Nacho Vigalondo's kaiju drama COLOSSAL was hit by a lawsuit from Japan's Toho Studios, home of Godzilla, as it was heading into production, with Toho being concerned that Vigalondo was making an unauthorized Godzilla movie. With some tweaks, like moving the kaiju attack from Tokyo to Seoul, South Korea, Vigalondo was able to move forward with his "GODZILLA meets LOST IN TRANSLATION" project, and COLOSSAL recently made its debut at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Word out of TIFF, including Chris Bumbray's 7/10 review on JoBlo.com, indicates that Toho didn't have much to worry about, as COLOSSAL leans more toward LOST IN TRANSLATION than GODZILLA. It's a quirky drama that takes place far away from a monster's rampage.
Anne Hathaway stars as
a going-nowhere party girl who discovers a mysterious connection between herself and a giant monster wreaking havoc on the other side of the globe.
Dan Stevens, Jason Sudeikis, Tim Blake Nelson, and Austin Stowell co-star.
COLOSSAL may not be the creature feature many were hoping it would be, but it's still a project that has my attention and I'm eagerly looking forward to getting to see it. Luckily, it has been picked up for distribution in the United States, although information on exactly which company has acquired it is being kept under wraps. All that is known is that the company is based out of China, the price they paid for the film is somewhere in the mid-seven figures, and they're guaranteeing a significant theatrical release in 2017. This company is making an investment in a new U.S. studio that will be announced in a few weeks, at which time their identity will be revealed.
A clip from COLOSSAL was released online through Deadline.com before its TIFF screening, and that can be viewed right here: