Category: Kaiju Cons

Kaiju Masterclass II Online Kaiju Convention Coming November

10/19/2021

Kaiju Masterclass is back for it's second year with the same great crew behind it, plus Ed Godziszewski, Matt Burkett, Mariko Godziszewski, and Amanda Whalen. Plus many new exciting guests and a few returning as well. Kaiju Masterclass gives you the creators, researchers, and scholars of Japanese sci-fi cinema and television for three days of in-depth conversations and panels. Check out the info on this event and the list of guests to be featured below.

BRINGING TOGETHER THE CREATORS AND SCHOLARS OF JAPANESE SCI-FI CINEMA AND TV FOR THREE DAYS OF INFORMATIVE, IN-DEPTH CONVERSATIONS.

Press release
KAIJU MASTERCLASS II (November 5-7, 2021) is an online convention featuring some of the biggest names in kaiju eiga, the giant monster genre that began with Godzilla’s first rampage in 1954 and went on to trample pop culture worldwide. It is a sequel to last year’s online convention KAIJU MASTERCLASS (October 2-4, 2020).

Among the featured guests at this year’s convention are writer/director Kazuki Omori (GODZILLA VS BIOLLANTE and GODZILLA VS KING GHIDORAH); sculptor and suitmaker Fuyuki Shinada (GODZILLA, MOTHRA, AND KING GHIDORAH: GIANT MONSTERS ALL-OUT ATTACK); suit actor
Tsutomu Kitagawa (the MILLENNIUM GODZILLA series); award-winning illustrator William Stout (Steve Miner’s unmade film GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS IN 3-D); and many others genre creators, writers, and authorities.

The three-day event features interviews and panel discussions on the history of Japanese sci-fi, the filmmaking process, the art of film scoring, and more. All sessions will be streamed on our YouTube channel and are free and open to the online community.

KAIJU MASTERCLASS II is created by a dedicated team of genre authorities and enthusiasts, including: Steve Ryfle and Ed Godziszewski (co-authors, ISHIRO HONDA: A LIFE IN FILM, FROM GODZILLA TO KUROSAWA); Erik Homenick (AKIRAIFUKUBE.ORG); John DeSentis (conductor/creator, KAIJU CRESCENDO); Patrick Galvan (writer, SYFY.COM); Matt Parmley and Kyle Byrd (co-hosts, KAIJU TRANSMISSIONS podcast); Kyle Gilmore (filmmaker and artist, VINTAGE REEL PRODUCTIONS); Matt Burkett (video editor, MONSTROSITIES: A VLOG OF TOKUSATSU); and translators Mariko Godziszewski and Amanda Whalen.

The programming schedule is available here.
Follow us on Facebook (@KaijuMasterclass), Twitter (@Kaiju_MC), Instagram (kaiju_masterclass), and visit kaijumasterclass.com for more information.

Kazuki Omori

Kazuki Omori is a filmmaker best known to genre fans for writing and directing GODZILLA VS BIOLLANTE and GODZILLA VS KING GHIDORAH. He also wrote the screenplays for GODZILLA VS MOTHRA and GODZILLA VS DESTOROYAH. In 2005, Omori reunited with Heisei Godzilla special effects director for SUPER FLEET SAZER-X: THE MOVIE. He now teaches film production at Osaka University of Arts.

Ryuhei Kitamura

Ryuhei Kitamura is a filmmaker who launched to international attention with the release of his 2000 cult action film VERSUS. After finding furhter success with movies such as ALIVE and AZUMI, he was hired by Toho to helm GODZILLA: FINAL WARS, the 50th anniversary film for the King of the Monsters. Since then, Kitamura has continued to work not only in Japan but also in the United States, turning out films such as THE MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN, NO ONE LIVES, and the 2014 live-action LUPIN THE 3RD.

Tsutomu Kitagawa

Tsutomu “Tom” Kitagawa is a stuntman best known for playing Godzilla in all but one of his appearances in the Millennium series (1999-2004). Kitagawa has done a considerable amount of suit acting apart from the King of the Monsters, his credits including several Super Sentai TV shows and playing King Ghidorah in REBIRTH OF MOTHRA 3 (1998).

Fuyuki Shinada

Fuyuki Shinada is a sculptor whose tokusatsu credits include building monster costumes for GODZILLA VS BIOLLANTE, GODZILLA VS KING GHIDORAH, GAMERA 2: ATTACK OF LEGION, GAMERA 3: REVENGE OF IRIS, and numerous tokusatsu TV shows. In 2001, he was hired by director Shusuke Kaneko as the suitmaker for GODZILLA, MOTHRA, KING GHIDORAH: GIANT MONSTERS ALL-OUT ATTACK.

Reijiro Koroku

Reijiro Koroku is a composer best known to kaiju fans to scoring THE RETURN OF GODZILLA (1984). He has written extensively for film, television, theater, anime, and video games and in 1991 was nominated by the Japanese Academy Film Prizes for scoring THE WHITE WOLF (1990) and 1750 DAYS OF WRATH (1990). He is currently a visiting professor at the Tokyo College of Music.

William Stout

William Stout is an award-winning illustrator specializing in paleontological art. He’s worked on a number of films, contributing posters, storyboards, production design, and presentation art to titles such as RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, FIRST BLOOD, INVADERS FROM MARS, and MEN IN BLACK. Stout created presentation art and storyboards for Steve Miner’s unmade film GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS IN 3-D.

Linda Haynes

Linda Haynes is an actress whose credits include COFFY, THE NICKEL RIDE, ROLLING THUNDER, and THE DROWNING POOL. In 1969, she co-starred in Ishiro Honda’s science fiction extravaganza LATITUDE ZERO, as part of an international cast that included Cesar Romero, Joseph Cotten, Richard Jaeckel, and Akira Takarada.

Tiffany Grant

Tiffany Grant is a voice actress, best known as Asuka from NEON GENESIS EVANGELION, with 1700+ credits including Shusuke Kaneko’s GAMERA trilogy, BLUE SEED, INFINITE STRATOS, FULL METAL ALCHEMIST, AKAME GA KILL & GIRLS UND PANZER. Video games include WARFRAME, NEVERSONG, BRAWL STARS, PALADINS, SMITE and DEUS EX II: INVISIBLE WAR. She’s written ADR script adaptations, including INFINITE STRATOS, PARASYTE-THE-MAXIM and subtitled projects like the live-action TOKYO- THE LAST MEGALOPOLIS. She’s also worked many years in theatre, commercials and film.

Craig Allen

Craig Allen is a semi-retired copywriter, editor, radio programmer, and voice talent. He lived in Hong Kong for nine years, where he worked at CNN International, Omni Productions, as a freelance copywriter, and as an English polisher for faculty at The University of Hong Kong. He currently lives in Atlanta with his wife, his two younger daughters (the oldest daughter is out on her own now), and two cats.

Makoto Inoue

Makoto Inoue is a composer and instrumentalist who has been involved in a number of kaiju music albums and concerts. In the early 1980s, he produced and performed on the albums Godzilla Legend and Godzilla Legend II: Voyage to Dream Quest, featuring original electronic arrangements of kaiju/tokusatsu music by Akira Ifukube, Masaru Sato, and Yuji Koseki. In 1986, he co-produced the popular Ostinato album, featuring modern re-recordings of cues from Akira Ifukube’s iconic monster and sci-fi scores. In 2017, Inoue and Hikashu performed the Godzilla Legend: Music of Akira Ifukube concert in New York City.

Reiko Yamada

Reiko Yamada is a Japanese pianist who attended four years of Akira Ifukube’s seminars at the Tokyo College of Music. As an instrumentalist, she takes an active interest in performing Ifukube’s works in concert and has performed the composer’s Ritmica Ostinata for Piano and Orchestra to acclaim with the Tochigi-ken Symphony Orchestra in 2006, 2010 and 2016, with the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra in 2008, and with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra in 2014 and 2016. Ms. Yamada has recorded several critically praised CDs of Ifukube’s music and served as the principal keyboard of the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra since 1995. She has also appeared as a supplemental keyboardist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Norman England

Norman England is a filmmaker, journalist, and photographer who moved to Japan from New York City in 1992. He began covering Japanese movie sets with GAMERA 3 in 1998, writing for publications such as Fangoria, Starlog, The Japan Times, etc. He directed the documentary BRINGING GODZILLA DOWN TO SIZE, and his first film, THE iDOL, is now available from SRS Cinema. Today, Norman lives in Tokyo where he subtitles feature films, shoots production stills on Japanese movie sets, and writes a monthly column for Eiga Hiho, Japan’s biggest selling cinema magazine. His new book, BEHIND THE KAIJU CURTAIN, will be published by Awai Books in fall 2021.

Mark Schilling

Mark Schilling has been reviewing Japanese films for The Japan Times since 1989 and reporting on the Japanese film industry since 1990, presently for Variety. Since 2000, he has also been a program advisor for the Udine Far East Film Festival, curating retrospectives on Nikkatsu Action films (2005), the Shintoho studio (2010) and Japanese SF/fantasy films (2016). His books include THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF JAPANESE POP CULTURE (1997), THE YAKUZA MOVIE BOOK – A GUIDE TO JAPANESE GANGSTER FILMS (2003), NO BORDERS, NO LIMITS: NIKKATSU ACTION CINEMA (2007) and ART, CULT AND COMMERCE: JAPANESE CINEMA SINCE 2000 (2019).

Jasper Sharp

Jasper Sharp is a disc producer for Arrow Films, an author, filmmaker, curator and independent scholar known for his work on Asian cinema and co-founder of the Japanese film website Midnight Eye. His books include THE MIDNIGHT EYE GUIDE TO NEW JAPANESE FILM (2004), joint-written with Tom Mes, and THE HISTORICAL DICTIONARY OF JAPANESE CINEMA (2011). He also has written for Sight & Sound, The Guardian, Variety, The Japan Times, Kateigaho, and Film International, contributed to numerous home video releases, and co-directed with Tom Grabham the documentary THE CREEPING GARDEN.

Chris Mowry

Chris Mowry is the writer of the longest-running Godzilla comic book series GODZILLA: RULERS OF EARTH. Formerly with IDW Publishing, Chris got his start in the video game industry working for both Midway Games and Sega of America. During his time with IDW, Chris served as the company’s Creative Consultant on all Godzilla titles, providing insight and assistance to the Editorial team in the production of over 85 titles during his time there. A veteran of the United States Navy, Chris lived in Japan and that relocation rekindled a love for Godzilla that he had since he was five. He now lives in Los Angeles and serves as Toho International’s Creative Manager.

Kevin Derendorf

Kevin Derendorf is a lifelong fan of Japanese genre fiction, resulting in the creation of the Maser Patrol blog (maserpatrol.wordpress.com), the book Kaiju for Hipsters: 101 “Alternative” Giant Monster Movies, and a guest essay in the recent DAIMAJIN Blu-ray set released by Arrow Video. You can find him at anime conventions talking about tokusatsu, at tokusatsu conventions talking about anime, as a guest on various podcasts, and generally being a nuisance on social media.

John LeMay

John LeMay is the author of more than 20 published books, many of them on film history. He is also the editor and publisher of The Lost Films Fanzine and has been published in magazines like Cinema Retro, G-Fan, and Mad Scientist.

