Now that the movie trailer for the top secret JJ Abrams produced monster movie (tentatively titled Cloverfield) has been unleashed on the world, a big faction of the internet refuses to believe that it’s just another monster movie. Much of the speculation around the fanboy circles points to either another American Godzilla movie or a big screen live action Voltron film. Before we explore those two theories, let’s take a look at what we supposedly know so far.
- JJ Abrams is producing
- Long time Abrams collaborator Drew Godard (Lost, Alias, Angel, Buffy) wrote the script
- Matt Reeves (The Pallbearer) is attached to direct
- The whole film will be shot from the POv of consumer handheld video cameras
- The monster or alien is being referred to as a “parasite”
- The City is New York City
- In the trailer they throw a going away party for a young man going to Japan
- There is a Godzillaish roar in the background which sounds a little robotic
- At the end it says In Theaters 1.18.2008
- The trailer was shot before principal photography
- As far as we know, they have not begun principal photography
- JJ Abrams Bad Robot production company is making the film for Paramount Pictures
Some people are pushing the Voltron theory based on the idea that at around one minute and twenty seconds into the trailer, one of the kids yells “It’s a Lion!” But the truth of the matter is, he says “ahhh! It’s alive, It’s huge.” There is no “lion” spoken in the trailer.
The Godzilla faction has used this misquote to support a theory that the movie features Monster Zero (King Ghidorah), a Godzilla monster that looks like a lion, comes from space and shoots fire balls. One thing is for sure, it’s not Godzilla himself because “It” comes from the sky and can throw/spit/produce fireballs. And we must all remmber that a 3D Gozilla is currently also in production.
Others have speculated that the movie might be a remake of Gamera: The Guardian of the Universe. Gamera uses a fireball weapon which seems to fit the action shown in the trailer. But Gamera is virtually unknown by the American audience, so what is the point of using/buying his name property?
The screenwriter for Voltron has said the battle takes place in Manhattan, and that the monsters have parasitic qualities which allow them to regenerate themselves by combining with metal debris. Voltron also fought parasite monsters in the series. However, the Voltron rights still belong to Mark Gordon Productions, and involves a crew of producers that are supposedly not involved in Cloverfield. Mark Gordon Productions is also not a production company under Paramount.
And then there was the emergence of the voltronblog.com website. We have done a whois lookup, and it appears that it is owned/hosted by a different company than the one that is running the official Cloverfield website (1-18-08.com).
I think the biggest fact that many people are overlooking is the release date: January 18th 2008. That’s only six months away and the film has yet to begin principal photography. Sure, that timeline is good enough for a talkie indie film but a big monster movie with lots of special effects? Something seems really off. The timing of the January release also seems off for this type of movie. Some people are speculating that the date is in fact the film’s title. And others are speculating that the date is not the film’s release date, but a release date of a trailer or more viral information.
Some have even speculated that this might be one giant campaign for the Abrams co-created television series LOST. It could just be a coincidence that LOST returns to network television a few weeks after the 1.18.2008 date and is expected to involve flash forwards to the “real world”. JJ Abrams’ Bad Robot is also the production company behind lost. This whole dissection of the movie trailer and online discussion also seems something much in the vein of the LOST television series.
One thing is for sure, Paramount and JJ Abrams have gotten our attention. We’ll have to wait and see how this pans out.
July 5th, 2007 at 1:12 pm
I’m going to guess this isn’t related to LOST and that it is it’s own separate project. Although it is quite strange that it releases in January, which doesn’t allow for much time to finish it. Plus that is right before LOST comes back for it’s much anticipated fourth season. I honestly don’t know what to think now after all this theorizing and speculation. I will admit though all this is eerily similar to the going process of dissecting a LOST episode, I almost feel like I just watched one and this is the response….strange. What happened in the trailer though just doesn’t seem like it could be at all related to what is currently happening on LOST, I won’t say what that is in case some of you haven’t gotten there yet. I guess we will have to wait and see.
July 5th, 2007 at 1:55 pm
i think it might actually be named 1-18-08 they got a website up http://www.1-18-08.com and i dunno whatever that thing is in the backround possibly could be the monster/robot it actually looks familliar like the devil picture from an old story or poem or whatever we had to read in english back in High School
July 5th, 2007 at 2:51 pm
ive been looking up future movies and what I have seen is that they are coming out with a movie version of Gears of War, now i forget if its set for 2008 or 2009 but if 2008 then its a possibility. I’ve never played Gears of War my self but from what I hear its all about monsters or aliens trying to destroy mankind.
July 5th, 2007 at 2:58 pm
Could it be that the thing is to be show on the 18th?
July 5th, 2007 at 4:05 pm
haha..i went to the website its just a photo with the time and release date.
cant wait to see it.
July 5th, 2007 at 11:36 pm
Its Voltron
Lets look at what we supposedly know so far:
Cloverfield is a throwaway name.
Its the name of a street near Bad Robot productions main office in Santa Monica.
The name of the street for the address of the production team listed for Voltron is the same name for the street where Bad Robot productions is on.
They’ve made the mention of a ‘parasite’.
According to one of the writers for Voltron, the Robeasts will have parsitic qualities that help them regenerate from attacks using their surroundings; metal debris.
The battle in Voltron takes place in Manhattan.
Rob is going to ‘Japan’. Key hint as Voltron show was made in Japan.
The guy in the trailer says ‘best night ever’.
The Drule invasion on Earth lasts one day.
And going by how suddenly Manhattan is attacked and by this disiphered puzzle line:
Now according to the new JJ Abrams mystery site known as ethanhaaswasright.com and the other site, ethanhaaswaswrong.com, there are cryptic puzzles and messages that need ot be and have been deciphered. One of them reads:
“And they will come upon the earth only after the skies rain down fire and the very earth itself is made to shake and the great cities of men fall into ruins. Their plans are set and their purpose is clear; they come for war.”
Depicts that it is more than one “monster” attacking. That “they” points to a group, or an alien race, or an army, or an empire, out for war. The Drule empire.
Also this line:
” but the children of the gods may be thus prepared, themselves aware and powerful…they may stand along side the gods not as equals, but as allies, feared and ready.”
Already in the script, it is shown that the 5 keys are somewhat sentient, exerting their own free will, the anceint life force of an alient planet known as Arus, and they are linked with the 5 chosen ‘pilots’ who are decendants. The Drules want these keys because they contain so much power.
