GODZILLA MINUS ZERO Director Takashi Yamazaki Has Hope for a Best Picture Oscar Nomination
Godzilla already has an Oscar sitting on his shelf. Could Best Picture be next? Takashi Yamazaki made franchise history with Godzilla Minus One when the 2023 film won Best Visual Effects at the 96th Academy Awards, marking the first Oscar victory for a Godzilla movie.
Now Yamazaki is back with Godzilla Minus Zero, and after the sequel premiered to rave reviews at the New York Film Festival, the conversation has already expanded beyond another potential VFX trophy.
Some fans are calling for Godzilla Minus Zero to land a Best Picture nomination. At the film’s NYFF premiere, Yamazaki was asked by Variety about the possibility of seeing his latest Godzilla movie competing for the Academy’s biggest prize. He’s trying not to get ahead of himself, but he certainly isn’t ruling it out.
“I mean, I try not to think about that. And this was true of Godzilla Minus One as well. We had no idea we were going to get Best VFX, or even be nominated. Even a nomination was already a win for us with Godzilla Minus One. So I try not to think about it, but at the same time, if the possibility is not zero, it’s hard not to have a little bit of hope.”
Considering what happened with Godzilla Minus One, you can understand why he might allow himself a little hope.
The previous film pulled off one of the coolest and most unnexpected Oscar victories. Made for only $15 million, Yamazaki and a visual effects crew of just 35 artists created 610 VFX shots and went up against several massive Hollywood productions.
Godzilla Minus One ultimately defeated Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One and Napoleon to win Best Visual Effects.
The nomination itself also put Yamazaki in rare company. The filmmaker, who started his career working in visual effects, became the first feature director nominated in the category since Stanley Kubrick for 2001: A Space Odyssey.
During the 2023 awards circuit, Yamazaki spoke about how surreal the experience had become: “It’s going to take me a few years to process what has happened and what it all means. But I have to thank Godzilla for opening the door and paving the way and making it to the Oscars.”
A few years later, Godzilla could be knocking on that door again. Best Picture would obviously be a much bigger leap, but effects-heavy genre movies have increasingly found their way into the category. Godzilla Minus Zero just needs to convince voters that the story and script are strong enough to consider alongside the year's major prestige releases.
Best Picture may be a much tougher target, but as Yamazaki pointed out, the possibility isn't zero.
