AUGUST RAGONE VS. JOHN STANLEY Giant Against Giant... The Ultimate Battle!

On Saturday, April 26th @ 2:00 pm, I will be appearing with author, columnist, filmmaker and former "Creature Features" host, John Stanley at Clayton Books in Clayton, California, for a monstrous double-feature book signing event. It's giant against giant in the ultimate struggle for supremacy of the world!



As a columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle. John Stanley covered the science fiction, fantasy, and horror scene for more than thirty years, and has authored a fistfull of books, including several editions of the lauded "Creature Features Movie Guide," which Leonard Maltin called "A must", even as Fangoria magazine called John, "The Leonard Maltin of Horror."

John will be appearing to bask in the glory of his recent magnum opus, "I Was a TV Horror Host" — a star-studded overview of the radio, film and television horror host, highlighted by a detailed behind-the-scenes look at his own journey on "Creature Features." As the legendary Ray Bradbury so aptly put it, "Everybody should read this book! EVERYBODY!"

And that means YOU!

Clayton Books is located at 5433 D Clayton Road, Clayton, CA 94517 (just past Walnut Creek on Ygnacio Valley Road). Call 925-673-3325 for more information.

WATCH HORROR FILMS, KEEP AMERICA STRONG The CREATURE FEATURES Documentary!

UPDATE: DUE TO OVERWHELMING DEMAND, A SECOND SHOW HAS BEEN ADDED AT 10:00 PM. BE SURE TO GET YOUR TICKETS EARLY — YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS THIS HISTORIC CELEBRATION OF "CREATURE FEATURES" (or the creature's going to get you tonight)!

The World Premiere Benefit Screening of WATCH HORROR FILMS — KEEP AMERICA STRONG for the Bob Wilkins Foundation will be screening on Thursday, May 15th at 7:00 PM & 10:00 PM at the historic Grand Lake Theater, 3200 Grand Avenue Oakland, California.

Produced by Tom Wyrsch (author of "Bob Wilkins Scrapbook") and written and directed by Michael Monahan (Associate producer of "American Scary"), WATCH HORROR FILMS — KEEP AMERICA STRONG is a new, feature-length documentary blending newly filmed interviews with crew, family and fans, with rare footage unseen since originally aired, celebrating the unique and lasting contributions of legendary "Creature Features" hosts Bob Wilkins and John Stanley to San Francisco Bay Area broadcasting.

An affectionate tribute to a special time and place, and to the special people who entertained and inspired a generation of entranced viewers, WATCH HORROR FILMS — KEEP AMERICA STRONG recalls a strange and wonderful era of locally-produced television. To this day, KTVU’s "Creature Features" (1971–1984) remains the most-loved, best-remembered local program in Bay Area history. “Watch Horror Films — Keep America Strong!” was the rallying cry of host Bob Wilkins as he lured unsuspecting audiences into viewing the type of film usually found clinging to the bottom of the cinematic barrel. After eight years, Bob passed the torch onto San Francisco Chronicle film critic, John Stanley.

Special guests attending the gala premiere of WATCH HORROR FILMS — KEEP AMERICA STRONG will include "Creature Features" host John Stanley, Sally Wilkins (the wife of Bob Wilkins), Bob Shaw (associate producer of "Creature Features"), Ernie Fosselius (the genius behind "Hardware Wars"), August Ragone (author of "Eiji Tsuburaya: Master of Monsters") – with more special guests to be announced.

In recent years, Bob Wilkins has struggled with the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s Disease. Proceeds from WATCH HORROR FILMS — KEEP AMERICA STRONG will go directly to the Bob Wilkins Foundation to assist in his care. The event is being presented by Creatures At Large.

This is a great cause, Bob Wilkins was a big part of my young life and I was lucky to be a part of his, and so I urge all those who ever wanted to thank Bob for all those great years of "Creature Features" and "Captain Cosmic" to attend, as well as anyone who fondly remembers the "Good Old Days" of San Francisco Bay Area television.

Plus, you get to roast me for my rambling and mumbling interview in the film! Now, you have no excuse to not attend!

"UCHUSEN" QUARTERLY BEGINS RELAUNCH! Legendary Japanese Tokusatsu Magazine Returns

新生「宇宙船」マガジン登場!


Reborn with new logo by director Kieta "Zeiram" Amemiya.

It's here! I have been waiting three years for its return, but have grown anxious since the official announcement last fall... and now, it's here! The legendary Uchusen (or "Spaceship") magazine has been reborn like a mythical phoenix! I feel like a kid waiting for his new issue of Famous Monsters to arrive in the mail. Some of you might be asking, "what's all of the fuss about?"

Originally launched in 1980 by Tokyo-based Asahi Sonorama publishing house, Uchusen was the premiere source for Japanese genre fans to learn about the latest in news from Japan and abroad on upcoming productions and extensive retrospectives — with an emphasis on classics of tokusatsu eiga and television. From the first issue, with Kaida's evocative cover — seen below and revisited in the cover of the relaunch seen above — readers were hooked. For 25 years, I was hooked, too, and couldn't wait to get my hands on the latest issue — each and every issue was a proverbial treasure trove of stills and information.


Premiere Issue, 1980 with Yuji Kaida cover and title design.

