The cast of “Godzilla Minus Zero” brought the glow of a Hollywood standing ovation to the 39th Tokyo International Film Festival on Sunday, two days before Yamazaki Takashi’s follow-up to his Oscar-winning “Godzilla Minus One” opens in Japan. Kamiki Ryunosuke, who returns as lead character Shikishima Koichi, and Hamabe Minami, who reprises the role of his wife Noriko, had flown back to Japan only two days earlier from the film’s premiere at Los Angeles’ TCL Chinese Theatre. It was an invaluable experience.” Applause in the 900-seat theater reportedly ran on without a break.
Hamabe said the cast later met premiere-goers at an after-party, where many approached them with big smiles to share their reactions. Some had dressed in Godzilla-themed outfits or wore Godzilla badges. The red carpet was open to passersby, Kamiki recalled.
Some fans held up large posters and asked for autographs, while chants of the director’s first name broke out from the crowd. HEY, TAKASHI!’ It was roaring.” When Yamazaki went over to sign autographs, the crowd erupted again, leaving Kamiki convinced that “Takashi of the world is truly amazing.” The Tokyo event also marked the first stage appearance of child actor Nagatani Sae, who returns as Shikishima Akiko. Kamiki walked her onstage.
In “Minus One,” which aired on Japanese TV’s “Friday Roadshow” on Friday, Akiko’s part consisted mostly of crying or single words such as “Where?” This time, the script gave her full dialogue. Can she do this?’” Kamiki said. She recalled Kamiki continuing to rub her back even after the cut was called on a scene in which Akiko cries.
She then asked her co-stars how she could become a fine actor while still in elementary school. Kamiki told her she already outshone them both, and said that appearing in both “Minus One” and “Minus Zero” at her age was “an amazing achievement in itself.” According to Kamiki, the new film picks up two years after the events of “Minus One.” “I hope viewers can imagine what those two years were like for them, and see how the family stands together against what comes next,” he said. Hamabe put the gap at two to three years.
She said the family had settled into everyday life together before Godzilla resurfaces to threaten it. Asked why the franchise has endured, Kamiki echoed the view of the director and fellow cast members that each Godzilla film mirrors the era in which it is made. It became the first Asian production to take home the visual effects prize at the 96th Oscars, and went on to collect more than 50 honors at home and abroad.
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