Godzilla Movie

The American Godzilla Film We Never Got! (Juicy Info on the Cancelled 1994 G Film!)

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InstinctiveGigan

MemberMothra LarvaeMay-14-2015 1:56 AM

Hey folks! It's been awhile, came back to share this cool article I found. We all know of the travesty that was the 1998 "Godzilla" film, but anyone who's aware of this film's dark history probably also knows that this film was almost completely different at one point. 

Godzilla looked accurate, the story was far better, and he even fought another monster called the Gryphon. Well if you are at all interested on the what could have been, check out this article written by scifijapan.com.

It gives vast details on the film including extra concepts, new information, behind-the-scenes details and more! To make it even better this is only the first part! Part 2, 3, and 4 will come out throughout the rest of May, so stay tuned for updates! Click the link below now and see what could have been the true first American Godzilla film!

PART 1

Includes:

- Origins

- Story Development

- Screenplay

- Hunt for the Director

- First FX Test

- Etc.

PART 2

- Coming May 17th

PART 3

- Coming May 24th

PART 4

- Coming May 31st

So what do you think? Is this the Godzilla film we deserved to get? What do you prefer about this unseen film over 1998's Zilla or even Godzilla 2014 just from what you heard? Share your thoughts!

21 Replies

MechaGoji-175

MemberMothra LarvaeMay-14-2015 3:16 AM

Ah yas, it would of been a great film.

Therizinosaurus Rex(aka Kaijusaurs)

MemberMothra LarvaeMay-14-2015 6:33 AM

I don't is just me but for some reason Godzilla 1994 and Godzilla 2014 plot are similar I mean both Godzilla were believe to  be destined to save the earth and both have a finishing move(except 1994 had a better finishing move) and both military were believes that Godzilla is a bigger threat except Godzilla in 1994 he was created species rather a mutated Dinosaurus.

Therizinosaurus for JW2!

G. H. (Gman)

AdminGodzillaMay-14-2015 8:02 AM

^He wasn't a mutated dinosaur in 2014 either.

I'm pretty familiar with the production background, so I haven't read the article just yet. But it always sounded like a fun movie.

"'Nostalgic' does not equal 'good,' and 'standards' does not equal 'elitism.'" "Being offended is inevitable. Living offended is your choice."

GG

ModeratorGiganMay-14-2015 10:13 AM

I read that whole article and Godzilla 2014 is still a much better film.

This had an incredibley confusing storyline, the villain was strange the Gryphon....

 

Good grief.

Durp004

MemberBaragonMay-14-2015 11:00 AM

Funny how much the sentiments of the crew on that movie echoed how they wanted to do Godzilla with what was said about the 2014 movie that came out 2 decades later

Sci-Fi King25

MemberGiganMay-14-2015 2:49 PM

Posted a topic about this about eight months ago. Nice to find the BTS.

“Banana oil.”- George Takei, Gigantis: The Fire Monster

Therizinosaurus Rex(aka Kaijusaurs)

MemberMothra LarvaeMay-14-2015 3:24 PM

@GMAN2887 

 

I know

Therizinosaurus for JW2!

KoldWarKid62

MemberBaragonMay-14-2015 6:55 PM

I'm also familiar with the background of this abandoned project. Though not perfect, it would have been a much better film, and much closer to the Godzilla we know.

From synopses I've seen, I think it would have been better than 2014 as well. Had this one been made, 2014 may never have happened.

Something Real

MemberGodzillaMay-14-2015 7:18 PM

INSTINCTIVEGIGAN - Wow! You know, I have actually never heard of this film? This is extremely interesting! I believe that the Gryphon would have been an incredibly frightening and intimidating creature - even for something as daunting as Godzilla! Thank you so much for sharing this information! Additionally, it is extremely good to see you once again! :)

G. H. (Gman)

AdminGodzillaMay-14-2015 11:32 PM

Feels like a lot of elements for this film were used for Gamera: Guardian of the Universe. It's not a perfect template, but I always wondered if Kaneko was aware of some background information regarding this project and fit what he liked into the beloved Gamera reboot. If Gamera: Guardian of the Universe is any indication this movie could've been great-- but that's an assumption blantantly ignoring variables between the two productions.

Whether this movie would have been better than the 2014 film is hard to say. Considering the state of 1990s blockbusters at the time it would certainly have been more action packed and fun. I'm not entirely sure I'd say Jan de Bont is a better director than Edwards. More experienced for sure, but his visual eye probably wouldn't have given us quite as grandiose shots.

The more I see of the '94 design the more, the more I wish we saw it in action. I certainly prefer the spines, muzzle and eyes to 2014. Interesting how both hold their arms in the same position though...

"'Nostalgic' does not equal 'good,' and 'standards' does not equal 'elitism.'" "Being offended is inevitable. Living offended is your choice."

KoldWarKid62

MemberBaragonMay-15-2015 5:50 AM

Let me clarify, since yes, we won't ever know if it would have been better or not, since it was never made. Let me just say it sounds like a movie I'd rather see versus 2014. Gareth Edwards may end up being the far superior filmmaker, great even, and I'm curious to see what he does with SW. Having said that, the movies I've seen of his thus far I have found fairly dull, tbh. I applaud what he did in Monsters, but it's a one and done experience for me. As for G 2014, you all know my take on it. Again, some stunning work done in it, but it is a boring movie that does not hold up well on repeated viewings. That's just me.

I pretty much agree on the design of Godzilla (94) as well.

G. H. (Gman)

AdminGodzillaMay-15-2015 10:41 AM

"it is a boring movie"

Sadly I can see this being G'14's legacy in the not too distant future. I appreciate it more than that sentiment, but generally speaking I feel that's what a lot audiences drive at.

This movie would've been a lot of fun, but plenty of 90s blockbuster schlock were fun while being pretty terrible. That being said, Jan de Bont's Speed and Twister were a couple of exceptions. Nothing groundbreaking, but ultimately fun without being insulting. Probably we would have had the same type of film on our hands in 1994.

"'Nostalgic' does not equal 'good,' and 'standards' does not equal 'elitism.'" "Being offended is inevitable. Living offended is your choice."

KoldWarKid62

MemberBaragonMay-15-2015 12:51 PM

There's a line in Gladiator - "Are you not entertained?" At the end of the day, that's what we're going to movies for isn't it? To be entertained to some degree; taken away. That comes in several forms for us - great characters and performances, engaging, original or creative storytelling, humor, jaw-dropping iconic moments, suspense, great action segments, and in the case of some truly great movies, it may have all of those things. G 14 quite honestly had none of those. It hinted at taking you places it never quite delivered on. If I were on an island in my sentiments for it I'd say it's just me. It's a beautiful and technically excellent movie, and Edwards did some great things visually, but there's very little payoff.

I would love to have seen de Bont's Godzilla, and yes, I enjoyed Speed and Twister as well.

KoldWarKid62

MemberBaragonMay-15-2015 12:55 PM

...and yes, it is going to be it's legacy, and that may end up hurting the sequel. I think many people (especially non G-fans), who felt taken will not give the second one the Mulligan it hopefully deserves. I hope Edwards et al are listening.

vexxed

MemberMothra LarvaeMay-15-2015 2:51 PM

Wow looks like a lot went into the Godzilla movie that never was. Would have been cool to see a Godzilla with an origin like that but instead we got it with gamera instead which was still cool.

G. H. (Gman)

AdminGodzillaMay-15-2015 6:56 PM

Koldwar,
I don't agree that G'14 is without any of those qualities. In fact I'd argue it had quite a few of those. Perhaps not all at once in a cohesive form, but it did have a couple of solid performances in Cranston in particular. Suspence is practically all that drove the movie, especially leading up to monster reveals and the action sequences were entertaining once we get to them. Just a few examples.

That said general audience outlook might hurt momentum for the sequel. On the other hand the sequel might be far enough away to redirect their vision of the franchise. Who knows. We all better pray Star Wars: Rogue One is both successful and critically loved. If not Godzilla 2 could be in big trouble.

"'Nostalgic' does not equal 'good,' and 'standards' does not equal 'elitism.'" "Being offended is inevitable. Living offended is your choice."

G. H. (Gman)

AdminGodzillaMay-31-2015 2:14 PM

Just finished reading part 4. Does anyone else's blood boil while reading it? Not about how bad the '98 movie was, but how the studio and above-the-line crew members handled it. Their attitude and how they saw the property is astounding. No one high said, "Wait... maybe we're don't have what we think we have..."

The amount of arrogance and lack of respect to what is Godzilla really astounds me. It's almost as if there was no point in buying the property at all. From an executive standpoint, if you spend money to buy Godzilla make a movie that the the title inspires images of.

In the end they went with Devlin and Emmerich because what they proposed didn't feel like Godzilla and because they promised it would be cheaper than Jan de Bont's movie-- Even though it ended up costing far more...

Here's my facorite quote from the article:

Rob Fried was angered by how badly the studio had mishandled the property he had helped them acquire. “The Sony executive team that took over GODZILLA was one of the worst cases of executive incompetence I have observed in my twenty year career,” he asserted. “One of the golden assets of our time, which was hand-delivered to them, was managed as poorly and ineptly as anybody can manage an asset. They took a jewel and turned it into dust.”

"'Nostalgic' does not equal 'good,' and 'standards' does not equal 'elitism.'" "Being offended is inevitable. Living offended is your choice."

KoldWarKid62

MemberBaragonMay-31-2015 8:54 PM

Great series of articles, btw.

Yes, it's infuriating. The suits had no idea what to do with it. However, a great deal of blame has to be leveled at Toho for giving the go ahead. All they saw were dollar signs. Sure, they wanted to get their property greater exposure and they saw this as an opportunity, and realized this may be a last shot, but they also knew all too well what they were getting. All they had to do was say "No", and that travesty would have never seen the light of day. They made the proverbial deal with the devil. I sent them an e-mail to that effect shortly after the movie came out. I was so angry.

It seems the people who were working on it previously were genuinely passionate about it and actually liked the character. I think De Bont is still bitter about it. I would still love to see that movie get made, although I know it'll never happen.

Godzilla 2016 can't come fast enough. Godzilla needs to go home.

G. H. (Gman)

AdminGodzillaMay-31-2015 9:32 PM

It's amazing to me how this project went from people who genuinely wanted to do Godzilla justice and had a great admiration for the property, to people who not only weren't fans, but outright didn't like the source material.

I think this is what keeps my disdain for the '98 film lit. It's not that it's simply a bad movie, or a movie so bad it helped end an era-- It's a bad movie made by people who had no love for the material at all. It wasn't even a bad movie made by people with good intentions, just those who were induldging in a superiorty complex based on being poorly educated about cinema history.

I think this is why the 2014 movie, in part, gets a pass from a lot of fans including myself. While the list of problems it has match those of most modern Godzilla movies since the 90s, (not a compliment) it at least had a crew and executives who love the property and the character. It shows as well.

That said... Thank God Toho is doing another film...

"'Nostalgic' does not equal 'good,' and 'standards' does not equal 'elitism.'" "Being offended is inevitable. Living offended is your choice."

The King of the Monsters

MemberMothra LarvaeJun-01-2015 7:39 PM

Reading part 4 of this article was both infuriating and satisfying for me. On one hand, it fully exploited the apathy, disrespect, and outright contempt that the 1998 film's creators had for the Godzilla series. It also showed that the blame for this travesty truly extends beyond Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin. Emmerich made it clear from the get-go that he hated Godzilla and would screw the movie up if he was chosen to direct it. And sure enough, when the ridiculous budget restrictions Sony leveled on the project scared every other director away and TriStar turned to Emmerich and Devlin in desperation to revive the project, the inevitable happened.

Toho deserves a degree of blame for essentially panicking and approving Emmerich's monster just so they could get their paycheck for the film, then defending and promoting it to fans while they knew very well that it was done as a spit in the face to the fans and would certainly disappoint them. But in Toho's defense, I've always said that the design wasn't the entire problem (it was still a big part), rather it was the portrayal of the monster, as Tomiyama later summed up, "taking the 'God' out of 'Godzilla.'" I think more fans would have accepted the design if it acted like Godzilla in any way. When Toho approved the design, they were not fully aware of how badly Emmerich would emasculate and bastardize Godzilla.

But it's satisfying to now have definitive proof that the 1998 film was never made with good intentions. All of the pathetic "It's a more realistic take on Godzilla," "It's an acceptable variation of Godzilla for a new generation" excuses for the film are moot now, because this article revealed that the only intention of the filmmakers was "Godzilla is stupid and lame. We can make him much better and cooler by completely removing all of the stupid characteristics Toho gave him." This article showed that there truly was a sort of malicious intent behind the movie. Everyone involved was clueless about what they were working with and so preoccupied with their own egos that the project was doomed the second Sony turned away from De Bont and the original script.

And that's why I'm still bitter about the movie. People that say "Get over it, it was 17 years ago" and things like that. But it's not like they just made a bad Godzilla movie by mistake or that the film just had some flaws that made it a bad movie, the movie was actually made with the worst of intentions. The people who made it DESPISED Godzilla, they wanted their monster to be completely different and put the real Godzilla to shame. The movie was made like a big "F**k you" to Toho, the Godzilla franchise, and its fans, and because fans hated the movie, everyone accuses them of being "butthurt fanboys." If someone went out of their way to publicly insult you, you would rightfully be upset. This movie was that to the Godzilla fanbase at large. The movie deserved all the backlash and hatred it received and still maintains today. I'm a bit disturbed by the huge "counter-movement" that has started on the internet where people who disliked the 2014 film have just decided that the 1998 film is great because it was made with the exact opposite intentions, but these people are just ignorant self-entitled immature trolls. Unfortunately, I'm sure that Roland Emmerich gets some satisfaction knowing that people who dislike the true Godzilla are deciding that his film is somehow great by default.

Dang, I really let loose a rant there, didn't I? Well, it feels good to get it out.

"When man falls into conflict with nature, monsters are born." - Professor Hayashida, The Return of Godzilla

G. H. (Gman)

AdminGodzillaJun-02-2015 2:59 PM

^Actually I thought this was a brilliant companion piece/summary of the final part, King of the Monsters. I quite enjoyed it. And you're right. There's every reason to be angry, not necessarily at the film, but the people and mindset behind it.

Yes, Toho was in part to blame, but I think they were so desperate to get back into the international market that they took a gamble. Clearly there were reservations, but ignoring them jumpstarted the most horrible addition to the series.

"'Nostalgic' does not equal 'good,' and 'standards' does not equal 'elitism.'" "Being offended is inevitable. Living offended is your choice."
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