I first met the original editor, Saki Hijiri, at WesterCon 32 in San Francisco during the summer of 1979, when he and his crew (including now-famed illustrator Yuji Kaida) were putting together the first issue. During the convention and I was privy to see — as were fans in Chicago — some of Kaida's amazing cut-away drawings for famous SF automatons, such as Robby the Robot, which would appear in the premiere volume. Because of this fortunate meeting, I got my teenage mug in that very first issue promoting my Godzilla Fan Club and met many great people though that ad, at home and abroard, including the late Guy Tucker (author of Age of the Gods: The History of the Japanese Fantasy Film).

Over the years, American fans and professionals who were visited by Saki-san and Co. during their annual sojourns, were generously given copies of the latest issues, each packed with amazing photos and graphics. Uchusen also celebrated and exposed the outside world to the phenomenon of Garage Kits. Even though many people outside of Japan have never heard of Uchusen magazine, the influence it made on those in the Hollywood visual effects community, old and new, has yet to be told. Even I was impacted in strange ways. One day, I received a call at work from Saki-san who desperately needed someone to pick them up from San Francisco International Airport. My boss refused to let me leave early, so I walked. That job blew anyhow.


Fantastic Collection No.13: Gammera (1979).

Initially, the magazine grew out of a series of one-shot publications called Fantastic Collection, each covering a specific topic from SCIENCE NINJA TEAM: GATCHAMAN to GODZILLA, which were aimed at the young adult and adult fan, and were met with enthusiastic response and sales. So, Asahi Sonorama offered Saki-san and Co. a magazine of their own, as long as they continued working on Fantastic Collection series as well. Uchusen started out as a quarterly, and saw highs and lows right from the beginning (it was almost canceled when sales of #6 hit rock bottom, and was fortunately saved by the strong sales of the following issues), but managed to always be there, as it went to bi-monthly and back again to quarterly. Then, back to bi-monthly for the remainder of its run. Fans of Uchusen, such as myself and other readers around the world, had always relied on it to be there.

Then there's that annoying axiom, "All good things must come to an end." Over the last decade, the fandom-lauded magazine seemed to be losing its edge. There were fewer and fewer retrospective articles on Toho's Golden Age, and there was an overall feeling lacking with newer issues. Another problem also reared its ugly head — competition from similar upstart periodicals such as Newtype the Live (Kadokawa Publishing) and Toei Hero Max (Tatsumi Publishing), who were pulling away Uchusen's waning readership. While the magazine saw several editors at the helm after Saki-san departed, for better or worse, it began improving in content and interview subjects in 2004 — but, the inevitable could not be avoided.


Final issue with Asahi Sonorama, 2005.

Due to declining sales, Asahi Sonorama felt that the magazine was "old fashioned," and therefore should go on hiatus, and when/if it returned, Uchusen would be completely re-imagined, said then-Chief Editor, Akihiro Fukuba in #119 (July 2005)... Uchusen's "last issue." While Newtype the Live and Toei Hero Max have continued successfully, the void left by their forerunner's impact was immeasurable. Sadly, there were no signs that the magazine would return, and it seemed as though the statements by Asahi Sonorama were a polite way of telling their readers, "Uchusen has left the building."

Things were looking especially dark last year, when Asahi Sonorama decided to call it quits. During their nearly fifty years in business, the publisher launched hundreds of successful magazines and specialty books — especially during the "Monster Boom" of the mid-to-late 1960s — and they were also the progenitors of the "Sonosheet" (or "flexi disc") record phenomenon in Japan. Today, the evocative art of their books and Sonosheet EPs give many Japanese fans in their 40s and 50s warm, fuzzy feelings, causing them to involuntarily sigh, "Natsukashii!" (akin to saying, "Ah, memories!").


ULTRAMAN Sonosheet storybook EP, circa 1966.

Then, like an Angel swooping down from the heavens, rescue came the in form of the perennial and vastly popular Hobby Japan Co., which publishes — you guessed it — Hobby Japan magazine. The publishing company purchased the vast holdings to Asahi Sonorama's back catalogue, including their considerable tokusatsu materials and titles, including Uchusen magazine. Soon afterwards, it was announced online and via Hobby Japan that the re-birth of everyone's favorite "Space Mag Controlled by [the] Visual Age" was nigh. Now, it's back — and it's about time!

Do yourself a favor and grab yourself a copy of Uchusen #120 from Amazon Japan and see what all of the fuss it about!

MR. GODZILLA GOES TO CHICAGO THIS JULY! Haruo "Godzilla" Nakajima Invades G-Fest XV

この夏、中島春雄は「G-Fest XV」 のためのシカゴで上陸する!


Nakajima on the set of GODZILLA VS. THE SEA MONSTER (1966)

G-Fest XV, the annual convention devoted to Japanese monster movies and fantasy films will be held from July 4th through July 6th, 2008, at the Crowne Plaza Chicago O’Hare. This year's Guests of Honor will include:

HARUO NAKAJIMA - From Ishiro Honda's GODZILLA (1954) to Jun Fukuda's GODZILLA VS. GIGAN (1972), Nakajima was the primary Godzilla "suit actor" who also played the major monsters during the original run of Toho's Fantasy Films, such as Honda's RODAN (1956) and THE WAR OF THE GARGANTUAS (1966). Mr.Nakajima also appeared in numerous films produced at Toho Studios, including Akira Kurosawa's SEVEN SAMURAI (1954). Mr. Nakajima will be meeting and greeting with attendees and will also receive G-Fest's "Mangled Skyscraper Award" for 2008.

G-Fest XV's other guests will include former UFC fighter-turned-actor DON FRYE, who played the prominent character of "Captain Douglas Gordon" in Ryuhei Kitamura's GODZILLA FINAL WARS (2004). This is Frye's first appearance at G-Fest.

ROBERT SCOTT FIELD, who played "Android M-11" in GODZILLA VS. KING GHIDORAH (1991), returns once again to moderate live programming translations, as well as host his own sessions at G-Fest XV.

G-Fest XV's movie line up at the Pickwick Theatre this year will see the North American theatrical premiere of Kazuki Omori's GODZILLA VS. BIOLLANTE (1989), as well as screenings of Honda's MATANGO: ATTACK OF THE MUSHROOM PEOPLE (1963), DESTROY ALL MONSTERS (1968), Fukuda's GODZILLA VS. GIGAN (1972), Takao Okawara's OROCHI: THE EIGHT-HEADED DRAGON (1994), and Masaaki Tezuka's GODZILLA AGAINST MECHAGODZILLA (2002).

For more information, go to the official website at G-fan.com

モスラ MOTHRA (1961)

Staggering detail-perfect miniature of the Shibuya Ward in MOTHRA.

MOTHRA
Mosura (Toho, 1961), 101 minutes
Director ISHIRO HONDA • Director of Visual Effects EIJI TSUBURAYA

At the time of its production, MOTHRA was Toho's largest scale kaiju eiga (monster movie) made during the Golden Age, starting with GODZILLA and refined with RODAN. The studio solicited three novelists to each write one-third of a story, based on the treatment for the film, and serialized in the Weekly Asahi. Screenwriter Sekizawa only took basic cues from the short story, added the fairy tale atmosphere, and created a wonderful synergy between the three main characters. The climax in the fictional "New Kirk City" (a hybrid of San Francisco and NYC) was not in the original screenplay, but was commissioned by Columbia Pictures, due to the success of their Stateside releases of THE H-MAN (1958) and BATTLE IN OUTER SPACE (1959). The original ending was already shot and was jettisoned in favor of this new climax, which added far greater scope to the film.

A major element of MOTHRA is the wondrous and beautiful score by seasoned composer Yuji Koseki (1908-1989), who occasionally wrote film music (TOWER OF LILLIES), but whose career concentrated on penning hit songs for Nippon Columbia's pop stars. Koseki was not only chosen because of his previous work with pop sensation The Peanuts (twins Yumi and Emi Ito, who were cast as the "Little Beauties"), but because the film is essentially operatic — the music is an integral part of the story. Koseki had been instrumental in writing The Peanuts' biggest hits, and penned their songs for MOTHRA, "The Song of Mothra" (lyrics by Koji Yuki*) and "The Daughters of Infant Island" (lyrics by Susumu Ike*). Koseki and The Peanuts were the perfect choice for MOTHRA, as its fairly tale setting could have been lost in the heavy compositions of Akira Ifukube.

Tsuburaya's team had their work cut out for them, with the scope and size of the miniature sets needed, as well the sheer number of effects sequences required by the screenplay. The Minato Ward, landmarked by the massive Tokyo Tower, was the most enormous miniature set ever built at the time, and accurate, right down to the last house (in 1/100 scale to accommodate the four foot-long mechanical prop of the caterpillar). Other scenes of the caterpillar wrecking havoc was accomplished with a nearly thirty foot-long "costume," needing seven operators (with veteran monster suit actor Haruo "Godzilla" Nakajima in the lead). The sequence where Mothra thrashes the Shibuya Ward (and it's train station in glorious 1/20-scale) is now fully restored in this presentation. The volume and detail of the visual effects are pure motion picture spectacle — and 43 years after it's first release, is still awe-inspiring in its scope, craftsmanship and sheer audacity.

MOTHRA was a massive hit, selling over sold over nine million tickets (impressive for a country smaller than California). There is much to appreciate about viewing MOTHRA, but it is also the vital lynchpin in the development of the genre. No kaiju eiga, before or since, has touched its size and magnitude — a film like MOTHRA simply could not be produced today. Sekizawa's witty screenplay, spot-on acting from leads Frankie Sakai (SHOGUN), Kyoko Kagawa (HIGH AND LOW), Hiroshi Koizumi (LATE CHRYSANTHEMUMS) and Jerry Ito (YOU CAN SUCCEED, TOO), the wonderful vocals by The Peanuts, inspired direction by Honda and the visual detail of Tsuburaya, make MOTHRA irresistible entertainment — and one of the finest films ever produced by Toho Motion Picture Company.


