Godzilla 2014: Rumors, Pix and filming

Discussion in 'Science Fiction & Fantasy' started by Gojira, Mar 3, 2013.

  1. Gojira

    Gojira Commodore Commodore

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    You're both right in a sense. The last of the Showa series, Terror of Mechagodzilla, was released in Japan in 1975 and was released in the US in 1977.
     
  2. Shazam!

    Shazam! Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Fresher than what? Some fan-made teaser posters?
     
  3. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    Still, whoops. I must've consulted the wrong source. I've fixed that on my blog post.
     
  4. RAMA

    RAMA Admiral Admiral

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    C'mon really, how many directions does this thing have to go in after 20+ movies? At least PR has a new angle and also seems to have a strong and identifiable human element.

    RAMA
     
  5. JD

    JD Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    How do you know this movie is not going to have a strong human element? They seem to be going for some very talented actors, and the script is being worked over by the guy who "developed" The Walking Dead show, that would point towards attempts to give us some good human drama to go along with the all of the destruction.
     
  6. Gojira

    Gojira Commodore Commodore

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    How can you say PR has a new angle when a giant robot fighting a giant monster is a core aspect of many Godzilla movies?
     
  7. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    Well, they've said they're trying to go back to the seriousness, social commentary, and character-driven approach of the original film, something few of the sequels have done, or at least done well. Almost all the movies from '84 onward tried to play it straight with Godzilla as a villain rather than the goofy hero he'd become in the '60s and '70s, and a few of them tried to have a message (most notably, GMK was an anti-war allegory and a critique of a Japanese society that had forgotten or papered over the crimes their forebears had committed before and during WWII), but nothing's really lived up to the power of the original film. After all, that film was made just 9 years after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the psychological and cultural impact of those events is all over the movie, which makes it all the more powerful when you realize that. (Only if you see the Japanese version, that is; the US version with Raymond Burr glossed over most of that for fear it would seem anti-American.)

    Actually it's hard to see how any Godzilla film made in modern times could come close to the allegorical and historical weight of the original. But if they can give us a strong character-driven film with some interesting ethical dilemmas like the original, that could count for a lot.



    True -- we've had five Mechagodzilla movies in three different continuities, plus MechaKing Ghidorah in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, plus Moguera in the dreadful Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla, plus various specialized kaiju-fighting aircraft in films like Godzilla vs. Destoroyah and G vs. Megaguirus. Not to mention Mechani-Kong in King Kong Escapes.

    But that doesn't mean the film doesn't have a new angle in how it tells the story, how it uses the pre-existing trope. And the same can be said for the new Godzilla.
     
  8. Nagisa Furukawa

    Nagisa Furukawa Commander Red Shirt

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    And of course, Jet Jaguar from Godzilla vs. Megalon. Especially since the giant robots in PR are named Jaegers!
     
  9. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    ^Well, "Jaeger" is the German word for "hunter," which presumably is the source of the name -- nothing to do with "jaguar," which is from a Tupi-Guarani language in South America. I take it as being of similar intent to the frequent use of "Kaiser" names in Japanese tokusatsu and anime, like the Keizers [sic] and Keizer Ghidorah in Godzilla: Final Wars, or Kaiser Buldont in Ohranger.
     
  10. bigdaddy

    bigdaddy Vice Admiral Admiral

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    How does Pacific Rim look fresher? We haven't seen anything or heard anything, they haven't filmed a thing from Godzilla 2014.
     
  11. Gojira

    Gojira Commodore Commodore

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    Pacific Rim looks really good! It is difficult to gauge the tone of that film. I think it will be an action and adventure movie but for some reason I suspect the next Godzilla movie will be even more somber than Pacific Rim.
     
  12. Gojira

    Gojira Commodore Commodore

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    This is just FAN ART, but I would love this to be the design of the new Godzilla. I can only hope it is close to this.

    [​IMG]
     
  13. JD

    JD Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    ^ I like that. It keeps the classic familiar Godzilla look, but updates it and makes it more intimidating.
     
  14. Gojira

    Gojira Commodore Commodore

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    Filming begins in two days. Yesterday actor David Strathairn signed on. He will join Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Bryan Cranston and Elizabeth Olsen in the cast. Academy Award Winning actress Julitte Binoche is rumored to have joined the cast but has not been confirmed yet.
     
  15. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    Strathairn is great. I'm not too familiar with the other cast members.
     
  16. Gojira

    Gojira Commodore Commodore

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    He is great and I am glad he is in this film. Aaron Taylor-Johnson played the lead actor in Kick-Ass and its coming sequel. Bryan Cranston was in Argo and is also in the show Breaking Bad. Elizabeth Olsen is the younger sister of the famous Olsen twins and recieved rave reviews for the movie Martha Marcy May Marlene. Juliette Binoche won an Academy Award for best supporting acrtress for the 1996 movie The English Patient. Not a bad cast...but with filming to start on Thursday I thought there would be more people announced?
     
  17. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    Two films which I will never, ever see.


    He voiced Commissioner Gordon in the Batman: Year One DVD movie, which I have seen. And wasn't he in John Carter? So I'm slightly familiar with him, but only slightly. (I haven't seen Argo yet, but I intend to.)


    So who's playing Godzilla? Andy Serkis, maybe?
     
  18. Gojira

    Gojira Commodore Commodore

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    Yes, he played Colonel Powell in John Carter. I will have to watch that again to remember who he is.


    From what I know they are using CGI for Godzilla, but I would love if Andy Serkis did a motion-capture performance. I am wondering if there will be any animatronic models or if it will be 100% CGI?
     
  19. Mr. Adventure

    Mr. Adventure Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Hmmm.

    He was also in Malcolm in the Middle but something tells me that's probably not something you'd watch either.
     
  20. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    If you think about it, performance capture is kind of the modern equivalent of guy-in-a-rubber-suit special effects. You're using the movements of a human performer to directly animate a special-effects creature. So it would be appropriate here.