More on the Giant Monster Trip to Hawaii

More background videos for the upcoming puppet/live-action giant monster film, Giant Monsters Attack Hawaii (dir. Dane Neves) have become available. If you want some earlier info on the project, check out the Undead Backbrain article Update on the Giant Monster Attacking Hawaii and follow the links.

Or watch this new promotional video:

Meanwhile, here are some postcards from the monsters concerned. They're very considerate that way.

New Character Profiles:

On Green-Screen Filming:

And, yes, there's a giant robot involved! Here he is with his controller, Tom Hackett.

Doing Voice-overs:

Some More Pictures:

Above: Diane Ako, Dane Neves and friend

Above: Brent Watanabe

 

 Above: Jordan Harrison

Above: Michael B. Hardy

 

Above: Abercrumble and puppetmaker Sonny Vegas

Sources: via Avery Guerra; Facebook. Written by Robert Hood.

Update: More on the Bug

The Backbrain has been busy with other things lately... you know, life. Or at least an approximation thereof. So some news items have slipped into the dark. One series I want to drag back into the light is the ongoing Behind the Scenes information being released by producer James Cran in relation to the giant monster / hillbilly horror epic The Millennium Bug (US-2011; dir. Ken Cran) -- especially in advance of the film's world premiere screening at the 14th annual Dances With Films festival on Friday, June 3 at 11:45 PM at the Laemmle Sunset 5 in Los Angeles. Tickets are available by visiting http://danceswithfilms.com/2011_listings_15.html.

Part 1: The Script looked at the development of the story and original screenplay, Part 2: The Monster revealed how the titular monster was created, and Part 3: The Storyboards showed how director Ken Cran went about creating ultra-detailed storyboards.

Since then the Crans have spilled the beans on a number of other significant aspects of the production:

• Part 4: The Warehouse. Says director Cran: "Preproduction continued, and ramped up considerably when a suitable warehouse was found in North Hollywood. Why a warehouse? Simple: cost. We considered actual soundstages for a day, but once we realized that soundstage space was way outside our budget, we committed to a warehouse."

• Part 5: The Aesthetic: "How would the effects look? The production design? The lighting and cinematography?"

• Part 6: The Miniatures Part 1. "How can you tell a man in a monster suit is supposed to be a giant unless you have something to compare it to? Simple. You build miniatures."

• Part 7: The Miniatures Part 2. "The most challenging of the models to build were the various structures comprising the ghost town of Mason's Grove. I love ghost towns, so I was really looking forward to building Mason's Grove. I had done some research while visiting the ghost town of Rhyolite in Nevada, taking lots of photos and really absorbing the atmosphere."

All fascinating stuff. So head along to the official website to get all the gory details.

Source: James Cran. Research by Avery Guerra. Written by Robert Hood. For more information on the film check out these Undead Backbrain links.

Update: Imagining the Monster

As a quick update on The Man Who Summons Kaiju [aka Kaijû wo yobu otoko] (Japan-2010; dir. Daisuke Andô) -- the 25-minute kaiju short film made for NHK television in Japan and soon to be broadcast there -- we have some conceptual drawings of the monster itself... and this, the first released shot of the actual monster from the film, as he drags his tail through the sand on his way back out to sea:

One of the interesting things about these conceptual drawings is that they not only give us a view of the kaiju as it will appear in the film, but are actual props from the film -- drawings made by the young filmmaker whose obsession with making a giant monster film manages to awaken a long-dormant "sacred monster" from the Yayoi period of Japanese history (c. 300 BC–300 AD).

This following image looks like it may be part of the film's actual storyboard. At any rate, it's a scene I want to see in all its glorious live-action spectacle!

In related news, apparently the SFX for The Man Who Summons Kaiju are being handled by Kiyotaka Taguchi, who did assistant digital FX work on Gojira, Mosura, Kingu Gidora: Daikaiju soukougeki  [aka Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack] (Japan-2001; dir. Shusuke Kaneko), and built miniatures and set-dressed for Gojira tai Mosura tai Mekagojira: Tôkyô S.O.S. [aka Godzilla, Mothra, Mechagodzilla: Tokyo SOS] (Japan-2003, dir. Masaaki Tezuka) and Gojira: Fainaru uozu [aka Godzilla: Final Wars] (2004; dir. Ryuhei Kitamura). He also directed the short kaijiu films G (2008) and Chohatsu Daikaiju Gehara [Long-haired Giant Monster Gehara; Geharha, The Dark and Long-Haired Monster] (2009), as well as episodes of the kaiju TV series MM9. His 2D digital FX work appears in films as diverse as The Grudge 2, The iDol, Battle Royale II, the Sinking of Japan remake, Monkey Magic, the American remake of the Thai ghost film Shutter and the 20th Century Boys trilogy. Such an impressive resumé bodes well for The Man Who Summons Kaiju's monster!

