Film: J. J. Abrams' Cloverfield Jan 28, 2008
Foregoing traditional film making techniques, it brings back memories of the Blair Witch Project, with its camcorder quality scenes. From the get-go, it has the feel of a bad Youtube video making it on the big screen; poor camera control, phenomenally poor AV, and a dizzying array of camera angles to make for a more realistic home recording. (Suite101.com)
Sundance win for immigrant film Jan 28, 2008
Little Miss Sunshine, The Blair Witch Project and Reservoir Dogs are among the films that have used Sundance as a springboard to success. Bookmark with. (BBC News -- Entertainment)
Monster Movie Making People Sick Jan 26, 2008
Harry Smith speaks with otolaryngologist Dr. Michael Stewart about how shaky camera work in films like "The Blair Witch Project" and the newly-released "Cloverfield" can cause motion sickness ... Another movie a few years ago, "The Blair Witch Project," had a similar affect on people, Smith pointed out. (CBS News -- Early Show)
A 'Godzilla' For Modern Times Jan 25, 2008
As many have noted, its sort of The Blair Witch Project meets Godzilla ... The technique is less plausible than in The Blair Witch Project but believable enough for you to want to shout, Turn off the dang camera and run ... As many have noted, its sort of The Blair Witch Project meets Godzilla. (Townhall.com)
MEDIA-MEMORY MISTAKE Jan 24, 2008
At just the moment you thought The Blair Witch Project was safely forgotten, that its perpetrators were now employed as Wal-Mart greeters and all the sheep who fell for that hoax back in 1999 had vacated the premises or moved on to Inland Empire along comes Cloverfield s new video skullduggery. (Too bad Frank Darabont didn t use video technology for his more credible 9/11 thriller, The Mist. (New York Press)
Lewis: The ACTION 5! Jan 24, 2008
Your Connection to the. Web Search powered by YAHOO. (Athens Banner-Herald)
Beyond the motion sickness, 'Cloverfield' is monstrous fun Jan 23, 2008
Anyone who hated the camerawork of "The Blair Witch Project" can go ahead and sit this one out. "Cloverfield" takes the cinematic concept of horror from the characters' perspective and applies it to the monster-movie genre. (The Daily Lobo, NM)
When Monsters Attack Pretty People Jan 22, 2008
It's The Blair Witch Project all over again, complete with the logic holes (at what point does recording your life become more important than running for it. and Handycam-induced nausea. (Slate)
Small Film Becomes Monster Hit, Leads Box Office Jan 22, 2008
Media By Numbers reported Monday that the film may be the biggest Internet-driven movie release since "The Blair Witch Project" in 1999. With TV programming largely stuck in reality mode or reruns, Americans flocked to the movie theaters this weekend, buying an estimated $135 million in tickets, up 39 percent from last year. (NBC4.tv, CA)
Cloverfield: AU Review Jan 22, 2008
But if you found the Blair Witch Project an exercise in nausea, be warned; Cloverfield ups the ante in the shaky-cam stakes. Yet the cinematography is artfully done. (IGN FilmForce)
Cloverfield --- reviewed by Craig the Movie Geek! Jan 22, 2008
Turns out it's sort of a cross between Godzilla and The Blair Witch Project --- with imagery that really bring back to mind the September 11th attack footage that is ingrained in our minds. It's all shot from the POV of of the people that are right in the thick of it. (650 CKOM News Talk Radio)
'Cloverfield' a box-office monster Jan 21, 2008
Yes, that's sort of like The Blair Witch Project - and like that movie, the herky-jerky camera movement can make you seasick if you're prone to that kind of thing. But with its echoes of the 9/11 attacks and non-stop intensity, Cloverfield is both plenty scary and a heck of a lot of fun. (AZCentral -- Entertainment)
Hollywood decamps to Sundance Jan 21, 2008
----------------- ----------------- RELATED BBC SITES. Last Updated: Sunday, 20 January 2008, 13:43 GMT. (BBC News -- Entertainment)
Jessica Lucas poised for monster breakthrough Jan 21, 2008
But better than a mere thrill-ride, the movie shot in an intimate, jumpy hand-held style reminiscent of The Blair Witch Project also gives Lucas a chance to display some acting chops in a film in which character development holds its own against a rampaging, scene-wrecking special-effects monster. The first 20 minutes or so of the film set the stage with a raucous send-off for Rob, who's headed off to Japan despite unresolved feelings for Beth (Odette Yustman), who shows up at the party... (Toronto Star)
Monsters, updated Jan 19, 2008
