Calling All Earthlings(2018)

Name: Calling All Earthlings
Director: Jonathan Berman
Genre: Documentary, History, Sci-Fi
Released: Jun 29, 2018
Cast: George Van Tassel, Nancy Karl, Daniel Boone

Carpe Stella Productions

1h 14m

Release Date: Jun 29, 2018

63%
100%
6.8

UFO contact, the government, and a time machine all meet up at the Integratron, a Joshua Tree desert mystery dome inspired by Tesla, free energy, conspiracy, and alien help.

Official Website

Note: Distributed by Carpe Stella Productions

Release Details

Original Release | Jun 29, 2018 | Limited

View Advanced Data Watch Trailer Watch on

Box Office Results

Results

Total US & Canada:
$6,756
Total Worldwide:
$6,756

Current Showtimes

orround

Thu Sep 3
Fri Sep 4
Sat Sep 5
Sun Sep 6
Mon Sep 7
Tue Sep 8
Wed Sep 9

Director & Top Cast

Jonathan Berman
Director

George Van Tassel
Self

Nancy Karl
Self - Steward of the Integration

Daniel Boone
Self - Van Tassel Son-in-Law

Technical Specifications

Aspect Ratio: 16:9 HD

Other Details

Country of Origin: United States

Language: English

Summaries

Plot Summary

In 1947, George Van Tassel, a Hughes employee and confidante, suddenly quits working for his mentor and ditches the straight life, moving deep into the Mojave Desert, where he and his family sleep under a giant boulder. He leaves behind a tattered Los Angeles in the grips of postwar paranoia, opting for the majestic tranquility of the Joshua Tree area. It is during an August 1953 full moon that Van Tassel has an encounter with extraterrestrials, who give him the information to build a rejuvenation machine he dubs "The Integratron."Van Tassel believes he has been chosen by these extraterrestrial visitors, led by Solganda (who communicates with him with a voice not unlike that of actor Ronald Coleman) to build a massive experimental dome that will open a hole in time and space. His received blueprints from Solganda are soon combined with the work of Nikolai Tesla and other alternative scientists to begin building the Integratron dome.Long before the 'X-Files,' 'Stranger Things," and the internet, it was the threat of nuclear bombs and stifling social conformity that drew artists, inventors, eccentrics and postwar seekers to the desert to experiment with alternate lifestyles and futures. They join other do-it-yourself inhabitants of the "jack-rabbit shacks," the five acres that the government gave to citizens through the Small Tract Act of 1938.Van Tassel, a pilot and self-taught inventor, soon becomes a local, and lands as one of the first gurus of alien contact culture. Using 'outsider science" and a can-do Midwestern, midcentury sensibility, Van Tassel pursues his dream of combining science and spirit to create a new utopia. The Integratron would not only solve the issue of aging and the attendant loss of seasoned wisdom but would also act as a source of unlimited power for the planet.In the 1950's, George Van Tassel devises the Interplanetary Spacecraft Conventions as a way to fund the dome and bring attention to his transformative and startling anti-nuclear, anti-militaristic stance. Is he crazy or could The Integratron really work?Los Angeles playboys help fund the work (seeking rejuvenation, of course) and they fly into his airfield nearby, including his old boss, one Mr. Howard Robard Hughes. Beyond any vanities, Hughes' concern for contamination bonds him to the anti-nuclear Van Tassel and he contributes funds to the project.Working with his neighbors, including an early disciple of Yogananda, Van Tassel actually builds his dome and prepares to turn it on. People flock to the desert to join in what quickly becomes an alien-guided, peace-loving, revolutionary movement. Alternative scientists, FBI agents, and an army of eccentrics collide on the edge of the American Dream to try to further - or halt - this new reality.It looks promising but there is a hiccup: the Integratron stands on the border of one of the largest military bases in the world, the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, commonly known as Twentynine Palms. It is balanced by its other neighbor, an enigmatic boulder, Giant Rock, that was once revered by American Indians and has had its own embattled history.Meanwhile, the dome's workings are mysterious - some of the electro-magnetic processes bear merit, however they must be "phased" correctly, or, as one subject suggests:"Southern California could be blown off the map." Nearing completion, Van Tassel's tale and the Integratron meets an unexpected, twisted end.The magical "workings" of the dome finally emerge in an unexpected way: for some the evolve into a global plan to colonize space; for other it's a simple opportunity for friendship and mentorship; and for others the dome is a site-specific zone for art and culture. "Calling All Earthlings" tells the story through their eyes --the current and past residents of the Joshua Tree area -- including singer Eric Burdon, medicine woman Valerie Brightheart, historian and elder of the Morongo Indians, Ernest Siva, L.A. Free Press publisher Art Kunkin, and the current "Stewards of the Dome, the Karl sisters, who now own the property. Rounding out the story are esteemed California historian Dr. Kevin Starr, skeptical astronomer Bob Berman, and legendary futurists Drs. JJ and Desiree Hurtak.Featuring a celestial score by Knitting Factory stalwart Elliott Sharp and other co-conspirators including the legendary Harmonia, desert denizen Clive Wright, and Dave Catching's Earthlings?, the project is an enigmatic look at the boundary-breaking culture of Joshua Tree and its residents, who take the road less traveled, choosing to redefine human being-ness, all while still waiting patiently for their spaceship.

Storyline

A 1950's Howard Hughes employee-confidante, George Van Tassel, uses alien guidance and Nikola Tesla's ideas to build a time machine -- The Integratron. Is he deluded, or could it actually work? As waves of devotees join him in the California desert, the FBI gets involved fearing insurrection and possibly more. Nearing completion, Van Tassel's tale and the Integratron meet an unexpected end: the "workings" of the dome finally emerge. The unusual story is told by historians, astronomers and current residents of Joshua Tree, including the stewards of the Integratron, the Karl Sisters, and a galaxy of believers and skeptics alike.