8/30/07

Cloverfield/1-18-08: Possible Plot Spoilers


Ain't It Cool News has received this weeks episode of "Insider Information" on the Cloverfield/1-18-08 Movie. First, they claim that the trailer we have all come to know and love is indeed part of the film.

Also, there are potential plot spoilers. I'll post them below for those that want to know them. The text is in white to keep people who do not want to know the spoilers from seeing the text. Simply highlight the text in between the Quotes and you'll see it.

"(highlight to read)I have for you a description of a unseen new sequence from the film you all know as Cloverfield.

I can now safely say the teaser is not separate from the film, its part of the beginning which was shown in an abridged fashion for the purpose of the teaser, it's longer in the movie.

The new scene opens with several traumatized survivors, moving through a very dark corridor there's slight cold blue illumination from halogen emergency lighting, a girl in the group is badly beaten up she's bleeding and looks very sickly. The main group is comprised of 3 characters, Rob from the main trailer, the cameraman and a girl, though there may be others.

This scene takes place after the initial attack of "The monster" the scene we all saw in theatres. Rob is taking charge and telling everyone to keep calm, the girl says she doesn't feel so good.

They limp along until US Army soldiers storm in shouting at them, demanding they drop they're weapons, they shout back they're unarmed, there's a lot of commotion, then they're herded briskly up some E.T style scientific tubing into a makeshift aid center, its very dark, threes lots of doctors tending to wounded and military walking about making the scene very busy. "What is that thing?" they ask as they catch their breath, the cryptic answer comes from a soldier "We don't know, but it's winning"

The imagery in this scene is like something after a terrorist bombing. A carcass is wheeled past with his guts hanging out, the cameraman struggles to take in the surroundings.

Rob gets angry with the aggressiveness of the soldiers who now tell them they can't leave, "I'm going out there, if you want to stop me you'll have to shoot me" we gather he's looking for his girlfriend. "I feel really sick" the girl unexpectedly mutters, the camera pans to her, shes looks like shes about to throw up, and curiously is crying blood from her right eye. Someone shouts "She's been bitten!"

Chaos ensues... Scene end. That's all you get, this may be used for promotion and is a possibility for an upcoming trailer.
" (end highlight)

Also, if you read to the end of the article you'll see a reference to my blog and the post about the monsters roar. That's pretty darn cool. You can see the AICN post here. I like how they are calling it the JJsaurus now. Thanks for the reference AICN.
8/29/07

Win Slusho Shirts and Cloverfield/1-18-08 Gear

A JJ Abrams fansite is tossing out some Cloverfield and Slusho gear if you can create the best storyline of what you think will happen in the movie and draw up a pic of what you think the monster will be like.

You can enter the contest here. Also, here are the details from the contest:


Since we don't know much about the film other than the sound of monster and the teaser trailer, it's time to imagine what it could be.

To enter your chance to win, you will write up 1 page version of how you think the story will flow from beginning to end along with a sketch of the monster. Now I know we are not all good in sketching like myself but do have an imagination to come up with ideas and stories.

The story, sketches or drawings or whatever that format it may be, will be posted on this thread.

You are allowed to tell your story in video format as well using YouTube or similar site. How? Be creative

How Winners Will be Picked:

1) Top 7 Best Stories and Best Sketches will win t-shirt and posters. So that means each winner will walk away with poster and t-shirt.

2) The runner ups will be selected for poster or t-shirt.

Remember, this is a serious contest and open to anyone and everyone. No spamming.

Anyone who comes to the board to post nothing but jibberish or steals other people's work (believe me there are ways of finding out) will not only be kicked off the contest but also the board.

Deadline is September 20th, 2007.



Thanks to Project Cloverfield for the tip.
8/24/07

Cloverfield Monster Roar Added to 1-18-08 Website

It looks like the boys at Bad Robot did play with the 1-18-08 site yesterday (see 1-18-08 Official Site Gone). A minor addition to the site today includes a hidden sound file of the Cloverfield Monster giving us a roar. After going to the 1-18-08 site you'll see everything is the same. However, if you leave the window open and leave it alone the monster sound will play.

mhovis at unfiction uploaded an audio clip of the roar and Dennis gave a look at the code and notes that it's programmed to play exactly 6:00 minutes after opening the site. Click the Blogger video below to sample the monster roar.

8/23/07

1-18-08 Official Site Back Up. No, Back Down. No...

The 1-18-08 Official Site has been offline for part of the day. It keeps popping up occasionally then going back offline and redirecting traffic toward Paramount Pictures.

Offhand, the pictures are all still there and do not look altered. No new text is on the back, either.

1-18-08 Official Site Gone

I've checked out the 1-18-08 Official Site today and there were no updates. I checked later today and it was gone. It redirects to the Paramount homepage.

Does this mean that they are revising the site or maybe making a new one with the title of the film? At this point there's no telling.

The site had updated 5 times in July with new pictures added. Then they made it where you could flip the pictures over and some had text.

But for the last couple of weeks the site has been silent with no updates. Now, it looks like they might be up to something.

1-18-08 - Five News | Cloverfield

Five News from England is getting in on the Cloverfield buzz. Some of the guys at unfiction have been waiting for this report to arrive online and hoping for new information to surface on the movie.

Unfortunately, there's not much new information other then the spreading of the Cloverfield buzz. Five News has created a short bit for their news program talking about the 1-18-08 Trailer that is circulating.


1-18-08 - Five News Cloverfield


However, one minor note of interest is the scene on the rooftop just before the explosion cross town when the cameraman quips about Rob should have left early. In the Five News version of the trailer there is a line by Rob. He mumbles 'Shut up' and looks over to the explosion just as it's happening.


1-18-08 Cloverfield Original Trailer
8/22/07

Cloverfield/1-18-08: Sources Say The Monster(s) are NOT Raptor-like


This last week there has been some debate as a website called Dread Central reported an inside source claimed the Cloverfield monsters to be a bunch of raptor-like monsters who terrorized the city.

I really didn't buy it because of a number of reasons:

  1. It's been done. And, it wasn't that good. It's the American remake of Godzilla.

  2. JJ Abrams is better than that. He spent enough time/money making this movie and I believe it will be more original and thought out then this.

  3. Inside sources who sneak out info for movies like this usually never pan out. Give it a few days and if it's fake it will be debunked.

Well, #3 came out a few days later with /Film pretty much looking into the sources of information that started this rumor and shooting it down. [read more]

Also, there are rumors [see here] this week of a new trailer being dropped for the release of Resident Evil: Extinction which opens Sept. 21. I take this one with a grain of salt because of the rival studio notion.

First, the 1-18-08 trailer has enough buzz around it to boost that movies opening weekend. With Sony releasing Resident Evil and Paramount/Dreamworks producing 1-18-08, it is usually the case that a studio would only do this for their own movie. Ya never know, though...




8/21/07

What is Lost's J.J. Abrams playing at?

(Via Times Online)

"Try to make something of this: a film with no name, a drink called Slusho, the code word ‘Cloverfield,’ and the date January 18, 2008.

There you go, you’ve just joined a growing number of film obsessives, Lost devotees and web geeks in trying to figure out just what Lost creator J.J. Abrams is playing at.

Abrams, you see, is producing a film, but refusing to release any details of said film. Instead he’s dancing with the dark art of viral marketing.

It began with a mysterious trailer, played in theatres before the Transformers movie. The footage was amateur, the content disturbing. Happy twenty-something New Yorkers are in the midst of a surprise party when the guttural roar of an unidentified creature disturbs the peace. Next thing, the ground is shaking, and parts of the city’s famous skyline are alight. The Statue of Liberty’s head goes flying through the night sky, landing at the feet of startled, scurrying civilians. No movie title accompanied the trailer, only a date: 18.01.08..."
[...continue]


8/20/07

1-18-08 Movie: Jessica Lucas


Helping put a face on a 1-18-08 character, previously unconfirmed actress Jessica Lucas is being reported by The Hollywood Reporter as one of the cast members on the Cloverfield Movie. Her previous works include The Covenant, She's the Man , and ABC's "Life As We Know It." [...more]

Lucas will also be joining CBS' "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" as a recurring character this fall.



Also, Lizzy Caplan, who was already confirmed on the cast, has signed on to be in the"Bachelor No. 2." [...more]

While we wait on more news about the 1-18-08 movie, check out the great article on "The art of being vague" which references Project Cloverfield and its viral marketing.
8/19/07

1-18-08 : How Viral Is Cloverfield?

No new trailers, pictures, posters, or information has leaked out on the 1-18-08 movie in quite awhile. Don't get me wrong, there's a ton of "I have inside, secret information..." sites and information out there.

That's getting a little old.

That's the problem with viral-based movies or websites. With enough downtime, people start making stuff up. They make stuff up anyway, but without real facts coming in the junk is more prominent. The actual amount of information out on the Cloverfield movie that is legit is very little. A teaser trailer. A poster. A few websites.

However, the storyline is AWOL and the picture doesn't even have a title yet.

Now, some of you might ask why would the producers of the movie choose such a route?

Usually, it comes down to budget. The 1-18-08 movie is slated to be a rather small budgeted movie of a reported $30 Million. That's a very small budget for any monster/sci-fi flick. With a cast of no-names and a super secret plot, producer JJ Abrams may have turned to the net for promotional reasons.

JJ's success with viral promotions for his other TV shows have helped promote his product immensely. TV promos and posters cost money. If people are promoting your movie through forums, blogs, and websites then you have a chance to not only get great buzz for the movie but to get feedback as well.

Mental Floss takes a look at How Do You Advertise a Movie with No Name? The viral promotion of such blockbusters as "Blair Witch" and "A.I" have set the bar which Cloverfield has a chance to easily overtake.

8/13/07

Case study: 1-18-08 Social Media Marketing


A little bit about online marketing of the 1-18-08 Cloverfield Movie from Copywriting.com:

Preceding the new Transformers movie, a mysterious trailer has been shocking audiences all around the world. We’ve all seen the effects and consequences of a successful social media marketing campaign on the web: Relatively unknown websites melting down their web hosting servers, ordinary people reaching rock-star status overnight (sometimes unwillingly) and new trends becoming mainstream in less than a week.

But what happens when one of Hollywood’s most brilliant minds decides to use social media marketing as the main strategy to promote his upcoming feature film? Enter the secretive world of J.J. Abrams and 01-18-08 (aka Cloverfield / Slusho / Cheese / Chocolate / Overnight). Things are about to get outrageously weird ... [more]

1-18-08 - Bad Robot Productions



Bad Robot Productions is the group producing the 1-18-08 /Cloverfield movie as well as heading all current major productions by creator JJ Abrams. The official website for Bad Robot currently has only the graphic of the robot seen above and no links.

Bad Robot Productions has been responsible for television shows including "Alias" , "Lost" , "Six Degrees" and "What About Brian: Pilot" as well the movie Joy Ride. Projects missing from the list that many associate with Abrams are "Felicity" and Mission: Impossible III which do not fall under the Bad Robot umbrella. However, upcoming projects such as the movie Star Trek and and a couple more untitled projects like the Untitled J.J. Abrams/HBO Project will be produced with Bad Robot.
8/12/07

Sound effect taken from one of 1-18-08's set computers?

The Unfiction forums (see them here) are one of the best places for 1-18-08 / Cloverfield news. Today the buzz is about a sound effect MP3 taken from one of the set computers. Apparently, some dude just walked into a set trailer and started to download audio files. The guy who posted doesn't have a website, or a name, and just uploaded a free rapid share link. You can find that original link in the forum here.

Meanwhile, I took the sound file and uploaded it to YouTube and put it below to save you all that trouble. Give it a listen:



1-18-08 Cloverfield Sound Effect



So, there you go. Personally, I've never heard of a film set keeping post-production audio on hand. The monster and all FX and Sound FX will all be done post (called 'Post-production for a reason) in a nice, cozy studio somewhere.

Personally, I thought the Cheese Call Sheet (see Paramount Cease and Desist )was a plant because it carried just enough fact in it to be believable. Even though I believe it had some truths and the C&D letters from Paramount were real, I still lean toward it being a staged event. The source article would have be taken down or taken to court if it was 100% true. Only 2 website we know of got the C&D letters while I've seen it posted 100's of places, including some bigger sites.
This audio file sounds cool but I'm thinking someone just patched together some various audio files of military, guns, etc...
8/11/07

1-18-08 - New Cloverfield Theories. Slusho and Cloverfield Monster Explained.

This week's episode of 'INSIDER INFORMATION' , in which mild mannered contestants pose as industrial moles and enjoy giving movie secrets, comes from mysterious John Murphy who likes to post on forums at SteakNBJ.com.

What's Cloverfield found this little tidbit of information in a post from John Murphy, who just happens to have the storyline from the first 1/3 of the movie. As usual, John is going out on a limb and having to mask his identity and computer trail to give us this information, so the least we can do is lend him an ear.



So, here's John's story. I'll post it below but be warned (in case he's telling the truth) that it contains SPOILERS!!!






John Murphy writes: (Possible Spoilers Below!! Last Warning!)






"Here is the first third of the film…About one billion (yes billion) years ago, life on Earth was still at the multi-cell level and they remained mostly in their habitat. One of the organisms was more passive and preferred a symbiotic relationship for their survival.


Another (and there were more) was more aggressive and preferred to control larger beings for their survival. Back then, the world had only one continent. The two organisms were separated, for the most part, by land.


But the aggressive organism had developed a taste for the passive one and tried to feed on it as often as possible by going around the land mass. Until a cataclysmic event changed things, burying most of the ancient organisms under the oceans. The surviving organisms either died off or evolved (later becoming humans and what not).


Fast forward to present day and we have Japan discovering the passive organisms buried off their coast and eventually came to the conclusion that the American continents (North and South) had drifted over the aggressive organisms (more on them later) during the past billion years.


Japanese scientists begin studying this passive organism and find that it is a perfect nourishment supplement to humans. Grown in an agricultural field on the island of Hokkaido, Japan, these organisms create the appearance of cloverfields. The scientists learn that these organisms are beneficial symbiotic parasites that give us additional nourishment and make us feel happy. Thus humans and the parasites become one.


They are kept cold to prevent them from dying from exposure until they are introduced into their host. Thus the development of the awesome and delicious drink – Slusho! (It makes me happy).


Rob is a college graduate who has been hired by Slusho and has just accepted an offer to work in their technologies division in Japan. Rob also knows the basics of the organism, the story that Slusho “invented” as a marketing campaign and has recently been informed that the scientists have found trace amounts of the aggressive organism.


This aggressive organism likes to pool up into a larger being, control it, own it, even change it. It also eats the smaller passive organism much the same way a whale will eat plankton. Slusho is now one of the most popular drinks. In it’s own right it is a tasty meal that does not add fat and is proven to be healthy with claims that it cures cancer and many other diseases.


Slusho and it’s by-products are now being flushed (literally) into the sewer systems and drained out to sea by way of urine, fecal matter and just straight unconsumed Slusho. This builds up on the ocean floor and eventually awakens a very hungry and aggressive organism.


This aggressive organism, hungry and well, aggressive, follows the sewer trail back to New York and emerges through the sewers breaking and igniting a natural gas pipeline in it’s effort to feed on the passive organism, which is now us."




What I like about Murphy's theory is how he's tied in all the clues, like Slusho (is people), Rob, and the Monster into one easy idea. It beats a lot of other theories I've seen in the last few weeks and it does work in the idea of "Parasite," which was originally what the monster was referred to in small forums.

No matter what the monster or belief behind it turns out to be, if we over think the whole thing we'll all be disappointed. I have never seen someone post on a forum with 'inside' information to be accurate so I'll leave that up to chance. Besides, Murphy doesn't really bring new material to the table. He just pieced together the information that's already out there. However, maybe it's just that simple...

1-18-08

1-18-08 is an upcoming science fiction movie nicknamed "Cloverfield" and being produced by J. J. Abrams, directed by Matt Reeves, and written by Drew Goddard. Paramount Studios is carrying out a viral marketing campaign to promote the film. This post will help catch up those that are looking for some more information into the production of the film.


First information on the movie surfaced during advance screenings of the Transformers movies which was released during the July 4th, 2007 week. So far, the top secret project nicknamed 'Cloverfield' is slated for a January 18, 2008 release.


Cloverfield - 1-18-08 Premise & Production


IGN sums up the trailer as: "A camcorder-filmed party scene gives way to what looks like a terrifying fireball attack on New York City. "It's alive! It's huge," someone in the crowd screams. What the heck is it!? We don't know... but it's produced by Lost creator J.J. Abrams and it hits theaters on 1-18-08."

The trailer for the mysterious movie, which has used the codename "Cloverfield" during pre-production, doesn't have a title yet. At first, Paramount Pictures and Bad Robot Productions denied any involvement in the movie to help confuse matters. Since then, the movie has been confirmed by JJ Abrams and Paramount as a 'monster movie' set in New York City but with little more details.

During the 2007 Comic-con in San Diego, JJ Abrams spoke to a large crowd and confirmed his intentions to create an American monster movie. He was inspired by such classics as Godzilla and wanted to create a movie that Americans could call their own. Abrams also announced that 1-18-08 would not be a remake and the monster would be an original creation.




JJ Abrams - 2007 Comic-con


Although the story should take place mostly in New York City, various shoots occurred in different parts of L.A. which are thought to mimic scenes in New York City that weren't feasible to be shot in Manhattan. Military crews arriving in the city and numerous explosions and firefights were reported to be carried out in these scenes. The crew then headed to finish up the film in New York City where they were centered around destroyed city street sets (see Say Cheese ! 'Cloverfield' Being Shot Right Now in NYC ), a shoot at Coney Island, and a shoot in Central Park. ( see Cloverfield Central Park Shoot Videos )






Cloverfield (1/18/08)
Teaser


1-18-08 Cloverfield Working Titles and Set Notes

The "Untitled J.J. Abrams Project" is called either 'Cloverfield' or '1-18-08' in most circles. However, when filming in L.A. and New York City the production team used many fake names like 'Chocolate,' 'Cheese,' and 'Slusho.' Hardcore fans of Abrams' "Alias" may remember "Slusho," a Slurpee-type beverage, from the second episode of the series when Vaughn offers one to Sydney.

IGN was able to get a copy of a shooting description during the L.A. 'Slusho' days that explained : "Exterior dialogue. Driving scenes. Occasional traffic & pedestrian control. Camera & equipment on sidewalk, street and property. 200 extras. Military vehicles. Destruction aftermath. Weapons brandished. Emergency vehicles with flashing lights. Exterior dialogue on fire escape on 8th floor." (see 'Slusho' Filming )

During the NYC shoot, a copy of the call sheet for the movie was snagged and published by New York Magazine. The movie shoot for that part of the movie involved scenes from Central Park and was being filmed under the fake title 'Cheese.' (see Paramount Cease and Desist )

The Cheese call sheet revealed a 33 day shoot with possible plot spoilers. Since the publication of the call sheet, Paramount's lawyers have officially sent out Ceased & Desist letters for the publication of the Cheese call sheet which gives weight to their being legit.



Cloverfield - 1-18-08 Cast

Only a handful of inexperienced and young actors have been confirmed for the 1-18-08 cast. The only major actor confirmed to take part in the film is Greg Grunberg (see Greg Grunberg Will Be In ‘Cloverfield ), who currently stars as police man Matt Parker on the hit NBC show, HEROES. Grunberg and Abrams have been friends for many years and it is almost a sure thing that Grunberg will pop up with a cameo in any Abrams project.

The lead role is slated for Michael Stahl-David who will play character Rob Hawkins, a businessman who is having a party at his NYC apartment the night before leaving to Japan.

Other cast members include Odette Yustman, Mike Vogel, Lizzy Caplan, Greg Grunberg, and Blake Lively.

MySpace profiles (see 1-18-08 Picture #5 And New Characters )have been created for the characters and can be found here:
http://www.myspace.com/jamielascano
http://www.myspace.com/robbyhawkins
http://www.myspace.com/lily_ford
http://www.myspace.com/beth_mcintyre
http://www.myspace.com/jj_hawkins
http://www.myspace.com/marlenadiamond
http://www.myspace.com/hudsonplatt



Cloverfield - 1-18-08 Crew

1-18-08 will be directed by Matt Reeves. Previous work by Reeves include writing movies such as The Pallbearer, The Yards, and Under Siege 2: Dark Territory. Reeves worked for JJ Abrams for the show "Felicity" for which Reeves not only wrote for but also directed a handful of episodes.

1-18-08 was written by Drew Goddard, who is another Abrams alumni. Goddard wrote and produced episodes for Abrams projects "Lost" and "Alias" as well as writing for cult favorites "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and its spin off, "Angel."

