Fumio Ishimori, Writer of 'Kamen Rider,' 'Zone Fighter,' and 'Ultraman Ace,' Passes Away at 93

Fumio Ishmimori with a Zone Fighter DVD in April 2017. Photo by Brett Homenick.

According to his official Facebook page, screenwriter Fumio Ishimori (sometimes credited as Shiro Ishimori) passed away on June 9. He was 93.

Born on July 31, 1931, Mr. Ishimori began his screenwriting career in the early 1960s, primarily working for Nikkatsu Studios during most of the 1960s, before transitioning to Shochiku before the end of the decade.

With Fumio Ishimori in April 2017.

In total, Mr. Ishimori wrote more than 70 movie screenplays, penning the scripts for the films Fearless Comrades (1966), A Warm Misty Night (1967), Toshio Masuda’s Monument to the Girl’s Corps (1968), The Rendezvous (1972), Journey into Solitude (1972), Toho’s Horror of the Wolf (1973), Galaxy Express 999 (1979), and Nobuhiko Obayashi’s The Rocking Horsemen (1992).

Fumio Ishimori stands outside a theater in Asakusa where a play he had written was performed in September 2016. Photo by Brett Homenick.

In terms of TV tokusatsu, he wrote Kamen Rider (1971-73) episodes 47, 50, 76, 83, 89, and 90, Ultraman Ace (1972-73) episodes 37 and 44, and Zone Fighter (1973) episode 20 (under the pen name Shiro Ishimori).

But his tokusatsu connections run even deeper — his maternal cousin was famed manga artist Shotaro Ishinomori. 

Fumio Ishimori in Asakusa after his play was performed in January 2020. Photo by Brett Homenick.

In November 2020, I had the distinct privilege of interviewing Mr. Ishimori about his prolific screenwriting career. I had come to respect and admire Mr. Ishimori since our first meeting in early 2016 that I was determined to share his story in English with the rest of the world. Mr. Ishimori was, without a doubt, one of the kindest gentlemen I met while I was in Japan. 

With Fumio Ishimori in October 2020.

As he got older, he became much less active, and I never met him again after we completed our interview. Mr. Ishimori stopped going out, although he continued to offer screenwriting lectures via Zoom. I wanted to meet him one last time before leaving Japan, but it was sadly not to be. I'm pleased that I was able to record Mr. Ishimori's screenwriting memories in my interview with him.

Rest in peace, Ishimori-sensei. Thank you for your kindness.

Attending Another Hollywood Show in Burbank!

With Barbara Steele.

On Saturday, June 7, I attended the Hollywood Show in Burbank. Overall, unfortunately, I didn't enjoy it as much as I did the one in January. It was still a pretty fun time, but the January edition was one for the history books.

The first guest I met was horror-movie icon Barbara Steele. As a connoisseur of the various Mill Creek 50-movie box sets, I've become rather familiar with a number of her films. I can't say I'm the hugest fan of hers, but I do admire her work, and her movies are quite often pretty entertaining. 

Funnily enough, I met her 15 years ago (!) at the same event. (Time sure does fly.) Ms. Steele was polite but a bit guarded, which I suppose is to be expected given her age. 

The most notable interaction I could share about our encounter was that I originally picked out a Nightmare Castle (1965) photo for her to sign. Given all the black spaces on the image, I asked her to sign in silver, which she did. The silver pen, however, must have been running out of ink, because the autograph was barely visible.

Not wanting to make waves, I was prepared to accept it and move on, but she and her assistant offered a free replacement and let me keep the other autograph. Well, that was an easy decision on my part! I happily accepted their proposal and selected a She Beast (1966) photo, which had plenty of space appropriate for an autograph written in black ink. That signature looked fantastic, so I ended up with two for the price of one. Not too shabby!

With Hal Linden.

The next guest I met was Hal Linden. Most people will know Mr. Linden from his work on the TV series Barney Miller (1975-82), but, if you're a Godzilla fan, then you're more likely to him as the voice of Akira Takarada in the Titra/Titan dub of Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster (1966), as well as the voice of Akira Kubo in the Titra/Titan dub of Destroy All Monsters (1968).

