I traded hush - hush emails . I agreed to a irregular , spoiler - preventing gag order . I followed guidance to a voguish New York City hotel ’s basement , bruise down into a pocket-size theater , see 20 minutes of censored footage , and take an lift up to a nondescript way on the 8th story . That ’s where I lastly meet J.J. Abrams , the mastermind behind this covert operation . Was10 Cloverfield Lanethis Hollywood maven ’s latest thriller or a new cut of the Zapruder film?For Abrams , secrecy is the linchpin of amusement . Like 2008’sCloverfield,10 Cloverfield Laneslipped into the public eye without warning , startling unsuspicious patrons of Michael Bay’s13 Hourswith a haunting trailer , get off up Facebook screw thread and Twitter feeds like it was something from Beyoncé .
We should have seen it coming . In 2014 , Abrams and his yield company Bad Robot announcedValencia , an abduction - themed dramatic event starring John Goodman , Mary Elizabeth Winstead , and John Gallagher Jr. , directed by Dan Trachtenberg , an up - and - comer with viral short under his bash . A few months later , the picture had a new name : The Cellar . And two years later , under the shroud of a small movie calledStar war : The Force Awakens , Bad Robot gave the movie a third facelift . Abrams had been defecate his long - awaitedCloverfieldsequelthe entire time .
Kind of . In10 Cloverfield Lane ’s opening move turn , Michelle ( Winstead ) , the dupe of a fierce crash , determine herself chained to the wall of a mouldy , windowless elbow room . Her " capturer , " Howard ( Goodman ) , presents himself as a fighter . Not only did he deliver Michelle from run out on the side of the road , he also rush her to his underground bunker just before a pestilent apocalypse swept over the United States . The only thing convincing Michelle that her raw roomie is n’t bonkers is a boiling point - covered woman pounding at the doorway .
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Something is encounter outside . Just do n’t anticipate it to be a spindly,1,400 ft lusus naturae with a preference for amateur cameramen .
Abrams say he spent many year discuss a proper " part two " with originalCloverfieldwriter Drew Goddard ( The Martian ) and director Matt Reeves ( Dawn of the Planet of the Apes ) . In fact , they ’re still talking about it . Timing is what has made him hesitate . " We ’re in a world that has had the big HollywoodGodzilla , andPacific Rims and we ’re not necessarily in a place where we want to do akaijumovie just because we could , " he say .
Instead , Abrams require to resurrect theCloverfieldspirit . " [ In ] a sequel … you ’ve already buy in to the conceit , so you get what you require , " he say . " Sometimes , you get a small routine more this way , a slight piece more that way . On a movie like this , it ’s an opportunity to do something that I remember is more unique . [ Cloverfield ] gives us a platform to tell that story , making connections in ways that fans of the original would n’t expect , and people who ’ve never seen the master copy do n’t need to concern about . “Abrams has serious persuasion about moving picture poke . His glowing positivity focuses to a laser beam when the topic of Hollywood marketing come up . " What I ca n’t suffer is the trailer that evidence me the CliffsNotes version of the pic , " he say . " It give me every highlight , every turn , every position in two minutes … Those poke , for me , are the ace that are diminish and reductive and disappointing . "
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Not every movie has the sumptuousness of being secretive . OnStar Wars , Abrams had to show off his finished production , and he says that " navigating the waters of ' How do we start to bring out this thing to the populace ? ' required as much thought as the experience of making the movie . " The gamble , he says , was too big to have it all back . But , to him , a prevue should raise a single enquiry from the audience : what wasthat ?
What Trachtenberg take in as a sweet portmanteau word ofRosemary ’s Baby , theFalloutvideo game series , and Alfred Hitchcock , Abrams figure as a path back to pure surprisal . A few hand pinch and Easter egg later , The Cellarowned the moniker . A day of the month was set , with the old form of address still on the schedule , pull minimal aid . Abrams even take the editor of hisStar Warstrailers to cut the movie , just so each crank of the plot - distortion bicycle would pop.10 Cloverfield Lanewould experience mown fromCloverfield ’s mysterious cloth . It would become a true subsequence on the Internet . The trailers forCloverfieldwere sprinkled with hidden universal resource locator that unlocked websites , sound numbers , and e-mail chains , all provide a fictional context for the movie ’s gargantuan carnage . Those who shine down the " alternate realness secret plan " rabbit hole learned about Tagruato , the Japanese mining society that unearthed the attacking creature , and Slusho , a mind - warping frosty drink that deal chemical substance properties with the monster ’s bloodthirsty barnacle goose . In January , anyone on the " Tagruato email listserv " i.e. , the Cloverfield ARG , received an email trumpeting the employee of the calendar month . This was a drill . A few hebdomad later , a 2nd employees - of - the - month email off inboxes . At the top of the list : Howard,10 Cloverfield Lane ’s creepy-crawly lead .
Howard ’s " RadioMan70 " shirt sent Internet sleuths to RadioMan70.com , which airt to FunAndPrettyThings.com , where , if you input the rightPretty in Pinkquote , open up a chat room between Howard and his daughter Megan , which clued mass into a chain of hidden Book of Numbers planted in the10 Cloverfield Lanetrailer , which suggest at Howard ’s naval past tense and , when taken as coordinates , directed one player to a buried supply corner in Louisiana , which hold an audio file detailing an " unexplained magnetized muscularity , " which anticipated a second survival - themed video recording game , which led people to a burner sound planted in a locker in Chicago , which grant fans a chance at hearing Megan ’s side of the floor .
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Phew . As of this publish , the gears carry on to turn on the ARG . And with each new clew , the rightful secret of10 Cloverfield Laneis revealed : Abrams ' baby is n’t just a franchise , it ’s a parallel universe .
In 2007 , Abrams delivered a TED Talk professing his love for the " mystery box , " a gift where the buyer was never quite sure of the toy inside . The mystery boxbecame a keystone of his work , from the fluctuating mystery ofLostto the hyper - secretive marketing tactic that plaguedStar Trek Into Darkness . Cloverfieldwas his ultimate mystery box – and the payout was huge . He insist the mystery box is n’t his " creed , " but nearly 10 years later , his childlike excitement for sleight of hand wo n’t go away . “The byproduct of any good storey is you want to know more , you want to know what ’s expire to happen , " he says . " I cerebrate I am the same somebody , in that regard . I know I ’m the same individual that likes to be surprised . I bonk I ’m the same person that enjoy to watch a movie and not have it spoiled before I get to the dramaturgy . “As I take the lift back down the stairs , ascend from the cellar , fall out the winding streets back to my authority , and re - confirm that I ’ll stay mum about the movie , I feel a lilliputian bad for J.J. Abrams , the poor bastard . He already know the end to10 Cloverfield Lane .
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Matt Patchesis Thrillist ’s Entertainment editor in chief . He antecedently compose for Grantland , Esquire.com , Vulture , The Hollywood newsman , andThe Guardian . His favourite flick of all time isGroundhog Day . Find him on Twitter:@misterpatches .
