Last night I
happen to catch the 1998 version of Godzilla on cable, Racer was awake with me
so we both watched it. As I’m watching this movie I remember working on this
movie back in the day. Now many people don't realize that this movie was filmed
majority in LA and not in New York
where the movie is based off.
I remember the many nights watching sets and mini
Dinos which were Godzilla's offspring in the movie. The many scary places in LA
we worked just so they can get away with it looking like New York . I remember security guards getting
sick from buying food from people who lived in the raunchy hotels in LA. I even
remember working on the Taco Bell commercial they had for this movie. You
know back in the day when food franchises backed Big Budget movies. This taco Bell commercial I didn't
have the job babysitting the 2 Taco Bell dogs as I did in my (Life After Wrap)
book. I remember people laughing at the fact that the Taco Bell dog was doing a
commercial with Godzilla when they would ask what commercial we were shooting.
I remember doing work on the P Diddy music video for Godzilla. Huge monster
movie, huge Food franchise giving tons of promotions and even a huge music artist
doing a music video for the film.
So then I ask
myself many times, why did this film flop? Yet 10 years later the movie
"Cloverfield" didn't? Both movies are based in New York ; both movies had Monsters
destroying a bridge and a large Army attack scene. Godzilla had baby raptor
looking Dino's attacking at Madison
Square garden which was filmed in the sub station
over in LA's Persian square. In Cloverfield the creature had little bug like
creatures they came off it's body. Cloverfield had JJ Abrams backing the movie
while Godzilla had the Boys Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich who brought us
Independence Day. Both movies had trailer that hid both their Monsters from the
public eye and not show their entirely til the middle of each movie. Godzilla
had named Actors while Cloverfield had unknowns in their movie. Was it the Taco
Bell Curse that gave Godzilla such a bad rap that it didn't make any money. If
you don't remember Godzilla wasn't the first movie Taco Bell pushed in their
promotions, they also had that big promoted push for films like Tim Burton's
PLANET OF THE APES, and even the long awaited Gorilla movie CONGO,
and DEMOLITION MAN all movies that flopped at the Box office. (Even tho Planet
of the Apes came out in 2001 it still suffered the Taco Bell curse)
One thing that
Cloverfield didn't have that Godzilla did was a Brand. Godzilla has been around
for years and many generations have grown up liking the fire breathing
creature. Do you think if they kept Godzilla's original look the movie would of
been much more successful? Or did the studio ruined Godzilla while JJ Abrams
had more say in his making in Cloverfield?
Both movies I
enjoyed watching just Godzilla for me I have a little more attachment working
the streets of LA in places you wish never existed. I remember my father
(Senior) giving me a piece of the Madison Square Garden that was blown up in
the movie, or the little Taco Bell dog from the commercial they gave away after
filming which I still have both today. Little Hollywood Treasures like that
makes the movie watching experience much more enjoyable knowing I was there
when they made this movie come to life.
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