A monster appears

怪獣がゴリゴリ登場
A monster grigly appears

〝特撮不振〟に決定打東宝で二作品を企画中

A decisive blow to the “special effects slump” Toho is planning two works

東宝映画の名物、特撮映画も、最近は客の入りがかんばしくないようだものの客層の主体あるこどもたちの関心がテレビに移ったこと、企画の沈滞など、不の理由はいろいろあるが、一番を痛めているのが、東宝特撮の育ての親ともいうべき田中友幸ロデューサー、なんとか以前の力を盛り返そうと円谷英二特撮監とチエをしぼっている。次回の特撮映画は「モスラ対ゴジラ」が撮影中で、五月ゴールデン・ウイでーク封切りだが、さらにお盆用正月用と二つの特撮影映画の構想を練っている。それはこうだ。お盆用特撮映画は「地球戒厳令」題名はきまっているが、まだ内容は検討中。だいたい、二年前「地球防衛軍」プラス怪獣ものという構想。

Toho Pictures’ specialty, special effects movies, have not been attracting many customers recently, but there are many reasons for their failure, including the fact that children, who form the main customer base, have shifted their attention to television, and the project has stagnated. The person who is suffering from this is producer Tomoyuki Tanaka, who can be said to be the father of Toho special effects, and he is collaborating with special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya in an attempt to regain his former strength. The next special effects movie, “Mothra vs. Godzilla,” is currently being filmed and will be released during Golden Week in May, but they are also planning two more special effects movies, one for Obon and one for New Year’s. It’s like this. The title of the Obon special effects movie has been decided on, “Earth Martial Law,” but the content is still being considered. Roughly two years ago, I came up with the idea of “Earth Defense Force” plus monster stuff.

「地球防衛軍」は他の天体からやってきた惑星との衝突危機を「げるため、地球人が全知全能をふって立ち向かう内容だったこれに怪獣ものをからませてさらにスペクタクル性とスリル強調、スケールの大きなものにようという案だ。

“Earth Defense Force” is about earthlings acting omniscient and omnipotent in order to prevent a collision with a planet coming from another celestial body. By adding monsters to this story, we have added a sense of spectacle and thrill, and scale. The idea is to make it a big one.

「地球防衛軍〟は好評だったので、これに怪獣ものを登場させ怪奇性とスペクタクルの興奮がねらい。特の技術は進歩しているので最新のロケット兵器などもんと登場させ、科学時代のこどもたちにも満足してもらえるものをたちにも満足してもらえるものつくりドラマを構成するスターもできるだけ、多くのスター般に出てもらって厚味をもたせ、スケールも大きいものにしたい」と田中プロデューサーは自信ありげた。正月用に考えているのは、怪獣のオールスターものだ。東宝の特映画には、過去いろいろのが登場した。それも国産のみでなく、ゴジラのような外国製の怪獣を借用してきた。だが、それもネがつきてきた。創造するといっても、まるっきりなじみのないもでは、とびつかない悩みもしある。そこで考えたのが、かつて東宝映画に登場してきた怪獣を一堂に集めようという案だ。

“Earth Defense Force” was well-received, so we wanted to include monsters in it to create a sense of mystery and excitement through the spectacle. As the technology in particular is progressing, we will feature the latest rocket weapons and as many stars as possible to create manufacturing dramas that will satisfy even the children of the scientific age. “We want to have the stars of the same name appear in the show to give it some depth and make it bigger in scale,” said producer Tanaka confidently. What I’m thinking of for New Year’s is something all-star monsters. Various films have appeared in Toho’s special films in the past. In addition to domestically produced monsters, they have also borrowed foreign-made monsters such as Godzilla. However, that too has come to an end. Even if you say you want to create something, it can be difficult to jump into something that is completely unfamiliar to you. That’s why I came up with the idea of gathering together all the monsters that have previously appeared in Toho movies.

時は宇宙時代の二十世紀。舞台は地球と宇宙、オールスターものにふさわしい雄大なスケールうだ。お話はひとくふうとらゴジラ、ラドン、モスラなど地球をすみかとする怪獣と対決するはなし。まだこれは腹案の域を出ていないが、怪獣もののオールスター映画とはちょっとした思いつき。

The time is the 20th century, the space age. The stage is Earth and space, and the scale is grand enough for an all-star show. The story is about Earth, including Godzilla, Rodan, and Mothra confronting a monster that takes up residence. This is still a draft idea, but it was a bit of an idea to make an all-star movie about monsters.

Captions

田中プロデューサー
Tanaka, Producer

円谷特撮監督
Tsuburaya, Special effects director

Source: Ghidorah, The Three-Headed Monster Completion, Hobby Japan, p 81