Snickers Satisfies Godzilla

An Interview with Godzilla Commercial Suit Actor Douglas Tait Official Site: snickers.com Official Movie Site: Godzillamovie.com Godzilla is awesome. Except when he`s hungry. You`re Not You When You`re Hungry. SNICKERS Satisfies.

The marketing tie-in campaign for the new GODZILLA from Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures kicked off early this year with a television commercial for Snickers candy bars. The latest entry in the brand`s popular “You’re Not You When You’re Hungry” advertising campaign, the spot was released online on February 28 and made its television debut during the live broadcast of The Academy Awards on March 2, 2014. While the new Godzilla is a computer animated creation, the Snickers commercial brings the monster to life using the classic "suitmation" FX of the Toho films. Performing in the Godzilla suit is Douglas Tait, an actor and stuntman whose credits include the feature films STAR TREK (2009), LAND OF THE LOST (2009), THOR (2011) and KNIGHTS OF BADASSDOM (2013). Douglas recently spoke with SciFi Japan about his career and his role as the latest suit actor to play the King of the Monsters... SciFi Japan: Please tell us a bit about your background and how you became a suit actor (as well as a bit/supporting actor in general). Were you a fan of monster movies growing up, and did you always want to play aliens and creatures on film and TV?

Douglas Tait: I started out my Junior year in High School pursuing acting. I took classes, worked as an extra in films, and got a job at Universal Studios Hollywood playing Frankenstein and other classic monsters. Growing up I was a huge fan of monster movies, especially FRANKENSTEIN, and I would dress up as Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees and perform on Halloween. It was so surreal when I stepped behind that infamous hockey mask in FREDDY VS JASON and got to work with Robert Englund (Freddy Krueger). I never thought of a career acting behind special fx makeup; I was pursuing a career as a serious actor. Working at Universal Studios is where it all started. I had a natural ability to bring these characters to life at the theme park, and I had the endurance from my athletic background and height (I`m 6`5") to handle the intense heat. I think being a fan growing up gave me an understanding of how these monsters acted and moved. From my work at Universal, I would get recommended for small projects and commercials playing creatures and monsters. This led to other things and when I played Jason in the ending of FREDDY VS JASON, it gave me some status among filmmakers. Then I went on to do ZATHURA with Stan Winston Studios, and LAND OF THE LOST with Mike Elizalde`s shop Spectral Motion. All this time I was pursuing a regular acting career and working on shows playing bit parts. It wasn`t until I played the Long Face Bar Alien in STAR TREK that people really started to know my name. Barney Burman won the Academy Award for makeup on the film and he featured my character in all of the press he did, and people started to ask who the guy was behind that makeup. Star Trek opened the door to amazing opportunities in my career, and I have been blessed with consistent work ever since. SciFi Japan: How did you get the assignment to play Godzilla? Douglas Tait: Anytime a role comes up that has prosthetics or a creature suit, my name is usually in the mix. This is a beautiful thing as there is only a small group of us that are known for this kind of acting.

I got a call to audition for the Snickers Commercial with 100+ tall actors with hopes to play the iconic character. Some I knew, some I didn`t, some were in shape, some were not. Since this kind of work is extremely difficult, producers are very wary of hiring an actor who has never worn a full creature suit. They can lose a lot of money if an actor couldn`t handle the intensity of the suit, or became claustrophobic. This works in my favor as my resume is full of creature roles in recognizable films, and I have worked with the shop that built Godzilla, (Legacy FX) on numerous projects. Legacy FX was formerly known as Stan Winston Studios and the same talented folks that ran Stan`s run Legacy. When it came down to picking the right actor to play Godzilla, my body of work and the fact that Legacy highly recommended me, made me a shoe-in for the role. SciFi Japan: How soon after getting hired did you begin working on the commercial. Was there much time to prepare? Douglas Tait: I was cast on November 14th and right away I started doing fittings for the suit at Legacy FX. We did 7 fittings at the shop plus a rehearsal day, and the first day of shooting was on December 2nd, 2013. This was a very quick build for such a huge suit. Since I am working consistently as characters like this, I have a very rigorous training regimen which includes calisthenic exercises, yoga, and animal movements while wearing a weight vest. Physically I am ready to go, but it is nice to have more time to play with the character and see the limitations of the suit. I like to train on things that will help me with the character, and when I have time to play in the suit, I get a feel for what those limitations will be.

SciFi Japan: In the Toho movies the suits were usually built to the measurements of the actor playing Godzilla so it would fit and perform properly. Was that the case here? If not, was the suit modified at all to better fit you? Douglas Tait: The suit was custom built to fit me from a full cast of my body. The Director and producers wanted me to be much taller than the other actors in the commercial, so the suit was built to be 9 feet tall.

In the scene we shot in Downtown Los Angeles where I am angry and I flip the taxi, they shot me against a green screen to make me appear as the size of the tall buildings. SciFi Japan: It looks like there was a pretty big animatronic rig for Godzilla’s head sitting on your own head and shoulders. Was it difficult to work with? I imagine it would make it hard to maintain your balance while moving in costume. Douglas Tait: There was a backpack that I wore and the head rig came off the backpack. Most all of the weight was on my shoulders and it weighed over 120 pounds. It was difficult to work with; these huge monsters are always a challenge. That is where my intense training comes in. The weight of the suit is not the only challenge; there is a certain mental element that comes in to play while performing inside a creature suit. You go into it mentally prepared knowing its going to be tough, then you have to sell the performance no matter how miserable you are. If it was easy, everybody would be doing it. It is great to work with a shop like Legacy FX because they are the best at what they do. I know going into it that they are going to make it the most comfortable it can be.

SciFi Japan: How were shots like the one with Godzilla on the ATV accomplished? Was that done practically or as a CG or composite shot? Douglas Tait: The ATV scene was shot practical. There is a triangle piece in my neck which was removed during the scene for better vision. When they shot the closeup, they put the head on a camera rig and the puppeteers moved the face, but I wasn`t in the suit for that.

To accomplish the waterskiing shot I was on a moving gimbal against a green screen. Stuntman Tim Soergel wore my Godzilla feet and waterskied with them. When they edited the spot, they superimposed me to look like I was waterskiing. It would have been a disaster to try to waterski in that huge suit. SciFi Japan: How long was the commercial shoot? Douglas Tait: We shot over a 5 day period, working long hours everyday. SciFi Japan: When and where was the commercial filmed? Douglas Tait: It was filmed on December 2nd-6th 2013 at several different locations. The waterskiing and beach scenes were shot at Pyramid Lake. The ATV scene was shot at an ATV track in Gorman Ca, the dance scene was shot in a house in Los Angeles, and the destruction scene was shot in the middle of Downtown Los Angeles. SciFi Japan: Did the commercial premiere on TV during the Oscars? Douglas Tait: Yes. It was originally going to air during the Super Bowl, but they held it until The Academy Awards. SciFi Japan: As a suit actor, what was it like playing Godzilla? Were you a fan of the character before you got to play him?

Douglas Tait: It was very exciting to play such a well-known creature. I always thought Godzilla was cool, but I didn`t grow up watching him like the Universal classic monster movies. Now I know how huge the Godzilla following is. I have received numerous Facebook messages about the commercial. Apparently Cleve Hall and myself are the only American actors who have worn a full Godzilla suit. Another iconic character to add to my resume! SciFi Japan: Since the Snickers commercial is tied in with the new movie, did you play Godzilla for anything beyond that one spot? Will there be any print ads, or additional online videos, etc as part of this campaign? Nike did posters for their “Godzilla vs Charles Barkley” commercials and Dr Pepper did supermarket displays with Godzilla back in the 1980s. I’m curious if Snickers has any plans along those lines. Douglas Tait: We only shot the vignettes for that one spot. Although I did do a lot of improv; some made it into the commercial, and some did not. They shot the behind the scenes "making of" the commercial that has not been released online yet, and there is also a print campaign that will be released soon. Follow Douglas Tait on social media... ? Facebook ? Twitter ? Instagram

SNICKERS - "GODZILLA"

Cast Godzilla: Douglas Tait Godzilla Puppeteers: Michael Manzel, Bruce Mitchell Girl on Beach: Adrienne Rusk Godzilla Friend #1: Jermaine Williams Godzilla Friend #2: Arnie Pantoja Godzilla Friend #3: Matt Mider Godzilla Friend #4: John Druska

Client: Snickers, Mars North America Brand Director, Snickers: Allison Miazga-Bedrick Sr. Brand Manager, Snickers: Steve Finnie Agency: BBDO, NY Chief Creative Officer, Worldwide: David Lubars Chief Creative Officer, New York: Greg Hahn Creative Director/VP: Alex Taylor Creative Director/VP: Jason Stefanik Creative Directors: Gianfranco Arena, Peter Kain Producer: Amy Wertheimer SVP, Senior Account Director: Kathryn Brown Executive Music Producer: Loren Parkins Account Director: Josh Steinman, David Rolfe Production Company: Smith and Jones Director: Ulf Johansson Executive Producer: Philippa Smith Line Producer: Justine Madero Production Supervisor: Tim Kreis Assistant Production Supervisor: Andrea Panda 1st AD: Sean Cotter 2nd AD: Ian Stoker 2nd 2nd: Mitch Jones Director of Photography: Andrejz Sekula Camera Operator: Matt Baker 1st AC `A` Cam: EJ Misisco 1st AC `B` Cam: Paul Santoni 2nd AC: Tyler Emmett DIT: Will Chung Key Costumer: Matt Goldman 2nd Costumer: Lindy McMichael Key Make-Up: Jane Choi

Production Designer: Chris Gorak Assistant Art Director: Tracy Gaydos Leadman: John Goetchius Set Dressers: Doug O`Conor, Erik Mulet On Set Dresser: Jesse Mexia Drivers/Set Dressers: Eric Erslan, Glen Kennedy Propmaster: Chris Wright Prop Maker: Mark Summit Assistant Props: Gilles De Baillenx SFPX Coordinator: Dave Petersen Editorial: Mackenzie Cutler Editor: Ian Mackenzie Assistant Editor: Nick Divers Director of Operations: Biz Lynskey Producer: Evan Meeker Script Supervisor: Lisa Bobonis Visual Effects: MPC NY VFX Supervisor: Alex Lovejoy Director of Business Affairs/VFX Producer: Camila De Biaggi Godzilla Suit: Legacy FX Legacy Techs: Richard Haugen, Patrick Gerrety VTR: Kevin Hawks, Brad Huffman Sound Mixer: Bob Dreebin Boom Operator: Mike Fredriksz Music: South Music & Sound Design Head of Production: Dan Pritikin Creative Director/Composer: Jon Darling Music: AKM Music Audio Mix: Heard City Mixer: Keith Raynaud Telecine: Company 3 Colorist: Tim Masick

For more information on Warner Bros and Legendary Pictures` GODZILLA, please see the earlier coverage here on SciFi Japan: