Gareth Edwards: How soon Production for Godzilla Sequel begins Depends on China
Locked7987 Views179 Replies
Destroyah-x
MemberMothra LarvaeJun-15-2014 10:34 PMIn an interview with Netease Entertainment of China two days ago, ( http://www.hinews.cn/news/system/2014/06/15/016735262.shtml ) - It's in Chinese.
Gareth Edwards' response for the sequel to Godzilla is this:
Netease: "So after Godzilla 2014, what plans do you have, e.g. any interest in other monster movies?"
Gareth: "I guess it would have to be the sequel to Godzilla. We'll see about that, depending on the response from audiences in China. If the reception is great, we will commence production immediately for the next movie."
Meanwhile elsewhere in China official media outlets gave the movie review a 7.0 - 7.4 score rating. CNS China reports that in top Chinese forums, viewers found the most satisfying aspects of the movie to be in the last 30 minutes. Scenes that astounded them were the appearance of the MUTOs, the final fight between Godzilla and the MUTOs and Godzilla's fire breath. The massive size of Godzilla was also a sight to behold. While the final fight was an inspiration, users also went online to criticize the movie for keeping Godzilla elusive throughout 2/3s of the show, which kills the excitement.
One member of the audience who was interviewed remarked: " I went to the cinema to catch Godzilla fighting monsters. Who cares whether the leading actor had trauma from his childhood, or if his wife is nurse or doctor and their kid is 5 years old, or even if he rescues a japanese kid on the monorail? I waited nearly 2 hours just to see Godzilla battle the MUTOs, and just when it happens, the scene cuts to the guy trying to diffuse the bomb (and we are still not done with him yet!). What were the producers thinking? "
As of now Godzilla 2014 has grossed $439 million from the US Box-office and overseas markets. It needs to earn at least $110 million to match up to Pacific Rim in China and to breach the $550 million mark. Comparatively, Godzilla 1998 made $379 million worldwide, and when adjusted for inflation translates to $643 million today.
" Your kind feared the Darkness. "

KManX89
MemberMothra LarvaeJun-20-2014 11:34 AMAs far as this movie having "poor word of mouth", it has a 73% fresh critic score and audience ratings of over 70% on all of IMDb, RT and MetaCritic. It also has a 4 star average rating on Fandango, for what it's worth (much smaller sample size than IMDb and RT), since when is that considered "bad WOM"? That's considered net positive by those site's standards (as the norm for movies is in the 6's/60% range). Granted, it's not buzzing or anything, but good nonetheless, just not good enough to hold over X-Men. People just chose X-Men over it because it's fresh and it's a sure thing as comic book movies are huge these days, plus the early critic reviews for it were amazing (and it was an excellent movie, I must admit). Every single BO projection site was projecting a huge dropoff in its 2nd weekend before this movie came out simply because of X-Men coming out just a week later, and yes, it matters. What do you think would happen if X-Men came out just a week before T4? Because remember: it had a 64% dropoff in its 2nd weekend to Maleficent.

Huge-Ben
MemberBaragonJun-20-2014 1:20 PMok looks like i missed out on alot since last night....lets see where i begin.
@something real,
I was not directing what i said towards you in particular, i appreciate your honesty and your apoligies. All i was saying was for everyone here to be careful with what some say to others, we don't need name calling at all here on this site there are many rules that must be kept up for this site to continue to run for as long as it can.
@destroyah-x,
I can't even begin to compare those two films, honestly godzilla 2014 was far better than pacific rim as far as the actual fights scene goes, but the directing does need work and i feel like gareth can do better than this. So the directing between the two goes to del toro. Another thing i would like to point out is gareth did try to go for a realistic approach to the new godzilla film where as pacific rim did not. Don't get me wrong but the main thing i am realizing about these two kaiju films are that they both fall on the gamera heisei trilogy i am seeing some major similtarties between these films, but at the end of the day these are all only films about people, people who want to make art, and people who need to turn a profit. :)
http://hugeben.deviantart.com/ check out my gallery of Godzilla artwork! Follow me on Twitter@thebigbadben90.

Huge-Ben
MemberBaragonJun-20-2014 1:57 PM@destroyah-x,
One thing that i forgot to mention in comparing these films, the simple fact is godzilla 2014 only made more because people know the name "godzilla." That also explains why tristars godzilla did good in the box office, but critics and us die hard fans alike didn't like it because it wasn't our godzilla that we grew up watching. Legendary is a great studio at the end of the day and all of their films are marvelous, I also feel the same way that del toro should direct the godzilla sequal and of course i want jim rygiel to helm the cgi again, i loved his work. If jim doesn't return then lets give micheal bay a try.
http://hugeben.deviantart.com/ check out my gallery of Godzilla artwork! Follow me on Twitter@thebigbadben90.