Executive Producer TOMOYUKI TANAKA Screenplay SHINICHI SEKIZAWA (based on the stories by Shinichiro Nakamura, Takehiko Fukunaga and Yoshie Hotta) Production Design TAKEO KITA and TERUAKI ABE Cinematography HAJIME KOIZUMI Film Editor KAZUJI TAIRA Music YUJI KOSEKI Sound Effects ICHIRO MINAWA Visual Effects Production Design AKIRA WATANABE Optical Photography YUKIO MANODA Visual Effects Photography SADAMASA ARIKAWA

Starring FRANKIE SAKAI (Senichiro Fukuda, Nitto News Reporter) KYOKO KAGAWA (Michi Hanamura, Nitto News Photographer) HIROSHI KOIZUMI (Dr. Shinichi Chujo) KEN UEHARA (Dr. Harada) JERRY ITO (Clark Nelson) YUMI and EMI ITO (Little Beauties) AKIHIRO TAYAMA (Shinji Chujo) SATOSHI NAKAMURA (Nelson's Henchman) OSMAN "JOHNNY" YUSEF (Nelson's Henchman) OBER WYATT (Dr. Roth) ROBERT DUNHAM (New Kirk City Police Chief) ED KEANE (New Kirk City Mayor) and TAKASHI SHIMURA (Amano, Nitto News Editor)

*"Koji Yuki" was the pen name for Tomoyuki Tanaka, Ishiro Honda and Shinichi Sekizawa. "Susumu Ike" was the pen name of Koji Kajita, who was generally Honda's chief assistant director.

MOTHRA plays with BATTLE IN OUTER SPACE at Landmark's Clay Theater in San Francisco on March 20th as part of "Monsters of Mass Destruction: A Tribute to Eiji Tsuburaya" at 3:30 & 7:30 PM

宇宙大戦争 BATTLE IN OUTER SPACE (1959)

Tsuburaya prepares to shoot the Earth Forces' sortie to the Moon.

BATTLE IN OUTER SPACE
Uchu Daisenso (Toho, 1959), 90 minutes
Director ISHIRO HONDA • Director of Visual Effects EIJI TSUBURAYA

BATTLE IN OUTER SPACE opens with a shot of an evocative orbital space station, a title card pronouncing the year as "1965" — an odd date in retrospect, since we know that these advances did not come to pass (the first Moon landing still over a decade away). "Why 1965," one might ask? This is because the film is a loose sequel to THE MYSTERIANS (1957), and within that context, it makes perfect sense — the nations of the world dropped their petty hostilities to unite against a common foe, and were ultimately able to narrowly repel the invaders. In the eight years between the settings of THE MYSTERIANS and BATTLE IN OUTER SPACE, Mankind has absorbed the alien technology, and have advanced in science by leaps and bounds — and are just reaching out into space with these technological advancements.

Another confusing element for some viewers was that while a number of the characters from THE MYSTERIANS are carried over to this spectacle (both based on short stories by former test pilot-turned-science fiction writer, Jojiro Okami), the roles were cast with different actors (the original actors were unavailable when the production went into full swing). Most notably, Takashi Shimura (Kanbei in SEVEN SAMURAI) was replaced by Koreya Senda (GATE OF HELL) to essay "Dr. Adachi"; while the stunning Kyoko Anzai (TOKYO HOLIDAY) replaced Yumi Shirakawa (EARLY AUTUMN) as "Etsuko Shiraishi." BATTLE IN OUTER SPACE also features one of the largest non-Japanese supporting casts in a genre film, with Leonard Stanford (THEY WERE EXPENDABLE) stepping in for George Furness as "Dr. Richardson," while Harold Conway (TORA! TORA! TORA!) returned as "Dr. Immelman."

Even though the film lacks the presence of the great Takashi Shimura, it gained an intense performance from Yoshio Tsuchiya, who played "Rikichi" in SEVEN SAMURAI (1954), as the alien-enslaved "Yuichi Iwamura." Tsuchiya (b.1927) excelled in complex or tortured characters, and because of his acting prowess, was hand-picked for Kurosawa's ensemble of actors. Tsuchiya jumped at the chance to play the masked leader of the Mysterians, rather than play one of the human characters, despite the studio’s wishes, and continued to play roles as monsters or madmen in THE HUMAN VAPOR (1960), MATANGO (1963), MONSTER ZERO (1965) and DESTROY ALL MONSTERS (1968). Leading man, Ryo Ikebe (b. 1918), played "Ichiro Katsumiya," a top-billed leading man and renown actor who appeared in such films as Kaneto Shindo's PALE FLOWER (1964), and was still playing leading men well into his 40s. He also appeared in the science fiction films GORATH (1963) and THE WAR IN SPACE (1977).

Artist Shigeru Komatsuzaki (1915-2001), who conceived the iconic '50s spacecraft designs, also provided similar chores on THE MYSTERIANS, which refined by Art Director Akira Watanabe and his staff. Komatsuzaki would later go on to create one of the most memorable icons of science fiction cinema for ATRAGON (1963). BATTLE IN OUTER SPACE is one of the most action-oriented and miniature-filled of Toho's early special effects productions, trumping the vast majority of space pictures of the time, and Eiji Tsuburaya outdid himself in regards to the sheer number of effects scenes, especially during the final battle above the Earth — which floored audiences in 1959 — and can only be fully appreciated on the Big Screen, the way these films were meant to be seen.


Executive Producer TOMOYUKI TANAKA Original Story JOJIRO OKAMI Screenplay SHINICHI SEKIZAWA Production Design TERUAKI ABE Cinematography HAJIME KOIZUMI Film Editor KAZUJI TAIRA Music AKIRA IFUKUBE Sound Effects ICHIRO MINAWA Special Effects Production Design AKIRA WATANABE and SHIGERU KOMATSUZAKI Visual Effects Photography SADAMASA ARIKAWA Optical Photography HIDESABURO ARAKI

Starring RYO IKEBE (Major Ichiro Katsumiya) KYOKO ANZAI (Etsuko Shiraishi) KOREYA SENDA (Dr. Adachi) LEONARD STANFORD (Dr. Roger Richardson) HAROLD CONWAY (Dr. Immelman) YOSHIO TSUCHIYA (Yuichi Iwamura) HISAYA ITO (Kogure) NADAO KIRINO (Okada) ELSIE RITCHER (Sylvia) GEORGE WYMAN (Dr. Ahmed) ED KEANE (US General) and MINORU TAKADA (Defense Commander)

BATTLE IN OUTER SPACE plays with MOTHRA (1961) at Landmark's Clay Theater in San Francisco on March 20th as part of "Monsters of Mass Destruction: A Tribute to Eiji Tsuburaya" at 5:30 & 9:30 PM

THE MONSTERS OF MASS DESTRUCTION! Tribute to Eiji Tsuburaya in San Francisco

On March 20th, in celebration of the release of my book, EIJI TSUBURAYA: MASTER OF MONSTERS, San Francisco's Clay Theater will proudly present a spectacular Tohoscope double feature dedicated to the legendary director of visual effects (known in Japan as the "Tokusatsu-no Kamisama"). The event will feature beautiful 35mm scope prints of Ishiro Honda's MOTHRA (1961) and BATTLE IN OUTER SPACE (1959) for one night only — courtesy of Sony Repertory — where they belong, on the big screen!

The Clay will be screening the uncut Japanese-language version of MOTHRA, featuring scenes edited from the original U.S. release in 1962, and fully subtitled in English. The spectacle that is MOTHRA is one of my personal favorite of all of Toho's fantasy films from the Golden Era, and was a big hit on both sides of the Pacific: New York Times film critic, A.H. Weiler said, "There's that color, as pretty as can be, that now and then smites the eye with some genuinely artistic panoramas and décor designs... Fantastic though the plot may be, there are some genuinely penetrating moments, such as the contrast of the approaching terror and those patient, silvery-voiced little 'dolls,' serenely awaiting rescue. Several of the special effects shots are brilliant, such as the sight of a giant cocoon nestling against a large city's power station tower."



Meanwhile, BATTLE IN OUTER SPACE will be the English-language version produced and released by Columbia Pictures in 1960. A sequel to THE MYSTERIANS (1957), BATTLE IN OUTER SPACE is generally derided as a lesser film by some fans, but I find it more dramatically and technically accomplished than the former — the stakes are much higher, the destruction is world-wide, and the final confrontation above the Earth was the first of its kind (18 years before STAR WARS). New York Times film critic, Howard Thompson said, "Some of the artwork is downright nifty, especially in the middle portion, when an earth rocket soars to the moon to destroy the palpitating missile base... The Japanese have opened a most amusing and beguiling bag of technical tricks, as death-dealing saucers whiz through the stratosphere like fireflies... the lunar landscape is just as pretty as it can be."

For the evening performance, I will be on hand to introduce both features and sign copies of my book during the intermission (courtesy Super 7, who will be also selling related merchandise). For more information on this event, and how to order tickets, please click here: TOHO DOUBLE FEATURE @ Landmark After Dark.

TAKASHI MIIKE'S "CELLPHONE INVESTIGATION 7" New SF Crime Drama is More Than Meets the Eye

三池監督の新SFドラマ「ケイタイ捜査官７」で４月２日スタート！


Miike (left), Shimatani (center) and Kubota (left). ©Mainichi News

Acclaimed director Takashi Miike (GREAT YOKAI WAR), is now hard at work as the Supervising Director on a new 51-episode science fiction television series for the TV Tokyo network, CELLPHONE INVESTIGATION 7 (Keitai Sousankan 7). Produced by WiZ and Production I.G., the series will feature episodes directed by such noted genre filmmakers as Mamoru Oshii (GHOST IN THE SHELL) and Shusuke Kaneko (DEATH NOTE).

The story of CELLPHONE INVESTIGATION 7 concerns the adventures of Kieta, a High School Freshman, played by 19 year-old actor Masataka Kubota, who becomes the seventh member of "Anchor," an organization formed to bring a hi-tech internet criminal organization to justice. He is bestowed with a special automaton, Phonebraver 7, which — shades of Transformers — morphs into a cellphone.

The supporting cast features Mickey Curtis (AGITATOR), Yuko Ito (BUBBLE FICTION), Kanji Tsuda (JAPAN SINKS), Natsuki Okamoto (ARCH ANGELS), Satoshi Matsuda (KAMEN RIDER RYUKI), and Nao Nagasawa (HURRICANGER). The opening theme song is sung by Hitomi Shimatani, who said, "If my schedule is open, I've told Director Miike that I'm interested in acting." Shimatani had previously acted in Yuichi Abe's PRINCE OF TENNIS (2006).

The series begins airing Wednesdays at 7:00 PM starting April 2nd. Later that month, SoftBank Mobile will launch a promotional tie-in with special cellphones modeled after the robots in the series.


SoftBank's prototypes for Phonebraver 7 (left) and Phonebraver 01 (right).

Sources:
Mainichi News
Official Tokyo TV Page
Official Series Page

ULTRAMAN GOES LEGIT IN THAILAND! Out from the Shadow of Chaiyo Productions

Man, I had a great time, but I'm still decompressing from this year's WonderCon; but just to tide you over in the meantime, here's some Ultra Good news from Thailand:

Ultraman Entering a New Era:
Media Network Signs Japanese Superhero
Woranuji Maneerungsee
Bangkok Post, February 26, 2008

TOKYO -- Ultraman may not save the world, but he could bring Samart Chuasiriphattana a fortune.

Mr. Samart's Media Network Retail Co, which operates 150 home entertainment outlets and a similar number of kiosks in hypermarkets nationwide, recently signed a four-year contract with Japan's Tsuburaya Productions for the rights to the Ultraman Mebius character.

"The timing was good because the dispute over licence rights for Ultraman between Tsuburaya and Thailand's Chaiyo Productions, which had dragged on for more than a decade, was finally settled in early February when the Thai Supreme Court ruled in favour of the Japanese firm. The court agreed that a 1976 contract used by Chaiyo's Sompote Saengduenchai was a forgery.

The movement opens a new chapter for Mr Samart's business, as he can now grant licences as well as distribute CDs, VCDs and DVDs.

Also, it will open a new chapter for Japanese superheroes in Thailand.

Media Network won the rights for 50 episodes of ULTRMAN MEBIUS, which is scheduled to air on Channel 9 for the first time this July. VCDs will be launched in the beginning of April. The company may show new Ultraman movies, and it also hopes to gain lucrative income from granting licences for merchandise manufacturers.

It has set aside 25 million baht for a four-year marketing plan to raise awareness, and anticipates 100 million baht in sales revenues from all Ultraman Mebius products by 2011.

Mr. Samart, the managing director, said the company was interested in the Ultraman character because Japanese superheroes showed good prospects for growth. Since 2002, no marketing activities have seriously promoted such characters locally. Granting licences for merchandise would generate lucrative revenues, he said.

"As for marketing in the home entertainment business, it is necessary to think about a total solution, which includes merchandise. We would like to make them legally," said Mr. Samart.

He said the company was in talks with about 10 merchandise manufacturers, including makers of stationery, IT accessories and apparel.

Atsushi Saito, international sales manager for Tsuburaya Productions, said Tsuburaya would work with Media Network in Thailand.

"Until last year, Thais had not seen any legal products in the market. From now, we want to infiltrate the Thai market with legitimate products from our company,"said Mr Saito, who declined to mention the legal disputes, saying he was not authorised to talk about them.

Tsuburaya is looking forward to increasing sales in potential markets such as Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore. The company would like to see more merchandises in those markets as they can freely license all the characters and anticipated more sales of VCDs, DVDs and merchandise.

With a clear business picture in the Thai market this year, the company is optimistic that licence fees would reach US$1 million, about 10 times more than last year.

Tsuburaya will continue to support local licensees in Thailand and will introduce a Japanese style of merchandising and providing advise for Thai manufacturers.

Though more than 40 years old, Ultraman characters are recognised in many countries. About 90% of the revenues come from Japan, with the rest from the international market. China is the company's largest market, while Thailand ranks third.

Crimson Phoenix! "SUPER ROBOT: RED BARON" Coming to DVD This April From BCI/Ronin!

特撮番組「スーパーロボット・レッドバロン」は米国DVDで、出動!


Awesome jacket design by Dan Wheelan.

At long last, I finally completed work on BCI/Ronin Entertainment's upcoming release of the 39-episode visual effects television series, SUPER ROBOT: RED BARON. Parts of the process were waylaid with personal life issues, which knocked me off the the rails for a couple of months, and caused me to ask — again — how can people can be so self-absorbed that they end up being deeply cruel to others? It still causes me to shout to the Heavens,"WTF!?"

Once I was able to pull myself out and get my head straight, I needed some time to reflect on what's really important. Honesty, integrity and commitment. I still can't understand why people spend so much energy being deceitful, when it's far easier — and respectful for both parties — to just be straight up. Apparently some people just don't have the intestinal fortitude to be honest. They just don't have it in them. So, now that RED BARON is "in the can," so to speak, you think that it would be time for me to take a deep breath and celebrate (or at least, get smashed), right?

Well, maybe I can squeeze in a deep breath, before I start work on the next gigs I've already lined up — more DVD projects — not to mention the upcoming signings of my book at WonderCon this weekend (I will also be hosting a presentation on Sunday at 11:30 am), and the Clay Theater's Toho Double Feature of MOTHRA (1961) and BATTLE IN OUTER SPACE (1959), dedicated to Visual Effects Director Eiji Tsuburaya. Well, what can you do? It's feast or famine. So I guess that I shouldn't be complaining (idle hands are the work of the Devil, after all, no?). Well, I do have a long put-off vacation coming up in the spring — far away from here.

Getting back to the blog at hand, SUPER ROBOT: RED BARON was originally produced by Senkosha & Nippon Modern Planning in 1973, and was a hit on Japanese television. Now, the series is coming to North America for the first time, and I was really excited to jump at the chance to contribute to this presentation. My work included, standardizing names and terms, editing the English subtitle scripts, compiling and translating series credits and episode titles, providing ad copy, and compiling and penning the liner notes booklet.

This liner notes booklet covers the background and production details in bringing the show to life; the personnel involved, as well as biographies for the cast and guest stars who populate RED BARON, all wrapped up in beautiful booklet and packaging design by Dan Wheelan (see accompanying images). What's RED BARON all about? Here's my copy from the jacket:

Terror strikes an international exposition, showcasing giant robots from around the world, when it is suddenly attacked by the mysterious Iron Alliance, who seizes all of the nations’ automatons. But Dr. Deviler (Hiroshi Ikaida), a mad despot who plots to overthrow mankind, fails to capture Red Baron, a super robot built by Kenichiro Kurenai (Nobuhiko Ishida). When Kenichiro is captured, he entrusts Red Baron to his younger brother, Ken (Yosuke Okada), a member of the S.S.I. (Secret Science Investigation) organization. Now, Ken pilots Red Baron to fight against the Iron Alliance’s mechanical hordes to protect the future of the human race!

Super Robot: Red Baron is an action-packed series produced by the same creative team responsible for Ultraman and Iron King, featuring wall-to-wall action, colorful miniature effects, imaginative production design, endless city-stomping excitement, and a wild score by Bob "Gatchaman" Sakuma. Created during the height of the Tokusatsu (special effects) Boom on Japanese television, Super Robot: Red Baron delivers the all of massive spectacle of clashing colossi, in the tradition of Godzilla, in every episode. Presented for the first time in North America, this presentation features all 39 episodes fully subtitled in English!

"SUPER ROBOT: RED BARON The Complete Series" will be streeting on April 8th and with an MSRP of $59.95, or you can order it online from Deep Discount DVD for the super price of $36.44 - that's only 93¢ an episode, so you have no excuse not to pick this one up!


A peek at the 20-page booklet on the series.

I'd like to publicly thank Ronin Entertainment's Cliff MacMillan for the opportunity to work on these releases! Next up, Yasuaki Kurata's 26-episode series FIGHT! DRAGON (1974) and Akio Jissoji's SILVER MASK (1971). There's also a new DVD release coming from Generation Kikaida later this year... I can't divulge the title of the series at this time, but it will be officially announced in May. Stay tuned!

HEY, STUPID! HE'S A KLLING MACHINE! It's Not Nice to Mess with Sonny Chiba...

Do you have the guts to bother this man? © Joy E. Scheller/LFI.

Some action stars fade away. Not Shinichi "Sonny" Chiba, one of my screen heroes, and the dynamic star of such films as Shigehiro Ozawa's THE STREET FIGHTER (Gekitotsu! Satsujin-ken, 1974) and Quentin Tarantino's KILL BILL VOL. 1 (2003). Even at 69 years young, Chiba, who recently retired from acting to step behind the director's chair, still proves that he's not going to take crap from anyone.

Former action star, Shinichi Chiba, was involved in a brawl around 6:20 pm on Wednesday night, February 8th (Japan time), with an unnamed male acquaintance. Tokyo Metropolitan Police have taken statements from both men and are investigating the incident.

The 49 year-old man, was at the NTV Tower plaza in Higashi-Shinbashi that evening. Mr. Chiba was at a nearby restaurant, when a friend told him that the man was spreading rumors about Chiba having financial problems. The former action star took offense, and confronted the man in the plaza. Chiba struck him once in the face, and also hit him on the back of the head, after knocking him to the ground. Both men reportedly suffered minor injuries.

Police are determining who initiated the violence, and whether either of the men were drinking. Most likely, the matter will be settled out of court.

After suffering an incredible financial collapse in the late 1980s, and losing most of his considerable business interests, including the Japan Action Club (now Japan Action Enterprises), which ended his rock-solid marriage to actress Yoko Nogiwa, I can understand why he would be so upset at such slander. The real question here is, was such violence justifiable? That's for all of you to decide for yourselves.

But, I've got to hand it to him, he's still one real mean bastard.

Reported by Tokyo Graph from a story appearing on Sanpo Sports online.


Jonathan Ross interviews Sonny Chiba for the BBC's "Japanorama."

THE BITTER TEA OF MR. SOMPOTE Or "That's the Way the Thai Cookie Crumbles"

Celebrations all around! At least for the time being...

It's finally over. After more than a decade of slings and arrows, Tsuburaya Productions has won. Thai-based Chaiyo Films' strong-armed attempt to steal the Ultraman franchise by defrauding and defaming Tsuburaya Productions (the company founded by Eiji Tsuburaya Productions in 1963), has really come to an end. Now, there will be no holding back on Tsuburaya Productions' hopes to market their properties in the US and beyond.

In short, the whole sordid and nasty story began in 1997, when Chaiyo's founder, Sompote Saengduenchai, filed a lawsuit against Tsuburaya Productions over a "contract" allegedly signed by the late CEO Noboru Tsuburaya in 1970s, handing over all of the rights to the then-existing Ultraman franchise to Chaiyo in exchange for a financial loan.

What made this business uglier is that Sampote continually claimed that he and Eiji Tsuburaya were close friends - and even displayed a large portrait of Tsuburaya in his living room, further underlining the deceit of their lawsuit. But now that the dust has settled, Tsuburaya Productions has indeed prevailed, much like their silver and red superhero.

Eiji Tsuburaya can now rest easy...

With that being said, here's the report on the final nail in the coffin for these reprehensible intellectual pirates:

Final Ruling in "Ultraman Case"
Published in Bangkok's The Nation on February 6th, 2008:

The Supreme Court yesterday ruled in favour of Tsuburaya Productions of Japan by finding Sompote Saengduenchai was not a co-inventor of Ultraman as he had claimed in a legal battle that started in 1997, said a lawyer for the Japanese firm.

Manu Rakwattanakul, a Baker and McKenzie Thailand partner representing Tsuburaya Productions, said the Central Intellectual Property Court yesterday read a Supreme Court ruling that said there was no circumstantial evidence to support claims that Sompote Saengduenchai co-invented the popular television superhero.

The ruling means Sompote and his company, Tsuburaya Chaiyo, must stop profiteering from Ultraman. Sompote had for many years earned significant revenue from producing Ultraman television shows, colouring books and T-shirts, as well as other merchandise using the character. However, the Supreme Court told Sompote to end such activities within 30 days from the date of ruling.

The case started in 1997, when Tsuburaya Productions filed a lawsuit against Sompote. He had earlier said that as co-inventor, he was entitled to sell Ultraman products. The court also ruled the transfer of Ultraman rights to Sompote was invalid, and the decision ends Sompote's bid to continue his enterprise. Tsuburaya Production lost its case earlier in the First Instance Court but made an appeal and finally won in yesterday's ruling.

Manu said, "It was a long case, involving many documents and witnesses." He said the decision meant Tsuburaya Productions was the sole copyright owner. Sompote was ordered to pay 10.7 million Baht ($343,984 U.S. dollars) plus interest at the rate of 7.5 % a year starting from December 16, 1997, when the original lawsuit was filed.

(Special thanks to James Ballard for altering us to the good news!)

Related stories and information:

"Sampote Loses Ultraman Case" Bangkok Post, February 6th, 2008

"Top Court Rules Ultraman is Not Thai" AFP, February 6th, 2008

"Tsuburaya Wins Ultraman Case" The Nation, April 5th, 2007

"Ultraman Licensing Rights Dispute" on Wikipedia

IT MUST BE SNOWING IN HELL... THE "X" RETURNS! Guilala Strikes Back for Director Minoru Kawasaki

川崎実監督の「ギララの逆襲 洞爺湖サミット危機一発」登場！


The infamous Giant Space Monster and Director Kawasaki (right).

TOKYO: After 40 years, he's back! The extraterrestrial creature Guilala from Shochiku’s infamous 1967 feature GIANT SPACE MONSTER GUILALA (Uchu Daikaiju Girara), better known as THE X FROM OUTER SPACE, will be featured in an all-new film from director Minoru Kawasaki, GUILALA STRIKES BACK: CRISIS AT THE LAKE TOYA SUMMIT (Girara-no Gyakushu Toyako Samitto Kiki Ippatsu, 2008). While the original film, directed by Kazui Nihonmatsu, is somewhat of a "forgotten" title in Japan, THE X FROM OUTER SPACE was a frequent staple of US television syndication for two decades via American International Television. Currently, the North American rights are currently held by Janus Films/Criterion (maybe its time for "Criterion Collection" special edition?).

On January 29th, Shochiku held a press conference to announce the production of GUILALA STRIKES BACK: CRISIS AT THE LAKE TOYA SUMMIT with Director Kawasaki (pictured above, right) and several of the cast members in attendance. In this new kaiju eiga (monster movie), the greatest scientific and political minds in the world gather at the G-8 Summit at Lake Toya in Hokkaido, Japan -- but disaster strikes when a Red Chinese spacecraft plummets to earth, carrying spores of the space monster, and crashes near the city of Sapporo. Soon, Guilala grows, rising from the wreckage, and begins to terrorize the countryside, threatening the G-8 Summit. Kawasaki declared his hopes to ignite a new Kaiju Boom and help spawn the revival of the Japanese monster movie genre.

Director Kawasaki is a lifelong kaiju fanatic, and has directed a number of independent low-budget features, all of which were infused with his own brand of humor, such as IKO-CHAN: THE EARTH DEFENSE GIRL (Chikyu Boeigun Shojo Iko-chan, 1987) and the long-running DEN ACE series. More recently, he has been garnering global attention via international festivals with his left-of-center comic sensibilities in titles such as THE CALAMARI WRESTLER (Ika Resurâ, 2004), EXECUTIVE KOALA (Koara Kachô, 2005) and THE CRAB GOALKEEPER (Kani Gôrukîpâ, 2006) -- of the latter, Kawasaki said, "It's like Forrest Gump, but with a crab." Shochiku decided to let him have a go at reviving their Guilala after seeing his parody of Shinji Higuchi's THE SINKING OF JAPAN (Nippon Chinbotsu, 2006), THE WORLD SINKS EXCEPT JAPAN (Nihon Igai Zenbu Chinbotsu, 2006).

Not one to waste time, Kawasaki has already cast members of the "Social Satirical Short Story Group," The Newspaper: Matabei Watabe, Akira Matsushita and Hide Fukumoto, who are already quite familiar to the Japanese for their satirical impersonations of real-life Japanese politicians. Matsushita (pictured above, left) will be reprising his famous "Prime Minister Junsaburo Koizumi," a parody of the real former Prime Minister, Junichiro Koizumi. Watabe and Fukumoto are also aping real-life Japanese politicos attending the film's summit when Guilala strikes. Kawasaki himself shares his name with a member of the House of Councillors, so could this film be a personal statement?

Forget CLOVERFIELD, GUILALA STRIKES BACK: CRISIS AT THE LAKE TOYA SUMMIT commences lensing in March with an eye for a nationwide release in July (to coincide with the real-life G-8 Summit at Lake Toya). But, will a real monster crash the party at G-8? Can life imitate art? Ah, only in the movies...