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.

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...

Interview with A Japanese Fan: Akira01Sum

Well, after a bit of a wait the interview with Japanese kaiju fan and youtuber Akira01Sum is finally here! Now, I must admit that some questions were omitted when editing the interview. This is because some questions were lost in translation. Plus, I would like to give a special thanks to those who submitted questions for this interview. Not all of them came through but I hope those that did will have a fairly pleasing answer. So, without further to do, the interview with Akira01Sum…

1. How long have you bean a fan of kaiju/tokusatsu eiga?

From the time when I was born.

2. How did you become a fan?

I felt sympathy for kaiju. They have no choice but to be an outsider. All because he's a monster.

3. When was the first time Japanese kaiju/tokusatsu fans started doing activities (fanzines, fan films, fests, ect.?)

I guess that they started 1933 when "King Kong" was released.

5. How has the Japanese kaiju fandom changed over the years?

The most notable change is that their average age may be 30 or older.

6. America has G-FEST. What does Japan have?

We have UL-FES. It's an ULTRAMAN-FESTIVAL. It started on 1989. But it's for children.

7. What are the popular fan-sites with the Japanese fandom?

http://www.godzillamovies.org/index/."

8. Are there any Japanese film historians who have published books on the history of kaiju eiga?

There is Hirosi Takeuti. He published "Nihon Tokusatu eiga kenkyou 40 nen" on 2001. But it's not a study, but the author's love for kaiju.

9. Some American books, such as August Ragones Eiji Tsuburaya: Master of Monsters are sold in Japan. How has the Japanese side of the fandom responded to this?

August Ragone had researched thoroughly.

10. What is Godzillas standing in pop culture in Japan today?

Even today Godzilla is the symbol of the fetal power of the atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

11. It is popular opinion over here in America that the reason why the recent kaiju films (D-WAR, Guilala’s Counterattack) is because after 13 years of continuous kaiju films being released in Japan, the general Japanese movie going audience has lost their want to see more kaiju films. What is your opinion on this matter?

"D-WAR" is a Korean movie, and "Guilala’s Counterattack" is a comedy. These are very bad movies. That's all.

12. How easy is it to get kaiju merchandise in Japan? Could you give some examples or even
some memoirs?

For example I can get it as a free gift of chewing gum.

13. What misconceptions do Japanese fans think American fans have?

Probably American fans don't think that kaiju has a relationship with the terribleness of the Pacific War. [Editor’s Note: I talked to Akria01Sum when news of the LP Goji film leaked. Apparently American’s observation of Godzilla as a force of nature is not really looked upon in a positive way, rather it is strictly allegorical. -EB]

14. What is the general feeling regarding Godzilla's enforced retirement?

Probably it is a little lonely.

15. What are the most highly prized collectibles for Japanese fans?

Each one is fantastic.

16. What did Japanese audiences think of Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah? Were they offended by the WWII scenes like American WWII veterans?

Japanese audiences do not care about the WWII scenes at all. They purely and simply enjoy the movie as a entertainment.

17. How much bigger is the Godzilla franchise as a whole over there? Are there legions of fans wanting a new movie, or is it a smaller circle of fans like in America?

Perhaps it's size is 300 million fans. And most of them may want to see a new Godzilla movie.

18. Would they like to see a Godzilla vs. Gamera movie crossover be made?

I don't want to see such a movie. Gamera is a hero, Godzilla is a dark side of the humankind. They are thoroughly different.

19. What makes Ultraman so appealing in Japan? Like why is he still running so popular and
Godzilla isn't as popular or forced to go into hiatus every once in a while?

It's simple. A Child always likes him. He changes to be big and strong. In any time it is a child's dream.

20. What did the Japanese kaiju fandom think of the Cloverfield monster?

I don't know how they thought. I felt that the monster was a symbol of an act of terrorism.

21. What did Japan think of the Atari Godzilla games? Were they pleased, surprised, disappointed? What did they think of the online component of the Save the Earth game? Was it very active there for playing in Japan?

They were a disappointment. In the game Godzilla wasn't Godzilla.

22. Do they like Biollante?

They like Biollante herself. She is very terrible. But her essential character is a beautiful woman. At the point they dislike her.

23. What do the Japanese fandom think of the American fandom?

No difference. There are not two fandoms. There is the only one fandom.

Director Shusuke Kaneko Interview - NEW!

With the Heisei Gamera trilogy’s Blu-Ray box set out now for a while, I find it shocking that no one has done a review on it, much less commented on the newly produced interviews done for the DVD set. Well, though I do not think that they are the exact interviews, some new interview footage has shown up on youtube. Why not take a look? And as a bonus, more in-depth photos of the DVD box set are added. Apparently, only one of the three covers were the box set was mass produced, and it is the same image they made the holographic card with. Along with that, if you were wanting an insert with the chapter stops on it, forget it. That is with the GOTU disc, with the chapter stops for all three films on a single sheet.

My Next Interview - I WANT YOU TO GET INVOLVED!

One thing which is awesome is that like only a couple of other fandoms, being a G-Fan is - at least to me - something more of a lifestyle change. It's more of a complete culture than just something which you keep as a hobby. So, I have been studying the history of the American side of the fandom, but something came to be: what do we know about the Japanese side of the fandom?

I have successfully secured with a fellow YouTube-er an interview. So, if you have any questions regarding our Japanese counterparts, this is your chance to ask. I have already constructed eight questions, but I would like to know what you would like to know about the Japanese side of the fandom. So, if you would like, please submit a question or some questions via the comment feature on this blog and I will be sure to add all of them (Except for repeats, like if two people ask the same question). So let it begin!

Interview with “Monster Attack Team‘s” Edward Holland and Michael Keller

Along with the promotion of the resurrection of legendary fanzine "Monster Attack Team", I have had the special honor to interview the editors-in-chief of the magazine, Edward L. Holland (also known as Edojira) and Michael Keller. I hope this interview is thorough, if not informative on the resurrection. Do take note that Bolgger seems to have an officinal problem when it comes to clumping large amounts of text together which are supposed to be spaced apart, so if you develop disdain, feel free to go ahead and leave your e-mail via comment and I am sure to give it to you. Enjoy!

1. When and under what circumstances did the revival of "Monster Attack Team" come under?

Ed: MAT was revived with the hard work and reinvestment by original contributor and associate editor Mike Keller.

Mike: It was my idea. Basically, it came out of the fact that I've been employed as a graphic designer for a little while now. I use all this software at work and at home. I have all these resources and equipment, plus I'm a hell of a lot better at this stuff now than I was back when we were doing MAT. It occurred to me that we could have really used all of this when MAT was active, it also occurred to me that there were things I'd still like to write about, or see written about. I contacted Ed and told him that I wanted to do another issue, and he agreed that it was a good idea.

2. When establishing "MAT", what goals did you guys set?

Mike: I'll let Ed answer this, as he is one of the founders

Ed: When MAT was established there were no definite guidelines or by-laws, but I had a clear idea of what I wanted to present and in what fashion. I wanted to bring fans together via television and print media and branch out a bit. I wanted it to be a fan club and fanzine like none other. We never took it too serious and wanted to bring things to our network of friends not seen elsewhere. I believe we continue to do so today.

3. What impact did other fanzines like "Japanese Fantasy Film Journal" and "Markalite" have on "MAT"?

Ed: JFFJ and Markalite had an effect, particularly Markalite. I bought every issue of Markalite when they came out and I believe I wrote to their offices as they were preparing issue 4, which unfortunately never came out. I have stayed in contact with August Ragone and Bob Johnson since those days. Back when Ultraman Powered was being shot in Burbank, CA Markalite, Oriental Cinema, and MAT were invited on the set. It was quite an honor and Markalite and MAT were fortunate to be there. At the same time, MAT was invited on the set of Power Rangers while the first season was being filmed.

