Godzilla Returns to San Leandro!

Chances are you’ve probably heard about it on the podcast, but there’s just TOO MUCH AWESOMENESS to NOT keep sharing this event!

Make sure you make it to the Historic BAL Theater for BAFE’s second annual Godzilla Night on June 22nd!

The monstrous double feature for the night will be the Heisei classics GODZILLA VS. KING GHIDORAH (1991) and GODZILLA VS. MOTHRA (1992)! But Godzilla Night is way more than a movie screening… check out the amazing programming that the BAFE crew are putting together!

MOVIES:
Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991)
The third installment in what fans have dubbed the Heisei era of Godzilla (1984 – 1995) and a fan-favorite for many reasons, this film features the return of Godzilla’s most deadly foe, King Ghidorah! It was directed by Kazuki Omori (director of the previous entry, Godzilla vs. Biollante) with special effects by Koichi Kawakita. In addition to the three-headed monster from space, this movie sees the return of composer Akira Ifukube and actor Yoshio Tsuchiya and several themes and homages from classic Godzilla plots.

As author Kenichiro Terasawa attempts to uncover the true origin of Godzilla, Japan is visited by a UFO. The visitors are not from another world, but from another time… the future. These time traveling futurians have come to 1990s Japan to warn the country that if left unchecked, Godzilla will destroy Japan. Taking the futurians up on their offer to eliminate Godzilla from history, the Japanese government sends its representatives, psychic Miki Seagusa and Professor Mazaki with Terasawa to the past with the Futurians cyborg M11 (played by Robert Scott Field). But will the plan to erase Godzilla actually work or are these strange visitors up to no good?

Produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka & Shogo Tomiyama · Written & Directed by Kazuki Omori · Scored by Akira Ifukube · Special Effects by Koichi Kawakita ·  Starring Kosuke Toyohara, Anna Nakagawa, Megumi Odaka, Katsuhiko Sasaki, Akiji Kobayashi, Yoshio Tsuchiya, Robert Scott Field & featuring Kenpachiro Satsuma as Godzilla

Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992)
Much more than a remake, the next film in the Heisei era blends elements from Mothra’s showa encounters and adds a new baddie to the roster of Godzilla’s enemies, Battra. This movie is Takao Okawara’s first kaiju epic and he would go on to direct several more science fiction spectacles for Toho, namely Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1993), Yamato Takeru (1994), Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995) and Godzilla 2000 (1999).

A giant typhoon unearths Mothra’s egg on a small island in the Pacific and a team is sent to investiate. As they explore the island, they encounter two miniature women who call themselves the Cosmos. These tiny beauties tell the protagonists of Mothra and her darker half, Battra who is already assaulting Japan. The egg is loaded on a transport to Tokyo, but during the voyage Godzilla appears and attacks the egg, and it hatches. The Mothra larva is under attack, but Battra appears, challenging the King of the Monsters and incidentally allowing both the ship and the newborn kaiju to escape. Once back in Tokyo, the twins are kidnapped. But can they be rescued before Mothra destroys the city in its search for the Cosmos?

Produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka & Shogo Tomiyama · Written by Kazuki Omori · Directed by Takao Okawara · Scored by Akira Ifukube · Special Effects by Koichi Kawakita ·  Starring Tetsuya Bessho, Satomi Kobayashi, Takehiro Murata, Saburo Shinoda, Akiji Kobayashi and Kenpachiro Satsuma as Godzilla

GUESTS:

 Skyping in live from Tokyo, Japan on the big screen will be Robert Scott Field

Perhaps better known to Godzilla-fans as Android M-11 from Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, Robert Scott Field still resides in Japan and will be sharing memories from his time on set with Godzilla, his current career in Japan and take questions from the audience.

 

 

 

Also via Skype, co-creator on the newest Godzilla Series, comic artist and kaiju enthusiast Matt Frank will be joining the fracas to talk about the new comic series, GODZILLA RULERS OF EARTH! To celebrate this new series, BAFE brings writer Chris Mowry live in theater and Matt Frank, live via Skype from Texas, to the Bal to talk about their plans for Godzilla in print. Copies of the new comic will be available at the show, as well as collectible flyers from IDW.

 

 

SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS:

KODOJA & BIG PIMP JONES:
Listeners to the Kaijucast will recognize the music from KODOJA, the kaiju-inspired soundtrack that accompanies the comic book of the same name. Both were created by Keith Foster of the funk sensation, Big Pimp Jones. Word on the street is that the band will be performing not only tracks from their Kodoja and Project Kyojo releases, but some additional kaiju goodies!

