The Legend Is Reborn ... Again!

R. J. Kizer with a VHS release of his most famous movie. Photo by Brett Homenick.

 

On Tuesday, November 4, I returned to Los Angeles and enjoyed a pleasant afternoon in the company of director R. J. Kizer, best known as the director of the American version of Godzilla 1985 (1984). We met at a diner near Warner Bros., which made me wonder if we'd perhaps catch a celebrity there. (More on that later.)

R. J. Kizer holds a Blu-ray copy of the film he helped bring to American audiences. Photo by Brett Homenick.

I came bearing gifts. I found a VHS copy of Godzilla 1985 at a nearby thrift store a couple of months ago and gave it to R. J., as I had no idea what else to do with it. (Not having a VCR has become a real inconvenience!) I also gave R. J. my extra copy of Akira Kurosawa's Yojimbo (1961), which I bought last year during Criterion's summer 50%-off sale.

R. J. Kizer signs the Blu-ray sleeve of The Return of Godzilla (1984). Photo by Brett Homenick.

This year, I purchased the Yojimbo/Sanjuro (1962) double pack, so my other copy of Yojimbo became redundant. Interestingly, I found out that R. J. does own several Kurosawa titles but that Yojimbo wasn't among them. That was certainly welcome news!

R. J. and I spent a lot of time talking about Godzilla 1985, which we basically didn't discuss at all the first time we met. Despite the number of interviews I've done on the movie, it's still fascinating to learn new details about it. I'm surprised there's still so much to know!

While we were talking, I couldn't help but notice that Gary Busey entered the diner and sat down with another gentleman. Perhaps I was eyeballing Busey a bit too much because I noticed he was occasionally looking back at me. While I didn't approach him at all, but it was quite fun to see him in person. 

What a fun afternoon it was. Not only did we talk about movies, but R. J. gave me some advice about some locations around the city. I'm so glad we had this opportunity to catch up again!