Mike: They set the standard. Personally, I don't think JFFJ has ever been topped, though Markalite did come close.

4. How many contributors are returning and how many are new?

Ed: Mike knows more about the lineup, but many have returned and there are many new contributions too. I have not brought as many things to this issue as I would like to due to job and family commitments, but I am very thankful that our original crew is basically all back together. I always thought of our contributors as a team and felt that Monster Attack Team really fit our method of promoting the genre and Japan.

Mike: About half and half. I'm really proud of the contributors we have in this issue. We have multiple published authors in our ranks, and everything they've given us is of the highest quality. We also got some people who were pretty involved in the fandom in the 1990s to come out of 'retirement' for MAT 8, so to speak.

5. How did the advent of a TV series come into play?

Mike: That's Ed's department...

Ed: The cable access TV series actually started first. I was approached by Larry King, not the Larry King of CNN fame, but a real fan in his own right that approached me at Larry Lankford's Dallas Fantasy Fair convention and asked if I would like to have a show on Dallas cable. Both Joe Riley (Church of the Sub-Genius, Jimmy Neutron, Blade: Trinity, Mighty Joe Young, makeup/latex mask master) and I said sure. We had worked on a Fred Williams movie and an MTV commercial and we thought it would be fun. The fan club/fanzine sprang from that.

6. Did any competition come up between "MAT" and other fan organizations/fanzines?

Mike: No. We came out of that whole '90s milieu pretty unscathed. We never bought into any of the con/fan wars. We never turned anyone away and everyone was welcome. We were friends with people who hated each other!

Ed: There has never been a spirit of competition between MAT and any other Japanese tokusatsu group that I know of. In fact, some of the groups we featured articles, etc. from were at odds with each other during the original publications. I hope those waters have subsided now. We did not care if people were at odds with each other. If you are still doing something to promote these great shows you have stood the test of time and we applaud such efforts

7. With the TV show, you showed a lot of copyrighted clips. How was it working with Toho, Toei, and Tsuburaya?

Mike: We probably shouldn't address this, but I'll let Ed answer if he wants to.

Ed: Well we did not really work with the studios to show those clips but the studios including Toho knew about us and NEVER once complained. However, during the Alien Death Squad cable program days, a show started by David May, kind an offshoot of MAT, we actually got some Tsuburaya clips officially which were going to be used on a PBS special that we were interviewed for but I never saw the finished product. I don't think I even have those clips of Ultraman 80 which I received in the mail from Ultracom, Tsuburaya's American division years ago. Great show by the way!

8. Other than fanzine articles, what other contributions have you done for the fandom?

Ed: I have been heavily stating the artistic and surreal value of Japanese film and television shows to anyone who will listen since I was 6 years old. I have done this on shore, at sea in foreign countries, at bars, schools and particularly with my old film school colleagues. If an ear is bent I will fill it up with my admiration for my childhood and young adult heroes. I guess I have never grown up, the whole Island of the Lost Boys syndrome so to speak.

Mike: Fan articles and art are all I've done for fandom. I've had things published in G-Fan, Kaiju Review and Oriental Cinema.

9. When writing an article, what mindset do you put yourself?

Mike: I think I write articles a lot differently now than I used to. I certainly hope that I've gotten better! I do a lot of revising and re-writing. It's important to me to have all my ducks in a row. I won't identify something as a fact unless I can corroborate it with another source or witness it myself. Ideally, I would like to do as much original research as possible for a piece - though sometimes that just isn't possible

Ed: I usually work on a deadline and cram as much in as I can possibly and add a fan edge to it as well. First and foremost I am not an authority. I feel there are no authorities except for the creators of these great productions. Those that feel they know everything can never walk in the shoes of those that live it and breathe it for a living.

10. Do you practice a particular "style" of writing?

Ed: I do not practice writing. I write these day in a military manner and maybe I should adopt that style for the pages of MAT. I don't prefer too much authority in pieces that I enjoy on the genre, yet on the other hand I don't like too much subjective writing as well. I was trained to pass college level grammar, but I am a big abuser of comma splices.

Mike: I would like to think that I have finally arrived at my own style. I used to try to imitate the styles of others, but that doesn't get anybody anywhere. I try to steer away from goofiness - but can't help cracking the occasional joke or delving into sarcasm when the situation presents such an easy target. I do not write 'kaiju fan-wank' anymore (what if Godzilla ate a lobster and took a crap on a dead sea-slug and lightning hit it, blah blah blah...). I'm very embarrassed by some of the things I've written in the past. This issue will not contain anything of a fan-ish nature, or any fiction.

11. Do you think "MAT" has aged well in terms of for example, some issues becoming sought after collector’s pieces due to information kept in them, ect.?

Mike: Content wise, we had some pretty good stuff - good enough that's its been reprinted elsewhere. We were the first ones to write about tokusatsu in popular music, for example. Also things like Ed Godziszewski's Daimajin piece were really popular. I think that visually, our last couple of issues were pretty amateurish - that's something that will be rectified in #8.

Ed: I think MAT has aged as well as possible. We are not a fine Merlot by any means, but the members have been around the block seen things, some of them have released books, worked on dvds, played stages, authored articles for other fanzines and beyond. I think people have kept the old issues as a reference of the shows and time gone by. We are not at that level in fandom or professionally anymore. Most of us have larger responsibilities. The fan boys grew up but we never left our roots behind.

12. Where do you project "MAT" is going to go into the future?

Ed: I hope that MAT will be remembered for what it was, is and continues to be: a group of friends writing, discussing, showing what great events are happening on the other side of the pond. Doing this prior to the internet explosion was a labor of love. Our original members who have their membership packets are holding onto something that has never been done, or will be done again. Our original members received a newsletter, personally numbered fan club card, and the biggest prize a mockup of a SD hero or monster as a pin selected by me and hand painted by Joe Riley. To me this was as good as a fan club has ever come to honoring the masters. "Ultra" Joe Riley relaxes in the monster graveyard in the sky with many other legends now and I know he is looking down from more comfortable digs thinking about what we started. Issue 8 is dedicated to you brother!

Mike: No immediate plans. The magazine will not be coming back regularly. We are all too busy and have original creative endeavors and careers to focus on. Plus, printing costs a good chunk of change!

13. What new ground do you think could be broken in terms of kaiju journalism as of now?

Mike: There are always new things to discover. We have information in Issue 8 on some pretty obscure films - stuff that I'd never heard of before. I won't reveal any more until the issue has gone to press. We haven't mentioned everything we've got on the website. I'd like to see people continue to turn over rocks and dig up some new info. The Teito Monogatari series really needs a good English language retrospective, and somebody should try writing about the Watari films.

Ed: New ground? Hmm... maybe a platform for writers to actually write for screenplays and treatments for episodic television and animation. Everyone loves monsters in some form or fashion. As kids, we would pretend like we were on Monster Island and we would even get the girls to join in on the fun. As adults we saw Gamera and Godzilla in American theatres. How about more fan generated treatments with heavy weight stars and special effects done the western way with Japanese budgets and production efficiency?

14. As a fan, I got to ask: on the upcoming article on Kinji Fukasaku, how much information on the film "Satomi-Hakken-Den" will be included?

Ed: Please direct this question to Mike Keller. I don't know how much of that film content will be addressed in the piece.

Mike: Equal time will be devoted to all nine of Fukasaku's films that involve SF or fantasy - The Black Lizard, The Green Slime, Message From Space, Virus, Samurai Reincarnation, Legend of Eight Samurai (Satomi Hakken-Den), Crest of Betrayal, Battle Royale and Battle Royale II.

15. Any last words you would like to share with the fandom?


Mike: It would please me to think that issue 8 of Monster Attack Team will someday be looked at with the same reverence as those old issues of JFFJ. I also hope this serves as a shot in the arm to the fandom, and more people step up to the plate and try to out-do what we've done. I would love to know that we have inspired people to come up with great things, and I hope someone picks up the ball and runs with it.

