How ‘Capricorn One”s Conspiracy Theories Angered Buzz Aldrin

Ultimate Classic Rock ^ | June 2, 2023 | Martin Kielty

[nickcarraway]

There will always be people who believe the NASA Moon landings were faked. Many feel that the conspiracy theory was fueled by recent events, including the Vietnam War and notably the Watergate scandal, which took place in a culture where people were beginning to loudly question the motives of their leaders. The greatest achievement of the conspiracy movement has been to raise the question: Regardless of whether they did or didn’t fake something, did they try?

Such thoughts were on writer and director Peter Hyams’ mind as he watched TV coverage of Apollo 11’s historic lunar landing in 1969, just months before President Kennedy’s deadline of reaching the Moon before the end of the ‘70s.

He explained in 2016 that his parents were born into a generation “who believed that if you read it in a newspaper, it was true. ... And then we found out that newspapers didn’t always tell the truth. My generation thought that if it's on television, it's true. I was sitting there one day watching TV, and CBS News was covering the space shots. … I realized that the whole story was being fed to America by one camera. That’s kind of how I got the idea for Capricorn One. If one camera can lie, then just because you're seeing it on television, it doesn't mean it's true.”

Hyams' 1978 movie tells the story of the first manned mission to Mars, which has been subject to tight financial restrictions. Shadowy mission bosses realize that the crew will be killed by a faulty life-support system, but that failure will cut future budgets even more. So senior scientist Kelloway (Hal Holbrook) orders astronauts Brubaker (James Brolin), Willis (Sam Waterston) and Walker (O.J. Simpson) out of the Capricorn One capsule seconds before launch and removes them to a secret movie studio, where they’re expected to act out the mission and then, they’re promised, “come home” as heroes.

Kelloway is the character that every corruption scheme needs: the idealist who doesn’t know how he lost his way. “I remember when [John] Glenn made his first orbit in Mercury, they put up television sets in Grand Central Station, and tens of thousands of people missed their trains to watch,” he tells the astronauts, who up until then have been his friends. “You know, when Apollo 17 landed on the Moon, people were calling up the networks and bitching because reruns of I Love Lucy were canceled! … And then suddenly everybody started talking about how much everything cost.” Hyams said one of his inspirations had come from a real-life NASA hero. “One of the greatest quotes ever was from the astronaut John Young. They asked him: ‘What were you thinking before the launch?’’ He said, ‘Well, you’re on your back, 360 feet in the air, above 6 million pounds of parts and fuel, all submitted by the lowest bidder.’”

In the movie, Kelloway desperately argues that everything they’ve all dreamed of will be taken away if they don’t all take part in a conspiracy that’s no longer under the control of “loony scientists” because “grown-ups” have taken over. When he hints that their families are at risk unless they do what’s required, Brubaker responds, “This is really wonderful. If we go along with you and lie our asses off, the world of truth and ideals is protected. But if we don't want to take part in some giant rip-off of yours, then somehow or other we're managing to ruin the country. You're pretty good, Jim. I'll give you that.”

While the world watches Capricorn One’s disappearance into space, and the crew struggles with its sense of honor to playact the mission, Elliott Gould’s classic cynical newshound Robert Caulfield gets wind that something’s amiss. As his investigations continue, he finds himself the victim of multiple attempts on his life, which only makes him more determined to find the truth. He’s instrumental in revealing the conspiracy after the astronauts escape and is hunted down, until – after a dramatic air chase involving a biplane piloted by Telly Savalas as wisecracking Albain – Brubaker turns up at his own funeral, arranged after mission controllers “lost” the spaceship when its heat shields failed on reentry.

Hymans said he was proud of the fake Mars set, which he tried to make sure was accurate to a quarter-inch to photos of the red planet. While NASA wasn't too enthusiastic about the movie, the organization provided props and information, and its representatives who visited the set were impressed by what they saw. “We turned the stage lights on, and there was Mars,” he recalled. “My chest filled with pride, and I was tearful, and then [designer] Albert [Brenner] motioned to me … I looked down and saw paw prints on the Martian surface. We followed the paw prints over to the ascent and descent stage and there by the ladder was a turd. That was my lesson and introduction to my importance. A cat had taken one look at the stage and thought, ‘I am gonna take a dump right here!’”

Capricorn One was an instant hit when it arrived on June 2, 1978, making $12 million from a $5 million budget. Hyams remembered seeing theater audiences erupt with cheers at the turning point of the story, even though he acknowledged that his movie isn’t the greatest film of all time. “There are better movies. It just happened with that movie at that particular time,” he reflected. “My buddy told me that people were watching it on an airplane, and he came out of the bathroom and everyone was cheering. He immediately looked to see if his flies were open!”

It marked the end of a dry period of Hyams' career, but he accepted much of that was beyond his control. A friend told him that Superman director Richard Donner told Warner Bros. that he couldn’t deliver the movie for the summer season. “It’s going to be Christmas,” he was told. “Capricorn One is going to be the summer release for Warner Bros.” “I said, ‘What does that mean?’ He said, ‘You’re going to get all the advertising budget and all the theaters that were booked for Superman.’ I said, ‘What was going to happen if Dick Donner and Superman had not been late?’’ He said, ‘You would have opened in two theaters in Atlanta.’”

One notable name who didn’t approve of the movie was astronaut Buzz Aldrin, who stepped onto the Moon immediately after Neil Armstrong in 1969. He objected to the visuals being based on the Apollo Moon missions rather than designing props that looked like a future setting. “I’m sure that a lot of people came away after seeing this movie, saying, ‘They’re not talking about Mars – this is really because they faked the mission to the Moon with Apollo, and it never happened,’” Aldrin said. “The story could have been told about some good reason why, after making all the plans to go to Mars, you find there’s a flaw in the plan [so] you’re gonna start lying to everybody.” Which is more or less what Hyams had done.

The 124-minute Capricorn One melded conspiracy theory, journalistic procedural, thriller and science fiction into a production that remains worthy of investigation. It’s perhaps best thought of as a good, extended episode of a character-led TV action drama, enlivened by the interactions among the leading people. “We are dead,” Brubaker notes as he works out just how much trouble they’re in. “Shit,” says Willis. “I was such a terrific guy.”

[cgbg]

There is no “proof” of any of this stuff.

What you have is known Deep State liars—and Freepers who are claiming “don’t worry, they told the truth this time”.

They lied then and they are lying now.

They will continue to lie.

Everyone has the choice whether they want to believe the lies.

[daniel1212]

What solid evidence can I use to prove that the Moon landings did happen? Can you give me some proof that doesn't rely on videos, photos, or anything else that could theoretically be fabricated? Plenty herte,. such as, Lucas Curtis · Follow

Lives in Earth (1979–present) · 5y ·

The Apollo program employed about 400,000 people. In the nearly five decades since the first Moon landing, not one of them has come forward to say that the entire thing was a hoax. No deathbed confessions, nothing. There’s nothing to confess, because the Moon landings really happened.

The Apollo missions were tracked to and from the Moon, not only by NASA, but by nations around the world…including the Soviet Union. If anybody would have a reason to cry foul, it would have been the Soviets. But they never did. Not once during the Apollo program did they claim that it was fake, and never since then, even during the tensest days of the Cold War. It certainly would have been to their political advantage to show up the Americans, but they never did. They couldn’t, because the Moon landings really happened.

In the 1960s, the technology was developed to go to the Moon, but we didn’t have the technology to fake it. To create a fake Moon landing capable of fooling the world (except for those “woke” conspiracy theorists, of course!) would have been vastly more difficult than just going to the Moon. Which is a good thing, because the Moon landings really happened.

Moon rocks can be faked. Videos can be faked (although not very well in the late 1960s/early 1970s). Photos can be faked. But the enduring complicity of 400,000 workers and the world at large, including our primary rivals, cannot be faked, bought, or coerced. It is absolutely impossible that the Moon landings were faked. That’s how we know that the Moon landings really happened.

MSc [MBA] from University of Århus (Graduated 2004) · Updated 4y ·

Apollo 11, 14 and 15 installed precisely calibrated laser reflectors on the surface of the Moon.

These reflectors allows us to communicate with the Moon (via laser light) to for example determine exact distance to earth. Which we btw have learned is increasing slightly all the time.

Anyway, and the sweet part is that you and I can too communicate with them provided we aim a laser precisely at them and record its return beam. It is not an experiment for the few and wealthy. Anyone can. And many do.

It is actually not that complicated or exspensive to organize. And the precise coordinates for these reflectors is public knowledge.

All this is only possible if someone installed reflectors there in the first place.

So there you have it. No photos, no videos or any theoretical narration… just good old fashioned proof.

488 views ·

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Carla René · Follow

https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-best-evidence-to-support-that-the-moon-landings-really-did-occur-Since-there-are-many-conspiracy-theories-suggesting-that-they-were-faked-what-proves-that-they-were-real/answer/Carla-Ren%C3%A9

[minnesota_bound]

I remember seeing a Chevy Nova on the horizon in a photo of the moon landing. The photo was accidentally released with other photos...

Here is Buzz beating up some guy
https://youtu.be/6CajdyoaSM0?t=176
Here he is again
https://youtu.be/uCsLVR5tVzM?t=19
___________________________________

About 1 minute in.

Buzz Aldrin Punches a Damn Commie in the Face For Saying The Moon Landing Was Fake
https://www.facebook.com/rsvlts/videos/buzz-aldrin-punches-a-damn-commie-in-the-face-for-saying-the-m/1018772111536530/

Cat on moon
https://www.facebook.com/TriviaCrack/videos/a-small-step-for-a-cat-one-giant-leap-for-mankind-how-true-do-you-think-the-moon/377804746151628/

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CQmyEJkUkAEJp-2.jpg

[Widget Jr]

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/false-stanley-kubrick-faked-moon-landings/

Not Kubrick.

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Yep. Here you be!

I watched the landing on Television at Scout Camp.

[Seruzawa]

It is pointless to argue with the conspiracy nuts. Flat Earth. Chemtrails. Moon landing. Etc. They can never be convinced. If you insist you simply get accused of being a NASA or CIA agent and part of the coverup.

It’s useful to know when people believe these conspiracies so you can avoid them. They believe lots of other insane things too.

[Campion]

There are hundreds of pounds of moonrocks in various places. I’ve seen a piece, and even touched one. Sounds like proof to me. Meanwhile, your theory about the Soviets being bribed into silence two years after the fact has exactly zero evidence to support it.

[cgbg]

“Moon rocks” can be found on Antarctica.

The Russia “wheat deal” was a quid pro quo for silence—it is discussed at length in this book—the negotiations were lengthy:

https://www.amazon.com/One-Small-Step-Great-Dominate/dp/1905570120

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Sort of along the lines of The US spending a fortune to develop pens that could write in zero gravity, but the Russians just used pencils (safety considerations aside).

Except none of what you wrote was true.

They did not spend a fortune, they bought several pens from the company that had developed them for use in a manufacturing setting.

The pen company renamed their pen the "space" pen. It is still around and still a really good "will write under difficult conditions" pen.

[jttpwalsh]

Thanks.

[reasonisfaith]

I will accept what you say.

My expertise on this topic is about zero. However, I’m convinced the account from conventional historical tradition contains more lies than truth about it.