Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Godzilla In The News 04/21/10 - Big G Influences Fashion And Music, Plus The Top 5 G Films According To CNN

Written By: Ken Hulsey

If you ever had any doubts in your mind on just how much Godzilla has effected American pop-culture, then today's news stories should erase them.

I have collected a couple of stories about how the big guy has influenced both classical music, and surprisingly, ladies fashions.

On top of that, I also have a list of Godzilla films that Patrick Macias at CNN thinks are the best.

For the record, my list of the five best Godzilla movies of all-time goes like this:

1. Gojira
2. Godzilla vs Destroyah
3. Monster Zero
4. Destroy All Monsters
5. King Kong vs Godzilla

I'm certain that your list would probably be different. A lot of people don't care for "King Kong vs Godzilla", but it was the G movie that got played all the time on TV when I was growing up, so It holds a special place in my heart.

Okay, now on to some more sophisticated talk about classical music and high-end fashion:

Ensemble originals reflect, anticipate 25th anniversary concert
The Newark Advocate - Abbey Roy

Memories of 96 trombones and a first concert on a too-small stage, nerve-wracking solos and emotional Christmas concerts, songs and people and venues -- all play vividly through the minds of the original members of the Heisey Wind Ensemble.

After 25 years, 10 of the originals remain active in the group. Among those, co-founder Don Workman has bragging rights: He has not yet missed a concert.

He will continue his unblemished record Saturday, taking up his tuba as the ensemble performs its spring concert with a program that tackles the more traditional "Fiddler on The Roof," while blazing a new trail with a piece called "Godzilla Eats Las Vegas."

"It's a good group," Workman said after having completed an enthusiastic description of the "Godzilla" piece -- which, for the record, will be accompanied by a slide show.

Read More

Dedicated followers of fashion
Burbank Leader - Joyce Rudolph

“Asiatikos” is the theme for the 2010 show to be presented by the Woodbury Department of Fashion Design.

The event allows students of Woodbury’s fashion department to showcase their designs. The styles shown made the cut after being judged by fashion professionals during a show on April 20 at the university.

Senior Paige Ishida, of Burbank, based her group of fashions on the theme “Japanese Geeks” relating to those who love the old 1950s and ’60s sci-fi films like “Godzilla,” she said.

“I focused my theme on the nostalgic interests of the geeks,” she said. “I like how they are so passionate about things out of the norm. It’s fun for them, and that’s interesting.”

For a mossy green dress, she sewed a center panel with a water-like pattern of teals and greens representing Godzilla, she said.

Read More

5 best Godzilla movies of all time
CNNGo.com - Patrick Macias

Godzilla -- or "Gojira" as he's known in Japan -- has been delighting moviegoers and destroying Tokyo for five decades now. The sum total of his screen appearances is 28 films plus one very bad Hollywood outing, with another U.S. remake set for 2012. But which of his films truly stand apart from the pack of men-in-rubber-suits that make up the kaiju eiga (monster movie) genre? Here's the short list of my personal favorites.

"Gojira" (1954)

Premise: A giant dinosaur mutated and awakened by atomic testing wreaks havoc until super-science finds a way to stop the rampage.

Why it's good: Director Ishiro Honda approached the 'monster on the loose' material as if he were making a documentary on Atom Age gloom and anxiety. The result is a classic of Japanese post-war cinema.

Godzilla, the monster: Special effects wizard Eiji Tsuburaya depicts Gojira/Godzilla as a terrifying walking H-bomb incarnate and a merchandise-ready movie star.

Trivia: "Gojira" was the most expensive Japanese movie of its time to produce, budgeted at around US$1 million -- an amount double that of "The Seven Samurai."

Read More

See Also: Godzilla In The News 04/19/10 - Obama Worried Jolly Green Giant/Godzilla Conflict Could Destabilize Region / Godzilla 2012 In The News 04/15/10 - The Angry Edition! / Godzilla 2012 In The News 04/12/10 / Godzilla 2012 In The News 04/08/10 / Godzilla 2012 In The News 04/04/10 - Happy Easter! / Godzilla 2012 In The News 04/01/10 / Godzilla 2012 In The News 03/31/10

Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)
"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.