Ed: Last words: Make it fun, entertaining, informative, a bit light-hearted and approachable for all and someone to read or watch. Even people at first who hated our cable access show continued to watch because they had not seen anything like that before in such a format. If it is not fun or entertaining for you then it will not be so for anyone else. Do your best and if you fall down trying to make a difference or promote your cause, at least you tried and can be proud of your efforts. Thanks for interviewing us and I hope that our readers old and new will enjoy the ride. Tanoshimasho!

You can visit the new site for the ressurected fan site here: http://www.kellerwerks.com/MAT.html

We at JournalismG2KM would like to thank "Edojira" and Mike for taking time out of their schedules to take the time to talk to us. Arigatou!

Fanzine Ressurection: MONSTER ATTACK TEAM

http://www.kellerwerks.com/MAT.html

Before the internet, we had a phenomenom in which we did not only have one kaiju/tokusatsu fanzine to subscribe to (I am mentioning "G-Fan", though you could also count "Japanese Giants" if you count their occasional every 3-5 year new issue), but many. One could be with "G-Fan", "Markelite", and others at the same time. But there is one name which comes to my mind: "Monster Attack Team". While they died out at the end of the 20th century, they are back! They have a new site (see link above) and a new issue comming out this December. There is alot more than kaiju and tokusatusu eiga in there. Here is a full rundown of the new issue:

-The History of Kamen Rider
-Working for Ultraman
-An exclusive interview with Tak Sakaguchi (VERSUS!)
-The Last Dinosaur
-Partying Godzilla-style
-The Fantastic cinema of Kinji Fukasaku (SATOMI HAKKEN DEN!)
-Japanese monster toy mayhem
-Fantastic tokusatsu poster retrospective
-Monsters!
-Super Heros!
-Japanese rock and roll!
-So much more!

Stay tuned for more (hopefully)!

Legendary Pictures Godzilla... by Who?

Something which has apparently set the world on fire for kaiju fans was the news of Legendary Pictures going into negotiations with Toho for the rights of a Godzilla film. But what is fact and what is not? This is what I am going to write about. Well, that and a look at possibly directors.


Legendary Pictures is in negotiations with Toho. True. Toho said "no comment", though how they said it proved that they are doing something which is top secret. True. Did Legendary Pictures ask Toho or was it the other way around? It was Legendary Pictures which approached Toho (this is based on the wording of a certain Twitch article). Legendary Pictures would like to make for the film an updated version of the Shodai-Goji suit? I do not know. This is where stuff starts to get tricky. That, and accouple of more rumors (that Legendary Pictures will have Weta do the CGI and that they want a Toho villain to oppose the King of the Monsters) came from an ananymous. When I asked about his source for validity, he said that his source was someone high in the industry. So make of it as you will. Is what Avery Guerra keeping secret the same facts? I do not know and event though I am a friend I do not know either nor do I have the audacity to do so.


But who will be the director? Many famous directors love Godzilla. John Carpenter (Halloween, The Thing, Escape From New York) has been in two different documentaries on the Big "G". But due to his age and his current projects, I doubt it. Tim Burton (Batman, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) has given Godzilla a cameo in his film "Pee Wee’s Big Adventure" and even mentions him, "Destroy All Monsters", and had a picture of the Big G in his autobiography, "Burton on Burton". Martin Scorsese (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, The Last Temptation of Christ, and Apocalypse Now) did what August Ragone said: "In 1956, Scorsese ended up seeing GODZILLA, KING OF THE MONSTERS several times as a young teenager. Decades later, when he worked on Akira Kurosawa's DREAMS (in which he played Vincent van Gogh), Scorsese was elated to discover that Honda was working on the film and asked to have a sit down with him. He told Honda about how much he loved GODZILLA and how he used to do chores so he could see the movie as many times as he could when it first came to NYC. Scorsese also, according to an interview with Honda, talked to Toho and managed to get several of Honda's films into the New York Museum of Modern Art's film library." But there is another guy who I want the most to do this project. And I got two words for you: QUENTIN TARANTINO.


Tarantino is already known to be a Godzilla fan. For "Kill Bill Vol. 1", he used one of the Yokohama sets from "Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All Out Attack". For the epic fight between Beatrix Kiddo and Elle Driver in "Kill Bill Vol. 2", he made both Daryl Hannah and Uma Thurman watch his print of "War of the Gargantuas" before filming the scene - which also copies some publicity stills from "War of the Gargantuas". Some even say that Quentin owns a print of "Destroy All Monsters". Well, some news has surfaced that has seemingly not hit most kaiju forums.


Originally around the time "Death Proof" was released, Tarantino mentioned something about wanting to make a Godzilla film but claimed that he was not at liberty to say anything about it. Very recently, Tarantino was interviewed and said this: "I have an idea for a Godzilla movie that I've always wanted to do. The whole idea of Godzilla's role in Tokyo, where he's always battling these other monsters, saving humanity time and again- wouldn't Godzilla become God? It would be called "Living Under the Rule of Godzilla". This is what society is like when a big fucking green lizard rules your world."


Some unique narrative, eh? Godzilla as a religious symbol is an interesting concept. This is something which effects the original, "Gojira" in which somewhat getting influenced from the original "King Kong", Godzilla is a God to the natives of Odo Island. 30 years later, producer Tomoyuki Tanaka would call Godzilla, "…a nightmare created out of the darkness of the human soul. He is the sacred beast of the apocalypse." Then in 2001, Godzilla became the embodiment of the dead souls of the Pacific Conflict theatre of the Second World War which were angry for the Japanese to try to forget about the war. However, "Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All Out Attack" also proves that Japanese mythology is in the GMK universe real, with the description of King Ghidorah’s mature form being eight headed - a call to Yamato No Orochi. Then there is the fact that the international name for Godzilla has the word "God" in it. Tarantino’s take on the religious angle to Godzilla himself sound different from what I have listed above and seems to be a breath of fresh air not smelled since Kaneko’s "GMK".



Overall, Tarantino has revealed something which he has kept secret for two years. We do not know when Legendary Pictures started negotiating for the rights to "Godzilla", with some people (including Chris55) saying that at least it has been going on for the past 2 months, so is it possible at Tarantino may be the new director since right after the revealing of the negotiations he can how talk about his Godzilla concept? Time will tell. I can say one thing, though it may be off topic: Michael Schlesinger is no longer available for interviews for publishing on the internet. Please comment on what you think Tarantino’s Godzilla may be like with this new information and how Legendary Pictures may use this if the negotiations lead to a green lighting which would lead to the hiring of Tarantino in a rare project which does not include the Weinstein Company.

NOTE: THIS ARTICLE IN NO WAY SAYS THAT TARANTINO IS THE DIRECTOR FOR A FILM THAT IS ONLY IN NEGOTIATIONS. THIS IS JUST TO GET OUT SOME DETAILS ABOUT THE LEGENDARY PICTURES GODZILLA AND SOME INFORMATION QUENTIN TARANTINO LET OUT IN AN INTERVIEW ABOUT NINE DAYS AGO. TARANTINO IS OF RIGHT NOW NOT THE DIRECTOR OF THE LEGENDARY PICTURES GODZILLA.

Interview with Keith of "S.V."

Keith runs a site which shall go unnamed, but what he does is basicaly preserve lots of material which is most probrably destroyed by now. For those of you who know who I am talking about, here is my interview with this, one of the more outstanding of fans...

1. How long have you been a Godzilla Fan?

Since I first saw a Godzilla movie in 1977. I was ten at the time.

2. Can you remember your first experience with kaiju, specifically Japanese kaiju?

Well I was born in Germany and we lived in a small farm town. Very few people had cards and there was no theatre in town (or next few over). Only the bigger cities had theatres at the time. So everything I knew came from TV (I think there was maybe two channels) and one would show the Universal horror movies from time to time. The closest to kaiju I got was seeing the "Creature From The Black Lagoon". When we moved to the states I finally was able tog et to a theatre and saw the first "King Kong" remake. I know the movie gets panned now but at the time it was fantastic to me. Shortly after a while looking in the newspaper movie ads I was a strange sight: two monsters fighting each other atop the World Trade Center! This of course was Godzilla vs. Megalon (yes I had the comic and yes like many others I basically destroyed it). When I saw it I can remember thinking how off it was that there was a lot of Japanese people in it and what were they all doing in New York? Of course I finally figured out when the credits rolled that the two monsters were actually not going to right on the WTC, talk about a disappointment! So Kong remained my favorite until I saw "Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla", which in the paper was advertised as "Godzilla vs. Cosmic Monster"! Man I was confused; I thought they were different movies! To me there was just no way not to be a Godzilla fan after seeing Mechagodzilla, he was just too cool.

3. From what we have conversed of, you have an interesting collection. Could you describe it a little to our readers?

I like to collect the diorama sets. I have the complete Yuji Sakai diorama series now that thankfully (hint-hint) was able to point out to me the last one I needed - the "Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah" one from the first series. Other than that I have the complete Bandai Polystone diorama set some other various dioramas and lots of books from Japan. My favorite would be the Sakai Concept Works "Ka-Ma-E" Meltdown Godzilla because it was so difficult to obtain. Oh and of course lots of DVDs and VHS tapes.

4. You make products for fans in the DVD format. While some material is from the R2 DVDs, how did you get the more rare material like the TV spots for, "Godzilla vs. Cosmic Monsters" or the double feature trailer for "War of the Gargantuas/Monster Zero"?

All of my rare stuff comes from people I have traded with in the early days of the internet and fanzines. Lots of good traders out there!

5. Thanks to you, the aforementioned rare materials (which may not even exist anymore as original material like film) will be preserved. Would you say that you may have made kaiju history?

Not even close - I will leave that to actual people who help clear up discrepancies and myths in the fandom. People like August Ragone, Keith Aiken, and James Ballard (I am sure there are others out there too) who participate in the forums and provide the blogs (and even write books for us!) they are the fountains of information that make kaiju history. Even you with this site and Dan of the Kaiju Movie Review do way more for the fans than I go. I just get happy when I hear from someone that they saw a movie as a kid, they could not find it anywhere and can’t wait to share watching it with their kids, that’s simply what I want to provide.

6. Personally made products play a big role in the kaiju fandom’s history in the 90’s. Did you play a part of this? Did you buy any fan made products and could you please tell of the quality?

I started making some of my own stuff available around 1999. I got started because I felt I could do a better job than some of the stuff that was out there - I thought a lot of fans were getting ripped off by some of the things I had gotten that were supposed to be "top quality". Of course this did not apply to all sellers there was really good stuff out there too.

7. How is business right now?

Just fine, how I like it: not too busy. This is only a side thing for me and I mostly like doing it as a hobby and keeping it in that perspective. I try to keep a fair price for the fan and give them as good quality as I possibly can.

8. What equipment do you use to make the discs?

Some hardware and software from Canopus (now Grass Valley), software from Adobe - these things I use to edit and create my project. I use only Verbatim discs and they are printed using a "modified to print" Canon printer.

9. Anything else could you add for our readers?

Just to thank everyone who has purchased from me and hopefully they are pleases with what they got. And many thanks to all the great people I have talked to and met through Godzilla.

Kaiju Memoir: Silver Scream Spook Show Presents... GMK

This is an edited version of the report.

Coppola, Kurosawa, Scorsese - these are all names that are recognized by people who take pride into wanting only the best out of the best films to watch. Another name comes to mind which should be on the list: Kaneko. Shusuke Kaneko is a great director, from making great drama films like Cross Fire (Pyrokenesis) and the Death Note duology to creating films which challenge what were the greatest giant monster films of all "Gamera 3: Incomplete Struggle". Another is "Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: Giant Monster All Out Attack". GMK, while not as good as G3 (which is good only because of the film's evolution coming from G1 and G2) is considerably better than G1 and G2 and arguably better than the original "Gojira". Back on January 31, the Plaza Theatre of Atlanta, Georgia, which used to be a grindhouse/porn theatre, showed GMK. In this report, we will look into the history of Godzilla in this theatre and what happened at the premiere and if anything else would happen.

First we have to talk about the history of this film. This film has been the most shown Godzilla film ever (in American art houses and cult film theatres). The film has been shown at least eleven times at an estimated six different art film houses and other specialty theatres. And now it’s showing here. According to two articles on Henshin!Online, the way theatres get prints of these types of films is by contacting Sony Pictures Repertory, and with paying $150 and 33% of the box office income, you can show the film that you want (in this case, GMK). At the current time, you have a choice to rent a dubbed version and a subtitled version. It was not always liked that. A subtitled version was made available only a little bit before September 14th, 2004 (and the first article explaining this film was written a year and accouple of days before). The print which was shown was the dubbed version.

So it turns out that this is not the first time a kaiju film has been shown in Atlanta, let alone the legendary Plaza Theatre. Previously, the theatre has shown the films Mothra (February 24th 2007) and Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster (March 29th 2008). As they say, third times the charm, and their third kaiju film was GMK. Two weeks before the premiere, I estimated that only a little more than $35 will be made at the box office. At the end of the 10:00 pm showing, the box office draw became a total of $2,800 (that is both showings together). Attendance to the 1:00pm showing was around 150 and the attendance for the adults-only 10:00pm showing was 250.
INTERVIEW WITH SHANE MORTON (runner of the Silver Scream Spook Show and affiliate of the Plaza Theatre)

Here now is an interview with Professor Mort, the guy in charge of the Plaza Theatre:
1. How well known is the Plaza Theatre and it's main attraction: The Spook Show?

The Plaza is Atlanta's greatest movie theatre as well as Atlanta's oldest continually operating movie theatre which opened in 1939. The Spook Show is Atlanta's greatest theatre going experience! You will see a line around the building twice a day on the last Saturday of every month!

2. What is the theatre regarding to giant monster films (kaiju films) and what Godzilla films have been shown there?

We were the first theatre in North America to show the newly restored Mothra print. We've shown Godzilla vs. The Sea monster, Infra-Man, and the greatest giant monster movie of all time, 1933's King Kong!

3. Sources say that the theatre has shown two kaiju films: Mothra (1961) and Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster (Godzilla, Mothra, Ebirah: Big Duel in the South Sea). Can you recall how successful this screening was. If not, the Mothra screening?

The Mothra screening was a huge deal and extremely successful. In my opinion, it was the most beautiful and colorful print of a film I have ever watched! All of the Kaiju films are well attended and even none of the children seem to care about the subtitles... Hey , were purists!

4. For monster films shown with the "Spook Show", there is a poster made (like the one seen in this link: http://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2009/01/04/giant-asian-monsters-on-the-big-screen-in-january/). Who makes these posters and is there any other information I can get on them?

Kevin Rej is our amazing poster designer and artist. He is a long time Atlanta resident and designs ad campaigns and logos for national companies but still loves drawing Monsters for us! check him out here - http://www.raisestudio.com/

5. What film requests do you get, if you can say some monster-movie oriented?
Everyone has a favorite Monster / Scifi / Horror film and we get requests for all of them. Believe me if it exists on 35mm film and is a classic, you will get a chance to see it at the Silver Scream Spook Show. (or if it is R rated, at Splatter Cinema which The Plaza hosts the second Tuesday of every month.) I have personally fulfilled many of my cinematic viewing dreams at the Plaza Theatre.

6. What monsters films are being planned to be shown in the future?

We have a line on King Kong Vs. Godzilla and many of the newer Godzilla films, but we prefer to show the older ones. GMK is an exception to our rule. Coming up in March we have the 7th Voyage of Sinbad, May we have Creature From the Black Lagoon in 3D, plus more classic Bela Lugosi, Ray Harryhausen, and Vincent Price in the works.

7. What monster films have you seen and liked (if you can, list Japanese Kaiju films)?

Kaiju films, All of them! I am a huge fan and have actually partied with Haruo Nakajima and Kenpachiro Satsuma! (Do not get in a drinking contest with Nakajima, trust me!) I also love any old monster movies. It's too long of a list to put down but I do have an intense and all encompassing love of classic Horror / Monster / Sci-Fi movies!

8. Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All Attack; Mothra; and Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster are all owned by Sony. Do you have any affiliation with Sony and how do you go by getting a print of the films (please be specific with this)?

We have no official affiliation with Sony. The Plaza Theatre has relationships with most if not all the film studios in order to run their films. Getting the films to show is just part of the day to day operations of running a movie theatre. The theatre requests films to the studios, they see if they have 35mm prints, what kind of shape they are in and if they are available. Sony seems to be the only studio that has 35mm prints of Godzilla films that are made available to theaters.

9. What is your goal when releasing a movie like this (e.g.: box office sales and attendance)?

We want to fill the theater of course, but we also want to turn people onto stuff that they are unaware of. Especially in the case of GMK, we are going to blow people’s minds with this movie - and the show! We have never worked so hard on props, magic tricks, etc, as we are on this show. It's going to be stupendous!

10. Anything to say to the people reading this interview?

Yes! Thank you for the support! The Silver Scream Spook Show is a dream come true for all involved and it makes us very happy every time we hear the laughter and the screams of an appreciative audience! Come see the Spook Show, you won't believe your eyes! We'll scare the Yell out of you!

I would like to re-mention from the article that King Kong vs. Godzilla, 7th Voyage of Sinbad, and some Harryhausen films are going to be shown, including Creature from the Black Lagoon in 3D and some classic Bela Lugosi and Vincent Price.

Something about the Plaza Theatre is that it is one of the ultimate fan hot spots in America. As Shane Morton said, if you got a request, he will try to fill it. And also since it is an old theatre, people want to keep it fun. But what do the people think? Here is an interview with Avery Guerra, who is actually a friend of mine. Here is the interview that gives everything from a fan's point of view. I did this interview in way that not everyone has been to this theatre which is located in the south.

AVERY GUERRA INTERVIEW
Q. State your name and history as a kaiju fan concerning writing papers, being staff of official sites like SciFiJapan, MonsterZero, and Henshin!Online, ect.

A. Hi my name is Avery Battles but I'm more commonly known online as Avery Guerra. From as far back as I can remember I have been a fan of daikaiju [giant monster] films. [I should note on your interview questions that I've never worked for any of those sites before. I regularly work for the ones that I mentioned and I am pretty good friends with Kieth Akin of 'Sci-Fi Japan' and stay in regular contact with him. ] You know I was in your shoes just a few years back. I never thought that I would be where I'm at now and with all the connections I've made. I wouldn't ever claim to be anyone special or better than anyone else as I'm just a Regular Joe, but apparently I've got quite a talent at finding news on giant monster [kaiju] films and making the right friends, as I've been told regularly. I think that had a big hand in landing me the jobs as I've become basically a 'news hound' for several sites including; Kenneth Hulsey's 'Robo Japan/Monster Island News' and famous Australian author and film critic Robert Hood's 'UnDead BackBrain' among many others including several mainstream horror movie news sites that I regularly help out. I'm actually not much of an author and only write the articles on occasion. Although I'm told my writing skills are not too bad. Usually, I'm just the one going out there and finding the news and taking it to the right people. I don't receive any pay for what I do, it's more of just a hobby, but I enjoy it immensely. I do however make a lot of connections with movie directors, special effects artists, actors, etc. that will surely benefit me a lot in the future.

Q. How many times have you gone to the Plaza Theatre and what films do you usually see there?

A. I have only been to the Plaza Theater a handful of times to catch some of the Silver Scream Spook Show's monthly screenings of classic horror/sci-fi films. I have been lucky enough to catch 'King Kong [1933], 'The Creature From The Black Lagoon [in 3-D], 'Mothra' [the original Japanese language print] and a few others.

Q. Are you associated with the staff of the Plaza Theatre?

A. I'm actually not in any way associated with the staff at the theater nor with the staff of any of the special events that it hosts such as; 'Silver Scream Spook Show', 'Splatter Cinema' or 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show'. I have been in contact with the host [Professor Morte] of the 'Spook Show' via e-mail through their 'MySpace' page. A very pleasant experience. They are a very professional and friendly crew and put on a fantastic show that's not to be missed.

Q. You mentioned to me before that you recommended a lot of films. Was GMK one of these films and what other kaiju related films did you recommend?

A. I have recommended many films to them for consideration for future shows and "Godzilla: GMK" was actually second on my list of films I most wanted to see as a part of their show. Among the countless others I suggested such recent releases as; "Godzilla: Final Wars" and "Gamera; The Brave", as well as classics such as "Reptilicus", "The Giant Claw", "Gammera; The Invincible", "The X-From Outer Space", "Majin; Monster Of Terror", "Gorgo", "Mighty Peking Man", "Pulgasari" and many others.

Q. How have your experiences at this theatre been to you and have effected you?

A. Each of the shows that I had the pleasure of catching at this theater were exactly that; a pleasure. The staff of the cinema and crew members of the special events were all very professional and courteous and you can easily tell that they have a love for what they're doing. That really helps makes it all a much more enjoyable experience and one that I would highly recommend to others.

Like what Morte said, if you got a request, he will try to fulfill it. May a Gamera film or a Guilala film be not too far off in the horizon?

THE PREMIRE

First, as a Georgian and a South Easterner in general, not a lot of Kaiju related event happen here, excluding Florida. But the one place that we Southerners can always rely on is the Plaza Theatre to show films as a good alternative to other events. Here is how everything went:
I left two hours early. I live in Warner Robins so it is not that long to Atlanta. We got there 45 minutes early, and thank god we did. I was the first to get out of the car (I am only 15, so my mom drove me and my brother to the event) and I got my camera and started snapping photos till I was met my a short woman who was a radio talk show host who was doubling for security. Next, after covering the front of the theatre, I decided to ask a teen aged woman, an employee, if the posters could be bought once the show was over. I was answered with a , "no". I tried getting in, but there was another no. Of course anyone who knows me knows that no one is going to get in my way of kaiju stuff. And then the true magic took it's toll on me.

I had never been to a G-FEST or any type of kaiju-related event. So when I went to the theater and saw GMK and Kill Bill posters and a dealer's table and another table full of free promotional items and a table of display only items (unless you are a member of the Silver Scream Spook Show fan club). In case you were wondering, the items on that table were a bunch of issues of G-FAN, a bunch of Japanese VHS tapes (some from Video Daikaiju), and last but not least a slew of Dark Horse Godzilla comic books.

The dealer's table was actually a guy selling his copies, which he had a lot of copies and stuff. All 6 inch figures were $15, Bandai Creation figures were $5, Bandai Creation 12" figures were $20, and all exclusives were $30. So here is what I got:

-Bandai AFFE Exclusive crystal Gamera 1999 $30

-Bandai Theater Exclusive Gamera 1999 $30

-Bandai History of Godzilla set (from 1999/2000) $20

-Bandai Godzilla vs. Destroyer Diorama $10-Bandai Iris 6" $15

-Bandai Toho Kaiju 6" King Ghidorah $15

-Bandai Godzilla Island 6" Mecha King Ghidorah $15

-Bandai Toho Kaiju 6" Spacegodzilla $15

-Bandai Theater Exclusive 6" Mire-Goji $15

-Bandai Theater Exclusive 6" Gira-Goji $15

-Bandai Toho Kaiju 6" Burning Godzilla $15

Me, the dealer, and a friend of the dealer then chatted. It was nice that I got to chat with other Godzilla fans. We covered topics like our Clubtokyo memberships, Gamera 3 or Gojira, and other Godzilla collectibles. Then some eyes widened when people found out that I got such rarities like the Bandai Large Scale 1991 Godzilla or the Chogokin Kiryu 2002. Then we talked about the CM discs. Total nerd fun. Sadly, the dealer, who I forgot to get his name, had to leave half way through the film to go on a trip to Florida.

After that, I just started taking more and more photos. The theatre, I found out, is like the Godzilla capitol of the South East: the theatre itself keeps Godzilla toys at it's box office stand (a bottle cap with a HG figure of 1974 Mechagodzilla and a Bandai SD Gira-Goji in the corner of a window. The stand, which held the G-Fans and the R2 VHS tapes and the Dark Horse comics, is a monthly thing filled with Goji merchandise; but on occasion other merchandise to other cult films, depends on what they are showing).

Around 45 minutes after I came to the theatre, that is when the crowds came. This is a major learning point for me, a Godzilla fan who is also studying the fandom. G-Fest is the Mecca for American/Canadian fans and those who go are well educated G-FANS who know a lot about Godzilla and other kaiju related facts. This premier was not. So there were more casual fans than die-hards like me. First, the crowd was mostly adult - no doubt either nostalgic people or people wanting to look at a movie that they thought would have a snowball's chance in hell of being shown (a Goji film so to speak). There was no one in my age group there. But there were kids. It was mostly boys, but there was one little Mothra fan who bought a VHS of Rebirth of Mothra (1996). But the main thing was that most people in attendance were casual fans. Some boy's father thought that the film they were showing was Ghidorah, The Three Headed Monster (1964), which I overheard this comment and politely corrected him. Another said that the film was made in the Heisei series, but I corrected that also. As I said, casual fans. The kids were cool though, two younger fans were holding their Imperial Godzillas (did not know there were even collectors in Georgia) and a HG Heisei 1995 Gamera. But I do not blame them, I made my mother hold my Bandai 8" GMK Ghidorah, my brother hold a w/ tag Bandai 8" GMK Baragon and I held my Bandai 8" GMK Goji figure (all figures I bought were but into a box which went into the back of my mom's SUV). Then came the time to enter the theatre, with by the doors two big home-made Godzilla banners. Then the magic happened:

The Silver Scream Spook Show is something which lots of people come to on a regular basis in Atlanta, that I can assure after overhearing the multitude of comments. Audience participation is a given. The Spook Show cast tries to do a 30 minute show based on the movie. First, we had the character Retch give out treats to all the kids who had birthdays, which ranged from the aforementioned HG Gamera and Godzilla shirts to official Silver Screen Spook Show merchandise (stickers and trading cards). Then the show started. First, a semi-burlesque Japanese school girl was dancing around a teacher. Then they went off and Professor Morte (played by Shane Morton) and his henchmen Retch finds an Xilian that tells a prophecy of monsters coming on the 31 of January to do battle in and around the Plaza Theatre. The crew go and give the sea monster (with music from Deep Purple's Smoke on the Water, and the sea monster is not Ebirah) and a giant big foot (they used Toho Kong roars) sleeping pills in which if taken on an empty stomach, makes the monsters enraged. So they have to get Mothra by making her come out of her cocoon to the Shobijin's song with burlesque dancing. Mothra wakes up and is to fetch Godzilla to do battle with big foot and the Sea Monster. Mothra fights Big Foot and Godzilla fights the Sea Monster. After wards the movie began.

Audience reaction to my second favorite Godzilla film was nice. Nothing Rocky Horror like, but it was fun. There was clapping for the Toho logo, the main credits, Godzilla's appearance, Ghidorah's coming to the final battle, Ghidorah getting his wings, and last but not least the end of the film. But there is always expected to be laughter. But sometimes laughter can be a sign of a difference between two different societies. First, I do not understand the laughter at the quote, "It is a bit far fetched" when a guy suggests they name the monsters. Second, the dubbing is ok, I do not see anything wrong with it. Not to forget the laughter when Yuri Tachibana said, "They're dead. The men in the helicopter. They're dead." There was laughter accompanied with a random "You think so?" Honestly, we Americans are so bad at mental stuff. We Americans are always going fast. We text fast, we multi task fast, we like stuff fast. So we think fast and do not ponder/meditate on subjects. This is a bad thing. For instead on thinking, "Why did Yuri Tachibana say that?" and coming to the common conclusion that she is trying to recon with the incredible events which she is witnessing. But we Americans, unless used to the Godzilla films and are a little intelligent, take it that: "She said that? Yo duh their dead! Why say something as obvious as that?" Either A.)This film is comedic and I am an idiot not to realize that, B.)I take these films too seriously, or C.)America needs to wake up. I am glad though that the American people liked the film and that the film's reputation has grown as a good film that even made American critics like it.

On a side note, I bet that the woman who greeted me is a critic who is hopefully going to or already has reviewed the film positively on local Atlanta, Georgia radio. Another thing I wish is that Roger Ebert would be here. While he did not like Gojira much, he did like Gamera: Guardian of the Universe (1995) and therefore hope to get a review of the film from him. When the film was over, my family went and got a photo with Proff. Morte (and I thanked him for the interview) then got a photo with the Godzilla suit (the Godzilla suit was not the GMK suit, it was very well made home made suit with the head looking like the 12" Banpresto figure's head). Everyone seemed to be pumped and I could not go to sleep for another 16 hours after that, since it was my first Godzilla theatrical experience.

In conclusion, it was a well worth event. Sure, I was the only forumer to go but it was a cool experience which a lot of people wished could have been here. And I wished that Packmule and Avery Guerra could have been there. And if you are reading this, you should have been there. It was like a mini G-Fest like none other.

Interview: Stephanie Hughes

1. So, how were you introduced to kaiju eiga?


When I was really young (not sure what age, but I believe I was a toddler at the time), I used to watch movies, some being Godzilla, some being other monster movies. I seemed to have forgotten all about them until I reached Grade 4 and I was given a Godzilla video game. Excited out of my mind, I beaten the game and done internet searches and watched the movies up until now.


2. Could you explain some of your history in the fandom?


Not much, but I remember my first, and favorite, site to go to was always "Toho Kingdom". I used to go just for Godzilla, but now I guess I just go because of the people. I was a bit surprised seeing as there weren't a lot of female fans around. From where I live, there were more girls into Godzilla than there were guys


3. Other than KMR/KQ, what other major activities have you done in and out of the fandom?


I had submitted some work to Anthony at Toho Kingdom. I had also done some writing, submitting pictures, and graphic art for Kaiju HQ. I had also created my own site called "Toho Island" which I guess I would call abandoned at this point as I can't seem to keep up with it. I also have a Deviant Art page that I am more than happy to update every now and then.


4. How did you get acquainted with Dan and KMR?


At Toho Kingdom's forums, I had set up a thread opening something called GGG (Goji_girl's Graphics) in hopes to keep an edge to my graphic work. As that small business didn't go so well, I found something a lot better as Dan sent me an e-mail asking me to do some graphics (Logo, Title card etc.). From there, I made myself more useful by submitting reviews.


5. You are one of the few shining females who represent kaiju. Could you say you are proud of what ground you could break with a title like that?


I am, I really am. Kaiju Films are a really great and entertaining genre of films and to actually have a title at all is really amazing. Especially being different from other fans. I hope in the future, there can be more female fans around. We really give a different view on these kind of movies.


6. Let’s talk about Kaiju Quickie. Who came up with the idea?


As much as I'd love to take credit for this idea, it was Dan's idea. I was planning on doing written reviews only when I came to the conclusion that people would much rather hear me talk than read huge bodies of text expressing my thoughts on a movie. I didn't want to make thorough reviews like Dan always does, so he gave me the idea of doing reviews under ten minutes and even gave it the title "Kaiju Quickie". From that, we got to work.


