Coffee Ad Honors Haruo Nakajima

Above, Haruo Nakajima at G-FEST in 2008. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

This is a Japanese advertisement for Boss Coffee, a major coffee brand (part of Suntory) in Japan. This ad is three years old, but it is only now that I've seen it (thanks to Stan Hyde).  

Although a coffee ad, it pays tribute to Haruo Nakajima and what he endured while playing the King of the Monsters.

Here's the ad:

There's One Thing The Academy Awards Did Right

As I had posted here, the Academy Awards show last night included Godzilla suit actor Haruo Nakajima in their memoriam segment.

Here's what flashed on the nation's television screens (for those who bothered to watch the show):

Remembering Haruo Nakajima

by Armand Vaquer

Above, yours truly with Haruo Nakajima at G-FEST 2000. I later had him autograph the photo.

The news that the original Godzilla, Haruo Nakajima has passed away today at age 88 is just devastating.

I first met him in 2000 at G-FEST 2000 in Hollywood. I got to see first hand how he enjoyed interacting with his fans. He enjoyed being with them as much as they enjoyed being with him.

 A year later, at the premiere of Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack at the 2001 Tokyo International Film Festival, I met up with him following the movie's screening. Richard Pusateri and I had a photo taken with him.

Above, at the 2001 Tokyo International Film Festival with Richard Pusateri. Photo courtesy of Richard Pusateri.

I next saw him at the 2008 G-FEST in Chicago. In fact, I went to O'Hare International Airport to pick him up. It was at this convention that Nakajima was awarded the Mangled Skyscraper Award for his movie work.

Above, Armand with Haruo and Sonoe Nakajima in their suite at G-FEST in 2008.

Above, Sonoe and Haruo Nakajima at the 2008 G-FEST awards banquet. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, Haruo Nakajima during his panel discussion at G-FEST. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, Haruo Nakajima with his Mangled Skyscraper Award. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

At the first Monsterpalooza in Burbank following the Great East Japan Earthquake, I ran into him with Miki Hayashi. The proceeds received for his autograph went to earthquake relief.

Above, Haruo Nakajima with Miki Hayashi at 
Monsterpalooza 2011. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

In 2013, I served has his "wrangler" at the Mad Monster Party convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. At the show, we sat together in the dealers room where he signed autographs and I sold copies of The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan. I also moderated a discussion with him and "acted" in a spoof monster video where I was fleeing a giant monster attack and tried to tell him to also flee, but he was too interested in reading his newspaper.

 The following photos are from the 2013 Mad Monster Party:

Above, Nakajima signs a fan's poster. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, Nakajima with a signed photo for Tony Isabella. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, yours truly "acting" with Haruo Nakajima.

Above, Nakajima with a costumed fan. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, Haruo Nakajima with actress Lea Thompson. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, Haruo Nakajima and I. Photo by Jeff Blanken.

Above, the panel discussion. Photo by Jeff Blanken.

Above, "Team Nakajima": Yoko Connelly, Sonoe and Haruo Nakajima, Jeff Blanken and Armand Vaquer.

New "Godzilla & Hiroshima" Trailer Released

by Armand Vaquer





Spanish producer and director Jonathan Bellés has unveiled a new trailer for his doctoral project documentary, Godzilla & Hiroshima: The Rise of Kaiju Eiga.

The trailer, with an original music score, features Godzilla suit-actors Haruo Nakajima and Kenpachiro Satsuma, actor Akira Takarada and directors Shusuke Kaneko and Masaaki Tezuka.

The trailer also features shots of the Lucky Dragon No. 5, the Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima, the torii gate at Miyajima as well as the Godzilla statue and the Seven Samurai mural at the main entrance of Toho Studios in Setagaya, Tokyo.

Above, Jonathan Bellés at the Godzilla statue in Hibiya, Tokyo. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

I joined Bellés in Japan last February when he began his interviews, starting with special effects Eiichi Asada (Godzilla x Mechagodzilla, Godzilla x Mothra x Mechagodzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. and Godzilla Final Wars) and first assistant special effects director Yoshikazu Ishii (Godzilla Final Wars). 

War of the Gargantuas and Creature from the Black Lagoon 60th B-Day Celebration Highlight Monsterpalooza

From Monsterpalooza

One of the most beloved art/horror fests on the West Coast is Monsterpalooza, which celebrates the "Art of Monsters." The fest will hit Burbank once again on March 28-30. Save the date!

As usual, Monsterpalooza will feature award-winning F/X artists, special presentations, a walk-thru monster museum, and monster-related artwork on display and for sale. The list of celebrity guests is large and impressive. Take a look at whom you can expect to see at this year’s Monsterpalooza.

Special Celebrity Guests From The Genre And Beyond!

Kenji Sahara – War Of The Gargantuas, Destroy All Monsters, Rodan, Godzilla vs The Thing, The Mysterians, King Kong vs Godzilla

Harou Nakajima – Godzilla, Rodan, Destroy All Monsters

Russ Tamblyn – “Twin Peaks”, War Of The Gargantuas

Rutger Hauer – Blade Runner, The Hitcher, “True Blood”

Dee Snider – Twisted Sister, Strangeland, Van Helsing’s Curse

Tippi Hedren – The Birds, Marnie, “Alfred Hitchcock Presents”

Nancy Allen – Blow Out

More at Monsterpalooza

Rondo Awards Voting Set To Begin February 9

by Armand Vaquer

The Twelfth Annual Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards voting is set to begin Sunday, February 9. The voting will last six weeks and will end on the night of Sunday, March 23.

The Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards "Honors the best in classic horror research, creativity and film preservation." Nominations are still being accepted up to February 9.

I have again placed in nomination Haruo Nakajima to the Monster Kid Hall of Fame (a write-in category).

The website for the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards is here.

"Godzilla To Raid Indianapolis" News Release

Above, Haruo Nakajima (left) will be joined by Armand Vaquer 
at the Days of the Dead convention in Indianapolis July 5-7.

Godzilla To Raid Indianapolis

Tarzana, CA - June 7, 2012 - Haruo Nakajima, the original Godzilla suit actor from 1954 to 1972, will appear at the Days of the Dead convention July 5-7 at the Wyndham Indianapolis West hotel.

Armand Vaquer, author of "The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan," will be also attending the Days of the Dead convention. He will be assisting Nakajima and will be selling "The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan" in the vendors room.

"Haruo Nakajima has been a great convention guest in past years who enjoys meeting his fans. He began his career as an actor and stuntman in samurai and war movies and the producers of Godzilla movies took note of his stamina when they were looking for someone to don the heavy rubber monster suits," said Vaquer. "He and I will be in the vendors room where fans can obtain autographs and photos from him and also get "The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan.""

"The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan" is the world's first and only Japan travel guide to monster movie locations and landmarks.

The Wyndham Indianapolis West is located at 2544 Executive Drive, Indianapolis, Indiana.

For additional information on the Days of the Dead convention, go to the official website at www.daysofthedead.net.

###

Haruo Nakajima At Days of the Dead Convention July 5-7 In Indianapolis

by Armand Vaquer

Above, Haruo Nakajima and yours truly will be in Indianapolis for the Days of the Dead
 Convention at the Wyndham Indianapolis West Hotel July 5-7.  Photo by Jeff Blanken.

Above, Haruo Nakajima donning the Godzilla suit 
in 1954.  Photo courtesy of Sonoe Nakajima.

Things are progressing nicely for the upcoming Days of the Dead convention in Indianapolis, Indiana.

 Flight arrangements are currently being made for Haruo & Sonoe Nakajima and myself for the convention.

The convention runs from July 5 - 7 at the Wyndham Indianapolis West Hotel.

Along with the original Godzilla, Haruo Nakajima, the convention has a slate of great guests for fans to meet. I'll be assisting the Nakajimas during the weekend along with having The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan available.

To say that the Nakajimas are enthusiastic about attending the convention would be an understatement.

According to this website, Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster will be reviewed.  Mr. Nakajima got a good workout in the Godzilla suit in this one!

For details on the Days of the Dead Convention, go here.

Godzilla sighting on Cypress Mountain! And Much, Much More!

From North Shore News

Gareth Edwards’ reboot of the Godzilla franchise, currently shooting in B.C., turned part of Cypress Mountain into San Francisco Bay Area Park, last week during location shooting on the North Shore.

The 3D production, starring Bryan Cranston, Juliette Binoche, Elizabeth Olsen, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, David Strathairn, Sally Hawkins and Ken Watanabe, began principal photography on March 18 at the Vancouver Convention Centre. Shooting is expected to continue around the Lower Mainland, Nanaimo on Vancouver Island and Hawaii through the end of June.

READ MORE

‘Godzilla’ Lawsuit Looks Trial-Bound After Court Denies Arbitration Request
From Deadline

The legal battle between Legendary Pictures and producers Roy Lee, Dan Lin and Doug Davison over the Godzilla reboot seems more and more certain to be headed to trial. “We’re not interested in arbitration, we want a jury to hear this case”, said the producers’ lawyer Stanton L. Stein in a hearing today in LA Superior Court. With his clients Lee and Lin looking on, Stein made clear that a jury trial is still his goal despite an agreement today by all parties to pursue mediation. “I understand why they don’t want public scrutiny of this case. I understand why they don’t want their behavior being made public”, he added of Legendary’s efforts to have the case moved to private arbitration.

