Godzilla Minus One Director Addresses Hollywood's Infamous 1998 Godzilla Film
Godzilla Minus One director Takashi Yamazaki says Roland Emmerich's film was not to blame of the monster's decline decades ago.
Godzilla is everywhere these days, and fans of the kaiju are eating good. For decades, the King of the Monster has lorded over Hollywood, but not every era has been kind of Godzilla. These days, all is well with the titan, but it wasn't long ago Godzilla struggled to find a loyal audience. Now, the director of Godzilla Minus One is reflecting on that history, and he addresses whether the monster's ill-fated Hollywood tryst in 1998 kickstarted the downfall.
The interview comes courtesy of Hoichoi's Movie Life as director Takashi Yamazaki spoke about his tenure with Godzilla. Of course, plenty of questions were asked about Godzilla Minus One given its global success. However, one part of the interview deviated to the past, and it was there Yamazaki talked about the drought Godzilla experienced in Japan following Godzilla: Final Wars.
"According to the Toho staff, Godzilla had been said to be outdated until Shin Godzilla came out. It didn't attract fans like it used to. Even large investments couldn't bring them back," Yamazaki shared.
The director was then asked whether Godzilla's image was tarnished by a rather infamous Hollywood flop. In 1998, Roland Emmerich put forward his take on Godzilla with a live-action movie starring Matthew Broderick. The film was panned across the board, leaving Godzilla to become one of the worst studio projects of the '90s. You can see why some people may have been turned off by Godzilla after seeing that movie, but Yamazaki said Emmerich's movie was not to blame.
"No, Emmerich's Godzilla did not have much impact on the Japanese market. Godzilla in Japan had already fallen into the sunset by that time. At one point, it was even shown alongside Hamtaro. It had been in decline for years."
Clearly, the tide is changing with Godzilla, and fans of the titan could not be happier. The beast made an epic comeback with Hideaki Anno's Shin Godzilla some years back, and now Godzilla Minus One has carried on its legacy. Between the return of Toho's Godzilla and the MonsterVerse, the King of the Monsters is back on top despite their decline years ago.
What do you think about this latest take from Yamazaki on Godzilla? Let us know what you think in the comments below as well as on Twitter and Instagram. You can also hit me up @MeganPetersCB to share your take!