Cloverfield
Un article de Vev.
Modèle:Future film Modèle:Infobox Film Cloverfield is a 2008 American monster movie produced by J. J. Abrams, directed by Matt Reeves, and written by Drew Goddard. First publicized in advance screenings of Transformers, the project is slated for a January 18, 2008 release. Paramount Pictures is carrying out a viral marketing campaign to promote the film.
Sommaire |
Synopsis
"Five young New Yorkers throw 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."<ref>"
Official Cloverfield Plot Synopsis " , ShockTillYouDrop.com , 2007-11-24 . Retrieved on 2007-11-24 . </ref>
Cast
- Michael Stahl-David as Robert Hawkins<ref name="star"> Larry Carrol
. " 'Cloverfield' Star Speaks At Last, Shedding Light On Secret J.J. Abrams Flick " , MTV , 2007-12-17 . Retrieved on 2007-12-17 . </ref>
- Mike Vogel as Jason<ref name="star" />
- Odette Yustman as Beth <ref name="star" />
- Lizzy Caplan as Marlena<ref name="star" />
- Jessica Lucas as Lily<ref name="star" />
- T. J. Miller<ref> Ben Kharakh
. " Carpooler's' TJ Miller Talks About JJ Abrams Role, Very Bad Porn & Tighty Whities " , Starpulse.com , 2007-10-29 . Retrieved on 2007-10-29 . </ref> as Hud<ref name="star" />
- Greg Grunberg<ref>"
Heroes Scoop: Cheerleader Exits, D.L. MIA and More! " , TV Guide , 2007-07-24 . Retrieved on 2007-07-25 . </ref>
- Blake Lively<ref name="balls" />
To prevent the leaking of plot information, instead of auditioning the actors with scenes from the film, scripts from previous Abrams productions were used, such as television series Alias. Some scenes were also written specifically for the audition process, not intended for use in the film. Despite not being told the premise of the film, Lizzy Caplan stated that she accepted a role in Cloverfield solely because she was a fan of the Abrams-produced television series Lost, and her experience of discovering its true nature initially caused her to state that she would not sign on for a film in the future "without knowing full well what it is." She indicated that her character was a sarcastic outsider, and that her role was "physically demanding."<ref name="blackbook"> Lizzy Caplan: The Meanest Girl in Hollywood?
. BlackBook Magazine (2007-11-15)
. Retrieved on 2007-11-16. </ref>
Production
J. J. Abrams conceived of a new monster after he and his son visited a toy store in Japan. He explained, "We saw all these Godzilla toys, and I thought, we need our own monster, and not King Kong, King Kong's adorable. I wanted something that was just insane and intense."<ref name="first"> Alex Billington
. " Comic-Con Live: Paramount Panel - Star Trek, Indiana Jones IV, and More… " , FirstShowing.net , 2007-07-26 . Retrieved on 2007-09-17 . </ref> In February 2007, Paramount Pictures secretly greenlit Cloverfield, to be produced by J. J. Abrams, directed by Matt Reeves, and written by Drew Goddard. The project was produced by Abrams' company, Bad Robot Productions.<ref name="rolls"> Borys Kit ; Tatiana Siegel . " Paramount rolls in the 'Cloverfield' " , The Hollywood Reporter , 2007-07-06 . Retrieved on 2007-07-06 . </ref>
The casting process was carried out in secret, with no script being sent out to candidates. With production estimated to have a budget of $30 million, filming began in mid-June in New York.<ref name="rolls" /> One cast member indicated that the film would look like it cost $150 million, despite producers not casting recognizable and expensive actors.<ref name="blackbook"/> Location filming, shot in digital video using hand-held video cameras,<ref name=voltron> Jeff Jensen
. " J.J.'s Mystery Movie: Secrets revealed! " , Entertainment Weekly , 2007-07-26 . Retrieved on 2007-07-26 . </ref> took place on Coney Island, with scenes being shot at Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park and the B&B Carousel.<ref name="balls"> Farrah Weinstein . " Bait Balls of Fire " , New York Post , 2007-07-16 . Retrieved on 2007-07-17 . </ref> Some interior shots were filmed on a soundstage at Downey, California.<ref> Lisa Blake . " Bases harnessed for double duty " , Variety , 2007-08-22 . Retrieved on 2007-08-27 . </ref> The film was edited to look like it was filmed with one hand-held camera, including jump cuts similar to ones found in home movies. Director Matt Reeves described the presentation, "We wanted this to be as if someone found a Handicam, took out the tape and put it in the player to watch it. What you're watching is a home movie that then turns into something else." Reeves explained that the pedestrians documenting the severed head of the Statue of Liberty with the camera phones was reflective of the contemporary period. "Cloverfield very much speaks to the fear and anxieties of our time, how we live our lives. Constantly documenting things and putting them up on YouTube, sending people videos through e-mail - we felt it was very applicable to the way people feel now," the director said.<ref name=excl> Ryan Rotten . " EXCL: Cloverfield Director Speaks! " , ShockTillYouDrop.com , 2007-12-14 . Retrieved on 2007-12-22 . </ref>
