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  "Our tale begins dramatically amidst the smoldering ruins of what was once a great city. Twisted girders, cracked, blistering sidewalks and the skeletal frames of demolished buildings paint a grim portrait of this smoldering memorial to the unknown. Tokyo, once a proud metropolis of six million people, is now a graveyard." - Steve Martin - United World News Godzilla, King of the Monsters! is a 1956 kaiju film directed by Terry O. Morse and Ishirō Honda. This "Americanization," is a heavily re-edited version of the 1954 Japanese film Godzilla. The film was a Japanese-American co-production, with the original footage produced by Toho Co., Ltd, and the new footage produced by Jewell Enterprises. Starring Raymond Burr, Takashi Shimura, Momoko Kōchi, Akira Takarada, and Akihiko Hirata, with Haruo Nakajima and Katsumi Tezuka as Godzilla, the film follows an American reporter covering a giant reptilian monster's attack on Japan.

Over the past couple of decades, my life has taken an interesting journey. In the early 2000s, I worked as an entertainment reporter and journalist, primarily covering the Japanese science fiction movie scene. That eventually led me to reporting on anime and, later, low-budget independent sci-fi and horror films here in the U.S. This work allowed me to establish valuable contacts at major studios like Warner Bros. and Universal, and I had the opportunity to contribute to publicity for some of their releases. It was a wild ride, and an experience I will always treasure.

 Last night the visual effects team of Masaki Takahashi, Takashi Yamazaki, Kiyoko Shibuya, and Tatsuji Nojima made cinematic history when their work for Godzilla Minus One won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. Despite the fact that the Godzilla movie series is currently the longest running franchise in the history of cinema not a single entry had ever been nominated for an Oscar prior to Minus One. The film was the surprise hit of 2023 and gained acclaim with critics and fans alike. Despite a meager budget of less than $15 million the film beat out the Hollywood juggernauts The Creator, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 1, and Napoleon.

From Toho: 70 years after instilling fear in global audiences 1954's black and white Godzilla, the King of the Monsters will once again menace moviegoers in monochrome as Godzilla Minus One is re-released for one week only as Godzilla Minus One/Minus Color. Playing in theaters everywhere January 26 through February 1, the Godzilla Minus One/Minus Color run marks every North American's fan's final chance to catch either version of the critically-acclaimed, award-winning, record-breaking global hit during its original theatrical run. The special release of Godzilla Minus One/Minus Color gives fans a way to commemorate the global phenomenon they helped propel to the forefront of pop culture with an intentional creative choice by its director. "I was very happy that the North American audience embraced 'Godzilla Minus One' and gave us such positive feedback as 'It was incredible,' 'It was scary," and 'It made me cry," said Director, Scree...

 With the success of Godzilla Minus One on the top of his resume, Japanese film maker Takashi Yamazaki has expressed interest in following in director Gareth Edwards shoes by using Godzilla as a springboard into potentially making a Star Wars movie or television series. After seeing his fresh take on Godzilla, Yamazaki may just be the type of film maker the stale Star Wars franchise needs right now. Super7 ULTIMATES! Toho Godzilla Minus One - 8" Toho Godzilla Action Figure - $84.99 @ Amazon.com - Order Here Check out this great piece from Ned Booth of The Playlist: Yamazaki expressed interest in directing a movie set a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away in a recent talk with /Film . “I watched “Star Wars,” and that’s how I ended up being a filmmaker,” he told the outlet. “I’m really hoping I will get a call and they will bring me on ‘Star Wars.'” Of course, it’s the dream of many filmmakers to direct a “Star Wars” movie. ... But Yamazaki could provide a fresh set of eyes ...

 Terri and I saw Godzilla Minus One on Saturday and I was tempted to rattle out a review of the film right away. Instead I chose to wait a few days to process my emotions about the film so that I could write something that would do this amazing film justice. I was tempted to simply post my initial reaction that I shared on Facebook and leave it at that. Here is what I shared: Godzilla Minus One is arguably the best monster movie ever! Heck, it is honestly one of the best movies that I have seen in years. This is nothing like the campy Godzilla films you know. The human drama will make you cry and the monster action is filled with 'OH MY GOD!" moments. Great script, great acting and visuals that will blow your mind. Even if you are not a monster movie fan, this is a must see movie event! Godzilla Minus One Poster 2023 Canvas Print Unframed - $19.99 @ Amazon.com - Order Here To expand on that, Godzilla Minus One isn't like any other Godzilla movie ever produced, with the exc...

 Godzilla Minus One has made a record setting premiere in Japan this week raking in the most money of any Godzilla movie history. Meanwhile hare in the US Godzilla fans will have to wait another month see the film. I preparation for that release Toho has dropped the first trailer for the film on this side of the Pacific. The clip shows some more footage not seen in the Japanese trailers to date. Check this out: Godzilla Minus One is not connected to any previous Godzilla film and is rumored to be the first installment of a brand new cannon (if the film is a success and so far it is.).  Godzilla Minus One Movie Poster Tin Sign Cafe bar Home Wall Art Decoration Retro Metal Tin Sign 8x12 inch - $15.99 @ Amazon.com - Order Here Here is your official synopsis: In the final days of World War II, a small group of Japanese soldiers encounter a dinosaur-like creature on a remote island and are massacred—leaving only two survivors. Two years later, the creature, now many times its origi...

 If you a big Godzilla movie fan like myself you have probably been waiting for the first official trailer for Godzilla Minus One on pins and needles. Back in July Toho released a very short 30 second trailer that simply blew a lot of peoples minds. Today Toho has given us a good minute and a half of pure monster mayhem that features the stereotypical running and screaming along with shots of all out carnage on a scale never seen in monster movie like this before. Hold on to something ... In postwar Japan, a new terror rises; Godzilla. Will the devastated people be able to survive... let alone fight back?  Written and Directed by: Takashi Yamazaki  In theatres nationwide December 1, 2023.  ©2023 TOHO CO., LTD. Spoiler Alert The American underwater nuclear tests in the Marshal Islands awaken an ancient monster known as Gojira (Godzilla). Despite efforts by the US Navy to kill the monster it instinctively heads towards Japan. The country is just beginning to recover fr...

Godzilla Burning Godzilla Movie Monster Series Vinyl Figure $19.99 @ Entertainment Earth - Order Here Collect all your fan favorite monsters from the world's longest running film franchise! This rendition of Godzilla captures its appearance in 1995's Godzilla vs. Destoroyah. The Godzilla Burning Godzilla Movie Monster Series Vinyl Figure measures approximately 10 1/2-inches long x 6 1/2-inches tall. Bandai's Movie Monster Series offers durable, highly detailed, vinyl figures with true to film likeness of iconic kaiju. Don't miss this high temperature monster for your Godzilla collection! - READ MORE Godzilla Destoroyah Movie Monster Series Vinyl Figure $19.99 @ Entertainment Earth - Order Here Collect all your fan favorite monsters from the world's longest running film franchise! This rendition of Destoroyah captures its appearance in 1995's Godzilla vs. Destoroyah. The Godzilla Destoroyah Movie Monster Series Vinyl Figure measures approximately 9 1/2-inches lon...

 With all the hype about a new free 24/7 Godzilla channel on Pluto TV this week I decided to delve into my archives and post one of my favorite Godzilla movie stills from the film Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster. I first posted this image on my first blog, Monster Island News, way back in April of 2008. It was part of a post that featured the information from the US press book that I painstakingly copied word for word. Super7 Toho Godzilla King Ghidorah - 3.75 in Scale Reaction Figure - $25 @ Amazon.com Here is an excerpt from that: NEW MONSTER PROVES THREE HEADS BETTER THAN ONE It was bound to happen! Forget the axiom that two heads are better than one. The very latest in world destroyers is one head up on it as proven in "Ghidrah - The Three Headed Monster" the new Tohoscope / Eastmancolor thriller which opens at the..(Insert Theatre Name) ..Theatre on..(Insert Opening Date).. Those veteran one headed monsters, Godzilla, Rodan and Mothra are on hand to learn this new les...

 This is sibling rivalry on an epic scale! I have admit that when I saw that the 1966 Japanese monster movie War of the Gargantuas was going to be the feature film on Svengoolie this week I actually got a bit giddy. I have always had a soft spot for this titanic monster family slug fest ever since I first saw it back in the 80s on the weekday afternoon movie program Dialing for Dollars in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  A quick note on Dialing for Dollars, in case you couldn't guess the premise, the host of the film would pick a name out of the phone book and call it. If the person who answers can name the movie that person won a hundred bucks, a years supply of taco shells or something like that. Okay back to the movie. Japan finds itself in real trouble when a pair of fraternal twin mutant giant monsters decide to solve their backyard squabble with some hard core wrestling moves from the remote countryside to downtown Tokyo. The military runs up a huge electric bill trying to fr...

In honor of Godzilla: King of the Monsters being featured on Svengoolie  tonight I decided to pull off a mega post of many of my movie stills from the film. These were used to advertise the movie inside theaters while it was being exhibited.   What I always love about the stills produced by Toho to promote their films both in Japan and abroad are that they are almost always composites. That is images that are produced by combining several objects and different images to produce a totally different photograph. A perfect example of this is the photo above, which is actually my favorite Godzilla movie still because of its rather unique composition, in this image you have a photo of Tokyo as the background and then of course you have Godzilla himself - who is made up of the body of the creature as seen in the film with a different head. His left hand as you can see is actually painted to illustrate the monster crushing an airplane. Fire and Japanese fighter planes were added to ...