1-18-08 Project Cloverfield - Warning! Spoilers

A running gag on the "Lost" approved forum called The Fuselage is that the island's monster is the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. Enjoy the "Cloverfield" version...

Cinema Blend takes a look at the "Cloverfield" phenomenon.

Chappy has made his video for the official entry into the Slusho Happy Commercial Contest of Joy! The entry period for the contest ends on Jan. 4th, and the winners will be picked within 2 weeks of that. Check out Chappy's blog for more info on his project.

A Very Slusho Xmas

Cloverfield Commercial #6 - Who Would You Go Back For?

So much for the viral campaign. "Cloverfield" is filling up YouTube with new TV spots. This one features music throughout the clip for the first time which may be our first real take on the "Cloverfield" soundtrack.

This latest "Cloverfield" TV spot shows us new footage from the movie. Previous commercials were mostly rehashed trailer clips with no new material. This latest ad shows more of the characters running for their lives including a scene where Rob is looking at a map in the subway trying to figure out where they will be killed.

Matt Reeves, the "Cloverfield" director, gets to be one of the lucky few to witness the creation of J.J. Abrams "Star Trek" movie. Reeves talks with MTV to discuss peaking in on the "Star Trek" dailies.

If it seems like MTV is getting a few more "Cloverfield" stories than most it's because Viacom owns both MTV and Paramount, who is distributing "Cloverfield."

• ‘Cloverfield’ Director Starry-Eyed Over ‘Trek’ Trailer, Footage >
  

If you are new to the "Cloverfield" you will eventually run into the terms like "viral ad campaign" and "ARG" in many articles and posts. The "Cloverfield" movie has kept active on the Internet thanks to a strong online presence using both of these methods.

One site I used to reference a lot for Cloverfield clues and finds were the forums at unfiction. This group researched clues and analyzed everything under the sun to help make some great discoveries. Now that "Cloverfield" has become more traditional media publicity (TV commercials, radio, magazines) and less viral the forums are less useful to the average bear but are still a great reference to fans wanting to know all about the movie or just get started.

A good news feed like Google can email me updates on "Cloverfield" when they occur which saves me a lot of time searching various sites and forums. However, there's no denying a lot of the early legwork in finding clues and websites for "Cloverfield" was done with sites like the unfiction forums.

What are Alternate Reality Games (ARG):

(from unfiction) A cross-media genre of interactive fiction using multiple delivery and communications media, including television, radio, newspapers, Internet, email, SMS, telephone, voicemail, and postal service. Gaming is typically comprised of a secret group of PuppetMasters who author, manipulate, and otherwise control the storyline, related scenarios, and puzzles and a public group of players, the collective detective that attempts to solve the puzzles and thereby win the furtherance of the story.

Viral marketing and ARG's can hurt and help movies, like "Cloverfield." Critics complain the viral and ARG information is just publicity marketers use to exploit fans. It's easy to lose interest if the movie becomes complicated. No one wants to have to study the night before to watch a movie.

• Alternate Reality Games: What Makes or Breaks Them? >
• Unfiction forums - ARG: Cloverfield (1-18-08) >
  

Yahoo! Movies has updated their "Cloverfield" trailers page with a clip from the movie. However, it looks like they just edited down the "widget" clip released a few weeks back. The Yahoo clip is really just the party scene we've already come to know from previous videos. It actually just looks like an extended preview of the teaser trailer. You can see for yourself here.

A side note that may mean very little to some of you but is related a tiny bit is that there is going to be a sequel to the great Korean film, "The Host." There is rumors that this movie will actually take place before the original so the audience may get to see more of how the "Host" grew up. If you haven't had a chance to see this movie yet than be sure to check it out. It'll be a good primer for when "Cloverfield" finally rolls out on 1-18-08.

Over the years Manhattan has been a focal point for cinematic destruction. Now, "Cloverfield" follows hot on the tail of Will Smith's "I Am Legend" in taking a bite out of the Big Apple. The New York Times takes a look at the resurgence of movies destroying New York City.

• The Irresistible Urge to Destroy New York on Screen >
  

A small update in the Jamie and Teddy world. The 6th video sees Jamie calling a phone number for Teddy's work at Tagruato.

Cloverfield is gearing up to be an international hit. The Russian Cloverfield trailers are embedded below for the extremely curious. I'm always curious about the marketing of films. Usually, studios will cut a slightly different International version of the trailers.

These Russian, Italian, and German Cloverfield trailers are simply dubbed over in the native language. Most of the French and Japanese Cloverfield trailers I have seen so far are the English versions with subtitles.



