The Kaiju Transmissions Podcast

Korea Double Feature: The Host (2006) & Okja (2017)

Byrd and Matt discuss two creature features from South Korean director Bong Joon-ho. First we discuss 2006's The Host and dissect the film's themes and the real life incidents that influenced the film. Then we discuss the recent film Okja, which just dropped as a Netflix Original. We go deep into the themes of each film, and discuss the hot topic of what the original content created by Netflix and other streaming services means for theatrical films and big studios.

Michael Bay's Transformers Series

Byrd, Matt, and guest Trev (of If It Bleeds We Can Kill It and Days of Future Podcast) take KT's first dive into the Giant Robot genre by discussing what is arguably the biggest giant robot franchise in the world. We discuss all five of Michael Bay's Transformers movies, as well as the Japanese roots of Transformers (which many seem to forget), our memories of the original animated series, and why Bay's blockbusters seem to grab audiences more than the recent kaiju films have. The "Bayformers" series was one of KT's biggest viewing challenges yet, and for Byrd, these movies proved to be his cinematic kryptonite. How did the crew fare this time? Listen and find out! But first, Trev reports back from San Diego Comic-Con and discusses the presence of kaiju properties there, including the recent Pacific Rim: Uprising teaser video!

G-Fest 2017 Recap

Byrd and Matt are back home from G-Fest XXIV and they're ready to talk all about it! We discuss interview recordings gone horribly wrong, meeting KT listeners, highlights and new information learned from various panels including those from Shinji Higuchi, Kiyotaka Taguchi, and Yuji Kaida, seeing Kong: Skull Island in 70mm, meeting director Jordan Vogt-Roberts (and what we learned from his Q and A), being a kid again at the Field Museum's Jurassic World exhibit, and more!

Godzilla Speaks! Interview with Suit Actor Tsutomu "Tom" Kitagawa

On a very special episode, Matt and Nick Poling (of The Monster Report) sat down with suit actor and stuntman Tom Kitagawa! Kitagawa is best known for playing Godzilla in five of the six Millennium series films, playing King Ghidorah in Mothra 3, and playing many of the heroes in Toei's Sentai series. Recorded at the Days of the Dead convention in Indiana, Matt and Nick chat with Mr. Kitagawa about his start in Battle Fever J, stunt work on the Sentai shows, the challenges of playing Godzilla, working in TV vs film, winding down after a long shoot, recovering from his recent surgery, and more! Special thanks to Cory Hannigan for translating during the interview.

Japan Sinks!

Byrd and Matt take a look at Toho's disaster epic, SUBMERSION OF JAPAN. What happens when Toho decides to make destruction spectacle without giant monsters? We take a look at Shiro Moritani's SUBMERSION OF JAPAN (1973), Shinji Higuchi's SINKING OF JAPAN (2006), and Minoru Kawasaki's parody film THE WORLD SINKS EXCEPT JAPAN (2006). We compare and contrast the films by talking about their political themes, effects, and how each version is a product of their times.

G-Fest 101: Interview with Jeff Horne

Byrd and Matt are joined by very, very special guest, G-Fest organizer Jeff Horne! With G-Fest 2017 on the horizon, Jeff talks to us about a variety of topics, including the history of the convention, how it has evolved over the years, online fandom vs real life, convention guests, movie screenings, favorite G-Fest moments, and all the work that goes into organizing a convention every year. We also talk about what first time attendees can expect. We also announce that Kaiju Transmissions will be part of a live panel at G-Fest! G-FEST XXIV will be held from July 14th to July 16th, 2017, at the Crowne Plaza Chicago Oâ??Hare.

The Daimajin Trilogy

Byrd, Matt, and Eric take a deep dive into Daiei's OTHER kaiju franchise, Daimajin! In 1966, Daiei released not one, not two, but THREE films all starring the gigantic stone god Daimajin. A combination of the Japanese daikaiju and jidaigeki (period drama) genres, these are some of the most unique and interesting giant monster films to date. We discuss the three films and we also touch on the Daimajin reboots that got cancelled over the years, the TV series Daimajin Kanon, how Daiei never quite took full advantage of their monster roster, and the future of their monster franchises!

Tribute to Yoshimitsu Banno (1931-2007)

Byrd and Matt are joined by Hedorah superfan Chris (of the musical project Cosmic Monster) to discuss the life and career of Yoshimitsu Banno, who passed away on May 7th, 2017. Banno is most well known for writing and directing Godzilla vs. Hedorah, but he did quite a bit more in his career. We discuss his life and career from his early days as an assistant director for Akira Kurosawa to writing/directing Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971), writing/assisting on Toho's Prophecies of Nostradamus (1974), his cancelled Godzilla 3D IMAX project, executive producing the Legendary Pictures Godzilla film in 2014, kick-starting the MonsterVerse, and everything in between! We hit on the genesis of these projects, environmentalism and Banno's place in kaiju history. Banno never got the credit he deserved for his contributions to the genre, so we wanted to give the father of Hedorah his due! RIP Mr. Banno!

Gorgo, Gappa and Angry Kaiju Moms!

For our MOTHER'S DAY SPECIAL, we take a look at a angry kaiju mothers! We start by talking about 1961's GORGO out of Britain. Then we talk about Nikkatsu's GAPPA: THE TRIPHIBIAN MONSTER (1967) and the long forgotten Fox television movie GARGANTUA (1998). We also touch on other angry gigantic mothers. Mothra, Jurassic Park's T-Rex, Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend, and more! We also touch on the part our own mothers played in our hobby, Byrd's daddy issues and the latest King Kong, Jurassic Park and Ultraman news. Happy Mother's Day!

Colossal (2017)

Byrd and Matt are joined by Trev (Days of Future Podcast/If It Bleeds, We Can Kill It) to discuss the recent giant monster indie COLOSSAL directed by Nacho Vigalondo. We discuss male entitlement, alcoholism, dissociation from foreign violence, toxic relationships, and giant monsters as an externalization of real life personal problems. Of course we also touch on the now infamous Toho lawsuit that held up the production. Colossal is a very different type of movie in the giant monster landscape. So listen and find out what the guys thought of this dark, offbeat giant monster dramedy!