Godzilla Minus Zero Director Takashi Yamazaki Talks Possible Third Film

Writer-director Takashi Yamazaki did everything he could to make the experience of Godzilla minus one behind him as he prepared to make his highly anticipated sequel, Godzilla minus zero.

This was a daunting challenge, considering Minus one received rave reviews and became the highest-grossing Japanese action film ever released in the United States. The film also won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, making Yamazaki, who also served as VFX supervisor, the first director to win an award in that category since Stanley Kubrick.

Dubbed “the Japanese James Cameron”, Yamazaki has received praise from Cameron himself, as well as Christopher Nolan, Steven Spielberg and JJ Abrams, among others. Hollywood was also eager to import the filmmaker for its next project, but Yamazaki had unfinished business with the King of the Monsters.

“A lot of producers and really big names in Hollywood contacted me, and there were several projects that I would have liked to be able to jump on in a heartbeat,” says Yamazaki. The Hollywood Reporter via a translator in support of Godzilla minus zeroReleased in theaters on November 6. “But I felt I had to do Godzilla minus zero firstly because there was a story and a theme that I wanted to explore.

Despite all the adulation coming from the United States, including from the cinema heroes of his youth, Yamazaki made a conscious effort not to write Less Zero with an American sensibility in mind.

“It would have been very easy to ride that wave, and I was very tempted to do so at times. But we weren’t aiming for a global audience (with Minus one), and that’s what made it very unique,” says Yamazaki. “So I wanted to cherish that point of origin, and instead of selling out, for lack of a better phrase, by making a film suitable for the United States or for American fans of Less AI wanted to tell a story that seemed important to me (at home) at the moment.

As the production progressed, Yamazaki repeatedly urged his collaborators to stage the surreal experience of Less A behind them.

“The moment you start to feel the pressure, you’ve already lost. So I tried not to pay attention to it. Minus oneand I told our team to do the same. I said to myself, “Guys, stop clenching your fists. Let’s relax a little,” Yamazaki recalls. “We were able to be on the same page in that the greatest motivation to create Less Zero it wasn’t about outdoing or surpassing what we did with Minus one – it was just to make a great film.

at Yamazaki Godzilla minus zerothe first Japanese film shot for IMAX, has already received a critical reception comparable to that of its predecessor. The kaiju epic resumes in 1949, two years after the events of Less Aas the Shikishima family takes up arms again following the emergence of a new threat in the form of the vaunted King Ghidorah.

Abrams’ admiration for Less A helped pave the way for the production of Yamazaki’s next English-language mecha film, Grand Gear. However, it remains to be seen whether Yamazaki has a third Godzilla film in him.

“I’d say it’s about 50-50 at this point. I’m pretty satisfied and happy with the current ending we have,” Yamazaki admits. “That being said, if Godzilla minus zero is my last Godzilla movie, that would make me a little sad. I have other films in the works, starting with Grand Gear and a few others, but at some point in my career I would love to see Godzilla again.

Below, in conversation with THRYamazaki also explains how Kong: Skull Island director Jordan Vogt-Roberts found himself an actor in Minus zero.

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After the Oscar-winning success of Godzilla minus oneDid you receive offers to direct other films before deciding to commit to Godzilla minus zero?

Well, I am very grateful for the success of Godzilla minus one. Many producers and some really big names in Hollywood contacted me, and there were several projects I wish I could jump on in a heartbeat. But I felt like I had to do it Godzilla minus zero firstly because there was a story and a theme that I wanted to explore. So I had to put aside all other interesting projects.

Given the extraordinary response to Minus onedid you feel a lot more pressure when creating Minus zero?

For me, as soon as you start feeling the pressure, you’ve already lost. After a big success, you tend to get really rigid and stiff because everyone wants to surpass the success of the previous film. When you’re really tight, that stiffness muddies the film and you start to make compromises that you don’t necessarily want to make. It then becomes impossible to make a truly interesting and engaging film.

I just tried not to pay attention Minus oneand I told our team to do the same. I said to myself, “Guys, stop clenching your fists. Let’s relax a little.” Of course, completely eradicating this will be impossible. But we were able to be on the same page in that the greatest motivation to create Less Zero it wasn’t about outdoing or surpassing what we did with Minus one – it was just to make a good film.

Minus one also became Japan’s highest-grossing live-action film in the United States. Did America’s membership have an influence on the way you wrote Minus zero? Or have you also blocked this reception?

I’m very grateful that American audiences really fell in love with Godzilla minus one. For me it was a huge event, and that comes from the fact that I have always loved Hollywood films. In the 70s, I went to the theater and watched every sci-fi movie that came out of Hollywood. It was part of my origin story. So the fact that these same directors and producers were now watching my film made me ecstatic.

It would have been very easy to ride this wave, and I was very tempted to do so at times. But in this regard, I had to put all these emotions aside to understand why Less A resonated with so many people. I think it’s because we didn’t plan on gaining a global audience at all, and that’s what made it quite unique. The fact that we tried to make a film for our own national market became our greatest strength.

So I wanted to cherish this point of origin and, instead of selling out, for lack of a better expression, by making a film suitable for American fans or American fans of Less AI wanted to tell a story that seemed important to me (at home) at the moment.

I like how the flashbacks Minus zero recontextualize the events of Minus one. Was that one of the elements that interested you the most in making a sequel?

While we were in production on Godzilla minus oneI didn’t have a clear picture of what was happening outside or behind the scenes of the story we were telling in the film. But afterwards, when Godzilla minus zero got the green light, I started to dive a little deeper and say, “Well, maybe this was going on behind the scenes of Godzilla minus one all this time.

As I began to imagine and dig even deeper, some of my ideas were actually quite terrifying. Sure, it was great for the movie, but it was really scary to think about what other people were going through during the events that took place in Godzilla minus one.

These events have enriched the world and presented Godzilla minus zero with a lot of elements that moved the story forward. So the process of filling in the gaps, so to speak, was quite fun for me, and it gave us an opportunity to explore events that we didn’t know about at the time.

Before creating your fight between Godzilla and King Ghidorah, did you revisit their previous on-screen duels to differentiate your vision?

I’ve actually made a conscious effort not to watch old movies where Godzilla and Ghidorah go at each other. I wanted to create a completely new experience as I imagined it. And even though I kept that position, of course, it’s impossible not to remember certain scenes. Although I have made a conscious effort not to revisit old films, I am inevitably influenced by them. And this is not unique to the Godzilla films produced in Japan. Legendary did their take on King Ghidorah, and that crossed my mind as well.

After seeing all these films, certain moments have remained engraved in my memory. Whether in the films themselves or in their posters, I couldn’t help but think about certain compositions and moments during the creation of this film. So I tried to imagine King Ghidorah in battle without recreating anything from the past, but naturally, perhaps by osmosis, some of those older scenes crept into the picture.

Jordan Vogt-Roberts, director of Kong: Skull Islandappears in Minus zero. How did it appear?

Well, Jordan makes fairly frequent trips to Japan. On one of his trips he contacted us and we arranged a dinner. That’s when he said, “Hey, I’d really like to be in the next Godzilla movie you’re working on.” And I said, “Well, if you’re in Japan, maybe there’s a scene we could fit you into.” But if he were to appear, I said, “You’re going to have to shave your beard because that’s what the role would need.” » I knew he really liked his beard, but maybe his desire to make an appearance in this movie went beyond that.

He finally agreed…