Bob Lazar ‘S4' Film Due Out Soon. The Director Shares His Thoughts
The documentary "S4," due out by the end of the summer, has been delayed more than once. Why? Perhaps because it covers the controversial life of outspoken former Area 51 employee, Bob Lazar.
For those who don't know, Area 51 is a large, secretive military base in the remote Nevada desert where several exotic military aircraft have been developed and tested over the years, including the venerable U-2 spy plane way back when.
Lazar, during the roughly half-year he was there, says he saw more than just exotic aircraft, however. He contends that what he worked on was something so sophisticated that it could not have been built by humans. And therein lies the controversy.
In my own work as an adventure journalist, I've interviewed several prominent astronauts and pilots, including moonwalkers. Many will admit to believing life forms other than ours exist in the universe. It's a statistics thing, really, they say. What they won't comment on publicly is whether such life forms have visited Earth, though some have told me they've seen things they can't explain.
I'm not here to weigh in one way or the other on the topic. But I will let Luigi Vendittelli, executive producer and director of "S4," describe his work on the documentary with Lazar, now 66. Following are edited excerpts from a longer Zoom conversation.
Jim Clash: Let's start with Bob Lazar as to credibility. He's been on a number of podcasts, most notably Joe Rogan's, discussing his early life and work at the S4 part of Area 51. He seems smart and composed. Do you believe what he says?
Luigi Vendittelli: There is no doubt in my mind that if Bob made all of this up, he's the best actor of my time. If he were lying, he fooled not just me but my entire documentary team, a few who are not UFO-inclined or believe in government conspiracies.
Guard Gate at Area 51 (Groom Lake, Dreamland) near Rachel, Nevada (Photo by Barry King/WireImage) WireImage
Clash: I've read that the documentary has been delayed a few times. True?
Vendittelli: Let's say there are companies out there that want to monopolize control of all documentaries in what is called the "fantastic" space. UFOs, as much as they've trickled down into mainstream, still fall under that category.
Two different people have actively tried to get us to sign over exclusive film distribution rights to them while behind our backs have been telling others they're doing it just to sabotage the film. If we did sign over the rights, we would have no way of distributing the film if they decided never to put it out. One company cost us seven months of delays with lawyers and what not, the other a few more months. When the film comes out, you'll be surprised at who and why.
Clash: You've mentioned there will be new Lazard information in 'S4' that hasn't yet been released. Is there anything that you can tell us about that?
Vendittelli: We needed a device whereby we could bring the eighties to the present. What better vehicle than the time-travel DeLorean used in 'Back To The Future.' I made some calls and found it could be rented. So we filmed Bob driving it in the desert. He had a blast [laughs].
Clash: I once interviewed the late great physicist Dr. Edward Teller. Wasn't there some connection between Teller and Lazard early in Lazard's career?
Vendittelli: Teller was the reason Bob got the job at EG&G [the former defense contractor]. Bob was working at Los Alamos in 1982. He had modified a 1979 Honda Civic hatchback, put a jet engine on the back and would ride it to work. The thing made a lot of noise and could reach 200 mph. He was known at Los Alamos as this crazy scientist guy [laughs].
They put him on the front page of the Los Alamos "Monitor." It happened to be the same day Teller was speaking there. Bob sees Teller standing outside reading the paper, walks up and introduces himself, saying, 'I'm the guy on the front page." Teller found it amusing.
By 1988, Bob had moved to Las Vegas, and sent some resumes out to get work, one to Teller at Lawrence Livermore National Labs. Teller was retired by then, but called Bob, probably because he remembered his jet car. He gave Bob a name at EG&G in the special projects area. Bob got an interview then a job in propulsion, and was eventually sent out to the test site.
Clash: You told me earlier that you've been interested in UFOs yourself since you were a kid, and have even seen two up in Canada. What made you approach Lazard initially?
Vendittelli: I'll never forget what Bob said when we first met at his house in December of 2021. His wife had flown to California and it was just the two of us. He sat me down at this table, looked across at me and said, "You seem like a nice kid. Do you really want to do this? Because you're probably going to get some problems. You don't need this in your life. I want you to think about it." He was very much trying to warn me.
Poster for soon-to-be-released Bob Lazar documentary, 'S4.' Courtesy of Project Gravitaur
Clash: Did that warning play out?
Vendittelli: I've been in business for 25 years and don't believe I've ever been in danger. But I started getting threats last year - phone calls and messages. In the very beginning, I took it lightly, brushing it off, but Bob told me not to be so quick. Really, though, who is going to call to let me know they're going to harm me? It doesn't make sense. A friend of mine is a police officer. He told me to give him the phone numbers and to file a report. The numbers were untraceable, of course.
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