Svengoolie’s Top TV Godzilla Moments!

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I was thrilled when I heard the news that Svengoolie will be appearing at this year’s G-FEST in Chicago! For those less savvy in the Godzilla world, “G-FEST” is short for Godzilla Festival and for fans of Godzilla, Gamera, Ultraman, or any other facet of Kaiju (Japanese giant monster) cinema, this is the event for which we revolve our calendar around. As a life long fan of Godzilla, I was happy when my 6 year old son, Alex, took to the Big G. We attended our first G-FEST in 2004 and I haven’t missed one since!

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Destroy All Monsters on Blu-ray is SO worth the wait!

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I have been a giant rubber monster fan for as long as I can remember. I have so many fond memories of Saturday and Sunday afternoons watching the latest exploits of Godzilla or Gamera as they fought the newest monster foe bent on destroying the Earth. The one creature feature that always stood out though as the coolest of the Japanese giant monster movies was DESTROY ALL MONSTERS, from 1968. The funny thing is though, that as a kid, I never remembered the plot of the movie; I just remembered the last 15 minutes or so that featured the very best of what Toho had to offer in an over-the-top monster battle.

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There is no crying at G-Fest!

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I woke up early on Saturday July 16th and tip-toed around, hoping not to wake the children. My fear was particularly centered around my youngest child, Luke, and that I’d not only wake him, but that he’d invariably ask where I was going. Although it’s not unusual for him to see me leaving early for work each day, the Godzilla shirt I was wearing would not only eliminate that as a possibility but probably give away my actual destination.

Since 2004 I have, without fail, taken my children to G-Fest (Godzilla Festival) in Chicago. My oldest son, Alex, was 6 years old at the time and was a devout fan of Godzilla (just like his old man) almost since he could talk. In fact, during his kindergarten parent/teacher conference, I recall his shocked teacher showing my wife and I a drawing of the “big G” my son had created along with a perfectly spelled, “I Love Godzilla” written beneath. When I discovered that there was not only an entire convention dedicated to The King of Monsters (as well as all his giant Japanese monster – kaiju -friends and foes) but that it also took place right here in Chicago, I knew that it was one event I could not afford to miss.

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Oh No! Giant Ants in Los Angeles!!!…Why I’m Just Buggy about THEM!

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I hate to say it but I feel bad for the youth of today. The only entertainment they know are video games, movies loaded with CGI effects and weak storylines, and music by artists that need to digitize their voices just to sound good. These childhood memories are not the kind that as adults, they will look back on and cherish.

Hollywood has currently run out of original ideas and feels it is easier and more cost-effective to remake so many of the movies, that when I was a kid, were just amazing to behold. The only original movies to be seen these days are actually imported from other countries (and you can bet that if these movies have any success, Hollywood will remake them too).

One of my fondest memories as a child of the 70’s was every Saturday afternoon watching the CREATURE DOUBLE FEATURE. This was pre-cable when watching shows such as this meant roof antennas or rabbit ears. It also meant that viewing my favorite monster movies was dependent on the weather…the clearer the weather, the clearer the signal.

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Mad about Mothra!

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It’s very rare these days to have a horror host present a Japanese giant monster movie.  How ironic considering that many of us were introduced to the these films via weekend Creature Features and late night hosts. For the past ten years, however, the opportunity to see these films on commercial television has become few and far between. TOHO (the Japanese studio that owns Godzilla) has made the films less accessible – their legal team hungry and eager to feed.  To me this is a terrible error on the studio’s part. By making them harder to acquire,  they are blocking many potential new fans from the genre.

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