Gina Gershon and the Godzilla Series

In the latest edition of Criterion's "Closet Picks" series, actress Gina Gershon (Showgirls, Bound, The Insider) makes her selections, and at about the 2:35 mark in the video above Ms. Gershon chooses Criterion's Showa-era Godzilla Blu-ray set and offers the following comments:

I saw this, and I freaked out because I love Godzilla; I do. I'm just gonna say it -- I love Godzilla. [holds up the Showa Godzilla Blu-ray set] Look at this. Now these have all the originals, right? This is one of the greatest scores of all time, I think. It's one of my favorite scores -- you know, dun dun duuunnn . . . [does the Godzilla theme]

When I have to get going in the morning, I listen to the theme of Godzilla [laughs], and I love this. Thank you so much. [looks at the Blu-ray set cover] This is a great graphic. Whoever did this, you're a genius.

It's pretty fun to think that Gina Gershon has a Blu-ray of Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973) at home, but at this point I'm sure a lot more people than you'd expect do, too.

Willem Dafoe Wanted to Remake the Japanese Horror Classic 'Onibaba'

The Criterion Collection has recently uploaded a new Closet Picks video in which a notable figure from the film industry raids a closet full of goodies at Criterion and offers comments on the movies he or she selects. This one features four-time Oscar nominee Willem Dafoe, who reveals that he bought the rights to and almost remade a 1964 Japanese horror masterpiece. In the video, Dafoe says:

My eye goes to one of my favorite films right away, and I'll take it. Onibaba -- a very, very special film. In fact, I wanted to remake it, and I even got the rights for a while, but I couldn't find a way to do it because it's so specific to its time. And I felt like any time I tried to put a spin on it I ruined the source material, so I couldn't do that.

Moments later, Dafoe finds a classic from Nikkatsu Studios made the same year and offers: 

Gate of Flesh -- this I watched exhaustively because we used it for material when I worked with a theater company called The Wooster Group, and this was an inspiration and very important for one of our theater pieces. So Gate of Flesh -- I'll steal that!

Who knew that Willem Dafoe had a thing for Japanese movies made in 1964? At any rate, I'll say that anyone who loves Japanese horror classics and Chico Lourant movies that much is A-OK in my book.