Something Real
MemberGodzillaJun-20-2014 3:37 PMBIGBADBEN - You're most welcome. I'll do my best to remain as cordial as possible. I've never been nasty to anyone on this site, and I intend to keep it that way. :)

G. H. (Gman)
AdminGodzillaJun-20-2014 3:43 PMGetting a little more on topic, Godzilla's made over $20 million more in China since the weekend, putting it around $60 million overall. It's projected to be around $480 million world wide by the time the weekend's over.
With next week still in play before Transformers debuts in China, Godzilla could very well hit or be just under $500 million world wide before next weekend.
Source comes from a contact in China.

Something Real
MemberGodzillaJun-20-2014 4:10 PMGMAN2887 - That's fantastic news! I'm very pleased that Godzilla is bringing in sush a great amount of revinue! We'll no doubt be given an exceptionally fun sequal! :)

ScreamingStukas
MemberMothra LarvaeJun-20-2014 8:30 PMIf that source is true and Godzilla 2014 did indeed rake in another $20 mil since last weekend that is extremely fantastic! Hopefully it will rake in at least $20 more mil by the end of this week and hit the $480 mil mark.
If this film reaches $500 mil without Japan's help that would be awesome. I hope the sequel is awesome, it must not have the same flaws as this one or else the sky over this franchise will start becoming dark I'm afraid :( I will keep my expectations low in case.

Destroyah-x
MemberMothra LarvaeJun-20-2014 9:41 PM@BigBadBen - I kind of agree with you on this. But what if initially Legendary hadn't set their sights on Gareth E. to direct Godzilla 2014 and taken Guillermo instead? Would we have ended up with a bolder vision of Godzilla today? That said, I thought budgeting was also one of the strongest factors that led Legendary to pick Gareth, and I dun believe in all that PR sugarcoating that tells us Gareth was so passionate about Godzilla whatsoever, because at the end of the day, its still a PR move to assure the public that Godzilla is in the safe hands of a competent director. To me, the reason for Legendary's choice was purely because Gareth demonstrated that ability to make something on a tight budget and yet deliver, and considering that the last 3 Godzilla movies that screened in America were all underperformers, plus no one is sure if the bitter aftertaste of 98's abomination still lingers, it just wasn't a safe bet to put anything more than $160 million to make this new movie. The rest is history, the marketing-wave kicked in, and people were treated to a Godzilla-fest that seemed to promise a 'dark' or somewhat apocalyptic vision and the hype meter went wild. There's no denying that and I'm sure Manga fans know much better for this one, because even Godzilla's name font and dark red theme on his posters and marketing material, including the Halo jump were inspired heavily by the Manga series Akira, which depicts a dark urban post-apocalyptic future. Turns out Godzilla became a Gamera, and that dark vision never existed. - No surprise here why many mainstream audiences felt cheated by the marketing.
@Gman2887 - Thanks for the update. I have confidence that Godzilla would still be able to hit at least $110 million in China eventually and to reach the $570 million projected combined sales that I estimated. On the US side though, its kinda struggling at a daily pace of $300 - $400K sales, and to date has added an extra $2M to reach $193 million up from the $191 million last week.
" Your kind feared the Darkness. "

G. H. (Gman)
AdminGodzillaJun-20-2014 10:10 PMI predicted mid-$500 million in January, so that sounds close. (Though I think $575 million may be a bit high.)
That said, Tull said he'd like a "4" to be at the beginning of a final box office number before he plunged headfirst into production with the sequel. I think we're safe. At the end of the day Godzilla is a success. We should rejoice and look forward to the future.

selimbradley
MemberMothra LarvaeJun-21-2014 2:59 AMlol, love how when this OP loses an argument- his resort is to report me to a moderator for "trolling". i seriously can't tell how is my post even remotely close to trolling. then again, this idiot here might be the real troll, trolling all of this forum to a page 9. and when someone digs up shit for you, you will probably just label it as "I dun believe in all that PR sugarcoating that tells us Gareth was so passionate about Godzilla whatsoever"
i should have just cared less about douches like this and their opinion on godzilla 2014. please, maybe you should just take a bullet in your face or join a fan forum for transformers because clearly you don't have the mentality to understand why godzilla2014 is great and the humility to accept that you have failed in your "assessment"

