Netflix Eyes 'White Mountains' Movie Adaptation from Higher Ground ... - What's on Netflix

by Tigran Asatryan
Published on December 15th, 2022, 1:37 pm EST
Picture: Getty Images
As a continuation of their partnership, Netflix is developing another production from former US President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama with their Higher Ground Productions. This new feature film is reportedly called White Mountains and will be based on the true story of Barney and Betty Hill, a couple in the 1960s who claimed to have been abducted by a UFO.
The film will be written by the writing duo of Becky Leigh and Mario Kyprianou, who wrote the 2014 movie The Republic of Rick. The story has had several adaptation attempts in recent years, but they never came to fruition until Netflix stepped in.
(L-R) Filmmaker Mario Kyprianou, filmmaker Becky Leigh, and actor Dave Abed (Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images)
Netflix’s White Mountains is set to be produced by Barack and Michelle Obama with Tonia Davis under Higher Ground Productions.
Here’s what else we know about Netflix’s White Mountains:

Netflix’s White Mountains is said to be based on the true story of Barney and Betty Hill. The pair were an American couple who claimed they were abducted by aliens in a rural portion of the state of New Hampshire from September 19 to 20, 1961. It was the first widely publicized report of alien abduction in the United States. The Hills were driving back to Portsmouth from a vacation in Niagara Falls and Montreal. Just south of Lancaster, New Hampshire, Betty claimed to have observed a bright point of light in the sky. The couple followed the light for quite a bit and had binoculars as well.
After some time they stopped near a field and saw “eight to eleven humanoid figures”, who were peering out of the craft’s windows, seeming to look at him. In unison, all but one figure moved to what appeared to be a panel on the rear wall of the hallway that encircled the front portion of the craft. The one remaining figure continued to look at Barney and communicated a message telling him to “stay where you are and keep looking.”
Barney “tore” the binoculars away from his eyes and ran back to his car. In a near-hysterical state, he told Betty, “They’re going to capture us”! He saw the object again shift its location to directly above the vehicle. He drove away as fast as he could, telling Betty to look for the object. She rolled down the window and looked up. Almost immediately, the Hills heard a rhythmic series of beeping or buzzing sounds, which they said seemed to bounce off the trunk of their vehicle. The car vibrated and a tingling sensation passed through the Hills’ bodies. The Hills said that then they experienced the onset of an altered state of consciousness that left their minds dulled. The second series of beeping or buzzing sounds returned the couple to full consciousness. They found that they had traveled nearly 35 miles (56 km) south, but had only vague, spotty memories of this section of road. They recalled making a sudden, sharp unplanned turn, encountering a roadblock, and observing a fiery orb in the road.
Here’s the logline for Netflix’s White Mountains:
“After an interracial couple in the 1960s has a horrifying encounter with a UFO, they set out to discover if it actually happened, or if it is just a case of folie à deux–madness for two.“
As of December 2022, no cast members are known to be attached to Netflix’s White Mountains, but we’re hoping to learn some names in the coming months.
At the moment, Netflix’s White Mountains is in very early development. It will be some time before it enters production, which could end up happening sometime in 2023.
As the series is still in the early stages of development, it’s too early to speak of any release dates, but we could perhaps estimate sometime in 2024.
This is one of many upcoming projects Netflix has in the works with Higher Ground Productions (who re-upped their deal quietly in 2022) and if you want to see everything available from Higher Grounds, Netflix has a dedicated genre page.
Tigran is our resident previews writer. He works on collecting everything known about upcoming Netflix Original projects.

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