Last night Paramount hosted a special gathering of press folk where they showed up some footage from their upcoming 2011 slate, culminating in 22 minutes of Super 8 divided up into two different scenes presented out of sequence. Abrams was on hand to introduce the footage, as well as to answer questions at an informal cocktail reception afterward, and though he was uncomfortable showing an unfinished product, general reactions from those in attendance (including your truly) were extremely positive.

Super 8 takes place in the late-1970s, and revolves around a group of kids whose small mid-western town becomes a dangerous military zone after some … thing escapes from a train wreck. If you watched the recently-released trailer (if not, watch below), note that the two scenes we saw were extended versions of the train wreck (a fantastic, heart-pounding action sequence) and also the scene where the store clerk is mysteriously yanked back through the aisle by an unknown force. Is it a monster? An alien? A creature of some unknown origin? Good news is we have no idea, and it’s our hope that Paramount and Abrams keep it that way through the film’s June 10th release because it’ll make for a much more rewarding moviegoing experience if we all go in not knowing what that thing is.
Also on the docket last night were very brief sneak peeks at films like Footloose and Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. Yes, we saw footage from Thor, Captain America and Transformers: Dark of the Moon, but what they screened is already out there in the world. The footage they showed us from Footloose and Mission Impossible 4, however, is not.
The Footloose remake teaser was … interesting. As a dude who grew up with the original, I’m not sure how crazy I was about hearing what sounded like a techno version of the title track. That said, director Craig Brewer certainly looks to have delivered a damn sexy movie. There was more bumpin’ and gridin’ going on in that tiny bit of footage than all of Dirty Dancing, so I’m sure this film will make a big splash with younger audiences when it hits theaters on October 14th.
Meanwhile, the 45-or-so seconds of Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol looked pretty badass. I was especially impressed by the footage they shot of Tom Cruise sliding up, down and across the tallest building in the world. They shot that stuff with IMAX cameras, too, giving it all an extra holy-cow factor. Should be fun to watch when it hits theaters on December 16th.
Which 2011 Paramount film are you looking forward to the most?