5/30/08

J.J. Abrams Takes Us to the Fringe

J.J. Abrams Fringe joshua jackson

IGN took time to site down and have a great interview with J.J. Abrams about the upcoming Fox TV show "Fringe." We get from Abrams what to expect from the mysterious new show and the influences that help to bring it to the screen.
We recently caught up with the busy J.J. Abrams to talk about his new television series Fringe, which he co-created with his frequent collaborators Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci (Alias, Mission Impossible III and the upcoming Star Trek).

Fringe centers on three characters – FBI agent Olivia Dunham (newcomer Anna Torv), scientist Dr. Walter Bishop (Lord of the Rings' John Noble) and Bishop's son Peter (Dawson's Creek's Joshua Jackson), as they investigate some very strange occurrences.

Abrams, who of course co-created Lost, is an executive producer on Fringe, and during our conversation we talked about what his ongoing involvement will be with the new series, the inevitable comparisons Fringe already is getting to The X-Files, and how he came to cast Torv – the latest in Abrams' successful run of casting then-unknowns as the female leads on his series, which has previously included Keri Russell (Felicity), Jennifer Garner (Alias) and Evangeline Lilly (Lost)

Question: How did Fringe come about? What was the inspiration for it?

J.J. Abrams: It was really just Alex Kurtzman, Bob Orci and myself just hanging out and talking about the kind of show we'd love to see on the air. For better or worse, like most of the things I do, it just comes from stuff that I'd love to watch. It's sort of a boring answer, but that's kind of what the truth is!

Question: What will we see on the show on a weekly basis? What's the core of the show?

Abrams: At the core of the show are three very distinct characters – this young woman, who's an FBI agent; this really eccentric, nutty and until recently institutionalized scientist; and his somewhat troubled and estranged son. [It's] this trio going up against this very shadowy network of [what are] essentially researchers, who are playing with science and pushing it in ways that are increasingly terrifying. And these three are basically the good guys who try to police them.
(...continue J.J. Abrams "Fringe" interview)

LOST Season 4 Finale-Alternate Endings

lost-evangeline-lily-kate
If you missed the season finale of Lost last night or are planning to watch it soon please don't watch these alternative endings. There were 3 versions shot for the final episode but after viewing the 2 that didn't air it seems like only one (last night's) fits.

Normally I would just stick up the video (watch here) but since the preview shows details that would spoil I'll just safely link to the video instead. The finale ends a strike-shortened season with some rather fun results. A few mysteries were wrapped up but for the most part we're facing a few more years of trying to find out the real answers.
5/28/08

Lost Finale Sneak Peak



The Lost season finale is coming up this week and we've got a sneak peak at the special 2-hour episode with this exclusive Lost video. To help get off the island the gang will need the help of the world's most renown archaeologist.

A Few New Updates On The Dark Knight

Hey ya'll, Charlie here. I have a few new updates that I have come across on The Dark Knight.

First, the trailer for The Dark Knight has won "Trailer of the Year" at The Golden Trailer Awards. The award was chosen through voting on the USA Today website. "Trailer of the Year" is a new category in the nine year old award show. The Dark knight was one of thirteen candidates that were announced on May 8th.

Next, a few new Dark Knight international banners have been released. They were exclusive to http://www.omelete.com.br/, hence "Omelete exclusivo" on the banners.


That's all for now!
5/27/08

Lost Season Finale

Be sure to check your DVRs for the Season Finale of "Lost" this Thursday. The 2-hour special features the final 2 episodes of this strike-shortened season and begins at 9 PM. Here's a couple of teasers to get you ready.




5/25/08

Official 'The Dark Knight’ Website Online

The Dark Knight website, a non-viral version, looks to have officially gone online full-time this weekend. We have about 2 months until the Batman/Joker battle hits the big screen. The official Batman website should get your fix of trailers and poster downloads until the next batch of virals go online.
5/24/08

J.J. Abrams Fringe Trailers

J.J. Abrams has something against planes. In these new trailers for his new show on Fox called "Fringe" we once again see a large jetliner like in "Lost" where mysterious circumstances occur. These new clips of "Fringe" shed some light on the "X-files-ish" new show coming this fall.



Trailer for J.J. Abrams' new show "The Fringe"



Fringe Trailer #2


Also on tap is the new Joss Wheadon (Firefly) Fox show called "Dollhouse." DOLLHOUSE focuses on a secret organization that employs "Actives" -- a group of operatives who have their memories and personalities wiped clean so they can be imprinted with new ones, allowing them to take on various missions for hire.



5/20/08

Hellboy II's "The Secret Device" ARG

Charlie here. Seems everything has an ARG nowadays. The upcoming movie Hellboy II: The Golden Army has one called "The Secret Device". This ARG has been going on for a while now, so a lot of you probably already know about it. There is a lot to cover, so I'm going to leave that up to the guy's at http://www.cracktsd.com/ to help you. They have a beginer's guide there to help you. This ARG seems to revolve around finding "codes" for "the secret device".

Good luck with the hunt!
5/18/08

Hong Kong Dark Knight Poster

dark knight-batman-hong-kong-poster-china
Kung Fu Rodeo has discovered the Hong Kong version of the Dark Knight Poster.

Cloverfield DVD Sales Numbers

Cloverfield Special Edition DVD Packaging

The Numbers, a sales tracking site, has pegged the Cloverfield DVD with sales of 1.3 Million units since the release on April 22nd. The Will Smith movie I Am Legend leads this years numbers with over 5.4 Million units sold. But to prove their is no accounting for taste Alvin and the Chipmunks is in second place with almost 5 Million units sold.

5/16/08

J.J. Abrams "Fringe" Video and Photos

J.J. Abrams Fringe joshua jackson L-R: Lance Reddick, John Noble, Blair Brown, Kirk Acevedo, Anna Torv,
Mark Valley, Joshua Jackson and Jasika Nicole in J.J. Abrams "Fringe"
(source)

Movieweb.com is on fire with some footage and production stills from the upcoming J.J. Abrams TV show "Fringe." The show, due to air this fall on Fox, begins when an unlikely trio uncovers a deadly mystery that involves a series of unbelievable events, they discover it may be part of a larger, more disturbing pattern that blurs the line between science fiction and technology on the FRINGE.



Fringe Preview Clip



Fringe Preview Clip #2



J.J. Abrams Fringe joshua jackson L-R: Joshua Jackson, Anna Torv and John Noble in J.J. Abrams "Fringe"

J.J. Abrams Fringe joshua jackson Joshua Jackson and Anna Torv in J.J. Abrams "Fringe"

J.J. Abrams Fringe joshua jackson Joshua Jackson in J.J. Abrams "Fringe"

J.J. Abrams Fringe joshua jackson Mark Valley and Anna Torv in "Fringe"

J.J. Abrams Fringe joshua jackson John Noble and Joshua Jackson in J.J. Abrams "Fringe"

New Dark Knight Poster


Charlie here. I was browsing around slashfilm.com when I found the above poster for The Dark Knight. I agree with /film when they say that it fits nicely with the "Welcome to a world without rules" posters. Enjoy!

Also, the 3rd TV spot has arrived.


5/15/08

Cloverfield Viral Success: Clearspring Technologies enters 'Web widgets' partnership with 360i

Fans of the Cloverfield viral marketing will remember the video "widget" contest that appeared a month before the movie released on 1-18-08. The widget showed a few minutes of the movie and there was a contest to see who distribute the code of the widget the most. The winners got Cloverfield prize packs like this.

The success of the Cloverfield widget is great news for future virals and the companies behind the technology (currently seen with the Hancock widget) is Clearspring Technology who just entered a nice partnership with 360i to enhance the widgets even more.



Last year, Paramount Pictures gave Clearspring a chance to test the studio's media marketing tactics using video widgets. The test proved successful: With "Cloverfield" previews shared across thousands of virtual theater sites, the movie opened at No. 1. Clearspring also produced a daily fortune cookie widget for DreamWorks' upcoming "Kung Fu Panda."



Kung Fu Panda widget

Cloverfield Australia

Charlie here again. While surfing around I heard that in honor of Cloverfield's May 22nd release in Australia, some new videos to promote it were released. Well, I was pointed to IGN's website, where I found these:
http://media.dvd.ign.com/articles/873/873598/vids_1.html
Basically, they are videos of Cloverfield attacking Sydney, with several "buy the cloverfield DVD" subliminal messages. You can watch and download all six videos from the IGN website. Enjoy!

Heath Ledger action figures are flying off shelves

Photo from New York Post


Hey ya'll, Charlie here. See that action figure above? That action figure is Mattel's Joker action figure from The Dark Knight. I would highly suggest you get one, but good luck finding one first. Why? Because rumor has it that Mattel will reissue a redesigned action figure. Again, why? Directly from Wired's Blog:


Ledger's death -- and his remarkably creepy look and performance -- is causing trouble for toy licensee Mattel. Depending on what report you read, The Joker action figure for the Dark Knight is either too scary for kids or too close to Ledger's real likeness to be respectful to his memory.


This has made the action figure a collector's item. It has been flying off shelves like someone is giving away free money. According to another source, the action figure sold out at the Toys R' Us in Times Square in minutes! It has been selling for over $50 on ebay.


