Gojira (Godzilla)

The ocean's surface boils white-hot and a Japanese freighter mysteriously vanishes in the Pacific. Rescue boats meet the same fate, and the superstitious villagers of Odo Island fear an ancient legend has come true: the legend of Godzilla! Reawakened from eons-long sleep by an H-bomb test, the behemoth seeks revenge on the civilized world, turning Tokyo into a wasteland of atomic fire and rubble. Caught in the monster's path of destruction are young lovers Emiko and Ogata, who must betray their friend Dr. Serizawa, a brilliant but tormented scientist, in order to save the world.

KEITH AIKEN

Keith Aiken is a professional illustrator and storyboard artist in Los Angeles whose credits include comics, books, and video game artwork featuring such characters as Superman, Spider-Man, the X-Men, Green Lantern, Ghost Rider, and Silver Surfer. His first professional assignment on the King of the Monsters was on Dark Horse Comics’ GODZILLA titles (1994-95), followed by Sony Pictures Family Entertainment’s animated television program GODZILLA: THE SERIES (1998-99).

Keith has written for the magazines Japanese Giants and Kaiju Review, and is a frequent contributor for the website Monster Zero News [http://www.monsterzero.us/], the primary news source for the official Godzilla US website Godzilla.com [http://www.atari.com/godzilla/]. For the past four years he was a writer and associate editor for Henshin! Online [http://www.henshinonline.com/].

In June 2004, he worked with the prestigious American Cinematheque [http://www.americancinematheque.com/] in Hollywood on their “Godzilla 50th Anniversary Tribute”. The first Toho-authorized Godzilla film festival ever in the US, the Tribute featured more than a dozen films, the US premiere of GODZILLA: TOKYO SOS, and special appearances by filmmakers from Japan and America. Bay Area Film Events’ week-long Godzillafest, the biggest event of its kind to date, followed in November. That same year, Rialto Pictures [http://www.rialtopictures.com/] asked Keith to aid in publicity for their 50th anniversary US theatrical release of the original, uncut GODZILLA, and he has been interviewed about the film by the New York Times, National Public Radio, Reuters, Santa Fe New Mexican, the Miami Herald, and Starlog. He also assisted Toho with promotions for the world premiere of GODZILLA: FINAL WARS in Hollywood that included ticket giveaways from Henshin! Online and Godzillafest. Two more Cinematheque shows, “The Japanese Giant Monsters Festival” and “King Kong Session”, followed in 2005, and a third Japanese monster festival took place in June, 2006.

In October 2005, Keith worked with Steve Ryfle and Ed Godziszewski on the audio commentary for the UK release of GODZILLA from the British Film Institute. [http://www.bfi.org.uk/] In March 2006, he launched his own website SciFi Japan [http://www.scifijapan.com/] with co-editor Bob Johnson. He is currently working with Classic Media on materials and publicity for their DVD release of GODZILLA/GODZILLA KING OF THE MONSTERS and six additional Godzilla films.

Ed Godziszewski
Ed Godziszewski has served as the editor and publisher of Japanese Giants magazine since 1977, and is the author of the 1995 book The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Godzilla. As a writer and researcher on
Japanese special effects films, Ed has contributed to numerous publications including Japanese Fantasy Film Journal, G-Fan, and Retrovision. In 1979, he authored the cover story (an overview of the Godzilla series) for the inaugural issue of Fangoria, and became one of the first American fans invited to tour both Toho Studios and Tsuburaya Productions in Japan. In the years since then, Ed has visited Japan numerous times and has met and interviewed many tokusatsu filmmakers. A Japanese documentary crew from NHK returned the favor by interviewing Ed in his home for a 1998 television
special about Godzilla.

Ed has been a frequent speaker at the annual G-Fest, and in 2004, he supplied materials and acted as a presenter at screenings of Japanese SF films for the American Cinematheque's “Godzilla 50th Anniversary Tribute” in Hollywood. In 2005 he provided the DVD commentary and two short documentaries for the British Film Institute release of GODZILLA (1954). Japanese Giants is available at www.japanesegiants.com

Steve Ryfle
STEVE RYFLE is the author of "Japan's Favorite Mon-Star: The Unauthorized Biography of Godzilla" (ECW Press). He has written about Godzilla, and films in general, for the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Creative Screenwriting, and many other print and online publications. Steve has been a featured guest on several TV and radio programs devoted to Godzilla, including an interview on NPR's "Fresh Air with Terry Gross."

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