Directed by------------------- Grant Heslov
Produced by------------------ Paul Lister , George Clooney , Grant Heslov
Written by Screenplay:------- Peter Straughan
Novel:------------ Jon Ronson
Starring----------------------- George Clooney . Ewan McGregor , Jeff Bridges , Kevin Spacey , Goat
Music by--------------------- Rolfe Kent
Cinematography-------------- Robert Elswit
Editing by-------------------- Tatiana S. Riegel
Studio------------------------ BBC Films , Smokehouse , Westgate Film Services , Winchester Capital Partners
Distributed by---------------- Overture Films , Momentum Pictures
Running time----------------- 89 minutes
Language--------------------- English
This film is a creative illustration of the documentary "Crazy Leaders of the World" part one. Watching this documentary may allow
you to more fully enjoy this film.
The film follows Ann Arbor Daily Telegram reporter Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor), who one day interviews Gus Lacey, a man
who claims to have psychic abilities. Bob shrugs Lacey off as crazy. Soon after, Bob's wife leaves him for his editor. Bob, out of
anger, flies to Kuwait to investigate the Iraq War. However, he stumbles onto the story of a lifetime when he meets Special Forces
operator, Lyn Cassady (George Clooney). Lyn reveals that he was part of an American army unit training psychic spies (or "Jedi Warriors"),
trained to develop a range of parapsychological skills including invisibility, remote viewing, cloud bursting, walking through walls, and intuition.
The founder of this unit, Bill Django (Jeff Bridges), travelled across America in the 1970s for six years exploring a range of New
Age movements (including the Human potential movement), because of a vision he received after getting shot during the Vietnam
War, and used these experiences to found the New Earth Army. In the 1980s, two of Django's best recruits were Lyn Cassady
and Larry Hooper (Kevin Spacey), who developed a lifelong rivalry because of their opposing views of how to implement the
New Earth Army philosophy; Lyn wanted to emphasize the positive side of the teachings, whereas Larry was more interested in
the dark side of the philosophy.
In the early 2000s Bob and Lyn embark on a new mission in Iraq, where they are kidnapped by a criminal gang. They escape
with fellow kidnapping victim Mahmud Daash (Waleed Zuaiter) and get rescued by a private security firm led by Todd Nixon
(Robert Patrick), but get caught up in a firefight between Todd's security firm and a rival security firm; this would later be known
as the "Battle of Ramadi." Mahmud, Bob and Lyn escape from the firefight and go to Mahmud's house, which has been shot up by
soldiers. From there Bob and Lyn leave to continue on Lyn's vague mission involving a vision he had of Bill Django.
After their car hits an IED, Bob and Lyn wander in the desert where Lyn reveals a terrible secret to Bob: Lyn was asked to stop
a goat's heart to test the limit of his mental abilities. Lyn had decided against it, but was compelled to try to accomplish the feat
and stared at the goat intently. Lyn managed to stop the goat's heart, but felt that what he did was inhumane and against the entire
purpose of the New Earth Army. Lyn left the Army, believing that he and the other New Earth soldiers were cursed and his powers
were gone because of that fateful episode. After spending a few days in the desert, Bob and Lyn get rescued and rehabilitated at a
camp run by PSIC, a private research firm engaged in psychological and psychic experiments on a herd of goats and some captured
locals. To Lyn's dismay, Larry Hooper runs the firm and employs a now depressed and alcoholic Django.
Bob spends time with Django and learns the ways of the New Earth Army and together they spike the water and food of the base
with LSD and free both the goats and captured locals. Following this, Lyn and Django fly off in a Bell JetRanger helicopter, but not
before trusting Bob with the duty of making sure his story reaches the public. Bob reveals that neither Lyn nor Django were ever
heard from again, believed to have crashed their helicopter.
Bob returns to work as a reporter and writes an article about his entire experience with Lyn. However, the only portion of the story
to be aired on the news was how the captives were forced to repeatedly listen to the Barney & Friends theme song. However, this
part of the story was treated as a joke, and Bob vows to continue trying to get the story out. In the film's final scene, Bob exercises
his own psychic abilities and runs through a solid wall in his office.
