Written By: Ken Hulsey
Not too long after the rumor about Legendary Pictures proposed "Godzilla" movie hit the net back in August of 2009, fellow MIN writer Armand Vaquer published a very insightful article about his attempts to verify the rumor through his contacts at Toho and what he thought of a Hollywood reboot of the beloved monster franchise.
Since that time we have learned that the rumor was indeed true and Legendary Pictures officially announced it's plans for a new "Godzilla" film several months later in March of this year. However, many aspects of the film have remained top-secret, leading to many unsubstantiated rumors about what we could expect to see come 2012.
Now, after
hearing Brian Roger's comments from the 3D Entertainment Summit in Los Angeles this past weekend, I thought it would be a good idea to once again try and put some perspective on what we now know about "Godzilla 3D 2012"
As many fans had already speculated Legendary Pictures upcoming "Godzilla" film actually had it's roots in the unmade Yoshimitsu Banno film "Godzilla 3D To The Max". After Banno tried, and failed, to get his sequel to "Godzilla vs Hedorah" (1971) produced by two separate independent digital film studios he just so happened to cross paths with Rogers, who thought the idea would work if it was produced by a bigger studio. In 2007 the two film makers approached Toho about their plans and were able to secure the rights to produce a 3D Godzilla film here in America.
Though all of these negotiations took place in private behind closed doors, rumors of a 3d Godzilla film were still persistent throughout 2008 and 2009 leading many people, including myself, to speculate that "3D To The Max" was still going forward. Imdb even listed a 2011 release date for the film that lead to more rumors and speculation among American Godzilla fans.
The first thing the interviewer wanted to know was whether Legendary Pictures was going to redesign Godzilla? Rogers was quick to point out that they had no intention of following in the footsteps of Tristar's "G98", the film would feature the Japanese Godzilla, end of story.
Rogers was also quick to put the 'man-in-a-suit vs CGI' battle to rest, stating that this time around Godzilla would be a computer generated monster, not an animated character, but a live-action monster.
That, of course, probably won't sit well with many G purists out there, but in the modern world of film making, that's how it goes.
I don't agree with it, but they didn't ask me for my input did they.
Ever since the film was first announced there has been a lot of heated debate amongst G fans on whether the film should be a modern remake of the original "Gojira" (1954) or a totally original reboot of the monster franchise? Roger's stated that the film would indeed be a reboot, not a remake. The film maker also noted that he believed Legendary Pictures was the perfect studio to handle the delicate job of reinventing Godzilla in the same way that Christopher Nolan reworked the "Batman" franchise and J.J. Abrams reinvisioned "Star Trek" for a modern audience.
I'm sure that we can all breathe a little easier after hearing those comments. It would seem that Legendary Pictures is taking the whole thing seriously.
Rogers also revealed that Godzilla would not be the only monster in the film and that there would be a fight between Big G and another monster, possibly monsters, stating that he knew that is what the fans would want to see. The film maker, however, did not reveal whether or not these monsters would be from Toho's library of creatures, like Mothra or Ghidorah, or brand-new creations.
Let the rumors begin on that one.
Oh, and before I forget, that alleged Godzilla pic that was floating around the Net a few months back is not the new Godzilla. Rogers squashed that one as well.
Okay lets recap, the film will be in 3D, a CGI Godzilla, Japanese Godzilla not GINO, Godzilla vs unknown monsters and it will be like Nolan's "Batman" films.
Sounds pretty damn good to me!
Of course, what Rogers didn't talk about was a director, which has also been the subject of much debate and speculation. I guess that we will still need to be patient on that front.
According to the film maker "Godzilla" is still scheduled for a 2012 release, though he did leave the door open for a possible change.
