The new J.J. Abrams movie which is still listed as Untitled, but is unofficially being referred to as Cloverfield, was filming on the Lower East Side yesterday and last night. Did anyone catch it? The monster movie is due out January 18th, 2008 - and this past week Abrams spoke of the somewhat mysterious project at Comic-Con.
"I just want to say I want a monster movie. I want a great monster movie. I've wanted a monster movie for so long, and I was in Japan a year ago with my son who is eight, and all he wanted to do was go to toy stores - so I know he's my son. And we went to the store and there were still all of these Godzillas, and I thought we need our own monster. We need a monster movie - not like King Kong. I love King Kong - King Kong is adorable - and Godzilla is a charming monster, but I wanted something that was just insane and intense.
"So we decided to make this movie and we're making it for you now, and it's almost done shooting," Abrams continued. "I watch dailies and I'm more excited about the movie itself than the trailer, which has gotten an amazing response and I can't thank you enough."
The trailer was first seen before the Transformers movie in early July, and due to it's Blair Witch-like quality and the secretiveness surrounding it - fans have been worked into a frenzy! Abrams promised at Comic-Con that over the next six months a "real trailer," poster and more footage would be released, along with the title. For now, there are some websites cracking clues, and the official site is www.1-18-08.com. The main characters also have MySpace pages, here's one (check his "Top 8" for the others).
You can watch the trailer here. Get ready for shaky-cam shots, NY1 Breaking News, screaming 20-somethings and a decapitated Statue of Liberty. The Daily News talks about how there's a resurgence of New York "disaster porn" on film lately, something that slowed down after 9/11. Next up: The Hulk.
Photos of the "Cloverfield" set yesterday taken on Orchard Street between Stanton and Rivington, via Big Spider's Flickr. More here.
