GODZILLA ~ Directed By Gareth Edwards ~ Release May 15, 2014

[Furinkazen]

Finally after a long period of planning, the 29th installment in the Godzilla film series (30 if you really dare to bother counting Roland Emmerich's 1998 remake) comes as the monsters 60th anniversary is due, 10 years after the last film "Godzilla Final Wars".

It's the first Godzilla film then with a British director, Gareth Edwards (Monsters), a Japan-US production with Legendary Pictures (Pacific Rim, The Dark Knight).

Godzilla 2014 has officially begun production in Burbank, CA today and with filming now in progress, Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. have released an official press release listing the confirmed principal cast for the new Godzilla film. Here's the official release:

BURBANK, CA, March 18, 2013 - Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures announced today the final principal cast for the upcoming tent pole "Godzilla." Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ken Watanabe, Elizabeth Olsen, and Juliette Binoche are starring in the film, with David Strathairn and Bryan Cranston.

The companies also announced that principal photography began today on location in Vancouver.
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.

A presentation of Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures, "Godzilla" will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, except in Japan, where it will be distributed by Toho Co., Ltd. Legendary Pictures is a division of Legendary Entertainment.

Slated to open on May 16, 2014, the film is expected to be presented in 3D..

Sally Hawkins (Layer Cake, Happy-Go-Lucky, Never Let Me Go) has since grabbed the final lead role as a scientist. There is also a promise of a cameo for Japanese actor Akira Takarada, the star of the very first 1954 film.


On set photo:

Apparently this is supposedly part of a scene where Godzilla "wrecks a train carrying a nuclear missle, and the military tries to recover the missile from the debris."


At San Diego Comic Con in 2012, Edwards is supposed to have introduced a privately screened trailer for some lucky film goers. This is allegedly a screenshot or still from it, which shows Godzilla's head. If this is true it looks already a lot more faithful to the original monster than the Tri-Star 1998 version.

Also the film is said to have two other monsters for Godzilla to fight, including a giant insect.

Legendary Pictures CEO Thomas Tull just two weeks ago:

"We want to make sure that we're connecting with our fan base. We want to make sure that you're appropriately surprised and have something to look forward to when you go to see the movie. You don't want to see all the way behind the curtain, but we want to make sure that we're connecting with our fan base. We want to make sure our fan base knows how passionate we are and how important it is to us to bring these things to life and that were just as big of fans as you guys are. We want to connect, and in a world of social media and the outlets we have, we want to come up with all kinds of ways to have fans share the excitement and the experience as it builds towards launch."

Regarding Legendary's similar "Giant Monster" movie, Pacific Rim, Thomas Tull had this to say after being asked what he thought of the film after seeing an early screening:

"Euphoria, honestly, just because... look, its gets thrown around way too much in our business that "you've never seen this before. This is something completely different." And that's the other side of things, audiences are constantly online and so forth talking about how Hollywood just recycles things and there's truth to that, but audiences keep rewarding those things by going to them. So I think what I'm excited about is this is something different on a size and scale you haven't seen before, and Guillermo del Toro is truly a genius. I'm in love with the movie and I cannot wait until people get a chance to see it."

Indeed, rumours are gathering apace on the Godzilla fandom that Pacific Rim (details here) when it is released this summer will have with the very first preview of Godzilla.

The monster is supposed to be CGI, but reports surfaced recently that there may still be some of the classic suitmation incorporated into the film.

Godzilla is scheduled to be released May 16, 2014.​

 

[Jahgee]

My thoughts on this

Also, here is some raw footage from the shoot with the mangled helicopter in the OP.

 

[Furinkazen]

A new photo entitled "Path Of Destruction"

 

[DEATHSARTHE]

Hmmm, I saw Monsters and it was pretty good for a low budget direct-to-DVD movie. I see great things to come from this Gareth Edwards. He seems to be interested in monster movies. His name is also attached to a future sci-fi project partnered with Timur Bekmambetov (Lincoln Vampire Slayer, Apollo 18).

Jim Rygiel is also on board for this Godzilla reboot, insuring that the 3D CGI fest that most movies are today will at least look good. I've always felt there was a lot more soul in the effects in Lord of the Rings than most movies at the time. This will definitely be a spectacle worth seeing.

 

[Jahgee]

HYPEHYPEHYPE

EDIT: Also, I found the official poster

 

[CoffeeGrunt]

I expected this to go closer to that 1998 PoS, so that poster is pretty much what I expected.

Can't exactly say I'm a Godzilla 'fan', but I would enjoy a classic stompy monster rampage.

 

[Furinkazen]

What the hell? Posted on the FB page today. Art? Tail? Insect leg? Head detail?! Something???

EDIT: Red eye at San Diego Comic Con? hmm....

 

[AOS-]

Love that green screen shot of the train.

That's an interesting way to do scenes.

 

[McLaren]

From the way it was originally described at the Comic Con, some of the original Godzilla films' makers/producers/whatever were supposed to be involved in helping the script on this one so that it would remain closer to the Godzilla name than the 1998 film ever did.

Very interested in seeing how it plays out & I hope it does well. With Legendary Pictures attached, that should bring a bit of relief.

 

[Furinkazen]

Oh boy. This just got interesting.

Okumura?! Godzilla 1984 reference alert!

And...

Note one red letter on each article... "Se".... hmmm.

 

[Furinkazen]

Serizawa. Name of the doctor who killed Godzilla in the first film with the oxygen destroyer.

And at San Diego Comic Con a code for a visitor pass, and this.

Reminds me of the Godzilla 2000 design so much, with a longer head. This might just be a teaser poster but wow. Edwards, you bloody legend.

 

[DeathSmiles]

That is awesome. Can't wait!

 

[Jahgee]

This is supposedly a model of the monster

 

[Furinkazen]

This is supposedly a model of the monster

First look is coming this weekend suppsedly. The GODZILLA ENCOUNTER gallery is that warehouse, a massive exhibition including the G2000 suit..

...and the original Oxygen Destroyer prop.

Also:

And we have a first glimpse of the head of the King, who looks badder than ever:

Also, Pacific Rim-related spoiler:

Godzilla's low grumble is heard in the final credit of the film. The King is returning..

 

[DK]

Furi, there's reasons GTP has a

Spoiler

tag.

Spoiler

Godzilla vs Gipsy Danger sounds awesome, though.

 

[dcgc5]

Can't wait for this to come out! My step dad and I used to watch Godzilla movies all the time when I was a kid! We're already making plans to see this when it comes out, possibly midnight release depending on the day of the week.

 

[Furinkazen]

Gareth Edwards just been interviewed by IGN @ Comic Con. Godzilla may be revealed tomorrow, as Edwards played his cards close to his chest. Cannot wait. And he is the biggest (tallest) Godzilla of all time. No specific time or date for trailers... yet.

Also you guys might want to check out my FB page here for regular updates.

 

[Jahgee]

Gareth Edwards just been interviewed by IGN @ Comic Con. Godzilla may be revealed tomorrow, as Edwards played his cards close to his chest. Cannot wait. And he is the biggest (tallest) Godzilla of all time. No specific time or date for trailers... yet.

Also you guys might want to check out my FB page here for regular updates.

So if he is the biggest, that means he's over 100 meters tall, at the bare minimum. The way that poster with the helicopters looks, I'd guess he's at an absolutely massive 250 meters. Also, if i had to hazard a guess about that facebook page you linked Furi, then I'd guess you are the UK admin there

 

[Furinkazen]

Well in terms of monster height:

Showa: 50 meters.
Heisei 1984: 80 meters
Heisei 1991: 95 meters
Final Wars 2004: 100 meters.

Edwards said he didn't want it too big so he "couldn't have fun" with it on set. Also, the exhibition attracted today, by pure coincidence... 1954 people.

EDIT: Reveal Tomorrow.

 

[Jahgee]

This is what the VIP passes look like

EDIT: Picture credits go to Chris M.

 

[Jahgee]

Hate to double post, but SDCC had a trailer, synopsis below (Highlight to read)

We’re introduced to characters first off: Cranston seems to be an engineer/investigator of some sort — we see him in hazmat gear, and later running towards a crisis event in a government installation as the rest of the staff frantically runs away. Aaron Taylor Johnson is a soldier; Ken Watanabe is seen in a control room of some kind, and Olsen is shown in moments that suggest she’s been a victim of some disaster, she is a Nurse and a mother in the film while being a refugee of sorts, as we see her as she reunites with a young girl in a sports stadium that has been converted into a shelter.. A montage of various images shows a world in crisis and deploying military forces to fight some crisis moment.
And then there’s the kaiju attack. The first monster we see is a spindly-legged insectoid thing — is this Mothra? Didn't quite look like it, but that’s possible. The monster is attacking an airport, and there’s a great wide shot that sees the kaiju destroying a plane, which leads to an explosion the camera follows by panning across a huge set of windows, looking out from inside the airport terminal. Part of the plane’s destroyed fuselage flies right to left across the screen, and is eventually stopped as it crashes into a giant foot.
That’s the intro for Godzilla, and the creature dwarfs the other kaiju. Few shots really show Godzilla, but the scale is very effectively communicated by the relationship between the insectoid monster and our favorite lizard. The overall effect could be described — and this isn't a literal account of the footage, but an impression of its effect — like a slow pan up from the faces of the various human characters stuck in the middle of a monster-created mess, passing a smaller beast and finally trying to focus on the father of it all, Godzilla, hidden in fire and smoke.

 

[Furinkazen]

Won't be long before this gets taken down.

 

[Ddrizle]

Legendary release new image of the King.

 

[Furinkazen]

Ignore the title. A trailer has been rumoured recently... yet somehow, this has been lurking on the internet for 3 weeks... but FINALLY. It is alive!

And Ken Watanabe, according to some sources actually plays the role of Dr Serizawa from the first film

Wait. It was deliberate perhaps??. I'll quote someone on a G facebook page.

Man we need to be our toes. Legendary is playing games with us. This trailer has been out since Sept. 10th. The YouTube account name is Akira Watanabe, the artist who designed Godzilla back in '54. The trailer was under the name The Fatman, the bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki. This isn't viral marketing it's riddle marketing.

Wow Warner Bros, 20 mins after I post it, it is blocked. I might upload it to mediafire and save it for myself... Almost like a deliberate tease by them?

Here it is.

Ooh, continued updates: It was a fan.

 

[McLaren]

Saw the trailer. Holy crap, they are pulling out all the stops. They have taken Godzilla back to his origin & show how completely unstoppable he is with everything left in his wake. And his scream definitely instills fear in you leading me to think this movie will easily cater a little bit to horror fans (as well as the fatalities the trailer shows).

Really, really hope they nail this.

 

[The Vanishing Boy]

^ Yup! Gave me goosebumps and all! It all reminise to the very 1st one, Gojira!

 

[Dave A]

I'm looking forward to this even though the last one was a bit rubbish.

 

[Furinkazen]

I'm looking forward to this even though the last one was a bit rubbish.

Godzilla Final Wars? Or referring to the Tri-Star 1998 G?

 

[Dave A]

Godzilla Final Wars? Or referring to the Tri-Star 1998 G?

The 1998 Matthew Broderick one, it wasn't that good IMO. I've not seen Final Wars.

 

[Furinkazen]

The 1998 Matthew Broderick one, it wasn't that good IMO. I've not seen Final Wars.

1998 one failed in just about every respect but the main ones were:

1. Godzilla is supposed to destroy cities, the 98 one runs through them. It's get caught by suspension cables on a bridge!

2. Conventional weapons shouldn't destroy Godzilla.

3. The monster runs away from the military.

4. Smelling fish. Really?

5.... I could go on for hours.. but i'll leave this here (Language warning):