GODZILLA CONQUERS MONSTERPALOOZA!
The Man Who Played Godzilla, HARUO NAKAJIMA, Will Crash the Party in Burbank on April 8-10, 2011!


Photo © Toho Co., Ltd. (courtesy of Greg Shoemaker, colorized by Bill Selby)

Burbank, California: This coming spring, the man who played the original Godzilla — all the way from Japan — Haruo Nakajima will stomp into Burbank for the third annual Monsterpalooza horror film gathering, taking place April 8, 9, & 10, 2011 at the Marriott Convention Center.

Taking up extra work at Toho Studios in the late 1940s, Mr. Nakajima appeared in numerous productions, including one of the bandits in Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai (1954). After volunteering for the first Japanese fire stunt in the WW2 epic Eagle of the Pacific (1953), the team prepping Godzilla (1954) knew that he was the man for the job. From 1954 through 1972, Mr. Nakajima donned the heavy costumes to portray Godzilla, and a horde of other beasts, for film and television.

After 11 years, Mr. Nakajima will return to California to meet with his fans and sign autographs during the three-day Monsterpalooza event. He will also be speaking about his experiences in bringing these characters to life — including the various accidents and injuries he sustained while taking on the roles of Rodan, Varan, Baragon, Green Gargantua, and many other titanic terrors, as — arguably — the world’s foremost monster suit actor.

“Mr. Nakajima starred anonymously in one of the greatest movie franchises in history — from the somber allegories of the 1950s to the colorful monster mashes of the 1960s. For many westerners, these films stimulated an interest in Japan, with Godzilla serving as a surrogate cultural ambassador — largely thanks to Mr. Nakajima’s performances. He’s a living legend, and bringing him to Monsterpalooza is an honor, and he’s looking forward to meeting his American fans,” said August Ragone, author of Eiji Tsuburaya: Master of Monsters.

Monsterpalooza, organized by Eliot Brodsky, has quickly become the premiere gathering for fans of creature features in the US. Having hosted scores of actors from classic films, this the show’s first guest from Japan — a great opportunity for monster mavens to meet the one-and-only, Godzilla himself, Haruo Nakajima — truly making this Monsterpalooza an international event!

MONSTERPALOOZA 2011: The Art of Monsters • April 8-10, 2011
Award winning FX Artists, Monster related artwork displayed and sold, special presentations, a walk-through Monster Museum, and special guests from Horror and Sci-Fi films!

For more information, please visit the official MONSTERPALOOZA website!

(The first two Japanese toy vendors have already secured their tables/booths: Clawmark Toys [Japan] and Toyfreakz [California].)

Cool! Sounds like this could be fun. I have never been to a Monsterpalooza. Worth the admission?

Can't you get him up to San Francisco?

Mike: Monsterpalooza is the BEST horror/monster convention I have ever been to — and I've been going to these things since the 1970s — the emphasis is the "art of monsters", which includes figures, masks, sculptures and more — the Chiodo Brothers also put together a Monster Museum that you walk through the history of monster movies, with full-size silicon replicas of all the greats, from Lugosi's Dracula through Predator! See the video link and photos! Monsterpalooza is amazing!

Check out these fang-tastic photos from the 2009 show:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/40032522@N03/

Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIc1Rn6g8SY

...and the 2010 show:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=4 ... 0597800244

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=1 ... 6381628233

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=1 ... 233&ref=mf

DYBBUKIM: We originally had Mr. Nakajima scheduled for a weekend at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco in 2009 (because this is where I live), as was I was tapped to bring him over and to put a show together for the Castro. Six months before the event, all was going well, when they suddenly got cold feet and said that they were no longer interested in doing it, unless I paid for the entire event myself (the economy crashing was a factor). Trying to save the event, I spent weeks talking to other theaters in San Francisco (I have a lot of experience in this area), and no one was interested, or could meet our aspirations. So, with the alternative being scrapping everything, I postponed the show until I could finish my work producing the Special Features for Shout! Factory's Gamera DVDs. Once all of that was in the can, I was serendipitously approached by the organizer of Monsterpalooza, Eliot Brodsky, and after talking to him at great length, I felt that this was a good opportunity to fulfill my promise to bring Mr. Nakajima back to California.

Of course, I'd still love to do an SF event — it's my home town — and so if anyone has a line on sponsors and are able to raise about $10k seed money, we can do another huge event in San Francisco with Mr. Nakajima (as we did with Godzillafest at the Castro back in 2004). It's not cheap to do these, obviously, so I'm happy to have the opportunity to work with Eliot Brodsky, who is willing to take a chance at bringing over Mr. Nakajima for Monsterpalooza — and the way the chips are falling into place, it's going to be a blast of a weekend!

I will really try to go, but it is the weekend following WonderCon. Now if I only had $10K available. . .

It would be outstanding if he rolled in just like he is in the pic above. Half dressed with a smoke in hand... kick some tables over

That would be awesome — the way he still drinks and smokes at his age — I wouldn't be surprised! (Oh, we're also taking him to Godzilla's star on the Walk of Fame in Hollywood for a photo op — he's never been to it)!



WonderCon is really a dry run for Comic-Con — the lack of Japanese toys in the exhibitors hall doesn't really suck in me and if I didn't present talks or host panels, I really wouldn't need to go at all, really (except to find some old issues of Famous Monsters or the Monster Times). Monsterpalooza, on the other hand, is INCREDIBLE — there is no comparison — the photos and video speak for themselves!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5T3e8SoFCvg

GUESTS IN ATTENDANCE @ "MONSTERPALOOZA 2011":

HARUO NAKAJIMA (GODZILLA, RODAN, THE H-MAN, WAR OF THE GARGANTUAS)
JACKIE JOSEPH and JONATHAN HAZE (LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS
RICOU BROWNING and JULIE ADAMS (CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON)
JIMMY HUNT (INVADERS FROM MARS)
LARA PARKER and KATHRYN LEIGH SCOTT (DARK SHADOWS)
LYNN LOWRY (CAT PEOPLE, THE CRAZIES)
DEE WALLACE (E.T., THE HOWLING)
BELINDA BALASKI (PIRANHA,THE HOWLING)
ROBERT PICARDO (THE HOWLING, LEGEND, STAR TREK, STARGATE)
JAMES HONG (BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA, BLADE RUNNER)
DOUG JONES (HELLBOY, PANS LABYRINTH)
DOUG:AS TAIT (LAND OF THE LOST, STAR TREK 9)
BRIAN STEELE (PREDATORS, HELLBOY 2)
THE CHANEY FAMILY
SARA KARLOFF
BELA LUGOSI JR.
CORTLANDT HULL
BILL DIAMOND

MORE TO BE ANNOUNCED IN THE COMING WEEKS!

ARTISTS IN ATTENDANCE @ "MONSTERPALOOZA 2011"!

VERNE LANGDON - http://www.vernelangdon.com/vernesworld.html
MICHAEL WESTMORE - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Westmore
TOM WOODRUFF JR. - http://studioadi.com/
VE NEILL - http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0624763/
ALLEN APONE - http://www.allanapone.com/
GLENN HETRICK - http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0381761/
ROBERT SHORT - http://www.robertshort.com/introcontact.html
TOM BURMAN -http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0122207/
BARI DREIBAND -BURMAN - http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0237412/
MIKE HILL - http://www.mikehillart.com/index2.htm
ROB BURMAN - http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0122201/
JENNIFER McMANUS - http://www.getrubberwear.com/
JORDU SCHELL - http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0434610/
CASEY LOVE - http://www.caseylovedesigns.com/Home.htm
JAMES KAGEL - http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0434610/
WILLIAM MALONE - http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0540532/
THE CHIODO BROS. - http://www.chiodobros.com/
MARK BRYAN WILSON - http://www.markbryanwilson.com/home.html
STEVE NEILL - http://sneillfx.com/page3
TOM SPINA - http://www.tomspinadesigns.com/home-and-news.html
WILLIAM STOUT - http://www.williamstout.com/
DON LANNING - http://www.donlanningstudio.com/
BARRY KOPER - http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0465751/
KERRY GAMMILL - http://gammillustrations.bizland.com/monsterart/
MARK ROBINSON - http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2999683/
JEFF WEHENKEL - http://wehenkelgallery.weebly.com/
RUSS LUKICH - http://www.fxwork.com/
PAT MAGEE - http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1414398/
FRANK DIETZ - http://www.sketchythings.com/FineArtGallery.htm
DON POST JR.- http://www.rubberroom101.com/donpost/dpjr.html
EDDIE CARILLO - http://www.melefx.com/mel/Home.html
JASON HITE - http://hitestudios.blogspot.com/
KEVIN KIRKPATRICK - http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2294701/
SCOTT WHITWORTH - http://www.whitworthsculpturestudio.com/
BRENT ARMSTRONG - http://www.artofclaysculpturestudio.com ... lcome.html
BOB LIZZARAGA - http://www.boblizarraga.com/
SIMON LEE/SPIDER ZERO - http://www.bigbluetree.com/
NORM MEYERS - http://artistproofstudio.blogspot.com/2 ... -phil.html
AMBER SKOWRONSKI - http://www.amberskowronski.com/
TIM GORE - http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0488919/
RICH KRUSELL - http://www.busitdesign.com/
NEIL WINN - http://www.neilwinn.com/
JAVIER SOTO – http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0815541/
MIDNIGHT STUDIOS - http://www.splatterfx.net/
JUSTIN MABRY - http://www.nightowlpro.com/about.html
PAUL KOMODA - http://artistproofstudio.blogspot.com/2 ... omoda.html
JONATHAN FULLER - http://www.monsterasylum.com/
DAMON BARD - http://www.bardsculpturestudio.com/
THE SHIFLETT BROS. - http://www.shiflettbrothers.com/
KELLY MANN - http://www.maskdr.com/Kelly.html
AARON LEWIS - http://www.deathstalkerst....com/mayhem/mainpage.htm
BONEYARD EFFECTS - http://www.boneyardfx.com/
MIKE SOZNOWSKI - http://www.sozstudios.com/
ROBERT KATO DESTEFAN - http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1449657/
JOHN MAHONEY - http://mahoneyconceptartist.blogspot.com/
BRIAN JOHNSON - http://www.horrorillustration.com/
HOWARD SENFT - http://www.howardsstudios.com/
SAM MCCAIN - http://www.horrorsanctum.com/
DUGNATION - http://dugnation.deviantart.com/gallery/
DAN CRAWLEY - http://www.aftermidnightstudios.net/
KENNETH HALL - http://totalfab.com/bio.html
JOE TRUJILLO - http://dioramafantasies.com/
DICK CHERRY - http://www.dickcherry.com/site/index.php/home
ERIQ CHANG - http://www.hyattsf.com/
ANDERS ERICKSON - http://www.nightmaregloves.com/
ERIC PIGORS - http://www.toxictoons.com/
RIC BLANC - http://www.rickblanco.com
SHANNON SHEA – http://www.phantomharbor.com/MainPage.html
MATT HAWKINS - http://www.characterdynamics.com/
TIM MARTIN - http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1414783/
JAMES HAKOLA – http://www.mrdandy.com/
MICHAEL ROTELLA - http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1511347/
GEO BRAWN - http://brawngraphix.com/
BRIAN DOOLEY- http://www.shrunkenheadstudios.com/
KATHLUCIA DIAS - http://invaderkat.com/home.html
PETE INFELISE - http://www.devils-workshop.com/
CLINT BURGIN - http://www.clintburgin.com/Pages/HellSpawn.html
NEAL KENNEMORE - http://www.facebook.com/friends/?id=750 ... 1070096157
ALFRED PARADES - http://www.apsculpturestudio.com/
JOHN WRIGHTSON - http://www.facebook.com/friends/?id=750 ... ref=search
GABRIEL GARCIA
MATHEW LEVIN
ARMANDO DELA ROCHA
MICHAEL COLEBLANK
RICK ROBERTS
JENNIFER BAILEY
FELIX LANDALA
GABRIEL GARCIA
JIM LAWRENCE
DENNIS AND NAN BECKSTROM

MORE TO BE ANNOUNCED IN THE COMING WEEKS!

OVER 200 VENDORS!
SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS!
MONSTER MUSEUM!
MODEL KIT CONTEST!

My girl and I just booked our airline tix and hotel and purchased our 3-day pass. Monsterpalooza, here we come! We are both so stoked.

Here's a look at the poster I commissioned for the event, created by the amazing Jolyon B. Yates!


(This is a low-res version for web purposes only.)


Here are two of the presentations that Mr. Nakajima will be participating in during Monsterpalooza:


—THIS PRESENTATION TAKES PLACE ON SATURDAY, APRIL 9th @ 3:00 PM!—



—THIS PRESENTATION TAKES PLACE ON SUNDAY, APRIL 10th @ 2:00 PM!—

We are going to be donating a large portion of the proceeds in the sales of Mr. Nakajima's autographs (at screamingly low prices to begin with, because I hate inflated celebrity autograph prices) will go to the Japan Society's Earthquake Relief Fund — there will also be a limited number of giclee prints of the event artwork (seen above), singed and numbered by the artist and Mr. Nakajima, which we will auction at Monsterpalooza. The full amount of the giclees will be going directly to the Japan Society's fund.

will Haruo Nakajima be there all 3 days? Will he also be at a booth signing autographs? Do you know how much it will be to get an autograph?

I'm thinking of going, seem like a lot of fun!

Thanks August!

I just received the limited-edition giclee prints from artist Jolyon B. Yates, and they look AMAZING, measuring a whopping 19.5"x24.75"! These will be available EXCLUSIVELY at MONSTERPALOOZA in Burbank (April 8-10, 2011), signed and numbered by the artist and Mr. Nakajima, which we will auction at the show. The full amount of these giclees will be going directly to the Japan Society's Earthquake Relief Fund.

Nice! So, who's going to this?

We are working out the rates for the Autographs, in light of the Earthquake Relief fundraising efforts, and hope to have some numbers shortly (pending Mr. Nakajima's approval). Let's just say this, it will be cheaper than what you find at other Celebrity Autograph Shows, because I've always been against this kind of gouging — after spending money to get into these events — so, in addition to keeping those prices very low, we will also be donating a large portion of the proceeds made from the sales of the 8x10s and 11x14s we will have at his table all three days (while supplies last) to the Japan Society's Earthquake Relief Fund. Thanks, we — and Mr. Nakajima — appreciate it!

Any other questions — please feel free to ask away!

I'll be at monsterpalooza on sat, any lask peeps going? Wanto meet abd get an autograph from Haruo Nakajima!

I'm going to be there all three days.

Looks like I'm going on Saturday.

Hi August,

Will the only time to get an autograph from Nakajima san be from 3-4pm? Do you suggest we line up early?

Does anyone know any more info on this? i'd hate to drive to la and not get to meet Nakajima san

^ when nakajima-san came to chicago during g-fest, the line took several hours to get through. he's such a nice guy that he couldn't stop at just the 1-signed-item-per-person limit, and he wanted to interact with each person that came through. at the end of the extended signing time period, they had to schedule an extra session the next morning to accommodate everyone. it was nuts.

tl;dr: i'd say get in line as early as you're willing and able

thanks for the tip Ultra999!!

Sounds like an awesome event.
And August, your link is dead.

THIS WEEKEND: DESTROY ALL MONSTERPALOOZAS! Take a look out our event-exclusive items for Mr. Nakajima to sign!
http://augustragone.blogspot.com/2011/0 ... zilla.html

Mr. Nakajima will be signing autographs in 90 min. to 2 hour blocks throughout the weekend — all three days — the times will be posted at the table each day (and are subject to change), so there will be time for everyone to get a chance, no matter which day you attend the event. Also, this is to prevent Mr. Nakajima from becoming overworked, and allows him generous breaks in-between signings. (This is the way it should be done, and not what we suffered through in 2008; I was signing next to Don Frye.) A large portion of the proceeds made from the sales of autographs will be donated in Mr. Nakajima's name to the Japan Society's Earthquake Relief Fund.

On Saturday, Mr. Nakajima will also be appearing on stage for a talk show, featuring dozens of behind-the-scenes photos from his greatest monster roles, "They Called Him... Godzilla! Haruo Nakajima: The Man of a Thousand Monsters", from 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm in the Main Ballroom. Then, on Sunday from 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm, Mr. Nakajima will join several other veteran suit actors on stage for "Men In Suits", where they will talk about the craft of monster suit acting — also in the main ballroom. (Times and Room subject to change.)

Hope to see some of you stop by Mr. Nakajima's booth this weekend — we all really appreciate the support!

(Joe, thanks — it was an incomplete URL; fixed!)

hi August,

if we bought our tickets online, do we pick up our passes at the convention by showing our pp statement/receipt?

When I bought my tix online it said to bring my receipt. I brought it with me and then left it in my hotel room. It didn't matter, though, because they had my name on a will call list. You should bring your reciept just in case, though.