UFO Film Marks 50th Anniversary of Colorado Spaceship Sighting

July 17, 2006 (PRLEAP.COM) Entertainment News
(PRLEAP.COM) On July 17, 1956, Miles Oman, a Colorado farmer with no desire for noteriety, accidently kicked off one of the most amazing UFO incidents in history. Near sundown, as he was getting ready to call it a day, this unlikely hero saw a spaceship zip across the sky over his property. Now, 50 years later, there is just one question to be asked. Was this a true story or a hoax? Well, it appears to be authentic history in "The Top Secret UFO Project," filmmaker R. J. Thomas' parody of UFO documentaries.

"I'll leave it up to the audience to decide whether it's true or not," Mr. Thomas said. "Some people still believe 'The Blair Witch Project' is fact, so somebody's bound to believe this one."

Based on Mr. Thomas' 2004 novella of the same name, "The Top Secret UFO Project" chronicles the UFO-related events experienced by Jasper, a tiny Colorado hamlet south of Denver. According to the film, the town dealt with one unusual event after another in the summer of 1956. After Mr. Oman spotted the flying saucer on that fateful evening, scientists rushed into Jasper to investigate, reporters rushed in looking for stories, and government officials rushed in to keep it a secret from the world.

Billed as "the movie the government doesn't want you to see," "The Top Secret UFO Project," is a parody of the cheesy UFO documentaries of the 70's like "Overlords of the UFO" and TV programs such as "In Search Of."

Mr. Thomas plays a documentary filmmaker who, in 2003, discovered by accident some top secret government films pertaining to the 1956 Jasper Incident. This inspired him to make a documentary about Jasper's UFO story, and to discover the truth behind what really happened that mysterious summer in Colorado.

"It doesn't matter whether you believe in UFOs or not," Mr. Thomas said. "Just about everyone wants to hear a story around the campfire. And UFO stories fit the bill."

"The Top Secret UFO Project" is available on DVD at
BooksAndSuchMart.com.