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EspañolTRANSFORMERS (FILM)
(Redirected from Transformers (2007 film))
'''Transformers''' is a 2007 live action film directed by Michael Bay and executive produced by Steven Spielberg, based on the Transformers franchise. The film stars Shia LaBeouf as Sam Witwicky, who has the coordinates to the location of the Allspark, an object at the center of the war between the heroic Autobots and the evil Decepticons. The film also stars Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, Jon Voight, John Turturro, and Hugo Weaving as the voice of Megatron. Peter Cullen, the voice of Optimus Prime in the 1980s cartoon, reprised the role for the film.
Producers Don Murphy and Tom DeSanto developed the film, and Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman wrote the script, aiming for a realistic interpretation of the characters. Though not a Transformers fan, Bay was convinced by Spielberg to direct, and he created an intricate design aesthetic for the computer-generated robots. General Motors and the United States military lent their support during filming, to keep the budget under $150 million. Armed with an enormous marketing campaign including comics, toys and tie-in deals, ''Transformers'' opened in the United States on July 2 2007, and broke the box office record for the highest-grossing opening week for a non-sequel. Critics praised the special effects, but criticized the characterization.
The film begins with Optimus Prime explaining Cybertron's destruction at the hands of Megatron, and his quest to obtain the Allspark. Megatron discovers the Allspark on Earth, but crash-lands in the Arctic Circle, becoming frozen in the ice. Captain Archibald Witwicky and his crew of explorers stumble upon Megatron's body in 1897. Megatron's navigational system is unintentionally activated, and Archibald's eye glasses are imprinted with the Allspark's coordinates. Sector 7, a secret United States government organization, discovers the Allspark and builds the Hoover Dam around it to mask the energy signal. The still-frozen Megatron is moved into this facility, and is reverse engineered to further advance human technology.
In the present day, the rest of the Decepticons—Blackout, Frenzy, Barricade, Starscream, Scorponok, Bonecrusher and Devastator—have landed on Earth and assumed the disguise of Earth vehicles (except Scorponok, who keeps his scorpion-like alien form). Blackout and Scorponok attack a U.S. military base in Qatar and try to hack into the military database to find where Megatron and the Allspark are, but fail when the network is manually shut down. While Blackout destroys the rest of the base, Scorponok chases a small group of survivors, but is eventually repelled. After their failure, Frenzy infiltrates Air Force One to hack again into the military database. He finds the map imprinted on Captain Witwicky's glasses, which his descendant Sam intends to sell on eBay to buy his first car. Frenzy and Barricade begin tracking Sam's location.
The Autonomous Robotic Lifeform (shortened to "Autobot") Bumblebee is also on Earth, disguised as a 1976 Chevrolet Camaro, and looking for Sam. Sam buys Bumblebee, who then helps him try to woo his crush, Mikaela Banes; Sam does not know that Bumblebee is an alien until he sees Bumblebee transform and send a homing signal to the rest of the Autobots. While Sam flees his autonomous car, Barricade confronts him and demands Archibald's spectacles. Bumblebee, who is following Sam, transforms and battles Barricade. Mikaela, who is also following Sam, is caught in the crossfire, and leaves with Sam and Bumblebee to rendezvous with the rest of the Autobots. The Autobots—Optimus Prime, Jazz, Ironhide, and Ratchet—land on Earth and take on the forms of Earth vehicles. Sam, Mikaela, and the Autobots return to Sam's home to retrieve the glasses. Although the Autobots manage to get the glasses, agents from Sector 7 arrive and capture Sam, Mikaela and Bumblebee.
Frenzy secretly accompanies the group to the Hoover Dam and releases Megatron from suspended animation. Locating the Allspark, he sends an alert to the other Decepticons. Megatron escapes and Sam convinces the Sector 7 agents to release Bumblebee so that he can get the Allspark to Optimus Prime. The Decepticons chase the Autobots, who now possess the Allspark, into Mission City. An ensuing battle results in casualties for both sides: Optimus Prime kills Bonecrusher, Frenzy accidentally decapitates himself, Megatron kills Jazz, and both the Autobots and the military take down Devastator and Blackout. The battle ends with Sam killing Megatron when he rams the Allspark into Megatron's chest. Optimus expresses his gratitude to the humans and takes a fragment of the Allspark from Megatron's corpse. Bumblebee decides to remain with Sam. With the Allspark destroyed, Optimus knows that Cybertron cannot be restored, and sends a signal to any other surviving Autobots in the universe, directing them to Earth. The dead Decepticons are dumped into the Laurentian Abyss. Starscream, the only confirmed surviving Decepticon, flies into space.
;Humans
★ 'Shia LaBeouf' as 'Sam Witwicky': Bay said of Sam, the teenager who unwittingly buys Bumblebee as his first car, that he is not "the stud or the geek, just a normal Joe. He’s the type of guy who finds his edge through humor. He’s a little awkward, but you immediately like him. And like every guy, he’s consumed with getting his first car." LaBeouf was a Transformers fan,[2] was cast as he reminded the filmmakers of the young Tom Hanks. LaBeouf worked out five days a week for three months and gained 25 pounds of muscle to prepare for the role, but realized during shooting that his role required agility rather than strength.
★ 'Megan Fox' as 'Mikaela Banes': A girl who Sam is interested in and woos with the help of Bumblebee. She is mechanically skilled because her father was a "grease monkey" and car thief, and has a criminal record as she refused to turn him in to the authorities. She and Sam eventually begin a relationship. Fox gained 10 pounds of muscle during shooting due to the physicality of the role.
★ 'Josh Duhamel' as 'Cpt William Lennox': Leader of a U.S. Army Special Ops airborne team in Qatar, who escapes Blackout's attack on the base. He has a wife and new-born daughter in the United States. Duhamel was a Transformers fan, and spent three days in boot camp to prepare for the part.
★ 'Tyrese Gibson' as 'TSgt Robert Epps': An Air Force Combat Controller who escapes Blackout and Scorponok's attack with Lennox. Like Duhamel, Gibson was a Transformers fan. Gibson also spent time with combat controller Ray Bollinger to make his dialogue sound natural.
★ 'Rachael Taylor' as 'Maggie Madsen': An expert in signal detection and decoding, assisting the Department of Defense. She realizes that those hacking into the government's data files cannot be human. The film is Taylor's first American role, and the filmmakers opted for her natural Australian accent, as, "the film has such a global feel, it’s not exclusively an American or western film."
★ 'Anthony Anderson' as 'Glen Whitmann': A computer hacker and friend of Maggie, who assists in decoding the Decepticons' signal. Anderson was a Transformers fan.
★ 'Jon Voight' as 'John Keller': The United States Secretary of Defense.
★ 'John Turturro' as 'Reggie Simmons': An officer in Sector 7, the secret government group that has been holding and studying the Allspark and the frozen Megatron. Simmons leads a team tracking down the Autobots. Turturro gave a slapstick performance, which was intended as the writers didn't want to lose a sense of fun, following the seriousness of the military scenes.[3]
★ 'Kevin Dunn' as 'Ron Witwicky': Sam's father, who buys his son Bumblebee.
★ 'Julie White' as 'Judy Witwicky': Sam's mother.
;Autobots
★ 'Peter Cullen' as the voice of 'Optimus Prime' (Peterbilt truck): The Autobot leader who comes to Earth to merge his spark with the Allspark, destroying them both, as he feels this is the only way to end the war. Don Murphy decided after discussions with fans on his website that they wanted the surviving voices from the 1980s cartoon, and Cullen was announced to be reprising his role at the July 2006 San Diego Comic-Con.[4] He described reprising the role as easy as "slipping into an old pair of very comfortable shoes that you haven't worn for a while", and was grateful to the fans for wanting him back.[5] His vocal performance consisted of much improvisation with Bay and bringing a sense of humor to Prime, as well as portraying his traditional heroism.[6]
★ 'Mark Ryan' as the voice of 'Bumblebee' (1976/2009 Chevrolet Camaro): An Autobot scout who develops a friendship with Sam and Mikaela during his efforts to find the Allspark. Ryan acted as a stand in for the Transformers during filming, giving actors someone to react to, both physically where appropriate and providing dialogue, and ad-libbed lines for many characters during post-production before being cast as Bumblebee.[7] Bumblebee mostly communicates with his radio due to his damaged vocal processor, and the writers considered using dialogue from various Paramount films, including the line "I feel the need for speed!" from ''Top Gun''.[8]
★ 'Darius McCrary' as the voice of 'Jazz' (Pontiac Solstice): Optimus's second-in-command, he is a small but acrobatic fighter, with magnetic hands, and a gun/shield combination. He develops a fondness for human culture.
★ 'Jess Harnell' as the voice of 'Ironhide' (GMC Topkick pick-up truck): The weapons specialist of the group. To Optimus's dismay, Ironhide often threatens to use his weapons on intelligent life forms. Cullen also read for Ironhide, another character he originally voiced, during his first audition, portraying a conversation between Optimus and Ironhide.[9]
★ 'Robert Foxworth' as the voice of 'Ratchet' (Search and Rescue Hummer H2): The team's chief medical officer. He has enhanced senses, recognizing from Sam's pheromones that Sam would like to "mate with" Mikaela, and wields a gun and a saw.
;Decepticons
★ 'Hugo Weaving' as the voice of 'Megatron' (Cybertronian "jet"): The Decepticon leader who desires power over the Allspark. He crash-landed in the Arctic eons ago, and his frozen body is kept in storage by Sector 7. According to Peter Cullen, Optimus and Megatron are brothers, akin to the story of Cain and Abel.[10] Weaving's voice was used for facial animation tests,[11] before he signed on to voice Megatron in March 2007.[12] TV series voice actor Frank Welker had auditioned, but he was rejected as Bay considered his voice too soft for the beastly depiction of the character.[13] Instead, Welker voiced Megatron in the .
★ 'Charlie Adler' as the voice of 'Starscream' (F-22 Raptor): Megatron's second-in-command who leads the Decepticons in his absence, and is berated for failing him repeatedly once he returns, alluding to an uneasy relationship between the two. A few more lines of arguements with Megatron were cut from the finished film, partly because of the need to keep the Decepticons mysterious.[14]
★ 'Jess Harnell' as the voice of 'Barricade' (Saleen Mustang police car): The first Decepticon to attack Sam. On the rear quarter panel of his vehicle form is written "''To punish and enslave...''", instead of "''To protect and serve''".
★ 'Reno Wilson' as the voice of 'Frenzy' (CD player, mobile phone): A spy and computer hacker who tracks Sam down. Though the smallest Decepticon, he is an agile fighter who throws razor-sharp shurikens.
★ 'Jimmie Wood' as the voice of 'Bonecrusher' (Buffalo H Mine-Protected vehicle): He attacks Optimus Prime on the highway to Mission City, causing a delay in Optimus's arrival.
In 2002, the toy company Hasbro began developing its properties into films.[16] Producer Don Murphy was looking to adapt ''G.I. Joe'', but when the U.S. invaded Iraq in March 2003, Hasbro suggested ''Transformers'' instead.[17] Tom DeSanto joined the project because he was a big fan of the characters. The two producers met with comic book writer Simon Furman, and researched the Generation 1 cartoon and comics. They decided to explore why Transformers exist, focusing on the Creation Matrix, though Murphy felt the term "Matrix" should not be used due to the popular ''Matrix'' series with the same name.[18] DeSanto chose a human point-of-view in his treatment to engage the audience.[19] Murphy wanted it to feel realistic, with the tone akin to that of a disaster film. The story included the Autobots Optimus Prime, Ironhide, Jazz, Prowl, Ratchet, Wheeljack, and Bumblebee, and the Decepticons Megatron, Starscream, Soundwave, Ravage, Laserbeak, Rumble, Skywarp and Shockwave.[20]
After the producers were rejected by many studio executives who did not grow up with ''Transformers'', DeSanto met with producer Mike DeLuca in 2004, who arranged a meeting with Steven Spielberg. A fan of the comics and toys, Spielberg signed on as executive producer, and John Rogers was hired as screenwriter in November.[21] His script pitted four Autobots against four Decepticons,[22] and featured the ''Ark'' spaceship.[23] Screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, big fans of the cartoon,[24] were hired in February to start a new script.[25] Spielberg suggested to the writers an approach about "a boy and his car" which appealed to them as adulthood and responsibility is "the things that a car represents in [the United States]."[26] Sam and Mikaela were the focus of the first draft, and the Transformers had no dialogue. This was changed in the next draft, as the writers felt that even if the Transformers speaking could look ridiculous, having them not speak would betray the fanbase. Inspired by Spielberg's ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'', Bumblebee was kept mute to stress his friendship with Sam as going beyond words.[27]
Michael Bay, who had wanted to make a family film, was asked to direct after finishing ''The Island'',[28] but he thought of it as a "stupid toy movie".[29] Nonetheless, Spielberg's premise of "a boy and his car" made Bay curious, and upon visiting Hasbro, the director gained a new respect for the mythology. In addition, he was enticed by ideas like an 85 mile-per-hour fight scene, and the comedy caused by Transformers interfering with everyday life. Bay also wanted the film to feel intense and realistic, and the writers agreed to make everything seem logical, setting aside the previous contradictory continuities in the franchise. Bay admitted not being a fan before allowed him to tell the story naturally and make it appeal to other non-fans. Orci removed the ''Ark'' from the script as he wondered why "aliens who moonlight as vehicles need other vehicles to travel."[30] The female Autobot Arcee was cut as they had little time to explain robotic gender.[31] Bay expanded the military storylines, as he considered the first draft "too kiddie", and based the soldiers on ''G.I. Joe''.[32] Throughout the rewrites, Optimus Prime, Megatron, Bumblebee and Starscream were the only robots included in all of them. More Decepticons were added to increase the sense of threat, and the law enforcement-based Autobot Prowl was removed as Orci and Kurtzman loved the perverseness of an evil police car.[32]
Designs of the robots began in June 2005, and Hasbro heavily collaborated on the live action interpretations of their characters. In keeping with Michael Bay's desire to make ''Transformers'' realistic, the robots were designed more intricately to look more three-dimensional[34] and to reflect their alien origins.[35] Morphing in transformations was restricted, unlike the cartoon or comic books, where a character such as Megatron transforms into a Walther P38 pistol. Every character stayed the same size in both forms, which in turn explained the robots' choice of Earth forms during the story. Optimus Prime's original cab over truck form was rejected because it would make him only 23 feet tall, so Bay decided to use the Peterbilt, the largest truck available.
Bay also added flame artwork to Prime to make him distinctive, and gave him a mouth to emote more. Don Murphy wanted to retain Bumblebee's Volkswagen Beetle form,[36] but Bay rejected it to avoid comparisons with Herbie the Love Bug.[37] Bay chose the Chevrolet Camaro instead, which he described as having a friendly quality, but as a tribute, when Sam purchases his car, Bumblebee was parked next to a yellow Beetle. Making Bumblebee a Camaro led a full product placement deal with General Motors, to supply the alternate modes for Jazz, Ironhide and Ratchet. The deal saved $3 million, though Bay hoped they would have supplied a bigger car than the Pontiac Solstice for Jazz.[38]
In contrast to Optimus's faithful design, Megatron's alternate mode was changed from a Walther P38 pistol to an alien jet to avoid morphing,[39] while his face was made more hideous and menacing. Bay admitted most of the Decepticons had their appearances chosen before their characterization as Hasbro needed to get started on the toys. Soundwave was considered as MH-53 Pave Low helicopter, which became Blackout,[40] but Hasbro wanted to have a music player for the character. Don Murphy felt this role belittled Soundwave,18 and the writers concurred the character in the script barely resembled the original. They renamed him Frenzy, one of Soundwave's minions.[41] However, the character of Brawl, an M1 Abrams tank, was named Devastator in the film, which Bay chose despite Brawl being the character's official name, and ignored the writers who pointed this out.[42]
To save money, Michael Bay cut his fee by 30%, and planned an eighty-three day shooting schedule. He kept up the pace by doing more camera set-ups per day than usual and chose to shoot the film with a crew he was familiar with in the United States.[43] He had the support of the United States military, who supplied aircraft and vehicles for the alternate modes of the Decepticons, including F-117s, C-130 and C-17 cargo planes, and two CV-22 tiltrotor aircraft, out of three in the U.S. Air Force inventory at that time.[44] Such cooperation led ''Transformers'' to be the first film shot at The Pentagon since the September 11, 2001 attacks.
A pre-shoot took place on April 19, 2006, and principal photography began on April 22 at Holloman Air Force Base. The Holloman shoot also included White Sands Missile Range.[45] On June 9, filming was onsite at the Hoover Dam,[46] making the film crew the first to shoot there since 9/11. The crew then based themselves at Hughes Aircraft in Playa Vista, including six weekends of filming the climactic battle in Los Angeles. Production wrapped on September 24, and second unit shooting continued in the Arctic and Detroit,[47] which finished on October 4.
Work on the animatics began in April 2005, with Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg conceiving many ideas for action sequences. Bay shot his fourteen action sequences live to keep the budget below $150 million. Three versions of each car were created by General Motors in anticipation that some of them would crash, and stunt drivers wore black balaclavas to blend in with the darkened interiors, so as to make the vehicles appear sentient.[48] Bay used his animatics to help the actors envision the Transformers, as well as a 17-foot-tall Bumblebee model by FXPerts, a Frenzy puppet by KNB,[49] Scorponok's damaged tail,[50] Optimus's head with motion capture points,[51] and Megatron's frozen legs.[52] The props amount to 12 out of 630 effects shots.
Industrial Light & Magic created computer-generated transformations over six months in 2005, looking at every inch of the models and making sure none of the car pieces conflicted during the simulations.[53] Initially they were designed to follow the laws of physics, but it did not look exciting enough and was changed to be more fluid.[54] One decision made was that the wheels should stay on the ground for as long as possible, allowing the robots to cruise around as they changed.[55] Due to the intricate designs of the Transformers, even the simplest notion of turning a wrist requires seventeen visible pieces, while each of Ironhide's guns is made of ten thousand parts. Such detail required thirty-eight hours to render each frame of animation, which meant ILM had to increase their processing facilities. Each rendered piece had to look like real metal, shiny or dull. Photographs were taken of each set and had a lighting environment produced within a computer so the robots would look like they were convincingly moving there. ILM created the 430 shots of the thirteen primary robots, while Digital Domain created nearly 100 shots including the character animation of several robots. Digital Domain was also responsible for the Arctic discovery of Megatron, Frenzy's severed head, a vending machine mutated by the Allspark and the Autobots' asteroid arrival.[56][57] Asylum also created a number of shots, while 2-D cleanup and fixes were completed by CO3, ISolve and Ken Blackwell.
Ultimately, the complex mechanics make the characters feel dynamic and quick rather than a lumbering beast, with the mechanics resembling human muscle movement, as Bay rejected a liquid metal surface for the facial animation. Bumblebee uses a piece below his faceplate as an eyebrow, and pieces in his cheeks can swivel to resemble a smile. All the characters' eyes are designed to dilate and brighten. Numerous simulations were programmed into the robots, so the animators could just focus on animating the particular areas needed for a convincing performance.[58] Bay instructed the animators at ILM to look at martial arts films to make the fights look graceful,[59] and they also looked to actor Liam Neeson's performances to inspire Optimus Prime's mannerisms. Bumblebee's behaviour was based on Michael J. Fox's performance in ''Back to the Future''. Writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman observed unexpected quirks in ILM's animation, and added new dialogue and re-edited scenes to adjust it to the robots' performances.[60] Visual effects supervisor Scott Farrar was most proud of the scene where the Autobots hide from Sam's parents, as "there is a lot of humor and very dramatic night time lighting."
Composer Steve Jablonsky, who collaborated with Bay on ''The Island'', scored music for the teaser trailer long before actual work on the film.[61] Scoring took place in April 2007 at the Sony Scoring Stage in Culver City. The score comprised six major themes over 90 minutes of score, including the teaser music.[62] Tom DeSanto wanted to work in an orchestral version of the TV series song,[63] but he and Bay never spoke with each other much. Mute Math performed a cover version instead. The band were childhood fans of Transformers, and were approached as their style suited the sound of the robots in the film. It only appears on the album.[64]
''Transformers'' had its worldwide premiere at N Seoul Tower on June 11, 2007.[65] It premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival on June 27 via digital satellite feed,[66] and in Rhode Island on June 28. The Rhode Island premiere was a freely available event offering fans to buy tickets for $75 to benefit four charities: the Rhode Island Community Food Bank, the Autism Project of Rhode Island, the Adoption Rhode Island, and the Hasbro Children's Hospital.[67] The film will be released on IMAX on September 21 2007,[68] with an additional two minutes.[69]
Hasbro made deals with 200 companies across 70 countries to promote the film.[70] Their toy line for the film was created over two months over late 2005/early 2006, collaborating heavily with the filmmakers.35 A pair of preview toys, Protoform Optimus Prime and Starscream, were released in the U.S.A. on May 1 2007,[71] before the first wave of figures were released on June 2.35 The line featured characters not in the film, including Arcee and Wreckage.[72] The toys feature "Automorph Technology" in which moving parts of the toy allow other parts to shift automatically.[73] Michael Bay directed tie-in commercials for General Motors, Burger King and PepsiCo,[74] while props including the Chevrolet Camaro used for Bumblebee and the Allspark, were put up for charity on eBay.[75] A viral marketing alternate reality game was employed through the Sector 7 web site, which presented the film and all previous Transformers toys and media as part of a cover-up operation called "Hungry Dragon," perpetrated by a "real life" Sector 7 to hide the existence of "real" Transformers. The site featured several videos recording "evidence" of Transformers on Earth, with cameos by G1 characters Grimlock and Bumblebee.[76]
''Transformers'' will be released on Region 1 territories on October 16 2007, on standard and HD DVD formats. The standard DVD will have single disc and two disc editions. Michael Bay will contribute an audio commentary.[77] The Wal-Mart edition of the DVD will include an animated version of the prequel comic book, with Peter Cullen reprising the role of Optimus Prime.[78]
Region 2 will get the DVD sets on the 3 December 2007.
Initially, fans were divided over the film due to the radical redesigns of many characters.[79] Michael Bay even received death threats. Nonetheless, the film drew in many new fans to the franchise. The 2007 BotCon, which held a screening, saw its attendance rise from 2,200 to nearly 8,000.[80] The success of the film led other major American film studios to adapt films about giant robots, such as Regency's ''Voltron'' film and Warner Bros.' ''Robotech''.[81]
The film was released in ten overseas markets on June 28, including Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and the Philippines. ''Transformers'' made $29.5 million in its first weekend, topping the box office in ten countries including a $1.7 million four-day weekend gross in Singapore, the biggest yet.[82] It grossed $5.2 million in Malaysia, becoming the most successful film in the country's history.[83] ''Transformers'' opened in China on July 11, setting a record for the biggest foreign language film opening there, with $3 million.[84] The film was officially released in the United Kingdom on July 27, making £8.7 million, and helped contribute to the biggest attendance record ever, for that weekend. It was second at the U.K. box office, behind ''The Simpsons Movie''.[85] The film has grossed $686.4 million worldwide.[86]
The film was released in the U.S. and Canada on July 3, with 8 p.m. preview screenings on July 2. The previews earned $8.8 million,[87] and in its first day of general release it grossed $27.8 million, a record for Tuesday box office attendance. It broke ''Spider-Man 2's'' record for the biggest July 4th gross, making $29 million.[88] On its opening weekend, ''Transformers'' grossed $70.5 million, amounting to a $155.4 million opening week, giving it the record for the biggest opening week for a non-sequel.[89] The opening's domestic gross was 50% more than what Paramount Pictures expected, with one executive attributing it to word of mouth, telling parents that "it's OK to take the kids." A Cinemascope poll indicated the film was most popular with children and parents, including older women, and attracted many African American and Latino viewers.[90]
''Transformers'' was met with mixed reviews from film critics, receiving a "rotten" rating of 57% favorable reviews out of 186 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, with a Cream of the Crop rating of 68% based on 36 reviews from major news outlets.[91] It received a Metacritic score of 61/100 (generally favorable) from 35 reviews.[92] ''IGN's'' Todd Gilchrist found it Michael Bay's best film, and "one of the few instances where it's OK to enjoy something for being smart and dumb at the same time, mostly because it's undeniably also a whole lot of fun."[93] ''The Advertiser's'' Sean Fewster found the visual effects so seamless that "you may come to believe the studio somehow engineered artificial intelligence".[94] ''The Denver Post's'' Lisa Kennedy praised the depiction of the robots as having "a believably rendered scale and intimacy"[95] and ABC presenter Margaret Pomeranz was surprised "that a complete newcomer to the Transformers phenomenon like myself became involved in the fate of these mega-machines."[96] ''Ain't It Cool News's'' Drew McWeeny felt most of the cast grounded the story, and that "it has a real sense of wonder, one of the things that’s missing from so much of the big CGI lightshows released these days."[97] Author Peter David found it ludicrous fun, and that "[Bay] manages to hold on to his audience's suspension of disbelief long enough for us to segue into some truly spectacular battle scenes."[98]
