A look behind the scenes with Godzilla, the ‘king of monsters’

Norman England has been a lifelong fan of Japan's giant monster movies, including Ishiro Honda’s “Godzilla,” the iconic 1954 film that kicked off the kaijū (monster) genre worldwide. His obsession led him to become the Japan correspondent for Fangoria, a U.S.-based horror film fan magazine.

In 1997, the year he joined the publication, England interviewed Shusuke Kaneko, who had directed “Gamera: Guardian of the Universe” (1995) and “Gamera: Attack of the Legion” (1997) — two films that revived a series featuring the titular giant flying turtle that the Daiei studio had launched in the 1960s. The original films had been entertainment for kids, but Kaneko took the series in a scarier, more adult direction that intrigued England.