What a great trailer that was. In my theater, people were still kind of settling into movie mode, talking through some trailers, but when that one came on, the crowd got real quiet as it caught their attention. Very gripping. (There was the added element of seeing it in NYC, where seeing chunks of buildings falling and people running through the streets still hits kind of close to home.)

Anyway, I'm very interested to see what Drew and J.J. have concocted.

jam2 | July 06, 10:12 CET

I saw this trailer before Transformers on 4th of July. It was the trailer that most got my attention. I saw the Bad Robot and J.J. Abrams credit, and wondered if it was the mysterious Drew Goddard movie. It looks very frightening, with a documentary camera-style that gives it an immediate urgency. January 18th. I'll be there on opening night.

electricspacegirl | July 06, 10:19 CET

Of course, the fact that the trailer is in documentary style doesn't mean the film will be.

Although it would be an interesting attempt. I remember that after 9/11, some of the most important footage came from the vdeo cameras of people on the streets of NYC.

What would happen if you made a monster movie purporting to be just that: Found video footage from people on the streets during the events?

The One True b!X | July 06, 11:00 CET

From what I hear, the entire movie is, in fact, in documentary style.


I believe you've just summed up the movie.

Polter-Cow | July 06, 11:06 CET

Hey, it worked for The Blair Witch Project. I like that kind of "urban legend" marketing.

electricspacegirl | July 06, 11:07 CET

Opinions on idea, P-C? Personally, I'm on board. If they don't have somebody snotting on the camera, I think it could be great.

gossi | July 06, 11:31 CET

http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?category=0&id=42332

To cast the film, no scripts or even scene pages were sent out; agents who were contacted were simply asked if their client wanted to be in the movie or not.

The One True b!X | July 06, 11:35 CET

Part of me wonders if it's actually a Monster-Escapes-Off-The-Lost-Island project, as that would instantly give it a global audience. But that's probably fan wanking.

gossi | July 06, 11:48 CET

That wanking has already begun, as people keep claiming they hear the monster sound in the trailer.

More likely Abrams is capitalizing on the movie coming out the same time Lost returns to the air, and letting people think what they want, thereby generating buzz for both properties.

The One True b!X | July 06, 11:50 CET

And it's already gone viral:

http://ethanhaaswaswrong.blogspot.com/

By the way, not only were actors not sent the script, but the trailer was ready before a single frame of the film was shot.

Does anyone have any idea when does this thing start filming?

Regarding the "Lost" connection, the question is: was the trailer shown in Europe, too? And by Europe, I mean a country where "Lost" isn't shown 2 days after the U.S., I mean somewhere like Greece where the show takes months to premiere the new episodes.

Oh, San Diego is going to be mighty interesting this year. :)

(By the way: Drew Goddard will be writing for TV, cinema and comics during the same year! That's the spirit!)

dark_tyler | July 06, 12:04 CET

Oh, San Diego is going to be mighty interesting this year. :)

*cry*

The One True b!X | July 06, 12:11 CET

What would happen if you made a monster movie purporting to be just that: Found video footage from people on the streets during the events?

Oh wow. That has incredible potential on pretty much every level though it's probably too soon to start internalising those events as horror just yet IMO. The best 'use' in fiction i've seen so far was probably in 'Ex Machina' where you turn a page and see one tower still standing and find out that Mitchell Hundred, the comic's protagonist, who can communicate with machines, basically 'talked' the second plane out of hitting the south tower. Even though i'm not from the US, it was a very powerful moment.

Wasn't totally blown away by 'The Blair Witch Project' (I kept - mentally, since I was in the cinema ;) - shouting "Pick up a fucking stick !" at the characters. I mean, you're in a dark wood, afraid for your life, you would right ?) though it had its moments but there's no doubt the format can really work.

Youtube's pulled the trailer unfortunately but i'm definitely intrigued.

Saje | July 06, 14:03 CET

Transformers was a noisy, bloated piece of shit, but seeing this trailer was definitely worth the price of admission. The premise has all kinds of potential, and I did indeed wonder if it had anything to do with Lost; when the Bad Robot logo came up, Lost is what I immediately thought of.

If it is or if it isn't (my money's on the latter, though it'd be awesome if the former were true)...it still looks totally kick-ass.

UnpluggedCrazy | July 06, 14:12 CET

Technically I wouldn't call Drew a former writer, after all he`s slated as a writer in Season 8. At least, I (which is not, much, actually seems like a lot of nothing at all) stopped using the word former for all writers from the show who'll be working of Season 8.