Destroyah-x
MemberMothra LarvaeJun-21-2014 3:54 AM@SelimBradley - Oh Yes you are. You are trying to spoil the thread and you are a troll and I would still report you again if I have to. :) For someone who just made 4 postings so far, and 3 out of the 4 were used to attack my statements, its not hard to see a clone account is being used here or you were banned previously. I don't recall anyone joining this forum as a newcomer and the first thing they do is start shooting unpleasantries at other members. :)
To clear up that delusion of yours, first off, you have never even provided any valid point of discussion to begin with, so I do not get it when you say I lost an argument. I have responded and asked you to provide the source of your claims, which you have yet to do so, and instead you come back in to call me names again. I identified you as a troll because you concocted ficticious statements and then claimed that Gareth Edwards said those things just to rebut my arguments for fun. Your only purpose was to stir up trouble.
" Your kind feared the Darkness. "

Destroyah-x
MemberMothra LarvaeJun-21-2014 4:17 AM@SelimBradley
- And one last thing to add. In all your postings here, you have called me an 'Ass', labelled me an 'Idiot' and a 'Douche' and even saying that I should " Take a bullet in the face ", which is uncalled for.
It would be very much appreciated if you could practise a bit of respect not only for others but also for your own sake. Thank you. :)
" Your kind feared the Darkness. "

talisman
MemberMothra LarvaeJun-21-2014 5:24 PMGodzilla 2014 is only successful because of the initial box office.
If you look at Box Office Mojo and see comparable titles at the 90 Million domestic opening,
and they are already passed or nearly 200 Million, Spiderman 2 which wasn't a good movie by any means is comparable.
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/alltime/weekends/
The point people are forgetting is that there is no "momentum" to carry into the sequel. No matter how one tries to spin this, if Edwards does this same thing again, we are looking at a failure in the future.
That is the reason some fans such as myself want to bring awareness to that.
I honestly believe with all my heart that he is the wrong director.

Destroyah-x
MemberMothra LarvaeJun-22-2014 12:55 AM@Talisman -
And you are right. Thanks for providing the all-time weekends chart for us to get a better idea. If you look at all the movies that opened with at least $90 million domestically, both Spider-man 2 and Godzilla are actually underperforming and still quite a lot away from the typical movie box-office projections. Basically, when a movie opens with $90 million, eventual box-office projections will be pegged to at least $230 - $240 million. You will see that all movies in the list have achieved that consistent box-office sales to reach or even exceed the targeted projection, including X-Men DOFP which is already progressing at $212 million to reach the outcome in less than a month. Even if I were to add another 30 days to Godzilla's calendar based on its sales progression, I doubt it would be able to hit the target of $230 million.
Some people cite reasons like timing of debut or competition from other movies that affect the sales momentum of Godzilla. We do not deny that competition exists, but I do not think it would make a difference whether I swop places between Godzilla or X-Men or Maleficent or Edge of Tomorrow, because even if I put X-Men one week ahead of Godzilla, the latter would still open bigger than X-Men as it had that much of hype with it. And I don't think even putting Godzilla 2014 alone for 2 weeks without the interference of Spider-Man 2 or X-Men is going to make a huge difference either. The only thing that matters is whether after all that hype, do audiences go on to recommend it enough to others. If a movie opens big and trumpets that it has crushed box-offices everywhere in 2014, the natural expectation that what comes next would surely be equally Big too isn't it? Would anyone expect a box-office crusher to make $400 - $500 million eventually and then call it a crushing success?
There are others who also cite reasons that movies like the Transformers franchise that have been ringing sales over a Billion per instalment have sucky storylines but people still went on to watch them. I think in all fairness, where Michael Bay sucks in storytelling and direction, it is heavily and far far compensated for by the explosive firepower and the tonnes of special effects thanks to the collaboration with Steven Spielberg. The result is a movie with epic proportions. In Godzilla's case, it had a so-so storyline but where it fails, its creature elusitivity and special effects are not overwhelmingly compensating these shortfalls. Do note that Transformers Dark of the Moon only opened to $97 million in the US which led projections to $250 - $260 million, but it still outperformed the box-office and went on to earn $352 million, and nearly $1.5 Billion combined.
And if people say superhero movies enjoy a wider advantage and recognition, perhaps they clean forgot about the mighty Avatar which was a complete unknown from the start. Need I say more about this phenomenal movie? It opened to a measely $77 million and what happened next? It just kept going stronger and stronger week after week, churning huge sales and earning a whopping $749 million in the US alone, and a combined sales of $2.5 Billion dollars. Haha well, I don't think a lack of competition or timing in debut is helping Avatar make $749 million in the US box-office. If the formula to box office success is down to as simple as competition and debut-timing then next time I'll make a movie and slot it with an opening that has the least competitors and I get instant success? :)
Therein lies the hypocrisy that I see certain people have here. (Sorry I have to say this) But I think we are dealing with different groups of fans here. There are those who have moderate or balanced views and able to accept reasoning and facts, while there are those who are blind-loyalists and would accept anything as long as you do not tread the red-line with criticism or negative views. They will attack you relentlessly and try to shut you out if say something they do not want to hear. You noticed that the first group of fans I just mentioned here have lately been contributing lesser in these forums or stopped commenting altogether? :)
Why the hypocrisy? I recall a couple of months before Godzilla 2014 was screened, everyone was hyped up and started saying how easy it would be for G14 to match or even outdo the sales of the abysmal Godzilla 98 which made $231 million in the US and $643 million combined total (adjusted). When G14 exploded with a huge-opening, that confidence went sky-high, people mocked Zilla 98 even more in their topics and said making $600 million and above was a piece of cake with that kind of results. Even Legendary's execs when interviewed said they were aiming to dominate the worldwide box-office in sales after such a strong opening. We were also clearly aware that G14 needed to make at least $380 million to break even after all the costs and marketing factored in.
Fast-forward 36 days into opening, Godzilla stands at $193 million and doesn't look like it would surpass the 98 version eventually. It has a combined total of less than $500 million to date, which sounds like they profited close to $110 million so far from its break-even mark. China seems to be the only major key market left to ring in the sales for Godzilla but do not forget that how much Godzilla earns in China, the studios only gets a 25% cut of the actual amount earned, which means its not even surpassed $100 million profit beyond the break-even mark. - And suddenly all these is acceptable to the loyalists now, and they will gladly take 1001 reasons for G14 failing to meet expectations, as long as it steers clear of reflecting actual criticism upon the movie's area of failings.
A Monumental opening with no monumental success. There's certainly valid ground why some of us here are reflecting upon it, and questioning the use of the same director to continue the sequel which could have consequences to its future success. It's the same like asking Roland Emmerich to direct a 98 sequel, but people already know what they will get from this director. And chief among all, in all irony despite all the excuses we can think of, isn't Godzilla 2014 currently entangled in the same fate as G98, which opened Big and fizzled? Unless Godzilla 2014 can make past $230 million domestically, and past $640 million in combined sales, it will just be viewed by outsiders as another iteration of G98.
You get my point here.
" Your kind feared the Darkness. "

thepike
MemberMothra LarvaeJun-22-2014 7:17 AMTalisman- As usual, I agree with you. Just say the word gets out that the Godzilla sequel has the same director as G14. That has the potential to turn off a lot of people right from the get go. How do we know this? Because clearly, he has already turned off a lot of people. There are a many moviegoers that I have no doubt would not show up for G2, unless Edwards goes right on the offensive and convinces us that he is taking a different approach with the sequel. Going with Edwards is risking a flop. Let's face it folks, the majority of the public are NOT Godzilla fans like us. In a case such as this, they just want a good popcorn movie. A 15 year old kid, the most likely wide audience for this type of movie, doesn't generally care about a great plot. They just need a story good enough to get you where you need to be. Which is my opinion, is just fine for a Godzilla movie. It's GOD-ZILLA, not GOD-FATHER. G14 goes out of it's way to NOT be a spectacle. In the 'Transformers,' movies, even when you you want to scream at the screen because it's so stupid, you can't stop enjoying the over the top action and effects. I'm telling you, at G14, If I hadn't had to pee so bad, I might have fallen asleep. I'm going to say this again...The story in G14 wasn't that great. Emotional at times, sure. But great, original, thought provoking, interesting, scary? No. I'm just not sure what some people are seeing.
Destroyah-x- Which leeds me to this point which you and I share. I said this already in this thread or the one about "Ranters." There are two camps of fans, the ones who love this movie, and those of us who are more critical. While we are all entitled to our opinions, I do believe there are people who have rather large blinders on. Heck, I think there are people who are knowingly being disengenuous out of fear of not getting a sequel. Let me be perhaps the only person to say, that I would rather get no sequel, then to get the same sort of infuriating teasing as we got in G14. I'm getting too old to have my emotions played with in such ways:-)

GG
MemberGiganJun-22-2014 9:15 AMDestroyahX- You are absolutely wrong. This movie is no where near the monumental flop 98 was. 98 Sure it made about 600 million with inflation, But it was horrible people hated this movie, With this one people dont actually hate it they just think there wasnt enough monster battles. Most people think the movie was pretty good. It has a 9/10 on ign, And over the weekend its made 194,914 domestically, Meaning soon its gonna get to 195 millions. Then 200 million, The movie is gonna be a whopper in japan to. Can you guys listen to me for once and give Gareth a chance with the sequel! #GiveGarethachance
Good grief.

Destroyah-x
MemberMothra LarvaeJun-22-2014 10:09 AM@ThePike - Actually there's no problem at all if people have differing views. What I do not agree is when blind-loyalists start seeing something they don't favour, they get nasty and go into attack-mode in an attempt to put others off from airing their views. And to some extent, most of them get their way, but we end up with less people commenting in the forum.
Talking about hypocrisy earlier, like I've said, many of these people were so critical about Godzilla 98 and derided the film, and expressed so much confidence that Godzilla 2014 could easily beat out G98 in the US box-office and worldwide too. But when it starts becoming clearer now that Godzilla 2014 won't achieve what G98 did in terms of sales (after adjustment), suddenly we get 1001 reasons and justifications from these folks why G14 isn't performing. To put it across this way, even if Godzilla 2014 were to literally make just $400 million, they would still call it a huge success against G98. Which is why I said different standards are being applied selectively. If a non-Godzilla movie opens big and fails to reach the projected target, its called a failure. If it happens to G14? - oh there's no problem with that, its understandable.
@GorillaGodzilla77897 is an example of such a loyalist. He calls Godzilla 98 a monumental flop from a fanboy point of view, and he will never settle for anything that's critical about Godzilla 2014. At the same time, he conveniently forgets that the 98 version has made more than Godzilla 2014 adjusted. So going by numbers alone, won't that make Godzilla 2014 an even bigger flop? Even when its becoming clear Godzilla 2014 may not beat G98 both the in US and overseas eventually, he insists that this new movie is still a whopper at the box-office.
In all fairness to Godzilla 98 - It was an artistic failure only from a fanboy's standpoint, but it would be considered a hit by today's standards if we talk about box-office takings. To add on, it was the 9th highest grossing film for 1998 in the US, and 3rd highest-grossing film worldwide.
And when people cite competition, I think X-Men and Spider-Man 2 are in a complete different league with Godzilla to really affect the audiences' choice. And its not like there aren't enough audience numbers to go around that all these movies are competing for the same pie. Avatar's earnings of $749 million and being #1 at the US box-office consecutively for months despite all that competition and new movies debuting is the perfect example of telling us there's no limit when it comes to audience numbers, and if a movie is good, whatever the genre, people would still catch it.
So to say that it is acceptable for Godzilla 2014 not to beat G98's $231 million takings in the US box-office or $643 million in G98's combined sales (while earlier expressing so much confidence that it would be a piece of cake only to backtrack later) is applying a different standard here.
To add on, here are some of the best reasons to indicate all the more why it shouldn't be difficult for Godzilla 2014 to beat Godzilla 98 in box-office sales.
1) Population numbers have certainly grown larger, as with the consumer base.
2) Unlike in 1998 where they rely on mostly TV ads and prints for marketing, today we have the full-blown internet to our advantage, and the era of social media power, capable of reaching out to so much more people.
What else is there to stop Godzilla 2014 from beating 98 flat-out? Nothing literally, except only if the director or his marketing team screws up.
" Your kind feared the Darkness. "

Durp004
MemberBaragonJun-22-2014 11:04 AMI think the comparison in the box office is largely due to the marketing campaign each film got. Whatever anyone's feelings are about the 98 movie I think most of us can agree the marketing for the movie itself was amazing. This also points to a few things with the G14 story aand marketing that need to be pointed out.
When the trailers for the 98 movie came out as a Godzilla fan I was hyped. A 6 year old getting his favorite movie monster done in hollywood was amazing and the trailers just made it better. The trailer would come on the music would start and you'd just see shots of Godzilla running through the city, things being destroyed ect. When the movie came out it was another story. EVERYONE blasted it. Not a good story, crappy characters, and basically a worse version of jurassic park, however none of the reviews said anything about lack of action or Godzilla, in fact a few said there was too much. So to the average person when you saw the trailers(similar to transformers) you went there for destruction and action. The average person didn't expect Oscar winning performances or a deep story, they just wanted to see stuff destroyed and Godzilla.
Then G14. The adverising came is somewhat late and was a joke compared to the 98 one, but once the trailers started you saw a dark tone, and destruction accompanied by Godzilla. What was even better was when the reviews got released it didn't seem like the story or characters were bad in fact a few said they were quite good. There was one big flaw though, perhaps the the average audience the biggest flaw the movie could have. Not enough Godzilla and somewhat boring came up. These are the two worst possible things a movie like Godzilla could get. So by no means it G14 bad, actually it's pretty good and parts are very enjoyable, but to a non Gfan was this the movie we wanted to represent the franchise and wake it back up? A movie that showed trailers purposely misleading about Godzilla's role, and then barely any time with him? The fact Godzilla isn't in the movie isn't the thing that makes people mad about it. If everytime Godzilla showed up or was on screen he got stuff done I don't think there would be a problem, but the fact it it teases over and over action that happens. Godzilla fighting the flying muto, cut, the female going through vegas, cut, Godzilla making his way through San Francisco and running into the muto again, cut then finally the final fight. Godzilla and monster action in general is teased too much, and this is 100% a turn off to the average viewer. "Oh look something's going to happen! Oh wait nevermind it just cut away..." That is from Gareth. He seems like he doesn't know when it's time to stop teasing and show the real action. Some may argue the payoff in the end was worth it but what? So because the fight at the end was good that means that you don't need any scenes with Godzilla prior? No there's no reason to tease fights to that point and if Gareth doesn't learn that then what does that say for him directing a sequel?

Destroyah-x
MemberMothra LarvaeJun-22-2014 11:32 AM@Durp004 - This statement from you: " Godzilla fighting the flying muto, cut, the female going through vegas, cut, Godzilla making his way through San Francisco and running into the muto again, cut then finally the final fight. Godzilla and monster action in general is teased too much, and this is 100% a turn off to the average viewer. "Oh look something's going to happen! Oh wait nevermind it just cut away..." That is from Gareth. He seems like he doesn't know when it's time to stop teasing and show the real action." - I completely agree with you on this. Even all 5 of my friends whom I went with to catch Godzilla 2014 (and they are no fans of Godzilla btw), were wondering what in the world was this director thinking when he kept cutting the scenes off and teasing the audience, when there was absolutely no harm at all showing more Godzilla-action. As if the human characters weren't bland enough, you cut off the main creature's limelight and put all your bet in one final scene. One of my friend even joked and remarked if its because Legendary studios ran out of cash to make the movie, and used the cuts as a disguise for artistry.
And like @ThePike has pointed out, it would be hard going forward to convince people the sequel would be of any substance as long as the same director is at the helm because we are not gonna watch a tease-fest going on again laden with false visions and promises brought on by misleading marketing.
And then another thing to point out. Considering Godzilla was made for $160 million. - Compare this with Transformers Dark of the Moon's production cost of $195 million, and Michael Bay & Steven Spielberg's collaboration suddenly looks so much more worth it now. For the cost, it overwhelmingly delivers much more bang for the buck and action and CGI, including the box-office returns of over $1 Billion. That's truly genius.
" Your kind feared the Darkness. "

thepike
MemberMothra LarvaeJun-22-2014 6:09 PMThe sad part is, it would have been so easy to make G14 great...
1. Make the airport fight that we DON'T see, one that we DO see.
2. OR....Make the final fight scene longer with a greater visual impact to the city.
3. OR...A fairly lengthy(Godzilla 2000-like) military engagement with Godzilla.
4.OR...Any combination of all of the above.
Don't have the budget...?
1. Ditch Cranston. Good actor, but he overacted this one, and died early. I personally wouldn't have missed him. You could have had Dr. Serizawa as the power plant employee who loses his wife and goes on a quest for the truth, ending him up in pretty much the same place with all his "Let them fight," business.
2. Ditch the female lead. I care for her so little that I'm not gonna bother looking up her name, real or fictional. What was her purpose? To NOT answer the phone? Kick-Ass could have been a soldier and single father, torn from his son to fight the monsters and who path intersects with Serizawas.
3. Although I'm sure she came cheap, ditch the other woman who hangs around Dr. Serizawa. Who was she? Did she serve any purpose at all other to inject a tiny amount of reference?
4. I'm gonna get some complaints here, but ditch one MUTO! Did we really need two? Aside from their heartbreaking nuzzle, I don't see the value there. More money to animate more Godzilla if you are animating one MUTO, and then I don't have to watch the slaughter of a loving MUTO family and feel all crappy about it.
So I have no idea how much that's gonna save you in the budget. Probably not too much. But hey, if money is the problem, then every little bit can buy you a little more digital Godzilla I would assume.
If money was not the problem, then Gareth is indeed a tool.

GG
MemberGiganJun-22-2014 6:19 PMDestroyahX- Do you have rage issues? First im not a loyalist i just really enjoyed the movie. And your not considering that everything i say good about the film, You find something bad about it. So technically we are an equal and opposite reaction to are point of views.
Godzilla 2014 was a good movie, I want you guys to give it a chance alright. And stop critisising it. It was a good film and thats final.
Good grief.

Durp004
MemberBaragonJun-22-2014 6:30 PMWhat made it a good film. I don't completely disagree but I'm just curious what about it made it stand out above average? Is a 10 minute fight in a two hour movie enough to blow back every other fault? Did Bryan Cranston's performance wash away how lifeless ATJ was after he died, or how useless Elizabeth Olsen was to the story? Was the story that great? Seemed pretty simple to me. So what about them movie particuarly did you find that makes it so Gareth needs to come back and do the sequel in a way no other director could?

Destroyah-x
MemberMothra LarvaeJun-22-2014 10:33 PM@GorillaGodzilla77897 - With all due respect, you do notice nobody is disputing your choice of adoration for Godzilla 2014 and its director, likewise you have no right to tell others what to do or what to think.
We might as well call this Godzilla-Movies forum a 'GorillaGodzilla77897-wants-to-see-only-things-he-likes' moderated Godzilla forums. Thank God you don't happen to run this forum, otherwise you would censor out all the negative views and the only topics allowed are: "Godzilla 2014 is awesome! " Of course by then, this forum would have turned into an empty town.
The difference between us lies with the fact that unlike you, other than just appreciating the movie, I didn't apply a different standard when judging this movie, and I had the guts to admit that this movie had its shortfalls, and it really isn't doing exceptionally well at the box-office as we had hoped for, while you chose to put on a huge blinder and even if Godzilla 2014 makes $1 at the box-office, you would never question why and still scream at the top of your lungs, "awesome! ".
Which brings me to add, if you choose to put on a blinder, that's your choice, that's your problem. I have no issue with that. But if you have nothing constructive to add apart from just telling people you feel its a great film and others should stop criticizing the movie on this thread, it would be much appreciated if you stop commenting altogether or to ignore this thread completely for your own good, because repeating 10,000 times of the same thing that you think the movie is awesome is not going to help either. Thank you.
" Your kind feared the Darkness. "

Destroyah-x
MemberMothra LarvaeJun-22-2014 10:45 PM@ThePike - Yes, and you were talking about the budget. I don't think the issue is about the budget. Contrast this with Transformers DOTM which costs slightly more at $195 million to make, Steven Spielberg's CGI wizardry is no slouch here or even better in fact, not to mention more action, more battle sequences. Which gets more bang for the buck? You decide.
" Your kind feared the Darkness. "

GG
MemberGiganJun-23-2014 7:02 AMDestroyah- We have a right to express are own views. I enjoyed the movie, You thought it needed work. Im not moderating this thread, Im just telling you the reasons why its a good movie and why your arguements dont make any sense at times. A few posts ago you critisized me and called me a loyalist. Have i called you anything? Maybe a hater or something but thats purely for fun. What i am trying to say is, The movie is about to make 200 million in the U.S. You guys should be cheering it on for that not describing why Gareth sucks and movie has a 10 minute fight. This film was purely ment to immulate the 54 original. In the original Godzilla only appears for 10 minutes, In this one he appears for 15, Get my point? They both dont have that much Godzilla but the scenes they are in are unforgettable, Godzilla 54s Electrical fence scene is iconic, So is Godzilla 2014s first arrival scene. Destroyah, i get your point, You make a very good arguement and i like your views on somethings. But we as Godzilla fans shouldnt be ragging on the film in the way you guys are, Its incredibly better the 98, "Which was a monumental flop im serious, Maybe not in the box office but for just bad Godzilla" Godzilla 2014 is A Good movie. And you guys should be more willing to let Gareth have one more chance with the sequel, A new director you never know what will happen. He might change Godzilla story completly. And we dont want Godzilla to be another pacific rim with no story and just pure fighting again. In order for the Godzilla series to still be revelant and not just some kiddy stuff, It needs to be serious and real and thats what i like about Gareth. So you guys should stop hating on the movie, And maybe for once say something good about it? Cause dont we want to see the sequel, "2016" right? Ok, Destroyah i have a deal with you. If the sequel is worse i will resign my opinion and will say it needs a new director. Alright? #GiveGarethaChancexD
Good grief.

