New Virtual Convention KAIJU MASTERCLASS Starts Today

A new virtual kaiju convention titled KAIJU MASTERCLASS will kick off later today. The event will run from Friday, October 2nd through Sunday, October 4th and will be completely free to watch on the official KAIJU MASTERCLASS YouTube channel.

The convention will feature numerous panels and interviews with some of the kaiju community's most iconic figures. Among the guests will be Shin Godzilla co-director Shinji Higuchi, Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) composer Bear McCreary, Heisei Gamera Trilogy and Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack director Shusuke Kaneko, and many others.

KAIJU MASTERCLASS will even have a virtual dealer's room that can be accessed via the event's official website. If you would like to stay up-to-date with KAIJU MASTERCLASS, then you can follow the convention on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

A full schedule for the event is listed below.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2020

5pm PST / 7pm CST / 8pm EST (9am Japan Time, 10/3)
WELCOME
Opening remarks from the KAIJU MASTERCLASS team: Erik Homenick (emcee), Steve Ryfle, John DeSentis, Patrick Galvan, Kyle Byrd, Matt Parmley, Kyle Gilmore.

6pm PST / 8pm CST / 9pm EST (10am Japan Time, 10/3)
INTERVIEW: SHINICHI WAKASA
The acclaimed creature creator and special effects artist who updated Godzilla for the new millennium discusses his amazing monster-making career and the craft of designing and building kaiju suits. (Moderator: Steve Ryfle)


SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2020

9am PST / 11am CST / 12pm EST (1am Japan Time, 10/4)
INTERVIEW: DAVID ARNOLD
The Grammy and Emmy-winning film composer discusses his epic scores for Roland Emmerich’s GODZILLA (1998) and other blockbuster films. (Moderator: John DeSentis)

10am PST / 12pm CST / 1pm EST (2am Japan Time, 10/4)
TOHO’S TOKUSATSU TELEVISION
From ZONE FIGHTER to GREENMAN, RAINBOWMAN and beyond, author Kevin Derendorf (Kaiju for Hipsters) dives into the deep cuts of Toho Co. Ltd.’s ventures into tokusatsu television.

11am PST / 1pm CST / 2pm EST (3am Japan Time, 10/4)
NICK ADAMS & HENRY SAPERSTEIN IN JAPAN
In the 1960s, Hollywood producer Henry G. Saperstein took Oscar-nominated actor Nick Adams to Japan to star in FRANKENSTEIN CONQUERS THE WORLD and MONSTER ZERO at Toho. Playwright and actress Allyson Adams and journalist Pat Saperstein discuss their fathers’ joint adventures in Japanese sci-fi cinema. (Moderator: Steve Ryfle)

12pm PST / 2pm CST / 3pm EST (4am Japan Time, 10/4)
INTERVIEW: BOB EGGLETON
The Hugo Award-winning artist, whose kaiju illustrations have appeared in Dark Horse Comics, Random House Godzilla books, IDW’s Godzilla comic series, and on the cover of Famous Monsters of Filmland, discusses the history and evolution of kaiju-themed art. (Moderator: John DeSentis)

1pm PST / 3pm CST / 4pm EST (5am Japan Time, 10/4)
POSTERS & PROMOTION IN KAIJU FILMS
Authors Sean Linkenback (The Art of Japanese Monsters) and Ed Godziszewski (The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Godzilla) provide an overview of the art and creative advertising materials that helped make Godzilla and kaiju eiga an international phenomenon. (Moderator: Kyle Yount of KAIJUCAST and COLLECT ALL MONSTERS)

2pm PST / 4pm CST / 5pm EST (6am Japan Time, 10/4)
EXPO ’70 50th ANNIVERSARY
A look back at the 1970 World Expo in Osaka, Japan, which featured major contributions from Eiji Tsuburaya and other leading tokusatsu creators, and which influenced a number of later kaiju eiga. Stan Hyde—who was there at Expo ’70 in person!—is joined by Matt Parmley and Kevin Derendorf.

3pm PST / 5pm CST / 6pm EST (7am Japan Time, 10/4)
INTERVIEW: BEAR McCREARY
The Emmy and BAFTA Award-winning composer behind THE WALKING DEAD, MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D., and of course GODZILLA, KING OF THE MONSTERS 2019 discusses the art of creating epic monster movie music. (Moderators: John DeSentis and Erik Homenick)

4pm PST / 6pm CST / 7pm EST (8am Japan Time, 10/4)
INTERVIEW: MICHIRU OSHIMA
The award-winning composer of GODZILLA VS. MEGAGUIRUS, GODZILLA AGAINST MECHAGODZILLA, and GODZILLA: TOKYO S.O.S., as well as dozens more original scores for film, TV, video games, and anime talks about reviving the king of monsters with epic music for a new millennium. (Moderators: John DeSentis and Erik Homenick)

5pm PST / 7pm CST / 8pm EST (9am Japan Time, 10/4)
INTERVIEW: NORMAN ENGLAND
Japan-based writer and filmmaker Norman England discusses the making of his independent sci-fi satire feature THE IDOL and his upcoming book detailing his adventures on the sets of numerous kaiju and other films as a journalist, photographer, and sometimes actor. (Moderator: Steve Ryfle)

