quote:Legendary TRANSFORMERS Property from Hasbro Will Come to Life with Live Action Film from DreamWorks and Paramount; Steven Spielberg to Executive Produce
LOS ANGELES & PAWTUCKET, R.I., Jul 23, 2004 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Pictures, in association with Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE:HAS), will develop a live-action, motion picture based on the globally popular TRANSFORMERS franchise. Steven Spielberg will executive produce. The film is slated for release in the summer of 2006. Lorenzo di Bonaventura ("Constantine"), Don Murphy ("The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen") and Tom DeSanto ("X-Men" and "X2: X-Men United") are attached to produce.
DreamWorks Head of Production Adam Goodman stated, "Steven and everyone at DreamWorks are very excited about the prospect of expanding the world of TRANSFORMERS into the live-action feature film arena. The possibilities for a thrilling action adventure are virtually endless, and a film holds the definite promise of expanding an already worldwide fan base to new audiences."
"This is a tremendous franchise that offers us the opportunity to create an inventive and thrilling action-adventure film," said Donald De Line, Vice Chairman, Motion Picture Group and President of Paramount Pictures. "We're happy to work with our colleagues at DreamWorks to develop this project with Hasbro. There couldn't be a better team to bring the TRANSFORMERS to the big screen."
"We are truly fortunate to have the best talent in the entertainment industry on board for the TRANSFORMERS movie and are excited at the opportunities this powerful collaboration will bring to the property," said Brian Goldner, President of Hasbro's toys segment. "The TRANSFORMERS franchise has been successful in many entertainment arenas and we are thrilled to give millions of fans an extraordinary experience that's never been done in the history of the brand."
Hasbro will work with the production team, DreamWorks and Paramount on all aspects of the film's creative development, marketing, promotions and will manage merchandising in conjunction with the release of the film. Hasbro will also team up with Takara, who has been the co-developer of the TRANSFORMERS brand since its beginning in the early 1980s.
"The TRANSFORMERS brand has always struck a chord with fans around the world and remains one of our strongest franchises since it was introduced 20 years ago," said Keita Satoh, President and Chief Executive Officer of Takara. "Together with Hasbro, DreamWorks and Paramount, we will bring the property to a new level for fans in the Japanese market, as well as around the world."
DreamWorks will distribute the film domestically, while Paramount will distribute internationally.
In 1984, the TRANSFORMERS brand took the world by storm with its compelling saga of the ROBOTS IN DISGUISE, and quickly became a childhood rite of passage with a tremendously successful toy line from Hasbro and Takara, comic book series, television program and animated feature film. Twenty years later, a new generation of kids has discovered the excitement of the TRANSFORMERS brand and the legendary characters, such as OPTIMUS PRIME and MEGATRON, that truly are "more than meets the eye." Today, the franchise features a popular toy line, an animated series on Cartoon Network and a chart-topping comic book series from Dreamwave Productions, which sold two million TRANSFORMERS comic books last year.
Hasbro (NYSE:HAS) is a worldwide leader in children's and family leisure time entertainment products and services, including the design, manufacture and marketing of games and toys, such as MONOPOLY and G.I. JOE, ranging from traditional to high-tech. Both internationally and in the U.S., its PLAYSKOOL, TONKA, MILTON BRADLEY, PARKER BROTHERS, TIGER, and WIZARDS OF THE COAST brands and products provide the highest quality and most recognizable play experiences in the world.
DreamWorks SKG was formed in October, 1994, by its three principal partners--Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen--to produce live-action motion pictures; animated feature films; network and cable television programming; home video entertainment; books; toys; and consumer products.
Paramount Pictures is part of the entertainment operations of Viacom, Inc., one of the world's largest entertainment and media companies and a leader in the production, promotion and distribution of entertainment, news, sports and music.
Creative Artists Agency represents Hasbro and Steven Spielberg.
Creative Artists Agency is a talent and literary agency with offices in Beverly Hills, Nashville and New York City. CAA represents the most creative and successful artists working in film, television, music, theatre, and video games, and provides a range of strategic marketing services to corporate clients. The agency serves as the access point through which artists, consumers and global brands intersect to create, acquire and sell entertainment properties, and to enrich entertainment and brand experiences. CAA has an equity relationship with Shepardson, Stern and Kaminsky, a strategic communications consulting firm. Youth Intelligence, a youth market research and trend forecasting company, is a division of CAA.
posted
i'll tell you right know, if they do use Megatron it wont be the Gen-1 version. the last thing they'll want is a robot that transforms into a gun the parents groups will go Ape$#it over it.
-------------------- Judging yourself right is a destination, i'm just on a journey
posted
I read the thread on the Don Murphy MB, and I think at this point, I have to take all rumors with a grain of salt. They probably haven't even begun working on the character models yet.
