The “Year of Gamera” reaches its midpoint in an episode that’s the answer to life, the universe, and everything. Well, not really. But you will hear Nate and returning guest/multi-podcaster Ben Avery discuss 1970’s Gamera vs. Jiger. This movie, which shockingly opened the year the Japanese film industry crashed, serves as a (sorta) big budget travelogue/commercial for Expo ’70, the first world’s fair held in Asia. Both “Cornjob” and a yellow submarine return, but outer space is replaced with “innerspace” as the Kennys travel inside Gamera to cure him of his “impregnation” by Jiger, an ancient female demon beast. I’m not making this up. It’s a movie that may have anticipated The Exorcist and Alien. The Toku Topic, naturally, is Expo ’70. I mean, what else would it be?
Afterward, Nate and Jimmy get a surprise visit from Monster Island’s resident mad scientist and mushroom enthusiast, Dr. Dante Dourif, who’s been sent on a mission to “stabby-stabby” Nate with a syringe filled with his mushroom-enhanced COVID-19 vaccine. Oh my….
Follow Jimmy on Twitter: @NasaJimmy Follow the Monster Island Board of Directors on Twitter: @MonsterIslaBOD Follow the Raymund Martin and the MIFV Legal Team on Twitter: @MIFV_LegalTeam Follow Crystal Lady Jessica on Twitter: @CystalLadyJes1
Flower, James. “A Guide to English Language Gamera” (Arrow Video Gamera: The Complete Collection).
Galbraith IV, Stuart. Japanese Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films: A Critical Analysis and Filmography of 103 Features Released in the United States 1950-1992.
Gamera: The Complete Collection, Disc Four Special Features.
Gamera vs. Jiger Commentary by Edward L. Holland (Arrow Video’s Gamera: The Complete Collection).
Today’s special bonus episode is long, but can you blame us? It’s for MIFV’s first anniversary! Nathan makes a rare OOC (out of character) appearance and is joined by Patron and former guest Danny DiManna, author/creator of the Godzilla Novelization Project, to party like 2020 is finally over. In the first half, they present a “George Lucas extended version” of their Kaiju Con-Line presentation, which was titled “The Original MCU: Connecting Showa Era Continuity.” Essentially, they weave 26 of Toho’s tokusatsu movies (and one TV series) into a Marvel-style shared universe. Then for the second half, they play, read, and discuss feedback from listeners who shared their favorite episodes and moments from the podcast’s first year—including two messages from the other side of the fourth wall! Two words: multiversal madness! This is followed by several big announcements, including the theme for season two of MIFV coming in 2021. You don’t want to miss it!
MARK YOUR CALENDARS, MONSTER KIDS! ON THE WEEKEND OF JULY 11 & 12, THE MONSTERS ARE IN REVOLT AS KAIJU CON-LINE TAKES OVER THE INTERNET!
WHAT IS KAIJU CON-LINE? WITH THE CANCELATION OF THE ANNUAL GATHERING OF KAIJU FANS, A FEW MOTIVATED MONSTER MANIACS ARE REPLICATING A SMALL PORTION OF THE FUN WITH THEIR FELLOW FANS ON THAT SAME WEEKEND, LIKE A VIRTUAL CONVENTION.
OVER THE WEEKEND, A MYRIAD OF ONLINE ACTIVITIES ARE AVAILABLE FOR KAIJU FANS AROUND THE GLOBE TO ENJOY – ALL FOR FREE.
YES, KAIJU CON-LINE IS A FREE EVENT! WE ARE DOING WHAT WE CAN TO MAKE THIS SHOW AS AWESOME AS POSSIBLE AND REACHING OUT TO MEMBERS OF OUR KAIJU COMMUNITY TO HELP IN A NUMBER OF WAYS TO CONTRIBUTE. WE HOPE YOU HAVE A MONSTROUS TIME AT KAIJU CON-LINE FROM THE COMFORT OF YOUR OWN HOME!
(END)
Join Nathan Marchand and Danny DiManna (author and creator of the Godzilla Novelization Project) for their panel, “The Original MCU: Connecting Showa Era Continuity” Sunday at 2pm EST. They will connect the dots in the often loose continuity of Toho’s Showa era tokusatsu films.
This is all only some of the great programming being offered this weekend! Check it out!
All right, this blog, like last week’s episode on King Kong 2005, wants to be as long as that film. Thanks to contractual obligations, I have to include all of Marchand’s unused notes, which he split between his computer and a legal pad for whatever reason this time. I am suddenly more appreciative of the glorious invention that is copy and paste.
Let’s get this over with,
shall we?
My Notes:
Yes, I borrowed Dr. Aoki’s pteronadon bot without permission. I don’t think he’s missed it yet. So, unless he gets transfer to Monster Island, I don’t think it’ll be a problem. As for flying Danny here on it, well, I couldn’t resist taking it for a test flight. I now know how to improve on the thing’s admittedly goofy design.
I dare you to tell me you don’t like sand, DiManna!
I am fine with Daniel calling me “Jimbo”…for now. (Yes, I’m being flippant).
Nice job catching me before I corrected you, Marchand.
Actually, Danny, the dinosaur Kong fights in the original isn’t a Rex. It’s closer to an Allosaurus. It’s just called a “meat-eater” in the novelization.
Actually, Danny, I don’t think gorillas—even Kong—qualify as predators. At least in this film. Normal gorillas are vegetarians, but some do eat insects. Kong in this film was never seen eating meat. Therefore, he doesn’t qualify as a predator.
Jackson himself didn’t say he treated this like filming on Skull Island itself in the 1930s. That was a crewmember. Watch that $5 blu-ray again.
Mothra’s not a butterfly, Daniel! Her species is obvious! (Or was that a joke? I’ll forgive a joke. 😛 ).
I can neither confirm nor deny that I am the Jimmy in this film. And yes, like the Doctor, I will explain later. Maybe.
There were more than just the two crewmembers who survived in the 1933 King Kong, Daniel.
King Kong (1976) is two hours and 14 minutes long. Over one hour shorter.
“I had saw it on the big screen”? Verb tenses, Danny! I expect better from a writer. 😛
Here’s the Roger Ebert review Nathan brought up (and yes, you misremembered what he said). Here’s the video review.
They aren’t T-Rexes, Nathan. They’re V-Rexes. Both of you got it wrong!
“PJ’s version”? Danny is on initials terms with Peter Jackson? I doubt it. 😛
It wasn’t trailers but one of Peter Jackson’s video diaries on www.kongisking.net where he announced back-to-back sequels to the film. They were Son of Kong and King Kong: Into the Wolf’s Lair. And I agree: they would’ve been amazing! You can watch it here with a fan edit trailer. Sadly, it includes a stupid clip from the stupid Date Movie. Ugh!
You got your Bugs Bunny cartoons mixed up, Danny. The one you were thinking of was “What’s Up Doc?” not “Show Biz Bugs” (which you called “Show Biz Bunny”). The latter is about a jealous Daffy Duck trying to upstage Bugs on stage.
My whole backstory will be in my tell-all book, War in Space: The Jimmy From NASA Story. 😛
My international man of mystery Schick gets me more luck the ladies more than you have, Marchand! 😛
I’m happy to say, as promised in this episode, I am now one of Danny’s patrons on Patreon—and I used Nathan’s debit card to do it! 😛
The sexist essay Nathan was referring to (and forgot to include in the show notes) was “The Myth Goes Downward: The Infantilization, Electrification, Mechanization, and General Diminishment of King Kong” by Paul Di Filippo. It’s from the book Kong Unbound: The Cultural Impact, Pop Mythos, and Scientific Plausibility of a Cinematic Legend.
Nathan’s Unused Notes – Blu-Ray Special Features:
Jackson saw King Kong 1933 as a kid in 1970. It
inspired his love of science fiction and fantasy and his desire to be a
filmmaker. He made super 8 films and stop motion. There’s lots of SFX in his
films because he was a “frustrated special effects guy.” Solitary. (-Sounds like me, except I work on robots
and mecha. –Jimmy)
Universal
approached him in 1995 to remake either Kong
or The Creature from the Black Lagoon.
The first script
was closer in tone to The Mummy (1999).
Work was done in
1996 by Weta using lots of practical effects.
Jackson and his
crew visited the Empire State Building, and he signed his name on the peak.
The film wasn’t
storyboarded. It was all pre-viz. No finished script at the time it started.
It had more
miniatures than The Lord of the Rings.
Started with T-Rex
fight like the original film as proof of concept.
Naomi Watts had to
learn how to dance. Jamie Bell (Jimmy) had danced since age 6. (So…I can neither confirm nor deny that I,
too, can dance. –Jimmy)
Jack Black tapped
into his inner-Denham by using an old camera to make short films. Boxer and
criminal.
First shot filmed
was when Ann arrives at dock.
The boat bought
for the production had fish in it that had to be shipped out.
Jackson got
seasick, so he shot on sets.
Jackson says the
natives aren’t based on a particular civilization but are an amalgam of several
from that time. They use their hair to make clothing. The actors came from
Polynesia, Cambodia, etc.
The dinosaurs
weren’t paleontologically accurate but stylized and more evolved. The V-Rexes
were a family (mother, father, juvenile). Some like the Wetasaur were made up.
They used a
massive computer system to from LOTR to make CGI extras. They don’t fight like
Orcs but walk like New Yorkers—any differences? jokes Jackson.
Weta wrote a new
program called Building Bot to create missing buildings in NYC cityscape.
The real Empire
State Building took 14 months to construct. The digital version took 18 months.
Irony. (Digital construction is harder
than real construction. I should know. I worked at NASA. –Jimmy)
Peter Jackson,
Rick Baker, Frank Darabont, and other famous people attached to Kong flew the
airplanes that attacked Kong as a nod to Schoedsack and Cooper doing that in
the 1933 original. Jackson even shaved his trademark beard! (I’m not even sure that was Jackson. Like
Jonathan Frakes as Riker on Star Trek: The Next Generation, he looks like a completely different
person. Maybe he was dubbed over by the real Jackson? 😛 –Jimmy)
Kong is a misunderstood
monster. Weta watched Charles Laughton in The
Hunchback of Notre Dame for inspiration.
They made him a
punch-drunk boxer and mountain man. They used an albino gorilla at a zoo for
inspiration. (Can you say, “Kiko”? –Jimmy).
His broken jaw was modeled after an inbred pug named Monster. It was toned
down later (as you’ll notice in the first trailer). He was redesigned
after the first trailer.
The final
reference used for Kong was Umagami the ape from an IMAX film. The filmmakers
ultimately decided he should look like a real gorilla.
Gorillas beat
chests with open cupped hands while movie gorillas use fists. They compromised
by having hands between open and clenched.
Some mocap was dropped,
but Serkis was used as reference.
Jackson said this
was always the film he wanted to make.
Nathan’s Unused Notes – The Film:
The opening
credits are like original.
Opens with apes
and monkeys in zoo next to a Hooverville. Then we go to Vaudeville clips. Cuts
between that and images of Depression. Alcohol bottles smashed. Prohibition.
Naomi Watts’
costume looks just like Fay Wray’s.
I never knew there
were that many nicknames for breasts in the ‘30s.
“Universal is
desperate for stock footage!” (4th wall)
Maybe it’s the
writer in me, but I like that Jack Driscoll is a playwright in this. “If you
really loved it, you would’ve jumped” (Denham to Jack).
Jimmy?! Is that my
producer?! Stowed away. Found in hold 4 years ago. Arm broken in two places.
Wouldn’t say where he came from. He’s a prankster. Defaces Baxter’s posters.
Jimmy can dance!
Live animals in
cage sign on Jack’s cage. Symbolic?
Was it necessary
to have the typing of Skull Island be in slo-mo?
Ann and Jack’s
relationship gets more development in this than original. All the characters
get more development. Helps that it’s 3 hours long!
Sure, hold the
important map over the edge of the ship! Yep! There it goes!
Is it just me or
did the rock the Venture bumps into
at 51 minutes look like a huge face? One definitely does later.
Of course there
are skulls on Skull Island.
Jackson is a
little overly fond of scary slo-mo in this film.
Ann screams and
then Kong roars. Appropriate.
The wall and
natives definitely remind me of LOTR. There’s a chasm as well as a wall. That
helps explain how the creatures are kept out.
Triceratops’ twitching
tail homage to original?
I love that Lumpy
tries to kill a bug with a frying pan. Then he shoots them.
“There’s only one
creature capable of leaving a footprint that size…and that’s me!” (Lumpy)
“Nobody’s gonna
think these are fake”(4th wall).
These raptors are
crazy. Going after prey that huge?!
Wilhelm scream!
Preston looks like
he’s heard this speech many times.
“I’m just an actor
with a gun who’s lost his motivation” (4th wall).
We see Kong eating
plants like a real gorilla.
Kong blocks Ann’s
way like in ’76.
Running around
barefoot in a jungle must be tearing up her feet.
Water scorpions?
Man, everything on this island is crazy aggressive.
And Denham becomes
a snuff filmmaker.
Not all CGI. Some
practical creature effects.
Kong does pick up
a man: Hayes.
The iconic log
scene recreated. Tries to account for surviving fall by having it get caught on
vines.
It’s hard not to
invite Jurassic Park comparisons.
Quietest. V-Rex.
Ever!
I love that Kong
stands with one foot on V-Rex when he beats his chest.
The shot of Jack
and Ann running through the jungle looks just like ’33.
The Broadway sign
looks just like ’33.
“The Beast”: a
working title for ’33.
“Kong’s unfailing
ability to destroy the things he loves.”
Kong starts
grabbing every blonde he sees. From the real jungle to the urban/concrete
jungle.
The trolley attack
references the train attack in ’33.
The military
attacking Kong makes me think of a Japanese kaiju film.
Wow. The biplanes
deploy without anyone talking about it. Dang!
I wonder which cameos
were in the planes Kong destroyed?
Now the pilots see
Ann. They only almost killed her once.
The soldiers pose and
smile over Kong’s corpse. Sensationalize.
Nathan’s Unused Notes – King Kong: The History of a Movie Icon by Ray Morton:
Robert Zemeckis
would’ve been the executive on Jackson’s 1997 script for Kong if it was filmed.
The Frighteners
poor performance shook Universal’s confidence in Jackson.
Jack Driscoll was
modeled after Arthur Miller (All My Sons,
Death of a Salesman, A View from the Bridge).
Jackson sought to
combine elements of Cooper’s beastly Kong with de Laurentiis’s more romantic
Kong. Saw him as a battle-hardened silverback. He told the Los Angles times he
saw Kong as “a very old gorilla [that has] never felt a single bit of empathy
for another living creature during his long…brutal life.” Kong intended to kill
Ann, “and then he slowly moves away from that and it comes full circle.”
Nathan’s Unused Notes – “King Kong’s Melancholly” by
Cynthia Erb:
Jackson called Universal’s cancelation of his original Kong script “the blackest day in my entire career.”
Argues that Jackson’s Kong is melancholy and shifts the emphasis from horror to mood and tears because Watts’ Ann cries more than she screams.
Argues that the extended cut frames Kong as an invader and presents the U.S. as “a bullying global entity at a stage of late empire” a la Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness.
Says Jackson’s Kong reframes history through a modern lens (9/11 allegory).
Uses the “Depression” to set a mood of “depression.” Focused on objects, which leads to melancholy. Watts’ Ann is earthy, hungry.
This Ann is less afraid of predatory men than of being put into a “standardized role.” An indication of modernity. She gets up to leave when Denham wonders if she’d fit in a size four dress.
Says Black’s manic Denham makes him a character type called an intriguer or schemer, which also characterized Shakespeare’s Iago in Othello. This forms a “dyadic relationship” with the depressive Kong.
Argues that Jackson’s Kong is driven not by a sex drive but by a “death drive.” Jacqueline Rose: “The death drive is identified by Freud in the moment when the child seeks to master absence by staging the recall of the lost object, but finds it can only do so by first making the object disappear. This allows the child to achieve its aim only by repeating the very moment it is designed to avoid.” Compares Kong to Norman Bates in Psycho. Compulsive repetition.
The Manhattanites and Islanders are paralleled in that both are shown to survivors in a harsh environment.
Argues that the overzealous soldiers attacking Kong in Central Park, seeing him as an invader and New York as “sacred ground,” is an allegory for 9/11. Argues that this goes further with the skeletal Empire State Building in the morning, which parallels Art Spiegelman’s 9/11 memoir In the Shadow of No Towers. Kong seemingly mouthing “beautiful” on top of the structure recalls how American towers were seen as “utopian gestures…transcendental, sky-catching, awesome” (Mark Kingwell).
https://gfycat.com/flatwhichaustralianfurseal
Well, I’m glad that’s
done. If you read the whole thing, congrats!
Join us next week for a
(hopefully) much shorter episode on another epic: the 1959 Toho classic The Three Treasures, starring Toshiro
Mifune. Then the “Kong Quest” enters the MonsterVerse with Kong: Skull Island in April with Dallas Mora of Geek Devotions as the guest host.
