'Godzilla: Resurgence' - Funimation To Distribute The Film In America!

A few days ago Toho announced that they would be offering distribution licenses across the globe for the new Godzilla film ('Godzilla: Resurgence'). I held off on writing an article about it specifically because I had a feeling we'd be getting an official announcement soon. That day came today and we now have a world famous company taking the reigns for the American release. Funimation will be handleing the Theatrical and Blu-Ray/DVD release in the good old USA!

Announced via their official twitter in preparation for San Diego Comic-Con (you'll be seeing quite a few big pieces of news this weekend I would bet), Fans were completely awestruck by the great news. After the New World Cinemas debacle there was a lot of doubt that we were going to get the film anytime soon. Now we know that the film is going to be coming to American theaters (no idea if it is going to be a wide release or a Fathom event) late 2016. While we may not have a specific date for the release or many details at this time, everyone in the fandom is super pumped!

Funimation is a super reputible company out of Texas that mostly releases anime but have dabbled with live action Japanese films before.  They have distributed the live action Ruroni Kenshin films and also the Attack on Titan movies. Funimation are pros at dubbing the stuff they release but it is still possible we will get a subbed version of Resurgence instead (I'm fine either way).

Keep an eye on our site as we will be updating you guys as soon as more is revealed throughout the weekend and beyond!

'Godzilla: Resurgence' - Behind The Scenes And Trailer 2 Footage Breakdown

Time for the honored tradition of taking screenshots from a trailer and over-analyzing them. 'Godzilla: Resurgence' has a new trailer (Watch it here) that released early this morning and they also had a short behind-the-scenes special on a morning radio show (Watch that one here). There is a ton of new footage and plenty to talk about so let's dive in.

We open the trailer with a nice low angle shot of Godzilla's head with his hand in the foreground. I think this is the only shot of his hand that it doesn't look like a little baby hand (yeah I'm not gonna let the size of his arms and hands go) and it's a nice shot to start us off with. We get a couple of reused Godzilla shots from the previous trailer after this, with one cool perspective shot of Godzilla and his tail peaking through the buildings as the crowd runs away. Afterwards we get to watch a group of people talking about something, but unfortunately we still have no idea what is going on. Just like the first trailer, this one is completely devoid of dialogue and that makes the middle of the trailer especially hard to get through. But I'll tell you what there is a lot of... I'll give you one guess...

Boardroom scenes! You get a boardroom and you get a boardroom! Seriously though, in this trailer alone there are four completely different boardroom sets/scenes and to be honest it worries me. To me, this makes it seem like the main cast members are going to be away from the action every time, which will definitely cause a major disconnect when we cut from one to the other. The best Godzilla attack moments usually come when we have a person on the ground is involved in the action, like a military commander that gets to be right at the forefront when the tanks and helicopters do their thing. Speaking of helicopters next up we have an awesome shot from the TV spots.

I love, and I do mean love, how much the camera is moving around with the military vehicles during the attack sequences we have seen. This juxtaposes well with Godzilla's overall lack of movement (other than his tail...man that thing is crazy!) and makes the scenes exciting to watch. This movie is definitely going to be visually stunning!

I know everybody loves the charging shot from later in the trailer, but this is actually my favorite shot from this new trailer. The mini-gun bullets are literally bouncing off of his face! It reminds me of one of the cooler scenes from 'Superman Returns' (some might say the only good scene) where the bullet bounces off of his eye and Superman doesn't even flinch. Speaking of not flinching:

We now see a group of shots where Godzilla is bombarded to the face and knees, all of which show off some pretty impressive CGI explosions. Godzilla takes all these hits and keeps on coming like a champ! I think that these scenes are actually helped by this Godzilla designs apparent lack of movement as it really gives you the feeling that this monster is unstoppable. If all that ordinance does nothing, then what will? How can they stop this immovable object?

Just like I said in the TV spot article, this design really shines in the night sequences. These shots are some of the few from which I actually feel the terror that the design is trying to portray. This shot reminds me of the scene in 'Godzilla 1985' when he arrives at the nuclear plant and steps on the hapless worker.

Man this shot is cool! It radiates demonic vibe, and that is a very good thing. Now this would be something that would fundamentally frighten me if I saw this from the rooftop of a building. Love the glowing red parts of his body at night (very 'Godzilla vs Destoroyah').

We end on the roar shot from the first trailer but it looks less awkward now that we can see the beginning and end of the roar. I don't know why they didn't use this slightly extended version in the first trailer, since it looks better with just 5 seconds more of footage. 

Now we get to the biggest talking point of the trailer, Godzilla's beam charges up purple! In my humble opinion, I don't think that we are actually getting a fully purple beam but the glowing purple images are extremely striking. I think that the beam is going to start out purple at the base of his mouth and then turn blue as it goes farther out from his mouth. The reason he charges up purple is of course because this Godzilla is constantly glowing red. Red+Blue = Purple. This would also make sense given that a purple chemical flame is hotter than a blue flame, so naturally the farther the beam is from the source (Godzilla's gaping maw) the cooler and less intense the beam will be.

Now finally we have some shots from the little behind the scenes morning show clip. All of the good images are super far away shots to show the scale of Godzilla as he comes ashore. Please excuse the poor quality of the images and the little bits of text that sneak their way into the images.

Unfortunately this design still looks extremely silly from the front. If I were Anno (the director of 'Godzilla: Resurgence') I would have avoided this angle at all costs but it actually seems to be one of his favorite shots for an approaching Godzilla. Which is weird when it is followed by the following beautiful image.

Now that is a Godzilla silhouette that I can get behind! This is the first long distance shot of the Shin-Goji design that I have actually been stunned by. He really looks like '84 Goji, and I (personally) love it.

There are two other really cool sequences that I couldn't get a worthy grab of from the behind the scenes: a shot of Godzilla walking and making shingles fall off a building, as well as a quick scene with one of the main actors seeing Godzilla's head (very similar to the 'Gojira (1954)' puppet shots) and speaking a line of dialogue. Both of these are very interesting and I can't wait to see them in better quality at some point in the future.

I can't wait to hear fans reactions to the full film when it releases in Japan on July 29th. What did you guys think of the trailer? Do you agree that the breath may still turn blue throughout Godzilla's beam? Let us know in the comments below.

'Godzilla: Resurgence' Trailer 2 - Purple?!

Well this week is officially awesome! First we get two TV spots and now we get a final trailer for 'Godzilla: Resurgence.' Check it out!

There sure is a lot of cool stuff in this trailer! The human side of the story does look a bit worrisome though (boardrooms galore!).

Keep an eye out for my full trailer breakdown later today!

'Godzilla: Resurgence' - New TV Spots And Images Revealed

Well, we are now only 9 days away from the late night showings of 'Godzilla Resurgence' premiering in Japan. Super exciting! Toho seems to have finally jumped on the marketing train with some new footage in the form of three 30 second long TV Spots and a couple of new promotional images.

The first of the three TV Spots is honestly nothing to write home about, as it only uses footage from the official trailer. The other two are a different story entirely. We get some really nice glimpses at never before seen action shots, and a few good profile shots of Shin-Goji's head. I think what really needs to be said about these three spots is that this film is going to have a really unique style, and the cinematography is going to be of a quality never seen before in a Toho released Godzilla film. That shot of him walking from the prospective of a car driving by is particularly great.

I have been very vocal with my dislike of the Shin-Gojira design as a whole, and unfortunately these spots really do not change my mind. Everything we have seen of the full body looks super awkward and stiff (which is saying something since this creature is created mostly through CGI), save for his tail which moves every chance it gets. The head looks pretty fantastic from a side profile but from the front it still appears goofy, since he apparently can't close his gaping mouth. The design does look like it is going to shine at night (pun intended), a true sight to behold with all of his glowing red spots. His eyes definitely still evoke 54, and that's fine by me (though I still wish they were about 10% bigger). I'm still holding out for some great body movement from Godzilla himself in the full film, but for now there is still a lot of awkwardness to this design. 