When I approached Mr. Linden, I told him that I was a fan of his dubbing work and that I had interviewed many of his voice-acting colleagues, such as Paulette Rubinstein. He replied that dubbing kept him alive during the early part of his acting career.

Mr. Linden asked me if I knew when he dubbed the films. Thinking he was talking about the Godzilla flicks, I said it was around 1968 or '69. He said it went much further back than that, adding that he dubbed many other movies than just the Godzilla ones and went on to list several other flicks that I wasn't familiar with that he had also dubbed.

In the end, he signed my Media Blasters Blu-ray of Destroy All Monsters, which is a cool addition to my collection. 

With Martha Smith.

The last guest I met was Martha Smith, who played Babs Jansen in Animal House (1978). I asked her about working with director John Landis, to which she replied I was the first one to ask her about him, as everyone else wanted to know about John Belushi. While he didn't do it to her, she said that Landis would whack actors on the head with the script and shout, "Be funny!"  

Animal House, of course, is a classic, and it's a great showcase for the talents of John Landis as a director. Naturally, Martha Smith is great in it, as well. After we took our obligatory photos, I said to her, "And, remember, be funny!" That got a chuckle out of her, so I guess it was a nice way to put a bow on the whole experience.

After that, I went on to other appointments. As I wrote above, I definitely had more fun at the January show than this one, but it was still a pleasant experience. I look forward to adding the next one!

The Land of the Rising Starr!

Mike Starr. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On Wednesday, April 9, I got to spend an enjoyable afternoon with actor Mike Starr. The conversation focused mostly on his work on The Bushido Blade (1981), his very first movie, but of course we touched on several other topics, as well.

It was great to spend time in the company of a person who loves Japan about as much as I do. I have to thank Mr. Starr for his hospitality, and I hope we can meet up again in the future!

New Dubbing Q&A Now Available on Vantage Point Interviews!

Photo © Sharon Szmidt.

If you ever wondered what the Tom Hanks dramedy A League of Their Own (1992) has in common with Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla (1994), my latest vintage account has the answer you're looking for! Omni Productions voice actress Sharon Szmidt, who dubbed several Heisei-era Godzilla films in the late 1990s, shares her story in my latest interview. Check it out today at the one place on the Internet where content is still king.

Kaiju Eiga Secrets Revealed in New Q&A on Vantage Point Interviews!

Yoshio Suzuki in March 2024. Photo by Brett Homenick.

A new vintage account is now available on Vantage Point Interviews -- this time with Yoshio Suzuki, one of the five original suitmakers for the original Godzilla (1954). For the first time in English, Mr. Suzuki recounts his career at both Toho and Tsuburaya Productions, covering everything from the first two Godzilla movies to the enigmatic North Korean kaiju epic Pulgasari (1985).

It's all here in this brand-new Q&A from Vantage Point Interviews!

Attending Creep I.E. Con!

Welcome to Creep I.E. Con! Photo by Brett Homenick.

On Saturday, February 1, I made my way to Ontario, CA, to attend Creep I.E. Con. I first became aware of this convention through WetMovie1's YouTube channel. What particularly amused me about WetMovie1's videos on the subject was his uncertainty about how to pronounce the name of the convention. (Is it supposed to sound like "creepy," or is it literally just said "Creep I.E." as written?)

Dinosaurs invade Creep I.E. Con! Photo by Brett Homenick.

For those of you not in the know, the I.E. is the Inland Empire, essentially the area of Southern California east of Los Angeles. The name of the convention is sort of a mixture of "creepy" and "I.E.," but the wordplay is admittedly a bit awkward, so I can certainly understand WetMovie1's confusion.

As for the convention itself, I was rather underwhelmed. I'm just not into modern horror films, and I don't enjoy the stuff from the '80s or '90s enough to attend an entire convention about it. Most of the guests weren't that appealing to me, and the majority of dealers were selling things that simply didn't capture my attention.

Elvira was by far the biggest draw at the convention, and her line seemed to go on forever. Jason Patric attracted a healthy amount of fans, and it looked like a few other guests made a tidy profit, too. Former WCW pro wrestler Vampiro had been announced as a guest, but I didn't see him anywhere. (Pretty disappointing, seeing as how he was one of the few guests I was interested in meeting.)

