We had heard rumors. There was speculation. Then we second
guessed ourselves, "Nah! Can't be true." Then we thought, "Or could it?"
Now we know it is true. The world's giant, monstrous, green reptile-like menace from Japan
and all-round ace movie kaiju, Godzilla, is going on vacation and it looks like it may be permanent.
The Associated Press reported the news Friday in a syndicated story that ran in Friday's Hartford Courant and appeared
in yesterday's the (San Jose) Mercury News. The news was officially announced
in Japan Thursday by Toho Pictures, Inc.
that production of Godzilla movies is going on at least a ten-year hiatus following the release of the 28th Godzilla film later this year.
Toho studios' executive producer, Shogo Tomiyama, said Thursday that the latest movie - marking 28 releases and 50 years of "Godzilla" films - would
probably be the last one for at least a decade.
Diehard fans worldwide may look closely at Tomiyama's statement and find some wiggle room in his wording ("would probably")
and deduce that Godzilla WILL be back and sooner than anyone thinks.
But given the movie series' poor box office track record over the past decade and the coffin nail of Thursday's announcement, the future looks grim
for "Gojira," as he is known in Japan.
Even though Godzilla is a global movie franchise, during the past 50 years audiences outside Japan rarely got a look
at the entire output of Godzilla films. In America, only a handful of Godzilla films reached the public in wide theatrical release.
IN the late 1990s, Godzilla took a big star turn in Hollywood, which gave the green kaiju
an updated look enhanced by computer animation technology and sent the monster on a romping rampage through New York City in an American film production.
In Japan, Godzilla's look was always a lttle bit more tame. The special effects until recently had remained
fairly hokey, even downright "cute."
But apparently Toho studio executives finally figured out what audiences had understood much earlier.
The premise and storyline were long past their sell-by dates.
It's sad to lose Godzilla, but it's even sadder to see a series continue when it hasn't anything left to say and must struggle under its own outdated weight.
Godzilla's menace has
lost its relevance, particularly in a post-9/11 world, where our greatest fears have been realized not by giant monsters but by human beings.
--Shibuya Kid + The Kid from Kyoto
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RELATED LINKS
+ After 50 Years, Godzilla Is Taking A Break
[Hartford Courant]
+ Godzilla to Take Break After "Special" Film [Mercury News]
+ Official Toho Pictures Web Site for "Godzilla Final Wars"
+ Official Web Site for "Godzilla X Mothra X MegaGodzilla"
+ Fan Site: Barry's Temple of Godzilla
Today's New York Times brings dance music front and center with an interesting "pop review," a post-concert report by
Kelefa Sanneh, who (in the Massive's humble opinion) is one of the Gray Lady's better music critics.
This isn't the first time that a major dance music event has been covered by a major paper, but it's odd enough nonetheless--and refreshing--to read
set reviews of DJs and their play lists in a well-reported story in the Times, let alone in a daily broadsheet of the Times' stature.
(Despite all the critical dung always being flung at the Times and however much people might be loath to admit it, it's still the greatest paper ever.)
And of course it's great to see a picture of Jane's Addiction
frontman and all-around creative firebrand Perry Farrell (pictured above), who--as anyone in the know knows--
naturally goes by the name DJ Peretz when manning the ones and twos.
That Farrell is at Ultra Music this year as a DJ demonstrates part of the problem with dance music's profile or lack thereof in the United States.
Dance music in America, as Sanneh notes... [MORE]
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