A 1-18-08 Secret Revealed

The "secret" of the pictures on the 1-18-08.com site has been discovered. Turns out with a little mouse razzmatazz, by dragging a corner one way and then another, you can flip the pictures over for some text. The text then in turn reveals...well nothing that I can tell. Two of them have words, the rest are just blank.

Few More San Diego Cloverfield Details

Mania.com has reported a little bit more information regarding Cloverfield. More of the trivia kind then anything.

- JJ Abrams inspiration came from a trip to Japan where said "We need our own Godzilla!", which supports rumors that this is a monster movie. At this point I think all the various bits of info confirm its a monster movie.
- Cloverfield comes from LA Street where Abrams has an office.
- Movie written by Lost writer Dew Goddard (not Abrams, but probably had input in it)
- Directed by Matt Reeves (co-creator of Felicity) and being shot "cinema-verite-style) on digital video. Think Blair Witch Project with better picture quality.
- Cast includes Michael Stahl-David
- Monster is not a parasite or giant robot, killing the Voltron rumors. I am inclined to believe the Slusho rumor, that's its either mutated humans or mutated ocean life.

Another Monstrous Poster

DarkHorizons.com has posted up another poster for Monstrous. Its the same as the previous posts, only in the largest size yet and oddly it has the Monstrous title across the top, something that JJ Abrams denied was the title of the movie. Where the image came from (ie photoshopped etc) was not indicated.

JJ Abrams Denies Monstrous Title

A note from FirstShowing.net is indicating that the title of codename Cloverfield is not Monstrous. I think the leaked image proves that the title was at least under considering but movie titles do change names, at least until the big marketing push that usually begins about a month or so before the release date.

From JJ Abrams:

“I want a monster movie, I've wanted one for so long. I was in Japan with my son and all he wanted to do is go to toy stores. And 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. It's almost done shooting and I watch dailies and I'm more excited for them than the trailer, which has had an overwhelming response. We have 6 months before this comes out. We're going to have a whole bunch of things, a whole bunch more." He said a full trailer, more clips, full posters, and much more will be coming out over the next 6 monts, including the name, which he will NOT reveal today.

“You think we'd call it Monstrous? No…"

(source)

Final Image of Monstrous Poster

EW.com has posted what is apparently the final teaser poster for Cloverfield aka Monstrous aka whatever the current rumor title is. Its the same image as the leaked images from yesterday but notice the title "Monstrous" is missing from the top. Also notice that with the additional clarity comes a noticeable "trail" in the water leading to a smoking New York. Hopefully a larger image will come out soon.

Greg Grunberg in Monstrous?

According to TV Guide, Greg Grunberg (Heroes, Alias) may be casted in JJ Abrams Cloverfield. Its actually currently just idle speculation based on previous history as Grunberg and Abrams are friends from childhood (I think) and usually Grunberg gets a role of some sort in all of Abrams work. He was in Felicity, Alias, Lost (the pilot in the first ep), and I believe a small role in Mission Impossible III. The roles have all varied in size and depth so it could be a major role or just something as small as innocent bystander that gets killed by falling debris.

From TV Guide:

One movie that Abrams is casting Grunberg in is the buzzerific disaster flick known only by its myriad working titles (i.e., Cloverfield, 1-18-08, Slusho). "It'll probably be something where no one will be able to tell it's me," he said. "As you know, J.J. calls me his good-luck charm, so he's got to put me in there somewhere. I actually went to the set the other night, and it was really exciting and cool. The budget is not astronomical. But they're doing incredible things."

Paramount Purchases a Monstrous Website

According to WHOIS information, Paramount Pictures is the new owner of the website http://www.themonstrousmovie.com (currently not up yet) that pretty much confirms the rumored name for the Cloverfield project that JJ Abrams is producing.

"Monstrous" Title of Cloverfield?

Blurry cell phone pics released online indicate that the possible title of the JJ Abrams' project codenamed Cloverfield or Slusho could be called "Monstrous". This belief is fulled by the poster which depicts a headless statue of liberty in the foreground with a possibly devastated New York City in the background. The pic at end of the post is another blurry pic that shows Transformers poster on the left, Monstrous in the middle, and 30 Days of Night on the right.

