Fukuoka Art Museum Features Massive Godzilla Exhibit

It seems that Toho is pulling out all the stops for the upcoming 'Godzilla Resurgence.' In the past few months alone, they have organized product crossovers with the massively popular 'Evangelion' series and "Gudetama," a Japanese company's popular lazy egg mascot.

Now, from July 15 through August 31, the Fukuoka Art Museum will honor Godzilla's past and promote the future by hosting a massive exhibit featuring the entirety of the Toho roster called "Godzilla at the Museum: Creative Tracks of Daikaiju" 

The exhibit will be a guided tour through Toho history lead by the voice of Shiro Sano, an acting veteran in the Godzilla franchise. It will feature a vast library of memorabilia including such things as notable props, concept art, production notes and photographs, character moldings and some of the original suits worn in the classic movies. I'm only scratching the surface here, though; all in all, there will be over five hundred items from Godzilla history for fans to see!

Some special events throughout the duration of the exhibit will keep Kaiju fans coming back week after week. On July 24th the original film will be shown. If that wasn't cool enough, Toshio Miike, the art director and special effects expert for Godzilla, is stopping by to chat with fans on August 11th.

So, if you're a Godzilla fan with some free time and a few grand lying around this might be the perfect time to take that jump over to the land of the rising sun for a month or two and check out the exhibit.

'Pacific Rim 2' - Can The Apocalypse Be Uncanceled?

Ah, you've gotta love 2013's 'Pacific Rim.' Guillermo del Toro created a wonderful new kaiju universe to play around in as a love letter to giant monster fans everywhere, and the film was generally well received by them around the world. Now that we officially can squint and see a sequel on the horizon, I thought it might be fun to do some speculating on the plot of Steven S. DeKnight's follow-up and also dive into some additions that I would like to see in the future film. Keep in mind that some of these speculations are based on rumors floating around when the sequel was known as 'Pacific Rim: Maelstrom,' and was still going to be directed by del Toro. Also keep in mind that this article will contain SPOILERS for 'Pacific rim.' 
 

THE PLOT: WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THE DUST SETTLES?

In an interview with the website Collider way back in 2014, Guillermo del Toro stated that the sequel would not be a direct follow-up and would take place several years after the end of the the first film. The rift is no longer spitting out Kaiju, and every single usable Jaeger has been destroyed. How would the world rebuild after this war of attrition finished? Would the government even restart the Jaeger program completely?  These questions definitely seem like they would at the core of the opening info dump to explain what has happened in the last few years (narrated by Charlie Hunnam again).  I think it would be really cool if the governments of the world went back to their normal petty squabbles and started creating more and more deadly Jaegers to keep each other at bay. The world would not be united (or prepared for the second onslaught of Kaiju) and we could see some pretty cool Jaeger v.s. Jaeger battles in the opening section of the film leading up to the title crawl.

Having the countries not be a united front whenever the new rift(s?) start popping out Kaiju would really help all the pilots start from square one, as well as, give some interesting opportunities for character interaction and development. Yes, you did read that right, I said that I would like multiple rifts to appear in this film. I want to see a full on invasion of Kaiju from the aliens this time around. In the last film, most of the monsters shown were just scouts, and when Gypsy Danger entered the alien world you could see millions of Kaiju waiting to be sent through the Rift. Now, I'm not saying that I want to see that many, but I think you get the general idea. The world must be forced to reunite and stand together against the insurmountable horde of Kaiju that would be able to appear.
 

THE CHARACTERS: OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW

Obviously, I would like to see most of the surviving members of the cast from the original 'Pacific Rim' return in some form or another, but that does not mean the main characters, Raleigh Becket (Charlie Hunnam) and Mako Mori (Rinko Kikuchi), should be the protagonists of this film. I would love to see a new set of Jaeger pilots that look up to Raleigh and Mako as legendary heroes and who would unite behind a rebuilt Gypsy Danger in the third act. Give me a new group that all have personal motivations and interesting dynamics that make me care when some of them eventually bite the dust. The biggest failing of the first film is that you barely get any time devoted to the other Jaeger teams, and thus, in the big battle with the Kaiju Otachi and Leatherback, most viewers have a hard time caring when two of the four last remaining Jaegers are destroyed in an instant.

I definitely think that the two scientists, Geiszler (Charile Day) and Gottlieb (Burn Gorman), should be given as much screen time as possible. The interplay between these two characters were some of the best parts of the original film and it would be great to see their friendship grow. There was a rumor for 'Pacific Rim: Maelstrom' that a half Jaeger/half Kaiju was going to appear, and I believe that these two characters would be a great team to pilot the monstrosity. We know they are drift compatible, and I can already imagine the jokes passing between the two, as they attempt to fight a Kaiju.
 

THE KAIJU: ALL THE REFERENCES!

 Most of the Kaiju in the original film use design elements from popular movie monsters of the past (Knifehead looks straight out of a Gamera film). I would hope that they keep this trend going in the sequel and even create a few Kaiju that are even closer to their heritage in design and abilities. Wouldn't it be mind-blowing if we ran into two "Category 5" Kaiju that look kind of similar to Godzilla and Gamera? Speaking of the category system from the first film, I would like to see an escalation of powerful Kaiju that eventually leads to a, previously unheard of, "Category 6" Kaiju that is basically a planet destroyer. When the aliens realize that they cannot take over the planet, they simply send a "Category 6" Kaiju to destroy it (if we cannot have it, then no one can). This could be brought into the plot naturally through Geiszler and Gottlieb drifting with the Kaiju-Jaeger hybrid to help destroy it alongside the newly rebuilt Gypsy Danger. A modern 'Destroy All Monsters,' if you will.
 

THE JAEGERS: ADAPTING TO THE NEW WORLD

Continuing my original idea that the Jaegers are now being built as deterrents instead of used to fight Kaiju, I would like to see it reflected in the design elements of the new Jaegers. Bring back Gypsy Danger, but give it some new abilities like a larger sword and/or some sort of propulsion system to make it able to move faster. Also, I feel like a four-legged artillery Jaeger could lead to some pretty intense sequences where Jaegers are defending a coastline against more and more incoming enemies. I think, just like the Kaiju, you should simply look at the history of giant robots for a lot of the design elements. Del Toro pulled design elements from things like 'Mobile Suit Gundam' and 'Evangelion' for the Jaeger designs in the first film, and those two series alone have so many details they could borrow for revamped mechs. Maybe a Metal Gear Rex like design with a huge rail gun? Just my personal wishful thinking.
 

FINAL THOUGHTS: DIRECTION AND STYLE ARE KEY

Steven S. DeKnight has not really worked on anything of this scale in his career as of yet, and it would be nice to see him make a name for himself with this movie. Obviously, he has a hard road ahead of him, since he is taking over the reigns from one of the most visionary filmmakers of our time and it will be tough to match Del Toro's unique style. I think DeKnight really should try to add his own flair to the film visually, and definitely set a different tone for the film from what's already been done. I'm not saying they should get rid of the campiness (since that is basically what sets this series apart from Legendary's Godzillaverse), but maybe tone it down a bit for the sequel and try to keep everything fresh. Interesting characters also need to step into the spotlight and we need to care about them this time around. All of them.

Overall, I think a sequel in the Pacific Rim universe has plenty to pull from, since Del Toro really created a unique and interesting world with the first film. Do not shy away from what made the original a fun time, but definitely try avoiding some issues the first film had (again, weak characters and lengthy exposition dumps).

Are you excited to see the apocalypse happen again? What do you want to see in the new film? 

