Good article that sums up everything going on with Godzilla 2012/2014

Hello everybody this is Fernando for Godzilla Movie News.

Here's a really great article I found within HITFIX.com that nicely surmises everything going on within the newest Godzilla movie.

I've already covered all of this stuff within my own YouTube videos (which you'll find a link for located on the right hand side of this blog), so things have already been discussed as far as Legendary Pictures, Gareth Edwards, David Goyer, and so forth.

But what I liked about this article is that it nicely sums everything up in one notion, and it provides some great insight from author Drew McWeeny too.

Drew McWeeny is a guy who's been writing about Hollywood production/news for quite some time now, making a name for himself at aintitcool.com, so his information is always solid.

So take a read if you have a chance. I definitely recommend clicking on this link to get there, at least to get a good refresher on things.

Hitfix.com: Legendary Brings In David Goyer to Rewrite Godzilla

New "Godzilla: Legends" info

Hello everybody this is Fernando for Godzilla Movie News.

I have some more info to share regarding this new Godzilla series from IDW Comics.

As I had stated before in another article, this series is going to be different in that each issue will always be a one-shot. So whatever story started at the beginning of the issue also ends there.

This is something that I LOVE because one-shots tend to have some of the best stories around. There's something about knowing that the story will end that makes the reading so much more satisfying.

Especially when compared to other series' where one has to chase who knows how many issues just to get the complete picture. (Don't get me started on how Marvel and DC are guilty of this).

In any case here's the newest official news, all in the form of a synopsis about the issue:

"The Legends begin here! Presenting the first of five spotlight issues, each of which explore a self-contained story centering on one of Godzilla's fearsome foes! In this tale, drawn and co-written by Godzilla superstar artist Matt Frank, Anguirus, the armadillo-esque perpetual underdog, goes toe-to-toe with one of the most devastating monsters of all time -- Destroyah! It's a classic tale of David vs. Goliath... monster style!"

Neat huh! So not only is the first issue going to involve fan favorite Anguirus, but he's going up against the Monster that killed Godzilla himself, Destroyah.

I can't wait until this comes out!

Did "Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters" originally have a different name?

Hello everybody this is Fernando for Godzilla Movie News.

Check out this image everyone.

Interesting no?

I found this while I was recently looking for more info about any IDW Godzilla news. It was located within an article dated back from February from this year.

It seems like the current Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters series from IDW comics had a different title before it was changed.

I can see why this was done. Godzilla: Monster World just doesn't have that same impact that Kingdom of Monsters does. While they both convey the same subject, one has a much more powerful presence than the other.

What also makes this interesting is how recent this change was. If the article was titled in February and the comic came back out thereafter, that's as close as these things can get before printing occurs.

This also tells me that either writer Erik Powell or publisher IDW comics got cold feet on that title, and if it was the latter than it also shows how easily IDW comics superseded any decisions Erik Powell had on this.

Godzilla Trivia of the Day

Did you know...

That in Godzilla vs. Mothra (1964), during the scene where Godzilla was being bombarded with flames the suit's head (that the stuntman was wearing) actually caught on fire!

It quickly went out once the flammable liquid finished, but the resulting accidental footage of Godzilla with his head on fire was included within the movie.

The interesting part was that the stuntman inside Godzilla's suit was so unaware of this (thanks to the stuffiness and immobility of the suit) that he presumably never knew this had occurred until later on.

This actually makes sense because if you've read any reports on the stuntmen within any Godzilla movie, they'll always state how restrictive and claustrophobic the suits were.

These suits are so thick they're literally walking carpets that obstruct anything happening around the stuntmen.

Source: IMDB.com

Godzilla Kingdom of Monsters Motion comic...part 3

Here's the third part of the outstanding motion comics Youtube user Kyle Gilmore has been creating recently.

For reference this is the Godzilla Kingdom of Monsters series, issue #2, the second half.

Enjoy!

Godzilla Kingdom of Monsters Motion Comic...part 2

Here is the second part of the outstanding motion comics that Youtube user Kyle Gilmore has been creating.

For reference he's utilizing the "Godzilla Kingdom of Monsters" series from IDW, and in this video it's the first half of issue #2.

Enjoy!

Godzilla Image of the Day

Hello everybody this is Fernando for Godzilla Movie news.

