New KMR Review

Preface To G-FAN Article: "Gamera 3 – Ten Years Later"

Well, it is spring, and all of those who have subscribed should have by now G-FAN issue 91. It seems like a good issue. About 20 pages less than the previous two, but the cover is more kick ass in my opinion due to it’s simplicity and clarity. In Issue 91, I had a work of mine published. Ultimately it was an article of mine that got published. One on my favorite films of all time, "Gamera 3: Incomplete Struggle". It was a worrisome work. While my previous entry into the G-FAN cannon wasn’t edited (actually added to since the photos with Dana weren’t even included in any of the e-mails given to JD, rather JD must have asked some for them, AKA Brett Homenick who must have asked Dana himself since I thought the interview was going to be edited - which thankfully it wasn’t except for some grammar mistakes), it could happen here. I do not currently know if it was edited or if the final draft was the version used (the time between the initial e-mail and final publication had some surprises for me in terms of learning more about the film). I was also worried for the set standard. Now, G-FAN is not any "Markelite" or "Monster Attack Team" per se, but issue 89 had an awesome write up on the effect Star Wars had on Japanese cinema. While I do not want to try to make my work better than anyone else’s, I do want to reach a certain benchmark of quality, one which many people testify that I do not reach. But now it is out and I am currently waiting for the reviews.

Another thing I wanted to point out is the sources I used for this paper. Well, first, I bet the paper would become a controversy for many. Mostly because at the end of my final draft I did indeed include an exact calendar of G3’s production. Someone out there is going to ask "How the fuck do you know all that?" Well, thanks to the brilliant Shinji Higuchi, he had actually pre-dated Peter Jackson’s production diaries for his King Kong remake by having Amuse Factory and Amuse Video release production diaries of the production of the Gamera trilogy (Media Factory only released "GAMERA 1999", Amuse released "THE MAKING OF GAMERA 1999" and "THE G2 PRODUCTION FILE", along with the VHS releases of the first two films and even had a part in the creation of GAMERA THE BOX: 1995-1999). So, that is new information I am pretty sure no English publication has had on the film (Kaiju Fan or G-FAN, both had an issue pretty much devoted to GAMERA 3, so you may want to check those for the accuracy of my statement).

Second, another claim which I know people will fault me for is the assumption that the Moribe family used to practice sacrifice in a deleted scene from the film. Deciding on which draft of the article they used, I used a quote from a Japanese essay on GMK to back me up on that. It’s actually the same essay in which I had written a blog post on for some time. Go look for it. From there, you will see the article I quoted got the fact from official books on the film. It is not an assumption.

Third, I used for sources some pretty rare resources. Two, in fact. One - which all would agree with me on - are a bunch of interviews which were originaly ran in the now deceased Kaiju-Fan magazine which were re-published up on Monster Zero news site. Now, I did not have all of the interviews. I think I had one with Fuyuki Shinada and another with Tomoo Hariguchi. I include quotes from both abstemiously throughout the article. It is just too bad the photos which I also have saved from MZ have the "Club Daikaiju" water mark on them, it would have been nice to have them re-published for the next generation. I mean, a photo of Shinji Higuchi sitting back with a fishing rod is just awesome in its own little way. Another source I used is the Gamera: Guardian of the Universe DVD. The US DVD. The interview with Shinji Higuchi was great. As well was the G3 US DVD. Or at least it’s special features which I got to thank Gorizard4 for posting a while back. It was a great source of information which I got which helped a lot. Now, how is this a rare source you may be wondering. Well, there must be a lot of new fans out there. And the Gamera trilogy DVDs were pressed only twice - 2003 and 2004. I doubt the good majority of fans who weren’t around for that six to seven years ago missed out therefore if they get G-FAN, they can now access the information till Section23 will hopefully will re-release the trilogy.

Now, onto another source. Such as something which was an interesting group of information: information regarding the G3 Kyoto Train Exhibit and GAMERA SFX STUDIO events. Truth be told, it was mostly photos which helped me with that endeavor. Photos, the official Shusuke Kaneko webpage dedicated to the event (well, the first one anyway), and what event exclusive items I own (which pics of the items should be in the article as I was told by a friend). That was all.

