'Transformers' Movie
 

'Transformers' Movie Meets the Eye on July 4, 2007


Wed, Jul 13, 2005, 03:07 PM PT
LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com)- Let the countdown begin: On Wednesday (July 13), DreamWorks Pictures, Paramount Pictures and Hasbro, Inc. announced that a live-action feature film version of "Transformers" will hit movie theaters on July 4, 2007.
Michael Bay ("The Island," "The Rock") will direct what promises to be a wildly expensive production based on a script from his "Island" scribes Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. The impressive production team will be led by executive producer Steven Spielberg, with Lorenzo di Bonaventura (upcoming "Four Brothers"), Tom DeSanto ("X-Men" and "X2: X-Men United") and Don Murphy ("The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen") serving as co-executive producers.

"Under the direction of Michael Bay, and with Steven Spielberg executive producing, we know that 'Transformers' is going to be the kind of explosive action movie that is perfect for the height of the summer movie season," says Jim Tharp, DreamWorks' head of distribution. "By staking our claim on the 4th of July, 2007, we ensure that we not only have the time to make this movie the way it should be made, but also to build excitement and awareness leading up to its release."



DreamWorks will handle the domestic distribution, with Paramount getting the international rights. Hasbro will have executives looming at all stages of pre-production, production, post-production, marking and distribution to make sure that nobody messes up their property.

The Transformers, you see, are more than meets the eye. Transformers, they're robots in disguise. The Autobots wage their battle to destroy the evil forces of the Decepticons. The Transformers brand was introduced in 1984 and became a phenomenon that has included a toy line from Hasbro and Takara, a comic book series, several animated television programs and an animated feature film.

"Fans around the world have wanted a Transformers live-action movie for a long time and we are thrilled to work with DreamWorks and Paramount to bring this legendary saga to life on the big screen," says Brian Goldner, president of Hasbro's U.S. Toy segment. "With some of the entertainment industry's best talent on board for this film, fans will experience Transformers in a way that is incredibly powerful

No! Cool, this I've got to see :)

Independence Day for Transformers By Joal Ryan
2 hours, 16 minutes ago



Optimus Prime has a prime release date: The Fourth of July.


Transformers, the long-planned, live-action movie based on the robot-morphing cartoon, comic and toy franchise, will roll into theaters July 4, 2007, DreamWorks and Paramount Pictures announced Wednesday. Michael Bay (The Island, The Rock) will direct; Steven Spielberg will executive produce.


Children of the 1980s likely will be champing at the tie-in lunchbox.


"The diehard fans will like it as long as it stays true to Transformers roots and doesn't stray too far from the ideals that we grew up with," Brendan Reilly, co-Webmaster of The Transformers Archive (www.tfarchive.com), said in an email interview about the movie announcement. "The casual or un-familar fan will need to see something awesome to win them over, although a 40-foot robot is usually pretty cool."


Cool-looking robots who convert themselves into battle tanks and other vehicles in order blow up things real good are at the mechanical heart of the Transformers, the classic tale of good automaton (the Autobots) versus evil automaton (the Decepticons) in a battle for control of Earth. Optimus Prime is the leader of the Autobots; Megatron, the dark lord of the Decepticons. Both Autobots and Decepticons hail from the planet Cybertron. All this backstory and more was revealed in Transformers, the syndicated cartoon series launched in 1984 with the help of toy-maker Hasbro, which simultaneously--and savvily--launched a still-thriving merchandise line.


No less savvy today, the makers of the new Transformers movie have already begun a full-scale offensive. The new official Website (www.transformers.com) went up Tuesday. Transformers: Cybertron, the latest animated series, launched this month on Cartoon Network. Burger King cooks up a monthlong action-figure promotion beginning in August. And this weekend in San Diego, on the occasion of Comic-Con International, the geek world's largest annual gawkfest, an 18-wheel truck touting the franchise's considerable wares will be beached in the convention hall.


In theory then, this thing ain't going to be Transformers: The Movie.


Transformers: The Movie was the little-loved 1986 animated feature that gave Optimus Prime, Megatron, et al., their first crack at the silver screen. Much as Fox is planning to right past cinematic wrongs with an all-new, A-list take on He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, another 1980s cartoon/toy phenomenon that spawned a cheeseball 1980s film, the new Transformers crew is looking to take its property upscale.


