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Episode 43: ‘Godzilla’ (1954) (feat. The Tourists) | Godzilla Redux

Published June 23, 2021

Hello, kaiju lovers!

By popular (and Godzilla’s) demand, MIFV is starting a new series on episodes on the Godzilla franchise called “Godzilla Redux”! It starts with the one that started it all, the 1954 classic Godzilla (aka Gojira) starring Akira Takarada, Akihiko Hirata, and Takeshi Shimura, among others, and directed by Ishiro Honda. Of course, such a momentous film and occasion required all four of the original Tourists, Nick Hayden, Timothy Deal, and Joe & Joy Metter. Unfortunately for Nate, there is way, way, WAY too much scholarship on this film, so it was overwhelming to research and difficult to condense it all down. Regardless, the roundtable discusses the U.S. Occupation of Japan, the Lucky Dragon No. 5 incident, and how Dr. Serizawa should’ve been a cool anime character, among other subjects related to this film. 

Check out Nick and Tim’s podcast, Derailed Trains of Thought!

Additional music:

We’d like to give a shout-out to our MIFV MAX patrons Travis Alexander and Michael Hamilton (co-hosts of Kaiju Weekly); Danny DiManna (author/creator of the Godzilla Novelization Project); Eli Harris (elizilla13); Chris Cooke (host of One Cross Radio); Bex from Redeemed Otaku; Damon Noyes, and The Cel Cast! Thanks for your support!

You, too, can join MIFV MAX on Patreon to get this and other perks starting at only $3 a month!

Buy official MIFV merch on TeePublic!

This episode is approved by the Monster Island Board of Directors.

Timestamps:
Prologue: 0:00-1:11
Intro: 1:11-3:55
Main Discussion: 3:55-1:17:36
Housekeeping & Outro: 1:17:36-end

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Follow Jimmy on Twitter: @NasaJimmy
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www.MonsterIslandFilmVault.com

#JimmyFromNASALives       #MonsterIslandFilmVault       #Godzilla

© 2021 Moonlighting Ninjas Media

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Jimmy’s Notes on Episode 42: Ben Avery vs. ‘Gamera vs. Jiger’

Published June 16, 2021

As good as episode 42 was (because “life, the universe, and everything”), I took plenty of notes on it. Nate has some explaining to do! 😛

Let’s get started:

  • Nate mispronounced “syndrome.” Shame, shame. 😛
  • I asked Mr. Martin for his thoughts on pen theft, and this is what he told me on Twitter:
    • “Per the Standards and Practices memorandum issued by the (Monster Island Board of Directors): Any and all items located on Monster Island, its wharf and docking bay, and all nearby archipelagos, whether explicitly or implicitly stated, belong to the Monster Island Entertainment Corporation, LLC, and its subsidiaries and stockholders. Any willful destruction and/or unauthorized removal of MIEC ‘meek’) property is a crime under Oceanic Law; dismissal, fines, and jail time are all possible dependent upon the severity of the crime. Judgement will be handled by the Monster Island Judicial System (‘midges’) and justice will be swift and fair. The Monster Island Legal Action Team will oversee all prosecutions, with the current Attorney General presiding as Lead Counsel against any defendants.”
    • I then said, “Thank you. I now fear for (Ben Avery’s) life.” To which Mr. Martin said, “I believe the Board has discontinued the use of genetically-engineered Hunter-Tracker Meganula larvae, but don’t quote me on that until I get Gary to do the archive research.”
  • How did Ben watch both versions of the movie? I suspect he watched it with his kids before leaving for the Island and then again when he arrived.
  • The Exorcist film was released December 26, 1973. The novel was published June 1971. In other words, Gamera vs. Jiger predates both.
  • Yes, Shunsuke Kikuchi worked on both Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z.
  • “You and Jimmy”? You mean me and Masao? Be specific, Marchand!
  • The name of the Keisuke actor is Sanshiro Honoo.
  • It’s Lemuria, Nate. That was the other “lost continent” you couldn’t think of.
  • It annoys me that I forgot what I was going to say toward the end of the Toku Talk.
  • Nate was right. The Irwin Allen-produced submarine TV series was Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea.
  • According to this inflation calculator, $500 million in 1970 would be $3,469,007,731.96 in 2021(!).
  • Here are the authors the International Symposium of Science Fiction that Nate didn’t mention (all of them hailed from the Soviet Union):
    • Vasilii Pavlovich Berezhnoi
    • Yulii Iosifovich Kagarlitskii (aka Julius Kagarlitsky)
    • Ieremei Iudovich Parnov
    • Vasilii Dmitrievich Zackharchenko
  • Personally, I loved Expo ’70! Seeing Gamera there was exciting. He even remembered me and gave me a wave. But sadly, all my photos from the event were destroyed when the Messiah 13 Aliens attacked New York. L
  • Your Dad guarded a moon rock, eh, Nate? That’s impressive, but I have Venus rocks. I’ll show them to you next time you come over to my quarters, Nate.
  • This is the human washing machine, and I do like this model. 😉
  • This was the best info I could find quickly on Tiger Child. And it’s not a nature documentary. It’s loftier than that, it seems.
  • Here’s an article on maglev technology. It’s mostly used for trains. If you’ve been to Disneyworld in Florida, you’ve ridden a train that uses it.
  • Nice catch at the end with Patreon, Ben. In order to donate $3 a day, someone would have to become my intern—which would be nice, actually.

Now for the contractually-obligated leftover notes from Nate’s episode prep:

The Film (Main Notes)

  • Hiroshi has the bushiest eyebrows. (He practically has to comb them. –Jimmy)
  • There’s a nice matting of a long distance live action shot with some toku footage of Gamera.
  • Jiger is female. Jiger has a giant head. Big head code? She drinks water after awakening. Rarely seen. Jiger doesn’t crawl, unlike other quadrupeds. (“Big head code”? That was a thing in ‘90s video games, right? I know, “Okay, boomer.” 😛 –Jimmy)
  • How did Gamera go from flying to swimming in one cut? (Bad editing. –Jimmy)
  • You know, Jiger, Mothra did that ship-destroying move first. Must be a female kaiju thing. (I’ll pass that observation along to the scientists. –Jimmy)
  • Jiger means “terrible as a demon,” apparently.
  • Now the “Gamera song” has gone from listing planet names to the days of the week. Because. (The original was better. Because it was in my movie, of course. –Jimmy)
  • Gamera has a cheerleading squad. (Lucky bastard! –Jimmy)
  • Gamera stole the “tail smash” move from Godzilla.
  • Those x-rays are on display on the Island and used for reference.
  • These kids just know how to operate the sub. (Well, Masao and I did, too. But, you know, we’re smart. –Jimmy)
  • Unsurprisingly, the English-speaking actors aren’t great.
  • What does people from Africa getting weak going north and Eskimos getting weak going south have to do with Jiger being weak to sound?
  • 80 metric tons? Gamera’s a lot lighter than basically every Toho kaiju. By a lot. Godzilla is at least a 1,000 times heavier. (Talk about completely different weight classes! –Jimmy)
  • The kids yell at Gamera as if he can hear them. Which it seems he can. (Because…psychic? –Jimmy)

Intro by Ragone

  • In Shoben Jump Magzaine, Jiger was called “Monster X.”

