Transformers: The Movie - Deluxe TF Edition
Transformers is a 2007 live action film adaptation of the Transformers franchise. The film stars Shia LaBeouf as Sam Witwicky, a teenager involved in a war between the heroic Autobots and the evil Decepticons: two races of alien robots who can disguise themselves by transforming into everyday machinery. The Decepticons desire control of the Allspark, the object that created their robotic race, with the intention of using it to build an army by giving life to the machines of Earth. Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, Jon Voight and John Turturro also star, while Peter Cullen and Hugo Weaving provide the voices of Optimus Prime and Megatron respectively. The film was directed by Michael Bay and written by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman.
Development of the film began with a 2003 treatment written by producers Don Murphy and Tom DeSanto. Executive producer Steven Spielberg acquired the treatment the following year, and he hired Orci, Kurtzman and Bay on the project in 2005. The filmmakers wanted a realistic depiction of the story, and created a complex design aesthetic for the robots to stress their alien nature. The computer-generated characters were programmed to have thousands of mechanical pieces move as they transformed and maneuvered. The military of the United States and General Motors lent vehicles and aircraft during filming, which saved money for the production and added realism to the battle scenes.
Hasbro organized an enormous promotional campaign for the film, making deals with hundreds of companies. This advertising blitz included a viral marketing campaign, coordinated releases of Transformers prequel comics books, Transformers toys and books, as well as product placement deals with GM and eBay. Transformers was a box office success despite mixed fan reaction to the radical redesigns of the characters, and reviews criticizing the focus on the humans at the expense of the robots. It became the twenty-eighth most successful film released, grossing approximately US$706 million worldwide. The film revitalized media interest in the franchise, and a sequel is expected for release on June 26, 2009. It earned three Academy Award nominations in the visual effects and sound categories.
Transformers: The Movie - Toy Products
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Plot
The film opens with Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen), heroic leader of the benevolent
Autobots, describing in a voice-over the destruction of the Transformers' home
world, Cybertron. It was destroyed by the evil Decepticon leader Megatron (Hugo
Weaving) in his quest to obtain the All Spark. The Autobots want to find the
All Spark so they can use it to rebuild Cybertron and end the war between the
Autobots and the Decepticons, while the Decepticons want to use it to defeat
the Autobots and conquer the universe. Megatron found the All Spark on Earth,
but crash-landed in the Arctic Circle and was frozen in the ice. Captain Archibald
Witwicky and his crew of explorers stumbled upon Megatron's body in 1897. Captain
Witwicky accidentally activated Megatron's navigational system and his eye glasses
were imprinted with the coordinates of the All Spark's location. Sector 7, a
secret United States government organization, discovered the All Spark in the
Colorado River and built the Hoover Dam around it to mask its energy emissions.
The still-frozen Megatron was moved into this facility and was reverse engineered
to advance human technology.
In the present day, the rest of the Decepticons—Blackout, Scorponok, Frenzy, Barricade, Starscream, Devastator and Bonecrusher—have landed on Earth and assumed the disguise of Earth vehicles (except Scorponok, who hides within Blackout). Blackout and Scorponok attack the U.S. SOCCENT FWD military base in Qatar and try to hack into the U.S. military network to find the location of Megatron and the All Spark. Their mission is thwarted when the base staff severs the network cable connections. While Blackout destroys the rest of the base, Scorponok chases a small group of survivors who have photographic evidence of the robots, but he is eventually repelled. During this battle, the military discovers its only effective weapons against the Transformers' armor are high-heat sabot rounds.
After Blackout's failure, Frenzy infiltrates Air Force One to try again to hack into the military network, and in doing so plants a virus. He finds the map imprinted on Captain Witwicky's glasses, whose descendant, Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf), intends to sell on eBay. Frenzy and Barricade begin tracking Sam's location. The Autonomous Robotic Organism (shortened to "Autobot") Bumblebee is also on Earth, disguised as a 1976 Chevrolet Camaro,[2] and is bought by Sam while shopping for his first car. Bumblebee helps him woo his crush, Mikaela Banes (Megan Fox). Bumblebee leaves at night to transmit a homing signal to the rest of the Autobots and Sam sees him in robot mode. Barricade confronts Sam and demands Archibald's spectacles, but Bumblebee rescues him and Mikaela. They leave to rendezvous with the rest of the Autobots—Optimus Prime, Jazz, Ironhide, and Ratchet—who have landed on Earth and taken the forms of Earth vehicles as well. Sam, Mikaela, and the Autobots return to Sam's home and obtain the glasses; however, agents from Sector 7 arrive and capture Sam, Mikaela and Bumblebee.
Frenzy, disguised as a cellphone, secretly accompanies the group to Hoover Dam and releases Megatron from his frozen state. Locating the All Spark, Frenzy sends an alert to the other Decepticons. Sam convinces the Sector 7 agents to release Bumblebee so that he can get the All Spark to Optimus Prime. Frenzy's virus has shut down government communications, but a pair of hackers manage to establish a signal to the Air Force. The Autobot-human convoy goes to nearby Mission City to obtain a radio that will guide the Air Force's defense and secure a rendezvous point as a safe destination for All Spark. The Decepticons attack and Bonecrusher, Frenzy, Jazz, Devastator and Blackout are all killed during the ensuing battle, but Sam manages to ram the All Spark into Megatron's chest, killing Megatron and destroying the All Spark. Optimus takes a fragment of the All Spark from Megatron's corpse, but realizes that with its destruction, their home world Cybertron cannot be restored. Consequently, Optimus sends a signal to other surviving Autobots in the universe, directing them to their new home, Earth. The government orders the closure of Sector 7 and has the four Decepticons killed in Mission City battle dumped into the Laurentian Abyss. Starscream, who fled the battle, escapes into space.
Cast and characters
Humans
Shia LaBeouf stars as Sam Witwicky, the teenager who unknowingly buys Bumblebee
as his first car. The character is based upon the mechanic Spike from the television
series,[25] but the nickname was considered inappropriate because the character's
profession was dropped from the adaptation.[34] Bay stated he wanted to make
Sam an average Joe, and not a geek. Bay initially considered LaBeouf too old,
having only seen his performance in Constantine, but he was bowled over by the
actor's enthusiasm.[1] A Transformers fan,[5] LaBeouf also reminded the filmmakers
of the young Tom Hanks.[17] He worked out five days a week for three months
and gained twenty-five pounds of muscle to prepare for the role, but realized
during shooting that his role required agility rather than strength.[2] LaBeouf
performed his own stunts, including a scene in which Sam clings to a statue
as Megatron approaches, with only a safety harness to protect the actor. "There
are action stars who wouldn’t have been as dumb," he joked.[2]
Megan Fox plays Sam's crush, Mikaela Banes, whom he woos with Bumblebee's help. Banes is mechanically skilled because her father was a car thief. She had previously auditioned for Bay's production of The Amityville Horror. To encourage a tough performance from Fox, Bay often threatened to repeatedly film takes at night so she would appear frustrated and tired.[1] Fox gained ten pounds of muscle during shooting to support the physicality of the role.[2]
Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson play the soldiers, Army Captain William Lennox and Air Force Technical Sergeant Robert Epps, respectively. The characters are part of a seven-man Joint Special Operations Command team in Qatar, who survive Blackout's attack on the base. Lennox has a wife and newborn daughter in the United States. Duhamel and Gibson were fans of the toy line as children,[5] and Gibson paid the filmmakers so he could be in the film.[25] They spent three days in boot camp to prepare for the role. Gibson met combat controller Ray Bollinger, and spent time learning technical terms and military code to make his dialogue sound convincing.[5]
John Turturro plays Reggie Simmons, a Sector 7 agent. Bay wanted Steve Buscemi for the role, but he was busy, so Turturro, whom Bay had wanted to work with ever since seeing The Big Lebowski, was cast instead.[1] Turturro gave a slapstick performance, which was intended to be in contrast to the serious military scenes, so that a sense of fun would not completely disappear.[19] The actor claimed to have based his performance on the director, although Bay stated he couldn't see anything of himself in Turturro's performance. A backstory was fashioned for Simmons, explaining his family had served in Sector 7 for generations, giving him a "mother's boy" personality. Bay cut these jokes as they were too crude.[1]
Rachael Taylor plays Maggie Madsen, who assists the Department of Defense in decoding the virus left by Frenzy. She realizes that those hacking into the government's data files cannot be human, due to the ease with which they made the attack. The writers had initially envisioned Maggie as quirkier and more cyberpunk.[19] The filmmakers opted for Taylor's natural Australian accent to give the film a global sensibility.[2] She found many of her scenes difficult because of the high heels she wore.[25]
Anthony Anderson plays Glen Whitmann, a computer hacker and friend of Maggie. Jon Voight plays the United States Secretary of Defense John Keller. Michael O'Neill plays Tom Banachek, the head of Sector 7's Advanced Research Division. Kevin Dunn and Julie White play Sam's parents, Ron and Judy. Bernie Mac cameoes as Bobby Bolivia, a used car dealer from whom Sam purchases Bumblebee.
Autobots
Peter Cullen voices Optimus Prime, the Autobot leader who comes to Earth to
destroy the All Spark in order to end the war. Don Murphy decided after discussions
with fans on his website that they wanted the surviving voices from the original
1980s cartoon series, The Transformers.[6] Cullen described reprising the role
as easy as "slipping into an old pair of very comfortable shoes that you
haven't worn for a while", and was grateful to the fans for wanting him
back.[35] His performance consisted of much improvisation with Bay, and portraying
the traditional heroism of the character as well as bringing a sense of humor.[36]
Bay told the animators to seek inspiration from Liam Neeson to inspire Optimus'
body language.[1] Optimus transforms into a Peterbilt truck. The original cab
over design was rejected because that would only transform into a twenty-feet
tall model of the character, whereas the filmmakers wanted him to stand twenty-eight
feet tall.[1] Optimus has red flame artwork on his blue body. This was a compromise
between Hasbro, who wanted to retain the character's iconic red chest, and Bay,
who felt red alone would not photograph well.[21] Hasbro had previously rejected
designs of Optimus which were too blue.[21] Optimus' head was built on set as
a prop.[1]
Mark Ryan voices Bumblebee for the character's two lines at the end of the film, when he regains his voice. For most of the film's duration, Bumblebee communicates with radio soundbites because of his damaged vocal processor. Before being cast in the role, Ryan had acted as a stand-in for the robots during filming, reading out their lines.[37] The decision to make Bumblebee silent was inspired by Spielberg's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, in order to show that his bond with Sam was beyond words.[38] The filmmakers had considered using lines from various Paramount films, including "I feel the need for speed!" from Top Gun, but decided such lines would be too obvious.[39] Credited clips used in the film include John Wayne from El Dorado and Nichelle Nichols as Uhura from the Star Trek television series. A full scale puppet of Bumblebee was also used for the film. The animators modeled Bumblebee's performance on Michael J. Fox.[2] Bumblebee transforms into a 1977 Chevrolet Camaro, and upgrades into the 2009 model.[2] Bay rejected the character's form of the Volkswagen Beetle from The Transformers, as it reminded him of Herbie the Love Bug. Hasbro did not mind as long as the car remained yellow. In reference to his original form, the Beetle is parked next to Bumblebee when Sam is buying him.[21] The modern Camaro was chosen for its friendly appearance,[2] while the old model was chosen to show that Sam's father could only buy him the cheapest car he could find. In the film, Bumblebee upgrades because Mikaela calls his choice of form "a piece of crap".[21]
Darius McCrary voices Jazz, a lieutenant who develops a fondness for urban culture. McCrary said he was honored to follow in the footsteps of Scatman Crothers, who voiced Jazz on The Transformers. "When I was actually [recording], I really did feel Scatman's presence," he said.[40] Mark Ryan had tried out numerous voices for Jazz, including a Sean Connery impersonation, before McCrary was cast.[37] Jazz transforms into a Pontiac Solstice, a car the director felt was too small, but he decided not to argue with GM.[20] Hasbro felt it was still a "cool sports car" reminiscent of his original Porsche 935 form.[21] The screenwriters chose to kill off Jazz as they felt he was the most likeable character after Optimus and Bumblebee.[41]
Jess Harnell voices Ironhide, who transforms into a GMC Topkick pickup truck. The character is a cantankerous weapons specialist. Peter Cullen voiced Ironhide on The Transformers and auditioned to reprise the role in the film.[42] When Ryan was voicing the character on set, he used a Southern accent as Cullen did.[37]
Robert Foxworth voices Ratchet, the team's medical officer. He transforms into
a Search and rescue Hummer H2. The writers had wanted to keep his ambulance
form from The Transformers, but the producers wanted something else. Hasbro
did not mind if the character was either an ambulance or a fire apparatus.[9]
Charlie Adler voices Starscream, Megatron's second-in-command. Despite being a popular character, his role is limited because of the film's running time.[19] A post-credits scene of him escaping Earth was added because audiences at test screenings wanted to know what happened to him.[1] He transforms into a F-22 Raptor jet, which is the successor to his original form, the F-15 Eagle. This keeps the character's role as the powerful and technologically advanced air commander.[21]
Reno Wilson voices Frenzy, a small and vicious spy who transforms into a boombox, and later into a mobile phone. Frenzy was primarily animated by one man, who gave the character quirky movements: Bay could tell which shots were not done by him and felt the character totally changed in those scenes.[1] A puppet was also used on set.[2] Frenzy was originally named Soundwave, but the writers decided to rename him because he was significantly different from the original character.[21]
Jess Harnell voiced Barricade, a Saleen Mustang police car, whom Frenzy guides to Sam. The character was inspired by the G1 Autobot Prowl, because the writers thought a Decepticon displaying authority would use the police car form.[21]
Jim Wood voices Bonecrusher, who attacks Optimus on the highway to Mission City. The animators modeled his fighting styles on hockey and football players,[1] and his alternate form of the Buffalo H Mine-Protected vehicle was altered with a larger fork.[21] For Devastator, the crew chose to use an M1 Abrams tank prop built for xXx: State of the Union.[2] The character was intended to be named Brawl, but a subtitled Cybertronian line reads "Devastator reporting". It was not fixed despite recognition of the error.[44]
Blackout transforms into a MH-53 Pave Low helicopter, with his minion Scorponok attaching to him. Soundwave had been considered for this role,[45] with Ravage as his minion,[38] but Hasbro insisted Soundwave have a music-based role.[9] Scorponok was chosen after the writers discovered him in the pages of The Ultimate Guide and felt he was appropriate to the setting. A model of his head and tail was built, while primacord explosives were used for his ripple movements in the sand. This was potentially dangerous to cast members, generating genuine terror in the actors' performances.[46]