Toho has also been shoving 'Godzilla: Resurgence' articles into every magazine possible within the last few weeks, and, as such, we have gotten a few more glances at this design in action. Both of these covers give a nice look at what this design will look like when he finally turns his head.

I do wonder what Toho was thinking with the marketing of the movie. Why did they wait until the last second to do all this awesome marketing? I know they were probably trying to do something akin to 'Godzilla (2014)'s marketing which managed to keep a lot of secrets for the film, but I think they missed the mark. The thing that was so great about 2014's marketing was the constant trickle of new info. A new TV Spot here and a new poster there, it kept people talking about the film up until the release. I'm very interested to see how well the film does in Japan with this super last minute marketing blitz.

'Godzilla: Resurgence' releases in Japan on July 29th.

Shin-Chan Vs Shin-Gojira Crossover Is Releasing On July 22nd

Apparently Toho is going all out with anime crossovers for their new Godzilla film. Our buddies over at Gormaru Island have translated a Japanese news report that breaks down a very interesting (weird if you ask me) crossover. The popular anime 'Crayon Shin-Chan' will be having a special crossover episode on July 22 featuring a certain familar icon that we all love and hold dear.

The plot of this crossover seems pretty much what you would expect from anything Godzilla related:

The mysterious giant monster Godzilla has invaded Kasukabe, Saitama. The story of the cross-over episode involves Godzilla wrecking Shinnosuke's home town of Kasukabe, and since all of the residents are still paying off 30 year mortgages on their homes, they arrange an impromptu Self Defense Force to counter the interloping monster.

The biggest and coolest bit of news within this utterly ridiculous crossover is that Shin-Godzilla's official roar will be used in the anime. The fact that they specify this means that the roar we have heard in the trailer has not been the official roar and was definitely just a placeholder. This is super exciting and definitely allows us to continue to speculate about his possible roar (I'm hoping for a return of the Bio-Goji roar myself).

Apparently, the creators of the episode will be attempting to recreate Shin-Goji's movements from the upcoming film to make this a faithful adaptation. The actual design shines in an anime format surprisingly and I have less problems with it then I ever have. I still think it looks super goofy from certain angles but hopefully when he is constantly moving my issues will fade to the back of my mind. We also get a glance at Godzilla's nuclear breath and it definitely looks like they are going more wispy with it, ala 'Gojira' (1954). Weird that it is most definitely blue though.

This will probably be our best glimpse from what to expect out of the new Godzilla in 'Godzilla Resurgence' before it opens in Japan on July 29.

'Pacific Rim 2' Release Date Announced, Scott Eastwood Possibly Attached

Ever since Legendary was bought by the Chinese mega-company Dailan Wanda Group, 'Pacific Rim 2' has had a breath of fresh air blown into it's sails. China loved the first film, and was a substantial chunk of its three-hundred million dollar international take. Recently, we saw proof of its resurrection in both the hiring of Stephen S. DeKnight and Derek Connolly to get a script together with DeKnight directing. Not long after it was announced that 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' star John Boyega would jump on board as one of the film's leads, playing Pentecost's son in the sequel. These are not the signs of a film in development, but in full-on pre-production. Now, we have another star potentially about to sign on and a studio-announced release date. Check out both below.

Legendary has finally revealed a release date for 'Pacific Rim 2,' slating it for February 23, 2018. This is surprising for a few reasons; one of them being that the December 25, 2017 mystery film announced by Legendary everyone thought was going to end up being 'PR 2' is actually a completely unknown movie yet to be revealed. It also shocked fans that the sequel to 'Pacific Rim' is officially moving forward at all. A release date shows that the studio is committed to the film and will most likely see it produced in the near future.

Cologne model and actor Scott Eastwood is also apparently in talks to star alongside John Boyega in 'Pacific Rim 2.' Whether he plays an original role or the child of one of the previous film's protagonists is yet to be released. This is after news of Eastwood potentially starring in 'Fast 8' as well, so he's definitely on the rise when it comes to tentpole blockbuster sequels. He previously served alongside Brad Pitt and Shia Labeuf in the critically and commercially successful 'Fury' back in 2014.

