Actress Yoshiko Kuga, Wife of Akihiko Hirata, Passes Away at 93

Yoshiko Kuga, wife of Toho actor Akihiko Hirata, passed away due to aspiration pneumonia on June 9 at the age of 93. She herself would go on to appear in the Godzilla series after her husband passed away, playing the chief cabinet secretary in Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989).

On November 4, 1979, my friend Keiko was fortunate enough to meet both Akihiko Hirata and Yoshiko Kuga at a signing event at a shopping mall. Ms. Kuga's signature is on the left, and Mr. Hirata's is on the right. Suffice it to say, it's an incredible keepsake.

RIP, Ms. Kuga.

Out and About in Roppongi Hills!

Mori Tower. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Earlier today, I went to Roppongi Hills, and I decided to snap a few photos of the familiar sights there, including Tokyo Tower and Mori Tower. Enjoy!

Could this be Biollante? Photo by Brett Homenick.

Tokyo Tower. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Spending an Afternoon with the Modern-Day Master of Monsters!

Fuyuki Shinada. Photo by Brett Homenick.

This afternoon (Sunday, January 7), I was privileged to spend a couple of hours in the company of Fuyuki Shinada, a legendary kaiju suitmaker who has made some of the most impressive monsters in Japanese film history.

Among many others, Shinada-san made Biollante in Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989), Godzillasaurus in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991), Legion in Gamera 2 (1996), Irys in Gamera 3 (1999), and the title monsters in GMK: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001).

Shinada-san became particularly animated when discussing the kaiju productions he grew up watching. As you'd imagine, he's as much a Monster Kid as any you've ever read about in the pages of Famous Monsters.

One amusing moment came when Shinada-san asked if I was married, to which I replied that I wasn't. He seemed a bit surprised and commented that I was handsome but then reason that I'm probably single because I'm an otaku. In any case, I got a kick out of the fact that the maker of Biollante called me handsome! 

It was a fun afternoon with a true legend of the genre and an all-around nice guy. Couldn't have had a better Sunday if I tried!

Great New Content on Vantage Point Interviews!

Megumi Odaka in July 2020. Photo by Brett Homenick.

My interview with Godzilla series actress Megumi Odaka, who played the psychic Miki Saegusa in six Heisei-era films, has just been published on Vantage Point Interviews. The Q&A covers her early life up through Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989), and many of her responses are quite candid. It's a rare interview from one of tokusatsu's biggest icons. Vantage Point Interviews continues to prove that content is king!

A Kazuki Omori Double Feature in Ikebukuro!

A great double feature in Ikebukuro! Photo by Brett Homenick.

Today, I attended a screening of Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989) and Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991) at the Shin Bungeiza theater in Ikebukuro. The screenings were part of the theater's tribute to the late writer-director Kazuki Omori, who passed away last year.

Both screenings were of 35mm prints, which looked wonderful. There were a couple of jumps and the usual scratches and splotches I've come to expect from such film prints, but overall they were in very good condition. Despite those blemishes, it sure beats watching a homemade DVD of Biollante that freezes halfway through the screening! (Yes, such a thing did happen once at some event in the U.S., as embarrassing as it was to the organizers.) But there was none of that kind of amateurishness at this event, thankfully. 

 

This was not my first time to see either film in 35mm, but I try not to pass up such opportunities when they come up. Besides, it was a great way to remember Kazuki Omori, who was always extremely friendly the many times I've met him over the years.

The stars of Biollante and King Ghidorah keep watch over the theater's soda machine. Photo by Brett Homenick.

All in all, it was a great afternoon of movies. I remember mentioning in a blog post last December that there would be a lot of film screenings this month, but I had no idea there would be so many! I've been kept way busier this month than I expected, which is not a bad thing at all.

Remembering Derrick Holmes

Derrick Holmes in November 2012. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Today, I caught a screening of Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989) at the Shin Bungeiza theater in Ikebukuro. One of the things I enjoyed most about it was seeing Derrick Holmes as Biomajor agent Michael Low again. As I watched him in the movie, it reminded me that, a couple of years ago, I finally found someone who told me the cause of his passing.

Derrick Holmes in November 2012. Photo by Brett Homenick.

In June 2021, I contacted one of Derrick's friends via social media, who told me what happened. According to what I was told, he fell off a stairwell from about the seventh floor. It was also determined to be an accident, as he apparently slipped and fell.

Derrick Holmes in August 2011. Photo by Brett Homenick.

One of the strangest things about Derrick's passing was that I visited him the same month he died. He certainly looked healthy to me, and he was also in great spirits. I'd always assumed that whatever happened must have been an accident, but I wasn't able to get any confirmation until about a year and a half ago.

Derrick Holmes poses with Jon Gallock, who appears in Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995), in November 2012. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Although I'd been in contact with Derrick electronically for years prior to my move to Japan, we only met twice -- once in Roppongi in August 2011 and the second time in was around Shinjuku in November 2012. In my writeup of the second meeting on this blog, I wrote: "All in all, it was a great time with a good friend. We ought to get together more often!" Sigh.

With Derrick Holmes in August 2011.

The first time we met, Derrick showed me around Roppongi. Despite the area's reputation, it was good clean fun all the way. 

I made a video of my hanging out with Derrick, which you can watch here.

Seeing Derrick on the big screen brought back so many memories, and I did want to post an update to give the people who knew and loved him some closure in case they didn't know what happened. 

Below are a couple of other photos from my collection.

The two thumbs up above say it all.

RIP, my good friend.

Heisei Godzilla Series Director Kazuki Omori Passes Away at Age 70

Kazuki Omori in July 2019. Photo by Brett Homenick.

The Japan News has just reported the shocking news that film director Kazuki Omori has passed away:

Film director Kazuki Omori, who worked on several Godzilla movies, died of acute myeloid leukemia at a hospital in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, on Saturday at age 70.

Mr. Omori was scheduled to appear at a special event in the Tokyo area on Sunday, November 27, making the news of his passing all the more surprising. 

Kazuki Omori poses for a photo with SFX director Teruyoshi Nakano in October 2017. We lost both directors within months of each other. Photo by Brett Homenick.

I was privileged to have met Mr. Omori on several occasions, including being able to interview him on two occasions. He was always approachable and open-minded when it came to such things, which I couldn't always say about others in his profession.

Kazuki Omori with actress Megumi Odaka, who played Miki Saegusa in six Godzilla films, in October 2020. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Mr. Omori, of course, became a part of the Godzilla series when he wrote and directed Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989), which he followed up by performing the same duties on Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991). He also turned in the screenplays for Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992) and Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995). The Heisei Godzilla series was largely written in his voice, and it's no exaggeration to say that the Heisei series was largely driven by Mr. Omori's creative decisions.

Rest in peace, Omori-san. Thank you very much for your kindness.

Shogo Tomiyama Q&As Now on Vantage Point Interviews!

With Shogo Tomiyama on March 31, 2021.

Two interviews with former Toho Pictures President Shogo Tomiyama have been posted on Vantage Point Interviews (here and here). Naturally, he shares his memories of producing the Heisei- and Millennium-era Godzilla series. Suffice it to say, these interviews are well worth checking out!

New Updates at Vantage Point Interviews!

With Kenji Sahara in June 2012.

There's more new content at Vantage Point Interviews. For the first time ever, my second interview with Kenji Sahara from July 2009 has finally been published. (The first one was published on VPI a couple of years ago.) Check it out -- you'll be among the first!

Also new at VPI are my interviews with Ultraman: Towards the Future model maker Norman Yeend and Godzilla vs. Biollante actress Beth Blatt. Content is king at Vantage Point Interviews, and these new additions to the site more than live up to that motto!

Seeing Godzilla vs. Biollante!

Kazuki Omori and Megumi Odaka. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Today, I attended a screening of the Heisei Godzilla series classic Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989) in 35mm, which is usually considered one of the best entries in the entire series. I was privileged to attend another screening of the film a while back, but I'm glad I got to see this one, too. Naturally, I enjoyed the film immensely, and I agree that it is certainly one of the very best after the Showa era.

But that wasn't all! Also in attendance for the event were writer-director Kazuki Omori and Miki Saegusa actress Megumi Odaka. Their presence at the event certainly added a great deal to what made it special.

Kazuki Omori. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Omori-san talked about watching tokusatsu as a youngster, including every episode of Ultra Q (1966) at the time it aired. A bit later, I enjoyed asking him about working with the Western cast members in both Biollante and Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah.

All in all, it was a great day seeing a great movie in the company of some great folks. October has already proven to be the busiest month in a long time, but it's not over yet! More to come.

New Kazuki Omori Interview on Vantage Point Interviews

Kazuki Omori in May 2019. Photo by Brett Homenick.

When I visited Osaka at the end of May, I had the privilege of interviewing Heisei Godzilla series director Kazuki Omori for the second time. Unfortunately, there was only enough time to cover Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989) and Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991), but there's plenty of great information.

The interview can be found here. Enjoy!

Movie Night, Japanese-Style!

Yoshinobu Kaneko. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On Saturday, July 6, I attended a special event with guests Kazuki Omori and Yoshinobu Kaneko.

Kaneko-san would be best known in the U.S. as the young boy in King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) who begs his mother to go see Godzilla, only to be told that they're not going to the zoo. He stars in the title role of the Toei fantasy/action film Watari, Ninja Boy (1966) and co-stars as Blue Shadow in the Toei TV series Red Shadow (1967-68) and the movie spin-off Ninja Scope (1969). He also can be seen in episode 15 of Ultraman (1966-67), among numerous other TV and film appearances.

I had a fun time talking about King Kong vs. Godzilla with Kaneko, especially about the differences between the his mother's line in the U.S. and Japanese versions. He was interested to learn that his mother says "zoo" in the American version. Of course, given that he was a young boy at the time, he has few memories of the shoot. But it was fun chatting with him about his acting career when he was a child.

Kazuki Omori. Photo by Brett Homenick.

The other guest on hand was none other than Heisei Godzilla series screenwriter and director Kazuki Omori. Most folks around Omori-san seemed more interested in discussing various American films instead of Godzilla movies. The discussion of The Godfather Part III was especially amusing, given Omori-san's reactions to Al Pacino's scenery-chewing in the film. 

Overall, it was a very fun night with friendly people. I didn't expect to stay around as long as I did, but it was so much fun that I was in no hurry to leave. Let's do it again soon!

Idol Business!

Kazuki Omori. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Today, I saw the movie Shoot! (1994) for the first time, and what better way to see it than in 35mm? The film is an idol drama that focuses on the trials and tribulations of a high school soccer team. It wasn't bad, but I'm afraid this type of movie isn't really my bag. Still, it was interesting to see the film in a screening room full of idol worshipers who cheered at everything their idols did.

The main reason for me to attend was to see the film's director, Kazuki Omori, again. He had quite a few interesting things to say about the film, but lacking a frame of reference for these idols, I wasn't interested enough to keep up. Still, I enjoyed seeing Omori-san again.

THE RETURN OF CAPTAIN ULTRA! Meeting Toei Actor Hirohisa Nakata!

 Hirohisa Nakata. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Immediately after attending the Ultraman event. I made a beeline to my next one. The guest of honor for this event was Toei actor Hirohisa Nakata, perhaps best known for starring in the TV series Captain Ultra (1967), which aired on TBS after the original Ultraman ended its run.

His genre credits extend far beyond that. Beginning his career in 1960 as a Nikkatsu New Face, he switched to Toei in the mid-'60s where he would ultimately leave his mark. He appears in such films as The Golden Bat (1966), The Bullet Train (1975), Message from Space (1978), and Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989). Along the way, he's also made numerous appearances in various Kamen Rider and Super Sentai series.

I brought a Biollante mini-poster for Nakata-san to sign (which has already been signed by numerous cast and crew members). I found Nakata-san to be enormously kind, just what as you'd expect Captain Ultra to be.