IDW Announces New Godzilla Comic Written By Jeremy Robinson

We all know Godzilla as a destroyer of cities, other kaiju, and aliens, but apparently now he is rampaging through time as well. A few weeks ago IDW Publishing announced their next comic book miniseries in the Godzilla universe: "Godzilla: Rage Across Time." Japan's green goliath will trek through the past leaving all sorts of temporal devastation in his wake.

Each issue of the five-part miniseries will be tackled by a different creative team, advancing the story through fresh eyes and a unique look each time. This formula seemed to work in IDW's recent miniseries "Godzilla in Hell."  Issue one takes place in feudal Japan and is co-written by IDW Godzilla artist Matt Frank and acclaimed author of Project Nemesis, Jeremy Robinson (More on Project: Nemesis can be found in ep. 07 of Tokyo Lives: A Giant Monsters Podcast). Honestly, we couldn't ask for a better team to produce the first issue of this miniseries!

Issue one will feature one of two variant covers by Matt Frank (mentioned above) and Bob Eggleton. Two very different art styles, but absolutely stunning none the less. Bob Eggleton's cover imitates the early 1830s painting "The Great Wave of Kanagawa" by Japanese artist Hokusai and Matt Frank's cover seems to be referencing a painting from a series entitled "The Legend of the Grand Minister Yuriwaka" from 17th century Japan.

Other than a release date slated for August later this year, not much else is known about "Godzilla: Rage Across Time." Stay tuned here for future updates as I'm sure this will be a wild ride.

What do you think about this new series? Will Godzilla add time travel to his resume or do you think the series will feature ancient ancestors of our atomic colossus? Let us know what you think!

Heisei Gamera Series Gets The Definitive 4K Blu-ray Set In Japan

Japan always gets the nicest kaiju things. There is a new blu-ray box set for the Heisei Gamera series comes out on July 22nd in Japan and it looks to be a pretty awesome collection. The movies in the box-set have been fully remastered in 4K resolution and have a ton of never before released special features for the films.

The set includes a total of four films, three of them being the Gamera trilogy from the 90's ('Guardian of the Universe,' 'Assault of Legion,' and 'Revenge of Iris') and the last film being 'Gamera The Brave' (2006). 

The collection also includes two separate discs full of special features including the thirty-second teaser for the proposed Gamera revival and a documentary that was aired on TV during the release window of 'Assault of Legion.' The discs also contain features that were limited to the previously released VHS and Laserdisc versions of the films until now. Rounding out the set are a couple of exclusive booklets; one of them having nearly 750 unpublished photos from the making of the Gamera Trilogy. The set will cost you a pretty penny though since it is priced at  ¥38000 ($349.00). 

'Gamera The Brave' being included is actually a bit strange since it has absolutely no connection to the previous three films, but I suppose it technically is part of the Heisei era.  The Shûsuke Kaneko Gamera trilogy from the 90's are still some of the best giant monster films in existence and I would be extremely excited to see these movies again in the super detailed 4K resolution. 'Gamera The Brave' however is kind of the black sheep of the more recent Gamera films, opting to go back to the silly kid rescuing creature of the 60's instead of sticking with the violent tone of the 90's films. 'Gamera The Brave' was not very well received in Japan (or by fans everywhere for that matter) and unfortunately caused the studio to put the creature back into hibernation. This does mark the first domestic blu-ray release of 'Gamera The Brave' film in Japan though.

Now for the million dollar question: do I think we will see the 4K restoration box-set in some form pop up in America? I wish we would, but unfortunately I really wouldn't count on it. There have been restorations of the Godzilla films in Japan that have never made the trip out of the country and I think this will end up being a similar situation. Gamera doesn't have much appeal stateside anymore unfortunately, and nostalgia alone does not warrant such a high price tag for most fans. Maybe we will get lucky and get just the 4K blu-rays released separately at a way later date.

Will you import this box-set from Japan? What are your thoughts on the Gamera trilogy and/or 'Gamera: the Brave'?

Is This Really The Company Handling The American Release Of 'Godzilla: Resurgence?'