The Commentary by Edward L. Holland

  • Yuasa sought out the child actors in this film.
  • There was a second monster boom in Japan in 1971.
  • Jiger’s roar is a variation of Guiron’s.
  • Yuasa was fond of beer.
  • Says the film plays out a bit like an Ultraman episode.
  • Sithantaku, the “Eifel Tower of Osaka.”
  • Story has it that Tsuburyaya sent a letter to Yuasa telling him to tone down the gore in the Gamera films.
  • Gamera looks like a vinyl toy after being impregnated by Jiger.
  • They use an “opaque projector on steroids” to discuss Gamera’s anatomy.

Galbraith

  • People either think it’s outrageous or “routine.”

Toku Topic: Expo ‘70

  • Many science fiction writers and artists were involved with the Expo, including:
    • A farcical multi-screen science fiction film created by writer Abe Kõbõ and filmmaker Teshigahara Hiroshi for the Auto Pavilion.
  • “With its characteristic rhetoric of multi-polar humanism, the text goes on to assert that wisdom to avoid such a dire fate and unlock the ‘prosperity of mankind’ can be found not in one place but ‘wherever human beings can be found.’ ‘If the diverse wisdoms of mankind can be effectively exchanged and [allowed to] mutually stimulate each other,’ the text continues, ‘a higher level of knowledge can appear, and from the understanding and tolerance between different traditions, we can achieve the harmonious development of a better life for all of mankind.’”
  • The corporate pavilions, which were dominated by domestic Japanese pavilions, also featured various visions of the future. “The Mitsubishi Future Pavilion, which was divided into a display of the untamed elemental power of ‘Japan’s Nature’ followed by ‘Japan’s Sky,’ ‘Japan’s Sea,’ and ‘Japan’s Earth’ as they would be developed in the twenty-first century: space stations and a weather monitoring and control center in the sky; an underwater city, ‘marine pasture,’ and power plant in the sea; and a twenty-first century city on land.
  • The biggest reason Expo ’70 was seen as a “city of the future” (mirai no toshi) was the “juxtaposition of innovative architectural forms, including Tange’ s Grand Roof, the low inflated dome of the American Pavilion and aggressively pitched roof of the Soviet Pavilion, and most especially, the contributions of the young Japanese architects associated with the Metabolist movement, including Kikutake Kiyonori’s Expo Tower and Kurokawa Kishô’s Toshiba IHI Pavilion and Takara Beautilion, all interpenetrated by the futuristic transportation infrastructure of monorails and moving sidewalks.” (By the way, the Metabolist movement was a postwar architectural movement in Japan that sought to fuse architectural megastructures with organic growth).

Writing this made me nostalgic for Expo ’70. I was barely 11 and was very impressionable. I’ve little doubt attending it pushed me toward a career in space and NASA.

Anyway, next week’s episode marks the beginning of a new chapter for MIFV: “Godzilla Redux.” Nate will be covering the Godzilla films he discussed on…his previous podcast with…someone else. He starts with the beginning, naturally, with Godzilla (1954). He’s bringing back the original Tourist crew of Nick Hayden, Timothy Deal, Joe Metter, and Joy Metter. Then we have a special crossover episode with Kaiju Weekly for the soon-to-be-internationally-released anime Godzilla: Singular Point. We’re working out the details, but it should be BIG. Then the “Year of Gamera” continues with Gamera vs. Zigra, which will feature Kaiju Weekly co-host/MIFV MAX member Travis Alexander and Atomic Turtle host Matt Noponen. I know Nate dislikes it, but come on! A beautiful woman parades around in a bikini for 15-20 minutes! What’s not to like?

Until then, remember: #WeShallOvercome

Follow me on Twitter: @NasaJimmy
Follow MIBOD on Twitter: @MonsterIslaBOD
Follow Raymund Martin (The Monster Island Legal Team) on Twitter: @MIFV_LegalTeam
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Jimmy’s Notes on Episode 41: ‘Sayonara Jupiter’ (Mini-Analysis)

Published June 2, 2021

I’m amazed we weren’t bombarded with e-mails and DM’s calling me crazy. Why? Sayonara Jupiter isn’t exactly a classic for tokusatsu fans, but I love the damn film. Marchand can joke all he wants about it only being because of the infamous zero gravity sex scene or because it was dedicated everyone from my former employer—which means it was dedicated to me. And let me tell you, I wasn’t the only one at NASA who tried zero G lovemaking. However, I will tell you that, as John Varley showed in his novel Titan, it takes great care and every move must be planned. Otherwise, you risk a concussion, and that would kill the mood. I speak from experience.

(Poor Maggie. She dumped me the next day at the infirmary for that. Served me right).

Anyway, as usual with Nate’s scripted episodes, I don’t have many notes since he consults with me before going on the air, especially with a space film like this. I do have the leftover notes from his research, though. Here they are:

