Hooters Considering Possible Bankruptcy

Above, Shinichi Wakasa, Steve Ryfle and (late) Richard Pusateri at the Santa Monica
 Hooters following an American Film Market screening. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Hooters, the restaurant chain that features attractive and well-endowed waitresses, is considering filing bankruptcy, likely Chapter 11.

A group of us used to go to the Santa Monica Hooters following Godzilla movie screenings (at Toho Co., Ltd.'s invitation) at the American Film Market.

According to Fox Business:

A bankruptcy filing could potentially be on the menu for Hooters of America in the near future.

The company is looking at possibly filing for bankruptcy as a means of restructuring the restaurant chain and tackling its debt, Bloomberg reported Friday, citing unnamed sources.

Ropes & Gray has reportedly been brought on board for preparations for that potential move and, according to the outlet, they could file court papers on Hooters’ behalf in the coming two months to kick off the restructuring if the restaurant chain decides to take that step. 

To read more, go here. 

Yesterday

Above, the left front tire blew out yesterday. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Yesterday was the 32nd anniversary of my 39th birthday. 

It is a weird feeling that I am now at the same age my dad was when he passed away 25 years ago. 

It was a good birthday, but it could have been better. 

First off, on the way home from the Flying J's Denny's restaurant where we had our usual Tuesday coffee gathering, the left front tire on the Jeep blew out. Now I have to deal with that. I have to go into Gallup and pay a deposit for a replacement tire (Cooper Discoverer). When the dealer gets it in, I'll have to bring the wheel into town for it to be mounted on the rim. It was a couple of blocks from home when it happened, so I managed to get the Jeep into the garage. 

Above, Richard Pusateri at the Big Pool at Toho Studios in 2001. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Then, in the afternoon, I learned that Richard Pusateri, one of the gang of kaiju enthusiasts (formerly from L.A.), passed away after a 2-3 year battle with cancer. Richard was the one who coined the name "GINO" (Godzilla In Name Only) for the Tri-Star Godzilla of 1998. We met at G-FEST 1999 in Burbank. We went to the premiere of Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack at the 2001 Tokyo International Film Festival and toured Toho Studios with Koichi Kawakita and Shogo Tomiyama. We attended many screenings in Hollywood and at the American Film Market in Santa Monica. Some used to refer to us as the "Mario Brothers". He will be missed. 

As we get older, it seems that more often life throws curve balls at us. 

"Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S." Stomps Into U.S. Theaters March 22

Above, Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S Japanese poster. Toho Co., Ltd.

20 years...already?! It hardly seems possible.

It has been 20 years since Toho's Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. (known in Japan as Godzilla x Mothra x Mechagodzilla: Tokyo S.O.S.) was released in Japan. I first saw it at an American Film Market screening in Santa Monica as a guest of Toho Co., Ltd.

Now, to celebrate the movie's 20th anniversary, it will be showing at selected theaters around the country for one night only on March 22.

Collider reported:

Fans of the titular King of the Monsters can rejoice as the TOHO film Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. is stomping into American theaters for the first time in celebration of its 20th anniversary from Fathom Events, according to the franchise's official Twitter page. With tickets now available to pre-order, the screening of the film will take place for one night only on March 22.

This isn't the first time Fathom Events has hosted a Godzilla showing for domestic audiences. Recently, the film's predecessor Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla was screened on Godzilla Day last year in celebration of its 20th anniversary. In addition to the upcoming screening of the film, a short titled Godzilla vs. Gigan Rex, which initially debuted at the 2022 Japan Godzilla Festival, will play in front of the movie, offering fans another reason to revisit the kaiju classic on the big screen.

Below is a music video that came out at the time of the movie's release in 2003: 

To read more, go here.

In New Mexico, it will be playing at 7:00 PM March 22 at these Albuquerque theaters:

• Regal UA Cottonwood

  10000 NW Coors Blvd, Albuquerque, NM 87114

  Map  Add to Calendar
  7:00 PM

  Tickets via 

• Century Rio 24 Plex and XD

  4901 Pan American Freeway NE, Albuquerque, NM 87109

  Map  Add to Calendar
  7:00 PM

  Tickets via 

• Regal Winrock IMAX & RPX

  • 2100 Louisina Blvd NE, Bld 400, Albuquerque, NM 87110

    Map  Add to Calendar
    7:00 PM

    Tickets via 

Lunch By The Sea

Above, part of our lunch with the Pacific Ocean in the background. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Denise Santos and I managed to head over to Pacific Palisades for lunch at Gladstone's 4 Fish (located on Pacific Coast Highway and Sunset Blvd.).

There, we had oysters, crab cakes, cerviche, spicy shrimp and other delicacies. We had a nice outside window table which provided a view of Santa Monica Bay and the surrounding beach.

From Gladstone's we headed over to the 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica. Denise had never been there before, so I decided to show it to her. While there, we stopped in a Coffee Bean coffee shop for some coffee as we were both "suffering" from food comas from Gladstone's.

In one shop, a life-sized statue of Superman stood in a window (below, right). It was nice to see a Superman that actually looked like Superman, not the abomination that DC Comics is currently passing off.

We passed by the Cineplex Odeon where, eleven years ago, several of us Godzilla fans attended the last American Film Market screening of Godzilla x Mothra x MechaGodzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. (courtesy of Toho Co., Ltd.). The theater looked a little run down to me. It is hard to believe that it has been eleven years since we last gathered in Santa Monica for an American Film Market screening.

While we were walking around, a nut-job was screaming and cussing at the top of his lungs, annoying people. I supposed it is to be expected, after all, we were in Santa Monica.Another stop was at Brookstone's where we checked out the latest gadgetry they had to offer. Denise tried out a massage lounge chair while I browsed around the store.

We were thinking about going to a movie when we got back to the Valley, but it was cutting too close (time-wise) as Denise had her evening baseball league game to play in.

We headed back to the Valley via Topanga Canyon (known to us as "the scenic route") as the San Diego Freeway (I-405) would be a mess with rush-hour traffic.

Above, Denise in the massage chair at Brookstone's. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

All in all, it was a pleasant excursion for a few hours.

Hooters To Open In Shibuya Mid-April

Time Out Tokyo posed that a new Hooters is coming to Shibuya in mid-April.

They wrote that it will be right next to the Shibuya 109, a landmark from two kaiju movies, Gamera 3 (1999) and Godzilla x Megaguirus (2000).

This reminds me of the days (the early 2000s) when Toho used to screen their latest Godzilla movie for potential distributors at the American Film Market in Santa Monica. Several of us were also invited to the screenings each year. Following the screenings, we G-fans would migrate to the Hooters in Santa Monica. One time, we were joined by monster suit-maker Shinichi Wakasa.

Above, the Hooters girls pose with Shinichi Wakasa, Steve Ryfle
and Richard Pusateri in Santa Monica. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

To read the Time Out Tokyo article, go here.

Hooters To Open In Osaka

Hooters Japan has announced that they will be opening a new Hooters in Osaka this month:

This reminds me of a time that several of us, including monster suit-maker Shinchi Wakasa, went to Hooters in Santa Monica following a Godzilla movie screening at the American Film Market (below).

Above, (left to right) Shinchi Wakasa, Richard Pusateri and Steve Ryfle with the Hooters girls.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Ten Years of "Godzilla x Mothra x Mechagodzilla: Tokyo S.O.S."

Next month (December 13, to be exact), will mark ten years since the release in Japan of Godzilla x Mothra x Mechagodzilla: Tokyo S.O.S., the 27th entry in Toho Co., Ltd.'s Godzilla series.

Tokyo S.O.S. is the third Godzilla film directed by Masaaki Tezuka.  

The movie pretty much picks up where Godzilla x Mechagodzilla (2002) left off with Mechagodzilla undergoing repairs after its battle with Godzilla in the prior movie.

My first screening of Tokyo S.O.S. was at the American Film Market (at Toho's invitation) in Santa Monica. At the time, I was a bit underwhelmed by it and found it to be disjointed at times. But, the movie has grown in (my) esteem over the years. It is a fun romp of monster action. The acting was so-so with the male lead having some rather boring personal issues. The stronger characters were the women in the movie: Miho Yoshioka as a fighter pilot and Masami Nagasawa & Chihiro Otsuka as Mothra's Shobijin. Hiroshi Koizumi reprises his Mothra (1961) role as Dr. Shin'ichi Chûjô.

Amazingly, the movie features superb special effects despite having a sliced budget.

The movie was later released on DVD in the United States as Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. While in Japan in 2004, I picked up the Region 2 Toho DVD of the movie, which included a bonus item: a claw made by Shinichi Wakasa's monster suit company. The bonus was exclusive to HMV record and video stores in Japan, I was told.

Above, the Toho DVD bonus Godzilla claw in front of Bandai's Godzilla from Tokyo S.O.S. 

The next (and 28th and last) entry in Toho's Godzilla movie series was Godzilla Final Wars (2004), which received mixed reviews by fans. At the time of Godzilla Final Wars release, Toho announced that they would be putting Godzilla on an extended 10-year hiatus due to dwindling box office receipts.

Next year, we will see the release of Godzilla by Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros., just in time for Godzilla's 60th anniversary.