The speculation that this is definitely the title of the film is further fueled by speculation on what the story could be about from the Gametrailers.com forums:

In Jewish belief, Behemoth is the primal unconquerable monster of the land, as Leviathan is the primal monster of the waters of the sea and Ziz the primordial monster of the sky.

1) The first monster roar is accompanied by an earthquake (Behemoth)
2) The second monster roar is accompanied by a huge fireball (Leviathan, for it can breathe fire)
3) The third monster roar is accompanied by the flying Statue of Liberty head (Ziz).

Not convinced?

The guy who says "maybe we can get a better view from the roof" has the Slusho logo on his shirt. Slusho is a classic J.J. Abrams icon, and it has appeared in both Alias and Lost, which are his shows.

Slusho.jp has, by now, been confirmed as a part of the viral marketing campaign revolving around 1-18-08. Japan. Strangely enough, the character Rob, who is present in the trailer, was gonna fly to Japan a day after that party and the monster events.

Let's have a look around on that site. Not all pages are accessible. But there is an odd feature about the pages that are available. The main page background is on land, the Downloads page background is on air, and the History page background is on sea.

Furthermore, the six buttons on the main page cause popups of various animals, namely a Horse, a Whale and a Bird. Behemoth, Leviathan, Ziz

Could this be true? Sounds good and hopefully answers will come during the upcoming San Diego Comic-Con where Abrams is said to be appearing.

(source)

Ethan Haas, Mindstorm Labs Connection

JJ Abrams has verified that the Ethan Haas Was Right and Was Wrong sites are not a part of Cloverfield. AICN then reported that these sites where actually a part of a new game called Alpha Omega from Mindstorm Labs. None of this has been confirmed, but a blog called OMG WTF EHWR?! might have been the source of AICN unsubstantiated revelation. I say that because they through out the Mindstorm's connection without any explanation of where that connection came from. CEO email? Friend of a friend? Who knows, the site doesn't say.

Really its best to read the site because the connections, all unproven at this time, is fairly complicated. Note to that site's author, use screenshots so if info gets changed can at least do a before and after comparison. The evidence they present:

- WHOIS address for Ethan Haas Was Right is the address for Tom McLaughlin, public relations for Mindstorm Labs since changed from someone named Van Mantra (now in Canada) to John Schneckel and Triton Enterprises, which is part of Mindstorm Labs PR push.
- A press release from the company indicates that more details about the game will be out in early August. As a result it does make since to launch the site in preparation for the PR push for the game.
- A user, bjkman22, posted on many video game forums about the Ethan Haas Was Right website. His real name is Brian Kessman, Interactive Producer of Red Interactive Agency, who built the Was Right website.
- An image from the website has a section that looks nearly identical to art posted on the Mindstorm Lab's site. Click here to compare images.
- There could be the theory that Labs is a front for Cloverfield, but the company has apparently been looking for talent back in January. No reason to do that if just using them to promote a movie. Oddly though, current WHOIS records seem to be fake...but then there are privacy reasons to do that so not conclusive.
- The Ethan Haas Was Wrong blog's profile indicates they are in Latvia, which is the same country that Triton Enterprises was founded in, which is the current owners of the Ethan Haas Was Right website which was previously indicated was owned by Tom McLaughlin at Mindstorm Labs.

Oh yeah, thanks to the site, learned their is a myspace page for the Ethan Haas game. Nothing of substance yet on the site, at least not until August 1st. Also, again from that site, are three pages from Ethan Haas journal (Caph, Gamma Cass, Schedar) or full text here.

So, all kinds of evidence that Ethan Haas is related to a game and not Cloverfield as first assumed. How the two became joined together but it seems to have been a lucky (or unlucky depending on point of view) coincidence where the Ethan Haas ARG got launched at the same time as the Cloverfield trailer. Since JJ Abrams is known for secretive games, people just leaped to conclusions since the trailer showed New Your about to go boom and the sites show what could be interpreted as New York post boom. Since its basically proven that Ethan Haas has nothing to do with the movie, I can't decide if should continue to post about it or not.

