Godzilla [1998] (1 disc)

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• Apart from the name and the roar, this movie contains no references to the original [Godzilla] movies.
• Mayor Ebert and his assistant Gene are spoofs of film critics Roger Ebert and his late partner Gene Siskel. This is in response to the duo giving negative reviews to Emmerich and Devlin's earlier films Stargate and Independence Day. When mayor Ebert is introduced he holds up two thumbs, the mark given by Siskel and Ebert to movies they like the most. Mayor Ebert's campaign slogan is "Thumbs Up For New York!". And when Gene disapproves of Mayor Ebert's latest platform (of exploiting the Godzilla disaster for his own benefit) he gives him a thumbs down. When the actual Siskel and Ebert reviewed the film on their show, it received two thumbs down and Gene Siskel commented on being spoofed in the film; he said it was "petty".
• 20 car thumpers were built to lift cars on the street as Godzilla walked.
• The first sequence of the AH64-Apache gunships hunting Godzilla through the streets references both Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back with the line "Echo 4 to Echo Base" and Star Wars with "He's right on my tail! I can't shake him!" Both lines were spoken by Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill).
• Patrick Tatopoulos, the Godzilla designer and supervisor, created a mechanically operated suit for the monster, as well as scale models, but in a 1998 interview, ^[?] Volker Engel, the visual effects supervisor, estimated that less than ten percent of the effects shots featuring Godzilla used prosthetic and mechanical effects.
• In a television interview, 'Matthew Broderick' said that the entire cast were given wet suits to wear underneath their costumes while filming in Hawaii. He was upset because his wet suit zipped up in the back, which made it difficult to put on every day. One day during a break in filming, he was talking with co-star Hank Azaria, who had his shirt off, revealing a wet suit that zipped up in front. Broderick remarked, "Oh, your wet suit zips up in front." Puzzled, Azaria replied, "They ALL zip up in front." Broderick had been putting his wet suit on backward every day.
• Half way through a screening, Kenpachiro Satsuma, who played Godzilla from 1985-1995, walked out saying It's not Godzilla. It doesn't have the spirit.
• Roland Emmerich admitted that he did not like the original Godzilla movies - he only agreed to the project after being promised to be able to do what ever he wanted with the series.
• The original plans called for two sequels to be produced. These plans were scrapped due to the poor reception of this film.
• When this modern remake was first conceived in 1990 James Cameron was originally offered the chance to direct. When he passed Tim Burton was connected for a few years, with Joe Johnston's name bandied about for some time also. Paul Verhoeven was going to direct but he passed on the project. Then Jan de Bont was attached and set to direct but his budget for the film, estimated at $150 million, was higher than the studio was willing to pay. After he was let go, Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin came in.