The latest creature attack, a video cam and cellphone saga with the unlikely title of Cloverfield, looks at the end of civilization as seen through the lens of a disorienting hand-held camera, like Armageddon crossed with The Blair Witch Project. The brain child of producer J.J. Abrams (Lost) and director Matt Reeves (numerous Felicity episodes), Cloverfield begins in a Lower Manhattan loft, where Rob Hawkins (Michael Stahl-David) is on the receiving end of a surprise going-away party, just... (The Palm Beach Post)
Creating monster buzz Jan 19, 2008
The movie's Web presence obviously calls to mind past viral-minded tizzies for films from The Blair Witch Project to A.I.: Artificial Intelligence to Snakes on a Plane. What seems different about the Cloverfield campaign, though, is that it's not simply a marketing push; it's also a work of sprawling, multimedia storytelling, with the movie just one component of the narrative. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
Inside CloverfieldDoes the film surrounded by secrecy live up to its hype? Jan 18, 2008
What followed was a media blackout on details about the film, together with a viral marketing campaign not seen since horror film The Blair Witch Project was released in 1999 ... Considered to be the pioneer of viral marketing, The Blair Witch Project cost just under 13,000 to make but raked in more than 125m worldwide. (BBC News -- Entertainment)
Spoiler alert: 'Cloverfield' lives up to the hype Jan 18, 2008
The math is preposterously easy, actually: "Cloverfield" equals "Godzilla" divided by "The Blair Witch Project." (And if you want to know nothing more before buying a ticket, stop reading right now. Told solely from the point of view of one digital video camera wielded by one young guy named Hud (T.J. Miller), the film records scenes from a seven-hour attack on Manhattan by a Giant Thing. (Boston Globe)
Apocalypse New Jan 18, 2008
" And what fears are we currently bottling up? In one of the great ironies of 21st century culture to date, the U.S. has now imported the Japanese monster moviecreated in response to their fear of usas a way of dealing with our own fears, starting with the attacks of Sept. 11. The result is Cloverfield. The movie is shot in the same shaky-cam, amateur-video style as The Blair Witch Project, and like Blair Witch, it has a star-free cast. The film purports to be a record of what happens to a... (Time.com)
Pass it on: Examples in viral marketing Jan 18, 2008
"The Blair Witch Project" (1996). Blairwitch. (Daily Orange, NY)
Cloverfield: Cover your eyes, hold your stomach Jan 18, 2008
Cloverfield wants to be The Blair Witch Project, from the appetite-whetting teaser that debuted before Transformers to the intriguingly vague title to the documentary-style filmmaking and the super hush-hush marketing campaign. But it wants to be Blair Witch with special effects. (Seacoast New Hampshire)
'Cloverfield' delivers monster thrills, chills Jan 18, 2008
Think Godzilla meets The Blair Witch Project, with a Gen Y Big Chill element thrown in. Then add homages to Alien, Independence Day and War of the Worlds. (USA Today -- Life)
Review: 'Cloverfield' a shaky look at monster attacking New York Jan 18, 2008
The first thing you need to get used to in "Cloverfield" is the potentially nausea-inducing shaky camera work, which makes "The Blair Witch Project" look like the latest Ken Burns documentary. Audiences will have to make other concessions, too. (San Francisco Chronicle)
First, we flee manhattan Jan 18, 2008
Much like The Blair Witch Project with its hand-held Camcorder style, this thriller from J.J. Abrams (Mission Impossible 3) and longtime creative partner Matt Reeves is in perpetual motion, both visually and structurally. Its side effects include headache, nausea, anxiety and stomach ache -- so maybe don't order a bucket of KFC beforehand -- but it's worth it, in an adrenaline-pumping, masochistic way. (National Post)
Chicago actor scares up starring role in `Cloverfield' Jan 18, 2008
"The film -- destined to evoke memories of Sept. 11 -- owe debts to "The Blair Witch Project," the "Godzilla" franchise and savvy marketing. "Lost" creator-turned-producer J.J. Abrams hitched a grainy trailer to "Transformers" last year that show Lady Liberty's head rolling down a street. A cyber-campaign followed.The monster -- which is "big, terrifying and fast" -- was added digitally to fleeing-mob scenes. For the infamous trailer, the F/X team fired "a tiny little rocket on a string" down... (Munster Times, IN)
GRIDSCHLOCK ALERT Jan 17, 2008
As The Blair Witch Project" meets Godzilla" meets the Banana Republic catalog, I'm not sure who suffered more: the characters or me. They: are being terrorized by a giant monster roaring through Manhattan who's destroying buildings, knocking down bridges and playing shot put with the Statue of Liberty's head. (New York Post -- Entertainment)
Cloverfield: Godzilla Goes 9/11 Jan 17, 2008
