GODZILLA TAKES ON L.A. FANS : MONSTER MAKES ROUNDS LEADING TO NISEI PARADE.Byline: Jeff Wong Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. The city of Angels has survived earthquakes, floods, droughts and riots - enough calamity to bring any ordinary city to its knees. But Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. may have met its match Saturday. Godzilla was in town. About 100 fans of the giant, city-stomping, fire-breathing lizard gathered in Little Tokyo for the Godzilla Film Festival, which highlights the 56th annual Nisei Week Nisei Week is an annual festival celebrating Japanese American (JA) culture and history in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles. Nisei means 2nd generation in Japanese, describing the first American born Japanese, a group which the seven day festival was originally meant to attract. Festival, a celebration of Japanese-American culture. The event, at the Japan America Theater, featured rare theatrical screenings of three campy Japanese classics: ``Destroy All Monsters!'' (1968); ``Godzilla Vs. Hedora'' (1971); and ``Terror of Mechagodzilla'' (1975). And to kick things off, Godzilla (or a person inside the 77-pound suit used in several of the movies, depends on who you ask) has been making rare appearances - on Friday, it stopped by City Hall and met Mayor Richard Riordan Richard J. Riordan (born May 1, 1930) is a Republican politician from California, U.S. who served as the California Secretary of Education from 2003–2005 and as Mayor of Los Angeles from 1993–2001. Riordan ran for Governor of California unsuccessfully in 2002. and City Council members. On Aug. 11, it will be the grand marshal Grand Marshal is a ceremonial, military, or political office of very high rank. The term has its origins with the word "Marshal" with the first usage of the term "Grand Marshal" as a ceremonial title for certain religious orders. of the Nisei Week Parade. The visit is considered a coup for event organizers because the monster's career is firmly controlled by Toho Co. Ltd., the Japanese company that produced the original ``Godzilla'' in 1954 and 21 sequels and limits the monster's public appearances. Of course, Little Tokyo was no match for Godzilla, who is used to stomping around the real Tokyo while battling radioactive beasts borne from pollution, insidious plots and experiments that always seem to go so terribly wrong. A smaller version of the monster showed up Saturday afternoon, one to match ``Little'' Tokyo. Two masked ninjas, clad entirely in black, flanked Godzilla as the monster slowly stepped out to the crowd. The escort was necessary, officials said, because of anticipated ``behavior problems.'' Godzilla did occasionally show its more aggressive side when it picked up a miniature electrical tower and held it aloft. But overall, it was a kinder, gentler beast, one that mugged for cameras and shook hands with children. ``How do you like Los Angeles?'' he was asked. ``Aargh!'' Godzilla answered. ``What do you think of the people here who have come to see you?'' ``Aargh!'' the monster replied. Justin Dunleavy, 14, of Anaheim stood among the spectators. He got hooked on Godzilla by his cousins, who rented a couple of the movies. Since then, he has spent about $2,000 on Godzilla paraphernalia - shirts, figurines, posters and soundtracks. Yes, soundtracks of the monster's movies. Dunleavy, wearing a Godzilla shirt that shows a dozen of the monster's foes throughout the years, clutched a bag that contained a figurine of Mothra, the giant blue moth that defeated Godzilla by enveloping en·vel·op tr.v. en·vel·oped, en·vel·op·ing, en·vel·ops 1. To enclose or encase completely with or as if with a covering: "Accompanying the darkness, a stillness envelops the city" him in a cocoon cocoon: see pupa. . Dunleavy craned his neck to catch a glimpse Verb 1. catch a glimpse - see something for a brief time catch sight, get a look see - perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight; "You have to be a good observer to see all the details"; "Can you see the bird in that tree?"; "He is blind--he of his favorite Japanese monster. ``Some of my friends see this stuff and they go, what?'' Dunleavy said. ``I just shine it off.'' Jerry and Jackie Lentz, 33 and 32, respectively, both grew up watching Godzilla movies. When Jerry was first dating Jackie, he saw a Godzilla bowl in her apartment. It was then that ``I knew she was going to be my wife some day,'' said Jerry Lentz of Hollywood. But 10-year-old Johnny Liu of Pasadena wasn't impressed. And he thinks the movies are a bit silly, especially the special effects special effects, in motion pictures, cinematographic techniques that create illusions in the audience's minds as well as the illusions created using these techniques. . ``You can even see the strings when they fly,'' he said. CAPTION(S): 2 Photos Photo: (1) Japanese movie star Godzilla meets his fans a t the Godzilla Film Festival in Little Tokyo on Saturday. (2) A crowd of moviegoers to the Japanese American Japanese Americans (日系アメリカ人 Nikkei Amerikajin Cultural and Community Center enjoy a showing of the 1968 Godzilla classic ``Destroy All Monsters!'' Associated Press |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion