Godzilla (2014 film)

Godzilla

A giant prehistoric dinosaur-like lizard monster towering over a blazing cityscape engulfed in an inferno.

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Gareth Edwards
Produced by
Screenplay by Max Borenstein
Story by David Callaham
Based on Godzilla 
by Toho
Starring
Music by Alexandre Desplat
Cinematography Seamus McGarvey
Edited by Bob Ducsay
Production
company
Distributed by
Release dates
  • May 8, 2014 (2014-05-08) (Dolby Theatre)
  • May 16, 2014 (2014-05-16) (United States)
Running time
 123 minutes[1]
Country United States[2][3]
Language English
Budget $160 million[4]
Box office $529 million[4]

Godzilla is a 2014 American Epic monster film directed by Gareth Edwards and a reboot[5] of Toho's Godzilla franchise. It is the 30th film in the Godzilla franchise, the first film in Legendary's Godzilla-Kong cinematic universe, and the second Godzilla film to be completely produced by a Hollywood studio, the first being the 1998 film of the same name.[Note 1] It stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ken Watanabe, Elizabeth Olsen, Juliette Binoche, Sally Hawkins, David Strathairn, and features Bryan Cranston. The screenplay is credited to Max Borenstein but includes contributions from David Callaham,[7] David S. Goyer,[8] Drew Pearce,[9] and Frank Darabont.[10]

The film is a co-production between Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures, with the latter also distributing the film worldwide, except in Japan where it was distributed by Toho. The project initially began in 2004 and was originally intended to be an IMAX short film but was later transferred to Legendary for development as a feature film. Principal photography took place in the United States and Canada in 2013.

Godzilla was released worldwide in 2D, 3D and IMAX on May 15, 2014 to positive reviews and was a box office success, grossing $200 million domestically and $529 million worldwide. The film's success prompted Toho to produce a reboot of their own and Legendary to proceed with sequels and a shared cinematic franchise, with the second Godzilla film set to be released on June 8, 2018, while a cross-over film with King Kong is targeted for a 2020 release date.

Plot

In 1954, Godzilla, an ancient alpha predator, is lured to an island in an attempt to kill it with a nuclear bomb. In 1999, Project Monarch scientists Ishiro Serizawa (Ken Watanabe) and Vivienne Graham (Sally Hawkins) investigate a colossal skeleton unearthed in a collapsed mine in the Philippines. They find two giant spores; one dormant and one hatched that made a trail into the sea. In Japan, the Janjira Nuclear Power Plant experiences unusual seismic activity; and Supervisor Joe Brody (Bryan Cranston) sends his wife Sandra (Juliette Binoche) and a team of technicians into the reactor. A tremor breaches the reactor, leaving Sandra and her team unable to escape while the plant collapses.

Fifteen years later, Joe's son Ford (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), a U.S. Navy explosive ordinance disposal officer, returns from a tour of duty to his family in San Francisco but has to immediately depart for Japan after Joe is detained for trespassing in the Janjira quarantine zone. Joe persuades Ford to accompany him to their old home in the quarantine zone to retrieve vital data. They successfully retrieve the data but are discovered by soldiers and taken to a secret facility in the power plant's ruins. After several power failures, a giant winged creature emerges and escapes, destroying the facility. Joe is severely wounded and dies after being evacuated by helicopter to the U.S.S. Saratoga. The incident is reported around the world as an earthquake.

Serizawa, Graham, and Ford join a U.S. Navy task force led by Admiral William Stenz (David Strathairn) to search for the creature, called "MUTO" (Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism). Serizawa and Graham reveal to Ford that a 1954 deep sea expedition triggered the appearance of Godzilla, and how nuclear tests in the 1950s were really attempts to kill him, how they have been secretly studying Godzilla, how the MUTO caused the Janjira meltdown, and how Godzilla and the MUTO are connected with each other. Ford reveals that Joe had monitored echolocation signals that indicated the winged MUTO was communicating with something.

The MUTO attacks a Russian submarine dropping it in Hawaii, on land. Godzilla arrives, causing a tsunami in Honolulu and briefly engages the MUTO in battle, before it flees. Meanwhile, a second, larger, wingless MUTO emerges in Nevada and devastates Las Vegas. The scientists deduce that the second MUTO is female, that the female was the one the male was communicating with, and that the two MUTOs will meet to breed in San Francisco. Over the scientists' objections, Stenz approves a plan to use nuclear warheads to lure and destroy the monsters. Ford joins a team delivering the warheads by train. The female MUTO intercepts the train and devours most of the warheads. The single remaining warhead is airlifted to San Francisco and activated after Godzilla arrives. The male MUTO steals the warhead and takes it to the female, who forms a nest around it in the Chinatown area.

While Godzilla and the MUTOs battle, a strike team, including Ford, enters the city by HALO jump to find and disarm the warhead. Unable to access the timer, the team sets the warhead on a boat for disposal at sea while Ford blows up the MUTO nest. The MUTOs initially get the upper hand, but Godzilla emerges victorious in the end and collapses on the shore. Ford is rescued and reunites with his family at an emergency shelter the following morning. Godzilla awakens and returns to sea with the media hailing him as "King of the Monsters - savior of our city?"

Cast

Taylor-Johnson, Olsen, and Cranston promoting the film at the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con International.
The son of Joe and Sandra Brody. After the nuclear plant's collapse, he grows up in the United States and becomes a Lieutenant in the United States Navy as an explosive ordnance disposal technician.[11][12][13][14] When Taylor-Johnson first met with Edwards, they talked for six hours about the archetype of the character.[15] Taylor-Johnson stated that Edwards brought a level of "intimacy" to the film and praised him for treating it like a "big budget art film".[16] He stated, "I think he went for the right balance of sensitivity and testosterone. I've probably been more emotionally challenged in this film than in any independent drama or thriller".[15] Taylor-Johnson went through training to achieve military etiquette,[17] and said he performed "quite a lot of the stunts".[18] The role of Ford was reportedly offered to Joseph Gordon-Levitt in 2012, but he declined. By 2013, Henry Cavill, Scoot McNairy, and Caleb Landry Jones comprised the shortlist for the role before Legendary took interest in Taylor-Johnson.[19] CJ Adams[20] portrays Brody as a young boy.
The lead scientist for Project Monarch.[13][21] Watanabe was initially skeptical about a new Hollywood Godzilla film but changed his mind after a meeting with Edwards, stating, "If you are telling the Godzilla story, you cannot separate it from the nuclear element, and the first thing I asked was whether there was going to be the nuclear element, as that now, in Japan, is a really sensitive problem. I was worried about how I could use that and how I could make that okay, but Gareth understood those feelings."[22] Watanabe's character is named after the director of various Godzilla films, Ishiro Honda, and after the scientist who killed Godzilla in the 1954 original film, Dr. Daisuke Serizawa.
Ford's father and former lead engineer at the Janjira nuclear plant until its destruction in 1999. Cranston has said that Edwards' approach to the film and to its characterization is what drew him to the project. He stated, "The most important thing about this version of Godzilla is the characterization. The characters in this are real, well drawn. [Edwards] takes the time to really establish who these people are, that you root for them, that you invest in these characters, and that you care for them. That's the best part of it."[23] Cranston additionally added, "I wouldn't be here if it was just, 'Look out, this monster is crushing everything!' Instead of trying to humanize the beast what this film does - and, I think, rightfully so - is humanize the people. You root for them and sympathize with their plight".[24] Cranston also joined the film because he has been a fan of Godzilla since childhood, stating, "Godzilla was always my favorite monster when I was young. He was unapologetic."[16][25] Cranston had to wear a wig for his scenes due to finishing Breaking Bad days before joining Godzilla.[26] Cranston was initially ready to decline the offer after being approached, assuming the film was going to be "silly", however, director Edwards' passion for the film and his previous film Monsters impressed Cranston enough to read the script and join the film.[27] Cranston would later admit that killing off Joe Brody so early was a "narrative mistake".[28]
A nurse at San Francisco General Hospital. She is married to Ford Brody and is the mother of Sam Brody.[12] Olsen agreed to join the film after being impressed with Edwards' previous film, Monsters and Edwards' enthusiasm for the film and Godzilla's history.[29]
A scientist with Project Monarch.[21] She has been Serizawa's "right hand" for many years.[30] Hawkins was the last actress to be cast while the film was undergoing principal photography.
A nuclear regulations consultant at the Janjira nuclear plant. She is married to Joe Brody and is the mother of Ford Brody.[13] Binoche agreed to join the film after reading a "beautiful" letter from Edwards[31] and because she wanted to "please" her son, who is also a fan of Godzilla,[32][33] however, Edwards has stated that her character's death scene is what convinced her (and Cranston) to join the film.[34] Binoche later revealed that Quentin Tarantino admitted to crying during her character's death scene, Tarantino stating it was "the first time I've ever cried during a 3D blockbuster."[35]
An Admiral in the Seventh Fleet of the United States Navy. He is the commander of the United States Navy task force in charge of tracking down the escaped MUTO.
The young son of Ford and Elle Brody.[37]
The commander of the aircraft carrier USS Saratoga, the flagship of the MUTO task force.
A sergeant of the United States Air Force. He becomes friends with Ford after the battles at Honolulu.[38]

Additional roles include: Patrick Sabongui as First Lieutenant Marcus Waltz, USAF, Jared Keeso as Jump Master, Luc Roderique as Bomb Tracker, Al Sapienza as Huddleston, the head of security at the Janjira MUTO facility, Brian Markinson as Whalen, a scientist at the Janjira MUTO facility, Catherine Lough Haggquist as PO #1 Martinez, Jake Cunanan as Akio, Warren Takeuchi as Akio's father, Yuki Morita as Akio's mother, Ken Yamamura as Takashi, Garry Chalk as Stan Walsh, Christian Tessier, Anthony Konechny,[37] James D. Deaver as Captain Freeman, Primo Allon as a member of the mine team,[37] and Jeric Ross.[37]

Godzilla franchise actor Akira Takarada was cast as an immigration officer, but his scene was cut from the final film. Edwards stated cutting the scene was his "biggest regret".[39] Despite cutting the cameo, Takarada is still listed in the closing credits of the film.

Production

The film is a co-production[40] of Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures, with the participation of Toho in creature design, sound design and plot. It has an estimated $160 million production budget, financed 75% by Legendary and 25% by Warner Bros.[41] The movie has an estimated $65 million promotion and advertising budget, for a total estimated budget of $225 million.[42] The film is Warner Bros. Pictures' first new Godzilla property since 1959's Gigantis, the Fire Monster.[43]

Development

After the release of 2004's Godzilla: Final Wars, marking the 50th anniversary of the Godzilla film franchise, Toho announced that it would not produce any films featuring the Godzilla character for ten years. Toho demolished the water stage on its lot used in numerous Godzilla films to stage water scenes.[44] TriStar Pictures, which had made the 1998 Godzilla film and held the rights to make a trilogy of films, let their rights expire in 2003.

