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The story of Betty and Barney Hill, the world’s first Alien Abduction case, is heading to the big screen

September 17th, 2015 by Marc Comments

movie-news-banner-copyHills

It was the alleged case of alien abduction that started a phenomenon that, real or imagined, is still around today; in fact, it’s bigger than it’s ever been…

It looks like the producers of Maze Runner: Scorch Trials, Gotham/Principal, along with Bryce and Jackie Zabel ‘s Stellar Productions will bring the world Captured, the story of “Betty and Barney Hill, an interracial couple from Portsmouth, New Hampshire who said they were captured by a UFO the night of September 19, 1961. A black postal clerk and a white social worker, the Hills claimed that, during the alien abduction, they had been studied by extraterrestrial creature, and then returned to their lives with missing memories that were later retrieved under hypnosis.”

The movie will be based on the 2007 non-fiction book “Captured! The Betty and Barney Hill UFO Experience: The True Story of the World’s First Documented Alien Abduction” by nuclear physicist Stanton Friedman and Betty Hill’s niece, Kathleen Marden, which sets the story to the context of Cold War paranoia and race relations.

If done right, this could be a fascinating look at a very important event in our history… real or fake.

Captured is a true story that explores the birth of modern UFO lore through the eyes of the first Americans to report that they were kidnapped by aliens,” says Eric Robinson, who will also produce the film on behalf of Gotham/Principal. “This is an exciting story that is as intriguing, timely and ripe for adaptation today as it was 54 years ago when this incident occurred. We look forward to sharing Betty and Barney Hill’s incredible encounter with audiences all around the world.

Betty and Barney were two down-to-Earth people who found themselves in a situation that was literally out-of-this-world,” says Bryce Zabel, the TV creator of the NBC/Sony alien cult-hit Dark Skies, “Ironically, at the time of their abduction, while the country was focused on deeply divided racial issues, it seems like only the aliens never reacted to the color of their skin.”

“The Hills were very much a part of the times they lived in,” says Stellar CEO Jackie Zabel. “They were an interracial couple in a country that still had segregation laws, and they lived in a city that was next door to a bomber base bristling with nuclear weapons. What they knew and why they were targeted will make for a phenomenal film.

No casting news or release date are known at this stage but this certainly will be one to keep an eye on…

Source: Coming Soon

Marc is a self-confessed nerd. Ever since seeing Star Wars for the first time around 1979 he’s been an unapologetic fan of the Wars and still believes, with Clone Wars and now Underworld, we are yet to see the best Star Wars. He’s a dad of two who now doesn’t have the time (or money) to collect the amount of toys, comics, movies and books he once did, much to the relief of his long-suffering wife. In the real world he’s a graphic designer. He started Following the Nerd because he was tired of searching a million sites every day for all the best news that he loves and decided to create one place where you can go to get the whole lot. Secretly he longs to be sitting in the cockpit of his YT-1300 Corellian Transport ship with his co-pilot Chewie, roaming the universe, waiting for his next big adventure, but feels just at home watching cartoons with his kids….