What clover field Confused audiences watching his unnamed and memorable trailer, no one knew what to expect from what some consider to be one of the best science fiction film of the modern era. Those expectations were also open behind the scenes, as director Matt Reeves and screenwriter Drew Goddard crafted the story of the 2008 blockbuster just weeks before filming. While this trailer unfolded with transformers in 2007, of Cloverfield the script was still in progress .
For such an unconventional film, there were a lot of twists and turns to go, one of which came along clover field an overture by Michael Giacchino. As crazy as it sounds, this piece of music didn’t come cheap considering the found footage nature of the project. But when Matt Reeves heard the finished product, he unleashed an emotional reaction that still accompanies him today.
How Michael Giacchino landed at Cloverfield music functions
Initially, music was not intended to be a part of it clover field, as once again, was a found footage adventure. So, if Giacchino hadn’t asked to compose the film score, we might never have appreciated the beauty of “Roar! (Opening of Cloverfield)”.
Speaking with Matt Reeves on behalf of the 4K Steelbook release Supreme film, which marks its 15th anniversary since its theatrical debut, let’s talk about how this piece of music came to be. Here’s what Reeves told Gossipify about how Clover got its “Roar!” :
It was very early. I think one of the things was, obviously, you know, Michael, it was our first time working together and now we’ve done five movies together, which is amazing to look back on. … At the time we met, I was a true fan of his music, everything he’d done on Lost, and everything he and JJ had done. I was like, ‘Wow, he’s so talented.’ And he was like, “God, I’d like to score this movie,” and we were like, “Yeah, there’s a problem.” We can’t have scores. And from the very beginning, he said, “Well, then I’m going to write the music that was going to be in the movie and that’s going to be the final sequel.”
Playing on the end credits, of Cloverfield the opening sounds like a tribute to the work of composer Akira Ifukube, who gave the classic Godzilla franchise your iconic theme. If the movie did indeed have a soundtrack to its events, that’s definitely what you’d expect to hear from a monster movie with a score by Michael Giacchino.
Matt Reeves’ account above is pretty accurate, but there’s another version of the story that adds further context. when I interviewed Michael in 2020 in the name of his album Travel diary volume 1I took the time to ask him about his memories of being a part of the clover field Experience. As you’ll read below, the really fun part about how Giacchino tells the story is because because asked to create “Roar! (Opening of Cloverfield)”:
I was on set, watching them film it, because Matt [Reeves] and me, and JJ [Abrams], we were all friends. So I’d go to the set and watch it. And it was me who said, ‘What’s going on with the music in this movie?’ [JJ] he was like, ‘There’s no music in there.’ I’m like, ‘What?! You’re making a monster movie and I can’t write a soundtrack for a monster movie? I love monster movies, it’s like my favorite. I said, ‘And that? And if you wrote the rest of the credits, what would the soundtrack be in the movie, if the movie had a soundtrack? And I already had this idea of what it could be, and I was like, ‘Great, we’re going to use that.’ So yeah, it happened in a very weird way, but it was fun. It was fun to have a room that mirrored what you just saw. It was amazing, I loved this movie.
Everyone involved takes great pride in how “Roar!” unites everything clover field together. That said, if there was anyone who liked him better, it was Matt Reeves. You can’t blame the man either, as the intense production experience on his third directorial effort was something he had never had before. This fact finally hit him during post-production, and just when he was finally exposed to “Roar! (Cloverfield Overture)” in the context of the complete film.
Why Matt Reeves Had Such An Emotional Reaction To The Roar! (Opening of Cloverfield)
What of Cloverfield iconic marketing campaign He continued to weave his spell, the film itself passing him at breakneck speed. With a future blockbuster in his hands, Reeves found himself in the same maze of post-production, mixing and editing that every director must endure to create a finished film. This experience and Michael Giacchino’s music led to the following story about Matt Reeves setting it all up:
And I just remember messing it all up… it’s also one of the most exciting things, you know, to go through all of this. We made the film so fast and so intensely, and one of the most vivid memories is the feeling that everything ended in a blur. And mixing the movie at the end, and then putting this music on and standing there and going, ‘Wow, we just made this movie before you could even blink, and here’s this beautiful music from Michael. And it was just amazing.
Even as a spectator, get to the end of clover field and hearing that epic, booming music was something that cemented it all as a forever memorable theater experience. While the viewer may feel exhausted during a journey for reasons other than those directed by Reeves, Michael Giacchino’s musical finale plays out in much the same way.
The more we learn about the birth of this 2008 hit, the clearer it becomes that this film was a product of love, speed and ingenuity. For a film that started out without a script, in a format that wasn’t used to including big special effects and, in short, tight constraints, it feels like an adrenaline rush to watch and do. Michael Giacchino got his monster movie scored, and that only led to even bigger projects, including Giacchino’s directing duties at Marvel’s Werewolf at night.
15 years later, and with a direct sequel to clover field currently in development, we can learn more about what happened during and after the events of the original film. Perhaps here is an opportunity to flesh out the themes of this score that never was, as long as Michael Giacchino isn’t too busy with his monster movies to return. Meanwhile, fans of clover field you can grab this 4K Steelbook reissue ASAP as it is currently on the shelves.
Source: Cinemablend