Follow me on Twitter: @NasaJimmy #JimmyFromNASALives #WeShallOvercome
It’s an epic episode for
an epic movie! No, not that stupid
parody film. Nathan is joined by Daniel DiManna, the creator and author of The Godzilla
Novelization Project, to discuss Peter Jackson HUGE 2005 remake of King Kong. (Although, Danny had to
survive a harrowing trip to Monster Island with the podcast’s intrepid
producer, Jimmy From NASA, and a
certain robot dinosaur to do so). Only Peter Jackson, who was fresh off of The Lord of the Rings, could’ve made a
three hour film about a giant monkey, er, ape. Nathan and Danny do a deep dive
into the film’s characters, themes, and story while struggling not to get Jack
Driscoll and Jack Black confused. They freely admit this is the one giant
monster movie that makes them cry. They also learn that the young man named
Jimmy in this film may or may not be the podcast’s producer. (Confused? Join
the club). The Toku Topic is vaudeville since Ann Darrow in this film is a
vaudeville performer before getting work on Carl Denham’s movie.
Nathan promises to not
make a habit of producing episodes that cross what Danny calls “the Kurosawa
threshold.” 😛
Timestamps: Intro: 0:00-6:08
Entertaining Info Dump: 6:08-15:29
Toku Talk: 15:29-1:55:52
Toku Topic: 1:55:52-2:29:43
Outro: 2:29:43-end
King Kong: The History of a Movie Icon from Fay Wray
to Peter Jackson by Ray Morton
“King Kong’s
Melancholy: A Reading of Peter Jackson’s King
Kong” by Cynthia Erb (from Tracking
King Kong: A Hollywood Icon in World Culture, 2nd Edition)
Kong Unmade: The Lost Films of Skull Island by John LeMay
A Night in Vaudeville (King Kong Blu-Ray)
Recreating the Eighth Wonder: The Making of King Kong (King
Kong Blu-Ray)
I’m delighted to say that
G-Fest XXVI was the best one I’ve attended yet. While I’m still a bit of a noob
to this convention (this was my third year), I was once again impressed with
the con-goers’ friendliness and family-like atmosphere. The best part was the
sheer amount of support and recognition I received. A few people recognized me
from my time on Kaijuvision
Radio (which, contrary to some reports, I am the co-creator of that show).
I seem to have made an impression on this fan community. I never expected that
to happen. I like a lot of things besides Godzilla and kaiju, but it’s here
that I’ve made some of my biggest strides of late.
But you didn’t come here
to hear me gush. You want to know what happened that weekend.
My brother Jarod and I
left early Thursday morning and drove three hours from Fort Wayne, Indiana, to
Rosemont, Illinois. We listened to the audiobook of Jurassic Park (a long overdue read for both of us, and an appropriate
one for this con) on YouTube as we went. Sadly, we were at a slight disadvantage
because we had to stay in the Comfort Inn and not the Crowne Plaza (where the
con was held), but there was a shuttle service to G-Fest, and we got a free
breakfast every morning. Can’t go wrong there.
Our first order of business
after unpacking my 2003 Subaru Legacy (which I named Tatsumaki) was the
film screenings at the Pickwick Theatre. It was there we met up with my
friend/fellow writer/co-panelist Danny DiManna, author/creator of the Godzilla Novelization
Project, and his entourage of family and friends and went to the first of
two double features at 1pm: Godzilla’s
Revenge and Ghidrah, the Three-Headed
Monster. We were a bit late to the first one, but our RiffTrax-style
commentary entertained everyone around us. Ghidrah
was fantastic on the big screen. Every time I see an older film—even those from
as recent as the 1980s—I see how much better their old-fashioned special
effects look because this was how they were meant to be seen. It was the dubbed
version, but the print was gorgeous.
After that, Jarod and I
partook of my G-Fest tradition: Thursday dinner at Giodano’s, a chain of pizzerias
that serves true Chicago-style pizza. We split a small deep-dish, which I
finished first because Jarod was still learning how to attack such thick pizza.
This was followed by the
second double-feature: The X from Outer
Space and Godzilla, Mothra, and King
Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack. I’d never seen the former, so I
was unprepared for how (unintentionally?) hilarious it was. For one thing, it
had the worst dub I’ve ever heard. Me and another guy riffed it the entire
time. He had one joke that made me double over in my chair. In one of the worst
hull breach in space scenes I’ve ever seen, a character gets sucked butt-first
into the hole and gets stuck. In defiance of physics, his comrades pull him out
and patch the hole. My fellow riffer said, “‘You saved the ship!’ ‘You bet your
@$$!’” GMK was, thankfully, subtitled, but the subtitles weren’t entirely
accurate.
