Mike Starr in April 2025. Photo © Brett Homenick. Rankin/Bass Productions made several live-action films with Japanese director Tsugunobu "Tom" Kotani during the 1970s, and The Bushido Blade (1981) tends to be the most obscure of these productions. Filmed in 1978, The Bushido Blade predates the production of Shogun (1980) but only saw release in … Continue reading LAND OF THE RISING STARR! Actor Mike Starr on Making ‘The Bushido Blade’ in Japan!
Toshiro Mifune
THE SHOGUN OF ‘SHOGUN’! Director Jerry London Looks Back on Making the Classic Japanese Miniseries!
Director Jerry London poses with a samurai helmet during the making of Shogun. Photo © Jerry London. Shogun is a five-part miniseries that aired on NBC in September 1980. Starring Richard Chamberlain as John Blackthorne, Toshiro Mifune as Toranaga, Frankie Sakai as Yabu, and Yoko Shimada as Mariko, the miniseries earned critical praise and picked … Continue reading THE SHOGUN OF ‘SHOGUN’! Director Jerry London Looks Back on Making the Classic Japanese Miniseries!
BECOMING MIKI SAEGUSA! Godzilla Series Star Megumi Odaka on Her Early Life and Start at Toho!
Megumi Odaka in July 2020. Photo © Brett Homenick. Megumi Odaka is a Japanese actress who accomplished a remarkable and unprecedented feat -- she starred in six consecutive Godzilla movies, playing the same character in each film. That character, the young psychic Miki Saegusa, would go on to become one of the series' most iconic … Continue reading BECOMING MIKI SAEGUSA! Godzilla Series Star Megumi Odaka on Her Early Life and Start at Toho!
ON THE TRAIL OF ‘THE LAST DINOSAUR’! A Candid Conversation with Rankin/Bass Associate Producer Benni Korzen!
Benni Korzen in June 2022. Photo © Benni Korzen. Born on April 1, 1938, in Copenhagen, Denmark, Benni Korzen served as an associate producer on the live-action Rankin/Bass films Marco (1973), The Last Dinosaur (1977), The Bermuda Depths (1978), The Ivory Ape (1980), and The Bushido Blade (1981). Following his involvement with Rankin/Bass, Mr. Korzen … Continue reading ON THE TRAIL OF ‘THE LAST DINOSAUR’! A Candid Conversation with Rankin/Bass Associate Producer Benni Korzen!
DESIGNING THE GARGANTUAS! Fred Bercovitch Reveals His Childhood Contribution to ‘War of the Gargantuas’!
Reuben Bercovitch in 1977. Photo © Reuben Bercovitch. As a child, Fred Bercovitch, the son of film producer and screenwriter Reuben Bercovitch, always loved to draw, even though neither of his parents could draw a stick figure. Cartoons and animation were his favorite pastime at that age. He learned to draw The Flintstones by watching them on … Continue reading DESIGNING THE GARGANTUAS! Fred Bercovitch Reveals His Childhood Contribution to ‘War of the Gargantuas’!
A SCREENWRITER FOR ALL SEASONS! Reuben Bercovitch’s Family Reflects on His Accomplished Life and Career!
Reuben Bercovitch in 2017. Photo © Stephen Bercovitch. Reuben Bercovitch was a producer and screenwriter who worked with Henry G. Saperstein at United Productions of America (UPA) on various film productions throughout the 1960s. On UPA's collaborations with Toho, Mr. Bercovitch's credits include: Frankenstein Conquers the World (1965), Monster Zero (1965), The War of the … Continue reading A SCREENWRITER FOR ALL SEASONS! Reuben Bercovitch’s Family Reflects on His Accomplished Life and Career!
REMINISCENCES OF A SHOWA ACTOR! Chotaro Togin Remembers Acting During Japan’s Golden Age!
Chotaro Togin is one of Toho’s most recognizable supporting actors from the 1960s. Born on November 28, 1941, in Tokyo, Mr. Togin joined Toho in the early 1960s and appeared in some of Toho’s best-known films under the guidance of some of the country’s greatest directors. Among his movie credits are: Ichino in Godzilla vs. … Continue reading REMINISCENCES OF A SHOWA ACTOR! Chotaro Togin Remembers Acting During Japan’s Golden Age!
ROCK ‘N’ ROLL SAMURAI! Actor-Singer Mickey Curtis on His 60 Years in Japanese Entertainment!
For more than 50 years, Mickey Curtis has been one of Japan’s most influential celebrities, whose film and music careers have been equally revolutionary. Although he is best known to American fans for his work in later SFX films such as Gunhed (1989) and Reigo the Deep-Sea Monster vs. the Battleship Yamato (2008), Mr. Curtis … Continue reading ROCK ‘N’ ROLL SAMURAI! Actor-Singer Mickey Curtis on His 60 Years in Japanese Entertainment!
MR. GODZILLA SPEAKS! Suit Actor Haruo Nakajima on Playing the King of the Monsters!
While most kaiju eiga fans know Haruo Nakajima as the actor who played Godzilla in the monster suit from 1954 to 1972, he also played such Toho kaiju as Rodan, Mogera, Varan, Gaira, and King Kong (in King Kong Escapes, 1967) in a variety of monster movies from Toho Studios. A longtime favorite among Western … Continue reading MR. GODZILLA SPEAKS! Suit Actor Haruo Nakajima on Playing the King of the Monsters!
Vantage Point Interviews 