If I actually know the answer, I am applauded. If I don't, I get exasperated comments like "Aww c'mon.... I thought you knew movies man!" Yes, you're right... I'm supposed to be the central hub of movie knowledge on this planet. Allow me to apologize for not knowing what the hell you're talking about, or having not actually seen the movie you are trying to inquire about.

Which leads me to this intensely annoying question: "Have you seen [movie title]?"

I despise that question! Just because I see a lot of movies, doesn't mean I see EVERY MOVIE. I have a distinct taste in film (as do we all) and I tend to focus on stuff that interests me. I do try to "expand my horizons" from time to time, but many films do sadly go unwatched. Also, I don't just sit and watch movies all day because I have a job, daily chores, as well as other hobbies and interests. Believe it or not, I actually have a life! (GASP!)

But the worst part isn't the assumption that I've seen every movie ever made (a complete impossibility), it is the reply that follows when I say "no" to the question, namely "YOU haven't seen a movie?!"

No, sorry, I didn't see the one goddamned movie you just mentioned. How dare I not spend all my waking hours watching everything I can, just on the off chance that you and I can chat it up about the latest movie that held your (limited) attention for more than five minutes! Instead of acting like it's a world-shaking event, you could have just said "Oh you haven't seen it?! Well you should definitely watch it sometime because it's good!" If you said that, then I wouldn't be telepathically beaming a hearty "F*CK YOU" at you with my mind.

Like I'm doing right now.

And if you really think it is something I should watch, give me a quick synopsis. Just try  and tell me the plot of the film in two or three sentences, avoid spoilers, but do share a highlight or two (like witty dialogue, or a brief overview of an action sequence). Do not stand there and tell me the entire freakin' movie. If you spoil the plot twists and/or the fates of the main characters, then why the HELL would I bother watching the movie?!

Finally, to conclude my ranting tonight, I just want to go back to the nostalgic beginning of this post. As I stated above, I saw a lot of weird movies, monster flicks, and creature features during my formative years. The films I watched in my youth and early adolescence built a foundation for my preference in movies. As I've gotten older, my taste in movies has evolved, but I'll always lean more towards the genres that captured my imagination when I was growing up.

With that said, everyone's taste in film is subjective. We all like different things, though sometimes we can agree on what designates a good or bad movie. But in the end, we cannot ever pick ONE movie that is perfect, or one that is 100% awful! People find issues with even the best of films, and conversely find successes hidden within films that appear to be total failures. There simply are no absolutes.

Taking this into consideration, can you imagine how pissed off I get when someone accuses of me of not liking "good movies?" Just because I run a website that revels in low budget, cult, Horror, exploitation, and obscure cinema, my taste in film automatically becomes suspect? Well f*ck you!

Yes I have missed out on many films that are considered legendary classics (e.g. "Casablanca"), and yes I own quite a few movies that many would consider bad (e.g. "Troll 2," "Frankenhooker," et al.), but again its all subjective and comes down to everyone's personal opinions! Just because I can rejoice in the ineptitude of an Ed Wood film, or fully embrace the cheesiness of a Japanese monster movie, doesn't mean I can't watch an Oscar-winning film and not thoroughly enjoy it!

In closing, when it comes to movies, I like what I like, and if it's wrong for me to prefer watching "Evil Dead II" over "Citizen Kane," then I don't wanna be right!

If you agree or disagree with any of my statements, leave a comment below, or drop me a line on Twitter or Facebook! Thanks for reading; stayed tuned for more b-movie news, reviews, rants, and more!

HATE CRIME synopsis, trailer, and posters.

HATE CRIME is a film that's flown under my radar up until I received a press release from its director, James Cullen Bressack. This home invasion/found footage flick has been making its rounds at festivals, and creating some waves. Apparently, it is so controversial that the film was nearly banned in the UK, and is currently having trouble finding distribution, so don't plan on seeing it just yet, unless it is scheduled at a film fest.

The Synopsis:
"A Jewish family, just arrived in a new neighborhood, are recording their youngest son's birthday celebrations on video when their home is suddenly invaded by a bunch of crystal-meth-crazed neo-nazi lunatics… "

More About the Film and Director:
"Fans have eagerly awaited release details on HATE CRIME, although there are still none yet we do have some posters for the film!

Attached are 5 official posters for the critically acclaimed AWARD WINNING found footage home invasion film HATE CRIME. This is the second feature film by 20 year old James Cullen Bressack, his first being the Amazon horror best seller MY PURE JOY which was released last year. Despite its name, Hate Crime is a labor of love from a dedicated group of people looking to make something different. Hate Crime is a violent, realistic portrayal of one of our worst nightmares, being attacked in our home. The movie has been extremely well received by over 80+ reviewers, including some of the biggest reviewers in the horror film community.

This film has fought a lot of controversy due to it's extreme content, almost being banned in the UK, being pulled off the screens at festivals before even showing, due to content and theatre management not willing to show the movie the festival booked, and has faced some trouble finding distribution since the shooting in CT.

We actually lost a distribution deal that was on the table due to that horrible tragedy. As Sinfullcelluloid.com put it: "...the film has won several awards and has a strong following. It has over 80 great reviews and no distribution. They even had an offer hold off the table the last minute." for the full article about HATE CRIME's shocking distribution woes please visit: SinfulCellulloid.com"

I'm personally not a huge fan of the found footage genre, and truthfully, I haven't seen many home invasion flicks, so this isn't something I'd actively seek out. Perhaps the trailer will change my mind?


The trailer mainly consists of ballyhoo... it doesn't offer up a solid reason for me to want to see the film. If anything, it is pretty much saying "WE DARE YOU TO SIT THROUGH THE FULL 73 MINUTES OF THIS MOVIE!" I've glanced around, and many of the reviews are positive (even the people who didn't like this movie have good things to say), so even though it doesn't seem like my cup of tea, if the opportunity presented itself, I'd give HATE CRIME a shot.

Finally, here are the posters that were just released for the film...

For more info about HATE CRIME visit the film's IMDB page, and be sure to like its Facebook page as well!

Disney’s ‘1952’ now called ‘Tomorrowland’ and is not about aliens... or is it?

By Robbie Graham Silver Screen Saucers

So, Brad Bird’s hotly-anticipated sci-fi project for Disney – tentatively titled 1952 – now has its official name: Tomorrowland.

Rumors have been swirling online for months that Bird’s film – which will star George Clooney – is to be a Close Encounters-style UFO epic. Bird himself has remained tight-lipped.

In October of last year, Vulture reported on the movie’s mysterious back-story, which goes like this:

last spring, Disney’s head of production, Sean Bailey, arranged for screenwriter Damon Lindelof (Cowboys and Aliens, Prometheus) to be given access to “one of the studio’s odder curiosities: a banker’s box of files and documents that had been left moldering in Walt Disney’s personal development lab, WED Enterprises, which later became the studio’s vaunted Imagineering department.”

According to Vulture’s “spies”, the box was originally labelled with the title of Disney’s 1965 comedy That Darn Cat!, which had been crossed out and in its place was written “1952.” Apparently, inside the box was a “collection of documents and primary source materials that, when looked at all together, indicated that someone had been working on a project (movie? Theme park ride?) about alien contact.”

The identity of this “someone” from Disney’s bygone era working on a project about alien contact was never specified, but I speculated that it might be Ward Kimball – who famously claimed to have worked on an aborted government-sponsored Disney UFO documentary that was supposed to have featured real UFO footage.

However, within hours of publishing his inside scoop on 1952, Vulture’s Claude Brodesser-Akner made a public apology, stating that he had “misunderstood” his source for his story and that Brad Bird’s movie “is not in fact about an alien encounter.”

Now, the movie’s screenwriter Damon Lindelof has chipped in with the following Tweet: “We won't tell you what it's about (yet), but we will tell you what it's NOT about. And that would be ALIENS.”

Teasing us even further, Brad Bird last week Tweeted a picture of the aforementioned “box of files and documents” which is serving as inspiration for this mysterious movie project...

 

This marks the beginning of what will surely be an elaborate marketing campaign for Tomorrowland, with the contents of the box clearly intended to spark further speculation about the film’s plot. So let the speculation continue...

Looking at the box, we are afforded a glimpse of a magazine cover – which is obviously an issue of Amazing Stories. To be precise, it’s the August 1928 issue, which famously laid the foundations for the adventures of Buck Rodgers in the story Armageddon 2419 A.D. However, the cover of the issue is not related to Buck Rodgers, but depicts a scene from the story The Skylark of Space, by E.E. Smith. You can read the full plot for The Skylark of Space here, but suffice to say it deals with the discovery and implications of free energy; interstellar travel; and, yes, aliens.

 

So, basically, what on Earth (or in space) Tomorrowlandis about is still anyone’s guess. Care to guess, anyone? Who are the men pictured with Walt Disney in those photographs? What’s in those dusty files? What’s in that brown sleeve? Is that a music record? Is there film in that Technicolor box? If so, what’s on it?? Damn you Brad Bird and Disney!

Tomorrowland is scheduled for release December 19, 2014.