Toku in the House!

Eiichi Asada. Photo by Brett Homenick.

 

On Saturday, July 18, I attended an event with former Toho SFX director Eiichi Asada, whom I hadn't seen in more than two years. It was a fun reunion, and I updated Asada-san on my comings and goings during that time.

There wasn't much toku talk this time, but I did learn that Asada-san is a fan of actress Jean Simmons from Spartacus (1960). Now that's a name you don't hear thrown around a lot these days, unless you're talking about the guy from KISS with the similar name.

It's always fun to learn about the Western films that Toho tokusatsu legends admire. For example, I never would have even heard of the family drama Our Very Own (1950), featuring a very young Natalie Wood, had Teruyoshi Nakano not named it as one of his favorite films.  

Overall, it was great to see Asada-san again. It truly had been too long.

OPERATION: FINAL WARS INVADES SHINJUKU! There Goes Kabukicho!

Godzilla takes on his enemies at the Hotel Gracery Shinjuku! Photo by Brett Homenick.

Hotel Gracery Shinjuku has a new Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)-themed display on the eighth floor of the hotel. On March 3, I stopped by the Hotel Gracery Shinjuku to check it out. Here's what I saw. Enjoy!

 

'Howl's Moving Castle'

Fathom Events' Studio Ghibli Fest 2024. Photo by Brett Homenick.

"This is Operation: [Howl's Moving Castle]." -- Don Frye, Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)

I'm sure I've mentioned it here before, but I've never been a fan of Studio Ghibli. I suppose it would be a bit more accurate to say that I've never been into anime in general. It's just never been my thing, though I guess I can see why others would be into it. Under other circumstances, I might have become a fan myself.

To the best of my knowledge, the only Ghibli film I'd seen before tonight was My Neighbor Totoro (1988), which was shown on video in one of my classes back in the day. Honestly, I can't remember if we even finished the thing, but that (more or less) had been my only exposure to Ghibli.

While going to the movies a month or two ago, I noticed the above advertisement promoting something called Studio Ghibli Fest. One title in particular stood out to me -- Howl's Moving Castle (2004). Pretty much every Ghibli fan I've spoken to has essentially the same opinion: It's just not that good. So you may be wondering why that, of all the movies being screened, would catch my attention.

In early 2005, I read in a Godzilla fanzine that Godzilla: Final Wars (2004) got its clock cleaned at the Japanese box office by Howl's Moving Castle. I knew absolutely nothing about that film and hadn't even heard of it until then. But, in that moment, the two movies became inextricably intertwined in my mind.

Howl's movin' and groovin'. Photo by Brett Homenick.

So that brings me to tonight when I caught a screening of Howl's Moving Castle at the nearby multiplex. The version I saw was the English dub with Christian Bale as Howl, by the way.

What did I think? Well, not much, I'm afraid. I have to agree with the folks who've told me over the years that the movie isn't very good. There are no memorable characters, the story and set pieces are all off-the-rack, and the climax was downright dull. What am I saying? The whole movie was dull. I was bored to distraction throughout.

The image of the moving castle itself was pretty impressive, but that's the only positive thing I have to say about it. Otherwise, I was indifferent to the flick. If I'm being honest, I just don't think Ghibli's animation quality lives up to the hype. That's not to say that it's bad or even mediocre, just that it doesn't measure up to the endless praise I read online -- in my humble opinion, anyway.

Here's a quote for the poster: "Better than Howl's Moving Castle!"

It's rather interesting to read the drubbing that Francis Ford Coppola's latest opus, Megalopolis (2024), is receiving from critics and audiences. I saw the film last night and thought it was pretty good -- not great, but certainly not the unmitigated disaster some are trying to make it out to be. Watching the two films back to back, I can safely say that Megalopolis is much more satisfying. 

Suffice it to say, that itch has been scratched, and I can put Howl's Moving Castle away and (in all likelihood) never think about it again. It's too bad Japanese audiences went with the wrong film in late 2004, but it's not like we can do anything about that now.

Come to think of it, how about Don Frye as the voice of Howl? Now that's some inspired casting!

Remembering the Life of a Toho Great with Another Toho Great!

Eiichi Asada (left) and Tabata Kei. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Tonight (Saturday, March 23), I attended another event with former Toho SFX directpr Eiichi Asada. The theme of this event was celebrating the life of Sadao Iizuka, who passed away last year. Iizuka-san's manager, Tabata Kei, was on hand to represent his his life and career.

While there, I purchased the first volume of a biographical interview book on Asada-san that's just been published. Asada-san asked me if I could read it in Japanese, but, when I showed him how a smartphone could instantly translate the text in English, he was quite amazed. It sure beats studying kanji for years and years!

The event also served as a birthday celebration for Asada-san, whose 75th birthday was a few days ago, so cake was also served. I must say that Asada-san seems much younger than his age would suggest. 

I took many photos with the attendees, as it will be my last visit to the venue for a long time. I was asked to say a few words at the end of the event, which I found harder to do than I expected. I certainly will miss the fun and camaraderie that always went with these events. But time has a way of moving on.

Below are the other photos I took of this event. Enjoy!

Minya Saves the Day ... Again!

Atomu Mizuishi (left) and Naoko Kamio. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Tonight (Sunday, March 10), I attended an event with two headlining guests -- actor Atomu Mizuishi and suit actress Naoko Kamio. Of the two, I was much more interested in Kamio-san, as she played Rodan and Minya in Godzilla: Final Wars (2004). 

While I'm not familiar with him, Mizuishi-san played Kiramai Blue on Mashin Sentai Kiramager (2020-21), among other tokusatsu projects. I was surprised to find the audience packed with younger females who were completely enamored of him. I certainly wasn't expecting to find that when I entered the venue, but there you go!

It was a lot of fun meeting Minya in the flesh. When I asked her to reenact her Minya pose from Final Wars, she happily agreed to do. The other attendees were much more familiar with her career in Super Sentai and peppered her with many questions about it. 

Below are the other photos I took tonight. Enjoy!

COSTUMES AND TOKUSATSU! An Evening with a Pair of Toho Legends!

Makoto Ikeda (left) and Eiichi Asada. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Yesterday (Monday, February 12) was a Japanese holiday, but I still had to request it off from work. But it was well worth it, as I got to attend an event headlined by the wonderful tokusatsu director Eiichi Asada, as well as another guest I'd never met before -- Makoto Ikeda. If you've never heard of him before, you're in luck! I've got some information for you.

Makoto Ikeda. Photo by Brett Homenick,

Makoto Ikeda was born in 1939 in Konoshima, Kasaoka City, Okayama Prefecture. In 1957, he joined Kyoto Costume, which at the time was in charge of costumes for Toho Studios. (In 1963, Kyoto Costume became a subsidiary of the Toho Group.) Afterward, he worked on numerous Toho productions in the studio's costume department, beginning with Akira Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress (1958).

Following that experience, Ikeda-san primarily worked on costumes for the films by directors Hiroshi Inagaki, Senkichi Taniguchi, and Kihachi Okamoto. At Mifune Productions, he was in charge of costumes from Kihachi Okamoto's Red Lion (1969) through Hiroshi Inagaki's Incident at Blood Pass (1970). His close relationship with Toshiro Mifune led to Ikeda's work on the international co-production Red Sun (1971), directed by Terence Young and starring Mifune and Charles Bronson. 

Ikeda-san's other credits at Toho include: Submarine I-57 Will Not Surrender (1959), Inao: Story of an Iron Arm (1959), Seniors, Juniors, Co-Workers (1959), King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962), Atragon (1963), Warring Clans (1963), The Lost World of Sinbad (1963), Monster Zero (1965), Ironfinger (1965), Come Marry Me (1966), Japan's Longest Day (1967), and Epoch of Murder Madness (1967).

Ikeda-san was also an assistant director on Kihachi Okamoto's The Human Bullet (1968). In 1979, he was transferred from Kyoto Costume to Oriental Land where he was in charge of the costumes for the opening of Tokyo Disneyland.

Not only was Ikeda-san extremely approachable and affable, he had many strong memories of the movies he worked on. When I asked Ikeda-san what his most fun experience on a movie was, he answered that it was Red Lion.

I also asked him if he might have been involved with Kenji Sahara's fake beard in Atragon, but Ikeda-san told me that he'd usually only be involved with smaller amounts of facial hair, like a moustache.

Ikeda-san has written several books about his film experiences, but he also said he isn't very handy with computers. When I asked him how he wrote his books, he answered it was all by hand. Pretty impressive!

Eiichi Asada. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Asada-san was also a lot of fun to spend the evening with. I told him I didn't think Godzilla Minus One (2023) is tokusatsu due its being exclusively CG, but he disagreed and said that the various layers of VFX involved qualify it as such. I certainly respect his viewpoint (and he has more than earned it!), but I still see things differently.

When I arrived, Asada-san asked me about my plans in March, and I explained everything to him. Later on, our conversation turned to the city of Palm Springs, and Asada-san remembered Troy Donahue singing a song about the city. Perhaps it's in the movie Palm Springs Weekend (1963), which I've never seen, but maybe I should!

Eiichi Asada with Teruyoshi Nakano's hat. Photo by Brett Homenick.

One other thing I'll mention about Asada-san is that he said to our group that people don't need to be able to speak each other's languages perfectly in order to communicate, as body language can make up for many of the differences. I heartily agree.

Toward the end, another attendee brought out Teruyoshi Nakano's trademark hat, which Asada-san put on to pose for a few photos. In a way, it was like the passing of the torch from one tokusatsu director to another. 

Suffice it to say, I'm glad to I took the day off to attend this event! Meeting a Toho legend I'd never met before would have been reason enough, but Asada-san's kindness simply pushed it over the top. I can't remember the last time I enjoyed a Monday evening this much!

FLASHBACK: The 'Godzilla: Final Wars' World Premiere in Photos!

If you look closely, you can see Godzilla in there somewhere. Photo by Brett Homenick.

I don't think I've ever shared my photos from the Godzilla: Final Wars (2004) world premiere that took place in November 2004 in Hollywood at what was then known as Grauman's Chinese Theatre. It's not a surprise why I haven't shared them, though. I started this blog in 2009, a full five years after the premiere -- old news. Besides, I used a disposable camera for my photos, which wouldn't have turned out all that great even if I had unlimited access to the event. So, suffice it to say, the pictures I took didn't turn out that well, and I've never been in a hurry to share them.

In fact, the only one I know I've posted before was the photo I took of Don Frye when he happened to be stopped in front of me by a fan who wanted a picture with him. After he was done, I was going to ask The Predator for a pic, too. But whoever was using the guy's camera had zero idea how to work it, so Don had to wait what seemed like forever, frozen in a pose with his fist up. When the guy still couldn't get the camera to work, Don's handler whisked him away, and I lost my opportunity for a photo with Captain Gordon himself. Ah, well. Little did I know then that I'd end up interviewing him twice and arranging his appearance at some Chicago con in 2008. 

Anyway, I recently had another look at the pictures I took at the event, and I guess some of them aren't quite that bad. Besides, they are a part of history, so they are worth posting for that reason alone. The ones worth sharing are below, with a caption to explain what you can see in the pics if you look carefully enough. Enjoy!

Producer Shogo Tomiyama addresses the audience with Godzilla standing behind him. Photo by Brett Homenick.

You can kind of see Shogo Tomiyama in there between the head and the hat in the foreground. Photo by Brett Homenick.

A happy fan poses with the Godzilla float. Photo by Brett Homenick.

The recently unveiled Godzilla star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame -- and almost completely in frame! Photo by Brett Homenick.

Yours truly with Godzilla's star. I really didn't want to touch the ground but had no choice to keep my balance.

Don Frye being asked to pose for a photo that would never get taken. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Grauman's Chinese Theatre. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Japanese media on hand covering the event. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Christmas with Tokusatsu Legends!

Eiichi Asada (left) and Sadao Iizuka. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Earlier tonight, I attended a special Christmas event with two luminaries of the tokusatsu world. I couldn't think of a better way to spend Christmas Day.

The event wasn't just about Christmas, of course. It also served as a special birthday event for optical effects wizard Sadao Iizuka, who turns 88 on December 26. I gave Iizuka-san a birthday card in honor of his upcoming milestone.

Iizuka-san held court and shared many stories of his relationship with Eiji Tsuburaya and his work at Toho. I was familiar with just about all of them from my two interviews with him from about two years ago. 

Eiichi Asada. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Eiichi Asada was just as fun as ever to talk with. I followed up with him on something he mentioned in our interview last year. Asada-san talked about how he would go to Ginza and buy making-of books (usually translated into Japanese) about Hollywood blockbusters made in the late 1970s and '80s. He cited the book on Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) as one book that was particularly enlightening.

Asada-san also mentioned that he read in one of the books that the American SFX crews could blow up miniature buildings and rebuild them, which Asada-san was surprised to read, as that was something Toho SFX crews couldn't do.

After that, I showed Asada-san a picture of the pro wrestling tag team Demolition, but he wasn't familiar with them. In fact, he thought they were the band KISS, so I told him they were a team of Road Warrior imitators. Since Asada-san once compared the wrestler Sting to the members of KISS, I wanted to show him wrestlers who looked a lot more like the band!

As you can no doubt see, it was a lot of fun, and a perfect way to spend Christmas Day. January promises to be a busy month for me, so I'm enjoying the slower pace of December. See you next year!

Catching 'Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster' on the Big Screen!

Eiichi Asada. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Earlier today, I had the distinct privilege of seeing Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster (a.k.a. Godzilla vs. Hedorah, 1971) in 35mm. The print was essentially perfect, and it was the best way to see this film. 

Eiichi Asada offers a toast to the memory of Teruyoshi Nakano. Photo by Brett Homenick.

While it's not among my favorite Godzilla movies of the '70s (the last three hold that honor), it's still a very good one. The pacing isn't the best (the final battle drags on a bit too long, in my opinion), but I'd take it in a heartbeat over most films from the '90s and beyond.

The guest of honor was special effects director Eiichi Asada, who directed Hedorah in his big comeback vehicle, Godzilla: Final Wars (2004). Asada-san was also an assistant director on numerous tokusatsu movies, starting with Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973). While he just missed out on working on Smog Monster, he certainly is well versed in how kaiju movies were made at Toho during that time.\

Eiichi Asada. Photo by Brett Homenick.

The screening was a tribute to the late SFX director Teruyoshi Nakano, who passed away just a couple of months. Asada-san worked as chief assistant director under Nakano-san, making him a perfect pick to headline the event.

Asada-san led the audience in a toast to the memory of Nakano-san. It was quite a moment.

After the screening, I sat next to Asada-san during the after-party. One thing I found out was that Asada-san loves pro wrestling. I was surprised when he mentioned the wrestling maneuver the lariat, but he couldn't remember which wrestler used it. When I mentioned Stan Hansen, that jogged his memory. Asada-san was also amused when I showed him a picture of Abdullah the Butcher on my phone, quickly exclaiming, "Butcher!"

We also talked about Toho assistant director Yoshio Tabuchi and the making of Smog Monster. It was another fun evening, and I'm very grateful I got to attend.

Eiichi Asada. Photo by Brett Homenick.

That's a wrap! See you next time.