Mike Bogue

Mike Bogue is a writer whose articles have appeared in Mad Scientist, Wonder, The Lost Films Fanzine, and G-Fan. His column “Kaiju Korner” (a Rondo runner-up for Best 2020 column) regularly appears in Scary Monsters Magazine. In addition, he wrote the well-reviewed book APOCALYPSE THEN: AMERICAN AND JAPANESE ATOMIC CINEMA, 1951-1967 (McFarland, 2017), which received an endorsement from NPR.

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Kaiju Masterclass Online Convention Info, Organizers, Guests & More

9/21/2020

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As we all know one by one live conventions have been canceled due to the ongoing pandemic, while some have moved online fans and content creators have also started creating their own. Earlier this year Kyle Yount created Kaijucon-line to replace the canceled G-Fest and overall it was a big success, now a group of creators have announce Kaiju Masterclass.

Kaiju Masterclass (no it's not an actual class but something much better) looks to bring a different spin by looking at the backstory behind the creation and the creators of the kaiju genre. Those behind this project include authorities and enthusiasts of the genre including Steve Ryfle (co-author, ISHIRO HONDA: A LIFE IN FILM, FROM GODZILLA TO KUROSAWA), Erik Homenick (AKIRAIFUKUBE.ORG), John DeSentis (conductor/creator KAIJU CRESCENDO), Patrick Galvan (writer, SYFY.COM), Matt Parmley and Kyle Byrd (co-hosts, KAIJU TRANSMISSIONS podcast), and Kyle Gilmore (filmmaker and artist, VINTAGE REEL PRODUCTIONS)(bios below); that will bring together creators, researchers, and scholars of Japanese sci-fi cinema and television for three days of in-depth conversations and panels to learn about the history of the genre, the film-making process, the art of film scoring, unmade projects, and more.

Kaiju Masterclass will be held on October 2-4, 2020, Friday and through Sunday. (A schedule is coming soon.) This is a free event to attend, with all panels streaming on the Kaiju Masterclass YouTube channel. Panels will include original interviews with people who’ve worked in the kaiju genre. Special guests include directors Shusuke Kaneko and Shinji Higuchi, suit maker Shinichi Wakasa, and GODZILLA (1998) composer David Arnold, and many, many more (full list below). More on this convention to come including schedule, and panels. Check back here as we will update on all the Kaiju Masterclass info.

Update: schedule/panels have been added below.

Organizers

Steve Ryfle
Steve Ryfle is a film journalist whose work has appeared in CINEASTE, THE LOS ANGELES TIMES, POV, SHOCK CINEMA, and many other publications. He is co-author, with Ed Godziszewski, of ISHIRO HONDA: A LIFE IN FILM, FROM GODZILLA TO KUROSAWA (Wesleyan Univ. Press), and author of JAPAN’S FAVORITE MON-STAR (ECW). He has contributed audio commentaries to numerous kaiju films on home video, and co-produced the documentary feature BRINGING GODZILLA DOWN TO SIZE (Classic Media/Toho, 2008). His forthcoming book is GODZILLA VS. THE WORLD: A POLITICAL HISTORY OF JAPAN’S DISASTER MONSTER (Univ. of Texas Press).

Erik Homenick
Erik Homenick is a doctoral candidate in Literature at the University of California, San Diego. He is also the webmaster of AKIRAIFUKUBE.ORG, the official English language website about the famous daikaiju eiga composer Akira Ifukube. On the website, Erik is writing the first ever authorized, full-length, and comprehensive biography of the composer in a language other than Japanese. Erik’s doctoral dissertation will examine the narrative and semiotic potential of Ifukube’s film music, especially in the Godzilla series. Erik will also be a contributing writer to Steve Ryfle’s forthcoming book GODZILLA VS. THE WORLD: A POLITICAL HISTORY OF JAPAN’S DISATER MONSTER (Univ. of Texas Press)

John DeSentis
John DeSentis is a film composer, music producer, musician, and sound designer. His recent works include UNREST (2020), the multi-award winning short THE CONDUIT (2018), feature film EPIDEMIC (2018), and short IMTK (2018) starring Tony Todd. In addition, he has conducted the works of Japanese composers Akira Ifukube, Masaru Sato, and Kow Otani on stage, working with the latter directly on the performance SYMPHONIC FURY! THE MUSIC OF JAPANESE MONSTERS. For this concert, John also arranged an orchestral performance of Akira Ifukube’s World War II composition, KISHI MAI, from his handwritten manuscript for military wind band. Most recently, he worked with famed composer Michiru Oshima on the live performance, KAIJU CRESCENDO: AN EVENING OF JAPANESE MONSTER MUSIC, the highlight of which featured her conducting her Godzilla score music live. A CD recording is forthcoming.

Patrick Galvan
Patrick Galvan is a film journalist whose articles on Japanese cinema have appeared on websites such as TOHOKINGDOM.COM and SYFY.COM. His writing includes retrospectives on kaiju films and examinations of the careers of individual artists who’ve contributed to the genre. Recently, he contributed guest essays for a forthcoming issue of THE LOST FILMS FANZINE and the upcoming book SF: THE JAPANESE SCIENCE FICTION FILM ENCYCLOPEDIA.

Matt Parmley
Matt Parmley is co-host of KAIJU TRANSMISSIONS, a podcast exploring giant monsters and Japanese fantasy film. He has conducted a number of original interviews, including with director Kiyotaka Taguchi, action-star Sonny Chiba, and Godzilla suit-actor Tom Kitagawa. Matt has also presented several panels at G-FEST and has appeared on the podcasts MOVIE GRAVEYARD and MONSTERS VS. MEN.

