Kikaider is back, and Anime Jungle has him!

Dave Chapple, August Ragone, me, and Ed Holland, about to order our meals at a Japanese restaurant in Little Tokyo.

Anime Jungle in Los Angeles' Little Tokyo hosted the one and only Daisuke Ban, the popular star of the 1970s-era superhero shows Kikaider and Inazuman, to participate in autograph signings and the Nisei Week Japanese Festival's Grand Parade. Mr. Ban also participated in a dinner Saturday night for which Anime Jungle was selling advance tickets (limited to 30 people).

August Ragone and I eagerly await the dinner with Daisuke Ban.

Before the dinner got under way, I spent all my time with August Ragone, Ed Holland of Monster Attack Team, and fellow Coachella Valley resident Dave Chapple. We shopped in Anime Jungle, went to a Japanese restaurant for lunch, and just hung out and shot the breeze about a slew of topics. There was never a dull moment!

Daisuke Ban and Joanne Ninomiya examine a copy of G-FAN #91, as August Ragone tells them about the magazine and G-FEST.

At 6:30 pm, the dinner with Daisuke Ban began. After making some introductory comments, Mr. Ban sat at each table with Joanne Ninomiya of Generation Kikaida for about 10 or 15 minutes to spend time with each attendee. Mr. Ban graciously answered questions, signed autographs, and posed for pictures.

Mr. Ban seemed impressed with the copy of G-FAN I gave him (August told him all about G-FAN and G-FEST). Mr. Ban noticed the interview with Yukiko Takayama, Terror of Mechagodzilla's screenwriter, and asked if I knew Tomoko Ai. I mentioned that totorom interviewed her in a previous issue, to which Mr. Ban replied that the two are friends. So remember that Katsura Mafune knows Kikaider!

"Say, Kikaider, need a sidekick?"

All in all, it was a great event, with fans coming all the way from Japan for the occasion! Anime Jungle might be hosting more such events, so be on the lookout for them in the future. Kudos to Anime Jungle for bringing this event to the West Coast!

Meeting the legendary Daisuke Ban for the first time.

Return to the Glutermansion

Tim Smyth, Perry Martin, Don Glut, William Winckler, Ted Newsom, and Bill Warren discuss many movie-related subjects at the Glutermansion.

In June 2005, just before I left for North Dakota for four years, I visited the home of author and filmmaker Donald F. Glut with my friends David McRobie and Peter H. Brothers. Since I was leaving California for the foreseeable future, I arranged for us to visit Don's house (which I nicknamed the Glutermansion) as sort of a last hurrah for me. The visit was a fun experience for us, but it would be one that wouldn't happen again for five years.

Bill and Ted have an "excellent" discussion on who really killed Ted Healy!

Several days ago, I contacted Don about possibly visiting him again at his home. I mentioned that I'd love to meet other fans in the area that he knew, and I welcomed as many of them to participate as he could get. Don then started pounding the pavement and arranged a veritable "who's who" of monster fandom to converge on the Glutermansion!

Don Glut proudly displays his Mangled Skyscraper Award, which he won at G-FEST XIV in 2007, with much of his prized memorabilia collection.

As it turned out, Don was under the impression that I still lived in North Dakota and explained to his friends that I was coming in from out of state for this occasion! The group got a big laugh when I revealed that I drove about two hours to get to L.A.!

For several hours, we sat around a table and simply discussed various movies, swapped stories about celebrities, gave our opinions on some "infamous" names in fandom, and had a blast. I was surprised to learn that these sort of get-togethers don't happen so often. Everyone agreed that these meetings should occur a lot more frequently.

Don Glut and yours truly, right outside the Italian restaurant in which we ate dinner.

Shortly after 7:00 pm, a slightly smaller group went out for Italian food. There we discussed more movies, debated Godzilla movies vs. Ray Harryhausen movies, and even did a few voice impressions! We actually stayed seated well past closing time, but we were so caught up in our conversation that we didn't even notice!

Ted and I pose with Famous Monsters of Filmland #250. Phil Kim would be proud!

After we left the restaurant, most of our group left, although Don, Sid Terror, Tim Smyth, and I stuck around to continue the conversation even longer! It lasted until almost 12:30 am, much later than I would have ever guessed. But, when you're having fun, it's easy to lose track of time.

I'd like to thank everyone who came out to Don's house. You certainly made my day! It was tremendous fun, and I suspect these shindigs will be happening a lot more often from now on.

Hanging out is what it's all about! Ted, me, William Winckler, Sid Terror, Don, and Tim Smyth smile for the camera.

. . . and I haven't been the same since!

A salute to Yoshibumi Tajima (1919-2009)

The great Toho character actor Yoshibumi Tajima in perhaps his best role, that of Kumayama in Godzilla vs. the Thing (1964).

One of the most familiar faces in the Godzilla series passed away on September 10, 2009, of esophageal cancer. He was 90 years old.

Tajima was born on August 4, 1919. He became an actor in the early 1950s, working for Shochiku and Nikkatsu, and then became a contracted Toho player in the late 1950s. Some of his Toho credits include: The Secret of the Telegian (1960), King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962), Atragon (1963), Godzilla vs. the Thing (1964), War of the Gargantuas (1966), King Kong Escapes (1967), and Godzilla (1984). Tajima also had a recurring role on the groundbreaking Ultra Q TV series for Tsuburaya Productions.

Although he passed nearly a year ago, it almost completely flew under the radar in the West. So I offer this very humble salute to a giant of the giant monster genre.

Rest in peace, Mr. Tajima.

Akira Takarada signs autographs at G-FEST

On the Monday following G-FEST, while most people were leaving Chicago and saying their goodbyes to fellow attendees, I stayed in town an extra night (leaving early Tuesday morning) to help Mr. Takarada enjoy his final day in Chicago (his flight left late that night).

Monday turned out to be an extremely enjoyable day. I spent it with Mr. Takarada, Robert Scott Field, and J.D. Lees and his family. The hectic pace of G-FEST was behind us, and we could relax and enjoy ourselves without having to worry about resolving parking issues or whatever other problems arose throughout the weekend.

Early in the afternoon on Monday, I asked Mr. Takarada to sign some items for other people (friends and family members) and even a few for myself. Robert Scott Field recorded it for me, and the one and only Damon Foster uploaded it to YouTube for me. (I certainly would've had no idea how to do it myself!)

In any case, here is that video. Enjoy!

Ryuhei Kitamura's 'Smells Like Teen Spirit'

Ryuhei Kitamura (the director of Versus and Godzilla: Final Wars) has directed a new music video of ELEWs cover of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (Nirvana's early '90s mega-hit).
According to ELEWRockjazz.com:

A modern day pop artist and musical revolutionary, piano iconoclast ELEW is making a substantial impression on the music world with a thunderous new style of playing: an inspired melding of ragtime, rock and pop that he calls Rockjazz.

It's certainly not your father's "Smells Like Teen Spirit"!

h/t Kung Fu Cinema.

The inspiration for this blog's name

Finally, the video containing the inspiration for this blog's unusual name makes it back to YouTube!

As a longtime Siskel & Ebert fan, I love watching old S&E videos on the Internet. One of my favorite clips was their review of the 1987 children's film Benji the Hunted. This particular review is famous (infamous?) for the fact that Ebert recommends the Benji film when he, earlier in the program, panned Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket.

In discussing other strange movie titles, Siskel mentions one of his favorites. That was all the inspiration I needed.

Tales of Adventure in Hollywood

Meeting the legendary Barbara Steele, the star of many Italian horror classics.

Although the summer months are brutal, living in Rancho Mirage (a.k.a. Brett's Rancho) does have its advantages. One such advantage is the fairly easy access I have to Los Angeles. Little more than a two-hour drive away, I can essentially travel there whenever I'd like.

After seeing its impressive guest list, I knew I wanted to attend the Hollywood Show in Burbank in late July. I made plans, and off I went.

It was a pleasure to meet Mamie Van Doren.

While it's a lot of fun to meet the celebrities who attend these autograph conventions, you must budget yourself carefully. It's easier than you might think to spend more money than you can afford! So it's important to go in with a plan and to do as little impulse-buying as possible. Stick to your plan, and you won't go home bankrupt.

Caroline Munro was a highlight of the convention. I spoke with her about such topics as Christopher Lee and traveling in general. She's as friendly as they come.

The Hollywood Show was held at the Marriott Convention Center in Burbank. This was also the site of Monsterpalooza (in 2009 and 2010) and G-FEST '99. It's a nice area; I just wish the drivers were as nice!

With the incomparable Carla Laemmle, who appeared in The Phantom of the Opera (1925) and Dracula (1931)! Ms. Laemmle, who turns 101 (!) in October, signed autographs steadily throughout the day.

It was great to meet all the celebrities I met at the Hollywood Show. However, I must make special mention of two wonderful ladies in particular.

In between Nika Solomon and Luciana Paluzzi.

For the second time at a convention, I got to spend a great deal of time with Luciana Paluzzi and Nika Solomon. These are two of the nicest ladies you'd ever want to meet. I always enjoy spending an afternoon with them, and I hope to do it again sometime in the near future!

Reptilicus reads Phil Kim's Famous Monsters of Filmland tribute to Forrest J Ackerman at the Melchior residence, but was disappointed to find several typos (Joseph Cotten's name misrendered as "Cotton," among others) therein.

After the Hollywood Show wound down, I was a guest at Ib Melchior's home. Mr. Melchior graciously invited me to spend the night, which was an invitation too good to turn down! Once again (and I know I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but it's the truth), I enjoyed being in the presence of this multi-talented writer-director.

After dinner, Mr. Melchior and I watched Silent Hill on the SyFy Channel. Neither of us could follow what was going on, but it was especially entertaining when Mr. Melchior interjected some MST3K-style riffs on the proceedings! Suffice it to say, it was quite a memorable evening.

Yup, that's a plate of lasagna, but it wasn't mine, I swear! And I didn't order any stuffed bell peppers, either!

The following morning, I met Peter H. Brothers for lunch at The Grove. I gave him an autographed program of Godzilla: Final Wars that Akira Takarada signed for Peter (after I gave Mr. Takarada a copy of Peter's Mushroom Clouds and Mushroom Men).

A shot across the bow? Nah, it's just Peter enjoying his meal!

This was my first time meeting Peter in five years! Hopefully we'll get together a little more often from now on.

Brett and Ib Melchior, shortly before I had to leave.

Peter dropped me off near Ib's house, and I said my goodbyes to Ib and his charming wife Cleo. Afterward, I had G-FAN business to attend to.

Brett and George Chakiris, following a fascinating interview for G-FAN.

I met Academy Award-winning actor George Chakiris (West Side Story) for an interview on the Daiei co-production Flight from Ashiya. The interview was enlightening, but what struck me the most was how down-to-earth and approachable Mr. Chakiris turned out to be. He was a gentleman in every sense of the word, and he gave me many great stories for G-FAN.

All in all, it was a very successful trip, and I enjoyed myself immensely. I'm not sure when I'll return to Hollywood, but after all the fun I had this past weekend, I hope it's very soon!