Transformers is only opening down here in another 2 weeks . Hopefully, in international markets the trailer is also attached to other movies, cause I'm really curious about this. Not for being a JJ production movie, but mostly because Goddard wrote it.

Numfar PTB | July 06, 14:25 CET

I don't really think this kind of marketing works for a mass audience - although I'm yet to see the trailer, so it might have been made of awesome. And if it's anything like The Blair Witch Project, I'll pass - that was a major disappointment. I dunno, why does shooting on monster film as if on hand-held cameras make it exciting?

So while I love Drew Goddard, pretty much everything JJ Abrams has ever been involved in has left me seriously unimpressed.

Also, scratchy viral marketing videos for the web - who ever thought that was a good idea? It's not like anyone saw Serenity on the back of the River Tam tapes...

crossoverman | July 06, 14:49 CET

I dunno, why does shooting on monster film as if on hand-held cameras make it exciting?

It can (when done right) make it feel much more immediate.

The problem with TBWP was, I immediately thought "These guys are idiots, I don't mind if they die" ;). It also made me slightly motion sick (but I used to get that playing 'Quake' so i'm kind of a wuss in that regard) which doesn't = fun in my book.

Saje | July 06, 15:07 CET

Also, TBWP was only occasionally scary and mostly nausea-inducing. I imagine Cloverfield will be the same but with monster or aliens or alien monsters.

crossoverman | July 06, 15:18 CET

Yeah, Blair Witch wasn't great. But that doesn't mean Cloverfield's gonna be a repeat.

UnpluggedCrazy | July 06, 15:26 CET

Too true.

Anyone seen 'The Host' BTW ? Didn't think that much of the film as a whole but the monster is brilliant and there're some great scenes (especially the first attack).

Saje | July 06, 17:13 CET

Whew... good thing Paramount Pictures had YouTube pull the trailer. I was almost intrigued by their product for a minute there.

RambleOn623 | July 06, 19:49 CET

The rumors are starting that this could have something to do with H.P. Lovecraft's Chthulhu mythos... which would kick tons of ass in my opinion.

Haunt | July 06, 20:16 CET

They had me at "Drew Goddard."

Although, Haunt, I got an extra shudder of delight reading your post that it might be mythos flavored. Awesome.

k8cre8 | July 06, 20:59 CET

I'm not sure which link the title of this thread goes to, but there are apparently two viral marketing links out there. www.ethanhaaswasright.com and www.ethanhaaswaswrong.com. The second one is written as if it's a typically negative fanboyish blog, but there's some interesting bits hidden in there... including references to Mythos stuff.

Haunt | July 06, 21:25 CET

I for one loved Blair Witch, but that had more to do with my sense of urgency at being lost, rather than any kind of monster in the woods.

I loved Transformers and eeked at seeing Tom Lenk (Andrew) in it for a few brief scenes.

As soon as I saw "Bad Robot" I thought "oh this is going to be that movie..." and the trailer was phenomenal. After, you could hear this murmuring in the crowd, people going "what was that?!"

JJ Abrams has always been good at the intrigue - look at Lost and at the season 4 finale of Alias. I freaked out at the season 4 finale, I really did. I was hopping around my room screaming.

The question is, who is Ethan Haas and why is www.ethanhasswasright.com consuming my time at work?

Btw, here's a walkthrough of the game thats on the EHWR website. Apparently, going through the game and using the clues that come to you via e-mail (by clicking on a star) it shows video clips and other items pertaining to the movie (or at least hints about it). Is this a spoiler alert? Can a movie no one has seen be a spoiler?

http://jayisgames.com/archives/2007/07/ethan_haas_was_right.php

Update: There's a website up, which apparently will be the official home of the movie. It is www.1-18-08.com and right now there is nothing else on there except for two faces on a photo with a timestamp of 1-18-08.

I checked Network Solutions and it is registered to Henry Kelvin at 1424 East 9th Street new york, new york. I looked this up and the only address there is in Brooklyn.

Any connection to Paramount?

[ edited by HelloSpooky on 2007-07-06 19:45 ]

The Ninja Report | July 06, 22:36 CET

Those curious about the viral marketing and potential ARG can pretty much catch up via Unfiction's forums.

The One True b!X | July 06, 22:54 CET

Click on the star in the upper left corner at the EthanHaasWasRight site, and an email pops up going to "Van", with the subject line "I'm one of you - help me". I can't figure out what to do with the various pop-up triangles, though.

ohbejoyful | July 06, 22:57 CET