2/7/08

J.J. Abrams Casts Joshua Jackson in FRINGE

Fringe, the anticipated new TV series from producer J.J. Abrams, has landed one of their leads in the form of Dawson's Creek star Joshua Jackson. The 2-hour pilot for Fringe is about to start shooting and its budget is rumored to be at least $10 Million. Fringe will show on the Fox Network and will shoot in Toronto, Ontario. (source)

Abrams has come a long way to demand that kind of budget for a TV series. Although his hit show Lost came in at $12 Million for its pilot, that kind of money was highly unusual at the time. In fact the guy who gave the greenlight for Lost (and it's big budget) got fired by ABC before the show became a smash hit.

Lost Oceanic Airlines Hotline

Pilot of Flight 815 found (image source)

During the 2nd episode of this years Lost we see a lot more of the viral "Find 815.com" inspired storyline than I thought we would. Tonight we got a look at various underwater videos of the wreckage of Oceanic Flight 815 found somewhere south of Indonesia in the Sunda Trench.

As various people watch the newscasts we see one scene where a hotline pops on screen. The number is 1-888-548-0034 and if you call it you get a record message from Oceanic Airlines telling you that family and friends of victims of the flight can contact their assigned counselor for daily updates.
2/6/08

Star Trek Movie Forums Open

bad robot jj abrams
Some Star Trek updates to pass on to you. The official Star Trek Movie forums are up and running for you fans to get in and toss around theories and ideas. Links to the forums are on the main site as well as International sites for the movie and the Star Trek Facebook page.

Cloverfield: The marketing post mortem

(via Orlando Sentinel) Brilliantly executed if, in the end "just a monster movie" and utterly lacking in empathetic characters, Cloverfield is the new paradigm in low-cost filmmaking, a cut-rate Godzilla that still managed to create a HUGE footprint on the multiplex.

It opened bigger than any Janaury movie ever, and helped jump-start the box office of 2008 like no monster hit before. "Secrecy" was the early hallmark of the movie, but secrecy with carefully timed "leaks." Interest in it was narrow, but as intense as anything we've seen in recent years; Snakes on a Plane on steroids, Blair Witch revisited.

Reason enough to swap a few emails deconstructing the success with Mike Monello, who, thanks to The Monello_2 Blair Witch Project, pretty much invented this manner of movie marketing. (...continue)
2/5/08

Lost Hurley, Jacob, Christian and Mystery Eye

hurley lost
I get a lot of requests for the Lost viral stuff such as Easter Eggs. Since Cloverfield is in a quiet mode let us take a look at some cool Lost happenings.

The premier of the 4th season of Lost charged to a huge ratings win on its new Thursday slot and gave us the usual mix of questions and answers. Essentially, the writers are throwing in "Flashbacks" and what they call "Flashforwards" to help flush out the story. This mix of timelines is tricky to keep track of which is why I'm glad for sites like the Lost Easter Eggs.

One particular scene of interest was when Hurley was tripping out after finding the cabin in the jungle. If you remember from last season, Locke was taken here to meet the mysterious Jacob who gives the orders to the "Others." That being said, this site takes a closer look at the person in the cabin and you might be surprised who they found out it was. (...more)

Cloverfield Google Maps Mashup

Thanks Brian for the tip. This Google Maps Mashup plots the destructive trail of the Cloverfield Monster through Manhattan. Give it a look and see how he summed up the points of interest.
2/2/08

Cloverfield - The Sunday Times (U.K.) review

cloverfield-posterCloverfield Poster

Cloverfield crashes into many European theaters this weekend and I was curious on what the critics on the other side of the pond thought of the monster movie. By now the spoilers and pictures of the Cloverfield monster are all over the Internet so the mystery is lessened for anyone who can use a 'Google' search.

The Sunday Times in the U.K. had this to say about Cloverfield:
The ridiculous never looked so real. But the film’s early rush of oh-my-God fear fades as Rob and co cross the city. The drama dissipates; the scare factor slackens. The film’s realism gives it authenticity, but it undermines the making of great movie movements. Reality loathes dramatic licence.

The Sofia (Bulgaria) Echo had this to say about Cloverfield:
The movie is at its best when it navigates the dark streets flooded by a panicking and injured multitude not knowing whether it is running from or to the frightful something that is out there. The approach of seeing the events through the shaky shooting skills of one of the protagonists relieves the story of the obligation to tell from where the monster comes, although characters speculate about the ocean depths or outer space.

Telegraph U.K. had this to say about Cloverfield:
No one is going to see Cloverfield expecting a cinéma-vérité exploration of disaster psychology. But they might expect better handling of the source of the terror; the filmmakers lose their nerve a little towards the end and include some aerial shots from a helicopter, the upshot being that when we properly see the monster we giggle at how traditional and almost cartoon-looking he is. It would have been better if he was more abstract or if, say, the island itself started to mutate and coil into a monster.

Scotland's Sunday Herald had this to say about Cloverfield:
JJ Abrams, best known as the creator of Alias and Lost, has acknowledged The Blair Witch Project as an antecedent for his latest brainchild, Cloverfield. If Blair Witch was a YouTube horror film, Cloverfield is the YouTube monster movie. Once again a youth with a camera spends 90 minutes filming the terrible things befalling him (and, on this occasion, the entire population of Manhattan). He sticks to his task for posterity, of course, not realising that if he put the camera down, he could run a whole lot faster.

The Prague Post had this to say about Cloverfield:
Had Japan’s Toho studio embraced cinéma vérité in the 1950s, Godzilla might very well have created even more film history. As it is, we’ve had to wait 50 years for Cloverfield, a creature feature filmed with hand-held cameras (aided and abetted by CGI) that successfully takes the monster genre to an entirely new level.

The (Scottish) Daily Record had this to say about Cloverfield:
Despite the novel approach, there's a lot of things about this monster movie that are a little too familiar. It seems that every few years Hollywood likes to bomb New York, although they always start with Manhattan, never Queens or Brooklyn. And a Manhattan seems strangely stripped of older, less gorgeous people.

The Sun (U.K.) had this to say about Cloverfield:
Whatever the criticisms, though, Cloverfield delivers more bangs for your bucks than the average blockbuster.

Oceanic Air "New" Golden Pass Commercial


The Oceanic Air "New" Gold Pass Commercial as aired on January 31, 2008 after the premier of the 4th Season of Lost. The viral ads being pumped out of Bad Robot right now are centering around Lost and very little has trickled out about Cloverfield.

The above billboard photo I took here in Knoxville, TN, about one month ago. Since then someone has spraypainted "Find 815.com" over the middle part of the sign. The site mentioned is a game related to Lost so if you really dig the viral mind games of Cloverfield and Lost be sure to get started with this new one.

GTA IV ads go viral in New York City

Niko Bellic, GTA IVs protagonist wanted

Similar to the "Missing" viral posters used to promote the Blair Witch Project, the video game Grand Theft Auto IV has utilized similar viral-type advertising to promote their "Wanted" character Niko Bellic.
With its April 29 debut only three agonizing months away, it's time for Take-Two and Rockstar to up their marketing for Grand Theft Auto IV. Citizens of New York City may stumble across wanted posters (pictured above at Lorimer and Grand in Brooklyn) asking for tips in capturing Niko Bellic, GTA IVs protagonist. (source)

2/1/08

Spoiler: Monster Shown In New Cloverfield Commercial

The new spot for Cloverfield shows the monster in action. So for all those that didn't get a chance to see the movie or are in foreign countries where it's just starting or opening soon here's your chance for a quick peak.

As you may guess, spoilers ahead...


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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