Thursday, July 14, 2011

Opinion: David Goyer On Godzilla Is Excellent News



by Armand Vaquer

Even before the final reel of TriStar's Godzilla (1998) was even finished, it was my opinion that the movie was a big dog. I left the now-gone Mann's Tarzana Theaters very disappointed.

Although the special effects were pretty decent (except for a few things like the baby Godzilla chase in Madison Square Garden) and the marketing campaign was fantastic, the movie did not live up to its expectations.

What killed Godzilla (known by G-fandom as GINO, Godzilla In Name Only) was the story and script. It was basically a first-draft script and it showed. I could've forgiven the design of the monster had it been a good movie. But it wasn't. Besides not looking like Godzilla, it didn't act like Godzilla. To this day, that fiasco of a movie still leaves a bitter taste in the mouths of G-fandom.

It has been announced this week that David S. Goyer is the new writer for Legendary Pictures/Warner Brothers' Godzilla movie, now slated for a 2014 release. 2014 will also be the 60th anniversary of Toho's first Godzilla. It has been reported that Goyer will write the screenplay from a draft written by David Callaham.

Goyer wrote the screenplays for the upcoming Ghost Rider sequel, Zack Snyder's Superman: Man of Steel and Chris Nolan's Batman scripts, including the forthcoming The Dark Knight Rises. The Godzilla movie will be directed by Gareth Edwards.

Given Goyer's track record and the fact that his scripts successfully re-booted the Batman franchise, I find the news of his assignment to Godzilla to be excellent news. Hopefully, Goyer will do for Godzilla what he did for Batman.

It appears we'll have to wait a little longer for Godzilla (it was originally targeted for 2012). But if it turns out to be an excellent movie, the wait will be worth it.

I guess we'll have to start calling it Godzilla 2014.

1 comment:

  1. I'm so excited to see this! I know they can do a better job than Tri-Star. But I'm iffy about Goyer. His solo work has never been that good (Batman had three screenwriters). Just watch The Unborn - one of the worst horror films in the last decade, and it was written by Goyer.

    ReplyDelete

"LEGENDARY PICTURES TO DEVELOP AND PRODUCE MAJOR MOTION PICTURE BASED ON TOHO COMPANY’S ICONIC MONSTER, GODZILLA

Burbank, CA – March 29, 2010 – Legendary Pictures announced today that they will develop and produce a new film based on Toho Company’s famed GODZILLA character. Through the terms of the agreement, Legendary Pictures has acquired the rights to produce a movie inspired by Toho’s Godzilla, a franchise the Japanese company created and has nurtured for over fifty years.

Toho’s GODZILLA franchise boasts one of the most widely recognized film creatures worldwide, resulting in a series of books, television programs, video games and more than 25 films worldwide. Legendary intends to approach the film and its characters in the most authentic manner possible. The company will, in the near future, announce a filmmaker to helm the film for an intended 2012 release. The film will fall under the company’s co-production and co-financing deal with Warner Bros. Toho will distribute the film in Japan."

"Godzilla" is coming back -- this time, with Legendary Pictures taking the lead, co-producing and co-financing with Warner Bros. for release in 2012.

Legendary announced Monday it had obtained rights to the iconic monster character from Japan's Toho Co., which has overseen more than 25 "Godzilla" films. Toho will release the pic in Japan.

Legendary said it's planning to announce a director shortly.

In addition to Legendary, producers on the new film will be Dan Lin, Roy Lee and Brian Rogers. Yoshimitsu Banno, Kenji Okuhira and Doug Davison will exec produce.

"Godzilla is one of the world's most powerful pop culture icons, and we at Legendary are thrilled to be able to create a modern epic based on this long-loved Toho franchise," said Thomas Tull, Chairman and CEO of Legendary. "Our plans are to produce the Godzilla that we, as fans, would want to see. We intend to do justice to those essential elements that have allowed this character to remain as pop-culturally relevant for as long as it has."

Legendary noted the film will fall under its co-production and co-financing deal with Warner Bros. Legendary's productions with Warners have included "The Dark Knight," "300" and "The Hangover."

Speculation about a new "Godzilla" has been active since last summer. The Bloody Disgusting web site reported in August that the project was in development.