Happy Birthday Godzilla!

I can't believe I missed this the other day, but it's always better to be late than never.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GODZILLA!

On November 3rd, 1954, Godzilla was first introduced to the world in the classic film "Gojira"!

57 years ago Godzilla came, he saw and he conquered, and the world has never been the same.

It's great to think that in a few years he'll be celebrating his 60th birthday, which is no accident that 2014 will mark the release of the new Godzilla reboot.

2014 is going to be a tremendous year for Godzilla, and I can't wait to report on everything happening.

So once again Happy Birthday big guy, you still look as great as ever.

Here's a great website that showcases some amazing looking Godzilla birthday cakes:

crunchyroll.com: Godzilla Birthday Cakes

New York Post Declares “Godzilla-Like” Protester the “New Face” of OWS

Apparently Godzilla is now attending the Occupy Wall Street movement.

A protester by the name of Jeremy Clinch went on a "Godzilla-like" rampage through Zuccotti Park the other day, and has now been labeled the poster-boy of this movement.

Seemingly drunk, loud and yelling profanities left and right, he was escorted off of the park by other protesters and cops.

If you're wondering where the "Godzilla-like" rampage
comes from it's when he began kicking down tents...just like Godzilla kicking down buildings!

That's almost too funny to compare but it's true.

You know somebody is going to take footage of this rampage and add Godzilla's sound effects to complete the picture.  They'll probably even add his theme song and make it all slow-motion.

If that happens I'll certainly showcase it here.

Here's the full article for further reference:

nypost.com: New York Post declares "Godzilla-Like" protester the "New Face" of OWS

Terror of Godzilla motion comic...part 6

This is it!

The big finale to the great YouTube series that user "metalmonkey666" made on the Godzilla 1985 Dark Horse Comic.

Godzilla is revived, has destroyed the Super X, and now looks to destroy everything in his path!

But can a scientist and his untested equipment truly save the day by leading Godzilla into an active volcano?

Find out by watching the video above.

Great comic book series from a great movie.

Enjoy!

Matt Frank draws and co-writes ‘Godzilla: Legends’ No. 1

Blog.mysanantonio.com (which is essentially the San Antonio Express-News) has a great article highlighting Matt Frank's new work on "Godzilla Legends".

Inside it discusses his continued success within the Godzilla franchise, and how Matt wishes to ride it for as long as possible.

I promise you it won't be long until the big two (Marvel and DC) decide to give him a shot, which will further elevate his success.

Also if you're in San Antonio on November 25th, he'll be signing at the "Heroes & Fantasies" store both this issue and other pieces of work.

Here's the full article for further reference:

blog.mysanantonio.com: Matt Frank draws and co-writes Godzilla Legends #1

Fantastic Godzilla Documentary from the BBC...part 1

Here's a fantastic documentary that the BBC made on the world of Godzilla.

(BBC is of course the British Broadcasting Corporation, who are famously known for their "Walking with Dinosaurs" and "Planet Earth" documentaries, each winners of multiple awards and much acclaim).

If you've always wanted the Ken Burns version of a Godzilla documentary, this is it!

Fantastic interviews from multiple film sources, great data on the creation of Godzilla, amazing behind the scene footage and photos, this has it all.

I'll keep posting other parts later on, and I highly recommend everyone to take a look at this series.

Enjoy!

Top 10 Godzilla Monsters

Comicbookmovie.com has another great Godzilla article, this one chronicling the Top 10 Godzilla Monsters of all time.

Good list created here, especially towards the top of the monster rankings.

I have to disagree though with MechaGodzilla listed as the Top Godzilla Monster.
.

King Ghidorah deserves that title because he is of course known as the archenemy within the Godzilla franchise.

No other monster has created more havoc and danger to Godzilla than King Ghidorah.

And no other monster commands Godzilla to have to consistently team-up/ally with others in order to stand a chance.

Sure Destroyah ultimately "killed" Godzilla, but it's King Ghidorah who has played an important part throughout multiple decades of films.

Even the anticipation of King Ghidorah appearing in anything Godzilla related (comic books, movies, novels, games, etc) creates excitement.

In any case here's the original link for further info. Take a look and see if you agree/disagree with anything listed on there:

comicbookmovie.com: Top 10 Godzilla Monsters

Director John Landis talks about Godzilla

In a monster movie book titled "Monsters in the Movies", Director John Landis discusses various notable movie monsters and their roles within the movie/general world.

Landis is of course noted for his work on comedic films such as "Trading Places", "The Blues Brothers" and "Coming to America".

But he also (surprisingly) made great work within the movie monster genre too.

Noted examples include "An American Werewolf in London" and the "Thriller" music video.

As such the book chornicles such projects and they happened to get his input on Godzilla too.

Landis essentially states that Godzilla is an ever-evolving metaphor for Japan's mindset.

He compares the times when Japan had those two atomic bombs dropped to the destruction Godzilla wrecked in his first film...to when Godzilla was later turned into a good guy as Japan was enjoying cultural/economical success.

Interesting metaphors if very broad in my opinion.

In any case here's the direct link for further reference:

forbes.com: Monster Mash: A conversation with filmmaker and author John Landis

By the way, Landis will forever be haunted with the scandal involving Vic Morrow and "The Twilight Zone" movie.

If you've never heard of this before, check out the Wikipedia page on this movie to read more.

Fight of the Day: Godzilla vs Hulk

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

In another corner is the Green Goliath the Hulk
!

