Operation Avalanche (2016)

In 1967, four undercover CIA agents were sent to NASA posing as a documentary film crew. What they discovered led to one of the biggest conspiracies in American history.

Director:

Matt Johnson

Writers:

Josh Boles, Matt Johnson

Stars:

Matt Johnson, Owen Williams, Andrew Appelle

2 wins & 13 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Matt Johnson	...	Matt Johnson
Owen Williams	...	Owen Williams
Andrew Appelle	...	Andy Appelle (as Andy Appelle)
Jared Raab	...	Jared Raab
Josh Boles	...	Josh Boles
Ray James	...	CIA Director Brackett
Sharon Belle	...	Sharon Belle
Krista Madison	...	Julie Williams
Joe Thomas	...	James Webb (voice) (as Joe J. Thomas)
John Henry Robson	...	Baby Simon
Madeleine Sims-Fewer	...	Madeleine
Tom Bolton	...	Agent #1
John Osmokrovic	...	Agent #2
Chris Gonsalves	...	Agent #3
Brad Brackenridge	...	Texas Studio Manager

Storyline

1967: the height of the Cold War. The CIA suspects there is a Russian mole inside of NASA, sabotaging the Apollo program. They send two young agents on a mission to go undercover, posing as documentary filmmakers to capture NASA's race to the moon. The real mission - use their access and technology to hunt down the leak. But what they discover is far more shocking than soviet spies - Their government may be hiding a secret about Apollo that could define the decade, and the White House will stop at nothing to silence anyone who learns it.

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Plot Keywords:

fake documentary | found footage | apollo 11 | mockumentary | danger | 

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language including a brief sexual reference

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the scene Matt goes to see Stanley Kubrick, you can hear the seagull sounds Matt recorded in the team's previous film The Dirties (2013).

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Goofs

At around 60 minutes into the movie, Matt marks Friday the 17th of April (or of another month with only 30 days) as a deadline date, on a wall calendar that has the 1st of January on a Wednesday. The scene takes place in the year 1969. However, although 1 January 1969 is indeed on a Wednesday, 17 April 1969 is on a Thursday, not on a Friday.

In fact, there is no "Friday the 17th" in the year 1969 except in January and October, which are months with 31 days. And the only calendars that have 1 January on a Wednesday as well as 17 April on a Friday, are calendars of specific *leap years* such as 1936, 1964, 1992 and 2020.

In other words, the scene reveals that the filmmakers used a calendar of the wrong year as a prop.

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Quotes

Matt Johnson: Have you heard of a conspiracy theory before?
Owen Williams: Yeah. I think we're in one.

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Connections

References Lolita (1962)

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Soundtracks

Fortunate Son
Written by John Fogerty (uncredited)
Performed by Creedence Clearwater Revival

User Reviews

Not to be harsh, but it just wasn't good

Operation Avalanche proposes that in 1967, a small group of young filmmaking CIA agents were responsible for 'faking' Apollo 11's landing on the moon by shooting it on a sort of makeshift movie set. In conclusion, it's not very good.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Canada USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 September 2016 (USA)

Also Known As:

Operation Avalanche

Filming Locations:

Revival 629, 629 Eastern Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$1,250,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$31,585

Company Credits

Production Co:

XYZ Films, Resolute Films and Entertainment, Zapruder Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Color:

Color Black and White (opening sequence)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1