Despite the praise for the visual effects, there was division over the human storylines. ''The Hollywood Reporter's'' Kirk Honeycutt liked "how a teen plot line gets tied in to the end of the world,"[99] while ''Empire's'' Ian Nathan praised Shia LaBeouf as "a smart, natural comedian, [who] levels the bluntness of this toy story with an ironic bluster."[100] ''Ain't It Cool News'' founder Harry Knowles found the military storylines distracting from Sam, a conflict of Bay and Steven Spielberg's styles.[101] James Berardinelli hated the film as he did not connect with the characters in-between the action, which he found tedious.[102] ''Los Angeles Times's'' Kenneth Turan found the humans "oddly lifeless, doing little besides marking time until those big toys fill the screen,"[103] while ''Comingsoon.net's'' Joshua Stames felt the Transformers were "completely believable, right up to the moment they open their mouths to talk, when they revert to bad cartoon characters."[104] ''Daily Herald's'' Matt Arado was annoyed that "the Transformers [are] little more than supporting players", and felt the middle act was sluggish.[105] ''CNN's'' Tom Charity questioned the idea of a film based on a toy, and felt it would "buzz its youthful demographic... but leave the rest of us wondering if Hollywood could possibly aim lower."[106]
Before its release, ''Transformers'' was voted "Best Summer Movie You Haven't Seen Yet" at the 2007 MTV Movie Awards.[107] ''Entertainment Weekly'' named Bumblebee as the fourth most convincing computer generated character,[108] while ''The Times'' listed Optimus Prime's depiction as the thirtieth film robot in films, citing his coolness and dangerousness.[109] Visual effects supervisor Scott Faraar will be honored at the Hollywood Film Festival and Hollywood Awards Gala Ceremony on October 22 2007 for his work on the film.[110]
On May 30 2007, DreamWorks greenlit two sequels to ''Transformers''.[111] Shia LaBeouf,[112] Megan Fox[113] and Peter Cullen are signed on to return. Producer Tom DeSanto has envisioned a storyline introducing the Dinobots, Constructicons, and Soundwave. Writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman may not return, as "the next ''Star Trek'' is taking up most of their time."[114] Michael Bay has not signed on, "trying to keep some leverage for the negotiations," but already has ideas, including an aircraft carrier character.[115] The producers expect that with a bigger budget and the special effects worked out, the Transformers will have a larger role.[116]
1. Interview: Ian Bryce and Lorenzo di Bonaventura on Transformers and More! Robert Sanchez
2. Transformers: The Cast, The History, The Movie
3. Orci and Kurtzman Questions: Post movie
4. ''Transformers'' Set Report Chris Carle
5. Exclusive: Peter Cullen Interview Todd Gilchrist
6. Transformers' Prime Is Deeper Mike Szymanski
7. Bumblebee Speaks! Derek McGraw
8. Trek reference in TF's
9. Interview with Peter Cullen at Anime Matsuri 2007
10. 'Transformers': From toy story to serious art? Anthony Breznican
11. Transformers Set Visit: Michael Bay Heather Newgen
12. 'Transformers': Good knight vs. bad Anthony last=Breznican
13. C.G.I. ROBOT Ethan Kaye
14. Orci and Kurtzman Questions: Post movie
15. Tom DeSanto gets to yapping about more than meets the eye... aka TRANSFORMERS! Harry Knowles
16. Hasbro Banking on 'Transformers' Change Michelle Smith
17. On Set Interview: Producer Don Murphy On Transformers Kellvin Chavez
18. Don Murphy at TransformersCon Toronto 2006
19. On Set Interview: Producer Tom De Santo On Transformers Kellvin Chavez
20. The Mind of Tom Desanto Scott Marble
21. Rogers Writing ''Transformers''
22. Don Murphy Quotes Special
23. TF Movie Screenwriter John Rogers Speaks out Alex Kingdom
24. Double Vision Zach Oat
25. EXCLUSIVE: New ''Transformers'' Writers
26. Character-Driven Films (but Keep the Kaboom) Dave Itzkoff
27. 'Transformers' Writers Talk Fanboy Pressure, 'E.T.' Inspiration, Sequel Ideas Josh Horowitz
28. Michael Bay and the Edit of Transformers
29. Rise of the Machines Chris Hewitt
30. Ark Not Making An Appearance In the Movie?
31. Exclusive interview: Roberto Orci Todd Gilchrist
32. Roberto and Alex: Questions
33. Roberto and Alex: Questions
34. Michael Bay Divulges 'Transformers' Details — And Word Of 'Bad Boys III' Josh Horowitz
35. Prime Cuts Zack Oat
36. Reports from Transformerscon including more Movie bits
37. Transformers Tony Horkins
38. Optimus Prime Time Adam B. Vary
39. The Rebirth of Optimus Prime: Behind the Scenes with Director Michael Bay Scott Brown
40. Roberto and Alex: Questions
41. Transformers undisguised
42. Roberto and Alex: Questions
43. 'Transformers' Michael Bay Lays On Blame Nikki Fenne
44. May 2006 blog Michael Bay
45. Movie project transforms Holloman Arlan Ponder
46. Transformers to film at Hoover Dam
47. Last Day of Shooting for the Transformers Movie Don Murphy
48. Chevrolet Camaro: A Transformers Movie Star Ann Job
49. The Making Of The Transformers Movie
50. ILM's Scott Farrar on the Transformers movie Fred Topel
51. Transformers movie updates Optimus Prime head prop
52. New Pictures of Frozen Transformers Movie Megatron from the Movie Set
53. Transformers: The Best Special Effects Ever? Matt Sullivan
54. A stunning transformation Susan King
55. Transformers’ Art Director Alex Jaeger’s Career on the Fast Track Renee Dunlop
56. Digital Domain Creates Robots for Transformers
57. Transformers: Q & A Todd Vaziri
58. Transformers: Ratcheting Up Hard Body Surfaces Bill Desowtiz
59. Michael Bay on Transformers!
60. Exclusive: Transformers Writers Orci and Kurtzman Edward Douglas
61. Steve Jablonsky scores a teaser for ''Transformers'' Dan Goldwasser
62. Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye Dan Goldwasser
63. The Blockbuster Preview 2007 Chris Hewitt
64. Transformers Vs. MuteMath
65. Transformers World Premiere in Seoul Kim Beongkwan
66. Transformers Premiere to be Shown at L.A. Film Fest
67. Transformers Movie Premiere to Help Change Kids’ Lives
68. REALLY Giant Robots are coming
69. Transformers IMAX release to include additional footage Nelson Shin
70. Hasbro Rolls Out Transformers Products
71. Transformers Protoforms
72. Full list of Movie Toys? Arcee, Shockwave plus many more?
73. Automorph Technology: The Secret of the Movie Transformations?
74. Firing on all cylinders Gail Schiller
75. BumbleBee and Other Movie Props Are Now on e-bay!
76. Transformers Movie Update: Sector Seven Video Gives Nod To Dinobots, Insecticons, Lazerbeak And Generation One Bumblebee
77. DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Pictures Transformers Rolls out on DVD and HD DVD October 16
78. 2008 Chris Ryall
79. Final shape of 'Transformers' makes debut today Anthony Breznican
80. ‘Transformers’ fans never stopped playing
81. Maguire, WB attack the big screen with 'Robotech'
82. 'Shrek' tops overseas box office, 'Transformers' int'l release brings in .7 mil Dave McNary
83. 'Transformers' dominates Malaysia Vicci Ho
84. 'Transformers' smashes China record Dave McNary
85. Simpsons film tops record weekend
86. Transformers
87. 'Transformers' nabs hefty haul Pamela McClintock
88. Transformers' Week One Records
89. 'Transformers' change weekend take Pamela McClintock
90. 'Transformers' Huge 2M First Week Sets 7-Day Non-Sequel Record Past 'Spidey', 'Passion' & 'Potter'
91. Transformers
92. Transformers
93. Advance Review: Transformers Todd Gilchrist
94. The rule of robots begins Sean Fewster
95. "Transformers" toys with human emotions Lisa Kennedy
96. Transformers Margaret Pomeranz
97. Moriarty Makes First Contact With TRANSFORMERS! The Movie, The Comics, The Books & More! Drew McWeeny
98. Car Toon Peter David
99. Transformers: Sci-fi action that is both smart and funny Kirk Honeycutt
100. Transformers Ian Nathan
101. Harry reviews TRANSFORMERS which isn't really more than meets the eye! Harry Knowles
102. Transformers James Berardinelli
103. 'Transformers' heavy on plot Kenneth Turan
104. Transformers Joshua Stames
105. ‘Transformers’ lacks substance Matt Arado
106. Dim 'Transformers' thuds with action Tom Charity
107. The MTV Movie Awards Winners!
108. Our 10 Favorite CG Characters
109. The 50 best movie robots
110. Hollywood fest to fete quartet Carly Mayberry
111. Two 'Transformers' sequels in pipeline Dave West
112. Shia LeBeouf interview - Transformers the Movie and Michael Bay Rebecca Murray
113. Megan Fox Confirmed For ‘Transformers’ Sequel Brian Jacks
114. Interview: Roberto Orci on Transformers and Star Trek! Robert Sanchez
115. Transformers Roundtable with Michael Bay Patrick Kolan
116. Fan buzz: Flesh out those 'bots Anthony Breznican
★ Official Transformers Movie Website
★ Sector Seven Org - Viral marketing site. Passwords are to be found in the various trailers.
★
★
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★ Hasbro concept art gallery
★ Ben Procter's concept art for the film
'''Transformers''' is a 2007 live action film directed by Michael Bay and executive produced by Steven Spielberg, based on the Transformers franchise. The film stars Shia LaBeouf as Sam Witwicky, who has the coordinates to the location of the Allspark, an object at the center of the war between the heroic Autobots and the evil Decepticons. The film also stars Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, Jon Voight, John Turturro, and Hugo Weaving as the voice of Megatron. Peter Cullen, the voice of Optimus Prime in the 1980s cartoon, reprised the role for the film.
