Yeah that's how it reads to me.Terasawa wrote:I don't think it reads that way on the Criterion site. It sounds like the author is saying the nickname "Goji" -not the name "Gojira"- came from the sfx technicians. Basically it's a pun. Besides it wouldn't make sense for the monster to go unnamed until sfx shooting had been underway for a while, and that's the only way the crew would have even known they'd be pulling all-nighters.
Added in 2 hours 47 minutes 20 seconds:The special-effects crew nicknamed Godzilla “Goji”—part of the Japanese phrase gozen goji, or “five a.m.”—because they consistently toiled through the night and daybreak to pull off their cinematic magic.
Genuine question here, maybe someone can fill us in...
We all hear about how Godzilla's dark, rocky skin texture was inspired by the keloid scarring of A-bomb survivors, but is that really the case or something people picked up on later pertaining to the 54 film, like the idea of him being a vessel for the victims of Japan's wartime atrocities (an interpretation as we know that would go on to inspire GMK).
I ask this cause if you look at the nicknames they gave the original maquettes it goes Scaly, Warty, then Alligator for the final design. Were they really thinking H-bomb survivor for the monster or just an interesting, crocodilian skin texture?
This also pertains a little bit to Shin Godzilla... people were again quick to point out the emphasis on keloid scarring but I've read Anno and his designers were inspired by the bizarre, bumpy and rotting texture of goya.