Breaking News: On January 17, 2003 a devastating earthquake hit Japan. This event was caught on tape by two American filmmakers. But it wasn’t an earthquake. And it wasn’t Cloverfield. It happened five years before. Like, duh. No, it was…MONSTER. And, oh yeah, it hits stores on 01-15-08.
The source of everyone’s favorite video store spam, the Asylum, has “found” a trailer for its latest, uber-timely magnum o(cto)pus, MONSTER. Hollywood’s new ruler in the shower is having your film turned into an Asylum mockbuster, so congrats in advance to Cloverfield’s J.J. Abrams and Matt Reeves. Don’t drown in the bubbly. [...]

Harry Knowles of AICN has seen Cloverfield, and has posted a raving review. Here are a couple snippets:
“CLOVERFIELD is a bold genre-reinvention unlike anything we’ve ever seen before.”
“The movie is f**king brilliant. It’s what we were told it was going to be. An intimate perspective on an impossibly grand scale human disaster beyond most human levels of comprehension.
“Like SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, but instead of Nazis it’s a giant monster.”
“Characters die. Shit goes horribly horribly wrong – and it rules!”
“There’s no score, there’s no rules, there feels like there’s no script and no movie. It feels found, but it is so huge that you can’t ever really believe that… but handheld [...]

Cloverfield news, much like the monster, is on a rampage. Paramount has released 25 production photos from the JJ Abrams-produced monster film. Check them out after the jump. As always, click to enlarge.

I just got my hands on the production notes for Cloverfield.
Below I have pasted an excerpt, where JJ Abrams, director Matt Reeves, and writer Drew Goddard talk about the monster like we’ve never heard before, in exteme detail. They also talk about the “parasites” and explain the long rumored flashback sequences (the way they constructed it actually makes a hell of a lot of sense). Those weary of spoilers, please continue no further.
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Reeves also skillfully interweaves an important storyline throughout the film, that of Rob and Beth’s (Odette Yustman) earlier relationship. Hud is unknowingly taping over an earlier recording Rob had made with the camera [...]

Cloverfield and Myspace are throwing a surprise party for Rob in New York City on January 17th.
“Join us next Thursday night, January 17th for a send off for our buddy Rob, he’s moving to Japan! There will be drinks, dancing, and tons of cool people. It will be a party to remember!”
You can RSVP to robsparty@cloverfieldmovie.com - make sure to include your FULL NAME and a PHONE NUMBER that we can reach you at. Paramount will call the selected winners via telephone. You must RSVP before Thursday night January 10th at midnight, as winners are being picked this Friday.

We have been alerted that news footage from the Cloverfield Monster Destroying Chaui Station is now available in French, Japanese, Russian and English. No new footage is revealed, this is mostly just news coverage of the event from other countries around the world. Watch them after the jump.

The Cloverfield viral game has finally begun to catch up with the film, which releases in less than two weeks. First up, Our friends at Uruloki informed us that Tagruato, the Japanese drilling company that owns Slusho, has just suffered a huge setback. The company has issued the following statement:
“There has been an altercation at the Chaui Station. Although details are limited at present time, be assured that Tagruato is taking every measure necessary to ensure the safety and well being of all staff and crew. Specialty teams have been deployed, and are working aggressively to restore harmony at the site. The cause of the problem is currently being investigated, [...]

We have yet to get a real glimpse of the Cloverfield monster, but we all will soon enough. Paramount is holding sneak preview screenings of the film on Tuesday night, January 15th in select cities across North America. But these screenings are NOT OPEN TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC. You need to have a pass to attend. How do you get a pass? Sheck your local newspapers and stores, listen to your local morning radio shows, for contests because passes will be hard to come by.
I have compiled a list of links below which includes 38 contests in 27 cities where you can enter to win a pair of tickets. Just [...]

A new photo has begun to circulate across the interwebs (you can see it after the jump for spoiler purposes). It’s a conceptual rendering of the Cloverfield monster, or another fan made hoax?
The picture originated on conceptart.org in the profile of Peter Konig, an art director for Tippett Studios, which is supposedly working on the upcoming JJ Abrams produced monster film. After reviewing the slowed down footage seen here from the theatrical trailer, the legs and spine match up incredibly well. And his claws also match up with the marks on the statue of liberty.
It seemed very strange that someone who is working on the project would post spoiler [...]

Paramount sent us this new (but uneventful) photo of Mike Vogel and Michael Stahl-David from Cloverfield. Click on the image above to enlarge. A new article in Variety reveals a few new Cloverfield tidbits. Here are the interesting pieces:

The film started out as an “elaborate 60-page treatment” by Lost writer Drew Goddard.
Cloverfield features no musical score at all, “just source music and well-orchestrated ambient sound.”
The beginning of the film was show with a lightweight Panasonic HD HandyCam, “then moves into transitional sequences shot with a 3-lb. Canon for about a third of the film.” The special effects shots were filmed with “the much-heavier” hi-res Sony F23 or Thomson Viper.
One five-minute [...]

20th Century Fox has announced that they are moving the Katherine Heigl romantic comedy 27 Dresses back a week from January 11th to 1-18-08. So now 27 Dresses is set to go head to head with Cloverfield. I’m guessing that Fox wants to take advantage of the 4-day Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday weekend.
New Line has announced that they have canceled the March 19th release of the Brendan Fraser family adventure film Inkheart. The studio is looking for a better date for the film, which will hit theaters in 2008. The trailer for this film looks horrendous, even with the recent string of bad family fantasy films.
Meanwhile, the Michel [...]

Cloverfield Billboards have been spotted in Times Square, and a new movie trailer aired during Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve. A couple new shots are featured, but the footage remains the same for the most part. Watch the new trailer after the jump.
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Cloverfield hits theaters on 1-18-08.
source: CloverfieldClues

I’m still back visiting family and friends in my hometown out east (in a little suburb outside of Boston best known for it’s mall). I made the trip into the city today with a friend and spotted some of the Cloverfield viral marketing at work.
Last week I reported on strange chalk grafiti that began appearing in San Francisco asking “What is it?” It was later reported that new viral Cloverfield posters had begun to popup with the same quote. This new poster was found at the Government Center Newbury comics store, and features the infamous quote “I SAW IT. IT’S ALIVE, IT’S HUGE.”
Also, ProjectCloverfield has found a couple new television [...]

A /Film spy sent me two radio advertisements for Cloverfield, which are scheduled to air around the country starting on Monday. It seems like Paramount is really pushing the phrase “The Mystery Will Be Revealed!” Listen to the new monsterific radio spots below.

Cloverfield hits theaters on 1-18-08.

Today Chalk graffiti was found all around San Francisco. The message reads “What is Cloverfield? 1-18-08″. Did Paramount hire viral marketers to spread the word about the upcoming monster movie all over the city sidewalks? Or is there some crazy JJ Abrams fan with chalk on the loose?
photo: SFist