Comfirmation: DAM at S.S.S.S.

Well, this topic at Tohokingdom says it all. Better get your bags packed!

http://www.tohokingdom.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=23498

News On Legendary Picture's Godzilla Project

It isn't news from me which shall be bestowed upon you, the reader. This is of youtube member DeviantSon. Evidently, he knows someone who knows someone who knows what is going on with the epic sounding venture. While some on youtube have made videos on the project - which mostly consist of fan speculation and the maker's own wishes for the venture, DeviantSon seems to have a real fountain of information with him, along with the other usual stuff. Watch some, eh?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTqy9N_mYy0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MO6o_Smn1Rg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cANxNp3Qck
http://www.youtube.com/user/DeviantSon13#p/u/3/vxSyQ7FDapA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JZrXuvURxc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VwywLJcilc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgq_fc5R0UM

I shall be getting more information soon on this information.

Interview with Frank Gillen

Well, it is just natural to want to know about the man who has started a new phase in the youtube part of the Tokusatsu fandom. Frank Gillen is the creator of "TokusatsuReviewV3" (link in links bar). From this youtube channel, all of the big names in the Godzilla video buisness contribute to this channel to make an awesome collage of work. So without further delay, here is my interview with Frank Gillen AKA EatIt41. I would like to thank him for taking time out of his schedule for talking with us.

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1. So, how long have you been a Godzilla fan?

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According to my father, as old as 3 or 4 is when I started.

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2. How were you first exposed to kaiju eiga?

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My dad told me that every Saturday or Sunday after my nap I would sit down to watch the "TNT Monstervision". My dad knew I liked dinosaurs so He thought I would enjoy Godzilla and I've been hooked ever since.

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3. How has your passion for tokusatsu eiga changed through out the years?

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Lets put it this way, I went from a boy who loved trains to a boy who loved dinosuars. Then to a boy who loved dinosuuars who ate trains. But I have become more into the overall history of the tokusatsu series.

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4. How did it come to you that you need to have a youtube channel (talking about your EatIt41 channel)?

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I made this channel a long time ago just so I could watch videos becuase at the time I had no videos made.

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5. How is your EatIt41 account holding out?

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Its doing well. Recent videos have not been recieved as well due to lack of advertising.

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6. How did it come to create the TokusatsuReviewV3?

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Originaly it was called "Nori Imports" and I was never going to host it, just showcase the show. But as I worked on the outline, I created this channel for all kaiju fans to come together.

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7. What were the goals of the TokusatRevuewV3 channel?

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My goal is to unite all fans into a single place or something like that.

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8. What are some features which you want to keep up (news reports, toy review, event coverage, ect.)?

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I would like to keep up with the news but so many others have done this so I'm just keeping it a variety show for now.

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9. You got some great youtube members contributing to the channel. How do you keep up quality control?

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I try to keep the fans involved but I tipically ask the more experienced fan on staff for the show. But don't get me wrong, I love the fan submitted stuff, just people need to actually submit and not ask me million times.

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10. Where do you see the channel going in the future?

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Hopefully just make it a well known licenced channel with t-shirts or something.

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11. What problems have you experianced with the TRV3 channel?

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My weekly video output on top of high school is hard so I am struggling with that.

Heisei Film Festival Pics

Guess what props are on display here:

News on Blu-Ray Discs

Has anyone check out the page for the blu-rays? They updated some of them with pics form the new special features:

http://www.toho-a-park.com/tokusatsu-bd/monokuro.htmlhttp://www.toho-a-park.com/tokusatsu-bd/radon.htmlhttp://www.toho-a-park.com/tokusatsu-bd/godzilla1984.htmlhttp://www.toho-a-park.com/tokusatsu-bd/vskingghidorah.htmlhttp://www.toho-a-park.com/tokusatsu-bd/rengoukantai.html

Not only that, but the stats for the third wave's Heisei releases have been updated. It seems like all the Heisei releases are going to have the same "new" special feature: shows exactly where in Japan the kaiju go through. Something simular was done for the Cloverfield blu-ray...

Godzilla's Mellons (AKA Worst Article Title Ever)

Mellons. To 8th graders, they are the things which teaches about genes/seeds. To commedians, they are the ultimate synonym for the woman's mammary glands. But now they got a new name: something that Godzilla advertises. After advertising beverages which usualy get slack (Dr. Pepper and Kirin Beer's canned coffee), we now see Godzilla being used to sell mellons. Just got one thing to say: Godzilla has big mellons.

