Official Godzilla 2016 discussion thread!

@BigBadBen:

Thanks for the info on Takashi Yamazaki.

I'm going to look for clips of his work on YouTube, especially Battleship Yamato.

I think most of us would like see a tokusatsu Godzilla, augmented with a judicious use of digital effects that are well-developed and meticulously worked on. This requires time. Shusuke Kaneko said that working at Daiei with more time, but less money was better as far as filmmaking is concerned. I hoping Toho has realized this and will devote all of 2015 to giving this project the time it deserves. Their gift, their craft, to the world, is the traditional effects: suitmation and miniatures. This doesn't exculde the use of dgital effects. The two streams, practical and digital are not mutually exclusive as we all know. But it's the practical, the tokusatsu, that gives these films their charm and that certain look that sets them apart from other art forms.

Whether they go with Yamazaki or someone else, I hope the traditional effects are right in the middle of this film.

No problem Jamaal.

Well, brother and sister fans of tokusatsu, here's a You Tube series on this unique art fom, in three parts:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgBcHdPCv0w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHiUPPWOfSI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0_RMb00-ig

Thanks for the links Jamaal, great stuff.

So, is anyone else hoping for a dark, atmospheric Godzilla film besides me?

I am, too.

A dark Godzilla that is sufficiently creepy would be fine with me.

The tone of this film could make or break it... its quite possible that THIS film could be the dark story that we thought Legendary's film would be after seeing the chilling Mood Piece trailer and the first teaser.  Toho has the opportunity here to bring Godzilla back to his roots far more than Legendary did, and create a darker, more frightening film.  As incredible as the 2014 film was, it wasn't really scary.  I want me a SCARY Godzilla film, where you know he's coming, and he's huge and unstopable, and there is NOT A THING you can do but watch as the wrld is destroyed around you.

Its unlikely, but I'd go bonkers for such a film. :)

Hello, I am new to this forum and reasonably new to Godzilla. Of the movies that I have seen, many if not all of the G movies barely mention the health effects of radiation. It seems to me that the topic is mostly glossed over. I can understand the 50's, 60's, and maybe even the 70's movies doing this because of the limited knowledge about it at the time, but it's a little sad that even the newer movies ignore the topic. Am I wrong? I really would've liked to have seen the 2014 movie talk about contamination to crops/food and drinking water or have people getting radiation burns, or getting sick if they are too close. I mean, how radioactive is Godzilla? When Godzilla was sleeping near the end of the movie, there were rescue workers right next to him. I would like the new Toho movie to actually talk about that a little. Maybe actually show that he doesn't need to physically attack structures to cause damage a city. Just his radioactive nature alone should be enough a threat for parts of a city to be closed off or something. I think that would help to give the new Toho movie a darker feel, and it might make it a bit more frightening if it was done right.

AnguishOfDearth,
The older films, particularly from the 50s and 60s, touch on this a bit more. The original movie shows irradiated people in hospitals and that Godzilla's very footsteps were radioactive. Mothra vs. Godzilla showed that Godzilla simply being thrown by a storm can leave areas irradiated. The main characters had to be "cleansed" for touching a piece of Godzilla's skin from earlier.

Fear of radiation is lightly touched on through other aspects of storytelling in these films. For example, Godzilla vs. Biollante shows pieces of Godzilla's skin are sprinkled all over Tokyo post-destruction. Various teams trying to grab samples are wearing scrubs and masks due to their radioactive properties.

I wouldn't mind seeing it explored more in a modern setting as well, but it has been a major plot point in various films. It was certainly the most frightening in the original film.

Ok, now here is something i don't think we have discussed here yet. Who are they going to get to compose the score for this upcoming film? And who is a very strong canidate?

Course, there is a 7-8/10 chance that they will use Akira Ifukube's godzilla theme song "Godzilla march." They have too, it's a part of Godzilla, it's like a small touch of special effects for Godzilla. The beat is very memoriable, as a matter of fact all of Ifukube's music is.

I meant to add this as well. If we are getting a VS. film, i sincerly hope that the monster fights are equalled to mothra vs godzilla 1964. Emotional, touching, devestating, and beautiful.

Composer is an intersting question. Once again I feel as though they'll go with someone new for the series.

If Takashi Yamazaki is chosen as the director I expect Naoki Sato to be the composer since that's his go-to guy.

I'd love to hear Kenji Kawai's take on Godzilla. His Ultraman scores have been fantastic and I fell in love with his work in Mobile Suit Gundam 00. Seems like a long shot though.

As much as I love Otani and Oshima, and wouldn't mind them coming back, I think the prospect of new talent is more exciting.

^As long as they do it right correct?

New talent is execptional though.

^Correct. I would hope they would place new talent that fits with the Godzilla series well.

Ok, so how would you all feel if godzilla looked like this in the new upcoming film?

I like it.

A little too saggy in the front for my taste and I'd like bigger arms, but not bad. I could get behind it overall.

That'd be a cool look!  I bet the new Godzilla will be one gnarly SOB, for some reason! ;)

Another conceptual Godzilla I'd like to see be realized one day as a suit is Yuji Sakai's Godzilla 2000:

This design was recreated for the S.H.MonsterArts figure of the character:

Its a wicked design that would make a killer suit!  I don't know if it will fit with this film's tone, but we don't know that tone yet. :) He certainly looks cool!

^You make a good point about "fitting with the movie's tone". Something that's rarely brought up his how various designs of Godzilla fit with the film's atmosphere. For example the massively hated musuko-goji suit is pretty ugly, but it fits with the parental, friendlier look that Godzilla had going on in that movie.

I think the Gamera suits in the Gamera trilogy make an even better case for the matching suit-to-atmosphere argument.

Agreed about the suit matching the feeling and atmosphere of the film in question.

I would love to see something close too, or based on, Yuji Sakai's maquette for Godzilla 2000 Millennium. Especially since this model was the first look we were given regarding that film. The actual suit, of course, turned out to be different, but great just the same. But Sakai's maquette actualized as the titular kaiju would be great, as a suit and enhanced through the judicious use of some CGI.

If the Godzilla design is something similar to the Sakai maquette, and the suit is reflective of the film's feel, then Toho Godzilla 2016 should have elements of horror and scenes that are shocking. The first look at the maquette was around tax day in 1999, as I remember Aaron Smith remarking about it. Then, about two months later, at the live talk show at Shinjuku Loft Plus-One, producer Shogo Tomiyama said that they wanted Godzilla to have "an element of weirdness." Well, at the time, that fit the Yuji Sakai maquette perfectly. I have often wondered how a 'weird' Godzilla would be realized and what would it mean in terms of its character and his relationship to Japan. If you think about it, 'weirdness' goes along with being exposed to nuclear weapons testing. I would like to see the next film address the effect of The Bomb on Godzilla in ways beyond his size and powers. I would think that it would make him intelligent and purposeful. So the reason for his reappearence should be addressed with skill and forethought.