In a message board Monday post on his personal Website (www.donmurphy.net), Don Murphy, a Transformers co-executive producer, said Spielberg, DreamWorks and Hasbro are committed to making a film that is no less than "GREAT" (the capital letters are all his).


"It will be GREAT," Murphy continued, "and then we will make sequel after sequel. There is no doubt that this is true."


With excellence promised, the powers that be now need only to lock in actors--none were announced Wednesday--and start cameras rolling. Time, after all, is of the essence. In publicly staking claim to July 4, 2007, DreamWorks and Paramount become the first studios to reserve that holiday date for their own. Currently, the only other release on the 2007 calendar is Spider-Man 3, set for May 4 of that year.


Until Transformers debuts in theaters, and after Comic-Con wraps, its considerable fandom can busy itself with BotCon (www.transformersclub.com/conventions/frisco/), described by organizer Brian Savage as being "like a giant group hug for everyone who enjoys Transformers."


Scheduled for Sept. 22-25 in Frisco, Texas, the latest edition of BotCon--the event is more than 10 years old--is expected to draw as many as 5,000 devotees of the shape-changing robots. "The whole movie announcement just adds more fire and fuel," said Savage, director of Hasbro's official Transformers Collectors Club.


The way Savage sees it, the unlikely secret to the Transformers' success is: Personality. Anyone, he said, can make a transforming robot.


"But guess what? It's not Optimus Prime."

Transformers 7.4.2007
 

I'm actually kind of shocked that there wasn't a thread about this already.

Transformers Live-Action movie (directed by Michael Bay) will be released about a year from now.

We already got an announcement trailer (which I saw with POTC2).

Thoughts?

Michael Bay = Sucks.

I am sorry if that is a biased, and to-the-point statement, but I don't know what else to say.

Michael Bay, in my opinion, is one of the worst director's of our time simply because he still has't learned what makes a good film, I.E. how to direct one that doesn't go over-budget and one that is free of mindless car chases and explosions... Because even smart action films exist, but Bay doesn't even pretend to want to make them.

He also has contempt for his audiences because he said in numerous interviews they are nothing but "Hory teenagers who like to see ******* blow up" and his directing style is nothing but cheap parlor tricks with no real rhyme or reason.

For example, as a viewer, I don't want the camera shaking around every five seconds and then a close up of someone's eye brow as it zooms back and forth to create the illusion of movement and motion. This is a cheap parlor trick which means he isn't confident enough in how he is directing the film to just let it be and see what happens.

As far as Transformers the movie itself...

I grew up with Transformers -- I was old enough to play with the first generation of Transformers before all the new incarnations and also have the first edition of the comic book series -- But I think this movie will bomb, regardless of who makes it, because movies with excessive CGI aren't as "hot" as they used to be and you know Transformers is going to be 90% CGI because of the robots. Add in Bay's direction and you can already see the writing on the wall in this is going to be another shallow, mindless spectacle intended for the very teens he caters to anyway IN MY OPINION.

I apologize if my views on Bay and Transformers are harsh. I just don't respect either him or the project to be blunt.

However, these are just my personal feelings. I don't want to intimidate, or prevent others from posting as well... Especially, if they are looking forward to it.

Carry on... :)

Hey stereogun - welcome to the boards! :wave:

You know, I'd completely forgotten about the teaser trailer I saw when I watched Pirates 2, although I probably wouldn't have started a thread, regardless, because my first thought wasy, "Wow - isn't this film about 15 years too late at least?"

I just think it's a bit late to be making a film about transformers, and a bit early if you want the film to be nostalgic, you know? But then, this isn't my generation - I was long out of school when transformers came about, so who knows. *shrug* :look:

I don't really care if Michael Bay is directing this movie. I am just glad that there is a Transformers movie coming out. I remember watching Transformers when I was a little kid and having the toys. It will be nice seeing Transformers cause you can't ever watch it on tv anymore. And the DVDs are hard to get. The new Transformers toys and cartoons are a joke. The Transformers Cybertron look like a Pokemon cartoon. The generation 1 transformers were the best. Megatron, Optimus Prime, Soundwave, Grimlock, Metroplex and everyone else were so freakin cool, lol.

Transformers Series #2
 

Thanks

tftnt :flowers:

Thanks for the new thread

Yeah :yay: