Digital Monster Island - G-Fest X (Page 1)

G-Fest X

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G-Fest X took place Friday, July 18 - Sunday, July 20, 2003, at the Radisson Hotel in Arlington Heights, IL (just outside Chicago). The special guests were Noriaki Yuasa (director of the Showa Gamera series), Carl Craig (intrepid boy scout Jim Morgan in Gamera vs. Viras), and Robert Scott Field (Android M-11 in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah). The theatrical movie screenings included Battle In Outer Space, Gamera 3: Revenge Of Iris, and the North American premiere of Godzilla, Mothra, And King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack.

DMI webmaster Philip (Zillamon51) and guest reviewer Jen were both in attendance. We created this page to give all of our visitors a look at the convention. We had a lot of fun, and hope to meet some of you there in the years ahead!

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We arrived in Arlington Heights Thursday evening. Left is the sign welcoming back all G-Fans. Right is the entrance to the hotel.

Registration begins Friday morning. Left is a view of the hotel lobby. After registering, it's off to the Pickwick Theater (right) for an afternoon double feature. So how were the movies?

This was my first time seeing Battle In Outer Space. I know it's held in high regard by many fans (check out MaserCity's review), but I didn't care for it. Why? The bare-bones alien-invasion plot is undeveloped. The aliens are never shown out of their spacesuits, and no motive is given for their attacks. There's a lot of unintentional humor. The human astronauts drive around on the moon in vehicles that look like Oscar Meyer Weinermobiles! Regular DMI readers should know that I have no problem with old-school special effects, but BIOS is much too artificial looking. It's like watching a couple of kids play with toy rockets.

What about the second movie of the day, Gamera 3? This film is a masterpiece, quite possibly the best kaiju eiga since the original 1954 Godzilla. It was great to see it in a theater. Jen and I have now seen the entire Heisei Gamera trilogy on the big screen!

Saturday is always the busiest day of the con. It kicked off with a presentation by Carl Craig (above). Mr. Craig talked about how he was chosen for the role of Jim Morgan in Gamera vs. Viras (aka Destroy All Planets). He shared some very funny anecdotes concerning both the filming of the movie, and his life as a youngster in Japan after the film's release. Mr. Craig then answered questions from the audience.

Seated to the right of Carl is G-Fan publisher & G-Fest organizer J.D. Lees. To the left of Carl is a Viras doll. It was presented to him immediately before his presentation by Noriaki Yuasa.

Following Carl Craig's presentation, Noriaki Yuasa took the stage (above). He was joined by Robert Scott Field, who acted as translator. Mr. Yuasa's presentation was approximately two hours, and included an intermission. For the first part, he was asked a series of questions by J.D. Lees. Topics included: How he was chosen to direct the original 1965 Gamera, devising effective foes for Gamera to face in subsequent movies, and the difficulties (and advantages) of directing both the dramatic and special effects scenes for most of the films. He then answered questions from the audience.

During intermission, some enthusiastic fans pillaged Mr. Yuasa's goods (above). Left: Brett Homenick attempts to assimilate some of Mr. Yuasa's mojo by wearing his hat. Right: Jen just loves those plush monsters!

During the second part of the presentation, trailers for the Showa Gamera films were shown, followed by comments on each from Yuasa-san.

After a lunch break, Robert Scott Field gave a presentation on life in Japan. He talked about the language, some of the differences between American and Japanese culture, and his experiences living in the Land of the Rising Sun. This session was both humorous and informative.

It should also be noted that Mr. Field is much more than a special guest at G-Fest. In addition to giving presentations and signing autographs, "Scott" serves as translator for the Japanese guests. He also remains visible and accessible throughout the weekend. Always willing to chat and pose for photos, Scott is a friend to many of the regular guests. He is an integral part of the entire convention, and the show just wouldn't be the same without him.

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Text by: Philip (Zillamon51). Photos by: Philip and Jen.

G-Fest is an annual event held by Daikaiju Enterprises, LTD.; Steinbach, Manitoba, Canada.

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