Interview with Žiga Virc, creator of “ Houston, We Have a Problem ! ” trailer for his alleged documentary on socialist Yugoslavia’s secret space program supposedly sold to the US in 1961
Posted on YouTube and picked up by numerous social network users, bloggers and even large media outlets, the video has gone viral in a matter of hours, currently with more than a quarter of a million views (and counting). Fascinated by what I had thought was Virc’s ingenious fake trailer for a fake documentary, I contacted him with a list of pre-written questions, some of them being rather surreal in nature. His answers may surprise you, though.
Are you in possession of any secret documents or evidence that might jeopardize the United States or any other country? Have you considered collaborating with WikiLeaks ?
As our project is still developing, we’re constantly receiving new information from various sources which we still need to confirm. At this stage of research we’re open for any sources that can help the story/film only. However, we are filmmakers and by this we are only interested in making a film that audience might find intriguing. We are not involved with politics as authors.
Did the Yugoslav space program have anything to do with the deaths in the Kennedy family? Was Marshal Tito personally responsible for the assassination of JFK ?
This topic is not relevant for our film, therefore I do not have an answer to that.
Any chance Tito’s partisans were in possession of a space program during World War Two ? Weren’t they in reality the ones responsible for Hitler’s death, striking him with a laser beam from the moon ?
Again, this topic is not relevant for our film, therefore I do not have an answer to that.
Is this a trailer for a mystery documentary proper, a trailer for a wicked mockumentary, a promotional trailer for your yet undisclosed project, or a fake trailer to be understood in a similar vein as Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino’s Grindhouse trailers ?
We call this project docudrama and we made a trailer, which consists of information we could gather so far. Docudrama means the film will be based on true events and archives, but we might not get the archives or evidence for some parts and we’ll have to do some dramatisation (as this is usual in documentaries about real crime scenes, for instance).
Right now we can say 90% of facts are confirmed – for instance Slovene Herman Potočnik – Noordung, whose book “ The problem of space travel ” was a basis for establishing the rocket programme in Nazi Germany and later in NASA. We just got a confirmation that photo of Herman Potočnik is still hanging in NASA headquarters. His work was a great inspiration for the Soviet, German and post-1945 USA space program.
The Yugoslav role in space research is definitely the most intriguing for us and there’s a lot of work to be done. SFR Yugoslavia had a lot of technical resources for war industry. The biggest underground complex was Željava, built as a base for supersonic jets and other high-tech technologies. There are other very interesting facts – for instance, Tito received a stone from the Moon from USA as a souvenir, etc.
Judging from your previous film projects I’d say you are using this genre to get a certain point across ? Are you trying to criticize something in particular with regard to former Yugoslavia or is it a critical comment on present day issues ?
As always, the basic idea behind my every project is to tell an interesting story that the audience might find interesting. If someone wants to get a certain point across or criticize politics, film might not be the best tool for that. After receiving a lot of positive feedback and contacts for collaboration, I’d say no one finds the story critical in a sensationalistic way.
Your YouTube trailer has gone viral but its claims have been reiterated by various news organizations. Was that your initial intention ? What does that say about the state of news media today ?
Our initial intention was to present our project that is still in a very early research phase. I have a lot of experience with viral videos but I can honestly say that the best way to make a viral video is not to think about it or plan it as viral. In the past, people tried to make a viral video just for the sake of many views – but usually it didn’t work out. If you’re sincerely telling your story, the audience will feel that.
What kind of secret information sources have you been using ? Can you name some of historians and other experts that you collaborated with on this project ?
I’d like to emphasise once again that the film is at an early stage of preproduction. Nevertheless, we decided to go public with it and test the audience reaction. So we’re really happy regarding the current feedback as we’re putting a lot of effort in this film. At this point it’s not really a question of what’s true or what’s fiction – the only relevant differentiation is what is confirmed and what is not (yet) confirmed.
Therefore we’re still looking for people that were in any way connected to our topic – Yugoslavian secret space programme, especially in the 1961 when main events were supposed to happen. As we’re in research phase I cannot confirm any of the people involved, since that could have negative influence on our work. We’re getting in touch with some people that are interested in helping us but at the same time do not want their names to be made public. Our production is very strict regarding this, but it’s all for a good cause.
What is your message to the people who believe your video is a trailer for a real documentary ?
Right now approx. 90% of facts in our trailer are confirmed and widely available to check, which is probably a very high percentage of actual facts compared to today’s images shown on TV-news. Therefore, I’m sure audience will find it honest and believable.
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Focke-Wulf Fw 3 X dan Focke-Wulf Fw P.III - IV tu teringat Model Thunderbolt USAF punyer... Last edited by iskans on 17-2-2013 08:56 PM
pertama-tama ..TERBAIK. kalau ikut tarikh artikel ni dah lebih 3 tahun n still update...
tidak dinafikan kehebatan teknologi Nazi Jerman ini, dan kalau dikaji semula kebanyakan penyelidikan mereka ini dari kemajuan sains islam yang mereka dapat dari kerajaan Khalifah Othmaniah Turki.... dan kelangsungan dari cerdik pandai ulama islam terdahulu, antaranya dari pembinaan Giro iaitu satu alat mekanikal yg amat penting dlm bidang penerbangan yg diadaptasikan dari fungsi dan tulang telinga yg mana telah dikaji penggunaannya oleh ulama islam dan dimajukan oleh German. dan perlu diketahui juga penyiaran siaran tv yg pertama didunia juga berjaya dilakukan oleh Nazi Jerman. serta banyak lagi kehebatan teknologi Jerman yg diolah dari penyelidakn saintis/ulama islam terdahulu..... persoalannya, dari manakah mereka ini mendapat sumber rujukan dan bahan kajian?
kita ambil sahaja dari zaman Nazi Hitler, diketahui ramai, sikap dan sifat hitler yg gemar akan perkara-perkara mistik, dan satu sikap yang dipadamkan oleh barat ialah ketaksuban hitler terhadap Al-Quran dan Islam itu sendiri. kebanyakan misi-misi penyelidikan/pencarian yg berkaitan mistik atau lagenda atau apa sahaja kepercayaan lama berlandaskan kepada kisah kisah yg disebutkan didalam Al-Quran dan Hadis.... misi Nazi German yang paling terkenal ialah di banjaran hiMALAYA dan Balkan/turki....
APakah yang dicari oleh Hitler itu berjaya ditemui? dia sahaja yang mengetahuinya dan rahsia itu dibawa hingga kenafasnya terakhir pada 15 Januari 1970.
Post time 9-12-2011 02:36 AM
