G-Fandom Loses Doug Pelton

G-fandom has lost a good fan and friend.

Doug Pelton, who was a regular fixture at G-FEST conventions has passed away. He was a nice guy and I enjoyed talking kaiju movies with him at the conventions over the years. 

J. D. Lees posted: 

I'm very sad to report that our good friend and indefatigable G-fan Doug Pelton has passed on after brief hospital stay following a fall. Cause of death was cardiac arrest. Doug was a fixture at G-FEST every year until recently, when mobility issues got the better of him, and he was an active participant in Godzilla fandom for many years before G-FAN and G-FEST began. My family was very fond of him and he and Ruth kept up a regular correspondence via Facebook. We and many other G-fans and his friends will miss him greatly. Rest in Peace, Doug. (Picture is Doug with Masaaki Tezuka at G-FEST in 2015.) - J.D.

Rest in peace, Doug! 

New "Godzilla & Hiroshima" Trailer Released

Spanish producer and director Jonathan Bellés has unveiled a new trailer for his doctoral project documentary, Godzilla & Hiroshima: The Rise of Kaiju Eiga.

The trailer, with an original music score, features Godzilla suit-actors Haruo Nakajima and Kenpachiro Satsuma, actor Akira Takarada and directors Shusuke Kaneko and Masaaki Tezuka.

The trailer also features shots of the Lucky Dragon No. 5, the Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima, the torii gate at Miyajima as well as the Godzilla statue and the Seven Samurai mural at the main entrance of Toho Studios in Setagaya, Tokyo.

Above, Jonathan Bellés at the Godzilla statue in Hibiya, Tokyo. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

I joined Bellés in Japan last February when he began his interviews, starting with special effects Eiichi Asada (Godzilla x Mechagodzilla, Godzilla x Mothra x Mechagodzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. and Godzilla Final Wars) and first assistant special effects director Yoshikazu Ishii (Godzilla Final Wars). 

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.

"Godzilla x Megaguirus: G Annihilation Strategy" Movie Book

Above, the cover.

In January 2001, Japanese publisher Shogakukan published their TV-kun photo book on the 2000 Toho feature, Godzilla x Megaguirus: G Annihilation Strategy (ISBN 4-09-101475-5).

The movie premiered in Japan on November 3, 2000 at the Tokyo International Film Festival.  Its initial release was on December 16, 2000.  It was directed by Masaaki Tezuka.

Above, the photo of the "Godzilla Week" ceremony that appeared
in the "Godzilla x Megaguirus" Shogakukan movie book.

Shogakukan has a history of publishing high-quality photo books that are loaded with rare photos from the movies and production stills.  This one was no exception.  It contains photos of props, monster suits, wardrobe, miniatures and statistics, besides scenes from the movie.

Above, the "Godzilla Week" proclamation
scroll by the Board of Supervisors.

One item of interest (at least to me) included in the book was a group photo of the "Godzilla Week" ceremony that was held in July 2000 at the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration.  The ceremony was held at the Board of Supervisors meeting and a proclamation declaring "Godzilla Week" was sponsored by Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich and signed by all the Board members.  The idea for the ceremony was to draw media attention to G-FEST 2000 (to be held that week in Hollywood) and the opening of Godzilla 2000 the following month.  Toho even shipped over an event suit for the occasion, but Jaime Geller of Sony/Tri-Star Pictures nixed the appearance with the flimsy excuse that Sony/Tri-Star had the "publicity rights" to Godzilla 2000 and the suit "detracted from the grandeur of Godzilla."  It was more likely that she wanted to control this fan-generated event with the usual "Hollywood knows best" attitude. As it turned out, Sony/Tri-Star was conspicuously absent from the ceremony.  They sent no representatives.  Thankfully, we had the full support of Toho's Los Angeles office.

Once fans learned of the "sabotage" of the event due to the cancellation of the suit's appearance (we went ahead with the ceremony anyway), the "fit hit the shan."  Fans raised holy hell with many irate emails directed to Sony/Tri-Star.  Had the suit been allowed to appear, it may have helped a little with the boxoffice take of Godzilla 2000 (it earned a measly $10 million) as people would have been able to see the new Godzilla "Millennium" design up close for the first time.  Sony's saving grace was that they provided hundreds of Godzilla 2000 cloisonne promo pins and mini-posters to hand out at the event and at G-FEST.

Above, my autographed group photo of the "Godzilla Week" ceremony.  Photo courtesy of
the office of Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich.

The Godzilla x Megaguirus: G Annihilation Strategy book is currently out-of-print, but it can still be found at eBay and some Japanese online bookseller websites.  At the time of publication, I bought two of them (one for myself and one as a "thank-you" gift to Supervisor Antonovich).  It is amazing that over 12 years have passed since "Godzilla Week" and the publication of the movie book.