TAC IS BACK AGAIN! An Evening with Mitsuhiro Sano!

Mitsuhiro Sano poses with a friend. Photo by Brett Homenick. 

The night after visiting Shunichi Okita's establishment, I went to the bar owned by Ultraman Ace actor Mitsuhiro Sano (a.k.a. Koyo Sano) on the evening of March 11. Sano-san played TAC member Kozo Yoshimura on Ultraman Ace (1972-73) and has guested on numerous tokusatsu shows over the years.

Singing karaoke with a TAC member! Photo by Brett Homenick.

Sano-san and I followed our usual routine of trading karaoke songs. We did an impromptu duet of The Proclaimers' "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)," which was followed up by Sano-san's rendition of "500 Miles" by Peter, Paul & Mary. Sano-san also performed "Massachusetts" by the Bee Gees (which has become a staple of these get-togethers), while I tried my hand at "Stayin' Alive" (with lackluster results). 

It was another fun evening with a super-friendly gentleman, and I can't wait to do it all over again!

TAC IS BACK! With Actor Shunichi Okita!

With actor Shunichi Okita.

On March 10, I paid another visit to the bar owned by actor Shunichi Okita. Okita-san portrayed TAC member Ichiro Yamanaka in Ultraman Ace (1972-73), but prior to his signature role, Okita-san began as a Nikkatsu actor. He appears in the highly acclaimed crime thriller Tokyo Drifter (1966) and later appeared in a couple of Kihachi Okamoto films at Toho: Red Lion (1969) and Battle of Okinawa (1971).

It was, naturally, great to spend the evening with Okita-san. I look forward to stopping by his establishment again soon.

SHOCK THEATRE, CHICAGO STYLE! Donald F. Glut's Celebration of Monster Kid Madness!

 Yours truly with author Donald F. Glut in Los Angeles in August 2010.

Although I've known about it for a while, I was recently reminded that Donald F. Glut credited me in the acknowledgements of his 2012 tome Shock Theatre, Chicago Style. What makes this particular acknowledgement so cool to me is that I grew up with Don Glut's The Dinosaur Scrapbook. Back in the late '80s and early '90s (you know, those days before the Internet), The Dinosaur Scrapbook was an important resource in finding out about the more obscure monster movies out there, both American and Asian.  

Even though my name is just slightly misspelled, it's wonderful to be credited in a book by Donald F. Glut. If you're interested in finding out more about how Shock Theatre invaded Chi-town during the late 1950s, do yourself a favor and buy Don Glut's book today!

TAKE TWO! More Photos from the LEDX Screening!

Eiichi Kikuchi (a.k.a. Ultraman Jack) is back!

Yours truly with Ultraman Jack suit actor Eiichi Kikuchi, as we prepare to destroy all monsters.

Posing with legendary Ultra-series director Toshihiro Iijima.

Toshihiro Iijima and Eiichi Kikuchi discuss working on LEDX.

Eiichi Kikuchi demonstrates some Ultra-poses.

Toshihiro Iijima responds to a question from the moderator.

Sharing a drink with SFX director Yutaka Arai.

With Return of Ultraman's Eiichi Kikuchi.

LEDX MARKS THE SPOT! A Special Screening of a New Tokusatsu Film!

Director Toshihiro Iijima (left) discusses his advisory role on the film LEDX while suit actor Eiichi Kikuchi (right) listens in. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Today, I attended a screening of a new tokusatsu film called LEDX. LEDX is an ambitious film featuring henshin heroes against a deadly giant monster that strives to give the audience old-fashioned tokusatsu effects on a very limited budget. The results in that area were mixed, but no one can deny that the crew gave it their all.  

Eiichi Kikuchi. Photo by Brett Homenick. 

Of particular interest to me was suit actor Eiichi Kikuchi. He played Ultra Seven in the King Joe episodes of Ultra Seven (1967-68), but was the principal suit actor for Ultraman Jack on Return of Ultraman (1971-72). In LEDX, Eiichi Kikuchi appears in the film alongside Ultra-luminaries Susumu Kurobe and Bin Furuya.

Toshihiro Iijima. Photo by Brett Homenick. 

