Godzilla (June 2012 screenplay)

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Godzilla
Godzilla frozen in ice concept art
Alternate titles None
Planned 2014
Concept history Godzilla (2014)

The June 20th, 2012 revision of the Godzilla (2014) screenplay has been hosted on the site Indieground Films since January 2014.

History

Max Borenstein submitted this 107-page revision of the Godzilla screenplay to Legendary on June 20, 2012, following drafts by David Callaham and David S. Goyer. On January 7, 2013, Legendary hired Frank Darabont to write the final version of the script.[1] Only Borenstein and Callaham appear in the film's credits.

Differences from the film

  • In an extended opening, the USS Nautilus surfaces at Bikini Atoll, its arrival suggestive of a sea monster. This moment also appears in Godzilla: The Official Novelization.
  • Ishiro Serizawa is named Honda, while Vivienne Graham is absent entirely.
  • The male and female MUTO are called Hokmuto (from Hokkaido) and Femuto, respectively.
  • The United Nations' Special MUTO Unit discovers the spore containing Femuto and a Godzilla skeleton in Siberia. Two MUTO skeletons are also present, still entombed in ice.
  • Ford and Elle Maddox are siblings, 18 and 13 respectively in their introductory scene. Their mother is named Linda, and their stepfather is Nathan Brody.
  • Linda and Nathan work at the Jancorp Nuclear Power Plant in Hokkaido.
  • Hokmuto's attack on Jancorp Nuclear Power Plant is brief, with no tearful goodbye between Nathan and Linda.
  • With the Special MUTO Unit covering up Hokmuto's involvement, Nathan takes the fall for the Jancorp nuclear accident and resigns. Ford thus blames him for Linda's death.
  • In the present, Ford is working at a Marine Reserves office after two tours of duty.
  • Though Ford and Elle share an apartment, Sam Brody is naturally absent.
  • Nathan travels to San Francisco to tell Ford about the mysterious new signal coming from the Jancorp plant. He lives in a U.S. trailer park.
  • Ford and Elle learn of his plans to return to Jancorp by breaking into his house; by then, he's already left.
  • A customs official at "Sapporo Airport" (presumably New Chitose) welcomes Ford to Japan. This scene was filmed and appears in Godzilla: The Official Novelization. A photo from it appears in the book Godzilla: The Art of Destruction, with the official played by prolific kaiju actor Akira Takarada.
  • Nathan explores the Quarantine Zone by himself.
  • Hokmuto's influence causes electronics throughout the Quarantine Zone to turn on and become magnetized, starting while Nathan explores his former home. Hokmuto also generates a green light resembling the aurora borealis.
  • The Special MUTO Unit feeds Hokmuto plutonium in the hopes of understanding how he can achieve cold fusion. Professor Bayer, its director, oversees the operation. He will accompany Honda for the rest of the script.
  • After the Hokmuto hatches, the Special MUTO Unit attempts to restrain it with an electrified net, only for it to absorb the electricity.
  • Ford's flight to Hokkaido is rerouted to Honolulu.
  • Nathan survives Hokmuto's rampage. Instead of flying to Honolulu, the creature burrows until it reaches the Pacific Ocean.
  • The aircraft carrier pursuing Hokmuto and eventually Godzilla is the USS Harry S. Truman.
  • "MUTO" stands for "Massive Unidentified Target Organisms."
  • The Special MUTO Unit's initial name for the monster struck by a hydrogen bomb in 1954 is "Jira," with Admiral Stenz mangling the pronunciation to "Zilla." On Oto Island, he is worshiped as a god called "Go-jira." Upon hearing this, Stenz adjusts his pronunciation to "Godzilla."
  • Honda describes Godzilla's first modern appearances thusly: "First sighted after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. We believe the nuclear radiation affected him somehow. He became the bane of your atomic fleet. At first, you thought it was the Russians, they thought it was you, eventually both countries made a pact to kill it." He also references Bloop, a mysterious underwater sound that the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recorded in 1997.
  • An oblivious married couple clink champagne glasses as Godzilla closes in on Honolulu. This moment was present in the footage Warner Bros. screened at WonderCon 2014.[2]
  • Godzilla is 600 feet (182.88 meters) tall.
  • Elle walks in front of her television set, oblivious, just before Godzilla hits Hokmuto with his atomic breath.
  • Godzilla leaves Hokmuto for dead, with the Special MUTO Unit and U.S. military planning to transport his corpse to a remote island.
  • Though Ford fails to meet up with Nathan in Honolulu, he successfully has him transferred to Elle's workplace, San Francisco General.
  • After tearing through Las Vegas and Nellis Air Force Base, Femuto heads towards a secret ballistic missile site east of San Francisco. Ford is assigned to one of the trains transporting the missiles elsewhere. It nearly hits a family's car stuck on the tracks, but they manage to drive forward just in time.
  • Scenes of the destruction in Las Vegas linger on the New York-New York Resort & Casino. A shot of the replica Statue of Liberty appears in the film's main trailer.[3]
  • Nate and Elle reunite as Godzilla and Femuto close in on San Francisco.
  • After recovering from Femuto's attack on the train, Ford notices the remains of the car the train nearly hit, as well as a teddy bear the daughter was holding. This moment also appears in the novelization.
  • A-10 Warthogs drive Godzilla through the Golden Gate Bridge. He comes ashore at Alcatraz as naval ships bombard him, the site where the military hopes to detonate the ICBM. Their attacks injure him somewhat. An Alcatraz battle appears in some merchandise for the film.
  • Honda realizes that Hokmuto isn't dead; he merely formed a chrysalis in Hawaii. He breaks free of the restraints on the cargo ship transporting him and flies to San Francisco. He has two pairs of wings.
  • As Marines transport the ICBM to Alcatraz, forcing the ships to cease fire, Godzilla slips back into the Bay.
  • Reggie, Elle's friend from work, is killed by a falling fighter jet as they evacuate. The missiles in another jet detonate, forcing Elle to drive in reverse as the bridge in front of her collapses.
  • Before he leaves for the HALO jump, Honda hands Ford a photo of him, Elle, and his parents and tells him his father would be proud. This scene also appears in the novelization.
  • Nathan and Elle take shelter inside the Transamerica Pyramid. Godzilla and Hokmuto bring the building down, but they survive inside a bank vault.
  • Honda describes his father's experiences after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima to Stenz in graphic detail. The United States Department of Defense, which loaned troops and equipment to the production, strongly objected to this speech, stating that "[i]f this is an apology or questioning of the decision to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki, that will be a showstopper for us."[4]
  • Godzilla blasts Hokmuto with atomic breath before tearing off a wing, prompting Femuto to join the battle. Her magnetism interferes with his ray, as "the ignition current in his throat short-circuits with a feeble click-click." The male MUTO saves the female MUTO in the same fashion in the novelization.
  • Hokmuto claps his remaining wings to produce a shockwave which stuns Godzilla.
  • Honda theorizes that Godzilla will "go into meltdown" if the Mutos can continue attacking him on land for long enough.
  • Realizing Femuto responds directly to pressure on her spore, Ford destroys it with a bolt-cutter. She kills most of his fellow soldiers in the nest.
  • Godzilla kills Hokmuto by crushing his skull between his jaws.
  • Godzilla decapitates Femuto with a massive swing of his claws. Ford declares him "king of the fucking monsters." Her death is the same in the novelization, though Ford's title is absent.
  • Ford remains on the dock as the boat carrying the ICBM speeds away from San Francisco on its own.

Gallery

Trivia

  • The Godzilla carcass found in ice in the beginning was changed because production learned that Man of Steel potentially might have had a similar scene involving an alien spaceship in the works.[5][6]

External links

References

This is a list of references for Godzilla (June 2012 screenplay). These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]

  1. UPDATE: Mary Parent Boarding ‘Godzilla’, Which Is Getting A Frank Darabont Rewrite And Losing Roy Lee And Dan Lin
  2. Godzilla (2014) Wondercon Footage Restored
  3. Godzilla - Official Main Trailer
  4. "U.S. 2014 "Godzilla" movie removes lines criticizing A-bombing due to Pentagon protests". Okinawan Times. 21 January 2023.
  5. Page 12, Godzilla: The Art of Destruction. Mark Cotta Vaz. 2014.
  6. 'Godzilla' Reboot Origin Changed Because of Superman - Business Insider

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