Gamera's Jim Morgan Through the Years: 2005 and 2007

Carl Craig with a Destroy All Planets/Noriaki Yuasa tribute polo shirt in July 2005. Photo by Brett Homenick.

This next batch of photos of Carl Craig (Jim Morgan in Gamera vs. Viras, a.k.a. Destroy All Planets, 1968) covers his Chicago appearances in July 2005 and July 2007, though most of the photos in this blog post are actually from 2005. (The 2007 photos only cover the recording of the Retromedia Destroy All Planets commentary track.) In 2005, Carl and I hosted a panel discussion that paid tribute to Noriaki Yuasa, who had passed away the previous year in 2004, photos of which can be found below.

Posing with Carl Craig with props from Gamera vs. Viras.

Carl Craig at his table.

Carl Craig meets Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster (1971) director Yoshimitsu Banno in July 2005. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Carl Craig and yours truly host the Noriaki Yuasa tribute panel discussion.

The photos below are from July 2007 when we recorded the Destroy All Planets commentary:

Recording the Destroy All Planets commentary track. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Gamera's Jim Morgan Through the Years: 2003

Carl Craig in July 2003. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Seeing Carl Craig (Jim Morgan in Gamera vs. Viras, a.k.a. Destroy All Planets, 1968) made me want to dust off some old photos and share them here. This batch is from Chicago in July 2003, during which I met Carl for the first time. Also in attendance was Gamera director Noriaki Yuasa, whom Carl hadn't seen in 35 years. These photos were taken with a disposal camera and aren't of the best quality, but I wanted to preserve them, so here you go. 

Carl Craig with Noriaki Yuasa (and Viras). Photo by Brett Homenick.

Yours truly wearing Noriaki Yuasa's hat.

An Interview with David Milner Has Been Published on Vantage Point Interviews!

David Milner poses with director Noriaki Yuasa. Photo courtesy of David Milner.

Check out my new interview with Godzilla fandom pioneer David Milner on Vantage Point Interviews. Not only was he a contributor to the early fanzines of the '70s, but he interviewed Toho legends like Ishiro Honda, Jun Fukuda, Akira Ifukube, and many others. These stories and many more are recounted in the interview linked above. Content is proven once again to be king!

New Content on Vantage Point Interviews!

Yours truly with Niisan Takahashi in April 2013.

I'm very pleased to announce that the interview we conducted with Gamera series screenwriter Niisan Takahashi in April 2013 has finally been translated and published on Vantage Point Interviews. For a variety of reasons, the interview was extremely difficult to translate properly (it was recorded in a noisy restaurant, for starters), so I couldn't be happier that, after much effort, it's been completed at long last.

I'd also like to plug my interview from last spring with Tsuburaya Productions script supervisor Atsuko Tanaka, who worked on Ultra Q (1966), Ultraman (1966-67), Ultra Seven (1967-68), and other classic TV programs. It got a bit lost in the shuffle, so I felt it needed a shout-out.

Enjoy!

Visiting Noriaki Yuasa's Final Resting Place

 

Noriaki Yuasa's final resting place. Photo by Brett Homenick.

The entire Showa Gamera series (minus Gamera vs. Barugon, 1966) was directed by Noriaki Yuasa, whose youthful, energetic spirit made the monster movies he helmed true standouts. Mr. Yuasa passed away in 2004, and yesterday, I visited his grave for the first time.

His final resting place is located in Kissho-in Temple near Keio Tama-Center Station in Tama, Tokyo. As someone who has always enjoyed the Showa Gamera series, and who had the privilege of meeting Mr. Yuasa back in 2003, I was glad to have a chance to pay my respects to the late director.

RIP, Mr. Yuasa.

NIISAN TAKAHASHI: 1926-2015

Screenwriter Niisan Takahashi left an indelible mark on the history of Japanese monster movies. Photo by Brett Homenick.

I'm very saddened to report the passing of Showa Gamera series scribe Niisan Takahashi on May 5, 2015. He was 89. Takahashi-san was a screenwriter at Daiei Studios during its heyday, and he wrote all the screenplays for the early Gamera films, starting with Gammera the Invincible (1965) and culminating with Gamera Super Monster (1980).

Takahashi-san speaks about his life and career during a rare interview. Photo by Brett Homenick.

I had the distinct privilege of meeting Takahashi-san on two occasions (in the fall of 2012 and spring of 2013). Both times, my friend Yasushi and I went to a Coco's restaurant near his home in Chigasaki, Kanagawa. During our first meeting, I learned something quite fascinating about Takahashi-san, which I posted about elsewhere on this blog and will quote here:

The most fascinating thing I learned is that Mr. Takahashi has a middle Christian name. No, he wasn't born with it, but he took it on after a tragic event happened in his life. On December 31, 1982, his wife passed away after a lengthy illness. She was a Christian, so Takahashi-san researched notable Christians who also passed away on New Year's Eve. One he discovered was Pope Sylvester I, who died on December 31, 335. Takahashi-san decided to make Sylvester his adopted middle name in honor of his wife.

Posing for photos with Takahashi-san after completing an interview in the spring of 2013.

Takahashi-san was extremely friendly, giving me many gifts he had acquired over the years related to the Gamera series. These items included books and DVDs, and he was quite happy to sign anything we asked. During our last meeting, he wanted to sing the theme song he wrote for a movie called I Am Five Years Old (1970), which was also directed by Gamera series director Noriaki Yuasa. He was always proud of this song and wanted to share it with me.

My friend Yasushi and I conducted a lengthy interview with Takahashi-san, and I hope it will eventually get completed.

Rest in peace, Takahashi-san. I will always remember your kindness.

NOTES ON NIISAN TAKAHASHI: The Gamera Scribe Discusses His Adopted Christian Name

On Monday, October 8, I ate lunch with Showa-era Gamera screenwriter Niisan Takahashi. The meeting was arranged by my friend Yasushi. Takahashi-san wrote all the scripts for the Gamera films between 1965 and 1980. At 86 years old, he's in good spirits and quite active!

The most fascinating thing I learned is that Mr. Takahashi has a middle Christian name. No, he wasn't born with it, but he took it on after a tragic event happened in his life. On December 31, 1982, his wife passed away after a lengthy illness. She was a Christian, so Takahashi-san researched notable Christians who also passed away on New Year's Eve. One he discovered was Pope Sylvester I, who died on December 31, 335. Takahashi-san decided to make Sylvester his adopted middle name in honor of his wife.

On a much lighter note, I asked Mr. Takahashi about the process of writing screenplays for the Gamera series. On average, they took about 10 days to write (which was the length of time it took him to write Gamera vs. Viras). The first draft was always the shooting script. Mr. Takahashi never rewrote a Gamera script. However, the director may, in some cases, have elected to change the script due to budgetary concerns. But those changes never came from Mr. Takahashi. 

The meeting lasted about three hours. Takahashi gladly signed autographs and answered every question posed to him. We'll likely be doing a formal interview sometime in the future. Stay tuned!