Cloverfield Set Pics

Apparently some Cloverfield set pics showed up on Fright Forums. The pics where pulled but We Were Cool Kids blog posted up 4 of them which I have below.

Ethan Hass Explanation?

According to AICN, it appears that the Ethan Hass related websites are actually site being used to promote Mindstorm Labs products. Where this conclusion is coming from I have no idea as nothing about the main website suggests anything to do with the Ethan Haas game.

From AICN:
"When you get overexcited, you get an Ethan Haas situation, and people spend a lot of energy that they shouldn’t spend in the wrong direction. To be clear, all the Ethan Haas sites are interesting and well-coordinated, but none of them have anything to do with CLOVERFIELD. Instead, they are marketing for an upcoming game called ALPHA OMEGA by Mindstorm Labs. Cool stuff, but it’s not connected to the film at all."

At the end of the day, the only confirmed official site related to J.J. Abrams Untitled Project a.k.a. Cloverfield is 1-18-08

Slusho Another Cloverfield Website?

According to the Ugo.com, it appears that Slusho is another Cloverfield website.

The evidence is pretty good to.
1) J.J. Abrams already indicted there where more then one related Cloverfield website.

2) IGN reports the Paramount code name for Cloverfield is Slusho. This is based on a scene description they had for Slusho "Exterior dialogue. Driving scenes. Occasional traffic & pedestrian control. Camera & equipment on sidewalk, street and property. 200 extras. Military vehicles. Destruction aftermath. Weapons brandished. Emergency vehicles with flashing lights. Exterior dialogue on fire escape on 8th floor."

3) Pic below from the trailer shows a shirt with Slusho on the front. Its hard to make out but if it the website, it seems identical.

4) The history of Slusho indicates that its creator Noriko was killed at sea looking for new flavors and her son Ganu became an ocean scientist. One day "he and his teammates discovered a deep sea ingredient." He later dreamed that if drank the ingredient would go from a small fish to a giant whale. Based on the dream, Ganu decided that this new ingredient was the one his Noriko died looking fo. Because it was found in high pressure and extreme cold environment of the ocean floor, it is kept in a frozen state. Considering that Cloverfield is a monster movie, its begs the question of what happens when its not frozen or when its drank?

Overall its pretty good evidence that maybe Slusho website is part of the Cloverfield alternate reality game.

1-18-08 Updated With New Photo

1-18-08 has updated with a new photo that shows a later time frame. The timeline on the site so far is:

1-18-08 12:01am: Lots of fun at a party
1-18-08 12:36am: Fear from something up high (from sky? roof of a building? who knows)
1-18-08 12:48am: Something bad has happened. Is it indoors or outdoors. If outdoors then somehow night has become day from unknown source.

Current info and about all that is known about the movie:
According to IMDB, the film stars Blake Lively, Michael Stahl-David, Mike Vogel and Lizzy Kaplan. It's directed by Matt Reeves and written by Drew Goddard. JJ Abrams is producing this monster movie. Matt Reeves last direct Felicity and Drew Goddard wrote for Lost, Angel, and Buffy.

Ethan Haas Sites A Fake?

According to a note from J.J. Abrams, the various Ethan Haas sites are fake. Or are they?

From AICN:

Dear Sir,

Thanks for your support of our little movie. I can't wait to talk to you more about it -- of course, knowing you, by the time we talk you'll know more than I will.

Regarding the online stuff you posted: yeah, we're doing some fun stuff on the web. But, obviously, if the movie doesn't kick some massive ASS, who gives a rat's about what's online? So as you can imagine, we're focusing mostly on THAT. For what it's worth, the only site of ours that people have even FOUND is the 1-18-08.com site. The others (like the Ethan Haas sites) have nothing to do with us.

Stay cool the rest of the summer -- and thanks per usual for AICN!

JJ

Are they really fake though? It sure is hell an eleborate and bizarre concidence if they are. Really eleborate. I guess August 1st will be the proof as those other sites all point to that as the next significant date of the game. Has anyone figured out those pics? I thought the "We'll Miss" might spell out another website depending on how turned but game up with nada on that theory.

Ethan Haas Was Right Videos

Below are the five videos that come up if you solve each of the puzzles on the Cloverfield related Ethan Haas Was Right website. Also click the links because the descriptions seem to be telling.

Message 1


Message 2


Message 3


Message 4


Message 5

Cloverfield Related Websites

As part of the viral marketing campaign for Cloverfield, several websites have popped up on the web. Apparently they are all apart of the same ARG (Alternate Reality Game that frankly confuses the snot out of me and haven't figured out the point of them yet. Here are the ones I am aware of so far.

1-18-08
Release date of the movie and I based on the pictures of this website, the #$%@ hits the fan around 12:36am. If go to the website there are currently two pictures that you can move around and rotate. What they are for beyond that I am not sure.


Ethan Haas Was Right
Another part of the ARG, this time with 5 memory puzzels. Above is the symbol to english translation, click the image for larger version. After each puzzle is cryptic video. The main gist after getting through the five puzzels is something will happen on August 1.

Here are the hints for the five puzzles (or site help me):
Level 1: Push the buttons in order.
Level 2: Spell HAAS. One of the stars (far right one) will show 26 symbols which correspond to the letters of the English alphabet.
Level 3: Its a beg game, there can only be one left. Pain in the rear so good luck.
Level 4: Use arrow keys to move the blue pebble UP, LEFT, DOWN, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT, UP, RIGHT, UP, LEFT, LEFT (have to hit each twice so arrow for the blue dot points in direction want to move).
Level 5: Spell out THEBEGINNINGISTHEEND. Write down your code (DIVINUS) which will be used starting August 1st with option to get a reminder.

If click the blue star and email Van you will get the following response:

From: Van Mantra van@ethanhaaswasright.com
Mailed-By:
ethanhaaswasright.com
To: -
Date: -
Subject: ------------- they
found me (was: what is all this?)

It's worse than I thought, the Mezin
have found my location and hacked into my phone.
I need to go off the grid
until I can find a safe location to transmit.
If you need help finding the
answers you seek, trust HAAS for the second key, it will unlock the mysteries.

Beyond that, look for other believers.
We are growing stronger
everyday, there are many out there that have found the path.
Search and you
will find the keys to unlock the puzzles.

-- Van

Ethan Haas Was Wrong
Uh not sure. Its mostly written in the language of the ARG, but with the handy dandy translater pic above you could translate it. However its a total pain in the real to do. Thankfully some people on that website already did so.

A translation of the posts are:

July 5th
Are they attempting(?) to scare us into belief?

Ethan Haas would try to strike far into the hearts of men. Do not be shaken by the ramblings of a mad man my brothers and sisters. We are all safe.

July 8th
How easily humanity is mislead...

We the Mezin never expected your kind might be so easily distracted, that all may be lead by one down the muglgarden(?) path, that your eyes and minds would be so easily clouded.

You point (paint?) to a date in the future that means nothing to our cause or your future...

Only 8-1-07 matters to our cause...

We have been here since manking fought with sticks and bones, your technology may have improved but can the same be said for the human mind? Most sterly(?) a wily manipulator like one mentor(?) will exploit the weakness in the masses and lead you all to ruin.

Clearly there are some among you who know the truth and may even be worthy of the Mezin, who have strength of mind and will to see what trial awaits and are not distracted...

The time has come for us to reveal the methods of Haas, we have found his writing and will now expose them for the nonsense that they are...

Cloverfield Teaser Trailer

Here is the teaser trailer to Cloverfield, at least until Paramount pulls it. If want the hi-res versions, click here.

Welcome!

Welcome to my new blog covering the new on various J.J. Abrams projects in the tradition of my other blog, the Transformers Live Action Movie blog that covers all the happening involving the Transformers movie and its probable sequels. Currently this blog will focus on Cloverfield with its release date is 1/18/08. He is also involved with Star Trek XI but I will have a seperate blog for that.