| The Men Who Stare at Goats is a 2009 comedy | | | | his house which has been shot up by soldiers. |
| film by director Grant Heslov released in theaters | | | | From there Bob and Lyn proceed to continue with |
| on November 6, 2009. It is based on the book of | | | | their mission: to locate New Earth Army founder |
| the same title by author Jon Ronson, an account | | | | Bill Django. |
| of Ronson's investigation of attempts by US | | | | The duo eventually locate a military base in the |
| military forces to use psychic powers. | | | | middle of the desert and discover that Larry |
| The film follows Ann Arbor Daily Telegram | | | | Hooper is the founder and head of PSIC, a |
| reporter Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor), who | | | | private research firm who are engaged in |
| stumbles onto the story of a lifetime when he | | | | psychological and psychic experiments on a herd |
| meets a Special Forces operator, Lyn Cassady | | | | of goats and some captured locals. To Lyn's |
| (George Clooney) after flying to Kuwait out of | | | | dismay, a now decrepit Django is working as an |
| anger, due to a recent divorce with his wife, who | | | | employee of PSIC. |
| then proceeded to marry Bob's one-armed editor. | | | | Lyn then reveals a terrible secret to Bob: before |
| Lyn reveals that he was part of an American | | | | his discharge from the First Earth Battalion, Lyn |
| army unit training psychic spies (or "Jedi | | | | was asked to stop a goat's heart to test the limit |
| Warriors"), trained to develop a range of | | | | of his mental abilities. Lyn had decided against it, |
| parapsychological skills including; invisibility, remote | | | | but was compelled to find if he could accomplish |
| viewing, cloud bursting, walking through walls, and | | | | the feat and begins to stare at the goat |
| intuition. | | | | vigorously. Lyn manages to stop the goat's heart, |
| The founder of this unit Bill Django (Jeff Bridges) | | | | but finds that what he had just done was |
| travelled across America in the 1970s for six | | | | inhumane and against the entire purpose of the |
| years exploring a range of New Age movements | | | | First Earth Battalion. Lyn then left the First Earth |
| (including the Human potential movement) after | | | | Battalion, now stating that his powers were gone |
| getting shot during the Vietnam War and used | | | | because of that fateful day. |
| these experiences to found the New Earth Army. | | | | Bob spends time with Django and learns the |
| In the 1980s, two of Django's best recruits were | | | | ways of the New Earth Army and together they |
| Lyn Cassady and Larry Hooper (Kevin Spacey) | | | | spike the water and foods of the base with LSD, |
| developed a lifelong rivalry because of their | | | | and free both the goats and captured locals. |
| opposing views of how to implement the First | | | | Following this Lyn (now out of his state of |
| Earth philosophy, Lyn wanted to emphasise the | | | | depression) and Django fly off in a Bell JetRanger |
| positive side of the teachings, whereas Larry was | | | | helicopter, but not before trusting Bob with the |
| more interested in the dark side of the philosophy. | | | | duty of making sure his story reaches the public. |
| In present day Bob and Lyn embark on a new | | | | It is revealed that after that point, Lyn, nor Bill |
| mission in Iraq, where they are kidnapped by a | | | | were ever heard from again, having disappeared |
| criminal gang, when they escape with fellow | | | | into the sky in a helicopter while tripping on acid. |
| kidnap victim Mahmud Daash (Waleed Zuaiter) and | | | | Bob returns to work as a reporter and writes an |
| join forces with a private security firm in Iraq | | | | article about his entire experience with Lyn. |
| headed up by Todd Nixon (Robert Patrick), they | | | | However, the only portion of the story to be |
| are caught up in a firefight between Todd's | | | | aired on the news is how the music the captives |
| security firm, and a rival security firm; this would | | | | were forced to watch was Barney & Friends |
| later be known as the "Battle of Ramadi." Mahmud | | | | nonstop. However, Bob still vows to get the story |
| helps rescue Bob and Lyn, and takes him back to | | | | out, before finally phasing himself through a wall. |