The entertainment industry is no stranger to the world of tokusatsu, but man – it could give the genre more credit. Over the decades, the sphere has pushed out mega-stars like Godzilla, Ultraman, and the Super Sentai soldiers who put Power Rangers on the map. Now, it seems The White Lotus’ own Jennifer Coolidge is dipping their toes into the medium, and their tokusatsu debut brings camp to the next level.
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Recently, W Magazine put out a new feature on the veteran actress as Coolidge took part in a special feature with the directors behind Everything Everywhere All at Once. Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert teamed up to direct a photoshoot for the magazine that is all about tokusatsu, and of course, it forced the Hollywood trio to create their own whacky characters.
As you can see above, Coolidge was photographed in all sorts of tokusatsu-inspired looks that blend color and couture with ease. From Gucci to Moschino and Valentino, some of luxury’s top brands were melded together to make a high-end tokusatsu villain that only Coolidge could embody. So maybe it is just us, but Rita Repulsa might want to step up their game…
Speaking with W Magazine, the Daniels directing duo opened up about their vision for this tokusatsu tribute. It turns out the pair are big fans of the genre, and they wanted to reconnect with how stunts and entertainment went hand-in-hand back in the day.
“Tokusatsu is so well done, but the special effects are always kind of handmade. If you look at the stuff from the ’60s, you can feel the fingerprint. You can tell there’s somebody inside the costume. There’s something very charming about that, especially nowadays, when you can create anything digitally and nothing impresses you anymore,” Kwan shared.
Of course, the director has a point. Hollywood and the film industry as a whole has embraced tech with open arms. Any number of stunts can be done using computer graphics or visual effects, but that was not the case with tokusatsu series. Dating back to the late 1940s, these projects embraced practical special effects in every way, and its now-retro vibe has endeared the genre to millions of fans. And now, it seems like Coolidge and the Daniels have now entered that world for themselves.
What do you make of this wild crossover with The White Lotus? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB.