They’ve now shown on that Ethanhaaswasright.com website, that there is a stone with wierd Hieroglyphic annotations.
In the Voltron script, the five keys are drawn together; small, ancient-looking but with some kind of modern edge to them, almost like alien artifacts, and form some kind of energy core.
According to the script review, Later, Pidge, who’s real name will be Suzuishi Hiroshi, which means “tin stoneâ€, runs into a tool shed of some kind and see hundreds of sketches in varying languages, some schematic, some artistic, some downright incomprehensible. Hieroglyphic annotations.
Also in the review, it’s said that there are “Translations from some ancient source. Heavy schematics. All of them depicting five lionbots. One series depicts five lions merging together, re-configuring into a different from altogether. Like a step by step diagram of how they build a HUMANOID FIGURE. What’s more, the figure carries a sword.”
In other words, Voltron.
July 6th, 2007 at 5:42 am
How could it be voltron if it will be shot entirely in hand-held camera POV?
You know how much action would be lost due to limited camera perspective?
It will also mean someone would have to be following each of the voltron characters as they do their thing….
July 6th, 2007 at 6:45 am
I AGREE IT CAN’T BE VOLTRON SHOT FROM THAT TYPE OF POV. THOUGH WAT IF THIS MOVIE ENDS UP BEING NOTHING WHAT WE EXPECT, WHA IF THE SCENE
FROM THE TRAILER IS JUST A DREAM OR A FLASHBACK, THAT THE CHARACTER
ROB HAS. sINCE HE KNOWS HE IS GOING TO JAPAN HE HAS A DREAM ABOUT GODZILLA ATTACKING, OR SOMETHING ALONG THOSE LINES…
THINKS I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW ABOUT THE MOVIE-
WHAT IS THE “MONSTER”?
WHY IS ROB GOING TO JAPAN?
WHO IS THE ALIENS ENEMY, OR “THING” THAT WILL SAFE THE HUMANS?
WILL THE POV CAMERAS FEATURE BATTERY DISPLAYS AND ZOOM INS?
LETS HOPE THIS MOVIE IS A BIG HIT WHEN WE FIND OUT ABOUT IT AND NOT JUST SOME CRAPPY LOW BUDGET FILM WITH A AWESOME TRAILER…
July 6th, 2007 at 7:03 am
am I the only guy floating cthulhu theories :P
July 6th, 2007 at 7:15 am
I think that there is too much speculation tied to the fact that everyone expects this entire movie to be shot in a POV handheld camera style. This comes from the first words leaked out about the trailer, and that it was shot using this method, now everyone believes that the entire movie will be done in this fashion. The truth is it would be very difficult to tell a complete and comprehensive story using just this style alone. It is simply a gimmick to introduce this project in a creative manner.
Anyway, Godzilla or some other giant monster type would be awesome, Voltron would be very cool too, either way, I believe we are in for one helluva ride.
July 6th, 2007 at 7:53 am
Has anyone looked at the photo at the website and zoomed in to the demon lookingh object betyween the two girls? Or am I seeing more there than there is?
July 6th, 2007 at 8:17 am
…Dagon.
July 6th, 2007 at 9:06 am
thanks nothing ;)
July 6th, 2007 at 12:00 pm
I guess ill go with..none of the above *shrugs*
There would be madness than destruction if it was cthulu (though it would be a cool cthulu movie)
Its not Voltron…Ok im a anime fan but NO its not Voltron..sheesh JJ Abrams isnt involved in the Voltron project so lets just skip past Voltron
Its Not Godzilla..while A New Godzilla Movie would be nice ….its not gonna be by paramount…maybe if it said Universal or tristar yes but not Paramount. Last i heard there was no plans at all for a new godzilla movie atm….*just looked on imdb* yeah no posting this close to january
Lost…uhm no
and i do think people should read the article and maybe do a little more research….you’d be suprised what you find..
btw no one says lion in the trailer at all….
July 6th, 2007 at 9:13 pm
I think this post may be off about the principal filming not starting. IGN is reporting that filming is underway in Los Angeles under the code name “Slusho,” as of a week or two ago, at least. While the Hollywood Reporter says it’s filming in NYC.
here’s what they describe:
“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.”
July 6th, 2007 at 9:20 pm
HEY theres a new pic on the site..but the pic is 35 minutes before the other one.
July 6th, 2007 at 10:22 pm
Nope not Gears of War but if you think about it this is gonna be another one of those alien invasion plans, destroy major cities, kill human leaders, and pray to whoever they pray to to hope for the best. And if you are thinking “Well, dosent the military try to defend us or isnt there scenes where we’ll see the news in the movie about the current crisis.” Well these people with the camers is gonna see the military if there in the middle of the war zone and of course once they get to saftey they are gonna listen to the radio or watch tv to figure out whats goin on.
July 6th, 2007 at 10:33 pm
Im seein the demon thing in the picture as well. this movie has my attention!
July 6th, 2007 at 10:36 pm
I was lookin at that new photo, one of two things: thats a reflection of light on the womans hair or a demon/alien/parasite/lion that is smiling and has horns is in the darkness behind the two, ohhh creepy.
July 6th, 2007 at 10:54 pm
I’ve been analyzing the new photo as well on the 1-18-08 website because it’s such a random photo to put on there and the only strange thing I can notice about it so far is the woman on the right side of the picture. You can only see half of her face but what you do see is a very strange look on her face. She almost doesn’t even look human. Now it could just be the way the pic was shot, but study it a little bit in comparison to the rest of the people in the pic, I know you can’t really see their faces but as far as you can see everyone looks normal, except her. Like I said it could be nothing, but it could be something.
July 6th, 2007 at 11:00 pm
There is also a number right where the woman’s chest or shoulder is…whatever that black and gray striped thing is anyway. And it looks like either an 8 or a 9. Now this is stretching right here, but most of know that the second of the six infamous numbers from LOST is 8. It’s most likely pure coincidence, but you never know anymore with things like this.
July 6th, 2007 at 11:12 pm
I was just lookn up IMDB pro and there is already a cartoon version movie of Voltron set for 2008 and has no accosiations with J.J Abrams or paremount so sorry.
