From ComingSoon.net:
"The [teaser] trailer for Michael Bay's Transformers: Dark of the Moon is now online and can be watched using the player below!
Opening in 3D, 2D and IMAX theaters on July 1, the third installment stars Shia LaBeouf, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, Kevin Dunn, Julie White, Frances McDormand, John Malkovich, Ken Jeong, Patrick Dempsey, Alan Tudyk and John Turturro.
Transformers: Dark of the Moon features Sam Witwicky (LaBeouf) taking his first tenuous steps into adulthood while remaining a reluctant human ally of Optimus Prime. The film centers around the space race between the U.S.S.R. and the USA, suggesting there was a hidden Transformers role in it all that remains one of the planet's most dangerous secrets."
Showing posts with label Transformers III. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Transformers III. Show all posts
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Michael Bay again updates TRANSFORMERS III
From ComingSoon.net:
"USA Today visited the set of Transformers III and got new details on the third film, opening in theaters on July 1, 2011. The newspaper confirmed it will be released in 3D.
Talking about the second film, director Michael Bay said, 'I'll take some of the criticism' while standing at a set built to resemble a dilapidated nuclear reactor. 'It was very hard to put (the sequel) together that quickly after the writers' strike (of 2007-08).'
Bay said that 'This one really builds to a final crescendo. It's not three multiple endings... As a trilogy, it really ends. It could be rebooted again, but I think it has a really killer ending.'
'One thing we're getting rid of is what I call the dorky comedy,' Bay added. So the twins, 'They're basically gone,' he said, though John Turturro returns for comic relief.
The newspaper says the new villain will be Shockwave, 'the robot cyclops-turned-laser-cannon, who became dictator of their home world of Cybertron after the other Autobots and Decepticons journeyed to Earth.'
According to USA Today, 'The new film features Sam Witwicky (LaBeouf) taking his first tenuous steps into adulthood while remaining a reluctant human ally of Optimus Prime.' 'Shia has this great line: 'You know, I've saved the world twice, but I can't get a job,' producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura said.
Transformers III centers around the space race between the U.S.S.R. and the USA, suggesting there was a hidden Transformers role in it all that remains one of the planet's most dangerous secrets.
'The movie is more of a mystery,' Bay said. 'It ties in what we know as history growing up as kids with what really happened.'"
Cool. 3D Transformers. Just like Megan Fox to skip out on the 3D.
"USA Today visited the set of Transformers III and got new details on the third film, opening in theaters on July 1, 2011. The newspaper confirmed it will be released in 3D.
Talking about the second film, director Michael Bay said, 'I'll take some of the criticism' while standing at a set built to resemble a dilapidated nuclear reactor. 'It was very hard to put (the sequel) together that quickly after the writers' strike (of 2007-08).'
Bay said that 'This one really builds to a final crescendo. It's not three multiple endings... As a trilogy, it really ends. It could be rebooted again, but I think it has a really killer ending.'
'One thing we're getting rid of is what I call the dorky comedy,' Bay added. So the twins, 'They're basically gone,' he said, though John Turturro returns for comic relief.
The newspaper says the new villain will be Shockwave, 'the robot cyclops-turned-laser-cannon, who became dictator of their home world of Cybertron after the other Autobots and Decepticons journeyed to Earth.'
According to USA Today, 'The new film features Sam Witwicky (LaBeouf) taking his first tenuous steps into adulthood while remaining a reluctant human ally of Optimus Prime.' 'Shia has this great line: 'You know, I've saved the world twice, but I can't get a job,' producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura said.
Transformers III centers around the space race between the U.S.S.R. and the USA, suggesting there was a hidden Transformers role in it all that remains one of the planet's most dangerous secrets.
'The movie is more of a mystery,' Bay said. 'It ties in what we know as history growing up as kids with what really happened.'"
Cool. 3D Transformers. Just like Megan Fox to skip out on the 3D.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Meet the new TRANSFORMERS girl!
From ComingSoon.net:
"Director Michael Bay's official website has confirmed that Victoria's Secret model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley has landed the lead female role in Transformers III. Huntington-Whiteley has worked with Bay before on his Victoria's Secret 'A Thousand Fantasies' ad.
She joins Shia LaBeouf, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, Kevin Dunn, Julie White, Frances McDormand, John Malkovich, Ken Jeong, Patrick Dempsey and Alan Tudyk in the third film scheduled for release on July 1, 2011."
I'm in.
I'm still wondering how in the world Victoria's Secret got a hold of the news before Bay released the statement.
MUSIC:
"I'm In" by Keith Urban
"Director Michael Bay's official website has confirmed that Victoria's Secret model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley has landed the lead female role in Transformers III. Huntington-Whiteley has worked with Bay before on his Victoria's Secret 'A Thousand Fantasies' ad.
She joins Shia LaBeouf, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, Kevin Dunn, Julie White, Frances McDormand, John Malkovich, Ken Jeong, Patrick Dempsey and Alan Tudyk in the third film scheduled for release on July 1, 2011."
I'm in.
I'm still wondering how in the world Victoria's Secret got a hold of the news before Bay released the statement.
MUSIC:
"I'm In" by Keith Urban
Thursday, May 20, 2010
A Fox Slips Away...
