Official Godzilla 2016 discussion thread!

Following the production of Godzilla 2000 Millennium had a hands on, homemade feel to it.

Even with the information from the English version of Toho's Official, there was a papable intimacy about the whole process. The human element in the way these films are made in Japan is a great part of their appeal. To be so close to this event. And yes, it is different from the Legendary production experience. It's an amazing spectacle: something as fantastic and overwhelming as giant monsters with indescrible powers, but brought to the screen and made accessible to us by people like us employing those time-tested tokusatsu techniques. The love and care going into Godzilla 2000 Millennium was evident. And we got to watch the whole thing as it unfolded.

This is a ride I want to take again.

Except Toho loved the Legendary Godzilla, thats a huge difference in their thought process compared to 98.

We can't forget that none of this would be possibl without the success of Godzilla 2014 and the sequels. Toho loved the latest movie and they are making this Japanese Godzilla to mooch off of his success, i can guarantee it wont be released in America.

So no matter what dont forget ever that the Legendary Godzilla, may be flawed, but was still a great film, and has brought back Godzilla into the limelight.

To be fair, I doubt toho would come out and say they didn't love a movie that was making them money unless it was the same situation as 98 with it getting universally panned. The fact they're making  movie I think means they feel they could have done things better and are trying their hand at it while waiting for Legendary to come out with the sequel. 

I never got a chance to follow G2000 since I was only 8 and the dial up internet I had at the time was something an 8 year old just wasn't going to deal with to get info. I did however follow what I could of Final Wars before it's release. I remember seeing the monster cast and printing out the concept art of some of the monsters. Unfortunately when the movie came out it wasn't exactly what I expected, hopefully this upcoming one will deliver on any hype I get from early news.

I think Toho actually did like the new film. No, it's not a great movie, but it's solid enough to appreciate, much like the 90s and 00s films. I think it sort of inspired Toho more than anything.

Yes there's the fact they're piggy-backing off the new movie's success, but at the same time I think they realize that four years is a fairly long wait. To paraphrase Ed Godziszewski, Toho knows better than anyone that the iron gets cold real quick. They waited five years to release Godzilla vs. Biollante and barely made money off it.

The 2016 movie will likely not have a wide release in American theaters, but I can see it premiering at popular private theaters on both North American coast. And it will no doubt have a fairly solid DVD/Bluray release to tide us over.

Regardless, I'm in insanely excited about the 2016 film. More so than Godzilla 2 which is only naturally since one is a bit closer and the other is too far away to even think about.

Seeing how as Toho said they won't be outdone by another studio like legendary, what i want to know is why worry? I'm glad they are doing a new film, but they won't beat hollywood's special effects. They have already provided more memorizing and better godzilla films already.

@Gman2887,

I sincerly hope you are wrong about the whole solo godzilla films with being over with. They could do a solo godzilla film to start off with if they get the right kind of idea. I'm ok with the "VS" films, i just like for another solo godzilla film.

Still though as far as how godzilla should look for the new upcoming film, i want him to look close to this or even better.

I mean just look at this ^ How in the hell can godzilla look more pi**ed off?

Not to mention this ^

I always liked the dark brown eyes of the early Heisei suits. They really removed a great deal of believability when they added those bright yellow rims around his irises.

^Yeah i know. Good god, please toho make something like the 91 design or even better.

Please get Shinji Higuchi to helm the special effects

Please get Shusuke Kaneko to return for another godzilla film directing. Or even that Takashi guy.

I like all of the above with regard to design preferences and Live Action and Special Effects Directors. The 1989, Bio-Goji, is one of my favorites.

As far as Toho and the Legendary film, they don't have to dislike it to want to make another Godzilla film. I'm sure they liked it. I know I did. I saw it 9 times. But, the idea of a new Toho Godzilla just seems so right, so natural. They should be making Godzilla films. If the commercial success of the Legendary film leads to a new Japanese made Godzilla film, that's fine. We're the fans; Toho is the studio.Their motivations are just that: theirs. 

@BigBadBen: nothing would please me more than seeing Shusuke Kaneko get another crack at Godzilla, and seeing Shinji Higuchi direct the SPFX. All they need is time that they had when making the Heisei Gamera films.

On the other hand, I think Takashi Yamazaki would be an excellent choice for director. My question is, would/does he work with practical effects? With Yamazaki as director, does it mean an all CGI Godzilla? Has anybody here seen any of his work? I saw the CGI Godzilla in the Always: Sunset on Third Street clip. And, I've read, that he's in demand. So, what do people think? 

I would like to see a combination of suitmation, miniatures and CGI for Toho Godzilla 2016.

I really don't remember how his name came up in connection to the upcoming film.

I think Yamazaki does work with practical effects. It's just weaved with digital effects so well that it's sometimes hard to tell. I'm pretty sure model work was used in the Space Battleship Yamanto film.

As much as I hope he directs the new Godzilla, my concern is he will toss most of traditional uses away when I'd much rather see a blend.

As exciting as Kaneko and Higuchi are, I'm simply more excited about the prospect of new blood in the series. Yamazaki is just that.

I wonder what Shogo Tomiyama is thinking about all this?

He was always fairly humble from what I had heard. Although I have issues with how he ran the series, I don't dislike him by any stretch. I'm fairly sure he wishes the new generation of filmmakers the best.

Agreed about new blood and ideas for the series. I have a really good feeling about this project. I'm sure that part of it is a fan's hope. But, unless I see or hear something troubling, I'm going to stay cautiously optimistic. Especially if what we heard about the production schedule is true. 

I kind of imagine Shogo enjoying all of this from the perspective of a fan.

I hope he is.

@Jamaal,

Here is a little information on Takashi Yamazaki.

Takashi Yamazaki (?? ? Yamazaki Takashi^?, born June 12, 1964 in Matsumoto, Nagano) is a Japanese film director, screenwriter and visual effects director. He won the Best Director and Best Screenplay prizes at the Japanese Academy Awards in 2006 for Always: Sunset on Third Street.^[1] He is a member of the animation and film visual effects studio Shirogumi.

Contents

• 1 Filmography
  • 1.1 Films
  • 1.2 Commercials
  • 1.3 Music videos
• 2 References
• 3 External links

Filmography

Films

• Juvenile (2000)
• Returner (2002)
• Always: Sunset on Third Street (2005)
• Always: Sunset on Third Street 2 (2007)
• Ballad (2009)
• Space Battleship Yamato (2010)
• Friends: Naki on Monster Island (2011)
• Always: Sunset on Third Street 3 (2012)
• The Eternal Zero (2013)
• Stand by Me Doraemon (2014)
• Parasyte: Part 1 (2014)
• Parasyte: Part 2 (2015)

From what i have heard Space battleship Yamato is actually a great film made by this guy.

So if this guy is getting the job with Toho on the new Godzilla 2016 film, i think we might see another Cgi godzilla coming along. However, i would rather see suitmation because it is traditional. As long as they can do what Shinji Higuchi did with the Gamera heisei triology and use Cgi as practical effects, then the film should be good.

Here is hoping for the best  results for the upcoming godzilla film!

I also hope that is one of the highest grossing godzilla films ever made in Japan.

So far, the only thing about this guy that isn't sitting well with me is his reliance on CGI in all of his films.  As I've said before, CGI in Japan is so far behind US CGI that a Godzilla film made with that kind of imagery would make it look like a Syfy Channel movie to American viewers.  Could they pull it off amd please fans around the world?  Sure... but ANY level of practical effects will be far more realistic.

But realism has never been the point of the Japanese Godzilla series.  The imagery is supposed to be poetic, fun, exciting, and even beautiful, and is meant to be a storytelling technique that is more artistic than realistic.  THAT is what I want to see in this film.

But we are on the very edge of a slippery slope here... traditional effects are on life support in Japan, and are on the verge of going the way of the dodo.  If this new Japanese Godzilla is created with entirely with CGI, it WILL be the final nail in the coffin for the Tokusatsu tradition. 

But if the new film embraces that tradition, it could revitalize it in a huge way.  A new Godzilla done with suits, miniatures, and just the right amount of computer work could be the kickstart the genre needs to survive in the modern world.

Its all about the waiting, now...

CGI isn't so far behind in Japan in comparison to Hollywood due to technology, it's all about the hours and manpower. There simply isn't enough people or time in the Japanese film business to compete with the manpower and time Hollywood has to put into CG creations. More man power and more time = more money. The Japanese film industry has about a quarter or less of the amount of Hollywood to spend on movies a year. This amount of work is just asking a lot of an industry that size.

But Yamazaki's possible involvement concerns me as well. On the one hand I want to see what he can do with Godzilla. On the other hand I'm afraid of what he'll do with tokusatsu. I don't think it will be the final nail in the coffin as Super Sentai, Kamen Rider and even Ultraman will likely endure. Not to mention Higuchi's Attack on Titan.

We don't even know if he's really involved yet though. It's all speculation on Ragone's part at this point. We really no nothing. A long wait indeed...

Better strap in and grab a few good books... its gonna be a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG wait. ;)

While its true that Tokusatsu TV is running pretty strong, and will likely continue to do so into the forseeable future, it would be a huge blow to the industry, and the artists involved, to have Godzilla go completely digital.  Having the series that created the Tokusatsu genre abandon that genre in its country of origin could be devistating... maybe not immediately, but the ramifications would definitely be felt in the genre's future.

That said, there are definitely, as you said Gman, excelent examples of the genre still popping up in Japan, and there are a few exciting projects coming up!  Aside from the upcoming Gamera and Godzilla POSSIBLY using traditional effects, we also have two Attack on Titan films this year, and Shinpei Hyashita's upcoming Deep Sea Monster Raiga sequel!  Its not exactly the 1960's Golden Age, but its better than what weve gotten in the last decade. :) I'm excited and hopeful!

I have completely forgot that Raiga 2 is a thing. Ouch...

"Having the series that created the Tokusatsu genre abandon that genre in its country of origin could be devistating... maybe not immediately, but the ramifications would definitely be felt in the genre's future."

You're probably right. Something a lot of fans forget, and I hope Toho does not forget, is that Godzilla is actually king of an entire style of filmmaking that has influenced 60 years worth of film and television. For Godzilla to abandon that is like a king leaving his empire to starve in favor of becoming another pauper to the CG empire. It wouldn't make any sense to the former empire and it would collapse as a result.

There's a difference between embracing change and tossing art to the wayside. I hope Toho's new generation of filmmakers think about this.

@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.