An Afternoon with a Godzilla's Millennium Director!

Masaaki Tezuka. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On Thursday, November 5, I got to spend several hours in the company of director Masaaki Tezuka, who of course directed three Millennium series Godzilla movies. But his Toho career prior to his turn in the director's chair runs the gamut of decades and has touched so many classic Japanese films.   

It was an enlightening discussion, and I'm so glad we got to talk so much about his early career, which tends to get glossed over in the interviews I've seen. I was also relieved that Tezuka-san remembered me when I walked into the room and pointed out that we both attended Yuriko Hishimi's event at her restaurant in 2014. Tezuka-san asked me when the last time we met was, to which I replied Wataru Mimura's memorial event in 2023. While I saw him in person there, I didn't have a chance to speak with him, so it had been years (and years!) since we last spoke. 

I was joined by my friend Jacob and the Takaradas (whom I met for the first time, believe it or not), so the atmosphere was quite warm and friendly. We all spent much more time together than I could have expected, so that should tell you how everything went. It wasn't just a fun afternoon; it was a great evening, too!