  • Solar System Weekly magazine. They still thought paper mags would be a thing in 150 years. (I still have a subscription. –Jimmy)
  • There’s a lot of English being spoken in this. (It’s a very international film. Also, English is already the trade language on Earth, so it makes sense it would be in space. –Jimmy)
  • Blatant product placement for Coke in zero G! (And I still prefer Pepsi. –Jimmy)
  • Loves long sequences of the spaceships. And odd cinematography at weird angles. (Beautiful. –Jimmy)
  • Also, Zoids! (You mean “droids”? 😛 –Jimmy)
  • The woman knows a little Japanese. And she speaks it perfectly.
  • Characters switch between English and Japanese and still understand each other. Proto-Final Wars. Star Wars. (Two words: universal translator. –Jimmy)
  • Ha! American watches Ghidorah the Three-Headed Monster. Honda watched a samurai movie. (That’s a popular film in NASA. –Jimmy)
  • Hmm. That’s a clever logo. Many meanings.
  • Why do the old ladies dress like they’re from ‘50s? (Because they’re old? 😛 –Jimmy)
  • There’s some strange parallelism between the protester attack and GT3HM. (Which is weird. –Jimmy)
  • Hirata appears. He has a mustache.
  • Of course Honda grabs the cute terrorist and takes her away. In a slo-mo hall scene. Well, they know each other, at least.
  • Space Arrow. (I love this ship. Not as much as other ships, but it’s still excellent engineering. –Jimmy)
  • The ship’s AI is named Navajo. Okay…. (The combat AI was named “Tom A. Hawk. 😛  –Jimmy)
  • Oh no. A photo of his family. He’s dead.
  • The scale of these miniatures aren’t quite as convincing as American sci-fi films.
  • Is the Jupiter Ghost ship the dark spot? It’s 120 KM long—3/4 of a mile!
  • There are several interracial romances between Japanese and westerners in this. (You can thank Nick Adams and Glen for that. J -Jimmy)
  • What’s happening with this red wormhole thing? Where’d it come from? (Amusing that computer screams “Wake up”). Later established to be a black hole. (Shouldn’t it be a “red hole”? –Jimmy)
  • The Japanese actors speak surprisingly good English.
  • Einstein City? Where’s that? (The moon. –Jimmy)
  • ‘80s-style retro-future. (Reminds me of my youth. –Jimmy)
  • Hippy Jesus gets a music video?
  • These people hardly seem like terrorists. (That’s what terrorists want you to think! –Jimmy)
  • Some of the acting is subpar. Mostly the westerners.
  • Pills that give you courage without side effects? That’s an interesting drug. Placebo? (The pill is a lie. –Jimmy)
  • “Neo-retro.” (Good one, Nate. –Jimmy)
  • What’s with the graffiti on the walls of the control room? (Freedom of expression is encouraged in NASA. Sometimes. –Jimmy)
  • I don’t get Carlos’s weird love for Jupiter. He wants to give it a “perfect death.”
  • Crewman named Tanaka. Another homage?
  • They have a warp core?
  • I get the feeling the conflicting theme here is whether humanity has the right to destroy a planet to save themselves. Destroy part of nature to save themselves.
  • Eiji says he’ll “turn to gas” to protect the solar system. (All matter can become gas at the right temperatures. That sounded unintentionally frightening. –Jimmy)
  • One guy—a westerner—gets excited at the end, but everyone else is somber. Probably for the deaths and other sacrifices.
  • Eiji and his lover get graves on an asteroid. Carlos asks for one next to him. Millie says she’s tired of making graves for those she loves. A statement celebrating life.
  • First scene based on images from Voyager 1 and 2 of Mars.
  • The Jupiter Church scenes were filmed in Okinawa.
  • Says the Jupiter Ghost was a lifeform?! So, it’s a kaiju?! It was a massive model.
  • Found the theory about solarizing a planet to be “romantic.”
  • Komtasu wrote the novel and created the studio Io to make the film.
  • Hashimoto whispered to Komatsu just before starting filming: “Komatsu-san, I hope we stay in the planning stages forever.” (That would drive me crazy! I like results and enjoying the fruits of my labor. –Jimmy)
  • The same special effects system used for Star Wars, Motion Control System (MCS) was requested, but the staff was inexperienced with it and had to learn it. They even had a “top secret” robot cameraman called “Abbot” that required the operator to spend a day at lecture and training to learn its computer system.
  • First Japanese film to use computer graphics.
  • The miniature designers also worked on Macross and Gundam.
  • Several sources say Gorath eventually led to this film. (That damn rogue star still gives me nightmares! –Jimmy)
  • Considered making this into an anime first.
  • Director Tezuka modeled all his scientist characters after Komatsu.
  • Yuko Weisser says a theater group he was in called Forest of Muses (Muse No Mori) made their own stage version of the film subtitled End of Miyazu. It featured yakuza clan trying to explode Jupiter. The clan’s ladies were the main characters.

And now my Jimmy’s Notes on Toho classics comes to end. But now I get to write them as part of MIFV’s “Godzilla Redux.” Which means we eventually get to discuss my “man crush,” as Marchand puts it, Nick Adams again!

Next week Nate continues the “Year of Gamera” with Gamera vs. Jiger, an episode that will feature podcaster and writer Ben Avery. Then the aforementioned “Godzilla Redux” begins with the original 1954 classic, Godzilla, directed by Ishiro Honda.

Until then, remember: #WeShallOvercome

Follow me on Twitter: @NasaJimmy
Follow MIBOD on Twitter: @MonsterIslaBOD
Follow Raymund Martin (The Monster Island Legal Team) on Twitter: @MIFV_LegalTeam
Follow Crystal Lady Jessica on Twitter: @CrystalLadyJes1

#JimmyFromNASALives

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Episode 41: ‘Sayonara Jupiter’ (Mini-Analysis)

Published May 26, 2021

Hello, kaiju lovers!

A chapter closes on today’s episode as Nate concludes his “mini-sode” series on the Toho classics he missed out on in his previous podcast life. This week he discusses the almost-forgotten hard sci-fi tokusatsu film from 1984, Sayonara Jupiter (aka Bye Bye Jupiter). It was something of a transitional film for Toho since its cast and crew included players from both the Showa and Heisei eras, including Akihiko Hirata (in his final role), Sakyo Komatsu (author of Submersion of Japan), Koichi Kawakita (FX director for the Heisei Godzilla series), and Koji Hashimoto (director of Return of Godzilla/Godzilla 1985). Unfortunately, the Hollywood-caliber special effects can’t save it from an overstuffed script that has a Jupiter Solarization Project, an eco-cult/terrorist group, and Nazca lines on Mars, among other things. If the film is known for anything, though, it’s the (in)famous zero gravity sex scene (which may or may not be intrepid producer Jimmy From NASA’s favorite part). Yep.

After Nate gets into all of this, he reads some listener feedback in the form of three new Apple Podcasts reviews and then gets a visit from Monster Island’s security chief, Captain Douglas Gordon, who brings along a famous friend he says is upset with Nate. This leads to an important announcement about MIFV’s next episode series.

After the credits, Nate and Jimmy are visited by Jessica, still fresh off of her exploits as magical girl superheroine Crystal Lady. She’s been given some, shall we say, “special” earrings by the nefarious Monster Island Board of Directors. Let’s just say Nate and Jess butt heads more than usual because of them.

Guest stars:

  • Sarah Marchand as Jessica Shaw

Epilogue Parts 1-2 (“Introducing Godzilla Redux” and “Influencers”) written by Nathan Marchand.

