In 1992, Toho gave the film rights to the Godzilla franchise to Sony Pictures Entertainment, the company’s American motion picture division, for them to make an American Godzilla film. The project was assigned to Sony’s recently acquired subsidiary, TriStar Pictures, which began filming in 1994. But did you know how Sony found out which marketing partner couldn’t keep a secret?
Sony sent out bogus designs to marketing partners to determine who was loyal as part of a scheme to keep the structure of Godzilla from the 1998 film a secret. Fruit of the Loom’s Godzilla license was revoked once the design was leaked.
Godzilla and Its Character Design and Back Story
Godzilla is a mythical dinosaur-like creature with the ability to breathe atomic blasts, originating from Japanese Films. Godzilla resembles a tyrannosaurus rex as it has short arms and armored plates on its back that resemble large bony maple leaves, similar to those on a stegosaurus.
The character first emerged in the 1954 film Godzilla. It became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films produced by Toho, four Hollywood films, and numerous video games, novels, comic books, and television shows.
Godzilla’s actual beginnings are unknown, but he is usually shown as a massive, ferocious, prehistoric sea monster that has been awoken and supercharged by nuclear radiation. When in hibernation or migration, Godzilla prefers to travel through the Earth’s hydrosphere, and it can breathe underwater.
Godzilla is shown to have great vitality: it is immune to conventional weaponry thanks to its rugged coat and ability to regenerate. As a result of surviving a nuclear explosion, it cannot be destroyed by anything less robust.
Toho’s special effects department has used various techniques to render Godzilla’s signature weapon. The atomic heat beam nuclear energy that it generates inside its body uses electromagnetic force to concentrate it into a laser-like high-velocity projectile and unleashes it from its jaws in the form of a blue or red radioactive beam.
In most of his appearances, Godzilla’s height is usually around 100 meters. In the original Toho Japanese 1954 Godzilla movie, Godzilla stands at 50 meters, but he is supposed to stand over 122 meters in the American version. In subsequent films, they would gradually enlarge him. (Source: Vox)
What Does the Word “Godzilla” Actually Mean?
The Japanese word gojira is translated as Godzilla in English. Gojira is a Japanese term that merges two words: gorira, which means gorilla, and kujira, whale. (Source: Vox)
Is Godzilla a Male or Female?
Godzilla and all the other monsters are referred to in the original Japanese movie with gender-neutral pronouns akin to it, however, Godzilla is explicitly described as a male in the English dubbed versions.
In his book, Godzilla co-creator Tomoyuki Tanaka speculated that the monster was most likely male. Godzilla is a male in the 1998 film Godzilla and is seen laying eggs through parthenogenesis. Godzilla could also be a male who, like a seahorse, can carry eggs. (Source: Vox)