Producers Don Murphy and Tom DeSanto developed the film, and Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman wrote the script, aiming for a realistic interpretation of the characters. Though not a Transformers fan, Bay was convinced by Spielberg to direct, and he created an intricate design aesthetic for the computer-generated robots. General Motors and the United States military lent their support during filming, to keep the budget under $150 million. Armed with an enormous marketing campaign including comics, toys and tie-in deals, ''Transformers'' opened in the United States on July 2 2007, and broke the box office record for the highest-grossing opening week for a non-sequel. Critics praised the special effects, but criticized the characterization.
| Contents |
| Plot |
| Cast |
| Production |
| Development |
| Design |
| Filming |
| Effects |
| Music |
| Release |
| Marketing |
| DVD |
| Reception |
| Box office performance |
| Critical reception |
| Awards |
| Sequels |
| References |
| External links |
Plot
The film begins with Optimus Prime explaining Cybertron's destruction at the hands of Megatron, and his quest to obtain the Allspark. Megatron discovers the Allspark on Earth, but crash-lands in the Arctic Circle, becoming frozen in the ice. Captain Archibald Witwicky and his crew of explorers stumble upon Megatron's body in 1897. Megatron's navigational system is unintentionally activated, and Archibald's eye glasses are imprinted with the Allspark's coordinates. Sector 7, a secret United States government organization, discovers the Allspark and builds the Hoover Dam around it to mask the energy signal. The still-frozen Megatron is moved into this facility, and is reverse engineered to further advance human technology.
In the present day, the rest of the Decepticons—Blackout, Frenzy, Barricade, Starscream, Scorponok, Bonecrusher and Devastator—have landed on Earth and assumed the disguise of Earth vehicles (except Scorponok, who keeps his scorpion-like alien form). Blackout and Scorponok attack a U.S. military base in Qatar and try to hack into the military database to find where Megatron and the Allspark are, but fail when the network is manually shut down. While Blackout destroys the rest of the base, Scorponok chases a small group of survivors, but is eventually repelled. After their failure, Frenzy infiltrates Air Force One to hack again into the military database. He finds the map imprinted on Captain Witwicky's glasses, which his descendant Sam intends to sell on eBay to buy his first car. Frenzy and Barricade begin tracking Sam's location.
The Autonomous Robotic Lifeform (shortened to "Autobot") Bumblebee is also on Earth, disguised as a 1976 Chevrolet Camaro, and looking for Sam. Sam buys Bumblebee, who then helps him try to woo his crush, Mikaela Banes; Sam does not know that Bumblebee is an alien until he sees Bumblebee transform and send a homing signal to the rest of the Autobots. While Sam flees his autonomous car, Barricade confronts him and demands Archibald's spectacles. Bumblebee, who is following Sam, transforms and battles Barricade. Mikaela, who is also following Sam, is caught in the crossfire, and leaves with Sam and Bumblebee to rendezvous with the rest of the Autobots. The Autobots—Optimus Prime, Jazz, Ironhide, and Ratchet—land on Earth and take on the forms of Earth vehicles. Sam, Mikaela, and the Autobots return to Sam's home to retrieve the glasses. Although the Autobots manage to get the glasses, agents from Sector 7 arrive and capture Sam, Mikaela and Bumblebee.
Frenzy secretly accompanies the group to the Hoover Dam and releases Megatron from suspended animation. Locating the Allspark, he sends an alert to the other Decepticons. Megatron escapes and Sam convinces the Sector 7 agents to release Bumblebee so that he can get the Allspark to Optimus Prime. The Decepticons chase the Autobots, who now possess the Allspark, into Mission City. An ensuing battle results in casualties for both sides: Optimus Prime kills Bonecrusher, Frenzy accidentally decapitates himself, Megatron kills Jazz, and both the Autobots and the military take down Devastator and Blackout. The battle ends with Sam killing Megatron when he rams the Allspark into Megatron's chest. Optimus expresses his gratitude to the humans and takes a fragment of the Allspark from Megatron's corpse. Bumblebee decides to remain with Sam. With the Allspark destroyed, Optimus knows that Cybertron cannot be restored, and sends a signal to any other surviving Autobots in the universe, directing them to Earth. The dead Decepticons are dumped into the Laurentian Abyss. Starscream, the only confirmed surviving Decepticon, flies into space.
Cast
;Humans
★ 'Shia LaBeouf' as 'Sam Witwicky': Bay said of Sam, the teenager who unwittingly buys Bumblebee as his first car, that he is not "the stud or the geek, just a normal Joe. He’s the type of guy who finds his edge through humor. He’s a little awkward, but you immediately like him. And like every guy, he’s consumed with getting his first car." LaBeouf was a Transformers fan,[2] was cast as he reminded the filmmakers of the young Tom Hanks. LaBeouf worked out five days a week for three months and gained 25 pounds of muscle to prepare for the role, but realized during shooting that his role required agility rather than strength.
★ 'Megan Fox' as 'Mikaela Banes': A girl who Sam is interested in and woos with the help of Bumblebee. She is mechanically skilled because her father was a "grease monkey" and car thief, and has a criminal record as she refused to turn him in to the authorities. She and Sam eventually begin a relationship. Fox gained 10 pounds of muscle during shooting due to the physicality of the role.
★ 'Josh Duhamel' as 'Cpt William Lennox': Leader of a U.S. Army Special Ops airborne team in Qatar, who escapes Blackout's attack on the base. He has a wife and new-born daughter in the United States. Duhamel was a Transformers fan, and spent three days in boot camp to prepare for the part.
★ 'Tyrese Gibson' as 'TSgt Robert Epps': An Air Force Combat Controller who escapes Blackout and Scorponok's attack with Lennox. Like Duhamel, Gibson was a Transformers fan. Gibson also spent time with combat controller Ray Bollinger to make his dialogue sound natural.
★ 'Rachael Taylor' as 'Maggie Madsen': An expert in signal detection and decoding, assisting the Department of Defense. She realizes that those hacking into the government's data files cannot be human. The film is Taylor's first American role, and the filmmakers opted for her natural Australian accent, as, "the film has such a global feel, it’s not exclusively an American or western film."
★ 'Anthony Anderson' as 'Glen Whitmann': A computer hacker and friend of Maggie, who assists in decoding the Decepticons' signal. Anderson was a Transformers fan.
★ 'Jon Voight' as 'John Keller': The United States Secretary of Defense.
★ 'John Turturro' as 'Reggie Simmons': An officer in Sector 7, the secret government group that has been holding and studying the Allspark and the frozen Megatron. Simmons leads a team tracking down the Autobots. Turturro gave a slapstick performance, which was intended as the writers didn't want to lose a sense of fun, following the seriousness of the military scenes.[3]
★ 'Kevin Dunn' as 'Ron Witwicky': Sam's father, who buys his son Bumblebee.
★ 'Julie White' as 'Judy Witwicky': Sam's mother.
;Autobots
★ 'Peter Cullen' as the voice of 'Optimus Prime' (Peterbilt truck): The Autobot leader who comes to Earth to merge his spark with the Allspark, destroying them both, as he feels this is the only way to end the war. Don Murphy decided after discussions with fans on his website that they wanted the surviving voices from the 1980s cartoon, and Cullen was announced to be reprising his role at the July 2006 San Diego Comic-Con.[4] He described reprising the role as easy as "slipping into an old pair of very comfortable shoes that you haven't worn for a while", and was grateful to the fans for wanting him back.[5] His vocal performance consisted of much improvisation with Bay and bringing a sense of humor to Prime, as well as portraying his traditional heroism.[6]
★ 'Mark Ryan' as the voice of 'Bumblebee' (1976/2009 Chevrolet Camaro): An Autobot scout who develops a friendship with Sam and Mikaela during his efforts to find the Allspark. Ryan acted as a stand in for the Transformers during filming, giving actors someone to react to, both physically where appropriate and providing dialogue, and ad-libbed lines for many characters during post-production before being cast as Bumblebee.[7] Bumblebee mostly communicates with his radio due to his damaged vocal processor, and the writers considered using dialogue from various Paramount films, including the line "I feel the need for speed!" from ''Top Gun''.[8]
★ 'Darius McCrary' as the voice of 'Jazz' (Pontiac Solstice): Optimus's second-in-command, he is a small but acrobatic fighter, with magnetic hands, and a gun/shield combination. He develops a fondness for human culture.
★ 'Jess Harnell' as the voice of 'Ironhide' (GMC Topkick pick-up truck): The weapons specialist of the group. To Optimus's dismay, Ironhide often threatens to use his weapons on intelligent life forms. Cullen also read for Ironhide, another character he originally voiced, during his first audition, portraying a conversation between Optimus and Ironhide.[9]
★ 'Robert Foxworth' as the voice of 'Ratchet' (Search and Rescue Hummer H2): The team's chief medical officer. He has enhanced senses, recognizing from Sam's pheromones that Sam would like to "mate with" Mikaela, and wields a gun and a saw.
;Decepticons
★ 'Hugo Weaving' as the voice of 'Megatron' (Cybertronian "jet"): The Decepticon leader who desires power over the Allspark. He crash-landed in the Arctic eons ago, and his frozen body is kept in storage by Sector 7. According to Peter Cullen, Optimus and Megatron are brothers, akin to the story of Cain and Abel.[10] Weaving's voice was used for facial animation tests,[11] before he signed on to voice Megatron in March 2007.[12] TV series voice actor Frank Welker had auditioned, but he was rejected as Bay considered his voice too soft for the beastly depiction of the character.[13] Instead, Welker voiced Megatron in the .
★ 'Charlie Adler' as the voice of 'Starscream' (F-22 Raptor): Megatron's second-in-command who leads the Decepticons in his absence, and is berated for failing him repeatedly once he returns, alluding to an uneasy relationship between the two. A few more lines of arguements with Megatron were cut from the finished film, partly because of the need to keep the Decepticons mysterious.[14]
★ 'Jess Harnell' as the voice of 'Barricade' (Saleen Mustang police car): The first Decepticon to attack Sam. On the rear quarter panel of his vehicle form is written "''To punish and enslave...''", instead of "''To protect and serve''".
★ 'Reno Wilson' as the voice of 'Frenzy' (CD player, mobile phone): A spy and computer hacker who tracks Sam down. Though the smallest Decepticon, he is an agile fighter who throws razor-sharp shurikens.
★ 'Jimmie Wood' as the voice of 'Bonecrusher' (Buffalo H Mine-Protected vehicle): He attacks Optimus Prime on the highway to Mission City, causing a delay in Optimus's arrival.
Production
Development
| "I think it's going to be something the audience has never seen before. In all the years of movie-making, I don't think the image of a truck transforming into a 20-foot tall robot has ever been captured on screen. I also want to make a film that's a homage to 1980s movies and gets back to the sense of wonder that Hollywood has lost over the years. It will have those Spielberg-ian moments where you have the push-in on the wide-eyed kid and you feel like you're 10 years old even if you're 35." |
| — Tom DeSanto on why he produced the film[15] |
In 2002, the toy company Hasbro began developing its properties into films.[16] Producer Don Murphy was looking to adapt ''G.I. Joe'', but when the U.S. invaded Iraq in March 2003, Hasbro suggested ''Transformers'' instead.[17] Tom DeSanto joined the project because he was a big fan of the characters. The two producers met with comic book writer Simon Furman, and researched the Generation 1 cartoon and comics. They decided to explore why Transformers exist, focusing on the Creation Matrix, though Murphy felt the term "Matrix" should not be used due to the popular ''Matrix'' series with the same name.[18] DeSanto chose a human point-of-view in his treatment to engage the audience.[19] Murphy wanted it to feel realistic, with the tone akin to that of a disaster film. The story included the Autobots Optimus Prime, Ironhide, Jazz, Prowl, Ratchet, Wheeljack, and Bumblebee, and the Decepticons Megatron, Starscream, Soundwave, Ravage, Laserbeak, Rumble, Skywarp and Shockwave.[20]
After the producers were rejected by many studio executives who did not grow up with ''Transformers'', DeSanto met with producer Mike DeLuca in 2004, who arranged a meeting with Steven Spielberg. A fan of the comics and toys, Spielberg signed on as executive producer, and John Rogers was hired as screenwriter in November.[21] His script pitted four Autobots against four Decepticons,[22] and featured the ''Ark'' spaceship.[23] Screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, big fans of the cartoon,[24] were hired in February to start a new script.[25] Spielberg suggested to the writers an approach about "a boy and his car" which appealed to them as adulthood and responsibility is "the things that a car represents in [the United States]."[26] Sam and Mikaela were the focus of the first draft, and the Transformers had no dialogue. This was changed in the next draft, as the writers felt that even if the Transformers speaking could look ridiculous, having them not speak would betray the fanbase. Inspired by Spielberg's ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'', Bumblebee was kept mute to stress his friendship with Sam as going beyond words.[27]
Michael Bay, who had wanted to make a family film, was asked to direct after finishing ''The Island'',[28] but he thought of it as a "stupid toy movie".[29] Nonetheless, Spielberg's premise of "a boy and his car" made Bay curious, and upon visiting Hasbro, the director gained a new respect for the mythology. In addition, he was enticed by ideas like an 85 mile-per-hour fight scene, and the comedy caused by Transformers interfering with everyday life. Bay also wanted the film to feel intense and realistic, and the writers agreed to make everything seem logical, setting aside the previous contradictory continuities in the franchise. Bay admitted not being a fan before allowed him to tell the story naturally and make it appeal to other non-fans. Orci removed the ''Ark'' from the script as he wondered why "aliens who moonlight as vehicles need other vehicles to travel."[30] The female Autobot Arcee was cut as they had little time to explain robotic gender.[31] Bay expanded the military storylines, as he considered the first draft "too kiddie", and based the soldiers on ''G.I. Joe''.[32] Throughout the rewrites, Optimus Prime, Megatron, Bumblebee and Starscream were the only robots included in all of them. More Decepticons were added to increase the sense of threat, and the law enforcement-based Autobot Prowl was removed as Orci and Kurtzman loved the perverseness of an evil police car.[32]
Design
Designs of the robots began in June 2005, and Hasbro heavily collaborated on the live action interpretations of their characters. In keeping with Michael Bay's desire to make ''Transformers'' realistic, the robots were designed more intricately to look more three-dimensional[34] and to reflect their alien origins.[35] Morphing in transformations was restricted, unlike the cartoon or comic books, where a character such as Megatron transforms into a Walther P38 pistol. Every character stayed the same size in both forms, which in turn explained the robots' choice of Earth forms during the story. Optimus Prime's original cab over truck form was rejected because it would make him only 23 feet tall, so Bay decided to use the Peterbilt, the largest truck available.
Bumblebee was changed from a Volkswagen Beetle to a Chevrolet Camaro to avoid comparisons with Herbie, and the car also had a friendly quality Michael Bay was looking for
Bay also added flame artwork to Prime to make him distinctive, and gave him a mouth to emote more. Don Murphy wanted to retain Bumblebee's Volkswagen Beetle form,[36] but Bay rejected it to avoid comparisons with Herbie the Love Bug.[37] Bay chose the Chevrolet Camaro instead, which he described as having a friendly quality, but as a tribute, when Sam purchases his car, Bumblebee was parked next to a yellow Beetle. Making Bumblebee a Camaro led a full product placement deal with General Motors, to supply the alternate modes for Jazz, Ironhide and Ratchet. The deal saved $3 million, though Bay hoped they would have supplied a bigger car than the Pontiac Solstice for Jazz.[38]
In contrast to Optimus's faithful design, Megatron's alternate mode was changed from a Walther P38 pistol to an alien jet to avoid morphing,[39] while his face was made more hideous and menacing. Bay admitted most of the Decepticons had their appearances chosen before their characterization as Hasbro needed to get started on the toys. Soundwave was considered as MH-53 Pave Low helicopter, which became Blackout,[40] but Hasbro wanted to have a music player for the character. Don Murphy felt this role belittled Soundwave,18 and the writers concurred the character in the script barely resembled the original. They renamed him Frenzy, one of Soundwave's minions.[41] However, the character of Brawl, an M1 Abrams tank, was named Devastator in the film, which Bay chose despite Brawl being the character's official name, and ignored the writers who pointed this out.[42]
Filming
To save money, Michael Bay cut his fee by 30%, and planned an eighty-three day shooting schedule. He kept up the pace by doing more camera set-ups per day than usual and chose to shoot the film with a crew he was familiar with in the United States.[43] He had the support of the United States military, who supplied aircraft and vehicles for the alternate modes of the Decepticons, including F-117s, C-130 and C-17 cargo planes, and two CV-22 tiltrotor aircraft, out of three in the U.S. Air Force inventory at that time.[44] Such cooperation led ''Transformers'' to be the first film shot at The Pentagon since the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Director Michael Bay filming at Holloman Air Force Base
A pre-shoot took place on April 19, 2006, and principal photography began on April 22 at Holloman Air Force Base. The Holloman shoot also included White Sands Missile Range.[45] On June 9, filming was onsite at the Hoover Dam,[46] making the film crew the first to shoot there since 9/11. The crew then based themselves at Hughes Aircraft in Playa Vista, including six weekends of filming the climactic battle in Los Angeles. Production wrapped on September 24, and second unit shooting continued in the Arctic and Detroit,[47] which finished on October 4.
Effects
Work on the animatics began in April 2005, with Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg conceiving many ideas for action sequences. Bay shot his fourteen action sequences live to keep the budget below $150 million. Three versions of each car were created by General Motors in anticipation that some of them would crash, and stunt drivers wore black balaclavas to blend in with the darkened interiors, so as to make the vehicles appear sentient.[48] Bay used his animatics to help the actors envision the Transformers, as well as a 17-foot-tall Bumblebee model by FXPerts, a Frenzy puppet by KNB,[49] Scorponok's damaged tail,[50] Optimus's head with motion capture points,[51] and Megatron's frozen legs.[52] The props amount to 12 out of 630 effects shots.
Industrial Light & Magic created computer-generated transformations over six months in 2005, looking at every inch of the models and making sure none of the car pieces conflicted during the simulations.[53] Initially they were designed to follow the laws of physics, but it did not look exciting enough and was changed to be more fluid.[54] One decision made was that the wheels should stay on the ground for as long as possible, allowing the robots to cruise around as they changed.[55] Due to the intricate designs of the Transformers, even the simplest notion of turning a wrist requires seventeen visible pieces, while each of Ironhide's guns is made of ten thousand parts. Such detail required thirty-eight hours to render each frame of animation, which meant ILM had to increase their processing facilities. Each rendered piece had to look like real metal, shiny or dull. Photographs were taken of each set and had a lighting environment produced within a computer so the robots would look like they were convincingly moving there. ILM created the 430 shots of the thirteen primary robots, while Digital Domain created nearly 100 shots including the character animation of several robots. Digital Domain was also responsible for the Arctic discovery of Megatron, Frenzy's severed head, a vending machine mutated by the Allspark and the Autobots' asteroid arrival.[56][57] Asylum also created a number of shots, while 2-D cleanup and fixes were completed by CO3, ISolve and Ken Blackwell.
Ultimately, the complex mechanics make the characters feel dynamic and quick rather than a lumbering beast, with the mechanics resembling human muscle movement, as Bay rejected a liquid metal surface for the facial animation. Bumblebee uses a piece below his faceplate as an eyebrow, and pieces in his cheeks can swivel to resemble a smile. All the characters' eyes are designed to dilate and brighten. Numerous simulations were programmed into the robots, so the animators could just focus on animating the particular areas needed for a convincing performance.[58] Bay instructed the animators at ILM to look at martial arts films to make the fights look graceful,[59] and they also looked to actor Liam Neeson's performances to inspire Optimus Prime's mannerisms. Bumblebee's behaviour was based on Michael J. Fox's performance in ''Back to the Future''. Writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman observed unexpected quirks in ILM's animation, and added new dialogue and re-edited scenes to adjust it to the robots' performances.[60] Visual effects supervisor Scott Farrar was most proud of the scene where the Autobots hide from Sam's parents, as "there is a lot of humor and very dramatic night time lighting."
Music
Composer Steve Jablonsky, who collaborated with Bay on ''The Island'', scored music for the teaser trailer long before actual work on the film.[61] Scoring took place in April 2007 at the Sony Scoring Stage in Culver City. The score comprised six major themes over 90 minutes of score, including the teaser music.[62] Tom DeSanto wanted to work in an orchestral version of the TV series song,[63] but he and Bay never spoke with each other much. Mute Math performed a cover version instead. The band were childhood fans of Transformers, and were approached as their style suited the sound of the robots in the film. It only appears on the album.[64]
Release
A building in Hollywood, CA, draped in canvas promoting the film
''Transformers'' had its worldwide premiere at N Seoul Tower on June 11, 2007.[65] It premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival on June 27 via digital satellite feed,[66] and in Rhode Island on June 28. The Rhode Island premiere was a freely available event offering fans to buy tickets for $75 to benefit four charities: the Rhode Island Community Food Bank, the Autism Project of Rhode Island, the Adoption Rhode Island, and the Hasbro Children's Hospital.[67] The film will be released on IMAX on September 21 2007,[68] with an additional two minutes.[69]
Marketing
Hasbro made deals with 200 companies across 70 countries to promote the film.[70] Their toy line for the film was created over two months over late 2005/early 2006, collaborating heavily with the filmmakers.35 A pair of preview toys, Protoform Optimus Prime and Starscream, were released in the U.S.A. on May 1 2007,[71] before the first wave of figures were released on June 2.35 The line featured characters not in the film, including Arcee and Wreckage.[72] The toys feature "Automorph Technology" in which moving parts of the toy allow other parts to shift automatically.[73] Michael Bay directed tie-in commercials for General Motors, Burger King and PepsiCo,[74] while props including the Chevrolet Camaro used for Bumblebee and the Allspark, were put up for charity on eBay.[75] A viral marketing alternate reality game was employed through the Sector 7 web site, which presented the film and all previous Transformers toys and media as part of a cover-up operation called "Hungry Dragon," perpetrated by a "real life" Sector 7 to hide the existence of "real" Transformers. The site featured several videos recording "evidence" of Transformers on Earth, with cameos by G1 characters Grimlock and Bumblebee.[76]
DVD
''Transformers'' will be released on Region 1 territories on October 16 2007, on standard and HD DVD formats. The standard DVD will have single disc and two disc editions. Michael Bay will contribute an audio commentary.[77] The Wal-Mart edition of the DVD will include an animated version of the prequel comic book, with Peter Cullen reprising the role of Optimus Prime.[78]
Region 2 will get the DVD sets on the 3 December 2007.
Reception
Initially, fans were divided over the film due to the radical redesigns of many characters.[79] Michael Bay even received death threats. Nonetheless, the film drew in many new fans to the franchise. The 2007 BotCon, which held a screening, saw its attendance rise from 2,200 to nearly 8,000.[80] The success of the film led other major American film studios to adapt films about giant robots, such as Regency's ''Voltron'' film and Warner Bros.' ''Robotech''.[81]
Box office performance
The film was released in ten overseas markets on June 28, including Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and the Philippines. ''Transformers'' made $29.5 million in its first weekend, topping the box office in ten countries including a $1.7 million four-day weekend gross in Singapore, the biggest yet.[82] It grossed $5.2 million in Malaysia, becoming the most successful film in the country's history.[83] ''Transformers'' opened in China on July 11, setting a record for the biggest foreign language film opening there, with $3 million.[84] The film was officially released in the United Kingdom on July 27, making £8.7 million, and helped contribute to the biggest attendance record ever, for that weekend. It was second at the U.K. box office, behind ''The Simpsons Movie''.[85] The film has grossed $686.4 million worldwide.[86]
The film was released in the U.S. and Canada on July 3, with 8 p.m. preview screenings on July 2. The previews earned $8.8 million,[87] and in its first day of general release it grossed $27.8 million, a record for Tuesday box office attendance. It broke ''Spider-Man 2's'' record for the biggest July 4th gross, making $29 million.[88] On its opening weekend, ''Transformers'' grossed $70.5 million, amounting to a $155.4 million opening week, giving it the record for the biggest opening week for a non-sequel.[89] The opening's domestic gross was 50% more than what Paramount Pictures expected, with one executive attributing it to word of mouth, telling parents that "it's OK to take the kids." A Cinemascope poll indicated the film was most popular with children and parents, including older women, and attracted many African American and Latino viewers.[90]
Critical reception
''Transformers'' was met with mixed reviews from film critics, receiving a "rotten" rating of 57% favorable reviews out of 186 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, with a Cream of the Crop rating of 68% based on 36 reviews from major news outlets.[91] It received a Metacritic score of 61/100 (generally favorable) from 35 reviews.[92] ''IGN's'' Todd Gilchrist found it Michael Bay's best film, and "one of the few instances where it's OK to enjoy something for being smart and dumb at the same time, mostly because it's undeniably also a whole lot of fun."[93] ''The Advertiser's'' Sean Fewster found the visual effects so seamless that "you may come to believe the studio somehow engineered artificial intelligence".[94] ''The Denver Post's'' Lisa Kennedy praised the depiction of the robots as having "a believably rendered scale and intimacy"[95] and ABC presenter Margaret Pomeranz was surprised "that a complete newcomer to the Transformers phenomenon like myself became involved in the fate of these mega-machines."[96] ''Ain't It Cool News's'' Drew McWeeny felt most of the cast grounded the story, and that "it has a real sense of wonder, one of the things that’s missing from so much of the big CGI lightshows released these days."[97] Author Peter David found it ludicrous fun, and that "[Bay] manages to hold on to his audience's suspension of disbelief long enough for us to segue into some truly spectacular battle scenes."[98]
