A podcast seeking entertainment and enlightenment through tokusatsu. Origin Story: After vacationing on the Monsterland Resort, professional writer/raging nerd Nathan Marchand got a job as the curator of the Vault containing the films about Monster Island’s many kaiju residents. Now he and his intrepid producer, Jimmy From NASA (who miraculously survived the infamous War in Space), record a bi-weekly podcast critically and academically examining each of the films in the prestigious Vault with one to four guest hosts chosen from Monster Island’s many tourists. Philosophy: Kaiju and/or tokusatsu fans will tell you these genres are undeniably fun. What’s often missed, though, are the deeper meanings below the sensational surface. Meanings entrenched in the story’s original historical and cultural context. That’s why this podcast believes in film appreciation. What’s that? It’s studying a movie’s script, direction, cinematography, and other aspects of filmmaking. It’s learning how and why it was created since movies aren’t made in a vacuum. This is especially true with foreign films. Non-native audiences are separated by both time and culture with them...
https://monsterislandfilmvault.podbean.com
Episode 80: The Asylum’s “Monster Island” (Ft. Raymund Martin)
Hello, Kaiju Lovers! In the (overdue) season 3 finale, Nate is forced to deal with Cameron Winter's “Christmas gift”: the Asylum's infamous Monster Island. It’s supposedly a “mockbuster” of 2019’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters, but even by the Asylum’s standards, that’s a stretch. To unravel the legal loopholes and shenanigans that went into making this...movie, Nate brings on the Island’s star lawyer, Raymund Martin, and the man’s paralegal, Gary Steward. Not only do they riff this half-competent (and therefore, boring) “kaiyu” flick into the ground, they give you a crash course in the history of the Asylum and mockbusters. Nate’s contractual obligations are now complete!
Beforehand, Nate delivers his final report as the nonexistent “media master” to Mr. Gold, who reveals a few tantalizing details about what's been happening on the Island lately.
Guest Cast
- Michael Hamilton as Mr. Gold
- Damon Noyes as Raymund Martin and Gary Steward
This episode’s prologue, “Heart of Gold,” was written by Michael Hamilton and Nathan Marchand.
Additional music:
- “This Cowboy’s Hat” (instrumental) by Chris LeDoux
- “Pacific Rim” by Niall Stenson
- “Circus Music” (public domain)
- “Kaiju rap” by Jonah Ray
- “Chant My Name!” by Masaaki Endo
Sound effects sourced from Freesound.org, including those by Brad Wesson.
Check out Nathan’s spinoff podcasts, The Henshin Men and The Power Trip.
We’d like to give a shout-out to our MIFV MAX patrons Travis Alexander; Danny DiManna (author/creator of the Godzilla Novelization Project); Eli Harris (elizilla13); Chris Cooke (host of One Cross Radio); Bex from Redeemed Otaku; Damon Noyes, The Cel Cast, TofuFury, Eric Anderson of Nerd Chapel, Ted Williams, Wynja the Ninja, Brad “Batman” Eddleman, Christopher Riner, The Indiscrite One, Jake Hambrick, Edwin Gonzalez, Matt Walsh (but not that Matt Walsh), and Jonathan Courtright! Thanks for your support!
You, too, can join MIFV MAX on Patreon to get this and other perks starting at only $3 a month! (https://www.patreon.com/monsterislandfilmvault)
Buy official MIFV merch on TeePublic! (https://www.teepublic.com/user/the-monster-island-gift-shop). NEW MERCH NOW AVAILABLE!
This episode is approved by the Monster Island Board of Directors.
Timestamps:
- Prologue: 0:00-7:37
- Introduction: 7:37-18:19
- Main Discussion: 18:19-2:19:21
- Outro: 2:19:21-2:30:21
- Credits: 2:30:21-2:31:58
Podcast Social Media:
- MIFV Linktree: https://linktr.ee/monsterislandfilmvault
- Nate’s Linktree: https://linktr.ee/nathan_marchand
www.MonsterIslandFilmVault.com
#JimmyFromNASALives #MonsterIslandFilmVault #amerikaiju #kaiju #theasylum #mockbuster #monsterisland
© 2023 Moonlighting Ninjas Media
Bibliography/Further Reading:
- Asylum’s Offcial Website: http://www.theasylum.cc/.
- “Asylum, The.” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Asylum.
- IMDb search for “Monster Island” (https://www.imdb.com/find/?q=monster%20island&ref_=nv_sr_sm).
- “Geomythology.” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geomythology.
- “List of The Asylum films.” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_The_Asylum_films.
- “Mocbuster.” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mockbuster.
- “Monster Island by David Wellington” Amazon listing: https://www.amazon.com/Monster-Island-Zombie-David-Wellington/dp/1560258500.
- “Monster Island.” Dragon Ball Wiki. https://dragonball.fandom.com/wiki/Monster_Island.
- “Monster Island.” IMDb, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10238788/.
- Monster Island – ROBLOX Wiki. https://monsterislands.fandom.com/wiki/Monster_Islands_-_ROBLOX_Wiki.
- “Monster Island (2019 film).” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monster_Island_(2019_film).
- “Monster Isle.” Marvel Database. https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Monster_Isle.
- Robitzski, Dan. “Debate Rages Over Whether Single Speeding Cheeto Could Destroy Space Station.” Futurism. 14 Jan. 2021. https://futurism.com/speeding-cheeto-destroy-space-station.
- “Tengu.” net. https://mythology.net/japanese/japanese-creatures/tengu/.
- “Tengu.” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tengu.