From ComingSoon.net:
"Earlier this month, Megan Fox was spotted doing previz shots for Transformers III, but now Variety is reporting that she will not appear as Mikaela in the third installment after all.
Paramount Pictures reportedly decided not to pick up her option as the studio and director Michael Bay want to take the story line in another direction and plan to cast another actress as the love interest for Sam Witwicky, played by Shia LaBeouf. The trade says the decision 'was unrelated to a September interview with a British magazine in which Fox compared Bay with Adolf Hitler'.
The third installment is scheduled to hit theaters on July 1, 2011."
From Slashfilm:
"Fox is not willing to let movie studios or film journalists write her narrative. Proving that she will not go quietly into that good night, representatives for Fox told People magazine that it was in fact her idea to leave the franchise that made her a star: 'Megan Fox will not be starring in Transformers III…It was her decision not to return. She wishes the franchise the best.'"
America is all out of love and wants Megan Fox to come back.
But wait!
From ComingSoon.net:
"With the news that Megan Fox is not returning for Transformers III, speculation has already begun about who may replace her in the now coveted role. After the news hit earlier today, TheWrap posted an interesting bit:
Prince of Persia star Gemma Arterton is the front-runner to replace Megan Fox in Transformers III, TheWrap has learned.
An individual close to the casting process says the actress has already had discussions with Bay about the coveted role."
Now just who... is ... this... Gemma... uhh...
Huh. Maybe the world ain't slowing down after all!
MUSIC:
"All Out of Love" by Air Supply
"The World Ain't Slowin' Down" by Ellis Paul
"Earlier this month, Megan Fox was spotted doing previz shots for Transformers III, but now Variety is reporting that she will not appear as Mikaela in the third installment after all.
Paramount Pictures reportedly decided not to pick up her option as the studio and director Michael Bay want to take the story line in another direction and plan to cast another actress as the love interest for Sam Witwicky, played by Shia LaBeouf. The trade says the decision 'was unrelated to a September interview with a British magazine in which Fox compared Bay with Adolf Hitler'.
The third installment is scheduled to hit theaters on July 1, 2011."
From Slashfilm:
"Fox is not willing to let movie studios or film journalists write her narrative. Proving that she will not go quietly into that good night, representatives for Fox told People magazine that it was in fact her idea to leave the franchise that made her a star: 'Megan Fox will not be starring in Transformers III…It was her decision not to return. She wishes the franchise the best.'"
America is all out of love and wants Megan Fox to come back.
But wait!
From ComingSoon.net:
"With the news that Megan Fox is not returning for Transformers III, speculation has already begun about who may replace her in the now coveted role. After the news hit earlier today, TheWrap posted an interesting bit:
Prince of Persia star Gemma Arterton is the front-runner to replace Megan Fox in Transformers III, TheWrap has learned.
An individual close to the casting process says the actress has already had discussions with Bay about the coveted role."
Now just who... is ... this... Gemma... uhh...
Huh. Maybe the world ain't slowing down after all!
MUSIC:
"All Out of Love" by Air Supply
"The World Ain't Slowin' Down" by Ellis Paul
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Shia LaBeouf admits REVENGE OF THE FALLEN was bad
From ComingSoon.net:
"Shia LaBeouf told The Associated Press that Transformers III 'brings the heart back to the franchise.' He starts working on the third installment on Tuesday.
The new script restores a human element that got lost in the second movie, LaBeouf said. 'When I saw the second movie, I wasn't impressed with what we did,' LaBeouf said at the Cannes Film Festival. 'There were some really wild stunts in it, but the heart was gone.'"
UPDATE:
From LATimes:
"The last time Shia LaBeouf came to Cannes, in 2008, it was to promote Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, the revival of the swashbuckling adventure franchise that went on to earn a whopping $787 million around the world. LaBeouf is back on the Croisette this weekend to flog Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, another revival of a classic from several decades ago. But he's not willing to forget about what he says were rampant problems with Indy 4 -- and he doesn't expect fans to, either.
'I feel like I dropped the ball on the legacy that people loved and cherished,' LaBeouf said, explaining that this upped the ante for him before he began shooting the Wall Street sequel. 'If I was going to do it twice, my career was over. So this was fight-or-flight for me.'
Meeting with reporters Saturday on a terrace at the Hotel du Cap, he had some strong, confessional words about his acting in the film, which he said he felt didn't convince anyone that he was the action hero the movie claimed him to be. 'You get to monkey-swinging and things like that and you can blame it on the writer and you can blame it on Steven [Spielberg, who directed]. But the actor's job is to make it come alive and make it work, and I couldn't do it. So that's my fault. Simple.'
LaBeouf said that he could have kept quiet, especially given the movie's blockbuster status, but didn't think the film had fooled anyone. 'I think the audience is pretty intelligent. I think they know when you've made ... . And I think if you don't acknowledge it, then why do they trust you the next time you're promoting a movie.' LaBeouf went on to say he wasn't the only star on the film who felt that way. 'We [Harrison Ford and LaBeouf] had major discussions. He wasn't happy with it either. Look, the movie could have been updated. There was a reason it wasn't universally accepted.'
LaBeouf added, 'We need to be able to satiate the appetite,' he said. 'I think we just misinterpreted what we were trying to satiate.'
Asked whether this was difficult to say, given his deep relationship with Spielberg, LaBeouf continued with the directness.
'I'll probably get a call. But he needs to hear this. I love him. I love Steven. I have a relationship with Steven that supersedes our business work. And believe me, I talk to him often enough to know that I'm not out of line. And I would never disrespect the man. I think he's a genius, and he's given me my whole life. He's done so much great work that there's no need for him to feel vulnerable about one film. But when you drop the ball you drop the ball.'"
You gotta admit, the fella's honest.
"Shia LaBeouf told The Associated Press that Transformers III 'brings the heart back to the franchise.' He starts working on the third installment on Tuesday.
The new script restores a human element that got lost in the second movie, LaBeouf said. 'When I saw the second movie, I wasn't impressed with what we did,' LaBeouf said at the Cannes Film Festival. 'There were some really wild stunts in it, but the heart was gone.'"
UPDATE:
From LATimes:
"The last time Shia LaBeouf came to Cannes, in 2008, it was to promote Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, the revival of the swashbuckling adventure franchise that went on to earn a whopping $787 million around the world. LaBeouf is back on the Croisette this weekend to flog Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, another revival of a classic from several decades ago. But he's not willing to forget about what he says were rampant problems with Indy 4 -- and he doesn't expect fans to, either.
'I feel like I dropped the ball on the legacy that people loved and cherished,' LaBeouf said, explaining that this upped the ante for him before he began shooting the Wall Street sequel. 'If I was going to do it twice, my career was over. So this was fight-or-flight for me.'
Meeting with reporters Saturday on a terrace at the Hotel du Cap, he had some strong, confessional words about his acting in the film, which he said he felt didn't convince anyone that he was the action hero the movie claimed him to be. 'You get to monkey-swinging and things like that and you can blame it on the writer and you can blame it on Steven [Spielberg, who directed]. But the actor's job is to make it come alive and make it work, and I couldn't do it. So that's my fault. Simple.'
LaBeouf said that he could have kept quiet, especially given the movie's blockbuster status, but didn't think the film had fooled anyone. 'I think the audience is pretty intelligent. I think they know when you've made ... . And I think if you don't acknowledge it, then why do they trust you the next time you're promoting a movie.' LaBeouf went on to say he wasn't the only star on the film who felt that way. 'We [Harrison Ford and LaBeouf] had major discussions. He wasn't happy with it either. Look, the movie could have been updated. There was a reason it wasn't universally accepted.'
LaBeouf added, 'We need to be able to satiate the appetite,' he said. 'I think we just misinterpreted what we were trying to satiate.'
Asked whether this was difficult to say, given his deep relationship with Spielberg, LaBeouf continued with the directness.
'I'll probably get a call. But he needs to hear this. I love him. I love Steven. I have a relationship with Steven that supersedes our business work. And believe me, I talk to him often enough to know that I'm not out of line. And I would never disrespect the man. I think he's a genius, and he's given me my whole life. He's done so much great work that there's no need for him to feel vulnerable about one film. But when you drop the ball you drop the ball.'"
You gotta admit, the fella's honest.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
No Twins for TRANSFORMERS III
From ComingSoon.net:
"Director Michael Bay says that Skids and Mudflap, which caused some controversy for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, will not be back for next summer's Transformers III. Bay posted a simple message on his forums stating that 'The Twins are not back in T3'."
"Director Michael Bay says that Skids and Mudflap, which caused some controversy for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, will not be back for next summer's Transformers III. Bay posted a simple message on his forums stating that 'The Twins are not back in T3'."
Monday, March 22, 2010
Michael Bay updates TRANSFORMERS III
From ComingSoon.net:
"Michael Bay has made a big announcement about Transformers III on his official website! We'll let him do the talking..
'Hey, it's been a long time since I've posted. Just been a little busy.
Transformers III has been going very well. We are going to shoot in LA, Chicago, Washington DC, Florida, Texas, Africa, Moscow, and China. On the talent front, we just locked in Frances McDormand and John Malkovich. Both amazing actors I've always wanted to work with. We also just got Ken Jeong, he is the super funny actor stuck in the trunk from Hangover and the Doctor from Knocked Up.
We start shooting pre-shoots in about one month.
I also was at a Ferrari charity event this week raising money for a hospital being built by Ferrari in Haiti. I announced that night the newest Autobot to join Transformers: the Ferrari 458 Italia.
I also want to thank everyone on this site that donated to the Make -A-Wish charity. We raised $20,000 which I will personally be matching. This is a great charity where they make wishes come true for kids who are very ill. We have had many Kids from Make-A-Wish visit us on our Transformers sets and this time we will be posting video of their visits on Transformers III.'
Michael Bay'"
"Michael Bay has made a big announcement about Transformers III on his official website! We'll let him do the talking..
'Hey, it's been a long time since I've posted. Just been a little busy.
Transformers III has been going very well. We are going to shoot in LA, Chicago, Washington DC, Florida, Texas, Africa, Moscow, and China. On the talent front, we just locked in Frances McDormand and John Malkovich. Both amazing actors I've always wanted to work with. We also just got Ken Jeong, he is the super funny actor stuck in the trunk from Hangover and the Doctor from Knocked Up.
We start shooting pre-shoots in about one month.
I also was at a Ferrari charity event this week raising money for a hospital being built by Ferrari in Haiti. I announced that night the newest Autobot to join Transformers: the Ferrari 458 Italia.
I also want to thank everyone on this site that donated to the Make -A-Wish charity. We raised $20,000 which I will personally be matching. This is a great charity where they make wishes come true for kids who are very ill. We have had many Kids from Make-A-Wish visit us on our Transformers sets and this time we will be posting video of their visits on Transformers III.'
Michael Bay'"
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
More Than Meets The Eye
From ComingSoon.net:
"In an article at Variety talking about films getting converted into 3D, the trade says it is still a possibility that Transformers III might add a dimension:
'Bay's next project is Transformers III and there have been discussions among Bay, Paramount and Industrial Light & Magic about going 3D with the pic. The big stumbling block is the extra time required to do production and visual effects in 3D, as the movie's release date is already set. Having the pic post-converted could alleviate that problem.'
The third installment is scheduled for a July 1, 2011 release."
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
May 2011 a Mess
From ComingSoon.net:
"Variety has confirmed reports that Sony Pictures has indeed postponed production on Spider-Man 4 so that more work can be done on the script.
Gary Ross, David Lindsay-Abaire and James Vanderbilt previously wrote drafts of the screenplay, and the trade says that Alvin Sargent is now 'retooling the story'. Sargent worked on the scripts for both the second and third Spidey movies.
Back in December, SuperHeroHype was told by the studio that the production was not on hold but that they were simply on hiatus for the holidays and that production would resume in the new year. Obviously, that is not the case.
Sony still has the movie scheduled for a May 5, 2011 release (not May 6 or May 11 as some sites are reporting), but Variety adds 'that date has become highly unlikely.'
'We'll try, but I think making May is a real question,' a source told the trade. 'We will not start until we have it right. The feeling is we are not going to rush it to make the date.'"
Because of that, May got rescheduled!
From ComingSoon.net:
"With yesterday's announcement that Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 4 will not start production in time for its planned May 5, 2011 release, other studios are looking to grab some of those dates for their own tentpoles. Making that rumored delay official is the news that Marvel Studios and Paramount will be releasing Kenneth Branagh's Thor on Spider-Man's original release weekend, kicking off the summer on May 6, two weeks earlier than its original release plan.
With Thor moved up two weeks, Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer Films' Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides grabbed its now-vacated date of May 20 for its own release one week before Memorial Day and the release of Todd Phillips' The Hangover 2.
According to Variety, Sony hasn't abandoned the date yet and still hopes to get Spider-Man 4 done in time, but Paramount has decided to not wait to see what Sony does before grabbing that date themselves. They suggest that if Sony decides to keep that date then Thor will move again, although it's doubtful they can get May 20 back again.
At this point, Sony hasn't announced a new release date for Spider-Man 4. July 4th that year has been held for Michael Bay's Transformers III followed two weeks later by the Harry Potter finale and then The First Avenger: Captain America, which hasn't even announced its cast yet, the following week. (Warner Bros.' Green Lantern has already grabbed June 17, potentially making it one of the busiest summers for comic book and superhero movies in some time.)
"Variety has confirmed reports that Sony Pictures has indeed postponed production on Spider-Man 4 so that more work can be done on the script.
Gary Ross, David Lindsay-Abaire and James Vanderbilt previously wrote drafts of the screenplay, and the trade says that Alvin Sargent is now 'retooling the story'. Sargent worked on the scripts for both the second and third Spidey movies.
Back in December, SuperHeroHype was told by the studio that the production was not on hold but that they were simply on hiatus for the holidays and that production would resume in the new year. Obviously, that is not the case.
Sony still has the movie scheduled for a May 5, 2011 release (not May 6 or May 11 as some sites are reporting), but Variety adds 'that date has become highly unlikely.'
'We'll try, but I think making May is a real question,' a source told the trade. 'We will not start until we have it right. The feeling is we are not going to rush it to make the date.'"
Because of that, May got rescheduled!
From ComingSoon.net:
"With yesterday's announcement that Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 4 will not start production in time for its planned May 5, 2011 release, other studios are looking to grab some of those dates for their own tentpoles. Making that rumored delay official is the news that Marvel Studios and Paramount will be releasing Kenneth Branagh's Thor on Spider-Man's original release weekend, kicking off the summer on May 6, two weeks earlier than its original release plan.
With Thor moved up two weeks, Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer Films' Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides grabbed its now-vacated date of May 20 for its own release one week before Memorial Day and the release of Todd Phillips' The Hangover 2.
According to Variety, Sony hasn't abandoned the date yet and still hopes to get Spider-Man 4 done in time, but Paramount has decided to not wait to see what Sony does before grabbing that date themselves. They suggest that if Sony decides to keep that date then Thor will move again, although it's doubtful they can get May 20 back again.
At this point, Sony hasn't announced a new release date for Spider-Man 4. July 4th that year has been held for Michael Bay's Transformers III followed two weeks later by the Harry Potter finale and then The First Avenger: Captain America, which hasn't even announced its cast yet, the following week. (Warner Bros.' Green Lantern has already grabbed June 17, potentially making it one of the busiest summers for comic book and superhero movies in some time.)
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Megan Fox "safe" for TRANSFORMERS III
From Slashfilm:
"Michael Bay has been hanging around at the launch of a Victoria’s Secret Show, with the excuse that he directs their commercials, and discussing his supposed nemesis in lipgloss, Megan Fox. And what does he have to say about her?
'I love her.'
Er… okay, Mike. He did also discuss the role he’s creating for her in the third Transformers film. 'She’s got a great part in Transformers III' he promised. So he’s not going to kill her off? 'No, no, no. She gets enough of that already.' Okay… whatever that means.
USA Today had Andrea Mandell on the scene, who got Bay to discuss the crazy hurtful things that Fox has said about him. Here’s their version of what he said:
'She called me [after the Hitler comment] and goes, ‘It’s all [BS], Mike.’ The press, they just like to prey, and stalk, and pounce and find a good little juicy thing. But she’s always wanted to do these crazy comments. That’s just her. She’s great.'
How dare the press pounce on her cute little Hitler comment like that. There was nothing offensive about it at all, not to anybody.
Okay, the only news here, really is that Bay is promising a big role for Fox in the next Transformers film. I don’t believe him when he says she won’t be killed off because I don’t really believe when he says anything he seems to be lying so often, but he does seem to be operating from the assumption that she’ll figure in the film in some sort of substantial capacity.
Well, as substantial as anything has ever been in a Michael Bay picture."
"Michael Bay has been hanging around at the launch of a Victoria’s Secret Show, with the excuse that he directs their commercials, and discussing his supposed nemesis in lipgloss, Megan Fox. And what does he have to say about her?
'I love her.'
Er… okay, Mike. He did also discuss the role he’s creating for her in the third Transformers film. 'She’s got a great part in Transformers III' he promised. So he’s not going to kill her off? 'No, no, no. She gets enough of that already.' Okay… whatever that means.
USA Today had Andrea Mandell on the scene, who got Bay to discuss the crazy hurtful things that Fox has said about him. Here’s their version of what he said:
'She called me [after the Hitler comment] and goes, ‘It’s all [BS], Mike.’ The press, they just like to prey, and stalk, and pounce and find a good little juicy thing. But she’s always wanted to do these crazy comments. That’s just her. She’s great.'
How dare the press pounce on her cute little Hitler comment like that. There was nothing offensive about it at all, not to anybody.
Okay, the only news here, really is that Bay is promising a big role for Fox in the next Transformers film. I don’t believe him when he says she won’t be killed off because I don’t really believe when he says anything he seems to be lying so often, but he does seem to be operating from the assumption that she’ll figure in the film in some sort of substantial capacity.
Well, as substantial as anything has ever been in a Michael Bay picture."
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Kurtzman and Orci talk new TREK also!
From ComingSoon.net:
"Finally, a couple of Hollywood screenwriters that are treated like rock stars – or at least gurus of geek chic. Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci are easily the hottest name-brand writing team in Tinseltown after a year of major hits including Star Trek, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and their producing efforts 'Fringe' and The Proposal.
ComingSoon.net played the third wheel as the duo weighed in on what's about to come forth from their dual computers.
On building a brand new adventure or borrowing and tweaking more 'Star Trek' canon for the highly anticipated Star Trek sequel:
Alex Kurtzman: 'Every franchise has a different need. So you have to look at them differently based on whatever kind of a mandate is there. But in the case of Transformers it was very important to us to have a sequel idea that stood on it's own. You need to have been able to not have seen the first movie to appreciate the second one. I think that for us it's always about going back to the sequels that we loved as kids and asking ourselves why we loved them. Empire Strikes Back, Superman II, Aliens, Terminator 2, Star Trek II, what do all of those movies have in common? Well, they are amazing stories all on their own. You didn't have to see the first movie. There was some incredibly emotional test of character in all of those movies. Superman has to give up his powers for love. The Spock and Kirk relationship is being tested by Khan. Ripley finding a daughter, essentially. All of those things are such big ideas in and of themselves. And you really can't tell those kinds of stories in movie #1, because movie #1 is very much about establishing a world.
On the things on their Star Trek wish list that didn't make it into the first film that might be revisited in the second:
Roberto Orci: 'You know, we had a few characters in early drafts. [Christine] Chapel – maybe some of the friends in the Academy. But in terms of big concepts? No, nothing that was like 'Oh, not going to be able to fit that in.''
Kurtzman: 'Right. We kind of threw it all in the first one!'
On the possibility of introducing concepts from the various 'Star Trek' sequel series - like The Borg, for example - into the relaunched franchise:
Orci: 'I think we would think about it, because we do love 'The Next Generation'.'
Do they have a priority or any particular element of those sequel series that they most would like to put into the movie?
Kurtzman: 'I think our instinct would be to first look at the original series before we would consider that, but all of that would be on the table for us, it is on the table.'
On the possibility of doing Star Trek 2 and 3 back-to-back:
Kurtzman: 'I think we tend to look at this as it's very, very important to us to make sure that each movie is good. It's not 'Hey, let's do as many as possible.' But rather 'Let's make sure that they are good.' I think that we feel like we've inherited this incredible honor, in this mantle of 'Star Trek' and the most important thing is to make sure that we are protecting that first. So, if the studio wants more than one, then great, but our thinking is going to be very much about the story.'
Orci: 'The story.'
Kurtzman: 'Whether the story prescribes there will be more than one. Part of what is great about 'Star Trek' is that it's a continuing adventure so you naturally think that there will be many, hopefully. But we only focus on what comes next and then build off of that. So, right now we are not thinking specifically about making two and three. It may come up but it's not where our heads are right now.'
On adding an allegorical element to the plot of the second film – including an Internet-rumored Guantanamo Bay metaphor:
Orci: 'The Gitmo thing was just a for instance. We're not doing a story that is going to be about Guantanamo Bay. Now that we've established the characters we can have a more philosophical allegory where what is happening in the future represents, like the best versions in the '60s did it – represented women's rights, racial equality, and progressive issues. We're still just brainstorming internally and going to get together soon and bust our riffs out, see what happens, and start putting it together.'
On whether the success of the first film will influence their storytelling decisions on the sequel:
Orci: 'I think it's the exact same pressure as the first one. Great, I'm glad we had a nice victory but now we have to do it again. Same amount of trepidation and reverence for 'Trek'.'
Kurtzman: 'But the excitement of knowing that we have everything in place. Going into the first movie we had no idea of what the actors were even going to look like, so now knowing what the feeling was, and who is playing the parts, will definitely be helpful.'
On the potential for adding pre-established 'Star Trek' elements, such as Khan Noonian Singh – into the sequel storyline:
Kurtzman: 'Where we are starting is 'Okay, where are our characters now and what are interesting complications that we can put in their lives? What feels like an organic emotional place for them to get to? How do we want to test them?' Then you look at everything. You look everything and start asking 'Who would be the best foe?'
Orci: 'There are mental exercises we play with them – in fact, we even at one point had one conversation I think was all about the first movie. It could have ended on '…and then the Botany Bay floats by.' You can't be fans of this and not sit around one night and go 'What if we…?' So we've gone through probably whatever you've gone through in your minds.'
Kurtzman: 'The short answer is that we haven't landed on anybody yet.'
On collaborating on their next film, Cowboys & Aliens, with director Jon Favreau:
Kurtzman: 'It's the greatest.'
Orci: 'We just started and we're getting along really well. We actually sent ourselves back to school and we're watching Westerns together, analyzing them, and just kind of getting into it.'
Kurtzman: 'Yeah, we had a lot of these Westerns in our heads but Jon is an incredible fountain of Western knowledge.'
Orci: ''Star Trek' was pitched originally as a space Western anyway. So Star Trek was a nice lead up to this project.'
Kurtzman: 'I think also that Jon comes from a very similar emotional place. Because he's an actor and he knows what plays and what doesn't play very quickly. We're having an unbelievably good time working with him on that.'
On the status of The Defenders, the gaming-themed movie they're developing with 'Heroes' star Masi Oka:
Orci: 'We're still working out the story.'
Kurtzman: 'We actually can't say too much about it, but Masi is amazing. He's wonderful to work with.'
Orci: 'Gary Whitta is writing it.'
Kurtzman: 'Gary Whitta is writing it and he wrote Book of Eli which is coming out this year.'
Orci: 'He's developed a great story and we have to go pitch it to the heads of the studio. We'll find out what happens.'
On their latest toy-themed project, View-Master, which they'll be producing:
Kurtzman: 'Here's what is really interesting about that, because we've read a lot of the response – and a lot of the wildly cynical response – to it. Here's what I'll say. Some toys should be movies and some toys should not be movies. I like to believe that we know the difference between those toys. The movies that work, work when there is a story there that you can take the toy out of, but then when you put the toy in it because an even more amazing experience for whatever reason. Brad Kane, who is a writer for us on 'Fringe' came to us with an amazing idea that had absolutely nothing to do with View-Master, we loved it, thought it was fantastic, and then along comes...'
Orci: 'We said 'It's missing one thing, I don't know what that thing is…''
Kurtzman: 'Then along comes View-Master, right? It felt like a perfect marriage of ideas. It's because we started with a story that felt like it could be told all on it's own before that came along. So in some ways its like 'Bring it on, if you want to be cynical about View-Master then great.' We're so confident in where it's going to end up going that we feel like in some ways there is nowhere to go but up. Brad is finishing a script and then he's going to start writing.'
Orci: 'Actually, Spielberg told us once that his first draft story of E.T. didn't have an alien in it, but it was a family drama about a kid missing his father. So that's always stuck in our mind as 'Wow, you have to be able to take out the thing.''
Kurtzman: 'Take out the giant robots and what's the story you have left over?'
On how they won't likely be returning to pen a third Transformers film:
Orci: 'We've been working on Transformers longer than I was in college. I think we have our degree in Transformers now.'
Kurtzman: 'I think it's just a question for us of, the franchise is so wonderful and it deserves to be fresh all the time. I think we just felt like we had given it a lot and didn't have an instinct for where to go with it next. We said 'You guys should do it right.''
Orci: 'The studio said 'Oh yeah, if you guys want to come back, come back.' But we never want to do that unless we have an idea. We always think that the best idea should win. That means opening it up to everybody.'"
"Finally, a couple of Hollywood screenwriters that are treated like rock stars – or at least gurus of geek chic. Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci are easily the hottest name-brand writing team in Tinseltown after a year of major hits including Star Trek, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and their producing efforts 'Fringe' and The Proposal.
ComingSoon.net played the third wheel as the duo weighed in on what's about to come forth from their dual computers.
On building a brand new adventure or borrowing and tweaking more 'Star Trek' canon for the highly anticipated Star Trek sequel:
Alex Kurtzman: 'Every franchise has a different need. So you have to look at them differently based on whatever kind of a mandate is there. But in the case of Transformers it was very important to us to have a sequel idea that stood on it's own. You need to have been able to not have seen the first movie to appreciate the second one. I think that for us it's always about going back to the sequels that we loved as kids and asking ourselves why we loved them. Empire Strikes Back, Superman II, Aliens, Terminator 2, Star Trek II, what do all of those movies have in common? Well, they are amazing stories all on their own. You didn't have to see the first movie. There was some incredibly emotional test of character in all of those movies. Superman has to give up his powers for love. The Spock and Kirk relationship is being tested by Khan. Ripley finding a daughter, essentially. All of those things are such big ideas in and of themselves. And you really can't tell those kinds of stories in movie #1, because movie #1 is very much about establishing a world.
On the things on their Star Trek wish list that didn't make it into the first film that might be revisited in the second:
Roberto Orci: 'You know, we had a few characters in early drafts. [Christine] Chapel – maybe some of the friends in the Academy. But in terms of big concepts? No, nothing that was like 'Oh, not going to be able to fit that in.''
Kurtzman: 'Right. We kind of threw it all in the first one!'
On the possibility of introducing concepts from the various 'Star Trek' sequel series - like The Borg, for example - into the relaunched franchise:
Orci: 'I think we would think about it, because we do love 'The Next Generation'.'
Do they have a priority or any particular element of those sequel series that they most would like to put into the movie?
Kurtzman: 'I think our instinct would be to first look at the original series before we would consider that, but all of that would be on the table for us, it is on the table.'
On the possibility of doing Star Trek 2 and 3 back-to-back:
Kurtzman: 'I think we tend to look at this as it's very, very important to us to make sure that each movie is good. It's not 'Hey, let's do as many as possible.' But rather 'Let's make sure that they are good.' I think that we feel like we've inherited this incredible honor, in this mantle of 'Star Trek' and the most important thing is to make sure that we are protecting that first. So, if the studio wants more than one, then great, but our thinking is going to be very much about the story.'
Orci: 'The story.'
Kurtzman: 'Whether the story prescribes there will be more than one. Part of what is great about 'Star Trek' is that it's a continuing adventure so you naturally think that there will be many, hopefully. But we only focus on what comes next and then build off of that. So, right now we are not thinking specifically about making two and three. It may come up but it's not where our heads are right now.'
On adding an allegorical element to the plot of the second film – including an Internet-rumored Guantanamo Bay metaphor:
Orci: 'The Gitmo thing was just a for instance. We're not doing a story that is going to be about Guantanamo Bay. Now that we've established the characters we can have a more philosophical allegory where what is happening in the future represents, like the best versions in the '60s did it – represented women's rights, racial equality, and progressive issues. We're still just brainstorming internally and going to get together soon and bust our riffs out, see what happens, and start putting it together.'
On whether the success of the first film will influence their storytelling decisions on the sequel:
Orci: 'I think it's the exact same pressure as the first one. Great, I'm glad we had a nice victory but now we have to do it again. Same amount of trepidation and reverence for 'Trek'.'
Kurtzman: 'But the excitement of knowing that we have everything in place. Going into the first movie we had no idea of what the actors were even going to look like, so now knowing what the feeling was, and who is playing the parts, will definitely be helpful.'
On the potential for adding pre-established 'Star Trek' elements, such as Khan Noonian Singh – into the sequel storyline:
Kurtzman: 'Where we are starting is 'Okay, where are our characters now and what are interesting complications that we can put in their lives? What feels like an organic emotional place for them to get to? How do we want to test them?' Then you look at everything. You look everything and start asking 'Who would be the best foe?'
Orci: 'There are mental exercises we play with them – in fact, we even at one point had one conversation I think was all about the first movie. It could have ended on '…and then the Botany Bay floats by.' You can't be fans of this and not sit around one night and go 'What if we…?' So we've gone through probably whatever you've gone through in your minds.'
Kurtzman: 'The short answer is that we haven't landed on anybody yet.'
On collaborating on their next film, Cowboys & Aliens, with director Jon Favreau:
Kurtzman: 'It's the greatest.'
Orci: 'We just started and we're getting along really well. We actually sent ourselves back to school and we're watching Westerns together, analyzing them, and just kind of getting into it.'
Kurtzman: 'Yeah, we had a lot of these Westerns in our heads but Jon is an incredible fountain of Western knowledge.'
Orci: ''Star Trek' was pitched originally as a space Western anyway. So Star Trek was a nice lead up to this project.'
Kurtzman: 'I think also that Jon comes from a very similar emotional place. Because he's an actor and he knows what plays and what doesn't play very quickly. We're having an unbelievably good time working with him on that.'
On the status of The Defenders, the gaming-themed movie they're developing with 'Heroes' star Masi Oka:
Orci: 'We're still working out the story.'
Kurtzman: 'We actually can't say too much about it, but Masi is amazing. He's wonderful to work with.'
Orci: 'Gary Whitta is writing it.'
Kurtzman: 'Gary Whitta is writing it and he wrote Book of Eli which is coming out this year.'
Orci: 'He's developed a great story and we have to go pitch it to the heads of the studio. We'll find out what happens.'
On their latest toy-themed project, View-Master, which they'll be producing:
Kurtzman: 'Here's what is really interesting about that, because we've read a lot of the response – and a lot of the wildly cynical response – to it. Here's what I'll say. Some toys should be movies and some toys should not be movies. I like to believe that we know the difference between those toys. The movies that work, work when there is a story there that you can take the toy out of, but then when you put the toy in it because an even more amazing experience for whatever reason. Brad Kane, who is a writer for us on 'Fringe' came to us with an amazing idea that had absolutely nothing to do with View-Master, we loved it, thought it was fantastic, and then along comes...'
Orci: 'We said 'It's missing one thing, I don't know what that thing is…''
Kurtzman: 'Then along comes View-Master, right? It felt like a perfect marriage of ideas. It's because we started with a story that felt like it could be told all on it's own before that came along. So in some ways its like 'Bring it on, if you want to be cynical about View-Master then great.' We're so confident in where it's going to end up going that we feel like in some ways there is nowhere to go but up. Brad is finishing a script and then he's going to start writing.'
Orci: 'Actually, Spielberg told us once that his first draft story of E.T. didn't have an alien in it, but it was a family drama about a kid missing his father. So that's always stuck in our mind as 'Wow, you have to be able to take out the thing.''
Kurtzman: 'Take out the giant robots and what's the story you have left over?'
On how they won't likely be returning to pen a third Transformers film:
Orci: 'We've been working on Transformers longer than I was in college. I think we have our degree in Transformers now.'
Kurtzman: 'I think it's just a question for us of, the franchise is so wonderful and it deserves to be fresh all the time. I think we just felt like we had given it a lot and didn't have an instinct for where to go with it next. We said 'You guys should do it right.''
Orci: 'The studio said 'Oh yeah, if you guys want to come back, come back.' But we never want to do that unless we have an idea. We always think that the best idea should win. That means opening it up to everybody.'"
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Michael Bay sets the date for TRANSFORMERS III
From ComingSoon.net:
"Director Michael Bay has announced on his official website the release date for Transformers III and says they are jumping right back into it! Oh, and he included a note to Megan Fox as well...
'Well its official: We have a great Transformers 3 story. The release date is now July 1st 2011. Not 2012.
Today is Day One. This morning started with an ILM meeting for five hours in San Francisco. Currently I'm flying with writer Ehren Kruger to Rhode Island to talk to Hasbro about new characters.
P.S. Megan Fox, welcome back. I promise no alien robots will harm you in any way during the production of this motion picture. Pleas
e consult your Physician when working under my direction because some side effects can occur, such as mild dizziness, intense nausea, suicidal tendencies, depression, minor chest hair growth, random internal hemorrhaging and inability to sleep. As some directors may be hazardous to your health, please consult your Doctor to determine if this is right for you.
Michael'
This puts it up against the Peter Berg-directed Battleship, also based on a Hasbro property, so we're guessing Universal will be moving that adaptation somewhere else.
Transformers made $709.7 million worldwide and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen has made $832.4 million."
AWRIGHT!! He moved back a whole year! Rock some steel, Mike! Rock some... you know, Megan.
UPDATE:
Battleship has officially moved to August 5th, 2011.
"Director Michael Bay has announced on his official website the release date for Transformers III and says they are jumping right back into it! Oh, and he included a note to Megan Fox as well...
'Well its official: We have a great Transformers 3 story. The release date is now July 1st 2011. Not 2012.
Today is Day One. This morning started with an ILM meeting for five hours in San Francisco. Currently I'm flying with writer Ehren Kruger to Rhode Island to talk to Hasbro about new characters.
P.S. Megan Fox, welcome back. I promise no alien robots will harm you in any way during the production of this motion picture. Pleas
e consult your Physician when working under my direction because some side effects can occur, such as mild dizziness, intense nausea, suicidal tendencies, depression, minor chest hair growth, random internal hemorrhaging and inability to sleep. As some directors may be hazardous to your health, please consult your Doctor to determine if this is right for you.Michael'
This puts it up against the Peter Berg-directed Battleship, also based on a Hasbro property, so we're guessing Universal will be moving that adaptation somewhere else.
Transformers made $709.7 million worldwide and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen has made $832.4 million."
AWRIGHT!! He moved back a whole year! Rock some steel, Mike! Rock some... you know, Megan.
UPDATE:
Battleship has officially moved to August 5th, 2011.
Monday, September 14, 2009
TRANSFORMERS III comes together
From ComingSoon.net:
"Michael Bay's official website got an update from the director on his future projects:
* He will be meeting later this week with Steven Spielberg, and Ehren Kruger to discuss ideas for Transformers III. By the end of the week he should have an idea if Transformers III will hit your local cineplex in the summer of 2011 or 2012."
He did say July 4th, 2012. Is it remotely possible he can get it in faster than that.
Oh, and for anybody interested, it also mentions Bad Boys III possibly coming before or after Transformers III. Does this mean Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are coming back?
"Michael Bay's official website got an update from the director on his future projects:
* He will be meeting later this week with Steven Spielberg, and Ehren Kruger to discuss ideas for Transformers III. By the end of the week he should have an idea if Transformers III will hit your local cineplex in the summer of 2011 or 2012."
He did say July 4th, 2012. Is it remotely possible he can get it in faster than that.
Oh, and for anybody interested, it also mentions Bad Boys III possibly coming before or after Transformers III. Does this mean Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are coming back?
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