An Afternoon with a Godzilla's Millennium Director!

Masaaki Tezuka. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On Thursday, November 5, I got to spend several hours in the company of director Masaaki Tezuka, who of course directed three Millennium series Godzilla movies. But his Toho career prior to his turn in the director's chair runs the gamut of decades and has touched so many classic Japanese films.   

It was an enlightening discussion, and I'm so glad we got to talk so much about his early career, which tends to get glossed over in the interviews I've seen. I was also relieved that Tezuka-san remembered me when I walked into the room and pointed out that we both attended Yuriko Hishimi's event at her restaurant in 2014. Tezuka-san asked me when the last time we met was, to which I replied Wataru Mimura's memorial event in 2023. While I saw him in person there, I didn't have a chance to speak with him, so it had been years (and years!) since we last spoke. 

I was joined by my friend Jacob and the Takaradas (whom I met for the first time, believe it or not), so the atmosphere was quite warm and friendly. We all spent much more time together than I could have expected, so that should tell you how everything went. It wasn't just a fun afternoon; it was a great evening, too!

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.

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!

Kiryu Books a Room at the Hotel Gracery Shinjuku!

The Kiryu diorama at the Hotel Gracery Shinjuku. Photo by Brett Homenick.

From October 7 until December 31, the above diorama will be on display at the Hotel Gracery Shinjuku. In honor of the 20th anniversary of Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. (2003), Kiryu will be hanging out on the 8th floor of the hotel for a few months. When in town, check it out!

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!

A Showa Hero Event Brings Gamera and Yoshito Chujo Together!

Noboru Kaneko. Photo by Brett Homenick.

While I was in between events on Sunday, September 25, I figured I had just enough time to stop by the Showa Hero event in Nakano to meet the guests, neither of whom I'd ever met before. Who were they, you ask? Why, Noboru Kaneko and Hirofumi Fukuzawa!

Noboru Kaneko played Gao Red in Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger (2001-02), but Godzilla fans know him for playing Yoshito Chujo in Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. (2003). My interaction with him was brief but pleasant. There just wasn't any time for anything else!

Hirofumi Fukuzawa. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Hirofumi Fukuzawa is a suit actor best known for his appearances in the Super Sentai series (where he often plays the Red Ranger of the series), as well the Kamen Rider series. However, most kaiju fans will recognize him as the Gamera suit actor from Gamera 3 (1999). Suffice it to say, I was quite interested to meet him. And he was a very cool guy, just like most other suit actors you're likely to meet.

And that's a wrap! I was basically in and out because everything was basically over by the time I arrived. But I had just enough time to meet the guests. A very cool way to spend the few moments I had there!

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.

A Entertaining Afternoon with a Toho Tokusatsu Director!

With Eiichi Asada

Today, I spent a fun afternoon with Toho SFX director Eiichi Asada. It had only been about a week since I last saw him, but it was another informative (and entertaining) time.

 And that's a wrap!

REMATCH OF THE YEAR! Godzilla vs. Kiryu Part II!

Tsutomu Kitagawa (left) poses with Motokuni Nakagawa. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Today, I was able to take in a screening of Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. (2003) on the big screen in 35mm. If memory serves, I'd only seen the movie once before, which was also on the big screen. It was at a screening in the U.S. in July 2004, and (quite frankly) I never got the urge to see the movie a second time!

In between Tsutomu Kitagawa and Motokuni Nakagawa.

So how did I feel about it this time? It was well-made but not very compelling. I found myself distracted at several points during the film, even during the monster battles. I also thought the ending was a bit lackluster. There's nothing particularly wrong with it, but it just felt like it was going through the motions. Honestly, I can see why I never gave it a second look.

Tsutomu Kitagawa. Photo by Brett Homenick.

That's OK, though, because the real highlight of the day was hanging out with the suit actors from the film! Tsutomu Kitagawa was the "man in the Godzilla suit" for all the Millennium series films between Godzilla 2000 (1999) and Godzilla: Final Wars (2004). minus GMK, of course. I was surprised to find that he was a Gamera fan in his youth, which one might not expect from a future King of the Monsters.

Also on hand was fellow suit actor Motokuni Nakagawa, who played Kiryu in Tokyo S.O.S., as well as King Caesar, Monster X, and Keizer Ghidorah in Final Wars. He left shortly after his Q&A sessions, so my interactions with him were very brief. Not so with Kitagawa-san, however. It was a blast sitting next to him during dinner. Even though I hadn't seen him in three years, I was flattered that he recognized me. 

Suffice it to say, this weekend was a lot of fun, and it's nice to be busy again. I look forward to an exciting summer.

Legends of Tokusatsu!

In between Eiichi Asada (left) and Toshio Miike.

In Tokyo, it definitely seems that business has been picking up. For most of the year, COVID has kept special events and other such gatherings to an absolute minimum. With the vaccines just barely getting rolled out, it seemed like this situation might continue a lot longer.

Toshio Mike. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Not so. As we enter summer, it does seem that more events are getting scheduled, and July might (emphasis on might) be about as busy as any month during the pre-COVID days. The timing's pretty good, too, as I hear that July is a good month to celebrate Godzilla and other such kaiju.

Last night was apparently the very beginning of the turnaround. I attended a fun event with Toshio Miike and Eiichi Asada. Miike-san 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).

Eiichi Asada. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Also there was Eiichi Asada. As an assistant director, Asada-san's credits include: Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973), Submersion of Japan (1973), Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974), Espy (1974), Conflagration (1975), Zero Pilot (1976), The War in Space (1977), Deathquake (1980), The Imperial Navy (1981), Sayonara Jupiter (1984), and Godzilla 1985 (1984), among others. He was the special effects director on Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. (2003) and Godzilla: Final Wars (2004).

 As always, it was a great opportunity to spend an evening with two tokusatsu legends, which unfortunately has been a rarity of late. Thankfully, though, the times seem to changing.

In the Presence of an SFX Master!

Eiichi Asada. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On Wednesday, March 3, I was privileged to spend an afternoon with Eiichi Asada, a Toho SFX director who helmed Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. (2003) and Godzilla: Final Wars (2004).

Naturally, Asada-san is a very friendly gentleman, and I had a splendid time. It's always wonderful to be able to spend time with such legends of the Godzilla series!

THE FINAL WARS CONTINUE! Looking Back on GFW!

Tsuomu Kitagawa. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On Saturday, August 25, I attended a special event regarding Godzilla: Final Wars (2004), Toho's controversial 50th anniversary celebration of Godzilla. In attendance were two very notable special guests.

Tsutomu "Tom" Kitagawa was one of the guests, and he was the "man in the Godzilla suit" for all the Millennium series films between Godzilla 2000 (1999) and Godzilla: Final Wars (minus GMK). It had been just under four years since I'd last seen Kitagawa-san, and I was surprised that he recognized me.

Eiichi Asada. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Also on hand was Eiichi Asada. Asada-san served as an assistant director on numerous Toho movies, including: Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973), Submersion of Japan (1973), Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974), Espy (1974), Conflagration (1975), Zero Pilot (1976), The War in Space (1977), Deathquake (1980), The Imperial Navy (1981), Sayonara Jupiter (1984), and Godzilla 1985, among others. During the Millennium series, he was the special effects director on Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. (2003) and Godzilla: Final Wars. 

Asada-san is a lot of fun to hang out with, and whenever he's a guest, I always make an effort to see him. It was a fun, low-key affair with nothing but great people all around.