Despite the praise for the visual effects, there was division over the human storylines. ''The Hollywood Reporter's'' Kirk Honeycutt liked "how a teen plot line gets tied in to the end of the world,"[99] while ''Empire's'' Ian Nathan praised Shia LaBeouf as "a smart, natural comedian, [who] levels the bluntness of this toy story with an ironic bluster."[100] ''Ain't It Cool News'' founder Harry Knowles found the military storylines distracting from Sam, a conflict of Bay and Steven Spielberg's styles.[101] James Berardinelli hated the film as he did not connect with the characters in-between the action, which he found tedious.[102] ''Los Angeles Times's'' Kenneth Turan found the humans "oddly lifeless, doing little besides marking time until those big toys fill the screen,"[103] while ''Comingsoon.net's'' Joshua Stames felt the Transformers were "completely believable, right up to the moment they open their mouths to talk, when they revert to bad cartoon characters."[104] ''Daily Herald's'' Matt Arado was annoyed that "the Transformers [are] little more than supporting players", and felt the middle act was sluggish.[105] ''CNN's'' Tom Charity questioned the idea of a film based on a toy, and felt it would "buzz its youthful demographic... but leave the rest of us wondering if Hollywood could possibly aim lower."[106]
Awards
Before its release, ''Transformers'' was voted "Best Summer Movie You Haven't Seen Yet" at the 2007 MTV Movie Awards.[107] ''Entertainment Weekly'' named Bumblebee as the fourth most convincing computer generated character,[108] while ''The Times'' listed Optimus Prime's depiction as the thirtieth film robot in films, citing his coolness and dangerousness.[109] Visual effects supervisor Scott Faraar will be honored at the Hollywood Film Festival and Hollywood Awards Gala Ceremony on October 22 2007 for his work on the film.[110]
Sequels
On May 30 2007, DreamWorks greenlit two sequels to ''Transformers''.[111] Shia LaBeouf,[112] Megan Fox[113] and Peter Cullen are signed on to return. Producer Tom DeSanto has envisioned a storyline introducing the Dinobots, Constructicons, and Soundwave. Writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman may not return, as "the next ''Star Trek'' is taking up most of their time."[114] Michael Bay has not signed on, "trying to keep some leverage for the negotiations," but already has ideas, including an aircraft carrier character.[115] The producers expect that with a bigger budget and the special effects worked out, the Transformers will have a larger role.[116]
References
1. Interview: Ian Bryce and Lorenzo di Bonaventura on Transformers and More! Robert Sanchez
2. Transformers: The Cast, The History, The Movie
3. Orci and Kurtzman Questions: Post movie
4. ''Transformers'' Set Report Chris Carle
5. Exclusive: Peter Cullen Interview Todd Gilchrist
6. Transformers' Prime Is Deeper Mike Szymanski
7. Bumblebee Speaks! Derek McGraw
8. Trek reference in TF's
9. Interview with Peter Cullen at Anime Matsuri 2007
10. 'Transformers': From toy story to serious art? Anthony Breznican
11. Transformers Set Visit: Michael Bay Heather Newgen
12. 'Transformers': Good knight vs. bad Anthony last=Breznican
13. C.G.I. ROBOT Ethan Kaye
14. Orci and Kurtzman Questions: Post movie
15. Tom DeSanto gets to yapping about more than meets the eye... aka TRANSFORMERS! Harry Knowles
16. Hasbro Banking on 'Transformers' Change Michelle Smith
17. On Set Interview: Producer Don Murphy On Transformers Kellvin Chavez
18. Don Murphy at TransformersCon Toronto 2006
19. On Set Interview: Producer Tom De Santo On Transformers Kellvin Chavez
20. The Mind of Tom Desanto Scott Marble
21. Rogers Writing ''Transformers''
22. Don Murphy Quotes Special
23. TF Movie Screenwriter John Rogers Speaks out Alex Kingdom
24. Double Vision Zach Oat
25. EXCLUSIVE: New ''Transformers'' Writers
26. Character-Driven Films (but Keep the Kaboom) Dave Itzkoff
27. 'Transformers' Writers Talk Fanboy Pressure, 'E.T.' Inspiration, Sequel Ideas Josh Horowitz
28. Michael Bay and the Edit of Transformers
29. Rise of the Machines Chris Hewitt
30. Ark Not Making An Appearance In the Movie?
31. Exclusive interview: Roberto Orci Todd Gilchrist
32. Roberto and Alex: Questions
33. Roberto and Alex: Questions
34. Michael Bay Divulges 'Transformers' Details — And Word Of 'Bad Boys III' Josh Horowitz
35. Prime Cuts Zack Oat
36. Reports from Transformerscon including more Movie bits
37. Transformers Tony Horkins
38. Optimus Prime Time Adam B. Vary
39. The Rebirth of Optimus Prime: Behind the Scenes with Director Michael Bay Scott Brown
40. Roberto and Alex: Questions
41. Transformers undisguised
42. Roberto and Alex: Questions
43. 'Transformers' Michael Bay Lays On Blame Nikki Fenne
44. May 2006 blog Michael Bay
45. Movie project transforms Holloman Arlan Ponder
46. Transformers to film at Hoover Dam
47. Last Day of Shooting for the Transformers Movie Don Murphy
48. Chevrolet Camaro: A Transformers Movie Star Ann Job
49. The Making Of The Transformers Movie
50. ILM's Scott Farrar on the Transformers movie Fred Topel
51. Transformers movie updates Optimus Prime head prop
52. New Pictures of Frozen Transformers Movie Megatron from the Movie Set
53. Transformers: The Best Special Effects Ever? Matt Sullivan
54. A stunning transformation Susan King
55. Transformers’ Art Director Alex Jaeger’s Career on the Fast Track Renee Dunlop
56. Digital Domain Creates Robots for Transformers
57. Transformers: Q & A Todd Vaziri
58. Transformers: Ratcheting Up Hard Body Surfaces Bill Desowtiz
59. Michael Bay on Transformers!
60. Exclusive: Transformers Writers Orci and Kurtzman Edward Douglas
61. Steve Jablonsky scores a teaser for ''Transformers'' Dan Goldwasser
62. Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye Dan Goldwasser
63. The Blockbuster Preview 2007 Chris Hewitt
64. Transformers Vs. MuteMath
65. Transformers World Premiere in Seoul Kim Beongkwan
66. Transformers Premiere to be Shown at L.A. Film Fest
67. Transformers Movie Premiere to Help Change Kids’ Lives
68. REALLY Giant Robots are coming
69. Transformers IMAX release to include additional footage Nelson Shin
70. Hasbro Rolls Out Transformers Products
71. Transformers Protoforms
72. Full list of Movie Toys? Arcee, Shockwave plus many more?
73. Automorph Technology: The Secret of the Movie Transformations?
74. Firing on all cylinders Gail Schiller
75. BumbleBee and Other Movie Props Are Now on e-bay!
76. Transformers Movie Update: Sector Seven Video Gives Nod To Dinobots, Insecticons, Lazerbeak And Generation One Bumblebee
77. DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Pictures Transformers Rolls out on DVD and HD DVD October 16
78. 2008 Chris Ryall
79. Final shape of 'Transformers' makes debut today Anthony Breznican
80. ‘Transformers’ fans never stopped playing
81. Maguire, WB attack the big screen with 'Robotech'
82. 'Shrek' tops overseas box office, 'Transformers' int'l release brings in .7 mil Dave McNary
83. 'Transformers' dominates Malaysia Vicci Ho
84. 'Transformers' smashes China record Dave McNary
85. Simpsons film tops record weekend
86. Transformers
87. 'Transformers' nabs hefty haul Pamela McClintock
88. Transformers' Week One Records
89. 'Transformers' change weekend take Pamela McClintock
90. 'Transformers' Huge 2M First Week Sets 7-Day Non-Sequel Record Past 'Spidey', 'Passion' & 'Potter'
91. Transformers
92. Transformers
93. Advance Review: Transformers Todd Gilchrist
94. The rule of robots begins Sean Fewster
95. "Transformers" toys with human emotions Lisa Kennedy
96. Transformers Margaret Pomeranz
97. Moriarty Makes First Contact With TRANSFORMERS! The Movie, The Comics, The Books & More! Drew McWeeny
98. Car Toon Peter David
99. Transformers: Sci-fi action that is both smart and funny Kirk Honeycutt
100. Transformers Ian Nathan
101. Harry reviews TRANSFORMERS which isn't really more than meets the eye! Harry Knowles
102. Transformers James Berardinelli
103. 'Transformers' heavy on plot Kenneth Turan
104. Transformers Joshua Stames
105. ‘Transformers’ lacks substance Matt Arado
106. Dim 'Transformers' thuds with action Tom Charity
107. The MTV Movie Awards Winners!
108. Our 10 Favorite CG Characters
109. The 50 best movie robots
110. Hollywood fest to fete quartet Carly Mayberry
111. Two 'Transformers' sequels in pipeline Dave West
112. Shia LeBeouf interview - Transformers the Movie and Michael Bay Rebecca Murray
113. Megan Fox Confirmed For ‘Transformers’ Sequel Brian Jacks
114. Interview: Roberto Orci on Transformers and Star Trek! Robert Sanchez
115. Transformers Roundtable with Michael Bay Patrick Kolan
116. Fan buzz: Flesh out those 'bots Anthony Breznican
External links
★ Official Transformers Movie Website
★ Sector Seven Org - Viral marketing site. Passwords are to be found in the various trailers.
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★ Hasbro concept art gallery
★ Ben Procter's concept art for the film
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