Transformers 2 #1 Second Weekend in Row

All week long since Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs came out last Wednesday the two movies have been battling it out at the domestic box office trading number one spots pretty much every other day of the week. The weekend ended with an estimated $42.5 tie between the two movies, the last time this occurred was 11 years ago between The Man in the Iron Mask versus Titanic.

Now the final numbers are in an Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen can claim itself as the number 1 movie for the second weekend in a row with a $42.3 million take to Ice Age 3's $41.7 million. The victory could either be credited to the additional 233 theatres TF2 is in or $4.6 million from IMAX sales. Take your pick. This increases TF2 domestic total to $293.4 million. The international take has not been reported and remains at the estimated $55 million for a total of $298 million bringing the worldwide total to $591.4.

With these new totals, ROTF moves up in rank on a few major listings:
- #31 on the All-Time Domestic
- #46 on the All-Time Worldwisde
- #10 on the Best Independence Day weekend

Overall, Revenge took a 61.2% nosedive from last weekend’s near record breaking high so the longevity of this film is still too tough to call as next weekend will provide some usable numbers but the following week Harry Potter 6 lands and all films are going to be shoved to the side in favor of that blockbuster.

Box Office Totals (in millions)

Date	US	Intl	Worldwide
6/19-6/23	$0.0	$24.1	$24.1
6/24-6/28	$200.2	$166.2	$366.4
6/29-7/02	$50.9	$52.7	$103.6
7/03-7/05	$42.3	$55.0*	$97.3
Totals	$293.4	$298.0	$591.4

*estimate of sales

Two Arcee Bikes From ROTF

RetroSBK, the creators of the Arcee bikes used in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, has posted a few images (below) of the bikes. In a seperate post they provide some additional information about the base models of the bikes before they added they worked their magic. (via Seibertron)

I wanted to take a minute to end the speculation about what really makes up Arcee…

No buell… never was. Quite frankly, I never thought of Arcee as overweight and under powered! Svlete and sexy or muscular and ready to rock, but not loud and slow!

The Pink bike is a Ducati 848, The Blue is a Suzki B-king. The purple is another bike, but she gets.. well see the movie, and you know what happens…

Escalating Visual Effects for Transformers 2

A new article from VFX World talks about how Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen raised the bar in visual effects for movies. The challenge for Industrial Light & Magic was creating the more complicated effects of 46 robots rather than the first movie's 16 while making them bigger, more complicated and at the scale IMAX requires all in the about the same amount of time it took to do the first film. Below are the highlights from the three page article that is worth the read as its amazing the details that have to be considered when creating a CGI sequence. Thanks to a site fan for the link.

- 46 robots in sequel, 14 robots in first
- ILM had about same amount of time to do the increased demands of the second movie as did for the first.
- Takes around 12 weeks to build the model and then another 12-15 weeks to do the rigging and painting for each robot in the computer.
- ILM created 60 builds for ROTF, Digital Domain also designed a few including Alice.
- Disc storage went from 20TB for first film to 150TB.
- Crew size maxxed out to 350 to reach deadline.
- Devastator, if in the real world, would be 150 feet high and Jetfire would be 50 feet tall.
- "both Michael Bay and Scott Farrar wanted to introduce the fact that these characters are alive. Drooling and spitting and bleeding and breathing. Rather than mechanical beasts standing around."
- "[Jetfire] has a sneer at one point, so we had to redesign the face and the eye area so he could wince," Farrar explains.
- "We utilized a lot of martial arts influences and spent about two months doing previs for forest fight sequence and did a full three-minute animatic (in Maya) before the plates were shot for that sequence. "
- "It took 72 hours per frame to render Devastator. We tried a little bit of everything for the forest fight. It's still an action sequence but the hard part was shooting thematically. We know the IMAX people tell you to slow the camera down and lock it off. Well, that's not how Michael shoots. We have pause moments, where you see the characters slow down, but then we have high speed and go back and forth that way."
- "People in computer graphics don't want to reduce motion blur, but the problem with the robots is that they have so many little pieces that they become artifacts with so many sharp things moving through the frame. I found it's better to reduce motion blur in certain moments, like when Bumblebee comes close or Starscream has moments in the forest fight and Optimus and Megatron, where we reduce motion blur to half, a third and an eighth."
- ...the breaking apart of a pyramid top was eight times bigger than the previous ILM rigid simulation record. It only required four or five shots but that took seven months just to create the simulation of the blocks tumbling and being torn apart by Devastator.

Alternity Megatron and Prime Video Review

In an attempt to cover more about Transformers then just the movie here are two more reviews from Peaugh for two Alternity line toys. This line is essentially replaces the Binal-Tech (Alternators in US) from a few years ago. However, like Binal-Tech (but not Alternators) these have some die-cast parts that makes for a heavy toy despite its Deluxe class size, they also seem to cost around $50 and up from toy sites that I used in the past like BigBadToyStore.com, TFSource.com, and Digital Toys.

The first review is for the upcoming release of Alternity Megatron and the second is for Optimus Prime. I have the Optimus Prime toy and while expensive found it to very cool and looking forward to getting Megatron.

Transformers 2 "Most Movie Mistakes of 2009"

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was recently crowned the top movie of the year worldwide and in the US but it also has a more notorious "award" according to MovieMistakes.com. Currently it is considered the most error prone movie of the year with more than 40 mistakes. Some of them seem to be nitpicks but the second closest movie is Angels & Demons with 19 mistakes so even if half of them removed Transformers 2 will retain the title of most movie mistakes (so far) for 2009. To read the full list, click here (via Seibertron)

The Doctor and Superion Video Review

Peaugh has posted two more video reviews of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen toys. The first one is Scout class Scalpel, aka The Doctor that turns from microscope to spider-thing. The other is Superion which is the Transformers: Energon toy with a new paint job and packaging. There is a reason the classic combiners remain a favorite for many as Hasbro has not quite figured out how to re-crack that nut as their combiner attempts have been weak.

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If your curious about the Superion upgrade kit that Peaugh is referring to, click here for concept pictures.

Transformers ROTF Officially Top Movie of Year

Wth the Sunday estimates indicating a horse race for weekend box office king with Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, the estimates are enough to officially crown the movie "Number One Movie in the World" 2009 due to its domestic and worldwide totals, as the official website is happy to brag about (thanks NHLfan).

However, the Sunday night "we are number 1" from the studios will have to wait as the estimates continue to indicate a too close to call race for US weekend box office king with both three-day totals at an estimated $42.5 million. Currently Ice Age is estimated to take in $14.3 million to Transformers 2 $14 million, causing the tie. For the five-day opening (Wednesday to Sunday), Ice Age will probably claim the win with an estimated $67.5M to TF2's $64.9M and with international total of $148M has a five day worldwide total of $215 million, the most for a cartoon so plenty to crow about for the studio.

Internationally for Transformers 2 took it an estimated $55 million. The net result is Transformers 2 will probably cross the $600 million threshold tomorrow with a US total of around $292.8M, overseas total of 298.0M, for a worldwide total of $590.8 million. Hopefully the actuals tomorrow will solidify these numbers.

Box Office Totals (in millions)

Date	US	Intl	Worldwide
6/19-6/23	$0.0	$24.1	$24.1
6/24	$62.2	$60.0	$120.7
6/25	$29.1	$20.0	$48.6
6/26	$36.7
6/27	$40.2
6/28	$32.0	$86.2**
6/29	$14.8	$14.1	$28.9
6/30	$13.5	$16.8	$30.3
7/01	$11.0	$14.2	$25.2
7/02	$11.5*	$7.6*	$25.5
7/03	$17.8*
7/04	$10.0*
7/05	$14.0*	$55.0*,**
Totals	$292.8	$298.0	$590.8

*estimate of sales, **no day to day breakdown available

Transformers 2 vs Ice Age 3 Race Continues

The weekend estimates are in (yep they do that even with another full day to go) and it appears to be a pretty good weekend for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen but is expected to take an estimated 60% drop compared to last weekend. It could just be a blip because of the holiday weekend but not something Paramount wants to see occur every weekend. The drop is in part because its first weekend numbers were simply unsustainable, partly due to new competition in the form of Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs and Public Enemies (which did fine but non-started compared to TF2's numbers) and probably because word of mouth wasn't as strong as hoped.

Transformers 2 was already the top grossing movie worldwide but as of Friday July 3rd, it passed Up as the top grossing movie of the year in the US by taking in an estimated domestic gross $17.8 million for a US total of $268.7 million compared to Up's domestic gross of $261.0 million. Up's total took 36 days to achieve, Transformers 2 took only 10 days.

In addition it just eeked out a win for Friday versus Ice Age 3 with $17.8M to $17.0M. So far Transformers has been number one two out of the first three days of Ice Age's release.

As for Saturday and Sunday, both are expected to make an estimated $43 million for the three day weekend but exactly which will be crowned #1 at the box office is too close to call. Saturday numbers put Ice Age 3 back on top with an estimated take of $11.0 million to $10.0 million (for a 2-2 tie). As for Sunday, Transformers 2 is estimated at $15.2M to Ice Age's 3 $15.0 million but the day has barely started so consider those numbers just placeholders until more solid numbers come in by the late afternoon. I was unable to find any numbers for the international box office so that remains blank on the chart below.

Box Office Totals (in millions)

Date	US	Intl	Worldwide
6/19-6/23	$0.0	$24.1	$24.1
6/24	$62.2	$60.0	$120.7
6/25	$29.1	$20.0	$48.6
6/26	$36.7
6/27	$40.2
6/28	$32.0	$86.2**
6/29	$14.8	$14.1	$28.9
6/30	$13.5	$16.8	$30.3
7/01	$11.0	$14.2	$25.2
7/02	$11.5*	$14.0*	$25.5
7/03	$17.8*		$17.8
7/04	$10.0*		$10.0
7/05	$15.2*		$15.2
Totals	$293.9	$249.4	$543.3

*estimate of sales, **no day to day breakdown available

Transformers 2 Blu-ray/DVD Release on October 24th?

Blu-ray.com has a listing for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen that seems to indicate an October 24th release date for the Blu-ray and DVD disc release of the movie. This has not been officially confirmed by Paramount but the first movie was released on October 16th, 2007 so there is precedent for the quick turnaround. Thanks to Mauricio for the link.

Optimus Prime on Letterman?

I was watching the Boston 4th of July celebration and there was a commercial for the Late Show with David Letterman saying that Optimus Prime will be reading off the Top 10 list Monday night. I am not sure if they mean some CGI thing with Prime (and probably using the first or second movies scenes) or if Peter Cullen is stopping by and reading the list in Prime's voice. I guess we will have to watch Monday night find out.

Transformers Nintendo DS Lite Case

Turns out there is a Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Bumblebee Nintendo DS Lite Armor case with stylus as found on Engadget (which has a contest for it) and thought it was goofy enough to post about. There is also a Megatron version. The cases look kind of cool but isn't the whole point of the Nintendo DS its portability and doesn't a rather large case with huge stylus defeat that purpose?

Bay vs Fox? No

For some reason a Wall Street Article from two weeks ago is gaining traction on various gossip sites about a supposed feud between Megan Fox and Michael Bay.

All that occured is Megan Fox told Entertainment Weekly:

I mean, I can't s--- on this movie because it did give me a career and open all these doors for me. But I don't want to blow smoke up people's a--. People are well aware that this is not a movie about acting."

Here is Bay's response (and my comments at the time):

It’s interesting that you want to focus on acting. Megan Fox, one of the leads in “Transformers” has criticized your films for being special-effects-driven and not offering so many acting opportunities. Do you agree?
Well, that’s Megan Fox for you. She says some very ridiculous things because she’s 23 years old and she still has a lot of growing to do. You roll your eyes when you see statements like that and think, “Okay Megan, you can do whatever you want. I got it.” But I 100% disagree with her. Nick Cage wasn’t a big actor when I cast him, nor was Ben Affleck before I put him in “Armageddon.” Shia LaBeouf wasn’t a big movie star before he did “Transformers”—and then he exploded. Not to mention Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, from “Bad Boys.” Nobody in the world knew about Megan Fox until I found her and put her in “Transformers.” I like to think that I’ve had some luck in building actors’ careers with my films.
(Bay didn't actually counter Fox's comments. He has an eye for talent and definitly builds careers but his movies are not studies in acting. - TFLive)

That is the extent of the feud. What do you expect Bay to say "Yeah she is right, my films require no acting skill whatsoever." Closer to the truth but part of his job is to sell himself and his films and that wouldn't help.

Box Office: Transformers 2 Tops Ice Age on Thursday

It appears this weekend is going to be a horse race between Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen if Thursday's box office is any indication. Transformers 2 took in another estimated $11.5 million to Ice Ages $11.1 bringing the movies' US gross $250.9M. Overseas the numbers are not but I estimate another $14 million. If that proves true, then Revenge will just cross over the $500 million threshold. No idea when final numbers will be released.

Box Office Totals (in millions)

Date	US	Intl	Worldwide
6/19-6/23	$0.0	$24.1	$24.1
6/24	$62.2	$60.0	$120.7
6/25	$29.1	$20.0	$48.6
6/26	$36.7
6/27	$40.2
6/28	$32.0	$86.2**
6/29	$14.8	$14.1	$28.9
6/30	$13.5	$16.8	$30.3
7/01	$11.0	$14.2	$25.2
7/02	$11.5*	$14.0*	$25.5
Totals	$250.9	$249.4	$500.3

*estimate of sales, **no day to day breakdown available

Supreme Devastator Video Review

Below is three part video review of Supreme class Devastator from the Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen toy line done by frenzyrumble.com. This is the $100 version that goes from 6 construction vehicles to combined mode with no individual robot mode. Overall the combined mode looks good and the individual vehicles are fine but it just isn't doing it for me. Thanks to Yoboy for the links.

Transformers: ROTF Top Grossing Movie Worldwide

As of Wednesday, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen surpassed Angels & Demons as the top grossing movie of 2009 worldwide with a total worldwide total of $474.8 million to Angels $461.6 million. It still remains behind Up ($256.5M) and Star Trek ($256.5M) for the top rank domestically with a total of $239.4 million. Wednesday also marked the first time since its release that Transformers 2 was not ranked number 1. It took in a US box office of $11 million to Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs' first day gross of $13.8 million. This is an 82% drop in sales from last Wednesday but then anything close to that first day total of $62 million is unrealistic expectation.

International sales added an additional $14.2 million to the coffers. In general, it seems for a movie to reach monster status, it has to be equally popular internationally as it is in the states and in this case the breakdown stands at 50.4% of the total worldwide gross comes from the states and 49.6% everywhere else. That basically means for every dollar spent in the states, a dollar is being spent elsewhere. The net result is a doubling of expected profits since overseas sales is never a given but necessary if a film is to reach the $500M or more club that studios love to achieve. July the 4th is expected to cause the box office to take a hit but clearly overseas sales will mitigate the loss of momentum.

Box Office Totals (in millions)

Date	US	Intl	Worldwide
6/19-6/23	$0.0	$24.1	$24.1
6/24	$62.2	$60.0	$120.7
6/25	$29.1	$20.0	$48.6
6/26	$36.7
6/27	$40.2
6/28	$32.0	$86.2**
6/29	$14.8	$14.1	$28.9
6/30	$13.5	$16.8	$30.3
7/01	$11.0	$14.2	$25.2
Totals	$239.4	$235.4	$474.8

*estimate of sales, **no day to day breakdown available

Atlus Airmen in Transformers 2

Air Education and Training Command website writes about several airmen based at Altus Air Force Base in Oklahoma, USA that provided consulting services and flew aircraft for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Below is a portion of the article but the entire thing plus more pictures can be found here. Link found by Voiceroy.

Capt. Judd Baker, 58th Airlift Squadron, was one of the C-17 Globemaster III aircraft commanders during filming at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., and Holloman Air Force Base, N.M. Captain Baker said, a mission that started as ordinary quickly grew into something much greater.

Aircraft and Airmen from the 97th Air Mobility Wing appear prominently in the combat scenes of the film. Even when the aircraft and the aircrews are not on screen, the experience and expertise of Altus Airmen guided the action. Every time they would have something going on with the C-17s, it was, 'Would this be real? Would this be how you would do it? Is this how you say that or was this what you call that?,'" Captain Baker said. "And whatever we said, it was, 'Yep, change that in the script. That's what we'll say.'"

Staff Sgt. Christopher Worthy, 58th AS loadmaster, said the experience of being on a Hollywood set was far different from his usual duty day. "It's something I never thought I would get to do," he said. "Here, we fly the line, train the guys so they can go out and do the real world missions -- it's a unique experience to get the call and go do something other than train."

Perhaps the most excited viewers were the children who saw their dads on the big screen with some very big counterparts. When asked about his children's reaction, Captain Baker smiled. "They said, 'Hey, daddy was in a movie and got to meet Optimus Prime,'... I think that's fun," he said.

Peter Cullen, Stan Bush Interview

Below are two links from The Electric Playground of interviews with Peter Cullen (voice of Optimus Prime) and Stan Bush (singer, song writer of The Touch) that was record during Botcon 09 a few weeks ago. Cullen discusses the origin of his Prime voice and working on the cartoon series while Bush talks about the origin of his song and the impact it had when it was used in Transformers: The Movie. Thinks found by benzo.

Top 10 Burning Questions from Transformers 2 (Updated)

This post pretty much assumes you have seen the movie, so spoilers within.

If you’re a fan of science fiction and comics, part of the fun is coming up with explanations (sometime elaborate ones) to explain inconsistencies in continuity. As my review of the movie indicated, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen has story holes large enough for Optimus Prime to drive through. From Yahoo! Movies here are top ten questions (really more then that) about Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, many of which will probably be beyond the ability to retcon. Thanks to aunit2011 for the link.

1. In "Transformers," there was this giant battle in the middle of downtown Los Angeles -- excuse me, Mission City -- that was witnessed by thousands of people at the very least. But somehow the government was able to cover up the whole thing, and now the existence of alien robots is just an internet rumor? How did they do it? Pay off everyone who was there and quickly fix millions of dollars in damage? Also, didn't Keller (Jon Voight) go on TV and tell everyone we were being attacked by "a technological civilization far superior to our own"? How did they spin that?
If remember, the novel said Mendelson Robotics is blamed as part of a failed test of new weaponary. Also at the end of the first movie Keller even indicated it was explained as a failed training exercise.

2. There are two pieces of the Allspark cube left: the military has one under lock and key, and Sam discovers another. The Decepticons steal one and bring Megatron back to life. But when Sam (Shia LaBeouf) wants to bring back Optimus, he has to find the Matrix of Leadership on the other side of the globe. Why not use the other piece? Mikaela (Megan Fox) has it in her backpack the whole time. It brought his kitchen appliances to life, why can't it do the same for Optimus?
Mikaela's shard was used on Jetfire

3. Speaking of Megatron's rebirth, when the Decepticons venture deep into the ocean to revive him, the Navy crew tracking them reads five contacts. When they get down there, they tear apart one of the robots for parts to rebuild Megatron. Then as they rise to the surface, the same Navy guys say they spot six contacts. The little "Doctor" robot popped out down there, but he's about a third of the size of a person. Would he have shown up on sonar?

4. That reminds me: even if I were to forgive the Doctor's German accent -- and director Michael Bay is asking me to forgive a lot of ridiculous accents -- why would a robot need glasses? He has little lenses that flip in front of his mechanical eyes. Couldn't he just get his eyes adjusted? You'd think with all the laser guns, someone could perform a Lasik procedure.

5. Apparently, Transformers can look like people now. How? And how is it that even though the robo-girl (Isabel Lucas) is made of metal, she can still straddle Sam without crushing him. And if Bumblebee knows something's wrong with her, why does he spit antifreeze at her instead of telling Sam? Yes, his voicebox is broken, but wasn't it fixed at the end of the last movie?

6. The Fallen is the last of the Primes, since they all sacrificed themselves to stop him from destroying the sun. But then he says that Optimus is a descendant of the Primes. First, Transformers have kids? And second, how could he descend from them if they were all dead? And if the Fallen could only be destroyed by a Prime, why didn't the originals just gang up on him back in the day? And what makes Optimus so special, anyway? Megatron beat him earlier, but all it takes is a few spare parts from creaky old Jetfire for him to take out the Fallen?

7. Sam, Mikaela, and Simmons (John Turturro) go to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C. to find Jetfire. Then they walk out the back onto a wide open field with old planes and mountains in the distance. When did the National Mall start to look so much like to Tucson, AZ (where they really filmed that scene)?

8. The geography is just as bad when they go to Egypt. The stone city of Petra in Jordan is over 250 miles away, over mountainous terrain, with few paved roads and the Israeli border between them, so how can they drive from one to the other in a couple of hours. And the Pyramids are said to be shooting distance from the Mediterranean, but they are actually well over 80 miles inland. Even if the Navy ship had a secret rail gun, and even if the captain would take an order to fire from a former agent of a government branch that no longer exists (over a walkie-talkie that inexplicably starts working again), how could it hit a moving target from that distance?

9. Sam briefly dies and goes to Robot Heaven. Robot Heaven?!?!

10. Where does Sam's bandage come from? What about his extra sock? Why does Sam's roommate not contribute anything at all? What was the Fallen doing for those thousands of years Megatron was frozen in ice? How does one satellite receive transmissions from everywhere on the planet? Why does Wheelie hump Mikaela's leg? Why do we have to see John Turturro's thong? Why are robots who join together to become Devastator also seen fighting the Army at the same time? Why does the government want only our military fighting Decepticons when our weapons seem unable to make so much as a dent on any of them? Why did the ancient Egyptians build a pyramid around the sun-destroying machines instead of just breaking it? Why is the Matrix of Leadership bigger in the Fallen's hand than in Sam's? And how do Mikaela's pants stay so clean?

Update: Below are one possible set of answers to the various questions asked above by Bruno. I thought they were good and logical and might help others in clearing up some things.
Question 3:
I believe the Navy is tracking and looking for the energy that ENB's emit.

Question 4:
His lenses are part of the alt mode - the microscope. It's common to see doctors with magnifying lenses when they do surgeries, and the Doctor was about to "extract" Sam's Brain to have the knowledge of his mind.

Question 5:
Part 1 - Apparently, Transformers can look like people now. How?
The pretender is a robot that looks like a human. In the Movie Prequels (HQs), while Sam is in the bedroom with Alice, Leo is in the living room watch tv and sees an advertisement of a new fun park (like disneyworld) and he sees a human sized doll that looks exactly like Alice. So, the pretender scanned the doll and transformed in a human.
Part 2 - And how is it that even though the robo-girl (Isabel Lucas) is made of metal, she can still straddle Sam without crushing him.
Alice, like the other decepticons, wanted what was in Sam's mind. So he must be alive to allow the Doctor to do his job.
Part 3 - And if Bumblebee knows something's wrong with her, why does he spit antifreeze at her instead of telling Sam?
When Bumblebee spits antifreeze at Alice he doesn't know she is a robot. He only do that because Sam is "cheating" Mikaela. During the entire scene, Bumblebee plays musics that focus on the cheating part.

Question 10:
Part 1 - Where does Sam's bandage come from?
When Sam crashes after the space bridge scene, he injures his hand and Mikaela put a bandage on it.
Part 2 - What about his extra sock?
Sam took one of his socks to put the ashes of the matrix inside. He doesn't have a third sock!
Part 3 - Why does Sam's roommate not contribute anything at all?
Leo doesn't do a lot in the movie but what he does is crucial to the storyline. Thanks to him, Sam and Mikaela meet former-Agent Simmons, aka RoboWarrior, and meet Jetfire, an autobot that helps Sam and Optimus Prime.
Part 4 - How does one satellite receive transmissions from everywhere on the planet?
In this question we see how stupid the person who wrote this is. We have a worlwide system of satellites that cover the entire planet. The GPS (Global Positioning System) for example.
Part 5 - Why does Wheelie hump Mikaela's leg?
It's called comedy!
Part 6 - Why do we have to see John Turturro's thong?
In the first movie, he has a shirt with a superman-ish symbol with S7 on it and boxers that match. In this movie, Bay wanted to push a little more on that.
Part 7 - Why are robots who join together to become Devastator also seen fighting the Army at the same time?
It's like the toys. They are diferent characters. So, we could say that there are 2 demolishers (1 dies in the beginning and 1 to form Devastator), 2 Scrappers, 2 Mixmasters ...
Part 8 - Why does the government want only our military fighting Decepticons when our weapons seem unable to make so much as a dent on any of them?
First, the government doesn't want that. It only askes if the Decepticons are in Earth beacause of the Autobots. Second, it's Optimus Prime that doesn't want to share cybertronian technology with humans (he explains that in the movie). Third, the military do have weapons to destroy robots. Think: what killed Devastator???
Part 9 - Why did the ancient Egyptians build a pyramid around the sun-destroying machines instead of just breaking it?
The ancient egyptians lived around 3000 a.C. Do you think they had any techology that could destroy the sun harvester?

Read more...

Box Office: Tuesday's Total $30.3 Million

The massive haul continues for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen as it takes in more in a day then most movies make in an entire first week of release. Tuesdays totals from Box Office Mojo is a US box office of $13.5 million, International is $16.8 million for a total take of $30.3 million. This brings the worldwide gross to $449.6 million. As expected, TF2 will pass Angels and Demons ($461.4M total) today to become the top movie worldwide for 2009.

Box Office Totals (in millions)

Date	US	Intl	Worldwide
6/19-6/23	$0.0	$24.1	$24.1
6/24	$200.1	$60.0	$120.7
6/25	$29.1	$20.0	$48.6
6/26	$36.7
6/27	$40.2
6/28	$32.0	$86.2**
6/29	$14.8	$14.1	$28.9
6/30	$13.5	$16.8	$30.3
Totals	$228.4	$221.2	$449.6

*estimate of sales, **no day to day breakdown available

ILM's IMAX Challenges

A new article from Studio Daily (via Tformers) covers the challenge Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) had in building robots for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. For example, Devastator is comprised of 52,632 parts with 12 million polygons, the biggest model ever created by ILM. For the first movie they were talking about the complexity of Optimus Prime's 10,000 parts. The result of this, other decisions, and IMAX requirements resulted in Transformers 2 maxing out to 83% of ILM's render farms capacity with all of ILM's other projects squeezed into the remaining 17%. From there the article gets very technical and shows the huge amount of effort that ILM poured into the movie to create the awesome effects we enjoyed. A section below, full article here.

“Their visual effects covered some portions of the frame,” Smith says of Dark Knight. “But we were dealing with robots everywhere covering up everything. When we compared the resolution we were scanning and putting onscreen to 35mm film at 2K, we decided 4K looked great. Plus we knew painting clean frames and color grading would be more difficult above 4K. When you hear 2K to 4K it might sound like double, but the render times are six times bigger and the memory requirements are six times bigger in IMAX. Across the board, it turned out to be six times bigger.”

During the height of production, ILM dedicated 80 percent of its total rendering capacity to Transformers 2, one time even hitting 83 percent. “We broke all the ILM records,” Smith says. “Everyone else squeezed into 17 percent.” How much is that? ILM’s render farm has 5700 core processors, the newest of which are dual processor and quad cores (eight cores per blade), with up to 32 GB of memory per blade. In addition, the render farm can access the 2000 core processors in the artists’ workstations, which ups the total core processors to 7700. As for data storage, the studio’s data center currently has 500 TB online. Transformers 2 sucked up 154 TB, more than seven times the 20 TB needed for 2007’s Transformers.

The switch to 4K resolution for the IMAX sequences had an impact beyond rendering. “Everything is bigger with IMAX,” Smith says. “When we were rolling out the IMAX sequences, we had more model resolution and detail, and we had a huge wave of machine upgrades all the way through paint and compositing. We switched to [The Foundry’s] Nuke to make handling the comps easier.”

G4's Transformers 2 Debate

I figure some will find the below video interesting (blog reader pointed it out) since Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen seems ignite a lot of passion as it’s either loved or hated. Below is a little debate talking about the merits of the movie from someone that enjoyed it (Todd Gilchrist from Cinematical.com) and hated it (Devin Faraci from chud.com) with Attack of the Show host Kevin Pereira moderating (who also hated it but mostly stays out of it).

Video Games - E3 2009 - Attack of the Show

Ramon Rodriguez Profile

Hero Complex profiles Ramon Rodriguez who co-starred in Transformers 2 as Leo Ponce de Leon Spitz and in The Taking of Pelham 123. The article suggests that Michael Bay likes Sam's sidekick enough that he could have a larger role in Transformers 3 (but if he did I can't find that information in any of the quoted comments from Bay).

The actor started with a sports-management degree from New York University which led to working for the PR department of the NY Knicks were he won a Nike basketball competition (by biting a pen while the ball spun on the tip), and joined the Nike freestyle team for a tour of Asia and Europe. This led to acting with by guesting for two episodes on Rescue Me, followed by the Wire, then a role in Bella and finally being cast in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

"I've worked with big stars, people like Will Smith, Sean Connery and Bruce Willis, but casting is a weird thing, it takes you places you don’t expect," Bay said. "We went looking for a sidekick in this movie, Shia’s sidekick, and we find this new kid who really pops on screen. I think he’s going to have a real bright career. It’s great to work with big stars, but it’s always fun to discover people."

"He’s got a street edge and a realness to him," said the director, whose past films include "The Rock" and "Bad Boys.” "He’s a New York kid with a street feel to him. He adapted to the actors very well, which isn’t always easy in a big movie, a sequel, where a lot of the cast chemistry has been set already. He’s funny, charming, comes off cool and accessible.”

Box Office: Monday's Take $28.9 Million

Another day, another $28.9 million added to the total for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen from worldwide box office sales on Monday. $14.8 million of the toal is from US sales with the remaining $14.1 million from international sales. Data from Box Office Mojo.

Box Office Totals (in millions)

Date	US	Intl	Worldwide
6/19-6/23	$0.0	$24.1	$24.1
6/24	$200.1	$60.0	$120.7
6/25	$29.1	$20.0	$48.6
6/26	$36.7
6/27	$40.2
6/28	$32.0	$86.2**
6/29	$14.8	$14.1	$28.9
Totals	$214.9	$204.4	$419.3

*estimate of sales, **no day to day breakdown available

Dark Horizon Interviews Transformers 2 Writers

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman continue their online promotion of the movie in an interview with Dark Horizons as they contrast working on Star Trek with Abrams and Transformers with Bay and their writing carrers. Snippet below, full interview here.

Question: How seriously do you take the good with the bad? I mean, Star Trek received over 90 percent rave reviews, while Transformers, not so much. Do you take it seriously? Do you ignore it? Why do you think this is?Orci: We take it seriously, in as much as a real fact of a media blogosphere dialogue. And as its own phenomenon, that’s a fascinating thing to engage in one way or the other. We tend to separate that from what an audience feels. And we tend to go by the audience. You know, you always want to make sure that you don’t overlook a valid opinion that has something constructive to say, merely because it’s negative.
Kurtzman: Nobody can honestly say that they don’t care about reviews. Like, nobody. But we knew the minute we agreed to do Transformers 2 that these were gonna be the reviews, no matter what we came up with. And that’s just a fact of life that you accept going into it.

Question: Let me ask you this. You’re working with two very, very filmmakers, with Abrams and Bay. And I’m just wondering when you’re working on a Bay film, what the different process is in writing a script, for a director who has very different visual sensibilities to somebody like J.J. Abrams?
Kurtzman: I mean, it’s a very different process. They’re very different directors. They look for very different things.
Orci: But part of that difference comes from the fact that they’re different franchises. They require different things.
Kurtzman: Yeah. That’s right.
Orci: You know, it’s not just that we’re writing for Michael Bay. We’re writing for Transformers. And Michael Bay is perfect for Transformers. And J.J. is perfect for Star Trek, because what Star Trek requires is something else. So, we tend to look at it as, the show is the boss. All of our boss. And we’re servicing that more than anything. You know, in terms of differences in the experience. Obviously, Transformers 2 was unique, in that it went down in the middle of the strike. We were writing the movie three months before it was about to be shot, therefore we were handing Michael pages that night. You know, every night, so they could be prepared. Which was different than Star Trek, where we had six leisurely months to go write two drafts.

Question: Right. And Star Trek is very much a character-based film. I mean, you’re dealing with both iconic characters, but also you’re developing relationships in that particular movie. This one, you’re really creating, I guess, a lot of set pieces for Michael to work with. And I’m just wondering, how frustrating is it for you when you do have such limited time? And does that affect the final product, as screenwriters?
Orci: In terms of “frustrating,” we try to think of it as just an interesting challenge. I mean, putting together a movie of this size, coordinating with Michael and production and the military and Hasbro, is a fascinating thing to do. You know, we try to sort of learn and enjoy, and not be paralyzed by the fear of it. On the other hand, it’s not to say – it’s just a different experience, going off to write a script for six months, you know?

Question: What do you do differently as a writer, when you’re doing something like a Transformers 2, that you don’t have to worry about when you’re doing a Star Trek, or any other initial film?
Orci: Well, one is, we’re making more room for the action. Because we know that Michael is going to want to push that, and get every dollar on the screen. You know, you don’t just go to Egypt for a two-minute sequence. If you’re going to be at the Pyramids of Giza and be one of the first people to be allowed to shoot there, you really want to maximize that. And we know that that’s going to be the case with him. So, of course, there’s a different kind of a pacing.

10 Foot Tall Optimus Prime at Smithsonian

From IMAXNews twitter, below are two images related to IMAX showing of Transformers 2. The first is a 10 foot tall Optimus Prime figure for the Smithsonian's IMAX screen. The film shot at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center for its Jetfire scenes. In addition the 18 foot tall Bumblebee prop was set up at the AMC Universal CityWalk IMAX theatre.

The IMAX showings of Transformers Revenge of Fallen has broken a record with largest box office take yet with $14.4 million on 169 screens in the states. An additional $3.2 million came from 60 IMAX screens overseas for a total take of $18.3 million. Hopefully this will translate to a bigger IMAX budget for the third film.

Deluxe Jolt Bio

It’s been over a month since seen anything new about Jolt the GM Volt that barely appeared in Revenge of the Fallen (blink and you would have missed him). From TFW2005, here is an image of Deluxe Jolt's card back that includes his bio.

Deluxe Jolt Bio

Jolt loves to cause trouble, more than one group of Decepticons has watched in confusion as Jolt, all alone, raced around them in circles, taunting them. They're not used to Autobots acting crazy. Little do they know that it really is just an act - part of a plan to lure his enemies in close where he can deliver a crippling blow with his electro-whips.

Worst Reviewed $400 Million Hit?

A new article on Breitbart.com points out that Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen has the likihood of being "the worst-reviewed movie ever to make the $400 million club (domestically)." I assume they mean domestically since the worldwide total is nearly $400 million. Thanks to Mike for the link.

The movie pulled in $201.2 million since opening Wednesday, the second-best result for a movie in its first five days, just behind "The Dark Knight" with $203.8 million. Even after its whopping $60.6 million opening day, "Revenge of the Fallen" was packing theaters, a sign that unlike critics, who mostly hated the movie, audiences felt they were getting their money's worth and were giving the flick good word of mouth.

Critics "forget what the goal of the movie was. The goal of the movie is to entertain and have fun," said Rob Moore, vice chairman of Paramount, which is distributing "Transformers" for DreamWorks. "What the audience tells us is, `We couldn't be more entertained and having more fun.' They kind of roll their eyes at the critics and say, `You have no idea what you're talking about.'"

According to Paramount's exit polls, 91 percent of the audience thought the sequel was as good as or better than the first "Transformers," which received far better reviews.

Not so for the new "Transformers." On Rottentomatoes.com, a Web site that compiles critics' opinions, the sequel had only 38 positive reviews out of 187, a lowly 20 percent rating usually reserved for box-office duds.

Many critics who liked the movie had reservations, praising the movie's visual effects and relentless action but generally advising audiences to check their brains at the door. On Metacritic.com, a site that assigns ratings of zero to 100 based on movie reviews, "Revenge of the Fallen" received a 36, a lowly score barely above those given to recent box-office duds "Year One" and "Land of the Lost."

Of the eight movies that have grossed more than $400 million domestically, four scored 90 percent or higher on Rottentomatoes: "The Dark Knight," "Spider-Man," "E.T. the Extra-terrestrial" and "Star Wars." Two others, "Shrek 2" and "Titanic," topped 80 percent.

The article doesn't mentioned that while the critics on Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a drubbing, the community's average score is 68%. On Metacritic, the users score is 60 out of 100.

Overall, I think its the usual disconnect between critics and the audience and the different set of requirements each have. To me, any critic should answer a simple question when writing a movie review - "Is the movie entertaining?". When they fail to consider that question as part of their judgement, you get the wide disconnect between the audience and the critic that this movie illustrates. Most of the reviews I read focused on how loud the movie was, how weak the story, how insulting the jokes but few actually addressed that critical question - is it entertaining?

Critics tend to judge movies as a form of art looking for themes, acting tour de forces, scenary chewing and so forth. For the general audience, the goal is often a desire to escape from life for a few hours, to be entertained with anything beyond that is a nice bonus. Cutting off your brain and enjoying two hours of loud escapism isn't a bad thing. That is what Transformers 2 is for most, just two and half hours of great entertainment, something most critics failed to judge the movie on and something they should address if they want to truly reflect the audience they are trying to reach.

More Transformers Talk from Writers

SciFi Scanner has posted an interview with Transformers 2 writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci as they talk about writing scripts and fandom. Snippet below, full interview here.

Q: Do you think you would have ended up with a different screenplay were you not writing under the pressure of the strike?
AK: No. We had a fairly long postproduction time. We literally finished writing the movie two weeks ago. We were writing robot dialogue right up to the last minute, until they locked picture and sound and they took the print out of our hands.

Q: Do you write a screenplay differently for a director like Michael Bay than you would for J.J. Abrams?
AK: Absolutely.
BO: It's half that and half you're writing to what the franchise is. We're not writing big because it's Michael Bay; Michael Bay is right for Transformers.
AK: With a director like Michael, who's extremely specific about what he does and does not like to do, our job is to backstop him to a large degree and keep on him about plot and logic and emotion. We very rarely get resistance on that. He has such an innate understanding of what audiences want to see. Where he'll push back is if he thinks logic is somehow overriding the fun for the audience.
BO: You've gotta have a pretty damn good reason to tell him why he's gotta lose one of his awesome sequences.

Q: Are Transformers fans as ravenous as Trekkies?
BO: Transformers fans taught us how to deal with Star Trek fans. And they're both heavy-duty. But Transformers fans taught us how to interact, how to turn the conversation constructive a little bit, and not just have it be, "You suck. Go jump off of a building, please."

Q: So when a fan says the Autobot twins are the Jar Jar Binks of Transformers...
BO: My favorite was someone called them Car Car Binks.
AK: Look, I can tell you that Michael designed those characters to reflect what he thought would be funny for kids. And we go with the ride. Literally.

Q: Did you learn anything from writing Transformers 2 that's been helpful in formulating Trek 2?
AK: They're so different. You're putting on a different hat. And the choices that you make in Transformers with Michael as the director versus Star Trek with J.J. couldn't be more 180 degrees in the opposite direction. So I don't know that for me there's a natural corollary between them.

Transformers 2 First Five Days: $390.4 Worldwide (Updated)

Update: The final numbers are in and the estimates were close enough that Transformers 2 will fall short of defeating The Dark Knight's five day record. The domestic gross total dipped a touch from $201.2M to $200.1M. The five day international gross for the film is actually $166.1 million but once include the previous weekend gross from early opening in UK and Japan the total international take in the first week is $190.3. It seems to me that as a result the five day total is actually inflated by $24.1M as the $390.4 million is actually the worldwide total of the first full week of release for the movie from 6/19-6/28. I forgot next weekend is a holiday in the states (Independence Day), but Ice Age 2 and Public Enemies will be out so I wouldn't be surprised if Ice Age and Transformers 2 post impressive numbers but it will be a close race for number one.

If your interested in a record tally in a way that only box office statistics (like baseball) can provide, click here for a breakdown of the various ways that Transformers 2 broke some records (depending on how you tweak the numbers).

Previous
The weekend isn't over but the number crunchers of box office statistics have released the total for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen worldwide haul as $387.3 million dollars. In the US alone the movie took in $201.2 million just a few million short of The Dark Knights $203.8 million which is the current record holder for most successful five-day and three-day opening. Internationally the movie raked in a five day total of $186.1 million. IMAX's sales for the five days were $14.4 million. All these values are still estimates with final numbers expected tomorrow.

For Sunday's numbers the US estimate is $34.6, an expected drop-off and enough to prevent it from topping Dark Knight. The three day weekend totals for the movie in the US was $112M and internationally it was $106.1M which places the movie as 7th in the weekend record list, just behind Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.

For comparison to this year's other hits, Up just passed Star Trek as the top movie in the US with a gross of $250.2 (31 days in theatres) to Trek's $246.2 (52 days in theatres). I expect Transformers 2 to pass that total by Wednesday at the latest, in only 6-7 days. Worldwide Up's total is $285.5M and Trek's is $369.2M both already blown away by Transformers 2 in just a few days. Worldwide the top movie is Angels & Demons with a $461.0M total ($330.8 from overseas sales) in 45 days in theaters. Transformers will probably pass that total by Thursday.

If compare to the first Transformers, its worldwide total was $708.3 and already in just 5 days the sequel has earned 54.7% of that total. Suffice it to say May, Paramount and company are probably very happy. A third movie is a definite if there was any doubt before. As for next weekend, I expect around a 65% drop simply because those kinds of numbers are unsustainable nowadays.

Box Office Totals (in millions)

Date	US	Intl	Worldwide
6/19-6/23	$0.0	$24.1	$24.1
6/24	$62.0	$60.0	$120.7
6/25	$29.1	$20.0	$48.6
6/26	$36.7
6/27	$40.2
6/28	$32.0	$86.2**
Totals	$200.1	$190.3	$390.4

*estimate of sales, **no day to day breakdown available

Box Office: Saturday's Take is Estimated $40.6M

Update: Small update, the estimate for Saturday was bumped up to $40.6 million.

Deadline Hollywood reports that the early estimate for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen's Saturday box office is $39.5 million which will bump up expectations to a very close $200 million but will fall a touch short of The Dark Knight's $203.8 million 5-day record. To pass the movie the Saturday final number difference plus Sunday's sales would have to surpass $38.3 million which is possible but unlikely. Sadly no international numbers to add to the chart. Thanks again to Scalan15.

Box Office Totals (in millions)

Date	US	Intl	Worldwide
6/24/09	$60.7	$60.0	$120.7
6/25/09	$28.6	$20.0	$48.6
6/26/09	$36.7
6/27/09	$40.6*
Totals	$166.4	$80.0	$246.4

*estimate of sales

SectionTV LaBeouf, Fox Interview

Another stray interview found from the Seoul Premiere of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, here is a video of an interview with Megan Fox and Shia LaBeouf that was rather amusing as Megan confesses a crush on Rain, a pop star in the region (and also in Speed Racer last year). Shia gets a birthday cake that he apparently enjoyed.

The video has been removed for public viewing.

Blog Future, Thanks and Changes

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is now out in theatres but that doesn't mean the blog will go on hiatus. There will be a third film, the only questions is will it be in 2011 or 2012. This blog will be here to continue the mandate to be the source of movie information. The immediate future brings box office results, award season, DVD/Blu-ray releases and more.

I want to give a huge thank you to everyone that made this last year so successful with their pictures, links, reports, and help. This blog's 1100+ posts in the last year have "thanks" credit on most due to the help of so many site fans and readers and that is greatly appreciated.

For those that have been on in early mornings for the last week you probably noticed strange things occasionally happening to the blog (including accidently breaking blog posts so couldn't see anything but the title) in an effort to try and improve the blog. This started as an attempt to do something about the Archive section which got really long especially as the stories piled up and things just went from there. List of changes after the break.

The changes:

Added Recent Posts - Part of solution to archive problem. Lists 10 most recent posts should be easier then checking the archive.

Added Tabbed Navigation Widget - Use tabs to find recent posts, archive and labels (also removed the label count as served no purposed). This removes the archive and tags so only visible when you want to view them yet still see what recent posts have been added to the blog.

Removed the blogger Navbar - Mostly to improve the look of the blog

Added "Read More..." functionality - Make it easier to add more videos, pictures, or long text without it driving other articles way down the screen and hopefully improve load times

Added Email and Social Section - Right column, four icons for different functions
     AddThis icon - bookmark functionality, everyone seemed to have it so figured why not
     RSS feed icon - I had 15 different RSS feed site links that the one link handles just as well, once added proper redirection.
     Twitter icon - Changed it to a single picture for consistent look
     Email icon - Click it so can email me questions, tips, whatever. No guarantees will be able to provide but I try to.

