FILM: Mysterious New Untitled Trailer

I saw Transformers Tuesday afternoon, like thousands of other people who brought the films proceeds to $36 mil in 36 hours. But within the first 15 minutes of the screening--in which the trailers take place--the audience was already perplexed. Normally there are three things that are required of a trailer: an idea of the plot, the release date, and the title. They may appear in any order they'd like. But they must appear. One of the trailers started as a video camera-perspective of a going-away party. When an earthquake-sensation is felt, the people migrate to the roof of the building to see what's going on. They spot explosions, hear roars, and withstand more tremors. When fire balls start crash landing all over the place, the people bum rush the exit. The videographer bobs and weaves, tumbles down stairs, and makes it out onto the sidewalk where—as someone's screaming "Oh my god! Oh my god!"—he's nearly crushed by...the Statue of Liberty's head. If reading this makes you want to know what this movie is called, then you can imagine the audience was even more interested. (However, after watching Transformers, it's understandable if they'd all forgotten about it.)

Allow me to demystify it for you. This is a J.J. Abrams project. He's written Armageddon, "Felicity," "Alias," Mission Impossible 3, and "Lost." Not to mention, he's producing Star Trek. Great things erupt from this man's mind. He's a master at building suspense, so it's no surprise that he'd withhold the title. However, industry insiders have heard the film referred to as both Cloverfield and The Parasite. As for the plot: Imdb.com has a sliver of information that merely states that it will be completely shot from the grainy and realistic perspective of a videographer. Perhaps Abrams is attempting to bring Alfonso Cuarón's (Children of Men) guerilla hand held style to the next level or maybe he's making a statement about the compulsion that humans have to record everything in times of disaster, i.e. 9/11, a day that bears a striking resemblance to the youtube clip above. And since Abrams' project is devoid of a title, he cleverly used the release date as the website: www.1-18-08.com. However, on the web page there's nothing but a single image of terrified onlookers. Assumed to be "just another Godzilla-type film," I think it's safe to say Abrams will deliver much more than that.