New Age paranormal techniques applied to war fighting.\u00a0\u00a0 Twisted!\u00a0 The former commander of the psychic warriors unit, code named Project Jedi, lives in Hawai’i.<\/p>\n
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http:\/\/www3.signonsandiego.com\/news\/2009\/nov\/06\/clooneys-latest-film-an-out-of-mind-experience\/<\/p>\n
Making of Clooney\u2019s latest film was an out-of-body, out-of-mind experience<\/strong><\/p>\n By Norma Meyer<\/p>\n Friday, November 6, 2009 at midnight<\/p>\n No matter what, George Clooney\u2019s barnyard co-stars would not keel over and play dead.<\/p>\n On location in Puerto Rico, a herd of \u201cfainting goats\u201d had been rounded up for crucial scenes in \u201cThe Men Who Stare at Goats,\u201d the fact-based spoof about a U.S. Army unit that sought to master paranormal powers and trained by trying to stop a goat\u2019s heart with a steely gaze. \u201cFainting goats\u201d seemed made for the part \u2013 the breed has a genetic disorder that causes their muscles to freeze and stiffen when startled, and although it\u2019s not painful, the creatures topple over on their sides.<\/p>\n But during a screen test, when animal handlers loudly clapped their hands \u201cthe goats just looked at them like they were crazy,\u201d director Grant Heslov recalls. \u201cI did everything I could to scare them and they still didn\u2019t faint.\u201d (Asked to elaborate, he sheepishly replies, \u201cI said, \u2018Boo.\u2019 \u201d)<\/p>\n Regular everyday goats \u2013 and movie magic \u2013 eventually did the job in \u201cThe Men Who Stare at Goats,\u201d which was \u201cinspired by\u201d Jon Ronson\u2019s nonfiction best-seller of the same name and stars Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges and Kevin Spacey. Ronson\u2019s book chronicles military efforts to harness New Age techniques in order to fight nonlethal wars, and details a post-Vietnam unit of \u201cpsychic warriors\u201d whose goals included making themselves invisible, passing through walls and reading enemy thoughts.<\/p>\n Heslov figures \u201c65 percent\u201d of his \u201cMen Who Stare at Goats,\u201d is lifted from the book, with more madcap shenanigans and some hollow-horned escapees thrown in. \u201cAll the stuff about the unit is true,\u201d insists Heslov, who was Oscar-nominated with pal Clooney for the screenplay \u201cGood Night, and Good Luck.\u201d<\/p>\n Before shooting began, Heslov met with retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Jim Channon, a former Vietnam War commander and the brains behind the 1st Earth Battalion (changed in the movie to the New Earth Army).<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Channon, who is loosely portrayed by a Dudelike Bridges, embarked on a two-year government-funded fact-finding mission that included naked hot tub encounters and yoga retreats so he could write a military manual in 1978 to help Army \u201cJedi\u201d soldiers reach a higher spiritual plane. He envisioned a more Zenlike approach to combat, with troops wearing ginseng-equipped uniforms, offering symbolic flowers, cradling baby lambs in hostile territory and greeting enemies with \u201csparkly eyes.\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cIf the ideas were instituted and they worked, we would be a far better world,\u201d Heslov says. \u201cDo I believe it could happen? Probably not. But I\u2019ve got to give the military credit.\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Channon now lives on an \u201ceco-homestead\u201d in Hawaii and describes himself as a \u201cglobal elder\u201d and \u201cmystic landcrafter\u201d still pursuing creative ways to bring world peace. In a video posted on his Web site, firstearthbattalion.org , he takes the movie\u2019s humor with a grain of salt and asserts that his out-of-the-box thinking for his \u201cmythical battalion\u201d wasn\u2019t absurd.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cIf soldiers are telepathic during a firefight, that would be very useful,\u201d Channon explains at one point. He ends the video with his trademark \u201cGo Planet!\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n (Channon, an entrepreneur as well as a visionary, offers a 150-page field manual that can be downloaded through his Web site for $14.95. He also offers \u201cFirst Earth Battalion\u201d souvenir T-shirts and other gear for sale.)<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Apparently, the real Army wasn\u2019t eager to revisit this chapter in history. Heslov says the military denied his request to film on any of their bases. And although the director concedes there may be doubters, he can personally attest to the realm of the supernatural.<\/p>\n \u201cOh, I\u2019ve had out-of-body experiences,\u201d he dryly says, \u201cbut they had more to do with smoking too much pot.\u201d<\/p>\n At 46, the Los Angeles-born Heslov has worked in Hollywood since he was a teen on \u201cJoanie Loves Chaci.\u201d His TV credits include acting stints on \u201cThe Facts of Life\u201d (which also featured Clooney) and \u201cCSI\u201d (where he played a coroner). He portrayed newsman Don Hewitt in \u201cGood Night, and Good Luck\u201d and produced the movie \u201cLeatherheads\u201d starring Clooney.<\/p>\n He never imagined he\u2019d direct 150 goats.<\/p>\n \u201cOddly enough the goats were really easy to work with. Because if you have one goat that does what you want, the rest just follow,\u201d Heslov says.<\/p>\n Sure, he tried to spook those \u201cfainting goats,\u201d but he does have a soft spot for critters. In Puerto Rico, Heslov adopted a dachshund \u2013 who made its Hollywood debut in a scene where a soldier has a gun to its head \u2013 and brought the pup home to live with his family in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n Apparently, the four-legged nonactors were better behaved than the two-legged pros.<\/p>\n \u201cOne day, I was off the set for a minute, and when I came back, George, Kevin, Jeff and Ewan were in the midst of a massive rubber band fight. It was crazy. Then I joined in. We\u2019re lucky no one lost an eye,\u201d Heslov says.<\/p>\n He suspects perpetual prankster Clooney started the rubber band rampage. Heslov and Clooney\u2019s company, Smokehouse Pictures, produced \u201cThe Men Who Stare at Goats\u201d and the duo go back 28 years, when they met in acting class at the Beverly Hills Playhouse.<\/p>\n In fact, Heslov may be partly responsible for launching his Oscar-winning buddy\u2019s career: \u201cI loaned him $100 so he could get head shots.\u201d<\/p>\n Clooney\u2019s latest character \u2013 the out-there New Earth Army operative Lyn Cassady \u2013 is a composite of real people from Ronson\u2019s book. And as crackpot as it seems, the general (played by Stephen Lang) who tries to walk through a wall in the opening sequence is supposed to be retired Maj. General Bert Stubblebine, an ardent believer in the paranormal and commanding general of the Army\u2019s Intelligence and Security Command from 1981 to 1984.<\/p>\n Stubblebine now calls himself a \u201cwarrior for health and personal freedoms,\u201d according to his Web site.<\/p>\n Like the book, the movie shows psychological methods, such as blasting peaceful music to calm enemies, that have been used in a darker way. For example, Iraqi POWs were bombarded with the theme song for Barney the Purple Dinosaur as a means of torture.<\/p>\n But Heslov says his film is intended to get laughs, not push a political agenda. Still, with all the global violence and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, he acknowledges his satire has plenty of food for thought.<\/p>\n \u201cThrough comedy, he says, \u201cyou can do more to get a message across than you can in other ways.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" New Age paranormal techniques applied to war fighting.\u00a0\u00a0 Twisted!\u00a0 The former commander of the psychic warriors unit, code named Project Jedi, lives in Hawai’i. >><< http:\/\/www3.signonsandiego.com\/news\/2009\/nov\/06\/clooneys-latest-film-an-out-of-mind-experience\/ Clooney\u2019s latest film an out-of-mind experience Making of Clooney\u2019s latest film was an out-of-body, out-of-mind experience By Norma Meyer Friday, November 6, 2009 at midnight No matter what, George … <\/p>\n