Godzilla 3D

In August 2004, Yoshimitsu Banno, who had directed 1971's Godzilla vs. Hedorah, announced that he had secured the rights from Toho to make a Godzilla IMAX 3D short film at his Advanced Audiovisual Productions (AAP) production company. The film was tentatively titled Godzilla 3D to the Max, and was to be a remake of the Godzilla vs. Hedorah story.[45] In 2005, American Peter Anderson, ASC was added to the project as cinematographer, visual effects supervisor and co-producer.[45] In 2007, American producer Brian Rogers signed on to the project after Peter Anderson introduced him to Banno and AAP producer Kenji Okuhira.[46] In 2007, also through Anderson, Kerner Optical then came on board to develop the technology and to produce the 3-D film [47][48] And with Kerner's backing, in the fall of 2007 the team met with Toho in Tokyo where they re-negotiated their license to allow the release of a feature-length 3-D theatrical production.[49][50] In 2008, Kerner was facing financial troubles that threatened to cancel the production. Rogers, Anderson and the then-proposed director Keith Melton met with Legendary Pictures to get their backing on a 3-D theatrical film.[51] In 2010, it was green-lit by Legendary to go to production.[52] From the AAP production team, Banno and Okuhira would remain on the project as executive producers and Rogers as a producer. In November 2013, Banno stated that he still planned to make a sequel to Godzilla vs. Hedorah.[53]

Legendary production

Director Gareth Edwards promoting the film at the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con International

In August 2009, rumors surfaced that Legendary was in talks with Toho to produce a new American Godzilla film to be released in 2012,[54] and on March 29, 2010, it was officially confirmed by Toho and Legendary that Legendary had acquired the rights to Godzilla. According to Hideyuki Takai, president of Toho Co.: “We are delighted in rebooting the character together to realize its much-anticipated return by fans from all over the world. We are anxious to find out where Godzilla’s new stomping will take us.”[41] Legendary announced it would reboot the franchise with Warner Bros. co-producing and co-financing.[40] Legendary announced it would make the new film closer in style to the original 1954 film rather than the 1998 film and its "iguana-like creature".[55] According to Thomas Tull, chairman and CEO of Legendary Pictures, "Our plans are to produce the Godzilla that we, as fans, would want to see. We intend to do justice to those essential elements that have allowed this character to remain as pop culturally relevant for as long as it has."[56] Film producers Dan Lin, Roy Lee, Doug Davison and Legendary's Thomas Tull and Jon Jashni were added to the project to work with Rogers, Banno and Okuhira.[57]

At the 3D Summit conference held in September 2010 at Universal Studios, producer Brian Rogers confirmed a planned date of 2012. The reboot is a live-action project featuring a fully computer-generated Godzilla. Godzilla fought at least one or two monsters, rather than simply the military as seen in Emmerich's 1998 film.[5] Rogers also confirmed that the two Godzilla head designs that were floating around the Internet and rumored to have been designed by Legendary and sent to Toho for approval were fake, and were just simply fan-made. He also went on to say that he and Legendary Pictures wished to revive Godzilla in the same fashion Legendary had revived Batman.[58]

In October 2010, it was rumoured that Guillermo del Toro was approached to direct the film, which del Toro later denied.[11][59] In January 2011, Legendary named British filmmaker Gareth Edwards, director of the 2010 film Monsters, to direct the film.[60] In an interview publicizing the DVD release of his film Monsters, Edwards discussed the new film: "this will definitely have a very different feel than the 1998 film and our biggest concern is making sure we get it right for the fans because we know their concerns. It must be brilliant in every category because I'm a fan as well."[61] "Without addressing anything specific, everyone knows how important it is to get it right."[62][63][64]

The film remained in development into 2012, missing the planned release date. Edwards worked on his vision for the film at a stage at the Warner Bros. lot. The production team developed Godzilla models, artwork and pre-visualizations of the action scenes of the movie. From the lot, Edward directed a short teaser video, shown to Legendary executives and later shown at the San Diego Comic-Con International in July 2012.[65]

Writing

In October 2010, Legendary hired David Callaham to write the first draft.[59][66][67] Speaking of his draft, Callaham stated, "Godzilla is a pretty cut and dry, giant monster that smashes stuff. But the reason I got excited about it is because I saw themes and relationships to the modern world that I could tell in this story that was important." Callaham did research on Godzilla's history, animal documentaries, as well as natural disasters and local government disaster plannings in order to depict the events as close as possible to real-life disasters.[7]

When Edwards' signing was announced, it was also announced that Callaham's first draft would be rewritten by another writer.[64][68][69] In July 2011, David S. Goyer was attached to rewrite the script.[70] Goyer only worked a few weeks on the script and did not get any credit, stating, "[I was involved with Godzilla] a little bit. I mean I did three or four weeks of work on Godzilla, it wasn’t a page-one rewrite or anything like that. The term is ‘script doctoring,’ is what I did on it."[8] In November 2011, Max Borenstein was hired to continue work on the script.[71] In October 2012, Legendary announced that writer Drew Pearce would polish the script, making the principal characters older to suit the actors that Legendary had intended to cast.[9]

In January 2013, Frank Darabont was hired for a final rewrite.[72] In interviews, Darabont described his plans for Godzilla as returning it to a "terrifying force of nature". The film would add a "very compelling human drama" and that Godzilla would be tied to a "different contemporary issue" rather than the original atomic bomb testing.[10] In addition to contributing to the script, Darabont mainly focused on the emotional aspect and further development of the characters. Commenting on Darabont's work, Edwards stated, "We blocked out the whole story and Frank did a pass at helping the characters and emotions. He delivered on that. Frank brought a lot of heart to it and soul." Edwards additionally confirmed that one particular scene from Darabont's rewrite convinced Bryan Cranston and Juliette Binoche to join the film.[34] Edwards felt it was not believable that a creature as giant as Godzilla could go undetected by humanity, so the writers conceived of the idea that the monster's existence had been covered up by the United States government, and as such their nuclear tests in the Pacific during the 1950s were actually an attempt to kill the creature.[73]

In July 2013, Edwards confirmed an origin story for the film.[74] He also confirmed that Godzilla would be an anti-hero rather than a villain or a hero. He also discussed the themes incorporated into the film, stating "Godzilla is definitely a representation of the wrath of nature. We've taken it very seriously and the theme is man versus nature and Godzilla is certainly the nature side of it. You can't win that fight. Nature's always going to win and that's what the subtext of our movie is about. He's the punishment we deserve".[34] Actress Elizabeth Olsen discussed how the film returns to the roots of the original Godzilla film and its themes as well, stating, "There's a strong theme about the importance of family in it as well as the theme of trying to control nature and how that backfires in the end."[75]

Actor Bryan Cranston praised Edwards' vision, tone, and pitch for the film and titular character. In an interview with Canada's Entertainment Tonight, he compared Edwards' approach similar to Steven Spielberg's style in Jaws where the film does not immediately show the beast but rather build up to its appearance while still delivering an eerie and terrifying off-screen presence.[76]

In licensing Godzilla to Legendary, Toho set down some specific conditions: that Godzilla is born of a nuclear incident and it be set in Japan. The film has a title montage set in 1954, and then moves forward to 1999 and deals with a mysterious disaster at a fictional Japanese nuclear power plant named Janjira.[77] Legendary rejected an origin story where a Godzilla carcass would be found entombed in Siberia. The idea was rejected after the production learned that Man of Steel had a potentially similar scene.[78] The US Army reviewed the script, suggesting corrections for accuracy.[79]

Creature design

Godzilla's final design; officially revealed on the cover of Empire

In interviews at the 2013 Comic-Con, Edwards discussed the Godzilla creature design. He and the design group reviewed all previous incarnations of Godzilla's design for inspiration. Edwards commented, "The way I tried to view it was to imagine Godzilla was a real creature and someone from Toho saw him in the 1950s and ran back to the studio to make a movie about the creature and was trying their best to remember it and draw it. And in our film you get to see him for real." He went on to say that his Godzilla remains true to the original in all aspects.[80] Edwards also stressed that, "It was important to me that this felt like a Toho Godzilla" and concluded by wishing, "I'd love ours (Godzilla) to be considered as part of the Toho group."[34]

In October 2013, toy and collectible web sites offering pre-orders of merchandise for the film revealed aspects of the other creatures to appear in the movie. The other creatures are, as a group, known as "MUTOs", with some having the ability to fly and being multi-limbed.[81]

In a January 2014 interview in Total Film magazine, it was revealed that Godzilla would be 350 feet (107 meters tall), the tallest incarnation of Godzilla to date.[82] According to special effect chief Jim Rygiel, the mechanics of Godzilla's fighting style is based on the study of animals, primarily bears and Komodo dragons.[83]

For Empire magazine's April 2014 issue, the magazine cover featured a picture of Godzilla, revealing the monster's design. According to Edwards, elements of the faces of bears, dogs and eagles were incorporated into the design of Godzilla's face.[84] Motion capture by the special effects firm The Imaginarium was also utilized in the movement of the movie's monsters in film sequences.[84] Andy Serkis provided consulting work on the film's motion capture sequences in order to "control the souls" of the creatures.[85][86]

The Godzilla roar was revamped for the movie. According to Edwards, sound designer Erik Aadahl improved on the original sound effect provided by Toho.[87] Aadahl and fellow sound designer Ethan Van Der Ryn spent six months over the three-year production getting the roar right. Using microphones that could record sound inaudible to humans, the team found sounds to match the initial shriek and the finishing bellow. The new roar retains the musical key and cadence of the roar, going from a C to a D. The final version was the 50th the team produced. The pair tested the roar on a back lot at Warner Bros., using a tour speaker array for The Rolling Stones, and estimated that it could be heard 3 miles (4.8 km) away.[88] In IMAX theatres, the roar was integrated into the sound of the "Welcome to IMAX" sequence shown before Godzilla showings.[89]

In an interview with The Verge, Edwards commented that it took over a year to design the MUTO creatures because the crew wanted to create something new and different for contemporary audiences. Edwards and the design team looked to creatures from such films as Jurassic Park, Alien, Starship Troopers and King Kong for inspiration, reflecting on what made their designs so iconic. From this, the design for the MUTOs kept evolving and "mutating," according to Edwards, into a cohesive design.[90]

TJ Storm provided the motion capture performances for Godzilla[91][92][93][94] while Matt Cross and Lee Ross provided additional motion capture performances.[95]

Pre-production

In late 2012, the plans for the film's filming, release and distribution were revealed. In September 2012, Legendary announced a theatrical release date of May 16, 2014 in 3-D.[69][96] IMAX announced that the film would also be released in IMAX 3D on May 16, 2014.[97] Warner Brothers distributed the film worldwide, except in Japan, where it was distributed by Toho.[69] At that time, Legendary Pictures added Alex Garcia and Patricia Whitcher as executive producers.[69] In December, Dan Lin revealed that the film would likely start filming in Vancouver in March 2013.[65]

Legendary turned its attention to casting parts for the movie. On January 7, 2013, it was reported that Joseph Gordon-Levitt had turned down being cast in the film in the fall of 2012. It was reported that Henry Cavill, Scoot McNairy, and Caleb Landry Jones comprised the shortlist for lead of the film.[19] On January 10, it was first reported that Legendary Pictures was interested in Aaron Taylor-Johnson for the lead role.[98] It was reported that Bryan Cranston and Elizabeth Olsen were also in talks to co-star.[99] Olsen confirmed her involvement at the 2013 BAFTA awards.[100] Juliette Binoche and David Strathairn were then signed on to join Taylor-Johnson, Cranston and Olsen in the film.[101][102]

In January 2013, Mary Parent joined the project as a producer for Disruption Entertainment.[72][103] and producers Dan Lin, Roy Lee and Doug Davison were dismissed from the project.[104] According to The Hollywood Reporter, the producers left over creative and financial differences with Legendary Pictures, and Legendary was buying out their producer contracts, a move which led to court.[105] On January 9, Legendary Pictures filed a 'Complaint for Declaratory Relief' lawsuit against Lin, Lee and Davison in California State Court to spell out any fees owed to the individuals, who had signed an agreement with Legendary and were working with Legendary on the film's development. According to the complaint, Legendary had decided in the fall of 2012 to not employ the three as producers on the film and the three were not eligible for any producer fees.[106] The three filed a counter-claim, that the agreement cited by Legendary was not in force and that the original working agreement was breached by Legendary. The three argued that the suit should be decided in open court, not in arbitration, and that Legendary should be responsible for damages for breach of contract.[107] At court, the judge dismissed the arbitration and ordered mediation followed by jury trial if necessary.[108] Legendary appealed the decision and lost the appeal in March 2014, leaving the case in California Superior Court for trial.[109] In June 2015, on the eve of the trial, the parties came to a settlement, terms of which were not disclosed.[110]

At the start of principal photography in March 2013, Legendary formally announced the cast and producers.[111][112] Yoshimitsu Banno, Alex Garcia, Kenji Okuhira and Patricia Whitcher were formally named as executive producers and Legendary announced the addition of Ken Watanabe to the cast.[111] After filming started, Richard T. Jones and Sally Hawkins were added.[113][114] From the film set, a photograph of actor Akira Takarada (star of the original Godzilla, including five sequels) with Edwards was released. Takarada had publicly appealed to be part of the production and the photo indicates some sort of role for the Japanese actor in the reboot. In April 2014, Takarada said in an interview that his role was cut from the final version of the film. He had the role of an immigration officer.[115] Edwards stated that cutting Takarada's role was his "biggest regret".[39]

Filming

Principal photography began on March 18, 2013 in Vancouver, under the working title of "Nautilus,"[111] with scenes shot at the Vancouver Convention Centre,[116] inside BC Place, and at Hi-View Lookout in Cypress Provincial Park, West Vancouver (as San Francisco's Bay Area Park). This was followed by filming in the Richmond neighborhood of Steveston. A large battle scene was shot on Moncton St, involving approximately 200 soldiers and many military vehicles. Another scene was filmed at the fisherman's wharf along Finn Slough. Additional shooting took place on Vancouver Island, around Nanaimo[117] and Victoria in British Columbia. Additional filming involving extras took place around industrial areas of Coquitlam, British Columbia.[118]

The scenes at the Convention Centre stood in for the Honolulu and Tokyo airports, while other locations in Vancouver were used to simulate scenes in San Francisco, Tokyo and the Philippines. Filming also used the stages of Burnaby's Canadian Motion Picture Park, (CMPP) where crews built a San Francisco Chinatown street, a giant sinkhole set used for the Philippine mine and the MUTO nest and a 400 feet (120 m) section of the Golden Gate Bridge.[119] The Chinatown street was built on the site of the New York City set built for the Watchmen film.[120]

A wooden mock-up of a U.S. Army Stryker armoured fighting vehicle parked on Moncton St. in Richmond, BC during the shooting of Godzilla.

Further on-location filming was done in June and July 2013 in Honolulu, Hawaii.[121] On June 2, 2013, over 2,000 people applied at an open casting call in Hawaii to be cast as extras.[122][123] Over 200 extras were hired for the expected three weeks of shooting in Hawaii, which included dressing up Waikiki Beach as the site of disaster.[124] Eastern Oahu was used as a double for the Marshall Islands.[119] According to The Hollywood Reporter, principal photography on Godzilla wrapped on the weekend of July 13–14.[125]

In an interview, Aaron Taylor-Johnson described the filming as mostly on-location, with very little use of green screens. He described the film crew as fairly small compared to other films he has worked on, "almost an independent production." CGI was used to add elements later.[17]

Seamus McGarvey served as the film's cinematographer, shooting the film digitally using Arri Alexa cameras with Panavision C-Series anamorphic lenses. Sequences of the film set in the year 1954 were shot using vintage lenses from the early 1960s in order to give the film a "distant period feel."[126] This effect was enhanced though the digital intermediate's colour grading, as McGarvey noted that the "look I wanted was a peeled look with muted colors and diffusion on the highlights, a sense of period distance. I found a lot of photographs and magazines, and I knew that I wanted the blacks to be imbued with a tint of magenta."[126] Though the film was made to be released in 3D, it received a predominantly 2D release. McGarvey himself decided to shoot the film as if it were only 2D, because he dislikes working with 3D filming equipment and the experience of watching 3D films in theatres.[126]

The U.S. Navy co-operated in the making of the movie and filming took place on three U.S. Navy aircraft carriers: the USS Carl Vinson, the USS Nimitz and the USS Ronald Reagan.[127] Part of the opening sequence was filmed on the USS Missouri at Pearl Harbor.[128] The U.S. Army also participated in the movie with the support of three technical advisors.[79] The U.S. Marine Corps, which had participated in the 1998 film, declined to participate after reviewing the script, which featured Navy personnel.[14] Taylor-Johnson was put through a "mini-bootcamp" by retired Marine Sgt. Maj. James D. Dever, one of the film's military technical advisers, to "ensure he had good military bearing". Dever also helped stuntmen train for high-altitude, low-opening jumps.[14]

Director Gareth Edwards has said that he "intentionally placed humans in shots to give the scene a sense of scale, as everyone knows the size of a human, so we know the size of a creature or a building." He has also claimed that "We said that we wouldn't place a camera anywhere it would be impossible to get one. We would say "Imagine it was a news story, or a sports event, cameramen would put cameras where they could in a hurry, and get any shot they could." This is what we wanted [Godzilla] to feel like, as if people were filming glimpses at any chance they could." He also found himself "Doing things [I] think are cliche; panning up just as a roar happens, or getting the perfect shot, things I shake my head at when watching other people's films. Especially when [Godzilla] is first seen, we wanted a build up, and then pan up, we see him, and then we don't see him. I love that."

Post-production

Visual effects on the film were supervised by visual effects supervisor Jim Rygiel, best known for his work on The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy.[129] Rygiel has stated that the effects are in the spirit of the original series, with the blessing of Toho, although the monster would be "more dynamic than a guy in a big rubber suit."[130] Visual and special effects companies working on the picture include The Moving Picture Company (MPC),[131] Double Negative,[132] Weta Digital, Amalgamated Dynamics, ComputerCafe/CafeFX, Lidar VFX, Scanline VFX, Stereo D and The Third Floor.[133]

To create a CG version of Godzilla, MPC studied various animals such as bears, Komodo dragons, lizards, lions and wolves which helped the visual effects artists visualize Godzilla's body structure like that of its underlying bone, fat and muscle structure as well as the thickness and texture of its scale.[134]

The production used high-quality panorama photos of the San Francisco skyline, and built a three-dimensional map of the city. The map was used in the background of sequences shot on the bridge set in Vancouver. According to Jim Rygiel, “this technique gives you a real city that is accurate down to every piece of mortar in a brick building, so, using that, we were able to composite the live action shots with the key frame-animated monsters destroying digital buildings into a seamless whole.”[119]

Army vehicles, including tanks were provided by CGI and not real vehicles. The studio digitized actual military equipment from the 7th Infantry Division of the Army.[79]

The film's sound was mixed at Warner Bros.' studio in Burbank, California. The tracks were mixed by Gregg Landaker in the Dolby Atmos surround-sound format for exhibition in theaters with Atmos-equipped sound systems.[135] Production of the movie was completed in the last week of March 2014.[136]

Influences

Edwards decided on a restrained approach similar to when films were fueled by a "sense of anticipation" and relied on "high suspense", with films such as Alien and Jaws.[137] Edwards also wanted Godzilla to feel "universal" in a way that it could appeal to a general audience like Close Encounters of the Third Kind, which Edwards cited was a heavy influence on the film.[138][139] Edwards additionally stated, "I grew up watching Spielberg movies, 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."[140] Critics and journalists have also noted the film's nods and homages to Steven Spielberg's style of filmmaking[141][142][143] and his films such as Jaws, Jurassic Park, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.[144][145][146] Katsuhiro Otomo's Akira had also influenced the visual design of the film, Edwards stated, "...one of our designers on the film - a friend called Matt - when we were designing things, and got stuck, we'd always go, 'What would Akira do?'"[147] For the film's cinematography, Edwards wanted "...to do this beautifully real documentary vibe, but also that classic Spielberg style".[148] In addition to the science fiction films that influenced the film, Ishirō Honda's original Godzilla film was the key inspiration behind the entire film, Edwards stated, "Godzilla is a metaphor for Hiroshima in the original movie. We tried to keep that, and there are a lot of themes from the '54 movie that we've kept."[149][150] Real life events such as the 2004 Indian tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, and the Fukushima nuclear disaster served as heavy influences on the realism behind the film's destruction scenes and man vs. nature themes.[139][151][152] Edwards had also cited action films from the late 70's and early 80's having influenced the film as well, stating, "We tried to make a blockbuster that harks back to the pace and style of the early ’80s and late ’70s action movies."[153]

Music

Godzilla: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Film score by Alexandre Desplat
Released May 13, 2014 (2014-05-13)
Genre Film score
Length 60:27
Label WaterTower Music
Producer Peter Afterman (exec.), Paul Broucek (exec.), Gareth Edwards (exec.), Jason Linn (exec.), Dave Jordan (exec.), Dominique Lemonnier[154]

Film composer Alexandre Desplat was hired to compose an original soundtrack for Godzilla. Desplat had not composed previously for a monster film, having worked on movies such as The King's Speech, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and the final two Harry Potter films. Desplat accepted the contract after being impressed with Edwards' Monsters. Desplat describes the soundtrack for Godzilla as "non-stop fortissimo, with lots of brass, Japanese drums, and electric violin."[155] The score is also conducted by Desplat. The film score was released by WaterTower Music on May 12 and 13, 2014.[156][157]

The film also features György Ligeti's Requiem, Dusty Springfield's 1969 recording of "Breakfast in Bed," and Elvis Presley's "(You're the) Devil in Disguise."[158]

Marketing

An early prototype of Legendary's Godzilla design was displayed at the Godzilla Encounter exhibit.

In promotion of the project, visitors to the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) received a T-shirt with an image of the new Godzilla design,[159][160][161] an image credited to comics and manga publisher UDON Entertainment. Artist Gonzalo Ordóñez Arias worked with Legendary and Toho to create the painting.[162] Further, visitors to the Legendary Pictures booth at the convention could view an animation of the new Godzilla breathing radioactive fire superimposed over their image captured via a webcam.[159] The augmented reality promotion was designed by Talking Dog Studios of Saskatchewan, Canada.[160][163]

At a session during the July 2012 SDCC, Legendary presented both a poster for the film and a teaser trailer. The teaser trailer included a depiction of Godzilla faithful to the Toho monster, including its roar, and a "gigantic centipede-like monster."[164][165] The centipede-like monster was not used in the final film. Screenwriter Max Borenstein later confirmed that the centipede monster was conceived only for the teaser and only to indicate that Godzilla would fight another creature. It was included in the teaser before Borenstein completed writing the script.[166]

During filming in Vancouver, Legendary released several videos and still pictures of filming in Vancouver on its Facebook site. Pictures included a destroyed subway car with a green screen backdrop, soldiers inspecting a radioactive vault and wreckage on a shoreline. In July 2013, Legendary launched a "viral" website godzillaencounter.com in conjunction with the film. The company was promoting the film at the 2013 SDCC, and converted a warehouse in San Diego to the "Godzilla Encounter" exhibit in conjunction with the convention.[167] According to USA Today, the exhibit was "part museum, part theme park" with displays to simulate an experience of a Godzilla attack. The exhibit also had artifacts from the franchise series, including the "Oxygen Destroyer" of the original film, and a Godzilla costume from Godzilla 2000.[168] An audio sample was released on Godzillaencounter.com of an announcement suggesting Godzilla or a "gigantic atomic creature" attacking San Diego.[169]

At a session at the 2013 Comic-Con, Legendary showed footage from the film. As reported by various media, the footage is of a large monster, reminiscent of the Cloverfield monster, attacking an airport, when Godzilla's foot appears next to the monster. Godzilla's height is revealed to be several times the size of the other monster and a battle ensues, but Godzilla's face is not revealed. Various clips of scenes with Cranston, Taylor-Johnson and Olsen were also shown.[170][171][172]

In October 2013, the proof of concept footage shown at SDCC 2012 was leaked online and was available on several video sharing websites for several days before Warner Bros. and Legendary managed to have it fully removed.[173] The first official trailer was released online on December 10, 2013, and was attached to theatrical showings of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug in select theaters.[174] Also on December 10, Toho released a slightly different version of the trailer with Japanese subtitles, and a TV spot. Within two days, the trailer surpassed nine million views on YouTube.[175] Legendary launched a viral web site www.mutoresearch.net just prior to the trailer release, with video from the trailer and the trailer itself. Toho launched a web site of its own, godzilla.jp, with a simple arcade game of Godzilla stomping on Tokyo and using his radioactive breath, as well as appearances from King Ghidorah and Mothra.

