Production is now underway on 'Kecksburg', a movie about a UFO mystery that's remained unsolved for more than 50 years since an acorn-shaped unidentified flying object reportedly landed in a farmer's field not far from Pittsburgh, PA.
Story of the Century
I covered that incident for the Greensburg Tribune-Review, an assignment that my editor promised would turn out to be the "story of the century."
If a story with long-lasting appeal fits that description, then he was right because investigators, journalists, and now film-makers continue to search for answers. The latest initiative is this film produced by Cody Knotts and starring Richard John Walters, Szonja Oroszlan, Shane Douglas, Caesar James and Emily Lapisardi.
Check out the "first look" video above and the video that follows promoting the film. The reporter shown in the newspaper photo at the start of that second video is...drumroll...me.
Knotts' film takes some liberties with the facts, to be sure. In "first look," he even has Walters, as President Lyndon Baines Johnson, ordering that the many witnesses to the UFO's landing be "terminated." That probably didn't happen since I'm still around to write about it. Or else LBJ's assassins weren't very good at their job.
In fact, there are quite a few Kecksburg UFO witnesses still alive and kicking and they will be participating in the annual Kecksburg UFO Festival July 27-30. I've been asked to speak and I'll share what I saw and heard that night so many years ago.
Suffice it to say that when I arrived on the scene, armed soldiers guarded entry to the field where the object was reported to have landed. I was threatened with arrest if I tried to walk to the site where flashing lights indicated some activity by the authorities. Yet, the soldier who refused to allow me to enter the area said "nothing" was there and nothing had happened.
The next day I was told the same thing when I checked with the local police, the fire department and made calls to the Department of Defense. Nothing was there, I was told. It was just a meteor.
But since then the story has been kept alive by investigators and journalists who have refused to accept that explanation. One radio reporter actually mysteriously died while working on the story.
Seeking Support
I'm not sure how much light Cody Knotts' film will shed on the story other than to keep it alive. But I can't wait to see it.
Cody is trying to raise the last $50,000 needed to finish the project. It's an independent film, after all, not the product of some big film company. So, I'm planning to kick in a little, and if you're at all curious, I'd encourage you to do the same. You can learn more on the Facebook page that's been set up for the film.