What's the Deal with JJ Abrams' Cloverfield Trailer?

Paramount Pictures has lifted the lid on a top-secret movie project, by showing the teaser trailer for Cloverfield, before all screenings of Transformers, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Cloverfield, which revolves around a monster attack in New York as told from the point of view of a small group of people, is being produced by J.J. Abrams. It is being directed by Matt Reeves, who co-created Felicity with Abrams, and is written by Drew Goddard, who has worked with Abrams on Lost and Alias.

The trade paper says that Paramount greenlighted the project under a veil of heavy secrecy in February, about the same time that Abrams agreed to the take over as director of the new Star Trek film. Filming began in mid-June in New York on the $30 million budget which started in a cloud of mystery as no scripts or scene pages where sent out to prospective actors, vying for the various roles in the film. Agents representing the actors were asked if they blindly wanted to accept a role or not! Eventually a cast was picked and made up of relative unknowns.

The storyline is unknown, but it is rumored to be some kind of "monster" movie.

The trailer opens with scenes from a surprise going-away party in a New York bar with a view of the city. Before long, a thundering roar is heard, and by the time guests run downstairs, pandemonium and flaming debris are hitting the streets. After a huge explosion at the lower end of Manhattan, what appears to be the head of the Statue of Liberty comes hurtling up the street like a giant projectile. The trailer's footage is shot by a hand-held camera, home-movie style.

Buzz on the Internet has swelled due the cryptic-nature of the trailer as well as two new websites launched which are dedicated to a fictitious character (related to the trailer) named Ethan Haas: EthanHaaswasright.com, the other, EthanHaaswaswrong.blogspot.com.

The latter allows the user to move puzzle pieces around such that when you have solved the puzzle, it shows a video clip with the following message:

Tip: Look to the stars for help. You may have to e-mail someone named "Van" - he'll guide you through all five puzzles. We've given it a whirl...

We are not sure what this mean either, and from what we have read from other sources on the web, they are just as confused as us at this point! Time will tell, what this all means :)

The film will be released on January 18, 2008.