"The Top Secret UFO Project"

Unusual Debris Legend Spoofed in UFO Mockrumentary

Press World
7-19-06

     In July of 1947, a rancher named William "Mack" Brazel discovered a large amount of unusual debris scattered across his ranch about 75 miles northwest of Roswell, New Mexico. Neighbors told Brazel they had seen a mysterious blue light around 3:00 a.m., and suggested he go to Roswell to report his find.

This story lies at the center of the Roswell UFO legend, and is a target of satire in "The Top Secret UFO Project," filmmaker R. J. Thomas' parody of UFO documentaries.

"Brazel's findings near Roswell kicked off a media frenzy," Mr. Thomas said. "It is part of the Roswell folklore."

In Thomas' mockrumentary, a Colorado farmer awakes in the middle of the night to the sound of a loud crash. The next day he finds mysterious debris in one of his fields that resemble shattered pieces of metal. Government officials come in and remove the debris, quickly giving the public a routine explanation, lest anyone think the pieces were remnants of a crashed flying saucer.

Based on Thomas' 2004 novella of the same name, "The Top Secret UFO Project" chronicles the UFO-related events experienced by a tiny Colorado hamlet called Jasper. According to the film, the town dealt with one unusual event after another in the summer of 1956. After the farmer's spaceship sighting, 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 does not want you to see," "The Top Secret UFO Project," is a parody of specials you might find on the Sci-Fi Channel or Discovery, and the cheesy UFO documentaries of the 70's and TV programs like "In Search Of."

Mr. Thomas plays a documentary filmmaker who, in 2003, discovered some top secret government films pertaining to the Jasper Incident of 1956. 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.

"In most UFO incidents, it is a common man with no desire for the limelight who stumbles into a legend," Mr. Thomas said. "There are many cases where farmers and ranchers find something unusual that leads to UFO investigations and puts these men in the history books forever."

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See Also: Army Reveals It Has Flying Disc Found On Ranch in New Mexico