Bryan Burk helped produced and his previous experience include working with Abrams on all his projects since "Alias"

J.J. Abrams created the 1-18-08 film for his Bad Robot Productions. Abrams has been the catalyst for multiple hit Television shows including "Alias," "Lost," and "Felicity." He made his feature film debut as director for Mission: Impossible III, which was the highest budgeted film for a first time director at around $200 Million.

"I have nothing against larger budget films, but as someone who's worked in television, I know that some pretty powerful stories can be told for somewhere under $200 million," Abrams said.

Although Abrams will direct the upcoming Star Trek film, he has expressed an interest in creating smaller budgeted films. Last summer Abrams signed multi-year movie deals, five years for Paramount and six years for Warner Bros., to make Abrams one of the highest paid writer-producers in Hollywood.



Cloverfield Posters - Series of Four

The 1-18-08 poster released during the 2007 Comic-con featured an image of the Statue of Liberty as seen from behind and having it's head ripped off. A water trail, evidence of something big, leads toward Manhattan where a gap of smoke and destruction open up. Prior to Comic-con a bootleg pic of the poster was revealed with the title 'MONSTROUS' at the top. (see 'MONSTROUS' Poster Explained )

This led many to believe it to be the title of the movie. However, JJ Abrams debunked that theory by saying that was not the title and it was one of 4 posters mocked up with adjectives describing the movie. Other titles are FURIOUS, TERRIFYING, and BARBAROUS with all but the last having been found.



Cloverfield - 1-18-08 Related Sites

1-18-08.com Contains photos which are draggable around your screen and now can be flipped over to reveal messages selected . Each photo is time stamped with the date 1-18-08

Slusho is a fake Japanese drink company. Think of it like a Slushee but apparently made from ingredients found from the bottom of the ocean.


More sites with 1-18-08 information:

8/10/07

Cloverfield Monster Is Not Voltron


Theories on what the Cloverfield Monster will be have ranged from really clever to very odd. The 2 worst rumors that surfaced after the 1-18-08 Movie trailer hit the 'net were Voltron and something related to a guy named Ethan Haas.

It turns out that Haas was just a video game that the manufacturers were using the Cloverfield momentum to fuel their site.

The Voltron rumor surface immediately after people viewed the trailer in the theater mainly due to the misheard line near the end of the video where someone running down the street yells, "It's Alive. It's huge!"

Some people heard, "It's a Lion! It's huge!" and that began the Voltron rumor as many were thinking that the huge mechanical Lions the Voltron groups rides in is terrorizing New York City.

There are a lot of facts to disprove the Voltron theory but for some reason it keeps popping up. Someone wrote that IGN is riding that theory this week but that doesn't sound right. They're a good site that usually research theories before going online with them.

And it doesn't take much to kill this theory. One try and I can do it.

The Voltron theory people are overlooking one huge basic ingredient to making the Voltron movie : Paramount doesn't have the rights to the Voltron movies!

Paramount/Viacom has the rights to 1-18-08. JJ Abrams has contracts with Paramount and Warner Bros. to make movies/TV shows. Voltron's rights are owned by Fox (here) and they are should start filming later this year or early next year.

So, there you go. No time to dwell in all the other theories, like JJ saying it is a monster movie and confirming it was not a remake in any way, shape, or form. The Cloverfield/Voltron theory was dead before it hit the ground and to be safe we'll put it on the shelf right up there next to Ethan Haas for good measure.

Cloverfield Monster Revealed... In 1953?

Sprinkle some paranoia into a Cold War era monster movie and you get The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms.
This movie was made in 1953 and tells the story of a mutant monster who ransacks New York City. Essentially, nuclear fallout wakes the monster up and he quickly heads toward Coney Island to ride the roller coasters. So, stick some isotopes into a shotgun and stop the havoc!



The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms

Slusho Avatars and Japanese Newspapers

Slusho Avatars


Cloverfield Clues is making us all look bad. Not only did they get the Slusho shirts already but they have also made up avatars ( here) based on the Slusho site.

The odd assortment of characters you find on Slusho will probably never be fully explained. Of course, how could you explain why a cartoon horse is thinking of cheese or an oven mitt?

Slusho Newspaper is Nikkan San


The Slusho shirt Cloverfield Clues received in the mail the other day was wrapped in a Japanese newspaper and even had an odd reference to 'Godzilla!'

They have determined it to be the Japanese newspaper Nikkan San (here) or Japanese Daily Sun, a free paper from Hawaii.

8/9/07

Slusho shirt delivered, with possible clue/ Godzilla gag?


The great site at Project Cloverfield has received their first order of the 'Slush' shirts (see: Slusho shirt delivered, with possible clue/gag?) with an added bonus of a newspaper in Japanese with possible gags and/or clues. Pretty cool touch by the producers to add to the shirt sells.

A cool 'GODZILLA' reference is on one part of the newsprint which cracked me up. Too bad they didn't stick some 'Ethan HAAS' references in their, too! No doubt this will stir up some ideas...
8/7/07

Cloverfield Central Park Shoot Videos

The Central Park shoot for Cloverfield was reported on /Film yesterday (see Cloverleaf NY Shoot: New Set Pics and Vids) and now there are some videos up on YouTube.

Nooneimportant77 has 3 new videos (view them here) uploaded that show the shoot at the bridge talked about earlier. Not much is revealed except the use of professional grade cameras/equipment to shoot the scene and that these 2 characters are still alive and hiding from something.

