Spring Break
The Daily Orange"1-18-08," Monster-sized hype surrounds mysterious untitled movie trailer
By Tim Goessling
Posted: 10/5/07, 12:31 AM EST Section: Splice
At first you think it's some vanilla romantic comedy about someone going on a journey to Japan. Then you realize what we're seeing is from a camcorder. So maybe it will be something like "The Blair Witch Project" (but hopefully better).
Suddenly, things are shaken up as a massive roar rips through the air. Before you know it, there's fire, flying debris, a decapitated Statue of Liberty and a date on the screen: 1-18-08.
"While it looks like the Blair Witch Project, it will have much more of a payoff," said Robert Thompson, director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture.
This was the preview that got people talking this summer when it came attached to blockbuster "Transformers." Now to set the record straight, here are the facts on "1-18-08."
Title: The film currently does not have an official title. It's referred to only as "Cloverfield" and "Slusho."
Cast: The film has no big-name stars.
The Marketing: This is the first film to use truly "viral" marketing. On the film's Web site, there are numerous photographs. From each of these photographs, information can be extracted that hints at the storyline. Some people with a lot of time have claimed to have deciphered it all (see box).
Crew: The film is produced by J.J. Abrams and his Bad Robot production company. You know Abrams and gang for producing genre-bending shows like "Lost" and Alias."
"Cloverfield" is written by Drew Goddard, who was a writer on such geek fabulous epics like "Lost," "Alias," "Angel" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."
And for the curveball, the director is Matt Reeves, who directed the 1996 David Schimmer-Gwen Paltrow disaster "The Pallbearer." Now that's mysterious.
The Story: It is not a live action "Voltron" project or the "Godzilla Witch Project."
It's generally assumed the story will be about a group of people attempting to survive a monster attack on New York City. Speaking of monsters, let's cut to the chase….
The Monster: Little is known about what the monster in this film looks like. It roars, but I don't know of any mute monsters. Based off the movie poster, we assume the monster can swim, and it could potentially originate from the water.
There is some suspicion that the monster could be Cthulhu, a demonic beast from your worst nightmares, from science fiction/horror writers H.P. Lovecraft's world. About a month ago, Web site aintitcool.com reported the monster had little velociraptor parasites clinging to the big monster's body. Those parasites were also capable of doing some damage of their own.
Suddenly, things are shaken up as a massive roar rips through the air. Before you know it, there's fire, flying debris, a decapitated Statue of Liberty and a date on the screen: 1-18-08.
"While it looks like the Blair Witch Project, it will have much more of a payoff," said Robert Thompson, director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture.
This was the preview that got people talking this summer when it came attached to blockbuster "Transformers." Now to set the record straight, here are the facts on "1-18-08."
Title: The film currently does not have an official title. It's referred to only as "Cloverfield" and "Slusho."
Cast: The film has no big-name stars.
The Marketing: This is the first film to use truly "viral" marketing. On the film's Web site, there are numerous photographs. From each of these photographs, information can be extracted that hints at the storyline. Some people with a lot of time have claimed to have deciphered it all (see box).
Crew: The film is produced by J.J. Abrams and his Bad Robot production company. You know Abrams and gang for producing genre-bending shows like "Lost" and Alias."
"Cloverfield" is written by Drew Goddard, who was a writer on such geek fabulous epics like "Lost," "Alias," "Angel" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."
And for the curveball, the director is Matt Reeves, who directed the 1996 David Schimmer-Gwen Paltrow disaster "The Pallbearer." Now that's mysterious.
The Story: It is not a live action "Voltron" project or the "Godzilla Witch Project."
It's generally assumed the story will be about a group of people attempting to survive a monster attack on New York City. Speaking of monsters, let's cut to the chase….
The Monster: Little is known about what the monster in this film looks like. It roars, but I don't know of any mute monsters. Based off the movie poster, we assume the monster can swim, and it could potentially originate from the water.
There is some suspicion that the monster could be Cthulhu, a demonic beast from your worst nightmares, from science fiction/horror writers H.P. Lovecraft's world. About a month ago, Web site aintitcool.com reported the monster had little velociraptor parasites clinging to the big monster's body. Those parasites were also capable of doing some damage of their own.
Understanding It All
1-18-08: Check out the trailer at apple.com/trailers to find out what started it all.
1-18-08.com: This is the first site linked to the film.
Slusho.jp: A strange site that appears to be advertising for a soft drink, but it's somehow connected to "Cloverfield.
Cloverfieldclues.blogspot.com: One place to go for new information.
Cloverfieldnews.com: An up-to-date site with all known information on the film including links of analysis of Web sites and videos.
-Tim Goessling, staff writer
1-18-08: Check out the trailer at apple.com/trailers to find out what started it all.
1-18-08.com: This is the first site linked to the film.
Slusho.jp: A strange site that appears to be advertising for a soft drink, but it's somehow connected to "Cloverfield.
Cloverfieldclues.blogspot.com: One place to go for new information.
Cloverfieldnews.com: An up-to-date site with all known information on the film including links of analysis of Web sites and videos.
-Tim Goessling, staff writer
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