Aaron Taylor-Johnson, center, as Ford Brody on the set of "Godzilla." (Kimberley French / Warner Bros./Legendary)
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Director Gareth Edwards, left, and Bryan Cranston on the set of "Godzilla." (Kimberley French / Warner Bros./Legendary)
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Bryan Cranston, left, as Joe Brody and Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Ford Brody in "Godzilla." (Warner Bros./Legendary)
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A scene from Warner Bros. Pictures' and Legendary Pictures' sci-fi action adventure movie "Godzilla." (Warner Bros. Pictures)
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Ken Watanabe as Dr. Ishiro Serizawa and David Straithairn as Adm. William Stenz in a scene from Warner Bros. Pictures' and Legendary Pictures' sci-fi action adventure movie "Godzilla." (Warner Bros. Pictures)
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A scene from Warner Bros. Pictures' and Legendary Pictures' sci-fi action adventure movie "Godzilla." (Warner Bros. Pictures)
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A scene from Warner Bros. Pictures' and Legendary Pictures' sci-fi action adventure movie "Godzilla." (Warner Bros. Pictures)
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Director Gareth Edwards and Aaron Taylor-Johnson on the set of "Godzilla." (Warner Bros. Pictures)
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Elizabeth Olsen as Elle Brody in a scene from Warner Bros. Pictures' and Legendary Pictures' sci-fi action adventure movie "Godzilla." (Warner Bros. Pictures)
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A scene from Warner Bros. Pictures' and Legendary Pictures' sci-fi action adventure movie "Godzilla." (Warner Bros. Pictures)
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A scene from Warner Bros. Pictures' and Legendary Pictures' sci-fi action adventure movie "Godzilla." (Warner Bros. Pictures)
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Bryan Cranston as Joe Brody in a scene from Warner Bros. Pictures' and Legendary Pictures' sci-fi action adventure movie "Godzilla." (Warner Bros. Pictures)
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Juliette Binoche as Sandra Brody in a scene from Warner Bros. Pictures' and Legendary Pictures' sci-fi action adventure movie "Godzilla." (Warner Bros. Pictures)
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Director Gareth Edwards appeared at the Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures presentation at WonderCon in Anaheim on Saturday to unveil footage from his upcoming “Godzilla” remake, due in theaters May 16. The glimpse fans saw provoked a wild reaction.
“And that’s why we make movies,” he said as the lights came up after the screening of the footage.
What drove the fans into a frenzy? It wasn’t just the glimpses of Godzilla rising from the Pacific to lay waste to Honolulu, although the footage, even with incomplete visual effects, was impressive.
It was the presence of a creature that, until now, has not been seen in any of the film’s marketing. In the new film, fans will get to see their Godzilla fight Mothra, or at least a giant winged creature that bears a vague resemblance to a moth. Edwards did not utter the M word during his appearance.
Edwards spoke of his adoration of Steven Spielberg’s films, and the influence was apparent in the scene showed to the WonderCon crowd, which paid homage to the famous shot in “Jaws” that revealed the outline of the giant shark swimming beneath Quint’s boat. Replace Quint’s boat with an aircraft carrier and the shark with Godzilla, and the scope of Edwards’ film becomes clear.
“I grew up watching Spielberg movies,” he said. “What they did so well — as well as having epic, fantastic spectacle — they made the characters feel real and human. We were trying to do the same thing here.”
The clip climaxed with Godzilla confronting the Mothra-like creature on the tarmac at Honolulu’s airport. For the first time, fans got to see the new Godzilla facing the camera directly and letting loose with its distinctive roar.
Edwards said that going into the film, he thought designing Godzilla’s new look would be the easiest thing to do, since everyone already has an idea of what Godzilla looks like. But that turned out to make designing Godzilla one of the trickiest tasks for the film’s crew.
“I feel the best designs are strongest when they work in silhouette,” Edwards said. “We built him in 3-D and designed him in black and rotated him. If you saw a sign warning ‘Godzilla crossing,’ you’d know right away it was not a deer or a bear.”
Creating the monster’s new look took the better part of a year, Edwards said. It was a puzzle, but “it’s not a Rubik’s Cube,” he said. “You can’t cheat and pull off the stickers.”
The film sees Bryan Cranston, Elizabeth Olsen and Aaron Taylor-Johnson leading an ensemble cast, but Edwards said he specifically told the performers not to approach the film as a big, commercial blockbuster.
“Forget the giant monsters,” he told them. “If this really happened, it would be a life-changing experience. You have to take it seriously.”
Edwards said he couldn’t describe the film the way most other directors discuss their big-budget remakes, talking about how they were making things gritty and grounded. He said the original 1954 film was as real as it gets, with its direct and sustained metaphor for the nuclear horror of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Edwards didn’t reveal exactly what Godzilla’s motivation throughout the film would be, but he definitely hinted that the movie would include more than one creature.
“The other thing, whatever it is, is very much related to the life cycle of Godzilla,” he said. “Everything Godzilla does in the film feels animalistic and natural.”
Many of “Godzilla’s” secrets were divulged at the panel, but one that Edwards is keeping to himself, at least for now, is how the monster’s distinctive roar was created.
According to film lore, the original roar came about by rubbing a hand in a leather glove over the resin-coated strings of a double bass. But when sound designer Eric Aadahl tried that, he couldn’t re-create the effect. Eventually, he hit on a method, but he refused to tell Edwards what it was until the final week of work on the film.
“It’s as crazy as the double bass thing,” was all he would say.
– Patrick Kevin Day
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You say that the Muto is a moth-like monster, but I fail to see how the Muto is even remotely moth-like, other than the fact that they both have wings. Hell, the Muto doesn't even have a vague resemblance to a moth. The body-leg ratio is entirely different from that of a moth's, with the Muto's legs being long and very stalk-like compared to a moth's short legs. Also, the head doesn't even come close to resembling that of a moth. The eyes of the Muto are very thin and red, while a moth's eyes are bulgy, round, and consist of multiple lenses. Let's not forget that a moth has antennae, while the Muto does not. Also, it's been confirmed that the only Toho monster appearing in this movie is Godzilla, and no others. Please, do a bit of fact checking before you post up an article, it would help very much.
Yeah with the above… lets ignore the fact that Mothra is in a sense a deity (in the Toho/Godzilla verse) physically Mothra is fluffy and well a moth. She's colorful, and while that MUTO critter has wings and some moth coloring (i've seen black and white moths) its not fluffy in the least. Additionally Mothra is called upon to divert Big G's rampages and usually goes to his location, in the clip i've seen Godzilla clearly makes a bee line straight to this flying cockroach to give it what for. I understand you may be trying to reference a similarity (however vague) to a monster that casual Godzilla fans can identify with however this is very misleading and the uninitiated will simply assume Mothra is a creature that is nothing special other than a Godzilla punching bag which is far from the truth. I'm no Mothra fan but I respect what the giant fluffy demi god represents, as she is often depicted as a mediator who tries to convince Godzilla to let go of his hate for mankind or to resolve an issue without resorting to violence (it never works but she tries) Respect the moth is all I'm sayin.
As a comparison creature Batera is closer to the mark, hell even Gigan or Megalon would be more suited than Mothra. I'd even throw out Rodan as it has been known to dive into the water to catch food (see Destroy All Monsters for visual reference) .
Do any older fans have any concerns with the new look? I do: from the elephant club feet, to the dog head that is too small and back to the boring skyline on his back. The movie will rock but stop changing how Godzilla looks damn it. There is a great cgi of Godzilla on youtube (search Godzilla CGI) that was done for a commercial or something. That's it. Combine the Final Wars look with Hensai Godzilla. Big G rules.
Jay, you are the reason why it took a year to design Godzilla for this film. Stop your nitpicks and live with it.