It’s Friday the 13th. It’s a day for monsters. So why wouldn’t we have Kyle Yount of Kaijucast on the show to talk about Godzilla, all his rubber suited foes, and the 50th anniversary screening of Godzilla vs. King Kong he’s hosting next week. Mike Russell is here to speak about all sorts of scary stuff as well, since he saw Cabin in the Woods, which seems less a scary movie and more a synthesis of comedy, horror, and the best commentary on why horror works since Stephen King’s Danse Macabre. The show keeps doing that today: Talking about stuff that seems pretty corny and cheesy leads to deeper conversations about the nature of storytelling. It’s best you just dive in, really, because while we don’t spoil anything (except for the ending of Freddy vs. Jason, because ugh) you probably won’t expect to go the places we go in today’s show.
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I have to say, Fatboy sounds really eager to chalk “The Cabin in the Woods” up to Joss Whedon. Whedon came up with a general concept (I can’t relate the whole story without getting into spoilers, so I’ll stop there) but Goddard fleshed it out, wrote the actual script and did all the directing. It’s his film.
By the way, DON’T read any of the negative reviews for the film on Rotten Tomatoes. Almost all of them completely spoil the movie (think of Roger Ebert and “Kickass”). Seriously, just don’t do it. DON’T.
I’d heard word that shit went sideways on the shoot, & and the 60/40 Goddard/Whedon ratio got flipped, & maybe then some. I mean, its nitpicking either way: the project was pretty collaborative from the beginning.
Its not like I WANT this to be More Whedon or whatever. I don’t have a rooting interest in who gets more credit.
So, just a point of clarification (because I don’t want Dan to think ill of me), I’m not hosting the screening of King Kong vs. Godzilla. I’m just providing some imagery and talking about the film a little bit before the movie starts.
Not to take anything away from Drew, because it’s entirely true that a lot of people are focusing overly on Joss to Drew’s detriment, but it’s not true that Joss was concept and Drew was script. They wrote the script together over a weekend in a hotel (or rental of some kind, whatever). They’d each take a chunk and go off and write. There definitely needs to be more appreciation for Drew’s work, and indeed he is the director after all, but it’s not like Joss had an idea and then went away.
Yep, the Mayor Ebert/ adviser who looks like Siskel was Emmerich & Devlin’s revenge for Ebert’s 1-star “StarGate” review. And yep, the Siskel guy gave a thumbs-down near the end of “Godzilla.” *rolls eyes* Maybe you’ll feel better if you read what Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio wrote for “Godzilla” (have you yet?): http://www.wordplayer.com/archives/GODZILLA.script.html
Another satisfying thing about “The Cabin in the Woods” is Joss and Drew getting to play with R-rated ideas, and just RUNNING with them. Has Whedon done anything R-rated since “Alien: Resurrection”? “Dollhouse,” had it been a film (good point, Bobby; or a cable, non-broadcast show), deserved to be R-rated and perverse/perverted, but TV is still not going to allow that. But Joss needs (and I’m sure relishes) more chances to show his pervert side.
Another giant monster movie that is not officially kaiju is Gorgo, from 1961. It more or less follows the plot of the first Gojiro (sp.?), but is set in London. And of course being a British sci-fi monster movie it is … slow, meditative, gloomy, downbeat, and black and white in that why that British movies have of saying with a sigh, “Why even bother with color?” If I remember right, Gorgo is tearing up London to fetch Gorgo, Jr., but the most interesting thing is who directed it, this obscure but fascinating figure called Eugène Lourié. He was primarily an art director, but worked on a span of films. He worked with everyone from Jean Renoir to Sam Fuller and Clint Eastwood. In the twilight of his life, he had a bit part in the Gere Breathless. Rumor has it that Lourié’s daughter lives or lived in Portland. His filmography is well worth looking up.
I love how the last thing your hear on this podcast is a bemused Mike Russell saying “What the Hell?…” as the crappy sitcom theme music fades in.
Yeah, that end music wasn’t familiar but it sure sounded like Mike Post. Mike getting caught by surprise by the music was a nice pull-back-the-Wizard’s-curtain moment.
I think that was Silver Spoons
Oops. Gorgo is in color. But very depressed color.
If you want to read Godzilla comics that were actually really good, check out the Gangsters and Goliaths mini series that IDW put out last summer. Imagine mashing up a 60′s godzilla movie with a Yakuza movie, it was kinda like that
Show-notes for Friday, April 13:
“King Kong vs. Godzilla” — Tuesday April 24th at 7:30 p.m., Hollywood Theatre:
http://hollywoodtheatre.org/king-kong-vs-godzilla/
Kyle Yount’s Kaijucast:
http://kaijucast.com/
The Bus Project presents “Political Science Theater 3000″ — Monday, April 16th at 7:30 p.m., Hollywood Theatre:
http://hollywoodtheatre.org/bus-project-presents-political-science-theater-3000/
On Tuesday April 17th at 7:30 at the Hollywood Theatre, Kung Fu Theater presents the only known 35mm print of Master Yuen Woo Ping’s classic “Dreadnaught”:
http://hollywoodtheatre.org/dreadnaught/
I enjoyed Cabin in the Woods……
That is all I have to add
When I was ten I found a VHS of King Kong v. Godzilla and spent every one of my ten dollars on it, totally stoked at the ridiculous carnage that I would see.
Then I put the cassette in and it was blank.
Sadly, these events left me scarred and I have yet to see the film.
I’m a week or more behind on my podcasts, so I’m late to the show, but I have to say, this was one of the funniest shows I’ve heard. I was cracking up throughout most of the show, and listening to Mike lose his shit at the end had me ROLLING.
Strike that. I’m a MORON. Wrong date. More coffee. Shit.
that comment decidedly shows adequate qualitiy’s importance to content writing
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