READ MORE

Matt Frank’s Godzilla vs. Power Rangers print for Comicpalooza
From My San Antonio

A good reason to catch Matt Frank at a convention: The “Godzilla” artist tends to whip up a cool print of the kaiju just special for the event. Case in point: this dynamic Godzilla vs. Power Rangers poster for Comicpalooza, which runs May 24-26 in Houston.

Frank’s print features Godzilla taking on the mighty Megazord, a giant Voltron-like robot that stomped into the debut episode of “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.” Megazord is a combination of Dinozord battle machines, which are piloted by those colorful Power Rangers of the ’90s TV series. Behind the Megazord lurks Dragonzord, even more eye candy for Power Rangers fans and more trouble for our favorite movie monster.

READ MORE

Godzilla is filming in Steveston
From Richmond Review

Steveston is hardly resting on its laurels after the hit ABC TV series Once Upon a Time recently wrapped its second season of filming.

On Monday, the fishing village appeared to be transforming into a coastal California community for eight planned days of filming for the blockbuster reboot of the Japanese monster film franchise Godzilla.

It reportedly has a budget north of $100 million and will star Bryan Cranston, of Malcolm in the Middle and Breaking Bad fame, along with Academy Award nominee Ken Watanabe, of The Last Samurai.

Godzilla is filming all over Metro Vancouver, and is the biggest feature movie ever filmed in Richmond.

READ MORE

Good Morning Godzilla - Superfluous Stills From the Vancouver Set
From Dread Central

There's nothing too amazing here, but some new imagery from one of the several Vancouver sets of Godzilla has slipped online, and since we found the photos, that means you have found them also. Dig it!

Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Richard T. Jones, Elizabeth Olsen, Bryan Cranston, David Strathairn, Patrick Sabongui, Yuki Morita, Brian Markinson, Juliette Binoche, Akira Takarada, Victor Rasuk, and Ken Watanabe star.

Gareth Edwards is directing the film from a screenplay by Max Borenstein, Frank Darabont, and Dave Callaham. Legendary’s Thomas Tull and Jon Jashni are producing with Mary Parent and Brian Rogers. Alex Garcia and Patricia Whitcher are serving as executive producers alongside Yoshimitsu Banno and Kenji Okuhira.

READ MORE

The Guy in the Godzilla Suit Was a True Actor
From Man Cave Daily

Kaiju (giant monster) movies have been around for decades, and with the release of Pacific Rim just around the corner, we wanted to pay tribute to perhaps the greatest actor to have ever lived, Haruo Nakajima AKA the guy in the Godzilla costume.

Though that statement may seem a little, presumptuous, we’re not kidding when we say that Haruo probably worked harder than any actor in history. For starters Haruo has a list of film roles longer than a male giraffe’s nether regions, most of which involved him wearing a 200 pound Godzilla costume.

That’s not an understatement we’re making, the original costume from Haruo’s most famous role in the OG Godzilla movie weighed in excess of 200 pounds. If you want to experience what that feels like, try wearing your sofa as a coat then having a guy dressed as a gorilla drop kick you in the small of the back.

READ MORE

Godzilla Raids Indianapolis July 5-7

by Armand Vaquer

Above, Haruo Nakajima and I will be teaming up again in July at the Days of the Dead Convention in Indianapolis.  Photo by Jeff Blanken.

Haruo "Mr. Godzilla" Nakajima will be appearing at the Days of the Dead Convention July 5-7 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

The convention will be held at the Wyndham Indianapolis West, not far from the Indianapolis International Airport (shuttle service is complimentary).

I will be assisting Mr. Nakajima at the convention and will have The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan available.

For more information, go here.  For summer monster fun, the Days of the Dead convention is the place to be this July!

Monsterpalooza 2013 - Part 1

Text and photos by Armand Vaquer

Above, the Lon Chaney "Phantom of the Opera."

Monsterpalooza 2013 was another great show!  As usual, the Burbank Marriott's convention center was packed (it will be worse on Saturday and Sunday) with many happy attendees.

I got there at about 6:00 PM Friday evening.  I had about a 30 minute wait in line.  Fortunately, a nice costumed gent handed out copies of the show's program, so we had something to look at.

My ad for The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan was placed in an excellent position on page 5 of the show program.  Jessie Lilley did a great job on the program and I complimented her on it and congratulated her on her induction to the Monster Kid Hall of Fame.  She said that big plans are afoot for next year in getting Haruo Nakajima inducted.

Shinichi Wakasa was there, but I didn't see him.  Bob Johnson and Jay Grymyr were there, but I didn't run into them either.  I did manage to see (or, he saw me first) kaiju toy collector Jean Carbajal as I was waiting in line to get in.  We chatted a bit.

King Kong was prominent as this year marks the 80th anniversary of the original RKO King Kong (also, it would have been my mother's 80th birthday this year).

I roamed around the show and was impressed with all the displays.  There seemed to be more realistic wax figures of horror greats at this year's show.

Here's some photos:

Above, anxious fans waiting to get into the show.

Above, a young lady getting the make-up treatment.

Above, I met with Jessie Lilley of Mondo Cult magazine.

Above, the Max Shreck "Nosferatu."

Above, Jack Nicholson in "The Shining."

Rondo Award Winners To Be Announced Tonight!

by Armand Vaquer

The voting is over for the 2012 Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards.  The winners will be announced tonight.

Thanks goes out to those of you who cast your write-in vote for Haruo Nakajima to be inducted into the Monster Kid Hall of Fame.  And, many thanks to those of you who passed the word and helped in this effort.  (Those who didn't, well...)

 To see the voting results, go here tonight.

Rondo Awards Voting Ends Tomorrow Night!

by Armand Vaquer

Above, Haruo Nakajima and Armand at the 2013 Mad Monster Party. 

The end of voting for the 2012 Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards is tomorrow night.

Please write in your vote for Haruo Nakajima into the Monster Kid Hall of Fame and vote for the Mad Monster Party as Best Convention.

(It wouldn't be a bad idea to write in a vote for Monster Island News as best blog and best website ... just sayin) - Ken

www.monsterislandnews.com

 To vote, go here.

Mad Monster Party: A Plus For "Team Nakajijma"

Above, Haruo Nakajima with actress Lea Thompson.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Mad Monster Party 2013 is now history.  I had a lot of fun and I met a lot of great people. First, I have to commend Eben McGarr and Joe Moe for putting on a great show.  I think they exceeded their attendance expectations by a few thousand.

Above, the Nakajima panel.  Photo by Jeff Blanken.

Next, I have to thank the members of "Team Nakajima" (translator Yoko Connelly and our volunteer stiff (staff) Jeff Blanken)  for their help in making everything involving the Nakajimas go smoothly.

Above, Haruo Nakajima with a fan-made Godzilla suit.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

As this was the second convention, there were a few bugs that need to be ironed out.  But, learning from experience will greatly aid in making next year's convention even better. The day began at about one o'clock in the morning with the sound of police vehicle units pulling up to the Blake Hotel or driving nearby.  It was a bit hard to sleep with all the noise from the police sirens.  I found out  this morning that seven units of the Charlotte Police Department responded to a call involving two nude girls at the convention at that time.  I'd bet the police fought over who was going to respond.

Above, Haruo and Sonoe Nakajima going over their flight schedule for tomorrow in the R.I.P. room.   Photo by Armand Vaquer.

After breakfast, I met with the Nakajimas and went over the questions for the panel discussion.  Following this, we migrated over to the ballroom for the session.  I received many words of praise for the session which included slides (when the projector decided to work properly) and roars and music from Godzilla (1954) while people were entering the ballroom. After the panel, we migrated over to our tables.  The line was already long of autograph seekers when we go to the tables.  I sold more copies of The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan today than I did with Friday and Saturday put together (which weren't bad either).  Thanks to everyone!

Above, Haruo Nakajima and yours truly.

The Nakajimas did VERY well with their sales of autographs photos with fans.  It will probably hit them when they convert the dollars into yen when they return home to Japan.  I am very happy for them.

Above, Haruo Nakajima with our volunteer helper Jeff Blanken.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Just before the convention ended, we had a photo session for group shots of everyone who comprised "Team Nakajima."

Above, Haruo Nakajima with translator Yoko Connolly.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

After the convention was over, we went over to the V.I.P. room (known as the R.I.P. room) to review everything and to make plans for other future activities.  While there, actress Lea Thompson stopped by to be introduced to Haruo Nakajima.

Above, "Team Nakajima" at Mad Monster Party.  

After we said our goodbyes, I took Jeff out to dinner at the Hickory Tavern.  We relaxed over dinner and beer. The trip to Charlotte, North Carolina was worth it and I enjoyed what I did manage to see of the city.  Would I return to a future Mad Monster Party?  The answer is a definite yes!

The King (of the Monsters) Is In The Building!

Haruo Nakajima and his daughter Sonoe have arrived in Charlotte!

Above, Sonoe Nakajima (far left) and her father Haruo "Mr. Godzilla" Nakajima chat with convention organizer Eben McGarr.

Mad Monster Party Schedule

The Mad Monster Party convention in Charlotte, North Carolina will be held this week (March 22-24) at the Blake Hotel.

The convention's official website now has the schedule up with a map of the convention (click on image to see larger):

The panel discussion with Haruo Nakajima is set for Sunday, March 24 at 11:00 am in the Carolina Ballroom.  The discussion will be led by yours truly.

To view the schedule page, go here.