Great New Content on Vantage Point Interviews!

Photo courtesy of Benni Korzen.

Vantage Point Interviews proudly presents a brand-new interview with Rankin/Bass associate producer Benni Korzen. Mr, Korzen was involved with the Rankin/Bass live-action productions of The Last Dinosaur (1977), The Bermuda Depths (1978), and The Ivory Ape (1980). He also worked on the films Marco (1973) and The Bushido Blade (1981), both of which were filmed in Japan. His memories of these productions are presented for the first time ever on Vantage Point Interviews.

Toho Director Tsugunobu 'Tom' Kotani Passes Away at 84

Tom Kotani in May 2018. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Japanese director Tsugunobu "Tom" Kotani died of heart failure at his home in Komae, Tokyo, at 10:48 p.m. on December 13, 2020. He was 84 years old. A private funeral was held in his honor, for which his eldest son Hidenobu served as chief mourner.

Mr. Kotani was born on December 21, 1935, in Tokyo’s Suginami Ward. He majored in French literature at the University of Tokyo. Upon graduation, Mr. Kotani took the Toho entrance exam in 1960 and joined the studio along with seven other newcomers, including future Godzilla 1985 (1984) director Koji Hashimoto. His first job as an assistant director was on the Hiroshi Inagaki fantasy Gen and Acala (a.k.a. The Youth and His Amulet, 1961), co-starring Toshiro Mifune and Yosuke Natsuki (and with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya).

Teruyoshi Nakano (left) with Tom Kotani in July 2019. Photo by Brett Homenick.

After becoming a director in his own right in 1970, Mr. Kotani helmed the Yuzo Kayama vehicle It’s My Sky! Young Guy (1970) and the Tetsuya Watari actioner Cockroach Cop (1973). His best known credits would be the Rankin/Bass productions The Last Dinosaur (1977), The Bermuda Depths (1978), and The Ivory Ape (1980). He also directed The Bushido Blade (1981), with Toshiro Mifune, Richard Boone, and a variety of Western and Japanese talent in front of the camera.

Tom Kotani with The Last Dinosaur actress Masumi Sekiya in November 2016. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Mr. Kotani was formerly married to Toho actress Wakako Tanabe, who played Gaira’s Haneda Airport victim in War of the Gargantuas (1966).

I was fortunate to meet Mr. Kotani on several occasions. He took interest in me as an American when we first met at a public event in November 2016 and exchanged contact information. Due to his poor hearing, he preferred to communicate via text messages instead of phone calls. We met a couple of times near home (which was still close to Toho Studios) for lunch. I certainly enjoyed learning about his life and career from those meetings. While we never did a formal interview (he declined the one time I asked), I did take notes on our conversations.

I wanted to see him again, but due to COVID concerns, I put off reaching out to him for about the last year. But I’ll also remember his kindness and appreciate the time we were able to spend together.

Rest in peace, director Kotani.

Toho SFX Veterans Gather to Celebrate the Publication of a New Book!

Takashi Naganuma. Photo by Brett Homenick. 

Earlier today, I had the honor of being invited to attend a launch party for a new book written by former Toho SFX master Takashi Naganuma. The book is another chronicle of Naganuma-san's decades of work at Toho Studios.

Toshio Miike. Photo by Brett Homenick. 

The event attracted several Toho SFX luminaries, such as Teruyoshi Nakano, Tom Kotani, Toshio Miike, and Nobuyuki Yasumaru. All the invited guests addressed those in attendance.

Nobuyuki Yasumaru addresses the audience. Photo by Brett Homenick. 

I was able to strike up some new friendships at the event with my table mates. I had a great time chatting with the folks seated next to me. I hope we have a chance to meet again in the future.

Teruyoshi Nakano (left) and Nobuyuki Yasumaru. Photo by Brett Homenick.

I purchased a copy of Naganuma-san's book at the party, and I was impressed with the photos contained in it, most of which I'd never seen before. And given how many books have been published in recent years regarding Toho SFX, that's quite an accomplishment.

Teruyoshi Nakano. Photo by Brett Homenick.

All in all, it was a wonderful event. I attended a similar party almost exactly two years ago, and while that one was much bigger, this one was still quite enjoyable. I hope another book gets published soon!

A Pleasant Afternoon with a Toho Director

With director Tom Kotani.

This afternoon, I had a pleasant lunch with director Tom Kotani (The Last Dinosaur), who shared many stories about his directing career at Toho and Tsuburaya Productions. I certainly hope to have the chance to see him again soon.

TOHO MINI REUNION! Dinner with Three Studio Alumni!

Yours truly with SFX director Teruyoshi Nakano.

Tonight, I attended a wonderful dinner with three Toho alumni. One of the guests of honor was SFX director Teruyoshi Nakano, a man I've blogged about many times on this site.  

Yours truly with Takashi Naganuma.

Another guest of the evening was Takashi Naganuma, an SFX crew member at Toho from the 1970s through the 1990s. Naganuma-san is always one of my favorites to visit.

It was great to speak with director Tom Kotani again after several months. (I hadn't seen him since last November.)

Not much else to say, other than it was fun. Many thanks to all involved!

MORE PHOTOS! Takashi Naganuma's Launch Party!

Nobuyuki Yasumaru addresses Shinji Higuchi. Photo by Brett Homenick.

As mentioned elsewhere on this blog, I attended the launch party for Takashi Naganuma's new book on Toho SFX. It was a private celebration, and it was a lot of fun. Here are some other highlights.

Director Tom Kotani and suit builder Nobuyuki Yasumaru enjoy each other's company.

A group shot with yours truly, Tom Kotani, and Takashi Naganuma. This was taken shortly after I was invited to address the audience on the microphone. I offered praise to the SFX luminaries in attendance, and asked everyone to give director Kotani a round of applause. Kotani-san stood up and hugged me!

My photo of Toho cyclorama painter Fuchimu Shimakura.

Yours truly with Shimakura-san! Personality-wise, Shimakura-san was extremely youthful and had a wonderful sense of humor. I really hope to have a chance to meet him again.

A group shot with director Shinji Higuchi, Takashi Naganuma, and others in attendance.

Meeting suit builder Nobuyuki Yasumaru. Shinji Higuchi is directly seated behind us.

Nobuyuki Yasumaru points out the details in a photograph to Shinji Higuchi.

Yours truly with Shin Godzilla co-director Shinji Higuchi.

A selfie with Yoshikazu Ishii, a Toho SFX expert.

TAKASHI NAGANUMA'S BOOK PARTY! SFX All-Stars Turn Out for The Celebration!

Takashi Naganuma addresses the audience of fans and pros. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On Sunday, November 27, a private party was held in Yokohama Chinatown to celebrate the launch of a new book by Takashi Naganuma, detailing Toho's tokusatsu history from the 1970s and beyond. 

Godzilla stands above Yokohama Chinatown. Photo by Brett Homenick.

I was invited by Naganuma-san when I saw him a week ago. Naturally, when I heard about this party, I jumped at the chance to attend. I'm very glad I did. There were several Toho tokusatsu staff members in attendance, many of whom I'd never met before. There was even a big surprise in store for us!

Director Tsugunobu "Tom" Kotani waits in the green room. Photo by Brett Homenick.

When I arrived, I greeted Naganuma-san, who was busy setting up. I then joined director Tsugunobu "Tom" Kotani in the green room. Kotani-san still speaks quite a bit of English, though he tells me he used to be even more proficient. He reminisced about working with Richard Boone on The Last Dinosaur (1977). According to Kotani-san, he and Richard Boone got along very well, and Boone even helped communicate some of his directions to the rest of the cast. Kotani-san said that Boone was like an honorary assistant director in that sense. 

Toho SFX expert Yoshikazu Ishii. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Among the tokusatsu pros in attendance was Yoshikazu Ishii, the first assistant director of SFX on Godzilla: Final Wars (2004), among a lot of other film and TV work. Ishii-san's English has come along very well since I first met him back in 2003. He helped translate my conversation with Toshiro Aoki later in the evening. Many thanks to Ishii-san for his help!

Tom Kotani greets fellow Toho director Shinji Higuchi. Photo by Brett Homenick.

The above photo ought to give away the surprise. Fresh off the success of Shin Godzilla, co-director Shinji Higuchi attended the launch party. Naturally, Higuchi-san is well acquainted with the Toho alumni in attendance, and their respect for Higuchi-san was quite evident.

Nobuyuki Yasumaru discusses his work at Toho. Photo by Brett Homenick.

A big highlight for me was getting the chance to meet Toho suit builder Nobuyuki Yasumaru. His work on Toho SFX dates all the way back to Mothra (1961), but he is best known for his work building the suits for most of the '70s Toho monsters as well as the '84 Godzilla suit and Pulgasari. His work on Toho monster suits began with Gorosaurus on King Kong Escapes (1967).

Fuchimu Shimakura recalls his Toho days. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Artist Fuchimu Shimakura was also on hand, and while most fans aren't familiar with his name, they know his work. Shimakura-san painted the cycloramas and backgrounds seen in many classic Toho films and Ultraman programs. In other words, if you saw Mount Fuji in the background of a monster fight scene during the 1960s, he painted it. When I spoke with Shimakura-san, he told me that he began work at Toho in 1959 (!), which would have made him about 19 years old at the time. According to Shimakura-san, his first tokusatsu works were The Three Treasures (1959) and Battle in Outer Space (1959).

Director Shinji Higuchi speaks to the audience. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Shinji Higuchi was also among the speakers, and he turned out to be the most popular guest among the fans and professionals. It's not hard to see why. Shin Godzilla was a massive success at the Japanese box office. Higuchi-san did not have to attend an event like this, but his respect for the SFX technicians in attendance speaks for itself.

SFX art director Toshiro Aoki talks tokusatsu. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Another luminary in attendance was SFX art director Toshiro Aoki. Aoki-san's career as an art assistant dates back to 1959 with The Three Treasures, but he went on to work on Mothra, Gorath (1962), King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962), Godzilla vs. the Thing (1964), among many other titles. In the 1970s, Aoki-san became SFX art director for films like Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972), Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973), Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974), and Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975). Aoki-san worked in the same position for Tsuburaya Productions on Return of Ultraman (1971-72), Ultraman Ace (1972-73), and Ultraman Taro (1973-74). 

Yours truly with Toho SFX art assistant Jiro Shirasaki.

Jiro Shirasaki was among with many other SFX alums, and he likewise worked on many classic Toho films in the SFX art department.

All in all, it was a tremendous party, but as is often the case, there's a lot more to say. Stay tuned!

THE LAST DINOSAUR! An Incredible Celebration in Yokohama!

Director Tsugunobu "Tom" Kotani and actress Masumi Sekiya reunite to celebrate The Last Dinosaur (1977)! Photo by Brett Homenick. 

On November 19, I attended a dinner featuring several tokusatsu luminaries. The occasion was a reunion for The Last Dinosaur (1977), and it brought director Tsugunobu "Tom" Kotani together with actress Masumi Sekiya. Also in attendance was Toho model maker Takashi Naganuma, who attended as a friend of the director.

Meeting director Tom Kotani.

I was particularly interested in meeting director Tom Kotani. For most Western fans, Kotani-san would be known for directing The Last Dinosaur (a co-production with Tsuburaya Productions), The Bermuda Depths (1978), and The Ivory Ape (1980). Prior to directing those international tokusatsu productions for Rankin/Bass, Kotani-san helmed several movies for Toho, including It's My Sky! Young Guy (1970) and Wild Cop (1973). In fact, I brought the DVD sleeves of those films for Kotani-san to sign.

Tom Kotani poses with a proud possession from his collection. Photo by Brett Homenick. 

Kotani-san was a very kind and showed genuine interest in me. He asked for my contact info, and naturally I gave it to him. Hopefully, I'll be able to reconnect with him in the future.

With actress Masumi Sekiya.

Actress Masumi Sekiya, who portrayed Hazel in The Last Dinosaur, was also among the featured guests. She was every bit as friendly as Kotani-san. While her role in The Last Dinosaur would count as her biggest tokusatsu credit, she also appeared in an episode of the Super Sentai series Sun Vulcan (1981-82).  

With Takashi Naganuma. 

Last but not least, Takashi Naganuma attended at the request of director Kotani. While there, Naganuma-san invited me to a special event in the near future, which I'm very excited about. When it happens, look for a full report on this blog. Stay tuned!