Timur Bekmambetov proves 'Apollo 18' happened after all

The real mission's Saturn rockets sit unused at the Johnson Space Center, but the conspiracy theories about it fuel the new film 'Apollo 18'

Credit: NASA

I understand why conspiracy theories are so important to the overall psychic health of so many people.  There are times when it feels like we live in a terrifying, random, cruel, uncaring world, and if you can figure out some hidden pattern, some deeply covered secret that explains why bad things happen to you or why bad things happen to the world in general, then maybe that's what people need in order to keep waking up in the morning.

There are, of course, any number of conspiracy theories that involve our space program, not the least of which is the notion that the moon landing was faked.  I've always preferred the sheer lunacy of the school of thought that one of the Apollo missions that was scrapped for financial reason, actually happened and that it was on that mission that man made contact with aliens.  The theory is actually called the "Apollo 20" theory, but the first mission that would have happened that didn't was Apollo 18.

Sounds like Timur Bekmambetov likes that theory as well, because he's the producer of a low-profile movie that just got unveiled at AFM.  The movie, written by Brian Miller and directed by Trevor Caewood, is now set for a March 4, 2011 release by The Weinstein Company.  The film is already shooting, and whatever the footage was that Bekmambetov showed to the Weinsteins is what closed the deal.  Supposedly, the footage was from the actual Apollo 18 mission.  This is evidently a smaller-scale production, a la the "Paranormal Activity" series, and if you read the comments below the actual article over at Deadline, it sounds like the film got shopped around as a script before they went and shot some footage.  That's exactly what AFM is for, taking these projects into the marketplace and getting them financed or released, and it looks like this year's marketplace just made Bekmambetov even busier.

He's currently preparing to shoot "Abraham Lincon: Vampire Hunter" based on the Seth Grahame-Smith novel, with Tim Burton producing for him.  That film should be in theaters in June of 2012.  He's also talking about a "20,000 Leagues Under The Sea" adaptation, an American version of the "Black Lightning" film he produced in Russia last year, a "Moby Dick" adaptation and something he's working on with Gareth Edwards, who made the micro-budget SF film "Monsters" this year.

They must be fairly far along on this one if they're already talking about a March 2011 release, and it's good for them to get out in front of next summer's "Super 8," which could touch on similar themes or ideas.  I'm not familiar with Caewood, so at this point, color me intrigued by the concept, and we'll see how it comes together next spring.