Any Toho Actor Cameos This Time?

[LoneWolfandCub]

Akira Takarada was supposed in the 2014 "Godzilla" but ended up on the cutting room floor. Will there be any cameos for G: KOTM?

[Benjamin Haines]

Well, considering that the publisher/editor of "G-Fan" magazine printed this lovely article after Akira Takarada's cameo was cut from G'14, I don't imagine that Legendary will even attempt to include veteran actors in cameo appearances ever again.



"No true G-fan forgets his first one." Good grief.

[lhb412]

Good god. We suck.

[jellydonut25]

Lees has also effectively run Kaneko away from the fandom.

Also, I forget who it is, but whoever is the guy who is like, Takarada's rep in the US blew up the cut cameo into a HUGE incident...even after Edwards apologized and wrote Takarada a letter and Takarada accepted the apology and was good with it because he understands how movies work.

This guy spread a NASTY story about how Edwards and Legendary were [insert lots of nasty adjectives] and Takarada was angry and the whole thing was a fiasco.

[lhb412]

^ Well, thankfully the kind of centralized fandom like that doesn't really exist or matter anymore. I mean, the biggest thing Lees has his hand in is G-Fest, and I know for a fact that a lot of people who go to G-Fest have only the foggiest notion of who he is or what he does!

Unfortunately, this means the majority of bad actors in fandom these days are likely to be rogue, independent operators acting on their own free will... wait, I think that might be worse.

PS - Takarada is such a pro it's mind-boggling to think anyone could believe he doesn't understand how the freaking movie industry works. That's right folks, a man who starred in his first movie in 1954 and is still working today clearly doesn't have a realistic grasp of showbiz.

[KaiserGhidorah]

J D Lees favorite film of the Millineum series was Godzilla vs Megaguiras so yeah, doesn't surprise me he would say something like he did in the article posted above.

[H-Man]

I love the dig that Edwards himself didn't even include the scene on the DVD. Perhaps J.D. doesn't understand that directors of Hollywood blockbusters generally don't have complete control over the home video releases of their films?

Fans like this don't even need the clout of their own publication to cause damage. Just look at the recent NECA snafu. ("NECA promised we'd get figures of every monster.")

[DannyBeane]

As bad as Godzilla fans can be... at least we're not as bad as Star Wars fans lol.

[Benjamin Haines]

[lhb412]

^ I hope the fact that the Godzilla franchise is so constantly rebooted and reformulated inoculates it slightly from the kind of hate that other franchises generate. After such wild and diverse and diversely appreciated entries as the 1998 film, Shin Godzilla, and the anime trilogy it's my hope that a Godzilla fan will be more likely to give a "no big deal" to a version that they don't like.

Of course, there's no way of telling about things like this.

But it's important to remember that hardcore fans are a small sliver, and to take Star Wars as an example: 99.9% of actual Star Wars consumers are just average folks who happen to really like the movies and maybe have an action figure or Lego set or two and are blissfully unaware of the seeder side. Likewise, most of the folks online I see talking about their love of Godzilla movies are more casual and have never taken a look at a fan forum or Facebook group or whatnot. They just watch the movies, look at Wikipedia for their information, and will point out a badass piece of fanart every once in awhile.

I also don't think that Godzilla fans are organized enough to be much more than just annoying. Of course, that doesn't preclude something akin to comicsgate where you basically had hate groups and fringe elements glomming onto a nerd fight and inflating the ranks of the so-called fans.

[jellydonut25]

I kinda think that's always been the root of the problem with regards to Godzilla fandom.

Let's not mince words here: it's a small, niche fandom. It's one of the ONLY fandoms where people who are literally just FANS and have never even stepped foot on the set of one of the films have actual importance and swagger, because they were some of the first to bring those movies to the states (though thankfully that is starting to wane and there's a lot less gatekeeping these days). What that MEANS though, is that in this small pool, you're much more likely to come across a jerk than you are in the larger pool of Star Wars fandom.

It's a bit of a double-edged sword in that way: Yeah, you're less likely to have a group of pig-headed buffoons large enough to consider themselves a full-on group with an actual valid point (it certainly doesn't stop people from trying: case-in-point a small contingent of people BERATING NECA about not making a Ghidorah figure), but you're also more likely in general to run afoul of one randomly.




I guess I just assumed Tim Bean was Takarada's US rep, since I know that's a thing, and he was SO vocal. I stand corrected there.

[O.Supreme]

I've actually met and conversed with JD a few times, he seems like a pretty nice level headed individual. He has organized several fan trips to Japan, of course I'll never have the funds to go, but if I could I would. I also supported G-Fest the 2 times it was in Southern CA. I understand why he keeps it in Chicago, if he has established a good rapport with the people and businesses there; again, even if its too far for me to go, if I had the funds, I would. Also, while I no longer actively subscribe to G-Fan, I still try to get it when I can. I imagine it has more days behind it, than in front, I'm still a fan of print media, even if it is dying out. I imagine however, if I had my own magazine, I may say a few things that not everyone agrees with (lord knows I've done it here...) but sometimes our emotions may get the better of us when our expectations are subverted. Big or small, that seems to be consistent in any fandom .

[angilas]

JD wrote me a very nice letter back in 94 when my grandma subscribed me to G-fan. I think he’s a great guy and has done a lot for fandom. That being said he probably has some narrow minded views and is like many writers at heart, very opinionated. That being said I know the first Godzilla movie I saw, kkvsG, but since I wasn’t even 1 yet I don’t remember seeing it the first time. I remember sharing Godzilla toys at show and tell in preschool though and arguing with my older bro as a 2yo over the sound Godzilla makes (he was right). I hope I’m still a real G fan. Also hope this & GojivsKong do well
As for cameos, there’s a nakajima picture in The credits if that counts. I know they honor Banno too but can’t remember if they showed him. I was looking down at the time and know I’ll see it again. Finally when they show a certain characters lineage some twin looking grandparents or something made me wonder if “the peanuts” cameod but I’m probably wrong...

[canofhumdingers]

No picture of Banno. The film was dedicated to him and Nakajima and below the dedication was this picture of Nakajima: