COMMUNITY / A.C.E.
April 5, 2021
THE ASIAN REPORTER n Page 13
Godzilla vs. Kong: A heavyweight bout with a light touch
MONSTER MATCH. Kaylee Hottle (top photo)
plays Jia in the new action adventure Godzilla vs.
Kong, a Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures
release. In the bottom photo, Godzilla and King Kong
fight on an aircraft carrier in the middle of the ocean.
(Photos courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures and Leg-
endary Pictures)
By Ryan Pearson
The Associated Press
OS ANGELES — The original
1950s Godzilla movies stomped
into theaters carrying a metaphor
about nuclear destruction. Two years ago,
Godzilla: King of the Monsters sounded
alarms about climate change.
But don’t fret about finding a message
amid the mayhem as the towering
radioactive lizard clashes with that
instantly-recognizable giant ape in
Godzilla vs. Kong.
“It’s about two big guys bashing each
other around,” laughed actor Rebecca
Hall, who plays a researcher studying
King Kong. “There is a sense that the less
that humans meddle with stuff, the better,
is a general theme.
“But yeah, it’s mostly a big fight,” she
said.
Director Adam Wingard’s clash of the
titans caps Legendary Entertainment’s
“Monsterverse” series, which also includes
2014’s Godzilla and 2017’s Kong: Skull
Island. While not all were winners with
critics, they’ve grabbed plenty of cash at
the box office — more than $1.4 billion
worldwide.
All four films take their central
creatures seriously — both within the
stories and by pouring money into nuanced
special effects — while often winking at
audiences with self-aware references. The
films have featured performances from
top-caliber actors enjoying the silliness of
it all: Bryan Cranston, Ken Watanabe,
Tom Hiddleston, John C. Reilly, Sally
Hawkins, Vera Farmiga.
In the newest entry, the returning Millie
Bobby Brown and Kyle Chandler are
joined by Hall, Alexander Skarsgård,
Brian Tyree Henry, and Eiza González,
among others. No matter the scene, the
actors always knew who was filling the top
spots on call sheets during production —
L
Godzilla and King Kong.
“They’re divas, that’s what’s so difficult.
You go on to set, they don’t look at you in
the eye. It is in their contracts. Whatever. I
found it really difficult to work with
specifically Kong, just because he thought
he ruled the roost,” cracked Brown. “You
just want your close-up. And Zilla is like
‘rawr’ and you’re like, ‘Bro, calm down.’”
Wingard said he focused on keeping the
humans “as close together as possible”
with the monsters throughout his film,
including an E.T.-evoking moment with
deaf actor Kaylee Hottle.
But when the titular showdowns start,
“it was really important to me to do what
the original films did. Like if you look at all
the Showa-era films, when the monster
battles happened, it just stays with the
monsters. ... We wanted to make sure the
monsters were able to do their thing and
just get into it.”
That includes a fight on and underneath
an aircraft carrier in the middle of the
ocean, with Kong struggling and Godzilla
moving smoothly and realistically through
water. Later, shattering neon highlights
an eye-popping clash among and through
the skyscrapers of a heavily-stylized Hong
Kong.
Skarsgard, whose character leads a
human team following Kong to the film’s
most fantastical location, said Wingard’s
approach was to “really lean into the
craziness of it. And his take on it was, well,
if you’re going to go big, go really big. Go
crazy, let’s have fun with it, we haven’t
seen these titans go toe-to-toe in 50 years,
60 years. So let’s really enjoy this.”
Godzilla’s atomic breath and Kong’s
chest-thumping
were
crafted
for
maximum sensory impact, but viewers can
also see it on the small screen. A
pandemic-disrupted rollout had the film
debuting March 31 both at theaters and on
streaming service HBO Max. The film’s
stars say they’re just happy to share the
spectacle, whether it’s on an IMAX or
iPhone screen.
“These are extraordinary times that
demand extraordinary measures,” said
Demián Bichir, who plays an overreaching
tech mogul. “This is one of those films that
will be seen in every corner of the planet.
And that alone makes me very, very
happy.”
Henry, the “Atlanta” series star who
plays a conspiracy-theorizing podcast
host, said the film’s extravagance feels
right for this moment in the pandemic.
“People need something to just like
celebrate and cheer and have fun and see
millions of dollars of special effects,” he
said. “It’s like we shifted what we do in
summer blockbusters to the spring
because it’s like we just need something to
break out, something to have fun with.”
Legendary and distributor Warner Bros
haven’t announced any future “Monster-
verse” installments after Godzilla vs.
Kong. Wingard said he’d be happy to
return to a “phase two” of the franchise,
envisioning a “nearly silent film where we
just watch the monsters do their thing.”
“There are enough characters that are
well-enough defined where we can imprint
whatever we want on them,” he said. “I
think audiences are ready. And I think the
special effects world is up-to-date to be
able to handle that.”
Upcoming events
Continued from page 12
produced and directed short films about the Asian-
American experience since 2013. Laura Ng is a Ph.D.
candidate in the Department of Anthropology at Stanford
University. Her parents immigrated from Taishan
(Hoisan/Toisan) County and she grew up in Los Angeles.
To register, e-mail <info@portlandchinatown.org> or visit
<www.portlandchinatownmuseum.org/hidden-histories-
virtual-event-making-ties-the-candong-village-project>.
For more information, call (503) 224-0008.
Timbers play at home April 13 & 24
April 13 at 5:00pm & April 24 at 7:30pm
The Portland Timbers return to the soccer pitch in front
of a limited number of fans at Providence Park on
Tuesday, April 13 at 5:00pm. The contest, against C.D.
Marathón, is a CONCACAF Champions League Round of
16 match. When the Timbers play at home again on
Saturday, April 24 at 7:30pm, they will be competing
against the Houston Dynamo, a Major League Soccer
(MLS) opponent. The club plays its away games on April
18 at 7:00pm and May 1 at 5:00pm. Matches are televised
on FS1, Root Sports, or KPDX; please consult the online
schedule for viewing options. For more information, or to
buy
tickets,
call
(503)
553-5555
or
visit
<www.timbers.com>. (Ticket presale for the home games
begins for annual member on April 5 at 10:00am.)
Renowned theoretical physicist Michio
Kaku to be featured on April 15
April 15, 5:00pm
Powell’s City of Books is presenting a Zoom event with
renowned theoretical physicist Michio Kaku on Thursday,
April 15 at 5:00pm. Kaku is a professor of physics at the
City University of New York and the author of several
widely acclaimed science books, including Beyond
Einstein, The Future of Humanity, The Future of the
Mind, Physics of the Impossible, and others. Kaku’s new
book is The God Equation: The Quest for a Theory of
Everything (Doubleday). For more information, call (503)
228-4651 or visit <www.powells.com>. To register, visit
<https://bit.ly/3o9T5DF>.
A talk about Making Ties — The Cangdong Village Project is scheduled
for April 10 at 10:30am. (Photo courtesy of Barre Fong)
Kalakendra to present an evening
of Indian classical music
April 24, 7:00pm
Kalakendra, which is celebrating its 34th year of
presenting classical performing arts from the Indian
subcontinent, is live-steaming Indian classical music on
Saturday, April 24 at 7:00pm. The virtual concert features
Hindustani vocalist Anol Chatterjee with Kousik
Banerjee on tabla and Jyotirmoy Banerjee on harmonium.
A suggested donation is $15 per person (or $25 for a
family). The concert link will be released closer to the
event date. For more information, call (503) 308-1050 or
visit <www.kalakendra.org>.
Author and illustrator Jonny Sun
to appear in virtual Powell’s event
April 27, 5:00pm
The author of Everyone’s a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too,
Jonny Sun, has a new book — Goodbye, Again: Essays,
Reflections, and Illustrations (Harper Perennial) — a
collection of touching and hilarious personal essays,
stories, poems, and illustrations covering topics such as
mental health, happiness, and what it means to belong.
The author and illustrator’s virtual event takes place on
Tuesday, April 27 at 5:00pm. For more information, or to
obtain the event weblink, call (503) 228-4651 or visit
<www.powells.com/eventsupdate>.
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