7. Was "Kaiju Quickie" the originally proposed name for your review program?


It was the only title that was to be considered. I had not the slightest clue as to what I wanted to call it, but Dan quickly came up with an idea. We were both satisfied with the title, it was simple, fun, and made absolute sense.


8. So far, you have reviewed three films, none of them Japanese kaiju. Is that going to be Dan’s
territory or are you going to do some Japanese kaiju films sometime in the future?


It was actually quite a coincidence that I hadn't done a Japanese film yet. Japanese and Korean films were always my favorite kind of films (That, and Canadian filming of course!). When I did the three movies that I did thus far, I was going after the movies that not a lot of people have heard of just to show that I could convince people why they should or shouldn't watch a movie. I was thinking of doing a couple of Gamera and Godzilla films. Dan and I don't have territories. Since our reviews are so different and we both have two different opinions on them, it wouldn't be bad for us to do the same movie. We just basically let each other know what film we're doing. But we've been discussing and we're thinking of being a bit more organized than that.


9. What reviews can we look foreword to?


Looking back at the reviews I've done, I found that my opinions on films were either "Bad" or "Okay". I wanted to pursue the movies that I had seen before and that I considered to be cinematic gold! Titles like "An American Werewolf In London", "Gamera: Guardian Of The Universe" (Which, judging by Dan's latest review, "Super Monster Gamera", I believe he'll be reviewing the Heisei Gamera films soon, so I'll wait), "The Fly", "King Kong"(1933) and other movies I can happen to come across. I can't say I guarantee these titles, but I can say that I will get more known films in my mix.


10. What are some things you have wanted to do with KQ which you cannot, or at least cannot do right now?


I've always wanted to be able to edit film scenes or better effects in my videos. As of now, what I usually do is just give the video to Dan where he edits it using Windows Movie Maker. As he said, "Not the best, but it gets the job done!". I always wanted to make mine a bit more funnier. I find that I'm getting better (being more comfortable with the camera, being able to come up with funnier jokes about the movie, maybe do skits if I have the time). I know I can't add too much as these are supposed to be under ten minutes, which is great because I don't think I can keep the audience entertained for a long time.


11. You joined KMR wanting to provide Dan with art. And as you have shown in your review for "Reptilicus", you can draw pretty good. Could you delve into your artistic background some?


My father has been an artist. Naturally, I was born with eye for art. Growing up, I've always been striving to get better and better at it. As I do better in graphic art than I do with actual sketches, I have been known to combine the two often. The experimentally hard work of a led pencil and paper with the added "oomph" of digital coloring, shading, and effects. More of my work can be seen at my Deviant Art page at: http://gojigirl.deviantart.com/

12. On an anonymous forum, a member said, "But at least she's much better at it than Dan." What is your opinion of this comment?

I really like Dan's work, he's honest, he's funny, he's great. He's given me a great opportunity with the Kaiju Quickie. I really appreciate the comment, but I don't think I'm anywhere near as great as Dan. Dan is a mentor and we both have our styles. Apples and oranges comparisons just aren't cool.

13. Any projects not related to KMR/KQ we can be expecting?

I had kept this secret from pretty much everyone in case I wouldn't be able to stick to it, but I was working on a thriller/horror novel. I can't say much more than that, I wouldn't want to give it away. I was also working on a comic of a fan made monster. I might go back to doing it. But people might not see it for a while.

14. Mothra or Godzilla? Which do you prefer?

This is a very difficult question, I've always enjoyed how Mothra had so much of a story to it, a catchy song, colorful movies, a mixture of peace and love and vengeance and hate. As an actual kaiju, I find that Mothra, unlike Godzilla, is a more amicable type of character. It's an icon, not one as popular as Godzilla, but still represents a different part of what kaiju films can be, and even represents the female fans of kaiju films (and I'm not referring to the cheesy mini-twins). Godzilla on the other hand, is a dark, black and white, monster who is an unstoppable force of nature. There's more fear and destruction with Godzilla (except of course in those films which Godzilla actually saves earth from aliens and monsters). What I like to see in Godzilla is not just the hateful monster or the kid friendly, tail-kicking hero, but as both of them. Godzilla's resentment for mankind, but at the same time, realizes that the world belongs to him as much as it belongs to mankind and feels that it's his responsibility to protect it (besides who else is gonna rebuild Tokyo for the next ass kickin'). All in all, I suppose I would say Godzilla. Not in a matter of films or character, just because I find Godzilla to be more of an archetype character. Many films like "Mothra" (1961), "Varan" (1958) and "Rodan" (1956) are just mere attempts by Toho to achieve the same popularity as they had when "Godzilla" (1954) came out. And this is when this particular archetype was conceived.

15. Any words/tip you can give our readers?

A few come to mind: For those out there who want to make a film review show, go for it. Find ways to be different from other reviewers and be interesting. Don't mind people who criticize your work in unfair ways, there will be people who disagree with you, but don't forget that it's your own opinion. You don't need the best editing software or be famous or anything, if you can convince people what you think is good and what isn't, AND manage to have fun while doing it, you've done your job.

But what I'd really rather see is you people make your own Kaiju films. I might even try to do one myself. It doesn't have to be a studio production because none of us have that kind of green. But even Lucas and Spielberg started with 8mm making their own low-budget films. Make a difference in your world. Make your mark. Bigger, better, bolder - just go for it!

Interview with Donny Winter

Such is that of the world of fan fiction. Such is also fan fiction writer Donny Winter. Creator of Kaiju Galaxy forums and a kaiju fan who's specialty is the world of fan fiction from every corner of the English-speaking internet. He is now finishing up his latest manifesto, "Mothra and Godzilla: Future Destiny", part of a trilogy of stories. "Future Destiny" is approximately 220 pages long and is already getting positive feedback. I got a change to interview with acclaimed author. This is what I found out...

Glad to have you on the blog Donny!

Thank you for having me!

So, let's talk about Kaiju Galaxy as of late. How has the forum been?

Oh the forum has been as delightful as it's always been. We have many activities going on, so people are satisfied!

Could you explain your passion for fan creations?

Well some may have heard me mention something to this regard before, but I sincerely feel that the creations wrought by kaiju fans are the heart and soul of the fandom right now since no movies are being produced. Not to mention, it really puts perspective on people's talents and allows them to improve themselves.

What is your new fan fic, Mothra and Godzilla: Future Destiny, about?

Well it would take me forever to describe what it is about, since it is a continuation of the other stories in my series. Technically "Future Destiny" is an alternate reality story that takes place about 4 years in the future from my current time line (around 2012). Most of the plot revolves around a group of humans with special Psychic gifts that allow them to protect the world along side of various Kaiju like Mothra, Godzilla, etc. This story; however, takes those characters to a whole new level---and really develops them. Which a lot of kaiju fan fiction and movies do not have...actual developed characters that people can identify with.

What were some influences on your writing?

Well a lot of things influence my writing. My friends really inspire me a lot...which is one of the main reasons why both them and myself are the characters. Plus a lot of music also influences my writing...many Kaiju Movie Soundtracks, Star Trek soundtracks....Lord of the Rings...so many things! I also get a lot of inspiration from other stories whether it be in TV series' like Charmed or the actual Godzilla/Mothra movies. But probably the main influence is my passion for writing, it has really allowed me to get this far.

What are some "dropped concepts" for the story?

Well...let me think. I can't really remember any specific concepts that I dropped....the only significant change I've made is that I've spread this story out over the course of a Trilogy. Originally it was supposed to be only two books; however, if I would have stuck with that plan the first book would be around 500+ pages in length...which would take me forever to finish.

How long has it taken you to write this 220+ page story?

So far...almost 2 years...in fact it will be 2 years this November.

Is there a sequel/prequel planned for this story?

