Godzilla Posters Celebrate Chinese New Year

Above, one of the posters celebrating the Chinese New Year by Legendary Pictures.

You have to hand it to Legendary Pictures' marketing machine. They have come up with some beautiful Godzilla: King of the Monsters posters that celebrate the Chinese New Year.

According to Dread Central:

We’re still a few months out from Legendary’s kaiju sequel Godzilla: King of the Monsters hitting theaters but that doesn’t mean that the marketing machine isn’t rolling hard. We’ve already received two (unbelievably gorgeous) trailers and viral tweets are making people dig furiously for any hint as to what’s to come. Speaking personally, I’m beyond excited and I can’t wait to see the film! 

Today marks the Chinese New Year, which this year is the Year of the Pig. While there aren’t any specifically pig-like creatures in the Godzilla universe, that isn’t stopping Legendary Pictures from wanting to celebrate the event themselves, which they’ve done by releasing a collection of four beautiful posters that can be seen below.

To see the posters and read more, go here. 

Toho Planning "World of Godzilla", SHIN GODZILLA 2 Cancelled

Above, the Godzilla slide in Yokosuka, Japan. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Well, it has been announced that Toho Co., Ltd. is planning their own "monster universe" and the planned sequel to Shin Godzilla is cancelled.

Dread Central reported:

Looks like Legendary Pictures “Monsterverse” won’t be the only Godzilla-themed shared universe for much longer. Once Hollywood’s King of the Monsters sequel setting up his 2020 remake with King Kong have come and gone, Toho intends to transform Godzilla into Japan’s very own Marvel cinematic universe. 

Godzilla-Movies.com has provided an English translation of an interview that appeared this past week in the Japanese publication “Nikkei Style” with Keiji Ota, Toho’s Chief Godzilla Officer (How do I get that job?), about the future of all things Zilla in his home country. The surprising news begins with an announcement that might prove a disappointment to many G-Fans. 

There will never be a Shin Godzilla 2. 

Despite being a box office sensation and achieving a level of critical acclaim that typically eludes Godzilladom, including winning the Japanese equivalent of the Best Picture Oscar, Shin Godzilla will forever remain a decidedly unique one-off entry in the storied Godzilla series. As proud as Ota claims they are of Shin Godzilla’s success, Ota and the members of Toho’s Godzilla Strategy Council (Again, how do I get on this council?) have something bigger in mind for the future of the 64-year old franchise:
…a World of Godzilla.

To read more, go here. 

14" Godzilla Statue Now Available For Pre-Order

Those of you who are Godzilla collectors will have the opportunity to add one more item to your collections.

Dread Central reported:

Following in the footsteps of Sideshow Collectibles’ enormous 24″ Godzilla Maquette, the company has unveiled its 14″ Godzilla Statue. Featuring an original sculpt, designed and developed referencing digital assets from Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures’ groundbreaking film, Sideshow’s artists have captured the atomic King of the Monsters in all of his glory. 

Striking a fearsome pose over a movie logo themed base, the Godzilla Statue will make an incredible addition to any kaiju or monster film collection.

Dread Central says that it is expected to ship between July and September 2016 and has pre-ordering information.

To read more (and see the figure), go here. 

Hiroshi Koizumi, R.I.P.

Above, Hiroshi Koizumi in Godzilla Raids Again.

Hiroshi Koizumi, the Japanese actor who appeared in many kaiju movies including Godzilla Raids Again (1955), Mothra (1961), Godzilla vs. The Thing (1964), Ghidorah, The Three-Headed Monster (1964), Return of Godzilla (1984) and Godzilla x Mothra x Mechagodzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. (2003) has passed away at age 88 on May 31.

According to Dread Central:

The Kaiju universe has lost another cherished star as Hiroshi Koizumi has passed on at age 88 due to pneumonia. Koizumi was probably one of the most recognizable faces working in the industry throughout the Sixties, and he’s left behind a cornucopia of giant monster memories.

Koizumi specialized in scientist roles emoting quiet scholarly dignity amid the chaos surrounding him and his co-stars.

"SHARKANSAS WOMEN'S PRISON MASSACRE"

Above, Traci Lords. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, Christine Nguyen. Photo
courtesy of Christine Nguyen.

Avery Guerra sent me a message on a movie that he's serving as publicist for: Sharkansas Women's Prison Massacre.

It reads:

Hey Armand! Check out Christine Nguyen's latest film, directed by Jim Wynorski, that I'm publicist for! She co-stars alongside Traci Lords, Dominque Swain, Cindy Lucas,and others! A women's prison flick crossed with a mutant shark movie!

Here's a link to Dread Central's write-up on the movie which includes a synopsis and trailer video.

Rialto's "Godzilla" Debuts April 12 In Hollywood

According to an article in Dread Central, the Rialto Pictures re-release of the 1954 original Godzilla will begin April 12 in Hollywood with a film festival screening:

A new restoration of GODZILLA: THE JAPANESE ORIGINAL, the monster classic that has spawned six decades of sequels, imitations, and remakes, will debut April 12 at the fifth TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood, followed by a national release beginning at New York’s Film Forum, April 18-24.

To read more, go here.

Dread Central Uncovers "Godzilla" Trailer Easter Egg

One has to hand it to the sharp eyes over at Dread Central for spotting the Mothra twin fairies (Shobijin) in the new Godzilla trailer that was released yesterday. They referred to it as the trailer's "Easter Egg".

I didn't spot them when I viewed the trailer, but Dread Central provided proof:

To read their article on the "Easter egg", go here.

UPDATE (2/27/14):

A firefighter has come forward saying that it was him and a colleague, not the Mothra fairies:

Truly Disturbing Picked Up "Godzilla & Hiroshima" Story

Above, a prop from "Godzilla x Megaguirus" at the Bandai Museum.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Horror website Truly Disturbing.com has posted an article on the upcoming Godzilla documentary, Godzilla & Hiroshima: The Dawn of the Kaiju Eiga. The documentary is now in production and is being produced and directed by Jonathan Bellés as a doctoral project.

The Truly Disturbing's post is almost verbatim of Dread Central's posting on the documentary. Thankfully, they also credit this blog as a source for some of their information and quotes.

As this is a doctoral project for Jonathan Bellés, I checked around for possible sources of grant money for foreign documentaries in the United States and found some. I forwarded the information to Bellés, so maybe he might be able to shake a few money trees and get some grants to help finance his project and produce an even better end result.

Incidentally, I popped a copy of The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan to Bellés in yesterday's mail.

To read the full article at Truly Disturbing.com, go here.

Starburst Article On "Godzilla & Hiroshima" Posted

First it was Dread Central, now it is the website for Starburst Magazine.

Starburst posted an article on the now-in-production documentary on Godzilla and other kaiju, Godzilla & Hiroshima: The Dawn of the Kaiju Eiga and attributes some information to this blog. It was also nice of them to mention The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan.

They wrote:

Bellés has also been quoted in the blog of writer Armand Vaquer, writer of The Monster Movie Fan’s Guide To Japan, that it will include monsters and characters besides the Godzilla franchise. Examples named are Ultraman and Gamera. Furthermore the article states Bellés wishes to “travel to Hiroshima to visit the Peace Memorial Museum mainly.”

To read the full article, go here.

Dread Central Picks Up "Godzilla & Hiroshima" Story

The blog post featuring my conversation with Godzilla & Hiroshima: The Dawn of the Kaiju Eiga producer/director Jonathan Bellés has been picked up by Dread Central.

They posted, in part:

To read the full article, go here.

Thank you, Dread Central!

Dread Central's Godzilla Encounter

Dread Central has posted some highlights of today's Godzilla session at Comic Con along with two videos of the Godzilla Encounter exhibit.

Legendary Pictures took over a San Diego warehouse and created a Tokyo street, although Godzilla-centric.

The first video is the live action portion in which visitors experience an attack by Godzilla and the other is a walk-through of the exhibit.

To view it, go here.

San Diego Gearing Up For "Godzilla"

Above, a capture of Godzilla taken at last year's Comic Con by an attendee.  

With this year's San Diego Comic Con just around the corner, news (and speculation) are hitting the Internet on the upcoming Legendary Pictures/Warner Bros. Godzilla.

Dread Central has some photos of the movie's "the hot zone." To view them, go here.

Cinema Blend.com has photos of a San Diego warehouse all decorated with (it is presumed) Godzilla claw marks.  To see them, go here.

San Francisco Is Godzilla's Target

Above, the "GMK" Godzilla filming suit on display in Shibuya in 2001.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The sister blog to this blog, Monster Island News, is reporting (via Dread Central) that the Legendary Pictures/Warner Bros. production of Godzilla (set for a July 2014 release) will have the Big G attack San Francisco.

This won't be the first time a giant monster attacked San Francisco in the movies.  Back in 1955, a giant octopus (actually, a "sextopus" as it only had six arms due to budget constraints) attacked San Francisco in It Came From Beneath The Sea.  The critter was animated by the late, great Ray Harryhausen.  A clip of the movie showed up in the 1998 TriStar Godzilla debacle.

To read the Monster Island News story, go here.

Godzilla "Concept" Art: Nothing To See Here, Folks!

These images purported to be "rejected concept designs" for the Legendary Pictures/Warner Bros. Godzilla are making the rounds over the Internet.



Sites such as Shock Till You Drop, Dread Central and others have posted articles proclaiming that these are "the real deal" and, also, citing G-Fan as the source.

From Dread Central:

The images popped up in the latest issue of G-Fan. It should be noted these concepts were rejected, but at least they offer insight into which direction they're looking to go. Thankfully it's the right one!

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending upon one's point-of-view), the images are fan-art drawings. They are not rejected concept drawings.

Legendary's Godzilla Design?

Is this the design for Legendary Pictures' Godzilla?



Maybe so, maybe no. Anyway, Dread Central posted this photo on their site. They won't bet the farm on it, but can't rule it out either. Fans are dubious.

As for me, it is too spikey for my tastes, but it at least looks like Godzilla and it is a major step above the Sony/TriStar version of 1998.

We'll have to wait and see.

To see Dread Central's write-up on it, go here.


UPDATE: Turns out this picture has been floating around for a while.