Yes, this is an actual product in Japan.

Ultraman Belial - An Appreciation

Already receiving positive reviews from critics on both sides of the Pacific, "Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy Legend The Movie" has become one of the most anticipated films of the year. The film has in it a remarkable thing in it other than it’s original plot, good acting, and intense action sequences which make the Matrix films look like kid’s fare: the first real Evil Ultraman. Like all good tokusatsu protagonists, the sometimes have to be named after biblical entities (Legion). So enter Ultraman Belial. Many people have compared him to as if Ultraman would have bonded to the symbioite which created Marvel comics characters like Venom or Carnage. Ultraman Belial "is tits". This is an appreciation for him.

The character has been host to a lot of merchandise. A theatre exclusive trading card was released. Two shirts were released in 3 sizes. An action figure is to be released this December. And a bunch of videos have popped up, showing the antagonist using electronics and how to have proper manners in the multiplex. So, let’s look, shall we?

http://www.youtube.com/user/g2kmaster#grid/user/F297D42B4E559F22

TokusatsuReviewV3's New Episode

The ingenious youtube channel created by Frank Gillen (EarIt41), "TokusatsuReviewV3" - which collects the tallent of the most note-worthy of kaiju fans who make youtube videos - let me do an episode. It is below. It is not the best episode, but there is going to be a fallow up to it. Another thing is scratched off my bucket list. But that doesn't mean that I wouldn't want to do it again! Plus, I think that this is the first video I have done in a long time which exposes my face.

New Toho Blu-Rays

Today, the official Toho Tokusatsu Blu-Ray DVD site revealed the fourth wave of blu-rays being released on March 19, 2010. The films being released are "Mothra vs. Godzilla", "Ghidorah, The Three Headed Monster", and "Godzilla X Megaguirus". For their regular SFX films, "The Mysterians" and "Atragon" are being released. Unlike the third line - which only had one of it's title prevail with newly produced special features, all of the DVDs in this fourth wave have newly made special features - even "Godzilla X Megaguirus". The spects are the same as the other blu-rays. Below is links and translations of what is on the disc other than the film:


"Ghidorah, The Three Headed Monster"
http://www.toho-a-park.com/tokusatsu-bd/sandai.html
Special Features:
-Theatre Notice (HD quality)- making of (8mm film) (SD quality)
- interview with actor Nakashima Haruo (Godzilla) (SD quality)
-"Monster Ghidorah" 8mm Film release + FLEXI (SD quality)
-"Space Monster Ghidorah" DVD Book (from original DVD) (HD quality)
-Tokusatsu Toho University Encyclopedia SF (SD quality) [NEWLY PRODUCED]
-Audio Commentary (Eiko Wakabayashi , interviewed by Toshiaki Sato)

"Mothra vs. Godzilla"
http://www.toho-a-park.com/tokusatsu-bd/vs_goazilla.html
-Theater notice (HD quality)
-Godzilla vs. Mothra 1980 re-release cut (HD Blow-Up)
-"Godzilla attacks Tokyo" 8mm + FLEXI (SD quality)
-"Godzilla attacks Tokyo" DVD Book (HD quality)
-Career of Molding Godzilla (tentative HD quality) [NEWLY PRODUCED ]
-Tokusatsu Toho University Encyclopedia SF (SD quality) [NEWLY PRODUCED]
-Audio Commentary (Kenji Sahara interview by Kurashiki Yasuo)

"The Mysterians"
http://www.toho-a-park.com/tokusatsu-bd/bouei.html
-Theatre notice (HD quality)
-Earth Defense's Soldiers Toho Champion Matsuri Festival Edition (HD quality) [FIRST TIME RELEASED! ]
-SF Encyclopedia Tokusatsu Toho University (SD quality) [NEWLY PRODUCED]
-Audio Commentary (Shinji Higuchi and Koichi Kawakita interviewed by Yasuo Kurashiki)

"Atragon"
http://www.toho-a-park.com/tokusatsu-bd/kaitei.html
-Theatre notice (HD quality)
-1968 edit of Atragon (HD blow up) [FIRST TIME RELEASED ]
-Gotengo Encyclopedia (Tentative HD quality) [NEWLY PRODUCED]
-Tokusatsu Toho University Encyclopedia SF (SD quality) [NEWLY PRODUCED ]
-Audio Commentary (Okiharu Kajita and Takeshi Nuda)

"Godzilla vs. Megaguirus"
http://www.toho-a-park.com/tokusatsu-bd/vs_megagirasu.html
- Theater Notice (HD quality)
- Dispatch (HD Blow-Up)
-TV Spot (SD quality)
- Making (SD quality)
- Shibuya, Tokyo Bay Hen Location Guide Godzilla series (tentative HD quality) [Journal first! ]
- Audio Commentary (Director Masaaki Tezuka / special effects director Kenji Suzuki and Misato Tanaka)
- Audio Commentary (Composer Michiru Oshima and score producer Kitahara Kiyoko)

"...We wish you a merry Christmas so give us some Goji!"

It’s that time of year. The time of year when the northern hemisphere is looking at snow and cold weather while the southern hemisphere is looking at what we just went through which made our electric bills sky rocket. The time of year which people actually strive to have that thing called "world peace" and almost reach it. The time of year which we celebrate either the birth of a Christian deity or a man in a red suit who’s image was perfected by the Coca-Cola company and life story based on a Catholic saint. I am talking about Christmas! And even though Japan’s main religion is Shinto (for those who do fallow a religion in Japan), that does not stop them from celebrating the awesome time of year!


The fallowing photos were taken on Dec. 1, 2007. As you can see, the fairly popular Kiryu-Goji exhibition suit which has fallowed from exhibit to theatrical event to promotional shows to a blu-ray stand to even a kiosk advertisement is here with Santa Claus giving joy to the little children of Japan and gives up tokusatsu otaku something to look at.

New Toy Photos

Not much news today, but some more photos. Just to note, the Desu-Goji figure is already sold out on the one web site it was being sold on. Start checking those aution sites! Plus, notice the diffrent bases that are made for the King Ghidorah figure, which though not pictured, also has some varieties. The KG figure also comes with orange colored hair.

Heisei Film Festival Update

The "Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah" section of the film festival is now playing, and along with it I bestow onto you this flyer for a figure which we have mentioned before.

Interview with Kyle (Deadzilla; Jangozilla)

I have been meaning to do more fan interviews and stuff, and Kyle is the one person who I had in mind. Actually this interview was originally to be done back over summer break, but I kept putting it off (due to trying to get more news pumping through the site which I have successfully done now). But as I said, I have been meaning to do some stuff for Kyle, a great youtube member and kaiju fan. So, here is the interview. And remember, even though it is dead, let’s try to give your support to Kyle since at least I and accouple more youtube kaiju fans want to see his next fan film, "Godzilla 3". Now, here is the interview. NOTE: I AM GOING TO CONTACT BLOGGER ABOUT THE SPACING. IT NEEDS TO BE FIXED...

1. Would you say that you joined youtube when Godzilla fans on youtube were still few?

Possibly, there wasn't as much toy reviewers as you see on the YouTube community today. Then again I remember the numerous fan works online such as music videos, stop motions, toy collections, tribute videos, etc. etc. So I wouldn't say few but growing Godzilla fanbase on YT.

2. What was your original goal for your youtube channel?

I never really had a goal for YouTube but just upload my random works with I and my school friends which would be a channel for my classmates and I to view our works, also the chance for me to comment and favor Godzilla music videos in the good ol days before Toho's YouTube Raid, Hence the reason why I'm "Deadzilla" on YT and "Jango_Zilla" on other web places.

3. How much of that goal have you achieved?

Like I said I never really had a goal but I've gotten a chunky amount of subscribers due to the toy reviews, stopmotions, and short films.

4. Your trademark is the excellent films you make. How did the idea come by?

Filmmaking really didn't occur to me until I began to watch the original 1933 King Kong and of course Gojira 1954 over and over again in my freshman year in highschool 2005. The effects, the acting, and the fun behind the scenes reeled me into creating my first short film, King Kong vs. Godzilla. (My 2008 version) I wanted to make a movie with REAL people in my sohpmore year but unfortunately the idea never got off the ground. It wouldn't be until my 2007 Junior year that I would meet the nicest people who helped me bring my dream to life.

5. How would you critique yourself when it comes to you and your films?

Well, in KVG (KongVGodzilla) it's my first time at stop motion which shows a beginner being born. The human characters is also the birth of beginning people for the Godzilla Universe. Come sequel time Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, Which was filmed before the prequels, was a little improvement from KVG. The actress knew that she had done this before so she was a little more comfortable this time. In the Prequels(Mothra vs. Godzilla and Godzilla vs. Gamera) I clearly improved especially with KOTM. (King of the Monsters), although I wish I could have had human characters for them so they could explain the storyline, the humans for my current films REALLY needed time because we would rush these to make it to the deadline for the final exams for my video class, but they still suceed as the "cheezy" characters.

6. One of the more unique things about you is that you are Native American. How do you think your culture effects your view on kaiju eiga?

Well I don't think my culture has anything to do with my love for the Kaiju genre but the fact that it's rare to get any Japanese Godzilla merchandise out here in the Navajo Reservation, maybe that has something to do with WWII (Navajo Code Talkers lol.) Although I will say this, my culture is VERY traditional about stories of the "Monster Slayer" which do resemble the Ancient Mothra history in the films, which are very interesting for me to look into and research and try to come up with ideas for future projects.

7. About how rare is kaiju merchandise - even just DVDs and other stuff?

Japanse merchandise in general is hard to come by out here in Shiprock,Farmington, and Kirtland. If I'm lucky I'll find a store with expensive easy to find Bandai figures in ABQ. DVDs can be easliy found at my local Hastings and F.Y.E. My Bandai Creation figures on the other hand have been adopted by me from KB Toys, but now that they're dead I'm going to have to travel out of town to find a Toys R Us in order to get future BC figures. Once in awhile I'll find someone selling a Godzilla item under $3.00 which are easy steals for me. If you keep your eyes open out here, you'll never know what you'll find.

8. Noobs. Use this question to rant about them.

Some noobs are good and some are bad. The GOOD ones LEARN from thier mistakes and move on. The BAD ones NEVER seem to learn, they'll annoy, and they get demanding. Nowadays on any of my videos some random person will request me to review a Kaiju figure that I don't even own. It really annoys me that they are too lazy to check out my collection video and see what I have first before they blindly request something I dont even own, I'll ask if I have the figure and the poor fool will easily get offended and hold a stupid grudge against me for being a "jerk." The good noobs I always respect for. When a good noob requests something I don't have and I ask if I have it, they'll apologize and learn from thier mistake. Theyre are other good noobs who'll worship the uppers. Right now I have a fan who goes around on YT with my name "Deadzilla" because he was "inspired" by me to make his own videos. I respect that because it shows that I have a fanbase that I thought would never exist for me.

9. Other than Atari and KaijuCollector, what other kaiju sites are you part of (MySpace doesn’t count)?

There was my oldest online buddy's (Solidus Godzilla on YouTube) Space Godzilla Realms/Kaiju Empire which was made back when GTokyo SOS came out. By the time GFW came out, the Kaiju drought had begun in which we lost users that would visit regularly at the website/forums. Another was Godzilla Shrine which I forgot once since the Kaiju Drought begun.

10. You have expressed trouble with your new Godzilla film. Could you go into detail with it?
After talking to my friends about it, Let's say that everyone was not too enthusiatic about it. Some are too busy with thier education to help out and some are moving away to pursue thier dreams. I thought about it and said, "We had a good run guys, I think it is time that we go our separate ways for now. Godzilla will come back one day when everyone's ready to come back to it, but not now, let's pursue our dreams and have fun." I guess you can say G3 is dead for now, but who knows? Maybe in 2-3 years we'll start talking about it with better equipment and software, right now I don't have the power to make the superior films that were done in highschool, and with this economy, I don't think I'll be able to get $600-$1000 to spend on equipment, $300-500 for food to feed the crew, and $100-250 for props. That doesn't mean I'm done with Godzilla, I'm considering on doing a mini-series that revolves around Gigan's retreat from Earth and Godzilla and his son and a possible filler film which should lead up to the events for G3. For now College has kept me from doing anything new and I must concentrate along with the greatest people who helped me with the Godzilla saga.

11. Could you talk about your involvement with the youtube channel TokusatsuReviewV3...

I havent done much but just submit videos for the contests that Frank has created and upload News-type vids. But it's exciting to contribute to a channel that's trying to reach every Kaiju Fan out there in the world. I know that Frank Gillen was excited to do something that would be for Everyone in the Kaiju Nation. I'll tell him ideas and he'll be joyed to hear them. Right now I told him of a Christmas Special I'd be interested in doing and he's loving the idea so far. Working with TokusatsuReviewV3 has been a great side-hobby for me and it has allowed me to show my short films to people who have yet to see them. I would say anyone that loves Godzilla, Gamera, Ultraman, or Kamen Rider should check out the channel.

11. Since you live more on the Western side of the country, is it easier tog et kaiju merchandise?

I don't know much about the eastern fans availability of finding memorabilia but I will tell you that it's hard to come by Japanese Godzilla items here in NM. I've only been able to find Japanese Merchandise at ease in California. Otherwise I've been able to find American items with a sharp eye here in NM. Due to that I've been buying my stuff online such Ebay and Amazon.

13. Any last words?

The Godzilla fandom has intoduced me to many good people online and in the real world. The series is like Transformers, it intoduces many unique characters to love and write fiction about. Godzilla shouldn't be compared to Gamera and Ultraman, but it should bring the fans together because all of us are like brothers and sisters, we love Kaiju and we should love it together and have fun. If it wasn't for my love for Godzilla I don't where I'd be today possibly doing stuff on Transformers or StarWars and I would possibly would have met more jerks than I do today.

I would also advise members of Kaiju Galaxy forums to watch this video:

Happy B-DAY KaijuGalaxy...

New Images

Here are some new images surrounding the Kawakita Heisei film fest in Japan!

Heisei Godzilla Tribute

This is my tribute to Kawakita's work on the Heisei series (all my Heisei Godzilla stuff 1989-1995. Notice the Godzilla Origins Gvs.D Holo poster on the side). What is yours? Send me it and I will post it.

Heisei Film Festival News

Leave it to Tom and Diane of Clawmarktoys to cover the Film Festival. They have just posted it on the clubtokyo message board:

http://movies.groups.yahoo.com/group/ClubTokyoC/message/11098

You got to love them.

Gamera's Take Over Of Korea Coverage

As previously reported by SciFiJapan, the 6th annual JMEFF is showing the whole Gamera trilogy. Luckily, one of the members of the Korean "Big Monster Club" organization named "Artgihun" has posted onto his blog some coverage of the event. It is very awesome. The collection, to the pics of Kaneko, to even the revealing of alternate ADV Cover artwork. Take a look/see?

http://blog.naver.com/artgihun/20093335739

http://blog.naver.com/artgihun/20093335561

http://blog.naver.com/artgihun/20093335333

http://blog.naver.com/artgihun/20093426031

http://blog.naver.com/artgihun/20093425373

Hong-Gi Hun's collection looks awesome.

SciFiJapan's report:

http://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2009/11/11/gamera-invades-korea/

New Variations of Godzilla Figures Being Released - Not Bandai Though

In celebration of the Kawakita Anniversary (that everything seems to be revolving around), Hazwagumi is releasing accouple of diffrent variations of some older figures which you can get that the Heisei film fest or buy in stores starting Dec. 1. Each figure is 16cm tall. The line-up as fallows:

-3 Mire-Gojis ("G2K" variant, "GXM" variant, "Fire" variant, and "pearl" variants)

-GMK Goji

-2 diffrent "Flying Shi'ie" Daisenso-Gojis

-2 diffrent Mosu-Gojis (head diffrences)

-2 Showa King Ghidorahs (One regular, one fire, both with base)

Good luck looking for these in your local Mandrake shop! And as you can see below, even Koichi Kawakita and company likes the figures!

*Special thanks goes out to ZoneFighter73 for pointing out that these figures are new variations, not just new.

First Look: Godzilla Soundtrack Perfect Collection Box 6

What you see above is one the best chirashi I have seen in some time. On the reverse side it shows off the Koichi Kawakita Godzilla film festival and the advent of Godzilla on the blu-ray format. But it also shows something: we finally get a look at the cover of the much awaited "Godzilla Soundtrack Perfect Collection Box 6". If someone can read the Japanese on the chirashi, please post a comment regarding what is going to be the extra disc in the set (we already know it is film "Godzilla vs. Megaguirus to "Godzilla: Final Wars"). This is awesome!

