cloverfield rumor

Well, we will know in a week or so! Loved the Q movie, truly spectacular in it's fascinating deviation from any sort of attempt at scriptwriting or special effects. Almost a super8 film.
 
I used to own "Q," back when I had a sizable collection of VHS tapes in Widescreen format. The film does have certain qualities, but I'm not gonna replace it with a DVD. Carradine and Moriarty were good, and Quetzalcoatl was a decent piece of stop-motion work. Speaking of which...

...rumors of the "Cloverfield" monster's morphology notwithstanding, the fact that Phil Tippett's studio worked on the FX augurs well. Tippett made his name doing stop-motion work for the original "Star Wars" trilogy (AT-ATs, Tauntaun, holographic board game, etc) and the first two "Robocop" films, then transitioned to digital animation during "Jurassic Park" His studio's work on "Starship Troopers" was superb.

Clem
 
I have a bad feeling about this movie, but that just might be due to the recent disappointments with other films I was psyched about that let me down.

If you watch the trailer close enough there is a scene where you can see odd silhouettes inside a tent(?) attacking people. Look kinda like turtles standing upright on their hind legs.
 
See what I'm worried about is the way it's filmed- like it has really happened. You'd think we'd all have noticed a giant monster attacking NY, no? Blair Witch got away with it because it was on a significantly smaller scale; in the middle of a wood, with about 4 people. I reckon this is too big a deal for the technique.

What I mean is I can't help but feel they should have filmed it as a normal movie. I have a bad feeling that this is going to be a heavy-handed attempt at producting something "Lovecraftian", missing hte point entirely (what marks HPL as successful stories is not giant monsters with unpronouncable names, though they feature, it's the atmosphere and suspense- the gritty realism. Charlse Dexter Ward had barely any monsters, and yet it succeeded- Although they feature prominently, he certainly didn't need them to make a cracking story!).
 
Hi Graeme,

You make a good point about verité techniques and their applicability to genre pics and epic themes. One example of the successful merging of gritty realism w/ sci-fi and horror is "Alien." Scott intentionally went for a documentary feel (influenced heavily by "Texas Chainsaw Massacre) for that picture, from handheld camera-work to casual, naturalistic dialogue to the real functionality of the props and sets. Of course, that was "Alien" and Scott is a legend, but I do think he proved that an immersive, logical and believable movie can be made about utterly fantastic events. Perhaps it's because I'm an actor myself, but my chief concern about "Cloverfield" is the quality of the performances. "Blair Witch" was, to my mind, hamstrung by bad acting, and let's face it, we've been conditioned by too many bad films to associate twenty-something characters with bland monster bait. It takes a talented actor to register stark terror at a cardboard cutout in front of a green screen.

As Greg said, I guess we'll find out next week.

Clem
 
LOL...the best part of the Blair Witch Project was the sci-fi presentation on "the making of..." it was much more believable than the film. I like to cuss with the best of them (just ask Orser), but quickly grew tired of the teen-angst "f" word use. Hopefully, Cloverfield will avoid that bit of BritneySpearism.

Clem, if they make a movie about Cthulhu without you in it (Lestrange?), I will really raise a stink.
 
I'm curious whether we'll get it here in the NL, or it'll be straight to DVD... The Rotterdam Film festival is on end of Jan; SO looking forward :smile:
 
Did anyone read Sergio Argones' parody comic book of Blair Witch? It's pretty funny; I'll have to dig it up when I get back in town... He uses the "punctuation marks for swear words" comic book aspect to a marvelous parody effect...
 
Clem;107902 said:
Hi Graeme,

You make a good point about verité techniques and their applicability to genre pics and epic themes. One example of the successful merging of gritty realism w/ sci-fi and horror is "Alien." Scott intentionally went for a documentary feel (influenced heavily by "Texas Chainsaw Massacre) for that picture, from handheld camera-work to casual, naturalistic dialogue to the real functionality of the props and sets. Of course, that was "Alien" and Scott is a legend, but I do think he proved that an immersive, logical and believable movie can be made about utterly fantastic events. Perhaps it's because I'm an actor myself, but my chief concern about "Cloverfield" is the quality of the performances. "Blair Witch" was, to my mind, hamstrung by bad acting, and let's face it, we've been conditioned by too many bad films to associate twenty-something characters with bland monster bait. It takes a talented actor to register stark terror at a cardboard cutout in front of a green screen.

As Greg said, I guess we'll find out next week.

