Title Card by Kaiju-Hime CRYPTOZOOLOGY IN THE MONSTERVERSE CRYPTOZOOLOGY IN THE MONSTERVERSE Cryptozoology: “The Study of Hidden Animals” The Founding Fathers of Cryptozoology
Ivan T. Sanderson (1911 – 1973) Bernard Heuvelmans (1916 – 2001) Someone gets a fleeting glimpse of an unusual, unidentified creature.
First sighting of the Rhedosaurus from The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953) Circumstantial evidence (e.g. blurry photos, footprints, etc…) of an unusual, unidentified creature is discovered.
Blurry photo from Rodan (1956)
Mysterious Footprints found in Godzilla (1954) Characters (e.g. explorers, scientists, legend trippers, etc…) travel to a remote area to find the previously-unknown creature and try to capture it. The creature is identified as a Prehistoric Survivor (e.g. an animal thought to be extinct but in fact still alive). Shipton Photo Nov. 1951
First evidence of the Yeti or Abominable Snowman The Yeti: The Gigantopithecus Hypothesis Godzilla (1954) Dir. Ishiro Honda
Written by Shigeru Kayama Shigeru Kayama (1904-1975)
Japanese science-fiction writer. Wrote the story-treatments for Godzilla ‘54, Godzilla Raids Again and The Mysterians.
Prior to Godzilla, was most famous for two cryptozoological short-stories “The Revenge of Orang Pendek” (April, 1947) and “The Fate of Orang Pendek” (Jan. 1948) Jūjin Yuki Otoko (US Release: Half Human) 1955, Dir. Ishiro Honda Written by Shigeru Kayama Loren Coleman Director of the International Cryptozoology Museum, Main
Thomas Middleditch as Sam Coleman in Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)
Godzilla vs. The Yeti Yeti: Giant of the 20th-Century (1977, Dir. Gianfranco Parolini)
This German poster is 100x better than anything in the actual movie. The Mighty Peking Man (1977, Dir. Ho Meng Hua )
SFX by Toho’s Sadamasa Arikawa (Son of Godzilla, Destroy All Monsters) and Koichi Kawakita (Heisei Godzilla series)
Suit fabricated by Keizo Murase (Varan, Howl Beyond the Fog) Bigfoot (1970, Dir. Robert F. Slatzer) King Kong (2005) Dir. Peter Jackson Spicer Sighting – July 22, 1933
Art by Gino D’Achille Arthur Grant Encounter Jan. 5, 1934
Surgeon’s Photo April, 1934
Sir Peter Scott (1909-1989) Robert H. Rines (1922-2009) Nessie in Kaijū Media In Japan, the monsters searched for by cryptozoologists are called: U.M.A. Acronym for: Unidentified Mystery Animals Pronounced: “Yūma” Kanji: ユーマ Coined by zoological journalist Tatsuo Minoruyoshi (b. 1929) in 1976. Japan’s Own Loch Ness Monster: Issie of Lake Ikeda The Zuiyo-Maru Incident - April 25, 1977 Legend of Dinosaurs & Monster Birds (1977, Dir. Junji Kurata)
This poster is also 100x better than anything in this movie as well. Hammer Time!
• Founded in 1934, Hammer Film eventually found great international success with The Quatermass Xperiment (1955) and The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) • The studio went on to revolutionize genre films for the next two decades Hammer vs Toho
Curse of Frankenstein (1957) Frankenstein Conquers the World (1965)
Curse of the Werewolf (1961) Crest of the Wolf (1973) Hammer vs Toho
The Abominable Snowman (1957) Snowman (1955)
The Horror of Dracula (1958) Lake of Dracula (1971) Hammer’s monster roster included dinosaurs Hammer in the 1970s Unmade Hammer The era of Jaws knock-offs …bringing us to Nessie Draft #1
• January 1976 • Written by Clarke Reynolds (The Viking Queen) • Might have just been titled “Monster” • Totally lost
• In February Carreras convinced Paradine to drop their own Loch Ness movie
and join forces Paradine Films’ David Frost (left) Jim Danforth’s Nessie from 7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964) March 1976: enter Toho
Tomoyuki Tanaka agreed to foot 1/3 of the $3 million budget and do the effects. In exchange: • Toho gets Japanese rights to the movie, international rights to the character • The movie becomes a globe- trotting adventure • Akira Ifukube does the score Draft #2
• March 1976 • Written by John Star (Vampirella …also not made) • Teruyoshi Nakano has the only surviving copy Draft #3
• April 1976 • Written by Chris Wicking (Blood from the Mummy’s Tomb and To the Devil a Daughter) • Inspired by Bernard Heuvelmans’ book In the Wake of Sea Serpents (1968) • Makes Nessie an Elasmosaurus; introduces her need to travel to a spawning ground in the Pacific • Nakano also has the only surviving copy Creature design: Yasuyuki Inoue
Storyboards: Akihiko Iguchi
Modeling: Nobuyuki Yasumaru
Teruyoshi Nakano went to England 3-4 times for the film, and even visited Loch Ness for research…twice!
Loch Ness (according to 1990s Toho)→ Spring of ‘76
• April: – Movie development revealed to press on Frost’s yacht – Choice quotes include “will make Jaws look like a toothpaste commercial” and “based on existing evidence” • May: – Carreras went to the Cannes Film Festival to promote Nessie and try and drum up additional funding. – A black-and-white ad appeared in Variety magazine (May 19) advertising the film as Nessie: The Loch Ness Monster but now with a budget of $7-million. • June: – Carreras was approached by a representative of Gateway Projects – the company that had merchandized Jaws – about doing the same for Nessie. June-August: Drafts #4-6
• Academy Award-nominated British writer/director Bryan Forbes (The Stepford Wives) declined $200k directing, but scripted for $10k/month • One version, 135 pages and containing 479 scenes, resides today in the Hammer Script Archives at De Montfort University; 250-page Japanese translation also exists • Carreras messed up on Forbes, tried to get Michael Anderson (Orca) to direct Princess from the Moon (1987, Dir. Kon Ichikawa) Iwakura figure Art by Mark Rivers Art by Raf Enshohma Art by Hiroshi Kanatani Art by Ray Fromme Art by Lenny Romero Art by Chris Trefz Art by Gabe TKE Art by Erick Borja Art by Luke Stelmaszek Art by Rushelle Kucala Fry Art by Othell Flowers Art by Nick Shev Art by Tyler Sowles Art by Frank Parr Art by Larry Quach Art by Bill Couture Art by Gabe TKE Art by Gabe TKE Art by Christian Gonzalez Art by Luke Stelmaszek Art by Gaz Gretsky Art by Sam Messerly Art by Raf Enshohma Art by Raf Enshohma Art by Matt Frank Art by John Bellotti Jr Art by Kevin Derendorf