Cabin in the woods, ooooh. A cabin in the woods (yeah). I don't know if it'll be about five college students on their way to an old, abandoned cabin in the woods, but there's a project on Joss Whedon's plate that isn't Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog or Dollhouse. In a discussion with MTV, the uber-awesome Buffy creator talked about the projects that are coming to fruition, and those that are falling to the weight of busy schedules. We already know about the awesome Dr. Horrible, and the sing-along commentary, but what else is there?

Cabin in the Woods. While this may seem more like Sam Raimi territory, it's actually a project being cooked up between Whedon and Buffy writer and Cloverfield scribe Drew Goddard. The latter says: "It's got a harder and darker edge, but it's also got classic Whedon qualities. It'll rip your heart out and be heartfelt at the same time." He wouldn't say what it's about other than how it'll be their take on the horror-filled cabin experience. Right now, Whedon says that they're working out budgeting, and hopefully it'll be figured out soon. Considering the depth he brought to the vampire slayer, I can only imagine...

However, if you were hoping to see Joss involved in Brian K. Vaughan's Runaways production, dream on. Whedon already has "guilt" over his busy-ness and lack of involvement in the project. He's also got Serving Girl, a short he planned with Summer Glau, on the back burner because he's got his gigs lined up while Glau is "busy terminating everybody."

"I'm only one man!" he cried to MTV. That may be the case, but he's a man while awesome-sounding projects on the way.

I think everyone's been assuming that Matt Reeves, whose career ascended to another level this year thanks to Cloverfield, would go straight to directing the in-the-works sequel. In an interview with MTV this week, he made it clear that this isn't so. Cloverfield 2 is still happening, but another of his pet projects -- a psychological thriller called The Invisible Woman -- has raced ahead of it in the production pipeline. Not actually a movie about an invisible woman, its story instead involves a "woman that gets so desperate to save her family, that she goes to crazy lengths and enters a life of crime." Reeves, who wrote the film himself, describes it as "a Hitchcockian thriller in the vein of Marnie."

Though Cloverfield was written by Drew Goddard, Reeves wrote and directed the 90's David Schwimmer comedy The Pallbearer, and co-wrote the screenplay for Under Siege 2: Dark Territory. I've seen both, but I'll be damned if I remember either, though I have a vague recollection that Under Siege 2 was pretty fantastic in that way that some Steven Seagal movies can be. Not being the biggest fan of Cloverfield (I liked it well enough), I can wait for the sequel. If you can't -- uh, well, you'll have to. Sorry. The good news is that it still appears to be on the way.

While a number of Buffy the Vampire Slayer alum have had continued success, the most explosive post-fang career for the people behind the scenes is Drew Goddard. He perked things up at the end of the series with some incredibly memorable episodes, then moved to Angel, Alias, and Lost. However, his success is even on the big screen now, as he's the pen behind Cloverfield, and he will be writing the upcoming sequel.

Still, in all of this action, he found time to write one of the comic arcs for Buffy, Season Eight. In his 4-issue arc, called Wolves at the Gate, (check out the cover over at Hollywood North Report) the vampire slayer heads to Tokyo to fight not werewolves, but the fanged ones. His involvement should make for a good read, but it begs a bigger question -- since he's continuing to be involved in the Buffyverse, and is finding success in film, could this mean good things for a potential Buffy movie?

According to Variety, Matt Reeves is "in early talks with Paramount" to direct a sequel to this month's smash Cloverfield. This should come as a surprise to exactly no one, as Cloverfield was made on the super cheap ($25 million) and scored a whopping $46 million in its opening weekend alone. From the way the announcement is worded, it looks like they want Cloverfield II underway ASAP, as soon as Paramount can complete discussions with Reeves, producer J.J. Abrams and writer Drew Goddard, who penned Cloverfield as well as episodes of Lost, Alias, and Buffy, the Vampire Slayer. Reeves has also signed to direct The Invisible Woman, "a Hitchcock-style thriller" he wrote that "probes the mind of a former beauty queen who turns to a life of crime to protect her family."

It remains unclear which project will start production first, though the Variety article says there's a "good chance" it'll be Cloverfield. No word yet on the plot, but Goddard recently mentioned the possibility of showing you the fateful night of the attack from another cameraman's perspective. Much to my chagrin, I have yet to see Cloverfield. The night it came out I was assigned to review...Mad Money. You don't know humiliation until you have to purchase a ticket for a midnight showing of the new Diane Keaton comedy while surrounded by a huge mob of psyched Cloverheads. I'll check it out this weekend, but for those of you who've seen it -- are you excited for a sequel? And do you like the idea of watching events from another angle or would you want a whole new adventure?

Up there you have uber geeks Anthony Michael Hall and Ilan Mitchell-Smith (who is now, believe it or not, a professor) trying to make the perfect woman in Weird Science. They give their perfect woman a handful of boob (because the rest would be a waste), and a mixture of Albert Einstein and Diamond Dave to fill her brain. (What could be more well-rounded?!) The result -- out pops Kelly LeBrock.

Now, in a podcast with SciFi Wire about artificial intelligence, geek hero Joss Whedon discusses his dislike for the film: "I hate Weird Science not a little. I find it offensive, the boy fantasy of building a girl. Obviously, we were doing the nasty version of it [in Buffy the Vampire Slayer], because I find it grotesque."

But what do you think?

An added bonus for Whedon fans: He's working on a film script with Drew Goddard -- that writer from Buffy who recently penned Cloverfield.

I've been excited for Cloverfield ever since I heard that Drew Goddard penned the flick. I can't say anything about Lost or Alias, but he penned some fun episodes of Angel, and better yet -- he got his start on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. (Yes, I'm a Whedonite of the vamp variety.) During his stint with the slayer, he penned part of the stunning Conversations with Dead People, and headed other eps like Dirty Girls and Lies My Parents Told Me. So, hearing that he was putting his spin on the whole monster movie thing was enough to hook me, and while it could potentially be a can't-live-up-to-hype Blair Witch, I'm still running my butt down to the theater tonight to see for myself.

Of course, what we'll all see on the screen is not exactly what he intended. Bloody Disgusting chatted with Godard and director Matt Reeves on the red carpet of the premiere, and got the scoop. Drew was aiming for a "hard R" with lots of blood and disgusting bits, but was told it was "way too brutal." But maybe we'll see more on the DVD, or the sequel? Reeves wouldn't confirm or deny the possibility, but he did comment on what number two could be if they do go into sequel territory, and frankly, I love the idea: "Only time will tell. While we were on set making the film, we talked about the possibilities and directions of how a sequel can go. The fun of this movie was that it might not have been the only movie being made that night. There might be another movie!"

The whole monster-coming-back-for-round-two angle is getting old, so I would be all over a sequel that shows the same night from a different perspective. At least then, potential monster death or wrapped-up plots can still be actual endings, rather than fluff that gets twisted for round two, five, or ten. What do you think?

It's been awhile, but another mysterious photo has popped up over at 1-18-08.com (aka The Unofficial Official Website for "Cloverfield" -- aka That Mysterious J.J. Abrams Project). I'll admit that I haven't been following the viral marketing for this film since -- I dunno -- July, so I'm not completely up to date on all the different websites beside this one that may or may not have something to do with the movie. But in case you're still following the clues, if you flip the above image over (on their site, not ours), you'll see the recipe for a Japanese dish, in Japanese. You can find the translation over on the Unfiction message boards, as well as more info on the Cloverfield Clues blog.

As far as I know, an official title still hasn't been released, and we're all still assuming the film will be released on January 18, 2008. From the details that have emerged, we know the film will follow a group of kids from New York City who attempt to survive an attack from an unknown monster(s). Oh, and the entire film will most likely be told via shaky handheld cameras, a la The Blair Witch Project. Matt Reeves is directing off a script from Drew Goddard, while folks like Lizzy Caplan, Mike Vogel (who's rumored to be up for the role of Captain Kirk in Abrams' Star Trek XI) and Jessica Lucas star. Not much else to go on, but whatever it is that chef is holding up -- well, it looks disgusting.

I'm sure you've been waiting for another morsel about the 1-18-08 -aka- Cloverfield flick. Bit by teeny little bit, news has been coming out about this film, which has to speed up at some point if it wants to make its '08 release date. 1-18-08news.com has posted the next little piece -- a heads up that the official website has been updated. It now includes a roar. Yes, that's it -- a roar. If you go to the website, sit there and wait for a while you'll hear it -- although to me it sounds like a roar that turns into some sort of guitar screech. Obviously this is a little bone for the uber-anxious, since not everyone will just keep the website open on their browser long enough to hear the jump-inducer. I'm wondering if it would've been better to do one of those e-mail forwards that tells you to stare at some picture long enough ... it would be a great way to introduce the monster!

Beyond that, there's nothing really new to report. Personally, I'm really itching to see how Drew Goddard does on his first feature film script. He got his start on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and wrote some of the best of the latter episodes, like Conversations with Dead People. (He's also often referred to as the hot Buffy writer, which is understandable, since the guy is a looker.) Since then he's written for Angel as well as J.J. Abrams' two shows, Alias and Lost -- so he's got some experience with mysterious and other-worldly fare. What's surprising is the other Abrams crew on the job as director -- Felicity exec producer/writer/director Matt Reeves, whose last feature was the David Schwimmer stinker The Pallbearer. Stay tuned for the next crumb ... sure to be thrown at some point!