Clem

You use one of my all-time favourite films as a good example there:biggrin2: To my mind, another film that puts good use to camera film techniques is Dog Soldiers, which uses handheld digital cameras at the start, making it look very much like our British Territoral Army TV adverts, but then I've always rated Neil Marshal highly. I actually thought Blair Witch was an alright film; but what I'm trying to get across is that Blair Witch benefited from the handheld camera treatment because it was set in the back of beyond, and could really have been footage shot by amatuer "ghosthunters". Cloverfield is taking a monster movie (essentially what looks like a Westernised Kaiju movie...) and applying this same technique. I don't understand how that will work, given that New York is a pretty well-known place, and a big monster rising out of the depths would, I'm sure, feature at least a small column in a paper. It's like Abrams is trying to say "hey, this monster movie could be real!" as it's shot on a single handheld... I think it's going to completely miss the mark, because people will know that it's just a movie. It's kind of hard to explain what I'm trying to get across here. Alien, and it's inspiration TCM, although still cinematic, have a very realistic and gritty look.
 
well, that is a distinct possibility. Mind you, the premise is that the film is being shot by a group of people having a big party, hence the camera, and the terror that rises comes so quickly that most officials are caught off guard. It could either be handled well, or it could be a complete disaster. I just hope it isn't too jumbly, that makes me sick to my stomach.

Did anyone see the latest "Dawn of the Dead" ? It had a spectacular ending done in the "hand filmed" style. Quite gripping for a cheesy ripoff.
 
Graeme, I think understand where you're coming from. If we accept the premise, that sometime in the near future a titanic creature will arrive in and wreck New York, it's reasonable to assume that it will be a rather big deal, reported in exhaustive fashion by our august and unimpeachably reliable (snicker) journalistic institutions. Why, then, go to a home video shot by a twenty-something partygoer as the primary source for an epochal event? It's a good question, and I think I have a good answer for it. It'll be hard for U.S. audiences not to see "Cloverfield" as a 9/11 metaphor, and I suspect that the choice to focus on the "little" people's experience was informed by the nature of the information stream manifest in the days immediately after 9/11. Some of the most remarkable and informative narrative images were recorded not by journalists but by tourists, residents and amateur photgraphers/filmmakers. For example, the only video of the first plane to hit WTC Tower 1 was accidentally recorded by someone shooting an indpendent film. All he had to do was pan up when he heard the jet's engines. Amateur videographers have been a true game-changer in the news biz, and the advent of YouTube and other online video hosting services means that they'll be game-changers in the entertainment film biz as well.

Having said all that, it's possible that "Cloverfield's" common man "journalism" will leave people wishing they were watching Christianne Amanpour and the CNN team, or wishing for the more plainly artificial conventions of formal sci-fi. "Dog Soldiers" was great fun, by the way, though I hear the American version wasn't as good as the UK cut. Still need to see "The Descent." How's that one? Marshall's a real talent.

Greg, if the reports from "Cloverfield's" preview screenings are accurate, some people are going to experience serious vertigo and nausea. As far as my acting career goes, I'd be happy to play a penguin in "Mountains of Madness."

About those "Cloverfield" previews: I'm happy to report that people are having a really hard time describing the monster, despite being given good looks at it.

Clem
 
Clem;108027 said:
As far as my acting career goes, I'd be happy to play a penguin in "Mountains of Madness."

Given the recent spate of penguin films, that'll probably come back to haunt you..... What do i smell? Is that photoshop starting? :twisted:
 
Clem;108027 said:
Graeme, I think understand where you're coming from. If we accept the premise, that sometime in the near future a titanic creature will arrive in and wreck New York, it's reasonable to assume that it will be a rather big deal, reported in exhaustive fashion by our august and unimpeachably reliable (snicker) journalistic institutions. Why, then, go to a home video shot by a twenty-something partygoer as the primary source for an epochal event? It's a good question, and I think I have a good answer for it. It'll be hard for U.S. audiences not to see "Cloverfield" as a 9/11 metaphor, and I suspect that the choice to focus on the "little" people's experience was informed by the nature of the information stream manifest in the days immediately after 9/11. Some of the most remarkable and informative narrative images were recorded not by journalists but by tourists, residents and amateur photgraphers/filmmakers. For example, the only video of the first plane to hit WTC Tower 1 was accidentally recorded by someone shooting an indpendent film. All he had to do was pan up when he heard the jet's engines. Amateur videographers have been a true game-changer in the news biz, and the advent of YouTube and other online video hosting services means that they'll be game-changers in the entertainment film biz as well.

That is a good point. I'm just a bit finiky about such things, like my worry that they're trying to make it "real", when maybe it's all meant to be plain artistic. The allusions to 9/11 are not lost on me, and I guess that it might be an interesting, though poignant, prospect to bear in mind during the film. As long as it doesn't become a "Gojira-ism" (you know, instead of it being a Tsunami, the Japanese can say "oh, you know it was a giant dragon that did this!"). Who knows.


"Dog Soldiers" was great fun, by the way, though I hear the American version wasn't as good as the UK cut. Still need to see "The Descent." How's that one? Marshall's a real talent.

The Descent is truly a disturbing film! Amazing. One of the few horrors to actually make me feel uncomfortable (probabl due to my slight discomfort to the prospect of being buried alive). The cave systems really are claustrophobic, and not for someone with genuine phobias (D20 SAN roll at least! :lol:). Great film, although in my opinion nowhere near Dog Soldiers, but then werewolves win over troglodites any day!:twisted: Well worth a watch, but get the British cut if you can- much better, and shocking, ending!
 

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