By Rebecca Murray and Melissa Molina
Delivering a new Godzilla movie to theaters that will be accepted by passionate fans of the iconic creature as well as moviegoers who aren’t necessarily into creature features was a huge task for screenwriter Max Borenstein to undertake. And at the 2014 WonderCon in Anaheim, CA, Borenstein explained his approach to the franchise and what audiences can expect from this Godzilla when Warner Bros Pictures and Legendary Pictures unleash the film in theaters on May 14, 2014.
Max Borenstein Interview
How did it feel to be a part of the Godzilla franchise?
Max Borenstein: There’s something crazy about trying to restart, reimagine something with such an incredible legacy and so many preconceptions and so many devoted fans. I don’t know if scared was the right term but excited, certainly trying to be thoughtful about it.”
Can you talk about the tone of this new Godzilla movie?
Max Borenstein: “When we started talking about it we wanted to make a Godzilla movie that was going to be more serious in tone than some of them – including the most recent – but that was going to be fun. We wanted to really have a monster that was scary and exciting and feels grounded and real, and if we could do that with a giant 300 foot monster, if you could make people watching the film feel like this could be plausible, that this could be happening, that felt like what we should try to aim for. As a fan of the genre you meet some people who aren’t fans of the genre and you want to try to explain to them why they should care. It felt like let’s make a movie that will convert people, that people will watch and even if they’re not fans of a monster movie, they’re going to be like, ‘Oh, now I get it.’ And people who are fans, they’re going to get their juicy payoff.”
Why didn’t you include any of the classic creatures along with Godzilla?
Max Borenstein: “We were always thinking of the creatures that we invented and trying to sort of invent our own for this movie. It was always about trying to figure out a way in which they could live in the same universe as Godzilla, that we could bring them together that felt our organic and not, ‘Let’s throw two together,’ although I love that also. But the idea here was what would be appropriate for this film, something that’s scary and feels like it exists in the same universe.”
Watch the interview:
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