Now here is something that can truly merit the term "sea monster".

Again this is one of those cases where I wish I could find whom to give credit to for this incredible piece, but alas I could not.

Mixing the classical renaissance with Godzilla, who knew it would come out looking so good!

What the artist did here was essentially mix together what looks to be a renaissance era painting with the modern day King of Monsters. If these sailors truly wanted to meet a sea monster, they got one with Godzilla.

If I had done this painting I would've changed it to include one unique addition: rather than having this boat manned by random sailors, I would've included Captain Ahab from the great American Novel "Moby Dick". In this manner the "Moby Dick" he's been chasing all of his life for revenge would've been Godzilla.

Godzilla Toy of the Day

Now here is a toy set for every Godzilla fan out there!

Awww don't they look so cute.

Each standing a mighty 2 inches tall, this is an 8 piece collection showcasing various phases of the King of Monsters, along with some of his allies/enemies.

Again there is literally something for everybody here.

There's a Godzilla bathed in his own heat/fire, there's Godzilla from the original 1954 film, there's Mechagodzilla, there's Anguirus, there's Gigan, there's even Zilla from the 1998 Devlin/Emmerich film.

I was quite surprised that Zilla was incorporated as these toys are fairly new, so Toho Studios is still apparently licensing out the design to toymakers.

Despite being only 2 inches tall (if you truly want to measure what that size is, simply measure the bottom two parts of your pinky) there's still a good amount of detail showcased, with each figure having moving parts too.

Looking at the Toymaker "Hong Kong 4 U"'s other roster of toys, it looks like making sets is their speciality as they have multiple sets for other franchises too.

Godzilla Actor of the Day, Akira Takarada

Now here is an actor who can truly state they've been able to complete a full circle within the Godzilla franchise.

Akira Takarada is perhaps (next to Raymond Burr) one of the most well known actors within the Godzilla franchise. Essentially he was in the first movie "Gojira" and was in several more Godzilla movies right until the last one with "Godzilla Final Wars".

His was/is a Godzilla career that lasted over 50 years, which is definitely something that can be proud to boast of!

In the original Gojira film he played Hideto Ogata, the navy officer whom had several important parts of the film. Apparently Akira won this role because he was hired by Toho Studios as part of their "New Face" program, i.e. a young cadre of up-and-coming stars that the studio wished to promote and grow.

He later resurfaced in various other Godzilla films, from "Godzilla vs the Sea Monster" to "Godzilla vs Mothra", to finally creating the full circle with "Godzilla Final Wars", playing the UN Secretary General.

How incredible would it be if Akira were able to make it into the newest Godzilla film as a cameo of sorts.

Hopefully Gareth Edwards could help arrange something like that if he truly wished to pay homage to the previous films.

Godzilla Kingdom of Monsters Motion Comic...part 1

Now this is what I call amazing!



I highly recommend everyone to take a look at this video by Kyle Gilmore, as it truly does the impossible...it actually makes the "Godzilla Kingdom of Monsters" series into something worthwhile.

The magic here comes from the "motion comic" medium Kyle is able to successfully implement. Such a feature essentially brings the comic to life through the use of sophisticated tracking, sound effects and music.

For those not in the know, a "motion comic" is the actual comic itself (same panels, artwork and everything) but it incorporates outside factors to help make it "alive". Besides the aforementioned items, this also includes manipulating the images themselves to have characters' arms, eyes, legs also move.

This was done with great success with "Watchmen the Motion Comic", which I personally own and highly recommend everyone else to grab a copy too, and this is the same effect that Kyle is trying to obtain here.

Well it works marvelously, and my hats off to this guy for taking the time and effort to truly take a dull, sophomoric comic like "Godzilla Kingdom of Monsters" and turn it into something very cinematic.

I am certainly going to enjoy watching his work, and will post the rest here as they come along, and encourage everyone to take a look at his profile by clicking on the "YouTube" tab within his video. This is one talented fellow.

Who knew all it took was some careful editing and sound effects to make this series into a great one.

Fight of the Day: Godzilla vs. Cloverfield

In one corner is the King of Monsters himself, Godzilla!

In the other corner is the newest Kaiju within the United States, Cloverfield!

I would actually have to state that this is one fight even Godzilla (while not exactly losing) may have to walk away from. In other words it would be the closest I can think of in terms of a draw, and here's why.

In watching the Cloverfield movie, the monster was bombarded with bullets, missiles, grenades, etc., throughout the majority of its short existence. And yet it looked like nothing was really stopping it at all.

Even the military utilizing a massive carpet bombing, that virtually leveled nearby smaller buildings, did little more than cause the monster to tumble. Within a few short moments it was already leaping into the air and attacking a nearby helicopter.

This is all because Cloverfield's strongest offsense/defense is its tough skin. Presumably an effect stemming from deep sea pressures, Clover's skin is virtually impregnetable. It allowed the monster to walk through New York without any real damage, despite hours and hours of military action against it.

What did finally lead to its demise was a combination of the MOAB (or Mother of all Bombs), which is the closest to a nuclear bomb without the radiation, and subsequent bombardment from Navy ships and submarines in the ocean.

This is why I feel the fight would be one of the longest in Godzilla's history.

Godzilla would first attack with its fire breath and find that the Cloverfield monster may be resilient to it. Thus Godzilla would be forced to fight hand to hand with the monster, and this is where Clover has the advantage.

Those long forelegs allow it a huge reach advantage, which means Godzilla would have to spend hours dodging those strikes while trying his best to sneak in any tail swipes, throws, even bites.

This is why I feel that after hours of this Godzilla would probably give up and walk away exhausted. He would literally know the meaning at this point of an immovable object meeting an unstoppable force.

Again it's not necessarily a loss, more like a draw.

Godzilla Gangsters and Goliaths #2 Rankings

Hello everybody this is Fernando for Godzilla Movie News.

Well it looks like the second issue of this great series continues to go on strong.

For reference issue #1 had originally come in at 158th place, selling around 13,392 issues.

Issue #2 however lost some slight ground, dropping a few places to 162nd place and selling around 11,611 comics. That's good news.

I can see what you're asking now: why is any loss such good news? It's because the size of the loss is so small, meaning this thing is looking to have "legs", i.e. an audience that for the most part will stick around to see what's going on.

Let's compare the example with "Godzilla Kingdom of Monsters" issues #1 and #2. Between the two issues there was over a 75% loss in orders, with the second issue losing more than 40,000 orders from the first. That's huge! That's a loss that makes comic book retailers and publishers nervous because they now have something that may continue a lose orders month after month.

But when something has "legs", it means that the same amount of people (give or take a few percentage points) will continue to buy more issues, which means longer sales over the life of the comic book.

Such is the case with this great series, which to me is very good news in any shape or form.

Godzilla Toy of the Day

Hello everybody this is Fernando for Godzilla Movie news.

I thought I would create yet another new column, this one dedicated to the wonderful world of toys within the Godzilla franchise.

Of course I already have a column dedicated to Godzilla related toys, but that one is geared more towards the truly weird and bizarre.

With this new column I'd like to spearhead some of the most wonderful Godzilla toys out there, as there are some truly great examples to share. It seems that some Godzilla toymakers/licensees really loved Godzilla as a franchise, and looked to make their toys the best ones out there.

As such here is the inaugural Toy of the Day:

What an absolutely beautiful looking toy here. Modeled after the Godzilla from his last movie, this "Large Deluxe Godzilla Final Wars" figure truly gives Godzilla one of the best representations around.

From the head to the detailed skin to the amazing looking spines, this toy has it all. Just look at the fine level of detail crafted on this model. Even the teeth have that right look. This type of detail is usually reserved for revered toymakers like Sideshow collectibles (which usually cost $100 for one of their statues), but here it's almost having that quality for only a fraction of the price.

Plus it stands at 12 inches tall, which in the toy world is immense!

The only con I can think of is that such a deluxe model deserved to have some effect placed within it, like a Godzilla roar or a spine rack that lights up.

Weird Godzilla toy...part 11

So apparently Godzilla can ride a bike now?

While I don't think the toy is necessary weird (it looks like your average kid's bike), what I find to be extremely strange is how Godzilla was incorporated into this toy. He's used as a marketing ploy in a very bizarre manner.

I mean look at the artwork. Here's Godzilla fighting his usual assortment of military tanks and airplanes, and he chooses to get way by hopping on a tricycle and speeding off? Just the image alone makes me laugh considering how ridiculous it looks.

And this is all official because one can see on the bottom corner the Toho Studios copyright, so it's for real.

Which leads to my next point, where exactly is Godzilla on the actual bicycle? As I had mentioned earlier it looks like your average kid's bike, but where is a Godzilla image on the handle, or the seat, or the wheels, or the rail, and so forth?

What I mean is that most licensed products such as Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, etc., usually have their image/symbol on the actual product. Here it's completely missing.

One would think that Toho Studios would at least be able to place an actual Godzilla on this bike, but it looks like it was not meant to be.

Godzilla Kingdom of Monsters #2 Rankings

Hello everybody this is Fernando for Godzilla Movie News.

Whoa huge drop for the newest issue of Kingdom of Monsters, issue #2!

For quick reference issue #1 came in number 16th (out of 200) with over 58,000+ issues sold.

Issue #2 did a steep drop off by coming in at 120th place, with now only around 14,492 issues ordered.

Now unless my math is wrong that's about 1/4 of the amount from the first issue, which in any field out there (movies, music, books, etc.) is a considered a massive drop off.

One can again attribute this to the weak reviews the first issue had been getting. While retailers are able to somewhat gauge consumer demand on first issues, it's the subsequent issues that truly matter. Those are the ones that either go up or down in sales depending on consumer likes.

On an ironic note, that same month's sales list also states that the first issue had a reissue/reorder of about 10,783 more issues, coming in at number 145. I call this ironic because while the second issue had a such huge drop off, the first issue apparently needed reorders?

My guess here is that those consumers late to the party on the first issue (finding them all sold out) probably asked their comic book retailer to reorder a new set of copies, which led to this unique situation.

Godzilla Video of the Day

Godzilla roars heard across the world?

Well...not exactly. You see in someplace called Kiev there's some far-away drilling going on to help create new homes.

However when that sound reverberates back to someone's ear, with the distance involved it sounds like a huge monster roar!

The first thing that popped to mind was the Cloverfield monster roar heard throughout the movie, which was of course a homage to Godzilla himself.

So while the sound isn't the any giant monster coming towards a city, it's still fun to imagine these things. Here's the video itself:

Godzilla Movie News: Godzilla Gangsters and Goliaths #1 review

Here I review the first issue within the newest series from IDW comics, Gangsters and Goliaths, and give my thoughts and opinions on the matter.

Godzilla Movie News: Godzilla Kingdom of Monsters #2 Review

Here I review the second issue within the Kingdom of Monsters series from IDW comics, and give my thoughts and opinions on the matter.

New Destroy All Monsters coming to US DVD/Blu-Ray soon!

Hello everybody this is Fernando for Godzilla movie news.

Great news for all Godzilla fans out there!

Toho studios has announced that one of their classics, "Destroy All Monsters", will be rereleased onto the US DVD/Blu-Ray market soon.

"Destroy All Monsters" is of course one of the most revered Godzilla films out there, nicely mixing in an all-out monster fight fest within a good film. If you want top-form man-in-suit action all day long, this is the movie that "Godzilla Final Wars" should have been all along.

This was a film directed by Ishiro Honda, who of course had directed the first Godzilla film of all, "Gojira".

What makes this release so unique are the extras involved. There will be commentaries from Steve Ryfle and Ed Godziszewski, who have recently developed a biography on Ishiro's work, so much detail will be involved about him and the making of the movie. This will also include movie stills, trailers, concept and preproduction art, posters, radio spots, and other fascinating items.

Basically every piece of detail one would ever want to know about "Destroy All Monsters" will be here, which will no doubt culminate into hours of viewing materials Godzilla fans should not miss.

The DVD/Blu-Ray is set to be released October 25, 2011.

Godzilla Random Trivia of the Day

Did you know...

That the basic storyline behind "Godzilla vs Biollante" originated from a contest!

After the success of "Godzilla 1984/1985", Toho Studios decided to hold a contest within their fanbase to see who could come up with the next storyline for a new Godzilla movie.

After hundreds of submissions the winner chosen was Shinichiro Kobayashi, a local dentist and part-time screenwriter. His idea of utilizing a life-force associated within a plant won Toho Studios over, and while it was drastically changed upon filming the basic concept was still there.

To this day Toho Studios has not redone such a "contest" again, but it was still interesting to see them allow outside input for this.

Source: IMDB.com

Godzilla Kingdom of Monsters #3 review

And the confusing mess that is Godzilla Kingdom of Monsters continues...

If you've read my last two reviews on this series, you'll know that I haven't been the highest of fans when it comes to Powell's work here.

He still continues to create something that looks sophomoric at best, and I'm glad to finally see that I'm not the only one who feels this.

I've been reading reviews about this series on other websites like aintitcool.com, comibbookresources.com, ign.com, and they all state the same thing: what the heck is going on with this series?

For starters issue #3 introduces yet another idea within the jumble of ideas, this time focusing on a group of twin girls that seem to have their own special powers.

We seem to finally have something of interest here as Powell is of course paying homage to the twin girls featured within past Godzilla movies, only this time reintroduced as school girl of sorts.

The girls are pure evil here, using their apparent telepathic powers to both hurt and harm anybody in their way, just for the heck of it too. They also apparently focus these energies on taking over Battra, as shown here.

Very interesting stuff, and this is something I want to see more of right away...but Powell maddeningly keeps interjecting other storylines on a very sporadic basis. Essentially he gives us only a few panels within each story before moving onto the next idea.

While I'm certain such storylines will resolve themselves as the issues continue, this is not good storytelling. As a reader one wants to see what happens to a particular idea before jumping around to the next three or four. It's like A.D.D. in a comic book form here.

(I've seen this madness done before with DC's Final Crisis series from last year. Here the storyline could never stop moving around and it became almost a drinking game of sorts when the story shifted to the next scene just after a few panels)

Then on top of all that Powell continues his generic stereotypes by focusing on Texans here in this panel, as they anticipate Anguirus.

Again so sophomoric. This is the great writer of The Goon? Did we really need such stereotyping here?

In any case I'm still giving this 2/5 stars because I continue to see good buildups that will hopefully pay off soon. But the effects are coming sooner then expected, as I've noticed that sales for this series have drastically dropped. Obviously readers are not enjoying this ride, so things better pick up soon.

New Godzilla IDW series to debut soon

Hello everybody this is Fernando for Godzilla movie news.

Looks like IDW comics can't get enough of Godzilla.

Details have emerged of a new series featuring the King of Monsters, this time with an added twist.

"Godzilla, Kingdom of Monsters" and "Godzilla, Gangsters and Goliaths" are both mini-series of sorts, with the same creative team throughout the issues until they finish.

This new series "Godzilla Legends" looks to also be a mini-series, but one consisting of one-shots instead.

For example issue #1 will deal with one story and feature a particular writing/drawing team, while the next issue will have a whole new set of criteria.

This is exciting news because already one can imagine the unique storylines and characters each issue will involve. Anytime I've read one-shots in the past with Superman, Batman, the Punisher, etc., they've always managed to create unique inputs within their respective universe. Now we have this one occuring with Godzilla himself!

The first cover released is also teasing the return of Destroyah too, and that's always a good thing.

No news on when the issues will comes out, but they will be reported here as soon as it happens.

Godzilla Video of the Day

Godzilla within the world of the Super Mario brothers?!



Japan and New York City move over, it appears that not even the Mushroom world is safe from Godzilla's wrath.

I can see what the makers of this video did. They utilized a ROM emulator of sorts of open up the source code within the original Mario game to change Mario's sprites to look like Godzilla's. (Note how Mario appears for a microsecond during power-ups and so forth).

They also added some extra function commands to incorporate Godzilla's flame breath and appendages as "attacks" within the game.

All in all a very good game manipulation as it was executed almost perfectly. (I've dabbled in coding in the past, and believe me if even one program line is wrong the entire thing can fail).

Godzilla IDW Charity comic

Godzilla is now going to be utilized for a good charity cause!

When IDW recently began their Godzilla franchise with "Godzilla, Kingdom of Monsters", they started it with a bang by creating more than 100 variant covers for the first issue.

To be fair most of these "variant" covers were simply the same image, Godzilla stomping down on a comic book store, with the name of the comic book store changed to the retailer selling this comic. ****See side example****

IDW has now decided to collect all of these variants into one giant edition, utilizing all proceeds obtained from sales towards the ongoing tsunami relief in Japan (particularly the International Medical Corps).

IDW didn't have to do this but they did, which can definitely be marked as a positive note towards the organization. It's always great to see comic book companies utilizing their power towards creating a positive impact within the community.

If anyone is interested in getting this comic you can find the link for several online comic book retailers on the side of this blog, which can help take you to it.

Fight of the Day: Godzilla vs. Magneto

In one corner you have the King of Monsters himself, Godzilla!

In the other corner is the Master of Magnetism, Magneto!

****For reference I'm utilizing Magneto from the films, not the uber-power one from the comics****

This is actually one fight that I strongly feel would give Godzilla a run for his money. Dealing with somebody who can manipulate metal can create a lot of headaches for the King of Monsters.

For starters lets talk about offense. Magneto can literally take any piece of metal and make it into some of the deadliest shrapnel around. Any building surrounding him can become a halo of arsenal, as the steel beams down to the paper clips within the building can be used as projectiles. That's not even considering all the parked cars, the light poles, the metal signs, manholes, etc.

Each of these items (thrown at the right speed) would no doubt hurt/injure Godzilla enough to pierce his scaly skin.

Regarding defense Magneto can utilize those same objects to create a metallic shield around him, particularly if Godzilla decides to use his fire breath. A quick succession of thrown cars can knock Godzilla's fire breath off course.

(No electromagnetic shielding here as Magneto in the films never used one).

So throughout the fight I could imagine Godzilla avoiding much of Magneto's strikes by dodging in and out of buildings, utilizing his fire breath at opportunistic times just as Magneto floats away, avoiding as many projectiles as possible.

Godzilla may then use a tail swipe every now and then to send Magneto streaking away too, but that would take extreme effort considering how slow Godzilla moves.

Eventually though Magneto would wear himself down. He can only move so much metal before it becomes a strain on him (ala X-Men 1) and this is where Godzilla would claim his win.

Hiding behind a skyscraper Magneto is floating in front of, the King of Monsters would instantly topple it on top of him. Weakened at this point Magneto would not be able to stop thousands of tons of steel at free fall, and it would crush him below. To make certain Godzilla would then use his fire breath (like shooting fish in a barrel) and the rest is history.

Godzilla Movie News: Newest Gareth Edwards interview

Here I go over Gareth Edwards's newest interview, in which he discusses the moments surrounding his hiring on the latest Godzilla movie.

Godzilla, King of the Monsters (Criterion Edition) to be produced!

Hello everybody this is Fernando for Godzilla movie news.

Great news for all us Godzilla fans!

The Criterion company is looking to create a new edition for the Gojira/Godzilla 1954 film
.

News for this began when Criterion recently asked worldwide fans if anyone had a copy of a 35mm film print to use as a master copy, and a copy considered the "Rosetta Stone" (i.e. best copy available) was found and looks to be used for this newest edition.

This is really great news for us Godzilla fans because the Criterion company is known for creating some of the best DVD/Blu-Ray editions for films.

These people are true film fans (if not fanatics), and as such they take great care in producing works that create the best visual, sound and packaging experience. Plus they incorporate some of the best behind-the-scenes materials for these releases, so who knows what great goodies we'll be getting once this new edition comes out.

Godzilla Actor of the Day (Raymond Burr)

Of course everyone knows who this actor is and the impact he had on the Godzilla franchise as a whole.

The late Raymond Burr starred in the very first Godzilla film "Godzilla, King of the Monsters" along with its pseudo-sequel of sorts "Godzilla 1985".

In both instances Burr was added onto scenes incorporated towards US releases, the idea being they would help the average US moviegoer relate to the drama being presented.

The combination worked spectacularly as while the original Gojira film was a success of sorts in Japan, it became an international blockbuster thanks to the US release, one that introduced Godzilla to the world and made him the success he is today.

What truly made Burr's US scenes work was the level of seriousness he played them with. The movie is basically an overgrown lizard stomping around a big city, and in all context it can easily be taken as a silly joke.

But Burr took the matter just as if it were a Shakespearean piece of work, and it was this level of quality that gave the film the dramatic impact it needed.

(It's the same thing as with Orson Welles famous "War of the Worlds" radio drama, one person can make a huge difference on the matter being presented).

I tried to find info on how he first came into the Godzilla world, but there was nothing to see so presumably he just auditioned and won the original part.