Moved various counters - Various site counters, creative commons license, etc moved out of the way to the very bottom of the website
     Added People Online widget - With the other counters, lets you see how many people are on the blog at the same time you are (not sure how well it works)
     Added TwittBadge - Shows number of Twitter followers I have since Twitter Counter didn't allow me to do it on one continuous line.

Added Related Posts section - Added to each blog post is related topics based on the labels (tags). Currently below the comments box, maybe move above but it seemed in the way when tried it there.

For now, with the 20 or so trailers and TV spots in the left column I don't expect much load time improvement but my plan is to replace those with a playlist in a few more weeks once excitement of the movie has decreased. I hope this works out. Feel free to post what you think in the comments.

Read more...

Above the Line's Bay Interview

Variety's Above the Line blog (found via MB.com) interviews Transformers 2 director Michael Bay about making blockbusters, piracy and working with studios. Snippets below, full interview here.

BFD: How do you spend opening night?
Bay: I always go to Mr. Chow’s for dinner with my producers, studio and marketing execs, my agents and lawyers. We get our first numbers there and then we hit the theaters. You’ve got to go there. And hope you see happy, smiling faces walking out. Last night, I tried to sneak in the side, but somebody noticed me and then they’re lining up for pictures. At the Arclight, somebody yelled “speech!” and I found myself talking to 900 people.

BFD: So you deferred on “Transformers” and the sequel, and the L. A. Times predicts you might make more than any director on a movie. How do you feel about these deals, which are becoming the new economics of Hollywood moviemaking?
Bay: Okay. I run my sets and my pictures tight and we came in $4 million under budget. There is so much waste in this business, directors who have big shows like this one, who keep a second unit for the entire time. We were able to make this for $194 million, instead of the $230-270 million that the average sequel of this nature seems to cost. I work with one of the best crews in the world, we work efficient 12-hour days. We don’t build $3 million sets and then the director walks in and says, “Fuck it, I’m not going to use that set.” The stories I hear from my crew members, of waste on other pictures, of directors shooting a six- or eight-hour day, it’s just staggering. Some directors will look a studio executive in the eye and say, “Sure I’ll come in at this budget,” and then they behave like terrorists. By then, you’re committed and screwed. The thing that “Pearl Harbor” taught me was you’ve got to become a partner with the studio and deferring makes you more invested in that. I think it’s important and I think you need to be honest with your partner.

BFD: Days before the release of your film, Paramount restructured its film group. How did that impact you and what does it mean going forward on the next film?
Bay: It doesn’t affect anything, really. Paramount has literally said, “Here’s your budget, see you later.” It’s staggering, really, but they trust me to come in on budget. I don’t ask for money when I’m shooting and stay on course. I’ve never even given them dailies. I’d assemble real rough cut scenes, sizzle reels, cut to music, so they can enjoy it and get what the movie is.

BFD: Considering your development on this movie was interrupted by the writer’s strike and you risked being shut down any moment by shooting after the expiration of the SAG contract, what was the hardest thing about making “Transformers: The Fallen?”
Bay: That could have been the hardest thing. With an impending strike, we had 12 pages of a treatment. I worked very closely with the writers, great collaborators, who suddenly went on strike. I said, “We’re going to start prepping this movie at full force, scout places I think are going to be in this movie and try and put this together as best we could.” There might be an actor’s strike, but I told the studio we’re going to shoot this on June 2, come hell or high water. We took a gamble that the writers would come back from the strike in time and we just made it. At one point, we were the only movie shooting in the country. But I had to gamble. I have a loyal crew and my job gives 2,000 to 2,500 people jobs. It was scary because so many people were out of work and you hear your crew say, “Wow, I might have to move out of my house.” You feel responsible.

Profile on Isabel Lucas

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen co-star Isabel Lucas is the focus of a NY Daily Post article about the actress as her career seems to taking off. After Transformers 2, she will begin shooting the HBO miniseries, The Pacific from Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks (From the Earth to the Moon, Band of Brothers) that will focus on the Pacific theatre during World War II. Much of the article focuses on relationship between her and Shia (friends) and Megan Fox (sisterly). The full article is here.

Box Office: Friday's Take is $36.7M (Updated)

Update: Variety and Box Office Mojo has posted the Friday numbers and once again the estimate were off by a few million to Transformers 2 advantage with a $36.7 million box office in the US. It doesn't hurt that the movie is playing on 10,000 screens at 4,234 locations. This is the 10th highest Friday gross ever. IMAX showings for accounts $8.9 million of the total. I wasn't able to find the international numbers.

The estimate for Friday's box office results are in, according to Deadline Hollywood with another $35 million added to Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen's domestic total. With this impressive take, the studio has upped its weekend estimate to $105M from $90M. This bump means the movie could get as high as $195M which puts the movie within reach of The Dark Knight's five total record of $203.8M. Final numbers for US and international will hopefully be in later today. Thanks to Scalan15 for the link.

Box Office Totals (in millions)

Date	US	Intl	Worldwide
6/24/09	$60.7	$60.0	$119.6
6/25/09	$28.6	$20.0	$48.6
6/26/09	$36.7
Totals	$126.0	$80.0	$206.0

*estimate of sales

R2-D2 In Transformers 2 and Other Easter Eggs

MTV provides some Easter Eggs thanks to the folks at ILM that can be found by eagle eyed viewers. It turns out that Star Wars' R2-D2 makes an appearance, a Terminator reference and more. In addition, here is a video of Shia talking about cool things in the movie.

The Force Is With Him
"There's an R2-D2 flying around in there somewhere," revealed Scott Farrar, the film's visual-effects supervisor, who also worked on the "Star Wars" episodes "Return of the Jedi" and "The Phantom Menace." "There's a little bit of space junk thrown in there; see if you can find it. It's a scene in the desert." Interestingly enough, George Lucas' charismatic droid also had a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo in "Star Trek," which shares the same writing team as "Transformers." Is it a coincidence? "Perhaps," screenwriter Alex Kurtzman grinned mischievously. "Perhaps not."

Playing Footsy
Look carefully and you'll see some continuity errors involving Megan Fox's footwear. "There's a few scenes — if you look for it — my shoes always change," the actress laughed, revealing an error they discovered after shooting the film that has her character's shoes switching during various takes. "I go from wearing high heels to ballet flats. It's crazy!"

Rapper's Delight
It's no secret that Shia LaBeouf is good friends with Chris "Cage" Palko, a New York rapper the actor hopes to someday portray onscreen. Cage hung out on the "Revenge of the Fallen" set with his actor friend, and LaBeouf even talked the "Hell's Winter" rapper into filming a cameo. Look closely during one of the college scenes that has Shia's Sam Witwicky on the quad, and you'll see Cage's acting debut.

A Hair-Raising Moment
"We made history in this movie, doing an action scene that included the biggest amount of practical explosions ever in a [scene] that included actors," beamed a proud Tyrese, telling fans to watch out for the action scene that had him endangering life, limb — and many follicles. "[The scene has] all four of us in the cast — me, Shia, Megan and Josh [Duhamel] — we're all runnin', and it's [behind us] in big, beautiful slow motion. Still, to this day, I went to four different dermatologists — the hair that grew in the back of my neck has not grown back in because of this explosion. I'm a little concerned."

Hasta la Vista, Bumblebee
"I hope Michael doesn't get mad at me, but there's a T-1000 imprint on one of the Decepticons," revealed Farrar, risking the wrath of director Michael Bay while explaining a wink to the "Terminator" franchise — and one of the main summer '09 competitors to Bay's blockbuster. "[You can see] the letters T-1000 [on a robot]. We do it because we like to give a nod to the competition. It's OK; we're all friends."

That Sneaky 'Butt Cam'
Bay has spoken previously about Megan Fox's sexiness in her first "Revenge" scene, but according to the beauty, she didn't even know that the sneaky director was using a camera to shoot her from behind. "I'm bent over the bike, airbrushing the bike, and I'm wearing these really short shorts," Fox said of the scene. "I thought I was performing the scene with the camera on my face! I was playing to a camera [in front of me], but he had a multiple camera going that was on a dolly — sliding in and out from behind me. My dialogue isn't even on camera!" Grinning, she said she forgave her director's sneakiness: "I don't find it sexy. He's trying to get people in the theater. I guess he thinks it's sexy."

Megan Fox on Letterman

Megan Fox turned up on the Late Show with David Letterman on June 25th. She looked stunning as usual. The interview itself actually little to with Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen as they talked about Megan when she was a kid, early career, and not being ready for marriage. Of note is the explanation of why the scene used in all the TV interviews (Sam and Mikaela jumping off a building in the desert) has the stunt doubles being engulfed by the explosion (gas bomb went off early).

WSJ's "Master of Machines"

Found via MB.com, here is an interview with Transformers 2 director Michael Bay with the Wall Street Journal as he talks about some of the decisions he made while filming the movie and "corrects" Megan Fox on her perception that he don't do a Bay film for acting reasons.

This film features even more talking robots—based on the Hasbro toy line—than the first “Transformers.” Why add in more robots rather than humans?
Mr. Bay: That’s what fans wanted. The first film was really about us setting up the situation, and this movie is about us discovering what we could do better with that situation, how to make this most out of these special effects and these characters.

Did Hasbro force you to conform the aesthetics of the robots to match the style of its toy line? Did you have to make any compromises on characters for the sake of promoting Hasbro’s stable of pre-existing Transformers characters?
Not at all. I told [Hasbro] that I was going to do my own thing, and they really let me go off on the designs. They gave me carte blanche—it was pretty phenomenal. But I still listened to people who were in that world when they asked things like, ‘Can we make Optimus’s ears a little longer so he appears more in character?’ That’s easy to do. And a lot of the artists and people that we hired were fans of Transformers growing up, so having so many fans working on my crew really kept me on point. There are things that I invented—the creaky geriatric robot that is always grumpy, for example, or the little wheelie guy, he’s not in the Hasbro lore. But kids love that stuff—this little guy as a pet on a chain. They gravitate towards it.

Did you add testicles to the robots, too?
No, those are construction balls.

Uh-huh. So, now that you’ve finished the sequel of “Transformers,” are you ready to direct the third installment of the franchise?
I just want to take some time off. It’s been almost three years that I’ve devoted myself entirely to this world of robots. At some point, enough is enough—and I literally carried this movie on my back. I only finished it in the last week. It was a tough movie for me to finish—especially with the writers’ strike, the possible SAG strike. At one point, we were the only union movie in America shooting—Hollywood was so messed up from those two events.

So you don’t want to do another sequel?
I don’t know who [would] want to take on my shoes with this franchise. We might just take a year down.

What’s next for you, then?
I’ve been talking to some big actors right now about something that is totally different. A small dark comedy, a true story, with actors just acting, no effects. I’m done with effects movies for now. When you do a movie like “Transformers,” it can feel like you’re doing three movies at once—which is tiring.

It’s interesting that you want to focus on acting. Megan Fox, one of the leads in “Transformers” has criticized your films for being special-effects-driven and not offering so many acting opportunities. Do you agree?
Well, that’s Megan Fox for you. She says some very ridiculous things because she’s 23 years old and she still has a lot of growing to do. You roll your eyes when you see statements like that and think, “Okay Megan, you can do whatever you want. I got it.” But I 100% disagree with her. Nick Cage wasn’t a big actor when I cast him, nor was Ben Affleck before I put him in “Armageddon.” Shia LaBeouf wasn’t a big movie star before he did “Transformers”—and then he exploded. Not to mention Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, from “Bad Boys.” Nobody in the world knew about Megan Fox until I found her and put her in “Transformers.” I like to think that I’ve had some luck in building actors’ careers with my films.
(Bay didn't actually counter Fox's comments. He has an eye for talent and definitly builds careers but his movies are not studies in acting. - TFLive)

With all the recent emphasis on 3D and technology in movies, do you think we’ll see some directors emerge out of the special effects houses?
Mr. Bay: People have come before from the special effects houses and have not done well. People can come from anywhere—but its really about telling stories. Either you’re born to do this or you’re not.

Speaking of effects, What about 3-D? Are you a fan? Will we watch the third “Transformers” movie in three dimensions?
I prefer the flat screen. I’m not jumping to do 3-D at all—it’s a pain in the neck to shoot it and I actually like the flat image. I’ve heard that some people can’t even see 3-D and, moreover, that a major side effect of watching it is feeling exhausted. Can you imagine how you’d feel watching one of my movies in 3-D?

You really shot all those scenes [in ‘Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”] at the real pyramids?
One of the things that I pride myself on is that in situations where people say, “You can’t do that,” somehow I am always able to pull it off. I did it with “Pearl Harbor” and I did it with “Armageddon,” with the space shuttle, and luckily [Secretary General of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities] Dr. Zahi Hawass, who runs the pyramids, was a fan of the first “Transformers”—so he let us film there, even though we’re the first film to do so in 30 years.

Those pyramids get pretty beat up in the film. Did they crumble during the filming?
The destruction is all effects. We were very, very careful. We didn’t break anything!

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Shia LaBeouf on Today Show and Regis & Kelly

On June 25th, Shia LaBeouf popped up on NBC's The Today Show (a morning show) and later Regis & Kelly to promote Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. He talks about filming with Bay, nonexistent machines, Fox and more both personal and professional. There is also a cute segment on Today Show with a star-struck fan with a game Shia. Thanks to Hanna for the link.

Turturro, LaBeouf, Fox Talk Transformers

In a new article on Examiner.com, John Turturro, Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox talk about Transformers, "trickiness of fame" and more while at the London premiere of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Snippets below, full interview here. Thanks to Hanna for the link.

John, did you actually climb one of the pyramids in Egypt?
Turturro: Yes, that’s why they hired me after the professional stuntmen. I kept climbing and I went a little too high one day, and I heard all this screaming in Arabic. I thought they were worried about me, but they were worried I was going too high and I was going to injure the pyramid. It was interesting.

Shia, your hand injury was written into the "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" script. How did you deal with that injury while filming the movie?
LaBeouf: When you break your hand, it’s hard to button your pants, but you’ve got to do it. You just buck up and get through it. There’s only so much you can fake. We had three cameras going at once. It takes a long time to rig some of these stunts. You’ve got to do it. I also had fantastic stuntmen. Vladmir [Tevlovski] took the brunt of the abuse.

Shia, Megan and John what was it like working with Michael Bay again?
Turturro: [He says jokingly] Dreadful.

LaBeouf: It’s not dreadful at all. Me and [Michael Bay] have a big brother/little brother type of thing. We get into it sometimes, and John [Turturro] becomes the liaison between us. He [Michael Bay] is like a football coach. He just doesn’t coddle you. That takes getting used to. Actors are used to being coddled. You get that in a sense. There’s a real masculine energy on these movies. I enjoy the hell out of it. It’s like skydiving for five months.

Fox: It’s like constant chaos. The crew named it Bay-os [as in chaos] and there’s also the term Bay-hem, which is an everyday thing working with him. It is exciting. He is rough on his actors on purpose. I think he likes the legend of being a tyrant.
Turturro: I just based my character on Michael. The key to making any movie is that you have to key into the sensibility of the guy [the director] who’s going to be there every day and who’s going to be working on the film after you’re long gone. And it took me a while to understand that when I first started out. But you really do have to look at that person and connect with their sensibility.

