Godzilla Reboot

[inedible knapsack]

I've been waiting for somebody to mention this since Comic-Con and nobody has... so fine, I will. THERE'S A NEW GODZILLA MOVIE IN THE WORKS!!!

Here's a link to an article at Wired.com about it.

I had such high hopes for the 1998 movie, and we all know how that turned out

What does everyone think of this reboot? Should it be another man vs beast movie, or should he actually fight another monster? What about the director's comment about keeping the movie "very grounded, realistic?"

[Boyo Jim]

You left out the most important part of the quote.

...There’s nothing sci-fi about this movie, it’s very grounded, realistic.

Because we all know that the whole US bombing of Japan thing was just a cover story to hide the existence of Godzilla.

Sorry, a quote like that convinces me that these people are idiots, and gives me no confidence they can make a decent film.

[inedible knapsack]

That's a good point. I didn't know what to make of that quote. So, you're going to make a movie about a giant, irradiated (I assume he will be irradiated) lizard stomping through a major metropolis and "there's nothing sci-fi" about it? I'm hoping he was simply trying to instill confidence that it won't be campy, though that's a big part of the charm of the old Japanese movies.

[TBG]

Originally Posted by A_Nested_Thorn

What does everyone think of this reboot? Should it be another man vs beast movie, or should he actually fight another monster? What about the director's comment about keeping the movie "very grounded, realistic?"

Three words.

Godzilla.

Versus.

Transformers.

[TriPolar]

Just to be clear, this the real Godzilla right? Not the atrocity Matthew Broderick version, right?

[Sir T-Cups]

Originally Posted by TriPolar

Just to be clear, this the real Godzilla right? Not the atrocity Matthew Broderick version, right?

Right.

Everything that I gather from it is that it's a Godzilla movie that is trying to make Godzilla RIGHT.

[YogSosoth]

This will be terrible. They went for the serious epic version in 1998, that damn thing didn't even looking like Godzilla. And it was in New York! And the sound it made wasn't the same!

I'm sure they'll ignore these suggestions, but a real Godzilla movie has to be set in Japan, it has to be about the underlying horror of nuclear power, and he has to spit radioactive fire while his spines glow

[Revtim]

Originally Posted by Sir T-Cups

Right.

Everything that I gather from it is that it's a Godzilla movie that is trying to make Godzilla RIGHT.

If it's "not sci-fi" and "grounded and realistic", that's seems unlikely.

[Revtim]

Originally Posted by YogSosoth

I'm sure they'll ignore these suggestions, but a real Godzilla movie has to be set in Japan, it has to be about the underlying horror of nuclear power, and he has to spit radioactive fire while his spines glow

I might like the setting to be in the US, but I'm 100 percent with you on the other points.

[CalMeacham]

Originally Posted by YogSosoth

This will be terrible. They went for the serious epic version in 1998, that damn thing didn't even looking like Godzilla. And it was in New York! And the sound it made wasn't the same!

I'm sure they'll ignore these suggestions, but a real Godzilla movie has to be set in Japan, it has to be about the underlying horror of nuclear power, and he has to spit radioactive fire while his spines glow

They didn't go "serious epic". God(zilla) knows it certainly wasn't serious.


I've long maintained that the 1998 Godzilla was basically a remake of The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, the ur-1950s Giant Monster Flick, the template of almost all that followed, and certainly an influence on Godzilla*.


The producers of the 1998 flick violated their agreement with Toho, which stated that they couldn't change the appearance of the beast.



The 1998 one was about the horror of atmic bombs (Godzilla is nothin', if not the personification of atomic weapons), since he was mutated by French atomic testing. But they ignored all else.





*TBf20kF, like the 1998 Godzilla, was released by atomic explosions, made its way around the world to New York City, because it was its ancestral breeding ground (just like salmon). the 1998 flick just pushed this to its logical end by actually having Big G lay eggs there. It also added the inanity of having the military lose a multui-storey tall monster in the city, and having to lure it out using a pile of fish.

[Quimby]

I think what he is saying is that even though it will be about a giant monster, it won't be light or cheezy. I think they are aiming for more of a movie about what it would be like to be one of those people who are always running away (a la Cloverfield).

I am still hoping the teaser they showed at Comic Con ends up online. I really want to see it.

[Boyo Jim]

If they want to ground it in "reality", I have their plot.

That last huge earthquake/tsunami released an ancient dinosaur egg from the sea floor. It floated its way ashore and into one of the many conveniently located Japanese nuclear plants in the midst of their melt down. After a suitable dosage, it made its way back out to sea where it lived off the corpses of the thousands of Japanese who were also washed out to sea.

Now, it's hungry, and it has a taste for humanity...

[CalMeacham]

I can't help thinking that the Fukushima power plant disaster in the wake of the tsunami might have given extra impetus to this. Godzilla is still the personification of our nuclear fears, and Og knows there's plenty of that in Japan (and elsewhere) now.

[Drunky Smurf]

Originally Posted by Boyo Jim

If they want to ground it in "reality", I have their plot.

That last huge earthquake/tsunami released an ancient dinosaur egg from the sea floor. It floated its way ashore and into one of the many conveniently located Japanese nuclear plants in the midst of their melt down. After a suitable dosage, it made its way back out to sea where it lived off the corpses of the thousands of Japanese who were also washed out to sea.

Now, it's hungry, and it has a taste for humanity...

I'd watch that.

[Smapti]

Even if they do set it in Japan, I have a sinking suspicion that the main character will be a tourist from New York and his photogenic girlfriend, that the military defense forces will also mysteriously be commanded by Caucasian "advisors", and that the only major Japanese character in the cast will be an evil politician who wants to turn Godzilla into a weapon to get revenge on the world for putting Japan down.

[inedible knapsack]

Originally Posted by CalMeacham

I can't help thinking that the Fukushima power plant disaster in the wake of the tsunami might have given extra impetus to this. Godzilla is still the personification of our nuclear fears, and Og knows there's plenty of that in Japan (and elsewhere) now.

You might be on to something here.

I think they're pushing for a Nolan Batmanification of the Godzilla franchise, trying to establish some tenuous grounding in reality for a highly unbelievable conceit. Cloverfield wasn't a bad movie, but it was empty of meaning, IMO (not to mention the camerawork made me nauseous). Not that I want a monster movie to spoon feed me philosophy or anything...

I just want to see some truly great special effects, a well done imagining of the creature him(her?)self (read: not a giant iguana), and some creative destruction of a major city or cities. It shouldn't be that difficult to put together a basic story to accompany all this, but Hollywood always finds a way to screw up even the best ideas.

[Brainiac4]

If it does not have the real Godzilla roar (aka the Godzilla honk), then I'm not watching it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zhJljblPcY

[TriPolar]

Originally Posted by Brainiac4

If it does not have the real Godzilla roar (aka the Godzilla honk), then I'm not watching it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zhJljblPcY

Can I get that as a ringtone?

I think Cal has pegged it up above. The phony Godzilla story does follow the film The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms. The Godzilla story is not entirely different except there is a sentient quality to Big G, and humans are the losers in the conflict, surviving only by luck or some transcendental mystery. I can only hope that this movie holds true to the core themes and continues to present Godzilla as a force of nature as much as an actual creature of fearsome proportions and abilities.

[Boyo Jim]

Maybe if they somehow do it as a period piece they could make it realistic. But set today, I doubt it.... we have so much more big, smart weapons to throw at ...him? ...her?, er, it. Two thouand pound laser guided bombs, fuel-air explosives, B-52 carpet bombing, MLRS, ... The early movies showed Godzilla brushing off puny Japanese weapons. Even the shitty Broderick remake had basically nothing bigger.

Are they going to make Godzilla invulnerable to Godzilla-sized explosions?

[TriPolar]

Originally Posted by Boyo Jim

Maybe if they somehow do it as a period piece they could make it realistic. But set today, I doubt it.... we have so much more big, smart weapons to throw at ...him? ...her?, er, it. Two thouand pound laser guided bombs, fuel-air explosives, B-52 carpet bombing, MLRS, ... The early movies showed Godzilla brushing off puny Japanese weapons. Even the shitty Broderick remake had basically nothing bigger.

Are they going to make Godzilla invulnerable to Godzilla-sized explosions?

He's knocked off some bigger stuff. The King of the Monsters is pretty damn smart, he keeps his cards close to the chest. We don't know the extent of his abilities, and so far he's matched almost everything we've thrown at him. And when he hasn't the plot lines have surprising twists. He's been vulnerable, but there's a limit to what he can be hit with in a populated area, and if they put some effort in it, they can come up with a good story. Of course it would be easier to stop trying to create fiction and simply document the real Godzilla's exploits the way they did in the old days.

[Tangent]

Originally Posted by TBG

Three words.

Godzilla.

Versus.

Transformers.

Guillermo del Toro has a movie coming out next summer, Pacific Rim, about humans piloting giant robots to fight off gigantic alien creatures. So there you go.

[YogSosoth]

Originally Posted by Tangent

Guillermo del Toro has a movie coming out next summer, Pacific Rim, about humans piloting giant robots to fight off gigantic alien creatures. So there you go.

That sounds anime-ish. I've gotta see it!

[Quimby]

I would love to see a giant monster movie with photo realistic effects. Similar to the early scenes of destruction in Spielberg's War of the Worlds (an underrated movie BTW). Cloverfield is close but from what I hear about this, it will be even closer.

[TriPolar]

Originally Posted by Quimby

...Spielberg's War of the Worlds (an underrated movie BTW).

Reported for heresy.

[bup]

Originally Posted by Boyo Jim

Maybe if they somehow do it as a period piece they could make it realistic. But set today, I doubt it.... we have so much more big, smart weapons to throw at ...him? ...her?, er, it. Two thouand pound laser guided bombs, fuel-air explosives, B-52 carpet bombing, MLRS, ... The early movies showed Godzilla brushing off puny Japanese weapons. Even the shitty Broderick remake had basically nothing bigger.

That's an easy trick. Get Godzilla into a heavily populated area (Tokyo) they haven't had a chance to evacuate, and the really big weapons are unusable.

[Chimera]

Originally Posted by TBG

Godzilla.

Versus.

Transformers.

I always wanted to see a cut scene in The Venture Bros where Rusty calls his brother for some help, but Jonas Jr is a little busy at the moment and can't talk.

Because Ventronic is busy fighting Godzilla.

Of course, given how closely those bastards guard the copyright to Godzilla, it would never happen.

[Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor]

Originally Posted by Quimby

Similar to the early scenes of destruction in Spielberg's War of the Worlds (an underrated movie BTW).

And what next after that, HMMM?

Battlefield Earth, perhaps?!?

<SLAPS Quimby With A WET TROUT>

[Quimby]

Tough crowd Not to hijack but I really like War of the Worlds. It works even better if you assume Tom Cruise's character never escapes from the tripod and the entire movie after that is just a fantasy.

[Boyo Jim]

Originally Posted by bup

That's an easy trick. Get Godzilla into a heavily populated area (Tokyo) they haven't had a chance to evacuate, and the really big weapons are unusable.

It might stop them from using nukes, but I doubt the military would even hesitate over anything less. Of course, they can write their hesitation into the script.

[Boyo Jim]

Originally Posted by Quimby

Tough crowd Not to hijack but I really like War of the Worlds. It works even better if you assume Tom Cruise's character never escapes from the tripod and the entire movie after that is just a fantasy.

It would be a thousand times better if his screaming daughter was the first vaporized victim.

[Bearflag70]

A good Godzilla movie also has overdubbed voices

[CalMeacham]

Originally Posted by Bearflag70

A good Godzilla movie also has overdubbed voices

...that don't match the lip movements.

[Chimera]

Which would be absolutely hilarious if both voices are speaking English, but the overdub voice is completely different, deeper, and isn't saying the same thing.

[Loach]

Originally Posted by Boyo Jim

You left out the most important part of the quote.

Because we all know that the whole US bombing of Japan thing was just a cover story to hide the existence of Godzilla.

Sorry, a quote like that convinces me that these people are idiots, and gives me no confidence they can make a decent film.

Some make the distinction between sci-fi and science fiction. The latter being more serious and grounded in reality than the former. I took the quote to mean that.

[Boyo Jim]

Originally Posted by Chimera

Which would be absolutely hilarious if both voices are speaking English, but the overdub voice is completely different, deeper, and isn't saying the same thing.

Every male voice should be Gilbert Gottfried or Bobcat Goldthwaite. Every female voice should be Victoria Jackson or Fran Drescher.

This would make the audience feel good about Godzilla destroying them all.

[Equipoise]

I'll go out on a limb and say that I believe that this movie will be all kinds of awesome. The director, Gareth Edwards, made an extremely low-budget movie with monsters in it (it's called, strangely enough, Monsters) a couple of years ago that I unfortunately missed. I wanted to see though, based on the vague gist that it was more of an art-house relationship drama than a creature feature. It just happened to be set in a (modern day) world where monsters live. One person described it as Before Sunrise meets Godzilla, if that means anything to anyone. I laughed. Monsters seems to be one of those Love It or Hate It films. Its walkie/talkieness, sweeping vistas, stretches of silence, and the general lack of monster situations makes for TONS of 1-star "Boring! Worst movie I ever saw!" whining on IMDB. The same attributes cause many others to give it 8-10 stars.

Any director who makes such a polarizing movie his first time out, for a pittance, is a director I want to watch.

Btw, the reason I missed Monsters is because it only played in one theater here, a very expensive art house theater that I usually avoid. I had made up my mind that I was going to suck it up and pay full price to see it, bit closed! It only played a week. Damn.

[Sir T-Cups]

Originally Posted by Brainiac4

If it does not have the real Godzilla roar (aka the Godzilla honk), then I'm not watching it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zhJljblPcY

What's the Godzilla honk?

Is that when he does the first part of his roar and it's really short? And he usually does that over and over?

[pancakes3]

How do you keep it grounded without using sci-fi?

[Tangent]

Originally Posted by Equipoise

The director, Gareth Edwards, made an extremely low-budget movie with monsters in it (it's called, strangely enough, Monsters) a couple of years ago that I unfortunately missed. I wanted to see though, based on the vague gist that it was more of an art-house relationship drama than a creature feature. It just happened to be set in a (modern day) world where monsters live. One person described it as Before Sunrise meets Godzilla, if that means anything to anyone. I laughed. Monsters seems to be one of those Love It or Hate It films. Its walkie/talkieness, sweeping vistas, stretches of silence, and the general lack of monster situations makes for TONS of 1-star "Boring! Worst movie I ever saw!" whining on IMDB. The same attributes cause many others to give it 8-10 stars.

Any director who makes such a polarizing movie his first time out, for a pittance, is a director I want to watch.

Btw, the reason I missed Monsters is because it only played in one theater here, a very expensive art house theater that I usually avoid. I had made up my mind that I was going to suck it up and pay full price to see it, bit closed! It only played a week. Damn.

I saw Monsters "prerelease" on the HDNET Movies channel. The atmosphere and premise are interesting, but it really is pretty boring. And I'm not someone who needs every movie to be SMASH-BANG-BOOM! I like dramas as much as I enjoy action movies. The guy/girl subplot just doesn't work that well. The movie is a good effort from a production standpoint--especially considering its budget--but the story is disappointingly mundane.

[Brainiac4]

Originally Posted by Sir T-Cups

What's the Godzilla honk?

Is that when he does the first part of his roar and it's really short? And he usually does that over and over?

Yep. I love that part.