This week, film distributer New World Cinemas spoke for the first time about their supposed 'Godzilla: Resurgence' U.S. distribution on their Facebook page. While we have previously reported that New World Cinemas would be taking the reins on the American release of the film, I'm starting to have some doubts that an unknown distributor would be given the reigns to a reinvigorated franchise the size of Godzilla. I have a bit of evidence (or lack thereof) that may shine some light on this bizarre turn of events.

The above mentioned Facebook post stated the following:

“To all GODZILLA FANS! We are working hard to bring GODZILLA to every State! Patience my Friends... she is coming soon!”

Looking at the post from a purely innocent standpoint, this seems to be great news. Fans have been plastering their Facebook and Twitter with questions pretty consistently since their name showed up on the film's IMDB page. Their website has also had a strange "coming soon" page listing a 2017 release for a DVD of the film for over a month now. The Facebook post is the first real comment they have made about the film's release, other than a couple images of text that say in very broken English:

“Godzilla “The King of the Monsters’ is back in a new film “Godzilla: Resurgence.” Going back yo his roots, The Toho Company and co-drectors Hideaki and Shinji Higuchi have designed Godzilla to be more menacing and destructive. THE FILMS OPENS IN JAPAN JULY 29 2016 and will be distributed in the USA through NEW WORLD CINEMAS some time after that.”

I did not edit that paragraph in any way and you can clearly see that on both their official site and their Facebook page they come off as incredibly unprofessional. Toho has yet to officially make any sort of statement announcing an international release of the film and has made no mention of the film being distributed by New World Cinemas or anyone else for that matter. 

This all just seems extremely suspicious to me. In the last thirty years, Toho has distributed the Godzilla films in the United States using major companies like Sony (Late Heisei and the Millenium films including 'Godzilla: Final Wars')  and HBO/Miramax ('Godzilla vs Biollante'). Heck, even 'Godzilla 1985' was distributed by a company called New World Pictures (no relation to New World Cinemas) that had worked as a distributor on major films running all the way back to the 60's. Big companies are interested in distributing Godzilla films because they usually make decent money in DVD sales with barely any cost to the studio.

We know there was a marketing expo back in January/February that was showing off the concept of the film for a potential international distributor. There have also been rumors floating around that Warner Bros. were given first dibs due to their ongoing relationship with the American Godzilla sequels. If a big studio like Warner Bros. were given the opportunity to distribute, how did this tiny company that mostly distributes bottom-rung independent films win out the bid? Godzilla has become a house-hold name again due to the generally well received American movie from 2014 and has made a new audience interested in the G-man for the first time. It doesn't make any sense that none of the studios who worked with them before (especially Sony who seems to have an excellent relationship with them distribution wise) wouldn't want to capitalize on Godzilla 2014's popularity. In the modern distribution landscape, this situation looks like dollar signs, even without considering a theatrical release for 'Godzilla: Resurgence'.

Another suspicious item to note is the New World Cinemas official Twitter, which is plastered with political propaganda for the upcoming american presidential election. This official company Twitter page for the company reads more like a personal account and definitely does not exude any semblance of professionalism. Toho has always seemed like a corporation that prides themselves on being very straight laced and polished. Why would they allow their most iconic property to be handled by this strange company? 

I'm not going to call out New World Cinemas for outright lying to us just yet, but this whole situation seems extremely odd. I also worry about this company being in charge of subtitling and/or dubbing the film with their lack of integrity regarding the release and how they run their business. Many individuals and companies have tried to contact them for screening information and outside of confirming that they are in fact handling the distribution of the film to one fan that reached out, they have ceased responding to even professional inquiries. 

I'm sure we will find out more in the coming months, but for now call me a skeptic with this being how the U.S. distribution of the film will move forward. You can see New World Cinemas IMDB page here if you want to look into the other films they have previously distributed.

Am I looking into this too much? Do you think they really are the distributors of 'Godzilla: Resurgence'?