Trivia for
Godzilla (1998) More at IMDbPro »

• The number of the cab used in the chase at the end of the movie is MN 44. Moon 44 (1990) is the title of an earlier film that was directed by Roland Emmerich and in which 'Dean Devlin (I)' appeared.
  
  
• Director Trademark: [Roland Emmerich] [44] Cab in final chase sequence is cab MN 44.
  
  
• When the soldiers search the log for cab MN 44's frequency we see that the driver of cab MN 43 is named Len Wiseman. Len Wiseman is the property assistant on several Roland Emmerich films and has since gone on to direct feature films of his own. Another driver's name is Scott Collins. Scott Edward Collins was another property assistant on the movie.
  
  
• The meter of the cab after the final chase sequence reads $95.20.
  
  
• The extra killed in his car when Godzilla first arrives in Manhattan was cast as a look-alike for J.D. Lees, editor of G-Fan magazine, because he cast disparaging remarks about the information that leaked out about the film prior to its release.
  
  
• Elevator music in a scene with Matthew Broderick is "Danke Schoen", which Broderick lip-syncs in a memorable scene from Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986).
  
  
• A tornado disrupted filming in Jersey City on May 6, 1997. The film crew managed to get some footage of the disaster filmed.
  
  
• A small statue of an alien from Independence Day (1996) (also directed by Roland Emmerich) is visible in the broadcast booth at Madison Square Garden.
  
  
• Enough lumber was used for the sets to build 50 homes.
  
  
• Over 1,000 4'x8'x16' Styrofoam blocks were used to build portions of the sets, including the subway tunnels.
  
  
• 35 tons of steel were used to build the sets.
  
  
• Over 1,000 soft architectural pieces were created for falling debris.
  
  
• There was enough paint used on the film to paint the entire Golden Gate Bridge.
  
  
• 2.4 million gallons (~321,000 cubic feet), of water was used to create rain for the film.
  
  
• 2,000 foam fish were made to create the fish pile.
  
  
• Enough non-toxic smoke was created on the film to completely fill the Los Angeles Coliseum 24 hours a day for one week.
  
  
• There were a total of 16 different cabs used to create the entire cab sequence.
  
  
• 20 car thumpers were built to lift cars on the street as Godzilla walked.
  
  
• The television station call letters, WIDF, are a reference to the film Independence Day (alias ID4), also made by the team of 'Dean Devlin (I)' and Roland Emmerich.
  
  
• Before Hank Azaria's character runs atop cars to get footage of Godzilla, he looks up and says Aw Jeez, using the voice of his character Moe Szyslak on "The Simpsons" (1989).
  
  
• The first sequence of the AH64-Apache gunships hunting Godzilla through the streets references both Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) with the line "Echo 4 to Echo Base" and Star Wars (1977) with "He's right on my tail! I can't shake him!" Both lines were spoken by Luke Skywalker ('Mark Hamill').
  
  
• Matthew Broderick's character's name is Dr. Niko Tatopoulos. Godzilla's designer and supervisor is 'Patrick Tatopoulos (I)'.
  
  
• 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 (1994) and Independence Day (1996). 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".
  
  
• The policeman seen during Godzilla's arrival is the same policeman (both played by same actor) seen suddenly leaving his patrol car in the middle of an intersection in Independence Day (1996).
  
  
• Tomoyuki Tanaka had produced all of the Japanese Godzilla movies. He died only a month before this film began actual production. This film is dedicated to him.
  
  
• All the footage of nuclear tests at the start of the film is American, not French. Most of the detonations shown are at Bikini and Eniwetak Atoll in the Marshall Islands, Pacific.
  
  
• The original plans called for two sequels to be produced. These plans were scrapped due to the poor reception of this film.
  
  
• 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.
  
  
• Tôhô Co. Ltd., the Japanese film studio that owns the rights to Godzilla (Gojira) agreed to allow an American version to be made, but only if the US studio followed a set of guidelines in order for the film to properly "capture the spirit of Godzilla." Practically every single request from Tôhô was ignored by the American producers, which caused the computer-generated monster in the film to be canonized officially as Jira, who is defeated by Godzilla (Gojira) himself in Gojira: Fainaru uôzu (2004).
  
  
• Internet fans hated the design for the American Godzilla so much, they gave it the name GINO (Godzilla in Name Only), while Tôhô officially named it Jira.
  
  
• The original script and Godzilla design were going to be much more faithful to the original Godzilla movies. Godzilla was going to fight a shape-shifting monster called Gryphon. The script was completely changed after Tristar saw what a big success Independence Day (1996) was and wanted their own disaster movie to compete with it.
  
  
• Apart from the name and the roar, this movie contains no references to the original Godzilla movies.
  
  
• This movie features more Simpson voice actors than any other project besides "The Simpsons" (1989) itself: Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer and Nancy Cartwright. The Simpsons and its creators are huge Godzilla fans and Godzilla, and his roar is used quite frequently in the show.
  
  
• The film's first teaser trailer began appearing in theater a full year before the film was released. The trailer contained a shot of Godzilla's foot coming through the roof of a museum and crushing a T-Rex skeleton. This scene was cut from the final version of the movie. It cost $600,000.
  
  
• 'Dean Devlin (I)' maintains that the tag-line for this movie, "Size Does Matter", was meant simply to differentiate the movie from Jurassic Park (1993) - hence the original "museum" trailer - but that the advertisers for the studio took it too far with their over-zealous campaign (e.g. "His foot is as long as this bus"). The ads became the biggest focus of the backlash against the movie. Most notable was a temporary page set up by the programmers for the website of Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) that mocked the "Godzilla" green glow and read "Plot Does Matter." However, when The Phantom Menace was released, Star Wars fans mocked George Lucas for making a Star Wars film where plot did not seem to matter as much as special effects. Another backlash came from Spielberg's DreamWorks trailer for Small Soldier, featuring a giant lizard being hog-tied by a group of action figures. This trailer has the tag-line, "Size doesn't matter."
  
  
• 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 (I)' came in.
  
  
• Godzilla wasn't supposed to have any breath weapon at all in this movie until an outraged fan poll demanded it.
  
  
• Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio were given partial writing credits for the film, despite the fact that their script was totally abandoned when Roland Emmerich was assigned to direct.
  
  
• On the original home video release in Japan, circa 1994, there is a trailer for the upcoming "all new American Godzilla". It offers some insight into what this version of the Godzilla movie might have been, before the massive changes TriStar made. Using full English text and voiceovers, "the all new American Godzilla" was listed as from "the makers of Disney's Aladdin" and featuring "ground-breaking special 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.
  
  
• 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.
  
  
• 'Patrick Tatopoulos (I)', 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.
  
  
• 'Patrick Tatopoulos (I)', who designed the new Godzilla, indicated that his original inspiration came from a "weird iguana" that lives in his house. He also gave it the nose and ears of a dog, the jaw of the tiger in Disney's Jungle Book, and human-like arms and hands.
  
  
• According to Tatopoulos, the only specific instructions Roland Emmerich gave him was that Godzilla should be able to run incredibly fast.
  
  
• Godzilla's color scheme was based on the urban environment of New York so that the monster would be able to blend in with its environment.
  
  
• An animated series called "Godzilla: The Series" (1998) was made which continued the storyline of the film. In the series, Tatopoulos accidentally discovers the egg that survived the destruction of the nest. The creature hatches and imprints on Nick as its parent.
  
  
• At the 1998 Golden Raspberry Awards, the film was nominated for five Razzies, including Worst Picture, Worst Director and Worst Screenplay. It took home two overall for Maria Pitillo as Worst Supporting Actress and for the film as Worst Remake or Sequel.
  
  
• KB Toys dubbed itself "Godzilla Headquarters" around the time of the film's release.
  
  
• Harry Shearer's character, Charles Caiman, is a reference to a crocodile type lizard, the Caiman, located in S. America.
  
  
• The tanks used in the Fish feeding scenes were actually big plastic/fiberglass mock-ups that were wheeled around on big dollies.
  
  
• This film was one of two released in Summer 1998 where the top of the Chrysler Building is destroyed and plummets to the street below. The other was Armageddon (1998/I).
  
  

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