Like stated before, this story was split into a Trilogy, so yes, there will be 2 sequels. And any story that came before this one are technically the prequels. Hence the concept of a "series".

How much hype is there for this story on other message boards?

Mainly just Kaijuphile and Kaiju Galaxy, I don't really post my fan fiction on any other kaiju message board---granted I probably should. So far there's been a lot of hype here on Kaiju Galaxy regarding this new epic.

You actually have close relations to other fans, like wolfprincess2007 AKA Mrs. Sahra. If they have, how have friends like this and other friends influenced your writing?

Well like I said before, my friends always inspire my work. I just love taking their personalities
and putting them into writing...into their own actual characters. People like Cyndi and Sahra are two main examples of this.

What is your next project?

My next project will be to start working on Book II!

Youtube fans Deadzilla and NickJownz have made films which actually while not looking as good, can be just as good as an actual kaiju film. With the help of creative film making and use of
Bandai figures, how good are the chances of fans getting a film adaptation?

Well the likeliness is pretty low since I don't have the materials to create an actual film adaptation. The best I can do is just film the characters! After the characters are main focal point of this epic.

You filmed a trailer for the film using your youtube account xMysticMothx. Could you give us some behind the scenes information about this trailer?

Actually, we (Sahra, Cyndi, and I) have filmed 3 movies up to date. There really isn't any impressive behind the scenes knowledge, aside from the fact that we all contributed to them.
How has the response to the fan fic been?

Initially I thought it would get poor response due to the gigantic amount of character development; however, the response has been increasingly positive!

Can you give any tips, information, or last words to our readers and to aspiring writers?

Probably the most important tip I can give to our readers and aspiring writers is to never give up on your talent. It doesn't matter if it is writing, art, etc, it is all important. Keep up the wonderful work!

Thanks for the Interview!

Interview with Dan of Kaiju Movie Review

http://www.youtube.com/user/Roehm21

How long have you been a fan of kaiju?

I believe it was since I was 5 years old. You can blame my father and uncle for this actually. They both got me into all sort of sci-fi movies back then. I used to borrow movies from my uncle all the time. I'm pretty sure I ruined his copy of Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, in fact I actually have that exactcopy in a box some where.
The thing is once they got me started on kaiju I never stopped. Been watching these movies ever since. The biggest reason I think was because of how impressionable I was and how big I was into dinosaurs and such.

What inspired you to do KMR (Kaiju Movie Review)?

James Rolfe was the big inspiration behind me doing videos, particularly his movie reviews. Also because I had a hard time finding a really good monster movie review series. So after a bit of consideration and the purchase of Yongary from a local store I decided to go for it. While my reviews in general might not be the most original. I have yet to find a review series like mine on the net so far.

Have you ever critiqued films via text?

No, though I have considered it at a few times. The big reason I haven't done it is because the English language and me are not the best of friends.

Have you ever wanted to do something with the videos which you couldn't, and could you list them?

There are a few things that I have wanted to do. I would like to have more freedom with the way to videos are put together. Like better transitions and possible effects. A dedicated area to film which can be tough with the size of our current home. Better filming and lighting equipment would be nice but with the way money is I don't think I will be getting anything like that for a while.

You have reviewed a mix of American, Korean, and Japanese Gamera kaiju films instead of going to Godzilla. I personally think this is a good decision. What influenced this decision?

Well at first the idea was to get some experience with the videos under my belt before I jumped onto Goji films. Then I decided to wait a year before reviewing any because that is what most people would expect from a kaiju review show, just to jump right into Godzilla. In hindsight it was kind of a double edged sword. Since I didn't do Goji first, I started with lesser known movies that really needed reviews but less people know about so fewer people watched my series to begin with. Where if I did start with Goji I would have gotten more viewers right off but I'm confident the quality would have suffered.

What is the history of your blogspot site?

Not really much of a history there. Just wanted a dedicated website for updates and since you can't do that so well on youtube, I started looking around. I remembered that there were a few blogs at blogger.com that I have read so it seemed as good a place as any. That’s pretty much all there is too it.

How did you meet Gojigirl and how long have you two been working together?

I was browsing around the Tohokingdom forum and clicked on a random topic by chance that just started. It was her topic and she was offering to do avatars, signature pics and what not. So I figured I would trouble her for a new title card to make the reviews look a little nicer. After we talked a bit I got the title card I needed, a new background for my youtube page, a logo and a partner. We haven't been working together too long only a matter of weeks at this point. But she is the first person outside my wife to join KMR and I must say its nice to have someone else around, that’s for sure.

Let's talk about your collection, how big is it?

At this time not too large. A decent amount of kaiju DVD's probably around 40+ and growing quickly. Probably about 20+ figures mostly small things but I got a ton of 6" and larger figures coming to my house. Other than that there are about 6 poster floating around the house. Again it doesn't seem like much but the collection is growing in all areas at this point.

I see you found S.V. Can you tell our readers how good they are?

They are absolutely fantastic. There prices are amazing along with the shipping fees. Not to mention the owner Keith is a really nice guy. The quality of their products are top notch. If you need to see for yourself check out my review of Gamera vs. Zigra. The video quality floored me when compared to what is available for those movies in the US market. Everyone reading this should do themselves a favor and look up Showa Video.

Any last words or tips you can give?

I would personally like to thank my wife first of all. She's been a great support and a big help with everything. I would also like to thank all the fans of my show. You guys and your comments keep me going and without you this show would not nothing. So thanks again, I hope ya'll will stick around and I will keep making videos. Also if anyone is thinking of starting your own video series. I don't think I could give much advice other than just to go for it. That’s what I did, just took a shot and I'm pretty satisfied with were I am at. Not to mention KMR is slowly growing larger. With the addition of Kaiju Quickie you never know what the future might hold. Maybe another show in the distant future, only time will tell.

Interview with Fan Fic Writer "Gojiramatthew"

G2KMaster: "What sparked the idea for "The Angruirus and Megalon Story"?

Gojiramatthew: "Well from what I remember, one day me and Blackdeath0001 were just playing Godzilla – Save The Earth, while we were playing we were thinking of what to do before we write Season Two of the AHP's (Which still hasn't happened). I don't remember which one of us it was but when one of us bobbed the head up and down to talk, the idea to write a comedy series using the monsters were we using at the time, hit us like a brick"

G2KMaster: "What were your original intentions for the series and how much have those intentions chance since?"

Gojiramatthew: "Hmm, well Megalon's voice was originally not meant to be my normal voice, I was originally going to use my AL (Deep voice) for him but after many line screw ups and hurting my throat, I decided to change the voice to normal. I don't remember any original intentions for the series"

G2KMaster: "Was it always you and BlackDeath?"

Gojiramatthew: "Yes, with character moving, the scripts, filming and editing, that was us"

G2KMaster: "What were some dropped concepts for episodes?"

Gojiramatthew: "Well, I only remember one idea Blackdeath0001 had: Megaguirus was going to dump Megalon and go out with Gigan, both were going to appear on screen together but it wouldn't work well with the game"

G2KMaster: " "Why make the third part literature?"

Gojiramatthew: "Well because there is more freedom in a story then a machinima and to get more G-Fans aware of it"

G2KMaster: "What are some future concepts you plan on doing?"

Gojiramatthew: "Well ending the series with a third and final video to make it a trilogy of videos, but there might be more stories, for anything non Angurius and Megalon... well, you just have to wait and see"

G2KMaster: "Are there any other projects which your viewers and Kaiju Galaxy's readers may be interested in?"

Gojiramatthew: "Well if there interested in Halo, I recommend checking out the AHP's, The White Vortex Adventures and the Valhalla Murders. But if they are not interested in Halo, well... there's always The Stabber Killer video, my Music Videos and stories"

G2KMaster: "Any words to your viewers?"

Gojiramatthew: "Yes, even with a webcam that gives you bad quality, you can still make entertaining things, just think of crazy ideas and go for it"