Think Godzilla's Scary? Meet His Lawyers

[Forkboy]

It's been 54 years since an atomic blast awakened the slumbering reptilian monster Godzilla, and the fire-breathing, fin-tailed beast has been terrorizing downtown Tokyo ever since — in more than two dozen movies, on television and in comics and cartoons.

But Godzilla is a pussycat compared to the coterie of lawyers and investigators in Los Angeles and Japan who aggressively protect the radioactive behemoth from anyone who dares to appropriate his lizardly image for profit.

Toho forced Adler Fels Winery of Napa Valley to dump an undisclosed amount of wine for using the Godzilla image without permission.



Hurling hundreds of lawsuits and takedown notices like so many fireballs, Godzilla's owner — Toho Co. Ltd — has roasted Hollywood studios, automakers, toy manufacturers, rock bands, book publishers, national food chains, record labels, bloggers, wineries and just about anybody seen as capitalizing on the monster's unique features, name or theme music. When it comes to policing trademarks and enforcing copyrights in the United States, intellectual property attorneys say Tokyo-based Toho is easily a match for Walt Disney, Fox and Lucasfilm in terms of courthouse zeal.

http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/11/godzilla-terror.html

[JeffR]

1. If the scaly one's legal team was really on the ball

they'd have stepped in to stop the Roland Emmerich version, purely as a violation against aesthetic law.

[Forkboy]

3. The sad part is that Toho signed off on every aspect of the American version.

Everything from the creature design (which I actually don't mind) to the horrendous script that abandoned everything that makes a Godzilla movie a Godzilla movie (which I do mind).

There was a previous script that got scrapped that was way cooler than what they went with when Emmerich came in. x(

Here's a cool online comic version of the original script, still in progress, which gives an idea of what might have been.
http://americankaiju.kaijuphile.com/american-godzilla/ag94page2.shtml

I look at it this way though. Toho was so unhappy with the end result that they used it as an excuse to bring Godzilla back for another 6 movies. It's been 4 years since the last G movie, so I'm hoping someone else pisses them off soon! :)

[JeffR]

6. Thanks for the link.

I agree the creature design was not bad. What bothered me most (apart from the script) was that Gozilla's size seemed to vary from scene to scene.

And yes, Toho reviving the monster was a happy result of an otherwise regrettable movie.

[valerief]

2. Why is Godzilla always referred to as a he? If he were male, wouldn't he be named Godzillo?

Godzilla is a dame, folks, all 154 tons of her (oops, sorry I gave out your weight, dearie!).

[Forkboy]

4. Well, G did lay eggs in the American version.

Maybe you're onto something, though she's gonna be pissed for giving out her weight. :)

[valerief]

5. Well, then, I'd better not mention she colors her scales, too. nt

[AsahinaKimi]

7. The original Godzilla ...

Was called "Gojira". Gojira is a combination of two Japanese words: gorira (lit. gorilla) and kujira (lit. "whale") I think it was Hollywood that changed the name to Godzilla. Being a Japanese-American, I have always loved Gojira.. and the 1954 film "Gojira" was one of my Toho favorites. They also did a lot of Jidaigeki, period pieces which featured chanbara or sword battles (Samurai movies).

(scene from the movie Kill!)