Background and Trivia |
- Toho submitted the film to the US copyright office on February 20th, 1996 with the registration number of PA0000782264. The movie was submitted under its international title, Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla. No alternate titles were listed for it.
- Director Kensho Yamashita had high praise for actor Akira Emoto, who played Major Akira Yuki in the movie. He commended his range and noted "He loves to do action movies." Mentioned in Fangoria #145, published in 1995.
- Originally, the commander of G-Force in the film was going to be a new character called Miyasaka. However, director Kensho Yamashita decided instead to bring back the character Takaki Aso from Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993). His reasoning being that audiences would already recognize him and that actor Akira Nakao would be able to adapt the role to fit into the new movie. Likewise, the second-in-command was first conceived as a new character called Tayama. However, once Aso was reinstated, the production similarly decided to bring back Iwao Hyodo, portrayed by Koichi Ueda. Mentioned in Godzilla Versus SpaceGodzilla (ISBN: 4257764570).
- Preparation work for Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla was done in tandem with the shooting of Yamato Takeru (1994). This was noted by artist Minoru Yoshida in an interview found in Tokusatsu Hiho Vol. 6 (ISBN: 4800312493).
- Principal (or "main") filming started on July 23rd, 1994. This day saw them use one of TBS' studios for the psychic center. Filming ran until September 30th, 1994, leaving about 71 days until the movie would release that year on December 10th, 1994. Brought up in The Encyclopedia of Godzilla: SpaceGodzilla Edition (ISBN: T1062539852207).
- The Birth Island scenes were filmed on Okinoerabu-Shima Island, an area known for its typhoons; and the Birth Island scenes were filmed during typhoon season. Much to the surprise of the staff, they didn't experience any big storms during their two-week location shoot. However, just before the cast could fly back to mainland Japan, a massive typhoon hit the island, grounding all air traffic. Instead of waiting for the storm to pass, the actors were forced to take a ferry, for they could not delay shooting at the studio. Cited in Fangoria #145, published in 1995.
- Special effects filming started on June 9th, 1994. It ran until September 24th, 1994, with some of the last sequences filmed including Land Moguera bursting from the ground and SpaceGodzilla skewering Moguera with his tail. Covered in The Encyclopedia of Godzilla: SpaceGodzilla Edition (ISBN: T1062539852207).
- Composer Akira Ifukube was approached with scoring the movie. However, he declined to work on the film after looking at the script, which he described, reluctantly, as "it wasn't right". He elaborated that the love story and components involving Yuki using a crossbow [ended up being an assault rifle] to try and fight Godzilla were "ridiculous" and "felt so sad and embarrassing". This account is noted in G-Fan #41, published in 1999.
- Director Kensho Yamashita specifically requested that the film end with a vocal track. This led to the band Date of Birth composing the song "Echoes of Love" for the closing credits. Referenced in Toho SF Special Effects Movie Series VOL. 9: Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla (ISBN: 4924609528).
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