Suvudu Universe

AISLE SEAT 2.0.79: BEST OF SDCC 2013 – THE GODZILLA ENCOUNTER

By Marc Mason

Flashback to 1998. My excitement was at an all-time high, because the guys behind INDEPENDENCE DAY had been granted the rights to make an American GODZILLA movie. I am close to being an obsessive when it comes to the subject of the big guy, so I was damn near hyperventilating by the time the film was to be released. I bought a ticket to midnight screening at a theatre a couple of miles from my house, and I had no transportation but my feet. That didn’t stop me; it was Godzilla, it would be worth it. The film was a long one, and I had to work in the morning. Didn’t matter; it was Godzilla, it would be worth it. I’d still get three or four hours of sleep before getting up for work, and I was 28. No big deal.

The lights went down. The screen lit up.

Two and a half hours later, if I’d had a flamethrower, I’d have burned the entire building to the ground.

After watching the adventures of GINO (Godzilla in Name Only), I was filled with nerdy despair. Thankfully, Toho went back to doing what they do so well and put out the Millennium series of the big G’s flicks, and they were amazingly fun. But I felt so burned by that midnight screening that I waited fourteen years to go to another one. I turned down multiple opportunities to go, but I remembered that sensation like it had just happened. It took my faith in Marvel and Joss Whedon to get me back to the midnight shows. Thankfully, THE AVENGERS paid off.

Flashforward to now. Another attempt at an American-made Godzilla film announced. Director Gareth Edwards, who made the excellent MONSTERS, announced as the man behind the camera. Dare I hope that this time they will do it right?

Legendary Pictures, the production company behind the film, rented a warehouse off-site at this year’s SDCC in order to give fans like myself a taste of what we would see when the flick hits next May. And the good news is, after spending time at what was called “The Godzilla Experience,” is that my faith feels like it has been restored. There was love in this place, and respect for the character and his history. There was also a glimpse of what he will look like in this new film, and this time, he looks like… well, like Godzilla.

That may be the most important part.

So next May, will I be at a midnight Thursday night screening when the new GODZILLA hits movie screens? Or will I demonstrate that I have learned my lesson?

What do you think?