Don Murphy mini Q & A

TFormers.com posted a little Q and A with TF producer Don Murphy.

Q: Is the whole Brawl, Devastator, Bonecrusher thing acurate?
A: Nothing is set in stone. They're still far off from the final script.

Q: What's happening with Soundwave in the movie?
A: Soundwave is still in the script but he might be put off until the next movie since currently having him as a CD and not mass-shifting could make it seem really strange for a lot of people.

Q: Any info on the soundtrack to the movie?
A: That will be probably done in the final cut of the movie...so nothing until then.

Q: Will Soundwave's voice be synthisized in the movie?
A: Yes.

I hope they get the naming right. Its a minor thing I know, who cares if a name is right but shoot, its because its a minor thing that they have no excuse for screwing it up. Unless the story is Brawl is a Autobot undercover. I hope not mainly because it takes time to set up and have a payoff on such stories. Time will tell. As for Soundwave...he has a point. They have enough to do with the origin and all that without tossing in how a CD player can suddenly grow into a 6 story robot. In cartoons, that doesn't have to be done, but in a live action movie, that kind of question can toss the audience out of the "reality" of the movie.

"It's a wrap."

Don Murphy posted on his board in a thread called "Shoot "Em Up" that "It's a Wrap." Usually this term is used to indicate that shooting is done for the film. It could mean that the human side of the casting is complete for filming in May. Another possibility is that the script is finalized. Time will tell what he meant I guess.

3 Decepticons Named?

A rumor over at the TF producer Don Murphy's message board is that the names of three Decepticons that will be in the movie.

As many have speculated, the Decepticons do in fact outnumber the Autobots in the script.

It had me scratching my head when I learned who they are, and what their alt modes are.

Brawl--a police car (for a chase scene)
Devastator--M1 Abrams tank (and a single bot)
Bonecrusher--Mine clearing vehicle

It just seems like a bunch of random names slapped on random alt modes.
If they want to use a Decepticon car, I think the names Runamuck or Runabout would be more suitable.
The tank should be Brawl, since he was a tank in G1.
Not sure how I feel about Bonecrusher. He was a bulldozer in G1 and there are mine clearing vehicles that look like bulldozers, but I think they should just stick with Combaticon names and go with Swindle or Onslaught.

Hmm, got to admit, little concerned. Getting the names "right" should be easy and basic. It would take all of three seconds to come up with a Decepticon name that is valid. More likely this information is either flat out wrong or a bit off intentionlly.

Brawl is probably really an Autobot. I am betting for at least the first movie they are going to stick with the Autobots = automobiles, Decepticons = other war equipment. The M1 Abrams is more likely Megatron as they cannot use the gun form from the cartoons do to legalities with making gun toys. Megatron was a tank in the G2 iteration and several after that. Also, really Megs is a supposed to be a big evil SOB that carries a big stick. That sounds like a tank to me. I think they should hold Devastator in reserve for a possible sequel. He is a known Transformer and having a gestalt Transformation would THE teaser trailer moment of a sequel.

"Their War. Our World." - Ton of TF info

Ain't It Cool News.com just posted a description of a sit down meet with Transformer director Michael Bay. All the below is early ideas and designs and therefore subject to change, but it does give some insight on where the movie might be going.

"... he is going to audition the original voice actors for the Autobots and Decepticons. He said it's no guarantee they'll get cast, but he's going to give them a listen. His main fear is that the actors have aged since the cartoon and that age may be noticeable in their voices."
- if 40 years had passed, legit concern but 20, naw no worries.

"The tagline was 'Their War. Our World.'"
- Not bad really

"...full support of the US Armed Forces"
- always good for things go boom movies

"...if the world ever had a giant robot problem how we see the Armed Forces deal with them in TRANSFORMERS is how we'd see them deal with them in real life."
- Sounds like lots of booming will happen.

"first film to be able to use the new fighter jet, the F-22." - Starscream?

"He showed me another robot, a Decepticon called Scorponok"
- Not a name that has come up before in rumors. Interesting choice since he was third or fourth wave toy, one of its mode was a 'city', well TF version of a city anyway.

"...first look at Optimus Prime...was seeing was him without his battle mask. ...still a Mac truck."
- Hey confirmation that Optimus is in it and honoring at least some of what makes him Optimus in form. Sounds like the mask will be used as it was in later incarnations. When he talks no mask and when fighting, has the mask. For those not sure what talking about if look at the toy, Optimus has a plate that covers where a mouth would be.

"Shia's character ends up with a banana yellow '70s looking car with lots of wear... and of course, that car is a Transformer."
- Bumblebee? But what yellow car. Hasbro couldn't make a Alternator toy for Bumblebee as a New Beetle because the company didn't want to associate with war toys. Of course, those kind of attitudes can change when the car could be front and center of a major hollywood movie. I wouldn't mind the yellow car being a beetle but at the same time I don't want VW to get rewarded for silly attitudes. We shall see I guess.

"It starts in the Antarctica with a man chipping away at a giant ice wall."
- Finds a robot hand, reminds me of the beginning of Dreamwaves Transformers mini-series. Not a knock because it makes logical sense. In a world mostly explored by humans, Antarctica is about the last place could hide giant dormant living robots and not have to spend precious time explaining it to the audience or setting up the discovering. With using the frozen poles, the setup is automatic and needs no explanation.

"We will actually see Cybertron"
- Ooh sweet. I hope they assign the CGI to a gooey TF fan who can add lots of goodies and textures to it. For them it would be a labor of love.

"From the animatics, the action seemed to be huge and what you'd want from a movie like this. Of course, Bay's fingerprints are all over them, even at this early stage of planning. I saw fights between fully transformed Autobots and Decepticons that had them plucking lamp posts out of the ground and smashing the other with the blocky concrete end, I saw them jumping all over each other, only to be shot back by an arm cannon, I saw mid-air transformations from a Jet into a robot as it collides a standing robot in downtown LA... "
- Sweet. If the studio has any sense, some of this stuff will get "leaked" to the internet to spend the next year being discussed and disected on sites such as youtube.com. More people talking, the better. When people talk, they get curious, when they get curious, the will buy tickets.

"The sequence has Optimus and a Decepticon speeding along a crowded freeway, the Decepticon's truck flipping over any vehicle in its way. Optimus is catching up to him and transforms as he gets close, keeping the tires on the ground and avoiding as many cars as he can. The transformation was everything Transformers geeks would want to see big. It was smooth and ended with Optimus crouching, the wheels still on the ground."
- Hopefully Optimus kicks butt in ways not seen since the animated movie.

The teaser trailer is being released 6/4/06. Shooting starts in May.
Full details here.

Transformers Cast Announcement

IGN.com has a TF exclusive announcing most of the human side of the cast for Transformers the movie. The actual Transformer voices are still unknown.

April 20, 2006 - IGN FilmForce has learned which actors are poised to join the previously announced Shia LaBeof in the cast of the DreamWorks-Paramount live-action feature film version of The Transformers. (LaBeof will star as "Sam," the unlikely teen hero of the movie.) IGN has confirmed through multiple sources that Oscar winner Jon Voight is in talks to reunite with his Pearl Harbor director, Michael Bay, as "Keller." A casting notice online describes Keller as the U.S. Secretary of State. Voight and LaBeof previously starred together in Holes.

Another Bay veteran, Armageddon's Michael Clarke Duncan, is closing in on the role of "Figueroa." This character is described in a casting notice posted at Sneak Peek TV as being "Dominican by way of the Louisiana Bayou. Chief Warrant officer in the Army. Spirited fellow who loves to sing. Close team member of Lennox."

And who is Lennox? Sources indicated that Vegas star Josh Duhamel has a lock on the role of the young military commander.

Bernie Mac is the frontrunner for the role of "Bobby Bolivia." A casting notice said Bolivia "could sell ice to an Eskimo. Tries to get Sam to buy a car. Your typical wheelin' dealin' used car salesman."

IGN has also learned that the following actors are being lined up for roles: Tyrese as "Epps"; John Turturro as "Simmons"; Rachael Taylor as "Maggie," previously described as a super-hot and super-smart codebreaker for the government; Megan Fox as "Mikaela," referred to in a casting notice as Sam's love interest; Travis Van Winkle as "Trent"; and John Robinson as "Miles."

Source: filmforce.ign.com

Michael Duncan Clark - Know him as the massive black guy from Green Mile and Sin City
Bernie Mac - If don't know him you have been under a rock somewhere
Tyrese - Up and coming actor from Four Brothers and 2 Fast 2 Furious
Rachael Taylor - Beats me, never heard of her.
Megan Fox - Ditto
Travis Van Winkle - Shrug
John Robinson - No idea

Normally such a comprehensive list for a cast that is not yet announced would leave me skeptical, but so far all the leaked information has been on the nose and this list has so many "who?" on it that its become credible. Usually the made up cast lists have so many big names on it you can smell the BS after a quick scan.

Thanks for the heads up Bill. Above pic is Megan Fox.

Update:
Forgot about Jon Voight, who is the "Cowboys at Midnight" reference from previous post. He may be cast as the Secretary of State.

New draft in the works

Don Murphy has graced his board with another update. Shia is official and two other roles are closed to be cast. Vegasplaya and Cowboys at Midnight. Nope thats not a type, those are the character names, I assume the two human ones. Kind of groan worthy so I hope that is just temp fun names for the characters.

The movie drafts are stilling be worked out but apparently coming out with greater frequency indicating its more about clean up rather then practically starting over. On a film like this though the script and the final product will probably be dramatically different. The strange thing to me though is that normally with films that will have extensive and expensive CGI FX have to allow time for story boarding and pre-vis. Technically a month is long enough to get it together but then thats a rush job in two critical elements of pre-prep which if done incorrectly can negativily effect the budget. It makes me wonder exactly how much the actual transforming robots will be a part of this film.

Josh Duhamel getting cast?

Apparently Josh Duhamel, of NBC's Las Vegas, admitted on the Ferrell Show on Howeard 101 that Michael Bay offered a role in the Transformers movie. This is from AllSparks.com which was accurate on the new regarding Shia as Spike.

Based on the human descriptions we have, whose reliability is unconfirmed, he sounds like he would fit the role of Cpt William Lennicks. After all on Las Vegas, he plays a guy with a military background and Hollywood is fond of pigeon-holing people.