S.S.S.S. Special

Time of my Life - S.S.S.S.'s Showing of Godzilla vs. Gigan

"Life all comes down to a few moments. This is one of them."
-Bud Fox, "Wall Street" (1987)




Where should this begin? Ok, let’s start with what’s happened in between this film and GMK. The Plaza Theatre has shown two kaiju films since GMK in January of 2009. These include DAM and the original Rodan. While my failure to attend these events have lead people to say rather negative things about moi, I always kept positive when a new kaiju film was being shown. Thankfully, I attended this Spook Show. Albeit, it is ironically the last Spook Show till October due to the Silver Scream Spook Show cast being subject to a new TV series with Adult Swim helping (defiantly going to be better than "Children’s Hospital" - which I saw one of the wall paintings which AS ads ask you to "find this", Atlanta kicks ass). I would also like to mention that we also went by "The Vortex", a burger joint I once saw on "Man vs. Food". I wanted to go there, but once I left the theater only one thing was on my mind: Godzilla. Anyway, let’s go into the event.

I got there about 30 minutes before the show started. With there being the lack of a dealer, the first place of interest I went to was (aside from the box office) the Silver Scream Spook Show table. Not as elaborate as it previously was. However, it was still cool. Evidently thanks to some tricky stuff, in the end I got a Fang Club card, a button, an XL shirt, the Plaza Atlanta Godzilla vs. Gigan poster, and a bunch of the programs. While waiting, I talked a little to Daniel Wickwire of Kaiju Movie Review before having to take more photos and such for this very report.

The Scream Show itself rocked. As normal, it began with the birthday serenade. After wards, the actual program. I lucky caught all of it on camera and captured it better then what I did with the GMK Spook Show (especially considering I was sitting closer to the back of this showing). Alas, after a 10 minute wait to see the film on behalf of people who were parked in a Publix parking lot needing to get their cars moved to a different location, the film began (thank god for the 10 minute wait, I got some stuff done). It was cool to the old Cinema Shares print of "Godzilla vs. Gigan", only entitled "Godzilla on Monster Island".

However, I did not sit through out the whole film to watch. My mother, god bless her soul and her slick talking ways, got a deal in which allowed me to go inside for a short time the Godzilla suit used for the Spook Show. I like the dang thing. The head reminds me of the Banpresto 12" figure that was sculpted by Yuji Sakai. So, while not being allowed to put my whole body in (they have to put boxes in the suit so it will stand while no one is in/around the suit), I did get to feel from the waste up what it feels like - to an extent - to be Nakajima or Satsuma, or Kitagawa. It’s stuff like that which helps you gain appreciation for the art. I felt this feeling once before - in engineering class making wooden bridges. Gives you a deeper appreciation. Now, from what I heard, the only reserve the guy who owned the suit had about me even feeling the inside is the fact that a lot of people get nicked because of the metal skeleton that is inside of the suit, which is basically just memory foam (like in beds).

I got back into the film when we see the corncob scene. The film was just very fun and even though sitting farther back then I did at the GMK screening, the print was still something to be amazed about, especially that though the print had a lot of damage, the increased definition compared to my Anchor Bay VHS copy of the film is pretty awesome. Looking at each little detail in the models and suits and such. Very cool, despite a layer of purple coloring on the print (which in the end isn’t that bad and actually makes the viewing more interesting).


Afterwards, I talked to some people, my mother took some more photos of me, and Dan started filming material for his coverage of this film (which I forgot to do out of the sheer excitement of my attendance). One thing I need to thank Dan for though is giving me his Gamera 3 poster. He offered it to me some time ago and I accepted it. He knows it is in good hands. The poster is actually a limited piece which went along the Sega Gamera 3 figures. To add on to it’s value, it was autographed by Tiffany Grant - who played Nagamine in the US dubs of "Gamera: Guardian of the Universe" and "Gamera 3: Incomplete Struggle".

In the end, it was a fun time and really, this report doesn’t do justice to what happened. It was awesome. In the meantime, be watching KMR for an interview of me done by good friend Dan Wickwire!

MOTHRA and GAMERA VS. GUIRON to be shown!

