posted on by Adriana Hazra
2026 VES Honors Celebration to take place at Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles on September 4
© Steve Ryfle, Ed Godziszewski, Wesleyan University Press
The Visual Effects Society announced on Wednesday that it will posthumously induct Japanese filmmaker Ishirō Honda and producer Tomoyuki Tanaka into its Hall of Fame. The 2026 VES Honors Celebration will take place at Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles on September 4.
Ishirō Honda directed and co-wrote the iconic Godzilla film in 1954. Honda directed eight total films in the Godzilla series, including Mothra and King Kong vs. Godzilla.
He directed more than 40 overall films, including Frankenstein vs. Baragon, The War of the Gargantuas, Matango, and King Kong Escapes. His other works include dramas such as Lovetide — based on Hidemi Kon’s story Blow, River Wind — and Mother and Son. He also directed for television including episodes for series such as Return of Ultraman.
Honda retired in 1975 but returned to filmmaking to collaborate with Akira Kurosawa on Kagemusha, which debuted in 1980. He died from respiratory failure on February 28, 1993.
Tanaka worked on more than 200 films. He produced the 1954 Godzilla, and numerous entries in the Godzilla film series. He also produced many of Akira Kurosawa‘s films including Yojimbo, Sanjuro, High and Low, Red Beard, and Kagemusha. He worked mostly at TOHO Studios, and eventually became Chairman and CEO of TOHO Pictures in 1989. Tanaka died in April 1997.
The VES posthumously inducted Japanese filmmaker and special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya into its Hall of Fame in 2025.
Sources: The Visual Effects Society’s website, Deadline (Eric Pedersen)