6pm PST / 8pm CST / 9pm EST (10am Japan Time, 10/4)
INTERVIEW: SHUSUKE KANEKO
Interview with the acclaimed director of GODZILLA, MOTHRA AND KING GHIDORAH, GIANT MONSTERS ALL-OUT ATTACK, the GAMERA trilogy, DEATH NOTE, and many other classic genre films. (Moderator: Steve Ryfle)


SUNDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2020

9am PST / 11am CST / 12pm EST (1am Japan Time, 10/5)
INTERVIEW: BRAD WARNER
Author and ordained Zen monk Brad Warner (Hardcore Zen) recalls his years working at Tsuburaya Productions and his behind-the-scenes contributions to the ULTRAMAN franchise as a contributing writer, sometimes actor, and consultant. (Moderator: Steve Ryfle)

10am PST / 12pm CST / 1pm EST (2am Japan Time, 10/5)
GODZILLA VS. BIOLLANTE: THE LOST COMMENTARY
Genre historian and author Ed Godziszewski (Ishiro Honda: A Life in Film, From Godzilla to Kurosawa) provides a deep dive into the hugely popular 1989 Godzilla film directed by Kazuki Omori.

11am PST / 1pm CST / 2pm EST (3am Japan Time, 10/5)
ATOMIC REQUIEM: AKIRA IFUKUBE’S ATOMIC BOMB TRILOGY
Erik Homenick and Patrick Galvan discuss the content and music of three atomic bomb films scored by Akira Ifukube (including the original Godzilla), who himself had a history with radiation.

12pm PST / 2pm CST / 3pm EST (4am Japan Time, 10/5)
DESIGNING GODZILLA 1994
Creature designers Ricardo Delgado and Carlos Huante discuss working on director Jan DeBont’s unmade 1994 GODZILLA for Tristar Pictures, which would have pit the king of monsters against a new creature called The Gryphon. (Moderator: Keith Aiken of SCIFI JAPAN)

1pm PST / 3pm CST / 4pm EST (5am Japan Time, 10/5)
GODZILLA VS. DESTOROYAH 25th ANNIVERSARY
Kaiju Transmissions podcast hosts Kyle Byrd and Matt Parmley join authors Kevin Derendorf and John LeMay to provide a deep dive into the production of the Heisei Godzilla series’ epic finale.

2pm PST / 4pm CST / 5pm EST (6am Japan Time, 10/5)
THE KAIJU ART OF MATT FRANK
Artist and illustrator Matt Frank provides a live drawing and discusses his involvement in IDW Godzilla comics and the Arrow Video Gamera set. (Moderator: Matt Parmley)

3pm PST / 5pm CST / 6pm EST (7am Japan Time, 10/5)
TAB MURPHY TALKS GODZILLA 2: THE LOST SEQUEL
The Oscar-nominated screenwriter of GORILLAS IN THE MIST and numerous animated features from Disney and DC discusses writing GODZILLA 2, the unmade sequel to Roland Emmerich’s GODZILLA (1998). (Moderator: Steve Ryfle)

4pm PST / 6pm CST / 7pm EST (8am Japan Time, 10/5)
BREAK (1 hour)

5pm PST / 7pm CST / 8pm EST (9am Japan Time, 10/5)
MAN OF ACTION: THE FILMS OF JUN FUKUDA
Authors Stuart Galbraith IV (The Emperor and The Wolf, Monsters Are Attacking Tokyo!) and Steve Ryfle (Japan’s Favorite Mon-Star) join film journalist Patrick Galvan to discuss the often overlooked yet highly influential director of five Godzilla movies and many other action-packed features.

6pm PST / 8pm CST / 9pm EST (10am Japan Time, 10/5)
INTERVIEW: PATRICK MACIAS
Author Patrick Macias (Tokyoscope: The Japanese Cult Film Companion and the forthcoming An Eternal Thought in the Mind of Godzilla) talks about his journey deep into the world of Japanese pop-culture criticism and how Godzilla and kaiju eiga provided a path. (Moderator: Steve Ryfle)

7pm PST / 9pm CST / 10pm EST (11am Japan Time, 10/5)
INTERVIEW: SHINJI HIGUCHI
Perhaps no one has revitalized Japan’s special-effects cinema more than Shinji Higuchi. KAIJU MASTERCLASS closes the weekend with a discussion of the revolutionary director’s amazing career, from the Heisei Gamera series to SHIN GODZILLA, from the Gainax anime studio to ATTACK ON TITAN, SINKING OF JAPAN, and many others. (Moderator: Steve Ryfle)

9pm PST / 11pm CST / 12am EST (1pm Japan Time, 10/5)
THAT’S A WRAP
The KAIJU MASTERCLASS team briefly reassembles to sign off and say a heartfelt thank you.

Kaiju Masterclass is created by a dedicated team of genre authorities and enthusiasts, including: Steve Ryfle (co-author, ISHIRO HONDA: A LIFE IN FILM, FROM GODZILLA TO KUROSAWA); Erik Homenick (AKIRAIFUKUBE.ORG); John DeSentis (conductor/creator KAIJU CRESCENDO); Patrick Galvan (writer, SYFY); Matt Parmley and Kyle Byrd (co-hosts, KAIJU TRANSMISSIONS podcast); and Kyle Gilmore (filmmaker and artist, VINTAGE REEL PRODUCTIONS).

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