Here's another quote, from Tom DeSanto, which seems to refute the previous one.
"There's no better mythology to bring to the big screen than Transformers. Transformers has got great characters and created an iconic world, and the mythology still resonates with people 20 years after it was launched. Even though they're robots the characters have a lot of personality and a lot of heart and people still care about them. That's a great thing. The the film will combine live-action with CGI. 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. That's the energy I want to go for. We want to get to the core of what makes Transformers great. We're going to get back to the heart of what Transformers is and distill that into a movie. The live-action version will be based on Generation One and set on Earth. I am rewatching all the cartoons and reading all the comics."
Doesn't sound like the words of someone who wants to radically changs things just for the sake of change. I can handle Megatron as a tank, but the Decepticons are not the Decepticons without Soundwave, and Soundwave isn't Soundwave without the cassettes. I have to believe Spielburg, DeSanto, Murphy, and co. will figure out a way to keep in what makes the Decepticons special, while adapting it for the year 2005.
-------------------- White. A blank page or canvas. His favorite. So... many... possibilities.
From: Birmingham, AL | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
i think that Murphy guy is full of it. Gen-1 Megatron was a cool idea and it was interesting that as their leader when in gun mode he needed someone to hold him to fire. or if they wanted to stretch it they could make Megatron into a Galvatron/Megatron hybrid were he tranforms into a giant cannon like Galvatron but they call him Megatron.
-------------------- Judging yourself right is a destination, i'm just on a journey
posted
Got to ask - how often did Megatron actually transform? I've read through many of the TPBs of the original comics, and seen a couple of cartoon eps, and I'm really, really struggling to remember more than two instances where he turned into gun mode.
Plus the slightly major fact, considering TF's origins, that they can't make a toy of a gun these days.
-------------------- My views are my own and do not reflect those of everyone else... and I wouldn't have it any other way.
posted
True, I don't think it happened too often. His arm cannon seemed more impressive anyway and unlike the other Transformers, transforming for Megatron wasn't his mode of transportation unlike cars and jets. It just wasn't as practical.
From: New York, NY | Registered: Jul 2003
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Eryk Davis Ester
Created from the Cosmic Legends of the Universe!
posted
Didn't he ride around in the cockpit of the jets while in gun mode?
From: Liberty City | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
If memory serves, I know he probably popped inside the seeker jets on one or two occasions (presumably as a gun) to get around. It was more practical for him to fly, of course, which is what he did mostly in the comics and cartoon.
(Transformer Fan Mode: ON) After looking through an episode guide of the 65 episodes of Transformers before his death/reformatting, I can think of 12 episodes where Megatron turned into a gun. (Transformer Fan Mode: OFF) So yeah, not as everyday as Optimus shouting, "Roll out!" and turning into a semi.
As for the movie news itself, I'm glad they have some respectable people as producers, directors, etc....but my real excitement for this movie isn't going to start until the next year or so, when we start getting a few hints as to the plot and the general look of the film they're going for. I'm a bit skeptical about mixing real life footage with CGI until I see it.
Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
As I remember, generally Soundwave fired Megatron when he transformed, though Starscream had his fair share as well.
It didn't happen very often. If Prime transformed 10x an episode, Megatron transformed something like once every 10 episodes.
Honestly, I think the best way for them to deal with this is to have Megatron transform only once in the movie, at the climactic Act 3 moment, and use his awesome firepower to blast the living hell out of the Autobots. Cause, basically, unless you were Prime or Ironhide (or maybe Brawn,) when Megatron transformed, you pretty much ran like hell.
-------------------- White. A blank page or canvas. His favorite. So... many... possibilities.
From: Birmingham, AL | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
I agree with KP. Megatron will transform, assuredly, in the movie, but probably only once or twice for some purely evil moment...like the final shot at attacking a city or at the presumed death of an Autobot or something.
The funny thing about Brawn is, the last time he didn't run like hell, he ended up dead with a bad shoulder.
Fun fact about Megatron in gun mode: The only people who I think have ever held him were Soundwave, Starscream, Skywarp, and...Optimus Prime (twice, no less)!
Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
[QUOTE]Originally posted by Future: [QB] The funny thing about Brawn is, the last time he didn't run like hell, he ended up dead with a bad shoulder.
Poor Brawn. I hated that moment in the movie.
You're right! Skywarp held Megatron in the antimatter episode, and Prime shot Megs in the epilogue to The Ultimate Doom to get rid of Dr. Archeville's bomb. When was the other time Prime shot Megatron?
-------------------- White. A blank page or canvas. His favorite. So... many... possibilities.
From: Birmingham, AL | Registered: Jul 2003
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Poor Brawn. I hated that moment in the movie.
