Given the film’s huge success and the franchise, it may be a surprise to learn that creating the original Cloverfield movie was labor-intensive and frequently chaotic. More Cloverfield movies are a financially viable idea after the Handycam-shot monster thriller, which had a 25 million dollar budget and made over 172 million dollars, was released in 2008. But as the movie was to develop, there were doubts about how would receive it and if it was even feasible to make.
In an exclusive interview with Screen Rant that coincided with the launch of a Cloverfield Limited Edition 4K SteelBook for the movie’s 15th anniversary, director Matt Reeves talks about his first hesitation when discussing the film with producer J.J. Abrams. Reeves was appointed director of the Godzilla-inspired thriller only twelve weeks before filming to schedule to start; the movie didn’t even have a complete plot at the time. Naturally, Reeves accepted the position and history thus made, although the director’s worries were more than justified. Reeves’ own words on the subject are as follows:
How the obstacles that Cloverfield faced off-screen improved its narrative
In his interview with Screen Rant, reeves mentioned a modest film budget as another important aspect of creating Cloverfield. According to the adage, “necessity is the mother of innovation,” and Cloverfield’s much-praised urgency and personality sprang from the filmmakers’ desperate effort to make the movie fast, cheaply, and cleverly. The fact that Cloverfield to released in the same year as The Dark Knight, Iron Man, and Indiana Jones & the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull makes it stand out from other found-footage movies, big-budget blockbusters, and even other Cloverfield franchise entries. Without this distinction, the film might be obscured by the noise of popular culture.
When asked whether there was anything he would have changed, Reeves reiterated how much he enjoyed the chaotic process of making Cloverfield. The event not only strengthened Reeves’ connection with screenwriter Drew Goddard, but the fast-paced nature of the movie prevented any room for doubt. In the end, Reeves gives some credit for how well the movie depicts the chaos its characters endure in creating the movie. It is Reeves’ opinion:
It’s difficult to contest the outcomes, for sure. Given that a true Cloverfield 2 could be on the horizon, watching how the film treats the lasting memory of the first will be interesting.