Friday started bright and early. Jarod and I rode the shuttle there and collected our badges and programs. I met with Danny, and we wandered down to the Kennedy Room to prep for our panel, Sekizawa and Kimura: A Tale of Two Screenwriters, at noon. I took Jarod to the orientation at 11am and went back down at 11:30am. People kept pouring in, especially after the orientation. I don’t know if it was because of it being one of the first panels of the con, the subject matter, or the pre-con hype leading up to it (it was mentioned by at least two podcasts beforehand), but the room was packed. Danny’s girlfriend, Tori, had to be our usher to find seats for people. I’ve never seen that room get that full in all my time at G-Fest. It was thrilling. We weren’t able to go through all of our material, and I wasn’t able to play my podcast trailer for everyone, but it was a resounding success. We want to host another one next year.
If you missed our panel
or want to watch it again, here’s the video:
I spent the rest of the
day attending a few more panels, including G-pardy tryouts (didn’t make it
again), a paleontologist panel on Godzilla, and Kevin Derendorf presenting on
kaiju fans in media. That evening we attended the opening ceremony, where the
guests gave emotional, heartfelt speeches to the fans (especially Sonoe
Nakajima, the daughter of Haruo Nakajima); Akira Takarada picked a kid from the
audience to get an expensive Gigan toy; and the kids’ costume parade was held.
I then made a brief appearance at what I expect will be the final listener
party for Kaijucast, the premiere
Godzilla/kaiju podcast, where I collected my prize from their
#MemeoftheMonsters contest and educated one fella on the politics of Shin Godzilla.
At 10:30pm, Jarod and I
returned to the Pickwick to see Godzilla:
King of the Monsters with a theatre full of fans. It was my third time
seeing it and his first. G-Fest crowds are famously rowdy, but I’ve never heard
them like this. It was glorious! I even squeezed in a joke that got a groan.
When a bunch of dead fish floated up after the detonation of the Oxygen Destroyer,
I yelled, “That’s a lot
of fish!” (My apologies to everyone who was present). The best part was
when we all sang along with the new
cover of Blue Oyster Cult’s “Godzilla” during the credits. A video of that
was shared on Twitter, and both director Michael Dougherty and composer Bear
McCreary teared up, it seemed.
Saturday was a whirlwind.
As usual, G-Fest is remarkably busy for a con of its size. I never feel like I
partake in everything. Panels tend to eat up most of my time. A few highlights:
the Akira Takarada interview, where he talked about growing up in China and
being wounded by Soviet soldiers as a child; the Shusuke Kaneko interview; the
Dawn of the Monsters video game panel (wherein I suggested they add
Indianapolis as a location); the Heisei Gamera panel; and the panel on the
unmade film Nessie.
I participated in two
more panels that day. The first was the Godzilla:
King of the Monsters panel with the guys from the YouTube channel
DangerVille, among others. Here’s the video of that:
After that was The Art of
Kaiju Writing, which I’ve been on every year I’ve gone to G-Fest. (What’s crazy
is I got on it in 2017 five minutes before it started—but that’s a story for
another day). It was four writers doing a Q&A on the craft of writing and
the publishing process. I recorded that panel, too, but it hasn’t been edited
or posted yet. Stay tuned! It has a tremendous amount of info for beginning
writers.
The traditional evening
events followed: awards and the adult costume parade. A guy in an inflatable Godzilla
costume, which are a dime a dozen usually, surprised everyone when he turned on
some red lights inside the suit, making him Burning Godzilla from KOTM.
Well-played, sir!
The Kaiju
Crescendo concert was held that night. I wanted very much to go, but I
ended up not attending because I wanted to save money (my budget has been tight
this summer). I kinda regret it, honestly. But Jarod didn’t want to go and
wanted to see Monster Zero at the
Pickwick, and since I didn’t want to abandon him, so we went there. A good time
was had by all. I heard, though, that attendance was split so much, it was
somewhat low for all events that night.
I went to a few panels
the next day, but I tried to hit up the places I didn’t get to the rest of the con,
like the Mecha-G Arcade, artist room, and dealer hall. I also got autographs
from both Akira Takarada and Shusuke Kaneko. Much to my surprise, Takarada-san
gave me two signatures! I gave him the booklet to my Criterion copy of Godzilla (1954), which he signed, and
then he grabbed the box and signed that, too! What a wonderful man!
The day ended with Kaiju
Confessions, a hilarious sing-along to kaiju film songs.
