Transformers - Live Action Movie

[Geekyfanboy]

I have heard for years that they were going to make a Transformer live action movie and it's finally going to start shooting in May. I have been trying to find info about it but there is not much on the web.. but I thought I would start a thread and see if anyone else has heard anything. If you don't know what Transformers are here is a brief description.

Transformers are robots are divided into two groups: the Autobots, led by Optimus Prime, who believe in tolerance and the sanctity of life; and the Decepticons, led by Megatron, who espouse survival of the fittest and the extermination of biological life.

[Darth Gaos]

I don't think there is a lot of info out there yet.

The only thing that I know (or that I last heard) was that Spielberg was involved.

Lord I hope they stick to the "original" storyline....Autobots vs Decepticons

[Riskygodfather]

I love Transformers, but I dunno about a live action movie.

[De]

I've been re-visiting this series on DVD recently and I'm surprised by how well it seems to hold up.  My daughter loves the Dinobots.

[Darth Gaos]

The DInobots was when the series took a SERIOUS turn towards jumping the shark.

But it is still a great cartoon.

[Yeoman Mara]

Never was into the Transformers much but I know some of my friends loved it.

[De]

Darth, the Dinobots were introduced in the first season.  You think the near shark-jump occurred that early?  I always thought the shark-jumping occurred when the animation style changed when the series skipped ahead 20 years after the theatrical movie.

[Darth Gaos]

Were they....man my memory is going.....De I think I am thinking about when you are and my timelines are just WAY off.....hey it's been awhile, sue me

[De]

No prob, Darth.  I tend to remember more about this stuff than any sane man should :)

[De]

This doesn't pertain to the live-action movie, but I did post a review of the "reconstructed" animated movie DVD over at my blog (click on the Retroactive Continuity link below).  It was released in Region 2 last fall and is an interesting effort; though I'm not sure if it was $30 worth of interesting.  Allegedly, the same company is working on a 20th anniversary edition of the 1986 cult hit for release later this year.

[Chief]

The movie will be directed by Michael Bay, a very good action movie maker.

We have to wait and see who's writing it and I really hope they stay close to the original story.

[Geekyfanboy]

News is hard to come by.. but is some casting news.

Josh Duhamel and Bernie Mac are now officially set to join Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight and John Turturro in Michael Bay's live-action Transformers: The Movie, which begins shooting this month, Variety reported.

[Picard_delta_5]

wasn't there already a transformers cartoon movie, they made a big deal about it cause a cartoon said "Damn" Can someone explain the origin of transformers and the various series / movies that they have made, i don't know anything about it...

[De]

wasn't there already a transformers cartoon movie, they made a big deal about it cause a cartoon said "Damn"

I reviewed a Region 2 DVD of this film on my blog that was mentioned it in Reply #9 of this thread.  The film was released in 1986 and the profanity, as well as the level of violence, was very controversial at the time.  Both were chief reasons why the film flopped royally at the box office.

Can someone explain the origin of transformers and the various series / movies that they have made, i don't know anything about it...

Essentially a civil war between two factions of sentient robots on a planet called Cybertron drifted to Earth.  The robots are capable of transforming into mostly Earth vehicles like cars and planes, though there are exceptions.  The first season of the television series premiered in late 1984 to coincide with a line of toys (the 1980s was notorious for such marketing).  It began with a three-part miniseries that many stations ran during weekday afternoons.  Reception was quite high and a weekly series began shortly afterward.  In the fall of 1985, the second season began airing five days a week and eventually introduced new characters based on the new toys.

The summer of 1986 saw Transformers: The Movie, which served as a bridge between the 1985 season and the 1986 season.  After the 1986 season, the series limped along in repeats with an occasional new episode, most notably "The Return of Optimus Prime" and the three-part "Rebirth," which ended the American series in late 1987.

Transformers lived on Japan in three additional television series: Headmasters, Masterforce, and Victory.  None of these series have aired in the United States and have just become available in Europe through DVD.

Eventually, Transformers returned to US airwaves in the 1990s with Beast Wars, a five-season series (two seasons were called Beast Machines) that took place in the far future and would reference the 1984-1987 every once in a while. Beast Machines ended in 2000.

A new series would arise in the fall of 2001 called Robots in Disguise that had no ties to the original series whatsoever.  It was a recycled Japanese series just like its successors Armada, Energon, and Cybertron (which still airs on Cartoon Network).  None of the successors have any ties to the original series save for the use of similar names.

So there you have it, a brief history of the Transformers.

[Picard_delta_5]

very nicely illustrated De, thanks...