Silver Screen Saucers

Silver Screen Saucers

Author: Robbie Graham

Publisher:

Published: 2015-08-01

Total Pages: 362

ISBN-13: 9781910121115

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More so than any other medium, cinema has shaped our expectations of potential alien life and visitation. From The Day the Earth Stood Still and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, to Battleship, Prometheus and beyond, our hopes and fears of alien contact have been fuelled by the silver screen. But what messages does Hollywood impart to us about our possible otherworldly neighbours, from where do UFO movies draw their inspiration, and what other factors - cultural or conspiratorial - might influence their production and content? Silver Screen Saucers is a timely and revealing examination of the interplay between Hollywood's UFO movies and the UFO phenomenon itself, from 1950 to present day. The book grants the reader a rare, close-up examination of the DNA that builds our perceptions of the UFO mystery: one strand of this DNA weaves real events, stories and people from the historical record of UFOlogy, while the other spins and twists with the film and TV products they have inspired. With our alien dreams and nightmares now more fully visualized onscreen than ever before, Silver Screen Saucers asks the question: what does it all mean? Are all UFO stories just fever dreams from LA screenwriters, or are they based in something else? Could any of them be real and are they part of a bigger message? From interviews with screenwriters and directors whose visions have been shaped by their lifelong UFO obsessions; to Presidents Carter and Reagan talking aliens with Spielberg at the White House; to CIA and Pentagon manipulation of UFO-themed productions; to movie stars and producers being stalked by real Men in Black, Silver Screen Saucers provides fresh perspective on the frequently debated but little understood subject of UFOs & Hollywood. The book addresses questions such as: Does Hollywood fuel the UFO mythos, or vice versa? In other words, are our beliefs about alien visitation shaped by UFO movies, or are UFO movies shaped by our beliefs about alien visitation? Do Hollywood's UFO movies fictionalize the UFO phenomenon in the public mind, actualize it, or both? If and when humanity makes full and open contact with an unearthly intelligence, would we, as cinemagoers, be able to divorce Hollywood's historical imaginings from the reality with which we are presented? Indeed... Should we? After all, a great deal of Hollywood's UFO movie content has been closely informed by supposedly factual UFOlogical literature, events and debates. Perhaps, then, there is more truth to be found in Hollywood's UFO movies than we might imagine - which raises the question: Just how has so much dense UFOlogical theory (by its very nature 'fringe' and subcultural) managed find its way into Hollywood's populist science fiction narratives? Is Hollywood's incorporation of UFO lore attributable to a "Hollywood UFO conspiracy" designed to acclimate us to a UFO/alien reality, or is it merely the result of a natural cultural process? Silver Screen Saucers is bursting with ideas and information that will excite and intrigue any reader with a passing or serious interest in UFOs and/or science-fiction cinema."


