Update- July 13, 2011
Lots Of Fake News
I'm sorry I haven't posted anything for a while. Things are pretty quiet on the Legendary Pictures Godzilla film front. I don't know if that's a good or bad thing. I'm starting to get a little worried things are stalling or getting postponed. Gareth Edwards, are you still in charge?Anyway, the only news lately is all fake. There was a semi-cool poster released and a website with nothing on it and there are lots of fan-made trailers floating around on youtube. At least some of them have the decency to tell you they're fan-made. Still, thay can be kind of fun to watch. It's like a movie trivia quiz;..ok, that's Transformers, that's Cloverfield, that's 2012, etc. Here's the poster and some trailers. I'll let them wet your kaiju appetites. Just keep in mind, the only official images so far is the Godzilla at the top of this page. enjoy.
Happy Earth Day
There is a new Gareth Edwards interview where he talks about Godzilla, but reveals nothing about the new movie. At least we do know things are still moving. It did reminds me of how British people pronounce it as "Godziller", sounds strange to me, but "Godzilla" doesn't sound much like the Japanese "Gojira". But can you imagine a whole movie of people running and screaming, "Godziller is coming! Godziller is coming!"? Here is a link to the original article on Comicbookmovie.com
Update- March 16th, Gareth Edwards Interview And The Japan Eathquake
Edwards Video Interview
March 16th, 2011. Below I've posted an interview with Godzilla 2012 director Gareth Edwards from Youtube where he says, well... not very much. He's very careful with his words. The thing that worries me is he doesn't look like he's in control. I really hope it's him or someone creative in control of this project, not the "Money". Anyway, he says he's a fan and everyone on the project will do their best.
Japan Quake
On March 11th, there was a record 8.9 earthquake off the Pacific coast of northern Tohoku area. It was the largest quake ever recorded in Japan. The magnitude was later upgraded to 9.0. Within hours, there were two other slightly smaller, but big earthquakes in the same area. The resulting tsunamis were devastating and in some areas reached a height of over 30 feet. It's estimated that over 10,000 people have died mostly from the tsunami. To make the crisis worse, there has been failure at a nuclear power plant that was hit by the tsunami. There were explosions and radiation has been released. The crisis is ongoing.
Watching the videos of the tsunami were unreal. Whole towns were wiped away in minutes. Cars and house were tossed around like toys in a bathtub. I couldn't help thinking of images from movies like Deep Impact, 2012, Cloverfield, and Godzilla, except this was real! My thoughts and prayers are with all of those who were affected.
I can't help but wonder how this very real and deadly tragedy will affect the new Godzilla 2012 movie. Will it be postponed, re-written? Godzilla was originally a metaphor for the nuclear bomb, but I think represents a force of nature in general. Now Japan is victim to a very real natural disaster and a new nuclear threat from a completely different source. I can imagine people won't be in the mood for a film like this, especially if it involves Japan. On the other hand, it was in the years after 9-11 that there was a surge in disaster movies, especially the low-budget, straight to video kind. People have a need to see their fears played out on screen. It's a kind of therapy. Will the new Godzilla movie reflect this event? Will it be part of the story?
I live in Japan. I live in Tottori Prefecture, which is on the sea of Japan coast on he completely opposite side of Japan from the quake. There was no damage here, but everyone in Japan feels the reality of this crisis.
Last month, there were some online interviews with the director Gareth Edwards about the new Godzilla 2012 reboot by Legendary Pictures, one from the London Evening Standard and also from Shock Till You Drop. Edwards was very careful in his words as not to reveal anything, but he made it clear he and Legendary are aware of their responsibility to fans.
Here's an excerpt from The London Evening Standard Article,
And then there'll be that attempt to reboot the Godzilla franchise after the disastrous 1998 offering.
"I am attached and we are just starting the process," he says.
Will his Godzilla be battling Mothra or another monster, as rumoured?
"Everyone involved knows what the film has to be," he says judiciously.
From Shock till you Drop
"I'm a big fan," Edwards tells Shock, palpably choosing his words wisely when it comes to talking about his latest endeavor. "I guess I will say I'm highly aware - and everyone involved is incredibly aware - of everyone's opinions on what this film has to do and what it has to be. And no one will do anything but the right thing. Without addressing anything specific, everyone knows how important is to get it right."
He can't talk about the scripting process (he did reveal he's not writing the film), however, he recalls his introduction to the long-running franchise. "My earliest memories was channel 4, they showed them every Friday night. As a kid I wasn't quite sure about the dubbing, the English-dubbed versions. They threw me for a bit. I love science fiction and, well I call them B movies but they're not, but I love '60s and '70s sci-fi. But these would come on and be dubbed and it would take my kid brain to adjust to the dubbing. It took me some time to get through that."
Everything I read continues to inspire faith in me the new Godzilla will be a great one for fans.
Update- Jan. 7th, 2011: British Director Gareth Edwards to direct Godzilla
Well, I'm happy to report it's finally happened. After months of speculations, rumors, and outright fabrications, Legendary Pictures has finally signed a director for the Godzilla 2012 project. They chose Independant Briish filmaker Gareth Edwards.
Who's Gareth Edwards? In October 2010, he released Monsters, a very smart sci-fi movie about alien invaders. The story takes place several years after giant octopus like aliens invade Mexico. Scoot Mcnairy plays a jaded, cynical journalist who agrees to escort an American tourist played by Whitney Able back safely through the infected zone to the U.S. border.
It was shot on a shoe string budget, with only 5 crew members and 2 cast members. Edward's directorial debut got rave reviews, won him three film awards in England, and was turning heads in Hollywood. Legendary was quick to pick up this emerging young talent. For Edwards less is definitely more. Through most of the film, we see the destruction wrought by the invaders with only fleeting glimpses of the aliens themselves. It creates an atmosphere of fear that builds throughout the film in a journey something akin to Apocalypse Now. Make no mistake, it's not that Edwards is shy about using CGI, quite he contrary, his background is in visual effects and designed the aliens himself. But he knows how best to use those effects to tell the story.
There's no coment from Edwards yet. My number one question is, "Is he a Godzilla fan?" Legendary's choice continues to inspire faith in me that the people beind the wheel are really going to do justice to the King of the monsters. I was starting to get worried. I was having nightmares of Michael Bay on the horizon. Still, it's going to be interesting to see what an indie director wil do with what is sure to be a mega-million dollar picture.
Warner Bros. will co-produce, co-finance and distribute along with Legendary. Legendary's Thomas Tull and Jon Jashni are producing along with Dan Lin, Roy Lee, and Brian Rogers.
For the original Hollywood Reporter story, go here.
Update- September 24, 2010
There have been some very exciting developments for the new Legendary Pictures’ Godzilla film scheduled for a 2012 release date. It is confirmed that Brian Rogers is the producer at the helm of the project. Who’s Brian Rogers? Well, he’s probably the best man for the job. Rogers has a long history in developing a Godzilla project. Some years ago, Rogers met Yoshimitsu Banno, who had been company director at Toho for 35 years and had directed Godzilla vs. Hedorah, a.k.a Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster. Banno had angered Godzilla creator Tomoyuki Tanaka with his famous “flying Godzilla” scene and human deaths caused by Hedorah and was subsequently banned from other Godzilla films.
However, when he met Rogers, Banno had acquired the rights to Godzilla for a 3D IMAX project. IMAX eventually pulled out and in 2007, they went back to Toho and took a huge amount of time to negotiate a licensing agreement for a 3D Godzilla film. Afterward, Rogers and his partners started shopping around for studios and Legendary Pictures stepped forward to take on the challenge. Rogers liked Legendary’s style with past projects like Batman Begins and commitment to staying true to the original character.
These and other revelations came to light in an exciting exclusive interview with Rogers at the 3D Summit in Universal City, CA. by internet blogger Zeanie62.
Here’s the news in a nutshell:
1. Godzilla will be a 3D project, live action, but with a CG monster.
2. Rogers stressed 2012 is the scheduled release date, but it will be a big project. Worth the wait I’m sure
3. Godzilla will fight one or more monster opponents!!!!!!!!!
4. The sculpted dragon head floating around the web is NOT Godzilla’s design.
5. No director yet.
6. No special effects house yet, but WETA, made famous for doing effects for Lord of the Rings is a strong possibility.
Go here for the original article. Take it from the horse’s mouth. Thank you Zeanie62!
