GODZILLA Screens in Hollywood

Director Gareth Edwards and Producer Thomas Tull Answer Questions after 3D IMAX Presentation Author: Richard Pusateri Source: Warner Bros. Pictures, Legendary Pictures Official Site: Godzillamovie.com Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures shifted promotion of GODZILLA into high gear the first week in May. A series of press screenings began on May 1, with an event at the Chinese Theater in Hollywood. The production notes along with more images and video clips were also made public during the first few days of May. The May 1 Chinese Theater screening was especially noteworthy as it was the first IMAX presentation of the 3D movie. The presentation also featured a question and answer session with director Gareth Edwards and producer Thomas Tull. (Attendees of the screening were asked not to publish any description, evaluation or judgment of the movie itself, so watch SciFi Japan after May 10 for reviews.)

After the movie Edwards answered questions rather carefully and deflected a few other questions about the future as he is focused on getting the movie launched May 16. One question about the possibility of other Toho monsters, such as Mothra, appearing in sequels, was also deflected as the team was not going to discuss anything about their relationship or negotiations with Toho. Director Edwards was asked what the first Godzilla movie he saw and he sheepishly answered it was actually the Hanna-Barbera Productions series. He told an anecdote about being teased about Godzooky and through harassing e mails somehow the auto correct feature of his computer started changing “Godzilla” to “Godzooky.” In the past, Gareth has noted that he was well aware of the original 1954 Japanese version of GODZILLA by having the British Film Institute DVD; however he never directly replied what his first Godzilla movie was at the Chinese Theater event. On a more serious topic, Edwards described his approach to GODZILLA as a movie involving real life issues that affect people in the real world, just as the original movie was about war, specifically atomic bombs, and hydrogen bomb testing. Edwards also shared that the restrained approach to revealing the titular monster in GODZILLA was a deliberately gradual escalation of suspense along the lines of the almost minimalist appearance of the shark in JAWS. Producer Tull revealed the real motivation for making GODZILLA was, being fans of the giant monster genre, they just wanted to make a movie they would want to see and they hope a lot of other people want to see it too. Edwards added if people who were not fans became fans because of their movie, all the better. Tull hoped that children viewing their film might turn into the next generation of Godzilla fans. After question and answer session, I asked producer Tull about Mr. [Akira] Takarada’s part being cut. He said it was a painful decision. Tull seemed truly sincere as he described being awestruck in the presence of such a revered person during the filming of Mr. Takarada’s scene in Vancouver. Tull said Edwards had been working earlier that day on getting the scene onto the Blu-ray disc, along with a lot of other extras features, but nothing was certain at that time. I asked if the deleted scene was going to be restored in the Japanese version and another person, apparently familiar with the situation, interjected that the Japanese version was Toho’s call completely. I asked if unused footage was being provided to Toho and the same person responded they could not comment on their relationship with Toho.

For more information on Warner Bros and Legendary Pictures` GODZILLA, please see the earlier coverage here on SciFi Japan: