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!
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:
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
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.
Halloween is a season for slashers, bashers and Universal masters of horror. But Yahoo istead came up with awards for everything that could be associated with Halloween. Some things are the same as every year: Michael Myers is still the ultimate slasher and Freddy Krueger is still the ultimate super-natural boogey man. But one thing is slightly the same: Godzilla is still the King of the Monsters. However, the runner up is not the legendary King Kong or the Rhedosaurus. It is instead the Cloverfield monster that is the runner up. King Kong's days are finaly numbered. The only think keeping the big ape in the public's eyes is the city of New York City, what pop culture refrences come our way through television shows, and the upcoming "King of Skull Island" film. Let's hope that Clover can keep up this kind of dominance over other kaiju. Maybe show JJ Abrams that we need another film?
Happy Halloween to all from JournalismG2KM and us of the Kaiju Galaxy Family!
You would think that in this time of endless information due to the invention that is the internet that inaccuracies would not be made. While I cannot say I haven’t made them myself, I would expect someone who is a professional to not makes those errors, especially with books which are used by schools. Out of the umpteen books which my school has which surround the topic of the history/culture of Japan, one of them stood out to me. Most notably because it was the only book to have information on kaiju eiga and Kurosawa. But I am going to focus on kaiju eiga here. While it is fine and dandy for there to be a paragraph on kaiju, it is not ok if there is an inaccuracy on something which has been - up to the book’s publishing year of 2005 - published many times.
The first offense was the classifying of a still from "Godzilla Raids Again" as a still from the 1954 classic "Gojira". What is even worse, then it comes to the book’s image index in the back of the book, it differs from the image’s subtitle and claims that the picture is from 1955. So if someone who did not know about kaiju eiga was to read this book thoroughly, they would be confused by the different dates which were provided and given the wrong information. The second offense is the calling of "Gorgo" as a Japanese kaiju - instead of the proper classification of a British kaiju film.
Bottom line, you who still go to school and may within the rest of your school years become assigned to do a report on Japan, do not used the book "Japan: A Primary Source Culture Guide" by Meg Greene. With two errors on just one page, I would love to see how many more inaccuracies there would be in the book. This is especially wondrous considering that Meg Greene has written two books on Japan, "Japan: A Primary Source Culture Guide" and "The Technology of Ancient Japan". According to Amazon, she has only published four books. Fail.
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.
Today is a good day for fans in and around the Georgia region. While only a rumor, it has been uncovered that one of the possibilities being considered for the Christmas Silver Scream Spook Show is the ever-so-iconic "Destroy All Monsters". This news has been uncovered by Kaiju Galaxy forumer Gojira84, which I give special thanks for notifying me first about this news. In an e-mail to someone associated with the Silver Scream Spook Show, "Not 100% sure, but stay tuned to www.silverscreamspookshow.com." So, time will just tell if we get another kaiju offering from the Plaza Theatre and the Silver Scream Spook Show. Already this year, the gindhouse theatre has showcased the wildly popular "GMK" and hosted an excruciatingly rare showing of "Rodan", which was special because it was film historian Ed Godziszewski‘s print that was shown.
There are some variables to solve out to have this film shown - such as the current copyrights issue due to the ADV fallout and weather or not film collectors will have a print available for the legendary AIP version. But we’ll just see, shall we?
Evan Brehany is an life long kaiju eiga fan. He currently resides in Georgia. Evan has contributed to Tohokingdom, G-Fan Magazine, and the Godzilla 2012 blog. He is also an administrator at the Monsterland and Kaiju Galaxy message boards.
JournalismG2KM is one of the three parts of the Kaiju Galaxy & Monsterland Forums community. Present on the blog is a wide range of articles reguarding news, reviews, and retrospects on different aspects of Japanese cinema, particularly kaiju eiga. Our staff is of four people, Evan Brehany, Kuroneko-Sama, Donny Winter, Logan Bombard, and Matti Keskiivari. Special thanks to Lee Merritt for the creation of the site banner at the bottom.
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