I wandered around for a while and just wasn't seeing much of interest. I finally did see a display of dinosaur statues that was pretty cool, and I was glad I'd finally found something to take pictures of. The rest of the convention wasn't much help in that regard.

I decided I should meet one guest before departing, and the choice for me became rather clear -- Barbara Hershey. Having starred in such movies as The Right Stuff (1983), The Natural (1984), Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), and Falling Down (1993) -- on top of being nominated for Best Supporting Actress for The Portrait of a Lady (1996) at the Oscars -- her career was by far of the most fascinating to me among the guests. (It's also worth noting that her appearance at the convention wasn't advertised on the show's website.)

I told Ms. Hershey about the time when I lived in Japan that I revisited The Right Stuff during the New Year's holiday (which, if I recall correctly, was during the 2022-23 holiday season) and was impressed all over again with what a great film it was. Ms. Hershey was very polite but seemed a little detached. If I'm being honest, I had much more fun meeting the guests at the recent Hollywood Show, who showed more enthusiasm for what they were doing.

Speaking of the other convention, I ran into producer David Sterling again, who recognized me from the Hollywood Show. When I met him there, another person recognized David at the same time I did, so we happened to approach him at the same time.

 

David asked me about my "friend," but I laughed and said I had no idea who he was at all and that it was just one big coincidence. Afterward, I asked David about his work on Reptisaurus (2009) and The Amazing Bulk (2010), so we had a nice chat about those titles. 

With actress Barbara Hershey.

David told me about what it was like working with director Christopher Ray on the former and about the number of YouTube reviews of the latter, which apparently attract millions of views. I did ask David if he had ever seen Red Letter Media's review of The Amazing Bulk, but he was unaware of it.

Overall, the highlight for me was finding a booth selling '90s-era monster mags, things like Scary Monsters and Cult Movies. I picked up a couple of issues of Scary Monsters, as well as a pair of Godzilla fanzines from the mid-'90s that I probably hadn't seen in almost 15 years. 

With producer David Sterling.

I also purchased a Blu-ray of Night Train to Terror (1985) at the same booth, so I certainly did pretty well for myself there.

I'm not sure yet if I'd attend the next Creep I.E. Con. I do think there are better alternatives out there (at least for me), but it's always fun to get out every once in a while and have some fun. 

Attending the Hollywood Show!

With Gigi Perreau.

On Saturday, January 11, I made my way to the Los Angeles Marriott Burbank Airport Hotel to attend the Hollywood Show, which featured a bevy of celebrity guests from a variety of backgrounds. What sets this convention apart from the various other horror conventions is that the guests don't need to be related to any particular genre, which offers attendees a lot more variety. And, since several of the guests were of particular interest to me, I made plans to attend.

I suppose you're probably wondering about the wildfires that have been ravaging Los Angeles. All I can say is that I only saw one plume of smoke on the other side of a mountain on my way there, and, other than that, there were no other signs of the fire. The air was mostly clear and didn't smell like smoke at all. Suffice it to say, that wasn't what I was expecting to find.

 

The first guest I met was actress Gigi Perreau, whom I interviewed about a year ago about High Seas Hijack (1977) and Journey to the Center of Time (1967). Our interview was done over the phone while I was living in Japan, so this was our first time to meet in person. We had a nice chat about High Seas Hijack, which she told me she's never seen, and was surprised to hear that it aired on AMC in the early 2000s (which is how I saw it).

While she didn't have any photos related to that film or Journey to the Center of Time available (though she did say some fans brought her DVD sleeves from the latter movie to get autographed), I did purchase a cool still from the thriller Shadow on the Wall (1950) for her to sign. Ms. Perreau said that the movie is now considered a film noir, even though at the time they made the film it wasn't. In the still, Ms. Perreau appears alongside Nancy Davis, better known these days as Nancy Reagan. I purchased the photo and got a few pictures with Ms. Perreau, which were taken by her daughter. I also shared my interview with Ms. Perreau's daughter, which she was looking forward to reading. 

With "Shotgun Tom" Kelly.

After that, I met San Diego-area radio/TV personality "Shotgun Tom" Kelly. Growing up in San Diego in the late 1980s through the '90s, I knew him as the host of the KUSI Kids Club on local television. In particular, I remember his voice-overs promoting the Super Mario Bros. Super Show, in which he mentioned something about "parmesan milkshakes." Shotgun Tom, however, pronounced it as "par-MEE-zhun," which made it even funnier to me. 

Naturally, he had no memory of the line and said that it was probably something his producer cooked up for him to say. But I did purchase a photo and asked him to include a reference to parmesan milkshakes. I could barely contain my laughter as Shotgun Tom asked me how to spell it, which, when I look back on my childhood memories of watching and hearing him on TV, made it all the more amusing.

The really cool thing is that Shotgun Tom will donate all the proceeds to his autograph sales to wildfire relief. Even though I only asked to purchase a photo, he also threw in a softcover copy of his autobiography, as well, for no additional charge. You know, folks, sometimes it's quite all right to meet your heroes.

With Mike Starr.

I'd have to say that the biggest surprise of the afternoon was meeting actor Mike Starr. I know him best from his roles in GoodFellas (1990) and Ed Wood (1994), though many other people more closely identify him with his turn in the comedy classic Dumb and Dumber (1994). When I approached Mr. Starr, he was definitely friendly, but it wasn't until I asked him about working with director Tom Kotani on The Bushido Blade (1981) that he lit up and starting gushing about the experience. It was his first film role, and he had an amazing time in Japan. 

It was almost surreal watching one of the stars of GoodFellas rattle off names like Sonny Chiba and Tetsuro Tamba right off the top of his head -- but in the best way possible! I showed him one of the photos I took of director Kotani in the years befiore he died, which prompted Mr. Starr to ask me if he ever talked about the Americans he worked with. I told him that director Kotani praised Richard Boone in particular, especially as one who helped explain his directions to the English-speaking cast. Mr. Starr agreed that Richard Boone was a great man and went into detail about working with him. He also told me that he hasn't seen the new Shogun series but that he wants to see it. 

What was especially amusing was that, even when Mike Starr was posing for photos with other fans, he was still talking to me about his experiences making The Bushido Blade. Suffice it to say, I was overwhelmed by his reaction, and it was the best experience I had at the convention. I ended up buying an Ed Wood poster and getting it personalized by Mike Starr. I don't think it's any coincidence that most American actors who go to Japan for work end up having a tremendous time there. It was beyond incredible getting to have such an animated conversation about Japan with Mr. Starr.

With Joan van Ark.

The next guest I met was actress Joan van Ark, whom I interviewed about her starring role in The Last Dinosaur (1977) back in 2009. I was fortunate enough to meet Ms. van Ark in person for the first time in 2012 (when I was visiting L.A. from Japan), so it had been more than 10 years since I last met her. 

Ms. van Ark was also very friendly, and it was great to share a few moments with her. We briefly chatted about The Last Dinosaur before taking the above photos. And they turned out really well! It was great to visit with her again.

With Bruce Dern.

The last guest I approached was Oscar nominee Bruce Dern, whose credits are simply too numerous to mention here. I was impressed when I saw him at the show, and meeting him was a spur of the moment decision. I had money left over and decided that the opportunity was too good to pass up. Mr. Dern couldn't have been any friendlier. When he asked me where I was from, I told him I was from San Diego but that I just came back from living in Japan. 

He told me about filming a movie in Tokyo for one day (!) called Tattoo (1981), which was shot in 1980. He talked about jogging around the Imperial Palace in downtown Tokyo and how everyone he saw was wearing a face mask, pointing out that it was a full 40 years before COVID. Even though there were other people in line (and his assistant wanted to keep things moving), I really appreciate the fact that Mr. Dern took his time in speaking with me.

With David Sterling. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Just as I was about to leave, I bumped into producer David Sterling, whose biggest credits are the low-budget Reptilicus wannabe Reptisaurus (2009) and The Amazing Bulk (2012). I mostly know David through WetMovie1's YouTube channel, but it was a blast to meet him in person and speak with him. I was also intrigued to hear about some behind-the-scenes YouTuber drama involving some names familiar to me, so I guess you can't escape that stuff no matter where you go.

All in all, I had an excellent time, and, even though I didn't do anything other than attend this convention, it was certainly well worth the trip to Los Angeles.