Book Synopsis Silver Screen Saucers by : Robbie Graham

Download or read book Silver Screen Saucers written by Robbie Graham and published by . This book was released on 2015-08-01 with total page 362 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: More so than any other medium, cinema has shaped our expectations of potential alien life and visitation. From The Day the Earth Stood Still and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, to Battleship, Prometheus and beyond, our hopes and fears of alien contact have been fuelled by the silver screen. But what messages does Hollywood impart to us about our possible otherworldly neighbours, from where do UFO movies draw their inspiration, and what other factors - cultural or conspiratorial - might influence their production and content? Silver Screen Saucers is a timely and revealing examination of the interplay between Hollywood's UFO movies and the UFO phenomenon itself, from 1950 to present day. The book grants the reader a rare, close-up examination of the DNA that builds our perceptions of the UFO mystery: one strand of this DNA weaves real events, stories and people from the historical record of UFOlogy, while the other spins and twists with the film and TV products they have inspired. With our alien dreams and nightmares now more fully visualized onscreen than ever before, Silver Screen Saucers asks the question: what does it all mean? Are all UFO stories just fever dreams from LA screenwriters, or are they based in something else? Could any of them be real and are they part of a bigger message? From interviews with screenwriters and directors whose visions have been shaped by their lifelong UFO obsessions; to Presidents Carter and Reagan talking aliens with Spielberg at the White House; to CIA and Pentagon manipulation of UFO-themed productions; to movie stars and producers being stalked by real Men in Black, Silver Screen Saucers provides fresh perspective on the frequently debated but little understood subject of UFOs & Hollywood. The book addresses questions such as: Does Hollywood fuel the UFO mythos, or vice versa? In other words, are our beliefs about alien visitation shaped by UFO movies, or are UFO movies shaped by our beliefs about alien visitation? Do Hollywood's UFO movies fictionalize the UFO phenomenon in the public mind, actualize it, or both? If and when humanity makes full and open contact with an unearthly intelligence, would we, as cinemagoers, be able to divorce Hollywood's historical imaginings from the reality with which we are presented? Indeed... Should we? After all, a great deal of Hollywood's UFO movie content has been closely informed by supposedly factual UFOlogical literature, events and debates. Perhaps, then, there is more truth to be found in Hollywood's UFO movies than we might imagine - which raises the question: Just how has so much dense UFOlogical theory (by its very nature 'fringe' and subcultural) managed find its way into Hollywood's populist science fiction narratives? Is Hollywood's incorporation of UFO lore attributable to a "Hollywood UFO conspiracy" designed to acclimate us to a UFO/alien reality, or is it merely the result of a natural cultural process? Silver Screen Saucers is bursting with ideas and information that will excite and intrigue any reader with a passing or serious interest in UFOs and/or science-fiction cinema."


Saucer Movies

Saucer Movies

Author: Paul Meehan

Publisher:

Published: 1998

Total Pages: 392

ISBN-13:

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The first book to examine the relationship between cinema and the UFO phenomenon, analyzing more than 300 films in terms of their aesthetic merit (direction, acting, screenplay, etc.) and their UFOlogical significance.


Book Synopsis Saucer Movies by : Paul Meehan

Download or read book Saucer Movies written by Paul Meehan and published by . This book was released on 1998 with total page 392 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first book to examine the relationship between cinema and the UFO phenomenon, analyzing more than 300 films in terms of their aesthetic merit (direction, acting, screenplay, etc.) and their UFOlogical significance.


Silver Screen Fiend

Silver Screen Fiend

Author: Patton Oswalt

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2015-01-06

Total Pages: 283

ISBN-13: 145167323X

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The instant New York Times bestseller from author, comedian and actor Patton Oswalt, a “heartfelt and hilarious” (USA TODAY) memoir about coming of age as a performer during the late 1990s while obsessively watching classic films at a legendary theater in Los Angeles. “[Oswalt has] a set of synapses like a pinball machine and a prose style to match” (TheNew York Times). Between 1995 and 1999, Patton Oswalt lived with an unshakable addiction. It wasn’t drugs, alcohol, or sex: it was film. After moving to Los Angeles, Oswalt became a huge film buff (or as he calls it, a sprocket fiend), absorbing classics, cult hits, and new releases at the famous New Beverly Cinema. Silver screen celluloid became Patton’s life schoolbook, informing his notion of acting, writing, comedy, and relationships. Set in the nascent days of LA’s alternative comedy scene, Silver Screen Fiend chronicles Oswalt’s journey from fledgling stand-up comedian to self-assured sitcom actor, with the colorful New Beverly collective and a cast of now-notable young comedians supporting him all along the way. “Clever and readable...Oswalt’s encyclopedic knowledge and frothing enthusiasm for films (from sleek noir classics, to gory B movies, to cliché-riddled independents, to big empty blockbusters) is relentlessly present, whirring in the background like a projector” (TheBoston Globe). More than a memoir, this is “a love song to the silver screen” (Paste Magazine).


Book Synopsis Silver Screen Fiend by : Patton Oswalt

Download or read book Silver Screen Fiend written by Patton Oswalt and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2015-01-06 with total page 283 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The instant New York Times bestseller from author, comedian and actor Patton Oswalt, a “heartfelt and hilarious” (USA TODAY) memoir about coming of age as a performer during the late 1990s while obsessively watching classic films at a legendary theater in Los Angeles. “[Oswalt has] a set of synapses like a pinball machine and a prose style to match” (TheNew York Times). Between 1995 and 1999, Patton Oswalt lived with an unshakable addiction. It wasn’t drugs, alcohol, or sex: it was film. After moving to Los Angeles, Oswalt became a huge film buff (or as he calls it, a sprocket fiend), absorbing classics, cult hits, and new releases at the famous New Beverly Cinema. Silver screen celluloid became Patton’s life schoolbook, informing his notion of acting, writing, comedy, and relationships. Set in the nascent days of LA’s alternative comedy scene, Silver Screen Fiend chronicles Oswalt’s journey from fledgling stand-up comedian to self-assured sitcom actor, with the colorful New Beverly collective and a cast of now-notable young comedians supporting him all along the way. “Clever and readable...Oswalt’s encyclopedic knowledge and frothing enthusiasm for films (from sleek noir classics, to gory B movies, to cliché-riddled independents, to big empty blockbusters) is relentlessly present, whirring in the background like a projector” (TheBoston Globe). More than a memoir, this is “a love song to the silver screen” (Paste Magazine).


Alien Abduction in the Cinema

Alien Abduction in the Cinema

Author: Paul Meehan

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2023-08-17

Total Pages: 220

ISBN-13: 1476688273

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The alien abduction phenomenon is one of the enduring enigmas of our time. While the reality of alien abductions is a hotly debated topic among UFO researchers, scientists, skeptics and true believers alike, the phenomenon indisputably exists as an artifact of popular culture. This book analyzes more than 75 films that draw their inspiration from allegedly fact-based accounts of alien contact, from 1951's The Man from Planet X to Contactee in 2021. These films are examined in terms of both their cinematic qualities and their exploration of thematic elements derived from abduction reports. Abduction motifs that appear in science fiction classics such as The Day the Earth Stood Still, 2001 and Close Encounters are analyzed, as well as those in lesser-known films like The Stranger Within, Starship Invasions, Dark Skies and Proximity. Special attention is given to movies based on the famed experiences of abductees Betty and Barney Hill, Whitley Strieber and Travis Walton. The book also addresses skeptical theories about the origins of the phenomenon in science fiction and examines an uncanny prescience that appears to anticipate these inexplicable occurrences.


Book Synopsis Alien Abduction in the Cinema by : Paul Meehan

Download or read book Alien Abduction in the Cinema written by Paul Meehan and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2023-08-17 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The alien abduction phenomenon is one of the enduring enigmas of our time. While the reality of alien abductions is a hotly debated topic among UFO researchers, scientists, skeptics and true believers alike, the phenomenon indisputably exists as an artifact of popular culture. This book analyzes more than 75 films that draw their inspiration from allegedly fact-based accounts of alien contact, from 1951's The Man from Planet X to Contactee in 2021. These films are examined in terms of both their cinematic qualities and their exploration of thematic elements derived from abduction reports. Abduction motifs that appear in science fiction classics such as The Day the Earth Stood Still, 2001 and Close Encounters are analyzed, as well as those in lesser-known films like The Stranger Within, Starship Invasions, Dark Skies and Proximity. Special attention is given to movies based on the famed experiences of abductees Betty and Barney Hill, Whitley Strieber and Travis Walton. The book also addresses skeptical theories about the origins of the phenomenon in science fiction and examines an uncanny prescience that appears to anticipate these inexplicable occurrences.


