Chanson Strikes Again in Tokyo!

Yoshiro Uchida. Photo by Brett Homenick.

The evening of Tuesday, August 18, saw my going to see the great Yoshiro Uchida perform chanson on a humid evening. Regular readers of this blog know that this is a regular ritual of mine, and it is one I quite enjoy.

I brought a DVD set of Gamera movies for Uchida-san to sign, which had already been signed by Destroy All Planets (1968) star Carl Craig. It was wonderful to add Uchida-san's signature to the disc. While Uchida-san was signing it, other patrons were fascinated to learn that he had been in a Gamera movie and were amused by it. See, folks, Gamera brings people together!

Not only that, but I also had a brief chat with an employee who shared her memories of living in Idaho around the year 2000. After the show, I hung out outside the venue with Uchida-san as we had a fun chat. He commented on my wearing shorts, which is a bit rare for me, so it made me laugh. What a fun night!

The Sticky Fingers of 'Fangoria'

Screaming Mad George in his Osaka workshop in May 2019. Photo by Brett Homenick. (Got that, Fangoria?)

"Plagiarism running rampant!" -- Dok Hendrix, WWF Action Zone (1995) 

This isn't exactly plagiarism, but it's close enough, and it needs to be addressed.

Fangoria used a photo I took of Screaming Mad George in his Osaka workshop in May 2019 without any attribution and -- worst of all -- put a Fangoria watermark on my photo. I mean, I've been stolen from before, but rarely has anyone been so bold as to slap that kind of trash on my stuff. 

The trash in question.

Fangoria's lack of journalistic standards has been evident for decades, but this is too much even for a rag like that. How pathetic. Instead of celebrating the life of Screaming Mad George, I have to take these dunces to task for their sticky fingers. And these people have the audacity to call themselves journalists?

Remembering Screaming Mad George

Screaming Mad George at work in May 2019. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On February 10 of this year, special effects and makeup guru Screaming Mad George (whose real name was Joji Tani) passed away due to cardiac arrest at the age of 69. His family made the news public on August 16.

I was privileged to visit Screaming Mad George at Osaka University of Arts on May 30, 2019. I was scheduled to interview Godzilla series writer-director Kazuki Omori later that afternoon at the university, so my interpreter wanted to introduce me to Screaming Mad George in the time we had before the interview. 

We went to his workshop, and I was amazed by what I saw. I have to admit that I wasn't all that familiar with his work prior to my visit, but, when I looked up his credits later, I basically kicked myself for not being knowledgeable enough to ask about his work. What an incredible career!

The Osaka native made a big impact on American genre films in the 1980s and '90s -- Big Trouble in Little China (1986), Predator (1987), A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987), A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988), and The Abyss (1989), just to name a few.

He also co-directed The Guyver (1991) with Steve Wang. He's no stranger to Japanese tokusatsu films, either, as he directed the SFX for Tokyo: The Last War (1989).  

I only wish there could have been many more such afternoons. Rest in peace, and thank you for showing me around your workshop.

R. J. Kizer, Director of the American Version of 'Godzilla 1985,' Passes Away at 73

R. J. Kizer in November 2025. Photo by Brett Homenick.

According to Godzilla 1985 (1984) producer Tony Randel, Robert (R. J.) Kizer, director of the American inserts of Godzilla 1985, passed away a few days ago after a battle with cancer. He was 73.

I was fortunate to interview R. J. twice (first in 2007 and then in 2020) and then meet him in person twice (in 2024 and 2025). During our first in-person meeting in 2024, R. J. told me about working with Roger Corman at New World on Battle Beyond the Stars (1980) and other such projects. I was genuinely surprised to learn just how mercurial Corman could be, as he always seemed so calm and level-headed in interviews. He also went into great detail about the making of the Roddy Piper vehicle Hell Comes to Frogtown (1988), the production of which was so bonkers I thought it'd make a great movie in its own right.

During our second visit, I gifted R. J. an unopened Blu-ray copy of Yojimbo (1961), which I no longer needed, as well as a VHS copy of Godzilla 1985 that I found at a thrift store. R. J. was very happy (though reluctant -- it took a bit of convincing on my part that I didn't need the disc anymore) to receive Yojimbo. He had a few Kurosawa movies in his collection, but Yojimbo wasn't one of them.

We talked more about Godzilla 1985 during our second meeting, and I was floored just how many more details he shared about the movie that weren't contained in either of our interviews. R. J. Kizer was a walking encyclopedia of film knowledge -- not just about his own movies -- and he was always willing to share his knowledge with me. 

In particular, whenever I had a technical question about things related to cinematography or film editing for the interviews I was doing with Toho alumni, I could always ask R. J. for guidance, who wouldn't hesitate to pull out old books and give me the best answer he could. He would help me put those technical answers in ways that were accurate and made sense in English, and I'll always be grateful that the director of the last great Americanization of a Godzilla movie made time for me when I asked.

When we were returning to our cars in 2025, I asked R. J. what project was he most proud of. I thought I knew what he would say, but he surprisingly said none of them. I thought for sure he'd say Godzilla 1985, as it went on to make money and is still revered by fans to this day. I'm not sure I was able to convince him that he should be proud of his work on the film, but I wanted him to know that I certainly was proud of what he accomplished.

Frogtown Lives, good sir. Rest in peace.

A Night of Tokusatsu!

Eiichi Asada. Photo by Brett Homenick.

 

On Tuesday, August 11, I attended a special event with former Toho SFX director Eiichi Asada. It's always a lot of fun seeing Asada-san at these events, and this time was no exception.

What is likely test animation done by Sadao Iizuka for The Mysterians (1957). Photo by Brett Homenick.

One fascinating surprise was getting to see what were apparently animation test frames for The Mysterians (1957) that were in the collection of the late tokusatsu animator Sadao Iizuka. According to Kei-san, who was Iizuka-san's manager during his twilight years, the beams seen in these frames are different from what we see in the movie. 

I did my best to photograph the frames for the Markalite, although there were others for the Alpha, too. It was a rare bit of Toho tokusatsu history that I got to see up close and personal.

In addition, I also got to see the final work of Takashi Naganuma that he completed before he passed away last year. 

It was the drawing below of Teruyoshi Nakano whose lips can be moved, almost like those of a puppet.

Eiichi Asada enjoys playing with the Teruyoshi Nakano puppet completed by Takashi Naganuma before he passed away. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Nakano-san and Naganuma-san were close friends and often appeared at events together. It's quite appropriate that the last work Naganuma-san would ever do would be of his friend and colleague.

Takashi Naganuma's Teruyoshi Nakano puppet. Photo by Brett Homenick.

And that's a wrap! Even though a typhoon was approaching, it wasn't enough to stop me from coming. It'll take a lot more than a little rain and wind to accomplish that.

More Photos from Kurihama Flower Park and the Godzilla Slide!

Kurihama Flower Park. Photo by Brett Homenick.

In addition to the photos in my previous blog post, here are some additional photos featuring Kurihama Flower Park itself, Godzilla-related signage and merchandise, as well as photos of yours truly. Enjoy!

REVISITING KURIHAMA FLOWER PARK! The Godzilla Slide Still Rules Yokosuka!

The Godzilla slide at Kurihama Flower Park. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On Monday, August 10, I made my way to Kurihama Flower Park for the first time since late 2019. It's hard to believe it had been that long, but the passage of time usually goes like that. It was only the fourth time I've ever visited the park so far, and we'll see how many more times I stop by.

What's fascinating to me is that I remember the park was called Kurihama Flower World, but all the literature online these days lists it with Park in the name. In one of my previous blog posts, I link to a site where "world" is part of the URL, so I know I haven't gone crazy. 

Of course, the reason I traveled all the way to Yokosuka, Kanagawa, to visit the park was to see the nine-meter-tall Godzilla slide. I still haven't actually used the slide -- I mean, it's for little kids -- but it's fun to photograph. 

And photograph it I did! In fact, I'm putting the rest of my pictures in a separate blog post, so be sure to check that one out, too. All in all, it was worth the hike!