The Legend Is Reborn ... Again!

R. J. Kizer with a VHS release of his most famous movie. Photo by Brett Homenick.

 

On Tuesday, November 4, I returned to Los Angeles and enjoyed a pleasant afternoon in the company of director R. J. Kizer, best known as the director of the American version of Godzilla 1985 (1984). We met at a diner near Warner Bros., which made me wonder if we'd perhaps catch a celebrity there. (More on that later.)

R. J. Kizer holds a Blu-ray copy of the film he helped bring to American audiences. Photo by Brett Homenick.

I came bearing gifts. I found a VHS copy of Godzilla 1985 at a nearby thrift store a couple of months ago and gave it to R. J., as I had no idea what else to do with it. (Not having a VCR has become a real inconvenience!) I also gave R. J. my extra copy of Akira Kurosawa's Yojimbo (1961), which I bought last year during Criterion's summer 50%-off sale.

R. J. Kizer signs the Blu-ray sleeve of The Return of Godzilla (1984). Photo by Brett Homenick.

This year, I purchased the Yojimbo/Sanjuro (1962) double pack, so my other copy of Yojimbo became redundant. Interestingly, I found out that R. J. does own several Kurosawa titles but that Yojimbo wasn't among them. That was certainly welcome news!

R. J. and I spent a lot of time talking about Godzilla 1985, which we basically didn't discuss at all the first time we met. Despite the number of interviews I've done on the movie, it's still fascinating to learn new details about it. I'm surprised there's still so much to know!

While we were talking, I couldn't help but notice that Gary Busey entered the diner and sat down with another gentleman. Perhaps I was eyeballing Busey a bit too much because I noticed he was occasionally looking back at me. While I didn't approach him at all, but it was quite fun to see him in person. 

What a fun afternoon it was. Not only did we talk about movies, but R. J. gave me some advice about some locations around the city. I'm so glad we had this opportunity to catch up again!

George Rohrs, One of the Last Veterans of 'Godzilla King of the Monsters,' Passes Away at 90

Film editor George Rohrs, who worked on the American version of Godzilla King of the Monsters (1956), passed away on August 30 of natural causes. He was 90 years old.

Mr. Rohrs was born on April 29, 1930, in Oak Park, IL, but moved with his family to Southern California during his teenage years. After serving in the Army for a couple of years, Mr. Rohrs joined the film industry in the 1950s, leading to a career in the entertainment world that lasted more than 30 years. More information about his life can be found in this obituary.

One of Mr. Rohrs' best-known credits internationally is Godzilla King of the Monsters. In a 2006 interview with Terry Morse, Jr., Morse would say, "Two other editors worked on the team. George Rohrs was the number-one assistant and sound effects editor." 

Godzilla fans around the world owe a debt of gratitude to George Rohrs for helping to make the Godzilla series a worldwide phenomenon. Rest in peace.

Raymond Burr on 'Godzilla King of the Monsters!'

Raymond Burr (with Warren Kemmerling) in a publicity still from Godzilla 1985. Photo courtesy of Raymond Burr Vineyards.

While going through some of my old files, I came across a short memo I wrote in mid-2007 that I ultimately didn't know what to do with. I contacted Raymond Burr's longtime companion, Robert Benevides of Raymond Burr Vineyards. I phoned Mr. Benevides to ask if Mr. Burr had ever shared any stories about the making of his two Godzilla movies (Godzilla King of the Monsters and Godzilla 1985) with him.

It turned out that Mr. Burr indeed had, but, given that Mr. Benevides' memories were brief, I couldn't turn them into an article. So what to do? Unfortunately, indecisiveness got the better of me, so I simply didn't do anything with Mr. Benevides' comments. But, having rediscovered them in my files, I quickly realized they'd make a rather intriguing blog post. My memo, as written in July 2007, is below:

Robert Benevides, Raymond Burr‘s longtime companion, remembered what Burr had told him about his working on the first Godzilla film: “He worked on it for two days in a telephone booth, basically, and they cut him into the film. He loved to tell that story about how, during that period, he was the highest-paid actor in Hollywood by the hour because he had gotten so much money for those two days, that if you [extrapolate] it over the time period, he would have been the highest-paid actor in Hollywood. That‘s what he used to tell me.”

“The first one, he always said that he worked two days to do all those shots in the phone booth.”

GODZILLA 1985: Production Notes on the Last Great Americanization

Director R. J. Kizer reads a copy of G-FAN magazine in 2007. Photo courtesy R. J. Kizer.

While looking through some of my old files, I discovered a few notes on the production of Godzilla 1985 that director R. J. Kizer sent me around the time I interviewed him for G-FAN magazine in 2007. As I recall,  none of this made it into G-FAN, and while I always intended to do something with it, other projects kept coming up and needed my attention. So I'm reproducing those notes below. Enjoy!

June 8, 1985 - Breakfast meeting with Tony Randel. Set to meet at Nick's Restaurant at corner of Westwood and National. Nick's was closed. Didn't open until 11:30. We go to Hamburger Hamlet at National and Sepulveda. Tony offers me the "chance for immortality."

June 28, 1985 - My last day as film editor on "A Dollar a Day," later released as "Planet Rage."

July 1, 1985 - I watch "Godzilla, King of the Monsters"

July 2, 1985 - I watch "The Philadelphia Experiment" (Tony has some extra footage from that film that he wants to use in "Godzilla, 1985")

[[July 2 -- ADR programming of Japanese sequences begun]]

July 8, 1985 - I officially start work on "Godzilla, 1985" Casting starts; casting director = Danny (Goldman)

July 24, 1985 - Pre-light Stage One, Raleigh Studios; 6:30 pm Dinner meeting with Raymond Burr at Le Mondrian Hotel, Sunset Blvd

July 25, 1985 - 1st day of shooting -- all shots involving Raymond Burr

July 26, 1985 - 2nd day of shooting -- rest of the shots

July 27, 1985 - 3rd day of shooting -- Dune Creek Ranch, 6238 Bonsall Drive, Malibu (camera truck gets lost, we don't start shooting until close to sunset)

July 29-30 -- ADR at Ryder Sound, Vine Street, Hollywood

Aug 8-9, 1985 -- Final Sound mix -- Ryder Sound, Vine Street, Hollywood

August 23, 1985 -- Theatrical release

Cast:

"Professor Hiyashida" Yosuke Natsuki (English voice = Paul Wilson)

"Goro Maki" Ken Tanaka (English voice = Tony Plana)

"Naoko Okumura" Yasuko Sawaguchi (English voice = Lara Cody)

"Hiroshi Okumura" Shin Takuma (English voice = Andy Goldberg)

English dialogue for Japanese sequences = Lisa Tomei and Tony Randel

American scene script = Straw (Weisman)