Update July 28th, 2010
Newsflash. The first official image of Godzilla from the new 2012 Legendary Pictures film has been released. It shows an impressive, modern, yet familiar Godzilla roaring among the rubble of a decimated city. It also features the Legendary Pictures Logo in the corner.This apparently comes from a presentation at San Diego's 2010 Comic Con, the largest Comic and pop culture convention in the world.The image was part of a press release by Talking Dog Studios of Saskatchewan.
Legendary pictures wanted to use Augmented Reality as part of their Comic Con presentation. Augmented Reality is the use of computer generated imagery that is superimposed on to real-life, real-time video images. This is the technology used to create the flashing hockey puck in NHL hockey games or the moving first down line in NFL football games. It's also used to superimpose travel data like restaurant or street names onto ipod camera images.
Participants at the Legendary Pictures trade show booth will receive a T-shirt with the new Godzilla image. Then when they look at themselves through the booth's webcam, they will see their T-shirt come to life. Godzilla will breath his famous radioactive fire from the shirt and and you can hear his unmistakable roar. There will even be smoke billowing in the background cityscape. Talking Dog Studios provided the technology for the presentation. Nothing was on the Comic Con's schedule about it and he image and T-shirts have not been seen yet at the convention, but the presentation will probably be given this weekend. The image is very exciting. It is also significant. Unlike the 1998 Sony Godzilla movie where the design of the creature was kept a closely guarded secret until the movie opened, this image shows us Legendary Pictures commitment from the start to remain true to the spirit of the original Godzilla character. We can hope that the movie will be as good as the poster suggests. I will keep you posted on new developments
April 4, 2010
Attention Godzilla Fans!
After “Godzilla: Final Wars”(2004), Godzilla was officially put into retirement by Toho Studios, again. Well, now it’s time for America to take another shot at making a Godzilla film.
At the end of March 2010, Legendary Pictures along with Warner Brothers Studios announced they are planning to revive the international icon in a new Godzilla movie in 2012. Past collaborations between the two studios have produced such films as “The Dark Knight”, “300”, and “Hangover”.
There are no details of the story or a director yet, but this will definitely not be a sequel to Sony’s disastrous 1998 “Godzilla” film by Roland Emmerich. Legendary Picture execs are said to be keen on avoiding the look and feel of Sony’s Godzilla. That movie starring Mathew Broderick featured a completely CG monster that seemed more inspired by “Jurassic Park”. It was a disappointment at the box office domestically and with Godzilla fans all over the world. Godzilla’s look and behavior were completely altered. He was envisioned more as a giant mutated iguana, though no clear explanation of his origins was given. Also gone were his trademark invulnerability and radioactive fire. Film makers said they wanted to create the most realistic Godzilla ever, which was missing the whole point. Worse yet, Godzilla spent the entire movie running and hiding from the American military.
Fans’ sentiment was pretty much the same, that was a cool monster, but that wasn’t Godzilla. This didn’t go unnoticed in Japan. In 2001’s “Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidora, Giant Monsters All-Out Attack”, reference was made to a creature that had recently attacked New York which was mistakenly identified as Godzilla and in “Godzilla: Final Wars”, the true Godzilla fights and easily destroys an American Godzilla look-a-like, which pretty much sums up Japan’s opinion on the subject.
Fans will be happy to know that Legendary Pictures is not likely to repeat the mistakes of the past. Thomas Tull, chairman and CEO of Legendary Pictures said, “Godzilla is one of the world's most powerful pop culture icons, and we at Legendary are thrilled to be able to create a modern epic based on this long-loved Toho franchise…Our plans are to produce the Godzilla that we, as fans, would want to see. We intend to do justice to those essential elements that have allowed this character to remain as pop-culturally relevant for as long as it has."
The new Godzilla movie will probably be more along the lines of the original 1954 “Gojira” film which started it all, perhaps even a period piece. But it remains to be seen if they can produce a Godzilla film which appeals to modern American audiences, yet stays true to the original character. A director is said to be announced soon, we can only pray they don’t consider Michael Bay.
