Author, Photographer and Videographer: Derek Marr (Sakura Central)

Happy November 3rd, reader! You are no doubt aware of the significance of this date, the 70th anniversary of GODZILLA (1954). Across the globe in the Shinjuku prefecture of Japan, The Hotel Gracery is kicking off festivities to mark the event. However, in Los Angeles, in the Little Tokyo district, festivities began on November 2nd, for their “Godzilla Invades Little Tokyo” event., which included back-to-back showings of the classic GODZILLA and GODZILLA MINUS ONE at the Aratani Theater.

As someone who has never been to this theater previously, I was surprised to see a venue of this caliber. It reminded me of older style theaters; the chairs having wooden arms, but comfortable cushions added to the feeling of the theater. The chair count was also impressive at 800+ seats. The theater filled up quickly, while still having enough room to put your baggage in a nearby empty chair.

With the theater’s exterior doors closed, GODZILLA began. It’s always a special treat to see these movies on a screen bigger than your own TV. However, this was the Criterion version of the film; The video quality was clear but from what I was able to tell it was not the HDR version of the film we saw back in 2022. Nevertheless, the film came and went in enjoyable fashion.

The audience was asked to leave the theater to set up for the next feature and a Q&A with the production assistant of many Toho Films and a member of the Godzilla Restoration Project, Shizuo Nakajima.

Stepping out into an uncharacteristically brisk, nearly rainy Los Angeles afternoon, the audience was treated to an unexpected treat! Godzilla appeared! Just as all the fliers warned! A full suit acted Godzilla had made an appearance!

The suit was worn by Krystopher Baioa, who referred to it as a Fusion suit. A fun and welcome distraction while the line cuing to see MINUS ONE began to wrap past the theater and into the streets of L.A.

 

 

 

 

 

Re-entering the theater, the audience was met with the Q&A of Shizuo Nakajima. Much to my surprise, I was able to get a nearly front row seat to this panel. Mr. Nakajima entered the stage and greeted us in English so well, I thought he might have done the whole interview in my native tongue, however he had a translator with him who was kind enough to translate the questions and answers.

Interviewer: Mr. Nakajima, during the period of the 60’s and 70’s, which films made the biggest impressions on you?

Nakajima: MOTHRA VS. GODZILLA, KING KONG VS. GODZILLA and GHIDORAH. These films cannot be avoided.

Interviewer: what do you like about those films?

Nakajima: the culture is excellent. I’m a big fan of Teizō Toshimitsu [The original sculptor of the Godzilla marquette puppet and suit].

Interviewer: How did you start working for Toho?

Nakajima: So, (in the) 1970’s I was a student. At the time there was no specific job opening, so I just made a phone call. They told me “Just come in tomorrow.” After I had graduated, they had me employed under contract.

Interviewer: In your early days, what were some of your responsibilities on set?

Nakajima: I was a production assistant; the top man is the producer [Tomoyuki Tanaka] and I was the lowest because I was the youngest.

Interviewer: So you were a Jack-of-all-Trades; anything that needed to be done you would do. It’s where you would hone your skills and worked on a lot of productions. The first one you worked on was ALL MONSTERS ATTACK. You went onto GODZILLA VS. HEDORAH, GODZILLA VS. GIGAN, GODZILLA VS. MEGALON, GODZILLA VS. MECHAGODZILLA, TERROR OF MECHAGODZILLA, VAMPIRE DOLL, SINKING OF JAPAN… PROPHECIES OF NOSTRADAMUS and SAMURAI OF THE SKY.

Nakajima: I Remember PROPHECIES OF NOSTRADAMUS, this movie we lost the 7 stage because it was burnt down…We were filming the wildfire mountain scene, we had put gasoline on a tree to cause the fire, which had reached the ceiling, it was something we had gotten used to so it was normal. We had put out the fire but as it turns out there was still a fire in the ceiling, which caused it to burn down. Which caused the end of the 7 stage. That’s the fun of Tokusatsu.

The Q&A continued, covering the “Memory of film”, a tradition where a picture would be taken at the end of each production, covering the year, title and the entire cast and crew of the film. Later the interviewer asked for an anecdote of Shizuo’s time on GODZILLA VS. GIGAN.

