Monster-movie fan Broderick had fun making Godzilla
By Louis B. Hobson, Express Writer
NEW YORK -- In the new monster movie Godzilla, Matthew Broderick plays
a biologist who is called upon to explain the sudden emergence of the giant
mutant lizard.
Broderick says he has something in common with his gargantuan co-star.
"They just can't seem to get rid of either of us. Granted, Godzilla
has been around for 44 years but I've been around for 17.
"I started acting when I was 19. I'm amazed that I've lasted as long
as I have and that I've managed to stay viable in a very fickle industry."
Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin, the creative force behind Stargate,
Independence Day and now Godzilla, insists they wrote the role of the biologist
for Broderick.
Devlin started out as an actor and recalls: "I was always following
in Matthew's footsteps. I always seemed to be auditioning for the roles
he eventually got.
"He's one of my favorite actors. We tried to get him for Stargate and
Independence Day but both times he was already committed. This time I went
to him before I wrote the script for Godzilla and got him to commit so
I could write the role specifically for his strengths."
Broderick says he came aboard Godzilla because Devlin assured him,
"it would not be a spoof. I've always loved monster movies. I grew up watching
creature features on TV.
"I didn't want to mock the movies I loved so much."
Broderick said he put his faith in Devlin and Emmerich not just because
Independence Day grossed more than $800 million US but because "in Independence
Day, they made me care about the characters.
"You have to care about the people being chased by aliens or monsters
for the movie to work. Otherwise, it's just a bunch of explosions and special
effects."
The creature in Godzilla is basically a special effect inserted into
shots months after Broderick and the rest of the cast had wrapped and gone
home.
"Roland would help me pick out a window on a building and that's what
I'd stare at when I was interacting with Godzilla.
"The most I ever saw of him was a claw, a foot and a knuckle."
Broderick admits he was surprised when he saw the finished version
of the film.
"Boy, has Godzilla been working out since his last (Japanese) films!
He's really trim and buff and he's had a lot of plastic surgery."
Because 90% of the film occurs in a rainstorm, Broderick felt a bit
waterlogged by the end of the shoot.
"It was uncomfortable but it was also part of the fun. You felt ready
to play. It got you in the mood."
In one sequence, Broderick is trapped in a car inside the jaws of the
creature.
"They had created the jaws, and it and the car were up on a huge crane
that rocked. It was like being on a ride in Disneyland."
This summer, Broderick will begin filming Disney's live-action version
of the popular cartoon Inspector Gadget, playing the bumbling bionic detective.
All the major cast members of Godzilla signed a three-picture deal.
Broderick says he hopes that if there is a squel, Godzilla chooses to attack
Paris.
"I love Paris so I'd love to spend three months there."
Because Godzilla attacks New York in his first American movie, Broderick
didn't have far to travel each day for work.
He and his wife, Sarah Jessica Parker, live in New York's Soho district,
one of the areas ravaged by the creature.
"We cheated a bit actually.
"The wide exterior shots were done in New York but then we moved to
Los Angeles for most of the interiors."
Broderick has a whole shelf of action toys modelled after his character.
"There's a grappling Nick and a currying Nick and a brave scientist
Nick. They look like me except that the hands are very big so Nick can
hold all his weapons."
