Episode 94: Found Footage

Dean Alioto studied film at both University of Southern California and San Francisco State University. Predating both The Last Broadcast and The Blair Witch project, Alioto’s found footage movie Alien Abduction: Incident In Lake County, featured a family being abducted by aliens, as told from the point-of-view of a family member’s home video camera. The footage was purportedly found by a sheriff in Lake County. For two decades, Alioto’s TV special has generated conspiracies worldwide and has been studied by top experts in the field of UFOs and alien abductions.

Alioto's theatrical film debut, Crashing Eden, won several national and international awards. The dark satire was praised by Variety, singling out Alioto’s writing and his ability to work with actors. Alioto’s second film, L.A. Dicks, told the story of two Los Angeles detectives who pitch their real-life cases to Hollywood.