YOU'LL GET CAUGHT IN THE CROSS FIRE! Taking in the Millennium-Era Toho Thriller!

 From left to right: Shusuke Kaneko, Toshio Miike, and Hajime Matsumoto. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Today, I had the good fortune of attending a screening of the Toho thriller Cross Fire (2000), which was also attended by no fewer than three major guests. I hadn't see Cross Fire since the early 2000s, so I was glad to approach the film with a fresh perspective.

Toshio Miike. Photo by Brett Homenick. 

I wasn't a fan of the film when I first it around 2002, and I have to admit that my opinion hasn't changed much. That's not to say that it's a bad film, but I still find the bad guys too over-the-top and the main character (Junko Aoki) not all that sympathetic. I also felt the movie was a bit too long for the material. That said, I'm glad I saw it again, and there's no better way to experience it than in 35mm.

The guest list was quite impressive. Toshio Miike is a veteran SFX art director and production designer who's worked on: Gunhed (1989), Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991), Zeiram (1991), Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992), Gamera: Guardian of the Universe (1995), Gamera 2 (1996), Gamera 3 (1999), GMK (2001), Godzilla against Mechagodzilla (2002), Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. (2003), Godzilla: Final Wars (2004), and Shin Godzilla (2016).

Hajime Matsumoto. Photo by Brett Homenick. 

It was my first time to meet Hajime Matsumoto, who has enjoyed a varied career as both a screenwriter and a VFX specialist. His screenwriting credits includes co-writing Zeiram, Zeiram 2 (1994), and Moon over Tao: Makaraga (1997) with director Keita Amemiya. His VFX credits include Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, Gamera: Guardian of the Universe, Gamera 2, Gamera 3, Cross Fire, GMK, and Godzilla against Mechagodzilla.

I have to admit that I didn't realize until Matsumoto-san told me so that he had co-written Zeiram (or any other films with Keita Amemiya) until he told me so. As a big fan of those movies, I was very pleasantly surprised.

Shusuke Kaneko. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Last (but not least) was the film's director, Shusuke Kaneko, whom I'm pretty sure at this point needs no introduction. If you're not familiar with his credits by now, I'd highly suggest using the Google machine yo familiarize yourself.

And that's a wrap! What a fun day it was. It's always impressive to be in the same room with so much Toho (and Daiei) history. Many thanks to all who made it possible!

SHOOT! Meeting Filmmakers from Godzilla and Gamera's Heisei Series!

 Yours truly with Godzilla series director and screenwriter Kazuki Omori.

Last night, I was privileged to attend a special dinner event with two special guests. The main guest was Kazuki Omori, the writer-director of Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989) and Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991), and the screenwriter for Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992) and Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995). The event centered around the movie Shoot (1994), which stars members of the idol group SMAP. 

Cinematographer Kenji Takama. Photo by Brett Homenick.

 Also on hand for the event was cinematographer Kenji Takama, who filmed the movie Shoot. Among tokusatsu fans, however, he'd be better known for serving as cinematographer on Gamera: Guardian of the Universe (1995), as well as on Cross Fire (2000).

I had a great talk with Takama-san about several topics. He studied cinematography in Los Angeles and New York on several major films, including Tootsie (1982) and Blue Thunder (1983). Takama-san was on set for these films and learned cinematography techniques directly from Hollywood's best. We even talked about the San Diego Zoo! It's always fun talking about random subjects with the people who made tokusatsu films.