Attending Another Hollywood Show in Burbank!

With Barbara Steele.

On Saturday, June 7, I attended the Hollywood Show in Burbank. Overall, unfortunately, I didn't enjoy it as much as I did the one in January. It was still a pretty fun time, but the January edition was one for the history books.

The first guest I met was horror-movie icon Barbara Steele. As a connoisseur of the various Mill Creek 50-movie box sets, I've become rather familiar with a number of her films. I can't say I'm the hugest fan of hers, but I do admire her work, and her movies are quite often pretty entertaining. 

Funnily enough, I met her 15 years ago (!) at the same event. (Time sure does fly.) Ms. Steele was polite but a bit guarded, which I suppose is to be expected given her age. 

The most notable interaction I could share about our encounter was that I originally picked out a Nightmare Castle (1965) photo for her to sign. Given all the black spaces on the image, I asked her to sign in silver, which she did. The silver pen, however, must have been running out of ink, because the autograph was barely visible.

Not wanting to make waves, I was prepared to accept it and move on, but she and her assistant offered a free replacement and let me keep the other autograph. Well, that was an easy decision on my part! I happily accepted their proposal and selected a She Beast (1966) photo, which had plenty of space appropriate for an autograph written in black ink. That signature looked fantastic, so I ended up with two for the price of one. Not too shabby!

With Hal Linden.

The next guest I met was Hal Linden. Most people will know Mr. Linden from his work on the TV series Barney Miller (1975-82), but, if you're a Godzilla fan, then you're more likely to him as the voice of Akira Takarada in the Titra/Titan dub of Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster (1966), as well as the voice of Akira Kubo in the Titra/Titan dub of Destroy All Monsters (1968).

When I approached Mr. Linden, I told him that I was a fan of his dubbing work and that I had interviewed many of his voice-acting colleagues, such as Paulette Rubinstein. He replied that dubbing kept him alive during the early part of his acting career.

Mr. Linden asked me if I knew when he dubbed the films. Thinking he was talking about the Godzilla flicks, I said it was around 1968 or '69. He said it went much further back than that, adding that he dubbed many other movies than just the Godzilla ones and went on to list several other flicks that I wasn't familiar with that he had also dubbed.

In the end, he signed my Media Blasters Blu-ray of Destroy All Monsters, which is a cool addition to my collection. 

With Martha Smith.

The last guest I met was Martha Smith, who played Babs Jansen in Animal House (1978). I asked her about working with director John Landis, to which she replied I was the first one to ask her about him, as everyone else wanted to know about John Belushi. While he didn't do it to her, she said that Landis would whack actors on the head with the script and shout, "Be funny!"  

Animal House, of course, is a classic, and it's a great showcase for the talents of John Landis as a director. Naturally, Martha Smith is great in it, as well. After we took our obligatory photos, I said to her, "And, remember, be funny!" That got a chuckle out of her, so I guess it was a nice way to put a bow on the whole experience.

After that, I went on to other appointments. As I wrote above, I definitely had more fun at the January show than this one, but it was still a pleasant experience. I look forward to adding the next one!

Celebrating the New Year with a Toho VIP!

Toru Ibuki. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Tonight (Wednesday, January 10), I had the distinct privilege of spending the evening with former Toho actor Toru Ibuki. Would you believe it had been about five years since I last met him? Ibuki-san turns 84 at the end of the month, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that he was still looking well. 

Toru Ibuki signs autographs. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Ibuki-san stays healthy by going for long walks and doing squats every day, which is hard even for me at my age!

I was able to attend a beginning-of-the-year party, at which Ibuki-san was the guest of honor. Ibuki-san and his daughter gave me a Godzilla-themed T-shirt as a gift, which I wasn't expecting but was more than pleased to receive. In honor of Ibuki-san's upcoming birthday, I presented him with not one but two omiyage boxes.

Of his own movies, Ibuki-san named Operation Enemy Fort (1962) as his favorite, as well as talking about some of his memories of Frank Sinatra in America. I asked Ibuki-san if he'd seen any movies recently, which he hasn't. I also enjoyed speaking to Ibuki-san's daughter on a wide range of topics.

Naturally, I couldn't resist bringing a few items to get signed, which Ibuki-san graciously did. The items were Blu-ray sleeves (of Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster and Terror of Mechagodzilla), as well as Godzilla Store cards of Sea Monster and Monster Zero. I told the attendees that Ibuki-san had a beard in Terror of Mechagodzilla, and, when I asked him if it was a real beard, he said it was.

The party lasted just over two hours, and I enjoyed every bit of it. I can't tell you how good it was to see Ibuki-san again after such a long time. It felt even better to see that he was doing well. Tonight was certainly an evening for the history books.

A Legendary Afternoon in the Company of a Toho Legend!

Yasuhiko Saijo. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Earlier today (Wednesday November 1), I had the distinct privilege of spending an afternoon with former Toho and Tsuburaya Productions actor Yasuhiko Saijo, best known for playing Ippei Togawa on the groundbreaking TV series Ultra Q (1966), as well as a bevy of Toho films, including Son of Godzilla (1967) and Destroy All Monsters (1968). 

Yasuhiko Saijo. Photo by Brett Homenick.

We met Saijo-san at a historic temple in his neighborhood as scheduled, after which we moved on to a nearby cafe run by a family friend. I brought my friend Jacob to meet Saijo-san, who of course was very excited to meet him. Considering I hadn't seen Saijo-san in four years, I was rather excited, too.

We met at 2:00, and I expected the meeting to last somewhere between 30 minutes to an hour. Would you believe we spent just under three hours together? I hope you would because we did! During the first part of the afternoon, Saijo-san regaled us with stories about his acting career and early life, talking about the various roles he had, as well as the other Toho actors he knew and worked with. 

Yasuhiko Saijo. Photo by Brett Homenick.

After that, Saijo-san graciously signed some items we brought and took pictures inside the cafe. Jacob brought some car magazines from the U.S. as gifts, knowing that Saijo-san loves cars. He was especially interested in the photos of vintage cars, as those are the ones he prefers. 

Afterward, Saijo-san took us around the neighborhood. I was fascinated by just how many people he knew. He was very much a man about town. During our walk, I was captivated by Saijo-san's sense of humanity. He doesn't like modern technology very much -- computers, smartphones, etc. -- and instead prefers people. When I heard Saijo-san explain his thoughts, and, when I saw him interact with the other residents of his neighborhood, I understood exactly what he was saying. 

While the discussion was mostly fun and lighthearted, Saijo-san did share some of his memories during the war and immediately after it, as well as his thoughts on some of the goings-on around the world. Suffice it to say, I was mesmerized by our discussion.

I was over the moon to see Saijo-san doing so well. He pointed out that he turns 85 in February next year, but you'd never know it to look at him. I told him he's looking well, and he responded by saying that he is doing well. Now that's what I wanted to hear!

Saijo-san is a true legend. Jacob and I took many photos with Saijo-san, and he was more than happy to oblige our requests. In the above photo, he was trying to get closer to my height, which you can probably see in his expression. I should also point out that, when we were leaving the cafe, I intended to pay the bill, but the owner told us the bill had already been taken care of. I tried to protest, but it did me no good. They just don't make folks like this anymore. 

What a day. It exceeded all my expectations by far. It would've been incredible just to share a few moments with Saijo-san at the cafe. But to get a guided tour of his neighborhood afterward was simply amazing. The three hours flew by in what seemed like a third of the time. I'm still processing it all. 

Thank you very much, Saijo-san! This day was truly one for the history books!

DEEP DIVE: Why Did Gorosaurus Replace Baragon in 'Destroy All Monsters'?

Nobuyuki Yasumaru in December 2018. Photo by Brett Homenick.

The topic of Gorosaurus' unexplained substitution for Baragon when the Arc of Triumph collapses in Destroy All Monsters (1968) has been the subject of speculation for decades. In the West, the most common explanation is that the Baragon suit, having been reused and recycled so many times since its debut in Frankenstein Conquers the World (1965), just wasn't ready in time for the shoot, so the filmmakers decided to use Gorosaurus instead.

This, however, is not what happened, according to Gorosaurus suitmaker Nobuyuki Yasumaru. In December 2018, I had the privilege of interviewing Mr. Yasumaru, who recounted the situation.

In the interview, Mr. Yasumaru states:

[T]he monster Baragon was supposed to destroy the Arc of Triumph in Destroy All Monsters (1968). However, he had big ears like an elephant that would get stuck inside the Arc of Triumph. So they decided to use Gorosaurus instead of Baragon.

This seems rather definitive to me, especially coming from the man who created the Gorosaurus suit. Of course, I would welcome any additional citations, as opposed to idle speculation and connecting-the-dots guesswork, to paint a fuller picture. It's always difficult to say with complete certainty what happened on movie sets 50 or 60 years ago, as participants pass away, and memories fade. But Mr. Yasumaru's recollections are probably about as close as we will come to knowing for sure.

Hideaki Anno Exhibition in Roppongi!

Today, I ventured out to Roppongi's National Art Center to take in its Hideaki Anno Exhibition, which runs until December 19. When I first heard about the gallery, I have to admit that I had no interest in it, as I'm not particularly fond of Anno's work. That all changed when I saw that a good portion of the exhibit focused on Showa-era tokusatsu. In fact, it's almost like a small version of the Tokusatsu DNA exhibitions. That settled everything -- I was going.

I'll admit that my interest waned when the exhibition began focusing on Anno's career instead of the tokusatsu that inspired him. That said, the exhibition covers just about everything you'd ever want to know about him. If you were planning to write his biography, I'd even go so far as to say that this exhibition would be a requirement. It's extremely detailed! Anyway, let's get to the highlights.

The Mechagodzilla 2 suit from Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975).

The Moonlight SY-3 from Destroy All Monsters (1968). 

Capsule-1 from Gorath (1962).

The JX-1 Hayabusa from Gorath.

The Gohten from The War in Space (1977).

Another view of the Gohten.

Suits from Return of Ultraman (1971-72).

Flying props from Ultraman (1966-67), Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973), and Ultraseven (1967-68).

The rocket from The Space Giants (1966-67). 

Another view of the Jet Jaguar flying prop.

Spectreman, Mirrorman, Ultraseven, Jumborg Ace, and Jumborg 9 masks.

Shin Ultraman, Shin Godzilla, and Shin Kamen Rider.

Smile!

Tadaaki Watanabe, Toho's Gunpowder Guru, Passes Away at 81

Tadaaki Watanabe in April 2015. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Veteran Toho special effects crew member Tadaaki Watanabe passed away on September 16 after a long illness. He was 81. Mr. Watanabe, known affectionately as Nabe-san to his colleagues, was born on August 9, 1940, in Fukushima Prefecture. As a 14-year-old boy, he was impressed by Godzilla (1954) and would eventually join Toho in 1959.

Tadaaki Watanabe holds a photo of himself in the Angilas suit on the set of Destroy All Monsters (1968). Photo by Brett Homenick.

In the beginning of his career, Mr. Watanabe wanted to become a cameraman, but due to his background in pyrotechnics, he ultimately would work on the special effects side of films, specializing in explosions. His first works at Toho were the all-star epic The Three Treasures (1959) and the war film Submarine I-57 Will Not Surrender (1959). Mr. Watanabe would work continuously on Toho tokusatsu films all the way through Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000). 

SFX director Teruyoshi Nakano (left) and Tadaaki Watanabe. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Mr. Watanabe would even don the Angilas suit for Destroy All Monsters (1968) during the climactic kaiju battle in the shadow of Mount Fuji. However, there is some dispute about whether he actually appears in the film as Angilas. According to special effects director Teruyoshi Nakano, Mr. Watanabe wouldn't have appeared in the film as a suit actor because he wasn't a professional in that capacity; he simply would have been a stand-in who wore the suit during a camera test.

For what it's worth, though, Mr. Watanabe's Japanese Wikipedia page does mention that he plays Angilas in some scenes in the movie, and it should be noted that Mr. Nakano doesn't have any firsthand knowledge about whether Mr. Watanabe wore the Angilas suit at any point in the film.

I was lucky enough to meet Mr. Watanabe in April 2015, an event which Mr. Nakano joined. Mr. Watanabe, like most Toho tokusatsu veterans was quite friendly, and I was quite surprised that he never turned up at another event. I'd been pursuing an interview with him for a while but was told that he was unavailable to his illness. 

Rest in peace, Mr. Watanabe.

"Happy" Days Are Here Again!

Yasuhiko Saijo. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Earlier tonight, I attended a special event with actor Yasuhiko Saijo, who is best known for playing Ippei Togawa (a.k.a "Happy") in Tsuburaya Productions' Ultra Q (1966). Saijo-san got his start as a Toho actor, appearing in such tokusatsu classics as The Secret of the Telegian (1960), Gorath (1962), Son of Godzilla (1967), and Destroy All Monsters (1968).

Yasuhiko Saijo in a replica Ippei jacket and cap. Photo by Brett Homenick.

I had a very fun chat with Saijo-san. When I mentioned the "We Are Space Pilots" song from Gorath (which Saijo-san has sung at recent events in Tokyo), he almost doubled over in laughter. The conversation covered a variety of topics, including Toho directors and his Ultra Q memories.

A fun time was had by all. I've met Saijo-san several times before, and this time was certainly among the most fun. Even though I was completely exhausted after work, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Let's do it again soon!

HAPPY 80TH, SAIJO-SAN! The Toho and Tsuburaya Pro Veteran Turns 80!

Actor Yasuhiko Saijo dresses up as his most famous character, Ultra Q's Ippei Togawa. Photo by Brett Homenick. 

February 20 marked the 80th birthday of former Toho and Tsuburaya Productions actor Yasuhiko Saijo. Saijo-san is best known for playing Ippei Togawa on Ultra Q (1966), but he can also be seen in such Toho classics as Secret of the Telegian (1960), War of the Gargantuas (1966), Son of Godzilla (1967), and Destroy All Monsters (1968), among many others.

On Friday, February 22, I attended a special birthday event for Saijo-san, during which he recalled his Toho and Tsuburaya days. Many of the stories he recounted at the event were shared in my 2017 interview with him, which you can read here.

The event itself was a lot of fun, and it was great to see Saijo-san in such great spirits. Can't wait to see him again!

Wakako Tanabe Q&A at Vantage Point Interviews!

Actress Wakako Tanabe. Photo by Brett Homenick.

My interview with Toho actress Wakako Tanabe is now live at Vantage Point Interviews. She was Gaira's Haneda Airport victim in War of the Gargantuas (1966), but if you'd like to find out more about her career, check out the interview right now!

MATANGO! Viewing the Toho Classic in 35mm!

Akira Kubo. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Today I was lucky enough to take in a 35mm screening of the Toho classic Matango along with Toho star Akira Kubo. Matango, of course, is one of Toho's most effective horror films, and it was quite fun to be able to look over at Kubo-san's reactions during some of the key scenes.

I hadn't seen Kubo-san in close to three years, and not only did he remember me, it was wonderful to see him doing so well. All in all, it was quite a day!