Keiichi Sakurai in April 2022. Photo © Brett Homenick. Born on May 9, 1950, Keiichi Sakurai grew up in Hokkaido and became enthralled by tokusatsu movies at a young age. He got his start in special effects as an assistant cameraman apprentice on the Toho TV series Zone Fighter (1973), which eventually led to numerous … Continue reading GODZILLA IN FOCUS! Tokusatsu Cinematographer Keiichi Sakurai on Toho’s Biggest Kaiju Movies!
Submersion of Japan
RISING THROUGH THE TOKUSATSU RANKS! Eiichi Asada Reflects on His Career as an Assistant SFX Director in the 1970s and ’80s!
Eiichi Asada in June 2021. Photo © Brett Homenick. Born on March 13, 1949, Eiichi Asada got his start at Toho Studios in the early 1970s as an assistant director, working on such movies as Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975), The War in Space (1977), Deathquake (1980), Sayonara Jupiter (1984), and Godzilla 1985 (1984). In later … Continue reading RISING THROUGH THE TOKUSATSU RANKS! Eiichi Asada Reflects on His Career as an Assistant SFX Director in the 1970s and ’80s!
TOKUSATSU BEGINNINGS! Eiichi Asada on Becoming an Assistant Director at Toho in the 1970s!
Eiichi Asada in March 2021. Photo © Brett Homenick. Born on March 13, 1949, Eiichi Asada got his start at Toho Studios in the early 1970s as an assistant director, working on such movies as Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973), Submersion of Japan (1973), Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla (1974), and Espy (1974). In later years, Mr. Asada … Continue reading TOKUSATSU BEGINNINGS! Eiichi Asada on Becoming an Assistant Director at Toho in the 1970s!
RUMINATIONS ON DIRECTING HEROES FROM THE STARS! Eizo Yamagiwa Looks Back on a Varied Career That Took Him from Starman to Ultraman!
Eizo Yamagiwa in November 2020. Photo © Brett Homenick. Born on July 22, 1932, Eizo Yamagiwa began his career in the film industry at Shintoho in the mid-1950s as an assistant director. During his time at the studio, he worked on the seventh entry in the Starman film series, Super Giant: The Space Mutant Appears … Continue reading RUMINATIONS ON DIRECTING HEROES FROM THE STARS! Eizo Yamagiwa Looks Back on a Varied Career That Took Him from Starman to Ultraman!
CARRYING ON GODZILLA’S LEGACY: Producer Shogo Tomiyama on Guiding the Godzilla Series into the New Millennium!
Shogo Tomiyama in March 2021. Photo © Brett Homenick. Born on February 27, 1952, Shogo Tomiyama rose to prominence in the Japanese movie industry by becoming a producer at Toho Pictures. Internationally, Mr. Tomiyama is well-known for producing the Godzilla series from Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989) through Godzilla: Final Wars (2004). Mr. Tomiyama officially joined … Continue reading CARRYING ON GODZILLA’S LEGACY: Producer Shogo Tomiyama on Guiding the Godzilla Series into the New Millennium!
PRODUCING GODZILLA: Former Toho Pictures President Shogo Tomiyama Reflects on the Godzilla Series!
Photo © Brett Homenick. Born on February 27, 1952, Shogo Tomiyama rose to prominence in the Japanese movie industry by becoming a producer at Toho Pictures. Internationally, Mr. Tomiyama is well-known for producing the Godzilla series from Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989) through Godzilla: Final Wars (2004). Mr. Tomiyama officially joined Toho in 1975. After working … Continue reading PRODUCING GODZILLA: Former Toho Pictures President Shogo Tomiyama Reflects on the Godzilla Series!
THE LAST SAMURAI: Hiroshi Fujioka Recalls His Career in Japanese Science Fiction!
Photo © Sanki Worldwide Co., Ltd. Born on February 19, 1946, actor Hiroshi Fujioka made his film debut at Shochiku in 1965, after which he appeared in a small role in the international cult classic The X from Outer Space (1967). Shortly thereafter, Mr. Fujioka rose to fame with the popular TV superhero series Kamen … Continue reading THE LAST SAMURAI: Hiroshi Fujioka Recalls His Career in Japanese Science Fiction!
TOKUSATSU THE TOHO WAY! Takashi Naganuma on Creating SFX for the Godzilla Series!
Born on July 20, 1947, in Niigata City, Niigata Prefecture, Takashi Naganuma began his career in special effects in the early 1970s and lent his talents to many Toho tokusatsu productions through the early 1990s. In May 2019, Mr Naganuma was interviewed by Brett Homenick about his work on the Godzilla series and beyond. The … Continue reading TOKUSATSU THE TOHO WAY! Takashi Naganuma on Creating SFX for the Godzilla Series!
SHOOTING THE ‘TIDAL WAVE’! Cinematographer Eric Saarinen Recounts Filming Roger Corman’s Japanese Adaptation!
Eric Saarinen started his feature film career at Roger Corman's New World Pictures as a second unit director of photography, but he quickly moved up the ranks and became a cinematographer on many notable films, including The Hills Have Eyes (1977), Modern Romance (1981), and Lost in America (1985). Japanese science fiction aficionados might recognize Mr. … Continue reading SHOOTING THE ‘TIDAL WAVE’! Cinematographer Eric Saarinen Recounts Filming Roger Corman’s Japanese Adaptation!
SAKYO KOMATSU ON SCIENCE FICTION! Japan’s Arthur C. Clarke Discusses His Filmmaking Foray!
Mr. Sakyo Komatsu is often called the Arthur C. Clarke of Japan, and with good reason. He is arguably Japan's best known science fiction writer, and the movie adaptations of his novels are legendary. Films such as Submersion of Japan (both the 1973 and 2006 versions), Espy, Virus (1980), and Tokyo Blackout were based on … Continue reading SAKYO KOMATSU ON SCIENCE FICTION! Japan’s Arthur C. Clarke Discusses His Filmmaking Foray!
Vantage Point Interviews 