Showing posts with label Monstrous. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Monstrous. Show all posts
1/17/08

The Secrets of "Cloverfield"

Lizzy Caplan stars in Cloverfield and sits down and talks about the secrets of Cloverfield. Okay, slightly misleading title. "Cloverfield" star, Lizzy Caplan, tells us what she hasn't been allowed to talk about and what she's had to do to keep the "Cloverfield" secrets.

This is the first confirmation that I've seen where Cloverfield was NOT going to be the name of the flick and was always just a code name for shooting. Bad Robot will tell you they wanted it all along but I have argued that they stuck with it because of various reasons. Mainly that they tried a few out to get reactions like "monstrous" that received so much backlash. By the time they had to pick a title they were left with few options.

11/1/07

Cloverfield Roundup

What could possibly be more important than news on the upcoming J.J. Abrams flick, Cloverfield /1-18-08?

How about a sequel to one of the greatest surf movies of all time. Yes, they're going to make Point Break 2! We can finally know the fate of Johnny Utah and Bodhi.

Oh, I can die happy now...

While everything else is downhill from there, I guess I'll just have to see what else is going on. Actuall, only a tiny amount of Cloverfield -1-18-08 related news brewing today. Most of J.J.'s news is centered around the Star Trek movie he's making while the Cloverfield/1-18-08 gets a news update once every 2 weeks.

As you may know, the big news this week is the pre-screen of the new Cloverfield/1-18-08 trailer by CHUD. While only time will tell its validity the real fact that only 11 weeks remain until the movie actually hits.

The Bad Robot homepage got a minor update this past week. This is the production unit of J.J. Abrams and it features only a bad robot graphic. The only difference is the picture size. It's about 1/3 the size it used to be and was for years. A small and insignificant update but the fact they are glossing up their homepage (which is linking via the official Apple trailer) might mean some updates coming soon.

Which leads me to this great find by Cloverfield News about one of the production houses, The Third Floor, who is working on the Cloverfield/1-18-08 movie. As a huge fan of cinema and future producer I find the work that The Third Floor does highly interesting and extremely valuable.

The Third Floor does pre-viz, or pre-visulization. Think of it as electronic storyboards where directors can have quick models of their movies created to see how they will look finalized. Very important when you're working with CG monsters and sets. Their work also includes texturing and 3-D tracking.

They have a great sample reel of their movies clips which demonstrates their work. This group is huge and has done animatics for George Lucas on Star Wars III as well as a range of movies from the Narnia series to Cloverfield.

So while we're waiting on Cloverfield/1-18-08 to bring us some news, lets check out what else is going on in the world of movies.
  • National Treasure: Book of Secrets has launched a new trailer (here). The original cast and crew including Nicolas Cage return. And how can they top stealing the Declaration of Independence? By kidnapping the President, of course.
  • Indiana Jones 4 has wrapped and gotten a nice, new website (here) complete with the Indian Jones theme music.
  • The X-files are coming back to the big screen. Word is Chris Carter and gang will reunite for a brand new motion picture (here)
  • Unlike Cloverfield, the new Dark Knight flick has a healthy viral campaign. Check out the new developments including a new movie still of Heath Ledger as The Joker (more)
10/26/07

1-18-08 in France is...06-02-08


Parlez vous francais?

The international dates for Cloverfield/1-18-08 are going to be off our premier date in January. In the U.K., the trailer just indicates a release date of 2008 (see 1-18-08 U.K. trailer) while the French actually have a date established.

The boys at unFiction have found the French premier date for Cloverfield on 06-02-08 (see here). The French page is also a Flash movie and not the Quicktime that we see here. Not too surprising. If you have ever kept up with how the French Government doesn't like Apple and iTunes you'll know they are not the best of friends.
10/20/07

The Cost Of Giving 1-18-08 A Name


One blog (see here) has taken a look at the ripple effect for the Cloverfield/1-18-08 marketing department that will occur when or if a movie title is announced. More preciscely, the post looks at the effect a name change will have on the Google search engines. While this is far from being a precise tool to measure a movie's marketing, it does bring up some key issues on the project.

The author seems to think that keeping with the codename 'Cloverfield' will be the best marketing decision. Keep in mind that the author is using his projected Google scenerio as his source of data. While search results are key to any website or movie, with a viral project like this the bulk of the data is being heavily driven by forums, blogs, and movie websites.

The title of the movie won't live or die by how Google Trends sees the movie. Instead, the film will fill seats by what Ain't It Cool News, Slash Film, and unFiction mention. With a timeline now of 3 months until the release, 1-18-08 has garnered enough buzz on so few facts that the first wealth of information that overwhelms the fans and bystanders alike that it will easily create enough of a factor for the Google Trends that will ride the movie into opening week.

As for keeping the term 'Cloverfield' as the movies title I personally couldn't disagree more with the Marketing author about keeping that term. If your choices are using 'Cloverfield' or the release date 1-18-08, it makes more sense to use '1-18-08' than 'Cloverfield.' The only real exception is to tie in the 'Cloverfield' term into something relevant to the movie such as the secret, underwater ingredient in Slusho is called a 'Cloverfield' because of its color. Even that is too much of a stretch for my liking. At this time I can't see how the term could fit in.

I've liked '1-18-08' as the title for awhile now for multiple reasons. Like the arguement for 'Cloverfield' the date '1-18-08' is already established. The movie is supposed to take place that night which connects the title and movie. Plus, Paramount's homepage now refers to the movie as '1-18-08.'
9/29/07

Cloverfield Has Its Hanso

tagruato corp cloverfield

Someone at Bad Robot finally decided they might need to start working on the Cloverfield Project. Earlier this week saw a new picture added to the 1-18-08 website featuring a Japanese cook and his recipe. Today we have the Tagruato Corp website, which by all indications is fully involved with the 1-18-08/Cloverfield/Slusho movie.

JJ Abrams TV hit show 'Lost' has been fueled with mystery by the viral and fictitious Hanso Foundation. Those guys were a scientific group that created the orientation videos and various buildings on the island for unknown experiments.

Now, Abrams seems to have taken a page out of his own book and created another fictitious organization and having subsidiaries which include the infamous Slusho company. The Tagruato Corp is a deep sea petroleum drilling company based out of Japan with industry related subsidiaries.

Here is a statement from Tagruato Corp CEO Ganu Yoshida:

Tagruato is a collective of top scientists, engineers, and businessmen committed to leading our investors and the whole of mankind into the future.

We regard ourselves as explorers, and believe there is much more our planet has to offer than has already been discovered. We view every challenge as an opportunity for innovation. With our groundbreaking deep-sea drilling technology, Tagruato has positioned itself to become a world leader in energy resources, medical research, advanced technology production, and consumable product.

- Ganu Yoshida
C.E.O

Subsidiaries of Tagruato include YOSHIDA MEDICAL RESEARCH, SLUSHO!, BOLD FUTURA LOGO, and ParafFUN! Wax Distributors.

YOSHIDA MEDICAL RESEARCH (YMR)

YMR is a genetic research firm specializing in deep sea bioprospecting.

YMR is a genetic research firm specializing in deep sea bioprospecting. YMR implements Tagruato's advanced exploration technology to study extremophiles found only in the deepest parts of our oceans. The understanding of such organisms that thrive in conditions of extreme pressure, temperature, and toxicity has boundless pharmaceutical and industrial promise.

We explore cold seeps and seamounts, where species diversity is known to be as high a 1,000 per square meter. Hidden among these deep sea ecosystems is the potential for medical advancements that will contribute to the future well-being of mankind. YMR doctors are currently developing marine biotechnology drugs that may one day be used as anti-cancer, antioxidant, antibiotic, and anti-malaria.

Treatment applications for Alzheimer's disease, cystic fibrosis, and herpes are also under consideration. Our hope and our belief is that the work being done at YMR will prove to be the key to a cure for the diseases that have plagued mankind for centuries.

SLUSHO!

Created by Tagruato C.E.O. Ganu Yoshida, Slusho! brand happy drink is a icy cool beverage that is rapidly becoming one of the company's most profitable expenditures. Slusho! contains a "special ingredient" that customers can't get enough of. Bearing the slogan, "You can't drink just six!", Slusho! has grown to the second most popular frozen drink in all Asian markets.

Hip adult drinkers have begun concocting deliciously intoxicating alcoholic mix drinks starring Slusho! The beverage's popularity has spawned overwhelming sales of brand apparel, a hit theme song, and coming soon: an animated television show starring the Slusho! Flavor Droids! The next step is to introduce Slusho! to the rest of the world.

A search is on for top marketing professionals who will be tasked with duplicating the drink's Asian popularity in the Western market. Our aspiration is to one day place Slusho! dispensers in every convenience store and mini mart. Slusho zoom!

BOLD FUTURA

Bold Futura is the contractor sector of our company principally engaged in the conception, design, manufacture and integration of advanced technology products. Our engineering technology is the most superior of its kind. A machine made with Bold Futura parts works where others fall to pieces. A vehicle made with Bold Futura equipment will travel where others cannot reach.

Our unique ability to function in areas of severe temperature or pressure can have desirable implications for our clients. In the past, Bold Futura has partnered with military organizations, space exploration institutions, and arms manufacturers. Confidentiality is the first pillar of Bold Futura.

We keep the identities, orders, and intentions of our patrons strictly to ourselves. If you are interested in partnering with us, email us at the address below. Let's build a bold future -- together!

ParafFUN! WAX DISTRIBUTORS

One of the many byproducts of our Petroleum reservoir is paraffin wax, an alkane with dozens of handy uses in your day to day life! Edible, malleable, colorable, and a fine electrical insulator. ParafFun! Wax Distributors meets all your wax needs.

Making shiny candles? ParafFun!

Sealing a jar? ParafFun!
Coating your hard cheeses? ParafFun!
Gripping your surfboard? ParafFun!
Creating paintballs? ParafFun!
Preparing specimens for histology? ParafFun!
Coating your waxed paper? ParafFun!
Propelling your hybrid rocket motors? ParafFun!
Improved bowel movement? ParafFun!
Lighting your camping lantern? ParafFun!
Testing samples in infrared spectroscopy? ParafFun!
Moderating neutrons? ParafFun!
Making a box of crayons? ParafFun!

ParafFun! Rewax, it's ParafFun!

Drilling stations

We have fourteen drilling rigs strategically positioned around the globe, each a billion dollar marvel of modern engineering. One, the Chuai Station, is opening in September 2007 off the east coast of North America. [view interactive map]

Tagruato explores the final frontier on planet earth -- the deepest recesses of our oceans. Our scientists and engineers have created drilling technology that can withstand degrees of extreme pressure, cold, and heat never before thought possible. This groundbreaking feat of industrial triumph allows for research and retrieval in areas previously unexplored by man.

Tagruato covers the planet. We have fourteen drilling stations strategically positioned around the globe, each a billion dollar marvel of modern engineering. Thousands of hardworking, well-paid, satisfied Japanese employees man their posts with honor and integrity. From the Arctic Ocean to the Mid-Atlantic ridge, we go deep. Capable of excavation at distances exceeding 7,000 meters of water and 9,200 meters of seabed, the greatest depths of the oceans have been opened for business.

The implications are vast and bountiful. Tagruato boasts sole ownership of the functionality designs implemented in our drilling stations. This gives us unparalleled access to the natural resources that lie below the ocean floor. Namely Petroleum, the most sought-after resource in the world. Opening these new regions is projected to boost Japan's national oil reserves by as much as sixty percent. Analysts believe that with the bounty it is about to attain, Tagruato will soon join the ranks of the world's wealthiest corporations.

9/25/07

Cloverfield Up To Date

Cloverfield/1-18-08 Official Website

I get a lot of emails and comments in regard to the true '1-18-08' website which is the official site for the movie. The majority of them are about flipping the pictures over and the roar that occurs about 6 minutes after opening the site up.

Here's a quick summary of the site to help those getting starting on this mysterious movie. To date the film has no official title. Most of us call it 'Cloverfield' (production codename) or '1-18-18' (release date). As of last week, Paramount Studios is referencing the movie no longer as "The Untitled JJ Abrams" movie but is calling it '1-18-08.'

The '1-18-08' website is the official site of the movie. It gained notice back in July a week or two after the trailer appeared before the Transformers. It featured a single picture that you could move but not flip over. Four more pictures would appear and then no updates occurred.

Somewhere in early August it happened that the pictures could be flipped over. There's some writing on 2 of the pictures. August 23rd saw the site go down for a day and redirect toward Paramount Pictures, who is distributing the film. The site came back up later that day with no visible changes.

August 24th saw the audio file of the monster roar for the first time. The sound file was added during the downtime the day before and if you opened up the site and left it untouched you would hear the monster roar about 6 minutes later.

Here is a sample of the roar from the 1-18-08 website so you don't have to wait 6 minutes:



1-18-08 Cloverfield Monster Roar


Cloverfield/1-18-08 Fake Trailer

Someone made a fairly decent fan trailer for '1-18-08' which was released this week. It features a reporter for the news station seen in the original trailer. One viewing of the clip will instantly give you a very amateurish feel with pieces lifted from the original trailer.

However, I can't knock the creators of this fan film too much. They did a good job and so far have put our more this month than JJ Abrams and Co.



Cloverfield/1-18-08 Trailer 2 (Fake)

So when will trailer 2 surface? There have been a couple of rumors that one would show up during the showing of 'Resident Evil' which opened last week or during 'Stardust' a few months back.

The safe money says the trailer will be controlled by JJ Abrams and Paramount. This movie has a lot of buzz and Paramount is probably going to release the trailer (if they have a say) during the opening of one of their movies. 'Resident Evil' was released by Sony and it doesn't make sense to promote the opening of a rival studios film unless they are willing to return to favor.

Dreamworks is currently a part of Paramount so looking at the 2 studios fall release schedules there are a couple of big movies coming out:

Oct 5: The Farrelly Brothers “THE HEARTBREAK KID”
Oct 21: “THINGS WE LOST IN THE FIRE” A drama staring Halle Berry
Nov 2: “BEE MOVIE” Jerry Seinfeld's CG animated tale
Nov 16: "BEOWULF" Angelina Jolie
Dec 21: “SWEENEY TODD -The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" Tim Burton and Johnny Depp

My money is on "Beowulf" for a couple of reasons. First, it's the only film on the list produced only by Paramount (no Dreamworks) and is tracking real high with it's buzz. "Beowulf" has gotten a lot of buzz for its CG-laden retelling of the classic story as well as a huge 'geek' boost from all the CG animation of Angelina Jolie, which was promoted during July's Comic-con.

Second, November 16th is 2 months before the main release date for our movie and a perfect time to kick up the buzz and interest in '1-18-08' during the busy holiday season. The audience for both movies matches up great.

Of course the bad news is that it's still 1 1/2 months away and I don't want to wait that long.

Cloverfield/1-18-08 Special Effects/Monster

Ain't It Cool News (AICN) is giving a report that FX master Phil Tippett is working on the JJ Abrams Project Cloverfield. No details were given and Tippett's been in the business long enough you won't see an accidental leak.

Tippett Studios was formed by the talented Phil who made a great career in Hollywood doing monsters and stop-motion FX for movies. CG is now incorporated into his studio but Phil is well known for creating monster designs. His work has ranged from Star Wars to Starship Troopers


'LOST' Season Four

A quick note about JJ Abrams related 'Lost.' The new fall season has started this week and many of you will not see 'Lost' in the lineup even though it is still active. The producers and ABC have agreed to air the episodes in sequence starting in early February. So, '1-18-08' will have arrived 3 weeks before new episodes of even 'Lost' air.

A new hatch, The Orchid, was exposed during Comic-con last summer involving more training videos:



New Lost Season 4 New Hatch!, The Orchid



9/13/07

Jamie and Teddy


Jamie and Teddy is the newest site linked to the Cloverfield/1-18-08 movie. Jamie Lascano, one of the characters featured on the alleged MySpace profiles, is linked to the website. You also might recognize her in the current top pictures from 1-18-08, the official website for the movie. The Jamie and Teddy website has 2 pages which are the index and a movie clip page which is password protected.

The video is a lot like the MySpace profiles in general so far in that it seems to be a nothing special about the movie. Apparently, Jamie has a bladder infection. My hope is this either starts a trend of opening up the characters and/or storyline with additional viral sites or they start hiding relevant clues within the videos.

Click the picture of the bears on the main page to go to the video page and you'll see a password box. Don't worry. The folks at unfiction have crack the code (it's 'jllovesth') and it opens to the movie page with only one video at the moment.
9/11/07

Will Cloverfield Be Politically Correct?

A little side note to ponder while we wait on more Cloverfield/1-18-08 movie news to appear.

A few people have commented on forums about one of the Cloverfield characters alleged MySpace profiles when one character in particular, Lily, mentioned attending a speech by Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and referred to Clinton as our "countries next President." [more]

The addition of political views to a MySpace blog is innocent enough. However, there might be more to this little connection than just a MySpace profile.

Katie McGrath Abrams, a public relations exec and wife of "Cloverfield" producer J.J. Abrams, is part of a group of Hollywood executives which have teamed with a veteran Washington Democratic to create a political production company with an eye toward playing a major role in the 2008 election.

This group is called First Tuesday Media and has kept a low profile since being formed last year. So low of a profile that it was just this week that the organization was announced/discovered after being founded last year as reported by the Washington Post (see: Hollywood Players Form Political Production Company)

First Tuesday's goal is to utilize the creative minds of Hollywood to make various content, including web based and television media, with specific intent to push a political agenda.

With a critical Presidential election gearing up it will be interesting to see how or if First Tuesday Media will be involved with the Cloverfield project. If the movie continues its viral ways and the characters start to develop through their social networks like MySpace, it will be interesting to see if First Tuesday dips their toes into the Cloverfield pool.

The relationship of First Tuesday and JJ Abrams has already overtaken the Abrams marital connection. According to the Resumé of Rosser Goodman, a 1st A.D. on various movies, TV shows, and commercials, Rosser worked with director JJ Abrams for a "Get Out The Vote" commercial in 2006 for First Tuesday Media Productions.

9/5/07

Insiders Guide To Cloverfield/1-18-08/Slusho

A post on the Cloverfield IMDB forums has revealed inside information on the new JJ Abrams monster film. Usually, these posts are full of wild ideas with way too elaborate details on the movie. This guy, however, has filed a basic and logical summary of the movie.

Essentially, the post tells of how the producers got in over their heads on a real basic action film. Fan frenzy diverted time and resources to rewrites and trying to live up to the hype.

Below is the post in its entirety. (Potential Spoilers Warning!)

"So before I go any further... If you don't want to know the details of the movie.. than don't read after this point.. I won't give away everything.. but just certain things we've all been wondering. IT IS LONG AND I APOLOGIZE, BUT I WANTED TO GIVE AS MUCH INFO AS I CAN....

So.. basically I came across this board and found a lot of interesting theories and many ridiculous ones as well.. I myself became a a fan of the trailer and (like many of you) have been trying to and out what this movie is about.

As a member of the entertainment industry.. I was finally able to crack someone (a friend I trust) inside into giving me at least some details...(No, it's not J.J or Reeves or someone big.. but he/she does work and has been on set of the movie... And since he/she, like anyone working on the movie, are on a strict gag order, I figure I will post this as my own "THEORY" in order to protect him/her. So this is my "THEORY"

So basically the trailer created a phenomenon that J.J and the producers never thought it would. After the buzz from the media and Internet about the mysterious trailer, J.j saw this as a great marketing ploy to create even more buzz over this small little film. Yes! this movie was originally intended to just be a nice cult classic that monster movie lovers would like. This is, in fact, your basic monster movie with an American touch. It is no secret that J.J is a fan of monster movies and wanted to make America have it's own monster... There is a problem though....

THE MONSTER:

The monster is not American at all.... The monster did go through its infancy and grew up under the Atlantic, but its origin, like Godzilla, came from Japan. This is where the Slusho reference comes from. Slusho does have a part in the movie, but is not as significant as people would think. It plays a small role in the beginning of the movie as to the origin of the monster. This was as much info on the monster as I can get... the reason for this is because no, including cast and crew has actually seen the monster. I don't even think J.J knows what the final monster will look like.. that is being kept very secret... The monster will be entirely in CGI where, indeed, most of the films budget will go.... There weren't even any animatronic hands or feet on set which implies that there will be no real/direct contact with the monster and cast (unless it's all CGI)..... And as for the theories of multiple monsters... NO.. sorry, it is only one gigantic monster.

To conclude, it is not Godzilla, A lion, Voltron, Rampage.. or any of the other monsters people have been thinking... it will be original and it will be a Creature of some sort (not robot)... they are still working on what it will actually look like..

THE PLOT:

So, again, I could only get so much info on the topic... But basically this film has seen more rewrites than... well.. whatever other movie has seen a lot of rewrites... a lot basically. Originally the entire film was all destruction from beginning to end, J.J wanted all action, all the time. It was, like I said, your basic Monster movie, no real plot, as long as people die and te monster destroys a lot of stuff... But after the buzz over the trailer, the producers felt that there needed to be more to the story than just things blowing up... so the rewrites began.. but there was only so much they can do.... They did give a little bit on Rob and Beth and they're crushes.. and a little bit on the brother and friends.. but for the most part. .there's no real character development in this movie... And so... the myspaces were created to give the characters a little more back story.. this way, true fans will know much about the characters when the film finally does release... but those who only have seen the trailer and never took anything out of it than another monster movie and won't get much back story on the characters... since the plan is to make most of the movie about the destruction... Though... the monster will not truly be revealed until about 30 minutes in to the movie...

THE STYLE:

Though many feel that the movie will consist of home video to give it a more "real" effect.. this is not true... The film will be shot the way we see any other movie (we'll call it Film Look) but will have parts in home video, like the trailer. In fact, what we see in the trailer is in the movie, but there are "Film Look" scenes in between that we haven't seen. As much as some people would like to see a Blair Witch style movie with this film... it simply doesn't work... everything would be too shaky and the audience will be too bored with the handheld... and if the film was shot that way.... it would suggest that, like Blair witch, the monster would be difficult to see or not seen at all.. which would not satisfy the audience.. and So I guess we get the best of both worlds with both styles integrated... Plus... who holds on to a camera the hole time..It's just not believable....

THE SITES:

So the official sites are still 1-18-08.com and Slusho.jp.. no warbloid or rage of the gods....though Slusho doesn't have that big of a part in the movie, it does have the most clues as to the origins of the monster...but I don't know, my friend doesn't know... but some one knows what they're doing.. but it's too confusing and frustrating to crack the "codes" so to speak.. And then there's 1-18-08.com.... There are still only 5 pictures with two of them having messages.... There are no real clues in these pictures.. I'm sorry.. The pictures were put up there as more teasers as to what happened that night..giving you a time frame. There are no hidden messages and if they are.. we'll never find out until the movie comes out...

But Good news... the producers are listening to the fans who are frustrated with the mystery and know that you can only hold out for so long... A reason for this is was the lousy roar that was inserted 6 minutes into staying on the site... the producers found out that you guys were outraged that a new picture or some form of information was giving.. it was just a roar.. so they want to make up for it...

TITLES and NEW TRAILERS:

So everyone has been wondering what the title will be... and you are no different from the producers... when production began.. the film still didn't have a title... Cloverfield, Slusho, Etc. were just working titles (I'm sure we all knew that) But J.J really, really wanted to get the trailer out in time for the release of Transformers since he's smart and knows that it will be seen a lot with a blockbuster like that... So what do they do... they push it with no title and what they had shot already.. hence... we all saw what some have said to be the greatest trailer ever made.. though it was all pretty much a fluke by J.J for not having a title ready... not to say that they didn't know what they were doing... I'm sure they wanted the movie to seem mysterious.. but there was not title to release at the point... And if that weren't enough.. they did decide to release the title at Comicon..but after the poster leak fiasco.... they scratched it and went back to the drawing board... It was going to be Monstrous (and they saved themselves by releasing other posters with other adjectives)... but because of the leak.. they decided to change it again... soon Overnight and Parasite were scratched and the newest "weak" title "Wreck" will soon be scratched... For some reason J.J wants to keep the title one word.. it's like his thing (Alias, Lost).. and not very elaborate titles.. just basic words... but I dunno if we'll be happy with the final title...but as for now.. they're still working on it..

Which leads to the new trailer that will soon come out that will AGAIN have no title!!!! What is up with that.. give it a title already!!.. But the new trailer will consist of actual scenes related to the aftermath of the first trailer.. This includes Rob among other friends struggling to get away from the monster (which won't be shown of course.. again)... ad find themselves at a first aid center where (as I have seen on previous posts on the new trailer).. will have "infected people".. but no.. this will not be a monster/zombie movie.. the infection is a result from a mysterious ooze that comes from the monster.. upon contact.. they get sick and may look like zombies.. but do not hunt for brains... It just makes them look like crap for some reason..

So that's my theory.. I'm sure I left some stuff out.. but I can only remember so much.... So, personally, I don't think the movie will live up to the hype.. I think we all wanted a little bit more out of this movie.. but we'll soon find out that the phenomenon was basically a fluke which went to the producers advantage.. and now we're left with the obsession of trying to find out what this movie is about and they're struggling to try and live up to the hype.. it's just a big mess.. " [...original post]

Cloverfield/1-18-08 To Be Called Wreck?

The film crew worked under various names (source)

One of the biggest mysteries of the Cloverfield monster movie is what the bloody title of the film will be.

The codename Cloverfield and the release date 1-18-08 were what we have been accustomed to calling the film. Now, a website called Bloody-disgusting is claiming the new title of the film will be WRECK.

This goes onto the list with MONSTROUS, PARASITE, and OVERNIGHT. The title 'Wreck' doesn't really seem to fit the movie but it is better than Godzilla. I'm starting to lean toward the notion that they are using the Internet as a test base. What better way to gauge fan reaction than to trickled out an idea and watch how people react?



8/30/07

Cloverfield/1-18-08: Possible Plot Spoilers


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

How Winners Will be Picked:

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

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

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

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

Deadline is September 20th, 2007.



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

Cloverfield Monster Roar Added to 1-18-08 Website

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

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

8/23/07

1-18-08 Official Site Gone

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

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

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

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

1-18-08 - Five News | Cloverfield

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

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


1-18-08 - Five News Cloverfield


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


1-18-08 Cloverfield Original Trailer
8/21/07

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

(Via Times Online)

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

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

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

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


8/20/07

1-18-08 Movie: Jessica Lucas


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

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



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

While we wait on more news about the 1-18-08 movie, check out the great article on "The art of being vague" which references Project Cloverfield and its viral marketing.
8/13/07

Case study: 1-18-08 Social Media Marketing


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

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

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

1-18-08 - Bad Robot Productions



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

Bad Robot Productions has been responsible for television shows including "Alias" , "Lost" , "Six Degrees" and "What About Brian: Pilot" as well the movie Joy Ride. Projects missing from the list that many associate with Abrams are "Felicity" and Mission: Impossible III which do not fall under the Bad Robot umbrella. However, upcoming projects such as the movie Star Trek and and a couple more untitled projects like the Untitled J.J. Abrams/HBO Project will be produced with Bad Robot.
8/11/07

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

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

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



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






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






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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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




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

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