Now, time for the final piece: the criticism of the film’s script. Most of it is what people have talked about over the internet. That plus some of my own interpretation of those theories and what else I noticed in the trilogy and the specific film. Now, already when I first posted my theorem that the trilogy gives enough evidence to prove that Gamera and Irys are in fact, full blooded gods (actual gods in the universe, like if we were living in the Gamera trilogy, we could pray to Gamera type of thing), I was told it made no sense by one person (Cody Himes) and told by another it made sense (Donny Winter). So, make of it as you will. There is some other stuff. However, thanks for the specific quotes from the subtitle transcript from the Box Version of the R2 DVD for G3 goes to James Ballard. I wish him well, especially with some of the burdens his time in Japan is currently making him carry.

Last, but not least, I got to give some major thanks. First, I would like to thank Anthony Chin AKA KaijuNoMura. He was the one who gave me one of the items (for free I might add) from the Kyoto JR Exhibit. I also got Donny Winter, Lee Merrit, and any of the other forums who have given me genuine encouragement for my work. I think I have evolved in the year and two months since my first real work regarding "Yonggary 1999/2001" and I hope to continue, especially since I am officially enrolled in my school’s journalism class for next year (something you got to fill out a questionnaire and turn in a writing example for). Then I also got to thank Keith Aiken and August Ragone for what support they have given me in the few PM’s which we have exchanged over the time I have been a forumer. And a shout out to Brett Homenick. I still like how he put it when he revealed the line up of work for G-FAN 91: "This celebrated film arguably has no greater champion in the United States than Evan."

With this mouthful being said, I hope that everyone will buy G-FAN issue 91 and read what is in there. There seems to be a lot of material in there which is just interesting. Verry interesting. And enlightening. Hell, I think totorom, Brett Homenick’s interview partner-in-crime is gonna be covering the Kawakita film festival which was done to promote his book, "The Heisei Godzilla Chronicle" . So go buy it! Support G-FAN! These are touch economic times we are in, ya know? Give alittle.

LPG - Producers Roaster

As of this article, the only names given to us connected to the Legendary Picture’s Godzilla adaptation are a list of producers. Executive and regular producers. Through this article we shall go through what is exactly a producer’s job and how their influence on a project could make it or break it for a film.

A regular film producer, according to Wikipedia, is a person who "creates the conditions for making movies. The producer initiates, coordinates, supervises, and controls matters such as raising funding, hiring key personnel, and arranging for distributors. The producer is involved throughout all phases of the filmmaking from development to "delivery" of a project". The street definition of a producer is the guy who writes the checks for the production. With that being said, while the director has the final word on the creative standpoint of the production, the producer does write the check therefore the producer can control certain aspects of production.

The producers that we are presented with Legendary Picture’s Godzilla are Dan Lin, Roy Lee, and Brian Rodgers. Dan Lin is the first name to come up. A fresh faced Asian member to the Hollywood game, his resume do show some modest hits, including "Terminator: Salvation" (2009) and the recent smash hit "Sherlock Holmes" (2009). Dan does have some history with Legendary Pictures, specifically regarding his involvement with the film "10,000 BC". In an interview on the red carpet for "Terminator: Salvation" about being involved with set franchises and rebooting them, he said, "You want to honor the original mythology and at the same time bring in new fans so it’s a type rope." Dan Lin also mentioned that "we (his coworkers one would assume) decided it was important to set up the mythology before we start the movie." When being interviewed specifically for "Terminator: Salvation", a film which is part of a franchise, two things seemed to have tuck out that he said which would have been decisions for the quest to bring in new fans: the hireling of Christian Bale (of Batman fame) and Sam Worthington (who Dan called "a great new actor").

