Ryuhei Kitamura - The Godzilla Final Wars Interview

Written By: Ken Hulsey

A lot of fans over at the "Godzilla 2012 - Legendary Pictures/Warner Bros (Fan Group)" on Facebook were commenting on how much they enjoyed "Godzilla: Final Wars", so I thought it may be fun to dust off my exclusive interview with that film's director, Ryuhei Kitamura, from 2004.



At that time, my website, www.kensforce.com (gone now...sadly) was the only English language website to be granted an interview with the Japanese director.

Actually there is an interesting story that goes along with this interview that I never shared on any of my sites. You see, when I found out that the world premiere of "Final Wars" was slated to take place in Hollywood, I contacted Grauman's Chinese Theatre to find out about getting tickets for the event.

They, in turn, put me in contact with a publicist from Toho here in Los Angeles. When she learned that I published a website that featured "Godzilla" related articles, she became very excited, and told me that she may have something interesting for me.

My curiosity was raised.....

A day or so later, the publicist contacted me and said that Toho knew of my site, and liked it. I was, to put it mildly, surprised by this. She continued to inform me that they wanted me to interview Kitamura for the site.

I was thrilled!

So, I sat down and hammered out a dozen questions or so for the director, and passed them on to the publicist.

This is where it gets interesting.

The publicist then translated my questions into Japanese and sent them on to Toho, were Kitamura then took time to answer them. They were then sent back to the publicist, again, here in LA, where she translated them back into English, and then sent them to me.

Somewhere along the way, I think that the intent of a few of my questions got misinterpreted, because in one answer, the film maker got a little angry in his reply.

So here we go, this is my interview with "Godzilla: Final Wars" director Ryuhei Kitamura from 2004:

 Ryuhei Kitamura is considered by many to be the Japan's Quentin Tarantino, a young director with a flare for action and fast paced films. His prior films Versus, Azumi and Sky High featured the high speed action and sword play that has now become his signature style. For his latest film, however, the action movie king is taking on something much larger. The King of the Monsters. A challenge Kitamura was honored to take on.

I was honored to have been granted a short online interview with Ryuhei Kitamura in conjunction with the world premiere of Godzilla: Final Wars here in Hollywood. The reader truly gets the feeling of how passionate the young director is about this project. His desire to make this the greatest Godzilla film of all time comes through in his responses. It was an honor for him to be able to make a Godzilla film and he took the project very seriously. His desire was to make the best film possible without exceptions to return Godzilla to the throne not only as Monster King, but the King of Entertainment as well. A very bold idea from a very bold director. From this Godzilla fans world wide can only hold their breath in anticipation of what will surely be a Godzilla film like no other.

KH: You are best known for your action films featuring great sword fighting such as Azumi and Sky High. How hard was it to incorporate your style of film making into a monster (kaiju) film?

RK: It wasn't too difficult to apply my style to this film - I don't consider myself an action director. I felt it was my mission to make this film the coolest and most powerful super-entertainment film more than the past Godzilla films.

KH : Many fans know that you were scheduled to make your American film directing debut this year. What motivated you to make a Godzilla film instead of a Hollywood epic?

RK: No Japanese director would ever dare to say "no" to Godzilla films. I can make any Hollywood-style film but only a few can make Godzilla films, plus this is the 50th anniversary of Godzilla. I think this is the greatest challenge of my life to make this Godzilla film.

KH: What do you feel that you have done in this film that has been missing in the prior Godzilla films?

RK: Power and speed, I guess. In the recent films, Godzilla was too week. I wanted to make this film through action and wanted to convey to the world that this is the return of the monster king, so the screen is dark and hard,and monsters are speedy and powerful.

KH: Are you surprised at the amount of world-wide interest in this film?

RK: No, I wasn't surprised. It's Godzilla and so many fans are out there.

KH : Do you feel that the publicity of this film will help generate more interest in your prior films?

RK: I hope it will help generate more films for me. I'm sure a lot of people will see this film. I want Godzilla and my fans or anyone to watch and have a fun.

KH: Why were the monsters featured in Final Wars chosen over others from the series?

RK: I decided with producer Mr. Tomiyama, special effects director Mr. Asada and writer lined up historical action figures on the table and we decided democratically which ones should be in this film Final Wars. It was difficult because everyone had a different attraction to different monsters, but at the end we were happy with these selections for the film.

KH: A lot of the film's action takes place in Australia a place you used to call home. When you were planning the action did you stop and think, it would be great to destroy that landmark....that place would look great crushed by a monster...etc?

RK: I am furious with people who can't make the separation between reality and fantasy. In the fantasy world of Godzilla it is honorable that the landmarks are destroyed, I guess. For this film the world is a stage, and I chose my second home country -

Australia - and chose to destroy Sydney first, and I enjoyed it very much.

KH: Why choose Hollywood for a premiere over the Tokyo International Film Festival which has been host for the premiere of Godzilla films for over a decade?