Source: http://www.zandavisitor.com/newsarticle-3763-DinoQuest_Monster_Movie_Night_at_Missouri_Botanical_Garden
Thanks To Avery Guerra!
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End the summer with a bang for on July 30, the Missouri Botanical Gardens' DinoQuest Monster Movie Night is showing at 8:30 pm the 1961 classic "Mothra" and right afterwards "Gamera vs. Gurion". This is from the site:
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"Both films will be shown on a giant screen at the Cohen Amphitheater, located west of the Climatron dome on the Garden grounds. Lawn seating only; guests are welcome to bring lawn chairs or blankets and to picnic at this special event. Snacks and beverages will also be available for purchase.

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The Missouri Botanical Garden is located at 4344 Shaw Blvd. in south St. Louis, accessible from Interstate 44 at the Vandeventer exit and from Interstate 64 at the Kingshighway North & South exit. Free parking is available on-site and two blocks west at the corner of Shaw and Vandeventer.
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For more information about the DinoQuest Monster Movie Night, visit www.mobot.org/dinoquest/monster_movie.asp. To learn more about the DinoQuest exhibition, visit www.mobot.org/dinoquest. For general Garden information, visit http://www.mobot.org/ or call (314) 577-5100 (toll-free, 1-800-642-8842)."

Support kaiju Missouri fans!

Kaiju Book News for the Masses!

NOTE: ROUGH TRANSLATIONS AHEAD!

Gamera and Godzilla has come back for the attack this latter half of the year when it comes to books! First up is the book "Daiei Tokusatsu Film Encyclopedia: Daikaiju Fantasy Battle - Gamera vs. Daimajin". The book is 121 pages long, and with a price tag of 1890 Yen, with these stats:

ISBN-10: 4048545116
ISBN-13: 978-4048545112
Release Date: 2010/7/16
Product Dimensions: 11.6 x 8.3 x 0.5 inches

Link for order:
http://www.amazon.co.jp/%E5%A4%A7%E6%98%A0%E7%89%B9%E6%92%AE%E6%98%A0%E7%94%BB%E5%A4%A7%E5%85%A8-%E5%A4%A7%E6%80%AA%E7%8D%A3%E7%A9%BA%E6%83%B3%E6%B1%BA%E6%88%A6-%E3%82%AC%E3%83%A1%E3%83%A9%E5%AF%BE%E5%A4%A7%E9%AD%94%E7%A5%9E-%E8%A7%92%E5%B7%9D%E6%98%A0%E7%94%BB/dp/4048545116/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_2

The second with a nice pic of a Bandai vinyl is roughly translated to "Goodbye Godzilla who - far from war". At a much longer 280 pages, the book is a fair 1995 Yen in cost. Here are it’s stats:

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ISBN-10: 4000230352
ISBN-13: 978-4000230353
Release Date: 2010/7/29
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Link for pre-order:
http://www.amazon.co.jp/%E3%81%95%E3%82%88%E3%81%86%E3%81%AA%E3%82%89%E3%80%81%E3%82%B4%E3%82%B8%E3%83%A9%E3%81%9F%E3%81%A1%E2%80%95%E2%80%95%E6%88%A6%E5%BE%8C%E3%81%8B%E3%82%89%E9%81%A0%E3%81%8F%E9%9B%A2%E3%82%8C%E3%81%A6-%E5%8A%A0%E8%97%A4-%E5%85%B8%E6%B4%8B/dp/4000230352/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_1

The third is THE MUSIC OF GODZILLA: THE ECHOES & THE ERA OF AKIRA IFUKUBE, MASARU SATO, KUNIO MIYAUCHI AND RIICHIRO MANABE" ("Gojira-no Ongaku - Ifukube Akira, Satou Masaru, Miyauchi Kunio, Manabe Riichirou-no Hibiki-to Sono Jidai")(thanks to James Ballard). Acording to August Ragone, "The author is Atsushi Kobayashi, who had written two previous books on Akira Ifukube (as well as other film composers, such as Masaru Sato), and the publisher is Sakuinsha. This particular book will only cover the Godzilla scores from 1954-1975." Gonna be released on 8/10/2010 containing a whooping 480 pages. Here is the book’s stats:

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ISBN-10: 4861822998
ISBN-13: 978-4861822995

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Here is a link for those who want to pre-order:
http://www.amazon.co.jp/%E3%82%B4%E3%82%B8%E3%83%A9%E3%81%AE%E9%9F%B3%E6%A5%BD%E2%80%95%E2%80%95%E4%BC%8A%E7%A6%8F%E9%83%A8%E6%98%AD%E3%80%81%E4%BD%90%E8%97%A4%E5%8B%9D%E3%80%81%E5%AE%AE%E5%86%85%E5%9C%8B%E9%83%8E%E3%80%81%E7%9C%9E%E9%8D%8B%E7%90%86%E4%B8%80%E9%83%8E%E3%81%AE%E9%9F%BF%E3%81%8D%E3%81%A8%E3%81%9D%E3%81%AE%E6%99%82%E4%BB%A3-%E5%B0%8F%E6%9E%97-%E6%B7%B3/dp/4861822998/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_3

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Happy Buying!

New Book: "Kaiju Life - The Original Godzilla Actor Haruo Nakajima" by Haruo Nakajima

Title via Japanese: "怪獣人生　~元祖ゴジラ俳優・中島春雄"

Publisher: "洋泉社"
Language: Japanese
ISBN-10: 4862485898
ISBN-13: 978-4862485892
Release Date: 2010/7/16

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There will be pictures. For more information, someone more versed in Japanese can go to links below:

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http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/switch-language/product/4862485898/ref=dp_change_lang?ie=UTF8&language=en_JP

http://www.yosensha.co.jp/book/b67130.html

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Could this be part of the "The Ghost of Godzilla: The Man Who Was Godzilla: On The Shoulders of Monsters: In the Shadow of the Monster: Unzipping the Mystery" documentry that Haruo Nakajima is supposedly working on with "Team WereWolf" (so says wikipedia)? More details tom come.

KMR Review: G2: Gamera vs. Legion

100 Years of Monster Movies to present a double feature, "Gappa" and "Yongary"!

100 Years of Monster Movies Commercial Spot from Matthew Burd on Vimeo.

KMR Announcement

http://journalismg2km.blogspot.com/2010/07/this-july-31-plaza-atlanta-theatre-in.html

First TV Spot for "MM9"

Thanks to the Nippon Cinema site, we can now see the official monster-less TV spot for Shinji Higuchi's "MM9":

http://www.nipponcinema.com/blog/tv-spot-for-shinji-higuchis-mm9/

And it is interesting to note that the trailer shows a new website adress for coverage of the series:

www.mmmmmmmmm.jp

Very cool indeed.

Plaza Atlanta Theatre's Silver Scream Spook Show GODZILLA VS. GIGAN details

This July 31, the Plaza Atlanta Theatre in association with the Silver Scream Spook Show will be giving a special presentation of GODZILLA VS. GIGAN, under the name GODZILLA ON MONSTER ISLAND.

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The theatre is Atlanta’s oldest cinematic venue. A uniscreened theatre, it was once a grindhouse theatre which is now run for non profit and has film showing everything from THE ROOM to THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW to even film festivals hosted by Robert Osborne (who does things for the TCM Channel - including one time giving an into on TCM to "Space Monster Guilala"). The Plaza Atlanta theatre has a good history with kaiju fans, including having previously screened "Rodan" (1956), "Mothra" (1961), "Ebirah, Horror from the Deep" (1966), "Destroy All Monsters" (1968), and "Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All Out Attack" (2001).

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The Silver Scream Spook show is like Mr. Lobo or "Ms. Monster’s Hell On Ice" meets Vaudeville. Shane Morton and his group put on the "Silver Scream Spook How", a 30 minute show put on before each of their screenings with some Horror Host elements which helps integrate the show into the film to be shown (to some extent). The sketch they put on has something in relation to the film they will be hosting. It is great fun for whoever comes.

KIDS UNDER 12 FREE AT 1:00 MATINEE! EVERYONE ELSE ONLY $7. ALL TICKETS ARE $10 FOR THE 10:00 SHOW!
Do not forget to bring in some extra cash for pop corn, drinks, and any possible dealers at the event. It is sure to be great fun. And for those staying in the south eastern United States would be glad to know that from the theatre it is just another 10 hour drive to the Morikami Museum, who is having a kaiju vinyl exhibit all this summer (http://godzilla2012.blogspot.com/2010/06/over-100-vintage-kaiju-toys-invade.html). Hope to see you there!