GG
MemberGiganJun-23-2014 7:04 AMAlso How many times have you guys fallen asleep in the old movies because of the constant fighting. Admit it!
Good grief.

Something Real
MemberGodzillaJun-23-2014 7:17 AMGORILLAGODZILLA77897 - These are your words: "Godzilla 2014 was a good movie. I want you guys to give it a chance alright. And stop critisising it. It was a good film and that's final."
Take a moment to consider the self-defeating nature of the statement you've made. You want us to give Godzilla (2014) a chance. We have; each of us here has likely seen the film. Asking us to give something a chance implies the possibility that we can make a decision about it after having afforded it a chance. Is it wrong of us to form an opinion concerning the very thing to which you've asked us to give a chance? From what I can tell, you don;t want us to give the film a chance; you want us to like it unconditionally - reagrdless of any concerns or issues we have with it. The word chance implies the possibility for failure or success. For some of us, the chance we gave resulted in a favorable outcome. For other, less so.
Stating that Godzilla (2014) was a good film ("and that's final") is extremely unfair. Asking others to give something a chance and then stating the above-cited absolute makes it impossible for them to form their own opinion. How can we give something a chance when you take that chance from us? I very much enjoyed Godzilla (2014). However, I'm in no way blind to the problems present in the film. Additionally, I'm not about to tell others that their viewpoints concerning the film are wrong. That's the beauty of being a self-aware, autonomous being: we can make choices - such as the one to give something a chance. Not only that, but we're capable of devising opinions and judgements based on that which we have given a chance.
Please, I implore you, consider what I've said. We're all fans here - we each love Godzilla and want to see more films concerning him. Give us a chance, and we'll repay that kindness. Who knows? You might walk away enlightened to some degree. Many of the men and women whom have posted on this thread are exceptionally intelligent and insightful. Listening to what they've to say instead of outright disregarding their words might be worthwhile. :)

Durp004
MemberBaragonJun-23-2014 7:35 AMI'm curious Gorillagodzilla77897 what past Godzilla films had constant fighting? You make it seem like every Godzilla movie is balls to the wall action and we didn't like this because there wasn't any. I'd simply like to point out MOST Godzilla movies have humans make up a large portion of the story and Godzilla having scenes towards the end with maybe a small fight in the middle to set up each monster's powers and strengths to help build up how strong they are for the final fight. The problem with this movie and why it's performing isn't because there's lack of action, there are quite a few scenes with the MUTOs that have explosions it's the constant cut away that I found most people disliking. As I pointed out there are at least 3 big cut aways during the movie that if they didn't exist and actually showed what happened I think the movie would have been much stronger and viewed much differently. I remember being in the theater opening night and hearing people laugh at the first one thinking it was a funny little prank to build up the final fight, but later on as the cut aways continued groans and sighs became more evident.

Destroyah-x
MemberMothra LarvaeJun-23-2014 8:33 AM@Something Real - Now, that's a good one! :) It's what I have been trying to tell @GorillaGodzilla77897 from the very beginning, except that you have put it across in such a manner that's more polite and eloquent. :)
Ironically, while he claims he respects the views of others, at the same time, he insists that we must accept that Godzilla 2014 is a good film and we should stop whatever negative thoughts we have with the film, just so we can see eye to eye with him. I don't see how that is considered respect for another's opinion, and to add on, you do noticed we folks here have got @GorillaGodzilla's point long ago and we gladly respect that. So whatever we have been discussing so far in this thread are views between us folks, and nobody's directing the conversation to him if you noticed. So I do not understand his rationale for repeatedly butting in to impose his views on us when nobody is exactly directing the conversation to him or telling him to accept our opinions. :P
@GorillaGodzilla77897 - Dear friend, I don't want to sound like a nag but I'll have to say this to you again. Nobody's disputing your thoughts about the movie. And besides, do you realize that I was actually having a discussion with @Talisman, @ThePike, & @Durp004 on the movie and not directing any part of these conversations to you personally? If I do not like something that I see, I simply ignore it because it doesn't affect me in any way, but I wouldn't see fit to budge into someone else' discussion and keep repeating the same stuff telling them to stop it or to alter their views according to mine?
Which leads me to feel that I think you have an ego issue here. The folks here have already got your viewpoints from the start. What I don't get is, you seem to see our discussions as an attack on your personal ego that compels you to respond, when we aren't directing anything upon you? So please, you are welcome to discuss, but if you are just gonna repeat 10,000 times that you think the movie is good, and gareth deserves a chance, I'd rather you keep it to yourself because we already understood your message a long time ago. :P
" Your kind feared the Darkness. "