Additional music:

Sound effects sourced from Freesound.org, including one by InspectorJ, and the Toho Foley library.

We’d like to give a shout-out to our MIFV MAX patrons Travis Alexander and Michael Hamilton (co-hosts of Kaiju Weekly); Danny DiManna (author/creator of the Godzilla Novelization Project); Eli Harris (elizilla13); Chris Cooke (host of One Cross Radio); Bex from Redeemed Otaku; and Damon Noyes! Thanks for your support!

You, too, can join MIFV MAX on Patreon to get this and other perks starting at only $3 a month!

This episode is approved by the Monster Island Board of Directors.

Timestamps:
Intro/Film Analysis: 0:00-15:14
Ad: 15:14-17:09
Listener Feedback: 17:09-22:17
Outro, Epilogue Part 1, and Credits: 22:17-31:31
Epilogue Part 2: 31:31-end

Podcast Social Media:
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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

www.MonsterIslandFilmVault.com

#JimmyFromNASALives       #MonsterIslandFilmVault

© 2021 Moonlighting Ninjas Media

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Jimmy’s Notes on Episode 40: The MSTies vs. ‘Gamera vs. Guiron’

Published May 18, 2021

Strap in, folks. I have a lot of notes for last week’s episode. And Marchand took way too many notes and didn’t use them all. Of course.

First, here are my notes:

  • Correction, Nate: “Joel and the Bots.” I know you love Mike, but the Gamera episodes were Joel’s.
  • It’s “Gaos” (“gows”) not “Gyros,” Greg.
  • The “Dull surprise!” skit was from the Alien from L.A. episode of MST3K.
  • The ridiculously long title of LeMay’s film cuts book is The Big Book of Japanese Giant Monster Movies: The Lost Cuts: Editing Japanese Monsters Volume 1: U.S. Edits (1956-2000). You’re welcome.
  • The name of Kondo’s/Cornjob’s’s actor is Kon Ohmura.
  • Did you say, “Mao,” Nate? Like the Chinese communist leader? How have you not been fired? Does the Board secretly admire the tyrant?
  • It was snow, not a block of ice, Luke.
  • Those alien women’s eyes … they haunt my nightmares! It’s why I’m glad I wasn’t around when they tried to kidnap Gamera after the broadcast. It’s a good thing Crystal Lady was around to save the day.
  • “Flobella” not “Florbella,” Luke. Although, there is some confusion over this.
  • Come on, Nate, have you seen the Xilien women? Hot damn!

  • Yes, I am a proud “Plutoist.” I’ve only visited that rock once, but I assure it is still a planet!
  • “Ideal”? You meant, “idea,” Luke.
  • I know what you mean, Luke, when it comes to navigating city traffic. I grew up in New York City and Japan. I saw the madness of both.
  • What’s a “kig,” Nate? (it’s “kids”).
  • Gamera vs. Jiger not on MST3K, Nate says. Hahaha! (Click here to see how wrong he is).

Now to fulfill my contractual obligations by posting Marchand’s leftover notes:

The Movie

  • Starts with an astronomy lesson. This made Jimmy happy. (Yes, it did, even though some of that info is wrong. –Jimmy)
  • Jimmy also felt right at home in the observatory. He’s been there. (Yes, and it is a wonderful place. I would live at an observatory, if I could. –Jimmy)
  • Of course the kids see the spaceship before everyone else! It’s Gamera! (I usually see spaceships before everyone else. But I’m also a Gamera kid. –Jimmy)
  • Why was the ship sent to earth? (To get to the other side? I don’t know. It’s Gamera. –Jimmy)
  • You could cynically say that the monsters and aliens and stuff only exist in the kids’ imaginations.
  •  “It’s just a rabbit.” Tell that to Night of the Lepus! (Hear Nate’s appearance on Kaiju Weekly for that here. –Jimmy)
  • “They flew here. They’re civilized!” Hahaha! Did you forget the Virasians? (I didn’t. Yeesh! –Jimmy)
  • Gamera must have a spider-sense for children in peril.
  • Do we need color commentary from the kids? (Is this a rhetorical question? –Jimmy)
  • Ah, they have short range transporters. Someone saw Star Trek. We’re leery of teleporters now, though. That’s why your tour guide (Jessica) is out there. (At least you have a sister …. –Jimmy)
  • These sets want to compete with the color of Oz.
  • Jimmy’s annoyed that this sliding floor is nicer to kids than the anti-grav hallways on the Virasian ship. (So unfair! 😛 –Jimmy)
  • Maybe the bad dubs are malfunctioning translator chokers?
  • There is some nice subtle acting from the spacewomen.
  •  “My son”? Trying to be his mother?
  • Jimmy says the American Aerospace Bureau are a bunch of hacks. You can’t believe them when they say flying saucers aren’t real. (Damn straight! –Jimmy)
  • Do they really think these kids are that smart? According to Ragone, the actor playing the white kid couldn’t be in the next movie because his grades dropped.
  • Their razor looks like a ray gun! And the buzzsaw does, too.
  • “Let the monsters fight.” That’s where Ishiro Serizawa got the line.
  • Tom calls the Terrans “big sisters”? It’ a Japanese thing that’s weird in translation. (Probably, given what we’ve researched before. –Jimmy)
  • The “reverse button.” How these two are smart makes no sense, unlike the last one.
  • This is a slow teleporter suddenly.
  • Flobella shoots Barbella because a chair fell on her? There’s a word for someone like that. Also, Terrans just disappear when they die? Did they die? (Apparently not. –Jimmy)
  • The foam blocks don’t hurt the kids. 😛 But it’s a nice subversion that they don’t escape by shooting the button.
  • Gamera has his kid cheerleaders again. They do pretty much nothing aside from accidentally unleash Guiron, who attacks the Terrans, and pushing random buttons that somehow make Guiron go to his room. And even then, Gamera had already retreated underwater! And then they launch a missile that accidentally kills Flobella. At least Masao and Jim did stuff. (Thank you! –Jimmy)
  • Gamera can’t touch his legs. I think that’s a problem.
  • The kids only launched one missile. Where’d the other one come from? Probably the same place as the second Ghidorah skull in GvK.
  • I didn’t realize Gamera was a certified welder. Or that it was magic welding that could make a spaceship airtight again.
  • In the end, the adults learn to believe their kids. Is that a good lesson?
  • The little girl jokes that Kon (Cornjob) is an alien. (I think he is. –Jimmy)
  • Gamera nods at Akio makes his speech. It is Gamera approved.

