J.J. Abrams, creator of Felicity, Alias, Lost, Fringe, andthe upcoming NBC spy show Undercovers, is readying two new dramas for network TV. Variety reports that FOX has picked up Alcatraz, a series based on the famous island prison that was shut down in 1963. The spec script was written by Elizabeth Sarnoff (Lost, Deadwood). Sarnoff will serve as executive producer along with Abrams and Bryan Burk (Alias, Lost) on the Warner Bros. TV/Bad Robot project.
Next up is Person of Interest, another Abrams-backed project that was just picked up by CBS, according to NYMag. The source describes it as an hour-long crime thriller. Jonah Nolan, brother of film director Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight), is penning the pilot script and serves as co-creator with Abrams. Can someone say dream team?! This marks the first time Nolan contributing to a TV series. He is best known for his collaboration work with his brother on The Dark Knight & The Prestige; he also wrote the short story that inspired Memento. The fact that CBS of all networks reportedly picked up this particular series is somewhat startling. CBS is known for playing it safe by strictly airing procedural shows that people can tune into at any time without worrying about missing key plot developments (think the CSI franchise, The Mentalist, etc.). The Abrams/Nolan series might just break the CBS mold by premiering a more serialized show that demands weekly viewing. And that makes me very, very giddy.
As you might guess, very little to no information regarding plot and casting has leaked about these new Abrams projects. But you can be sure I’ll report back when things start to ramp up. If all goes according to plan, I’m hoping the new dramas will be ready to premiere next fall.
J.J. Abrams’ Cloverfield is a great film that emphasizes shrouded mystery, unique camera work, spectacular special effects, and an intriguing and original story with believable characters. There is no way Abrams and crew (including producer Bryan Burk, director Matt Reeves, and writer Drew Godderd) could leave this franchise to waste after one film; especially that there is so much unused backstory material from all the viral marketing used to hype the movie way back when.
The crew on a potential sequel in the works…
Reeves: “While we were on set making the film we talked about the possibilities and directions of how a sequel can go. The fun of this movie was that it might not have been the only movie being made that night, there might be another movie! In today’s day and age of people filming their lives on their camera phones and Handycams, uploading it to YouTube… That was kind of exciting thinking about that.”
“There’s a moment on the Brooklyn Bridge, and there was a guy filming something on the side of the bridge, and Hud sees him filming and he turns over and he sees the ship that’s been capsized and sees the headless Statue of Liberty, and then he turns back and this guy’s briefly filming him. In my mind that was two movies intersecting for a brief moment, and I thought there was something interesting in the idea that this incident happened and there are so many different points of view, and there are several different movies at least happening that evening and we just saw one piece of another. That idea sort of tickled me.”
“The idea of doing something so differently is exhilarating. We hope that it created a movie experience that is different. The thing about doing a sequel is that I think we all really feel protective of that experience. The key here will be if we can find something that is compelling enough and that is different enough for us to do, then it will probably be worth doing. Obviously it also depends on how Cloverfield does worldwide and all of those things too, but really, for us creatively, we just want to find something that would be another challenge.”
Burk: “The creative team has fleshed out an entire backstory which, if we’re lucky, we might get to explore in future films.”
Abrams: “It would be a totally different kind of thing but it’s too early to talk about.”
As you can clearly see, there areideas floating around about what a sequel to Cloverfield can entail. Focusing on the backstory of the monster and changing up the style of the way the movie is portrayed to audiences seems to be the two big concepts to take away from the sequel jabber. Also, let me remind you that Cloverfield did leave some questions at the end of the film in two instances. (1) In the final scene of the film (the recording at Coney Island) a quick camera shot reveals a large object falling into the ocean. It has been oft-confirmed that this object was a satellite and that the excavation of said satillite woke up the monster who “[has] been down there in the water for thousands and thousands of years.” [J.J. Abrams] (2) Loyal fans of Abrams and Cloverfield (yeah, that’s me) who waited out the end credits to see if there was a reveal at the very end heardquite the treat. An unknown person whispers softly “It’s still alive.” When played backwards the audio plays “Help us.” {Listen below.} All in all, I would place all bets on a sequel coming to theatres soon. Let the crazy detailed viral marketing and hype begin!
Oh wait…what’s this? It seems as if viral marketing as started for Cloverfield 2. Although it is has not been confirmed as an official video for a sequel, and many speculate it may be fan-created, this video is still quite the treat for the Cloverfield following. Today a video was uploaded to YouTube titled “そこに何ですか？- R U THERE?” by abcharu21. It contains shaky-cam scenes from what appears to be Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, CA, bizarre cuts to a father playing with his Asian baby, a shot of what may be the monster terrorizing civilians, and it ends with a quick shot of a street sign that reads “Cloverfield.” Though it may very well be a user-generated video, it seems too authentic to me. Check it out below and let the hype begin all over again.