The decapitated head of the Statue of Liberty was inspired by the poster of the 1981 film Escape from New York, which had shown the head lying in the streets in New York despite not appearing in the film itself. According to Reeves, "It's an incredibly provocative image. And that was the source that inspired [producer] J.J. [Abrams] to say, 'Now this would be an interesting idea for a movie.'"<ref name=ign2> Scott Collura
. " Exclusive: Cloverfield Director Speaks! Part Two " , IGN , 2007-12-14 . Retrieved on 2007-12-22 . </ref>
The film was titled Cloverfield from the beginning, but the title changed throughout production before it was finalized as the original title. Matt Reeves explained that the title was changed frequently due to the hype caused by the teaser trailer, "That excitement spread to such a degree that we suddenly couldn't use the name anymore. So we started using all these names like Slusho and Cheese. And people always found out what we were doing!" The director said that "Cloverfield" was the government's case designate for the monster, comparing the titling to that of the Manhattan Project. "And it's not a project per se. It's the way that this case has been designated. That's why that is on the trailer, and it becomes clearer in the film. It's how they refer to this phenomenon [or] this case," said the director.<ref name=ign> Scott Collura
. " Exclusive: Cloverfield Director Speaks! " , IGN , 2007-12-14 . Retrieved on 2007-12-22 . </ref>
Visual effects supervisor Phil Tippett and his company Tippett Studio were enlisted to develop the visual effects for Cloverfield.<ref> Ryan Ball
. " Tippett Making Abrams’ Monster " , Animation Magazine , 2007-09-27 . Retrieved on 2007-12-06 . </ref>
Marketing
Filmmakers decided to create a teaser trailer that would be a surprise in the light of commonplace media saturation, which they put together during the preparation stage of the production process. The teaser was then used as a basis for the film itself. Paramount Pictures encouraged the teaser to be released without a title attached, and the Motion Picture Association of America approved the move.<ref name=excl /> As Transformers showed high tracking numbers before its release in July 2007, the studio attached the teaser trailer for Cloverfield that showed the release date but not the title.<ref name="rolls"/> A second trailer was released on November 16, 2007, which confirmed the title.<ref name=trailer> Olly Richards
. " Exclusive: The New Cloverfield Trailer " , Empire , 2007-11-19 . Retrieved on 2007-11-19 . </ref>
The studio had kept knowledge of the project secret from the online community, a cited rarity due to the presence of scoopers that follow upcoming films. The controlled release of information on the film has been observed as a risky strategy, which could succeed like The Blair Witch Project (1999) or disappoint like Snakes on a Plane (2006), the latter of which had generated online hype but failed to attract large audiences. Chad Hartigan of Exhibitor Relations Co. viewed the several issues with the potential of the film, including a lack of major stars, the underwhelming performance of Godzilla-style films in America, and the film's slated release in January, considered a "dumping ground for bad films".<ref name=buzz> Omar L. Gallaga
. " To market a movie, no name is needed; just create mystery and some Web buzz " , Austin American-Statesman , 2007-08-03 . </ref>
Plot speculation
The sudden appearance of the untitled trailer for Cloverfield fueled media speculation over the film's plot. USA Today reported the possibilities of the film being based on the works of H. P. Lovecraft, a live-action adaptation of Voltron, a new film about Godzilla, or a spin-off of the TV show Lost.<ref name="usa"> Anthony Breznican
. " Mystifying trailer transforms marketing " , USA Today , 2007-07-09 . Retrieved on 2007-07-16 . </ref> The Star Ledger also reported the possibility of the film being based on Lovecraft lore or Godzilla.<ref name="star"> Lisa Rose . " Hush-hush project stirs wild speculation " , The Star Ledger , 2007-07-09 . Retrieved on 2007-07-09 . </ref> The Guardian also reported the possibility of a Lost spin-off,<ref name="guard">" Trailer for Abrams film lost on moviegoers " , The Guardian , 2007-07-11 . Retrieved on 2007-07-26 . </ref> while Time Out reported that the film was about an alien called The Parasite.<ref name="time"> Chris Tilly . " What is 'Cloverfield'? " , Time Out , 2007-07-11 . Retrieved on 2007-07-26 . </ref> IGN also backed the possibility of the same premise, with The Parasite rumored to be a working title for the film.<ref name="ign">" It's Alive: 1-18-08 " , IGN , 2007-07-05 . Retrieved on 2007-07-10 . </ref> Online, Slusho and Colossus had also been discussed as possible titles.<ref> Greg Morago . " Our summer of mystery ads " , Daily Press , 2007-08-22 . </ref> Entertainment Weekly also disputed reports that the film would be about a parasite or a colossal Asian robot such as Voltron.<ref name=voltron/>
Visitors of Ain't It Cool News have pointed out 9/11 allusions based on the destruction in New York City such as the decapitated Statue of Liberty. The film has also drawn alternate reality game enthusiasts that have followed other viral marketing campaigns like those set up for the TV series Lost, the video game Halo 2, the Nine Inch Nails album Year Zero, and the upcoming Batman film The Dark Knight. Members of the forums at argnet.com and unfiction.com have investigated the background of the film, with the "1-18-08" section at Unfiction generating over 7,700 posts in August 2007. The members have studied photographs on the film's official site, potentially related MySpace profiles, and the Comic-Con teaser poster for the film.<ref name=buzz />
Viral tie-ins
Puzzle websites containing Lovecraftian elements, such as Ethan Haas Was Right, were originally reported to be connected to the film.<ref name="usa" /><ref name="guard" /> On July 9 2007, producer J. J. Abrams stated that, while a number of websites were being developed to market the film, the only official site that had been found was 1-18-08.com.<ref> Harry Knowles
. " JJ Abrams drops Harry a Line on all this 1-18-08 stuff! " , Ain't It Cool News , 2007-07-09 . Retrieved on 2007-07-09 . </ref> At the site, a collection of time-coded photos are provided to visitors to piece together a series of events and interpret their meanings.<ref> Rodney Chester . " Movie codenamed Cloverfield next blockbuster " , The Courier-Mail , 2007-08-11 . Retrieved on 2007-08-13 . </ref>
As part of the viral marketing campaign, the drink Slusho! has served as a tie-in. The drink had previously appeared in producer Abrams' previous creation, the TV series Alias.<ref name=iesb> Silas Lesnick
. " IESB EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Cloverfield Director Matt Reeves! " , IESB.net , 2007-12-14 . Retrieved on 2007-12-22 . </ref> Viral websites for Slusho! and a Japanese drilling company were launched to add to the mythology of Cloverfield.<ref name=burk> Tara DiLullo Bennett . " Producer Talks Cloverfield " , Sci Fi Wire , 2007-12-17 . Retrieved on 2007-12-22 . </ref> When Cloverfield was hosted at Comic-Con 2007, gray Slusho! t-shirts were distributed to attendees.<ref> Larry Carroll . " Comic-Con: J.J. Abrams’ Secret Project And ‘The Dark Knight’ Go Guerrilla With Marketing Tactics " , MTV , 2007-07-27 . Retrieved on 2007-12-22 . </ref> Producer Bryan Burk explained the viral tie-in, "[It] was all done in conjunction with the studio... The whole experience in making this movie is very reminiscent [of] how we did Lost."<ref name=burk /> Director Matt Reeves described Slusho! as "part of the involved connectivity" with Abrams' Alias and that the drink represented a "meta-story" for Cloverfield. The director explained, "It's almost like tentacles that grow out of the film and lead, also, to the ideas in the film. And there's this weird way where you can go see the movie and it's one experience... But there's also this other place where you can get engaged where there's this other sort of aspect for all those people who are into that. [...] All the stories kind of bounce off one another and inform each other. But, at the end of the day, this movie stands on its own to be a movie. [...] The Internet sort of stories and connections and clues are, in a way, a prism and they're another way of looking at the same thing. To us, it's just another exciting aspect of the storytelling."<ref name=iesb/>
References
External links
- Official website (Requires Adobe Flash Player)
- Teaser website (Requires Adobe Flash Player)
- Trailers at Apple.com (QuickTime)
- Slusho.jp, a viral tie-in website
- Tagruato.jp, a viral tie-in website
- Modèle:MySpace
- Cloverfield at the Internet Movie Databasede:Cloverfield
es:Cloverfield fr:1-18-08 it:Cloverfield hu:Cloverfield zh:Cloverfield
