Godzilla to put a scare into Halloween this fall at KU

William Tsutsui, KU associate professor of history

Godzilla will rise above downtown Lawrence this month, thanks to two KU aficionados who have planned a 50th birthday party as big as their favorite “king” of monsters.

William Tsutsui, KU associate professor of history, and Michiko Ito, KU librarian for Japanese studies, have invited Godzilla and monster scholars and experts to a three-day conference and film festival Oct. 28-30 as well as to numerous other related events this fall.

An inflated Godzilla nearly three stories tall is expected to greet festival goers from the roof of Liberty Hall. Another highlight: “Gojira,” the rarely seen 1954 film that launched the Godzilla franchise, will be shown for the first time in this area as part of the festivities

With one exception, all the lectures, films, exhibits, children’s workshops and conference events are free, because that’s how Godzilla would have wanted it, Tsutsui says.

Conference registration is required by Oct. 25. Registration forms are available online at www.g2004.net/godzilla/registration.asp Tsutsui expects 200 to 250 people to attend the conference but possibly double that number to attend the films. In July 2000, a “Godzilla Takes Kansas” film festival attracted about 400 people to Lawrence

A documentary film crew also plans to be in Lawrence to interview fans and to film parts of the conference.

Godzilla’s 50th birthday party in Lawrence is free to the public, thanks to funding from the Japan Foundation and the Toshiba International Foundation, the KU College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Hall Center for the Humanities, the KU Center for Research, the Kansas Asia Scholars and the Kansas Consortium for Teaching About Asia.

A full list of Godzilla events at KU and in Lawrence is available at www.g2004.net .