I wrote and field-produced this segment about Japanese "kaiju eiga" (monster movies) for the National Geographic Channel's "Nat Geo Amazing!" show, which aired this summer.
Although it's only a few minutes long, it was filmed over the course of an entire day on Death Kappa's Yokohama soundstage. The destruction of the single building that "Hangyolas" chops in two took a solid four hours out of that: the technicians decided on the breaking point, smashed the building themselves, and rebuilt the tiny chunks into a seemingly untouched building for a better effect when the kaiju demolished it. Monster movie making is hard work.
A couple of notes: my original script did not include the word "cheesy." And one of the more interesting bits for fans didn't make the final cut: an interview with director Tomoo Haraguchi, who explained that since a kaiju movie is pure entertainment, "realism" is largely besides the point. Haraguchi, who haspreviously drawn a parallel between the suits worn by kaiju actors and those used in traditional kabuki productions, explained that over-the-top theatricality is part of the genre's whole charm. Perhaps one could say that one person's "cheesy" is another person's "kabuki"...?
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