This is all great news to fans waiting patiently for the sequel and hoping that in a different director's hands, the franchise will reconcile some of the missteps of the first film. Time will tell if DeKnight and Connolly will take the amazing concept and swing for the fences like del Toro did, but either way I'm incredibly excited to sit down in a dark theater and see what happens next in this incredibly unique universe. 

New App Shows Shin Godzilla In Full Motion

About eight hours ago, a new smartphone app released in Japan promoting the new Toho film 'Godzilla: Resurgence.' In the app, you have to scan a QR code and then focus your camera on the poster of the film. Godzilla then comes crashing through the poster while audio from the trailer plays in the background. This gives us a really cool glimpse at his possible level of mobility in Resurgence itself, so it's definitely worth checking out.

I have never been the biggest advocate for this design. In fact, I can go on the record saying that I do not like it very much at all. Seeing the suit in the full film might end up changing my mind though, as long as he has the full range of movement seen in the app video above. Gone are the super stiff motions that we have seen thus far, and replacing them are some very Godzilla like movements in his upper torso. I still don't really like the snake mouth, but I think I could get over that in time.

We also seem to get a brief glimpse at his radioactive breath, and it looks like they may be returning to a white beam instead of the more traditional blue. This would be yet another reference to the 54' Gojira design, and I am completely on board for this minor change. Hopefully, we will keep getting more and more of these little glimpses at the design before the film releases in Japan on July 29th.

Unseen 'Jurassic World' Concept Art Shows A Very Different Movie

Seth Engstram is a name you might not have heard before, but take it from us, he's responsible for the look and feel of some of your favorite movies. He's a concept artist who takes the script and the studio's vision for a film and translates it artistically into a production-ready visualization. He recently updated his blog with some new never-before-seen concept art for the monstrous hit 'Jurassic World.' Check it out below.

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While many of the images look like they were directly translated onto the silver screen, there are a few that stand out unimagined. What looks like a tense rope bridge set-piece in front of a roaring volcano definitely didn't make it into the film (Although, in other early drafts of the park layout, there was a man-made volcano that I think this is actually taking place in front of). A few of the sketches show the now iconic, land traversal pods as a hanging ride being attacked by pteranodons. The most stunning unrealized piece depicts the Indominus Rex tearing the head off of an animatronic T-Rex encased in a fake waterfall setting.

Some of these cut scenes look very exciting, but you can tell for the most part what they were excised for in the film. Most have parallels to action beats that worked wonderfully, so all's well that ends well. Hopefully, we'll see some snippets of concept art leak for the upcoming 'Jurassic World 2,' so that we can start speculating on the mysterious plot summary they've given us.

Thanks to the very awesome Jurassic Outpost for the heads up.

Is This Shin Godzilla's Roar?

I woke up this morning in a usual routine which includes checking in to see what the Godzilla community was up to late into the night, and I was pleasantly surprised. Fans were discussing and arguing about whether or not a part of the soundtrack had been leaked and included a snippet of Godzilla's new roar from the upcoming 2016 film. The video in question and the answer to our click-baity headline is below.

If that is the roar for Shin-Goji, I actually wouldn't mind at all. Not because it sounds particularly good, but because it would show that they're going even further with setting their Godzilla apart, without throwing tradition out the window. 

Unfortunately, this is definitely a fake. The Japanese title reads "My idea for Shin Gojira's roar." Also, if you listen, the dialog in the clip is from a much older film, and the roar itself is a heavily modified sound bite.

I still wanted to post it because the discussion around Godzilla's new roar and the possibilities are endless, and I want to know what noise you think will come out of this undead behemoth.

Hopefully, we'll get another trailer that actually answers this question before Shin Godzilla releases on July 29th in Japan.

The Many Skull Islands Of Kong - Part 2

Continuing from where I left off in part one, I had just finished talking about the dull/lame island that acted as the setting in the 1976 'King Kong.' Now, it's time to move on to brighter shores. In part two, I'm going to break down the glorious Peter Jackson created island from 2005, and give some brief speculation on what we might see in the new film: 'Kong: Skull Island.' The Peter Jackson Skull Island is actually the reason for breaking this article into two parts, since there was a lot of thought put into it's design and ecosystem.