Sorry Godzilla, but this is another fight that you're bound to lose.

The Hulk is of course known for his immeasurable strength. While he starts out at a certain power level, the angrier he gets, the stronger he gets.

In the comics there's no known limit to the Hulk's strength, being presumably strong enough to tear planets apart with his bare hands.

So while I imagine that Godzilla gets the upper hand throughout most of the fight, as it prolongs the Hulk will get stronger and stronger.

Godzilla will no doubt smack Hulk around with his tail, throwing him through various buildings and smashing him down with his foot.

He'll even utilize his famous fire breath in order to create as much damage as possible, maybe even incinerating most of the Hulk's body...

...but by this point the Hulk is just starting. With his healing ability he'll regrow to his peak level in no time.

Then he'll utilize his famous monster hand slap to create enough of a hurricane wind to knock back Godzilla.

It will finally end with the Hulk jumping from the top of nearby skyscraper, smashing his fists onto Godzilla's head as he screams "Hulk Smash!"

Fights over right then and there.

New Godzilla-like Game for the Android and iPhone

Called "Burn the City", it's a game involving a Godzilla-like monster wrecking havoc amongst various cities.

The goal is to create as much destruction as possible as this monster seeks revenge against the humans who kidnapped his brethren.

Using your fire breath you shoot fireballs as projectiles towards various skyscrapers, hopefully creating enough of a domino-effect to destroy everything.

The game definitely looks cute and fun!

Little Godzilla Jr. here especially looks cute when he topples many buildings at once, as he gives his little smile to indicate extreme satisfaction.

I don't have the direct link to this game, but I'm sure it's out there available on the iPhone/Android app websites.

Godzilla makes a "Five Best Giant Monster Movies" list

Over at movie.yahoo.com, a contributor created a top 5 list of the best giant monster movies ever, and "Godzilla" makes the list at the top.

There's no denying the impact of the original Gojira film.

It singlehandedly created an entire genre of its own, where an unstoppable monster wrecks havoc amongst a group/town of people.

While "King Kong" was the pioneer of giant monsters, it was Godzilla who chartered the all-out evil monster theme.

I must say though that the rest of the list still holds honorable mentions, such as "The Host", the aforementioned "King Kong", and "Tremors".

(Ah Tremors, an oldie but still a goodie).

I'm wondering though why they included "The Mist".

While it is a monster movie of sorts, it's mostly the environment that creates the tension rather than a single monster.

Plus I wonder why "Cloverfield" was left out. It's about as much as a Godzilla movie as possible without direct licensing.

In any case here's the link to the list for further reference:

movies.yahoo.com: Five Best Giant Monster Movies

Godzilla Image of the Day

In anticipation of the upcoming DVD/Blu-Ray release of "Godzilla Vs Megalon", I thought I would showcase the original movie poster for this edition of my "Image of the Day" series.

Notice anything peculiar?

Of course what immediately stands out is that it showcases the two titans fighting on top of the World Trade Centers, when in actuality NO such event ever occurred within the film.

They weren't even in New York City let alone at the Towers, and yet somehow this poster showcases it happening there?!

This was all done by distributors Cineshares, who were releasing the film within the US markets.

Borrowing from the book of shameful exploits they set out to mimic the success of "King Kong" (1976), whose poster also showcased a giant monster battling on top of the World Trade Centers.

I remember in one of my advertising classes reading that such blatant false advertisements are routinely challenged not by consumers but by competitors!

Such actions are done to both quell false information and prevent further deceitful action...but they're not done out of the goodness to protect consumers.

Rather the competitors are seeking to stop their rivals' sales, as such actions frequently involve injunctions to stop showcasing the ad, followed by lawsuits and settlements.

Godzilla director to film Independence Day 2/3 back to back, and without Will Smith?

With his newest movie "Anonymous" making the interview rounds, former Godzilla director Roland Emmerich was asked about his past blockbuster project "Independence Day" and the status of its sequels.

For the longest time we've been hearing soft rumours about Fox's interest in these movies.

But the end results have always been pure speculation at best, nothing ever concrete.

Now Emmerich himself is addressing these questions with definitive answers, so things are definitely looking up-and-up.

For starters whatculture.com has a nice article dealing with this topic, and provides some direct answers from Roland.

For example when he was asked about the status of the sequels, he directly stated "I'd say hold tight. It's happening soon".

It's been even suggested that such movies could start shooting next year.

They also address various "insiders" and the information they've been getting from them, such as one of the biggest hold-ups to these sequels being the massive amount of money it would take to rehire Will Smith.

Very fascinating stuff, and I highly recommend everybody to take a look at their detailed ID4 2/3 article here:

whatculture.com: Fox May shoot Independence Day 2/3 without Will Smith?

EDITORIAL: Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters Look-Back

Here's another great article that looks back on the run that the Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters has had with IDW.

Done by true Godzilla fan "Destroyer14", it's a nice introspective review on what does/doesn't work within the series thus far.

To be honest "Destroyer14" is more positive of the series (particular the first few issues) than I am, but I can definitely see his point when it comes to this thing still having a potential.

He has the same exact feelings I have, especially when the announcement was first made last year about this comic book being produced.

One has to remember how big of a news this all was. The first new Godzilla comic book in ages!

We all wanted this new Godzilla comic book series to be the epic that it deserves to be...it's just been frustrating that the results haven't been delivered yet.

In any case check out his review at the following link below:

comicbookmovies.com: EDITORIAL: Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters Look-Back