Overture Acquires The Men Who Stare at Goats
George Clooney and Ewan McGregor Star in Psychic Satire
May 21, 2009
This week Overture Films announced its acquisition of The Men Who Stare at Goats, a comedy about a special military unit. Currently in postproduction, the film wrapped in January, and will be released later this year.
Movie Based on the Book The Men Who Stare at Goats
The Smokehouse production, produced by George Clooney, Grant Heslov, and Paul Lister, is based on true events described in Jon Ronson’s book. Screenwriter Peter Straughan (How to Lose Friends & Alienate People) adapted the story from the book. Ronson, who works as a newspaper columnist in London, wrote The Men Who Stare at Goats after meeting a self-proclaimed former psychic spy for the U.S. Army’s First Earth Battalion. Based on interviews with a variety of people, Ronson explored the strange paranormal activities (including staring at goats in order to kill them telepathically) that were supposedly used in George W. Bush’s War on Terror.
The Film Version of The Men Who Stare at Goats
In the fictionalized film version, which was shot mostly in New Mexico, a downtrodden reporter (Ewan McGregor) looking for a good war story meets a Special Forces agent (George Clooney). This agent unexpectedly reveals secrets about a psychic military unit designed to employ paranormal powers to win the war. In a blending of comedy, science fiction, horror, fantasy, and documentary, each new military secret seems more bizarre than the last.
The cast also includes Kevin Spacey, Jeff Bridges, Robert Patrick, Rebecca Mader, Stephen Root, Merik Tadros, Stephen Lang, Nick Offerman, Glenn Morshower, Tim Griffin, Brad Grunberg, and Terry Serpico. Winchester Capital co-financed the film with BBC Films contributing to the financing of development. Creative Artists Agency packaged the film and brokered the deal on behalf of the filmmakers.
About Overture Films
Overture Films develops, produces, acquires, and distributes feature film length, theatrical motional pictures worldwide. The studio is a wholly owned unit of Starz Media. Overture’s most recent releases include Sunshine Cleaning, which was acquired at Sundance Film Festival, and stars Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, and Alan Arkin. Other upcoming Overture releases include the Sundance Film Festival award winner, Paper Heart starring Charlyne Yi and Michael Cera, which opens on August 7.
The Men Who Stare at Goats
- This comedy concerns a reporter in Iraq who meets a man claiming to be a former psychic spy for the U.S. Government.
- Starring George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Kevin Spacey, Jeff Bridges
- Director: Grant Heslov
- Release Date: December 2009
- Additional Information: Run time and rating to be determined at a later date.
For more information about Overture Films, visit the official website.
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