LEGENDARY GIANT BEAST WOLFMAN VS. GODZILLA

Recently added to the night’s programming is Mark Jaramillo, a Godzilla fan who has tracked down and uncovered the truth behind the myth of what kaiju fans speculated could have been an unfinished Godzilla film. LEGENDARY GIANT BEAST WOLFMAN VS GODZILLA is essentially a fan film, but it was spearheaded by professional filmmaker Shizuo Nakajima and several former filmmakers of Toho Studios in 1983. Shizuo Nakajima had learned many film techniques and finer points in filming such as photography and special effects. Also known for being both a major fan of Godzilla as well as being favored in Toho’s Art Department, Nakajima and a few friends of his had decided that due to their acquired talents on part from their work at Toho that a film of their own should be made to show off their talent.

Mark will give a presentation on this rarely seen independent film and the footage to be screened at the Bal will be DIFFERENT than what will be shown at G-Fest in July! Godzilla Night 2 will be the first time this footage will be publicly shown! Also, movie posters will be available!

DEALERS:
The lobby of the theater will have vendors set up to quell your need for Godzilla toys, merchandise and collectibles! Notable vendors will include Kevin D’s Kaiju, Kimono My House, Plus both Big Pimp Jones and the Kaijucast will be sharing a table! Make sure you swing by because I will have a limited edition Kaijucast print available!

RAFFLE:
If all of that wasn’t enough, Kevin DeAntonio has organized a montrous raffle with some amazing prizes…seriously amazing! Want to know the kicker? You don’t even have to be there to win!! To quote Kevin, “We have some pretty awesome Raffle Items this year including a San Diego Comic Con S. H. MonsterArts Exploding Godzilla Collectible Figure; An X-Plus Godzilla 1964 Polystone Statue; A Godzilla 1984 Chromium Art Poster; A Marmit Monster Heaven Godzilla X Megaguirus Figure; and many more Prizes to be announced… But the Grand Prize is page #19 of Original Godzilla Comic Art from Dark Horse Comics’ GODZILLA COLOR SPECIAL drawn by the Modern Master: Arthur Adams! Original Godzilla art from Arthur Adams is quite Rare & Expensive. This is truly an amazing prize for any Godzilla or Comic Art Collector.”

Raffle tickets cost $5.00 each (Limit 10 tickets per person) and will be on sale online until June 20th, 2013. After June 20th. raffle tickets will only be available at the event. There are limited quantities of Online Raffle Tickets, so don’t delay in your ticket purchases!  The Online Raffle is open to Anyone of Legal Age (18 & Over) and is also open to all countries that allow participation in Raffles, Lotteries, & other contests of this nature.

Check out the image at the bottom of this post for pictures of the prizes!

And if you pre-buy tickets to this show, either at the Bal or online at Ticketweb, you will get a free 11×17″ Godzilla Night art poster by Japanese artist Shinji Nishikawa! This is an art only poster and does not have the titles or text used on the promotional posters for this show.

If you haven’t made plans, do so immediately and make sure you swing by and say hello at some point during the night!

GODZILLA NIGHT II Event Page on Facebook

The Great Godzilla Raffle page on Facebook

06.05.2013: Godzilla Rulers Of Earth creators Matt Frank & Chris Mowry

Heather and I sat down to talk about the upcoming comic book from IDW Publishing featuring everyone’s favorite radioactive monsters, Godzilla: Rulers Of Earth. Joining us for this discussion are the series’ creators, Matt Frank & Chris Mowry! While both have been on the podcast in previous episodes, this is the first time the two have collaborated on an ongoing comic series and we thought it would be the perfect opportunity to have them on together.

Not only is this new title significant for their first story/art team-up, it should be significant to Godzilla fans everywhere because these guys truly understand the genre and are big fans… I bet that if you took all of the creator’s from IDW’s Godzilla series and divvied them into Kaiju trivia teams, Matt and Chris would smoke the competition! Why is that important? Well, for fans that means that we will be getting stories that have the right intention with the monsters. This is essentially their dream job and should be your dream Godzilla comic. The real issue here is that while Godzilla fans may know their names, distributors and comic shop owners may not. That, in turn, might hurt this book’s chances against titles packed with spandex-wearing superheroes and recognizable creators.

As a Godzilla fan, you the listener have the chance to make this book a success or a failure – please buy this book! Make sure your local comic shop puts in their order and if you don’t have a comic shop in your area, please order yours from some place online. In fact, I know Things From Another World (who has supported the Kaijucast on a number of occaisions) has it on order (*hint*hint*).

