Godzilla (1998 film) scenes that required practical effects, Tatopoulos' studio created a 6th-scale animatronic model of Godzilla's upper-body as well as a 24th-scale Godzilla suit donned by stuntman Kurt Carley, however, the filmmakers favored CG over practical effects and as a result, the final film features 400 digital shots, 185 of which feature Godzilla, and only two dozen practical effects used in the final film. Production began in May 1997, in New York City, and moved to Los Angeles in June. Scenes in New York were filmed in 13 days; tropical scenes were filmed in the Hawaiian Islands. The United States Marine Corps
Godzilla (1998 film) 2004, Toho began trademarking new iterations of TriStar's Godzilla as "Zilla", with only the incarnations from the 1998 film and animated show retaining the Godzilla copyright/trademark. A marine iguana nest is exposed to the fallout of radiation following a military nuclear test in French Polynesia. Many years later, in the South Pacific Ocean, a Japanese fishing vessel is suddenly attacked by an enormous sea creature, with only one seaman surviving. Traumatized, he is questioned by a mysterious Frenchman in a hospital regarding what he saw, to which he only replies "Gojira." Dr. Niko "Nick" Tatopoulos, an NRC scientist, is in