RK: 50 years ago, the first Godzilla film inspired the world , and it was the King of entertainment films. But after 50 years Hollywood is the leading place for entertainment films, and Japan follows Hollywood's lead. After 50 years, I believe the greatest Godzilla film is completed, so Godzilla should be King again.

As a Godzilla fan I was truly inspired by Kitamura's passion for making Final Wars a unique film that would stand alone as the greatest Godzilla film of all time. It is rare to find someone who has this sort of pride in their films in the industry today. In picking Kitamura Toho has matched the right director with the right film. If he follows the style seen in the classic Godzilla vs MechaGodzilla (1974) with his own flare for action this film should be a treat for monster movie fans the world over.


The premiere of the latest, and possibly last, Godzilla film "Final Wars" will take place in Hollywood on November 29th at the famed Grauman’s Chinese Theatre. Toho plans to do an event in the style of old-time Hollywood with Godzilla himself walking the red carpet. Of course the director Ryuhei Kitamura and the cast of the film will be on hand as well. In conjunction with the premiere Godzilla will be receiving his own star on the famed Hollywood Walk of Fame and will be riding on a float sponsored by Toho in the Hollywood Christmas Parade.

I should note that this was my very first interview, so the questions were a bit raw, but overall I was pleased....and the folks over at Toho were pleased.

Overall the whole experience was a great thrill! I even walked the red carpet at the premiere of "Final Wars" just ahead of Godzilla himself. I was an once in a lifetime event that I will treasure all my days.

Ryuhei Kitamura Talks About Godzilla - Possible Return To The Giant Monster Genre

Written By: Ken Hulsey
Sources: Gaijin Pot / Avery Guerra

The tireless monster maven Avery Guerra just turned me on to a great article about "Godzilla Final Wars" director Ryuhei Kitamura, in which he talks in depth about his love of the "G" films from the 1970s, especially "Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla" and one of it's monsters, King Caesar, his experiences making the film, plus his desire to take another crack at the "King of Monsters" or another kaiju related film project.

In the article, Kitamura, who is best known for his action films, like "Azumi" and "Versus", states that "Final Wars" was the last Japanese monster movie to be made in the traditional way, aka a man in a monster suit filmed against a miniature set. From those statements I can only assume that the film maker hasn't been paying to much attention to either Japanese cinema or television as of late, because post "GFW" there have been plenty of kaiju films and TV series made with men in monster suits and miniatures, including "Long-Haired Giant Monster: Gehara" (2009), "Monster X Strikes Back: Attack the G8 Summit!" (2008), "Deep Sea Monster Raiga" (2009), "Death Kappa" (2010) and "Daimajin Kannon" (2010)(TV Series). Not to mention the "Ultraman" movies and television series which have been made over the past few years as well. So don't let Kitamura's statements fool you, kaiju cinema is still very much alive and well in Japan.

What many fans will find interesting is the film maker's statements about wanting to make another monster film. Some may read into those words that Kitamura may be in line to helm the next Japanese "Godzilla" film in 2014, or even possibly the new american "Godzilla" movie (Legendary Pictures, 2012), though he makes no references to either, just that he would like to take a crack at another monster film in the future.

Here is an excerpt from the article about "Godzilla" from Gaijin Pot:

Just over five years ago Kitamura had wrapped up the final installment in Japan’s longest, most misunderstood cinematic franchise, when he helmed Godzilla: Final Wars in 2004.

It was somehow equally appropriate that Kitamura’s style and intent on the finale was equally misunderstood in some quarters. The critical reaction was a startlingly mixed bag, as reflected in the movies 50% rating on rottentomatoes.com, with some calling it ‘A rush of explosive excitement’ (Cinefantastique) and others claiming it focused too much on action and not enough on story (Boston Globe).

Personally I loved everything about Final Wars – it was all too apparent that it’d been made by a fellow old-school aficionado of the humble kaiju (Japanese monster) movie. Kitamura himself recalls the experience with obvious relish. “It was great!” he enthuses. “I mean, it was Godzilla. It was the 50th anniversary. And it was the final movie. Who could say no? It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I had a great time making it and am very proud of the movie. I even decided to use the old fashioned man-in-rubber-suits style and it was pure fun – think big explosions and motorcycle chases, and I even got to shoot a few scenes in Sydney, where I’d learned film making in the first place. Lots of great memories.”

Final Wars was the 28th Godzilla movie – so it’s pertinent to know whether or not the director sat through all the previous 27 films before shooting his own. “Yeah, I did,” Kitamura confirms. “In fact I loved the Godzilla movies back in the ’70s, but not so much the ones released in the 1980s and ’90s. Godzilla movies back in the ’70s were never just monster movies… There were always messages and themes that reflected the time and world within which they were made, and they combined this so well with straight-out entertainment. They lost that touch in the ’80s. I’m an honest guy and that’s what I told the producer in the first meeting. Strangely, the producer liked what I said and I was hired to do something that was not only new, but also classic in a sense.” So is the kaiju movie still alive and well in Japan in 2010? “I don’t think so.

