Godzilla lumbers towards Tokyo Tower in GMMG. © 2003 Toho Co., Ltd.

Masaaki Tezuka, director of GMMG. © 2003 Toho Co., Ltd.

Tezuka's greatest directorial strength is his desire to continuously improve as a filmmaker and discard what does not work on film. Showing a surprising lack of ego, he volunteered as a second unit effects director on Shusuke Kaneko's GODZILLA-MOTHRA-KING GHIDORAH (Gojira-Mosura-Kingughidora: Daikaiju Sokogeki, aka "GMK", 2001) so that he could work with the award-winning director and crew. When offered the chance to direct GODZILLA X MECHAGODZILLA (Gojira X Mekagojira, aka "GXMG", 2002), Tezuka used what he had learned on GMK and took a more proactive role in the production by making changes to the film's crew and reworking portions of the script. Still not completely satisfied with the finished film, he wrote his own proposal for its sequel, GODZILLA X MOTHRA X MECHAGODZILLA: TOKYO SOS. Toho quickly approved Tezuka's idea, and he wrote the screenplay with GMK co-author Masahiro Yokotani. He was also involved in choosing the cast and crew and worked closely with them on how best to bring his vision to the screen.

The following is an excerpt from an interview conducted on June 17 at Toho Studios. The entire interview will be available in the near future.

UCHUSEN: This new movie is a direct sequel to GODZILLA X MECHAGODZILLA, and continues concepts from that film, correct?

TEZUKA: Last year, I wanted to tell the story of Kiryu [Mechagodzilla] and Akane [Yumiko Shaku], and I think I accomplished that. But, I only focused on Godzilla for the first 10 minutes of the film. As a result, I think his presence was kind of subdued. So this year I want to showcase both a strong Godzilla and the Kiryu which has to face him. That is my desire. I believe strongly that this Godzilla moves, fights, lives, growls, and bares his fangs like an animal.

When I watch MOTHRA AGAINST GODZILLA [Mosura tai Gojira, aka "Godzilla vs. The Thing", 1964], in a sense I can say Godzilla is not giving a real performance; he's just stomping through. However, that Godzilla looks cool because it feels like a living creature. Other than emphasizing more on Godzilla, I'd like to show what was omitted from the previous screenplay and redo some things I didn't describe clearly last time. With this film, I will pay more attention to these details.

Mothra battles Godzilla. © 2003 Toho Co., Ltd.

UCHUSEN: What is Mothra's role in the film?

TEZUKA: First of all, there is the question of why Mothra comes to Japan. My answer is that Mothra has come to warn mankind that they have altered life and that must change.

UCHUSEN: The running time for GMMG is the same as last year's film, Plus another monster has been added to the story. A good script is needed to pull this all together.

TEZUKA: In GXMG, Godzilla landed in Japan twice, then returned for the final sequence. That pattern has been used repeatedly since the "VS" [Heisei] Godzilla films. But this time, once Godzilla appears he's going to remain active in the story until the climax of the film. Another interesting scene will be how Mothra arrives to confront Godzilla.

UCHUSEN: Even though it is approached in a different manner, GMMG has The same theme as GXMG.

TEZUKA: "All life is important." I think when we forget this point, things go wrong -- so, I won't hesitate to repeat this many times.

UCHUSEN: It's been a long time since Hiroshi Koizumi has been in a special effects film.

TEZUKA: Last year, Mr. Koizumi recorded an audio commentary for of one the Toho DVDs, and he seemed to be doing well. When he said he wanted to act in another Godzilla movie I took him seriously [laughs]. Then, Toho decided to make another movie with Mothra. Mr. Koizumi starred in the original MOTHRA [Mosura, 1961] and that will be very convincing for those who are familiar with the old Mothra, so I planned to call Mr. Koizumi myself. I wanted him to feel comfortable and accept my offer [laughs].

The first day of shooting included one of Mr. Koizumi's scenes. I'm glad I could see his performance. Just having him in my movie is enough to make me happy.

Director of Special Effects: Eiichi Asada © 2003 Toho Co., Ltd.

The following is an excerpt from an interviewed conducted June 10th at Toho Studios.

UCHUSEN: What are your feelings now that shooting has started?

ASADA: I was really looking forward to it -- I couldn't wait to start shooting on the set. I felt very excited, even when we did the camera tests, because this is my first Godzilla film since I worked under Teruyushi Nakano on THE RETURN OF GODZILLA, and my last big effects picture since PRINCESS FROM THE MOON in 1987. I wanted to enjoy this project so that I would be able to say I want to continue working even after the film wraps.

UCHUSEN: What is your focus when you direct sequences with Godzilla?

ASADA: From the first film, a creature like Godzilla's existence is impossible, but it is still considered to be a living creature. So, I want to show Godzilla as being as animal-like as possible.

Behind the scenes: Godzilla X Mothra . © 2003 Toho Co., Ltd.

UCHUSEN: How about Mothra?

ASADA: In the newer Mothra films [1990s REBIRTH OF MOTHRA trilogy], the Mothras' image were different from that of the original one. But this time we created an older-style Mothra, like the one from Eiji Tsuburaya's era. For this film, I want to mostly rely on conventional methods, and employ as few computer generated images as possible. I want to have Mothra fly as a living creature on the sound stage [not in the computer].

UCHUSEN: What is the proportion of composite shots and computer generated images in the special effects scenes?

ASADA: Because digital technology has advanced so much, I'd like to effectively use CGI on non-effects scenes. However, these days, even children are sophisticated enough to tell if an image is CGI or not. So basically, I'm using conventional methods -- but because of the Shobijin and Mothra, I needed more composite shots than were used last year.

UCHUSEN: What are your concerns when you compose a shot?

ASADA: Because of the small screen size, television necessitates a number of closeups, however this time I'm working on a motion picture, so I'm trying to create wider shots. Although a standard ratio film is not wide enough to catch the two Mothra larvae in one shot, Tohoscope has enough room to create such long shots such as the creatures playing off of each other, face to face. On the contrary, the difficulty with Tohoscope is trying to compose a closeup. I think that a skilled cameraman, such as Eguchi, will solve this sort of problem. [laughs]

Production Designer: Shinji Nishikawa © 2003 Toho Co., Ltd.

Using the pen name MASH, Nishikawa has authored several comics, including two clever parodies of the Toho universe; GODZILLA LEGEND and GODZILLA GAIDEN. He has also chronicled the production of the Godzilla films with which he has been associated in comic form. These strips are available in book format, the most recent volume having been released on 7/17/03. His artwork can be seen at his official website.

UCHUSEN: What instructions were you given for designing the new Mothra?

NISHIKAWA: This time, I got my ideas mostly from director Tezuka. He basically wanted this Mothra to be as similar to the original as possible. In addition, Mr. Tezuka wanted to use modern techniques to create a more realistic image of Mothra as a living creature.

UCHUSEN: What were the most important points in creating such a living creature?

NISHIKAWA: For the imago Mothra, I focused on the legs. Mr. Tezuka really liked the way the Mothra in GMK moved its legs, so this time he wanted its legs to move constantly. Once it stops moving, it starts to look fake, like a prop. As for the wings; Mr. Wakasa initially proposed a look similar to the Rainbow Mothra, which had a sharp, angular wing design, but I decided to copy the appearance of the imago from MOTHRA AGAINST GODZILLA instead.

UCHUSEN: So, the image of Mothra is influenced more by MOTHRA AGAINST GODZILLA, than that of the original film?

The original Mothra and the GMMG version. © 2003 Toho Co., Ltd.

NISHIKAWA: The idea was that Mothra will fight Godzilla in GMMG, so I needed to think about that instead of just how Mothra looks while flying. The wing design in MOTHRA AGAINST GODZILLA shows a space between the forward and rear sections, so you can clearly identify four different wings. I thought the basic concept was that, when Mothra is hovering over Godzilla, the wings will cover Godzilla like a shroud. Because that's how I perceived it, I wanted to recreate that look as much as I could. But, when I drew that image, it had a very mysterious shape and I was concerned that it might not be a practical design for the wings. I was relieved that the wings flapped very well on the set.

UCHUSEN: What additions were made to Kiryu?

NISHIKAWA: The changes were all based on descriptions in the screenplay. Kiryu's chest, arms, and weapons were changed. Both director Tezuka and effects director Asada had different ideas for the weapons. Mr. Tezuka suggested a propellant tank. Mr Asada brought in a Bandai Chogokin Mechagodzilla figure, put the back unit on upside down, and said "How about this?". As you will clearly see, Kiryu's new back unit is shaped like that.

Last time, Kiryu's head was too heavy. Because there was very little time, we made the back unit and the suit at the same time, and the back unit ended up not fitting well on Kiryu's body. This time, we already have the Mechagodzilla suit, so we could make the back unit smaller so it fits much better.

The new Kiryu Mechagodzilla. © 2003 Toho Co., Ltd.

UCHUSEN: So, the back unit was designed to be carried like a backpack this time?

NISHIKAWA: I was originally thinking of a completely different approach, but Mr. Tezuka really liked the scene [in GXMG] where Mechagodzilla used the back unit jets to fly. Since I knew from the beginning that Kiryu would fly in GMMG, I designed the new back unit accordingly.

The shape of Kiryu's shoulder cannons were rectangular last time, and that appearance gave an uneven, unsophisticated impression. This time, I used Mr. Asada's idea to make the shape more like a pentagon. Mr. Asada was very strong in his opinions on that.

UCHUSEN: Were the guns on Kiryu's arms changed?

NISHIKAWA: I used the same concepts that I did before, however, the forearm cannons are more powerful this time so I increased their length. I originally wanted the cannons to extend past Kiryu's hands in GXMG, but [GXMG effects director] Yuichi Kikiuchi wanted Mechagodzilla to be able to use the cannons while its hands were in motion. In the early stages of designing Kiryu, the cannons were not intended to be rail guns, but this time I decided that's what they should be. I also wanted to change the shape of Kiryu's hands back to my original concept for GXMG.

UCHUSEN: So you used the earlier design with some modifications?

NISHIKAWA: Yes, but in the last movie we treated Kiryu as the hero, and this time it is just a machine or a weapon. You will get a very different impression of Kiryu in GMMG.

UCHUSEN: You also drew storyboards for GMMG. What impressions did that give you for the film?

NISHIKAWA: Both Mr. Tezuka and Mr. Asada had very similar points of view. They understood each other very well, and were completely in synch. From working on the storyboards, I could tell that the combination of the two directors was very good. They wanted to recreate the classic image of the Kaiju Eiga [Japanese Monster Movies] by using low camera angles. Godzilla also moves quite a bit in this film. I realized when the monster suits are still, they do not look like living creatures. Because of that, the monsters in this film are always moving.

UCHUSEN: How would you describe effects director Eiichi Asada?

NISHIKAWA: He has a strong visual sense for how to express details onscreen, because he has worked on effects films since the days of Teruyoshi Nakano. In a sense, he is trying to make a deep and weighty image, by taking care of the atmosphere on the set. Meanwhile, he is also aggressively using digital technology. I think you will get a nostalgic feeling for the classic monster movies when you see GMMG in theaters.

UCHUSEN: After you finished drawing the storyboards, how do you feel they were developed on screen?

NISHIKAWA: This time, Director Tezuka was concerned that we didn't have the monsters make any unusual movements. In other words, by keeping to the basic concepts of the classic monster movies, the audience will feel the weight, the depth, and the size of the monsters.

Since the Heisei Godzilla series, there have been so many new Ultraman, Masked Rider, and effects shows on television. But, we should show something that only Godzilla can do, so we went back to the basic concept of the movie monster. With GMMG, audiences will see why Godzilla is THE movie monster.

Monster Maker: Shinichi Wakasa [Photo Credit: Gene Cahill]. © 2003 Toho Co., Ltd.

In the early 1980s he established the company Monsters Inc., with Tomoo Haraguchi (director of SAKUYA: SLAYER OF DEMONS, 2000) and Chieko Tsuneoka (who has since moved on to a position with the Japanese bureau of the NY Times), and created monsters for the "Ultra Legend" pictorials for TV-Kun magazine (Shogakukan Publishing), which begat Tsuburaya Productions' short-lived ANDRO MELOS (Andoromerosu, 1983) teleseries. Since then, Monsters Inc. has created monster suits, props, and animatronics for a variety of film and television projects, including Tsuburaya Productions' ULTRAMAN TIGA (Urutoraman Tiga, 1996) and ULTRAMAN COSMOS (Urutoraman Kosumosu, 2001) television series, and the theatrical feature ULTRAMAN COSMOS 2: THE BLUE PLANET (Urutoraman Kosumosu 2: Buru Puranetto, 2002). Wakasa is also responsible for the Soldier Legion from the Daiei film GAMERA 2: ATTACK OF LEGION (Gamera 2 Legion Shurai,1996).

