'Transformers' Live Action Movie from DreamWorks?

mr_don't writes "Apprently, CNN is reporting that Dreamworks might be in talks with Michael Bay (who directed the bomb Pearl Harbor) to direct a live action Transformers movie. The article says: A November 17, 2006, release date has been set. Bay's credits include the two "Bad Boys" movies, "Pearl Harbor," "Armageddon" and "The Rock." Well, as a child of the 80's I must admit I am interested, but could the movie be directed by Robert Rodriguez instead?"

Comments

Old news

[Masami Eiri]

Kind of. Transfans have known this to be in the works for a while.. the original projected release date was 2005.. though I doubt that now.
I'm mixed on this.. if its done right, it could be truly awesome...

This is old news

[bigdady92]

This has been circulating the net for MONTHS. If you visit any of the transformer sites you can see that they've known about this for a while.

http://www.transformerland.com/transformers-the-mo vie.html

Why do I say it's been around for months? Because they have already secured the voice of the ORIGINAL Optimus Prime! Not that crappy one on the new cartoons, the ORIGNAL voice. The TRUE voice of Prime !

Rodriguez is not an option.

[randomaxe]

In case you hadn't heard, Robert Rodriguez probably won't be doing many major-studio pictures any time soon. His decision to share directing credit with Frank Miller (and, to a certain extent, Tarantino) forced him to drop out of the Director's Guild of America.

And AFAIK, it works kind of like a union thing, the major studios only hiring directors from the DGA.

Rodriguez will no doubt have little trouble finding work... but expect it to be via indie studios.

Re:Rodriguez is not an option.

[rnelsonee]

From From an article I read today:

So Rodriguez dropped out of the DGA. That move cost him the opportunity to direct Paramount's sci-fi adventure A Princess of Mars. (The union forbids non-members from signing onto projects already in the works at a member studio.) He can, however, make movies independently and distribute them through a studio. His friendship with Bob and Harvey Weinstein, who headed Miramax but split from Disney this week to start a new company, practically guarantees he will continue to direct movies.

So it looks like the old having-powerful-buddies thing will still happen for Rodriguez. Sure, it won't be as good as it would if he was in the DGA, but who knows.

Re:I knew this was coming

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, that advert is exactly what the movie should be.

Only less Citroen C4 and less dancing.

The ad is here: http://uk.download.yahoo.com/ne/fu/oa/eurcncs18503 0.mpg

The "Bomb" Pearl Harbor?

[BTWR]

Maybe it was a bad movie, and maybe it was mocked by critics, the press and the public... but a "bomb?" I think not.

From boxofficemojo.com this is the breakdown:

Pearl Harbor:
Production Budget: $140 million
Est. Marketing Costs: $70 million

Domestic gross: $198,542,554 (44.2%)
+ Overseas gross: $250,678,391 (55.8%)
-----------------
= Worldwide gross: $449,220,945

So... it cost $210 million to make and market the film, it took in $450 million from the box office ALONE (not including the millions that selling tv rights brings, DVD/VHS sales, pay-per-view spots), and I'm sure the producers are really crying about this "bomb" - crying all the way to the bank...

Dude, Give Credit Where Credit's Due

[BRock97]

Dude, if you are going to rip someone's lyrics, at least give the source. This fine song is called The End of an Act from the Team America World Police soundtrack. Highly recommend it if you want to laugh your ass off.

Re:There is more than meets the Eye

[UnixRevolution]

An electrical transformer changes the voltage and amperage of an electric current by induction between 2 dissimilar (usually different winds) spirals of copper wire.

Much, much more info here.

Re:Wow.

[gphinch]

A friend of mine from college works in developement now, and he was telling me that basically the studio's market research shows them that something like 95% of American males 18-35 like Transformers, so they are going to throw as much money as is needed at this, $200 mil or more, knowing that the money made will probably be in the billions when all is said and done.

Re:Sombody's Got A Bone To Pick

[American AC in Paris]

And even though it 'performed extremely well' by your definition, it still didn't make back its budget or make any profit, hence it IS A BOMB.

Y'know, if you're gonna troll, at least take the time to make sure your claims aren't completely wrong.

Released in US: May 25, 2001
Total US Gross: $198,539,855
Production Budget: $135,000,000
Prints and Advertising Budget :$45,000,000
Worldwide Gross: $450,500,000

Assume that roughly 50% of gross goes back to the studio, factor in things like DVD/Video sales and merchandise, and you've got a seriously profitable movie.

Quick guide to Transformers TV shows

[Gax]

> the original projected release date was 2005

Not quite. The projected release date has always been 2006. 2005 was just a date picked by the fans to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the first movie. On the web forum, Don Murphy mentions they were shooting for a summer 2006 release. More information on the movie can be found on the TF - The Movie roundup page. If the first movie is successful, they plan for Unicron to make an appearance in the third one.

Though many people do not realise it, over 500 episodes of Transformers have been made in their various incarnations.
Here is a brief rundown of the various Transformer shows that have aired in the last 20 years.

American shows
Transformers Generation 1 TV show (American written show, set during 1985-86 and 2005-06)

2) Transformers Generation 2 TV show (modified version of the G1 series that added an annoying 3D space cube animation.

Japanese only series
Transformers: Headmasters (Japanese). Available as an official or partial fandub.

Transformers: Masterforce (Japanese). Available in official dub or sub-titled versions.

Transformers Victory (Japanese series) Available as an official dub, fan dub, or subtitled.

Transformers Zone (Japanese). Available in subtitled or dubbed versions.

Though transforming robots remained popular in the East, the Transformers line was 'rested' for a few years.

The Beast Era
In 1996 the toy line was relaunched. After the disappointing sales of the Generation 2 series, vehicle modes were abandoned and animal forms introduced. Optimus Primal transformed into a gorilla and Megatron became a dinosaur. The Beast era was set years after the original series 300-1000 years, depending upon your source) and introduced two new factions - the Maximals and Predacons.

Beast Wars - The Autobots and Decepticons are gone and the Maximals and Predacons have made peace. This peace is broken by Megatron (a namesake, not the original), who travels back in time in an attempt to change the course of history. In most episodes he is thwarted by Optimus Primal and a small band of Maximals. The animation shows its age, but it is probably the most intelligently written TF show made (season 2, in particular).

Beast Machines - The Beast Wars are over and the Maximals return to Cybertron. They find that Megatron has captured the sparks (soul) of every Transformer on the planet and created an army of mindless drones called Vehicons. Best remembered for the strong religious overtones, huge explosions and scenes of the Maximals running away.

Japanese Beast series
While the US got the second and third season of Beast Wars, Japan received two spin-off series that focused upon other planets.

Beast Wars 2 (Japanese). Leo Convoy (lion) Vs Galvatron (dragon).

Beast Wars Neo (Japanese) - The Maximal leader, Big Convoy (a wooly mammoth) faces against the evil Magmatron. Unlike earlier Convoy/Prime toys, Big Convoy has a removable matrix in his chest.

Autobots and Decepticons return
Hasbro's initial plan was to create a followup to the Beast Machines series called Transtech. This would feature vehicle TFs with animal moulding. However, it was later abandoned and Hasbro made a deal