These articles continue to be goldmines of information and unseen artwork. After reading this latest one, particularly the "Things Fall Apart" section, so much of what we ended up getting in the 1998 Godzilla makes sense now. "Americanized" Godzilla indeed.
It really makes it even more tragic that the movie fell apart, because reading this you can tell that everyone involved wanted to be respectful of the material and do the best they could to make a proper Godzilla film. Everyone except the studio, apparently. Yet another example of why the "clueless studio executive" stereotype exists.
"
The movie is going to cost too much; how about you cut the Gryphon out? Oh, but also, how about you add a little sidekick monster as well?" Yep, that sounds like top-level studio thinking right there.
I can't wait to read the last part. As I said before, I've always been interested in really in-depth 'making-of's, so I'm eager to hear the details of how things morphed from the Jan De Bont version of the film to the one we eventually got (and I'm sure that, much like the first three parts, it will also be a most excellent indeed
).