Cloverfield 3 Monster Theory

I got a comment from Mitzela who wrote:
"i don't know if this will give any clues, but i just found this. he ties in his shows all together usually right? name of the company for "what about brian" is Leviathan, which is a deep sea monster.... "
And then today Cloverfield News got a similar clue and made a post (here) referring back to their July 25th post regarding the 3 Monster Theory. Here's the original post that came from a user named 'wtfurexic' on their forum:

“I’ve become really addicted to learning more about this movie. I’m afraid it might consume my summer vacation. :X

But I love the theory about the three beasts. Okay, this is what I think.
So we all know that…

Behemoth = Earth
Leviathan= Water
Ziz= Air

If you ago to the SLUSHO! site the downloads section takes you to a page where the two kids are in the air possibly being a clue for Ziz. On the homepage the kids are on the ground (Clue for Behemoth?). & When you go to the History section it takes you to the kids swimming underwater. [Leviathan]”


"Leviathan," among other things, was a Biblical sea monster and the word appears six times in the Bible. We'll ignore that "Leviathan" was also a crappy Peter Weller movie in 1989. So, could the Cloverfield monster be 3 monsters

Monster from Leviathan

Check out the trailer again (below) and see if you hear 3 distinctive Roars. Personally, I'm not really hearing it. It just sounds like a deep roar with layers.

For example, when they made the T-Rex roars for Jurassic Park it had a combination of animals (Tigers, gators, stuff like that) that were mixed together to create the organic and unique sound of the Rex. I kinda get that impression from the trailer that this audio clip of the monster is manufactured like that.



1-18-08 Movie Trailer

However, I think it's a real cool theory and it is something I'm going to look into more...

Cloverleaf NY Shoot: New Set Pics and Vids

Rob on his MySpace

Slash Film (/Film) has posted new video and pics on a shoot in Central Park with Rob and Lily. As for the storyline there are a couple of tiny spoilers mentioned (here) but the real info I enjoyed from the post is that they were not using consumer grade cameras for the shoot.

It was speculated that the film would not use the traditional film/HD cameras and that the story might be told from the point of view of the characters using the handheld consumer cameras. /Film states that:

"Another interesting tidbit is that they were shooting with professional film or HD cameras, and not a consumer/prosumer grade camera. This leads me to believe that not all of the footage will be from the handheld camera POV. " [ ...more ]

Set pics and storyline articles are starting to get more detailed so I'll try to be considerate and keep anything that potentially might be a spoiler in link form to allow you to view it on your own accord.
8/6/07

The Cloverfield Monster is...

Hmmm... 1-18-08 News revealed this weekend that a source on the Cloverfield movie set told him 'Slusho is People.' That made me reconsider my previous stance that the monster may be the Aqua Teen Hunger Force. (see proof here)

Maybe the monster is something more down to earth, more humanoid than some sea dragon or mutant whale. For that older generation you might remember a flick called "Soylent Green" staring Charlton Heston. In a crappy, near-future the source of food that many rely on is Soylent Green. The end result (Soylent Green spoiler alert) is that the food is made from people.



That little factoid and the image of the Statue of Liberty got me thinking of what power would be strong enough to conquer New York. Remember the Statue of Liberty scene from the original 'Planet of the Apes?'



Only one creature that powerful could withstand the forces to create that reality. Something with ties to Soylent Green and Lady Liberty. Yes, it's the only man strong enough to eat people, conquer a world of apes, and play Moses...it's Charlton Heston himself !!!

Ahhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!


Anyway, that's my nutty rant for the week. Thanks for playing along and I hope you had a laugh. Remember, it's just a movie but that doesn't mean we can't have fun with it.

Another Fake 'Cloverfield' Site Folds Up

1.18.08 Blog (formerly the 'Untitled JJ Abrams' Blog) noticed this little update. Remember the license plate site for the Jeep in the trailer called ABZ-3293 ?

Well, it was kind of a fun site that just posted a message that a family trinket was in the Jeep destroyed by Lady Liberty. It allowed posts and after 600 comments the guys called THEMSELVES out (here) and told the world they were just having fun and it got out of control.

It was fun while it lasted...

Also, for those of you that might not know already(or just don't want to admit) the Ethan Hass tie-in was just a video game that their producers, in my eye, were using the 'Cloverfield' momentum for their own gain.

In the beginning a few blogs were leaked out with the Ethan Hass/Cloverfield tie-in. It was called out by someone (I don't remember who made the finding offhand) for being a video game called Alpha Omega. They have officially changed the Ethan Hass stuff over to the game now. Guess they milked 'Cloverfield' for all they could get.

If I remember right, and maybe someone can back me up on this, they stuck 'Cloverfield' tags in their blogs to get the 'Cloverfield' traffic or something like that. I'll have to look into that. Anyway, stick a fork in it - Ethan Hass is now officially out of the game.

8/5/07

Statue Of Liberty Movie Posters



The 'Cloverfield' movie is not the first time the Statue of Liberty has been used for disaster movies. As Eugene Taylor points out, another poster featured the head of Lady Liberty that you might remember.


