I am a huge Godzilla fan. I know all the monsters, have seen all the movies and I own all three of the modern video games that came out. With Legendary Pictures Godzilla reboot still in development (most likely not meeting it's 2012 intended release date) I figured that I would run down how the movie should be made from the prospective of a fan. Since there are 28 movies total, and I've seen them all more then twice, I have a good idea on the structure of these movie and how they should be made if Toho isn't producing them. So here are five tips on how to make a Godzilla movie correctly.

1.) GETTING THE DESIGN AND PERSONALITY OF GODZILLA RIGHT

This seems to be the first problem that the studio fixed. The promo artwork for the new movie shows the Godzilla that audiences are familiar with compared to the monster (now called Zilla) in the 1998 "remake". This design seems to have all the features that Godzilla has had since 1954 so it looks like design wise we have nothing to worry about.

a. Charcoal grey

b. Standing up right and not hunched over

c. Blue atomic breath (even though he's charging it up it's still there) 

d. Correct dorsal fin design

The way Godzilla should (above) and shouldn't (below) look.

Godzilla should also not run away from the military and he shouldn't be able to die from six missile shots.

The true Godzilla walks toward the military, can take an infinite amount of missile hits, and he destroys everything in sight. In other words he's indestructible!!! (I couldn't find anything on youtube of Godzilla destroying the military or taking multiple hits, but take my word for it.) 

Another problem with the 1998 movie was that motion capture was going to be used for Godzilla's body, but Emmerich scrapped it because it looked to much like a man in a suit. Obviously the filmmakers aren't going to use the actual man in a suit approach (and I don't want them using it also), but they should go with mo-caping Godzilla's body and animating the head and tail because after 28 movies I think people are used to the way Godzilla moves on film. It will also make us believe that the monster we are seeing is Godzilla and not a completely different monster like in the Roland Emmerich movie. The most important factor to Godzilla's believability is that when on film he should move slower then when the actor is performing so it gives the believability that Godzilla is huge.

The last note is to have Godzilla's roar!

YOU CANNOT HAVE GODZILLA WITHOUT HIS FAMOUS ROAR, remember what happened to Gamera in 2006

2.) HANDLING ANY CHARACTERS (HUMAN OR MONSTER) OR EXTRAS

In most Godzilla movies, with the exception of the first (Godzilla) and sixteenth (The Return of Godzilla) films, the humans are usually plot devices to get the monsters from one area to the other or to get a monster fight going because in the 26 other movies the monsters were the main characters that we followed and not the humans.(A helpful tip for a possible Transformers reboot Paramount! wink wink) However since the monsters can't really get any development or emote (all of their personalities come from the body movement) the movie better be entertaining as hell.

In those two movies I mentioned, Godzilla was on his own without a monster co-star; so the 1998 film needed to depend on our human characters since Godzilla was alone (and had no personality). However we all ended up not caring for, or hating those characters (with the exception of Jean Reno). "Godzilla" and "The Return of Godzilla" made us care about the human characters and what was going on and Godzilla even had somewhat of a personality (or at least what you can get from a rubber suit).

Also show a bunch of people getting killed by the monster, whether he's destroying the city or fighting another monster, which brings me to tip #3

3.) HANDLING ANY MONSTER CO-STARS

One of the producers has mentioned that there will be at least one or two other monsters fighting Godzilla. If you bring in any classic monsters such as Mothra or Rodan don't screw them up because Toho has treated all of their monsters with respect and care. Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah, Mechagodzilla, and Rodan are even called Toho's Big Five because of the characters popularity and they are the most used monsters. So when bringing in a classic monster and updating it, have Toho approve of it's updated version and don't do anything that is unlike the characteristics of the monster co-star(s) you will be using. If you decide to create an original monster, have Toho approve it as a monster that looks like it belongs in the Godzilla universe. When handling these fights there will usually be a fight scene in the middle and then a 20-30 minute long fight scene that wraps up the film.

One final note about this tip, if you decide to bring in King Ghidorah, don't make him a good guy, don't make him smaller then Godzilla, make sure his roar is similar to the 60s and/or 90s roar and make him a challenge for Godzilla because in the original movies, Ghidorah is no easy foe. I bring up King Ghidorah separately because he is my favorite monster next to Godzilla and he's Godzilla's arch enemy and I would hate to see him get screwed up. However if you decide to do more then one movie, save Ghidorah until a later one.

4.) MUSIC

All of the original Godzilla movies had catchy themes and those themes also help give the monsters their personalities. Whether it's menacing, beautiful, or heroic the music will always define the monster

I'm not suggesting to re-use all of the classic themes (that would be nice though) I'm suggesting have the composer make something that is memorable and really creates the mood, because the score of the 1998 film really didn't do a good job of that. As for the monsters own themes, the three series has created different themes for the monsters over time. Mechagodzilla's theme has been different for each version of the character so try to make something that fits the monster.

However, bring in the classic Godzilla theme (or at least have it play during the end credits) and if you can't do that, make something that sounds very triumphant and close to the theme because the main movies have created different themes for the monster that kind of work, but it would be nice to have the main theme somewhere in the film. The main point that I'm trying to make is make the score memorable and don't add any band song like the 1998 movie did. It's just really stupid when movie's create an original song for a movie that it has nothing to do with.

5.) CAUSE A LOT OF DESTRUCTION

The only thing I will say is that in these movies, Godzilla destorys everything in his path, while Zilla barely destroyed anything in the Emmerich film. All he did was scratch some buildings with his tail and got stuck on the Brooklyn Bridge (lame) while it was the militaries stupidity that destroyed the Chrysler Building.

That's all I have to say on how a non-Toho produced Godzilla movie should be made. I really want this reboot to be a success and reintroduce the character of Godzilla to American audiences and remind those who grew up with Godzilla why we love him. I hope you guys in Spill land found it interesting and if you are a Godzilla fan or even a casual viewer, post any kind of response in the comment section. I would like to hear what you guys think.

Oh and to the Spill Crew, it's the Cloverfield monster that ain't got shit on Godzilla!