His first Toho creation was Fire Rodan for the 1993 film GODZILLA VS. MECHAGODZILLA 2, which was followed by the Sea God Muba in OROCHI: THE EIGHT-HEADED DRAGON (Yamato Takeru, 1994), Space Godzilla and Little Godzilla in GODZILLA VS. SPACE GODZILLA (Gojira tai Supeesu Gojira, 1994), the final stage Destoroyah in GODZILLA VS. DESTOROYAH (Gojira tai Desutoria, 1995), Death Ghidorah in REBIRTH OF MOTHRA (Mosura, 1996), Dagarah from REBIRTH OF MOTHRA 2, and both Grand King Ghidorah and Rainbow Mothra from REBIRTH OF MOTHRA 3.

In 1999, Wakasa finally got a chance at the monster that had so captured his imagination 35 years before: Godzilla. His radical redesign of the King of the Monsters, with its sharp, angular dorsal fins, was introduced in GODZILLA 2000 (Gojira Ni-sen Mireniamu). With varying modifications, this look has become the Godzilla design for the new "Millennium" series, having also appeared in GODZILLA VS. MEGAGUIRUS and GODZILLA X MECHAGODZILLA. Wakasa also built the various suits and props for Godzilla's recent opponents Orga and Megaguirus.

For GODZILLA X MOTHRA X MECHAGODZILLA: TOKYO SOS, Wakasa and Monsters Inc. took on the task of building the suits and props for all three titular monsters.

UCHUSEN: What was your starting point in creating the new Mothra?

WAKASA: At the beginning, Shogo Tomiyama told me that we would be using Mothra this year. This was in February. At that time, I was thinking about just changing the color scheme of the Rainbow Mothra from cold to warm colors. But, when I spoke with Mr. Tezuka, he mentioned the flashback to the original MOTHRA that was shown in GXMG. Since it's a fact that Mothra had already come to Japan once before, Mr. Tezuka said he wanted to keep the atmosphere of the original film. That didn't necassarily mean he wanted to recreate the original Mothra. But, the story of GMMG takes place in the same world as the one where the first Mothra appeared, so we agreed to make something that was not too dissparate.

UCHUSEN: What were the key points to the new Mothra?

WAKASA: First of all, I made it much bigger than the Mothras from the Heisei series and GMK, though the Mothra made for GODZILLA VS. MOTHRA [Gojira tai Mosura, aka "Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle for Earth", 1992] was relatively big because it needed to be a counterbalance to Godzilla. The new larva is also much larger than the others I had created before.

UCHUSEN: One important characteristic of Mothra is the way its wings flap.

WAKASA: I previously made the imago Mothra for REBIRTH OF MOTHRA 3. This time, before we started to make Mothra's wings, my team and I spoke with wire operator Satoru Shimase on what kind of materials should be used. I really think it makes the best wing movement of all the Mothras created so far. The core material is carbon rods, which I also used on REBIRTH OF MOTHRA 3.

Wakasa's new Mothra. © 2003 Toho Co., Ltd.

UCHUSEN: How about the Mothra larva?

WAKASA: Basically, I copied the appearance of the first Mothra, though its not as white as the original larva, or as dark as the ones from MOTHRA AGAINST GODZILLA. I put its color somewhere in the middle of them.

UCHUSEN: Are you reusing the Kiryu suit from GXMG?

WAKASA: It's a new creation, more or less. I used the original suit mold and as many parts from the first suit as I could.

UCHUSEN: It looks different. Is that because the colors have been changed?

WAKASA: This is because Mr. Asada wanted me to add a lot of weathering to the Kiryu suit.

UCHUSEN: A new suit actor plays Kiryu in GMMG.

New Mothra mouth detail. © 2003 Toho Co., Ltd.

WAKASA: Hirofumi Ishigaki, who played the previous Mechagodzilla, quit his job. So, they picked Mr. Nakagawa for the part.

UCHUSEN: How about Godzilla?

WAKASA: I made a big scar on his chest, but didn't change many other details. We made three new Godzilla suits -- a main suit, another one for action scenes, and a water suit. Last year, I made an upper body suit for closeups, but this year we're using an animatronic Godzilla prop instead.

UCHUSEN: It looks like there was more work for Monsters Inc. this year, because of Mothra.

WAKASA: We started work earlier than usual because there was quite a bit for us to manage this time. I feel we did more on GMMG because Monsters Inc. only made the Godzilla suits for most of the recent films. We had other companies build the opponent monsters. But this year, I wanted to make Mothra, too, so we made the various Godzillas first.

UCHUSEN: What is the basic theme of your creations this time?

