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Godzilla To Retire (for now)
ackthpt writes "CNN is reporting that Toho, after 50 years and 28 films, will be retiring Godzilla (Gojira in Japan) after this years film. Toho has thought of retiring the venerable monster before, but after pulling the stops to make a special Best of Best this may be it (but you never know, particularly if it draws large audiences)"
It'll be sad to see such an icon of the 'old scifi' go, now if only william shattner would stop screeching on television =)
Just because you disagree doesn't make it offtopic or flamebait.
Let me be among the first to with you well, in whatever endeavor you undertake in this chapter of your life.
Hail! King of the Monsters!
ps. don't attack my city
There's more than one Godzilla movie? I always assumed I was just seeing different parts of the same film... go figure.
Quote the article: "Even if the new movie makes money, it will be at least a decade before Godzilla returns, Tomiyama said."
That's pretty much telling us there's not going to be another sequel for a while no matter what. At least, unless you think he's lying.
And how many retirement concerts did Barbara Striesand have?
:)
Go'zilla isn't going anywhere...the press will see to that. This will simply be another comeback spike. It worked before and it will work again, and that's a good thing
I'm just glad Bambi can finally get some rest.
Karma: It's all a bunch of tree-huggin' hippy crap!
Popular fictional characters never retire, they just get put away for a spell to create a pent-up demand. There will likely be more, but it'll likely be 10 to 20 years before somebody realizes they have a popular franchise that they're not using and it's time to revive it.
I thought Gojira was HUGE in Japan!
Er...
Ryan Fenton
...a bitter dejected Mothra mumbles profanities in broken Japanese.
__ Someday, but not this morning, I'll finally learn to use the preview button.
So, does this mean that we'll never get "Godzilla: The Musical?"
'Coz that would have been cool.
-err...
ps. don't attack my city
Shouldn't that be 'please don't attack my city'?
I'd certainly be polite to the 400-foot monster under those circumstances. Or any circumstances, really.
"We have to go forth and crush every world view that doesn't believe in tolerance and free speech." - David Brin
Oh man.
They never even got a chance to do Godzilla vs. Mozilla
Have you tried Linux yet?
Toho group has taken over the operation of the Virgin Cinema movie theaters in Tokyo and seem to be doing a bang-up job of bringing first run movies to Japan in a very timely fashion.
It still costs an arm and a leg to see a movie here, but the theaters are much more comfortable than any that I've been to in the US.
Godzilla ought to be retiring. The threat of environmental damage and subsequent mutations caused by a nuclear waste spill has been shown to be a Chicken Little cause. As more countries shift their means of electricity production to nuclear, we have seen a progressive reduction of air pollution in those countries. In the US, coal and oil are still the primary means of power generation, and it shows when looking at statistical charts how much pollution per capita is produced by Americans.
Godzilla ought to be retired because the reasons that he was brought forth in the first place are gone. A new creature, relevent to today's global threats ought to be created so that kids can learn about those threats in an interesting and entertaining manner. Whether the threat ought to be fossil fuel pollution, terrorism, or global warming, bringing the issues to the public in an easily digestible and entertaining medium is the first step towards educating everyone about the dangers posed by these global problems.
I have been pwned because my
As long as they dont make another incredibly terrible movie like that Godzilla 2000 movie, I will be very happy
I would rather see a japanese guy in a rubber suit step on model trains for an hour than see the most expensive 3D technology used to string together a movie with plot elements so stupid it makes my eyes bleed!!!
Post apocalyptic gaming goodness
I just heard some sad news on talk radio - radioactive scourge of Japan Godzilla was found dead in at the bottom of the Pacific ocean this morning. There weren't any more details. I'm sure everyone in the Slashdot community will miss him - even if you didn't enjoy his work, there's no denying his contributions to popular culture. Truly an Asian icon.
theya re rereleasing the orig 1954 B&W Godzilla in the USA in spring/summer (no dubbing!!!!!).... then next year we will get Godzilla: Final Wars.
it'll be sad they are not making more, but we still will have 28 movies to watch.... that's not too shabby. i have to admit i am just psyched to see the first one in a theater.
Teaser/trailer on apple.com for the reissue. fun fun fun!
It takes a special kind of person to actually enjoy retirement, and call me cynical, but I don't think Godzilla is that type of person.
In a couple months he'll start a consulting business.
"when life gets complicated, I like to take a nap in a tree and wait for dinner" - Hobbes.
In the end, to destroy the seemingly unbeatable (yet stupid looking) American robot monster, Godzilla is forced to explode himself into seperate fighting body-parts! His eTail will become a powerful digital entity known as GodThunderTail. His head will fly around and catch on fire : GodPhoenix! Ooops, I mean Firebirdzilla! Wrong again: GodFireZillaFox! The stupid american monster will be backed into a canyon, then becomes enraged by a massive wave of tiny annoying gophers which pop up both under and over him. He eventually starts to cry, and GodFireZillaFox pretends to feel sorry for him, and gives him some ActiveEcchs laxative ... whereupon Stupid American Monster forgets to eat a critical update monorail, and EXPLODES!
Remember folks, you heard it here first.
They outsourced his job to a Rent-A-Zilla from India.
Dear Blue Lobster:
I read that one of the largest crayfish ever found was 90lbs and 6 feet long. They found it in Louisiana in 1934 and named it Ol Papa Epice. They did not say, but I assume it would be a Red Swamp cray since they are native to that area. Does anyone know if this is true? I found this info at www.somaradio.ca/~minimalism/crawdad.html. I could not find any other info on it though. If anyone has any info on this please email me. It sounds crazy, but I dont know why it would be made up.
Thanks,
Daniel
Dear Gentle Sir:
Crayfish come in all sizes, some no larger than the top knuckle of your pinky and some larger than your average lapdog. Of course no one cares about the smallest ones when there are real monsters creeping around the dark corners of the world. Through time there have been some very large crayfish indeed, so let's look at a few examples of record-breaking crays.
Ol' Papa pic astounded Louisiana in 1934, but let's not forget that for publicity's sake the accepted measurement of 6 feet included his antennae. More accurate reports claim that the actual length from head to tail was 3 feet, 4 inches and weight was somewhere around 30lbs. Nonetheless these numbers are impressive since no other American cray reaches anywhere near these proportions. Since the species was never recorded doubts of authenticity suggest that the "cray" may have been a marine lobster introduced into a brackish swamp pool. DNA testing of the carapace has been inconclusive thus far.
In Borneo during World War II another creature waved its gargantuan claws into history. Bagaton (Kadazan-Dusun for "big jar") was found by Australian marines patrolling swamps. Measuring an amazing 4 feet, 2 inches and weighing 49lbs, Bagaton resembled marine lobsters from that region of the world but was caught in a freshwater pool. Taxonomists theorize that Bagaton is a marine species that had re-adapted to fresh water within the last several millennia. Again, lack of further scientific testing leaves us with more questions than answers, though the Bagaton corpse is still in relatively good condition for future research.
Prehistoric crayfish and lobsters handily beat today's record-holders for size and weight. Cruising the warm, shallow seas millions of years ago we find several bizarre specimens. Anomalocaris, a close lobster relative with lobster-like pincers but no body armor, actively swam and hunted food. It grew to lengths of five feet. Meganychus grew to lengths of eight feet and featured a set of claws that spanned four feet when fully splayed! Another genus, Gigaeurys, was almost as long as it was wide six feet and is thought to have been an evolutionary dead end that was as closely related to crabs as it was to true lobsters and crays.
Other, even larger, prehistoric fossils found off the coast of Japan inspired myths of the Ebira, a giant sea monster that guarded an island of treasure from the outside world. Thanks to the myths and the fossil species, this 20 foot long primitive lobster relative thought to be capable of vocalizations meant to stun prey eventually found its way into cinema in the 1966 Toho masterpiece Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster. Sadly for crustaceanists everywhere Godzilla made short work of the giant lobster champion with his atomic breath.
Oh no, they say he's got to go!
Godzilla!
Seriously, I liked some of the newer films that they released. The costumes have gotten to the point where you don't have to work hard to get past the whole "man in a rubber suit" issue. The city models have also gained an incredible level of detail. It's a shame really, but hopefully in a decade or so they'll bring him back.
After all, you can't actually kill Godzilla. No matter what you may think you've seen or read, he always comes back again. He cannot die.
Godzilla lives!
"They told me it was impossible. I replied with maniacal laughter." http://www.mydailyrant.com/
I found this explanation. Don't know if it's true or not. It's been Netscape's code name for a long time.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mozilla#Origins_and_p rophecies:_the_Mozilla_name
Well, Godzilla has its own statue in Yurakucho (a district of Tokyo),
so I thought I'd go and check for you...
And indeed, Gozdilla may look huge...
But actually, if you don't count the pedestal, he's about the height of a 6 year-old
So you were right: Godzilla is not huge, even in Japan. It is just special effects (^_^)
(Anti-slashdotting measure: remove the spaces before the
I code, therefore I am.
Indeed, somewhere along the time Godzilla will rise up from the sea again (pun intended) to wreak havoc. The two words in the title "for now" pretty much sum up the situation.
is thousands of Japanese people going 'whew'.
Michael Dell stepping down from the helm at Dell and Godzilla going into retirement. Anyone smell collaboration?
The plots were,at best, flimsy. But the strange dubbing, the even stranger cast of characters, the
great miniature sets, throbbin music, and the lady with the big ears.
You gotta love these movies. Just rent one, with
a big bag of popcorn and a six pack. Sit back and
watch the "big fellow" destroy Tokyo.
My son, when he was very young, even came up with a dance called the Godzilla Stomp.
Its really a much better web browser than Explorer and..
Oh wait, GODzilla. sorry..
"You lied to me! There is a Swansea!"
It's just a big linguistic misunderstanding. He merely called a contractor to give an estimate for his bathroom - he's retiling.
__ Someday, but not this morning, I'll finally learn to use the preview button.
Godzilla ought to be retiring. The threat of environmental damage and subsequent mutations caused by a nuclear waste spill has been shown to be a Chicken Little cause. As more countries shift their means of electricity production to nuclear, we have seen a progressive reduction of air pollution in those countries. In the US, coal and oil are still the primary means of power generation, and it shows when looking at statistical charts how much pollution per capita is produced by Americans.
True, but Godzilla wasn't really about nuclear power. Godzilla was all about the nuclear bombs that the United States dropped on Japan.
The effect that Hiroshima and Nagasaki had on the Japanese psyche was simply incredible. It instantly broke the will of the Japanese to fight, enabling the Americans to come in and transform their society. The scars still haven't completely healed. Every time you see some post-apocalyptic anime/film/book come out of Japan, you can bet that it was influenced by the atomic bomb.
Gojira was just a natural outgrowth of that. Look at the original story: A huge amoral destructive force comes from abroad and lays waste to Japan. Conventional weapons are useless against it, and it destroys the Japanese military. The monster is only stopped by the use of a weapon that is so terrible that the creator would rather die than see it unleashed upon the world.
Gojira was always a bomb reference. As long as we have super-weapons, he'll never be irrelevant. I'll miss the big guy.
This
(Anti-slashdotting measure: remove the spaces before the .jpg extension in the URL to view the pictures)
We have to type in the URLs by hand? You must work for Microsoft Security.
Five percent of one year's DoD budget puts us on Mars.
heres the deal, monster Godzilla do not take them selves seriously. IT's all about stomping, and breather, and laughing.
2000 tried to be serious.
There were some greate scenes in 2000, but it was more like the king kong theme(especially the ending) then it was the Godzilla theme.
That said, If you like old sci-fi, I highly suggest you rent the FIRST Godzilla. It is done spectacullarly well. Better then many of the 'Sequals'
Of course, if you hate any sci-fi deemed 'old' then stay away from it. I hope this isn't the case, beasue there are a lot of good sci-fi stories that have been put out pver the last 80 years.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
... will miss our Gigantic Japanese Reptile Masters.
So when do we get the Mothra spin-off sitcom, and the Gamera E! True Hollywood Story?
Xbox reviews.. We think they're funny.
First use of the word "Mozilla". You'll have to search in the page to find it, but if the page is new to you, read the whole thing; it's fascinating.
Care to revise much?
The Japanese military was thrilled to go toe toe superweapon to superweapon with the Americans. The Japanese people obeyed the will and word of their God-King. (Don't forget unit 731 and their already weaponized biological arms)
And as much as Godzilla was about the aftermath of the atomic bombs it was also about the promis of an uncertain future technology might bring, for better or ill, only to be realized after the dye was cast, and of course the mercurial nature of US foreign policy.
US tests nuclear weapons, Japan suffers unintended results.
Godzilla was always and will always be a much more multifaceted expression of Japanese culture than "We got nuked! Wonder Movie Powers Activate! Form of: Self-Pity."
Does that mean, I've actually been using Mojira all this years?
This is a plea to Hollywood, in particular the mor... the gentlemen behind the 1998 Godzilla:
PLEASE make another American Godzilla.
Back in 1996, Toho killed Godzilla in Godzilla vs Destroyah, and "Minilla" (aka Baby Godzilla aka Son of Godzilla aka NOT THAT FUCKING MUPPET AGAIN) took over as the "new Godzilla". This was Toho's way of saying, 'We will not make Godzilla movies anymore.'
Then the WONDERFUL Godzilla 1998 arrived... And the Japanese were so OUTRAGED that they demanded a new Japanese Godzilla.
So we got the kick-ass Godzilla 2000, and the following very entertaining Kaiju flicks. You guys gave us 5 more years of "Godzilla borrowed time".
So PLEASE MAKE GODZILLA 2 and repeat the magic!!
P.S.: If you like Japanese SF, check out "Returner", also from Toho. Nice special effects, derivative but highly enjoyable story.
The Godzilla franchise is closing its doors and selling off their locks, stocks and barrels, however
A select group of original Godzilla developers have licences the genome and starting a new project, OpenGodzilla, which will allow the innocent victims of primeval sea-dwelling beasts to view and contribute genes to the monsters that destroy their lives.
Senior OpenGodzilla developer Owyabitme Muvathuka said that people have traditionally had no input into the supermonster design process leading to poor quality genetics and weaknesses to conventional weapons that proper review of the code would prevent, and hailed an era of free-as-in-beer, invincible terrors.
I have been a user for about 10 years. This ends Feb 2014. The site's been ruined. I'm off. Dice, FU
Godzilla To Retire
Thank God!!!!1!
--
Pan T. Hose, PhD
Skyscraper Construction Consulting Services
Tokyo, Japan.
Sincerely,
Pan Tarhei Hosé, PhD.
"Homo sum et cogito ergo odi profanum vulgus et libido."
Finally you can fly helicopters over Japan without getting smashed like a bug, and you can drive in the streets of Tokyo without being stepped on.
this is probably the most boring sig in the world
...Godzilla said today that after winding up his acting career he intends to move into politics, and will be running for Governor of the Kyoto Prefecture next year.
qntm.org
this wont be good for the contractors and Buildings industry. Without Godzilla there is not much to rebuild.
"The quality of life is inversely proportional to the number of keys on your keyring."
...why the Japanese Film industry isn't capable of making a non-cheesy Godzilla SFX film.
I mean, Emmerich's German-American Godzilla in New York had pretty decent effects, but a dull story.
The Japanese Godzilla films often have a good or at least a cute story (*), but really really bad effects. And bad acting. And bad costumes. And bad props.
(* I just _loved_ one Godzilla film that included an UFO traveling to the WW2 era. An American soldier spots it and says to his superiour: "Do we report this, sir?" "No, they wouldn't believe us, anyway. But you can tell your children about this when they're older, Major Spielberg.")
So why don't the Japanese filmmakers get together, set up a decent special effects budget and a good script and make THE ultimate Godzilla movie? It's their national trademark, after all. They should know, shouldn't they?
------------------
You may like my a cappella music
The original Godzilla movie we all (or a good number of us) know and love, with Raymond Burr, is an Americanized version. They deleted a lot of scenes, some of which were rather important for the message to get across. Does anyone know where an English language DVD of this could be found?
I didn't think the house band in Hell would play this badly.
This version has added scenes with Raymond Burr as a visiting American reporter, and two or three others who are made up to look like the Japanese principals. Doubtless they altered the film in some other ways to introduce these scenes.
However, this should not deter you, if the 1954 American version is all that you can find (understand, I mean the augmented version that was prepared by Toho for release in the US, back in 1954). The movie still holds together pretty well. Remember that Raymond Burr was getting meaty roles back in 1954, such as in Hitchcock's "Rear Window," where he plays the villian. We're inclined in my generation to think of him as this ancient sod, not at all the case 50 years ago.
I can see it now:
"Can there be a Klein bottle that is an efficient and effective beer pitcher?"