Below Taguchi is at work on some very miniature miniatures for The Man Who Summons Kaiju -- with the monster artfully blocked from view:

Other new images from the film:

 

Director Andô (I think) and his two leads, Gen Hoshino and Nao Nagasawa

• Sources: NHK drama; NHK film blog; Norman England -- all via Avery Guerra; SciFi Japan on Kiyotaka Taguchi.
• Original Undead Backbrain article; Trailer and more images

Update: Waiting For Gorgo

Waiting for Gorgo, scripted by M.J. Simpson and directed by Benjamin Craig, is a short film that draws its inspiration from the UK's best-known -- and probably best -- giant monster film Gorgo (UK-1961; dir. Eugene Lourie).

You can read about it on Undead Backbrain.

Frankly it looks excellent, even if -- as I suspect -- Gorgo herself may not appear in person. After all, Godot never turns up in Samuel Beckett's surrealist masterpiece, Waiting for Godot -- which Simpson and Craig's giant monster film is obviously referencing.

Here's the new trailer:

 

Source: Official website via Avery

More from MONSTERS

Monsters  (UK-2010; dir. Gareth Edwards) -- the much-touted giant monsters indie film -- is due for theatrical release in the US in October. Check out previous information on it on Undead Brainspasm and Undead Backbrain. Its realistic approach of an alien infestation looks positively infectious.

Some new clips that expand on elements within the official trailer have come to light.

Official Trailer:

Getting Out:

"The Aliens Are In The Trees":

New Images:

Sources: io9.com; Fangoria; Joblo; via Avery

Dinocroc and Supergator on the Move!

On the eve of the premiere SyFy Channel showing of Jim Wynorski's giant monster mash-up, Dinocroc vs Supergator -- incidentally one of the last films of genre legend David Carradine -- we have a bunch of pictures, along with a great SFX reel.

Why don't we just go out for dinner!

Supergator prefers take-away:

Dinocroc likes 'em bikini-wrapped:

Seconds?

Hey! Save one for me!

SFX Reel: it's looking pretty damn good here! Immediately below is the theme music. Let it play over the SFX video that follows!

• Source: Jim Wynorski via Avery; Written by Robert Hood

Death Kappa Trailer

The English-language trailer for Tomoo Haraguchi's daikaiju eiga/giant monster film Death Kappa has just been loosed upon the blogsphere, with the DVD already available for pre-order on Amazon and other sites (due 27 July 2010). Its retro 1960s Japanese fantasy film qualities are very exciting for True Believers, given away in this trailer only by the occasional CGI enhancement.

Trailer:

If nothing else, Haraguchi's CV entries "Gamera daikaijû kuchu kessen (1995) (creature creator)", "Gamera 2: Region shurai (1996) (creature creator)" and director of "Sakuya: yôkaiden (2000)" are enough to interest me.

For more on Death Kappa, the background of the film and a video presentation on it by Haraguchi, go to Undead Backbrain. There are images from the film in an earlier article on this site.

• via Twitchfilm and Kaiju Search-Robot Avery

Update on Daimajin Kannon

A previous article on Undead Backbrain revealed that Kadokawa Publishing had acquired the rights to Daiei's 1960s Daimajin franchise -- which featured a huge statue of a warrior that comes to life to get revenge on the wicked and those who don't show proper respect -- and were planning to produce a TV series based on the films, modernised under the title Daimajin Kannon. Well,  no further information is forthcoming at this point, but a series of images have surfaced. From the images, which as well as Daimajin himself show cast members (presumably), an alien Kamen Rideresque insectoid character and a very Japanese yokai with a bucket for a head, a few of the show's characteristics can be deduced -- though I'll let you articulate them for yourself.

 

 

 

 

• Source: Newtype the Live and Henshin Justice Unlimited by way of Jim Ballard and "kiryugojiI04" -- via Kaiju Search-Robot Avery
  

The Host 2: Running to Catch Up

The Host [aka Gwoemul] (South Korea-2006; dir. Joon-ho Bong) -- an unusual and highly effective giant monster film that managed to combine great monster effects with a socio-political message and very human characterisations -- was a huge success worldwide for the director and the South Korean film industry. Sure, some didn't take to it, but it has in a short time pretty well earned a place on Top 20 Giant Monster lists everywhere.

With its careless disregard for the "rules" that normally govern blockbuster monster pics, The Host proves to be an utterly engrossing, stylish and intelligent foray into the genre, replete with a powerful sense of reality that doesn't falter even when it flirts with cliché. It is in turns funny, suspenseful, startling, awe-inspiring, melancholy, bleak, satirical and optimistic. Not an easy palette of moods to effectively control -- yet it does so, and the result is a completely satisfying cinematic experience. (See full review here.)

Talk of a US remake and a South Korean sequel has been ongoing ever since the first film's release, though there has been little visible movement on either front. Now, however, Twitchfilm has word on the remake at least. The "facts" are: a different director and cast is likely; it will be a prequel set during the Cheongyecheon restoration of 2003 (offering nice potential for socio-political commentary); US$5 million of the budget will come from Kelvin Tong’s Boku Films from Singapore; all CGI SFX will be handled within Korea; and "the Government — through the KOCCA (Korea Creative Content Agency) — will fund the project with over 1.8 billion won spread over 2 years, as part of its Global Project funding policies" (Twitchfilm).

Then there's this first glimpse of the film:

A bit of monster action on the highway!

• Source: Twitchfilm via Avery
  

The Flock

How to put a new spin of the dinosaur movie: concentrate on their descendents.

Transformers producer Don Murphy has optioned a novel, The Flock, by James Robert Smith that features "a group of highly intelligent giant prehistoric birds discovered in the Florida Everglades who are intent on protecting their ancient home when faced with encroachment by theme park developers" (Hollywood Reporter)

I like the story that Hollywood Reporter recounts about how Murphy became interested in Smith's book. Apparently Murphy was on Eddie Campbell's blog talking about Campbell's graphic novel From Hell, the film version of which Murphy had produced.

Smith was posting comments critical of the film, putting Murphy on the defensive. Eager to find out more about the poster, Murphy discovered Smith had written a book. He quickly ordered it, expecting to hate it and ready to trash it. To his surprise, he fell for it.

Anyway, Murphy considers that this will be a "summer tentpole" movie.

Let's hope they don't rename it "Phorusrhacid Park"...

• Source: Hollywood Reporter; Horror-Movies.ca via Kaiju Search-Robot Avery

New: Mega-Shark vs Giant Octopus

Taking the lead from Japanese kaiju eiga -- where you describe the main attraction of the movie in the title -- The Asylum's latest creature feature offers 'em up very big indeed, if the image on the cover is anything to go by.

Mega-Shark versus Giant Octopus (US-2009; dir. Ace Hannah)

Synopsis:

The California coast is terrorized by two enormous prehistoric sea creatures as they battle each other for supremacy of the sea.

Clearly this film embraces several key elements of the Japanese monster-film tradition: descriptive title, really big beasties and monster punch-ups.

If it delivers on those promises, I'm there!

• Source: Official website

Cloverfield 2 Redux

And on the subject of our last post regarding J.J. Abrams' remarks on the possibility of a Cloverfield sequel, the following clip of the event has become available:

Cloverfield 2? Where's It At?

I'd been thinking that a sequel to the most metaphorically effective and original US giant monster flick for some time, Cloverfield, was a sure thing. Well, apparently not.

Still, at Wondercon in late February, producer J.J. Abrams had this to say about it:

We're actually working on an idea right now. The key obviously at doing any kind of sequel, certainly this film included, is that it better not be a business decision. If you're going to do something, it should be because you're really inspired to do it. It doesn't really have to mean anything, doesn't mean it will work, but it means we did it because we cared, not because we thought we could get the bucks. We have an idea that we thought was pretty cool that we're playing with, which means there will be something that's connected to Cloverfield, but I hope it happens sooner than later because the idea is pretty sweet.

• Source: BD Horror News via Avery
  

Monster Fight From Outlander

io9.com has posted a clip from the Viking vs Alien Monster flick Outlander. While some are finding themselves able to go see the much-anticipated movie in an actual cinema (including Kaiju Search-Robot Avery, I might add), those of us who must wait until the thing comes out on DVD are forced to content ourselves with such snippets as these.

Check out the fight below or go to io9.com to see it larger.