The Men Who Stare At Goats is UK journalist Jon Ronson's terrific, absurd, scary, and funny nonfiction book about the United States military's weird experiments with psychic spying, "Jedi" powers, subliminal sound weapons, and, er, the ability to kill an animal just by looking at it (hence the title). The book is coming to the big screen November 6 in the form of a dark comedy starring Ewan McGregor, George Clooney, and Jeff Bridges. What fun!
"The Men Who Stare At Goats" movie trailer (Thanks, Jason Tester!)
Buy "The Men Who Stare At Goats" book
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You know what the best thing is, about being a servant of the Devil?
Sex with goats.
Freely.
There is also a music video influenced by The Men Who Stare at Goats by Residuum: http://www.archive.org/details/residuum-staring_at_goats_video
I'm sorry, but this is all kinds of wrong.
One of my favorite pieces of book-length journalism basically ruined.
Why not just put Ronson's winning documentary version on the big screen?
fortunately (or not) I have not come across the book version of this, so have no idea how much of a disservice it may or may not do it.
From my perspective, it looks ace!
I am however, very bored, home alone, watching csi re-runs.
does that forfeit an opinion?
See, if they make it into a comedy nobody'll believe what really happened. It'll all be clear in 2012, though. Don't ask me how I know this or I'll have to stare at you.
Looks like great fun to me! ;D
Anything reviving the talents of Kevin Spacey, Jeff Bridges, AND Brad Delp, in one package - has me roped.
I did a double take when I saw this.
I read it as "Men Who Stare At Goatse".
We are ruled by morons.
Exhibit A Takuan, exhibit A. The humans on this dirty rock are stark raving mad. Does Cthulhu have any opening among the lower minions? Get me outta here.
sorry, those who approved the funding are already minions.
DeWynken #1:
You must be thinking of "The Men Who Leer at Goats". Different film altogether.
Well, we got the book, and we got the documentary, so why not have a comic movie? It's not as though you can't read or watch all three, or that watching one will make you blind to the other two.
@3: Puh-leez. Saying that a movie adaptation "ruins" a book is like saying that gay marriage "ruins" straight marriage.
If you don't like it you don't have to watch it.
daveparker @ 8 - you are not alone.
If anybody cares, me and my silly little Linux computer can't watch the trailer. Thanks Apple, once again, for making Microsoft look open-minded by comparison.
I remember listening to the Art Bell show all the time and this concept was talked about on the air. I thought it sounded completely crazy! I think the movie will do the concept justice. Just an opinion.
Oh, one more thing, I saw on the history channel the other night, the US military is attempt to create an invisibility cloak for military vehicles such as tanks and trucks so they may pass by undetected. I'll be waiting for the movie on that one, too. I swear they're all on acid!
That goat really tied the room together.
...as opposed to people who stare at Goatse obviously...
The irony that Obi-Wan is getting schooled in Jedi ways by George Clooney is not lost on many of us. ;-)
Does Ewan McGregor's 'american' accent sound american to americans?
'Inspired by the book' it says in the titles.
Movies are movies, books are books (and so on).
I enjoyed the documentary and have the audiobook sitting around waiting to be listened to. The movie looks very promising! Nice one Jon!
#17 chris23 for the win.
#20, no he sounds a little Australian in some parts.
In Soviet Union, goat stares at you!
Spacey in mustache? Bridges in ponytail? Let's go guys!
Yes, you can come too smirky George Clooney.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhIrCaY31Kk
@15
1) My linux machine plays the trailer just fine.
2) It's a youtube clip. Youtube, as far as I am aware, has nothing to do with Apple.
3) PEBKAC
#20: No, not really. His American accent has always been somewhat shaky.
So a movie based on a story by a British journalist, starring a British actor with known shaky grasp of American accents, and they make his character *American*? What was the point?
Reminds me of "The Pentagon Wars," another film that is (sadly) based off of real events.
This looks sort of BurnAfterReading-esque (no, not just because George Clooney was in that one too)
I'm glad I've decided to come back and weigh in on this again, since my vitriol elicited some exciting comments.
I'm sorry for being a nuisance or a buzzkill to everyone who genuinely likes this trailer. So, caveat emptor, "If you don't like me being a snob, you don't have to read this post."
And, now, my responses:
#13 (Ian70) — Yours is probably the fairest point of the bunch here. Yes, "ruined" was a poor, imprecise choice of words.
Yes: The book is still great. Like when your favorite band has acquired a bunch of vapid jerk fans, the is now merely forever tainted in my mind by the fact that George Clooney loved it and decided to produce this goofy, heavily-fictionalized cartoon of an adaptation.
I'm reminded of something comedy writer Jesse Armstrong said about writing for the UK political sitcom "The Thick of It." Some actual, nonfiction stories he'd hear during his research were too amazing, too absurd, or too on-the-nose, to translate into good political satire exactly because they seemed fictional already. The natural audience response would be a loss in their suspension of disbelief and a little, "Oh, this is not how government actually works. This is a joke written by a comedy writer."
I'm not convinced Ronson's book is in this category, but I am convinced hamming up the quirk undermines the story's power entirely.
I think comparing the Jeff Bridges version of Jim Channon to the real thing is instructive here. As everyone's gotten by now, Bridges is participating in a bit of stunt-casting, reprising "Jeff Lebowski" for the benefit of self-congratulatory cinéastes.
Anyone who's seen the real Channon would never confuse him for "The Dude": Channon is a lilting, New-Age, high-strung kook of a hippie. This aspect of Channon is fascinating given how implausible it is that his effete personality type could have any influence at all in the Pentagon, much less the pervasive influence his "1st Earth Battalion" did have.
Bridges' version is a mellow, burnout oaf of a hippie, one clearly more interested in bird-dogging chicks and taking bong rips. This, frankly, adds an air of macho charisma that makes his influence at the Pentagon at the same time more plausible and less factual. I think we can all agree that that's the hallmark of lazy fiction: glossing over the real details of a lived experience with a shopworn cliche, sly Coen brothers homage or not.
#21 (Blue) — [Apologies for the sarcasm in advance] Sure. Let's all agree never to compare and contrast movies, books and documentaries that cover the same exact real-world events. The mediums are just too dang different.
#4 (mrsomuch) — I hesitate to say anyone's opinions are disqualified for watching CSI. Also: I think it's funny and cute when you say "Ace."
Bye4Now PPL,
xoxoxo
MDP