Fixing Godzilla 1998

[Godzilla1998Fan]

and no not in terms of a fan edit but what i would've done differently if i was directing the film.


1.Keep Godzilla's origin the same as the 98 film.

2.Use G98 concept 24 as the main design as it both new but familiar



3.Keep David Arnold's score but implement a few of Akira Ifukube's cues

4.Keep the characters but trim down Audrey's screen time

5.Reveal that the Godzilla in the film is female rather than a asexual male cause i think it's neat to have a female Godzilla for once.

6.Give G98 all of Godzilla's traits except for durability

7.Have G98 fight the military once they start firing at her during the feeding rather than running away

8.Keep the rest of the film the same & yes that includes killing of G98 because that way when we find out that Jr. is born we'll want more in the sequel & cheer on Jr. as well!




What do you think?And more importantly what would you guys have done if you were directing Godzilla 1998?

[tbeasley]

I posted this in another thread but I think there was so much going wrong at Sony at the time (and today even) that the film was doomed to go in a certain direction or not at all...

From the moment Cary Woods and Robert Fried has first pitched Godzilla to Sony Pictures, there had been two diametrically opposed views on how an American version should be handled. Woods and Fried saw Godzilla as a world famous icon primed for an update with modern Hollywood FX technology. The vision had been shared by director Jan De Bont and the team he assembled, as well as the management at Toho. But there were also executives at the studio – including those as TriStar and Columbia who had initially turned down licensing the character – who saw Godzilla as nothing but a campy, kitschy character that could never appeal to a wide, international audience without a complete overhaul. De Bont said this attitude was what eventually forced him off the project. And now Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin were willing to take on the film but only if they were allowed to completely reinvent Godzilla into something wholly their own. That was music to Sony’s ears.

http://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2015 ... -complete/

[Godzilla1998Fan]

I posted this in another thread but I think there was so much going wrong at Sony at the time (and today even) that the film was doomed to go in a certain direction or not at all...

From the moment Cary Woods and Robert Fried has first pitched Godzilla to Sony Pictures, there had been two diametrically opposed views on how an American version should be handled. Woods and Fried saw Godzilla as a world famous icon primed for an update with modern Hollywood FX technology. The vision had been shared by director Jan De Bont and the team he assembled, as well as the management at Toho. But there were also executives at the studio – including those as TriStar and Columbia who had initially turned down licensing the character – who saw Godzilla as nothing but a campy, kitschy character that could never appeal to a wide, international audience without a complete overhaul. De Bont said this attitude was what eventually forced him off the project. And now Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin were willing to take on the film but only if they were allowed to completely reinvent Godzilla into something wholly their own. That was music to Sony’s ears.

http://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2015 ... -complete/

Well that was a interesting piece of info but it kinda doesn't contribute to the idea of this thread.

But still cool but saddening find.

[Thanos6]

My first instinct is to say, axe the name "Godzilla" and either market it as a remake of "The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms" or give it an original name.

But if that goes against the spirit of the thread, I'd say the whole subplot with the babies needs a heavy, heavy re-write (if they're not removed all together). They need to be less blatantly ripoffs of Jurassic Park's Velociraptors.

Also, if you're going to have Godzilla killed off by the military, don't do it with just a few normal missiles. Have the scientist characters come up with some weapon that's specifically engineered for the purpose of killing him, even if it is delivered via missile in the end.

[tbeasley]

Well that was a interesting piece of info but it kinda doesn't contribute to the idea of this thread.

Well for me best case scenario the 94 film gets made and that's it. Who knows if it would've been good or not but at least it would be more of a proper Godzilla film. I think there's the possibility it could've been more satisfying for general audiences than even the 2014 version (which I liked).

If that couldn't happen I always felt the first two-parter episode of Godzilla the Series could be reworked as an introductory film, new design and all. It has a nice bait and switch scenario where Godzilla is presumed to be a threat, then the far more dangerous C-Rex is revealed and the two fight, with the military having to come to terms (or not) with Godzilla's presence in the world. And that's a nice transition into a sequel.

And then there's G98 as it is which is not salvageable to me at all unless you did heavily rework it like I just rambled on about. Ultimately it comes down to people getting it (the teams behind G94 and GTS) or not (Devlin and Emmerich).

[Godzilla1998Fan]

My first instinct is to say, axe the name "Godzilla" and either market it as a remake of "The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms" or give it an original name.

But if that goes against the spirit of the thread, I'd say the whole subplot with the babies needs a heavy, heavy re-write (if they're not removed all together). They need to be less blatantly ripoffs of Jurassic Park's Velociraptors.

Also, if you're going to have Godzilla killed off by the military, don't do it with just a few normal missiles. Have the scientist characters come up with some weapon that's specifically engineered for the purpose of killing him, even if it is delivered via missile in the end.

This is more or less of what i'm talking about aside from the name change i like the other ideas you listed.


Added in 1 minute 9 seconds:

Well that was a interesting piece of info but it kinda doesn't contribute to the idea of this thread.

If that couldn't happen I always felt the first two-parter episode of Godzilla the Series could be reworked as an introductory film, new design and all. It has a nice bait and switch scenario where Godzilla is presumed to be a threat, then the far more dangerous C-Rex is revealed and the two fight, with the military having to come to terms (or not) with Godzilla's presence in the world. And that's a nice transition into a sequel.

Much better.

[Pkmatrix]

Ah, so keeping essentially the same story and film but trying to make a better version of it? Well, my first thought would be to rework the script to swap our leads for our supporting cast - make Animal and Philippe our leads rather than Nick and Audrey. The film as-is spends far too much time far too interested in Nick and Audrey's will-they-or-won't-they romantic subplot to the detriment of the rest of the film. We can keep those characters and that subplot, but if we take the focus away from that and focus instead on Godzilla we'll end up with something better right off the bat.

[Thanos6]

Ah, so keeping essentially the same story and film but trying to make a better version of it? Well, my first thought would be to rework the script to swap our leads for our supporting cast - make Animal and Philippe our leads rather than Nick and Audrey. The film as-is spends far too much time far too interested in Nick and Audrey's will-they-or-won't-they romantic subplot to the detriment of the rest of the film. We can keep those characters and that subplot, but if we take the focus away from that and focus instead on Godzilla we'll end up with something better right off the bat.

That's a good point. Watching the film, Animal (and his wife) and Philippe were the only characters I was invested in and actually cared whether or not they made it through the movie.

[Godzilla1998Fan]

Ah, so keeping essentially the same story and film but trying to make a better version of it? Well, my first thought would be to rework the script to swap our leads for our supporting cast - make Animal and Philippe our leads rather than Nick and Audrey. The film as-is spends far too much time far too interested in Nick and Audrey's will-they-or-won't-they romantic subplot to the detriment of the rest of the film. We can keep those characters and that subplot, but if we take the focus away from that and focus instead on Godzilla we'll end up with something better right off the bat.

Well maybe it's just me but i rather like the film how it is with it's humor,action,story,& characters it's just the whole G98 not having any of Godzilla characteristics like atomic breath or distinguish features like the dorsal fins that puts me off abit (hence why i posted the concept art) but aside from that i find can the film enjoyable despite it's many flaws.

[Ivo-goji]

Don't fix it; let it stand for all time as a warning to mankind against the folly of hubris.

[Zarm]

Don't fix it; let it stand for all time as a warning to mankind against the folly of hubris.

So what you're saying is that the film is secret genius; in most films, Godzilla as an entity serves that role; here, the role has been metafictionalized to be embodied by the entire film, rather than the creature...

[Ivo-goji]

Don't fix it; let it stand for all time as a warning to mankind against the folly of hubris.

So what you're saying is that the film is secret genius; in most films, Godzilla as an entity serves that role; here, the role has been metafictionalized to be embodied by the entire film, rather than the creature...

That is the most generous possible interpretation of the film, you see.

[Pkmatrix]

Well maybe it's just me but i rather like the film how it is with it's humor,action,story,& characters it's just the whole G98 not having any of Godzilla characteristics like atomic breath or distinguish features like the dorsal fins that puts me off abit (hence why i posted the concept art) but aside from that i find can the film enjoyable despite it's many flaws.

Funny enough, G98 not having any of Godzilla's usual characteristics or features actually never bothered me much. I'd prefer if Godzilla got a few more moments, like the submarine fight, to really get to flex muscle and be badass but otherwise I'm okay with Godzilla as-is. My biggest problems with the film are with the story and characters...the story can be made to work, I think there's enough there to do it, but I've always had issues with Nick and Audrey as the protagonists. Maybe it's just the performances (maybe just recasting the parts might've helped?), but I never felt invested in their storyline and blame the film's focus on them for why it grinds to a halt during the second act.

Animal, his wife, and Philippe however I found MUCH more interesting. It wouldn't even be that hard to rewrite the story to have Animal as our protagonist, considering he's the one who actually does everything and moves the plot along anyway. It would really just be a matter of juggling the scenes around, along with giving him a few more moments and reducing Nick/Audrey in his favor. You'd actually end up with a funnier movie, IMO, since we'd be putting the wittier characters in the forefront.

[eabaker]

One of the biggest problems, from a screenwriting perspective, is that the Nick/Audrey relationship is irrelevant to the main plot. If there was going to be a romantic relationship explored between the main characters, then the whole story should have been structured so that that relationship was fundamental to the outcome of the conflict with Godzilla.

[edgaguirus]

The only thing I'd do is give Godzilla his atomic breath.

[Maritonic]

The only thing I'd do is give Godzilla his atomic breath.

That's it? That's the ONLY change you think this film needs to be a good film?

[edgaguirus]

The film isn't perfect in any sense, but it's not garbage. There are a few things about it I like. I would just like to see their Godzilla be a little more like the Godzilla we all love.

[Maritonic]

Subjective opinions aside, it's universally considered a crappy movie in and out of the fandom.

[Venom 2009]

I would keep the 1998 movie the same, but with some changers.

-Replace Zilla with Shin Godzilla.
-Replace the Baby Zillas with Godzilla breaking down into Human Size Godzillas.
-Have a fight between the military and the Human Size Godzillas.
-Have the Godzillas merge back into one big Godzilla again.
-Instead of having Godzilla killed, the military find away to freeze him in ice.

[MechaGoji Bro7503]

I would keep the 1998 movie the same, but with some changers.

-Replace Zilla with Shin Godzilla.
-Replace the Baby Zillas with Godzilla breaking down into Human Size Godzillas.
-Have a fight between the military and the Human Size Godzillas.
-Have the Godzillas merge back into one big Godzilla again.
-Instead of having Godzilla killed, the military find away to freeze him in ice.

I respect your opinion but I feel this would take away so much away from the film Shin Godzilla itself. Even if you put Shin in place of Zilla there would still be the same annoying human characters.