Shock Till You Drop was able to chat with Gareth Edwards about
Godzilla. The began by discussing Frank Darabont's ("Shawshank Redemption") contribution to the script. Gareth praised Frank's ability at character and emotion to the script, making note of one particular scene that when shot, had people watching in tears.
As for the creature, Gareth was asked if it will have a personality to it. "I always viewed him as a force of nature. He's not like King Kong where there's a personality. Godzilla is definitely a representation of the wrath of nature. But we're in the process of visual FX and I'm starting to see him and his personality is coming through. It's interesting. I'm happy and surprised. We saw early tests and my reaction was like Internet dating or something [laughs], suddenly you're meeting him for the first time and you go, he's real. It's probably going to develop more personality as we go on and my answer might be different when we're done, but he definitely has personality from the icon he is. We've taken it very seriously and the theme is man versus nature and Godzilla is certainly the nature side of it. You can't win that fight. Nature's always going to win and that's what the subtext of our movie is about. He's an anti-hero. I wouldn't describe him as a good guy, but he's not evil personified. He's the punishment we deserve, you know?"
Of course like most films, there is a plan to make the movie feel more "real" and "gritty" so how does Gareth handle the creatures atomic breath and other fantastical elements. "It was important to me to make it as believable as possible and with all of those elements you've mentioned," Gareth explains. "they're in the film but I tried to put them in the film where they're not so fantastical that you don't believe it. Hopefully, the only big buy the audience has to make - and I believe there can only be one buy - is that giant creatures can exist. Beyond that, we try to make it as realistic as possible.
Lastly, Gareth says it was really important to have this adaptation feel like a Toho Godzilla and not like the Roland Emmerich version. "There's always this fear when you're working on something with a legacy...who am I?" Edwards continues, "This young-ish British filmmaker handling their property. But they feel we've stayed true to their roots. In the encyclopedias and books you read about Godzilla, there's these different groups - all of the Godzillas in one section and then there's the American [1998] film. I'd love ours to be considered as part of the Toho group.
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Legendary Pictures: Godzilla -- An epic rebirth to Toho's iconic Godzilla, this spectacular adventure pits the world's most famous monster against malevolent creatures who, bolstered by humanity's scientific arrogance, threaten our very existence. Gareth Edwards directs Godzilla, which stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ken Watanabe, Elizabeth Olsen, and Juliette Binoche, with David Strathairn and Bryan Cranston. The screenplay is by Max Borenstein, Frank Darabont, and Dave Callaham. Thomas Tull and Jon Jashni are producing with Mary Parent and Brian Rogers. Alex Garcia and Patricia Whitcher are the executive producers, alongside Yoshimitsu Banno and Kenji Okuhira. The film is from Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures.
GODZILLA will stomp into theaters May 16, 2014.