The next name is Roy Lee. A Korean-American producer of 41, Roy Lee is the largest name in the business when it comes to Asian remakes done by American studios. His projects includes the Ring Series, Grudge series, "Dark Water", "The Uninvited", "Eight Below", "Internal Affairs", "My Sassy Girl", "Shutter", "The Eye", "The Echo", and the up coming remake of "Oldboy". According to "The New Yorker", Roy’s job is that he "watches videos of every Asian movie ever made". Sounds fair enough, maybe even to the point that he may have seen some of the Godzilla films. When looking upon his resume, one seems to notice a pattern. Specifically, adaptations in which Roy Lee produces and a member of the original is also on (director or writer usually) the is a box office success and critically acclaimed (Japanese producer on Korean movie is a bad thing). It’s hard to judge him. Genessee Kim said this about Roy, "Roy Lee is the man Asian studios turn to when they want top dollar for a Hollywood reincarnation of their successful original films." Not much is said about this producer’s involvement with the creative aspect of the film. Though any similar trends in the Grudge series and the Ring series (the American films) could reveal what could be his style.

The last name on the producers list is Brian Rogers. A no-name with his only real credits being a producer to some Z-List productions, his most notable title is that of a SFX artist, working on accouple of episodes of "101 Deeds for Eddie McDowd". However, it should be noted that he was part of the group that was to produce the film, "Godzilla: 3D To The Max".

Now, we go to the executive producers list. We have Yoshimitsu Banno, Kenji Okuhira, and Doug Davidson who are filling the job. Now, an executive producer is different from a regular producer. According to Wikipedia, an executive producer, "In major productions, can sometimes be a representative or CEO of the film studio. Or the title may be given as an honorarium to a major investor. Often they oversee the financial, administrative and creative aspects of production, though not always in a technical capacity. In smaller companies or independent projects, it may be synonymous with creator/writer. Often, a "Line Producer" is awarded this title if this producer has a lineage of experience, or is involved in a greater capacity than a "typical" line producer. E.G - working from development through post, or simply bringing to the table a certain level of expertise."

According to that definition, it sounds good. So let’s look at Yoshimitsu Banno. I think that all who read this blog knows who he is. The director of "Godzilla vs. Hedorah", one of the more obscene but really darker (in it’s own right) Godzilla films. Banno, to put it shortly, has shown that while the film he made back in 1971 was extremely influenced by the culture at the time, he gets the allegorical structure of the original Godzilla. Now, it is said that the executive producer does have some influence over the creative aspects of the film, similar to a normal producer. Because of this, he is up there with Dan Lin and Roy Lee. Now, with his age and the fact that he has actually worked on a Godzilla film (and some other Toho non-Goji tokusatsu works), that demands a certain amount of respect. Hopefully what ideas he does have will be taken into consideration and used.

Now, let’s go to Kenji Okuhira. He is relatively not known, though he was along with Banno a name attached to the legendary "Godzilla: 3D to the Max" project. However, his shining achievement is with him being the producer of the award winning 1999 film, "Pups". Obviously due to his Japanese decent, he could be one who has seen the Godzilla films and may just as well also know what he is doing. If so, this is another creative mind which can help balance out the equation.

The last name is Doug Davison. Here is where the story starts to get screwy. The important part is that he has history with one of the producers: Roy Lee. Together, the duo is most notable known for the finding of the company Vertigo Entertainment - an intermediary company that sells the remake rights for Asian films, on behalf of the rights-holders, to American studios and such. So most of the projects that Roy Lee is involved with, Doug also is. Most of the titles he also works with are also done through Vertigo Entertainment.

Here are the links to each individual’s IMDb profile.

Doug Davison:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0205713/
(notice that he is also remaking the Kurosawa film, "Ikiru" and is involved with the DEATH NOTE project)

Yoshimitsu Banno:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0052419/

Dan Lin:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1469853/

Brian Rogers:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0736758/

Roy Lee:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0498175/

Kenji Okuhira:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0645776/

Review: Clash of the Titans

I just had the pleasure of seeing Legendary Picture’s newest cinematic offering, CLASH OF THE TITANS, a remake of the 1981 film that was Ray Harryhausen’s swan song (and with the saying that you are only as good as your last show, Harryhausen is up there with Baker and Tsuburaya). This film has caused a minor sensation. With fans of the original, they pretty much think of the film either as "ok" or just not really that good. To the general movie going audience, it is the second choice film to pick for the Easter Holidays. For Godzilla fans, it is the film which will make people think "Does Legendary Pictures really have what it takes to make the next American Godzilla film". Well, let’s see how it goes.

Without going into the plot, I got to say that the film is a nice solid movie. There aren’t any real plotholes. And some people complain about the protagonists riding on the scorpioc’s backs as if they forgot they were made out of Calibos’ own flesh and blood. However, I do not think many took notice of the fact that the Djinn had already tamed them. And there is some nice story telling here. We have a flashback sequence. An underlying moral that power corrupts (leading Purseus to turn down the offer to become a king and an immortal). And the rest is a fairly simplistic journey. And that’s where some of it’s beauty comes from, it’s simplicity.

The score and the SFX I will clump into one thing. The score was ok, nothing too spectacular and nothing to write home about. The CG though is used pretty well. There are some things of models and make up, particularly some of the claws of the Scorpiocs (watch the G4 Special and the HBO Special on the film) and the make up with Calibos. The CGI use is pretty good. It was hard to analyze because of the forced 3D formatting but it was good as far as I can tell and the direction was fabulous, including the filming of the scenes with the Kraken. The direction with the Kraken surely was the best of the whole film. Really made the scenes it was in pretty elaborate. Surely made the Kraken look elaborate. Really gargantuan. Surely it was awesome and something which acted your attention.

The acting is nothing to write home about. It is decent. Sam Worthington didn’t seem out of place like I have read, but he isn’t the best either. However, the on screen chemistry which Liam Neeson as Zerus and Ralph Fieness as Hades is a great thing though. Not the best acting from either one, but the chemistry is just awesome. Enough that it has even come to my attention that they were together on "Schindler’s List". Just awesome. And Liam Neeson is the superior of the two though, and his presence is always awesome. Though I kept thinking "you could move your arms to help exaggerate your words now", he is great. His first shot is also cool, with Liam pounding his fist.

Overall, the film is not the greatest. And I think I enjoyed it a lot more than most because I haven’t seen the original in accouple of years. I say go see it. It is a good remake and it has it’s moments. It’s just a run way to kill two hours. I feel safe now with Legendary Pictures taking over Godzilla for their next project. I give this film a B+

Oh, and I also got a picture with a NOES remake poster.

News On the GPCBS6

Ark Square, a site that has sold the sets internationally, is now taking pre-orders for the sixth box, and they will send the Ifukube recording sessions DVD for all the customers who have already bought all five previous sets and place a pre-order on the new one. On the main page, click on "Feature Articles" and there you'll find a section dedicated to the Godzilla box sets. A full explanation about the bonus DVD is given there.

www.arksquare.net

-G-Matt (KG Member)

Kaiju Triple Feature In Ohio

This whole post is by KG Member Mecha74 AKA Neal

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At 'The 24 Hour Ohio Science Fiction Marathon'.' Godzilla vs. Mothra 92', the recent short film parody 'Gehara' and even another Toho classic 'Battle In Outer Space'From noon Saturday April 17th to noon Sunday April 18th.

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Drexel Theatre

2254 E. Main Street

Columbus, Ohio 43209

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For more info...

http://www.scifimarathon.com/index.html

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Here is the lineup so far...

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Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992)

Gehara

Battle In Outer Space

Moon

Galaxina

Sleep Dealer

Star Trek(2009)

Ink

2010: The Year We Make Contact

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In past years they have shown the following...

Inframan

The Giant Claw

The Mysterians

Ghidrah The Three Headed Monster

The H-man

Them

Gamera Guardian Of The Universe

Mighty Peking Man

Gamera 2 Advent Of Legion

Gamera 3 Revenge Of Irys

GMK

Mothra(1961 original)

King Kong(original)

Godzilla Final Wars

Big Man Japan

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The lineup ain't finished yet but will be soon. Aside from films there are also short films and trailers for both old movies and upcoming summer blockbusters. There are also intermissions between each film for restroom breaks and to attack the concession stand or connecting cafe if need be.

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TICKETS ARE $30 THROUGH APRIL 11; $35 APRIL 12-16; AND $40 AT THE DOOR.

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Then there's the 12 hour halfthon, for those who lack the stamina for the full 24 hours. It will be run in a separate auditorium from the main marathon. Right now though which films will be shown from the full lineup for the halfthon is unknown. If you are worried about missing a certain film, sticking with the full 24 hour shebang is your best bet. But if you don't care one way or the other... HALFATHON TICKETS ARE $15 THROUGH APRIL 16 AND $20 AT THE DOOR. I've been going to the 24 hour marathon for years myself, it's a mere 20 minute drive from where I live and has always been a blast for me!

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WARNING! Film lineup is subject to change due to last second problems with print availability or technical difficulties. Granted it has only happened with 6 films that I am aware of in the marathon's 26 year history.

Showing Your Support For the Legendary Pictures Project

Above, a faux design claimed to be one that Legendary Pictures is using for their film.

Well, since Godzilla isn't exactly the most requested character to make a movie on, we need to try to show our support in any way we can so we can make it apparent we want this. So, here is how you can do such that:

Join these groups:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=201672266905
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=201672266905#!/group.php?gid=105101326193486&ref=ts



Mail this Letter:
http://armandsrancho.blogspot.com/2010/03/monster-business.html


And Keep Posting in the forums! Even make some youtube videos if you want! This list will grow. Let's show our support people!

Interview With Kaiju Poet Kuroneko-Sama

By Donny Winter

Kaiju Galaxy since its creation has been a site based on promoting art and literature in the Kaiju Fandom. Over the course of the years it has compiled considerable amounts of fan fiction and fan art—and now it has opened its doors to the art of poetry.Poetry is often a form of expression that is either feared, or often misinterpreted by many people. Never before has it really been evident in the Kaiju Fandom, until now that is. In its simplest form, it is a piece of art in a picture of words.Kuroneko-Sama, an avid fan fiction writer and poet on Kaiju Galaxy recently had her poem “Dance of the Moonlight Megami”, a poem about the kaiju Mothra, reviewed and published on the school’s website. If you would like to read her poem you can find it on the Kaiju Galaxy website:

http://s4.zetaboards.com/KaijuGalaxy/topic/7822321/1/#new

I briefly interviewed Kuroneko-sama regarding her publication, and here is what she had to say:

Donny – Could you describe what it was like writing this poem, and what inspired you to write it?

Kuroneko – Dance of the Moonlight Megami was actually just an idea that came to me one evening, and took form really, really fast. It was a lot of fun, and I loved writing it. Mothra’s a wonderful daikaiju to write about – she’s beautiful and very inspirational.

Donny – How does it feel to have a poem published? And did you have any initial doubts about said publication?

Kuroneko – It’s really exciting to see one of my poems published online. I did have some doubts initially, but seeing it being accepted and put out there for others to see was really worth it.

Donny – Are you planning on submitting any more poems to this literary paper?

Kuroneko – Most definitely.

Donny – When you initially wrote this poem, did you ever imagine that it would go beyond Kaiju Galaxy?

Kuroneko – I never really thought that it would go beyond the forums, but when the opportunity arose for students to submit imagery-driven poems, I couldn’t pass it up.

Donny – Any final comments?

Kuroneko – Thank you to everyone and enjoy the poetry.

Donny – Thank you and congratulations!

LP Godzilla - Analysis

Well, thanks to August and Chris M., it is now public knowledge that the Legendary Pictures Godzilla thing is now a done deal. Now, since the producer's list has been released, here is what we can expect:

I checked out the producers who I didn't know. Dan Lin of T:S and Sherlock Holmes is one name. Roy Lee of the US Grudge and Ring movies is involved. The American Grudge films I do like. Not as good as the JP counterparts but still good. The last producer, Brian Rogers, is a no name, only associated with some LORD OF THE FLIES adaptation. I do not think that is bad enough to weigh down the production with Toho and LP filling out the gap of known quality the three producers mentioned above provide. I think it'll ultimately the announcing of the director which will say if this film will be taken care of or not...

Watch the skies and keep alert for more news ahead.

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