2005 - SKULL ISLAND

Say what you will about the actual 2005 'King Kong' film, but no one can deny the beauty and mystery that hides in every frame of this island. Peter Jackson and crew did an astounding job creating a literal lost world, one that had remained relatively untouched by human hands for sixty-five million years (minus the villagers, but I'll get to them in a second). This island is unlike any jungle seen in the real world, and it definitely brought back that sense of 'going into the unknown' that the 76' Kong was sorely lacking. The beautiful-but-hellish island is slowly slipping back into the sea (a plot point Jackson borrowed from 'Son of Kong') and is an extremely harsh environment for everyone and everything attempting to live on it. The island is still located somewhere off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia just like in the original 1933 film.

The creatures of the island aren't just dinosaurs that stuck around after the mass extinction, but actually feel like completely different animals from what they were before. These dinosaurs have been continuously evolving for millions of years, and have changed distinctly in order to live in Skull Islands' harsh environment. The Tyrannosaurs are now a new creature called Vastatosaurus Rex that have wider feet to climb rocky terrain and are covered from head to tail in hard scales to protect them from all of the other alpha predators on the island (the third finger is still there as a reference to the original Kong). The raptors have evolved to be thin and tall. They can now hunt down some of the larger prey on the island like Brontosaurus, and compete with much bulkier predators. Instead of trying to be completely accurate to science, Jackson decided to create an island that had changed with the times.

This time around dinosaurs aren't the only fauna that our adventurers had to overcome in order to save Ann, as the film is bursting with an ecosystem of diverse animals. We have giant leeches, humongous insects of all sorts, large hairless bats, and huge man eating eels that live in the swamp (the eel scene was cut from the theatrical release).

These other animals really flesh out the fact that this island is a massive threat to any and all fleshy little humans that dare come near it. And the humans that live here are just as harsh and cruel as the island on which they reside.

The natives are brutal and scary humans that make the other two film's villagers look like friendly next-door neighbors. The first thing they do is literally stab the audio guy through the chest and then attempt to crush Carl Denham's skull. These people are barley surviving on a tiny little strip of the island, and have seemingly cut into the rocks to create little dwellings. You really get the feeling that these people are not the rulers of this island, instead they feel like they are part of the unique food chain and are nowhere near the top.

I would highly suggest people check out the book The World of Kong: A Natural History of Skull Island if you are interested in the thought processes that went into imagining the island of Kong 2005. It reads like someone studying the animals on the island, as well as how the inhabitants of the island have survived.

2017 - VIETNAMESE SKULL ISLAND

So, we really don't have much information on this Island as of yet, (considering we have yet to receive an actual trailer) but I have some ideas based on the behind the scenes footage and the leaked set photos. Obviously, this island looks very Pacific-Asian. The mountains and the foliage look like documentary footage I could recall from that region. It is interesting that they are going the realistic jungle route with the film, but it makes sense that this Skull Island would have to share the tone of the Legendary Godzillaverse.

I think that we will be getting monsters instead of dinosaurs/giant animals in this film. Now that we know Kong will be at least 100 feet tall, I really doubt that the film will just use generic or evolved dinosaurs as the side antagonists to go along with Kong. Again, since this film is part of the Legendary Godzillaverse, it would be great if they could bring some lesser known Toho monsters into the movie, and have Skull Island essentially be Monster Island from Toho's Godzilla series.

From what we have seen of the village it looks like they are going to be Asian-inspired as well, which fits the time period and setting of the film. Using the Vietnam War as a back drop will really help this film get a style for the island that we have never seen before. I would like to see these villagers still be cruel and unfriendly, but with the more realistic setting (especially with the Vietnam war raging in the background of the film) I think it should be a little toned down though from what we saw in Peter Jackson's Kong.

I'm sure that I will probably do an additional article once we get more footage of this new movie, but for now there really isn't enough information about the film. Keep a look out for our continued coverage of this upcoming film and I hope you've enjoyed our little retrospective of the mysterious island Kong calls home.