Director Kazuki Omori takes on a new challenge

「ゴジラ」5年ぶり17作目

“Godzilla”: 17th film, first in five years

大森一樹監督が挑戦、撮影始まる

Director Kazuki Omori takes on a new challenge; filming begins.

5年ぶり17作目のゴジラ映画、「ゴジラVSビオランテ」(12月公開)が22日、東京・砧の東宝撮影所でクランクインした。今回は5025本の一般募集ストーリーから選ばれた内容で、原案は神奈川歯科大講師の小林晋一郎さん(34)。原水爆の誤用で誕生したゴジラが対決するのは、最新の遺伝子工学が生んだ植物怪獣ビオランテで、メガホンは大森一樹監督と川北紘一特技監督、ともにゴジラ初挑戦だ。

Filming began on the 22nd at Toho Studios in Kinuta, Tokyo, for “Godzilla vs. Biollante”—the 17th film in the Godzilla series and the first in five years. The story was selected from 5,025 submissions from the general public, with the original concept created by Shinichiro Kobayashi (34), a lecturer at Kanagawa Dental College. In this film, Godzilla—a creature born from the misuse of atomic and hydrogen bomb technology—faces off against Biollante, a plant monster created through cutting-edge genetic engineering. The project is helmed by director Kazuki Omori and special effects director Koichi Kawakita, both of whom are taking on the Godzilla franchise for the first time.

「文明の悪夢として恐怖感を出したい」

“I want to evoke a sense of dread—a nightmare born of civilization.”

この日の撮影は、海中から登場した人間大(設定の50分の1)の縫いぐるみゴジラが、海上自衛隊と一戦交えるシーンで、わずか30秒の間に300万円をかけて建造した長さ3材の自衛艦がゴジラの熱線に灰となった。

The shoot that day involved a scene where a human-sized Godzilla suit (scaled at 1/50th of the character’s intended size) emerged from the sea to clash with the Maritime Self-Defense Force; in a mere 30 seconds, a three-meter-long model of a Self-Defense Force ship—built at a cost of 3 million yen—was reduced to ash by Godzilla’s heat ray.

第1作(昭和29年)が持っていた恐怖感の現代的再現を目標とする両監督。大森氏は「科学が人間に襲い掛かる、文明の悪夢として恐怖感を出したい」と言う。製作費は15億円、三田村邦彦、田中好子らが出演する。

Both directors aim to recreate the sense of dread found in the original 1945 film for a modern audience. Mr. Omori states, “We want to evoke a sense of terror—a nightmare of civilization—where science turns against humanity.” The film has a production budget of 1.5 billion yen and stars Kunihiko Mitamura and Yoshiko Tanaka.

Caption

ゴジラを挟んで大森監督(右)と川北特技監督 (東京・砧の東宝撮影所で)

Director Omori (right) and Special Effects Director Kawakita with Godzilla between them (at Toho Studios in Kinuta, Tokyo)

Source: Nikkan Sports, 8.23.1989