Cloverfield Russian Trailer #1 (teaser trailer)



Cloverfield Russian Trailer #2



Cloverfield German Teaser Trailer



Cloverfield French Teaser Trailer



Cloverfield Spanish Teaser Trailer



Cloverfield Italiano Teaser Trailer

The temporary international release dates for Cloverfield are:

The boys of Cloverfield have added a Cloverfield Movie Quiz to their movie clip. The quiz is now part of the movie widget. If it doesn't show when this post loads, just hit the play and it will pop up.

Two radio advertisements for Cloverfield, which are scheduled to air around the country starting on Monday, are located at /Film. Paramount is really pushing the phrase “The Mystery Will Be Revealed!”

• Cloverfield Radio Advertisements: “The Mystery Will Be Revealed!” >
  

The trailer sparked a blogging frenzy.

Now, The Times Christopher Goodwin takes a look at the "Cloverfield" mystery from the creator of "Lost" that's got everybody talking. In a media world in which whole movies are leaked onto the internet before they have been released in cinemas, could Paramount and J.J. Abrams have kept something this big this secret?

• Cloverfield - The first monster hit of 2008 >
  

"After seven months of fake Websites, viral videos, and alternate-reality games, Cloverfield's intrepid marketing team has finally purchased its very first TV spot. Problem is, at this point, we're not sure how much more excited we could possibly be for this movie. Most of the footage is just stuff we've already seen in the two trailers." (source)

The commercials in question can be found here.

So far I have found 3 Cloverfield TV Commercials. If you find more, feel free to shoot me a link. Otherwise, the 3 TV spots are pretty much in the teaser stages with no new video added. However, on the first one you get a real feel for the "Something has found us" spin. Also note that the voiceover for the trailers is being done by the same guy (or specifically someone like him) who does the ABC voiceovers, namely "Lost." I was waiting for him to say "Next week, on "Lost"...


Cloverfield Commercial #1



Cloverfield Commercial #2



Cloverfield Commercial #3

Grrr...Is this the Cloverfield Monster?
Everyone knows there will be a Cloverfield Monster. Nobody knows exactly what it is. The question is will we see it and how much of it will be visible?

My little informal poll (on the top right side of this site) was about the screen time of the Cloverfield Monster. 154 people voted (thanks!) and it was a good spread between the 4 choices. Looking at the breakdown, it looks like most people believed the Cloverfield Monster will be seen in small amounts.

Fan Artwork of Clvoerfield Monster

The only real clip of the Cloverfield Monster right now is this little video taken from the full-length trailer. You can clearly see a creature walking past the buildings. The Cloverfield Monster video also slows it down and backs up to show you what look like the legs as they are walking.


Cloverfield Monster Clip

Cloverfield Trailer

Add to My Profile | More Videos
Cloverfield Trailer

Cloverfield has added a MySpace profile to join in with the Facebook profile that launched the "widget" fiasco. On the MySpace profile, visitors can download desktops and a couple of pics as well as view the trailer and exclusive movie clip that's been making the rounds. Thanks to Trebory6 for sending me the link.

Facebook added the "widget" last week with a contest to see which website could "grab" the code the most. Everything was fine until some "ringers" popped up and worked their way to the top 5 in only a day. A lot of the people in the top 10 are professionals who, in my opinion, should be exempt from the contest since they get freebies, screenings, and other stuff free to promote on their sites. Essentially, their amatuer critics who are bought with swag.

However, there's less than a month 'till Cloverfield opens and there should be tons of viral stuff pop out. I'm excited to see some of the advertisements for the movie as we get closer to the release date of 1-18-08. I have a hunch you'll see some people out and about (New York City watch out!) near the opening night with posters, shirts, and other promo stuff handing them out.

• Cloverfield MySpace Profile >
• Cloverfield Facebook Profile >

New Cloverfield Video

Watch first 5 minutes of Cloverfield online
I'd just like to thank everyone for helping my sites get to #5 on the Cloverfield widget contest above. The way it works is there's a point for everyone that grabs the code from the Cloverfield video clip above and puts it on their website, myspace, facebook, or blog. So, keep them going and thanks a lot!

With a month left until the Cloverfield movie pops, the cast and crew of Cloverfield is in "free publicity" mode by running the circuit of interviews. Bit by bit we are learning more about the movie as the people behind the scenes come out of the shadows.

Here's a breakdown of the last few days of interviews. Producer Bryan Burk speaks with Sci Fi, actor Michael Stahl-David (Rob Hawkins) talks with MTV and IESB.net, and Part II of director Matt Reeves is on IGN.com.

• Brian Burk Producer Talks Cloverfield >
• 'Cloverfield' Star Speaks At Last, Shedding Light On Secret J.J. Abrams Flick >
• IESB Exclusive Interview: Michael Stahl-David, Star of Cloverfield! >
• IGN Exclusive: Cloverfield Director Speaks! Part Two >
  

Thanks to Ferry for the picture of the Dutch promo material released with the Transformers DVD. Ferry bought the DVD and found this Cloverfield promo inside for upcoming Paramount Pictures movies. Here is what Ferry wrote:
The "Parasite" title is back again. When I first stumbled upon the 1-18-08 mystery way back in July, the only thing written about the monster was that it was being called "The Parasite". It will be interesting to see what role that will play.

There are rumors of smaller monsters or lice-like creatures falling off the main monster as it dances around Mid-town. The parasitic nature of the monster could define what it is and how it acts. Thanks Ferry for the image and emails.

J.J. Abrams directing a movie right now that everyone's talking about and it isn't Cloverfield. The latest Star Trek flick is going on right now with Abrams behind the camera. It's the first big screen movie Abrams has directed since Mission Impossible 3.

Matt Reeves is the director of Cloverfield with Abrams and his Bad Robot Productions producing the monster movie. While Cloverfield looks to be a popular movie, there's no debating the excitement and fanfare surrounding the new Star Trek film.

That's why it's just good business to put the first teaser for Star Trek in front of Cloverfield when it opens 1-18-08.

• ‘Star Trek’ Trailer Boldly Goes To ‘Cloverfield’ Audiences >
  

I'd like to thank Dan from the U.K. for shooting these images of the Cloverfield advertisements at a nearby college this week. The Cloverfield posters aren't named and only have the "2008" text in the corner.

Hat tip to the boys at unFiction for finding the UK Cloverfield Site. The key to the site going online is that an official release date for the U.K. has been announced at 01/02/08. Before you might freak out and think the Brits will get the movie a few weeks early just remember their dating system is a little different than ours and that's really Feb 1, 2008.

• Cloverfield UK Offiical Movie Site >

Also of note from unFiction is this article in the upcoming Maxim magazine featuring a blurp about Cloverfield. The article is titled "Blair Witch 2.0" and the post creator was kind enough to type out the article text. (source)

"THE BLAIR WITCH 2.0
Lost mind-tripper J.J. Abrams talks about his big-screen beast.

The best thing about Transformers wasn't Megan Fox's washboard abs, but a preview that screened beforehand. The jumpy camcorder footage of a monster attacking Manhattan was far scarier than the 'bots--even though the monster was never shown. So began one of the sneakiest marketing campaigns since the Blair Witch started rustling around in the woods. (At press time the movie's official title was allegedly Cloverfield.) "The idea is to surprise people," says producer Abrams, no stranger to pulling fast ones over on crowds. "This is a monster movie, but you've definitely never seen it done this way." In other words, the entire movie, like the preview, is shot as if the characters were holding the camera themselves. "The scope is massive, but it's always very human--and more intense and scary because of that perspective." The real question: Can the flick live up to the insane Internet hype? Yes, says Abrams: "The creature is as shocking and unexpected as the preview." -- Robert Levine

EDIT: This is the issue of Maxim with Mischa Barton on the cover. I have a subscription, so I get it early. No idea when it'll be on stands. (probably a week)"

Clovefield Director Matt Reeves returns to an interview by IGN this time out. He discusses some of the same items as the "Shock" interview (see here) but adds a lot more new, juicy information. This is just part I of the interview with IGN. They advertise part II will be released soon with details of the film style and how the Statue of Liberties head got down to mid-town.

Reeves and J.J. Abrams were the driving force behind the Felicity series which helped Reeves get the job behind the camera for Cloverfield. However, Reeves couldn't help but wonder why a character director was asked to do an action flick.

• Part I Matt Reeves IGN Interview: Exclusive: Cloverfield Director Speaks!

Cloverfield director Matt Reeves takes on the movie site Shock Till You Drop in their exclusive interview with Reeves. Discussed are the similarities to the Blair Witch Project as well as a nice reference to the great flick "Rashomon."

Reeves talks about why they didn't drop the title during the first trailer:

• Entire Matt Reeves Interview: EXCL: Cloverfield Director Speaks! >
  

A nice little contest is being offered by the producers of Cloverfield that shows the first 5 minutes of the movie. Much of this clip flushes out the opening party scene from the Cloverfield trailer and we see a glimpse of the Cloverfield monster after it knocks the head off the Statue of Liberty.

Hat tip to the boys at unFiction for noticing that the official MPAA rating for Cloverfield has been added to the official movie website. The rating will be PG-13 for violence, terror, and disturbing images. There were rumors that Cloverfield might land an R-rating which would mean more violence and language.

• Cloverfield Official Movie Website >
  

Devin Faraci at Chud.com should have a nice, full inbox by the end of the evening. Seems he's got his panties in a bunch and has written a little article on the popular movie website about how the nerds at such forums as UnFiction are wasting their worthless time dissecting the Cloverfield movie.

Devin mentions Cloverfield Clues in the title but not in the article. I'mnot sure if he's targeting Dennis at Cloverfield Clues since it just happens to be that Dennis is a contributor to the popular UnFiction forum board.
Devin also goes on to say that "Slusho" has nothing to do with "Cloverfield" and that it really is just another project of producer J.J. Abrams. Another article at the usually trustworthy Slash Film states the story which Devin bases this theory on.

• IN CASE YOU DIDN'T THINK YOU WERE WASTING YOUR TIME WITH CLOVERFIELD CLUES BEFORE... >
  
• Slusho Unrelated to Cloverfield?! Possible JJ Abrams Side Project? >
• UnFiction Forums >
  

Network World reports with the addition of Paramount Pictures to the MSN Mobile ad community, we'll start seeing Cloverfield advertising on mobile devices. The report

Sources tell Shock Till You Drop that Cloverfield director Matt Reeves and the Bad Robot crew have cobbled together a lean 'n mean 90-minute tale for the Cloverfield's running time. Shorter run times also mean more showings in the theater and hopefully a nice and quick story.

• Cloverfield's Running Time, Slusho Commercial >
  

Thanks to everyone who voted on my little Cloverfield poll in the upper right column. It's nice to see that 196 people voted for the question : "Are you excited to see Cloverfield?"

Here's a quick breakdown:

79% - Yes. First in line on 1-18-08
8% - No. It will flop
9% - Wait to see what others say
6% - Wait for video

I'm actually surprised that more people didn't vote to "see what others would say". Sometimes having an underground or viral movement added to a movie can push away some who feel it's too complicated or too much trouble to catch up and follow along. Overwhelmingly, the majority is ready to jump in line the first day which goes to show, very unscientifically, that the viral marketing seems to be working.

So, I'll start up another one to see what the audience thinks about the monster. I had one earlier about "what" the Cloverfield Monster will be. How about what you all think about how much we'll see of the monster, if at all. I'm curious to see what you all think about that one...

Jamie and Teddy video #5 deals with the package Jamie was supposed to receive on Dec. 9th. The UPS man delivers the package which Jamie opens. Included in the items is a "Slusho" hat.


I believe Dennis as Cloverfield Clues dropped the above video onto YouTube. He's also typed out the transcript of the audio tape Jamie plays:

• Cloverfield Wrap Party Gifts >
  

Win big with Slusho if you can help them in the Happy Commercial Contest. Slusho is giving away prizes for those that create a 30 second commercial to help share the happiness of Slusho. Hit the link in the player for contest details.

You don't need to drink Slusho to talk to a stuffed Moose, but it helps. A new Slusho commercial, the official drink of Cloverfield, is online and the trippy video makes little sense. The tag line "You can't drink just 6" at this stage has not been decoded. However, in the end it probably won't be explained too much. J.J. Abrams has a knack for leaving details like this hanging.

I was hoping someone would get this picture online. During the NBC show "30 Rock," which airs on Thursday, one of the interns draws a picture of a monster attacking the city. Although nothing was said to directly connect it to the Cloverfield Monster, I immediately thought of another Cloverfield tie-in like when Slusho was on Heroes. I may need a vacation from this movie but at least I know now I'm not the only one that thought this.

Kenneth, the country boy holding the drawing from his dream journal, claims all of his dreams have come true so far...

• Cloverfield Monster Spotted on 30 Rock? >
  
• Slusho Meets Heroes >
  

Usually I don't post fan films but I was struck by this video from a performance artist named Norman from New York City. He left me a link to the video in the comments and I must say I enjoyed the video.

Norman has created a story he feels is similar to the Cloverfield Movie and takes 6 of his reasons to back up his thesis. Essentially, he believes a story he is working on based on the island of Manhattan "being alive" is similar to the Cloverfield story.

He even takes the Caisson's disease and incorporates it into the story. That's a nice, unique touch. Caisson's disease is a decompression sickness (think the "bends") that occurs in areas where one goes from a compressed environment rapidly to a decompressed area. Gases in our blood don't like that and it can be fatal.

Caisson's disease gained a lot of attention when workers mysteriously died while working on the Brooklyn Bridge in the 1870's. Norman has made a really nice and stylish video with some cool editing and music to back up his story. It's definitely worth a view.

Personally, I believe the monster will be some giant, ugly monster who goes ape-shit on the city. However, the fun part of running this blog is finding the ideas of others.

Could the hackers of the Tagruato Corp. website be a mysterious activist group called T.I.D.O ?

The boys at unFiction have uncovered a new site that may be affiliated with the Cloverfield Movie. Tagruato is a business that makes Slusho, among other things. The T.I.D.O (Tagruato Is Destroying our Oceans) mocks the Tagruato Corp by claiming the large Japanese business is "Bleeding the oceans dry."

One post on the site boasts about a Tagruato Scientist who died.

• unFiction forums: [Question] Tidowave.com? >
• T.I.D.O Wave website >
  

Ain't It Cool News (AICN) has got word of a special New York screening of an unfinished Cloverfield. A few emails to the editors are posted below. Take it or leave it. AICN is a great site that is right more than they are wrong so be warned there might be some Cloverfield Spoilers included below.

Hey folks, Harry here - got the following brief review of CLOVERFIELD...

Just saw CLOVERFIELD in a small screening in NYC. IT WAS AWESOME!

I know - you want to know more. Join the fucking club! You also doubt the validity of the claim. Well, I checked with folks to see if it had indeed screened. It was at a Viacom in-house screening with unfinished visual fx.

Add to this - a quote that Moriarty heard one day whilst walking the picket lines from a famous type that had seen the film, but was not associated with it, that felt they had just made "STAR WARS". Now - personally - that's crazy Hyperbole... isn't it?

The film's budget is too small for it to be that amazing... right? But... what if? What if there's a payoff behind the mystery and the buzz. What if we're a month and a half away from a film that we'll all remember the promotion for - and remember when nobody knew what it was called... when the world was thinking H.P. Lovecraft and Voltron... and something called SLUSHO? What if, we're on magic time - getting ready for something... wonderful.... What if?

Here's two additional reviews we've received: -- The first of these two came from the alleged MARINE - the following reviewer wrote me back with a very detailed (regarding the screening, location, how he got in, etc... piece - but here's what he had to say about the review that I've removed...

hey harry

saw you put my review up, so i'm glad it didn't go to waste! that said, i wanted to let you know, that 2nd review, from the former marine or whatever, is 100% bogus. as incoherent as it is written, from what i was able to decipher, he definitely gets a lot of things wrong. most importantly, the protaganists are definitely not strangers, and the reason for the group moving in the direction they do once the attack is underway is explicitly stated by the leader of the group.

be well

and this:

hey harry

longtime reader, first time writer. i was at one of the Cloverfield screenings in NYC, and while the EFX and music weren't finished, i don't think the movie was that far off from being complete. anyway, i am a big Lost fan so JJ Abrams' involvement, coupled with the amazing viral marketing campaign they have used to promote the film, had me really fired up about seeing the film. just wanted to preface with that before sharing my thoughts, which i will keep as spoiler free as possible:

regarding the monster:
i don't know how much i want to give away b/c i think people are having a really good time hypothesizing about what the monster is, so let me just say that it's humongous, it's ugly, and you do see it in full view - no blair witch kind of thing going on here. SPOILER TAG i can also confirm the presence of smaller monsters (which look like the uglies from starship troopers kind of) / END SPOILER [put that in black on the website if you can]

regarding the story:
again, don't want to give much plot away, but there is a little of a backstory initially, but it doesn't take too long to get to the party scene from the trailer, and once the statue of liberty head comes rolling down laffeyette street [i think?], the movie is off and running, with NYC devolving into chaos as people avoid being caught in the path of whatever is destroying their city

regarding the movie itself:
the scares are of the "gotcha!" variety, but that is to be expected given the use of the handheld camera, which, by the way, is your POV the entire film, so those with easy motion sickness be forewarned. there are some pretty funny one liners delivered by our cameraman to offset some of the tension with levity. there are certain plot devices which require a large suspension of disbelief (esp in regards to cell phone usage), but then again, if i'm going to buy in to the fact that a giant monster is ransacking my hometown, who am i to draw any line?

overall i thought it was solid, definitely not great, and certainly not a genre redefinition. then again, my expectations were very high going in, so i might not be the best person to ask. my major critiques were:

1) it was somewhat predictable, and, as i stated before, the scares in the movie are less of the "creeping dread" variety and more of the "gotcha!" type.

2) again, i don't want to end the hypothesizing fun, but the monster isn't given much of a backstory or explanation. it just starts tearing NYC a new one one night.

that's all i got. no need to credit me on this one, just wanted to get a review out there that doesn't have everyone shouting PLANT!!1!"
(original AICN article)