WAKASA: For both Mothra and Godzilla, I was told to make them more like living creatures. I think this is most reflected in the mechanical Godzilla I created for closeups, and in details on Mothra - - like the new shape of its mouth.

Akira Nakao as Japan's Prime Minister with Koizumi. © 2003 Toho Co., Ltd.

Nakao's first Toho film was the 1970 horror movie THE VAMPIRE DOLL (Yurei Yashiki-no Kyofu Chi-o Suu Ningyo, aka "Legacy of Dracula: The Bloodthirsty Doll"). Over the next two decades he occasionally worked for the studio on movies like THE MAN WHO BECKONED A TEMPEST (Arashi- o Yobu Otoko, 1983) and MINBO: OR THE GENTLE ART OF JAPANESE EXTORTION (Minbo-no Onna, 1992) before landing his most famous role as Commander Takaki Aso in GODZILLA VS. MECHAGODZILLA 2(1993). The gruff boss of G-Force proved popular with fans, and Nakao returned as the character in both GODZILLA VS. SPACE GODZILLA and GODZILLA VS. DESTOROYAH.

He returned to the Godzilla series in GODZILLA X MECHAGODZILLA, this time as Minister of Science and Technology Hayato Igarahi, the man who oversees the 1999 Kiryu Project for Prime Minister Machiko Tsuge (Kumi Mizuno). Igarashi is elected the new Prime Minister in 2003, just in time for Kiryu's first trial by fire against Godzilla. The Japanese public quickly turns against Kiryu due to the massive damage caused during its battles with Godzilla and a brief solo rampage when the cyborg temporarily went out of control. When Godzilla returns to menace Japan once more in GODZILLA X MOTHRA X MECHAGODZILLA: TOKYO SOS, Igarashi must decide how best to deal with the monster and a public who feel the cure may be worse than the disease.

In an interview conducted on July 5th at Toho Studios, Nakao talked about working on GMMG with writer Taketo Tomoi:

"In the last film Prime Minister Igarashi made every important choice in a decisive manner, but in GMMG he is now required to be more cautious because he has to deal with both the pros and cons of using Kiryu once again. But as far as I am concerned, this change doesn't make any difference in how I prepared for the role.

Director Tezuka's plans were extremely detailed this time around. He had thorough storyboards prepared [by Shinji Nishikawa] and has thought out every single movement of the actors, so his direction is quite easy to follow. On the other hand, I now have to act at a very specific point on the set, so that aspect of the direction is more difficult than usual. Normally, a director's orders are a sort of instruction manual and I have more freedom to work things out for myself, but Tezuka's direction is like a blueprint. I need to perform at the exact mark the director has intended so that my footage can be composited with the special effects -- fitting into either the director's designs or drawings. That is the most important thing and I have tried to follow his direction perfectly so far.

Some of the actors who played members of the JXSDF [the "Counter Special Lifeform Self Defense Force"] in GXMG are in the new film and we work together in perfect harmony. On many occasions, my action was to just stand at my mark or match someone's eyeline as the director had instructed, so we worked quite quickly. Sometimes, we'd joke "That's it? Shall we film the scenes scheduled for tomorrow, too?"

To see what wasn't apparent on the set, or to see myself in scenes with the special effects added -- that is the interesting part of acting in a Tokusatsu film. In regular movies, I can imagine any scene from the story. GMMG has a story too, but the special effects are sometimes more influential than the story itself and the destruction scenes are more powerful than my imagination. Such images surprise me when I first see the movie, so I'm always the one who is most looking forward to the preview screening. I even want to see the special effects scenes more than anyone else [laughs]. Since the stars of this film are Godzilla, Mechagodzilla, and Mothra, my screentime in GMMG has been compromised all because of Mothra! [laughs]

The next Godzilla film? That will be the 50th Anniversary, but I don't think my administration will still be around then [laughs]. So will I end up playing an extra fleeing from Godzilla, a [close up of a] pair of frightened eyes, or the former Prime Minister? [laughs] After getting all the way up to playing the Prime Minister, I only can appear as some higher up from now on. Maybe only retirement awaits the Prime Minister, but I am looking forward to developing new plans to counterattack Godzilla if my administration is still hanging in. Will my administration stay in power longer than [Prime Minister] Koizumi's? [Real life Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was reelected in a landside on September 21st.]

I want to ask the fans to please not miss a single moment of this movie -- you will miss something important if you are not observant. You should pay particular attention to the war between the monsters -- the tide of the battle turns every second. Please, try not to blink for 90 minutes!"