Just another interesting tidbit from the Dark Knight world.
5/14/08

Fringe News: the Script from 'Fringe' and 'Dollhouse'


J.J. Abrams has finally let us know a little more about his upcoming TV project, "Fringe." The show will air on Fox and has a Pilot budget similar to "Lost" and story-wise is being compared to "The X-Files."

Sounds interesting already. Dark Knight Guru Charlie was digging around for some Batman news when he found this excellent script review of J.J. Abrams "Fringe."

We know that Joshua Jackson is one of the names set to star in the show which is shooting in Toronto, Canada. Now we know more of the story with the script of the pilot being let out for some critics to look over. One who writes for Zap2it sums "Fringe" up as " an X-Files meets Altered States meets Alias vibe that's immediately familiar and comfortable."

Altered States, for you younger folk, is a 1980 William Hurt flick about a research scientist who believes in different states of consciousness and he uses a sensory deprivation tank and hallucinogenic drugs to find the ultimate truth. But soon his mind-altering experiments get out of control.

Here's the rest of the article that deals with "Fringe":

Fringe Written by J.J. Abrams, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman
What It's About:
When something disturbing, unexplainable and just a bit icky happens to the passengers on an international flight, FBI Agent Olivia Warren (Torv) begins an investigation that leads her to Dr. Walter Bishop (Noble), a renegade scientist whose unorthodox experiments into fringe phenomena led to arrests and eventually institutionalization. Warren can only get Bishop out with the help of his estranged son Peter (Jackson), a young man with a genius IQ, but questionable morals and motivation. The son isn't ready to reconcile with his father, the father isn't ready to be reintegrated into the outside world and Olivia isn't ready to serve as babysitter, but they form an unlikely team. How does the airplane tragedy relate to The Pattern, a spate of unexplained occurrences sweeping the world? And what does any of this have to do with the mysterious Prometheus Corporation, one of the world's most forward-thinking companies? And what do we make of Broyles (Reddick), the head of the Homeland Security's newly formed Fringe Division?

How It Reads: The script I read feels like an early draft. It's rife with typos and comes in at more than 110 pages, far longer than any two-hour pilot could handle. Once 20 pages of the script are trimmed, I'm assuming the pilot will play far better. The script has an X-Files meets Altered States meets Alias vibe that's immediately familiar and comfortable. The actual plot of the pilot could probably have fit into a standard hour, but Abrams and Company are making the effort to give the material a global scale and the script plants at least a half-dozen potential running mysteries that will allow Fringe to have both serialized elements and also freak-of-the-week plots. The set-up of these three individuals against a vast corporate/government conspiracy has been fruitful for Abrams in the past and there's no reason to believe that it won't work here. While Abrams has always been able to write carefully delineated female characters, Olivia is initially the weakest link in the show's core trio, another strong, career-minded female whose personal life threatens to undermine her professional prospects. The inevitability of a strained will-they/won't-they romance between Olivia and Peter already has me rooting for an expanded role for Astrid, the FBI underling to be played by Jasika Nicole.

How It Might Play: For FOX, the best thing about Fringe -- other than getting into the J.J. Abrams business, of course -- is that the series has the potential to partner with almost any established show on its schedule, depending on how they spin it. It's the story of two bickering partners solving crimes and flirting? Team it with Bones. It's the story of a brilliant and eccentric man with limited social skills? Let's match it with House. It's about a strong, single woman doing whatever she has to do to save the world? Sounds like a match with Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. While I can't speak for Torv, the other lead roles seem perfectly cast, though Fringe isn't going to be sold as a star-driven show. It's going to be sold as FOX's attempt to reclaim the X-Files demo that the network has jeopardized with the swift cancellation of too many shows from folks like Whedon and Tim Minear. The script lends itself to a large-scale pilot and it should leave viewers knowing exactly what to expect in the episodes to come, which is more than can be said for...
Be sure to check out the rest of the article to see the script review of another interesting show of the Joss Whedon series "Dollhouse."
5/12/08

"Hancock Was Here" Viral Falls Short


Sony Pictures looks like they were headed toward an interesting viral campaign with their upcoming Will Smith flick Hancock but have let up on the throttle in the last month. The "Hancock was Here" site is geared toward showing some clips of the disfunctional Super Hero doing his thing around the world. However, there has been little activity on the site with the last update happening over a month ago.

The main site for Hancock is more active. Sony is sponsoring the contest seen below in the widget for a lucky person to win a trip to the Hancock premiere. Grab the code and get points. Hmmm...that seems familiar.

2 New Batman TV Spots


The first TV Spot for The Dark Knight

Dark Knight guru Charlie found these 2 TV spots for the upcoming Batman sequel. In the second spot you'll notice the new deal the producers made with Lamborghini to highlight the Lamborghini Murcielago LP640. Lucky dogs!


The second TV Spot for The Dark Knight

The X-Files: I Want to Believe Trailer


Mulder and Scully are back with the X-Files: I Want To Believe movie due out this July. The resident Dark Knight guru Charlie found this sweet trailer while digging up some cool Batman spots. It's hard to believe that it's been 10 years since the first film came out.
5/11/08

Fox: It's a go for J.J. Abrams' "Fringe"

Variety reports that the next J.J. Abrams television venture, Fringe, is getting the official "go" from Fox TV. Nice. I wonder if they will encorporated some sort of viral site with the new series. I'd be sad if they didn't.
jj abrams fringeFox just made it official: It's a go for J.J. Abrams' "Fringe."

Two-hour pilot produced by Abrams' Bad Robot and Warner Bros. TV, stars Aussie thesp Anna Torv as a femme FBI agent who tackles cases involving spooky unexplained phenonena with the aid of an out-there scientist and his neer-do-well genius son. Yes, it does sound like "X-Files Redux" but because "Lost" is perhaps the Greatest Show Ever we'll give Team Abrams (whose fearless leader is pictured at left) the benefit of the doubt that they can put a fresh spin on the genre.
5/7/08

J.J. Abrams "Fringe" News

J.J. Abrams is returning to the small screen with the mysterious "Fringe" which is due to premiere on Fox this fall. The budget for "Fringe" is very high (Lost budget levels) but is getting good buzz from the heads at Fox.
J.J. Abrams "Fringe" looks like a lock after an enthusiastic response from the network's brass during the weekend. Fox already has given its blessing for staffing to begin on the Warner Bros. TV-produced sci-fi drama.
IGN.com talks a little more about "Fringe" and "Dollhouse" which is from Buffy and Firefly guru Joss Whedon.
Some might also fear not getting a fall launch indicates a lack of faith in the project at FOX, especially given Whedon's bad history at the network with Firefly. One thing to keep in mind though is that part of FOX's decision-making with Dollhouse is no doubt affected by the fact that it's a bit behind other series like Fringe. Fringe had a completed pilot script before the writers' strike and a pilot was produced earlier this year. On the other hand, Whedon had not yet begun writing Dollhouse when the strike began. He had to quickly do so when the strike finished and the pilot for the show is currently in production.

J.J. Abrams Talks Cloverfield with Rolling Stone


The inhouse Batman viral guru, Charlie, was cruising around town in his homemade Batmobile and while at a red light he was flipping through his issue of Rolling Stone and noticed this little blurp about J.J. Abrams.

Charlie and I agree that this may be the first time that anyone from the Cloverfield camp has officially claimed the Cloverfield Monster fate at the end of the movie. Click the above pic to read more.
5/5/08

Aaron Eckhart: Not just another pretty face

aaron eckhart harvey dent batman dark knightAaron Eckhart signals Batman

With all the viral world of Batman's The Dark Knight it's easy to skip over some of the real articles featuring the movie. The L.A. Times recently took time to sit down with the talented Aaron Eckhart (Harvey Dent, A.K.A. Two-face). I've always enjoyed Eckhart since he won me over with his role in Thank you for Smoking, a good flick to get an idea of how two-face Eckhart can really be!

My Dark Knight guru Charlie pointed me to this L.A. Times article with Eckhart as they discuss the movie, the re-invention of the Joker, and his role as Harvey Dent.
5/4/08

Cloverfield 2 Pictures Surface?

cloverfield 2
There's some news on the web at what looks like new viral additions to the Cloverfield world. MovieWeb and Cloverfield Clues are two sites that are wondering if new images from a viral site are really from the Cloverfield realm or just elaborate hoaxes. Who knows, but that's the fun in all this.

MovieWeb doesn't look to source where they found their material but a look on the Cloverfield Clues shows that fans at unfiction have again found some new clues. It looks to center around the usgx8810b467233px website which some unfictioners have decoded. Once you pop in the passwords you'll get a look at this.

While some see this as clues to a sequel to Cloverfield it should be noted that there is rumored new viral material arriving with the Blu-ray version of the movie in June (which is why all the fuss for its delay).

cloverfield 2
cloverfield 2
cloverfield 2

2nd Trailer for The Dark Knight


Here's a much better quality video of the latest Dark Knight trailer we all talked about last week. It sure beats the shaky, handheld cell-phone versions from last week!

Thanks to the resident Dark Knight guru Charlie you can download (or view) the high-def version yourself from the latest WhySoSerious Happy Trails viral site.
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.

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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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