Tribute to Yoshimitsu Banno (1931-2007)

Byrd and Matt are joined by Hedorah superfan Chris (of the musical project Cosmic Monster) to discuss the life and career of Yoshimitsu Banno, who passed away on May 7th, 2017. Banno is most well known for writing and directing Godzilla vs. Hedorah, but he did quite a bit more in his career. We discuss his life and career from his early days as an assistant director for Akira Kurosawa to writing/directing Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971), writing/assisting on Toho's Prophecies of Nostradamus (1974), his cancelled Godzilla 3D IMAX project, executive producing the Legendary Pictures Godzilla film in 2014, kick-starting the MonsterVerse, and everything in between! We hit on the genesis of these projects, environmentalism and Banno's place in kaiju history. Banno never got the credit he deserved for his contributions to the genre, so we wanted to give the father of Hedorah his due! RIP Mr. Banno!