July 7th, 2007 at 12:21 am
The IMDB information could be totally faked. Misinformation is standard when keeping things secret. 1 18 08 is a release date, so there is little chance that a feature film that hints at what would require massive special effects would not have begun principal photography. The idea that everything will be shot with handheld cameras is interesting. Unlikely that a feature film could be done like that unless you’re going for the Blair Witch feel.
As for Manhattan - plenty of films have taken place in NYC. War of the Worlds began in NYC. Godzilla in 1998 showed up in Manhattan.
Also, Godzilla 2004 included the destruction of the the Statue of Liberty.
Here is a list (possibly incomplete) of films that have included the statue of liberty:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Statue_of_Liberty_in_popular_culture#In_television_and_film
July 7th, 2007 at 9:23 am
Quote :: “The IMDB information could be totally faked. Misinformation is standard when keeping things secret”
Guys, it’s a movie. Not a top-secret government organization where they capture and torture innocent people.
July 7th, 2007 at 11:08 am
This isn’t Voltron. This isn’t Godzilla. This isn’t lost. This is its own film, not based on any TV series. Principle photography began way before the trailer was released. Can’t say anymore, but all the speculation on this page is WAY off.
July 7th, 2007 at 12:51 pm
If you know more Zak, speak up…! Don’t be shy
July 7th, 2007 at 2:20 pm
Its not Voltron, its not Godzilla, thats it final, quit talking about the two, J.J. Abrams would not do those movies and he would not shoot them with POV. Get smart people.
July 7th, 2007 at 2:23 pm
Hes not gonna do lost with POV either. Get real.
July 7th, 2007 at 2:30 pm
i think its the next transformers. what an awesome way to advertise a sequel. never tell the name of the movie and release it as a suprise. it would be huge. freakin huge.
July 7th, 2007 at 2:46 pm
How can they have a sequel 6 months after the first movie? By this time, the movie’s pretty much just coming out on DVD. And I doubt they’d make it that fast. It wouldn’t be THIS secretive. It wouldn’t be in this POV. And robots don’t really roar. Unless maybe it was Deathsaurus. But still, I think it came from the water. Plus, they have the IMDB information on Transformers 2 with a date set for 2009.
July 7th, 2007 at 2:53 pm
Also, Michael Bay is directing Transformers 2.
July 7th, 2007 at 5:47 pm
cthulhu b*tches
July 7th, 2007 at 6:11 pm
Everyone has forgot the most important article of all. It is shot in a POV with home movie cameras. Come on does no one else see that this is actual footage of an attack that will arrive on 1-18-08. Good thing someone got the footage through that time portal, but the conspirace of paramount can’t let us know that they are in on it so they had all the pirate footage pulled from the internet and are only keeping the trailer in the theatre as a coverup….. ethier that or its just a monster movie that didn’t have any footage to show so they went out and shot a couple minutes of crap to show and didn’t attach a name so that it would creat a media buzz. either way it worked
July 7th, 2007 at 7:37 pm
can anyone see that this is the next movie in the resident evil series and is supposed to come out
July 7th, 2007 at 7:43 pm
I was thinking Resident Evil too but they wouldnt shoot it with POV after 2 movies with regular film cameras and they would show the woman in the trailerf you know and stuff about the umbrella corparation.
July 7th, 2007 at 7:50 pm
Resident Evil: Extinction comes out this year.
July 7th, 2007 at 7:58 pm
Like a sea monster is gonna attack new york and like a sea monster would shoot flaming balls or somethin like that, besides IMDB says there is no Cthulhu movie set for 2008, not even 2009 or 10.
July 7th, 2007 at 8:12 pm
Well, Kenny, it doesn’t have to be named “The Movie Of Cthulhu”
July 7th, 2007 at 8:32 pm
Ok the most ridiculous thing I’ve heard so far is that this is the next Resident Evil movie. That is completely ludicrous. First of all why would the first two movies be big budget action/horror films and the third be shot with home wideo cameras??…it makes no sense. Plus I’ve already seen the trailer for the new movie, it’s called Resident Evil: Extinction and it’s not this trust me. It looks really good btw I can’t wait for that to come out. But really I think this isn’t anything we’ve speculated about so far. I think it will be completely new and original. I’d actually rather it be that way.
July 7th, 2007 at 10:39 pm
it is cthullu. cthullu and the deep ones from h.p.love craft’s works. itll have the aesthetic feel of 28 days later.
July 7th, 2007 at 10:43 pm
It’s not “It’s a lion” or ““ahhh! It’s alive, It’s huge.â€
The “truth of the matter” is:
A girl says “What is it? Is it coming this way?”
A guy says “I saw it in the light! It’s huge!”
July 8th, 2007 at 5:06 am
Ok Daniel, I don’t like you. Resident Evil is the best suggestion I heard easily, even if it’s just fan boy hope…
1. production of RE3 was top secret
2. this one willl be a change of pace from previous
3. the tag lineis “welcome to survival horror”
4. the studio promises everybody who hates the last two would finally be redeemed with this closing to the trilogy
5. The game went for a shift into the action horror style, it’s time somebody went back to doing SURVIVAL horror…
No, it’s nearly 100% certain that this movie isn’t it, but who ever suggested it is at least thinking on the ball, unlike the rest of you morons “it’s GODZILLA! VOLTRON!” for fucks sake…
I’d applied logic to show the cthulhuian path (and I’m fairly sure I’ll only be wrong because at least two of the things I made my assumtions on are red herrings) but if we’re going to have alternative theories fly up, and esspecially if the logic is lacking, I’d love for more ideas as plausible as Res Evil 3…
July 8th, 2007 at 6:02 am
Ok, what I don’t understand is this:
- Why do some of you insist that this film is shot POV in handheld camera style? It could just be the trailer that is shot that way? The film could be totally different!
- Why do some of you think that the release date is in January 2008? That could be the TITLE of the movie, or it could also be the release date of more information (another trailer, etc)! I think it’s going to be the release date of another trailer.
July 8th, 2007 at 6:59 am
Dear Aimee,
Firstly, we bothered to read, evidently unlike you…
Both those questions have been raised and answered already, stop thinking you’re thinking outside the box when you haven’t bothered to fucking look how big the box is…
Finally, you’re, like most of these people, a total moron
July 8th, 2007 at 8:37 am
Ok bobtheinsane I guess you really are a bit of your rocker. Thie RE3 isn’t plausible AT ALL because it’s not that movie. Like I said I have seen the trailer ALREADY for RE3 and it’s not this. It’s a real live action big budget special effects movie just like the other ones. So it’s 100% not this ok. Second for the record I never said it’s Voltron or Godzilla, I’ve actually said that I don’t think it’s anything we’re speculating about and it’s most likely something totally original and new. Third I don’t care if you like me or not ok, you say that like it’s something I’m supposed to care about, well I don’t. Calm down there a little bit buddy. It’s just a movie ok. Jeez!
July 8th, 2007 at 8:41 am
Aimee, it’s not 100% that it will be shot in the handheld camera point of view, but according to most of the movie information we’ve come across that’s the way it’s supposed to be. So for now everyone is just assuming that.
And also 1-18-08 is in fact the release date for the movie. If you watch the original trailer at the end when the date actually comes up, it says IN THEATERS 1-18-08 so that in fact confirms that it is a release date for the movie.
July 8th, 2007 at 8:54 am
LOL, I just lost it with everybody this morning :p, but thanks for shooting me down duefully..
July 8th, 2007 at 9:09 am
You’re welcome dude…lol. It’s all good though. I can understand people getting all bent out of shape though because this movie and the search all of us are on to find out what the hell it is is becoming obsessive and I think sometimes that makes people edgy. Epecially with all of the different theories there are out there. Oh well though. I’m sure on August 1st we will find out a lot more about this, or we’ll just get another really weird clue.
July 8th, 2007 at 9:40 am
The title is J.J Abrams. Think about it.
He’s also the monster. Destroying and, and, and mystifying…
July 8th, 2007 at 9:41 am
[It was just a light joke]
I’lll bet now you’ll see MY head roll down the street…:x
July 8th, 2007 at 1:32 pm
Couple of errors in the above article:
The roar is not “Godzillaish” — Godzilla’s roar is a high-pitched screech and this is a low, rumbling roar. The two are really not comparable.
The fireballs are clearly resulting from the explosion in the trailer, not the monster.
It is not one of the “kids” who has the alive line, but a random passerby running for it
The line is not “ahhh! It’s alive, It’s huge.†The correct line is “I saw it! It’s aline, it’s huge!”
The biggest thing people are not taking into account is NOT the release date — it is the additional information provided in the virals that clearly shows this film is its own property, seemingly closely based on the Lovecraft mythos, and it not any other previously existing franchise.
July 8th, 2007 at 3:24 pm
ok, first, they gave it the name “Cloverfield” because of the song they are dancing to just before the noise/tremmor is by Wolfmother, and one of the lyrics mentions “fields of clover”
second, the line IS “I saw it! It’s alive! It’s huge!”
third, it’s not Godzilla, they’re making a Godzilla movie in japan right now that comes out this winter.
fourth, no way it’s voltron. thats stupid.
the truth is, no one knows what this film (if it is a film) is about. Everything thats out right now is mere speculation. All we can do is sit and wait for another trailer. later this month Abrams will make an appearance at Comic Con, and hopefully clear some of this up.
July 8th, 2007 at 6:34 pm
it is CHTULU!!!!! Look it up and keep your pants on with all this Godzilla, Voltron, Lost BS. LOOK IT UP!!! CHTULU!!!!
July 8th, 2007 at 6:36 pm
Some of you people are deaf. Only people who didn’t see the trailer in the theater claim to hear bizarre versions of what was said. It’s pretty damn clear in the theater.
The line is “I saw it in the light! It’s huge!”
“It’s alive” would be some cheesy-ass dialogue.
July 8th, 2007 at 7:57 pm
let me re-iterate; cthullu ftaghn!
July 8th, 2007 at 8:23 pm
I watched all of the trailers before the movie transformers was shown one trailer really got my attention. the movie that comes out in 1/18/08 is to be thrill seeking movie of the year. I have heard mixed reveiws about what the monster is and one guy in the crowd shouted “it big and its alive” and some huge lion. this got my attention because I THINK THAT THE MONSTER IS VOLTRON VS. PARASITE! because people are saying that the monster is called Parasite and Voltron fought him in the sereis and the release date is on the same day for both topics. so some one do further research and spread the news!
July 8th, 2007 at 9:29 pm
omg u all seriously have forgotten the biggest potentential movie out there, halo
July 8th, 2007 at 9:36 pm
Well, yeah
Well, yeah, because it isn’t, I’m sure
July 9th, 2007 at 5:38 am
If it was halo, that would be the most cathartic release from the roller coaster ride that’s been the gods of video games Bungie org, into the watered down action game trip for the masses bungic corp… Anybody who thinks halo is a good game is totally fucking clueless…
and John, nice of you to wade into the debate to just sprout an unfounded opinion (in the wake of fresher information) and not bother to actually participate in conversation… trust me, even though I’m doubting you’re going to bother.. it’s not voltron, somebody else owns it and has already put it into heavy production…
Btw, has the rest of you noticed that the movie industry were planning a double summer of monster mashes and very few of us were aware until we started working out all the things this logically isn’t :p
July 9th, 2007 at 9:32 am
I went to the Ethan Haas myspace page
http://www.myspace.com/ethanhaaswasright
and in the “extended network†box in the upper right corner is 2 words in that cryptic language. The 2 words translated are cthuhlu pthagen wich means “cthuhlu waits/ dreams……
In the books he comunicates with ppl via dreams. Try this on. Maybe he was sending this Ethan Haas character dreams. Ethan starts ranting about the coming of cthuhlu, everyone thinks he’s crazy and then cthuhlu awakens. Thus, Ethan Haas was right. Anyone who has read H.P. Lovecraft knows that he focus’s more on the mental/ emotional status of his characters rather than giving a detailed description of the monster/ beast. So the POV from a camcorder makes absolute perfect sense. I know the myspace thing could have been created by anyone but damn if all signs don’t point towards cthuhlu. Children of the stars, ancient ones? Come on people.
July 9th, 2007 at 11:25 am
not sure if this was said or mentioned yet, but I work at a movie theatre, and attached to the small film reel is a a tenative release date, which reads 12-12-2012. Not sure if this is just another way to keep the public in the dark, or an error, but that’s what it reads.