From left: Gareth Edwards, Elizabeth Olsen, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Bryan Cranston promoting the film at the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con International

The second trailer was released on February 25, 2014.[176] It revealed more scenes of destruction by Godzilla on San Francisco and Las Vegas, brief glimpses of other creatures, as well as a conspiracy plot intertwined with the atomic blast tests in the Pacific Ocean in 1954.[176] Within three days, the video had recorded 13 million views on YouTube. Several more trailers were released, with variations for North America, Japan, Asia outside Japan and internationally. Several of the marketing materials won awards: the trailer ("Ravaged/Event"), the TV spot ("Fight"), and the Godzilla poster won Golden Trailer Awards.[177]

In cross promotion, Godzilla appeared in a light-hearted commercial for the Snickers chocolate bar, playing ping pong and water skiing. The angry Godzilla is calmed by eating a Snickers bar. Godzilla is portrayed as both human-sized and much larger.[178] Another cross-promotion commercial was made, featuring Godzilla in a Fiat 500L car commercial. In it, Godzilla is rampaging through a city, devouring Fiat cars as he goes, with a soldier claiming that he was "craving Italian." He then approaches to devour a Fiat 500L, but because of the car's size being larger than a 500 model, Godzilla cannot swallow it. Nearly choking on it, he spits out the car as it drives away.[179]

Legendary Pictures had set up a new Applied Analytics Group to direct its marketing efforts, and Godzilla was the first film that used analytics, similar to the use of sports analytics, to direct its marketing. According to Legendary CEO Thomas Tull, it developed a news software program named "Eddington", which, based on a massive database, was able to determine demographic trends among sub-groups of core filmgoers. It extended the standard Hollywood four-quadrant analysis of male/female and under/over 25 years of age to smaller target markets. Godzilla beat predictions of an opening-weekend gross of $60 million by over $30 million, a difference Tull attributed to Eddington. According to Tull, Legendary spent less in marketing than it had in the past.[180]

In July 2014, Japan completed a 6.6 meters (22 ft) statue in Tokyo Midtown area in Tokyo.[181]

Merchandise

In June 2013, Variety reported that Warner Bros. Consumer Products and Legendary Entertainment had assembled a large team of partners to make licensed merchandise to be released in conjunction with the film. Bandai America produced a line of toys, and other products were produced by NECA, Jakks Pacific, Bioworld, Trevco, Rubie's and Sideshow Collectibles.[182] Bandai and NECA produced toys inspired by the film; JAKKS Pacific produced large-scale figures and other toy products; Rubie's produced Godzilla costumes; and Sideshow Collectibles produced collectible statues.[183]

A novelization, written by science-fiction writer Greg Cox, was published by Titan Books in May 2014, to coincide with the film's release.[184] Cox has previously written novelizations for movies, including Legendary's own The Dark Knight Rises.[184] He has written numerous Star Trek novels. Two other books were scheduled for release including Godzilla: With Light and Sound! for children, and Godzilla: The Art of Destruction, a collection of artwork, plus interviews with the director and cast members.[185]

Legendary announced in January 2014, along with a video message by Edwards, a tie-in graphic novel to be released on May 7, 2014, one week before the movie.[186] Entitled Godzilla: Awakening, the novel's events take place decades before the events seen in the film.[187] It is co-written by Greg Borenstein and the film's screenwriter Max Borenstein, with cover art by Arthur Adams and interior art by Eric Battle, Yvel Guichet, Alan Quah and Lee Loughridge. The tagline is "Delve into an incredible mystery, generations in the making. At the dawn of the atomic age, humanity awakens lifeforms beyond imagination, unleashing monumental forces of nature."[187]

Pictures of the line of toys, including a Godzilla "Atomic Roar" model by Bandai, were leaked to the internet in March 2014. The Godzilla model has "atomic fire breath".[188] The toys shipped in March 2014.[189] A S.H.Monsterarts version of the 2014 Godzilla is also announced by Bandai, which is released on September 2014.[190]

A tie-in game for mobile devices was announced in March 2014. The game, titled Godzilla Smash 3, allows moves by matching three items of a similar type in a row. It is being made by Rogue Play and features puzzle-based gameplay similar to Candy Crush Saga. Above the game board, a view of Godzilla destroying various military vehicles is featured and the different attacks correspond to the combinations the player scores. The game was released in May 2014.[191]

Legendary's Godzilla was featured as a playable character in Bandai Namco's 2014 video game Godzilla as "Hollywood Godzilla".[192]

Release

Godzilla had its world premiere at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on May 8, 2014.[193] Godzilla received wide release worldwide in 2D, 3D and IMAX 3D beginning May 16, 2014. In the United States, the film was given a PG-13 rating by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) for "intense sequences of destruction, mayhem and creature violence."[194][195] The film was released in China on June 13 and in Japan on July 25, 2014.[196][197]

In April 2014, Toho had an early screening of Godzilla and gave a positive review. Edwards said, "They saw it yesterday and I got an e-mail saying they thought it was fantastic! So that was a relief."[198] Legendary also held screenings for the military.

Box office

The film grossed $9.3 million in North America at early Thursday screenings, one of the best late-night openings for a non-sequel,[199] and $93.2 million for the entire weekend, making it the fifth highest opening weekend in 2014.[200] Its opening weekend gross broke the records for the highest weekend debuts for a disaster film and a creature feature.[201] It was estimated that approximately half of the gross was in 3D screenings.[202] In its second weekend, which saw competition from X-Men: Days of Future Past, Godzilla had a 66% drop. At the end of its domestic run, Godzilla grossed $200.6 million in North America, the lowest total ever for a movie that opened above $90 million.[203] Godzilla finished as the thirteenth highest grossing film of 2014 in North America.[204]

Also on May 15, Godzilla opened in every major market internationally, with the exception of China and Japan, grossing $103.4 million[205] giving it a worldwide opening weekend of nearly $200 million. On June 13, the film opened in China and grossed $10.9 million for the largest opening day in that country for 2014,[206] and would open with $37 million for the weekend. The film finished with $77.6 million as the eighteenth highest grossing film in that country for the year.[207] On July 25, Godzilla finally opened in Japan, where it opened at number one and grossed $6.95 million for the weekend, the second-highest opening weekend in Japan of any foreign film in 2014.[208] Considered a "robust debut", this helped push the film's global box office to over $500 million[209] It eventually finished with just shy of $30 million making it the eleventh highest grossing film in that country for the year.[210] Godzilla finished its global run in theaters with $328 million from international markets, giving it a worldwide total of $528 million and making it the fourteenth highest grossing film of 2014 worldwide.[211] Calculating in all expenses, Deadline.com estimated that the film made a profit of $52.477 million.[212]

Critical reception

Director Gareth Edwards stands next to a Godzilla sculpture at the film's Japanese premiere. Edwards received praise for his directing and reinterpretation of the source material.

Godzilla received generally positive reviews from critics.[213][214][215][216][217] Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes has a 74% approval rating from critics, based on 278 reviews with an average score of 6.6/10. The site's consensus states: "With just enough human drama to anchor the sweeping spectacle of giant monsters smashing everything in sight, Gareth Edwards' Godzilla satisfyingly restores the franchise's fire-breathing glory."[218] On Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average based on selected critic reviews, the film has a score of 62/100, based on 48 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[219] CinemaScore reported that cinemagoers gave the film an average grade of B+ on an A+ to F scale.[220]

Alex Pappademas of Grantland called the film "the first truly joyous popcorn action movie of the season" and praised Edwards' restrained direction, stating, "I admired Edwards’s restraint, a quality I’m not accustomed to admiring in $160 million summer action movies."[221] Richard Roeper stated, "Edwards and his team produce consistently stunning visuals", but admitted that he "would have liked to see more of Godzilla" but stated that the film is "leaps and bounds ahead of the 1998 bomb" and awarded the film a B+ rating.[222] Tom Russo of the Boston Globe stated "Crafted with motion-capture technology and an aesthetic eye toward tradition, Godzilla is convincingly rendered here, making for some genuinely electrifying moments. There’s the monster’s battleship-buffeting partial reveal. That initial footfall, and the way it instantly communicates Godzilla’s impossible scale. That initial blast of his radioactive dragon’s-breath, and a stunning encore."[223] Zacharek praised the scene where Godzilla "looms, glamorously and ominously, from behind a row of orange-red lanterns strung up in San Francisco's Chinatown: They tremble in the air, their cheerful serenity disrupted by the vibration of his bad-mood footsteps and even more punishing glare."[224] A. O. Scott of the New York Times praised two sequences: "one on a rainy San Francisco bridge, the other at a railroad trestle somewhere in Nevada — offer master classes in how to create suspense out of shadows, quiet and the sheer agony of waiting for something to happen."[225] 10 Second Reviews gave the film a score of 7/10 and stated, "A rampaging disaster flick with a jaw-dropping title character. Subtlety & story aren't its strengths but it looks & sounds sensational."[226]

Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune awarded the film three and a half stars, finding that the film "makes up" for the 1998 version and praised Edwards, stating, "The director thinks visually, which sounds redundant until you realize how many monster movies are flat, effects-dependent factory jobs. Edwards knows how to use great heights for great effect." Phillips also praised the film's build-up, stating, "director Gareth Edwards lays the expository groundwork nicely and hands the audience what it craves in the second half" and defended the amount of screen-time Godzilla received, stating, "Is there enough Godzilla in "Godzilla"? Folks, there is. There is just enough."[227] David Blaustein of ABC News Radio called the film "very good, but not great", criticizing the film for not having enough screen-time for Godzilla, stating, "There’s not enough Godzilla. When the monster’s away, the movie drags. It’s clear what Edwards and company are trying to do here. i.e. less is more. The issue is, this Godzilla is so much fun to watch, we never want it leave the screen and when he/she/it's not there, it's a letdown." Regardless, Blaustein stated that the film's finale, "more or less, makes it all worth the wait", and awarded the film three-and-a-half stars out of five.[228]

The screenplay, which held back revealing Godzilla until nearly an hour in, drew varying opinions. Peter Howell of the Toronto Star noted that "Edwards wants to do more than make our eyes bulge and our popcorn crunch. For most of the first half of the film, we get mainly tantalizing glimpses of Godzilla and its new sparring partner, a giant insect parasite called MUTO... But when the time comes to stop the fan dance, Edwards makes sure Godzilla is ready for its close-up, letting out a mighty roar directly to camera. The theatre literally seems to shake."[229] Roth Cornet of IGN agrees, "As in the classic, they hold the titular monster back for quite some time, and while the slow burn may not agree with a modern audiences’ desire for rapid-fire storytelling, once the monster action really gets going it is glorious to behold, with the finale a thing of utter, spectacular beauty. I’ll confess, I would have liked to see more of that action, and Godzilla earlier in the film, but am equally struck by what is in many ways a bold and well-thought-out pacing choice."[230] Stephanie Zacharek of the Village Voice felt that "The big guy's too small a part of his own movie."[224] Norman Wilner of Now defended the screenplay, considering the movie "Spielbergian in its storytelling, guided not just by Jaws and Jurassic Park but by Close Encounters of the Third Kind as well."[231] Empire gave the film three stars praising the filmmaking, noble intentions and "cracking" monster action but criticizing it for not reconciling the preposterous premise and clichéd characters of the B movies that inspired it with its solemn tone.[232] In its "books, arts and culture" blog, The Economist, in a review that compares the film against the original, concluded "The right way to balance seriousness and silliness in a Godzilla film, it seems, is to have a thoughtful script about nuclear dread offset by some spectacular scenes of behemoth-vs-humanity devastation. Mr. Edwards' method is to switch things around, so that the screenplay is laughable but the mood and visuals are as drab as possible. His main achievement is to make Mr. Emmerich's version seem halfway decent after all."[233]

One criticism several critics have leveled at the film is that the human characters are thinly developed. Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter considered it "superbly made but burdened by some dull human characters enacted by an interesting international cast who can't do much with them, this new Godzilla is smart, self-aware, eye-popping and arguably in need of a double shot of cheeky wit."[234] Lou Lumenick of the New York Post said "even in 3-D, these human characters are barely one-dimensional, but in the end that doesn't really matter very much."[235] Wilner agreed that "People are just there to bear witness or run like hell."[231] Robbie Collin of The Daily Telegraph gave the movie four stars out of five, and echoed the Spielbergian references in the use of the human characters: "if anything, when the film introduces a plot-thread about absent fathers, the Spielberg-homaging start to feel a touch schematic. But hey: these are legitimate ways to build empathy into a special-effects film. Let’s not be picky."[236] A. O. Scott, while stating that the movie surpasses the 1998 film, added, "One of the pleasures the movie offers is the thought that actors who have done splendid work elsewhere ... are being paid well for shouting, grimacing and spouting expository claptrap."[225] This criticism of frail acting and character development is at least partially defended by David Ehrlich for The Dissolve, who described the film as "the first post-human blockbuster", stating that "characters are defined not by their actions, but by their insignificance."[237]

Bryan Cranston would later admit that killing off Joe Brody was a "narrative mistake".[28] Cranston felt that they "kind of dealt with it poorly", stating, "I told them that even if I wasn’t doing this role, that character shouldn’t die at that point. It’s just bad narrative, but they were too far down the road" and felt that the emotional arc could have been done better, stating, "That character should have been with his son and they would’ve started to bond a little bit more and they went on this journey together to go back home and be reintroduced to his grandson. Just when they’re bonding and it looks like they could have a relationship, the father sacrifices himself to save his son. And that’s the way he should have died." However, Cranston stated that this was his "only criticism" because he thought the film was "fun".[238] Director Edwards revealed that earlier drafts kept the character alive but became redundant afterwards, stating, "there was nothing else that character could do without being silly. If he sticks with Ford, it becomes Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade, and the tone of the movie becomes fun, but not the tone we were trying to do. And if he sticks with the military guys, he’s like a fifth wheel. His job was done in the storyline there."[239]

Japanese critics and journalists have praised the film for putting "more of an effort to honor the spirit and visual style of the Japanese series" but criticized the film for "complicating the anti-war, anti-nuclear sensibility" and "lack of nerve on the part of the filmmakers to say anything substantial about nuclear weapons or nuclear energy", however, Godzilla illustrator Yuji Kaida called the film "a real kaijū eiga (monster movie) that honored the original in that Godzilla was presented as a force beyond human understanding that maintained the Earth’s natural balance".[216]

Analysis

William Tsutsui, author of Godzilla on My Mind, discussed the new film in an article in Foreign Affairs magazine. "This latest reboot brings to the screen a Godzilla that remains true to the spirit of the Japanese series while creating a very American, very twenty-first-century monster." He noted that the film "depicts gluttony for food and sex in ways that were never a feature of Japanese productions. There are far more overt displays of affection in the first 15 minutes of the 2014 Godzilla than in the entire Japanese franchise, which totaled one very chaste kiss over 50 years." He also noted that the film is more violent than the Japanese series, showing more carnage. The Godzilla character, in its heroism, is reminiscent of the 1960s and 1970s Japanese Godzilla, but not anthropomorphized like those. Also, the identity of the character as Japanese is lost: "In the 28 films made by Toho, Godzilla is unmistakably identified as one of wareware Nihonjin (we Japanese). After liberating San Francisco from the spawning MUTOs, Godzilla is thus crowned as a defender of the United States."[240]

Awards

Year Award Category Recipient Result Ref.
2014 15th Golden Trailer Awards Best Summer 2014 Blockbuster Trailer Godzilla "Ravaged/Event" Won [177]
Best Action TV Spot Godzilla "Fight" Nominated [177]
Best Summer 2014 Blockbuster TV Spot Godzilla "Fight" Won [177]
Best International Poster Godzilla Won [177]
Best Summer 2014 Blockbuster Poster Godzilla Won [177]
Teen Choice Awards Choice Movie: Action Godzilla Nominated [241]
Choice Movie: Breakout Star Elizabeth Olsen Nominated
Choice Movie: Hissy Fit For the character, "Godzilla" Nominated
Hollywood Post Alliance Outstanding Sound - Feature Film Erik Aadahl, Ethan Van der Ryn, Tim LeBlanc, Gregg Landaker, Rick Kline Nominated
World Soundtrack Academy Film Composer of the Year Alexandre Desplat (also for The Grand Budapest Hotel, Marius, The Monuments Men, Philomena, Venus in Fur, and Zulu) Won
22nd Annual Japan Cool Content Contribution Award Alex Garcia Won [242]
2015 Houston Film Critics Society Best Poster Godzilla Nominated
Japan Academy Prize Outstanding Foreign Language Film Godzilla Nominated
41st Saturn Awards Best Science Fiction Film Godzilla Nominated [243]
Best Music Alexandre Desplat Nominated

Home media

Toho's 5-disc limited edition Blu-ray set.

Godzilla was released on Blu-ray Disc and DVD formats on September 16, 2014, in North America.[244] It was released for digital HD download on August 26, 2014.[245] Target released their own exclusive edition of the Blu-ray which included an exclusive 30-minute featurette titled "Godzilla: Rebirth of an Icon"[246] while Walmart released their own exclusive edition which only featured an alternative cover for the DVD.[247] Producer Thomas Tull confirmed plans for an extended cut of the film to be released in the future.[248]

Toho released the film on Blu-ray and DVD formats in Japan on February 25, 2015, featuring a 5-disc limited edition Blu-ray set including the 3D Blu-ray, 2D Blu-ray, DVD, a disc of bonus features (that will include the North American special features, as well as additional Japan-exclusive features), a full color booklet with Japanese promotional art, and an exclusive S.H. MonsterArts figure.[249]

Sequels

Director Gareth Edwards stated that he wanted Godzilla to work as a standalone film with a definitive ending, and he opposed suggestions that the ending should leave the film open for a sequel. He said that he had no problem coming back to do a sequel if the film did well, but his main concern was delivering a satisfying experience with the current film: "I want a story that begins and ends, and you leave on a high note. That's all we cared about when we were making this; just this film. If this film is good, the others can come, but let's just pay attention to this and not get sidetracked by other things."[73]

At WonderCon 2013, Guillermo del Toro expressed enthusiasm for a potential crossover between Godzilla and del Toro's Pacific Rim, another Legendary Pictures Kaiju-based film, but stressed that no such plans are in place.[250] In an interview at the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con, Edwards expressed an interest in making a sequel that uses the "Monster Island" concept used in Destroy All Monsters.[251]

On May 18, 2014, Deadline.com reported that a Godzilla sequel was officially underway after a successful opening to over $196 million worldwide.[252] The sequel will be a Legendary and Warner Bros. co-production.[253] On May 22, Legendary announced plans for a trilogy, with Edwards attached to direct. The sequel is expected to go into production after Edwards has completed filming Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.[254] At the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con in July 2014, Legendary and Edwards confirmed that they have acquired other Toho properties, including Mothra, Rodan, and King Ghidorah. A short teaser movie clip showing concept art of all three with the ending tagline "Let them fight" was shown. Other details of their appearances in either of the two sequels were not announced.[255]

In August 2014, Legendary announced that the sequel will be released on June 8, 2018[256] and that writer Max Borenstein will return to write the screenplay.[257] Borenstein later spoke about the sequel, stating, "The response to the first film was really exciting, but now that that world is established, we can do bigger and even better things."[258] On April 13, 2015, Taylor-Johnson stated he was unsure if he would reprise his role for the sequel and that his return depended on Edwards's decision.[259]

In September 2015, Legendary had moved development of the film Kong: Skull Island from Universal to Warner Bros., which sparked media speculation that Godzilla and King Kong will appear in a film together.[260][261] In October 2015, Legendary announced plans to unite Godzilla and King Kong in a film titled Godzilla vs. Kong, set for a 2020 release date. Legendary plans to create a shared cinematic franchise "centered around Monarch" that "brings together Godzilla and Legendary’s King Kong in an ecosystem of other giant super-species, both classic and new". While Legendary will maintain its home at Universal Pictures, it will continue to collaborate with Warner Bros. for the franchise.[262]

Notes

  1. ↑ The U.S. releases for Godzilla, King of the Monsters!, King Kong vs. Godzilla and Godzilla 1985 featured additional footage with Western actors shot by small Hollywood production companies that merged the American footage with the original Japanese footage in order to appeal to American audiences.[6] Invasion of Astro-Monster was the first Godzilla film to be co-produced between Japanese studio Toho and American studio UPA.

