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The Great Buddha Arrival - New Kaiju Movie (2018 or 2019)


whitesnake

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whitesnake

An upcoming Japanese movie, The Great Buddha Arrival, is currently in pre-production.  "This new film is the revival of the long lost 1934 Kaiju film, Kaibutsu Kaikoju", in which a big Buddha statue "begins to walk and visit around Japan".  So far the cast includes "Hotaru Yukijiro, actor in the Gamera and Zeiramu films in the 90s" and "Godzilla actor Takarada Akira... The production continues to talk to other members of the Kaiju family, hoping to add on other veterans of the genre."   News from http://screenanarchy.com/2018/05/the-great-buddha-arrival-second-kaiju-regular-hotaru-yukijiro-joins-cast.html

"The Great Buddha of the new film will be brought to life via 3D CG modeling based off a sculpture design created by renowned artist Keisuke Yoneyama.  Godzilla: Final Wars actors Yoshihiko  Otsuki and Junichiro Nirasawa are set to star along with Kazuma Yoneyama and Japanese rapper Yuma."  This new production is from 3Y Film, with filming to start in August.  This news and teaser are from http://horrorfreaknews.com/new-kaiju-movie-will-featuring-city-crushing-buddha-rampage/25110  and http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/269064/bad-karma-awaits-tokyo-in-the-bizarre-new-kaiju-flick-the-great-buddha-arrival/     

Two images of the wandering Buddha from the lost 1934 movie, 3 pieces of concept art for the new movie, and a video of the new 3D-CG model can be viewed here - https://www.daibutsukaikoku.com/   

Teaser (has gone from the website) - 

Poster for the movie - 

great-buddha-arrives.jpg

Edited by whitesnake
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There's a kickstarter to get gaijin actress Peggy Neal (Terror Beneath the Sea; X from Outer Space):

 

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This sounds amazing! Before I clicked I was thinking "if only it was about buddah statues that came to life or a giant one that started walking around". And... Thas exactly what you said it was! Cant wait to see this.

Edited by Koravec
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One Armed Boxer
On 6/4/2018 at 2:25 AM, DrNgor said:

There's a kickstarter to get gaijin actress Peggy Neal (Terror Beneath the Sea; X from Outer Space):

 

Paying for an actresses (and her assistant!?) airfare and hotel so she can go to Japan and feature in a movie!?  Are they homeless or what?

I may as well go and start a crowd funding campaign to have people pay for my next holiday.

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Omni Dragon
2 hours ago, One Armed Boxer said:

I may as well go and start a crowd funding campaign to have people pay for my next holiday.

Next time I find a penny on the floor do you want me to sent it to you to help fund your holiday? I must warn you though I charge hundreds in postage.

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One Armed Boxer
12 hours ago, Silver and Gold Dragon said:

Next time I find a penny on the floor do you want me to sent it to you to help fund your holiday? I must warn you though I charge hundreds in postage.

I just find this kind of stuff pathetic, and it's exactly these kind of crowdfunding campaigns that saw platforms like Indigogo and Kickstarter only serve as effective ways to seek movie funding for around a year at most ('The Search for Weng Weng', 'Death Grip' etc.), before they started getting flooded with crap like this.  There isn't even any explanation provided as to exactly why we should be paying for her flights, hotel, meals etc.  If you're going to go tin rattling to people, you at least need to have a legitimate case as to why the funding is needed.

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whitesnake

The Great Buddha Arrival creators also tried to raise money to fund the movie via Kickstarter - https: // www.kickstarter.com/projects/1148744746/the-great-buddha-arrival-starts-crowdfunding  [tricky trying to put the website here, but avoiding the trailer popping up; pasting as plain text did not work] but did not achieve its goal, 84,000 yen.   Avery Guerra, a collaborator on the film, commented - "Hey guys don't worry!  The Japanese fundraiser was a huge success.  We may try another in the U.S. later.  The film is funded and will go ahead as scheduled."

Edited by whitesnake
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The Great Buddha Arrival gets a Japanese theatrical release on December 15, '18.  Cast includes Akira Takarada (star of the original Godzilla), Peggy Neal (she made it after all), Yukijiro Hotaru (Heisei Gamera Trilogy), Philip Granger (Tucker and Dale vs. Evil), Ippei Ohsako (Shin Godzilla), Inge Murata (Shin Godzilla), Shelley Sweeney (4 Godzilla movies), Yuki Morita (Warner Bros. - Legendary Entertainment's Godzilla), Toshi Toda (Sony Pictures' Godzilla), Norman England (2 Godzilla movies), Robert Scott Field (Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah), Masanori Kikuzawa (Our House), J-Pop superstar Momoka Iwata, rapper Yuma, Kazuma Yoneyama (one of the writers of The Great Buddha Arrival), and Takashi Yasuda (Bakumatsu, 1970).  Info here is from http://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2018/11/15/the-great-buddha-arrival-new-trailer-for-kaiju-film-reboot/    The movie has Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/daibutsukaikoku/), Twitter (https://twitter.com/daibutsukaikoku), and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/daibutsukaikoku/) accounts.  It's a low budget movie so don't expect a Godzilla-quality film. 

This video is from the Indiegogo campaign.  It's longer than the trailer  

Trailer - 

 

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A cut of The Great Buddha Arrival was screened in Tokyo in December, but it was only 50 minutes long.  The filmmakers are now adding new scenes, with additional cast members, to the movie to make it long enough for international distribution.  The first new cast member is Akira Kubo, who appeared in Throne of Blood (1957), Gorath (1962), Godzilla vs. Monster Zero (1965), Son of Godzilla (1967), Destroy All Monsters (1968), Space Amoeba (1970), Gamera: Guardian of the Universe (1995), as well as many other films.  Photos and more story at http://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2019/03/19/toho-legend-akira-kubo-joins-the-great-buddha-arrival/ 

Akira Kubo photo from https://twitter.com/daibutsukaikoku 

D2eSTXrU0AACnB0.jpg:thumb

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Yoshiro Uchida is the latest actor to be added to the cast of Great Buddha Arrival.  He played the little boy in the first Gamera movie (1965) and appeared in Moon Mask Rider (1982).  The Great Buddha Arrival has now been completed, according to IMDB.  The movie gets a screening at Cinema le Grand Action in Paris (May 19) and Oxford University Wolfman College Leonard Wolfe Auditorium (May 15).  News from https://www.facebook.com/daibutsukaikoku/ and https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8362502/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_1 and http://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2019/04/06/gamera-star-yoshiro-uchida-joins-the-great-buddha-arrival/  - which has more info on Yoshiro Uchida's career and about the influence of Gamera on later kaiju movies.     

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Despite The Great Buddha Arrival supposedly being completed and having upcoming screenings in Paris and Oxford University in mid-May, still someone else has been added to the cast.  Yukiko Kobayashi was the female lead in Destroy All Monsters and a native girl in Space Amoeba.  She last made an appearance in Hail to the King: 60 Years of Destruction, a crowd-funded documentary celebrating 60 years of Godzilla.  Now she is in The Great Buddha Arrival.  News from http://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2019/04/27/another-showa-era-legend-joins-the-great-buddha-arrival/   

Here she is with Great Buddha Arrival director Hiroto Yokokawa and lead actor Kazuma Yoneyama from https://twitter.com/daibutsukaikoku 

D5L8sQ8U8AAlPFt.jpg

Edited by whitesnake
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The Great Buddha Arrival has its North American Premiere at G-Fest, "running Friday, July 12 through Sunday, July 14 at the Crowne Plaza Chicago O-Hare in Rosemont, IL.  The film will screen on Saturday at 10:00am, and on Sunday at 10:30am.  Members of The Great Buddha Arrival production team will also be on hand to present the film.  Actors Peggy Neal (The X From Outer Space) and Akira Takarada (Godzilla) are Guests of Honor at the convention, and Avery Guerra, the movie's Consulting Producer, Casting Director, and Publicist, will be in attendance the entire weekend."  More at http://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2019/07/10/the-great-buddha-arrival-north-american-premiere-at-g-fest/   

Final trailer (U.S. Promo Trailer) -

 

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