An Evening with the Director of 'Godzilla 1985's' American Version!

R. J. Kizer poses with a photo of an old friend. Photo by Brett Homenick.

After spending the afternoon with Adryan Russ, I headed over to the Tallyrand restaurant to meet up with director and film editor R. J. Kizer, whom I've interviewed more than once. This was also our first face-to-face meeting. 

When I pulled into the parking lot, I spotted R. J. entering the restaurant. He saw me, as well, and waited for me to park my car. When I walked up to him, he commented that I was taller than he expected. That made me feel like I was back in Japan!

While we ate, R. J. shared quite a few stories about his time at New World Pictures, most of which I'd never heard before. But, because I'd never really spoke to him about anything other than his work on Godzilla '85, that was to be expected. 

The stories were just as often hilarious as they were fascinating. I felt someone could make quite an entertaining movie based on some of R. J.'s experiences. It certainly would be a lot more fun than the recent Jason Reitman flick Saturday Night.

I'm amazed it took us this long to meet in person, given how Godzilla 1985 is one of my favorite films. But I'm overjoyed it was finally happened. After dinner, R. J. gave me directions back to the freeway, which turned out to be spot-on. Many thanks to R. J. for a wonderful evening!