    References

    1. ↑ "GODZILLA | British Board of Film Classification". Bbfc.co.uk. Retrieved May 12, 2014.
    2. ↑ "Film Review: ‘Godzilla’". Variety. A Warner Bros. release presented with Legendary Pictures of a Legendary Pictures production.
    3. ↑ "Godzilla". Screen International. Retrieved May 16, 2014.
    4. 1 2 "Godzilla (2014)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 29, 2015.
    5. 1 2 Zennie62 (September 19, 2010). "Godzilla 2014: Brian Rogers (Producer) On Legendary Pictures Film Plans". Youtube. Retrieved September 21, 2010.
    6. ↑ Kalat 2010, p. 25.
    7. 1 2 Fresh Voices (May 22, 2012). "SCREENWRITER PROFILE: DAVE CALLAHAM". Fresh Voices. Retrieved August 14, 2015.
    8. 1 2 Chitwood, Adam (April 4, 2013). "David S. Goyer Talks His Involvement with GODZILLA and THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO". Collider.com. Retrieved August 11, 2015.
    9. 1 2 "IRON MAN 3 Scribe Drew Pearce to "Age Up" Characters in GODZILLA with Pre-Casting Rewrite". Collider.com. Retrieved October 22, 2012.
    10. 1 2 Woerner, Meredith (January 23, 2013). "How Frank Darabont will return Godzilla to his rightful place as a terrifying force of nature". io9.com. Retrieved January 23, 2013.
    11. 1 2
    12. 1 2 "SHOOT: Japanese Monster Reboot GODZILLA Films Overnight at Paper Recycling Plant in Coquitlam". April 10, 2013. Retrieved April 11, 2013.
    13. 1 2 3 4 "M.U.T.O". Mutoresearch.net. Retrieved April 8, 2014.
    14. 1 2 3 "Marines unceremoniously ousted from newest version of Godzilla". Marine Corps Times. May 10, 2014.
    15. 1 2 Cotta Vaz, p. 58.
    16. 1 2 "Godzilla panel SDCC 2013". YouTube. 2013-07-21. Retrieved 2014-08-04.
    17. 1 2 Place, Clarissa (July 9, 2013). "Aaron Taylor-Johnson: 'Godzilla feels like an independent movie'". Digital Spy. Retrieved May 23, 2014.
    18. ↑ Duff, Seamus (May 12, 2014). "Action man Aaron Taylor-Johnson took on military training for Godzilla stunts". Metro. Retrieved May 23, 2014.
    19. 1 2 Schaefer, Sandy (January 7, 2013). "‘Godzilla’ Shortlist Includes Henry Cavill and Scoot McNairy; Not Joseph Gordon-Levitt". ScreenRant.
    20. ↑ Barton, Steve (May 31, 2013). "New Godzilla Casting News; First Look at Bryan Cranston and C.J. Adams". Dread Central. Retrieved May 23, 2014.
    21. 1 2 Picard, Chris (March 28, 2014). "New Godzilla (2014) Viral 'MUTO' Files Discovered!". Scified.
    22. ↑ White, Holly (April 19, 2014). "Godzilla reboot "worried" me, admits Ken Watanabe". Scifi Now. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
    23. ↑ Godzilla / Comic Con '13 - Bryan Cranston Chats GODZILLA with AMC on YouTube
    24. ↑ Cotta Vaz, p. 11.
    25. ↑ Cotta Vaz, p. 60.
    26. ↑ Two Tube (May 12, 2014). "Godzilla London Premiere // Bryan Cranston talks wigs!". Youtube. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
    27. ↑ "Bryan Cranston on 'Godzilla' and what excited him about the project". HitFix. July 24, 2013. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
    28. 1 2 Blastr (July 10, 2015). "Bryan Cranston and Jillian Bell discuss their new show SuperMansion". Youtube. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
    29. ↑ "Godzilla: Elizabeth Olsen Exclusive Interview". Youtube. May 9, 2014.
    30. ↑ Cox, p. 13.
    31. ↑ Cwik, Greg (April 6, 2015). "Juliette Binoche on Making Quentin Tarantino Cry and Why Kristen Stewart is a 'Great Actress'". Indiewire. Retrieved April 6, 2015.
    32. ↑ "Cannes 2014 - Juliette Binoche "Godzilla ? I just wanted to please my son"". Youtube. May 23, 2014.
    33. ↑ "Juliette Binoche talks Godzilla, Spielberg and more (The Feed)". Youtube. February 12, 2014.
    34. 1 2 3 4 Turek, Ryan (July 19, 2013). "Comic-Con 2013 Interview: Gareth Edwards On Godzilla, Atomic Breath, the Design, Darabont & More!". Shock Till You Drop. Retrieved October 17, 2013.
    35. ↑ Jagernauth, Kevin (October 21, 2014). "Juliette Binoche Says Her Performance In 'Godzilla' Made Quentin Tarantino Cry". Indiewire. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
    36. ↑ Bryan Cranston on 'Godzilla' and Saying Goodbye to 'Breaking Bad' on YouTube
    37. 1 2 3 4 Barton, Steve (October 30, 2013). "Good Morning Godzilla — Yet More Casting News Stomps Out!". Dread Central. Retrieved October 30, 2013.
    38. ↑ Sims, Andrew; Rought, Karen (October 31, 2013). "‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ casts Victor Rasuk as romantic rival Jose". Hypable. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
    39. 1 2 Acuna, Kirsten (May 15, 2014). "Why ‘Godzilla’ Cut A Cameo Of The Star From The Original 1954 Movie". Business Insider. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
    40. 1 2 McNary, Dave (March 29, 2010). "'Godzilla' stomps back to screen". Variety. Retrieved September 3, 2010.
    41. 1 2 Graser, Marc (July 15, 2013). "With 'Pacific Rim,' 'Godzilla,' 'Seventh Son' and '300: Rise of an Empire,' Legendary's Thomas Tull has become Hollywood's beast master". Variety.
    42. ↑ "Godzilla (2014) (PG-13)". BoxOffice.com. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
    43. ↑ Ryfle, Steve. Japan's Favorite Mon-star.
    44. ↑ "Bucket Hall of Fame: The Toho Big Pool". Bucket Movies. May 3, 2010. Retrieved February 16, 2011.
    45. 1 2 Aiken, Keith; Godziszewski, Ed (August 7, 2007). "The long evolution of Godzilla 3D". SciFiJapan.Com.
    46. ↑ Louise, Palanker. "Byline Burbank – Special Effects Experts". Retrieved 2015-06-20.
    47. ↑ JRA write/design studio (2006). "KERNER R&D PEOPLE". Retrieved 2015-07-13.
    48. ↑ Montgomery, Steve. "Oscar Statuette for GODZILLA Visual Effects Artist". Retrieved 2015-06-20.
    49. ↑ Sciretta, Peter (2007-06-15). "Godzilla 3D gets a Greenlight". Retrieved 2015-06-20.
    50. ↑ "Godzilla 3D To The Max and Then Some". Mysterious Pants. 2007-06-17. Retrieved 2015-07-24.
    51. ↑ Conover, Rodney Lee (2014-05-15). "Amazing Facts About Godzilla". Retrieved 2015-06-20.
    52. ↑ Based on a presentation at the '3D Summit' conference by Brian Rogers. A report on the presentation is available at
    53. ↑ McGloin, Matt (November 26, 2013). "Hedorah Confirmed For Godzilla 2014 Movie & Smog Monster Sequel?!". Cosmic Book News. Retrieved February 6, 2014.
    54. ↑ "The Mighty "Godzilla" Will Roar Once More!". Bloody Disgusting. August 13, 2009. Retrieved August 14, 2009.
    55. ↑ Graser, Marc (July 17, 2010). "Legendary Pictures dances geek to geek". Variety. Retrieved September 3, 2010.
    56. ↑ Fernandez, Ace (March 2010). "Godzilla stomping back to theaters via Legendary". The Hollywood Reporter.
    57. ↑ Kit, Borys (January 4, 2011). "EXCLUSIVE: 'Monsters' Director Stomps to 'Godzilla'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 9, 2011.
    58. ↑ "Godzilla reboot will take inspiration from Christopher Nolan's Batman – Coventry Telegraph – The Geek Files". Coventry Telegraph (coventrytelegraph.net). Retrieved January 27, 2011.
    59. 1 2 McWeeny, Drew (October 13, 2010). "Guillermo Del Toro on 'Godzilla'? Not so fast, says director". Hit Fix.
    60. ↑ "Nuneaton film director could be offered Hollywood blockbuster deal". Coventry Telegraph. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
    61. ↑ "Exclusive: Gareth Edwards Talks Godzilla and a Sequel to Monsters!". Dread Central. Dreadcentral.com. Retrieved February 3, 2011.
    62. ↑ Turek, Ryan. "Exclusive: Gareth Edwards Talks Godzilla Reboot!". Shock Till You Drop. shocktillyoudrop.com. Retrieved February 3, 2011.
    63. ↑ Kit, Borys (January 4, 2011). "EXCLUSIVE: 'Monsters' Director Stomps to 'Godzilla'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 17, 2011.
    64. 1 2 McNary, Dave (January 4, 2011). "'Monsters' director to helm 'Godzilla'". Variety. Archived from the original on February 9, 2011.
    65. 1 2 Chitwood, Adam (December 19, 2012). "Producer Dan Lin Gives GODZILLA Update; Says Production Will Likely Take Place in Vancouver". Collider.com.
    66. ↑ Keith, Matt (October 15, 2010). "Pacific Rim isn’t merging with Godzilla reboot". Killer Film. killerfilm.com. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
    67. ↑ "Rumor Control: ‘Pacific Rim’ and ‘Godzilla’ Not Merged; No Offer to Guillermo del Toro". Slashfilm. Slashfilm.com. October 14, 2010. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
    68. ↑ Kit, Borys (January 4, 2011). "EXCLUSIVE: 'Monsters' Director Stomps to 'Godzilla'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 5, 2010.
    69. 1 2 3 4 "THE ICONIC MOVIE MONSTER GODZILLA STOMPS INTO THEATERS ON MAY 16, 2014" (Press release). Legendary Pictures. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
    70. ↑ Finke, Nikki (July 13, 2011). "Legendary Hires David Goyer For 'Godzilla'". www.deadline.com. Retrieved July 13, 2011.
    71. ↑ Kit, Borys (November 9, 2011). "Legendary's 'Godzilla' Remake to Be Written By Max Borenstein (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 22, 2013.
    72. 1 2 Fleming, Jr., Mike (January 7, 2013). "UPDATE: Mary Parent Boarding ‘Godzilla’, Which Is Getting A Frank Darabont Rewrite And Losing Roy Lee And Dan Lin".
    73. 1 2 "Gareth Edwards Talks GODZILLA, Godzilla’s Origins, Making Him a Character with Layers, Hints at Additional Monsters, And More". Collider.com. March 14, 2014. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
    74. ↑ Ryan, Mike (July 20, 2013). "Gareth Edwards, 'Godzilla' Director, On Bringing The Classic Monster Back To Screens". Huffington Post.
    75. ↑ Baez, Jake (March 19, 2014). "Godzilla, Hear the Roar, Share the Truth". 101 KXL - FM News. Retrieved October 8, 2015.
    76. ↑ Godzilla / Cranston Fulfills Childhood Dream in 'Godzilla' on YouTube
    77. ↑ Jolin, p. 73.
    78. ↑ Acuna, Kirsten (April 9, 2014). "'Godzilla' Reboot Origin Story Was Scrapped Because Of 'Man Of Steel'". Business Insider.
    79. 1 2 3 Vergun, David (May 19, 2014). "'Soldiers' take on Godzilla". US Army. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
    80. ↑ Newitz, Annalee. "Godzilla director Gareth Edwards explains the symbolism of kaiju". i09.
    81. ↑ "Good Morning Godzilla — More on New Kaiju Muto". Dread Central. October 28, 2013.
    82. ↑ "The New Godzilla is 350 Feet Tall! Biggest Godzilla Ever!". Movie Tribute. February 28, 2014. Retrieved March 25, 2014.
    83. ↑ "New Godzilla 2014 Details and Interviews emerge from the latest issue of Total Film!". godzilla-movies.com. January 18, 2014.
    84. 1 2 "Meet Empire's Godzilla Subscriber Cover". Empire magazine. February 24, 2014. Retrieved February 24, 2014.
    85. ↑ "Godzilla: Andy Serkis on Mo Cap & Monster's Motives — WonderCon 2014". YouTube. April 4, 2014. Retrieved April 23, 2014.
    86. ↑ "Godzilla Director on Making the Monster Scary Again — IGN Conversations". YouTube. April 4, 2014. Retrieved April 23, 2014.
    87. ↑ Symington, Steve (March 2, 2014). "This is the Godzilla We’ve All Been Waiting For". The Motley Fool. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
    88. ↑ Ray, Amber (May 22, 2014). "'Godzilla': The secrets behind the roar". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 22, 2014.
    89. ↑ Franklin, Garth (May 14, 2014). ""Godzilla" IMAX Spin, Alternate Designs & Clip". Dark Horizons.
    90. ↑ "Godzilla" Director Gareth Edwards explains why monsters still matter on YouTube
