First full trailer for 'Europa Report'

By Robbie Graham Silver Screen Saucers

Check out the first full trailer for the upcoming sci-fi thriller Europa Report, which is described by Comingsoon.net as “a unique blend of documentary, alternative history and science fiction thriller [which] follows a contemporary mission to Jupiter's moon Europa, to investigate the possible existence of alien life within our solar system.”

Developed in close collaboration with NASA, JPL, SpaceX and other leaders in the scientific community, Europa Report “imagines the next step in manned space exploration and is based on recent scientific discoveries and theories.”

The film is due for theatrical release on August 2, and will be available On Demand from June 27.

Directed by Sebastian Cordero, Europa Report stars Sharlto Copley, Michael Nyqvist, Daniel Wu, Anamaria Marinca, Christian Camargo and Karolina Wydra. The film features music by Bear McCreary (Battlestar Galactica, The Walking Dead).

Dolphins

 It was a quiet week with a lot of people off island right now.  The construction/repair crew is just finishing up their spring work and will take some time off before they come back in July, so it will get even quieter. 

I had a comment asking what it's like coming and going from Midway.  I've been going back and forth for about 6 years now, so I'm used to it and don't get culture shock either way anymore.  It's like anywhere you live though, you need to get away to revive your appreciation.  That works both ways.  I appreciate the mainland more for its conveniences, friends, and social activities, but I also appreciate Midway each time I come back for the simpler beauty, lack of crime, traffic, and politics.

It's been mostly sunny this week and seems like it's warming up for summer.  There are ducklings all over, and the albatross chicks are getting bigger.  A lot of the birds are laying eggs right now, Great frigatebirds, Red-footed boobies, Red-tailed tropicbirds, White terns, and Gray-backed terns so far.  Although we're all very busy around here, it's just normal work, so I won't bore you with the details.  Here are some pics.

The beach.

 

We got to see a little bit of the solar eclipse at Midway on Thursday.  We were right on the edge of the viewing zone, so this was about as good as it got.  I took this picture through a welder's mask, hence the greenish hue.

 There were a bunch of White terns following me around, seeing what I was up to.

 This is a leucistic Laysan albatross on Eastern Island.  You can tell it's not albino since it doesn't have pink eyes and has a bit of brown in the feathers.  There's one on Sand Island too, near the water tower.

 This is the same Laysan duck and ducklings that I showed you last week.  They don't grow too much in a week. 

 I was on Eastern Island checking the duck seeps and noticed a pod of spinner dolphins just off the pier.

 They followed me for a little way on my way back to Sand Island.

I slowed the boat down to try to get a count.  They are really difficult to count, but there were at least 152 in this pod.

Man of Propaganda

By Robbie Graham Silver Screen Saucers

'Man of Steel' teams up with US National Guard

SOLDIDEROFSTEEL.COM

When the government and the entertainment industry maintain an intimate working relationship and co-produce media products specifically tailored to promote the tools of war and boost military recruitment, we call it what it is: propaganda. At least, that's what we call it when practised by countries such as North Korea, China, Russia, Iran, etc.

In America, 'propaganda' is something practised by other countries. In America, the symbiotic relationship between the entertainment industry and every branch of the military is just 'good business'. And besides, it can't be propaganda if they're advertising their own relationship, right?

Of course, it's not just the National Guard who are trying to recruit Superman fans -- the US Air Force also 'wants you!'. In exchange for the Pentagon’s right to edit the movie’s script and monitor its production, the superhero movie has been granted access to USAF facilities and hardware in order to cut its production costs. Most notably, Man of Steel will showcase the USAF's $400 billion F-35 Joint Strike Fighter which is currently grounded due to flight difficulties. Reuters reported last year that the final cost of the F-35 program might be as much as $1.5 trillion dollars(!).

According to Wired, the Pentagon’s Hollywood Liaison, Phil Strub is remaining tight lipped as to whether or not the F-35 actually interacts with Superman in the new movie, but, notes Wired, “it gets the troubled aircraft program in the same sentence as the four-color symbol of truth, justice and the American way.”

Here are just some of the movies which have been produced in collaboration with the US Department of Defense in the last decade...

2013 Man of Steel
2012 Battleship
2012 Act of Valor
2011 Transformers: Dark of the Moon
2011 Battle Los Angeles
2010 Iron Man 2
2009 Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
2008 The Day the Earth Stood Still
2008 Eagle Eye
2008 Iron Man
2007 I Am Legend
2007 Transformers
2006 Flags of Our Fathers
2006 United 93
2005 The Great Raid
2005 Stealth
2005 War of the Worlds
2003 American Valor
2003 Rain
2003 The Core

'Ender's Game': first trailer

Silver Screen Saucers

Summit Entertainment has released the first trailer for Ender's Game, the hotly anticipated big screen adaptation of Orson Scott Card’s bestselling sci-fi novel...

