Step aside, “The Men Who Stare At Goats,” writer/director David Chase (the beloved creator of the iconic HBO series “Sopranos“) is looking to tackle another wacky moment in the world of C.I.A./government experiments, this time tackling their attempts to weaponize drugs like LSD (potentially dropping the drugs into the water supply of the enemy or if they could enchance soldiers in the field).
“There’s so much to the whole MKUltra story, so many wild people,” Chase said at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (via The Wrap). “I don’t mean people high on LSD — I mean the scientists themselves. It doesn’t stop. I’m trying to pare it down to what the story should be, because every time another book comes out, or another paragraph, I think, ‘Well, that’s got to be in it too!'”
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The untitled pic, as described by The Wrap, “A feature that juxtaposes the agency’s efforts to weaponize LSD with the triumphant rollout of the polio vaccine. Set in the 1950s and inspired by a true story shared by one of Chase’s friends, the untitled film follows a family connected to both worlds.”
Chase added his personal connection with the project. “I took LSD when I was younger, and I never forgot it,” he explained to the outlet at the film festival. “I’d say it was a life-changing experience, although I couldn’t tell you exactly how. This is going to sound stupid, but at age 18 or 19, I just became convinced there were other levels of existence— that this isn’t all there is.”
This is happening alongside David Chase’s HBO series that is expected to tackle the government agency’s controversial and illegal MKUltra Program, illegal in nature, which is said to have had the infamous Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski, as a participant (many conspiracy theories believe the program may have contributed to his terrorist bombing campaign by causing brain damage/PTSD). We suspect the two projects may end up complementing each other.
Unclear who David Chase is ultimately going to cast in this gestating pic set during the 1950s, but we cannot wait to see who is enlisted for key roles. Stay tuned for updates on that front as they roll in.
- Christopher Marc
- Christopher Marc
- Christopher Marc
- Christopher Marc
- Christopher Marc
- Christopher Marc
- Christopher Marc
- Christopher Marc
