Paramount has released two new stills of "Super 8" to the web.
Both of these photos were used in this week's "Entertainment Weekly" 3-page spread.
The LA Times has an article in which JJ Abrams discusses the 7 movies that shaped Super 8.
The title of the film is a reference to the Eastman Kodak film format that became a sensation with amateur movie-makers in the late 1960s and represented a rite of passage for several generations of aspiring directors, among them Abrams himself. The young characters in the film are making their own Super 8 movie when that mystery train runs off the rails, but the love of film and filmmaking in Abrams’ movie goes well beyond that. “Super 8″ is laced with images that recall the movies of the late 1970s and early 1980s that were important to the director, who celebrates his 45th birthday this summer.
“It’s difficult to separate memories of being a kid in 1979 from the movies of the era,” Abrams said. “That was the year ‘Alien’ came out, it was a couple of years after ‘Close Encounters’ and ‘Jaws,’ and then were movies a couple of years later, like ‘Stand By Me,’ that were so impactful. There’s jumble of movies that I love, some of them the mainstream movies but also the gruesome horror movies that I loved so.”
Which of those films inform “Super 8″? Abrams was far more enthused about answering that question than revealing further details about his new movie.
Here's JJ's list. But you really want to read the entire article to hear how JJ describes each of these movies and their impact on the making of "Super 8."
- "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" (1977)
- "Jaws" (1975)
- "The Thing" (1982)
- "Alien" (1979)
- "Slumber Party Massacre" (1982)
- "Scanners" (1981)
- "E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial"(1982)
From Tiger Beat:
From the UK Independent:
An interactive trailer for J.J. Abrams's super-secret film Super 8 has been included in the PC version of the video game adventure Portal 2, released on April 19.
A "walk-through" of this Super 8 footage is available as a special feature showing the interior of train boxcars in which an alien from Area 51 is apparently being transported.
Abrams, who directed Star Trek and co-produced the television series Lost, has worked with cross-promotional ideas and viral marketing on Lost and the film Cloverfield.
A YouTube video shows the zooms and other features, allowing a peek at details before and after the train crash, as shown in the conventional trailer. Portal 2 gamers can play the role of a passenger on board.
As reported in MTV, this feature could indicate there may be a Super 8 video game.
Starring Elle Fanning (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) and newcomer Joel Courtney, the story follows small town kids who witness a train crash and discover the terrifying truth behind the so-called accident.
The film, produced by Steven Spielberg, will be released June 10 in North America and rolls out in international markets through July and August.
Here's another link to the trailer with commentary: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgwAmeWhC7c
From Big Download:
Super 8, the upcoming summer action movie from writer-director J.J. Abrams, makes a surprise appearance in the just released puzzle-shooter sequel Portal 2. Valve's game just unlocked for PC players via Steam and it contains a very interesting surprise. In the game's Extras section was a brief "interactive teaser" for Super 8.
The teaser, which uses the Source Engine, has your character on board the train that's the subject of the massive wreck in the first Super 8 teaser trailer. Just before the crash you can look around the train car and zoom in on some documents but that's about it. After the crash you then wander around the train wreckage until you get to the car that contains ... well, whatever is in the car that breaks out with a massive scream. The teaser then ends and sends you via Steam's browser to the Super 8 web site.
Here's a YouTube video capture of the game.