John Carpenter's 'Escape from New York'





Also, a few more over the years:


The Original 'Planet of the Apes'




'The Day After Tomorrow'



Supergirl - Oh! The humanity !!
8/4/07

Fingers Found


This one has been bugging me but after a little time on the 'net I found the original hands for the now confirmed fake posters. (from original post 'Slusho is people') It's from a beach in South America and here's a pic of the original poster and a pic of the beach hands.



Cloverfield Monster Revealed?



It has been an interesting day for 'Cloverfield' news. Brad at 1-18-08 News had posted earlier today a nice little article about a source on the movie set who leaked him and 2 other bloggers information about the 'Cloverfield' and its origins (see "Slusho is people' for more). Well, it seems like his source has sent him more info by claiming 2 of those other sites are now shut down.

Here's Brad's latest post:

Cloverfieldmonster.com and 11808news.com (Not my site of course) are gone! These were two websites that Remedios submitted his info to just as he did with me. The two sites told him that they were gonna use his info and now…They no longer exist. And these two sites were working yesterday.

Remedios mentioned this to me regarding 11808news.com:

“…And after a quick question i asked a friend it is owned by the same man who owns the Ny daily news Mort Zuckerman who has infact provided 5 million+ to fund 1-18-08. Very interesting…“

What’s going on? Is Paramount trying to shut Remedios up from leaking this plot? It appears as if the sites were spyware’d or D’DOs’d. Not entirely sure.

Hopefully this doesn’t happen with us.

Something strange is really going on…Have you begun to notice?

Are you starting to believe me now?


This is the previous post that spurred the attention of many:

Again, there’s doubt saying that the source who has confirmed my findings isn’t authentic. “Remedios” has given me permission to release this email to you. One finding I wanted to clarify in the video was that the “Creature’s face” was my own discovery and not “Remedios.” His fact was that the creature was rising up from the explosion, but he didn’t mention about a face, again that was my finding. One thing is certain, the creature is rising from the ground.

Anyway, here is “Remedios” public email that you can see for yourself:

Hello Brad,

The only proof I can give you without revealing myself(again the contract is supremely strict, hence why it is called a gag-order), I work alongside Shane Buttle and John Campbell. Out of the seven headmaster’s i sent this info to 3 acknowledged them(including yourself) and two were immediately shutdown by an unknown source after
receiving this info by a certain “spy ware entity”. Luckily enough i went to check on your site to see if you had fallen but amazingly enough your video post was not removed. After reading your post I am also sorry your fans did not respond well. Granted many of my tips were almost completely confirmed. But I mainly wanted you to focus on my last hint.

To all of the headmasters of your sites, try reviewing your history of not just folklore and mythology but science where every monster movie is created.(see Below)
> >
> > Sargasso Sea->Bermuda triangle->”graveyard of the ships”-birth of
> >
research pertaining to Metagenomics or Ecogenomics-> productivity of
>
> Molecular cloning.

Follow this and a corrective theory should follow. I am still human and love to see the curiosity in people flourish after given a RIGHT clue. Especially the end of that diagram in molecular cloning and everything previous. To any film there is a background story to a human or monster, especially if they may be one in the same.
And to clarify something. It did rise up but I never said that there was a face.

Think. Has any theory of smoke or fire or “I saw this in that” ever really be true to any trailer or type of commercial sponsoring. No, and it won’t start now. There is no monster in this trailer.

I know for an anonymous source, I am awfully befriending in releasing info. But considering after my rampage of info release yesterday and no repercussions this morning, I feel my identity is safe as long as it is not released. I might be filming the next few days but to avoid heat on your part, you can post this email on your site so if anyone gets crap it is someone unknown instead of yourself. I don’t want your credibility to suffer.

Remedios

So, there you go. Check out Brad's site tomorrow and see if he's still up and we'll know some thing's really going on.

Cloverfield Theory: "Slusho Is People?"

Brad at 1-18-08 News claims a reliable source deep within the JJ Abrams 'Cloverfield' project has sent him news on the movie that details what the monster is and where it is from.

Brad also posted some new posters he claims are from the movie (more here) that show a buried hand of a statue and a shadow of the monster over the city. I'm not gonna lie to you and say I believe these posters to be real. Just looking at the first one with the hand I can see 1/2 dozen inconsistencies.

I'm not sure what statue that hand is supposed to be of but it doesn't match Lady Liberty. Her left hand looks like this (notice no thumb) and the right hand, which the poster shows, in reality is nowhere near a match for this pose. Although I do not live in New York City (been there- great town!) I'm also not aware of any other large green statue.

Also, the city skyline is messed up. You can see where they took the image from the 'Cloverfield' poster and put it in front of another NYC skyline. They even left the helicopters in! Heck, the shadows don't even match.

I'll let you have fun with the other 2 posters. Now, watch his video he put up today about a secret source from the set of the 'Cloverfield' movie and the clues he's been given.



What is Cloverfield theories

He states he has found the complete answer to the clues of 'Cloverfield' but still uses the posters as part of the basis for this theory. Well, I enjoy Brad's site because he's having fun, like me, trying to work this mystery so I won't bust his balls on the poster thing. While I don't agree with his theories all the time he does a good job investigating the 'Cloverfield' movie.

Picture of the Cloverfield Monster from the trailer?


My quick analysis is as follows:

  1. The posters are fake

  2. I don't see a face in the fireball just like there's no face on Mars

  3. The monster is an alien goes against the 'Monster' movie theme and enters too much into Sci-Fi. I firmly believe the monster will be of Earth origins.

