The UFO story from 2008 will be included in a 5-part docuseries coming to a major network in 2022.
Updated: Mar 23, 2022
I took a trip down memory lane on Sunday when I was interviewed by a crew from Break Thru Films, a company that’s working on a documentary about the UFO sightings that happened in Erath County in 2008.
Surely you remember.
The company first contacted me a few months ago asking if I would speak to them about the experience. I’ll admit that the first glance at the email had my eyeballs rolling to the back of my head.
I would rather take a dart to the jugular than unleash the UFO frenzy again.
I have, after all, spent the past 13 years working to forget that crazy part of my career and have successfully dodged dozens of interview requests.
But something stopped me from ignoring this one.
After doing a little research on the company, which is owned by Ricki Stern, a film director known for works like The Devil Came on Horseback, Surviving Jeffrey Epstein, Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work and Surviving Death (my favorite), I agreed to an initial 30-minute phone call with the producer to learn about the project.
To say that I was intrigued is an understatement. I quickly signed on to take part in the documentary, and on Sunday, a caravan of cars wheeling around a large film and makeup crew and Ricki herself arrived at my home.
Those who know me remember that I struggled hard when the UFO story of 2008 beamed into Erath County.
I had been the managing editor of the Empire-Tribune for only six months when the story broke and I was still working to prove to the company, community and to myself that, at the tender age of just 37, I was ready to lead a newsroom.
I was terrified that the coverage would send my career into a death spiral and cost me every friendship I had made in Texas.
I mean, no one wants to be pals with the crazy UFO editor who led a maelstrom of weirdness into their community, right?
A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE
The frenzy that followed the first UFO story was like baptism by fire and I was woefully underprepared for the days that followed.
There were literally hundreds of calls from places like Canada, London and Beijing. Even Good Morning America came knocking.
The late Angelia Joiner was the star of the show and the reporter who broke the story and followed up with stellar coverage.
She was interviewed dozens of times and even appeared on Larry King Live.
After our coverage on the story slowed, it took a long time for the frenzy to die down and for people like Gerald to stop contacting me.
If you don’t remember Gerald, he had a message he needed me to convey to Outer Space.
But back to Sunday…
The crew with Break Thru Films was fantastic and the interview was surprisingly fun.
Ricki told me that the five-part series will take a deep dive into the UFO phenomena and will include a serious look at what the government knows and isn’t talking about.
It will also include interviews with people from other parts of the country who have experienced their own UFO sightings.
The documentary is expected to be released in July 2022, but I am not yet allowed to tell you which network will be airing it, but I’ll keep you posted.
Stay tuned.
