CRAFTING THE ULTIMATE SCRIPT! Bud Robertson on Writing Multiple Episodes of Tsuburaya’s ‘Ultraman: The Ultimate Hero’!

Bud Robertson poses with Ultraman Powered. Photo © Todd Gilbert. The early 1990s saw Tsuburaya Productions, the creators of the long-running Ultraman franchise, bring the hero from M78 all the way to California for his Hollywood makeover. In the process, an aspiring screenwriter named Bud Robertson was tapped to help update Ultraman for a new … Continue reading CRAFTING THE ULTIMATE SCRIPT! Bud Robertson on Writing Multiple Episodes of Tsuburaya’s ‘Ultraman: The Ultimate Hero’!

CREATING THE KING OF THE MONSTERS! Yoshio Suzuki on Building the Original Godzilla Suit in 1954!

Yoshio Suzuki in March 2024. Photo © Brett Homenick. While a privileged few, such as Ishiro Honda and Eiji Tsuburaya, usually receive credit as being the authentic creators of Godzilla, it's literally true in the case of Yoshio Suzuki. Hired on a part-time basis to help build the original Godzilla suit in 1954, Mr. Suzuki … Continue reading CREATING THE KING OF THE MONSTERS! Yoshio Suzuki on Building the Original Godzilla Suit in 1954!

Takeshi Miyanishi in May 2022. Photo © Brett Homenick. Takeshi Miyanishi was born in Tokyo in 1942 to a filmmaking family and began his career in movies with the Toho production Gorath (1962) as an assistant cameraman. He continued in that capacity on Toho kaiju films until 1968 with that year’s release of Destroy All Monsters. Afterward, Mr. … Continue reading A FIRSTHAND ACCOUNT OF COMPOSITING KAIJU! Takeshi Miyanishi Goes Behind the Scenes on Toho’s Special Optical-Photography Techniques!

Machiko Naka in October 2021. Photo © Brett Homenick. Machiko Naka (October 12, 1936 - March 4, 2023) was an accomplished actress who appeared in many Toho films throughout the years. She was a regular actress in the popular Young Guy series and appeared in such movies as the Crazy Cats romp Las Vegas Free-for-All … Continue reading AN ACTRESS’ JOURNEY FROM TAKARAZUKA TO TOKUSATSU! Machiko Naka Remembers Her Acting Days at Toho!

Yoshiro Uchida in March 2022. Photo © Brett Homenick. Born on December 14, 1953, Yoshiro Uchida appears in Gamera the Giant Monster (1965), released in the U.S. as Gammera the Invincible (1966), as the young boy Toshio Sakurai who befriends the giant turtle in the first film of Daiei's long-running Gamera series. Mr. Uchida also … Continue reading GAMERA’S FIRST FRIEND! Former Child Actor Yoshiro Uchida Remembers Working with Daiei’s Remarkable Flying Turtle!

Fuchimu Shimakura in January 2021. Photo © Brett Homenick. Born on October 5, 1940, Fuchimu Shimakura began working at Toho in the late 1950s, creating or assisting in the creation of tokusatsu backdrops for the Showa era's most notable special effects movies, including Battle in Outer Space (1959), Mothra (1961), King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962), … Continue reading RECOLLECTIONS OF TOHO’S GOD OF CLOUDS! Fuchimu Shimakura on Painting the Studio’s Tokusatsu Backdrops!

Minoru Kujirai in November 2021. Photo © Brett Homenick. Born on September 13, 1944, Minoru Kujirai is an animator who began working at Toei Animation in the mid-1960s, working on numerous well-known anime programs, including the kaiju-themed King Kong (1967). In the early 1970s, Mr. Kujirai transitioned to working on such Toei-produced tokusatsu programs as … Continue reading AN ANIMATED LIFE IN TOKUSATSU! Minoru Kujirai on His Anime and SFX Work at Tsuburaya Productions and Toei!

Eric Brown shares a quiet moment with a close friend. Photo © Eric Brown. Eric Lloyd Brown has lent his creative talents to some of Hollywood's biggest blockbusters, but he got his start in show biz by serving as a modelmaker and concept artist for Ultraman: The Ultimate Hero (1995). Afterward, Mr. Brown would go … Continue reading ULTRAMAN FLIES INTO HOLLYWOOD! Eric Brown on His Design and Modelmaking Work on ‘Ultraman: The Ultimate Hero’!

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!

Hiroyuki Kawase in February 2021. Photo © Brett Homenick. Born on August 28, 1963, Hiroyuki Kawase got one of the luckiest breaks any actor could receive by getting cast in Akira Kurosawa's Oscar-nominated drama Dodes'ka-den (1970) as a child actor, playing the son of a beggar. Following this auspicious role, Mr. Kawase starred in Godzilla … Continue reading A YOUNG LIFE IN CINEMA! Hiroyuki Kawase on Acting in the Godzilla Series and Working with Akira Kurosawa!