The film – which stars Asa Butterfield, Ben Kingsley, Harrison Ford, Hailee Steinfeld, Abigail Breslin, and Viola Davis – hits theaters and IMAX on November 1. It’s plot reads as follows:

“In the near future, a hostile alien race called the Formics have attacked Earth. If not for the legendary heroics of International Fleet Commander Mazer Rackham (Ben Kingsley), all would have been lost. In preparation for the next attack, the highly esteemed Colonel Hyrum Graff (Harrison Ford) and the International Military are training only the best young minds to find the future Mazer.

Ender Wiggin (Asa Butterfield), a shy but strategically brilliant boy, is recruited to join the elite. Arriving at Battle School, Ender quickly and easily masters increasingly difficult challenges and simulations, distinguishing himself and winning respect amongst his peers. Ender is soon ordained by Graff as the military’s next great hope, resulting in his promotion to Command School. Once there, he’s trained by Mazer Rackham himself to lead his fellow soldiers into an epic battle that will determine the future of Earth and save the human race.”

UFO movie news round-up (6 May, 2013)

By Robbie Graham Silver Screen Saucers

‘Europa Report’ concept art

Check out these three new pieces of concept art for the upcoming sci-fi thriller Europa Report, which is described by Comingsoon.net as “a unique blend of documentary, alternative history and science fiction thriller [which] follows a contemporary mission to Jupiter's moon Europa, to investigate the possible existence of alien life within our solar system.”

 

 

Developed in close collaboration with NASA, JPL, SpaceX and other leaders in the scientific community, Europa Report “imagines the next step in manned space exploration and is based on recent scientific discoveries and theories.”

The film is due for theatrical release on August 2, and will be available On Demand from June 27.

Directed by Sebastian Cordero, Europa Report stars Sharlto Copley, Michael Nyqvist, Daniel Wu, Anamaria Marinca, Christian Camargo and Karolina Wydra. The film features music by Bear McCreary (Battlestar Galactica, The Walking Dead).

‘Men in Black 4’ planned

 

A fourth Men in Black movie is being planned, according to The Wrap. No plot details are forthcoming, and there’s no word yet on who will star, but the script is being penned by Oren Uziel, the writer behind the upcoming The Kitchen Sink, which Deadline.comdescribes as a “genre collision about the unlikely alliance between a high school-aged vampire, zombie and human as they try to save their town from invading aliens.”

‘Man of Steel’ backed by Department of Defense

 

Writing for AntiWar.com, Sean McElwee noted last week that the hotly anticipated Superman reboot, Man of Steel (which I discussed here recently in the context of UFOlogy/Exoploitics), has been backed by the US Department of Defense.

McElwee points out that, in exchange for the Pentagon’s right to edit the movie’s script and monitor its production, the superhero movie has been granted access to military facilities and hardware in order to cut its production costs. Most notably, Man of Steel will showcase the USAF’s $400 billion F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (pictured), which is currently grounded due to flight difficulties. Reuters reported last year that the final cost of the F-35 program might be as much as $1.5 trillion dollars(!).

According to Wired, the Pentagon’s Hollywood Liaison, Phil Strub is remaining tight lipped as to whether or not the F-35 actually interacts with Superman in the new movie, but, notes Wired, “it gets the troubled aircraft program in the same sentence as the four-color symbol of truth, justice and the American way.”

Robot children to feature in Disney’s ‘Tomorrowland’, no sign yet of aliens 

The Hollywood Reporter has it that Raffey Cassidy (Snow White and the Huntsman, Dark Shadows) has joined the cast of Brad Bird's oh-so-mysterious Tomorrowland (working title 1952). The cast already includes George Clooney (as an inventor) and Hugh Laurie

According to THR: “Cassidy will play a robot child that has been around for many decades, has a history with Clooney's inventor character, and reportedly knows several different fighting styles.”

Tomorrowland has been written by Damon Lindelof (Prometheus) and Brad Bird. It is set for release on December 19, 2014. The jury’s still out on whether or not aliens might make an appearance. 

“You were only supposed to blow the bloody spaceship doors off!”

 

Deadline.com reports that Michael Caine has signed on to join the cast of Christopher Nolan’s upcoming sci-fi epic, Interstellar, which is based on the work of renowned theoretical physicist Kip Thorne (who will executive produce). Caine will star opposite Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain.

Interstellar is being described as “a heroic interstellar voyage to the furthest reaches of our scientific understanding.” It’s due for a November 7, 2014 release. UFO obsessive Steven Spielberg was originally linked to the project, so it’s hoped (by me, at least) that aliens might feature in the plot.

Michael Bay’s Turtles not as “alien” as feared

 

Speaking with Moviefone recently, Michael Bay made some clarifying statements on the nature of the ‘heroes-in-a-half-shell’ in his upcoming big screen production of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

"There was that quote saying that we’re making [the Ninja Turtles as] aliens. We're not. It’s the ooze! It’s from the original source material. These are from the original writers, and I never went out to correct myself in the press. I do listen to the fans and I do want this to be authentic. I think they’re going to be really happy with this movie. When I see the digital stuff, the turtles look great."

Bay had riled TMNT fans back in March of last year by stating that his Turtles would be “from an alien race.”

Directed by Jonathan Liebesman, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles features a screenplay by Josh Appelbaum, Andrew Nemec, Art Marcum, Matt Holloway and John Fusco, and is based on the characters created by Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman.

The film stars Megan Fox in the role of April O'Neil, Alan Ritchson as Raphael, Jeremy Howard as Donatello, Pete Ploszek as Leonardo, Noel Fisher as Michelangelo, Will Arnett in an unspecified role, and Danny Woodburn as Master Splinter. It is scheduled for release June 6, 2014.

Back Again

It was a long vacation, but I'm finally back.  I was in Washington D.C. for most of that time, but also went to Bismarck, N.D. for training and to visit my parents and a few old friends.  It was a bit cool there with -30 wind chills, then 91 in D.C. two weeks later. 

There was a big change while I was gone.  Our island population is getting smaller.  Twelve positions have gone away, so the folks left on island will get a bit busier.  Here are a few photos that I took on vacation, and a few new ones, too.

The prediction for the blooming of the cherry trees in Washington D.C., was off by about a week, so the crowd gathered around the one blooming tree.

 

Here is the same spot a few days later.  There were more trees to take pictures under so this one wasn't so popular anymore.

 

A lot of people were out enjoying the blossoms.

Some cherry blossoms with the Jefferson Memorial in the background.

 

 The chicks have grown quite a bit, and there are quite a few around.

There are a lot of Laysan ducklings in the seeps now.  

 

We had some visitors from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.  They gave us grant money to help get rid of the verbesina on Eastern Island, and now Sand Island.  I'm glad they got to see what great work the crew is doing with their grant.  Here, they are on a tour of Eastern Island.

 The Sooty terns have also come back since I've been gone.  Eastern Island is loud again.

A Coast Guard C-130 came through for crew rest after conducting a search for a person who fell off of a sailboat.  They called off the search without finding him. 
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/10029553/Search-for-missing-sailor-who-fell-into-Pacific-Ocean-called-off.html

 A group from NOAA also came to pick up marine debris while I was off Island.  They got a decent amount in their short time here.

 I think you can see why the albatross eat lighters out in the ocean.  They look a lot like the squid on the left.

 I found this dead Pacific Golden Plover while I was checking seeps on Friday.  This bottle cap was probably picked up by an albatross in the ocean, brought back to Midway and fed to a chick, then either was coughed up with other non-digestible stomach contents or was left after a dead chick decomposed, then found by this plover which then caused its death.

We got out to check on the reef.  This spectacled parrotfish is just about to take a chomp out of the coral.

Groundbreaking conspiracy film needs your help

By Robbie Graham Silver Screen Saucers

 

Regular Silver Screen Saucers visitors may recall that I've been involved on-and-off for several years now with the incendiary investigation into the alleged murder of Hollywood screenwriter Gary Devore.

Westaway Film has teamed up with my colleague Dr. Matthew Alford to produce The Writer with No Hands, a documentary feature which delves deep into the world of Hollywood spies, lies, and double-lives.

I've seen the rough cut and was blown away by its production values, storytelling, and, most of all, by the new information that Dr. Alford has amassed in recent months.

 

Dr. Matthew Alford

Westaway Film is using the crowd-funding website Kickstarter to try to raise £12,000, which is necessary to buy copyright footage of Gary Devore’s old movies and to polish-up the technical aspects of the documentary (graphs, audio, etc.) to make it fit for cinematic and DVD release.

If you want to own a copy of the film, as well as some accompanying goodies, you can contribute to the £12,000 fundraising drive on Kickstarter. If the filmmakers do not reach their required figure, then your contribution is simply ignored, and you won’t have spent a penny. Your transaction will only be processed if the filmmakers succeed in reaching their target figure, which will allow them to complete their film.  

The Writer with No Hands is a Powerful and politically significant film, and one that I’m proud to have played a small part in. If you’d like to make a contribution to the film – anything from £1 upward -- head over to Kickstarter. Thanks.