These days, Japanese film studios are only interested in making dramas based on novels, manga or another TV series. Nobody wants to do expensive, old-fashioned kaiju movies. For me, the beauty of the kaiju movie is the retro man-in-rubber-suits style, not CG; it has more soul. Godzilla: Final Wars was the last movie made in that style. I’d be more than happy to revive the tradition in the future and do a new kaiju movie.”

Kitamura has previously let it be known that his favourite kaiju character is King Caesar, who first appeared in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla in 1974 – then reappeared 30 years later in Final Wars. “I simply love that original Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla movie,” says the director. “The moment King Caesar wakes up is my favourite moment in all of the Godzilla movies. It was so hard to choose which monsters would be in Final Wars – everybody has their favourite, and unfortunately we couldn’t put them all in. So some tough choices had to be made.”

Read The Rest Of The Article

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Godzilla Final Wars Director Ryuhei Kitamura Set To Helm Magdalena

Written By: Ken Hulsey
Source: Variety

It appears that "Godzilla Final Wars" director Ryuhei Kitamura may finally be getting his chance to direct a Hollywood action film. The director, who is considered to be one of Japan's up and coming talents, passed up on an American film in 2004 to direct the 50th anniversary Godzilla film. A film that was considered a major disappointment by fans of the long running monster movie series.

Prior to "Final Wars" Kitamura had etched out a strong following in Japan with his cyber-punk style action films including the two "Azumi" films and the big screen adaptation of the popular television series "Sky High."

Now the director has been tapped by Valhalla Motion Pictures and Platinum Studios to direct "Magdalena", a film based on the comic book heroine developed by Marc Silvestri for Top Cow comics.

Late last year the production team had announced that they had selected Jenna Dewan to portray "Magdalena" in the live-action film. Prior to being cast in the lead the actress and dancer had been cast mostly in supporting roles in films, including "The Grudge 2" and the "Young and the Restless" television series.

"Magdalena" (also known as Patience) first appeared in comics in 1998 as the descedant of the union between Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene (Yes, like the story behind the "Da Vinci Code). Being the descendant of "The Savior" the heroine has the ability to see into the hearts of criminals and offer them salvation for their crimes.

"She's (Dewan) terrific. It's kind of like 'The Da Vinci Code' meets 'Wanted,'" says the film's producer Gale Anne Hurd. "You've got the mythology and a character who isn't initially aware of her legacy which something I love. Many of my films deal with that. And it's still has supernatural elements."

With Kitamura at the helm, fans will be hoping that he can produce another "Azumi", instead of another "Final Wars."

See Also: Sky High (2003)(Movie)

Sky High (2003)(Movie)

It starts in present-day Tokyo. A serial murderer is on the loose who is baffling the cops with his MO -- he tears an internal organ out of young women and then suspends his victims in dramatic poses in big open spaces. (Is Kitamura referencing "Silence of the Lambs" here? I think so.) A hot-blooded detective, Kanzaki (Shosuke Tanihara), becomes determined to crack the case -- so much so that he loses track of time and sleeps at his desk, the wall behind him covered with grisly photos of the victims.

Then a colleague wakes him up and reminds him that today is his wedding. Kanzaki tears off to the church, arriving just in time to save his bride, the trusting, tender-hearted Mina (Yumiko Shaku), from an emotional meltdown.

Enough to say that, instead of glorying in this day of days, Mina ends up dead -- the killer's fourth victim. Cut to the dark, smoky, antechamber of the Other World, where an imperious young woman in black leather awaits Mina's soul. Called only Izuko (Eihi Shiina), she is the guardian of the huge, gray-metal Urami no Mon (Gate of Revenge). She gives Mina three choices: 1) Accept death and go to heaven; 2) Reject it and wander the world as a ghost; 3) Kill one person and go to hell. Unable to make up her mind and consumed with longing, Mina returns to the world of the living.

There she finds her fiance, distraught after being taken off the case -- but soon out for revenge. But if he kills the killer, Mina knows, he will go to hell. Somehow she has to save him. Then she remembers her own murder -- and a certain Kudo (Takao Osawa), and his slinky, merciless assistant. Kudo, we learn, is a geneticist with an unholy ambition and psychic powers. When he sees Mina in his lab, he mocks her -- nothing, certainly not a wimpy ghost, is about to stand in his way. Somehow Mina must stop him, before he opens the gates of hell . . .

Sky High (2003)

Toei Co. Ltd.

Directed By: Ryuhei Kitamura & Norio Tsuruta

Written By: Tsutomu Takahashi

Cast:

Yumiko Shaku as Mina / Izuko

Takao Osawa as Kudo

Shosuke Tanihara as Kanzaki

Yuka Itaya

Aya Okamoto

Masato Sakai

Eihi Shiina as Izuko

Hiromasa Taguchi

Naho Toda

Maiko Yamada

Kimika Yoshino

Kanae Uotani as Rei

Runtime: 122 Minutes

Country: Japan

Language: Japanese

Color: Color

Released: December 5, 2003

See Also: Sky High (TV Series) / Yumiko Shaku - Profile & Photos

Buy Sky High on DVD from Amazon.com: