If you could have dinner with any historical figure, who would it be and what would you ask them?
This is an easy one, no question about it. I would want to meet Eiji Tsuburaya. For those that immediately recognize his name, congratulations on your incredibly good taste. For those that do not, Eiji Tsuburaya is the mastermind, along with the scores and scores of incredibly talented people he selected to work amongst his ranks at Tsuburaya Productions, of damn near every great Japanese science fiction show or movie you have ever laid eyes on from the golden age of kaiju and tokusatsu film and television.
I grew up spending every summer in New York with my grandmother for several years, and every summer on Sunday there were two things that had me parked in front of the television; kung fu movies and giant monster movies. These Sunday afternoon films spawned a love I have to this very day with both genres. As an adult I collect all things Godzilla with a very specific focus on the early films and the sofubi (soft vinyl toys) that were made during that time period. I also collect the toys and soft vinyl figures for numerous other Tsuburaya Productions shows, most notably my large Ultraman collection.
I started watching these movies in the 3rd grade and I am 52 years old and still obsessed. So with this in mind, I cannot imagine another historical figure I would want to sit down with more. Eiji Tsuburaya and his special effects crew had a profound impact on me with the work they created. I have had the honor of meeting Haruo Nakajima, the original suit actor for Godzilla, as well as Bin Furuya, the original Ultraman suit actor, and got to ask questions about their experiences working with Eiji on these films and shows. Though nothing would beat getting to sit down with the master of monsters himself and pick his brain!
As far as questions, I would definitely ask for stories from the production. I mean, these guys made miniature cities so that Hauro and Bin could get into rubber monster or alien suits and look like giants against the miniature city as they walked and battled their way through the film set landscape. I would also ask about working with actual explosions on set as at the time all of the fire and explosions in these films were happening in real time as the actors were in the scene. There was no CGI so when you see a giant explosion next to Godzilla or Ultraman, Hauro or Bin respectively, are in a suit with that explosion happening in real time directly next to them; making these films was dangerous. The actors and crew on these films literally risked life and limb to bring these films and shows to life. I would need to hear every story about the insanity and sheer will to create that this approach to filmmaking required.
