by Benjamin Haines » Sat Nov 04, 2023 11:37 pm
That is the best trailer yet, and it doesn't seem to reveal too much. This movie looks so good!
Gareth Edwards went to Japan to promote his new movie The Creator, and he joined forces with Takashi Yamazaki to promote both of their films as a pair of Godzilla directors. There's reportedly a video interview with the two of them playing before some screenings of Minus One in Japan. Here's a link to a Japanese article covering their promotion, with a touched-up Google translation below: https://www.cinematoday.jp/news/N0139647
Hollywood Godzilla director is jealous of Godzilla Minus One
Takashi Yamazaki & Gareth Edwards talk about Godzilla
Takashi Yamazaki, the director, scriptwriter and VFX director of the movie Godzilla Minus One, produced to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Godzilla's birth, had a conversation with Gareth Edwards, who came to Japan with his new science fiction action film The Creator. Director Edwards, who is also known for working on the Hollywood version of Godzilla, was among the first to watch Godzilla Minus One in Japan, and talked with director Yamazaki about the future of Godzilla movies and the series.
Godzilla Minus One, the 30th live-action Godzilla film produced by Toho, is set in postwar Japan, which has lost everything and is reduced to nothing, and depicts how Godzilla brings Japan down. The main character Koichi Shikishima is played by Ryunosuke Kamiki, the heroine Noriko Oishi is played by Minami Hamabe, along with Yuki Yamada (Shiro Mizushima), Takataka Aoki (Sousaku Tachibana), Hidetaka Yoshioka (Kenji Noda), Sakura Ando (Sumiko Ota). A gorgeous cast of actors representing Japan, including Kuranosuke Sasaki (playing the role of Seiji Akitsu), was assembled.
Director Edwards, who watched Godzilla Minus One, said, "There were a lot of things that I thought were very new, and I was feeling jealous the whole time I was watching it," and also added, "This is what a Godzilla movie should be." He says he was able to understand director Yamazaki's message.
"Godzilla Minus One is set in postwar Japan," Edwards said. "I felt like this is how a Godzilla movie should be, as much as I wanted to do that. When I was filming Godzilla, I once told the crew members on set, 'We are making a fictional film about the events that happened in 1954. Please approach the movie with that mindset.' Godzilla Minus One is exactly what I told the crew. I think this is a movie that expresses the experiences of the people who encountered Godzilla. It's a film that captures the whole story from start to finish. There has been repeated debate among fans over the question, 'What is the best Godzilla movie of all time?' I think Godzilla Minus One will definitely be named as the best Godzilla movie of all time."
Director Edwards observes that Godzilla Minus One was influenced by Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Jurassic Park and Jaws, as well as Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk. When asked, "Are you influenced by Western movies?", director Yamazaki answered, "I've been watching Western movies as if I was breathing, so I think the style came naturally to me." He revealed that he has been influenced not only by overseas directors but also by famous domestic directors such as Hayao Miyazaki.
In 2024, Godzilla will celebrate his 70th anniversary. In the United States, the story of Godzilla continues to grow with the first live-action drama series Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, being created as part of the MonsterVerse, a collaboration between Toho and Warner Bros. & Legendary Pictures. How do directors Yamazaki and Edwards view the future of Godzilla, which continues to evolve?
"I think it would be great if the writers continued to make new things with their own ideas," director Yamazaki said. "Of course, when I was asked, 'Are you going to make another Godzilla movie?', I said, 'I will.' In fact, Godzilla is a fairly flexible intellectual property. The world of Godzilla will continue to expand depending on how many different directors can make movies that are different from others. I think so.''
"If you think about it," director Edwards said, "Godzilla is a pretty crazy idea. At first glance, it seems like a story and existence that wouldn’t work, but there’s something about it that makes sense. In the process of human evolution as mammals, there have always been predators. Even now, as humans have become the most influential beings on the planet, we still unconsciously think about the existence of predators. While there has been a period of peace, I think Godzilla is a symbol of redemption because we believe that someday we will be overtaken by a larger predator, and that is why Godzilla is a symbol of redemption. Those thoughts are engraved in our DNA. I think that by doing so, Godzilla movies will continue to be produced for 100 or 200 years."
The two, who both worked on Godzilla movies and have a lot in common with backgrounds in the VFX field, spoke passionately about each other's movies even though it was a short time. Finally, director Edwards said, "People tend to think of being a film director as a dream job, but I always feel quite stressed out." Does director Yamazaki continue to have fun while making movies? Director Yamazaki said, "Directing is a roller coaster. I think it's a job with huge differences between happy moments and depressed moments. Sometimes I stop and think, 'I'm making a movie myself right now.' When you do that, your happiness level increases tremendously and you feel like 'I'll try again.' I think it's good to reaffirm how happy you are," he told Coach Edwards.
The movie Godzilla Minus One will be released nationwide on November 3rd (Friday/Holiday).
The movie The Creator is now being released nationwide.