Toho, in conjunction with Bottleneck Gallery, has released a Godzilla Minus One lenticular print. The 24x36 poster is printed on 4mm polystyrene and comes with a certificate of authenticity. Priced at $200, it's up for pre-order through March 24 and is expected to ship in June.
Cleverly titled in reference to Japanese society's post-war destruction resetting the nation back to "zero," Godzilla Minus One is centred on the people's deep-seated anxieties after surviving nuclear war and then going even further back to "minus" within the film. Its sense of resilience reckons with history on screen and wartime tensions of survivor's guilt and government frustrations.
...well, it would have been had Lily Gladstone won. But awards season is OVAH! The Oscars have been handed out. Here are 2024's Best Actor, Actress, Supporting Actress and Actor winners.
They have joined a great club.
THEY ARE THE CHAMPIONS!
Best Picture
OPPENHEIMER
Best Directing
Christopher Nolan
Best Actor in a Leading Role
Cillian Murphy
The elusive Malachy Murphy on hand.
Best Actress in a Leading Role
Emma Stone
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Robert Downey Jr.
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Da’Vine Joy Randolph
*Issa Rae peeping in.
Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
American Fiction (Cord Jefferson)
Best Writing (Original Screenplay)
Anatomy of a Fall (Justine Triet and Arthur Harari)
Best Animated Feature
The Boy and the Heron
Best Documentary Feature Film
20 Days in Mariupol
Best International Feature Film
The Zone of Interest
Best Animated Short Film
War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko
Best Live-Action Short Film
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar
Best Documentary Short Film
The Last Repair Shop
Best Cinematography
Oppenheimer (Hoyte van Hoytema)
Best Costume Design
Poor Things (Holly Waddington)
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Poor Things (Nadia Stacey, Mark Coulier and Josh Weston)
Best Original Song
“What Was I Made For?” from Barbie (Music and Lyric by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell)
Best Original Score
Oppenheimer (Ludwig Göransson)
Best Production Design
Poor Things
Best Film Editing
Oppenheimer (Jennifer Lame)
Best Sound
The Zone of Interest
Best Visual Effects
Godzilla: Minus One (Takashi Yamazaki, Kiyoko Shibuya, Masaki Takahashi and Tatsuji Nojima)
Godzilla Minus One made awards show history in both Japan and the U.S. this week. Its Oscar nomination for best Visual Effects is the first of the series (Godzilla [1998], Godzilla [2014] and Godzilla vs. Kong were previously shortlisted) and the first for any Japanese film. Small wonder Takashi Yamazaki, Kiyoko Shibuya, and their team went berserk when the nomination was announced. The other nominees are The Creator, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Napoleon, and Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One. According to IndieWire, The Creator has the edge, but Minus One could very well win. And while it naturally made less headlines in the Anglosphere, Minus One also picked up a whopping 12 Japan Academy Film Prize nominations, exceeding Shin Godzilla's 10.
Godzilla Minus One/Minus Color is now in North American theaters. I was intrigued enough to make it my fourth theatrical viewing of this movie, but in the end it did basically strike me as a gimmick. Godzilla Minus One was shot digitally with sets designed for color, so making it actually look like a film from the 40s was always going to be an uphill battle. Even with the regrade, there wasn’t a ton of contrast in most shots, and some of the scenes taking place at night were quite hard to see. Still, apart from the Odo Island massacre, I found the Godzilla scenes as gripping as ever.
Thanks to Minus Color, Minus One made $2.6 million this weekend, crawling back into the box office top 10. Its total in the U.S. and Canada now stands at $55 million, third among all foreign-language films released in the U.S.
Brush of the God, Keizo Murase's directorial debut after a lifetime in movies, is finally complete. It'll play at the Osaka Asian Film Festival in March (link contains more images), and hopefully travel overseas very soon. Murase will also receive an Association Special Award at the Japan Academy Film Prize.
Clover Press shipped out copies of Godzilla & Kong: The Cinematic Storyboard Art of Richard Bennett to Kickstarter backers, myself included. It's an excellent art book, and there are plenty of deleted and altered scenes mixed in with more familiar sequences. Believe it or not, Bennett drew the panel above for Kong: Skull Island—they considered having James Conrad (Tom Hiddleston) flash back to an encounter with King Ghidorah in Vietnam. Not sure how that would've worked, as Ghidorah is generally not one to lie low for a few decades, but it's the first I've ever heard of it being considered. I'm hoping to post some more scans soon. Here's the order link.
Minecraft social media accounts teased a crossover with the Monsterverse, in what's likely to be the most high-profile of the Godzilla x Kong video game collaborations. The Mobzilla mod was created over 10 years ago, so this is long overdue.
The big toy news this week was Titanic Creations revealing the digital sculpt for its Yongary figure. This guy's had even less figures than Gorgo - I can only think of one, and very few of them were made - so expect massive demand. New Godzilla toys were also on display at London Toy Fair, both at the Playmates booth and among the plushies made by an unknown company.
