Hollywood has mastered the art of over-promising and under-delivering, with "Superman Returns" being a handy recent example. With this weekend's alien-invasion movie "Cloverfield," Paramount Pictures hopes to turn that equation on its ear.
Few movies outside of the latest "Star Wars" sequels have been made and promoted with such secrecy -- even when it came to something as simple as "Cloverfield's" real name. To throw off Internet snoops during production, the film was sequentially called "Slusho," "Chocolate Outrage" and "Cheese." To create further mystery at last year's Comic-Con convention, different posters for the film were labeled either "Terrifying," "Monstrous" or "Furious."
When the first trailer for "Cloverfield" (the name comes from a street near producer J.J. Abrams' offices) debuted with last summer's "Transformers," there was no title for the movie anywhere.
"From the beginning, the whole conceit was don't say anything to anyone -- keep it invisible," Abrams says.
Actors who auditioned for the film -- and even crew members who worked on the project -- never saw a complete script. When the film was previewed last week to students at Michigan State and Florida State, the security was just a notch below LAX during a red risk level.
"We wanted to come in under the radar -- and let people discover it," says the film's director, Matt Reeves. "In a way, it was like movie advertising from another era."
"Cloverfield" is a throwback itself too: an old-fashioned monster movie with some high-tech special effects. When "Lost" producer Abrams pitched the idea to Paramount production chief Brad Weston, the idea was to bring a "Blair Witch" sensibility to a Hollywood staple that includes "The Blob," "The War of the Worlds" and the Japanese "Godzilla" series. But rather than make a budget-busting star vehicle, Abrams wanted to make a $25-million movie with unknowns.
The movie begins at a going-away party for Rob, who is headed to Japan as part of a job promotion. Rob (Michael Stahl-David) has recently fallen for his longtime platonic partner Beth (Odette Yustman), but the feeling may not be mutual, creating some awkward moments for Hud (T.J. Miller), who is videotaping the party as a keepsake for Rob.
Hud's camera is recording Rob and Beth's knotty relationship when a horrible attack hits New York City. The Statue of Liberty is decapitated, the Brooklyn Bridge ruptured, the Woolworth Building destroyed. Before long, a giant creature is laying waste to all of Manhattan, with Hud's camera taking it all in.