  4. Slusho and its deep sea ingredient is the key to the monster. Probably made from a food the monster needs or from the monster itself. Either way, harvesting the Slusho ingredient has pissed off the sea monster.

  5. I like that consuming the Slusho makes the person a marked person to the monster.

  6. The fireball from the Statue of Liberty is the monster rising through the bedrock and breaking gas lines and such makes sense. A fire breathing dragon/monster is a little too 'Godzilla' for my likes.





8/1/07

Say Cheese ! 'Cloverfield' Being Shot Right Now in NYC


There's really too much here to post individually so I'll just take the easy road and lump all the 'set' pics and vids together. In NYC there is a movie set of the 'Cloverfield' movie that's under the working title 'Cheese.'

Seems like NYC is home to some shooting for 'Cloverfield' which includes wrecking vehicles and streets lined with destruction. Here is one of 3 videos from some dude who just walked on the set with a camcorder. I won't post all his videos for the sake of my sanity so you can catch all his vids at his YouTube Profile (located here)




Next up is another set of videos from the set, mostly taken at night. These are short and to the point but give you a good idea of the movie set. Once again, you can view the entire set of videos at Dave's YouTube profile (located here)




NYC Shoot of 'Cloverfield'



NYC set of 'Cloverfield'



Movin' on. What's vids without some pics. There's a nice set of production pics taken by Dave ( I can only assume the same one as above) with some fantastic set pics that not only show the destruction but also the name of the movie shoot, which is being called 'Cheese.' Check out his Photobucket album (located here) for the entire set.
Click on the "OLDER POSTS" above to start up the Cloverfield archives and see how it all began.

What is Cloverfield?

Welcome to 1-18-08 Project Cloverfield Blog.

Cloverfield is the J.J. Abrams (Lost, Alias) produced monster flick directed by Matt Reeves. Get caught up on all the Cloverfield news including the viral world of Tagruato, TIDOwave, and Slusho!? And now Aladygma?

However, I love viral campaigns. Cloverfield taught me the fun of being involved with the viral world of movies and TV. That's why I'd like to branch out this site to cover some of the major viral campaigns as they are developing. Feel free to drop me a line or tip on any you find interesting.

Welcome to Cloverfield

Very few facts emerged from the viral campaign that was Cloverfield. It all started after a short, teaser trailer for Cloverfield appeared with the Transformers movie in early July of 2007. Since then, speculation surrounded what the title of the movie would be (Monstrous, Overnight, etc...) and what the monster really is and why it is tearing up New York City.

A few pictures and covert videos from the film showed up online and there were only a few core facts we knew of including the poster, the teaser trailer, and a few websites at 1-18-08, Tagruato Corp, and Slusho .

In November, the official full-length Cloverfield trailer was released that helped open up the story as well as cement the "Cloverfield" name for the movie. A short glimpse of the Cloverfield Monster was seen but for most people they still had little or no clue as to what it was.

The movie centered around five young New Yorkers throwing their friend a going-away party the night that a monster the size of a skyscraper descends upon the city. Told from the point of view of their video camera, the film is a document of their attempt to survive the most surreal, horrifying event of their lives. Cloverfield opened the weekend of 1-18-08 and set box office records for a movie in January with a monster take of over $40M. Continue to check back here for updates on the mystery and viral campaigns of Cloverfield.

Contact Me

Dave and Thomas

Contact me

Get Started with the Cloverfield Viral Marketing

If you're new to the Cloverfield viral world than let's get started. First off, for the beginners let's look at what we're talking about.

What does viral marketing mean? Click here.

1-18-08.com Updates with pictures randomly. Each picture is layered onto of the previous update and all can be dragged and moved around the screen. Click and hold the mouse to 'grab' an image and move it around. While holding the image, shake it back and forth quickly and it will flip over. Some images have writing on the back.

Slusho This is the Japanese frozen drink made from a secret ingredient gathered from the bottom of the ocean. Slusho gives you a kick and makes you extremely happy. Prior to 1-18-08 Slusho was not sold in the US. However, recent FDA approval gave Slusho clearance to come to the states. Rob Hawkins, the lead character, was recently promoted to vice-president of Slusho and was on his way to Japan the night of the attack. Slusho is owned by the Tagruato Corp. of Japan. Slusho also first made an appearance on J.J. Abrams Alias during a scene where characters buy the drink at a store.

Tagruato This ficticious Japanese company is the parent company of Slusho as well as the Yoshida Medical Research, Bold Futura, and ParafFUN! Wax Distributors. Besides drilling the oceans for Slusho ingredients, Tagruato builds everything from space satellites to medical gear.

T.I.D.O wave An activist group set out to bring to light all the damage Tagruato has done to the envirnoment.

Jamie and Teddy A minor character from the movie, Jamie popped up on a 1-18-08.com picture and the MySpace profiles for the movies characters before getting famous for her "Jamie and Teddy" website. The site is comprised of video journals from Jamie. The site is password protected but can be accessed by the password "jllovesth"

What Is Slusho?

Slusho ! You Can't Drink 6

Cloverfield Poster

Poster Official Cloverfield Poster. The poster was officially released the week of the 2007 Comic-con in San Diego.

Project Cloverfield 1-18-08

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