The Commentary by David Kalat

  • He defends the child actors by saying they are part of a sliver of the population of people who want to be an actor, are good at acting, and are children.
  • Yuasa focused less on the dialogue with the kids and let them “play act” the scene.
  •  (Kalat can’t pronounce half of the Japanese names right).
  • (Says he knows only one sentence in Japanese: “My whole family loves baseball.” He says one day he will go to japan, say this, and presumably starve).
  • Argues that the gory death of Space Gyaos wasn’t intended to be taken seriously. Compared it to Loony Tunes.
  • A kid once said a kid told him that Tsuburaya told him he shouldn’t have such gruesome violence in the Gamera movies. He wasn’t sure the kid was telling the truth because he thought they’d be kindred and introduced more silliness to the Godzilla films. They never met.
  • Compares the effects in this film to a Mickie Mouse cartoon and Kermit the Frog. It looks pleasing, not believable.
  • Yuasa actually asked Toho to let him watch prints of Godzilla films to make Gamera, which they said no. Tsuburaya Productions (I think) let me watch them. He didn’t see Toho as competition but as an older brother he could learn from.
  • Daiei owed Nisan Takahashi more money than anyone else in 1971. Supposedly, he was given the rights to Gamera as payment. He was confused when the heisei trilogy was made, but he did publish a novel titled, Gamera vs. Phoenix.
  • Yuasa: “Watch many movies. Praise what you like about them.” (Words to live by. You hear that, internet? –Jimmy)

Intro by Ragone

  • The composer, Shunsuke Kikuchi, went on to make music for many anime, including Dragon Ball Z.
  • Kids didn’t like the Space Gyaos death, and Yuasa regretted it.

Arrow Booklet

  • Films were churned out annually. Drama scenes filmed in four weeks and the special effects done in two months.
  • Guiron is art director Akira Inoue’s personal favorite monster.

LeMay

  • Yuasa was given another tine budget (20 million yen). They decided to set it on an alien planet to save money and tap into children’s fears of being lost from home.
  • Reiko Kasahara, who played the kind older sister in Gyaos, is one of the alien villainesses.
  • Guiron was considered for Gamera 2, and is rumored to have inspired Legion’s pointy head.

Galbraith

  • Says the dub is so bad, the lines could’ve been read by a cocktail waitress or gas station attendant.

Toku Topic: The First “Traffic War” in Japan

  • Due to all of this growth, key traffic problems included overloading and speeding by dump trucks and gravel trucks and reckless driving by taxi drivers, which were frequently criticized by newspapers and other media. “Most media accounts built a consensus that the main victims of accidents were children, the aged, pedestrians, and cyclists, while the main offenders were professional drivers.”
    • “The situation is very different in Japan. More young (less than 16 years old) and old (more than 54 years old) non-car users are killed in traffic accidents than are car users.”
    • 75% of Japan is mountainous, so population density is high. Since most roads go through highly populated urban areas, it’s difficult to isolate pedestrians and cyclists, who are constitute 60% of auto accidents in Japan.
  •  “…collisions with other vehicles in the US constitute a higher proportion of fatal accidents, whereas collisions with pedestrians play a larger role in Japan. The percentage of fatal vehicle accidents involving collisions with pedestrians is larger in Japan than in the US (28.5 vs. 18.2%). The percentages of traffic accident deaths among non car-users are also larger in Japan than in the US (motorcyclists: 18.6 vs. 6%, bicyclists: 12.3 vs. 2%, pedestrians: 27.7 vs. 14.1%). This results in nearly 60% of Japanese traffic-accident deaths being among non-car users, compared 20% in the US (ITARDA, 1997).”
  •  “In Japan, accident death rates for 16–24 years old increased during the late 1970s and 1980s (MCA, 1997b), even though most high school students were prohibited from having drivers’ licenses by internal school rules (Koshi, 1988).”
  • A few of the aforementioned policies:
    • Japan solutions are focused more on law enforcement and education that engineering (i.e. airbags). It seemed to work as traffic deaths dropped by half from 1970-1980.

Marchand talks about this movie more than Akio talks about traffic accidents. The Stockholm Syndrome really is settling in!

Next week Nate finishes his series of mini-sodes on Toho classics with one of my favorite Toho films, Sayonara Jupiter. It’s a film by the author of Submersion of Japan and the director of Return of Godzilla. It should be … interesting, to say the least. What Nate’s doing after that, I don’t know. Then his friend Ben Avery, the ruler of a mighty podcast empire, returns for the next chapter in the “Year of Gamera” with Gamera vs. Jiger. She got the moves.

Until then, remember: #WeShallOvercome

Follow me on Twitter: @NasaJimmy
Follow MIBOD on Twitter: @MonsterIslaBOD
Follow Raymund Martin (The MIFV Legal Team) on Twitter: @MIFV_LegalTeam
Follow Crystal Lady Jessica on Twitter: @CrystalLadyJes1

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Jimmy’s Notes on Episode 39: The Drifters vs. ‘Gamera vs. Viras’

Published May 5, 2021

I wrote down the most notes I’ve had in a long time for episode 39, so buckle up, space cadets, you’re about to get schooled by Jimmy!

  • Nate, the “uncut 90-minute version” was how the first Japanese laserdisc was marketed, not when it was on U.S. TV. Did you forget that from my Entertaining Info Dump? Apparently.
  • There was debate over whether the actress in the film had the same hair color as my mother, but it’s a moot point now because she … died in New York. Yeah, the woman J.R. was probably the actress who played her in this film. Or someone who looked like her. Or he’s crazy.
  • Goji-kun and Bro Kong caused a lot of issues with the broadcast that were edited out of the podcast version. It was a mess. Ultra-Mite was sleeping on the job or something.
  • In Nate’s defense, I’ve gone back and forth on how to say Viras’s name, and I grew up in Japan. I guess I’m still a dirty, dirty American. I also fought the space squid. Well, I helped Gamera fight him. It’s more than most of my fellow Gamera kids did.
  • It was cut to a third, Jack, not by a third.
  • So, while Carl Craig has the spray-painted Nerf gun with a beer can on it, I have a real Virasian blaster rifle. It’s not my favorite gun, but it did burn through my target in my private little shooting range here on the Island.
  • Yes, I’m not happy about not getting invited to the Gamera Gala. And Masao is upset I wasn’t, too. But given what happened to Nate, maybe it was for the best.
  • Yeah, and here’s my Gamera badge:
  • “Relegate,” not, “regulate,” Jack.
  • Yeah, Masao won’t shut up about giving Gamera the “Friend to All Children” title. It drives our fellow Gamera kids crazy. And given that Kenny is already psychotic, that’s saying something!
  • I should also note that my father doesn’t look like the actor in this movie, either. He was a proud member of the U.S. Air Force who was stationed in Japan for a while. It was partly because of him that I enlisted.
  • Carl Craig’s father was American and his mother Japanese.
  • I have a judo merit badge and a blackbelt. Don’t cross me, J.R.! (They don’t work well when I’m drunk, though ….)
  • Masao and I didn’t get our Golden Pheasant awards for a month because we got grounded for our shenanigans. You’d think helping to save the world would nullify that, but no, my parents didn’t want me sub-jacking later in life.
  • Soichi Noguchi and I go way back. He helped me test fly the Gohten once.
  • There was a lot of crack in that MIBOD memo.
  • Death trumps cancer. And I will find out what “J.R.” stands for! Maybe it’s just “Junior.”
  • I’m looking forward to Sayonara Jupiter.
  • Marveller? I’ve yet to examine that machine. Japanese Spider-Man needs to let me keep it in my garage for a day next time.

