What's It All About?

Reporter Bob Wilton is in search of his next big story when he encounters Lyn Cassady, a shadowy figure who claims to be part of an experimental U.S. military unit that uses psychic powers. According to Cassady, the New Earth Army is changing the way wars are fought. A legion of 'Warrior Monks' with unparalleled psychic powers can read the enemy's thoughts, pass through solid walls, and even kill a goat simply by staring at it. Now, the program's founder, Bill Django, has gone missing and Cassady's mission is to find him. Intrigued by his new acquaintance's far-fetched stories, Bob impulsively decides to accompany him on the search. When the pair tracks Django to a clandestine training camp run by renegade psychic Larry Hooper, the reporter is trapped in the middle of a grudge match between the forces of Django's New Earth Army and Hooper's personal militia of super soldiers.

The Making of The Men Who Stare At Goats Some stories seem destined to be made into movies, like this one: an army of New Age warriors is bankrolled by the U.S. government to develop methods of combat using only their minds. Amazingly, this story is true. In his extensively researched bestselling book "The Men Who Stare at Goats", journalist Jon Ronson uncovers the history of the First Earth Battalion, and in the process sets the stage for an astonishing and hilarious cinematic look at a virtually unknown chapter of American military history. When producer Paul Lister received the first two chapters of the book from Ronson’s literary agent, he found the title irresistible. "It’s such a great title," says Lister. "It made me pick up the book right away and say, 'What is this?' And it’s the central idea in the movie. The chapters were very funny. I couldn’t wait to get the rest of the book. It was full of strange, true stories that had resonance. That was the draw for me." His first though was, "Hang on a minute. How can something so funny and strange be real?" The book contained enough offbeat revelations for two movies, but it didn’t conform to a traditional three-act narrative. Screenwriter Peter Straughan ("How to Lose Friends & Alienate People") was brought in to further develop the story into a script. "As much as I loved the book, it didn’t really present as a movie," says Lister ("Letter to Brezhnev"). "Peter came in with the vision we needed to transform it. He moved away from pure fact into a fictionalized series of events and characters inspired by the book. Peter delivered an unbelievably strong first draft. It was smart and funny and fresh. There’s just nothing else out there like it." Straughan says his challenge was finding a thread that ran through Ronson’s interviews that he could shape into a straight narrative line. "I literally went through the book with a marker and underlined everything I thought couldn’t be left out. Then I tried to work out a storyline that would fit in as much of that as possible. What I added was the more mundane stuff that was needed pull it all together. People may think we’ve added the goofier, more slapstick stuff, but it’s all true. All of the backstory, like trying to walk through walls, or kill a hamster by staring at it, is taken from various different experiments that were tried out in the Army or the CIA throughout the 1960s, '70s and '80s. Some of the sillier scenes in the film are taken word for word from interviews Jon did." The finished script combines sharp-witted satire and sweet hopefulness, in the spirit of the book. "I kept thinking, what if the hippies had controlled the army, what would the world be like then?" says Straughan. "The tone really comes from the persona Jon brought to his interviews, which is very open and accepting. He’s never snide about the people he’s interviewing, however strange their ideas might seem. I ended up feeling the same way about the characters and the strength of their beliefs, even if I couldn’t always share them." The screenplay attracted the attention of Smokehouse production company partners Grant Heslov and George Clooney. Heslov ("Good Night and Good Luck" and "Leatherheads"), was planning his feature film directing debut when the script came his way. "I fell in love with it. I read a lot of screenplays and this one made me laugh out loud from beginning to end. Jon Ronson captured this world in a very real way and Peter adapted as only a really great writer could." And what was Oscar winner Clooney's reaction when Heslov gave him the script? "You know what? Let’s do it." "George is a fantastic actory, says Lister. "But he isn’t just a movie star. He and Grant know how to make a movie. They can put all the elements together." Straughan’s screenplay added another, more emotional layer to "The Men Who Stare at Goats". "On the surface, it is the story of a group of men in the military who study psychic warfare," Heslov notes. "But it’s also a road picture about two guys who are both lost in their lives and who forge a real relationship." In the film, the fictionalized First Earth Battalion is called the New Earth Army. "We also refer to as it 'Project Jedi' in the film," says Heslov. "They actually called themselves Jedi Warriors. It was all about freeing your mind and coming up with new nondestructive methods of warfare." Lister finds the idea of a group of forward-thinking military men who come together to embrace the spirit of the New Age inspiring. Jim Dever, a retired sergeant major in the Marine Corps with twenty five years of service and the film’s military consultant, was shocked to discover the story was based in reality. He remembers getting the script and saying, "Is this for real? Did this happen in the Army?" And? "So I did research. It was all there." Ronson was inspired to write "The Men Who Stare at Goats" after hearing an unlikely and fascinating story about a low-profile U.S. Army effort to harness extra sensory perception and telepathy for the purposes of warfare. Jim Channon, a former lieutenant colonel with the Army, told author Ronson ("Them: Adventures With Extremists ")he was one of the founders of the First Earth Battalion, and had written the field manual for the group after years of research into philosophy, martial arts, psychic arts, healing, psychology and a range of extrasensory experiences. "They were a group of military men, some highly placed, who desperately wanted to learn paranormal abilities," Ronson revealed. "They really did try to walk through walls and become invisible. They practiced greeting the enemy with 'sparkly eyes', and eventually, at Fort Bragg, when the ideas turned darker, they tried to kill goats just by staring at them." Lt Col Channon became interested in alternative warfare after his service in the Vietnam War. He began to investigate a wide array of New Age techniques, including Reichian rebirthing, primal arm wrestling and naked hot tub encounter sessions in order to revolutionize the military. According to Ronson’s meticulously researched book, Major General Albert Stubblebine III was among the first to envision an army of the future that would use advanced sensory techniques to resolve international conflicts. Stubblebine, a West Point graduate and the commanding general of the United States Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM) from 1981 until his retirement in 1984, passionately believed that every human being alive was capable of performing supernatural miracles. The general was intrigued by Jim Channon’s vision of ending conventional warfare with a battalion of "warrior monks" who could see into the future, read minds, become invisible and teleport. He threw the full weight of his influence behind the idea of a New Age army in a series of under the radar projects at Fort Meade. He also devoted considerable time to harnessing his own psychic powers, hoping to perfect the art of phasing; which includes the ability to walk through walls. According to Ronson, the program started very simply. "First the CIA, and then the Department of Defense, got a bunch of soldiers, stuck them in a secret room and told them to be psychic." The first leader of the remote viewing unit Sidney Gottlieb (CIA) also ran a very dark endeavor called MK-Ultra. They would secretly spike the drinks of unsuspecting military people with LSD. The official files on the First Earth Battalion remain sealed. The Army says their psi-ops programs were disbanded long ago. Despite the Armies assurances, veterans of the program continue to wield influence in and out of the military, including Jim Channon, who is now known as 'a global elder' and 'the world’s first corporate shaman'; John Alexander, a leading expert on non-lethal weapons; Joseph McMoneagle, one of the original recruits who psychically identified a previously unknown Soviet submarine; Ingo Swann, originator of the term 'remote viewing' and developer of the first training protocols; Lyn Buchanan and Mel Riley, who currently offer psi-ops services through a private company in Washington, D.C. and Ed Dames, sometimes called 'the real Obi Wan Kenobi', a renowned remote viewing expert and trainer. Straughan made a decision not to interview any of the real life figures for his screenplay: after all, "Jon had already done that." Heslov and Clooney pride themselves on running an easygoing set, and by all accounts, the light-hearted tone of the film continued even when the cameras stopped rolling. "We try to do it the same way we run our business. We try and have fun. Making movies can be tense. It’s all-consuming. You only have so much time, you only have so much money, so we really try to make it a pleasurable experience," says Heslov. "Grant did a splendid job," says now 2010 Best Lead Actor Oscar ® winner Jeff Bridges ("Crazy Heart"). "He created a wonderful atmosphere that was relaxed and focused. He was always open to ideas from the actors, and was very inclusive that way. He came very prepared. I think audiences are in for a wonderful surprise." Two time Oscar ® winner 1996 ("The Usual Suspects") & 2000 ("American Beauty") Kevin Spacey agrees. "Grant had such a clear idea about the movie he wanted to make. He knew exactly how he wanted the film to move." Spacey was still in high school when he first met Bridges. "He and his brothers and his father came to my high school to perform. My drama class was their backup chorus. When we ended up doing K-PAX together, we spent a lot of time in Jeff’s trailer singing along because he loves to play the guitar and sing." Spacey also knew 2001 Hollywood Film Festival and four time Empire Award winner Actor Of the Year Ewan McGregor before the film as well. "I directed Ewan in a commercial for a British television network a few years ago. He was dressed in a tomato suit standing next to Dame Judi Dench who was dressed as a lobster and they announced the film in Trafalgar Square. Ewan says I got him over his fear of ever being photographed doing something incredibly embarrassing, because that was about as embarrassing as you could imagine." The film marks the first time Bridges and Ewan McGregor have worked together and the actors developed a strong bond during their scenes together. "We have some dance scenes and crazy, crazy stuff we do together," Bridges said. McGregor was eager to work with Bridges as well as Clooney. "There’s a list of actors that I’d like to work with, and both of them were on there,” he says. “I did work with George on an episode of 'ER' years ago and I’ve always wanted to work with him again." "This is a little film with big ideas and big locations," says Lister. Location scout S Todd Christensen covered over fourteen thousand miles finding the right locations for the film, a personal record. He recalls: "There was one day of scouting that started in Albuquerque, went eighty miles to the Zia Pueblo, then to Roswell, Mescalero Flats, White Sands and Alamogordo. By the time we got back to Albuquerque, we had driven seven hundred miles in just over sixteen hours." The bonus was, Christensen ("Syriana") found some stunning backdrops for the film in his travels. The Verdict "After you've seen "The Men Who Stare At Goats" audiences may feel like they too have been an a mind-bender of their own. It's ridiculous, it's outrageous and it's incredibly silly. In fact, at times, it's plain down right stupid. Stupid funny! Problem is, despite what we may think, everything seen on the screen is based on fact and was meticulously researched by author Jon Ronson. Yes, strange as it may seem, the U.S. were experimenting with 'Jedi Warriors' and trying to develope psychic powers. With three Oscar ® winners and a twice decorated BAFTA recipient headling the cast you'd rightly expect "The Men Who Stare At Goats" to be entertaining: and it is, up to a point. That point comes just five minutes from the end, when, instead of passing through the wall and continuing on its merry way, it hits the wall with a resounding thud, undoing all the good that came before. Now, if you're a Clooney fan and you love the style of humour he usually gets involved with, this Indie film will be right up your alley. If you're not a fan of whacky, out there, 'strange' humour (the kind that leaves some cinemagoers feeling bewildered, puzzled and lighter in the pocket), heed my warning and give "The Men Who Stare At Goats" a wide birth and go for something a little more 'normal'. Not nearly as good as it could have been! "The Men Who Stare At Goats" is definitely one unusual, peculiar, surprising and eccentric film. 2 1/2 STARS." What Are The Critics Saying?

"A likable little movie that feels more indie than most indies, isn't afraid to shamble along, and, sadly, seems oblivious to the fact that it's in need of a bigger ending." Ken Hanke MOUNTAIN XPRESS "An outrageously funny, tongue-in-cheek satire filled with lively, amusing performances, but its comedic momentum gradually loses steam ." Avi Offer NYC MOVIE GURU "The Men Who Stare at Goats is a handful of hilarious scenes looking for a movie." Robert W. Butler KANSAS CITY STAR "The movie gets off to a strong start that is both amusing and highly entertaining but it can't maintain the high level of incredulity." Keith Cohen ENTERTAINMENT SPECTRUM "It's a buddy movie, a satirical comedy and a war adventure in which outlandish paranormal non-violent warfare methods (such as 'invisibility' and walking through walls) are explored. The irony of 'Jedi warriors' and being coerced 'to the dark side' is not lost on us." Louise Keller URBAN CINEFILE

"This is a comedy first, and Clooney delivers big time . The best of the best with a heaping amount of crazy swagger. The concept of love and peace helping in war is filled with potential. The term Jedi warrior gets tossed around a lot. Bridges plays Obi-Wan, Spacey is a little bit of Darth Vader, and McGregor, well it’s just kind of awkward. Psychic spies. Jedi warriors. Clooney delivers big time, but the story could have been better." Jeff Bayer THE SCORECARD REVIEW "A quietly wacky military satire good for scattered chuckles and laughs." John Wirt ADVOCATE "It is pleasant, gentle and funny. Like all myths, it reveals certain truths." Robert Roten LARAMIE MOVIE SCOPE "Everyone involved seems to have had a pretty good time, but this one looks like it was more fun to make than it is to watch." A.O. Scott AT THE MOVIES "It's eccentric, bizarre and often funny, with its tongue firmly in its cheek as it tells the supposedly partially true story of a US army unit in the 80s which was set up to wage peace against the nation's enemies. But the film is more like a series of amazing anecdotes and crazy adventures than a fully formed story." Andrew L Urban URBAN CINEFILE

Who Is Playing Who?

George Clooney Ewan McGregor Jeff Bridges Kevin Spacey Stephen Lang Robert Curtis Brown Robert Patrick Waleed Zuaiter Stephen Root Glenn Morshower Nick Offerman Tim Griffin Rebecca Mader Jacob Browne Todd La Tourrette Brad Grunberg

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Lyn Cassady Bob Wilton Bill Django Larry Hooper Brigadier General Dean Hopgood General Brown Todd Nixon Mahmud Daash Gus Lacey Major Holtz Scotty Mercer Tim Kootz Debora Wilton Lieutenant Boone Dave Ron

The Production Team

Director Screenplay Adapted from Producers Original Music D.O.P. Film Editor Casting Production Designer Art Direction Costume Design

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Grant Heslov Peter Straughan the book by Jon Ronson George Clooney/Grant Heslov/Paul Lister Rolfe Kent Robert Elswit Tatiana S Riegel Amanda Mackey & Cathy Sandrich Gelfond Sharon Seymour Peter Borck Louise Frogley

Run Time 93 minutes Rated M [AUST] Copyright ©2010 - Overture Films - All Rights Reserved ©1999-2010 The Movie Pages & impact Internet Services. All Rights Reserved. Protected by Australian and International Copyright. Trademark Laws and Intellectual Property Rights apply.