    91. ↑ Arce, Sergio (May 29, 2014). "Meet the actor who gives life to Godzilla". crhoy.com. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
    92. ↑ "TJ Storm Official Resume" (PDF). Retrieved July 27, 2015.
    93. ↑ "TJ Storm Official Instagram". Retrieved July 27, 2015.
    94. ↑ "TJ Storm". Onyxcon. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
    95. ↑ "Godzilla (2014) - Ending Credits". Retrieved July 22, 2015.
    96. ↑ Weintraub, Frosty (September 13, 2012). "CCI: GODZILLA Invades Theaters May 16, 2014; Studio Expects 3D Release". Collider.com. Retrieved September 13, 2012.
    97. ↑ "IMAX and Warner Bros. Partner to Bring 20 New Pictures to IMAX® Theatres". IMAX. Retrieved November 15, 2012.
    98. ↑ Fleming Jr., Mike (January 10, 2013). "Godzilla’ Reboot: Will Aaron Taylor-Johnson Dodge Those Giant Reptile Feet?". Deadline.Com. Retrieved January 10, 2013.
    99. ↑ Kroll, Justin (February 6, 2013). "Elizabeth Olsen, Bryan Cranston circling ‘Godzilla’". Variety. Retrieved March 19, 2013.
    100. ↑ "Elizabeth Olsen confirms 'Godzilla' involvement". DigitalSpy. February 11, 2013. Retrieved March 20, 2013.
    101. ↑ Kroll, Justin (February 26, 2013). "Juliette Binoche Eyes ‘Godzilla’ (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved March 20, 2013.
    102. ↑ Kroll, Justin (February 26, 2013). "David Strathairn Rounds Out Cast of ‘Godzilla’ Reboot". Variety. Retrieved March 20, 2013.
    103. ↑ "Warner Bros. Pictures epic monster film 'Godzilla' casting male and female starring roles". Acting-Auditions.org. Retrieved April 9, 2013.
    104. ↑ McWeeny, Drew (January 6, 2012). "Exclusive: 'Godzilla' loses two producers but gains a start date". HitFix.com.
    105. ↑ Kit, Borys (January 7, 2013). "'Godzilla' Producers Wage Battle Against Studio". The Hollywood Reporter.
    106. ↑ "Legendary Pictures Inc. vs. Lin Pictures, Vertigo Entertainment, Dan Lin, Roy Lee and Doug Davison" (PDF). Deadline.com. January 9, 2013. Retrieved January 10, 2013.
    107. ↑ Patten, Dominic (January 17, 2013). "‘Godzilla’ Producers Bite Legendary Back In Legal Battle". Deadline.com.
    108. ↑ McNary, Dave (May 10, 2013). "Legendary’s ‘Godzilla’ Case Heading For Trial". Variety. Retrieved May 13, 2013.
    109. ↑ Gardner, Eriq (March 5, 2014). "Legendary Loses Appeal in 'Godzilla' Legal Battle". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 5, 2014.
    110. ↑ Gardner, Eriq (June 4, 2015). "'Godzilla' Producers' Lawsuit Settles on Eve of Trial". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 8, 2015.
    111. 1 2 3 "WARNER BROS. PICTURES AND LEGENDARY PICTURES ANNOUNCE CAST AND START OF PRODUCTION FOR "GODZILLA"" (Press release). Legendary Pictures. March 18, 2013. Retrieved March 18, 2013.
    112. ↑ "Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ken Watanabe, Elizabeth Olsen, Juliette Binoche, David Strathairn, Bryan Cranston Cast In GODZILLA Film". WeAreMovieGeeks.com. March 18, 2013.
    113. ↑ "Sally Hawkins Joins ‘Godzilla’ Cast". Deadline.com. April 5, 2013.
    114. ↑ Kroll, Justin (March 21, 2013). "Richard T. Jones Rounds Out Cast of ‘Godzilla’". Variety. Retrieved March 21, 2013.
    115. ↑ Barton, Steve (April 28, 2014). "New Godzilla Images; Akira Takarada Cut from Theatrical Print". Dread Central. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
    116. ↑ "SHOOT: GODZILLA turns Vancouver Convention Centre into Airport Terminal". YVR Shoots. March 19, 2013. Retrieved March 19, 2013.
    117. ↑ Cunningham, Tamara (March 15, 2013). "'Godzilla' is coming to Nanaimo". Nanaimo Daily News (canada.com). Retrieved March 18, 2013.
    118. ↑ "‘Godzilla’ filming began on Vancouver Island in British Columbia". On Location Vacations. March 19, 2013. Retrieved March 20, 2013.
    119. 1 2 3 "New Godzilla movie". Shoot Factory. May 15, 2014. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
    120. ↑ Cotta Vaz, p. 48.
    121. ↑ "Godzilla Movie Sets Sights On Hawaii". Huffington Post Canada. June 4, 2013. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
    122. ↑ "Good Morning Godzilla - 1,000's Line Up in Hawaii to Get Squashed". Dread Central. June 5, 2013. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
    123. ↑ O'Connell, Maureen (June 4, 2013). "Hawaii filming of "Godzilla" sci-fi remake slated to get under way on Oahu this summer". Hawaii Magazine. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
    124. ↑ "Godzilla scenes create fake Honolulu mayhem". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Associated Press. July 11, 2013.
    125. ↑ Kit, Borys (July 16, 2013). "Comic-Con: Legendary's 'Godzilla Encounter' Brings the Monster to San Diego". The Hollywood Reporter.
    126. 1 2 3 "The fine art of cinematography – interview with Seamus McGarvey ASC, BSC". Pushing Pixels. October 3, 2010. Retrieved December 7, 2013.
    127. ↑ "Authentic Navy fleet dukes it out with Godzilla". Navy Times. April 30, 2014.
    128. ↑ Cotta Vaz, p. 135.
    129. ↑ "Mid island to provide setting for two Hollywood flicks". CTV News. March 13, 2013. Retrieved March 20, 2013.
    130. ↑ Dudek, Duane (November 8, 2013). "Oscar winner & Kenosha native Jim Rygiel gets UWM award". Retrieved December 10, 2013.
    131. ↑ "MPC Film: Godzilla". MPC. Retrieved March 6, 2014.
    132. ↑ "Full Project List". Double Negative. Retrieved March 6, 2014.
    133. ↑ "Upcoming Effects Films: Godzilla". Cinefex. Retrieved March 6, 2014.
    134. ↑ Carolyn Giardina (December 25, 2014). "Oscars: 'Interstellar,' 'Hobbit' Visual Effects Artists Reveal How They Did It". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 28, 2014.
    135. ↑ Field, Roger (March 2, 2014). "Dolby Lab takes on Godzilla". Retrieved March 2, 2014.
    136. ↑ Ford, Rebecca (March 27, 2014). "CinemaCon: Warner Bros. Teases 'Jersey Boys,' Final 'Hobbit'; 'Godzilla' Wows". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
    137. ↑ Bushby, Helen (May 15, 2014). "Godzilla film 'harks back to Jaws and Alien'". BBC News.
    138. ↑ Schaefer, Sandy (April 2014). "‘Godzilla’ Director Talks Creature Design, Original Film and Spielberg Influence". Screen Rant.
    139. 1 2 Bradshaw, Lauren (May 15, 2014). "Our Interview With "Godzilla" Director Gareth Edwards". Cloture Club.
    140. ↑ Day, Patrick (April 19, 2014). "‘Godzilla’ director Gareth Edwards shares monster secrets". Hero Complex.
    141. ↑ Campbell, Christopher (May 16, 2014). "12 Movies To Watch After You’ve Seen ‘Godzilla’". Film School Rejects. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
    142. ↑ Fletcher, Brett (December 7, 2014). "Godzilla, Spielberg and Cinematic Foreplay". The Artifice. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
    143. ↑ Franich, Darren (June 12, 2015). "Spielberg as Genre". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
    144. ↑ Rosen, Christopher (May 12, 2014). "Building A Better Monster: Gareth Edwards' 'Godzilla' Is An Unexpected & Awesome Delight". Huffington Post.
    145. ↑ Wickman, Forest (May 20, 2014). "The Best Spielberg Blockbuster in Years". Slate.
    146. ↑ Cruz, Gilbert (May 20, 2014). "5 Moments Godzilla Takes Straight From Jurassic Park and Other Spielberg Movies". Vulture.
    147. ↑ Lambie, Ryan (March 4, 2014). "Godzilla: 10 things we learned from Gareth Edwards". Den of Geek.
    148. ↑ Lambie, Ryan (May 14, 2014). "Gareth Edwards interview: making Godzilla, Spielberg, Giger". Den of Geek.
    149. ↑ Newitz, Annalee (July 25, 2013). "Godzilla director Gareth Edwards explains the symbolism of kaiju". io9.
    150. ↑ Cheney, Alexandra (March 12, 2014). "‘Godzilla’ Director: The Film Takes Itself Very Seriously". Variety.
    151. ↑ Sacks, Ethan (May 11, 2014). "The new 'Godzilla' reflects our current fears of nuclear and natural disasters". Daily News.
    152. ↑ Suebsaeng, Asawin (May 16, 2014). "How the Iraq War Influenced the "Godzilla" Reboot". Mother Jones.
    153. ↑ Venable, Nick (July 22, 2013). "Godzilla Director Gareth Edwards Liked That Other Monster Movie (Pacific Rim)". Giant Freakin Robot. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
    154. ↑ "Alexandre Desplat — Godzilla (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". Discogs. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
    155. ↑ Romano, Andrew. "Meet Alexandre Desplat, Hollywood’s Master Composer". The Daily Beast. Retrieved February 14, 2014.
    156. ↑ "Godzilla: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack". iTunes. Retrieved April 18, 2014.
    157. ↑ "Godzilla: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack". WaterTower Records. Retrieved April 18, 2014.
    158. ↑ "Godzilla". Soundtrack.net. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
    159. 1 2 Pedersen, Nicole (July 26, 2010). "Legendary Pictures Unveils First Image of GODZILLA Plus Watch the Demo of the GODZILLA Augmented Reality Installation at Comic-Con". Collider.com. Retrieved February 8, 2011.
    160. 1 2 Leins, Jeff (July 27, 2010). "First Look: Concept Art for Godzilla Reboot". News in Film (newsinfilm.com). Retrieved February 8, 2011.
    161. ↑ "SDCC: First Look at the New Godzilla!". Coming Soon (Comingsoon.net). Retrieved September 3, 2010.
    162. ↑ "UDON Crew Envision the Next Generation of Godzilla". UDON Entertainment. July 28, 2010. Retrieved September 3, 2010.
    163. ↑ "News". Talking Dog Studios. July 22, 2010. Retrieved September 3, 2010.
    164. ↑ Cohen, Sandy (July 14, 2012). "Comic-Con 2012: 'Godzilla' Reboot Surprises Fans With Apocalyptic Teaser Trailer". Huffington Post. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
    165. ↑ "San Diego Comic-Con '12: First 'Godzilla' Poster, Teaser Trailer Roars Through Hall H!". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
    166. ↑ Mirjahangir, Chris (July 9, 2014). "Interview: Max Borenstein". Toho Kingdom. Retrieved 2014-07-17.
    167. ↑ Turek, Ryan (July 10, 2013). "The Godzilla Viral Marketing Has Begun". Shock Till You Drop.
    168. ↑ Truitt, Brian (July 17, 2013). "Godzilla Encounter makes a monster mark at Comic-Con". USA Today.
    169. ↑ "Godzilla Encounter". Godzilla Encounter. Retrieved October 17, 2013.
    170. ↑ Ander, Charlie Jane (June 20, 2013). "We saw a glimpse of Godzilla. You won't believe the size and majesty.". io9.com.
    171. ↑ Picard, Chris (July 21, 2013). "What We Learned From the Godzilla (2014) Comic-Con Trailer". Godzilla-movies.com.
    172. ↑ "Multiple monsters attack in the new Comic-Con Godzilla footage and Quint was there to see it!". Ain't It Cool News. July 21, 2013.
    173. ↑ "See the Godzilla Comic-Con Teaser Trailer While You Can!". October 4, 2013. Retrieved October 7, 2013.
    174. ↑ "The Trailer for Godzilla is Here!". Superhero Hype. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
    175. ↑ "Godzilla — Official Teaser Trailer". Youtube. December 10, 2013. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
    176. 1 2 Schaefer, Sandy. "New ‘Godzilla’ Trailer: The Monster Reawakens". Screenrant. Retrieved February 25, 2014.
    177. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "The 15th Annual Golden Trailer Award Nominees". goldentrailer.com. Retrieved 2014-06-19.
    178. ↑ Graser, Marc (February 28, 2014). "‘Godzilla’ Plays Ping Pong for Snickers Campaign". Variety.
    179. ↑ ""GODZILLA" | Official FIAT Family Featuring the 500L New TV commercial | HD". YouTube. Retrieved May 12, 2014.
    180. ↑ Gaudiosi, John. "Legendary Pictures CEO talks tech that gave 'Godzilla' its box-office roar". Fortune. Retrieved May 22, 2014.
    181. ↑ Billington, Alex (July 16, 2014). "Japan Gets Awesome 22-Foot Tall Statue for Their 'Godzilla' Release". firstshowing.net. Retrieved July 17, 2014.
    182. ↑ Graser, Marc (June 17, 2013). "‘Godzilla’ Ready to Roar at Retail (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety.
    183. ↑ Warner Brothers (January 30, 2014). "Warner Bros. Consumer Products Shakes Up Toy Fair Season With Humongous Licensing Programs, Including This Summer's Much-Anticipated Film Godzilla From Legendary Picture" (Press release). GeeksWorld.com. Retrieved January 31, 2014.
    184. 1 2 "Godzilla — The Official Novelization [Mass Market Paperback]". Amazon. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
    185. ↑ "Search: Godzilla books". Amazon. Retrieved January 25, 2014.
    186. ↑ Schaefer, Sandy (January 23, 2014). "‘Godzilla’ Movie Reboot Getting a Prequel Tie-In Comic Book". Screen Rant. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
    187. 1 2 Mirjahangir, Chris; Romero, Anthony. "Godzilla: Awakening Prequel Graphic Novel". tohokingdom.com.
    188. ↑ "Godzilla 2014 Atomic Roar toys from Bandai". scified.com. March 3, 2014. Retrieved March 3, 2014.
    189. ↑ "Godzilla 2014 Movie Deluxe Action Figure Attack & Roar Godzilla Pre-Order ships April". ToyWiz. Retrieved March 3, 2014.
    190. ↑ "First Look at S.H. MonsterArts' Godzilla (2014) Figure!". scified.com. May 16, 2014. Retrieved November 15, 2014.
    191. ↑ "Godzilla — Smash 3 Overview". Gamezebo.com. March 17, 2014.
    192. ↑ "Godzilla for PlayStation 4". Gamestop. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
    193. ↑ Kit, Borys (May 9, 2014). "'Godzilla' Stomps Into Hollywood for Monster-Sized Premiere". The Hollywood Reporter.
    194. ↑ Thomas, Jeremy (April 9, 2014). "Godzilla Gets MPAA Rating". 411mania.com.
    195. ↑ "Legal information". godzillamovie.com. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
    196. ↑ "Bryan Cranston: 'Godzilla' is Coming...to China!". CRI English. May 8, 2014. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
    197. ↑ "Worldwide Release Dates". godzillamovie.com. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
    198. ↑ "TOHO THINKS GODZILLA (2014) IS FANTASTIC: NEW IMAGES & PLOT DETAILS". Cosmic Booknews. Retrieved May 19, 2014.
    199. ↑ Subers, Ray (May 15, 2014). "Forecast: 'Godzilla' Poised for Monster Debut". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved May 16, 2014.
    200. ↑ "2014 OPENING GROSSES". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved December 24, 2014.
    201. ↑ "BOX OFFICE: ‘Godzilla’ ($93M) has monster weekend — but can’t top ‘Captain America’ for year’s biggest debut". Washington Post. May 18, 2014. Retrieved June 2, 2014.
    202. ↑ Lang, Brent (June 17, 2014). "Box Office: 3D Stages a Revival (Again)". Variety. Retrieved 2014-06-18.
    203. ↑ "Grading Mojo's Summer 2014 Forecast". Box Office Mojo. September 10, 2014. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
    204. ↑ "2014 DOMESTIC GROSSES". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
    205. ↑ "Godzilla MAY 16–18, 2014 Foreign Total". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved December 24, 2014.
    206. ↑ McClintock, Pamela (June 13, 2014). "Box Office: 'Godzilla' Conquers China With $10.9 Million Opening Day". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
    207. ↑ "2014 China Yearly Box Office". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved December 24, 2014.
    208. ↑ Ma, Kevin (July 30, 2014). "Godzilla stomps to top of Japan B.O.".
    209. ↑ Mendelson, Scott (July 30, 2014). "'Godzilla 2,' 'Skull Island' And The Risk Of Legendary's Monster Mash". Forbes.
    210. ↑ "2014 Japan Yearly Box Office". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved December 24, 2014.
    211. ↑ "2014 WORLDWIDE GROSSES". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
    212. ↑ Mike Fleming Jr (March 10, 2015). "No. 19 ‘Godzilla’ – 2014 Most Valuable Movie Blockbuster Tournament". Deadline.com. Retrieved March 21, 2015.
    213. ↑ Silman, Anna (May 16, 2014). "Review Roundup: One of the Scariest Things in Godzilla Is Bryan Cranston’s Wig". Vulture. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
    214. ↑ Shaw-Williams, H. (May 2, 2014). "‘Godzilla': First Audience Reactions Promise a Slow Reveal". Screen Rant. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
    215. ↑ Vieira, Anthony (May 11, 2014). "‘Godzilla’ Early Reviews: A Mixed Bag of Destruction". Screen Rant. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
    216. 1 2 Brasor, Philip (August 9, 2014). "Critics get frank when it comes to Godzilla". Japan Times. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
    217. ↑ Gettell, Oliver (May 16, 2014). "'Godzilla' a solid if not smashing reboot, reviews say". LA Times. Retrieved October 9, 2015.
    218. ↑ "Godzilla (2014)". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved May 24, 2014.
    219. ↑ "Godzilla". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved May 12, 2014.
    220. ↑ "Box office report: 'Godzilla' demolishes the competition with $93.2 million weekend". Entertainment Weekly. May 18, 2014. Retrieved May 23, 2014.
    221. ↑ Pappademas, Alex (May 16, 2014). "Celebration of the Lizard: The new Godzilla movie? Oh yeah. It's real good". Grantland.
    222. ↑ Roeper, Richard (May 14, 2014). "Godzilla". richardroeper.com. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
    223. ↑ Russo, Tom (May 14, 2014). "In ‘Godzilla,’ San Francisco is in for a big surprise". Boston Globe. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
    224. 1 2 Zacharek, Stephanie (May 14, 2014). "The Godzilla Particle". Village Voice.
    225. 1 2 Scott, A. O. (May 15, 2014). "Still Radioactive and Spoiling for a Fight: Godzilla, Grandaddy of Movie Monsters, Stomps Back". New York Times. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
    226. ↑ "Godzilla (2014)". May 14, 2014. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
    227. ↑ Phillips, Michael (May 14, 2014). "Godzilla review". Chicago Tribune.
    228. ↑ Blaustein, David (May 16, 2014). "Movie Review: Godzilla". ABC News.
    229. ↑ Howell, Peter (May 14, 2014). "Godzilla: A city shaker roars back to life: review". Toronto Star.
    230. ↑ Cornet, Roth (March 21, 2014). "Godzilla Review". IGN. Retrieved May 12, 2014.
    231. 1 2 Wilner, Norman (May 15, 2014). "Godzilla: Godzilla 2014 is a force of nature and looks awesome in IMAX 3D". Now Toronto. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
    232. ↑ Freer, Ian. "Empire's Godzilla Movie Review". Empire. Bauer Media Group. Retrieved May 11, 2014.
    233. ↑ "God-awful". Prospero (The Economist). May 13, 2014. Retrieved May 13, 2014.
    234. ↑ McCarthy, Todd (May 14, 2014). "Godzilla: Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
    235. ↑ Lumenick, Lou (May 14, 2014). "‘Godzilla’ roars back onto big screen in major way". New York Post. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
    236. ↑ "Godzilla, review". Telegraph. Retrieved May 12, 2014.
    237. ↑ Ehrlich, David (May 19, 2014). "Godzilla: The first post-human blockbuster". The Dissolve. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
    238. ↑ Chitwood, Adam (August 14, 2015). "Bryan Cranston Isn’t Crazy About How His ‘Godzilla’ Character Was Handled". Collider.com. Retrieved August 14, 2015.
    239. ↑ Wharton, David (May 29, 2014). "Gareth Edwards On Godzilla’s Deaths And Godzilla’s Breath". Giant Freakin Robot. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
    240. ↑ Tsutsui, William M. (May 27, 2014). "For Godzilla and Country". Foreign Affairs. Retrieved June 2, 2014.
    241. ↑ "Teen Choice Awards 2014 Nominees Revealed! - Yahoo Movies". Movies.yahoo.com. 2011-04-20. Retrieved 2014-06-18.
    242. ↑ Siegemund-Broka, Austin (August 14, 2014). "Legendary's 'Godzilla' to Receive Japanese Governmental Award". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
    243. ↑ "The 41st Annual Saturn Awards Winners 2015". Saturn Awards. Retrieved October 12, 2015.
    244. ↑ Gallagher, Brian (July 21, 2014). "'Godzilla' Blu-ray and DVD Releases September 16th". MovieWeb. Archived from the original on July 21, 2014. Retrieved July 21, 2014.
    245. ↑ Picard, Chris (July 21, 2014). "Godzilla (2014) Digital HD & BluRay Release Dates Announced!". Scified.com. Retrieved 2014-07-22.
    246. ↑ "Godzilla - Target Exclusive".
    247. ↑ "Godzilla (2014) (DVD + Digital HD) (With Ultraviolet) (Widescreen)". Walmart. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
    248. ↑ Mirjahangir, Chris (July 7, 2014). "Interview: Thomas Tull". Toho Kingdom.
    249. ↑ "Toho Releasing Multiple GODZILLA (2014) Blu-ray and DVD Editions". Scifi Japan. Retrieved November 15, 2014.
    250. ↑ Goldberg, Matt (April 3, 2013). "Guillermo del Toro Talks Hypothetical PACIFIC RIM vs. GODZILLA Movie, and His HEAVY METAL Approach". Collider.com. Retrieved April 3, 2013.
    251. ↑ Kendrick, Ben (July 27, 2013). "‘Godzilla’ Reboot Director Talks Creature Design; Sequel Ideas Inspired by ‘Destroy All Monsters’". ScreenRant. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
    252. ↑ Busch, Anita (May 18, 2014). "‘Godzilla’ Sequel In The Works At Warner Bros. & Legendary". Deadline. Retrieved May 18, 2014.
    253. ↑ "GODZILLA 2014 SEQUEL SAID TO BE CONFIRMED". cosmicbooknews. May 18, 2014. Retrieved May 18, 2014.
    254. ↑ Kit, Borys (May 22, 2014). "'Star Wars' Spinoff Hires 'Godzilla' Director Gareth Edwards (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter.
    255. ↑ Wickman, Kase (July 26, 2014). "Holy Mothra: Gareth Edwards Reveals 'Godzilla 2' Monsters At Comic-Con". MTV.
    256. ↑ Lesnick, Silas (August 14, 2014). "Godzilla 2 Stomps Into Theaters June 8, 2018". Comingsoon.net.
    257. ↑ Fleming Jr., Mike (September 18, 2014). "‘Godzilla’ Sequel To Be Scripted By Max Borenstein". Deadline.com.
    258. ↑ Trumbore, Dave (August 10, 2015). "GODZILLA 2: Expect a "Bigger" and "Better" Sequel from Screenwriter Max Borenstein". Collider.com. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
    259. ↑ O'Connell, Sean (April 13, 2015). "Will Aaron Taylor-Johnson Be Back For Godzilla 2? Here's What He Says". Cinema Blend. Retrieved April 13, 2015.
    260. ↑ Fleming Jr., Mike (September 10, 2015). "King Kong On Move To Warner Bros, Presaging Godzilla Monster Matchup". Deadline. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
    261. ↑ Masters, Kim (September 16, 2015). "Hollywood Gorilla Warfare: It’s Universal vs. Legendary Over ‘Kong: Skull Island’ (and Who Says "Thank You")". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
    262. ↑ "Legendary and Warner Bros. Pictures Announce Cinematic Franchise Uniting Godzilla, King Kong and Other Iconic Giant Monsters" (Press release). Legendary Pictures. October 14, 2015. Retrieved October 14, 2015.

    External links

    Wikiquote has quotations related to: Godzilla (2014 film)
    Wikimedia Commons has media related to Godzilla (2014 film).
    This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, May 07, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.