Lecture Hall: Godzilla 1998

We're going to be doing something a little different today. This is the start of a (maybe) ongoing series on this blog called Lecture Hall. The title says it all: I will be doing a lecture of sorts on any given topic. This means I'll be covering the history of it, its effect and what it is today. That means it'll be longer than most of my other posts. I've always been good at retaining facts and giving sort of lectures (I'm told I drive people crazy), so I'm going to take a shot at writing them down. I may get some facts wrong here there, but I will do my absolute best to be 100% accurate. With all that said, here is the first entry in Lecture Hall: Godzilla 1998!

Every summer, every Hollywood studio releases what are called "tentpole films." These are meant to be giant movies with huge marketing campaigns, huge merchandising and toy sales, and finally huge box office returns. Basically, whenever a studio really wants to make an impact and make some serious money, they release a tentpole. Every studio has their "signature" tentpoles however, the ones who have made the most money and left the biggest impacts. Paramount has the Transformers series and Mission Impossible, Warner Brothers has Harry Potter and The Dark Knight series, Disney has virtually all of their animated films plus the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, while Sony has Spider-Man as their biggest tentpole. However, Spider-Man is not the first time Sony has tried to take a famous, pre-existing entity and turn it into box office gold. This other franchise already had a series of movies to its name, although none were made in America. This was a Japanese series of films, a series that Sony planned to bring to America and make into one their signature franchises. How wrong they were.

Godzilla was a huge Japanese franchise which started with the 1954 film Gojira. The movie featured a giant monster known as Gojira attacking Japan, before finally being destroyed by humanity. The concept may sound silly by today's standard and the special effects may seem outdated, but Gojira had a lot under the surface.

Gojira was a sleeping sea monster that was brought back to life by the Atom Bomb which hit Japan during World War II. The bomb mutated the monster, and gave it new abilities. Tone wise, the film is not campy at all. It is very dark, very gritty and very serious. Gojira's attack is treated like any other disaster be it a hurricane, a tornado, or, most importantly, an atom bomb. The monster is in fact an allegory for the atom bomb, and the devastation Gojira brings to Japan is an allegory for the destruction Japan suffered following the bomb. This movie was later translated into English, and a new American character was added; Steve Martin (not to be confused with the comedian), played by Raymond Burr. The title of that Americanized version, however, was changed to Godzilla: King Of The Monsters. A new monster franchise was born.

A great number of sequels were made, sequels which often deviated from the first movie's dark tone. Godzilla fought aliens, robots, and even fought a giant sized King Kong in King Kong vs Godzilla. These films were all made in Japan by Toho Studios. Throughout the course of these films, a number of "rules" were applied to the way Godzilla looks, fights and acts. Some of these "rules" are:

-Godzilla is meant to be an upright monster similar in appearance to a Tyrannosaurs Rex with fins on its back which resemble a Stegosaurus. 

-He is often believed to be a male.

-He has radioactive breath which he uses as a great weapon. His fins glow blue when he breathes this.

-Godzilla is always unhurt by ordinary human bullets, tanks, missiles and any other conventional weaponry.

-When attacked by the military, Godzilla always fights back.

These are generally thought to be Godzilla's trademarks from the Japanese films. While these films were made in Japan, many of them were translated into English and released in American theatres. As a result, Godzilla built up a large fan base in America and soon became a household name.

Godzilla as he appeared in the early 1990's

Sensing that an American remake of Godzilla could be a huge moneymaker, Sony Pictures negotiated with Toho for the rights to make an American Godzilla film in 1994. They were ultimately successful, with Toho excited about the prospects of Godzilla officially going to Hollywood. Sony decided their version would be very faithful to the original Godzilla films. They hired Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio, fresh off of Aladdin to write the film and selected Speed director Jan DeBont to direct the film. A teaser trailer was made to gain early hype for the film even before any actors came on board or any cameras rolled.

DeBont and company slaved to create a faithful adaptation, which would feature Godzilla fighting a bat like monster named the Gryphon and featuring a final battle in San Francisco. Audiences began to get hyped.... and then the movie fell apart. DeBont's spending began to get out of control, withSony growing furious with the escalating price tag. The studio began to crack down on spending which infuriated the director. DeBont complained that he would not be able to make the film with those cost restrictions and soon departed the project. In the years since, images of have leaked out which show how Godzilla would have looked: it appeared to be very faithful to the original look.

 The studio decided to start from scratch and rejected the screenplay written by Elliott and Rossio. Sony went on the hunt for a new group of filmmakers to the project, and found them in the form of Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich. They had come off of Stargate, and were about to release Independence Day, a future box office juggernaut which would cement Will Smith as a superstar. Their style of filmmaking could be summed up in one word: destruction. Lots and lots of explosions, destroyed buildings, gunfire and huge special effects. To Sony, this seemed like a perfect combination and hired them. The pair would write the film, Devlin would produce and Emmerich would direct. However, cracks were forming already. Both Devlin and Emmerich openly admitted they were not fans of the original Japanese films, and both decided to start fresh on the monster. "My whole concept was based on totally changing Godzilla," said Emmerich in regards to the film. Devlin also did little to calm the fans, by saying that the older Godzilla films did not properly represent the character. "Only now are we able to present Godzilla in the way I think the original authors intended him to be which is lethal, and fast, and agile, with a few new tricks up his sleeve." Devlin also called out the special effects of the old films, referring to the man in a suit effects as nothing more than "a lumbering Frankenstein." These comments, combined with their reported demand to Sony to do the picture "their way" led to some early fears that the film would ignore the source material.

Godzilla was set to be released on Memorial Day 1998. Devlin and Emmerich completed the script and casting began. Matthew Broderick was cast as Dr. Nik Tatopoulous (His difficult to pronounce name is the subject of a running gag in the film),  Jean Reno as French Agent Phillipe Roache, Maria Pitillo as Audrey, Nik's lover and Hank Azaria as TV cameraman Victor 'Animal' Palotti. As filming got underway, Sony wrapped the production in huge secrecy, with the design of the monster being an extremely well kept secret. They teased that Godzilla would have a huge makeover, but stated that viewers needed to see the movie to see what he looked like. In fact, Godzilla's design wound up being the most important part of the advertising campaign. Allegedly leaked concept drawings of Godzilla wound up on the Internet in the Fall of 1997. Sony and Centropolis (Roland Emmerich's production company) stated the drawings were fakes that were supposedly made to throw anyone who believed they found Godzilla's design off the trail, and that they in fact had no relation at all to the real design of Godzilla (Although those drawings were allegedly very close to the final look) The marketing campaign soon took over the airwaves and billboard across the world. The goal was to reveal certain parts of the monster in teaser trailers and early marketing material, such as his foot or his eye.

For a long while, these parts of Godzilla were all that was released. Any product or TV spot featuring the whole monster could not be released until after the movie was released. They also created many sponsorships with companies, such as Taco Bell and KFC.

In a way, this represented Toho's dream. Godzilla was now showing up in America, and being advertised with American companies. It seemed like a new beginning for the beast. Finally, Sony essentially took over the world with the last kick of their marketing campaign: posters for the movie which advertised Godzilla's size, and carried the now infamous tagline: Size Does Matter.

(Note: These pictures are courtesy of Barry's Temple Of Godzilla)

Production of the movie was a nightmare. The crew struggled very hard to make their Memorial Day release date and were forced to rush shooting; never a good thing for any movie. "We were so determined to make this date that we built a schedule where we couldn't screen test, and we should have. I think we really could have improved the film," Dean Devlin said later. "We literally finished the cut and went to the printer." Sony saw what was happening and offered to push the release date back, offering the crew more time to make the movie. Devlin and Emmerich felt honour bound to the Memorial Day release and decline; much to their chagrin. "It was foolish (To decline more time)," Devlin admitted in hindsight. This rushed production meant that Emmerich had less chance to direct his actors, meaning the performances and characters became afterthoughts. Summer blockbusters are almost never known for good acting, but Emmerich had been able to extract a good performance from Will Smith in Independence Day. That was not the case here, and a lot of attention was made in making the monster look good. Originally the plan was to create Godzilla through a combination of animatronics and CGI. This was realized, but the bulk of the work was CGI, a counter from the Japanese movies which always used an actor in a rubber suit. 

At long last, the movie hit theatres. The reaction was not at all what Sony had hoped. Fan reaction was very, very negative. As stated above, there are a number of 'rules' regarding to Godzilla that fans take to heart. It upset them that very few were followed. Godzilla did indeed have the fins on his back and sort of resembled a Tyrannosaurs, but that was not the largest influence. Rather than being a sleeping dinosaur, Godzilla was a marine iguana that was made into a monster by nuclear testing in the French Polynesia. Godzilla's back fins and classic roar were kept, but it was widely speculated that Toho demanded these be kept and it is possible that Devlin and Emmerich would have gotten rid of these if they got the chance. Godzilla's nuclear breath was totally scrapped, and instead appeared to breathe a flammable gas that at one point caused some cars to ignite in flames. A large portion of the plot involved Godzilla reproducing asexually and giving birth to dozens of baby Godzillas. This was laughed at by fans. Godzilla had indeed given birth to a son in the original Japanese movies, but this was completely different. They stated that all of these creatures are born pregnant and could replace humans as the dominant species on Earth. In the Japanese films, Godzilla never had more than one child at a time. It is also never explained how they came to test Godzilla for pregnancy. As soon as he finds drops of Godzilla's blood, Matthew Broderick's character immediately tests it for pregnancy with no indication on how he even suspected Godzilla was pregnant. The fact that Godzilla is constantly referred to as a male throughout the movie further added to the confusion. The acting did indeed suffer, and the plot contained numerous holes. Maria Pitillo appeared in her first major blockbuster, which sadly seemed to kill her career. The movie is still infamous among Godzilla fans, many of which refuse to believe the monster presented is Godzilla. The monster has been referred to by fans as GINO (Godzilla In Name Only), and fans still refuse to accept the movie into Godzilla canon. Godzilla's attitude was also different. The Japanese Godzilla deliberately attacked buildings and caused destruction. The American Godzilla was less of a monster and more of a 200 foot animal who was merely taking a short cut through New York City. He showed absolutely no interest in destruction. He also did not fight back when attacked. When the military attacked him, Godzilla responded by running away rather than fighting. Finally, Godzilla was not indestructable. The military is able to shoot him down with fighter jets, which outraged fans and Toho alike. Sony claimed they were simply trying to make the creature more realistic, but fans scoffed at this. They believed a giant lizard was already unrealistic, and removing Godzilla trademarks for the sake of realism made no sense. Finally, they argued this version of Godzilla simply looked nothing like the original.

 Nevertheless, Sony did their best to advertise the movie, releasing a ton of merchandise in an attempt to make Godzilla the biggest movie of 1998. This did not happen. The movie cost around $130,000,000 to make. With marketing costs added, a major Hollywood movie needs to roughly double its budget in terms of box office dollars before the studio can make a profit. According to box office mojo, Godzilla made $55,729,951 in its opening weekend in the United States alone. Combined with its international totals, this was a solid opening weekend, but still a far cry from its budget. The film struggled after the first week, with negative word of mouth causing the box office totals major problems. In the end, the movie grossed close to $400 million, a good total. This was before the massive box office grosses of the late 2000's and present day, so this total was very respectable. Even so, it was not the mega hit Sony wanted. It did however turn a profit, and Sony began to think a sequel could work. After all, the original plan was to make a trilogy. At one point, Sony formally announced they would be making a more "family friendly" sequel to Godzilla. Tab Murphy, the screenwriter for Tarzan wrote a treatment for Godzilla 2 which would have featured the surviving Godzilla baby growing up and fighting an insect like creature called the "Queen Bitch." In the meantime, Sony decided to keep Godzilla in the media by making a spin off animated cartoon called Godzilla: The Series which aired on Fox Kids from 1998 to 2000. 

This series also acted as a sequel to the movie, picking up with the baby Godzilla befriending Nik Tatopolous and becoming a hero, fighting other monsters. 

Unlike the movie, this show has been mostly embraced by fans of Godzilla, due to its attempts to honour the Japanese Godzilla. His atomic breath was restored, he fought other monsters, he did not reproduce asexually (In the first episode it is said he shows no signs of pregnancy and it is never brought up again) and walked upright like the Japanese Godzilla rather than crouching over like the creature did in the movie. The show ended after two seasons. Despite the fact that it acted as direct sequel, Sony insisted that this was only a spin-off and that the real continuation of the first movie would come in the form of Godzilla 2. Some fans began to doubt the sequel would be made, but Sony president Amy Pascal was very confident. "If a movie makes $400 million, you make a sequel. It's that simple."

Behind the scenes, trouble was brewing. Emmerich and Devlin projected a budget for the film, and Sony would not approve it. The two were honest about the movie's faults and insisted they were going to do better with the sequel. "We're taking more time developing the script this time than we did before, and we're making sure we have enough time -- post time," Devlin said. Despite all of this big talk, Devlin and Emmerich made the surprising movie to leave Godzilla 2 in early 1999, leaving the film in serious doubt. Sony weighed its options and realized their rights to Godzilla expired in 2003, leaving them with four years to get a new movie going. They decided to wait and let the audience get the taste of the American movie out of their mouths and be open to a new American Godzilla, which likely would have been a series reboot.

One of the angriest parties over this movie was Toho Studios itself, who felt Sony had not honoured its promise to do a faithful Godzilla adaptation. In 1995 Toho decided to end their long standing Godzilla series after 41 years with Godzilla Vs. Destroyah, which ended with Godzilla's death. After viewing the 1998 movie, Toho decided to remind the world what the original series was like and decided to bring Godzilla back. They immediately put a new movie into production and Godzilla 2000 was released in Japan in 1999, one year after the American film. Sony had the distribution rights to the film and decided to release the movie in American theatres, making it the first Japanese Godzilla film to be released in theatres since The Return of Godzilla (Otherwise known as Godzilla 1985) was released in 1984. 

This was seen as an attempt by Sony to get people to forget their previous attempt, but it only succeed in confusing audiences. Godzilla fans knew this was an official film, but audiences thought it was a sequel to Godzilla 1998, and were surprised to see it was not. Sony began to see a lack in interest in a new Godzilla movie, and allowed their rights to expire. To date, Sony has stated they have no plans to negotiate for the rights again. 

 Toho got on a roll after Godzilla 2000, and to date have released five movies since then. They never did stop talking about the film, with passing reference made in Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: All Monster Attack. In this film, mention is made of an attack on New York. The Americans believe it was Godzilla, but the Japanese doubt it. In 2004, Toho made Godzilla: Final Wars, a celebration of Godzilla's 50th anniversary. This featured many of Godzilla's oldest enemies returning to fight. Out of nowhere, the American Godzilla appeared in it.

In this movie, the American Godzilla is finally given on official Toho name, albeit an unflattering one: Zilla. Director Ryuhei Kitamura gave him this name because he felt he "Took the 'God' out of Godzilla." In the movie, Zilla is a pawn of the Xillians, an alien race attacking Earth. In the movie, Godzilla and Zilla fought, something Godzilla fans had been hoping for since 1998. The result was no doubt exactly what they wanted.

In the English dub of the film, the (rather human looking) alien shouts out "I knew that tuna breath wasn't up to much!," a nod to Zilla's love of fish in the 1998 movie. As you can see, the fight lasted less than ten seconds, with Godzilla emerging as the clear victor. Since then, Zilla has not appeared in any movies at all, and neither Toho or Sony seems eager to use him again. He actually did not appear in any media at all until earlier this year when he fought Godzilla in the IDW comic book Godzilla: Rulers of The Earth.

In 2009 it was reported that Legendary Pictures, the studio that had produced movies like Batman Begins, The Hangover, The Dark Knight and Watchmen had begun early negotiations with Toho to produce a new American Godzilla movie. Little was known about it at the time except that it would be a reboot, with no connection to the Sony film. In 2010, it was confirmed that Legendary and Toho had struck a deal to produce a new American film. Legendary approached this movie very differently than Sony had approached theirs. Legendary went out of their way to assure Godzilla fans that the movie would be made honourably, and released a teaser image at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con that was strongly reminiscent of the Japanese Godzilla.

Gareth Edwards, a self proclaimed Godzilla fan was hired to direct, and the script was written by Man Of Steel screenwriter David S. Goyer, with rewrites performed by Frank Darabont, famous for writing and directing The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile and developing The Walking Dead. The cast included Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ken Watanbe, Elizabeth Olsen and Bryan Cranston. These are all celebrated performers and would indicate that Legendary is taking their Godzilla movie very seriously. To date, no official looks of this film have been released aside from the teaser image above and the poster below. A trailer was seen at the 2013 Comic-Con, but that has not been released online. As it stands, the film has completed filming and is set for release on May 16th, 2014; sixteen years after Sony's attempt, and 20 years after Jan deBont departed the original project. Below is the official poster which was recently released. In an interview, Dean Devlin wished the filmmakers for the new Godzilla movie the best of luck, and admitted he was not happy with the 1998 effort. Devlin said that the problem was the "Script I wrote," and virtually absolved the actors and Emmerich's direction of any blame. Interestingly he seemed to say he was the only writer for the movie, suggesting the screenwriting was more his fault than Emmerich's, who was also credited as a writer.

As it stands, it is highly unlikely the 1998 version of Godzilla will be seen again. Fan hatred is as strong as ever, and no one seems to want to return to this incarnation. It appears as if Godzilla is as popular as ever and is set for a resurgence with Legendary's film: it is just too late for Zilla.