The story of the first reported alien abduction is making its way to the big screen.
Gotham/Principal, producers of the upcoming Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials, has partnered with Bryce Zabel and Jackie Zabel and their Stellar Productions to produce Captured.
Captured tells the story of Portsmouth, New Hampshire couple Betty and Barney Hill who said they were captured by a UFO the night of September 19, 1961. A black postal clerk and a white social worker, the Hills claimed that they had been studied by extraterrestrials, and then returned to their lives with missing memories that were later retrieved under hypnosis.
Bryce Zabel will write the script based on the 2007 non-fiction book “Captured! The Betty and Barney Hill UFO Experience: The True Story of the World’s First Documented Alien Abduction” by nuclear physicist Stanton Friedman and Betty Hill’s niece Kathleen Marden.
“Captured is a true story that explores the birth of modern UFO lore through the eyes of the first Americans to report that they were kidnapped by aliens,” says Eric Robinson, who will also produce the film on behalf of Gotham/Principal. “This is an exciting story that is as intriguing, timely and ripe for adaptation today as it was 54 years ago when this incident occurred. We look forward to sharing Betty and Barney Hill’s incredible encounter with audiences all around the world.”
Zabel wrote Syfy’s first original film Official Denial, worked on the development team for Steven Spielberg‘s Taken, and has recently co-authored the non-fiction A.D. After Disclosure.
The deal was brokered by Eric Robinson of Gotham/Principal and Jason Leibovitch of Leibo Management on behalf of Stellar.