Now for Nate’s leftover notes:

The Movie

  • Gamera can breathe fire in the vacuum of space. Sure. (Even physics bow to the new MIBOD-appointed “king of the monsters.” –Jimmy)
  • Of course the kids can operate a sub better than the adults. This is a Gamera movie! (No, it’s because Masao and I were brilliant children. –Jimmy)
  • On Twitter, Gamera offered to race Jimmy and Masao in a sub again. (And one of these days, we’ll take him up on that offer. –Jimmy)
  • “Super Catch ray.” Do they use that on Pokemon, too?
  • Gamera can somehow hear the kids in the sub and understand them. Because. (This still baffles the scientists. –Jimmy)
  • Videotron. Isn’t that a sequel to Videodrome?
  • “Making up stories”? Did you forget Gamera is real? (Just wait until the next movie ….)
  • That flying Gamera prop looks goofy. It’s the eyes.
  • Transformer mass shifting. The mind control device goes from the size of a grapefruit to the size of a VW Beetle. (I want some of this tech. It’d make it easier to hide more vehicles in my garage. –Jimmy)
  • Their computer’s “Processing” screen is a kaleidoscope.
  • Well, that guy was disarmed.
  • Getting pinned to the wall like that doesn’t look comfortable. How do they stay up when they’re off the floor and not pinned to the wall? It’s terrible because they can slip their hands out easily. And they escape easily. (Or I’d been reading a lot of books on Houdini. –Jimmy)
  • This stock footage is passed off as a different dam (Okumusashi Dam). Sadly, it still has the B&W problem.
  • Because an alien spaceship somehow works the same as an earth submarine?
  • I see Jimmy was a tech genius even back then. He figured out the Virases ship in no time. (Did you forget it’s me you’re talking about? –Jimmy)
  • Why can’t the aliens control Gamera anymore? (Because. –Jimmy)
  • Virases can combine into a giant. Because.
  • I do like how big Viras weaponizes what’s left of the ship.
  • Gamera says, “Go home and get stoned!”
  • Seriously, Gamera? Defeated by getting flipped on your back?

Intro to the film by Ragone

  • Carl Craig was born in South Carolina to Japanese mother and American military man. He spoke fluent Japanese. He served in the military himself and for U.S. security after 9-11.
  • Viras looks like a squid, but in the original script, he was called “Geso,” the Japanese word for cuttlefish. His name was chosen in a name contest held by Shonen Jump and Bokura, which had prizes, but Yuasa said these were staged.

The Commentary by Carl Craig and Jim Cirronella

  • Carl Craig got the role because his aunt lived next door to one of the producers. They wanted an American kid who spoke Japanese, and he was blonde-haired and blue-eyed and could do that. Yuasa wanted it to have an international flair.
  • It was filmed in 2.5 months. Craig’s days started at 4am. He was picked up from a base and had a tutor for school over the two-hour drive.
  • There are some scenes where Craig has a bandage on his finger because he cut his finger throwing a bottle and went to the ER. He also lost his U.S. handkerchief and was given a Japanese one.
  • This was the first Gamera movie to have stock footage. About 20 minutes. Craig hadn’t seen this footage until he and his fifth-grade class went to see it at the premiere.

LeMay

  • Masakazu Nagata, the president of Daiei, was involved with the Boy Scouts, which is why they were involved.
  • One of the aliens is Riki Hashimoto, who played Daimajin.

Galbraith

  • He says Carl Craig’s last name is “Clay.” (Seriously, why can’t anyone get his name right? I know how he feels. –Jimmy)

He got through all his Toku Topic notes, which is good.

Next week is the second of the “Year of Gamera” double-header when poor Nate has to suffer through Gamera vs. Guiron (which has the best of the MST3K episodes). He’ll be joined by Luke Jaconetti of the Earth Destruction Directive podcast and Greg Meyer, who formerly hosted the Out of the Speedforce podcast. After that Nate’s series of mini-sodes on Toho classics comes to an end with another of my favorite Toho films, Sayonara Jupiter. We’re still working out issues with guests, but it looks like to be a solo episode.  

Until then, remember: #WeShallOvercome

Follow me on Twitter: @NasaJimmy
Follow MIBOD on Twitter: @MonsterIslaBOD
Follow Raymund Martin (The MIFV Legal Team) on Twitter: @MIFV_LegalTeam
Follow Crystal Lady Jessica on Twitter: @CrystalLadyJes1

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Episode 39: The Drifters vs. ‘Gamera vs. Viras’ (feat. Jack ‘GMan’ Hudgens and J.R. Villers)

Published April 28, 2021

Hello, kaiju lovers!

In the first of a double-whammy of “Year of Gamera” episodes that continue to chip away at Nate’s sanity, today’s movie is 1968’s Gamera vs. Viras. Nate is joined by returning guest (and Jimmy From NASA nemesis) Jack “GMan” Hudgens and Jack’s friend J.R. Villers from The Drift Space podcast to discuss this outlandish but imaginative kaiju flick. It’s near and dear (haha!) to Jimmy’s heart because, believe it or not, it dramatizes an exciting chapter of his childhood. Yes, MIFV’s intrepid producer is one of the precocious “Kennys”! In order to survive, Nate makes many Star Trek references/comparisons and several puns. The discussion also includes talk about hentai (don’t ask) and how the Rocky films stole the Gamera series’ formula—and it includes Sly Stallone impersonations. The Toku Topic is the Scout Association of Japan since the Gamera kids in this—again, including Jimmy—are both Boy Scouts.

Sound effects sourced from Freesound.org.

The Drift Space on Podchaser.
The “Deferential Wrath of a Rusting Markalite Cannon” Substack.

We’d like to give a shout-out to our MIFV MAX patrons Travis Alexander and Michael Hamilton (co-hosts of Kaiju Weekly); Danny DiManna (author/creator of the Godzilla Novelization Project); Eli Harris (elizilla13); Chris Cooke (host of One Cross Radio); Bex from Redeemed Otaku; and Damon Noyes! Thanks for your support!

You, too, can join MIFV MAX on Patreon to get this and other perks starting at only $3 a month!

This episode is approved by the Monster Island Board of Directors.

Timestamps:
Intro: 0:00-7:54
Entertaining Info Dump: 7:54-16:06
Toku Talk: 16:06-59:21
Ad: 59:21-59:59
Toku Topic: 59:59-1:22:52
Listener Feedback, Housekeeping, & Outro: 1:22:52-end

Podcast Social Media:
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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

www.MonsterIslandFilmVault.com

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© 2021 Moonlighting Ninjas Media

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Jimmy’s Notes on Episode 38: Eric Anderson vs. ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’

Published April 21, 2021

Well, this is annoying.

Nate and I were transferring files between our respective laptops, and in the shuffle an older version of “Jimmy’s Notes” overwrote the newer version.

In other words, my notes on episode 38 (Godzilla vs. Kong) were lost.

Damnit, Marchand!

I can tell you that my notes included bullet points about:

  • Eric mispronouncing something.
  • H.E.A.T. being sent to the Hollow Earth to get Titanus Doug succeeded in finding him, and he was released on Monster Island today.
  • The fact that a kaiju version of Alcoholics Anonymous should probably be started in light of Kong’s latest antics. Speaking as someone who’s been known to drink a bit too much Jack Daniels on occasion (and get into bar fights), I know how Kong feels.
  • Realizing I’m 0-2 against Kong with Mechani-Kong Mk. 2. In my defense, I was trying to incapacitate and not kill him both times. If I ever went all out with Mechani-Kong Mk. 2, the results would’ve been much different. Regardless, my pride has recovered since then.
  • Nate needing to get his own tux! He asked me to loan him mine, but it wouldn’t fit. He owes it to himself to get his own, just like Eric said.
  • How getting Jet Jaguar fitted for a tux was … weird. Especially now with his Singular Point mods. I had to call in a favor with a special tailor.
  • How it wasn’t “Kongtainment,” Nate. It was just “Kong Containment.”

Here’s Nate’s leftover notes … which is a lot.

The Film

  • Someone should merchandise Jia’s Kong doll. (I’m sure the Board will get on that. –Jimmy)
  • I like the MV credits sequences. There are lots of throwbacks to past MV films in here. Like Randa talking about the many ecosystems. Then we get a rundown of Godzilla and Kong’s past exploits.
  • I heard some people say that Bernie was Alex Jones. That’s not far off. I didn’t mind him, but that might be because I know a few people like him. (Even Alex Jones is right sometimes. –Jimmy)
  • Like in K33, they just put Kong on a huge raft with no explanation of how. I prefer that. Given the big jump in technology in this, you just learn to accept it.
  • Some things get repeated a bit too much at first. “Ancient rivalry” is one.
  • Call me crazy, but the finger touch reminds me of the Da Vinci painting of God touching Adam. (I thought Kong was the “king” not the “god.” –Jimmy)
  • I love the van scene because it makes me think of Stranger Things with the ‘80s-sounding techno.
  • I heard someone complain about the Tide pod reference. It would’ve been a long time after that, but it makes sense that he’d be leery of internet challenges and would still be dealing with lawsuits. Maybe it was an adlib?
  • The score doesn’t have nostalgic tunes like KOTM, but it does have shades of them. It’s somewhere between G14 and KOTM.
  • I love how Kong is puzzled by snow. (Sometimes it puzzles me, too, so he’s in good company. –Jimmy)
  • Josh naming MG seems a bit odd. It really should’ve been Ren Serizawa. (Or me. –Jimmy)
  • I really did feel a bit sorry for the Skullcrawler MG kills. It does show how much of a threat MG is because those things were terrifying in Kong: Skull Island.
  • The Heisei Gamera trilogy is all over the MV G-films. This has Gamera 3 in it. Godzilla is protecting the Earth/nature and not humanity, which means he causes lots of collateral damage without regard to humans.
  • When Jia signs about Kong’s heartbeat, she beats her chest a bit like Kong. I like that. (It’s cute. Is it her sign for Kong? –Jimmy)

Toku Topic: Theaters vs. Streaming

These are mostly quotations from the following sources:

  • https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/02/movie-theater-owners-are-frustrated-about-streaming-but-their-survival-depends-on-studios.html
  • “According to a study held in June 2020, just 14 percent of adults said that they strongly preferred seeing a movie for the first time in a theater, and 36 percent said that they would much rather stream the film at home than visit a cinema. Preferences for watching a new release in a cinema instead of via a streaming service in the United States changed significantly between 2018 and 2020, signaling a shift in consumer behavior and potentially a risk for movie theaters in the country. Also important to note is the effect of the coronavirus on consumer confidence. There was a drop in the share of movie fans willing to visit cinemas between March and June 2020, likely the result of consumers fearing the risk of infection and feeling more comfortable viewing movies in the safety of their own home.”
  • “Studios and exhibition have always had a lovely but contentious relationship,” one movie theater operator with locations in the southern part of the U.S. said on condition of anonymity. “Exhibition is basically a business that has blank screens and empty seats and we can’t do what we do without the studios.”
  • “These windows were created by studios decades ago in an effort ‘to get multiple bites out of the same apple,’ another movie theater operator said.”
  • “Netflix Inc has streamed original movies at the same time, or just a few weeks after, their debut in cinemas. Competitor Amazon Studios has said it would like some of its films to play for only two to eight weeks in theaters before hitting the Amazon Prime Video streaming service.”
  • “Director Steven Spielberg told Britain’s ITV News last year that movies seen primarily via streaming should compete for Emmys, not Oscars. A representative declined to comment on whether the director will urge the Academy to address the issue.”
  • Before the pandemic, there was talk of extending the theater duration times for big budget films and allowing smaller films to head to “direct-to-consumer” channels faster. But when cinemas were forced to close for six months (or more), cinemas were forced to adhere to much shorter releases. Many faced bankruptcy.
  • Theaters owners and other industry observers were quick to criticize Warner’s move. Chris Johnson, the CEO of Classic Cinemas, called Warner’s decision “ridiculous and short-sighted,” and Adam Aron, the CEO of AMC Theaters, argued that Warner would “sacrifice a considerable portion of the profitability” of movies that bypassed the traditional theatrical release. David Sims piled on in The Atlantic, saying of Warner’s decision, “Audiences will have little incentive to pay more to see these films in theaters.” His conclusion? “Theater chains are right to fear for their survival.”
  • You know who else hated it? Christopher Nolan. He spoke against it vehemently in defense of the theater-going experience (it might’ve been to promote Tenet, but who knows).
  • “PwC partner CJ Bangah told me her big consulting firm’s annual media and entertainment outlook is projecting a 65% drop in global revenues for the movie sector.”
  • “Worse, Bangah said, recovery for the film industry is a long ways away. As she delicately put it, it’s ‘within the realm of possibility’ that the industry will fight through an “uphill battle” to full recovery, but ‘we’re not forecasting a return to 2019 revenue levels in the five years of our forecast for cinema.’”
  • “Shorter windows would keep some customers at home, said Greg Marcus, chief executive of The Marcus Corporation, owner of the fourth-largest U.S. theater chain. ‘If you damage the business and take away 10 percent of our customers, we won’t be able to reinvest in the theatrical experience,” Marcus said. “That would ultimately hurt content providers.’”
  • “In the study, we analyzed what happened to theatrical revenue in Korea from 2015 through 2018 — a period during which Hollywood studios significantly shortened the exclusive theatrical windows for their releases, from three months to only one month. We found that, after controlling for differences between movies with early digital releases versus traditional release windows, early releases had a statistically and economically insignificant impact on theater sales, equivalent to around a 0.8% drop in total theatrical revenue during the first eight weeks of the movie’s theatrical run in Korea. Most theatergoers, it turned out, remained loyal to the theatrical experience even when they had the option of watching the movie at home while the movie was still showing in theaters.” Take this with caution.
  • “What we learned in our Korean study suggests that a similar effect may exist for movies, which in turn suggests that John Fithian, the president of the National Association of Theater Owners, was right when he argued that ‘theaters provide a beloved immersive, shared experience that cannot be replicated’ — but that Jason Kilar, the CEO of WarnerMedia, was also right when said that early digital releases provided an opportunity to give customers a choice ‘whether that choice is to enjoy a great new movie out at the cinema, to open up HBO Max, or to do both.’”
  • In 2019 (before the dark times—before the COVID), Christina Garnett wrote, “Maybe we’ve already chosen the user experience we want… instant, at our fingertips, and cheaper than the traditional alternative.”

Okay, it wasn’t as much as I expected.

Next week you’ll hear the return of another member of my ever-growing rogues gallery, and this time he brought a friend: Jack “GMan” Hudgens and J.R. Villers from The Drift Space podcast. They came to continue the “Year of Gamera” with a movie that dramatizes an exciting chapter of my life: Gamera vs. Viras. Yes, I have lasso skills and helped Gamera fight aliens. How do you think I got a job at NASA? Then poor Nate has to suffer through a second Gamera movie in a row with Gamera vs. Guiron, and he’ll be joined by Luke Jaconetti of the Earth Destruction Directive podcast and Greg Meyer, who hosts several podcasts.

Until then, remember: #WeShallOvercome

Follow me on Twitter: @NasaJimmy
Follow MIBOD on Twitter: @MonsterIslaBOD
Follow Raymund Martin (The MIFV Legal Team) on Twitter: @MIFV_LegalTeam
Follow Crystal Lady Jessica on Twitter: @CrystalLadyJes1

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Episode 38: Eric Anderson vs. ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’

Published April 14, 2021

Hello, kaiju lovers!

Finally, the “Kong Quest” comes to an end! After months of delays due to avoiding competition and COVID-19, Godzilla vs. Kong has been released. It’s not a fever dream—it’s real! Nate is joined by his friend, Nerd Chapel founder Eric Anderson, to discuss the epic rematch nearly 60 years in the making. They host a special premiere for the Legendary film at the newly opened Denham Theater, an event that’s been delayed and rescheduled as often as the film’s release. A cavalcade of special guests attends, including the little Iwi deaf girl Jia. She is the youngest of “Kong’s Queens,” all the surviving ladies who have captivated the Eighth Wonder over the years. Nate and Eric dive deep into the deceptively simple movie, discussing Kong’s “hero’s journey,” the Jules Verne-ian/Edgar Rice Burroughs-ian world-building, and its theme of mankind trying to control forces greater than themselves. You’ll also hear them compare the movie to Conan the Barbarian, Die Hard, and The Lord of the Rings.

The Toku Topic isn’t about the content of the movie itself but a debate raging around it: movie theaters vs. streaming services. Which do you prefer to see a movie for the first time?

Afterward, Nate and company hear that Kong had too much to drink at the after-party and has gone on a drunken rampage. MIFV’s intrepid producer, Jimmy From NASA, volunteers to handle the situation the best way he knows how: Mechani-Kong Mk. 2. That goes about as well as you’d expect, so Nate and Eric recruit one of “Kong’s Queens” for help so beauty can save the beast for once.

Prologue and Epilogue written by Nathan Marchand with Eric Anderson.

Music:
-“Here We Go” by Chris Classic
-“Pensacola, Florida (Godzilla Theme” by Junkie XL
-“Skull Island (Kong Theme)” by Junkie XL
-“A New Language” by Junkie XL
-“Main Title” by Moscow Symphony Orchestra, composed by Max Steiner

Sound effects sourced from Freesound.org (including some by InspectorJ).

We’d like to give a shout-out to our MIFV MAX patrons Travis Alexander and Michael Hamilton (co-hosts of Kaiju Weekly); Danny DiManna (author/creator of the Godzilla Novelization Project); Eli Harris (elizilla13); Chris Cooke (host of One Cross Radio); Bex from Redeemed Otaku; and Damon Noyes! Thanks for your support!

You, too, can join MIFV MAX on Patreon to get this and other perks starting at only $3 a month!

Check out Nerd Chapel and the 42 devotional books!

This episode is approved by the Monster Island Board of Directors.

Timestamps:
Intro/Prologue: 0:00-11:40
Entertaining Info Dump: 11:40-22:24
Toku Talk: 22:24-1:46:55
Ad: 1:46:55-1:47:47
Toku Topic: 1:47:47-2:14:12
Housekeeping & Outro: 2:14:12-2:23:16
Epilogue: 2:23:16-end

Podcast Social Media:
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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
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www.MonsterIslandFilmVault.com

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© 2021 Moonlighting Ninjas Media

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