Interviewer: You were telling me a while ago, and I was hoping you could share with the audience about the time Gigan injured a crew member.

Nakajima: So this happened to one of my colleagues; he would help the suit actor, He tried to put on a the suit and something happened. The Gigan suit head was really, heavy and sharp and hard horns on top. After trying to help the suit actor put the suit on, the helmet was pretty heavy he accidentally dropped the helmet on his head, the Gigan horn, stuck in his head. He was embarrassed and hospitalized. Happily, Director Nakano got him a “Get Well” gift. It’s a laughing matter now.

The interviewer would continue to talk about the special gift Shizuo would receive on behalf of the production house. What they saw as a damaged prop, Nakajima saw as a priceless artifact. History would prove Nakajima-san correct as what he was gifted. The only surviving Godzilla puppet used as early as KING KONG VS. GODZILLA in the famous tail kick scene as well as the tumble down the mountain. As well as the scene in INVASION OF ASTRO-MONSTER where Godzilla and Rodan and hauled off of Earth by the Xillians to fight Ghidorah. The interviewer, would later show Hauro Nakajima as well as his fellow suit actors, holding their own puppets of the characters they played. This puppet being the one he held; a puppet Shizuo Nakajima still owns to this very day.

This would not be the only thing Shizuo Nakajima would declare as saving from actual destruction. The story would go on to tell when Nakajima worked at the studio, emptying out a storage shed. The workers were just following orders to clear out the shed and burn whatever was inside. But, with some help from studio personnel and some friends, they were granted permission to save more artifacts from what would have been a loss to Tokusatu history by storing them in his home. When looking at what must have looked like a pile of junk, Shizuo Nakajima saw the suit pieces for Mechani-Kong

The interview continued...

Interviewer: Another little-known fact about Nakajima is that he was one of the founding members of “The Godzilla Resurrection Committee” After TERROR OF MECHAGODZILLA, there wasn’t another Godzilla movie for nine years as TERROR OF MECHAGODZILLA was meant to be the last of the series. During this time, a group of fans organized a committee to petition Toho to produce a new Godzilla movie. Can you please tell us how you came to be part of this organization?

Nakajima: During this time period there is no new Godzilla productions a group of people gathered around to make a new creation, of which I was a member. A man named Fuyuki Shinada who would make the Godzilla suits also worked with us. Shinada is the creator of Biollante and the *White Eyed Godzilla" [the GODZILLA, MOTHRA, KING GHIDORAH: GIANT MONSTERS ALL-OUT ATTACK suit]. We did a lot of activities and made lots of petitions and we pushed Toho to create a new movie, this would result in the original movie GODZILLA (1984).

Interviewer: After you left Toho, you were still involved in Kaiju films and special effects productions. You knew Koichi Kawakita from your days of working with Toho in the 70’s where you became very close friends. In fact, you would consult him in his company Dream Planet Japan. One of your projects the production of a limited number of full sized replicas of the one meter high Godzilla statues that was in Hibiya outside of the Toho theater. Can you tell the story of how you and mister Kawakita came to work on this project?

Nakajima: … I came up with the idea, “Hey, why don’t we just do a mold of this model so that way customers could buy it?” [Pointing to a picture on-screen] the man on the right is STAR WARS producer Gary Kurtz and Director Kawakita is on the left. This was a mold that was made from a replica in Mr. Kawakita’s office. These replicas are available at Tokyo Jungle for purchase. Thank you very much. With the proceeds we bought the Hollywood movie star. Thank you very much. *He chuckles*

The interview closed with a discussion of Mr. Nakajima’s fan film WOLFMAN VS. GODZILLA...

Interviewer: What was your inspiration for making this movie?

Nakajima: I admired Eiji Tsuburaya. So I wanted to make one film that was a collection and recreation of old movies.

Interviewer: theres one part that you shared with me, for those of you who have seen WAR OF THE GARGANTUAS [audiences hums with a “yes” tone] there’s a couple of scenes, one in particular, where a bunch of hikers go through the misty mountains and through the trees, peering out of the mist is one of the Gargantuas who threatens the hikers. Mr. Nakajima recreates this scene in his movie and it’s an amazing scene. As well as the Wolfman jumping up to swat at helicopters who are attacking him.

Nakajima: We made the exact same thing that we made at Toho. So it looks exactly like a Toho Film [An image appears on-screen of The Wolfman and Godzilla facing off behind a series of miniature buildings, the quality looking identical to early Showa era films.].

Moments later, the audience iwas treated to some clips of his fan film. After which the Q&A ended with thanks to not only Shizuo Nakajima but Toho staff and an unexpected VIP. Little Tokyo’s history, in 1996, when the district was in decline, Toho had brought a suit from Japan and participated in the Nei-sei week parade which culminated in a Godzilla film festival. This event helped Little Tokyo out of its decline, Godzilla had helped save Lttle Tokyo. The man who organized that event was there in the audience, he constantly vouches for Godzilla in the district, so much so he has earned the nickname “Godzilla Man”, Yukio Koratani. Mr. Koratani’s efforts were not solely his own, as Koichi Kawakita was a benefactor of this event. Sadly, before a follow-up festival could be fully planned, Mr. Kawakita passed away, halting any chance of an event in 1997. However, after this Godzilla Day, Thanks to Toho, Mr Koratani’s event will continue! Next year Little Tokyo will continue this film festival of Godzilla Films!

After the stage was cleared, GODZILLA MINUS ONE played on screen. Speaking purely of my own experience, we had moved back towards the back of the now crowded theater as not to hurt our necks from craning them up for two plus hours. I happened to get stuck behind a man whose hair and head blocked at least thirty percent of the screen, making most of the movie a chore to see.

While this is clearly meant to be a stage and movie theater hybrid, the sound quality for the event was nothing less that top notch. Soundtrack cues like "Divine" and "Resolution" and details like Godzilla’s foot falls hit just as hard as they had on day one of the theatrical showing. The only thing that I took away as a preventative issue was the subtitling track we had. Because of not only prior issues of visuals, but respect for the theater and audience I can’t prove it, but there were misspellings, subtitles covering on-screen text and one instance where the subtitles appeared for less than a second. It wasn’t the Netflix track, nor the Theatrical subtitles (that I could recall) it was simply a fly in the ointment of an otherwise pleasant movie-going experience. Even my theater neighbor noted how poor the subtitle quality was, making me feel a little better about writing this up.

 

Finally, there was the announcement of the Tokyo Jungle Godzilla Pop-up shop in Little Tokyo Proper. This was a mite worrying to audience goers, as the store closed at seven and the shows ended at six. I tend to frequent Tokyo Jungle, so when I tell you that I have never seen a line of that length in that small of an area before, I want you to get an idea of how big it was. We got in line at 6:10 and made it to the door at 6:55.

The line had its rather unexpected visitors such as Shizuo Nakajima, casually passing by getting footage of the line as well as the interviewer himself jumping back and forth between the multiple locations. It was a moment I couldn’t help but wonder about. Here’s Nakajima just casually wondering through the crowd, hardly anyone in line taking note of his presence.

Being a part of the Resurrection Committee, saving props. Who’s to say without this man we wouldn’t have had the Heisei era at all? That might be a bit more editorial but a thought and observation that crossed my mind.

 

The interior of the pop-up was decked out very much like a holiday event, toys, and shirts, crossover miniatures such as a Hamtaro/Godzilla, something I had no idea I’d ever even consider wanting. The store carried some exclusive figures for fans, one of which was a limited supply of Hedorah figures, that were limited to 50 worldwide. After making a purchase I was gifted a free tote bag and a recreation of the poster of the GODZILLA 1954 poster.

If you should find yourself in the Little Tokyo area through the 17th you will have a chance to get your own exclusives as well as the weekly posters. Those that travel by train can also receive an exclusive TAP metro Godzilla card; we were told these would be available on the 11th. Purchases also allow entry into the pop-up’s photo op which was a fun addition after standing in line. The pop-up shop will be in Japanese Village Plaza adjacent to Anime Jungle’s retail stores, 319 E. Second St., Suite 122/123.

As I’ve come to discover, These events are built by fans. Whether you are there on the front lines of the latest Godzilla movie, someone trying to save your district with the movies you love or just someone willing to stand in line for a little under an hour, we all have our part to play in this franchise as we all hail the king.

Happy 70th Birthday, Godzilla!