Another major guest was director Toshihiro Iijima. Iijima-san helmed many epsiodes of Ultra Q (1966), Ultraman (1966-67), Ultra Seven, and other Tsuburaya Productions series, in addition to the feature film Daigoro vs. Goliath (1972). He appears briefly (only in photos) in LEDX and served as an adviser to the production.

It's Vabera, the main baddie of LEDX! 

The Vebera suit was brought along for the festivities, complete with the suit actor. During the Q&A session, the suit actor remained in the suit while the staff members spoke to the audience, but at times it seemed the suit actor was having a bit of trouble remaining in the suit for such an extended period of time. (Who could blame him?) Some audience members expressed concern, so the suit actor was helped out of the room (which took a bit of effort, given the bulkiness of the suit) and got out of the costume with no problem.

Yours truly with LEDX SFX director Yutaka Arai. 

After the Q&A, I got to spend some time with Yutaka Arai, the SFX director of LEDX. Arai-san also talked about his work on Shinpei Hayashiya's more recent kaiju movies. Arai-san, of course, is a longtime tokusatsu fan himself, and we talked about a number of topics in the genre.

 With Eiichi Kikuchi.

I always get a kick out of seeing Eiichi Kikuchi. He's a lot of fun to hang out with, and he's about as friendly as event guests get. His importance in the Ultraman universe speaks for itself.

With Toshihiro Iijima.

Last, but certainly not least, Toshihiro Iijima is a living legend. I've been privileged to see him on several occasions, and it's a treat every time I can. After all, he directed the second episode of the original Ultraman series, the one that introduced Baltan Seijin to the world. How cool is that? To top it all off, he's just as welcoming as he is iconic. I certainly hope to have a chance to see him again soon.

MORE PHOTOS! Kenpachiro Satsuma and Takao Okawara!

Kenpachiro Satsuma does his best King of the Monsters! 

Satsuma-san shares his many memories of playing Godzilla.

Takao Okawara discusses everything from working with Akira Kurosawa to directing the biggest moneymaker of the Heisei Godzilla series.

Sharing fun memories about the making of Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992).

Okawara-san listens to Ken Satsuma speak about suit-acting.

"Say, this looks like an interesting movie."

Ken Satsuma is Godzilla!

"Two Godzillas -- what does it mean?!"

GODZILLA VS. MOTHRA! Director and Suit Actor Reunite to Celebrate This Heisei Series Cornerstone!

Director Takao Okawara (left) and suit actor Kenpachiro Satsuma (right) enjoy reminiscing about making Godzilla vs.Mothra (1992). Photo by Brett Homenick.

Tonight, I attended a great event devoted to the biggest moneymaker of the Heisei series, Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992). It was my first time to see the film in 35mm -- in fact, it was my first time to see the film in many years. I can't remember the last time I watched the whole film, but I may not have seen it in its entirety since the 1990s. 

Takao Okawara listens to a question from the audience. Photo by Brett Homenick.

In attendance for the event were director Takao Okawara and Godzilla suit actor Kenpachiro Satsuma. Takao Okawara began working as an assistant director at Toho on such films as Submersion of Japan (1973), Kagemusha (1980), and Godzilla 1985 (1984). Okawara-san went on to direct Godzilla vs. Mothra, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993), Orochi the Eight-Headed Dragon (1994), Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995), and Godzilla 2000 (1999). 

Kenpachiro Satsuma demonstrates how to do Godzilla the right way. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Also on hand was Godzilla suit actor Kenpachiro Satsuma. Does he really need an introduction? He played Hedorah in Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster (1971), Gigan in Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972) and Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973), and of course Godzilla from Godzilla 1985 through Godzilla vs. Destoroyah. 

Following the screening, two guests of honor answered questions about their career. Okawara-san confirmed that Akira Kurosawa was extremely tough to work for on Kagemusha, and he also said that Wataru Mimura's script for Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II was too long, so he (Okawara-san) had to edit it down.

Although it had been a long time since I last saw Ken Satsuma, he was just as friendly and energetic as he's always been. I always enjoy hearing his Pulgasari stories, which would make for a more interesting movie than the actual one we got!

While I've met Okawara-san a couple of times before (most notably at Koichi Kawakita's memorial event at Toho Studios in 2015), I'd never had a chance to take a photo with him. I'm glad to have finally had the chance.

So ends another great evening. Many thanks to everyone who made it all happen!