Ep 187: Alien Autopsy? Part 2 — Astonishing Legends (2024)

“I don't have a clue whether or not aliens exist. I'm not saying that... just this one isn't real.”

– Spyros Melaris

Read The Episode Transcript

In the continuation of our interview with the mastermind behind the infamous and legendaryAlien Autopsyfilm, director, producer, conceptual artist, and magician, Spyros Melaris, we learn more about the process of its creation and the aftermath of its release upon the world. But if you think this is just one more case of "Mystery Solved! Nothing to see here, folks!" you may not be considering its broader scope. Because not only is this a rare case where the magician reveals how they did the trick, but its story reveals a glimpse into human nature, a peek behind the curtain of our beliefs and disbeliefs. The smaller picture is the mechanics behind what we see in the frame. The bigger picture is a contemplation of how and why we believe the things we do. Keeping in mind that nothing in the film could be disproven at the time; if you didn't buy what you saw or didn't bother to look, ask yourself, was it because what you saw didn't look authentic in your estimation, or was it because you think the reality of it is impossible? For those who demand proof of aliens before they accept the idea, why not look at all? For those that believed, was it an open mind that entertained its veracity or merely wishful thinking, and what does it take to foment disbelief? What keeps some believing even after revealing the trick? With the word hoax being so currently prominent in our society, it certainly seems beneficial to examine one of the world's greatest hoaxes and the hoaxer's methods. TheAlien Autopsyfilm defined for many the adage "Seeing is Believing" to mean seeing in person, but how can we trust what we see? The proof of alien life would be the biggest story on the planet. What we would consider the evidence and how we would handle it is our own biggest mystery.

• John Jopson, director for the Fox program, Alien Autopsy: Fact or Fiction? –his email explaining his involvement with the film

• Film director and screenwriter, John Jopson on Wikipedia

• “Extraordinary Claims Require Extraordinary Evidence: The Case of Non-Local Perception, a Classical and Bayesian Review of Evidences” by Patrizio E. Tressoldi from the journal frontiers in Psychology

• Sociology professor and founding co-chairman of CSICOP, Marcello Truzzi, and his concept of pseudoskepticism

• Robert Kiviat, Executive Producer for Alien Autopsy: Fact or Fiction? among other paranormal programs

• Private Investigator William Dear, who tried to track down the mysterious original Army photographer

• William Dear’s investigation and book: “The Dungeon Master: The Disappearance of James Dallas Egbert III”

• “Disappearances & Dragons: The James Dallas Egbert III Story” from The Saturday Evening Post

• The 1982 movie, Mazes and Monsters starring Tom Hanks

• The 2006 British comedy Alien Autopsy with Ant & Dec on Amazon Prime

• The Alien Autopsy feature comedy’s entry on Wikipedia

• British comedic TV presenting duo Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, known as “Ant & Dec”

• Spyros’ book publishing company Melaris in Print

• “Art Bell Interview With Bob Shell Fox TV Alien Aut update 2017” on YouTube

• “Art Bell Vault: The Alien Autopsy Film” – Art’s interviews with Ray Santilli and photo analyst Bob Shell for Coast to Coast AM Insiders

• “Roswell 'was plane full of alien-like children sent by Stalin'“ on CNET.com

• “Were Soviets behind Roswell UFO?” on NBCnews.com

• The full, Alien Autopsy film by itself, on Spyros’ YouTube channel

• The original FOX television special Alien Autopsy: Fact or Fiction? with Jonathan Frakes on Amazon Prime

• Alien Autopsy: Fact or Fiction? on YouTube

• Spyros’ story segment for the BBC One’s The One Show on YouTube

• Spyros’ website for his involvement in the Alien Autopsy film

• Spyros Melaris presents the “Alien Autopsy 2019 Tour” promo

• Spyros’ YouTube channel page

• The Alien Autopsy episode of the British TV show, Eamonn Investigates, Part 1 of 4

• The Alien Autopsy episode of the British TV show, Eamonn Investigates, Part 2 of 4

• The Alien Autopsy episode of the British TV show, Eamonn Investigates, Part 3 of 4

• The Alien Autopsy episode of the British TV show, Eamonn Investigates, Part 4 of 4

• “Roswell ‘alien autopsy’ - full truth about 'jellified brains and body parts' emerges” from the Express 9-27-2017

• “Is this a REAL alien? Claims this is a ‘genuine1947 Roswell alien autopsy image” from the Express 9-28-2017

• “Is this a REAL ALIEN? Shock new twist in Roswell 'alien autopsy' case” from the Express 9-29-2017

• “Ray Santilli, Gary Shoefield Talk the Real Alien Autopsy and the New Film of the Same Name” on DreadCentral.com

• Ray Santilli on Wikipedia

• Sculptor and Special Effects artist, John Humphreys on IMDb

• The Alien Autopsy film entry on Wikipedia

• The Roswell UFO incident on Wikipedia

• Hollywood Special Effects legend Stan Winston

• Esteemed Hollywood cinematographer Allen Daviau

• The Bell & Howell 16mm “Filmo” motion picture camera

Location:

The northwest London, England neighborhood of Rochester Square, Camden Town where it’s claimed the Alien Autopsy was filmed in an empty “flat” or apartment.

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CREDITS:

Episode 187: Alien Autopsy? Part 2.Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Audio Editing by Sarah Vorhees Wendel. Sound Design by Ryan McCullough; Tess Pfeifle, Producer, and Lead Researcher; Research Support from the astonishing League of Astonishing Researchers, a.k.a. The Astonishing Research Corps, or "A.R.C." for short. Copyright 2020 Astonishing Legends Productions, LLC. All Rights Reserved.