Godzilla 85 finally?

[Giga Kaiju]

Lets Wait and see but if this rumour becomes true like a couple of months ago with DAM and MEGALON then Great.

[kpa]

When Hanna-Barbera made the 1978 GODZILLA cartoon show, their contract with Toho signed over all rights for the series to Toho after 25 years. Toho hasn't told me any specifics about the contractual issues for GODZILLA 1985, but from what little they have said my best guess is that Toho had a similar deal with New World. New World is long gone, and companies like Anchor Bay have thought they got the rights to G85 when they acquired part of the studio's film library but Toho rejected those claims. And rather than deal with (potentially expensive) litigation Toho is just waiting for all clauses from the old New World contracts to expire so they 100% know the film is free and clear to license for DVD and/or Blu-ray. When it comes to legal matters Toho is always extremely cautious... they like to sue, not get sued.

[therealmccoy]

^So, in other words, this "rumor" is yet another attention-getter, correct? Because that's what I make of it.

[gvamp]

If Toho's contract with New World was for 25 years wouldn't it have expired last year?

[Goji]

If Toho's contract with New World was for 25 years wouldn't it have expired last year?

Yessir. In fact, it would have expired in 2010, I believe.

I look forward to what kpa finds out regarding all this.

[omgitsgodzilla]

Yeah, Keith is great to have around considering all the rumors and rampant speculation that go on around here (though I can't say I'm entirely blameless for the latter...).

[wataru]

Yeah, Keith is great to have around considering all the rumors and rampant speculation that go on around here (though I can't say I'm entirely blameless for the latter...).

Keith needs a custom title:
"TK's Resident Media God"

[JoshK]

Their Midnight Series is just a bunch of cheap re-releases of some Anchor Bay titles....

The film hasn't even had a single DVD release in the US yet. So as long as it's anamorphic, and watchable (which from what I understand, their recent releases of Hellraiser, which ISN'T a direct re-use of AB's release, according to Blu Ray's review, and House have been), I don't see the problem. (Though, my interest may be limited to whether it is the English version or the Japanese version, which is what I would much rather see)

I am unfamiliar with the rights issues of Godzilla 1985? For example, is this another issue of some company having the rights, not feeling like releasing it, but also not selling their rights?

[wataru]

I still find it hillarious that people expect every movie (especially Toho films) to get top-of-the-line expensive massively invested releases. They want tip-top BRD releases with billions of extras and international versions and soundtracks and dubbings, subbings, etc etc.

Do you know how these companies make the money to release films at such levels? They release films inexpensively on the most popular mass market format.

If G85 and/or RoG and GvsB get a DVD release, even if it's just a better quality copy of the VHS tape, are you NOT going to buy it? Dont buy it - show the company that there's no money in it, or very little to be had and watch it go back into the vaults.

[g2kmaster]

Their Midnight Series is just a bunch of cheap re-releases of some Anchor Bay titles....

The film hasn't even had a single DVD release in the US yet. So as long as it's anamorphic, and watchable (which from what I understand, their recent releases of Hellraiser, which ISN'T a direct re-use of AB's release, according to Blu Ray's review, and House have been), I don't see the problem. (Though, my interest may be limited to whether it is the English version or the Japanese version, which is what I would much rather see)

Of course it isn't a direct re-use of Anchor Bay's release, they chose to go with a worse print (unless it is the same print AB used, just showing further signs of aging). Either way, if hypotheticaly Image was to release it, chances are it would only be 1985. This doesn't seem to be a company who would be willing to go to Japan or have shipped from Japan a print of ROG.

But if the rights issue is still in play, I guess it doesn't matter. Toho wants to wait to make sure that the New World contracts expire and well... I still got 2 VHS copies to enjoy. I kind of like how the film looks on VHS anyway. The grain and such... helps with the atmosphere of the film (which is it's best aspect).

In responce to Wataru's reply, I am not saying that the film should be getting a better release. I'd buy it just because I am going to dig the DVD art work and it will help save me shelf space on my Godzilla film shelf. I was just calling out Image Entertainment. A couple of people may not know about these companies, so I like to provide an accurate image of what to expect.

[Goji]

Their Midnight Series is just a bunch of cheap re-releases of some Anchor Bay titles....

The film hasn't even had a single DVD release in the US yet. So as long as it's anamorphic, and watchable (which from what I understand, their recent releases of Hellraiser, which ISN'T a direct re-use of AB's release, according to Blu Ray's review, and House have been), I don't see the problem. (Though, my interest may be limited to whether it is the English version or the Japanese version, which is what I would much rather see)

Well if Image only have the rights to GODZILLA 1985, don't expect to see GOJIRA '84 along with it. They're basically completely different films, and they would have to license the Japanese version as well if they wanted to release it along with New World's version.

[omgitsgodzilla]

If G85 and/or RoG and GvsB get a DVD release, even if it's just a better quality copy of the VHS tape, are you NOT going to buy it? Dont buy it - show the company that there's no money in it, or very little to be had and watch it go back into the vaults.

Call me stupid but I can't quite read the tone here...

[therealmccoy]

To me it says "don't be a snob; take what is given to you. If it sells good, then a better release might come along later." Which, I pretty much agree with. If it's better quality than what we've got now, I'll put my money on it, if for nothing more than to show the company that people are interested. Then maybe later, they'll release something more, "complete".

[wataru]

If G85 and/or RoG and GvsB get a DVD release, even if it's just a better quality copy of the VHS tape, are you NOT going to buy it? Dont buy it - show the company that there's no money in it, or very little to be had and watch it go back into the vaults.

Call me stupid but I can't quite read the tone here...

If AB gets a good master and releases a DVD and it's not some super stellar version, are you NOT going to buy it?

[The Dark Uniter]

Its too late for me anyway since I have the Japanese Blu-ray. Still, I believe all movies should get the deluxe treatment, but of course, that's unrealistic thinking.

[kpa]

If Toho's contract with New World was for 25 years wouldn't it have expired last year?

Yessir. In fact, it would have expired in 2010, I believe.

I look forward to what kpa finds out regarding all this.

Gvamp, in my last post I wote, "Toho hasn't told me any specifics about the contractual issues for GODZILLA 1985" and "my best guess is that Toho had a similar deal with New World". Nowhere did I say-- nor was I suggesting-- that there was a contract between Toho and New World for 25 years. What I said (and what I meant) is that Toho and New World may have had a long-term deal along the lines of what Toho did with Hanna-Barbera... as in all rights would revert to Toho after a set number of years. Since Toho recently said they were still waiting, obviously that means the deal was for more than 25 years. But exactly how long that may be has not been said.

Yeah, Keith is great to have around considering all the rumors and rampant speculation that go on around here (though I can't say I'm entirely blameless for the latter...).

Keith needs a custom title:
"TK's Resident Media God"

Thanks, guys!

There's always going to be new rumors and unconfirmed reports popping up, and sometimes they'll turn out to be true. But by sharing accurate info from direct sources we can all have a better chance of separating the facts from the fiction. I'm just happy to help when I can and to learn from you guys, too.

[wataru]

Keith, we really appreciate you using your contacts to quash these rumors on TK before they go ape-shit insane, like the March/April BS over DAM and Megs.

Between your website and contributions on TK, there really arent any RELIABLE sources of information, IMHO, on movies like this.

...and speaking of unreliable, anyone notice that August hasnt posted on TK in like 5 months? Pretty much as soon as his shoddy reporting was pointed out, he disappeared. Perhaps all this G85 rumor mucking is him trying to get some mythical ball rolling to claim credit for an initial G85 release?

[omgitsgodzilla]

Nah, he probably just saw all the backlash and got away. And he can probably live just fine without TK.

And Keith, pardon me for asking, but do you know anything about the path G85/RoG has taken between US distributors, or how one could find out?

[Gawdziller]

I talked to August a while back about his contributions to the MST sets. He answered his PMs quite promptly. He probably has e-mail notification, but he's not entirely gone.

[gvamp]

If Toho's contract with New World was for 25 years wouldn't it have expired last year?

Yessir. In fact, it would have expired in 2010, I believe.

I look forward to what kpa finds out regarding all this.

Gvamp, in my last post I wote, "Toho hasn't told me any specifics about the contractual issues for GODZILLA 1985" and "my best guess is that Toho had a similar deal with New World". Nowhere did I say-- nor was I suggesting-- that there was a contract between Toho and New World for 25 years. What I said (and what I meant) is that Toho and New World may have had a long-term deal along the lines of what Toho did with Hanna-Barbera... as in all rights would revert to Toho after a set number of years. Since Toho recently said they were still waiting, obviously that means the deal was for more than 25 years. But exactly how long that may be has not been said.

Nor did I insinuate in my post that you did say that I was just asking a hypothetical that if Toho did license G85 to New World for 25 years if the contract would have expired by now.