by Edward Michaud - December 7, 2007
Imagine a world in which Star Wars never happened and the term "Blockbuster" was never coined. And then, in early 2008, a movie--yes, a movie--came out of nowhere to do what Star Wars did. Would the term "Blockbuster" be coined in response? Unlikely given the multitude of multiplexes in 2008. Maybe "Mallbuster" would arise from the redefinition to rent us DVDs. But more likely the defining term coined in response to such a modern-day revolution would be a new media term. Can you bust the internet? Let's hope not. You can, however, do on the internet what no one has done before.
AICN's rumored reviews of Cloverfield range from "STAR WARS" to "solid, definitely not great, and certainly not a genre redefinition." Gee, thanks AICN. But the article does inspire me to revisit the question of whether the movie will live up to the viral hype. My default position has been to have low expectations for the movie, and instead simply focus on enjoying the virtual fun. God grant me the wisdom. . . However, things have progressed quite a bit since I first adopted that default disposition back in July. Most importantly, the viral fun has achieved a life of its own. While I believe the marketing of Cloverfield benefited from some out-of-the-box thinking on the part of Abrams and Co., I also believe it quickly outpaced and outgrew the machinations of those who set it in motion. Or to put it another way, the virtual world that Cloverfield fans have created deserves a movie that is its equal. A movie that is to cinema what "Cloverfield" is to the internet.
Or to take a final crack at it--thanks to the internet, the fans have realized their own high expectations. They've made Cloverfield the "STAR WARS" of the new media. Going back to 1977 and what if Star Wars never happened (read: What if Star Wars had sucked). That would have been that. No sequels and certainly no prequels. Game over. End of story/franchise but for a turn on MST3K. But Star Wars didn't suck, and the fans have subsequently turned it into more than the sum of its parts. Just as the fans have turned Cloverfield into more than the sum of its parts. But while Lucas could never have guessed, Abrams and Co. know ahead of time--thanks to the internet--what awaits their vision . . . if it doesn't suck. So certain is the fact that Cloverfield can be the next Star Wars, I would propose that its makers sit down and watch the finished product and determine if it surpasses all expectations, and if it doesn't, throw it out, change the date to 1-18-09, and start over from scratch.
I know. It's not going to happen. Even if Cloverfield sucks--and you know the people responsible for, or starring in, suck-ass movies know they suck--it will be released. And that, young Jedi, will be that.
These days Eddy, to his surprise, honest, finds himself happily blogging at 1.18.08. What he'll do come 1.19.08 is anyone's guess.