Reel Deal: "Super 8"

First and foremost, Reader, I just want to say that I hope you’ve enjoyed your summer thus far. If your wild and crazy summer has been shaping up at all like mine, you’ve been spending most of your time watching movies at home or at a local theater with some friends. You and I have a lot to talk about in the coming months (though I imagine it will be mostly a one-sided conversation). Here we go…

As you probably already know, the world witnessed two WTF moments in watching “Iron Man 2.” Fortunately, neither of them took place during the movie itself. The first was in the previews reel, when a mysterious teaser trailer for an alien movie premiered. The second was the post-credit scene, during which Thor’s hammer made a cameo as an ad for Marvel’s Summer 2011 flick, “Thor.” Since the latter is self-explanatory, here’s the scoop on the sci-fi teaser. It’s called “Super 8,” and there’s a lot of Cloverfield-esque mystery attached to it. What we do know: The film is written and directed by J.J. Abrams (“Star Trek,” “Lost”) and produced by Steven Spielberg, the Hollywood sci-fi veteran whose filmography need not be referenced. The film takes place in 1979 and is a homage to Spielberg’s sci-fi material from the 70’s and 80’s. What we don’t know: anything, really. Abrams has refused to reveal any plot details, choosing instead to “let the images speak for themselves.” Though Abrams’ hush-hush production of “Cloverfield” was plagued with leaks, “Super 8” seems to be under pretty tight wraps, despite a few mere rumors. The first one has already been dispelled by Abrams. Word was spreading that “Super 8” was to be a prequel to 2008’s “Cloverfied.” However, Abrams made it abundantly clear to the press at the 2010 Time 100 Gala, “You have to check [out the trailer], but it has nothing whatsoever to do with Cloverfield, despite your expert reporting.”

Next came the “leaked” plot premise, which is still not 100% confirmed. New York Magazine’s entertainment section, or Vulture, received word from “insiders” that the film follows a group of kids who are making a film with a Super 8 camera and, upon developing their footage, notice an alien creature in some of their shots. While Vulture has no way of corroborating this rumor, an interesting new development with Cinematical (cinematical.com) suggests that it might be true. Specifically, Paramount sent the Cinematical staff a casting notice for a film whose title was intentionally excluded from the message. Coinciding with the aforementioned premise, the notice calls for three actors between the ages of 13-14, specifying that “no previous acting experience is necessary, but must have great energy and a wonderful sense of humor and thoughtfulness.”

Considering Paramount’s lineup of upcoming movies, “Super 8” seems to be the only one that may necessitate such a young cast. Plus, Abrams is known for preferring no-name actors over stars, and the casting notice clearly opens a door for unknowns. Just as with the teaser trailer for “Cloverfield,” the 90 seconds of “Super 8” footage have spawned a sweeping viral campaign. It all started when some shamelessly nerdy Abrams fans pooled their resources on Unfiction Forums and discovered that, at the point in the trailer when 8mm footage quickly reels through a photographic viewfinder, Abrams delivers a message to his viewers via small letters scribbled on the film reel. After thorough analysis of the footage, they pieced together the words, “Scariest Thing I Ever Saw.” That led them to this website – scariestthingieversaw.com – which presents a fake computer terminal with possibly coded details about the film. Only time (and people with a lot of it) will tell if it is in fact like Cloverfield’s semi-famous 1-18-08.com. That’s it for this week. Be sure to check back next week for more movie info on the Reel Deal. Until then, here’s the teaser trailer that’s got everyone blogging.