Thursday, January 24, 2008

Cloverfield Production Notes

Here are the full, unedited production notes that were posted earlier with the spoilers removed. I have highlighted the spoilery parts in blue, so if you already read the edited version, you can skip to the parts you may have missed.

It looks like these originally came from the "press kit", seen here.

16 comments:

  1. Finally, the arguments about multiple monsters can stop.

    Also, the arguments about whether or not theyre parasites as opposed to monster babies can ALSO end.

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  2. Kevin said... the dvd is out already?

    No :)
    That's the press kit - it contains a CD with photos and trailers and stuff on it.

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  3. Dennis,
    thanks for all of your hard work.
    You gave me some great focus points I might have missed during the movie (i.e. jamie,the end credits,the piece of something falling from the sky at the end)

    thanks

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  4. Eh, discussing the possible plot twists in the overarching story of the cloverfield universe was half the fun.

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  5. completly off topic but has anyone found a link between cloverfield and star trek? far fetched idea but in the tagruato website tehres something there that talks about a space program that is bigger than anything seen before...just a thought

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  6. Then the monster should of looked as tall as they say it was. The monster looked way bigger in the majority of the shots that were taken, especially at the end. Its feet were too close to Hud at the end to say it was leaning over. It sure as heck was not slumped over. Thus tho, he pretty much does only refer to the monster as "The Monster" and stuff so yah.

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  7. Any word on when the dvd is scheduled for release?

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  8. if all of jj's stuff is all connected (lost, alias, cloverfield, star trek, six degrees or even taking care of business) then i have alot to go thru to look for clues

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  9. Matt, it's usually between four to six months for every movie. However, you really don't have to wait that long.

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  10. I know Ty, but I want to get the dvd because I imagine there'll be some cool special features that could be connected to the ARG. I'd especially like it if they packaged the dvd as though it were an actual DoD document.

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  11. i dont think everything is all interconnected on a large scale but maybe some things (slusho apears in several of his profects) theres a slight link just in a tagruato headline about there new satalite says tehre space program is headed somewhere unforgetable...maybe he just uses the same fictional company in both movies. would be interesting to see how much of his work is connected though

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  12. That essay in the middle of the press kit--Fear Itself: Monsters at the Movies--solidified something I've been considering about Cloverfield for some time. The essay makes a pretty good case for the commonly held concept that monster movies reflect societal fears and anxieties from a particular era. It also suggests, rather than stating outright, that such movies also reflect societal beliefs and values from the same era. Resolution of the horrors in these films (or the lack thereof) suggest society's beliefs: in science, in faith, in the power of government, in the general triumphing of good over evil, etc.

    Abrams et al. have definitely followed this template to create Cloverfield, even though it is being marketed as an atypical monster movie. It definitely taps into national fears--people reference 9/11 because it represents a fear of our society being destroyed--but it also taps into belief, or specifically the lack thereof. Our society in general and young adults in particular have fallen away from belief in much of anything (except possibly the idea that human beings are destroying the environment) and, as such, Cloverfield could be seen as a kind of existential monster movie--a creature appears from nowhere and wreaks havoc, and there are no explanations, no quick fixes, no means of negotiating or mitigating the problem, and little to no hope of survival. Even the teaser trailer, with its jarring contrasts and lack of a title, feels fragmented and anarchic. Goddard's comments strongly suggest this: "Our movie doesn't have the scientist in the white lab coat who shows up and explains things like that. We don't have that scene."

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  13. I think Soozcat hit the nail on the head. Monsters are simply the manifestations of our fears. We have always had tales of the dead coming back to life (vampires, ghosts; the primal dark side of humanity (werewolves, mr hyde, yeti); or all of those 50's monsters embodying the dangers of nuclear technology (Godzilla, every other giant monster).

    I know I personally am left uneasy the uncertainty of modern life: school shootings, terrorism, the economy, the evironment, etc ad naseum. Abrahms captured that uncertainty with Cloverfield. All of those people who protested the "9/11 imagery" would have to admit that 1) it accurately represents what people find scary 2) monster movies are suppose to be scary and 3)alot of old scary movies become goofy as society changes. Yeah, fancy camera work and some blood will make you squeemish... but Cloverfield transcends that by using the standard equation, plugging in what we truly find unsettling, and coming up with something new.

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