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Saturday, May 2
Filming an original major motion picture in the sci-fi genre with a budget of only $30 million seems like an effort in futility in this day and age. Today's moviegoers are more sophisticated than ever and so is the technology -- James Cameron's Avatar is rumored to have a budget in excess of $200 million.
So, how do you produce a film for that budget and manage to get people to see it? Enter producer Peter Jackson and director Neill Blomkamp. Shot "guerilla style" with a variety of cost-effective film techniques, District 9 has also benefited from an immersive viral website.
With a similar budget and marketing campaign, comparisons to last year's Cloverfield were inevitable. However, Jackson says that is where the similarities end:
It's not somebody running around with a camera, filming everything. We have a mixture of documentary and dramatized scenes.
The plot of the film originated with Blomkamp's short film Alive in Joburg and tells the tale of alien refugees who land in Africa and are subsequently forced into slavery. Jackson told Entertainment Weekly:
They have technology and weapons that are extremely appealing to various forces -- and that's where it all goes wrong.
Next Showing: District 9 debuts August 14
Posted 5/2/2009 by BrentJS
Related: Peter Jackson | Cloverfield | District 9 | Neill Blomkamp
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Friday, June 27
Scifiwire reports that the sequel to Cloverfield is currently on hold until director Matt Reeves and co. can find a story that "felt to us as fresh to make as [Cloverfield] did."
Reeves was on hand at the Saturn awards where he was awarded the Filmmaker's Showcase Award. He went on to add that the sequel plans are currently in the "baby stages" and that he and producer J.J. Abrams are also discussing other, non-Cloverfield projects.
Read the full story on Scifiwire.
Posted 6/27/2008 by reelz
Related: Matt Reeves | Cloverfield
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Tuesday, April 22
The virally-marketed sci-fi blockbuster Cloverfield leads off this week's DVD Tuesday, allowing those of you who didn't stay till the end of the closing credits a chance to see what got audiences so excited. Other releases include the Guillermo del Toro-produced horror flick The Orphanage (which our own Heather Huntington positively adored); Tamara Jenkins' dramedy The Savages, featuring an Oscar-nominated performance from Laura Linney; and the Japanese horror remake One Missed Call.
Our pick for the week is the uproariously funny Charlie Wilson's War, starring Tom Hanks as the swaggering Texas congressman who almost single-handedly defeated the Soviets in Afghanistan. Included on the disc is a cool featurette profiling the real Charlie Wilson.
Posted 4/22/2008 by reelz
Related: The Savages | One Missed Call | Charlie Wilson's War | The Orphanage | Cloverfield
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Friday, February 22
ReelzChannel caught up with J.J. Abrams today and got some key 1 on 1 time with the man behind--well, almost everything these days. To see what the super producer/director had to say about Star Trek, a possible sequel to Cloverfield and collaborating with Stephen King on adapting The Dark Tower series, watch the link below.
Posted 2/22/2008 by reelz
Related: Star Trek | Cloverfield
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Thursday, January 31
After the record-setting success of Cloverfield (biggest box office open for the MLK JR weekend, and it as a big'un), Paramount is itching to go back to the well for some more money-making monster madness.
Yes, director Matt Reeves is in talks with the studio to do a sequel to Cloverfield, although whether it actually comes to fruition also depends on negotiations with producerJ.J. Abrams and writer Drew Goddard. In the meantime, Reeves has signed to direct a Hitchcockian thriller called The Invisible Woman for GreeneStreet Films.
Source: Variety.
Posted 1/31/2008 by reelz
Related: Matt Reeves | Cloverfield
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Monday, January 21
It's an inevitability in Hollywood that whenever an original movie scores big at the box office, talk of a sequel soon follows. In the case of Cloverfield, the heavily-hyped monster movie that scorched the Cineplex to the tune of $41 million over the weekend, director Matt Reeves prepared for this contigency. In a recent interview with comingsoon.net, Reeves revealed the scene in which he planted the seeds of a potential Cloverfield sequel (Note: Spoilers Ahead!!!):
"Did you see the thing in the last shot? In the final shot there's a little something, and I don't wanna say what it is. The final shot before the titles. The stuff at Coney Island, there's a little something there and I don't want to give it away 'cause the fun is sort of to find it, but I will say this: there's a funny thing, you look at the shot and until you see it you don't see it and you really don't see it and obviously you don't 'cause none of you have seen it, but once you see it you'll never stop seeing it."
Which raises an interesting question: Is a sequel that covers the same events -- albeit from a different perspective -- really a sequel? Discuss.
Source: comingsoon.net
Posted 1/21/2008 by reelz
Related: Matt Reeves | Cloverfield
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Monster movie Cloverfield delivered on all the hype and then some over the weekend, raking in a phenomenal $41 million and trouncing all box office challengers. Second place finisher 27 Dresses grossed an impressive $22.4 million -- a figure possibly inflated moviegoers buying tix for the Katherine Heigl rom-com and then sneaking into sold-out Cloverfield screenings.
Third place The Bucket List grossed a healthy $15.2 million in its second week of wide release, while Juno grabbed fourth place with a $10.3 million take. Rounding out the top five with an $8.1 million tally was National Treasure: Book of Secrets.
Source: boxofficemojo.com
Posted 1/21/2008 by reelz
Related: 27 Dresses | The Bucket List | Cloverfield
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Friday, January 18
The wait is finally over. After an unprecedented viral hype campaign, the J.J. Abrams-produced monster movie Cloverfield invades the Cineplex this weekend. Other major releases include the Katherine Heigl rom-com 27 Dresses and the ensemble heist comedy Mad Money.
A rundown of our reviews of this weekend's new releases:
Cloverfield 
"This is the movie Godzilla should have been, a true cinematic ride, delivering everything audiences could possibly want from a monster movie" [Full Cloverfield Review]
27 Dresses 
"Terribly, terribly sloppy...an insult to the romantic comedy." [Full 27 Dresses Review]
Teeth 
"Surprisingly great...the story is well-designed, the main actors are terrific, and damnit, it's really funny." [Full Teeth Review]
Also opening: Cassandra's Dream, Blonde and Blonder, Day Zero, Taxi to the Dark Side.
Posted 1/18/2008 by reelz
Related: 27 Dresses | Teeth | Cloverfield
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Last night we stayed up way past our bedtime to capture fan reaction to the first showing of Cloverfield. Early critic reaction has been generally positive; now watch what regular movie fans had to say as they left the theater.
Up next week: Rambo. Blam!
Next Showing: Cloverfield opens nationwide Friday, Jan. 18
Posted 1/18/2008 by Dack
Related: Cloverfield
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Wednesday, January 16
Does the J.J. Abrams-produced monster movie live up to the monstrous hype generated by its endless viral marketing campaign? Or is it just an overblown Blair Witch-rehash, as some of us suspect? Check out Jeff Otto's early Cloverfield review to find out.
Cloverfield opens nationwide this Friday, January 18th.
Posted 1/16/2008 by reelz
Related: Cloverfield