Kyle Byrd
Kyle Byrd is co-host of the podcast KAIJU TRANSMISSIONS and former co-host of the podcast IF IT BLEEDS, WE CAN KILL IT. In the past, he has made appearances talking about science fiction and horror films on numerous other podcasts. He graduated from Eastern Michigan University with a Bachelor of Science in electronic media and film studies and has written pieces for SCIFIJAPAN.COM, THE LOST FILMS FANZINE and the recent book, KONG UNMADE: THE LOST FILMS OF SKULL ISLAND.

Kyle Gilmore
Kyle Gilmore is a filmmaker/artist living in West Monroe, Louisiana. After establishing himself in advertising and commercial production, Kyle joined a global missions organization as a documentary filmmaker, and subsequently co-founded VINTAGE REEL PRODUCTIONS with his wife, Brandi A. Gilmore. He co-produced and directed the children’s science program DINOSAURIA (Meridian Releasing Group, 2017), and the short post-apocalyptic action thriller WHITE KNIFE (Vintage Reel Productions/Plugged-In Creative, 2018). During the Covid-19 pandemic, he wrote, directed, and acted in the short supernatural thriller UNREST (Vintage Reel Productions, 2020). Currently he is writing and illustrating the young adult gothic horror comic series THE HORROR CHRONICLES (Vintage Reel Productions, 2020).

Guests

Shusuke Kaneko
Filmmaker Shusuke Kaneko is perhaps best known to genre fans for his acclaimed 1990s trilogy GAMERA: GUARDIAN OF THE UNIVERSE, GAMERA 2: ATTACK OF LEGION, and GAMERA 3: REVENGE OF IRYS, as well as his revisionist take on the king of monsters, GODZILLA, MOTHRA, AND KING GHIDORAH, GIANT MONSTERS ALL-OUT ATTACK, and for episodes of ULTRAMAN MAX and ULTRA Q: DARK FANTASY. But this is just one aspect of a wide-ranging, award-winning career that also includes the thriller PYROKINESIS, the hit manga adaptations DEATH NOTE and DEATH NOTE 2, and forays into sci-fi, horror, action, comedy, and musicals.

Shinji Higuchi
Shinji Higuchi is an award-winning filmmaker whose directorial credits include LORELEI, the ATTACK ON TITAN movies, and SHIN GODZILLA, for which he won a Japanese Academy Prize. He is also well-known for directing the special effects for Shusuke Kaneko’s Heisei GAMERA trilogy and as one of the founders of Daicon/Gainax. Higuchi contributed to the hit anime series NEON GENESIS EVANGELION, directed by close friend Hideaki Anno, with whom he later collaborated on such projects as GIANT GOD WARRIOR APPEARS IN TOKYO and the upcoming SHIN ULTRAMAN.

Shinichi Wakasa
Shinichi Wakasa is one of Japan’s most acclaimed tokusatsu artists, a special effects wizard specializing in creature creation, sculpting, modeling, and makeup effects. His company Monsters Inc. has created kaiju suits for numerous films, including three Heisei-era Godzilla features beginning with GODZILLA VS. MECHAGODZILLA II; Shusuke Kaneko’s GAMERA 2: ATTACK OF THE LEGION; and Toho’s REBIRTH OF MOTHRA trilogy. But he is perhaps best known for his stunning redesigns of Godzilla for the millennium era, as seen in five films including GODZILLA 2000, GODZILLA: TOKYO SOS, and GODZILLA FINAL WARS.

Michiru Oshima
Michiru Oshima is an award-winning composer who has written more than 100 original scores for film, television, anime, video games, and concerts. She is well known among kaiju fans for scoring GODZILLA VS. MEGAGUIRUS, GODZILLA AGAINST MECHAGODZILLA, and GODZILLA: TOKYO S.O.S. For the 2019 concert KAIJU CRESCENDO: AN EVENING OF JAPANESE MONSTER MUSIC, Oshima conducted suites of her three Godzilla scores and premiered a new piece of music, GODZILLA IN CHICAGO, written specifically for the event.

Bear McCreary
Emmy and BAFTA Award-winning composer Bear McCreary burst onto the scene scoring the influential and revered series BATTLESTAR GALACTICA. He has since become one of the most sought-after talents in the music industry today, scoring such projects as THE WALKING DEAD, MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D., Sony PlayStation’s award-winning game GOD OF WAR, 10 CLOVERFIELD LANE, and the Universal/Blumhouse smash hit HAPPY DEATH DAY. He joins KAIJU MASTERCLASS to discuss his work on Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures’ GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS.

David Arnold
Grammy and Emmy Award-winning composer David Arnold has a distinguished career going back three decades in which he has composed music for the legendary JAMES BOND series, the acclaimed TV series SHERLOCK, and blockbuster films such as INDEPENDENCE DAY and 2 FAST 2 FURIOUS among so many others. Born in Luton, England, Arnold’s breakthrough score for Roland Emmerich’s STARGATE propelled him to being one of the most sought after composers of the 1990s and beyond. Arnold joins KAIJU MASTERCLASS to discuss his memorable score from Tri-Star Pictures’ GODZILLA (1998).

Tab Murphy
Oscar-nominated screenwriter Tab Murphy (GORILLAS IN THE MIST) has worked extensively in feature animation. His credits include Disney’s HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME, TARZAN, ATLANTIS: THE LOST EMPIRE, and BROTHER BEAR, plus the DC animated features BATMAN/SUPERMAN: APOCALYPSE and BATMAN: YEAR ONE. He is now writing a remake of the cult ghost story THE CHANGELING. Murphy will discuss writing GODZILLA 2, the unmade sequel to Roland Emmerich’s GODZILLA, for TriStar.

Ricardo Delgado
Ricardo Delgado is a film and comic book artist who has worked on TV shows including STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE, and films including THE INCREDIBLES, MEN IN BLACK, APOLLO 13, SPECIES, THE MATRIX RELOADED, THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS, THE HAUNTED MANSION, TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (2014), APOLLO 13, ROBOTECH: THE SHADOW CHRONICLES, EVAN ALMIGHTY, ATLANTIS: THE LOST EMPIRE, and others. He created the Age of Reptiles comic book series for Dark Horse. He joins KAIJU MASTERCLASS to discuss his creature design work on Jan DeBont’s unmade GODZILLA 1994 project.

Carlos Huante
Carlos Huante was born in East L.A. and attended Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. His pro career in animation lasted for many years before he began working in the film industry. He’s worked for Rick Baker, Rob Bottin, Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard, Guillermo Del Toro, the Chiodo Bros., and many others, on such films as MEN IN BLACK (I and II), MIGHTY JOE YOUNG, HELLBOY, & WAR OF THE WORLDS. He has also worked for ILM at Lucas Digital as part of the creature development team. Carlos joins KAIJU MASTERCLASS to discuss creature designs for Jan DeBont’s unmade GODZILLA 1994 project.

Norman England
Norman England is a filmmaker, journalist, and photographer who moved to Japan from New York City in 1992. He began covering Japanese movie sets with GAMERA 3 in 1998, writing for publications such as Fangoria, Starlog, The Japan Times, etc. He directed the documentary BRINGING GODZILLA DOWN TO SIZE, and his first film, THE IDOL, was recently released in the US by SRS Cinema. Today, Norman lives in Tokyo where he subtitles feature films, shoots production stills on Japanese movie sets, and writes a monthly column for Eiga Hiho, Japan’s biggest selling cinema magazine.

Ed Godziszewski
Ed Godziszewski is the editor and publisher of Japanese Giants magazine and author of The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Godzilla. He is co-author, together with Steve Ryfle, of Ishiro Honda: A Life in Film, From Godzilla to Kurosawa (Wesleyan Univ. Press). Together with Steve Ryfle, he has contributed to several audio commentaries for Japanese science fiction and monster films, and co-produced the documentary film BRINGING GODZILLA DOWN TO SIZE.

Stuart Galbraith IV
Film historian Stuart Galbraith IV’s books include The Emperor and the Wolf, a joint biography of Akira Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune, which inspired the documentary MIFUNE: THE LAST SAMURAI; Monsters are Attacking Tokyo!, an oral history of Japanese sci-fi film; Japanese Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films, the first English-language study of the genre, and The Toho Studios Story. He has contributed audio commentaries, essays, and other content to video releases of RASHOMON, SEVEN SAMURAI, MUSASHI MIYAMOTO and many other films. He joins KAIJU MASTERCLASS to discuss the work of Jun Fukuda.

Brad Warner
For over 15 years, Brad Warner worked for Tsuburaya Productions, the company founded by Eiji Tsuburaya and the creators of Ultraman. He has appeared in a number of Ultraman TV shows and movies, and he contributed to the creation of ULTRAMAN TIGA, ULTRAMAN GAIA, and other Ultraman TV shows and theatrical features. He is the author of Letters to a Dead Friend About Zen, Hardcore Zen, Sit Down and Shut Up, Don’t Be a Jerk, and several other books about Zen Buddhism. He was ordained a Zen Buddhist priest by Gudo Nishijima Roshi. He grew up in Akron, Ohio and Nairobi, Kenya.

Allyson Adams
Allyson Adams is an award-winning costume designer, screenwriter, playwright, educator, and activist. She has had numerous plays produced in both Los Angeles and in Montana, where she now lives and works. In 2005 she produced and starred in PEACE IS A WOMAN’S JOB, a PBS docudrama about Montana’s first Congresswoman Jeannette Rankin, and toured the one-woman show for a decade. She published the book The Rebel & The King written by her late father, actor Nick Adams, about his friendship with Elvis Presley. She joins KAIJU MASTERCLASS to discuss her father’s work at Toho studios in the 1960s.

Pat Saperstein
Pat Saperstein is Deputy Editor of the entertainment industry publication Variety, where she oversees breaking news, obituaries, restaurants, books, and film. She started her career as U.S. editor of Le Film Francais and has an extensive background in international and independent film and documentaries. A frequent film festival juror and moderator for panels and Q&As, she has contributed to books including Cannes: Fifty Years of Sun Sex and Celluloid, Boffo, EAT: Los Angeles, and DRINK: Los Angeles. Pat will discuss her father, producer Henry G. Saperstein, and his collaborations with Toho.

Stan Hyde
Stan Hyde has been involved in science fiction fandom most of his life, going to his first World Science Fiction Convention at 17, and starting clubs like the Science Fiction Association of Victoria, and Monster Attack Team-Canada, a science fiction and monster model building club that has been active since 1989. He joins KAIJU MASTERCLASS to talk about his experiences attending EXPO ‘70, where the film GAMERA VS. JIGER takes place.

Sean Linkenback
Sean Linkenback is an Atlanta-based attorney, who is known in the collectibles world as the author of The Unauthorized Guide to Godzilla Collectibles, the first comprehensive guide on the subject in the English language, and The Art of Japanese Monsters, a comprehensive guide to worldwide movie posters from Japanese genre films. A longtime collectibles expert and historian, Sean is a former advisor to the Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide and Warren’s Movie Poster Price Guide. He has written frequently on Godzilla, comics, and film posters, including a column in Movie Collector’s World.

John LeMay
John LeMay is the author of more than 20 published books, many of them on film history. He is also the editor and publisher of The Lost Films Fanzine and has been published in magazines like Cinema Retro, G-Fan, and Mad Scientist.

Kevin Derendorf
Kevin Derendorf is a lifelong fan of Japanese genre fiction, resulting the creation of the Maser Patrol blog (maserpatrol.wordpress.com) and the book Kaiju for Hipsters: 101 “Alternative” Giant Monster Movies. You can find him at anime conventions talking about tokusatsu, at tokusatsu conventions talking about anime, as a guest on various podcasts, and generally being a nuisance on social media.

Patrick Macias
Patrick Macias is the author of TokyoScope: The Japanese Cult Film Companion, the editor-in-chief of Otaku USA magazine, and a contributor to home video releases from The Criterion Collection and Arrow Video. He lives in Japan and is working on a new book for Sutherland House titled An Eternal Thought in the Mind of Godzilla.

Bob Eggleton
Bob Eggleton is a nine time Hugo Award-winner for Best Pro Artist in science fiction and fantasy. His illustrations have appeared in Dark Horse Comics, Random House Godzilla books, IDW’s Godzilla comic series, and on covers for Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine. In motion pictures, he has worked as a concept artist on SPHERE (1997), JIMMY NEUTRON BOY GENIUS (2001), and THE ANT BULLY (2006). He also illustrated matte paintings on the film THE iDOL (2007) and was an extra in GODZILLA AGAINST MECHAGODZILLA (2002).

Matt Frank
Matt Frank is a comic artist and illustrator, whose work can be found in most of the IDW Godzilla comic series, including Godzilla: Rulers of Earth and Godzilla: Rage Across Time. Other kaiju-related projects of his include a poster celebrating the Funimation home video release of SHIN GODZILLA, collaborating with Tsuburaya Productions on a new Redman: The Kaiju Hunter comic, and serving as a associate producer and the main artist for the Blu-ray set Gamera: The Complete Collection. Matt has also made packaging art for KONGA TNT and HOWL FROM BEYOND THE FOG for SRS Cinema, with more to come!

Schedule

All sessions are free and will be live-streamed on the Kaiju Masterclass YouTube channel.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2020

5pm PST / 7pm CST / 8pm EST (9am Japan Time, 10/3)
WELCOME
Opening remarks from the KAIJU MASTERCLASS team: Erik Homenick (emcee), Steve Ryfle, John DeSentis, Patrick Galvan, Kyle Byrd, Matt Parmley, Kyle Gilmore.

6pm PST / 8pm CST / 9pm EST (10am Japan Time, 10/3)
INTERVIEW: SHINICHI WAKASA
The acclaimed creature creator and special effects artist who updated Godzilla for the new millennium discusses his amazing monster-making career and the craft of designing and building kaiju suits.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2020

9am PST / 11am CST / 12pm EST (1am Japan Time, 10/4)
INTERVIEW: DAVID ARNOLD
The Grammy and Emmy-winning film composer discusses his epic scores for Roland Emmerich’s GODZILLA (1998) and other blockbuster films. (Moderator: John DeSentis)

10am PST / 12pm CST / 1pm EST (2am Japan Time, 10/4)
TOHO’S TOKUSATSU TELEVISION
From ZONE FIGHTER to GREENMAN, RAINBOWMAN and beyond, author Kevin Derendorf (Kaiju for Hipsters) dives into the deep cuts of Toho Co. Ltd.’s ventures into tokusatsu television.

11am PST / 1pm CST / 2pm EST (3am Japan Time, 10/4)
NICK ADAMS & HENRY SAPERSTEIN IN JAPAN
In the 1960s, Hollywood producer Henry G. Saperstein took Oscar-nominated actor Nick Adams to Japan to star in FRANKENSTEIN CONQUERS THE WORLD and MONSTER ZERO at Toho. Playwright and actress Allyson Adams and journalist Pat Saperstein discuss their fathers’ joint adventures in Japanese sci-fi cinema. (Moderator: Steve Ryfle)

12pm PST / 2pm CST / 3pm EST (4am Japan Time, 10/4)
INTERVIEW: BOB EGGLETON
The Hugo Award-winning artist, whose kaiju illustrations have appeared in Dark Horse Comics, Random House Godzilla books, IDW’s Godzilla comic series, and on the cover of Famous Monsters of Filmland, discusses the history and evolution of kaiju-themed art. (Moderator: John DeSentis)

1pm PST / 3pm CST / 4pm EST (5am Japan Time, 10/4)
POSTERS & PROMOTION IN KAIJU FILMS
Authors Sean Linkenback (The Art of Japanese Monsters) and Ed Godziszewski (The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Godzilla) provide an overview of the art and creative advertising materials that helped make Godzilla and kaiju eiga an international phenomenon. (Moderator: Kyle Yount)

2pm PST / 4pm CST / 5pm EST (6am Japan Time, 10/4)
EXPO ’70 50th ANNIVERSARY
A look back at the 1970 World Expo in Osaka, Japan, which featured major contributions from Eiji Tsuburaya and other leading tokusatsu creators, and which influenced a number of later kaiju eiga. Stan Hyde—who was there at Expo ’70 in person!—is joined by Matt Parmley and Kevin Derendorf.

3pm PST / 5pm CST / 6pm EST (7am Japan Time, 10/4)
INTERVIEW: BEAR McCREARY
The Emmy and BAFTA Award-winning composer behind THE WALKING DEAD, MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D., and of course GODZILLA, KING OF THE MONSTERS 2019 discusses the art of creating epic monster movie music. (Moderators: John DeSentis and Erik Homenick)

4pm PST / 6pm CST / 7pm EST (8am Japan Time, 10/4)
INTERVIEW: MICHIRU OSHIMA
The award-winning composer of GODZILLA VS. MEGAGUIRUS, GODZILLA AGAINST MECHAGODZILLA, and GODZILLA: TOKYO S.O.S., as well as dozens more original scores for film, TV, video games, and anime talks about reviving the king of monsters with epic music for a new millennium. (Moderators: John DeSentis and Erik Homenick)

5pm PST / 7pm CST / 8pm EST (9am Japan Time, 10/4)
INTERVIEW: NORMAN ENGLAND
Japan-based writer and filmmaker Norman England discusses the making of his independent sci-fi satire feature THE IDOL and his upcoming book detailing his adventures on the sets of numerous kaiju and other films as a journalist, photographer, and sometimes actor. (Moderator: Steve Ryfle)

6pm PST / 8pm CST / 9pm EST (10am Japan Time, 10/4)
INTERVIEW: SHUSUKE KANEKO
Interview with the acclaimed director of GODZILLA, MOTHRA AND KING GHIDORAH, GIANT MONSTERS ALL-OUT ATTACK, the GAMERA trilogy, DEATH NOTE, and many other classic genre films. (Moderator: Steve Ryfle)

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2020

9am PST / 11am CST / 12pm EST (1am Japan Time, 10/5)
INTERVIEW: BRAD WARNER
Author and ordained Zen monk Brad Warner (Hardcore Zen) recalls his years working at Tsuburaya Productions and his behind-the-scenes contributions to the ULTRAMAN franchise as a contributing writer, sometimes actor, and consultant. (Moderator: Steve Ryfle)

10am PST / 12pm CST / 1pm EST (2am Japan Time, 10/5)
GODZILLA VS. BIOLLANTE: THE LOST COMMENTARY
Genre historian and author Ed Godziszewski (Ishiro Honda: A Life in Film, From Godzilla to Kurosawa) provides a deep dive into the hugely popular 1989 Godzilla film directed by Kazuki Omori.

11am PST / 1pm CST / 2pm EST (3am Japan Time, 10/5)
ATOMIC REQUIEM: AKIRA IFUKUBE’S ATOMIC BOMB TRILOGY
Erik Homenick and Patrick Galvan discuss the content and music of three atomic bomb films scored by Akira Ifukube (including the original Godzilla), who himself had a history with radiation.

12pm PST / 2pm CST / 3pm EST (4am Japan Time, 10/5)
DESIGNING GODZILLA 1994
Creature designers Ricardo Delgado and Carlos Huante discuss working on director Jan DeBont’s unmade 1994 GODZILLA for Tristar Pictures, which would have pit the king of monsters against a new creature called The Gryphon. (Moderator: Keith Aiken)

1pm PST / 3pm CST / 4pm EST (5am Japan Time, 10/5)
GODZILLA VS. DESTOROYAH 25th ANNIVERSARY
Kaiju Transmissions podcast hosts Kyle Byrd and Matt Parmley join authors Kevin Derendorf and John LeMay to provide a deep dive into the production of the Heisei Godzilla series’ epic finale.

2pm PST / 4pm CST / 5pm EST (6am Japan Time, 10/5)
THE KAIJU ART OF MATT FRANK
Artist and illustrator Matt Frank provides a live drawing and discusses his involvement in IDW Godzilla comics and the Arrow Video Gamera set. (Moderator: Matt Parmley)

3pm PST / 5pm CST / 6pm EST (7am Japan Time, 10/5)
TAB MURPHY TALKS GODZILLA 2: THE LOST SEQUEL
The Oscar-nominated screenwriter of GORILLAS IN THE MIST and numerous animated features from Disney and DC discusses writing GODZILLA 2, the unmade sequel to Roland Emmerich’s GODZILLA (1998).

4pm PST / 6pm CST / 7pm EST (8am Japan Time, 10/5)
BREAK (1 hour)

5pm PST / 7pm CST / 8pm EST (9am Japan Time, 10/5)
MAN OF ACTION: THE FILMS OF JUN FUKUDA
Authors Stuart Galbraith IV (The Emperor and The Wolf, Monsters Are Attacking Tokyo!) and Steve Ryfle (Japan’s Favorite Mon-Star) join film journalist Patrick Galvan to discuss the often overlooked yet highly influential director of five Godzilla movies and many other action-packed features.

6pm PST / 8pm CST / 9pm EST (10am Japan Time, 10/5)
INTERVIEW: PATRICK MACIAS
Author Patrick Macias (Tokyoscope: The Japanese Cult Film Companion and the forthcoming An Eternal Thought in the Mind of Godzilla) talks about his journey deep into the world of Japanese pop-culture criticism and how Godzilla and kaiju eiga provided a path. (Moderator: Steve Ryfle)

7pm PST / 9pm CST / 10pm EST (11am Japan Time, 10/5)
INTERVIEW: SHINJI HIGUCHI
Perhaps no one has revitalized Japan’s special-effects cinema more than Shinji Higuchi. KAIJU MASTERCLASS closes the weekend with a discussion of the revolutionary director’s amazing career, from the Heisei Gamera series to SHIN GODZILLA, from the Gainax anime studio to ATTACK ON TITAN, SINKING OF JAPAN, and many others. (Moderator: Steve Ryfle)

9pm PST / 11pm CST / 12am EST (1pm Japan Time, 10/5)
THAT’S A WRAP
The KAIJU MASTERCLASS team briefly reassembles to sign off and say a heartfelt thank you.

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Kaiju Con-Line Sunday Panels & Presentations Line Up

7/8/2020

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Guests

Kaiju Con-Line Panels & Presentations - Sunday

Monster Kid Radio

Kaiju Live Auction

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Kaiju Con-Line Saturday Panels & Presentations & Photo Groups

7/8/2020

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Guests

Kaiju Con-Line Photo Groups

Kaiju Con-Line Toy Photography

Kaiju Con-Line Monster Cosplay

Kaiju Con-Line Artist Alley

Kaiju Con- Line Model Kit Showcase

Kaiju Con-Line Panels & Presentations - Saturday

ANNUAL KAIJUCAST LISTENER PARTY

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Ultraman Day Live Stream Event Link & Info

7/8/2020

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On July 17, 1966, the first episode of ULTRMAN aired on TV in Japan and was an immediate hit.

BUT prior to that, on July 10, 1966 to be exact, a special promotion event named “ULTRAMAN Eve: The Birth of Ultraman,” was filmed in front of a live audience at Suginami Koukaidou Hall in Tokyo, and broadcast all across Japan. Ultraman, Ultra Kaiju, and members of the Special Science Search Party all appeared with Eiji Tsuburaya, the creator of ULTRAMAN.

Thus, ULTRAMAN DAY was born and is still celebrated each year in Japan.

With Ultraman’s return to North America, we celebrate this iconic superhero along with millions of fans around the world. The multicast will stream on Shu.Watch.

(Note: Twitch feed coming soon)

Schedule (Note: Time Are PDT)

MORNING / JULY 10, 2020
10:00am
MILLCREEK INTRO
THE BIRTH OF ULTRAMAN pre-roll and introduction.

10:15am
HOST INTRO & GENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Kevin Winston of DigitalLA and Jaron Ray Hinds intro of Elevated Games. AR photo contest and Ultraman Day Stickers announced.

10:30am
BIN FURUYA
This is a instruction clip of how to correctly do the Spacium Ray.

10:45am
MARTY ABRAMS
30 years of toys and the significance of the Ultraman brand in toys.

11:00am
WILLIAM WINCKLER
30 years of translating Japanese to English subtitles and the joy of dubbing.

11:30am
AUGUST RAGONE
AMA w/ August Ragone. Stump him and win prizes.

AFTERNOON / JULY 10, 2020
12:00pm
MATT FRANK
Matt will release the Kaiju Kombat game Poster and then do line art for 30 minutes of Gomora versus Ultraman which will be raffled off at the end of the livestream.

12:30pm
JEFF GOMEZ
How Ultraman has affected his life and his forecast for the future. Transmedia!

1:00pm
FUTURE OF GAMING
Jaron Hinds and Liam Slyne will share the Ultra AR project and previews of Kaiju Kombat.

1:30pm
INTERVIEW WITH MARVELS C.B. CEBULSKI & TOM BREVOORT
Marvels excitement to be releasing the comic book series and what the future beholds.

2:00pm
CLOSING CONTENT
This will be a 25 minute content share by MillCreek of the new THE BIRTH OF ULTRAMAN.

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Dakaiju Network's Dakaiju Fest Schedule, Info, And Youtube Feeds

7/6/2020

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Schedule

JULY 9-10, 2020 1-5PM
WHERE YOUTUBE (linked below), TWITCH, PERISCOPE, DLIVE
July 9, 2020
Venue: The MonsterVerse: Current State & Potential Future
In this panel, Kent and Jason will be discussing the current state of the MonsterVerse and on the future of it as far as what we hope to see and what we might actually see after the upcoming film, GODZILLA VS. KONG!

Venue: The Future of Gamera
We have a fan-made film, Gamera 4, based off of the Heisei Series and a short film made a few years ago to potentially reboot the franchise. However, will Gamera ever come back and be as prominent as he was before? Kent and Jason discuss on the potential future of the lovable, flying turtle and franchise as a whole.

Venue: General Godzilla/Tokusatsu Discussion
A space where we literally talk all things kaiju-related from Godzilla to Ultraman!

July 10, 2020
Venue: Ultraman: Our Thoughts
With MANY Ultraman shows, past, present and future, we give our take/thoughts in general on the franchise overall, from what we like, what could be improved on and many more!

Venue: General Godzilla/Tokusatsu Discussion
A space where we literally talk all things kaiju-related from Godzilla to Ultraman!

Venue: GFEST: Memories & Future
We relive the past GFEST events and discuss what’s in store for GFEST’s future as the convention moves from Crowne Plaza Chicago O’Hare to Hyatt Regency O’Hare Chicago.

Live Video Feeds

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EVENTS/CONS

​Kazuki Omori

​Ryuhei Kitamura

Tsutomu Kitagawa

​Fuyuki Shinada

​Reijiro Koroku

William Stout

​Linda Haynes

​Tiffany Grant

​Craig Allen

​Makoto Inoue

​Reiko Yamada

​Norman England

​Mark Schilling

​Jasper Sharp

Chris Mowry

​Kevin Derendorf

John LeMay

​Mike Bogue

Organizers

Guests

Schedule

*Guests*

*Kaiju Con-Line Panels & Presentations - Sunday*

Monster Kid Radio

*Guests*

*Kaiju Con-Line Photo Groups*

*Kaiju Con-Line Panels & Presentations - Saturday*

​ANNUAL KAIJUCAST LISTENER PARTY

*Schedule (Note: Time Are PDT)*

Schedule

Live Video Feeds

Archives

Categories

Kazuki Omori

Ryuhei Kitamura

Fuyuki Shinada

Reijiro Koroku

Linda Haynes

Tiffany Grant

Craig Allen

Makoto Inoue

Reiko Yamada

Norman England

Mark Schilling

Jasper Sharp

Kevin Derendorf

Mike Bogue

Guests

Kaiju Con-Line Panels & Presentations - Sunday

Guests

Kaiju Con-Line Photo Groups

Kaiju Con-Line Panels & Presentations - Saturday

ANNUAL KAIJUCAST LISTENER PARTY

Schedule (Note: Time Are PDT)