MONSTROUS MUSIC:
1. Gigan Awakens by Daisuke Yano from Godzilla Final Wars (2004)
2. Mothra’s Song performed by Masami Nagasawa & Chihiro Otsuka from Godzilla x Mothra x Mechagodzilla: Tokyo SOS (2003)
3. Godzilla & Jet Jaguar Punch-Punch-Punch by Masato Shimon from Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973)

SUGGESTED READING:
SciFi Japan’s article on Wolfman vs. Godzilla
Check out episode 25 of Full Of Sith with Travis Beacham, Pacific Rim’s screenwriter

UPCOMING EVENTS:
6/22 Godzilla Night II [tickets] in San Leandro, CA
7/12 – 7/14 G-Fest XX in Chicago, IL
7/18 – 7/21 San Diego Comic Con in San Diego, CA

DAIKAIJU DISCUSSION REMINDER:
Ask yourself… CAN A COUNTRY SURVIVE WHEN TWO GARGANTUAS BATTLE TO THE DEATH? Well in 1966 Japan found out and now it’s your turn! As announced at the end of the last episode, our next film is War Of The Gargantuas! We would love to hear your thoughts, questions and reviews about this particular film. And whaddaya know, we have already recorded a commentary for this one. Feel free to check that out (and subscribe to the Commentaries as well as this podcast).

This movie is available on DVD – and on Netflix if you don’t have it in your collection, you really should because it’s packaged with not only Rodan, but also the awesome documentary Bringing Godzilla Down To Size! Just remember to have your homework turned in by June 25th!

05.30.2012: Ghidorah The Three-Headed Monster Daikaiju Discussion

Getting really slammed with things to do right after you record is kind of a bummer… But it was also really awesome because we were in Seattle at the “Pacific Northwest’s largest Horror Convention”, Crypticon. And that was pretty much the next day! Anyway, welcome to  episode 83 and the Daikaiju Discussion episode for the 1964 introduction to the triple-headed terror, Ghidorah, The Three-Headed Monster. For a long time, I actually thought this film was released in 1965, but my exploration into the film’s history revealed my ignorance! We received a LOT of homework for this episode – clearly this is a popular film amongst the listeners, so thanks to everyone who sent in their thoughts, questions and reviews!

This was a late night for the Kaijucast crew – so late in fact that I wasn’t able to really sit down with the audio until last night to edit it all together (we actually recorded on the 23rd!). Make sure you check the links below to see the news items that we talk about. And we also played some requests in this episode. If you’d like to send in a music request for the next episode, feel free to use the Contact form on the website. Keep in mind that for a multitude of reasons, I cannot play every request.

MONSTER MUSIC FOR THE MONTH OF MAY:
1. Bio Wars by Koichi Sugiyama from Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989)
2. Main Theme by Masato Shimon from Iron King (1972)
3. Frankenstein Conquers the  World by Beauty & The Liquidmen from Coaxial Transmission (2013)
4. The Two Monsters Appear in Yokohama by Akira Ifukube from Ghidorah, The three-Headed Monster (1964)
5. The Undersea Warship Attacks (from Atragon) performed by the Bukimisha Weird Secret Society

SUGGESTED READING:
Ray Harryhausen dies at 92
Ray Harryhausen Special Effects Wizard
Ultra Q DVD Available for Pre-Order [Shout! Factory]
X-Plus Releases for June 2013
More Details for Upcoming X-Plus

Check out episode 124 of Obviously Oblivious because Mike Pilot interviewed me for his podcast!

EVENTS:
6/22 Godzilla Night II at the historic Bal Theater in San Leandro, CA
7/12 – 7/14 G-Fest in Chicago, IL
7/18 – 7/22 San Diego Comic Con in San Diego, CA
9/21 – 9/22 Rose City Comic Con in Portland, OR

DAIKAIJU DISCUSSION:
Oh, do I have news for those who have waited – your day is at hand! Our next film for the Daikaiju Discussion is the 1966 War Of The Gargantuas! This is a fantastic film as far as I am concerned and it really only has one flaw – I’ll let you guess what that is… I can even forgive a certain song in English that tends to get stuck in….ahhhh, nevermind! Anyway, I’m sure we are going to get a ton of reviews for this one. Please try to keep your homework less than a “page” – I can’t even figure out a word length. Nor do I want to! Regardless, I want to hear what you hav to say about the film. Use this handy form to send in your thoughts, questions & reviews before June 25th!