Empire Magazine Spoilers

Empire Online, to promote their magazine, posted a few pictures from Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen set but sadly not their article. "Alienbot" provided a summary of some of the information in the article:

- Bay and LaBeouf confirm the Fallen is a separate character.
- Egyptian hieroglyphics ...turn out to be depictions of Transformers who visited Earth.
- Bay claims Megatron is not coming back and the tank is just a new toy.
- Around 40 robots.
- Budget is $200 million.
- Ramon Rodriguez is the one holding on for dear life to a pole while cars are flung.
- Devastator appears at the pyramid, he's probably 50 feet tall because that's the height of the camera crane they used on location.

It looks like Empire was able to get some good bits of info, likely because their reporter knew what questions to ask while the USA Today one was probably rather clueless on the whole thing.

Now I know people will want to say "misdirection!!" but as a general rule of thumb, lying to credentialed press (vs. a fan site) is just a bad idea and not something even Michael Bay is going to risk doing (just makes promoting the movie later harder).

Transformers visiting ancient Earth (and not conquering it?) should make for an interesting story line. Makes you wonder if the Fallen is found here and woken versus arriving and starting to do violent things. The Fallen as a separate character makes the most sense and personally I am relieved. Just returning a dead TF doesn't sound nearly as interesting. The idea that Megatron doesn't return actually surprises me a great deal but I do like the idea of just moving forward with new problems and new villains but that doesn't explain the leaked Megatron images.

As for 40 Transformers, my cheat sheet has around 28 TFs currently listed, the Decepticon list is probably missing half the cast so 40 sounds like a very plausible number at this point. Further confirmation of Devastator is always good but I will be glad when more details about him comes out (how many TFs, design, etc). I just hope the trailer (whenever it comes) teases at this and more.

Empire, USA Today TF2 Articles (Updated)

As promised, articles are now online from USA Today and Empire magazine about Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. USA Today's articles (here and here) have no pictures and provides less spoiler information and more confirmation of a few rumors that have leaked over the few months. Empire Online teases their magazine article while providing the dynamic but spoiler free images in this post. To summarize:

- As a picture below shows, confirmation that Shia's hand injury was written into the movie.
- Story plot is for the Decepticons to capture Sam due to information he "learned about the origins of the Transformers and their ancient history of Earth."
- To counter Decepticon goes, "the US military and an international coalition has united with the good-guy Autobots." (This explains Matthew Marsden's role in the movie).
- Decepticon Soundwave is the "fearsome communications expert." (Nothing about alt mode).
- "...Devastator, whose arms and legs are built out of other Transformers." (This appears to confirm the gestalt rumor, but no details on how many TFs it takes to form him)
- "...Jetfire, a villain whose age and broken-down physicality leads him to help the Autobots." (Verifies that he will follow the G1 arc of joining the good guys and that he will likely have a crutch of sorts).
- New Mexico filming was for a plot point about running from "ancient temple while villainous Decepticons stomp and crush their way through a village in pursuit" and into a "line of tanks and soldiers blasting guns at the giant robots above and behind them."
- "Not that we don't trust (special effects coordinator James D.) Schwalm and the boys," he adds. "But even an eyelash flying at you at 700 miles an hour will cut you. You're running past them, and your clearance is only about 10 feet. These dudes are moving, and if one trips or falls and we run into the muzzle of a blank, that could blow your chest open or burn you."
- "The U.S. Department of Defense gave its official stamp of approval to the Michael Bay-directed film, not only allowing production amid the pristine dunes of the Army's New Mexico [White Sands] missile range, but also letting filmmakers follow jets and fighter planes through the sky from nearby Holloman Air Force Base. More scenes were shot on the Navy's aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis, and Marines fill the ranks of the strike team battling the invading Transformers."
- "The film's Army liaison, Lt. Col. Gregory Bishop, notes: "As far as I know, this is the biggest joint military operation movie ever made, in terms of Army, Air Force, Navy and Marines. I can't think of one that's bigger."
- "Among the equipment the movie is using in this desert sequence alone: two A-10 Thunderbolt II "Warthog" tank-killing jets; six F-16 Fighting Falcons; 10 armored Humvees; the Army's Golden Knights parachute team; two Abrams tanks; two Bradley tanks; two missile-launcher vehicles; two armored personnel carriers; and a quarter-mile of the missile testing range, cleared of unexploded ordnance and built into an Egyptian town and temple. (Signs warn not to cross a perimeter just over the gypsum dunes, because live bombs could be hidden in the sand.)"
- Off-duty enlisted where used as pay extra for many scenes shot with the military's assistance.
- "The final battle the military is helping Bay create is supposed to be an enormous firefight in Egypt, but much of it is being shot in the White Sands dunes in a town built over the roughly quarter-mile cleared span."
- "After completing work in New Mexico, the cast and crew moved to Giza for scenes at the actual pyramids, getting first-time access to the 5,000-year-old site from the Egyptian government. "It plays a big plot point," Bay says, noting that they were allowed to shoot on the pyramids — not just around them."
- "The studio has to reimburse the U.S. Treasury for live munitions and other requests for troops or equipment that unit commanders don't consider to be valid battle simulation or part of military training, Bishop says."
- "During this shoot, an F-22 Raptor [Starscream] roars by like a mechanical arrowhead, blasting the earth with the banshee scream of its engines. It circles the set dozens of times before heading off to complete its scheduled training."

Overall not as much information as hoped. Hopefully once the Empire Magazine hits newsstands (not sure when) that will provide more details and context for the below pictures. Thanks to Rich and April for the links.

Update: USA Today has posted a six picture photo gallery (3 above, 3 new below) related to their articles. The Optimus Prime picture is the same as the Empire image just without all the text to covering it.

TF2 Official Photos Coming Monday?

Nelson, the site admin for Michael Bay's Shoot For The Edit site reports "Just a little heads up: Empire and USAToday might have the first official TF2 photos on 12/29/08. So keep your eyes open."

Earlier this month, Michael Bay had indicated that he was "going to release some set stills on this site in a few weeks" so Nelson's info may be accurate. Sure the info isn't coming first on Bay's site but I imagine Paramount's PR and Marketing departments would have had a heart attack if full advantage wasn't taken of the first official reveals of moments from the anticipating sequel. Paramount used Empire and USA Today I am not saying this is a build-up to a trailer, its just that the Star Trek campaign showed them that those two sources are a good way to hit a wide audience in the US and Europe and spread the information on the web.

Note that while Nelson has been a good source of information, he is not "official" so his information could be off or he out of the loop on any changes to the marketing plan. As always time will tell but on the bright side at least this time the wait is short. Pictures will pop up on Monday or they will not. Thanks to Gregory for the heads-up.

More Jetfire Legends Pictures

More pictures of the Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Legends class Jetfire toy have appeared online. These provide more close-up and details about the toy. More importantly, one reveals that yes Jetfire has a Decepticon symbol but its noticeable scratched out, possibly confirming that the character will change sides at some point during the movie. Thanks to Gregory for the info. Also, in pictures found by Phil (thanks!) is an argument for how the Legends class Optimus Prime merges with Jetfire.

Possible Pics, Hints of The Fallen? (Updated)

Merry Christmas! How about some possible hints and sightings relating to Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen for your holiday. LiningUpTV.com has posted the below pictures saying "found some pics from the Transformers 2 set. Looks like a new robot is discovered beyond a painted wall, Indiana Jones style. Is this the curled up remains of The Fallen?" From what I can tell there does appear to be robot like parts, a metallic skeleton like structure and maybe tentacles but really I am not sure what I am looking at. Thanks to Gregory and Mike for the heads-up.

In a related note, KevKev noted a rather significant similarity between the image that Megatron is bowing to (left) for the Defiance #1 cover and an image that appears on the various toy packages that were recently leaked (right). Specifically the eyes which look nearly identical. I don't think it’s a reach to assume those eyes and therefore the face is a representation of the Fallen character. Hasbro marketing isn't going to make that image central to their toy packaging otherwise. Also note that the background hieroglyphics in the packaging, indicating the far past and buried secrets, contains the Decepticon symbol. Maybe The Fallen is a secret buried on Earth and the above pictures are a part of that? Its all supposition and guesswork, but that is part of the fun.

Update: Thanks to Keith, below are some retouched photos that attempt to bring out a few more details from the images. I still can't really make heads or tails (or which is which) of what the pictures are supposedly showing.

Shia Good After Second Hand Surgery

It turns out that Shia LaBeouf underwent surgury a few weeks ago for the second time on his damaged hand after finishing filming on Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Apparently all is mostly well on the slow road to recovery for the actor.

From Yahoo News:

The second surgery focused on correcting damage around the area of the thumb that was not fixed during an emergency operation immediately following his July rollerover crash in Los Angeles.

"He's doing fine now," the source said.

The insider also smacked down a story in today's New York Daily News that claimed the injury was more serious than initially reported and that doctors had initially mulled the possiblity of a "partial amputation."

Legends Jetfire and Optimus Merged Pictures

Below are three images that show the Legends Jetfire and Optimus Prime merged together. This is supposedly related to the rumor that the toy line has the two combine much like they did for Armada and Energon toylines (I think). Frankly it looks like the person just strapped Jetfire onto Optimus' back. I doubt Hasbro would bother to engineer a merge solution for toys in the Legends line even if the merge rumors are true. More then likely the person is just hoping the images will spike the sale of the toy when it is put up on eBay.

Transformers 2 Prequel Comic Defiance (Update)

IDW Publishing has revealed the cover (that is as big as it gets) to the first issue of 4 issue mini-series Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Movie Prequel: Defiance #1. The solicitation description:

The second official prequel to next summer’s TRANSFORMERS movie begins here! In “DEFIANCE,” writer Chris Mowry and artist Dan Khanna tell a tale that delves back to the very origins of CYBERTRON and the beginnings of the war between AUTOBOTS and DECEPTICONS. This first issue introduces new threats and sets up the reasons for the conflict that leads directly into next summer’s sequel to the smash-hit film!

There is also Alliance, the first issue that came out last week that bridges the gap between the two movies. As for the image, not entirely sure who or what Megatron is possibly bowing too (AllSpark shard?) nor if he is looking at something in his hand. Pretty compelling image overall. I believe the first issue hits newsstands sometime in January. Thanks to Gregory for the link.

Update: Below is a much larger image of the Defiance #1 cover from Alex Milne's deviantArt page. If interested you can find other Transformers comic related artist work for Josh Perez (Alliance), Josh Burcham (Maximum Dinobot), and Guido Guidi (All Hail Megatron). Thanks to Tahnee for providing the info and source for a better cover image.

Many More Pics of FAB Jolt, Megatron

The-Arker.com has posted many pictures of the Fast Action Battler Megatron and Jolt
(the Volt). Below are a few pictures but rather then mirror them all, here is Megatron's gallery and Jolt's gallery.

Fast Action Megatron and Others

ACToys.net has posted more pictures from the Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Fast Action Battlers line. The line is geared towards young kids so that is why the overall lack of detail and simplified transformations.

The first few pics show Megatron and his cybertronian tank mode, further proof that the previous leaked pictures are true and further verifies he returns for the movie. It however does not verify that he is "The Fallen" that the film title may be referring to. After that we have Optimus Prime and Bumblebee that look essentially the same. Last is another picture of Jolt.

Epps Get A Promotion

Tyrese Gibson recently spoke with MovieWeb about his role in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen including that his character recieved a promotion.

Can you tell us a little bit about what Sgt. Epps is up to in this summer's Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen?
Tyrese Gibson: Yes, my character has been upgraded to Master Sergeant Epps. I am the top dog in the air force. I am a master sergeant. I am bringing on way more air strikes. Michael Bay really beefed up my presence in this sequel. I was really happy about that. Just being on the set with all of my cast members really made me feel like we'd created a family union. I think we created something that is really special. The fans out there really showed up and made us feel appreciated for what we did. It felt good to be working on something that the world is waiting to see.

Can you talk about any of the new Transformers that you are going up against?Tyrese Gibson: No. I can't. I'm sorry. It's all secrets. Its way more robots. There are a whole bunch of new robots that the world is going to be introduced to. There is going to be way more action sequences. All of the stuff that goes on is really insane. What I love the most? I can purposely say this. I have never done nothing in my life, or been a part of anything in my life, where I feel like ever man, woman, and child in the world is going to see something that I've been in. And it's a lot of pressure. It is something...I don't know. It's just a lot of pressure. It's like someone telling you that, while it might be a messed up comparison, a tsunami is going to hit in seven months. And you can see the tsunami before it comes. How do you prepare for that? That's how I look at Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. It is just so big, and just so gargantuan. It is just really amazing. I am glad to be a part of it. Michael Bay is amazing. Spielberg, Shia, Josh, Megan. Also, you guys should be looking out for Matthew Marsden. He is a British actor. He was the head of the UK forces that are tied into the film. It is going to be pretty crazy.

Thanks to Katie for the heads-up.

TF2 Chevy Volt Gets A Name

From TF08.net once again has provided the picture of a new toy that is probably part of the Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen line. The alt mode is the Chevy Volt and based on the description on the card, the character has the name of Jolt. Appropriate name considering the near all electric engine design of the vehicle and not based on any previous G1 character I am aware of.

The toy might seem for the Transformers: Animation line but the head and front detail is much greater then the animation line tends to be. Really there is nothing cartooney about the design, a hallmark of the animation line. It’s a simple Transformer but then that is part of the mandate of the Fast Action Battlers line.

Considering the car's multiple appearances on Transformers sets during the summer and Hasbro going through the trouble to create a toy for the car, I do believe this could be confirmation that the Volt is a Transformer character for the upcoming sequel. Thanks to Phil for sending this in.

More Images of Legends Jetfire

More images of the Legends version of Jetfire have appeared on TF08.net. The images show a better look at Blackbird alt mode. While the toy seems rather unimpressive, keep in mind that Legends line is about $4 retail, at most two inch tall toy designed mostly as an easy buy with very simple transformation. It is not something I would use to indicate what a larger toy would look like and almost nothing about how the character will transform in the movie. Thanks to Phil for the pictures.

Jazz Up For Auction

Jalopnik is reporting that GM, in an effort to raise some cash, is putting cars from the companies Heritage museum up for sale, including the Pontiac Solstice "Jazz Transformer Movie Vehicle." I assume this is the "hero" model used in the first movie for the best shots of the car. Considering the car is up for auction and no other Transformer vehicle, is this the final nail in the coffin for all those hoping for Jazz's resurrection? If you have the money, the Barrett-Jackson auction of the vehicles will run January 13-18 in Scottsdale, AZ. Car collectors (ah to have that kind of money) must be salivating right now.

UK Release Date Announced

Transformers At The Moon reports the release date of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen in the United Kingdom as June 26th, 2009 at The Odeon Leicester Square, the same day as the US release. The nationwide "saturation release" is supposed to follow thereafter, I guess the next day but the report doesn't say exactly when.

Toys Confirm Jetfire, Possible New Character (Updated)

From TFW2005.com are pictures of four new toys for the Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Legends class toys. Two of them are the familiar Optimus Prime and Bumblebee. One of the other two is Jetfire that clearly shows the SR-71 Blackbird nose and indicates he is a Decepticon. I think the character only starts the movie as a Decepticon but ends it as an Autobot.

The final toy reveals a possible new character for the movie - Springer. While the toys says "Autobot Springer", that is probably for copyright reasons. Springer is a G1 Transformer first introduced as a triple-changer in the animated Transformers: The Movie and has a relationships of sorts with Arcee. Based on the toy picture I am guessing his alt mode is a V-22 Osprey. The military aircraft was used in the first movie and rumored to have been used in scenes for the second. Now considering Hasbro likes to use characters in their movie toy lines that have no part in the movie, its possible this character doesn't show up in the movie. Considering the alt mode and the characters history I have my doubts on that theory.

Update: From TF08, below is a picture of Legends Jetfire showing his jet mode. Thanks to minime for the link.

TF2 Australian Release Date Announced

Ozformers, via TFW2005, is reporting that the release date of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen toy line and movie has been released. For Australia, the toy line will be on stores shelves by May 31 and the movie will follow on June 25th, 2009. Once you include the 15 hour time difference gives the country about a two day jump on the United States.

This also pretty much verifies that the movie will not get a simultaneous worldwide release and instead will get a staggered release schedule. I don't know why they don't do that considering that to my knowledge the Harry Potter movies and Pirates of the Caribbean all did worldwide same day releases to clearly huge box office numbers.

Transformers 3: June 29th, 2011

Dark Horizons reports that a movie release schedule in Germany has the release of Transformers 3 scheduled for June 29th 2011. Sadly the site didn't mention or link to their source. Nothing wrong with a little confidence that Revenge of the Fallen will be huge enough to warrant immediate start on the next movie which would be the only way to hit that completely un-official date.

Transformers: Alliance #4 Cover

Generally I don't post about the Transformers comics, mostly because I forget to but in this case the cover for Transformers: Alliance #4 made that difficult to do since it seems the cover includes most of the theorized Autobot cast for Transformers 2.

In the background you have the returning Autobots from the first movie, Ironhide, Bumblebee, Optimus Prime and Ratchet. Then beneath then in vehicle mode are the various cars that have been spotted on Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen sets over the last few months plus a new one. From left to right, the Chevy Beat (Skids), Chevy Trax (unknown), Corvette Centennial (Sideswipe), three RetroSBK bikes (Arcee) and no clue what the purple car behind the bikes are.

Arcee's alt mode being comprised of three separate components have yet to be proven but the three bikers have been spotted on TF sets several times and now being used in a cover that is made up entirely of Autobots seems to be further confirmation of her alt mode. As for that purple car, not a clue. It could be a character created specifically for the comic book or a car that wasn't spotted on the sets but is in the movie. As usual time will tell.

Transformers: Alliance mini-series issue 1 comes out later this month and issue 4 is out in March. Check your local comic book stores about getting the mini-series.

Three More Transformer 2 Toys? (Updated)

Three more Transformers have appeared online (joining Dead End), all proposed to possibly be part of the Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen line. The head design and "look" doesn't match the Transformers: Animated style and the lack of complexity in the transformation suggest all three are basic TFs, probably in the $6 range.

The first toy is Knock Out whose alt mode is a motorcycle. The pictures are apparently of a prototype that hasn't been painted yet. The second one is Dirt Boss whose green crane and construction crane does make you think "Constructicon" but the alt mode does little to suggest gestalt capabilities. The final toy is a blue Autobot truck with no suggested name. While it is possible that these toys are based on movie characters I get they feeling they are not.

Knock Out


Dirt Boss


Rollbar


Update: Via a German ebay auction, the blue truck has a name, Rollbar, and a much clearer picture of the toy. Via another auction, now a picture of the Autobot Knock-Out painted.

Dead End Review

The other day toy pictures came out that may or may not part of the TF2 toy line (but doubtful a character in the movie). At first the toy was called Laserbeak but it seems fandom have reached a consensus to call it Dead End. For those still curious, Cybertron.ca's Pascal has posted more images and a review of the toy which you can find here.

Bay: No Trailer Until February

Michael Bay has official put Transfandom out of its misery in regards to whether a trailer is coming out this year or not. Sadly the answer is no, a preliminary plan is to possibly release the first trailer for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen with the Superbowl (2/1/09) but no final decisions have been made. From Bay's forums:

Hey everyone. Back from Egypt and Jordan - we had a wonderful shoot over there. I will miss the crew they were an amazing bunch of people and a lot of fun.

I'm stuck in the edit room up to my eye balls - also finished producing Friday the 13Th and The Unborn - coming out the after the new year. Our Trailer for Transformer you have been asking about - First there will be a teaser poster soon after the new year, and the teaser trailer will be out either in the theaters early Feb. or on the Superbowl. Cannot decide yet. I'm going to release some set stills on this site in a few weeks. I'll keep you informed. Going back to do more selects now from my portable avid that I take home from work. It's late, see you.

Michael

At first I thought the real reason for no trailer this year was for the studio to save money as all of them are slashing budgets. Now it sounds like rather then spreading the money around with trailer releases, a few TV spots and they like, they may choose to blow the first trailer budget all at once for the Superbowl. Considering the ratings for the game can go as high as 97.5 million (assuming the game is exciting rather then blowout) it is a smart play in regards to getting maximum eyeballs aware of the movie. Very expensive plan to considering a 30 second ad last year cost $2.7 million and likely to go to $3 million this year. Sucks for us but if the goal is eyeballs then you really can't beat the Superbowl for maximizing awareness in one shot. Thanks to Hitman450 for the heads up.

TF2 Laserbeak Toy?

TFW2005 has posted a gallery (pics below) of what the site theorizes could be the toy design for Laserbeak in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. A secondary theory is it’s the RC toy/TF that the call sheets mentioned. One last theory is the toy is Dead End, who in the original G1 series was a Decepticon Stunticon who formed the gestalt Menasor.

The line-up of Decepticons for the movie remains largely unknown and the Laserbeak theory seems based on the idea that where there is Soundwave, his minion must follow. Now how it was reached that this picture is Laserbeak I don't know. I guess because of the avian look to the head. The RC theory is probably based on the unfamiliar car mode not based on any known GM vehicle. Dead End theory seems just as possible but if looks is the only clue, the G1 toy was based on a Porche 928 which looks nothing like the alt mode of the toy. The closest G1 Transformer that I can think of that matches the toy is Lightspeed (pic), a member of the Autobot Technobots who formed the gestalt Computron.

Ultimately with so little information, what the toy could be is anyone's guess. The head and design makes me think "TF movie" rather then animated toy line. I almost want to call it one of the "decoy" TFs (based on the video games) that Hasbro released but those toys never had a real face while this one does. It could however be an extension of that idea, where the decoys simply have more detail.

Tyrese Shoots Down Rumor

Tyrese Gibson briefly talks Transformers and Fast and Furious 4 with HollywoodScoop.com. Most of the interview is in regards to his casting in the F&F4. Towards the end he comments on a supposed rumor that his character, Sergeant Epps dies (that rumor is news to me), "Killed? No, no impossible. Impossible. I am too sexy to die." So there you go a rumor no one but the interviewer heard about shot down by the man himself. Yep it’s a slow news day.

No Trailer This Year?

In a post on his forums, Don Murphy provided an update on several of his projects and commented on Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. The part of his posts that contain information is in regards to the marketing for the sequel where he says "we're kind of trying to follow the Pirates of Caribbean model, that is, no publicity for as long as possible, since the sequel will have enormous attention no matter what we do." This seems to indicate that no trailer will come out until some time next year.

Personally I think it’s a mistake. Do fans know about the movie? Sure. Does john q average movie goer? Nope not even close. Even people wearing Transformers shirts that seem semi-Internet savvy are surprised when I tell them the sequel is coming out next year. Internet knowledge does not equal common knowledge. The Pirates model was based on two movies coming out less then six months apart. When the sequel is your advertising for the next movie you don't have to engage in aggressive selling. Transformers came out over a year and half ago. It simply doesn't have the same popularity that Pirates had (like it or not). They are comparing apples to oranges and don't seem to know it.

I thought the marketing for the first movie to have been handled perfectly. Enough information and trailers to keep people interested but no so much that people get sick of hearing about it. Nothing worse then seeing a trailer so often you lose interest in the movie itself. However, its better most people know about your movie then not enough and right now I don't think there is a critical mass that is aware a sequel is coming. The way I see it, if ET or AICN do not suddenly get an "exclusive" by Wednesday, there will be no Transformers 2 trailer until February or March of next year.

First Look at TF2's Ravage and Megatron

"Sylar" has provided the below image that is reported to be the design of beast mode design of Ravage and robot mode of Megatron for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. The anonymous source reports that Optimus, Bumblebee, Starscream and Ironhide remain essentially the same.

Ravage's beast mode seems to be a revised draft of the image that was released a little over a month ago that reported that Soundwave's alt mode was a truck (that part denied). As for Megatron, his robot mode does seem to match with the reported tank alt mode.

The image has been photoshopped to increase the size of the original image and remove the background. Pretty bad ass alt mode for Ravage that looks incredibly dangerous. I assume the character would be like Scorpinok. Probably has a robot mode, just doesn’t use it. Megatron looks a lot more compact then his design from the first movie; I wonder where the tank turret went. Click the image for a larger view.

Thanks to "Sylar" for the image.

Something to Fill Trailer Hunger

We all want a trailer, yet so far there is no proven news on the trailer. So how about a fantastic fan made trailer from two years ago reformatted for YouTube's new widescreen look with commentary. Jester and Jolin (TF artwork extraordinaire) created a trailer for the first movie that was a direct nod to the 1984 generation one cartoons. Their work went on to win the "Fanaticon" contest that Yahoo! Movies held which led to a trip to Industrial Light and Magic. To see some cool pictures from ILM that they took click here. Below are the various trailers, videos and what not from Jester and Jolin have put together. Click the title link above the video if want to see it at YouTube's larger default size.

Transformers Teaser Trailer


Transformers Trailer II


Don Murphy Spammies Intro


Transformers Director - Fanaticon Winning Entry


Trailer FX Breakdown


Update: Added a link to pictures from the ILM tour and modified the embed code so the movies above will be in HD from instructions Jester provided.

Goldner CEO of the Year

Congratulations to Brian Goldner. Marketwatch has declared the Hasbro CEO its "CEO of the Year". Sure not big deal to us cause we are not CEOs but I am sure he was popping champagne. So why post about it?

Because "The Transformer" helped negotiate the deal that brought Transformers (and GI Joe) to the big screen and it’s nice to see Transformers grow from about a two foot space on store shelves to somewhere around 4 to 8 feet in most stores. I still remember the G1 days when TF toys nearly took up half an aisle in those pretty boxes (sigh) so its nice to see growth back to its hey day.

Reshoot, Trailer Rumors

Two pieces of unconfirmed news regarding Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. One is a reshoot at Edwards Air Force Base and another involves the trailer.

From "KevKev", who found the article in the November 28th edition of his local newspaper, The Antelope Valley Press, and transcribed it for the website.

Transformers' return to Edwards

The Autobots and the Decepticons rolled out to the Antelope Valley last week, returning to Edwards Air Force Base.

A production crew for the sequel "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" was spotted Nov. 19 at the base, and appeared to be settling in for the remainder of the week. No other details were available as of press time.

The second "Transformers" project was last seen in the AV in September at the Service Rock Quarry, at Palmdale Boulevard and 75th Street East.

The production previously filmed at the quarry for about a week in mid-August, staging an action sequence featuring a helicopter, pyrotechnic explosions, wind machines, debris and gunfire. A crew spent about a month prepping at the site.

"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" also filmed in July at Edwards Air Force Base. Several fan Web sites have posted pictures online allegedly taken the last time the crew visited the base.

They showed Autobot chief Optimus Prime being loaded onto a trailer, a couple of shiny silver sports cars and an assortment of other vehicles arranged outside a large hanger

If a reshoot occurred, chances are its second unit work that didn't involve Bay or the principle cast and is simply being used to fill out shots that the editing process determined was needed.

In regards to the potential trailer, Cody reports that someone he knows involved with Transformers 2 said they are "90% sure" that the trailer will premiere with The Day The Earth Stood Still which comes out December 12th. They also said the trailer was "finished about a month ago".

Considering that the trailer for Wolverine is debuting with TDTESS, it seems that there is an expectation that the movie will have a demographic that TF2 advertising would be aiming for. It’s also the last big budget popcorn movie of the year so last chance to get the most eyeballs aware that the sequel is coming before year end. After that, it seems to me that the next opportunity will not be until Watchmen in March. After Watchmen, the final theatrical trailer will premiere with Star Trek, no surprise since both are Paramount productions.

Thanks to KevKev and Cody for the information.

Update: Added the name of the newspaper and the date KevKev found the article. I tried to find it on their website but apparently a lot of what they print isn't mirrored on newspaper's site.

Even More Transformer Related Videos

A slow weekend, no new news (beyond the unending Soundwave pictures), so it seems a good time for more Transformers videos. Not all is safe for work due to cusswords. The whole lot found by Radames (thanks!). Rude Awakening is the funniest of the lot.

Another Rude Awakening of Optimus Prime


Optimus Prime Cereal Commercial Take 1


Optimus Prime Cereal Commercial Take 2


Prowl vs Soundwave Battle in 3D


Fan Made Transformers 2 Trailer


Dashcam Meteor (real life movie moment)