Humax Theatre Exclusuives: A Closer Look

As previously reported, Japan's Humex theatre is showing all of the Heisei films from "Godzilla vs. Biollante" to "Godzilla vs. Destoroyah" in celebration of Kawakita's 20 years worth of contributions to the Godzilla series - which is still continuing today in the form of the Deagostini's magazines and working on 2006's CT-R Godzilla game and even making some expensive merchandise - and the release of Kawakita's newest publication, "Heisei Godzilla Chronicle". While looking for news on blu-rays - even the posibility of a box set of blu-rays being release (as being done with Toho's Kurosawa films), I found a store selling some theatre exclusive stuff. Links are below for you to behold. Enjoy! (image feature not working right now).

http://www.amiami.com/shop/ProductInfo/product_id/142600;jsessionid=471C5E91B66F6A50CC690DFA336EBA06
http://www.amiami.com/shop/ProductInfo/product_id/142598;jsessionid=471C5E91B66F6A50CC690DFA336EBA06
http://www.amiami.com/shop/?vgForm=ProductInfo&sku=CGD-5140

Japan's "Grissom Gang" to hold theatrical screening of "Godzilla: Tokyo SOS"

The Kiryu Saga seems to be getting lots of attention lately. A new blu-ray display utilizes the suit pre-scar and a Kirin beer company advertisement campaign is using the 2002 duo of Hideki Matsui and Godzilla. Now, in time for Nov.'s many activities mostly centered around Koichi Kawakita, the "Grissom Gang" is holding Japan's second screening of "Godzilla, Mothra, Mechagodzilla: Tokyo SOS" this year (the other was durring the premier of "Raiga"). So if you are in Japan, don't miss the chance to see this awesome tribute to the Showa series!

Link:

http://movie007.hp.infoseek.co.jp/schedule0911.htm#abayo (scroll down the page)

BTW, it is too late, the film has already been shown for the two days it was alloted. It was shown over the weekend. But go to the link and see a theatre exclusive calendar given to those with some extra pocket change. Made courtesy of toy maker http://cast-web.net/

New Blu-Ray Stand Sighting

Looks like Toho has set up another awesome stand, this time utilizing the Kiryu-Goji suit (2002 varriation w/o scar). This is not in Tokyo, but rather Takasaki which is in the Gunma Prefecture. Take a look!

Advertisement like this can only mean one of two things: the Blu-Rays are going good or Toho needs the extra publicity. Or maybe the last two films of the Kiryu saga will be comming soon to blu-ray? (I say last two since they have already released some films which are in the Kiryu Saga continuity - Gojira, Mothra, and Rodan) Either way, this is the third Godzilla-related happening this month, along with the Kirin's advertisements for their new canned coffee, "Fire", and the celebration of Koichi Kawakita's new book and his 20th anniversary becoming the SFX director of the Heisei Godzilla series. And just for comparison, the one in Akihabara:

Koichi Kawakita's New Book: "Heisei Godzilla Chronicle"

Turns out I may have found the reason for the Heisei film festival that will be going on this November - it is coinciding for a new book Koichi Kawakita has written/assembled on his work on the Heisei Godzilla series. It is aprox. $50 and is comming out this month on the 17th. Contains 272 pages of information! Now time for some pics:

Links From The Kiryu Saga

In case if anyone is interested, I have currently found some links to some interesting material on some Japanese sites which deals with exhibits and other stuff that relates to the final two films of the Kiryu Saga, "Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla" and "Godzilla, Mothra, Mechagodzilla: Tokyo SOS". The first is of the exhibit which opened durring GXMG. While I do not remember the exhibit's name, one of the features of the exhibit I do remember is that there is a part which you could see how much of "GXMG"'s science is real.

http://www.higashi-nagasaki.com/z/gz_e030106.html

The second and third links pertain to the second film, "Godzilla: Tokyo SOS". The first is something simular to what people have seen with Toho's in-store advertisement Akihabara.

http://www2.odn.ne.jp/guccya-strange/machi/hmv/hmv.htm

The third linksis of a press/public event held back on Nov. 26, 2003. Toho usualy holds these kinds of events for publicity.

http://homepage2.nifty.com/HIRAO/tobu-ws.htm

Better save those rare images onto your hard drive!

Godzilla/Kawakita Film Festival This Nov. In Japan

The second half of 2009 belongs to one person: Koichi Kawakita. And I am not surprised. He has his own SFX company, he was and probably is still one of the largest stock holders with Toho, and he is now becoming very active with Godzilla again, which hasn’t happened in such a way since he directed the siutmation footage in the CT-R Godzilla game. Currently, DeAgonstini is publishing a magazine which by this time next year will cover the entire Godzilla series plus some other Toho SFX films. Luckily, Koichi Kawakita is writing some of the text for these magazines, which is something awesome since he has been involved with Godzilla since 1962’s "King Kong vs. Godzilla".

Kawakita is also being honored in a way with the Heisei series - a series 6/7 his (SFX wise) - being released on blu-ray. Not only is it the 10th anniversary of which Kawakita became the next "Tsuburaya" or "Nakano" for Godzilla, but the first two movies he worked on ("Godzilla vs. Biollante" and the award winning "Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah") are released this year on blu-ray. While only the 1991 film got a new special feature, it also marks the eternal preservation of the special features which have been passed down from the DVD format which got it from the 3 disc LD sets which were made possible by Kawakita and are rightfully Kawakita’s babies.

All of this good stuff for Kawakita and the Heisei Godzilla series sounds too good to be true. But it is not and there is more. If you are dropping off in Japan in the next month, you would be wise to go by a film festival celebrating Kawakita’s work on the Godzilla series hosted by the Humax Cinema. The films will be the ones Kawakita was the director of special effects for, "Godzilla vs. Biollante", "Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah", "Godzilla vs. Mothra", "Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla", "Godzilla vs. Spacegodzilla", and the dramatic "Godzilla vs. Destroyer". The first image above is actually a scan of the back of the chirashi for the event. Here is a list of dates and times for the event:

11/13(Fri) - 15 (Sun) "Godzilla VS Biollante"
11/14(Sat) - Talk with Koichi Kawakita and actor Koichi Ueda
11/16 (Mon) to 18 (Wednesday) "Godzilla VS King Ghidorah"
11/19 (Thu) to 21 (Sat.) "Godzilla VS Mothra"
11/22 (Sun) to 24 (Tue) "Godzilla VS Mechagodzilla"
11/25 (Wed) - 27 (Fri) "Godzilla VS Space Godzilla"
11/28 (Sat) - 30 (Mon) "Godzilla VS Destoroyah"

The Humax Theatre is located in Ginza, Tokyo, Japan. Ticket price to each day’s event will be around $13 (1,300 yen). Though not said yet, more activities are being planed for the 21st and 28th. More information can be found on the official web site whose link is below:

http://www.humax-cinema.co.jp/cinema/special/gozzira.html

NOTE: THE PARAGRAPHS BEING SO CLOSE TOGEATHER IS BLOGGER'S FAULT, NOT MINE.

Godzilla's Latest Venture in Japan's Economy

Product placement and Godzilla go together like green eggs and ham. Most notably, Godzilla has been used to advertise drinks. He is known in the US to have helped the Dr. Pepper company make some dough in 1985 when the King of the Monsters was featured in accouple of commercials by the Dr. Pepper company and when the US version of "The Return of Godzilla", aptly titled "Godzilla 1985" had most of it’s American scenes having something Dr. Pepper-related in it - from a military smart ass drinking it to the Pentagon having a Dr. Pepper vending machine. But now Godzilla is entering a new age with a new company asking for his pop-culture status as help. Guess who?

It was a company shown in "Gamera: Giant Monster Midair Showdown" and "Gamera 2: Advent of Legion", with the latter being used to more extent. The company is also based on a Yokai-esque entity which was a focal point in the latest remake of "The Great Yokai War". Give up? It’s Japan’s own Kirin beer company. Evidently they have made a new coffee beverage called "fire". But Godzilla is not alone.

Also helping to add star value to the mostly viral advertisement campaign is a person who has been nick-named Godzilla since he came over for a little while to play for the Yankees (and I own the New York Times issue which calls him this; thanks to my grandfather in NY): Hideki Matsui. Many fans know that when he came over here, he was nicknamed "Godzilla" for his Japanese nationality and his skill. Hideki would also gain popularity when he makes a came in the 2002 film, "Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla". In something most probably more than coincidence, the Godzilla suit used for the campaign is in fact the Kiryu-Goji suit (variation unknown).

At the link below, you can easily navigate through the main Kirin beer website to find good of all sorts. There is a commercial, a making of the commercial, and a message from Hideki himself. Also of interest are some exclusive screen savers, which the picture at the top shows what it looks like on my laptop. Better save them onto your hard drive before they are gone!

http://www.beverage.co.jp/fire/index.html

Special Thanks Goes To James Ballard for notifying me that "Fire" is an energy drink...

Japanese Godzilla Websites

America has the likes of SciFiJapan, Tohokingdom, and kaijuphile.com. But has anyone tried looking for Japan's alternatives that aren't part of an official Toho Site? Well, after taking some information from Japanese fan Akira01Sum, I have found the top three links which people will be interested in:

http://homepage3.nifty.com/g-kingdom/index.htm
http://members.jcom.home.ne.jp/gozida/
http://sakura.canvas.ne.jp/spr/kingodzi/kingodzi.html

Here are some others that might be of some more interest...

http://www.geocities.co.jp/Hollywood/7634/
http://www.geocities.jp/tohogozila/
http://ww5.enjoy.ne.jp/~moririn/
http://www.synapse.ne.jp/komurano/mos/
http://goziori.jog.buttobi.net/index.html
http://www.geocities.jp/k_ghidorah/
http://homepage.mac.com/s.nishikawa/kaiju-land/
http://www.mashroom.com/

Which, BTW, incase if anyone wants a map to the site which Akira01Sum mentioned to in the interview I did with him, http://www.godzillamovies.org/index. When you go onto the page, there is a pull down list. Here is every link in that pull down page;

LINK 1 - DEAD
LINK 2 - UPDATES
LINK 3 - FILMS
LINK 4 - KAIJU PROFILES
LINK 5 - OTHER TOHO KAIJU/SCI-FI FILMS
LINK 6 - ACTRESS PROFILES/TOHO BEAUTIES
LINK 7 - FAN FICTION
LINK 8 - TOY LIST
LINK 9 - BLOG
LINK 10 - BLOG
LINK 11 - GFW BLOG
LINK 12 - LINKS

Not the most updated or the best, but good.

A Theory On The Legendary Pictures "Godzilla" Project

Ever since August, news on the Legendary Pictures’ Godzilla project has been surmounting - though it has often been discredited. Some rumors which have come up are things such as Michael Daugherty being the new director, New Zealand-based Weta Studios already getting word as being the place to do the project’s CGI, and even that official word on the project will be released before the end of the year. Most of these rumors have already been squashed. However, something which is interesting is that all of these rumors are around either who is directing or when the film is going to be released - no major rumor started on content?

In search for what may be coming for “Godzilla” content wise, I looked at Legendary Pictures’ repertoire. Five of the already fourteen films produced by Legendary have been based on a comic book of some format. And needless to say, it is these five films which have been the most successful for the company. This is including “Watchmen”, “300”, and “The Dark Knight”. In response to using comic book stories for films, it is possible that Legendary Pictures is going to go for a film adaptation of either the Marvel or Dark Horse comic book series, with the latter being a more likely choice?

Well, why not do Dark Horse’s Godzilla series? It is - based on what I have heard - a pretty good series which captures the darkness that the best Godzilla films capture. This is especially true since an adaptation of “The Return of Godzilla” (1984) (dubbed “Godzilla” and then re-released as “Terror of Godzilla“) was produced. Even Toho admired the work from Dark Horse, with one of the comic’s covers featuring blood dripping from an emerging Godzilla’s mouth appearing on a draft of “Godzilla vs. Destroyer” (1995). Not to mention that already Legendary has made a film on a Dark Horse property, “300”.

Another advantage would be that the people who worked on the Dark Horse series most probably live in America still. Bob Eggleton did some covers. Keith Aiken is near Legendary Pictures’ headquarters in California. Practically, if they needed information on the Dark Horse series, the resources are there. Confirmation would still need to come from Toho since I bet they are still weary from “wolves in sheep’s clothing” success of “Godzilla” (1998). Though I would not worry that much about that since Dark Horse’s series was generally accepted by the fans.

Bottom line, Legendary Picture’s most successful theatrical films are from comic books/graphic novels. While it has been said that it is most possibly going to be a re-boot (or any other terminology which has the “re” prefix present), I would not rule out this possibility. After all which I have presented, I think it is possible unless someone who has connections wants deny it (please do if so). Looks like we will never know until more information from officials come out.

NOTE: All information regarding the Legendary Pictures Godzilla project is just speculation and is not intended to be taken seriously. The image above is a fan poster for the project by Evan Brehany. It was originally the cover of the Dark Horse comic “Godzilla: Age of Monsters”. Artwork is of copyright of Bob Eggleton/Toho/Dark Horse.