They Knew Too Much about Flying Saucers

They Knew Too Much about Flying Saucers

Author: Gray Barker

Publisher: Illuminet Press

Published: 1996

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781881532101

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Book Synopsis They Knew Too Much about Flying Saucers by : Gray Barker

Download or read book They Knew Too Much about Flying Saucers written by Gray Barker and published by Illuminet Press. This book was released on 1996 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:


Tech-Noir

Tech-Noir

Author: Paul Meehan

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2015-08-13

Total Pages: 273

ISBN-13: 147660973X

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This critical study traces the common origins of film noir and science fiction films, identifying the many instances in which the two have merged to form a distinctive subgenre known as Tech-Noir. From the German Expressionist cinema of the late 1920s to the present-day cyberpunk movement, the book examines more than 100 films in which the common noir elements of crime, mystery, surrealism, and human perversity intersect with the high technology of science fiction. The author also details the hybrid subgenre's considerable influences on contemporary music, fashion, and culture.


Book Synopsis Tech-Noir by : Paul Meehan

Download or read book Tech-Noir written by Paul Meehan and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2015-08-13 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This critical study traces the common origins of film noir and science fiction films, identifying the many instances in which the two have merged to form a distinctive subgenre known as Tech-Noir. From the German Expressionist cinema of the late 1920s to the present-day cyberpunk movement, the book examines more than 100 films in which the common noir elements of crime, mystery, surrealism, and human perversity intersect with the high technology of science fiction. The author also details the hybrid subgenre's considerable influences on contemporary music, fashion, and culture.


Flying Saucer Films of The 1950s

Flying Saucer Films of The 1950s

Author: Jon Abbott

Publisher:

Published: 2019-08-29

Total Pages: 126

ISBN-13: 9781089697589

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The 1950s was a golden age for cinematic sci-fi, offering up dozens of films of varying degrees of interest, competence, and entertainment. Some of it was schlock, knocked out by fast-buck con-men and opportunists, who inadvertently created iconic trash. Some of it was tedious, well-intentioned, and tiresome. Those are mostly forgotten. And some of it was inspirational, memorable, and for the True Fan, literally life-changing. No-one could have known, back in the 1950s, that decades later these films would still be showing, written about, admired and respected, loved and laughed at, featured in magazines and books, released on home video, DVD, and streaming services, picked apart, studied and quoted, cracked a beer open to, and enthused over, while more serious and sensitive fare of the era gathered dust. Flying Saucer Films of the 1950s features detailed coverage of such classic sci-fi films of the '50s as The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Thing from Another World, Invaders from Mars, It Came from Outer Space, This Island Earth, Earth vs. the Flying Saucers, War of the Worlds, and I Married a Monster from Outer Space. Also included in full detail are The Flying Saucer, The Man from Planet X, Plan Nine from Outer Space, Invasion of the Saucermen, The Mysterians, Battle in Outer Space, The Cosmic Man, and Teenagers from Outer Space. The other three books in this series are Giant Bug Movies of the 1950s (Them, Tarantula, The Deadly Mantis, The Black Scorpion, The Fly, Earth vs. the Spider, etc.), Panic in the Streets: Sci-Fi Movie Mayhem in the 1950s (The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, It Came from Beneath the Sea, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, I Was a Teenage Werewolf, Twenty Million Miles to Earth, The Giant Claw, The Blob, etc.), and Space Travel in 1950s Cinema (Destination: Moon, Rocketship X-M, Forbidden Planet, Flight to Mars, Conquest of Space, When Worlds Collide, Cat Women of the Moon, Queen of Outer Space, etc.), all available on Amazon. Four fun-filled, fact-filled studies of sci-fi films of the Fifties begin here, with Flying Saucer Films of the 1950s... All four volumes combine to make up a detailed study of "Sci-Fi Before Star Wars", the science-fiction boom of the 1950s. Jon Abbott is the author of numerous books on 20th century film and television available on Amazon. He has written over four hundred articles and features for over two dozen different publications, trade, specialist, and populist, and is currently writing for Infinity magazine.


Book Synopsis Flying Saucer Films of The 1950s by : Jon Abbott

Download or read book Flying Saucer Films of The 1950s written by Jon Abbott and published by . This book was released on 2019-08-29 with total page 126 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The 1950s was a golden age for cinematic sci-fi, offering up dozens of films of varying degrees of interest, competence, and entertainment. Some of it was schlock, knocked out by fast-buck con-men and opportunists, who inadvertently created iconic trash. Some of it was tedious, well-intentioned, and tiresome. Those are mostly forgotten. And some of it was inspirational, memorable, and for the True Fan, literally life-changing. No-one could have known, back in the 1950s, that decades later these films would still be showing, written about, admired and respected, loved and laughed at, featured in magazines and books, released on home video, DVD, and streaming services, picked apart, studied and quoted, cracked a beer open to, and enthused over, while more serious and sensitive fare of the era gathered dust. Flying Saucer Films of the 1950s features detailed coverage of such classic sci-fi films of the '50s as The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Thing from Another World, Invaders from Mars, It Came from Outer Space, This Island Earth, Earth vs. the Flying Saucers, War of the Worlds, and I Married a Monster from Outer Space. Also included in full detail are The Flying Saucer, The Man from Planet X, Plan Nine from Outer Space, Invasion of the Saucermen, The Mysterians, Battle in Outer Space, The Cosmic Man, and Teenagers from Outer Space. The other three books in this series are Giant Bug Movies of the 1950s (Them, Tarantula, The Deadly Mantis, The Black Scorpion, The Fly, Earth vs. the Spider, etc.), Panic in the Streets: Sci-Fi Movie Mayhem in the 1950s (The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, It Came from Beneath the Sea, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, I Was a Teenage Werewolf, Twenty Million Miles to Earth, The Giant Claw, The Blob, etc.), and Space Travel in 1950s Cinema (Destination: Moon, Rocketship X-M, Forbidden Planet, Flight to Mars, Conquest of Space, When Worlds Collide, Cat Women of the Moon, Queen of Outer Space, etc.), all available on Amazon. Four fun-filled, fact-filled studies of sci-fi films of the Fifties begin here, with Flying Saucer Films of the 1950s... All four volumes combine to make up a detailed study of "Sci-Fi Before Star Wars", the science-fiction boom of the 1950s. Jon Abbott is the author of numerous books on 20th century film and television available on Amazon. He has written over four hundred articles and features for over two dozen different publications, trade, specialist, and populist, and is currently writing for Infinity magazine.


American Cosmic

American Cosmic

Author: D.W. Pasulka

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2019-01-18

Total Pages: 304

ISBN-13: 0190693509

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More than half of American adults and more than seventy-five percent of young Americans believe in intelligent extraterrestrial life. This level of belief rivals that of belief in God. American Cosmic examines the mechanisms at work behind the thriving belief system in extraterrestrial life, a system that is changing and even supplanting traditional religions. Over the course of a six-year ethnographic study, D.W. Pasulka interviewed successful and influential scientists, professionals, and Silicon Valley entrepreneurs who believe in extraterrestrial intelligence, thereby disproving the common misconception that only fringe members of society believe in UFOs. She argues that widespread belief in aliens is due to a number of factors including their ubiquity in modern media like The X-Files, which can influence memory, and the believability lent to that media by the search for planets that might support life. American Cosmic explores the intriguing question of how people interpret unexplainable experiences, and argues that the media is replacing religion as a cultural authority that offers believers answers about non-human intelligent life.


Book Synopsis American Cosmic by : D.W. Pasulka

Download or read book American Cosmic written by D.W. Pasulka and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2019-01-18 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: More than half of American adults and more than seventy-five percent of young Americans believe in intelligent extraterrestrial life. This level of belief rivals that of belief in God. American Cosmic examines the mechanisms at work behind the thriving belief system in extraterrestrial life, a system that is changing and even supplanting traditional religions. Over the course of a six-year ethnographic study, D.W. Pasulka interviewed successful and influential scientists, professionals, and Silicon Valley entrepreneurs who believe in extraterrestrial intelligence, thereby disproving the common misconception that only fringe members of society believe in UFOs. She argues that widespread belief in aliens is due to a number of factors including their ubiquity in modern media like The X-Files, which can influence memory, and the believability lent to that media by the search for planets that might support life. American Cosmic explores the intriguing question of how people interpret unexplainable experiences, and argues that the media is replacing religion as a cultural authority that offers believers answers about non-human intelligent life.


Silver Screen Edition

Silver Screen Edition

Author:

Publisher:

Published: 19??

Total Pages:

ISBN-13:

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Book Synopsis Silver Screen Edition by :

Download or read book Silver Screen Edition written by and published by . This book was released on 19?? with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:


Screen Sirens Scream!

Screen Sirens Scream!

Author: Paul Parla

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2009-10-01

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 0786445874

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These twenty heroines portrayed imperiled women in science fiction, horror, film noir and mystery movies from the 1930s to the 1960s. Some--like Sandy Descher, who confronted the giant ants of Them!--were only girls when they faced their screen perils. Others--such as Mary Murphy, who played opposite Marlon Brando in The Wild One--were leading ladies in other film genres. Yet others--such as June Wilkinson, considered by many as Playboy's greatest model--came from outside the acting world. Each interview is preceded by an introduction. Besides the three above, the interviewees are Ramsay Ames, Claudia Barrett, Jean Byron, Linda Christian, Faith Domergue, Amanda Duff, Evangelina Elizondo, Margaret Field, Mimi Gibson, Marilyn Harris, Kitty de Hoyos, Donna Martel, Joyce Meadows, Noreen Nash, Cynthia Patrick, Paula Raymond and Joan Taylor. Among the films they starred in are The Mummy's Ghost, Robot Monster, Tarzan and the Mermaids, This Island Earth, It Came from Beneath the Sea, Where Danger Lives, The Man from Planet X, The Monster That Challenged the World, Frankenstein, The Brain from Planet Arous, Phantom from Space, The Mole People, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms and Earth Vs. the Flying Saucers. Some interviews were previously published in a different form in fan magazines.


Book Synopsis Screen Sirens Scream! by : Paul Parla

Download or read book Screen Sirens Scream! written by Paul Parla and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2009-10-01 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: These twenty heroines portrayed imperiled women in science fiction, horror, film noir and mystery movies from the 1930s to the 1960s. Some--like Sandy Descher, who confronted the giant ants of Them!--were only girls when they faced their screen perils. Others--such as Mary Murphy, who played opposite Marlon Brando in The Wild One--were leading ladies in other film genres. Yet others--such as June Wilkinson, considered by many as Playboy's greatest model--came from outside the acting world. Each interview is preceded by an introduction. Besides the three above, the interviewees are Ramsay Ames, Claudia Barrett, Jean Byron, Linda Christian, Faith Domergue, Amanda Duff, Evangelina Elizondo, Margaret Field, Mimi Gibson, Marilyn Harris, Kitty de Hoyos, Donna Martel, Joyce Meadows, Noreen Nash, Cynthia Patrick, Paula Raymond and Joan Taylor. Among the films they starred in are The Mummy's Ghost, Robot Monster, Tarzan and the Mermaids, This Island Earth, It Came from Beneath the Sea, Where Danger Lives, The Man from Planet X, The Monster That Challenged the World, Frankenstein, The Brain from Planet Arous, Phantom from Space, The Mole People, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms and Earth Vs. the Flying Saucers. Some interviews were previously published in a different form in fan magazines.