Godzilla 2000 Millennium Script

Godzilla 2000 Millennium on exhibit and promotional material

There’s nothing more I love than original historical Godzilla print material. And then there’s nothing better than an original Godzilla script. Hot off my acquisition of an original Godzilla vs Mothra script, an original Godzilla 2000 Millennium script falls into hands. In 2019, I got a peak at the Millennium script along with others at Godzilla Showbase at Ario Yao in Osaka. I never imagined I would own one.

Original autographed Godzilla 2000 Millennium script at the Godzilla Showbase (Ario Yao, Osaka, 2019)

There’s nothing more I love than original historical Godzilla print material. And then there’s nothing better than an original Godzilla script. Hot off my acquisition of an original Godzilla vs Mothra script, an original Godzilla 2000 Millennium script falls into hands. In 2019, I got a peak at it along with others at Godzilla Showbase the Ario Yao Godzilla exhibit in Osaka. I never imagined I would own such a script right from the Godzilla set.

The Godzilla 200 Millennium script is difficult to obtain but like others original scripts surface on Japanese auction sites such as Yahoo Auction and Buyee Japan. This script was in my price range and had a buy option. My motto is buy it because I might not see it again. The script is in great condition. Inside a few names of actor and stuff were inserted by hand.

(1) Shinoada Io: Mayu Suzuki (人-1: 篠田イオ: 鈴木麻由 Shinoada Io: Mayu Suzuki) | (2) 人-3: Lighthouse staff member: Yoshimasa Kondo (灯台の所員: 近藤芳正), Young man from Matsushima, GPN staff: Daisuke Honda (松島の若者　GPNスタッフ: 本田大輔), GPN staff member from Fukushima: Bengal (田福島のGPNスタッフ: ベンガル), Tank unit commander: Masahiko Nishimura (戦車隊隊長: 西村雅彦) | (3) ビジュアルイフェクト スーパーハイザー: 小野寺浩 | (4) Sound effects: Hideyo Sasaki (音響効果: 佐々木英世)

My immediate interest turned to finding the final closing words of Katagiri (“Godzilla!”) and Yuji Shinoda (played by Takehiro Murata), “Godzilla is… inside all of us”「ゴジラは俺たちの中にいるんだ｣. But to my surprise, these words of Shindo are no where to be found in the script. Instead, his says, “Godzilla, where exactly are you going…?”「(茫漠と)ゴジラ、お前は一体どこへ行くンだ･･････｣. In an interview, actor Takehiro Murata, was asked, “Which lines left the strongest impression on you this time?” He replied, “Finally, there’s a line that says, ‘Godzilla is within us humans,’ and I found that very convincing. I thought, ‘That’s probably it.’ As a message to the people watching the film, I think it means that there’s no such thing as a perfectly good person, and that there are angels and demons within everyone, and sometimes, unexpectedly, a ‘Godzilla’ is born within us, leading us to take a step towards evil. I think that line symbolizes something like that. So, I felt like the message was that we need to be more responsible ourselves.”¹ I believe this last scene is the most impactful and lasting. Eliminating Godzilla does not save us. As long as we exist the threat of Godzilla remains. Sadly, we are the monster we are looking for. The final line of the script, as Godzilla sets Tokyo on fire, was not spoken but captures what God is and what it means when he appears: “Godzilla resembles an angry god”「そんな怒れる神にも似たゴジラで――｡｣. Here are the final pages of the script along with the storyboard (Source: Godzilla 2000 Millennium: The Art of Storyboarding).

The Godzilla 200 Millennium script is difficult to obtain but like others original scripts surface on Japanese auction sites such as Yahoo Auction and Buyee Japan. This script was in my price range and had a buy option. My motto is buy it because I might not see it again. Inside there are handwritten names added. The screenplay is the work of Kanji Kashiwabara (柏原 寛司, also known as Hiroshi Kashiwabara, 柏原 寛司) and Mimura Wataru (三村 渉). The printing of their draft script “G” was printed on December 12, 1998. Production was announced at Toho Studios on July 11, 1999. Filming began on June 10 and wrapped up on August 17, 1999. Godzilla 2000 premiered at Tokyo International Film Festival on 11/6 and the overseas version had a short one-week screening at Odaiba Cinema Mediate. On December 11, it was released nationwide. Godzilla Millennium rumbled on U.S. screens nationwide on August 18, 2000.² They worked together the following year to write the screenplay for the next film, Godzilla vs Megaguirus (2000).³

My original Godzilla scripts: Godzilla vs Mothra (1992, original), Godzilla vs Destoroyah (1995, original), Godzilla 2000 Millennium, Godzilla vs. Megaguirus: The G Annihilation Strategy (2000, original) and Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. (2002, original)

In his interview, Takehiro Murata reflecting on the script, said: “In that sense, I felt that this script really recaptured the seriousness of the early Godzilla films, the ones starring Takashi Shimura and Akira Takarada. Science has advanced far beyond what it was in the original Godzilla film from 1954, and Godzilla symbolizes one aspect of that advancement, and there’s a fear that humanity can’t keep up. These kinds of things are depicted in the script, so the more I read it, the deeper and more profound it seemed.”⁴ The Godzilla 2000 Millennium script is a treasure in my chest where it joins other original Godzilla scripts. Every word is sacred and worthy of careful study and reflection to bring us closer to understanding the monster we love so much.