July 9th, 2007 at 1:37 pm
“I saw it! It’s alive! It’s HUGE!” why would he say i saw it in the light? it’s midnight, and there was just a huge explosion. there is no light but that from the fire, then the line would be “i saw it in the fire!” listen to it again, you’re wrong.
the Ethan Haas myspace page seems too lame. no way it was made by Paramount, so there’s no way it is directly related to either the movie or Haas.
and as for speculations on what the monster may be, all they are is speculations. Truth be told, not even most of the cast knows what the monster is, so good luck on anyone else finding out. Abrams is well known for thinking outside the box, so it looks like we’ll all have to wait for more info. hopefully 8/1 will shed a little light…
July 9th, 2007 at 5:30 pm
i searched voltron at imdb and i got a result. it seems like it fits the trailer.
July 9th, 2007 at 6:30 pm
Cloverfield is the name of the blvd right next to JJ Abrams Bad Robot Productions studio in Santa Monica. Its the old name of a Santa Monica airport.
Ethan Haas is the name of a character on the CBS show The Class, which was canceled.
Lizzie Kaplan is an actress who was recently announced as an actress in the Cloverfield project movie. She played Ethan Haas girlfriend on the show.
Van Mantra is the name of the person on the video that gets unlocked when you solve the first puzzle; the beginning is the end. He says to go underground and hide. In the Voltron script, humanity goes underground and hides because of the invasion that happens in one day that starts in NYC, hence the hint line in the trailer “best night ever”, as its gonna be anything but that.
There are 5 puzzles to unlock on the Ethanhaas website that each have a 30 day timer on them that give clues to the next puzzle. Each of these puzzles use cryptic heiroglyphic messages just like the cryptic hryoglyphic messages in the script for Voltron for the people to figure out how to find and use the 5 keys.
5 puzzles. 5 keys. 5 keys. 5 lions. Voltron
July 9th, 2007 at 8:48 pm
Well I have no real idea what this movie is although my first thought was Godzilla. One thing I thought was that this may be just a slick way of advertising a movie so the trailer isn’t the movie or part of the movie it’s just a method they’ve used to advertise the movie. I’m sure I’ve seen this done before where they’ve used footage like something was being shot for a TV news piece or just some average Joe making a home video when something extraordinary happens. I can’t remember any specific film but I’m sure I’ve seem this done before.
I applaud them for how they’ve managed to capture everybody’s imagination. They kept the film tightly under wraps to spring it on an unsuspecting crowd of movie goers. They released the footage in trailer form before one of the biggest films playing at the moment (Transformers) therefore ensuring a wide audience sees it. They’ve left clues and a bread crumb trails on the internet with the promise of more information coming on August 1st thereby generating this sort of forum for mass debate and speculation.
You just can’t buy this sort of publicity…. very smart, very effective and very free and now they have all of us hooked to the point we want to see this film no matter what! Very cunning. I tip my hat to you J.J.
July 9th, 2007 at 8:56 pm
Hey Guys~ One thing is clear. Another destruction Movie!!!
July 9th, 2007 at 9:06 pm
For anyone interested or suspect a Cthulhu apparently they’ve already made one.
http://www.cthulhuthemovie.com
July 9th, 2007 at 9:26 pm
jesus people stop it. its not Voltron. its not Godzilla. its is FREAKING CHTULU!!!! do your home work and stop with the retardation. go look at the ethanhaaswasright website. go do some research on Lovecraft and Chtulu. it is pretty freakin clear what this is if you do something other than beer belly pontificate.
July 10th, 2007 at 2:27 am
Woo there, take a chill pill cran. I admit I have no idea what this movie (if it is a movie) is about but as I posted above they have already made a movie about this Cthulhu (Chtulu) or however many different ways you like to spell it. So If they already made one that has been or is being released this year (according to the web site in my previous post) then why would there be another one? And from a different production company? I doubt they (who ever owns the rights to Lovecratfs works) would have sold the rights to two different production companies as that makes no sense at all.
So take a deep breath, count to ten and don’t blast everybody because you think you’re right and everybody else is wrong. Everybody is entitled to their opinions and speculations just like you are so let them have theirs as well.
July 10th, 2007 at 2:41 am
fucking idiots and your voltron/godzilla/ethanhaas/halo. it’s quite simple people. take a minute and think about it.
July 10th, 2007 at 2:47 am
oh c’mon people, leave the POV camera alone! u fuckfaces who think its another godzilla movie, or some Voltron - what the fuck? or some Cthulhu -who would be so fuckin retarded to make a movie about GIANT SQUID!!!??? :PP
the best and (as i think) only option is that this monster will be somethink new, big, angry, and willing to fuck up the whole planet :)
July 10th, 2007 at 9:23 am
Is it Godzilla? Is it Voltron? Check out this new trailer mashup for JJ Abrams’ new movie and you will see who the monster truly is.
http://www.iklipz.com/MovieDetail.aspx?MovieID=6cf0fcfb-3b1b-4168-a1bf-16834dac865d
July 10th, 2007 at 9:39 am
Ok, there is so much speculation about this movie. KLet’s just REALLY think about this for a second. J.J. Abrams, co-creator of LOST. Anyone actually PAY ATTENTION to the meaning of 1-18-08??? Have you seen LOST? Then you know the mysterious numbers: 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42. The sum of those numbers is 108. Hmmmm, the trailer say in theaters 01-18-2008 OR 1-08. Common people Abrams has all of us hook, line, and sinker. A budget of just 30 million is gonna make him A LOT of money….Whether it has to do with LOST or not, it definitely has our minds racing for answers that we are not going to get for a LONG LONG TIME….kind of like LOST!!!
July 10th, 2007 at 10:30 am
OK. Stop. Seriously. I’m laughin so hard right now. It’s not Resident Evil because … well, that’s just ridiculous. Almost as ridiculous as it being Godzilla or Voltron. Get all these preconceptulaized notions out of your heads and realize that this is J. J. Abrams! He did not base his TV shows off older types of shows. He created an entire new foundation for television and story telling.
Granted his first directorial debut was Mission Impossible: III, this movie is going to be something much more unique and impactful than “the next big blockbuster” movie. Get your heads out of your butts and realize that J. J. Abrams isn’t going to waste his time on something that’s been done before. He’s bringing us something new and interesting and he wants us to figure it out. Stop falling on old ideas and nostalgic reasoning.
Let’s get some realistic speculation going on around here.
July 10th, 2007 at 12:24 pm
trust me people the trailer with the home camera has nothing to do with the film its not going to even be in the movie. Its a teaser for the ironman movie… so there the secret is out.
July 10th, 2007 at 1:28 pm
Trevor “He did not base his TV shows off older types of shows. He created an entire new foundation for television and story telling.” never saw the prisoner/quantum leap/twin peaks/a thousand other shows from the last 40 years… just because he picks the obscure and in vast quantity to hack his shows together, doesn’t stop him being a hack…
July 10th, 2007 at 2:42 pm
The Resident Evil movies are from ScreenGems under Sony Pictures.
Bad Robot (J.J. Abrams TD) is under Paramount.
July 10th, 2007 at 5:58 pm
revelations 9:17
revelations 10:3
revelations 13:2
July 10th, 2007 at 6:31 pm
Whatever Voltron is, it sounds about as cool as the power rangers. No offense to its fans, but i dont think the general public would go for something like that. Alot of people are going to be lured in just by the fact that this thing is at all associated with Lost, and alot of those people would be disappointed with an anime re-make.
July 10th, 2007 at 6:41 pm
i also want to add. lol, that if i were a producer making a film about apacolypse, the BESTway is to make it, as REAL as possible. no other way to se it throug the eyes of them, except through theyre eyes litterally. If i made a judgement movie, it would flop if i made it a huge special effects type movie, and comical and different cam angles. I would make it more about the story. i would make it more REALISTC, and i would not focus on the beast TOO much, because then it would familiarize the audience with the beast, which could leave them no other way but to come to terms with it as a being. But if you use POV, a rich scary story, followed by glimpse of this beast, you could def stay in a nice budget, which it does have, and make a very scary movie that can have you shittin in your pants everytime you see it, cause it would seem so real that it would happen any moment in real life. THATS if i were jj abrams. id also make the date of the movie somethin close to the versus found in revelations. religious/horror sci fi fact number one - always add some type of biblical or actual reference to something of real religious importance to scare the crap out of anyone. cause you can read back in say, oh shit! its right there in the bibble! ……… ill be good jesus, i promise!!! lol
July 10th, 2007 at 7:51 pm
Its a gargoyle film….look at the face in the pic of the two women.
July 10th, 2007 at 9:05 pm
OK……ummmmm
GHOSTBUSTERS!!!!ahahahaha
man thats about as crazy as all the other ones.
im just pulling your chain.
i think its a biblical movie of teh apocolypse
July 10th, 2007 at 9:49 pm
after moving the picture slightly on the website, the pictures begin to kinda move by themselves…. i found this out by mistake
July 11th, 2007 at 5:55 am
At 1:01 the news broadcast can be seen. Which reveals the temperature to be 63 degrees. 63 Degrees between 12:01 and 12:36 am on January 18th in New York City? Hardly seems right…
NEW YORK CNTRL PK TWR (305801)
Monthly Totals/Averages
Maximum Temperature (degrees F)
Years: 1971-2000
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Annual
Average 38.7 41.6 50.5 61.5 71.8 79.9 85.3 83.6 75.9 64.7
Any insight?
July 11th, 2007 at 10:32 am
Sorry for my english, i’m french so i’ll do my best…
this is my theory : i think that in the entire movie we won’t see the the thing (or
the things, or whatever it is) which make all this mess in N.Y.C. It will just follow some people with the camera in this mess to see what happen to them. Monster, Godzilla, Voltron, The Lost’s Smoke, Ben Laden, a giant Mickey Mouse, Michael Moore ? No, the people in the movie have no clue so we haven’t too. That’s why the the movie will be in theatre in january 2008 and that’s why it cost just 30 millons.
July 11th, 2007 at 8:15 pm
First i would like to ask if anyone knows for sure if this movie will be shot entirely through a home videocamera? Second i would like to know if the website 1-18-08.com is an offical website or is just there to piss me off? Finally i had continually scanned along with my dad for movie franchises under paramout pictures and found only one movie that would make sense (however likely it may be) but… brace yourself… for disappointment… Power Rangers. Connections are seen with if anyone remembers the origonal series but Jason is the red ranger, the image behind the two heads in the picture at 1-18-08.com looks similar to those monsters, and finally in the trailer someone yells while running away “where’s Jason” perhaps to join the other four, just throwing that out there. please prove this false. please respond.
July 11th, 2007 at 8:25 pm
it is a very logistical guess, but we are talking about Abrams, i doubt he would limit his mind to the power rangers, the first power rangers with ooze was great but it was childish…1-18-08 is more of a mind provoking movie concept then PR…
the best theories for this movie i have heard have been…
1. That we will never see the monster. (Somewhat like lost)
2. The monster is not a “thing” but more so a parasite that weakens the mind, therefor using your fears against you.
3. Gargoyle’s…lol, no seriuosly ppl have said this…
July 11th, 2007 at 8:30 pm
One more thing i may mention is that Cthulhu may be very possible because of the lore about him seems to fit in with abrams style and because of losts lack of direction it may be what he wanted the monster to be all along not to cut time and make some smoke i mean it was on a lost island with ruins (statues four toed foot) just saying. oh and something else interesting Kronos old robot flick from 1957 roar very similar, but robot very cheesy looks like box with stick legs
July 11th, 2007 at 8:37 pm
Cthulhu already has a movie coming out, and Abrams doens’t have the right to lovecraft’s work… iv’e even heard ppl say its alien that the government tried hiding and it awoke…but the movie is about the ppl…not the monster…there is something more to them…cuz if the monster was the star we would have a Blockbuster movie with a blockbuster budget
July 11th, 2007 at 8:39 pm
Paramount movie license for Gears of War movie monsters attack from beneath with advanced weapons, but that does not take place on earth, and very early to have script trailer and release on that. Best info i have is to wait until august 1st for title and more information, and finally it isno longer limited to 65million, but could reach as high as 157 million. doubtful forBWcamera scheme.
July 11th, 2007 at 8:44 pm
wat can be 157 million…the budget??? i agree Gears of War would be great, but not for a wide audience…Halo would be too, but we know neither of those are happening anytime soon
lol, my friend said its the unreleased trailer for underdog…now thats funny
July 11th, 2007 at 8:54 pm
Two monster may be depicted because of the newscaster reports from and where the attack is first made, but the rob character does seem to know more than he lets on with his face not seeming suprised, but more like he knew something like this could happen tries to take control of the situation. notice the nine on the right in the picture at the 1-18-08.com heard it was put in after it was shot in photoshop. has meaning?
July 11th, 2007 at 9:00 pm
yea rob is very laxy daisy about the whole incident until he has to run for his life. but then agian he may or may not be drunk,lol… but he does know something…maybe that is why he was leaving to japan???…the 9 on the creepy girl is may give a hint to something outside of the movie…??? as far as the movie goess i doubt its important. the creature inbetween the girls seems demon like…even if it is “hair”…
i wudnt be shocked if the movie ends with the camera dying at the end of the moive, lol that is totally up abrams alley
July 11th, 2007 at 9:02 pm
It came from Outer Space, J.J. Abrams auto talks about it as one of his favorites as a child from biography (didnt read just heard).Owned by paramount are fifties movies making a splash again, oh and budget increase because of huge online hype supposedly, anyway attack with rays and parasites sent down to kill sort of fits.
July 11th, 2007 at 9:08 pm
True…now it is getting even more interesting…Abrams is wierd but cool dude, so he must have alot of wierd, and suppensefull stuff waitting for us…as long as he can keep the hype building at keep us nailed for a 1 1/2 to 2 hour movie i will be satisfied…i hope the US milatry doenst when im tied of us being able to stop everything…
July 11th, 2007 at 9:08 pm
Ethan Haas what does he have to do with this movie. ethanhaaswasright.com describes what you see in the trailer and says when your done to wait till august 1st, maybe the demon is not far of because ethan haas writings seems to have to do with the apocolypse of sme sort. cool game cool website.
July 11th, 2007 at 9:13 pm
whether it is or isnt i had fun with the game and sci/fi thrill of it all…but it wud make the hpye so much bigger if it did have to do with the movie…Aug 1st is my b-day and that will be the 1st think i check in da morning…if it is the apocolypse… it will be the realist portrayed on film…in my opinion
July 11th, 2007 at 9:21 pm
Finally Bad Robot has rights to make star trek (ugh) movies. aliens attack earth Rob member of crew goes to defend once again just found it, highly doubt it.
July 11th, 2007 at 9:23 pm
me too thats not happening…noway it better not
July 11th, 2007 at 9:35 pm
I’m reading these old comments and resisent evil? not by paramount, not placed in new york, not a living monster, and comes out this year… ok. Well it has to be big enough to rip off the head of statue of liberty and throw it, andwhe you see the people running they are looking up ginat monster/robot for sure, or some super hero license that i cannot find are the best possibilities. alien are gone because you get a very good look at sky and see no ships or rays so yeah survival movie but from giant monsters not zombies.
July 11th, 2007 at 10:41 pm
good research ev…keep it coming
July 12th, 2007 at 12:57 am
h.p.lovecrafts works are in the public domain; anyone can use them. i personally hope its an original work. If not, maybe an interpretation of revelations with the chimera, lion headed dragon whatever the hell it is. that’d be orgasmic.
July 12th, 2007 at 2:02 am
(grrr…Why isn’t this submitting?)
My thoughts (after reading all of your comments plus several other discussions elsewhere, as well as doing my own research):
I have to disagree with both sides in the argument on whether the image in the photo on 1-18-08.com is a 6 or a 9. From what I have been able to determine, and I am quite sure that I am correct, it is simply the mortar between the bricks of the wall. I will attempt to prove my point using ASCII art:
Take a brick wall:
————————
| | | |
————————
| | | |
————————
and cover all of it but a tiny bit:
XXXXXXX—XXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXX| XXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXX—XXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXX XXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXX—XXXXXXXXX
Blur it a bit since it isn’t what the camera lens is focusing on and throw in some flash glare, and presto, you get exactly what we are seeing in the photo. It could, on a very slim chance, be intentional, but that’s stretching it a whole lot. Hate to burst anyone’s bubble, but that’s the way I see it.
There has been speculation over the license plate of the black SUV that is immediately to the left of the door that everyone runs out of on the ground floor. It reads “ABZ 3293″ which has turned up numerous interpretations, including the manufacture of a fake article on Wikipedia. It even has it’s own website, which can be found at http://www.abz3293.com. This site is an obvious reference to the trailer, though whether it is legit or a hoax is unclear, since the site appeared on July 7th.
One thing that is quite interesting is the Whois info for the 1-18-08.com site, since it has the name of a Freemason who supposedly predicted three world wars in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries during the Nineteenth Century as the tech contact, who supposedly resides at the address currently occupised by the George Washington National Mason Memorial…has to be intentional, though what kind of clue it might be, I’m not sure.
Two more things I am going to look into:
2004 ace, which is spray painted on the inside of the rooftop door, which is only illuminated for a frame or two by an explosion.
DEAD D*something*, two words on the back of the street sign visible on the right when the camera is focused on the head of the Statue of Liberty as it comes to a stop (you can’t make out the second word…at least, I can’t, my best guess is DEALER or something similar) What I find interesting is that the words were spray painted on *before* the sign was put on the pole (since there is no paint of the same color on the pole itself), signifying that it was likely intentionally put there (possibly replacing a real street sign temporarily for the shooting of the trailer).
July 12th, 2007 at 3:43 am
Evan, too bad Ethanhaaswasright has nothing to do with this movie? How do we know? JJ Abrams said so. See the other story on this site about his post to aintitcol news. According to Abrams, the only official site (that anyone has found) is the 1-18-08.com site.
July 12th, 2007 at 7:05 am
I would just like to clarify that what i have mentioned in my previous statements are not what i have found, but what people have shown me. And i would like to state that an original piece of work would still need a license or title pending license to be, so either JJ Abrams has found a way to hide the license away from the database or it is a piece of work being remade. i have been searching for a way he could do this and so far there is no way.
July 12th, 2007 at 7:29 am
This looks like an end of the world movie, probably based on biblical prophecy. If you listen to the roar, there is a female voice right before it like its some type of angel of destruction or something.
July 12th, 2007 at 7:55 am
I disagree with biblical only on the standard that the roar is too similar to a giant monster movie and the girl could be anyone at that party. Plus the giant explosion is alittle much and biblical movies all start with the signsof the apocalypse and tearing off the head of the statue of liberty and throwing it across town from a 6 foot angel would look bad. Plus would it help if i said that abrams bio says he is not too religous so a movie of scriptual accuracy would be weird also found that interesting because of lost using so much faith.
July 12th, 2007 at 8:43 am
“Cloverfield/1-18-08″ being a 1st-person interpretation of Lovecraft’s Cthulu mythos is easily the most appealing of any ‘pre-fab’ speculation thus far imo.
I’ve got to admit, though, that having read through this thread there is a an awful lot of flawed thinking out there. The idea that this could/would/should be a Voltron or Resident Evil (or for the love of God, Power Rangers) film is ridiculous to the point of being frightening.
As for the the idea that this might be a take on the Bible’s Book of Revelation, just stop. The Left Behind series of books pretty much illustrated how painfully nonsensical it is to insist upon a strictly LITERAL interpretation of that deeply profound (and intensely METAPHORICAL) scripture.
So I think it’s safe to say that we’re either looking at either:
a. some “original” take on the ‘giant monster apocalypse’ genre…or
b. (hoping against hope) a realistic, epic treatment of Lovecraft’s elusive, believed-to-be-impossible to film Cthullu mythos.
July 12th, 2007 at 8:56 am
Addendum:
How can so many people be have misheard the line spoken by the male passerby just prior to the statue of liberty’s head being hurled into the building.
For the record, the line is - as Observer correctly pointed out - “I saw it, it’s alive, it’s huge!”
The middle sentence is NOT: “in a line” or “it’s a lion” or “in the light.”
It’s both hilarious and frightening when someone using the name Can Hear Clearly clearly can’t. Consider it a rather fitting metaphor for just how careful we should always be about trusting/insisting that our subjective perception of reality is in fact accurate (and thus valid).
July 12th, 2007 at 9:27 am
My bad if this has been mentioned on here before, but does anyone remember the Fire and Ice episode of Lost season two:
Charlie’s brother opens a Voltron toy for Christmas…
Now, I don’t think it’s a Voltron motion pic; all I’m saying is that it’s cool.
July 12th, 2007 at 9:34 am
Okay, theres SOME possibility of a cthulhu movie…..BUT google it folks,
its already an indy film showed at the Seattle Film Festival back in June,
so cthulhu is pretty much out for me. As for voltron…..no way in heck.
With principal production not even fully underway there is no way this can
do any justice to Voltron at all with a release date only 6 months away.
Not alot of CG either, so it would be really hard to even belive that this
1-18-08 is Voltron in any way shape or fom. Godzilla-out, lets not go back
to another wrom guy again. Im thinking its a totally separate project for
J.J.! Either way..its gonna be good.
July 12th, 2007 at 10:12 am
It is an original. That you can be assured of beause i have located the name pending license in paramounts database and let just hope to god that this is JJ Abrams movie, not saying it will nt have a likeness to other monsters, but one in its own. Maybe even two, like the take on how people survive when a godzilla clashes with a rodan, again just saying what i found.
July 12th, 2007 at 10:18 am
Viral marketing here? http://www.abz3293.com/
‘ABZ 3293′ is a license plate number of an SUV in the trailer. Who’s to say if the site legit or not, but I wouldn’t doubt much at this point, as we all know so very little. It’s interesting to consider either way.
July 12th, 2007 at 10:51 am
ARE YOU PEOPLE ALL STUPID. IT’SAS CLEAR AS DAY, THE MOVIE IS
A REVENGE MOVIE ABOUT THE STAYPUFF MARSHMELLOW MAN’S
LITTLE BROTHER GONE MAD!!!! LOOK AT THE CLUES DAMMIT!!!
July 12th, 2007 at 10:57 am
I don’t know if this has been mentioned before, but I wonder if the people debating the whole “It’s a lion” “It’s alive” thing have heard the woman’s voice saying “They live” right before the first roaring sound. You can hear it clearly in the trailer at apple.com. It’s right at 38 seconds into it. You can also hear this same voice moaning or something, maybe even saying “they” again, right after the roar.
July 12th, 2007 at 11:09 am
Nodnarbius,
After listen carefully to the point in the trailer you mention, there does indeed seem to be a female voice saying “they live” immediately before the initial monstrous roar. And though I did hear the post-roar moan in the same voice, I didn’t detect it to say anything intelligible such as “they.”
July 12th, 2007 at 1:38 pm
Just a couple points real quick, and I apologize for not reading back to the beginning, but I’ve seen this in recent comments.
Voltron is being released by Columbia Pictures, so it’s not Voltron.
ABC owns anything ‘Lost’-related, so a feature film would be released through Disney (most likely Touchstone).
Otherwise, I’m as stumped as everone else.
July 12th, 2007 at 1:38 pm
Just a couple points real quick, and I apologize for not reading back to the beginning, but I’ve seen this in recent comments.
Voltron is being released by Columbia Pictures, so it’s not Voltron.
ABC owns anything ‘Lost’-related, so a feature film would be released through Disney (most likely Touchstone).
Otherwise, I’m as stumped as everyone else.
July 12th, 2007 at 6:50 pm
What do you people see in the new picture on 1-18-08.com other then the time at 12:48
July 12th, 2007 at 6:54 pm
What do you people see in the new picture on 1-18-08.com other then the time at 12:48 all i can see is four people so is there any relevance because i have not seen a single thing other than this picture takes place after the trailer.
July 12th, 2007 at 8:50 pm
Does anyone see anything in the new pic on 1-18-08 the one with all smoke and the four figures i cant find anything
July 12th, 2007 at 9:08 pm
since no one has done this yet here http://www.apple.com/trailers/paramount/11808/ its the link to the trailer and heres the link to the 1-18-08 website http://www.1-18-08.com/ just to make it easier for everyone
July 12th, 2007 at 9:13 pm
hey just tellin everyone you can here an angel right bfore the roar its at exactly
38 seconds and it says theyre alive or somethin but yea its definatly there someone probably already said that but whatever
July 12th, 2007 at 9:39 pm
hey in the trailler did anyone notice the grafiti on the back of a small sign after the liberty head rolls past the camera it say somethin like doad deer or somethin
like doad dead just wonederin if it might be anythin doad dead
July 12th, 2007 at 9:42 pm
i heard it and it made me shit on myself…dats is freaky…
July 13th, 2007 at 5:59 am
Yes, the voice has been mentioned. But you are a wee presumptuous to declare that it is an angel. In the future may I suggest inserting a friendly little clause such as “what may be” to acknowledge [your] actual (if unadmitted) uncertainty.