The movie is basically the 1954 Godzilla (itself a gloss on Ray Harryhausen's 1953 The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, in which a prehistoric beast is roused by atomic tests to terrorize New York City) told in the style of, and with the characters from, The Blair Witch Project (but with a lot less internal cohesion; this could be called "The Blair Witch Reject"). The State of Liberty head comes from the poster for John Carpenter's Escape from New York (though that shot is not in the film). (Time.com)
'Cloverfield' Jan 17, 2008
Cloverfield owes an obvious debt to both Godzilla and The Blair Witch Project. Like the former, it's a full-on monster movie, with giant creatures terrorizing a city (in this case, New York). (AZCentral -- Entertainment)
Monster 9/11 Diss? Jan 17, 2008
If you don t read anything into it, this slightly plotted edge-of-the-seat nail-biter is a good big studio take on "The Blair Witch Project." It s the perfect winter doldrums popcorn fest. The clever aspect of Reeves film is that it s all shot with a handheld camera that s supposed to be the camcorder belonging to one of the main characters. (Fox News)
'Cloverfield's' monster concept Jan 16, 2008
Hastily posted on the Internet, the trailer was soon being dissected with a fever perhaps not seen since the landmark buildup to 1999's "The Blair Witch Project," as fans began concocting wild theories about what caused the destruction (a humongous monster), what happens (it goes ballistic on Manhattan) and how much would viewers ultimately get to see (plenty). But the surprise and secrecy were one component of the inventive film, which opens Friday. (Los Angeles Times)
'Cloverfield' marketing is as mysterious as its subject Jan 13, 2008
Viral campaigns have also come a long way since "The Blair Witch Project," which famously used the Web to catapult the low-budget indie film into a $248 million blockbuster, in 1999. In addition to "Cloverfield," "The Dark Knight," director Christopher Nolan's "Batman Begins" sequel out this July, is also using a highly complex campaign, designed by alternate reality game (ARG) pros 42 Entertainment. (Boston Globe)
Mystery movie makes marketing history Jan 13, 2008
" The first posters of the film contained an image of a headless Statue of Liberty and the release date in small print, with no details, not even the names of stars. Since then, Australian users have logged on to 3000 different website forums about the film. When the final trailer for Cloverfield was posted onto Australian YouTube late last year, the site was inundated with visitors. It has since been viewed by more than 500,000 people. The success of Cloverfield's marketing campaign has... (Sydney Morning Herald)
Coming to a screen near you Jan 2, 2008
And, like the Blair Witch Project, The Beast and Snakes on a Plane, it seems to be paying off. The internet is abuzz with growing rumour, conjecture and speculation. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Technology)
Star Trek XI tops list of geek movies to watch in 2008 Dec 19, 2007
"The Blair Witch Project was another movie that used this style of filmmaking and that was a movie I thoroughly enjoyed." ... "The Blair Witch Project was another movie that used this style of filmmaking and that was a movie I thoroughly enjoyed.". (SearchOracle.com)
Strike thickens the plot at Sundance Dec 15, 2007
(Past breakouts include the 2004 films "Napoleon Dynamite" and "Garden State" and 1999's "The Blair Witch Project.") Mr. Gilmore says, "There wasn't anyone at last year's festival who was talking about Once' or Waitress' before the festival started." Indeed, much of the so-called buzz is generated by the folks hoping to sell their movies at Sundance, so filtering out the truly good films and the ones that will land distributors is tricky. "The Little Miss Sunshines' are rarities, and it will... (AZCentral -- Business)
Review: Wisecracking teen gets pregnant in 'Juno' Dec 15, 2007
She and her best friend, Bleeker (the gifted Michael Cera of "Superbad" and TV's "Arrested Development"), planned to watch TV one night because "The Blair Witch Project" was going to be on and they hadn't seen it since it came out. But instead, they had sex. (San Francisco Chronicle)
Batman Viral-Marketing Mysteries, Dewey Cox Tighty-Whities Have Us Stoked For New Flicks Nov 29, 2007
In the near-decade since "The Blair Witch Project" changed the rules of movie promotion, lines between the silver screen and the simple life have become increasingly blurred. Phony Web sites, interactive games, movie props and mysteries now appear wherever a potential moviegoer might be. (VHI.com -- Music News)
The Daily Break Nov 5, 2007
- The Blair Witch Project: Movies that really suck can make a lot of money if properly marketed. - White Chicks: The Wayans Brothers are not funny. (Daily Iowan, IA)
Full Story... Nov 2, 2007