To the academy, The cast and crew of Minus One, the men and women of TOHO, Kiyoko Shibuya, Tatsuji Nojima, Masaki Takahashi, and Takashi Yamazaki, My Brother to another mother #KingKong! My #MonsterVerse family in the states.
To my fans, you made this nearly 70 year old the happiest lizard on earth.
In celebration of Godzilla Minus One's Oscar win, Mondo has released a Minus Color variant of Tony Stella's poster. The 24x36 screen print is up for pre-order until Monday, March 18, at 1pm EST. Priced at $80, it's estimated to ship in June.
Like last year, the Best Picture winner had a big night: Oppenheimer won 7 awards, as did Everything Everywhere All at Once. This post will use the word "consecutive" a lot.
This is the second consecutive year that a film won 7+ awards. The last time that happened was 1996-1998 (The English Patient; Titanic; Shakespeare in Love).
This is the second consecutive year that a film has won multiple acting awards. The last time that happened was 2003 & 2004 (Mystic River and Million Dollar Baby). The only other time consecutive Best Picture winners won multiple acting awards was 1953 & 1954 (From Here to Eternity and On the Waterfront).
Four consecutive Best Picture winners have won for acting, the longest streak since 1998-2002.
Oppenheimer is the first film since The Artist (2011) to win both Best Picture and Best Actor.
Oppenheimer is the 6th film to win both male acting awards and the first since Dallas Buyers Club (2013). The last Best Picture winner to win both male acting awards was Ben-Hur (1959).
Three of this year's acting winners have starred in superhero films: Emma Stone was Gwen Stacy in The Amazing Spider-Man, Cillian Murphy was Scarecrow in the Nolan Batman movies, and Robert Downey Jr., of course, is Iron Man.
Oppenheimer is the highest-grossing Best Picture winner since The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).
Three Best Picture nominees went home empty-handed: Killers of the Flower Moon, Maestro, and Past Lives.
Killers of the Flower Moon is the third Scorsese film to receive 10 nominations and 0 awards (Gangs of New York, 2002; The Irishman, 2019).
Diane Warren continues to hold the record for most Original Song nominations without a win (15) and continues to be the woman with the most Oscar nominations without a win. She has lost six in a row.
Bradley Cooper is now tied for 8th place among individuals with the most nominations without a win (12).
Despite several nominations -- Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro for Killers of the Flower Moon, and Matteo Garrone's Io Capitano for International Feature -- none of the men behind Goncharov took home an Oscar.
This is the 8th consecutive year with at least one black winner, extending the record.
Da'Vine Joy Randolph is the 10th black woman to win Best Supporting Actress -- the first acting category to hit double digits.
This is the fourth consecutive year with at least one non-white acting winner (Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan in 2022; Will Smith and Ariana DeBose in 2021; Daniel Kaluuya and Youn Yuh-jung in 2020) -- the longest streak ever.
Cord Jefferson is the 8th black screenplay winner, and this is the 6th such win (all but one were for Adapted Screenplay).
This is the fourth year in a row that a woman has won a screenplay award (Justine Triet for Anatomy of a Fall, Sarah Polley for Women Talking, Sian Heder for CODA, Emerald Fennell for Promising Young Woman) -- the longest streak ever.
Both screenplay wins were the only wins for their films, and both wins included the film's director. This is the 9th year in a row that a director has won for Original Screenplay, and the 6th year in a row for Adapted Screenplay; both are records.
Kiyoko Shibuya is the third woman and first woman of color to win for Visual Effects (Suzanne M. Benson for Aliens, 1986; Sara Bennett for Ex Machina, 2015).
Neil Corbould, nominated for The Creator, Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part I, and Napoleon, is the first person to lose for Visual Effects three times in one year (don't worry, he's already won twice).
Billie Eilish (22) and Finneas O'Connell (26) are the youngest people to win multiple Oscars ("No Time to Die" from No Time to Die, 2021).
At 35, Emma Stone is the 8th-youngest person and woman to win two acting Oscars, and the 7th-youngest to win Best Actress twice.
Cillian Murphy is the first Irish Best Actor winner.
Christopher Nolan was the only individual to win multiple awards (Picture and Director).
Christopher Nolan is the first white man to win Best Director solo since Damien Chazelle (La La Land, 2016). Including Daniel Scheinert for Everything Everywhere All at Once, this is the first time since 2010 & 2011 that white men have won Best Director in consecutive years (Tom Hooper for The King's Speech; Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist), and that consecutive Best Picture winners have had a white male director.
The Zone of Interest is the first film from the United Kingdom to win Best International Feature. It is the fifth Best Picture nominee in six years to win in this category, and the third in a row (Drive My Car and All Quiet on the Western Front).
20 Days in Mariupol is the first Ukrainian film to win an Oscar.
Takashi Yamazaki is the second director to win for Visual Effects (Stanley Kubrick for 2001: A Space Odyssey, 1968).
Godzilla Minus One is the first Godzilla film to win an Oscar and the first Japanese film to win for Visual Effects (Tora! Tora! Tora!, 1970, was an American-Japanese co-production). Previously, the only Asian Visual Effects winner was Taiwanese-American Doug Chiang (Death Becomes Her, 1992).
This is the second time that only one non-Best Picture nominee won in a main category (i.e. excluding Animated, Documentary, International, shorts). The other time was 1997 (Best Makeup for Men in Black); notably, that was the year Titanic tied the record for most awards.
This is the second year in a row that the most-nominated film a) won Best Picture and b) won the most awards of the night. The last time consecutive most-nominated films won the most awards was 2016 & 2017 (La La Land and The Shape of Water); the last time consecutive most-nominated films won Best Picture was 2009 & 2010 (The Hurt Locker and The King's Speech).
This is the second consecutive year that multiple films have won 4+ awards (Everything Everywhere All at Once and All Quiet on the Western Front). The last year with multiple 4+ winners was 2014 (Birdman and The Grand Budapest Hotel), and the last time it happened consecutively was 2010 & 2011 (The King's Speech and Inception; The Artist and Hugo).
This is the third consecutive year that three or fewer films have won multiple awards, the longest streak since 1956-1960.
Two couples shared wins: Christopher Nolan & Emma Thomas for Best Picture, and Justine Triet & Arthur Harari for Original Screenplay.
Christopher Nolan & Emma Thomas are the third couple to share a Best Picture win (Richard D. Zanuck & Lili Fini Zanuck, Driving Miss Daisy, 1989; Peter Jackson & Fran Walsh, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, 2003).
Justine Triet & Arthur Harari are the third couple to win for Original Screenplay (Muriel & Sydney Box, The Seventh Veil, 1946; Earl W. & Pamela Wallace, Witness, 1985).
Toshio Suzuki is the second Asian winner of Animated Feature, and Hayao Miyazaki is the first Asian to win twice (Spirited Away, 2002).
The Boy and the Heron and Spirited Away are the only two hand-drawn animated films and the only two non-English-language films to win Animated Feature.
Pixar has lost Animated Feature three years in a row, its longest drought ever.
Holly Waddington is the first person since Mark Bridges (The Artist, 2011) to win Best Costume Design for her first nomination.
O Rapaz e a Garça vence Óscar de Melhor Filme de Animação (e outros destaques dos Óscares)
Aproveitei hoje o dia livre para ir à única sala de cinema da Grande Lisboa que ainda está a passar o filme O Rapaz e a Garça, de Hayao Miyazaki, que foi ontem à noite distinguido com o Óscar de Melhor Filme de Animação. Mantenho que tanto o filme como o realizador deviam ter sido nomeados na categoria principal (recordando as palavras de Guillermo Del Toro, a animação é cinema, não é um género para crianças), mas fico satisfeito por Miyazaki ter conquistado o seu segundo Óscar - uma vitória que não era evidente, dada a lista de nomeados -, e logo com um filme tão espantoso, no qual podemos ver uma síntese da sua vasta obra e do legado riquíssimo que deixa à animação e ao cinema.
(convenhamos que ver este filme a ganhar o Óscar terá sido um dos poucos raios de luz na noite de ontem)
Já ver Godzilla Minus One vencer o Óscar de Melhores Efeitos Visuais foi algo surpreendente, mas muitíssimo merecido - a equipa de Takashi Yamazaki, Kiyoko Shibuya, Masaki Takahashi e Tatsuji Nojima fizeram um autêntico milagre visual neste que foi um dos meus filmes preferidos de 2023. E, note-se, com um orçamento que será uma fracção dos recursos que os outros filmes nomeados na categoria tiveram (The Creator, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Mission Impossivle - Dead Reckoning Part One, e Napoleon). Não esperava esta vitória, o primeiro Óscar para a longa série de filmes de Godzilla, o mais icónico dos monstros do cinema.
(e fica a piada que apanhei no Twitter: pela primeira vez na história dos Óscares um filme e a sua sequela ganharam estatuetas douradas na mesma cerimónia - sendo Oppenheimer o filme e Godzilla Minus One a sequela, claro)
Já no final da noite, Emma Stone conquistou o segundo Óscar da sua carreira, na categoria de Melhor Actriz pelo seu papel magnífico no filme Pobres Criaturas de Yorgos Lanthimos. O que me recorda de que ainda não escrevi aqui sobre Pobres Criaturas, algo a corrigir em breve (é um filme incrível).
Outros destaques da noite: A Zona de Interesse a vencer Melhor Som (claro) e Melhor Filme Estrangeiro, com Jonathan Glazer a proferir um discurso breve, polémico, e absolutamente necessário nestes dias, e Pobres Criaturas a vencer ainda Melhor Design de Produção, Melhor Maquilhagem (inevitavelmente), e Melhor Guarda Roupa (idem).