Centropolis Effects
The infamous footprint of Godzilla.
My, what a big
foot you have
Steppin' out with
By Tim Ryan
the 'Zilla-monster
Star-BulletinImagine being intimidated about seeing, or being suspected of photographing, a footprint. A really big footprint. A really big, famous -- but manmade -- footprint.
Security was exceptionally tight during last year's filming of "Godzilla" on windward Oahu, primarily at Kualoa Ranch where a Central American village was built only to be demolished by the big lizard.
No personal cameras were allowed on the set. Even invited news media were prohibited from taking pictures of star Matthew Broderick or director Roland Emmerich. What was allowed were pictures of crews setting up scenes -- from a distance.
There were some slip-ups.
When local reporters and photographers were drafted into being extras -- portraying reporters and photographers -- still cameras were checked to make sure they had no film.
At least one local television cameraman did have video in his camera when he "acted" as photographer, capturing several close-up shots of Broderick and his co-stars that were broadcast that evening on the news.
But some still pictures were secretly taken of a massive lizard footprint in a Kualoa Ranch valley, and of a small church crushed by the creature. Several claw prints -- about 12 feet long and 5 feet deep -- are stamped through the "village" into the valley.
After serving as an extra at a nearby pier, I asked a crew driver what the Kualoa set was like.
"The footprint is awesome," the driver said. "You should see it."
After some forceful begging, the driver pulled onto a narrow dirt road. After stopping at the nearly vacant production headquarters, we switched to a golf cart to ride to the village set. A minute later we were next to a crushed church; below was the partly demolished village. And several of the cookie cutter "footprints."
With the telephoto lens on my camera, I took a closer look, even though the camera had no film. Suddenly, a four-wheel-drive vehicle pulled up and a distinguished-looking and very angry man motioned frantically for us to come down, "Right now."
"Who are you?" the man asked.
"Who are you?" the driver said.
"I'm executive producer William Fay."
"Uh-oh," the driver said. "Well, I'm, uh, a driver and he asked me to show him the set."
"And you are ... " Fay said.
"A reporter," I said.
The man grimaced.
"You're not allowed to be here or take pictures."
"I was just looking through the lens for a closer look. I wanted to see the footprint. It's very big."
"You are not supposed to see the footprint, to know about the footprint, to take pictures of the footprint," the executive said, staring at my cameras. "This is private property. Do you trespass to get a story?"
"Is this a trick question?" I asked, then apologized. He let us leave.
Not long afterward, the film's publicist started calling:
Call one: "Reporters are not allowed back there. Ever. Pictures are not allowed of the footprint."
Call two: "We want the film in your camera. Drive back to the set and give us the pictures of the footprint."
Call three: "We'll sue you and your newspaper if you publish any photos of the footprint."
Call four: "You will not be invited on the press junket if the footprint pictures are published. You do want to come on the junket don't you?"
Then the driver telephoned to say he'd been fired. So I called the producer to heal the wound.
"You will not publish or talk about the footprint?" he said.
"No footprint will be mentioned by me."
"You can't allude to a footprint in print."
The driver was rehired.
Producer Dean Devlin later agreed to an interview, but would not discuss any description of the new Godzilla or the footprint.
"I saw the footprint," I said.
"No way."
"Way," I say. "It's big, very big."
"I can't confirm that," he said.
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