Hollywood Gothique Meets Godzilla

Well, not quite. However, I will be moderating a question-and-answer session with Steve Ryfle and Ed Godziszewski, authors of Ishiro Honda: A Life in Film, From Godzilla to Kurosawa, at the American Cinematheque‘s double bill screening of of Godzilla (1954) and The H-Man (1958). Honda directed the original Godzilla (known as Gojira in Japan) and many of its sequels, along with numerous other science-fiction movies; he also assisted Akira Kurosawa on some of the great filmmaker’s later projects. Ryfle previously wrote Japan’s Favorite Mon-Star: The Unauthorized Biography of “The Big G” and did extensive reporting for me when I edited Cinefantastique magazine and, later, supervised editorial content Fandom.com. Godziszewski has been writing on the subject of Japanese giant monsters for as long as I can remember, so it will be an honor to finally meet him.

The event takes place at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, on Friday, October 27. Ryfle and Godziszewski will sign their book in the lobby starting at 6:30 PM. Gorjia (in Japanese with subtitles) will screen at 7:30pm. The Q&A will take place between films. Get more details in our calendar listing for the event, or visit the American Cinematheque’s webpage. (Note: I am a last-minute substitution, so my name might not appear on the Cinematheque’s listing.)