Nervous kids, teens and adults entered the maze of frightening rooms, traversed through graveyards, a haunted forest resembling that in The Blair Witch Project, a room full of real body bags hanging from the ceiling and even a polka dot room with a hidden surprise. Sections of walls dropped down with a loud crash as people appeared behind. (Albert Lea Tribune, MN)
Holloween Horror Film Guide Oct 23, 2007
The Blair Witch Project worked so well because it was about people hopelessly lost in the woods. Sure, the shaky, documentary feel added a layer of realistic spookiness, but this was only a little lacquer on top of a solid structure that made it really shine. (Suite101.com)
"1-18-08," Monster-sized hype surrounds mysterious untitled movie trailer Oct 5, 2007
So maybe it will be something like "The Blair Witch Project" (but hopefully better) ... "While it looks like the Blair Witch Project, it will have much more of a payoff," said Robert Thompson, director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture. (Daily Orange, NY)
Top 10 scary movies Oct 4, 2007
"The Blair Witch Project" (1999) - I don't care how stupid you think it is, it's still scary. The second-best psychological frightfest. (The Palm Beach Post)
'Imprint' fresh, original filmmaking Sep 17, 2007
That's what made the low-budget thrill-fest "The Blair Witch Project" such a hit. Happily, the locally produced movie "Imprint" went the second route, producing edge-of-your-seat suspense reminiscent of an Alfred Hitchcock film. (Rapid City Journal, SD)
Warner orders more 'Raw Feed' Sep 14, 2007
Both Krantz and partner John Shiban have strong roots in TV -- Krantz is exec producer on "24," and Shiban served similar duties on "The X-Files" -- and Daniel Myrick, the third principal, co-created seat-of-the-pants indie project "The Blair Witch Project" and also has worked on TV fare. The principals are producing each other's movies, then trading off directing honors. (Variety)
Diary of the Dead Sep 13, 2007
Fifth franchise entry might best be viewed as a provocative inverse of "The Blair Witch Project," with which it shares a general p.o.v. structure and some themes. At its heart a stinging indictment of child-rearing practices that produced sullen offspring, incapable of thinking for themselves or working in groups during a crisis situation, "Witch" has given way, less than a decade later, to "Diary'"s bevy of confident, savvy coeds. (Variety)
JDC sets billion-yen fund for pics Sep 2, 2007
A distrib of indie pics from around the world, Klockworx has handled "The Blair Witch Project" and "Shaolin Soccer," as well as toons "Le Roi et l'oiseau," "The Triplets of Belleville" and "Shin ango onshi.". The company also distribs domestic pics, including Kenji Uchida's hit comedy "A Stranger of Mine" and Katsuhito Ishii's "The Taste of Tea.". (Variety)
New Lost creates film frenzy Aug 19, 2007
The shaky, low-resolution camera style has been used before, in films such as The Blair Witch Project, but its combination with big-budget special effects is more reminiscent of breaking news captured by mobile phone cameras. The scenes of fire raining from the skies above Manhattan inevitably evoke the 11 September 2001 terror attacks, and the intimate home movie style resonates with a generation accustomed to user-generated websites such as YouTube. (Guardian Unlimited)
*All the Boys Love Mandy Lane* Aug 7, 2007
The Indie as we first knew it has evolved since The Blair Witch Project (1999), oozed it s way into the major motion picture market. Wikipedia. (Suite101.com)
Cult web show comes of age Aug 5, 2007
Speculation was that some Hollywood studio was behind LonelyGirl15, taking advantage of the video blogging trend to hype some new horror flick or TV show, a la The Blair Witch Project. Finally, The Creators, as they called themselves, confessed: They weren't Hollywood but LonelyGirl15 was indeed fake, and Bree was played by a then unknown actress, 19-year-old Jessica Lee Rose of New Zealand. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Technology)
Greengrass brings auds into picture Aug 4, 2007
Greengrass uses many of the same documentary techniques that terrified moviegoers in "The Blair Witch Project" and made them laugh in "Borat" to create high-octane action sequences through eight cities around the world. But instead of being bored at enduring yet another car chase, viewers feel that what happens to his characters actually matters. (Variety)
Live from the 2007 Comic-Con Jul 28, 2007
Fans were hoping that director J.J. Abrams would release the name of the film that has created so much stir with its trailer, a grainy coming attraction that looks like The Blair Witch Project meets Godzilla on Independence Day. No one is even sure how it become the Cloverfield project. (USA Today -- Life)
Not rated for parents Jul 19, 2007
He borrows heavily from The Omen when he's not cribbing, expertly, from the most haunting, night-video images of The Blair Witch Project. The film benefits from terrific performances. (Akron Beacon Journal, OH -- Entertainment)
BAIT BALLS OF FIRE Jul 16, 2007
The Hollywood Reporter describes the scene as " 'Armageddon' meets 'The Blair Witch Project'." But there also might be an amusement park twist reminiscent of "Final Destination 2.". A few weeks ago, the movie was shot in Coney Island on the blocks contained by West Eighth Street, West 17th Street, Surf Avenue and the Boardwalk. (New York Post -- Entertainment)
Read This Book: eBay Performance! Jul 14, 2007
(Though Cowie does mention he was a producer of The Blair Witch Project and manages to weave the story of that indy-film success into the text. . (SmallBusinessComputing)
J.J. Abrams' curious movie trailer Jul 10, 2007
Reported to be shot through the eyes of a partygoer using a handheld digital camera, the film is said to retain the look and feel of The Blair Witch Project. "It's amazing to me how secretive this one is," says Ain't It Cool News staff member Drew McWeeny. (Globe and Mail -- Entertainment)
Cloverfield Builds Buzz Jul 8, 2007
Supposedly about a group of people who experience a monster invasion of New York City, the film is shot handheld, ala "The Blair Witch Project," only with what seem to be much more advanced special effects ... Now, Paramount has handed film fans a clue-filled Rubik's Cube with its mysterious viral marketing of the now titled, "Cloverfield," much like filmmakers did with its predecessor, "The Blair Witch Project." Question is, can the film live up to its already enormous hype. (Suite101.com)
It's Alive: 1-18-08 Jul 7, 2007
Early indications are that the film is some sort of giant monster sci-fi movie presented in a "reality" style -- like The Blair Witch Project. And rumor has it that "The Parasite," supposedly what the crew is calling the monster in the film, is another working title for the production. (IGN)
Mysterious movie trailer has cinema buffs Lost Jul 7, 2007
The trailer features all film shot using hand-held video cameras - a technique made famous in the 1999 hit The Blair Witch Project. The film is reportedly being produced by JJ Abrams, the man behind Mission: Impossible III, the upcoming Star Trek XI movie and the TV series Lost. (Sydney Morning Herald)
A Firefly buzzing into Wisteria Lane? Jul 4, 2007
Stars in the comedy "License to Wed""... Jason Dohring finds a new home with CBS... Indiana and son captured... Jamie Lee Curtis returns to our screens... The Blair Witch Project meets Godzilla?... Would be keen to work with Christian Bale... "Transformers", "Fantastic Four" and "TMNT" follow-ups?... Charlie's Angel signs for Kelly's new film... Must've been drunk all through "The Number 23"?... Director of the forthcoming "The Hunting Party"... A rant about popcorn films of yesteryear... Colin... (Moviehole)
LORDS & SATAN Jun 24, 2007
One film that got its start that way is "The Blair Witch Project" (1999). "The directors drove it up from Florida," Barney Oldfield, a NewFilmmakers producer, remembers. (New York Post -- Entertainment)
Fed up, 'Sopranos' fans fill in the black Jun 23, 2007
Called "Sopranos Ending 1, 2, 3, and 4" on YouTube, the spoofs present the finale in the style, respectively, of "The Blair Witch Project," a surprise birthday party, the Austin Powers movies, and a retro Kool-Aid commercial. In the 12 days since "The Sopranos" ended, YouTube has been buzzing with fan-generated responses. (Boston Globe)
Lee, king of remakes, translates East into West Jun 23, 2007
In its Nov. 17, 2001 edition, U.S. weekly Variety called Jelangkung Indonesia's The Blair Witch Project (1999), a U.S. horror sleeper hit with a worldwide gross of US$248. 3 million. (Jakarta Post, Indonesia -- Features)
The prosecution rests Jun 7, 2007
Adamcik's attorneys contend the videotape, as far as their client is concerned, was the makings of a movie in the genre of ''The Blair Witch Project,'' or a ''mockumentary. . (Pocatello Idaho State Journal, ID)
Jurors view videotape Jun 5, 2007
In defense of Adamcik, attorneys are alleging the teen was making a movie along the lines of ''The Blair Witch Project. They have asked several detectives if they heard of ''mockumentaries,'' films made to look like a documentary but in fact a fictional piece of work. (Pocatello Idaho State Journal, ID)
Olean filmmaker forges vision from dream to screen May 8, 2007
Mr. Peterson said the film, shot largely with hand-held digital cameras, could take off like the The Blair Witch Project did in 1999. Shot for $30,000, that movie made $48 million its first week and went on to become one of the most profitable movies in history. (Olean Times Herald, NY)
