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Japan Today
18 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Japan Today
Godzilla fans fete the monster as it turns 70
By Paula RAMON Godzilla has morphed over the years, but one constant is the devotion of its fans, who celebrated the Japanese monster's 70th anniversary at the pop culture convention Comic-Con. The Japanese studio Toho, which created Godzilla, maintains a calendar of events to celebrate the beast often called the king of monsters, and Comic-Con is on the agenda. Godzilla was born on November 3, 1954 with the launch of the first movie about it, directed by Ishiro Honda. "I am a very big fan of Godzilla," said Angela Hill, a teacher who traveled from Arizona to take part in Comic-Con, which this year featured events and displays celebrating Godzilla. One of the world's largest celebrations of pop culture, Comic-Con brings together 130,000 people, many of whom come dressed as wizards, princesses or characters from movies, games or TV series. As the story of Godzilla goes, a prehistoric amphibious beast is awakened and mutated by nuclear bomb testing in the Pacific. It emerges from the sea and attacks Japan in a rage, symbolizing the deadly power of nukes. "I think because he came from such a historic event -- like, a lot of other monsters are just interesting creatures, but they don't hold the grief of a nation," Hill said, referring to the US nuclear bomb attacks against Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II. At the pop culture watering hole in San Diego, people lined up to shoot pictures and video with an image of Godzilla, which was also the theme of a panel discussion on Friday that featured Shinji Higuchi, who co-directed a reboot in 2016 called "Shin Godzilla." The movie franchise includes nearly 40 films and has spawned hundreds of animated productions about the monster as well as TV series and graphic work. 'Rooting for him' On Saturday the writers Ed Godziszewski and Steve Ryfle signed autographs of their book "Godzilla: The First 70 Years," which sold out at Comic-Con. "It's a rich history," Ryfle told AFP. "This is the longest running feature film franchise in cinematic history that's focused on a single, continuous character. It's been around longer than James Bond." He said the key to its longevity is that Godzilla has evolved over time but stayed faithful to its origins. "Godzilla has been serious, it's been scary, it's been heroic, it's been funny. But at the same time this is a movie character that's rooted in something that's very real," Ryfle said. "And that's the trauma that Japan experienced, both during World War II, and also the trauma of the aftermath of World War II, the aftermath of Hiroshima and Nagasaki," he added. He said Honda, who directed the first Godzilla movie, was a veteran who used the film to send a message against war and in particular against nuclear weapons. Michelle Pena, a Godzilla fan who waited in line to get the autograph of the two writers, said part of the monster's charm is how it has changed over the years. "Good, bad, hero, anti-hero, you know. And I like that," she said. "He's not, like, lovable," she added. "He's a big dinosaur-looking thing, you know. He's scary. But, like, you really, really find yourself rooting for him." © 2025 AFP
Japan Today
01-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Japan Today
'The Matrix is everywhere': Cinema bets on immersion
The LA-based Cosm theater has worked to create an environment in which the viewer feels like they are inside the film By Paula RAMON In a Los Angeles theater, a trench coat-wearing Neo bends backwards to dodge bullets that spiral over the viewer's head, as the sound of gunfire erupts from everywhere. This new immersive experience is designed to be a red pill moment that will get film fans off their couches at a time when the movie industry is desperate to bring back audiences. Cosm, which has venues in Los Angeles and Dallas, is launching its dome-style screen and 3D sets in June with a "shared reality" version of "The Matrix," the cult 1999 film starring Keanu Reeves as a man who suddenly learns his world is a fiction. "We believe the future will be more immersive and more experiential," said Cosm president Jeb Terry at a recent preview screening. "It's trying to create an additive, a new experience, ideally non-cannibalistic, so that the industry can continue to thrive across all formats." Cinema audiences were already dwindling when the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, shuttering theaters at a time when streaming was exploding. With ever bigger and better TVs available for the home, the challenge for theater owners is to offer something that movie buffs cannot get in their living room. Prestige projects like Tom Cruise's "Mission: Impossible -- The Final Reckoning" or Christopher Nolan's Oscar-winning "Oppenheimer" increasingly opt for the huge screens and superior film quality of IMAX. But Cosm and other projects like it want to go one step further, collaborating with designers who have worked with Cirque du Soleil to create an environment in which the viewer feels like they are inside the film. For filmmakers, it's all about how you place the cameras and where you capture the sound, said Jay Rinsky, founder of Little Cinema, a creative studio specializing in immersive experiences. "We create sets like the Parisian opera, let the movie be the singer, follow the tone, highlight the emotions... through light, through production design, through 3D environments," he said. The approach, he said, felt particularly well suited to "The Matrix," which he called "a masterpiece of cinema, but done as a rectangle." For the uninitiated: Reeves's Neo is a computer hacker who starts poking around in a life that doesn't quite seem to fit. A mysterious Laurence Fishburne offers him a blue pill that will leave him where he is, or a red pill that will show him he is a slave whose body is being farmed by AI machines while his conscious lives in a computer simulation. There follows much gunfire, lots of martial arts and some mysticism, along with a romance between Neo and Trinity, played by the leather-clad Carrie-Anne Moss. "The Matrix" in shared reality kicks off with a choice of cocktails -- blue or red, of course -- which are consumed as the audience sits surrounded by high-definition screens. Shifting perspectives place the viewer inside Neo's office cubicle, or seemingly in peril. "They're sometimes inside the character's head," said Rinsky. "The world changes as you look up and down for trucks coming at you." The result impressed those who were at the preview screening. "It just did feel like an experience," influencer Vince Rossi told AFP. "It felt like you're at a theme park for a movie almost." © 2025 AFP
Japan Today
02-05-2025
- Business
- Japan Today
Backyard barnyard: Rising egg prices prompt hen hires in U.S.
Yong-mi Kim looks inside a portable chicken coop and her egg-laying chickens as part of the "Rent The Chicken" service in La Crescenta, California By Paula RAMON Stung by the rocketing price of eggs -- and U.S. supermarkets rationing a basic breakfast staple -- Yong-mi Kim decided to get some chickens to secure her own supply in southern California. While many people idly muse about backyard farming, for those not ready to take the plunge permanently, there's a solution: renting a henhouse, complete with egg-laying birds. "I really want to try it out and see whether I like it or not," the Los Angeles-area resident told AFP as she took delivery of two chickens and all the equipment they need to live a happy egg-laying life. "Some people I know have chickens at home, but it's a lot of work for them -- they had to adjust the whole garden themselves. So I think renting a chicken is a good start." Hiring hens began to gain ground in the United States around a decade ago in Pennsylvania when a farming couple set up "Rent The Chicken." Since then, the project has expanded to more than 40 cities across North America, with local farmers setting up their own offshoots. The service saw an uptick in interest during the COVID-19 lockdowns, when people were stuck at home. But it has skyrocketed in recent months as consumers quail over the soaring cost of eggs, thanks to a bird flu pandemic that has seen the wholesale culling of egg-laying birds. "Especially this year, we have had a much higher interest, I would say, three to four times as much as we were seeing this time last year," said Victoria Lee, who serves the Los Angeles region from her farm in Agua Dulce. Some Americans have been forking over more than $10 for a dozen eggs, up to three times their usual price, with supermarkets putting daily limits on the number of cartons a shopper can buy. The eye-watering costs were a regular feature of last year's presidential campaign, with U.S. President Donald Trump pledging to lower grocery bills when he got to the White House. But prices have continued to climb, and in March eggs were 60 percent more expensive than a year earlier, according to the United States Department of Agriculture. Lee is quick to point out, however, that raising chickens at home is not cheaper than buying eggs at the store. Instead, it's a question of quality. "By the time they get to the grocery store (eggs) are on average 48-60 days old," she said. "As eggs sit, no matter the quality at the start of that countdown, over time, the protein in the eggs begins to break down." Backyard eggs, in contrast, are only as old as however long it took the owner to pick them up off the henhouse floor. "Rent the Chicken" offers different options that range from around $500 to over $1,000 for six months, depending on location and number of birds desired. Packages include the birds, food, waterers and feeders, additional treats and a chicken care guide. But it is the included coop that is most striking -- a sort of mini house with what looks like a patio, completely protected by fences. It's also moveable, thanks to wheels on the bottom. "Every day, our renters will lift this up ... and move it forward... with the chickens having access to fresh grass each day. They're getting the experience of being on wide-open pasture with that new stimulation, new bugs to look for, new grass to dig through, while still being safe in a predator-proof coop." The convenience is what made the package attractive to Kim, a university professor living in La Crescenta, near Los Angeles, and when her new coop arrived, she was absolutely thrilled. "Free eggs!" Lee exclaimed while unloading the new backyard tenants and handing over a complimentary dozen laid the previous week. A client with two chickens can expect up to 14 eggs per week, Lee explains. Kim, whose son is an athlete who eats a lot of eggs, says although the supply crisis prompted her to rent the chickens, it's "bigger than that." "I really wanted to have something for the kids, also to learn as a way of life, and to compare the taste of the eggs," she said. © 2025 AFP
