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!
Tsuburaya Productions
RECOLLECTIONS OF TOHO’S GOD OF CLOUDS! Fuchimu Shimakura on Painting the Studio’s Tokusatsu Backdrops!
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!
AN ANIMATED LIFE IN TOKUSATSU! Minoru Kujirai on His Anime and SFX Work at Tsuburaya Productions and Toei!
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!
ULTRAMAN FLIES INTO HOLLYWOOD! Eric Brown on His Design and Modelmaking Work on ‘Ultraman: The Ultimate Hero’!
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’!
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!
A YOUNG LIFE IN CINEMA! Hiroyuki Kawase on Acting in the Godzilla Series and Working with Akira Kurosawa!
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!
THE GODFATHER OF GODZILLA’S ATOMIC RAY! Sadao Iizuka on His Optical Effects Work at Toho!
Sadao Iizuka in January 2021. Photo © Brett Homenick. Born on December 26, 1934, Sadao Iizuka joined Toho Studios in 1954 during the production of the original Godzilla, working as an assistant in the tokusatsu art department. Mr. Iizuka stayed at Toho for many years thereafter, eventually pioneering Toho’s trademark optical effects that would become … Continue reading THE GODFATHER OF GODZILLA’S ATOMIC RAY! Sadao Iizuka on His Optical Effects Work at Toho!
MECHAGODZILLA’S FIRST CO-STAR! Masaaki Daimon on His Acting Career in the 1970s!
Masaaki Daimon in April 2021. Photo © Brett Homenick. Born on March 10, 1949, Masaaki Daimon launched his acting career in 1971 with a brief appearance in episode 18 of Return of Ultraman (1971-72). Shortly thereafter, Mr. Daimon was cast as a lead in Yasuzo Masumura's tragic drama Games (1971), which led to work in … Continue reading MECHAGODZILLA’S FIRST CO-STAR! Masaaki Daimon on His Acting Career in the 1970s!
A CLOSE ENCOUNTER WITH ULTRAMAN IN THE OUTBACK! Jay Hackett on Acting in ‘Ultraman: Towards the Future’!
Photo © Jay Hackett. Jay Hackett is an Australian actor whose path crossed with Ultraman in the early 1990s. In Ultraman: Towards the Future (1992), Mr. Hackett appears in three episodes of the series ( "Signs of Life," "The Hibernator," and "Blast from the Past") as astronaut Stanley Haggard, who gets taken over by the … Continue reading A CLOSE ENCOUNTER WITH ULTRAMAN IN THE OUTBACK! Jay Hackett on Acting in ‘Ultraman: Towards the Future’!
THE MASTERFUL MAKER OF MONSTER BEAMS! Sadao Iizuka on His Early Life and Career at Toho!
Sadao Iizuka in December 2020. Photo © Brett Homenick. Born on December 26, 1934, Sadao Iizuka joined Toho Studios in 1954 during the production of the original Godzilla, working as an assistant in the tokusatsu art department. Mr. Iizuka stayed at Toho for many years thereafter, eventually pioneering Toho's trademark optical effects that would become … Continue reading THE MASTERFUL MAKER OF MONSTER BEAMS! Sadao Iizuka on His Early Life and Career at Toho!
Vantage Point Interviews 