Thursday, January 2, 2014

Mythbusters Address the Darker Origins of Godzilla

Tested.com is a website with Adam Savage, Jamie Hyneman, Norman Chan and Will Smith (pictured)
In an article posted today (Jan 2nd 2014) tested.com contributor, David Konow, reflects on the original darker origins of Godzilla. He talks to a few Godzilla experts on how the nuclear holocaust was a major theme in the original Godzilla movies.

Read a few excerpt below. First he talks to August Ragone, author of "Eiji Tsuburaya: Master of Monsters". this was one of the few book Godzilla 2014 director took with him when he started to film Godzilla 2014. 
As Japanese pop culture expert and special features producer August Ragone explains, “After returning to a defeated Japan from China as a POW, Honda passed through the ruins of Hiroshima, and thought to himself that this was surely a sign of Armageddon, the end of the world at our own hands. So this impression was in his mind in making the film, but it came from an overall anti-war stance, that if making kept waging wars, we would eventually commit global genocide.

“Godzilla was produced the year following the end of the occupation,” Ragone continues. “There was economic, social and political upheaval. All of the major cities were razed and were being rebuilt. There was abject poverty, war orphans…the Japanese were working out a lot more than just the horror of war. Director Hondo himself said that Godzilla was the corporeal embodiment of war itself.”
Then he talked to Jonathan Belles creator of an upcoming documentary "Godzilla and Hiroshima"
With Belles’s upcoming Godzilla and Hiroshima documentary, he wanted to tackle the direct relationship between the monster and the atomic bomb. “”Godzilla is represented in different metaphors and characters that make messages of peace, and messages against nuclear war.” Belles is also hoping that those who had never seen a Godzilla film, or find the monster silly, will look at him in a new light.

By the late sixties, Godzilla went through a big change. He was now a good guy, a protector of Japan instead of a threat. Belles says, “It was decided Godzilla should be good, and save the earth from various enemy attacks. This was mainly because Japan grew economically in the ‘60s, and the makers of Godzilla decided to give the younger generations a more optimistic view of their country. As a result, the Godzilla saga became infantilized, shattering the seriousness that permeates the first decade of the saga.”

After the dreadful 1998 American remake of Godzilla, there’s still hope that the big guy can be reinvented for long time fans, and make a nice introduction for new audiences. We also feel Belles’s Hiroshima documentary could make a nice companion piece for the new model Godzilla. “I feel the next Godzilla will be very faithful to the original model,” Belles says. “The director (Gareth Edwards) also said that he will respect the Japanese Godzilla.”
You can read the original article at Godzilla and The Monsters of Nuclear War

New Godzilla Documentary Coming Summer 2014

Jonathan Belles interviewed haruo Nakajima for his documentary
 "Godzilla & Hiroshima: The dawn of Kaiju Eiga"


"I want to travel to Hiroshima to visit the Peace Memorial Museum mainly. I will visit the Lucky Dragon No. 5 [in Tokyo] also," --Jonathan Bellés in an article by Dread Central

Dread Central announced this documentary in September of 2013.
A new Godzilla documentary - which is actually a not-for-profit doctoral project by Spanish producer/director Jonathan Bellés - is on its way entitled Godzilla & Hiroshima: The Dawn of the Kaiju Eiga. Here are a trailer and some preliminary details.

Bellés is putting the doc together through his production company Producciones 451, headquartered n Valencia, Spain. Bellés told blogger Armand Vaquer that Godzilla & Hiroshima will also include Gamera, Ultraman, and other monsters in the genre.
MightyMega.com added on their site:
The film will also explore the birth of the Kaiju Eiga genre and how the audience reacted during its early years. The film will include interviews with critics, historians and other experts in the field from Spain, France, Belgium, United States, Canada and Japan. 
You watch the official trailer below.



Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Customized Pacific Rim Toys Repainted With Details and Working Lights

Customized Leatherback toy with LED's and detailed paint
"I make custom toys, and try not to suck." -- Sabretooth Workshop

Sabretooth Workshop takes great toys and makes them greater. If he only added LED lights it would be amazing, but he recolors the toys with an airbrush and other detailed techniques to make these one-of-a-kind pieces of art collectibles.

Read his description of his amazing Leatherback kaiju:
There is an led located in the head with an easy on off switch located in-between his shoulders on his back.The batteries are inside the figure and are replaceable. This figure has a custom one of a kind paint job that I tried to get as close to the movie as possible, I used tamiya acrylics and other quality paints on this and I sealed it many times to reduce any chances of paint wear or chipping.
Recently he just did some incredible work on Gipsy Danger. See the progression below, click on any pic to see a larger view.


The toy starts in the box
First the toy is repainted and airbrushed


Additional paint details like weathering wear and tear are added.

LED lights and wiring are installed.

Sabretooth Workshop's Gipsy Danger is available on ebay.

Check out some the other links below to see more of Sabretooth's Workshop stuff. It is ALL amazing.

http://www.toyark.com/pacific-rim-leatherback-custom-158379/