12/31/07

It Was Bound To Happen. Cloverfield Monster Revealed

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...
12/30/07

Rant: Expect No Answers From Cloverfield

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

"We’re getting increasingly closer to that 01-18-08 release date that had everyone captivated a few months ago. Finally we’ll get to see what all the hype has been about as Cloverfield hits theaters. As you might expect, the movie’s commercials have continued to shroud much of the film in secrecy. Fans who were critical of Michael Bay unveiling the Transformers crew prior to the film’s release, after such a build up of anticipation, are the same people who are seeing every new commercial and whining that there’s no sign of the monster. Well, I’ve got news for you: get used to it.

Let me be frank: I don’t expect Cloverfield to deliver much in the way of a traditional “monster” movie, regardless of how much producer J.J. Abrams and writer/director Matt Reeves say their intent was to create that. And that’s what they’ve said: America lacked a true “monster movie” so they created one. ”We need our own Godzilla,” Abrams told MTV in July. But let’s look at what we know about the movie, and you’ll see an American Godzilla isnt’ what we’re getting.

First of all, take a look at the film’s premise, as promised by the studio: Five young New Yorkers throw their friend a going-away party the night that a monster the size of a skyscraper decends 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.” That’s the text that appears on the “about the movie” description over at CloverfieldMovie.com, the official site for the film. Now, let’s break that down. (...continue)"
12/29/07

A Very Slusho Xmas

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?


Cloverfield Commercial #6 - Who Would You Go Back For?
12/28/07

More "Cloverfield" TV Ads

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.

New Cloverfield Commercial, New Footage

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.

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

star trek jj abramsMatt 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."
12/27/07

Alternate Reality Games: What Makes or Breaks Them?

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 (ARGs) have become an incredibly powerful viral marketing and audience engagement tool over the last couple of years. However, the elements of a successful ARG remain a mystery to most people. Some of the most successful ARGs that I have participated in over the past few years were the I love bees campaign for Halo 2, the Iris campaign for Halo 3, the political dystopia campaign, for NIN's Year Zero, and most recently the Harvey Dent political campaign for the upcoming The Dark Knight movie."
12/26/07

Yahoo Cloverfield Clip - On The Roof

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.

The Irresistible Urge to Destroy New York on Screen

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.

Jamie and Teddy Video 6

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

12/23/07

Cloverfield Around The World Trailers

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:

Australia 17 January 2008
New Zealand 17 January 2008
Russia 17 January 2008
Singapore 18 January 2008
USA 18 January 2008
Netherlands 24 January 2008
Portugal 24 January 2008
South Korea 24 January 2008
Estonia 25 January 2008
Iceland 25 January 2008
Argentina 31 January 2008
Germany 31 January 2008
Bulgaria 1 February 2008
Denmark 1 February 2008
Italy 1 February 2008
Mexico 1 February 2008
Spain 1 February 2008
UK 1 February 2008
Belgium 6 February 2008
France 6 February 2008
Brazil 8 February 2008
Norway 8 February 2008
Sweden 8 February 2008
Hungary 14 February 2008
Finland 29 February 2008
Turkey 21 March 2008

Cloverfield Movie Quiz


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.
12/22/07

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

cloverfield monsterTwo 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 - The first monster hit of 2008

cloverfield monsterCould this press promotion graphic depict the Cloverfield Monster?

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?
12/21/07

Cloverfield Marketing

Movie producers search for new advertising methods to draw the audience into the theater. The viral method can work in the right setting. Studios can also bypass YouTube to put their own exclusive clips online. The recent Cloverfield clip is an example of easy advertising. But creating a demand and allowing video clips to be controlled the Cloverfield movie is being promoted for free on the Internet.

‘Cloverfield’ Finally Succumbs to Traditional Marketing

Could this be the Cloverfield Monster?


NY Mag takes a quick look at the non-viral advertising for Cloverfield.


"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.
12/20/07

CHUD - The Cloverfield Interview. Wait,...maybe not

I'm sure this is not an apology, but it sounds like Devin at the CHUD website might be thinking his decisions on how he's handled the Cloverfield movie. After leaking the trailer info out on the web, Devin got his panties in a bunch and blasted the Cloverfield fans on the Internet calling them "dumb bastards," "sad," and I'm pretty sure "losers" was in there somewhere. (see Cloverfield Clues and UnFiction Losers Are Wasting Their Time - Slusho Unrelated )

Well, not too many of these fans are upset at being called a nerd by a guy who works for a horror movie website named after a B movie from the early eighties. Someone who did notice, however, is Bad Robot who has yet to provide and interview or clip to CHUD. Devin noticed this, too. Check out the link below.

3 Cloverfield TV Commercials

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

Cloverfield Monster Screen Time

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 MySpace and Facebook

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.

12/19/07

New Cloverfield Video


New Cloverfield Video
12/17/07

Cloverfield Cast and Crew Talk...


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.
12/15/07

Feb 7th Release Date For "Cloverfield" In The Netherlands

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:
"...here is a picture of the card that came with the Transformers dvd. the card is written in Dutch, I translated it for you:

"This project of J.J. Abrams (Lost and MI:3) is kept secret until the trailer in America at the premiere of Transformers was shown. It is so secret that the title of the movie is yet to be announced. The movie is about a gigantic monster called, ' The Parasite'. The movie is special because a big part of the movie is recorded with home video camera's, like if you were the people that are in the attack."

The movie is going to be released on the 7th of february in the Netherlands.
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.

‘Star Trek’ Trailer Arrives With ‘Cloverfield’

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.
12/14/07

The Official UK Cloverfield Site Online, Maxim's "Blair Witch 2.0"

uk cloverfield posterCloverfield advertisement in the U.K.

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.
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)"

Cloverfield Director Matt Reeves IGN Interview

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.
"The big thing for J.J. and for Bryan was that my concerns primarily -- and everything that I've done so far and everything that I'm interested in and the movie that I was going to make with J.J. that I wrote -- it's been all character-based. I'm very interested in naturalism and realism and we tried to have that kind of tone between the characters on Felicity. They were like, 'Look, there's no question, we know you love movies and you can get the monster part. And there's a million people who you would think of for the monster part, but we're interested in what you would do in terms of the tone. In how you would do that and what you would do with the characters.'"
Then, there's the question of the Cloverfield title and the rumored name changes. Reeves goes into detail why they stuck with Cloverfield and why they were forced to use alternative names like Slusho and Cheese.
"There were various titles along the way, but the first title and the end title has always been Cloverfield," explains Reeves. "When I read the outline it was Cloverfield. And 'Cloverfield' is the case designate. And when the first draft of the script came out it was Cloverfield. It's always been Cloverfield. And then we started changing the name over the course of making the movie because the irony was that when we first started no one knew anything about the movie and there was no danger in people finding out where we were and stuff. But then there was such excitement, and we were just in the early stages of shooting when the trailer came out, and that excitement spread to such a degree that we suddenly couldn't use the name anymore. So we started using all these names like Slusho and Cheese. And people always found out what we were doing!"

Blair Witch 2.0 - Matt Reeves Interview, It's Not a LION!!

Finally! Someone debunks the" Voltron/Lion is the Cloverfield Monster" myth.

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:
"The fun thing about doing the teaser trailer was that it was a throwback to a time when we would see a trailer for a film like "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." You were sitting there seeing a trailer for a movie that was completely mysterious. There's so much media saturation now we felt we'd shoot a quick teaser and throw something out there.

Throw it out to the people so they can have a sense of discovery again. Then Paramount said, 'What if we don't even put the title out there so people can speculate?' We wondered if the MPAA would go with it, they didn't even know how to respond at first. They were like, 'That's never happened before.'
After the teaser trailer came out a ton of people swore they heard one of the crowd members claim the destruction was from a lion. Immediately Voltron was imagined as the source of the terror by many. Reeves chuckles as how the Internet has taken that part of the trailer out of context and ran the wrong way with it:
"At the last minute, when we were shooting the trailer, we wanted people to know - 'cause we hadn't created the monster yet - that it was a giant monster movie, we wanted a tease of that. I jumped to the microphone and said the line, "I saw it! It's alive! It's huge!" And one of the most amusing things is I had come home and someone on the web had taken that section and started to do an analysis on it and thought I said, "It was a lion." The way I speak was too fast sometimes and they couldn't make it out."
12/13/07

Cloverfield - Watch The First 5 Minutes


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.
12/11/07

Cloverfield Will Be Rated PG-13

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.
12/10/07

Cloverfield Clues and UnFiction Losers Are Wasting Their Time - Slusho Unrelated

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.
"...I (Devin) got a lot of attention from the people playing the 'Alternate Reality Game' for Cloverfield - ie, the poor dumb bastards spending more time going through clues in the viral marketing than the viral marketers spent working on it. There were some particularly great threads on a site called unfiction where the dipshits who have defined their sad reality through this 'game' spent pages dissecting me and my trailer description. Of course it turns out I was right and these people still have Cheeto dust on their lips."
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.

Cloverfield and Microsoft Bringing Ads To Mobile Devices

cloverfieldNetwork 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
"Microsoft Corp. has started placing advertisements on the U.S. version of MSN Mobile, a Web portal for cell phone browsers that connects users with Hotmail, instant messaging, search, news and other content.

Viacom Inc.'s Paramount Pictures, Ford Motor Co.'s Jaguar car brand and Bank of America Corp. will be among the first to peddle their brands to U.S. mobile customers, starting Monday" (source)

Cloverfield's Running Time

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.

Are You Excited To See Cloverfield?

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 and Slusho Wrap Party Swag

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:
Jamie, listen to me, alright this is not a joke. If you're hearing this before we've spoken, then it means that I've been captured by the company called Tagruato. Ok, TAG-RU-ATO. Now listen. You, this is important. Don't call the authorities. It'll screw everything up. Just sit tight and wait to hear from Randy. He knows to call you. We're on their station ok, and it's like they've found something, or they're making something, but the point is, I can't, I'm not going to be calling you again. You're not gonna hear from me again. I just want you to wait for Randy.. he will explain [Jamie stops tape]
On his site he's also has a post about items found on eBay from the wrap party of Cloverfield. This is just some of the swag handed out at that party.

cloverfield slusho
12/6/07

Slusho! Happy Commercial Contest

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.

Cloverfield - Slusho Commerical

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.
12/3/07

Cloverfield Humor

30 rock cloverfield monsterI 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 Opera

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.

12/2/07

New Cloverfield Website? T.I.D.O -Tidowave

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.
Death of Tagruato Biologist!

Many thanks to our friend in the field who passed the original article on to us. It’s translated below:
YOSHIDA MEDICAL RESEARCH MOURNS THE LOSS OF MARINE BIOLOGIST
Tagruato suffered a large loss yesterday when Kazui Ichigawa, 63, and his family were found dead early in the morning.
His body, along with the bodies of his wife, Rie
T.I.D.O.'s mission statement:
The T.I.D.O. Wave is the latest initiative from Les Guerriers de Mère-Terre, a nonprofit, grassroots, environmental activist organization dedicated to saving our planet from the world's most nefarious corporations. The Wave is our most ambitious mission to date, taking on one of the most despicable foes Mother Earth has ever come up against -- Japan based Tagruato. By informing good people like you of the evil deeds being waged by this reprehensible conglomerate, we hope to gain your support in our efforts to take them down.

Tagruato is primarily concerned with "deep sea petroleum excavation," or as we call it, bleeding Mother Earth dry. In their heedless efforts to join the ranks of fellow Earth Blood vampires, Tagruato has treated our planet like its own personal cesspool. They have operated with utter disregard for our ocean's fragile ecosystems. They violate areas that have never before been molested by man's poisonous touch, destroying precious bionetworks that have flourished for millions of years without our interference. They have already wreaked irrecoverable damage with their contemptuous drilling. And they are only growing bigger and bolder, foregoing any restraint and sanction in exchange for the relentless pursuit of the almighty buck. They must be stopped! The future of our planet may very well depend on it.

By nature, Les Guerriers de Mère-Terre are not a violent or destructive assemblage. We believe that every problem has a peaceful solution, and will do all that we can to avoid bloodshed. However, evil forces such as Tagruato often refuse to adhere to diplomacy. When they snap our olive branch over their greedy knee, we must use it to stab them in the heart.

Make no mistake -- Mother Earth is at war. Her adversary is Mankind. It is a vicious foe, ruthless, pitiless, and presided over by fools. That is why She needs us. We will fight at Her side till the day She takes us Elsewhere.


12/1/07

CLOVERFIELD has been seen! First Reviews

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)
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

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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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