Steven Spielberg May Be Godzilla Minus One’s Biggest Fan

Godzilla Minus One has made quite the name for itself. Following its release last fall, the Toho flick has taken over headlines with its epic visuals and intense story. For many, Godzilla Minus One stands as one of the monster’s best movies to date, and its reputation precedes itself. After all, the movie has a ton of fans, and director Steven Spielberg may be the biggest Godzilla supporter out there.

Recently, the director of Godzilla Minus One broke down the praise he got from Spielberg directly. Not long ago, Takashi Yamazaki and his team attended a luncheon ahead of the 96th Academy Awards. Godzilla Minus One is nominated for Best Visual Effects, and while at the event, Yamazaki said he was stunned with Spielberg made a beeline for him.

“Steven Spielberg said, ‘Oh, you’re the director of Godzilla. I saw it three times,’” Yamazaki revealed to AV Club. Continuing, the director of Godzilla Minus One said he could hardly believe the praise he was getting.

“I couldn’t believe it, because Spielberg is like a god to me, just for what he’s done for the film industry. But it sounded very real. [Spielberg went on to say,] ‘I saw it once in my home, and then I had to go see it again in IMAX, then Dolby Atmos.’ You can’t make that up.”

Continuing, Yamazaki said his interaction with Spielberg was hard to process given how much he loves the Hollywood legend. From Jaws to Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Yamazaki has long spoken about his love of Spielberg films. His work helped inspire Yamazaki’s interest in VFX which he is now Oscar nominated for. In fact, Yamazaki said he looked to Jurassic Park for inspiration while making Godzilla Minus One, so his meeting with Spielberg just about blew his mind.

“I wanted to have Godzilla appear during the daytime as well. And when the younger Godzilla shows up in the film, I kept telling myself, ‘Don’t make it like Jurassic Park. Don’t make it like Jurassic Park.’ But it kind of looked like Jurassic Park. So when I met Steven Spielberg, there was another version of me that was going, well, what if he says, ‘You just ripped off all my films and I’m mad at you?’ I couldn’t say anything back,” Yamazaki shared.

Clearly, Godzilla Minus One has some famous fans, and Yamazaki has made his mark on the global movie circuit. All eyes are now locked on the director as Yamazaki is up for on Oscar with his team. And hopefully, Godzilla Minus One will be able to bring the award home.

What do you think about Spielberg’s comments about Godzilla Minus One? 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!