I had a lot of fun. He [Michael Bay] lets me try things. He has a lot of energy and he works very hard. You know the shots are going to be interesting, so you just have to be open to moments in working with him. I had a good time the first time, and I had a better time this time.

Shia and Megan, you’ve both become a lot more famous since the first "Transformers" movie. How are you dealing with all the media attention and has your life changed for the better?
LaBeouf: My life’s great! The [on-set] trailer’s going to be bigger this time. I’m very fortunate and blessed. I’m not the most gifted performer in the world. I’m just very lucky with these opportunities and I’m happy to keep working.

Fox: I don’t know if you’re ever prepared for public scrutiny. I don’t know if it’s something you can mentally prepare yourself for, but it is part of the job. Maybe it’s not the most pleasant part, but I get to experience so many other things that are blessings that I shouldn’t be able to experience. So that’s the tradeoff.

Megan, you’re known to be very outspoken in interviews. Is there anything you’ve said that you regret or want to clarify? And do you think you’ll mellow out as you get older?
Fox: That’s possible. It’s something that I struggle with, because I feel like I have the best intentions when I do these sorts of interviews and when I speak the way that I do, and it’s unfortunate when journalists or press choose to knowingly twist the meaning of my words — and that discourages me from being outspoken and being as honest, but I fell like it’s something that I just want to do. I hate reading or watching bullsh*t interviews and watching these created images that people present to you on television that you know are fake and manufactured. I’m trying not to be one of those.

Megan, you’ve said in an interview that you’re afraid of Hollywood because you think you’ll lose your privacy. Do you still feel that way?
Fox: In my head, I don’t know which exact quote you’re referencing. I was probably just talking about the inner workings of Hollywood, like young Hollywood, the Hollywood lifestyle. You sort of fear that, because you so quickly become overexposed.

And once people know too much about your private life, there’s no mystery and there’s no reason to pay to see you in a film. And I think that’s something that’s impossible to avoid in Hollywood currently. And maybe that’s why there are no real film stars anymore like there were in ‘50s. It’s a dying breed of movie star. That’s why there’s the overexposure on the Internet and the media and paparazzi and whatnot.

Shia, Megan and John, if you could transform into anything, what would it be and why?
LaBeouf: This question has been asked for two years now. I’d transform into an answer to that question.

Fox: I agree. There’s no good answer.

Turturro: I’d like to transform into Ann-Margret. That would make me happy.
(Note to future interviewers, don't ask that question to the TF cast, they are sick of it based on videos and the like I have seen.)

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Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Review

More. That is the best one word description of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. It has more Transformers, more explosions, more minutes, more humor, more characters but all this more comes at the expense of a cohesive story and any attempt at character arcs.

The story is simple even though several obstacles are thrown in to make it seem complicated. The Fallen orders Megatron and the Decepticons to find the Matrix so he can blow up the Sun for power and Sam and the Autobots must stop them. The story has holes the size of Optimus Prime so it is best to not dwell on the details. The dialogue is as flat and uninspired as the first movie but Prime gets a few good lines in here and there. Really though this isn’t a movie you watch for story nor characterization.

The Transformers themselves, the real stars of the movie, get plenty of screen time compared to the first movie. Optimus Prime, who came across as capable but no match for Megatron, is redeemed getting several moments to shine that Transformer fans will adore and show new fans why he is the most beloved character of the franchise. However, despite all that extra time on screen there is no real growth or development of these CGI figures. Many come and go without an explanation and most are not even identified by name. As a consequence action scenes can become muddled as it can become difficult to keep up with who is doing what to who. This introduction of new characters also causes first movie favorites such as Ironhide and Ratchet to have only minutes of screen time in favor of new characters especially the Twins Mudflap and Skids.

This brings us to what is really the largest problem with the film, which is its humor. There are jokes with a farting robot, steel testicles, dogs humping and more. The humor, while funny in parts, is just as likely to offend, especially when coming from the Twins. The approach seems to be as if the pair watched only rap videos but the result may just come across as offensive or racist. The characters were clearly designed for kids but the problem is their jokes are often hard PG-13 with words that most parents would probably prefer they not repeat.

Where this movie shines is as pure eye candy. The CGI effects from ILM and Digital Domain is nothing short of astonishing. The Transformers details have been cranked up, their ability to emote much improved and the use of Transformations creative (Optimus’ introduction in the movie is amazing). The various fight sequences are gorgeous to behold in their detail and worth the price of admission all by themselves. There are drawbacks though such as Devastator. While impressive in scope, he is likely to disappoint many once get past the technical achievement in his creation. Megan Fox and Isabel Lucas have never looked better regardless of the chaos around them.

Director Michael Bay brings his best to the table of huge explosions and controlled chaos for a visual feast of action. The camera doesn’t shake as much as in the first movie but he goes to the 360 camera pan a bit too often, only once is it use actually inspired (when Sam and Mikaela are hiding), but otherwise it does not really accomplish much except to make it difficult to track the action.

The human characters, they don’t do much, which is fine. Sam is a plot device to move the action forward. Megan exists to be pretty. Tyrese Gibson and Josh Duhamel point the guns at objects and yell a lot. The only ones that make the most of their screen time is Julie White and Kevin Dunn as Sam’s parents who handle the adolescent humor with skill.

If it seems like this is one long list of complaints, it is not. This movie is the perfect popcorn flick with pointless story, likeable characters and an overload of visual fun. Check your brain at the door, sit back, and enjoy a wild and very entertaining ride. There are scenes, usually involving Optimus Prime, that will make you want to cheer out loud and watch the movie all over again. If you looking for two hours and half hours of loud entertaining fun, then Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is the must see movie of the year.

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Box Office: $28.6M Thursday

Update: Final numbers are in and Thursday domestic total is $28.6M and international sales brought in another $20 million. Below total has been updated to reflect the final numbers.

Day two in theatres for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and the domestic box office numbers continue to remain high with the movie taking in an estimated $27 million for Thursday according to Variety. Once you add this to Wednesday's $60.6 million the movie is at $87.6 million. Overseas, the movie is also doing well with a $59 million take in 58 territories for a Wednesday total of $119.6 so the worldwide total sits at $146.6 million.

Paramount probably hopes the movie will break The Dark Knight's five-day gross of $203.8 million, but may have to settle for passing Star Wars Episode III ($172.8M), Spider-Man 3 ($169.4M), or Spider-Man 2 ($152.4M). Thanks to Scalan15 for the heads-up. I was not able to find figures for overseas but there tends to be a lag on them for some reason.

Box Office Totals (in millions)

Date	US	Intl	Worldwide
6/24/09	$60.7	$60.0	$119.6
6/25/09	$28.6	$20.0	$48.6
Totals	$89.3	$80.0	$169.3

*estimate of sales

ROTF Day One Note From Bay

Michael Bay popped up on his forums once again and posted a thank you on the opening day of Tranformers: Revenge of the Fallen ticket sales.

The 400 critics around the globe spoke. Then fans around the world spoke.

Transformers made $60.6 million dollars in the United States for a total of around $100 million from the world on opening day! One of the biggest single days in movie history.

Then never seem to understand that I make movies for people to take a ride and escape.

To all the Transformer Fans - Thank You

Michael

Deluxe Scorponok in Package

I thought we were more or less done with the ROTF toy pictures but apparently not. From TFormers, below are images of the re-release of Scorponok in package sporting his new black and white colors. With the images comes a bio, except I couldn't read most of the words.

Interview with ILM Animator Shawn Kelly

The June 24th the Sarah and Vinnie Secret Show podcast for 97.3 KLLC San Francisco has an interview with ILM Animator Shawn Kelly who worked on Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. He worked on the Star Wars Episodes I to III, the first Transformers film, and more.

In the interview he talks about working on Star Wars (while answering questions diplomatically as to avoid angering ILM founder George Lucas). He discusses how real world research (watching videos, recording themselves, etc) is used give the proper motion and detail to their animation and some of the basics involved in creating a sequence for a movie. Work on Revenge by ILM starting about a year and a half ago, before the film even went before the cameras. Also it turns out that Bay's Digital Domain did the Alice pretender sequences.

The direct link to the interview is here. Thanks to limelitedude for the link.

Behind Scenes of M&Ms ROTF Commercials

It has been a while since revisted the M&M tie with Transformers. It turns out that Michael Bay actually directed the commercial and after the jump are three amusing behind the scenes videos of the shoot.

First use of the "Read More..." option, what do you think?

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Michael Bay Career Retrospective

From IGN is a retrospective on the career of Transformers director Michael Bay from his days as a director of commercials for Budweiser, Nike and Coca-Cola followed by break out effort with Bad Boys that launched his and Will Smith's careers to the next level. This was followed with The Rock that started to nail down the classic Bay-hem style and perfected with Armageddon. Bay did experience some duds with Pearl Harbor and The Island but by then he had branched out into producing with Platinum Dunes and a remake of Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Amityville Horror, Hitcher, Friday the 13th and soon A Nightmare on Elm Street. All this accumulates with his most successful film to date - Transformers that may be surpassed by its sequel. The full article is here. Thanks to Brian for the link.

ROTF Malaysian Premiere

A video of fans before and after seeing Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen for its July 23rd premiere in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It appears a fun time was had by all, beware a few spoilers. Thanks to Kelly for the link.

More Interviews with Transformers 2 Cast

More interviews keep popping up from the main faces of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Below are more from Serieasten.tv and iheartradio.com.

More blue carpet interviews from the Berlin Premiere of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen with Michael Bay, Megan Fox and Shia LaBeouf. They actually answer Transfans type questions, like Bay is not a fan of the animated series, Megan and Shia are. Unable to embed the videos so click the links below to view.

Michael Bay Megan Fox Shia LaBeouf

Five videos from iheartradio.com with Fox as she talks chemistry with Shia and apparently not so good at grocery shopping. Shia talks about Sam evolving; Josh picks Ironhide as his favorite Transformers and Tyrese Gibson about his impression of the final product.

Click here to view, the segments follow one after the other. Thanks to Dave for the link.

Michael Jackson Dead at age 50

In an interruption of normal Transformers news, it is now been confirmed that the "King of Pop", Michael Jackson, died today at the age of 50 in Los Angeles of cardiac arrest. His contribution to music is nearly without equal.

As Transformers was hitting the airwaves in 1984, he released the single Thriller from what is still considered the most popular album of all time with 109 million copies sold worldwide and 10 top 10 singles. He has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, once as a solo artist and a second time as member of The Jackson 5. He has won 13 Grammys, created 13 number one singles more than any other artist, sold 750 million albums worldwide. While many may remember him as tabloid fodder I will remember him for the music he created and I have enjoyed these many years.

Michael Jackson
August 29, 1958 - June 25th, 2009


Michael Jackson's Youtube Channel - Many videos from the artist
Jackson 5 - Playlist of many videos of the group.

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Transformers 2 $60.6 Million Day in U.S. (Updated)

Update: The final numbers are in and it turns out the estimates were off by quite a bit. Transformers 2 officially made $60.6 million in its first full day of release on Wednesday which places its five day estimates as high as $170 million in first five days.

Despite the bad reviews, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen first day in theatres opened to a massive $55 million take for the best Wednesday opening day release for a movie domestically, as least based on early estimates. The total includes the $16 million from the midnight screenings of the film.

This easily surpasses previous record holder Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix ($44.2 million). According to Empire, if that number is any indication, that means that Transformers 2 could surpass Spider-Man 2's $152.4 million 5-day opening.

Bay Defends Transformers Twins

Probably the one universal complaint from critics about the movie is the crude (and some call racist) humor, much of which comes from the Twins Mudflap (Reno Wilson) and Skids (Tom Kenny). I have read some reviews where the humor so offended the writer that they couldn't even attempt to enjoy the movie. From the AP, Michael Bay defends and somewhat dodges the charge of "racist robots". Thanks to Brian for the heads-up.

It's done in fun," he said. "I don't know if it's stereotypes — they are robots, by the way. These are the voice actors. This is kind of the direction they were taking the characters and we went with it." Bay said the twins' parts "were kind of written but not really written, so the voice actors is when we started to really kind of come up with their characters."

Actor Reno Wilson, who is black, voices Mudflap. Tom Kenny, the white actor behind SpongeBob SquarePants, voices Skids. Wilson said Wednesday that he never imagined viewers might consider the twins to be racial caricatures. When he took the role, he was told that the alien robots learned about human culture through the Web and that the twins were "wannabe gangster types."

"It's an alien who uploaded information from the Internet and put together the conglomeration and formed this cadence, way of speaking and body language that was accumulated over X amount of years of information and that's what came out," the 40-year-old actor said. "If he had uploaded country music, he would have come out like that. It's not fair to assume the characters are black, he said. "It could easily be a Transformer that uploaded Kevin Federline data," Wilson said. "They were just like posers to me." Kenny did not respond to an interview request Wednesday.

"I purely did it for kids," the director said. "Young kids love these robots, because it makes it more accessible to them."

Transformers: ROTF The Game Reviews

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen The Game is now available and reviews are popping up online. Checking out Metacritic, it appears the game is scoring pretty good overall with an average score of 70/100 for the XBox360 and 68/100 for the PS3. Below are samples from the above links.

PGNx Media (83/100)

Like the movie it’s based on, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen isn’t trying to radically change the genre or introduce innovative new features. It’s giving you great-looking robots that go off and fight other great-looking robots as you watch the resulting explosions.

Gamespot (75/100)

Though it isn't immediately accessible, Revenge of the Fallen has a good amount of fun and satisfying gameplay. The initial awkwardness of the controls is a bit vexing, and some issues linger no matter how good you get. The single-player missions and multiplayer game modes aren't very diverse, but the various bonus challenges and strategic nuances add some welcome depth. What Revenge of the Fallen does best is make it fun to be a Transformer by giving you a powerful set of abilities and open maps where you can put them to use. It's enjoyable and engaging, and it's probably the best Transformers product you'll see this summer.

1Up (C+, 58/100)

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is an apt representation of what you'd expect from a Transformers movie: a disposable, explosion-laden piece of mindless entertainment featuring robots beating the crap out of each other. And judging from the movie reviews, it actually sounds like this solid, if flawed, action game might turn out to be better than the movie.

IGN (60/100)

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen comes up short in a number of categories, due in large part to its repetition, odd control layout, poor AI and almost total lack of presentation. Running around and just shooting stuff has its merits, though it does get old after a bit. At least the multiplayer offers up a pretty good time for when you tire of the short single-player game.

Also, Target currently has a promo on Transformers products both in store and online that does seem to work with the video games. When you buy any two Transformers products in the entire store you can save 10%, 15% on any three, and 20% on any four. For online, the promotional code to enter (depending on number bein purchased) is TF2STR02, TF2STR03, and TF2STR04. They all expire on July 11th. Thanks to Inuyasha for the info.

New Media Reviews of ROTF

Previously I posted reviews from mainstream media websites, now here are a few reviews from "new media" sources on the internet. First a quick check-in on Rotten Tomatoes shows that critic hatred of this film continues with the T-Meter for critics at 21% (down from 29%), top critics is at 21% (down from 23%), and RT community holds steady at 68%. Of those three numbers, really the only one that matters (unscientifically) is the last as it is audience word of mouth that will drive ticket sales.

IGN (3/5)

...the battle scenes are comprehensible, but the story isn't. If plot isn't important in films of this type -- as its most ardent defenders will inevitably claim -- then why did director Michael Bay and screenwriters Ehren Kruger & Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman spend two and a half hours telling it? Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is more epic, bombastic and overwhelming than the 2007 original, but it's also charmless, dumber and cruder by comparison. Since the characters, human and otherwise, are seldom engaging, the film only works when things go boom.

Mudflap and Skids, the Amos 'n' Andy of the Autobots and two of the most offensive characters in recent cinematic history. What were the filmmakers thinking? The "it's just a movie" defense doesn't fly on this one, folks; whereas George Lucas had wiggle room to defend himself with Jar Jar Binks, there is none here for Bay and company to fall back on. It's just too blatant to be deemed anything but obvious and in poor taste. Mudflap and Skids will pull anyone with a half a brain right out of the movie, and they taint the overall viewing experience and prove to be an embarrassment for all involved.

Dark Horizons

Often bypassing any logic or reason let alone character or depth, this utter mess of an action opus is only sporadically entertaining thanks to all the visual flair that $200 million worth of computer-generated fighting robots can buy, but holds no real value beyond that. The fanbase and target demographic of pre-teens and grown men with nostalgic mindsets will likely enjoy the initial ride, but most will be let down by an overly long and unruly sequel that effectively demonstrates that bigger and louder doesn't always mean better. 'Fallen' indulges Bay's excesses well past the point of reason to deliver the male teenage cinematic equivalent of snorting cocaine off a hooker's ass. This "all money shots, all the time" approach robs the action of any weight or coherency - leaving behind sensory white noise that hopes to browbeat its audience into either submission or boredom.

The CG also proves oddly mixed. On the one hand the Transformers facial expressions have much more range and appearance now, on the other the integration with the real world is noticeably less smooth and more cartoonish than the first one. The first film also really lent a sense of physics and gravity to these creations, here giant robots get tossed about with no real weight or inertia. Jablonsky's score leaves little impression, mostly drowned out by forgettable metal thrash music.

io9.com

Transformers: ROTF has mostly gotten pretty hideous reviews, but that's because people don't understand that this isn't a movie, in the conventional sense. It's an assault on the senses, a barrage of crazy imagery. ROTF is like twenty summer movies, with unrelated storylines, smushed together into one crazy whole. You try in vain to understand how the pieces fit, you stare into the cracks between the narrative strands, until the cracks become chasms and the chasms become an abyss into which you stare until it looks deep into your own soul, and then you go insane.

Mania

Revenge of the Fallen contains enough reprehensible material to send any rational adult into fits of rage, but if you didn't know that going in, you probably fail to meet the definition of "rational adult" anyway. Too much of the film concerns itself with the human cast--still as boring as ever and still far less developed than the machines on the poster. At times, the dialogue literally becomes incoherent, as when Sam is infected with an ancient Transformer language that points the way to some magical hidden Maguffin or another. while Revenge of the Fallen holds the requisite amount of whiz-bang mayhem, it also contains a number of really cool action-based notions… which it doesn't know what to do with. ...hampered by a ADD-laden editing style that doesn't even give us a reliable look at the robots as they morph into their hidden shapes. (The choppiness also makes it difficult to tell good robot from bad unless you're seriously steeped in the mythology.)

More ROTF Talk From Writers

Transformers 2 writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman spoke with TrekMovie.com (but sadly not me) about Revenge of the Fallen. Topics include how they almost didn't write the sequel, how used sequels for inspiration, working with Ehren Krueger (due to writer's strike), Transformers history, and more. As usual some of the article below, rest here.

TrekMovie.com: Speaking about that mythology, the first film felt like it was about a war amongst alien robots playing out on Earth. This time there are links to ancient Egypt and more. Is there an attempt to make this more about us Earthlings, with the mythology tied to our history?
Roberto Orci: Yes. That was always part of the G1 (Transformers Generation 1) idea, that Transformers had crash-landed here in prehistoric time. We didn’t exactly stick to that, but there is a rich history of they’ve been here a long time and they are somehow wrapped up in our ancient history.

Alex Kurtzman: We are trying to stay true to the spirit of a story that delves into the idea of going beneath the surface of both the history of the Transformers and our own race. The thing Optimus Prime is always talking about is how similar our races are, and the idea is that there is a reason for that.

TrekMovie.com: For these movies, there seems to be a big amount of fan interest in what Transformers make it in and which ones don’t. How do you make that cut?
Alex Kurtzman: It is a mix actually. Our side of it is that we end up putting in Transformers that fit into the story. Certainly there some that we wanted in the first that we couldn’t put in, that we ended up getting in the second. The decision is about how we can do it organically. There is also a mandate from both Hasbro and the car companies to put certain robots in. What we say to them is ‘great, if we can find a way to do that in a way that makes sense, then let’s do it.’ And Michael certainly is very specific about the kind of cars he likes to put on screen and how he wants to use them.

TrekMovie.com: You guys are also creating a lot more of your own new Transformers for this one. Is it more fun for you to branch out and create your own characters instead of just using the original characters?
Roberto Orci: Not particularly.

Alex Kurtzman: I think weirdly we always find a way to love who ever we are writing about. Certainly, it was not hard to find ways to love Bumblebee and Optimus Prime. So we feel a lot of ownership over the direction of those characters already. So we don’t make a huge distinction between them and the new ones, but that said, Optimus has a voice that was distinct and pre-established that we did not want to veer away from.

TrekMovie.com: Looking back at the first film, there was a lot of broad humor, like the robot peeing lubricant. I note this time you guys have Rainn Wilson from The Office playing a part. Does this film have a more high-brow kind of humor in it?
Roberto Orci: It is the most sophisticated low-brow humor there is.

TrekMovie: So in the end, what is the biggest difference between the first and second films?
Roberto Orci: Obviously the theme is different. The first one was about stepping into adulthood by getting your first car and how that leads to sexuality and freedom. This one is more about being away from home, with Sam going away to college, while the Transformers are away from their home, and what are the responsibilities as you leave your nest. Cosmetically, this one is bigger. I think it is more tightly plotted, just as a result of getting better at it and understanding the universe better, and it benefits from the lessons of the first movie, both from fan interactions, and our own interactions of seeing what we thought worked and what different.

TV Guide Talks with ROTF Cast

TV Guide has two videos for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. The first video is Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox up selling the movie. The second video is from the Tokyo World Premiere of the movie with parts of the blue carpet walk and press conference. The second video has an amusing story from Shia talking about Bay's humor.

No embed available so click here for the Shia and Megan video and here for the Tokyo video.

Orci, Kurtzman Talk Testicles and Transformers 3

Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci have stepped out of hiding recovering from their Star Trek marketing to start talking about Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. In an interview with io9.com they talk about Devastator's testicles (yep he has them) and possibilities of the third movie. Snippets below, the full article here.

Although they couldn't remember the origins of Devastator's testicles. Orci thought that Bay had demanded "a big pair of testicles." But Kurtzman reminded him that it was actually co-writer Ehren Krueger's idea, when the three of them were holed up for a few months writing the script after the writers' strike. "The testicles are in the script," Kurtzman said. "Well, it's a construction machine, so you of course have wrecking balls. And Michael, immediately, of course, loved it."

It's been widely reported that Orci and Kurtzman are definitely not writing the script for Transformers 3, but actually they sounded pretty open to doing it. "We never say never, but since the movie's not even out, it's impossible for us to go, 'Yes, we're in,'" Kurtzman said.

As for the photo above, I am guessing it is Starscream's head but really have no clue what or where from. Just grabbed it from the article because it was cool looking.

Megan Fox Talks ROTF The Game

The other day Shia LaBeouf gave his sales pitch for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and now Megan Fox gives hers.

No embed available so click here to watch. Thanks to Brian for the link.

Transformers Primer

Below are a few links that cover the history of the Transformers franchise over the last 25 years.

Many Looks of Optimus Prime
With the new movie giving a new generation some Optimus Prime love, click the link for a prime on the many versions of Prime through the various toy lines. Thanks to Brian for the link.

Transformers Origins
Started in 1980 with Takara Toys called Diaclone, expanded in 1982, introduced to Hasbro in 1983, who turned over Transformers universe building chores to comics writer Bob Budiansky and then launched the line 1984. More details at the link.

Transformers Lines Through the Years
A nice simple breakdown of the various Transformers toy lines over the last 25 years so now will now what "G1" or Generation One means, Beast Wars, Armada, Energon, and more.

Random Questions
Covers the basics of the where they are from, why are on earth, and why transform.

Transformers 2 Makes $16 Million

Kind of slow on the news today, just basking in the new movie release but don't worry will be cranking out what I have shortly but for now enjoy this good news from day one of the movie.

The first day of release is not even over and already some early box office numbers are in. From the Hollywood Reporter, the midnight showings (and some 3AM ones), the movie raked in $16 million which is more than most movies make after an entire weekend. The Dark Knight still remains top dog with its $18.5 million midnight take but that stat came from a Friday release date before a holiday so Transformers can claim the record for Wednesday night opening. In addition, the IMAX release of the movie made over $1 million topping Knight's $675,000 opening. Suffice it to say the totals by the end of the weekend should be very interesting.

Revenge is Here, What Did You Think?

I just got back from watching Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen on the IMAX. The crowd I was with was great, cheering as the movie started, at the end of the movie and at the great moments in between for seven total crowd cheers. After there was a large crowd waiting for the 3:15am showtime. Don't remember a time been The movie is pretty much a wall to wall action extravaganza of Transformer action fun. Best part is Optimus Prime finally gets moments to shine. I may write a more formal review once had time to formulate something. I had fun and was thoroughly entertained for 2.5 hours.

Oh and FYI, there are two quick cutscenes at the end of the movie, there is nothing at the end of the credits.

So what did you think? Try to keep it spoiler free and PG-13.

Revenge is Almost Here

Update: Added posters and various links that I removed from the left and right colums so people can still find them if want to.

Just a few more hours and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen starts premiering in the United States and other areas (depending on time zone). To pass the time, here in order of oldest to newest are the trailers and TV spots for the movie. Besides it is another excuse to play with YouTube playlists. For those that see the movie, feel free to answer the poll question to the left.

Links

The Real Effing Deal | Giant Effing Robots | GM's Autobots Rollout

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Playlist


Posters

Transformers Revenge of the Fallen Selling Out

What do the critics know as MichaelBay.com has provided a mini-update the US debut of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen starting in just hours at 12:01am.

Hundreds of tomorrow night’s midnight show times for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (debuting June 24 at 12:01 a.m.) are already sold out across the country. A few facts from Fandango below:

- Sold-out midnight show times (on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning) can be found all across the U.S.A., in cities such as New York, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Albuquerque, Denver, Houston, Nashville, Orlando, Colorado Springs, Tulsa, Fresno and Buford, Georgia (good thing got my tickets weeks ago).
- Exhibitors are continuing to add 3:45 a.m. or 4:00 a.m. show times on Wednesday morning to meet the fan demand (verified my local theatre added show times).
- Currently, the film is selling twice as many tickets on Fandango as the original Transformers sold at the same point in that film’s sales cycle (two days before release date).
- The movie currently represents 87% of today’s ticket sales
- And as we noted yesterday, TF 2 showings at 500+ theaters in China are sold out 1.5 weeks in advanced.

US ROTF Premiere Pictures and Videos

Last night the US premiere of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was held at the Fox Theatre at the Los Angeles Film Festival. Since the stars came out, there are a lot of pictures and videos from the event so below is a link fest for your enjoyment. To wet your appetite, here is the video from Entertainment Tonight with the stars.

Videos
KABC-TV LA - Multiple Transformers 2 premiere related video of their coverage of the event.
On The Red Carpet - Also from KABC, about 15 videos from the red carpet with Shia, Megan, Josh, Tyrese, Linkin Park, Ramon, Julie White (looking good), Kevin Dunn, Jon Voight, Isabel Lucas, Michael Bay and Scott Farrar (FX guru).
Hollywood Scoop - Their report from the event.
MaximoTV ROTF - From YouTube, video from the red carpet as stars showed up.
MaximoTV Megan Fox - Coverage of Megan and Shia running the press gauntlet.
MaximoTV Olivia Munn - Fan of the Munn, about the only reason linking to it.
More YouTube videos - Did a youtube search sorted by newest to find even more.

Pictures
Seibertron.com - Gallery of images that covers the setup for the premiere later that night.
ROTF Premiere Gallery - Tons of pictures at the stars and such that showed up for the premiere.
Shia LaBeouf - The unlikely action star has he walks the premiere carpet.
Megan Fox - The lovely star in white as she makes the red carpet rounds.

Transformers ROTF Trashed By Critics

Probably to the surprise of no one, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is getting trashed by critics judging by the summaries and results over at Rotten Tomatoes. Currently the ratings show a top critics rating of 23% (out of 100), T-Meter critics rating of 29%, and RT community (site users) of 68%. Comparing that to the first Transformers movie which has a top critics rating of 68%, T-Meter of 57%, audience rating of 68% it seems to sequel is suffering.

These results however are not definitive. The only number (besides money) that really matters to Paramount and Bay is the audience number. Word of mouth alone made Star Trek the current US top dog and Hangover a smashing success. This year it seems, as people watch what they spend their money on, they are paying a lot more attention to what friends say about a movie then a critic and judging by the audience score, things are looking good for the movie and this is before the world wide audience gets a chance to weigh in.

Below is a sampling from a few reviews. The consensus seems to be confusing plot, poor dialog, too long, too loud, and too many robots and confusion sequences. I hear that from critics and my mind goes "perfect summer popcorn movie!"

Chicago Tribue (1.5 stars)

Nobody's looking for anything other than relentless, brainless action from this sort of movie, but Bay, whose best junk came early with "Bad Boys" and " The Rock," offers nothing but visual and aural chaos. Your eye instinctively flees to the far corners of the screen for some relief from the computer-generated mayhem.

USA Today

Bigger, louder, longer and more metallic is definitely not better. Where the first movie was a happy surprise, a comedy with engaging characters and spectacular action-filled escapades, the sequel lacks wit, charm, subtlety, restraint, humanity and clever dialogue. It has loads of spectacle but no soul. Though there are more special effects and new ways for machines to turn into 'bots, the story seems as if it's about to end at least three times.

Entertainment Weekly (B)

Revenge of the Fallen has a number of dead spots, but every time the movie hits one, you can sit back in eager, childish anticipation of the next feat of industrial whirligig diversion. Revenge of the Fallen is slovenly, bombastic, overly busy, and — at two hours and 29 minutes — far too long. Each of these creature-gizmos has a marvelous, organic fluidity — they don't just move, they clank and roll. And it was an inspired touch to set the film's most ferocious battle amid the Pyramids, featuring a Decepticon so humungous it just about waddles with power. Revenge of the Fallen may be a massive overdose of popcorn greased with motor oil. But it knows how to feed your inner 10-year-old's appetite for destruction.

Roger Ebert

If you want to save yourself the ticket price, go into the kitchen, cue up a male choir singing the music of hell, and get a kid to start banging pots and pans together. Then close your eyes and use your imagination. The plot is incomprehensible. The dialog of the Autobots, Deceptibots and Otherbots is meaningless word flap. The human actors are in a witless sitcom part of the time, and lot of the rest of their time is spent running in slo-mo away from explosions, although--hello!--you can't outrun an explosion. The battle scenes are bewildering.

Transformers 2 Nearly Broke ILM

The rendering demands for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen were such that some ILM computers didn't not survive according to a new article from SciFi Wire. Sections below, full article here.

Visual-effects supervisor Scott Farrar was in charge of turning Industrial Light & Magic's computers up to 11 to create the new characters and told reporters that the sequel features 40 new characters. That and the increased resolution of the characters for new IMAX footage nearly exhausted ILM's render farms: After one hard night of rendering computer-generated footage, some of the hardware actually exploded. "We did, we lost some machinery that night," Farrar said in a press conference on last week in Beverly Hills, Calif. "Little puffs of smoke, just like in the movie."

The largest sequence in Revenge of the Fallen was also the biggest in ILM history: the climax in which Devastator tears apart one of the great pyramids in Egypt. "We're trying to hit new levels of realism in every single thing we do, whether it's the render of the robot or the physical environment that they're reacting with," Farrar said. "It's just like upping the game on every level, so it was a pretty complicated show."

To give you some sense of just how big Devastator is, Farrar said that Optimus Prime has 10,000 moving parts. The computer algorithms actually manipulate each part to go from truck to standing robot. Well, Devastator is made up of upwards of 80,000 parts. The only thing that saves time is the camera position. The animators only have to transform the parts that are visible on screen.

"Every shot is dressed to camera," Farrar said. "We have a lot of moving parts and a lot of pieces that are all finished up, but every single time that we set up a new camera position, the cameras swirls around to the back, and doggone it, there are some pieces that are unfinished. We have to repaint them and get them so they can be animated. They only move if we need them to move, so it's a logarithmic jump to try and get all those pieces to move, and it's all up to the animators, frankly, to lay down the movement first. We tried to free it up to be creative."

"Everything that we do in our world is all about the light," Farrar said. "It's not just building the robot, but it's about how it commingles with all the light sources. It might be ambient. If they're really deep in the water, how much light do we give them? How much internal lighting should they have? We had a lot of deep-sea underwater research photos that we looked at, and we sort of gleaned from that. How clear do we want to be? How much plankton and spinaci, we called it, floating in front of the camera do we want? All these little tricks to try and make you believe you're really underwater, we have to employ."

Another French Shia, Megan Interview

Below is another interview with Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox as they talk about the Transformers. They talk about being grateful for getting the job, working with the demanding Bay, and course how much bigger the second movie is over the first. Thanks to Adrien for the link.

Five ROTF Interview Videos

Found via TFormers.com and ENewsi.com, below are five interviews with Producer Lorenzo Di Bonaventura, Tyrese Gibson, Ramon Rodriguez, Shia LaBeouf, and Megan. They talk about Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen on a variety of topics all designed to make you excited about seeing the movie (just in case not yet convinced).

Shia LaBeouf


Megan Fox


Tyrese Gibson


Ramon Rodriguez


Lorenzo Di Bonaventura

HBO First Look at ROTF June 25th

A reminder, via MichaelBay.com, that HBO will start airing a 15 minutes "First Look" at Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen starting on June 25th at 9:45pm on HBO2 - East.

Click here to view the full schedule on the many HBO channels with lots of repeat opportunities.

BK Kids Meals Transformers Twins

As mentioned before, the Burger King Transformers 2 promotion has started. So far the only commercial I have seen is a cooking appliance transforming and breaking through a wall. Below is a new one starring the Twins. Thanks to NightShade87 for the link.

More Shia and Megan From France

The other day I posted an interview with Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox on a French TV show. Below is another video from the country with the two Transformers 2 as they promote Revenge of the Fallen, only this time it is in English with French subtitles. Thanks to Hanna for the link.

Transformers ROTF Albums, Video Games Officially Released

Today is the official release date of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Score, Soundtrack and The Game. To help in any potential purchases, here is a few deals I stumbled across. If you find more please add them to the comments.

The Score
Amazon - $9.99
Target - $12.99

Soundtrack
Amazon - $9.99
Best Buy - $9.99
Target - $9.99

The Video Game
Toys R Us - Nintendo DS (both games) are 2 for $40
Sam's Club - "$10 Movie Cash" with purchase. PS3 is $52.99, Wii is $43.88, DS is $26.77, XBox360 is $52.88, PS2 is $26.88

Completed Luxor ROTF Advertisement

Last month I posted about the Luxor being fixed up as a giant billboard for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen but didn't really follow up on that. Thanks to Ben and his wife, they snapped some photos of the final product while in Las Vegas for their wedding (congratulations!). He points out "I did think it was odd that there was no promotion of the movie inside of the hotel itself and that the IMAX was closed. I thought it would have been cool to have the beam shining form the top of The Luxor, shine the Autobot logo in the sky like Bumblebee did in the first film."

A Note from Michael

Transformers 2 director Michael Bay added a new note to his forums about a recent experience on the promotional tour, watching the movie and IMAX and not to worry about critics.

Back from Moscow. Fresh from a visit to the former KGB, with second in command. He told me in his office I'm one of 10 American's, one being a President, to ever be allowed inside what is now called the FSB. The only reason was he heard I was in town and he is a fan of my films.


Last night with my crew I saw the IMAX version. Once you get used to the giant format and your eyes adjust, it's an awesome experience. I have been waiting until the film was final to judge, and I'm really pleased. You have to make a point to see it this way - It could be the very best way to see Transformers.

C'mon guys critics? Give me a break. Do you all have short term memory? They killed the first one, and it still became a world-wide smash. I made this for the you, the audience!

Michael

New Bootleg Transformers 2 Clips

Spoiler Warning! New clips from Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen has hit YouTube. Many of them are teases worthy of a commercial but regardless they do new portions of the movie including the Ice Cream Truck twins (and why they had a Decepticon symbol on their side), Prime's bad-ass introduction (the video below),

Since people are a bit sensitive to spoilers right now so below is my favorite clip of the group and I will link to the rest. That way if you choose to click them, it is all on you. Thanks to Mauricio for the videos.

Ice Cream Twins 1 | Ice Cream Twins 2 | Hello Prime
Run Forest Run | Ironhide Transforms

CGI Demolisher and Chromia

TFG2.com has posted new images of two Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen characters. One for Demolisher (or could be Scavenger) and the other for Chromia (one of the Arcee bikes). This one joins Rampage/Sideways, the Twins, Arcee 3, Megatron, combined Prime/Mixmaster, Scrapper and The Fallen.

Update: Thanks to Robert who pointed out that I forgot the third picture in the gallery. At this point not sure who is what, since this one could be blue or could be purple. Regardless, very odd and ugly.

Full ROTF Soundtrack Available To Sample

On the eve of the release of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Soundtrack (and score and video games), ShockHound.com is making the entire album available for you to listen to. How long it will last I don't know but probably not much after midnight tonight eastern. In addition, they seem to have the best price yet for the track with a price of $6.99 to pre-order the download (but I don't know if this site has copy protection restrictions).

To listen, click here.

Chinese Transfans Share Their Love

In celebration of the release of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen in China, Transfans organized a drive in the streets of Beijing with their cars, each of which is sporting a Bumblebee styled paint job. The make and model didn't matter, just the colors of yellow and black. The event was organized by Autohome.com.cn.

Click here and here for a large gallery of the event and the sea of Bumblebees. Thanks to Kaly and Mauricio for the links.

Burger King Transformers 2 Promotion Begins

Burger King has officially launched its Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen tie in promotion today. As part of the campaign, the chain has a "Transform Your Way" contest for prizes including $1 million, new BBQ Double Stackticon Burger, new advertising spots (apparently directed by Michael Bay), and 8 BK Kids Meals Toys. Click here for the press release with more details. Thanks to Andrew for the link.

In addition, the Kids Club website has updated to show off the new toys (that don't transform), provide link to redeem code that comes with the toys and has a new "Free Mission City" game to pay. Thanks to Paco for the link.

Here are the details on what Burger King has planned for the sponsorship:

· The Transform Your Way Game: The game gives restaurant guests a one-in-two chance of winning one of thousands of prizes, including $1 million, an all new Chevy Camaro 1SS, BURGER KING food items and more. Each game piece offers a prize under one of the two scratch-off areas, making every game piece a possible winner.

· Visit www.bktransformers.com for a chance to win $10,000: Visitors who register and enter their game piece codes on the site can search on a virtual globe for “King Robot,” who disguises himself as a stainless steel BK broiler. Each day, from June 22 to July 19, visitors will have the chance to win at least $10,000.

· The BK BBQ DOUBLE STACKTICON Sandwich: Like the original BK Stacker sandwich, the Transformers-inspired burger allows guests to stack multiple burger patties, bacon, sauce and cheese. It available for a limited time only at the suggested retail price of $2.79. The BK BBQ TRIPLE STACKTICON burger will also be available for a suggested retail price of $3.49, and the BK BBQ QUAD STACKTICON burger will be available for a suggested retail price of $4.29.
· TV Advertising: The spots will feature the “King Robot” who awards unsuspecting customers with cash as part of the “Transform Your Way” game. The kids-focused advertising, directed by the film’s hit director Michael Bay, features a group of kids who are waiting in a BURGER KING restaurant parking lot when they’re approached by AUTOBOTS.
· Kids Meal Toys: Each BK Kids Meal will come with one of eight Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen toys that bring the movie’s characters and vehicles to life. Based on scenes from the movie, toys like the “Change Up Bumblebee” and “Constructin’ Devastation” are available at participating BURGER KING restaurants while supplies last.

Target Ready for Blu-Ray

Talk about prepared; Target already has an entry ready on their website for the Blu-ray release of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and the movie isn't even released yet. Sadly no release date but I would guess late October or November if the first movie is any guide. Thanks to Brian for the link.

Transformers 2 Number 1 in Japan and UK

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is off to an excellent start already making $20 million in the United Kingdom ($14.1M, 517 screens) and Japan ($5.8M, 329 sites), premiering at number 1 in both countries. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the sequel outperformed the first movie's opening weekend by 71% in the UK and 13% in Japan. Considering that Transformers 1 made $389 million in overseas sales (compared to $319.2M in the US), how well the movie does overseas is as important as the domestic sales.

Over at MichaelBay.com, they provide the same numbers but also provide context to last year’s top movie, The Dark Knight. In the UK the movie came within 3% of that movies first weekend total and in Japan it outperformed Knight by 64%. Just two more days!

ROTF Deleted Scenes On DVD?

The movie isn't even out and already plans are in the works for the DVD and Blu-ray release of the movie. According to Collider.com, when asked about how many minutes of deleted scenes, he said "we're figuring that out right now. It could be seven, eight." He was also asked a few questions about shooting for IMAX.

I then asked him if there was any thought of doing even more in IMAX? He said, “Yeah. I regret not shooting Petra in IMAX. The IMAX is very expensive. To make digital effects in IMAX is expensive. It’s a budget concern really.”

I then asked if he would use IMAX on all his future movies. He replied, “I don’t know. If the movie serves it, but I think it’s a neat idea.”

Megan Fox Talks Flower Kid

Apparently there is a picture (left) going around showing Megan Fox ignoring a kid trying to offer her a flower at I don't know what event (but probably Revenge of the Fallen related). Since people believe pictures far more than they should, I guess it’s painted her in a bad light so collider.com asked her about what happened.

Week In Review

Another busy week, so another summary sheet to help you catch anything you might have missed.

TV Spots and Clips
TV Spots #14-16 - The march of spots continue.
TV Spots #17-19, New Clip - Three more spots and clip from BD-Live content.
TV Spot #20 - Its more clip then commercial and spoils the fate of a character.
Wheelie Clip in HD - "Your Worse Nightmare" clip in HD glory.
Kitchen Bots Clip - Click to watch an extended clip that shows kitchen bots going on a rampage at the Witwicky home
Two Transformers I Deleted Scenes - Two scenes deleted from first movie
Transformers Sightings - Part of viral campaign, Transformers sightings around the world
ROTF Theatrical Trailer #3 in HD - The trailer released back in mid-May finally in HD glory.
ROTF Final Scene - Spoiler warning has the very last line of the movie is delivered by Prime.

Premiere Reports and Press Conferences
Berlin Premiere Video and Images - A look at the premiere of the movie in Germany.
Berlin Premiere Video - Another video from carpet with stars answering questions.
Berlin Premiere TV Special - While in German, get a look at the stars and the event in Germany for ROTF
London Premiere Video and Images - More from the premiere in the UK.
London Premiere Press Conference - Long video that shows most of the London Press Conference for ROTF and also videos from the blue carpet at the event
More Blue Carpet London Footage - See even more of the stars as they go to the London Premiere
Russia Premiere Videos - Five videos of Bay and cast walking the carpet in Moscow
US Press Conference Video - Some video of the US ROTF Press Conference and news that the IMAX footage totals about an extra minutes of movie time

Images
Rampage and Sideways CGI - Images of the two Decepticons in CGI
Third Arcee Revealed - CGI view of the third purple Arcee bike.
CGI Twins - Computer generated images of Mudflap and Skids
Megatron CGI Images - Five images that show off the villian in his new form.
Movie Stills - Images from the movie, focused on the real stars - Transformers
Power-up Prime and More - Get a look at the Prime, Jetfire combined mode as USA Today article covers the works and explosions filmed at White Sands for the movie finale.

Music
Samples from ROTF Score and Album - Easy way to sample to music from the albums.
The Touch in TF2? - Shia Labeouf sings, says The Touch may be used in the movie
ROTF Scoring Session - Gallery and description of some of the effort behind putting together the score for the movie.

Interviews
Isabel Lucas Sky News Interview - The actress talks about high level of attention she is getting and working on the film
Isabel Lucas ROVE Interview - The actress talks about making ROTF on the Australian TV program
Matthew Marsden Nearly Died? - Actor talks about a copter nearly landing on him during filming
Shia's Insider Interview - Quick interview with the actor from the television show.
ROTF Talk Show Schedule - Find out who is showing up where to promote the movie on the talk shows over the next week and half.
Bay Quiting Franchise? No - There is no direct quote stating he is quitting. Bunch of baseless sensationalism.
Third ET Transformers Segment - Another segment from the TV shows where Tyrese talks nicknames
Writers On Writing Transformers 2 - Orci and Kurtzman talk about writing and working on the script post strike
Film Weekly's Bay Interview - The director talks shop, budgets and expanding his horizons
Shia and Megan on French TV Show - Amusing video that shows the two stars talking ROTF and other things
NY Times Interviews Bay - Article that covers why Bay did the movies without mentioning the money motivation
Shia on Tonight Show - Video of the actor's Friday appearance to promote ROTF
Ramon on Jimmy Kimmel - First of many ROTF appearances on the show for the movie.

Video Games
Shia Talks About Game - More a less a sales pitch from Shia Labeouf about ROTF game.
Deep Six Walkthrough - Look at one of the levels of the game.
Multi-player Walkthrough Video - Watch a multiplayer session from the game.
Two Demo Clips - Two more clips showing off the game in action
Art Director, Producer Interviews - Supposed to be interview with two people that worked on the game
Game Opening and Breakaway Training - Even more clips from the game.
Launch Trailer - Look at the games's launch trailer that shows off lots of game cinematics

Toys
More Toy Galleries - Images of Grindor, Scorponok, various knockoff and Dune Runner.
Ice Cream Truck Twins, Dead End Gallery - Images of the upcoming toys in packaging.
Ice Cream Truck Twins and Arcee Reviews - Video review of the toys.
Human Alliance Sideswipe Gallery - Pictures of the toy.
Alliance Bumblebee Review - Another take on the Alternator-like toy.

Various
Early Reviews - A not strong start for the film as many found it entertaining but lacking in many areas
More Reviews - yep more mixed reviews talk ROTF
We Are Autobots Site Launches - New site that uses Augmented Reality to put a Prime head on yours using a webcam.
Bay Makes Guiness Record Book - Bay talks filming the movie and made it in the book for largest explosion
Obama Mention - Bay mentions how he met Obama and incorporated him into the movie.
Transformers 2 Fun Facts - Bunch of info about the technical achievements of the CGI for the film.
Transformers 2 Outselling Star Trek - Movie is outperforming Trek in pre-sales, I expect it to blow by Treks worldwide total in 7 days.
Official Site Updated - Check it out for new games, wallpaper and other activities.
Transformers 2 Tickets Contest - Click the link for details on a contest to win Fandango tickets
Nascar No. 18 Transformers Paint Job - Gallery of images of the car painted in Revenge and M&Ms paint scheme.
GM's Transformers Relationship - Value in the companies relationship with Transformers
BD-Live ROTF Content Breakdown - A more detailed description of the extra content available to owners of Blu-ray Transformers
Life Size G1 Bumblebee - A fan's love can go far as this labor shows for the classic Bumblebee
Transformers Voice Cast? - Possible confirmation on the new members of the movie voice cast which for unknown reasons has been really hard to nail down.

Transformers: ROTF Final Scene

Spoiler warning! Below is the very last scene of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen that is a near mirror to the first movie with Optimus Prime staring into the distance and sending a message to space. His final line, "I am Optimus Prime and I send this message so that our past will always be remembered for in those memories we live on." Too bad they didn't get more of the cheering from the crowd. Thanks to Scorpio for the link.

Transformers: ROTF The Score on YouTube (Updated)

Update: Sadly the videos have been deleted so it looks like your going to have to hear during the movie or pick up the album at Amazon, iTunes or local store when it is released on June 23rd.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen The Score is on MovieMakerKid14's channel. All 14 tracks are available. I am not sure how long it will last so enjoy the opportunity while you can. Personally, I have already listened to the score and while it is strong in sections, overall it just doesn't work all that well (to me) as standalone music. It probably sounds great with the movie; it is unlikely I would fire up any tracks to listen to while doing other things anytime soon. Thanks to MovieMakerKid for permission and Kenney for the reminder. Below are the links in album order.

1) Prime
2) Einstein's Wrong
3) NEST
4) The Shard
5) The Fallen
6) Infinite White
7) Heed Our Warning
8) The Fallen's Arrival
9) Tomb of the Primes
10) Forest Battle
11) Precious Cargo
12) Matrix of Leadership
13) I Claim Your Sun
14) I Rise, You Fall

ROTF Theatrical Trailer #3 in HD

It took way longer than expected but the third theatrical trailer finally is available in HD. I have already posted various quality versions of this trailer including the version from yesterday with this exact video but decided a separate posted was needed. Thanks to joshuachacon7 for the reminder. Also check out moviestvspots channel has he is where most of the videos on the left hand column have been coming from for the last few weeks.

Theatrical Trailer #3

Berlin Premiere TV Special

About a week ago was the Berlin, Germany premiere of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and sense then a TV special aired about the movie. Below are the two parts of the video which for obvious reasons is in German but some of the stars responses can be heard. If you don't speak the language it’s still good just to see the starts walking the carpet, fan reactions and things like that (Megan's red dress alone might be worth it to you). Thanks to David and Transformers Sci-Fi Guide for the links.

ROTF Megatron CGI Images (Updated)

TFG2.com has posted more CGI/art images of a Revenge of the Fallen character, this time fantastic images of Megatron in robot and tank mode. I don't really know where these come from, if there official art or not, but sure nice to look at.

Update: Thanks to Scorpio, below are three more images of Megatron.

More of Transformers 2 Voice Cast

Thanks to Carnivac (and also supported by TFW2005 thread), much of the voice cast for the various Transformers has been verified. Many of the robots in the movie don't have lines and it turns out some of the information we had was incorrect (not really surprised considering how little attention the voice cast gets).

I wish Paramount would release the credit list (like they did for Star Trek) so have something definitive to link to to clear up any probable confusion on who did what in the movie.

Likely voice cast: (but some not officially confirmed) (clicking their names brings you to their IMDB.com profile)
Arcee - Grey DeLisle (not Susan Blu)
The Fallen - Tony Todd
Jetfire - Mark Ryan (not John Turturro)
Mudflap - Reno Wilson
Skids & Wheelie - Tom Kenny
Soundwave & Devastator - Frank Welker
Sideswipe - Andre Sogliuzzo (not Jason Griffith)
The Doctor (Scalpel) - John DiCrosta
an ancient Prime - Kevin Michael Richardson
Demolisher - remains unknown

Its worth hitting up the profiles for these actors because of the long careers many of these actors have had. Even if you don't know the name, chances are you will recognize the face or their work. As far as Transformers connections, Kevin Michael Richardson voiced Omega Supreme in Transformers: Animated, Reno Wilson voiced Frenzy in the first movie; Mark Ryan also voices Bumblebee in the movies and Ironhide in the video game. Tom Kenny (other than being SpongeBob SquarePants) also voice Isaac Sumdac, Starscream, various Seekers, Scrapper and more for Transformers: Animated. Of course Frank Welker (G1's Megatron, Soundwave, Galavatron, Rumble and more) doesn't really need an introduction to Transfans but his storied career is massive and covers work you would have never had thought had anything to do with him.

Ramon Rodriguez on Jimmy Kimmel

Thursday night (or Friday morning really), Ramon Rodriguez kicked off the night show circuit for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen with an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live. Thanks to Maurcio, below is the video of the interview with the actor where he discusses working on the film, the stunts he participated in and his other movie The Taking of Pelham 123. Also turns out he is pretty good with basketball tricks.

Shia LaBeouf on Conan O'Brien

Shia LaBeouf appeared on the Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien Friday night June 19th to discuss Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. I figured Hulu would have video but Shia LaBeouf Video beat them to it. Shia discusses his recent world tour promoting the movie, and an interesting experience while on Even Stevens (a Disney show started on). As for the clip shown, it is the same as the MTV Movie Awards clip. Thanks to Mauricio for the links.

ROTF Scoring Session

Scorings Session has posted an article (via TFW2005) with gallery that shows off the scoring session for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. The score is from composer Steve Jablonsky and took place at the Sony Scoring Stage in Culver City, California with the 71-piece ensemble of the Hollywood Studio Symphony. Over 110 minutes of music had to be scored for the movie. The descriptions and 35 picture gallery of the session can be found here.

IMAX Brings Extra Minute of Footage and More

Apparently there was a Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen press conference at the Four Season in Los Angeles on Friday. The conference is probably part of the run up to the US premiere of the movie at the LA Film Festival on the 22nd. Attending was Michael Bay, Ramon Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel and Kevin Dunn.

As part of the Q&A, Michael Bay repeated his Obama story clarifying that Obama's "role" in the movie is he is mentioned as the current President of the United States. They also discussed Shia's continuing to work with the hand injury (and special hand cast that was built), Ramon Rodriguez separating a shoulder while filming (that Bay didn't know about), and that the IMAX cut adds about a minute of extra footage. The videos are from The DishRag (via MB.com). The conference seemed very relaxed but so far have not found video of the whole thing. Five videos below in the playlist.

ComingSoon has what is essentially a transcript of the press conference here.

Bay On Crew Screenings

I guess Transformers 2 director Michael Bay has been getting questions about when his crew gets to watch the final cut of the movie so he provided an answer on his website.

Press is asking about crew screeings

They seem to want to know about my crew screenings. Not sure why the press is interested? We had 2500 crew members from many parts of the US and some in the Middle East and London. We have an IMAX crew screening Sunday night. We have an ILM screening Monday night and Paramount invited some of my key crew members to the LA premiere I think Tuesday we are putting together a crew screening which is being planned at Paramount. Thursday we have an IMAX screening in Washington for the Pentagon people involved in the film. And we have one set up in Jordan. BTW the press is not invited.

Wow that is a lot of people that worked on that movie. The credits must go on quite a long time. I wonder what their reactions are when they see the finished product of all their hard work, and what happens if they don't like the result (with all that CGI many just had to imagine how it would go).

NY Times' Bay Interview

A new article with Michael Bay (via his site) from the New York Times discuss his approach to making Transformers and why he took on the franchise. Many of the questions are a retread from the first movie but there are a few new questions. Parts below, full interview is here.

And you created other characters that weren’t established in the toys, the comics or the animation?
We wanted to get into the deeper lore of it. At one point, I’d already been shooting the movie, and we were doing this scene in space. And I asked these Hasbro experts on Transformers, I said, “So, how are Transformers born?” And they kind of – dead pause. “I don’t know.” “What do you mean, you don’t know? Isn’t that one of the first things you figure out?” [laughs] So I created how they’re born.

How are they born?
They’re in a special sac. They’re called hatchlings. It’s quite nice.

You’re helping to design all these nice new toys for Hasbro. Do you get a percentage of the toys they sell that are based on your designs?
Well, I’m not allowed to say. But things that come from my mind are now becoming toys. But it gets touched by all these artists. There was a woman on the Hollywood Foreign Press tour, and she goes, “Michael, don’t you ever want to do a movie that’s more artistic?” I knew what she meant, but there was a poster of Bumblebee behind me, and I said, “There’s something to be done with a movie in the south of France, whatever, at a winery or a vineyard. But when you look at Bumblebee behind you, it took so many artists so much time. This is something that doesn’t exist in our world. And it has emotions now.” That’s a whole skill. So it is art in its own way. The thing that Ridley Scott always says, and I totally concur with him, his favorite thing to do as a director is to create a new world. That’s just what I love to do.

Improved Copy of Kitchen Bots Scene, Trailer #3 (Updated)

Thanks to Mauricio, below is a better is an improved copy of the kitchen bots clip and trailer #3 (or trailer #2 alternate cut) that premiered with Terminator Salvation and Night at the Muesum #2.

Update: from moviestvspot Youtube channel is now the HD version of the third theatrical trailer, added below.

Kitchen Bots Clip


Trailer #3


Theatrical Trailer #3 (HD)

Life Size Fan Made G1 Bumblebee

A California man with a deep love of Generation 1 Bumblebee created a life size version that stands 18 feet tall in his yard. To check out the full article and gallery, click here. Thanks to Mike for the link.

“I’ve always been a fan of the Transformers,” Tom Rhoads Rhoads stated to the crew at mim. “And when my son was born I decided to make the statue.”

The statue stands at 18 feet tall and built from a used Volkswagen, yes that’s right a used Volkswagen, in this economy who can afford to chop up a new Camaro and besides some of us liked the cartoon characters better!

The statue took him and a friend a year to build in their spare time. A crane had to hoist the 1200 lb robot onto its feet after the welding was completed. Its legs are made of steel and angle iron to keep it secure.

Linkin Park Swag Contest Winner

The Linkin Park Swag Contest has ended. The winner was chosen at random from the group of correct answers.

The question: How many times is Megan Fox spotted in the New Divide music video? (HINT: The dancing silhouette is NOT Megan Fox)
The answer: 3

Congratulations to Brandon from Texas! Thanks to all that entered.

Download Linkin Park 's single "New Divide" on iTunes now, and check out the Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Official Soundtrack in stores on June 23rd. http://www.transformers2music.com/

ROTF The Game Exclusive Launch Trailer

Gametrailers.com has posted a new trailer for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen that shows of some of the game cinematics. Thanks to Chris for the link.

Video Games | Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen | Exclusive Launch Trailer HD

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

USA Today Shows Off Combined Prime

In a new article from USA Today, we get the first look at the combined Jetfire, Optimus Prime mode. The result appears to Prime on steroids. The article itself is about Transformers 2 production at Holloman Air Force Base and White Sands as they filmed the desert sequences that are the climax of the film. The long article is worth reading as I believe one parts describes the explosion put Bay in the Guiness World Record book. Snippets below, full article here. I get the feeling that being an observer on a Bay production for a few days would be a whole lot of fun. Thanks to Adrien and Chris for the link.

The filmmaker, then 43, is watching the action unfold on a bank of TV monitors. He's wearing an Autobot ball cap, pulled low to shade his eyes from the sun, and a Decepticon T-shirt, perhaps symbolic of which side of the robot battle is closest to his heart. Duhamel joins Bay to watch the replay. "This really is your sandbox," he tells the director. "And we are kinda like your toys."

Bay gives a smirk, but seems preoccupied by his screens. When the actor leaves, the filmmaker confides, in an uncharacteristically soft voice, a story from when he was a kid. "I made home movies that way," he says, still looking at the replays on the screen. "I'd do little firecrackers on the train set. … I actually set my bedroom on fire once." He smiles and rolls his eyes. "The fire department came. It was a little Super 8 movie where the aliens invaded."

After watching a scene in which Duhamel tries to rescue Fox from her hiding spot beneath a blown-out wall, Bay stops the action and runs out to coach the actor. "Take her hand this time. When you ran the last time, you ran away like a (expletive) girl and left her!" the director says. Duhamel sarcastically thanks Bay for the constructive criticism — in full view of a visiting reporter. Bay says to the journalist, in an even louder voice: "You'll be doing me a (expletive) favor if you print that!" Then laughs. Duhamel just shakes his head.

Mike Wever, the special-effects technician and bomb triggerman, surveys the explosive-planting. "Whatever Bay wants is what we try to give him," says Wever. "Sex is sex, dialogue is dialogue, but what people want is special effects. Bayhem, that's what it's called. That's what I like to call it. Whenever we do a Michael show, it's a new level of Bayhem."

Shia, Megan Talk Transformers in Paris

While in Paris (I think) Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox appeared on television show La Grand Journal on June 12. Shia LaBeouf Video website has posted the interview with the actors which has most of the questions in French but that answers (if listen over the translator) are in English. It is hard to hear the answers but the interview is amusing as its not all 10 minutes of the usual TF2 questions since I don't think the hosts had any interest in Transformers. Especially watch the second video as Shia and Megan are having a ball making up answers. Thanks to Mauricio for the link.

Cast on London Blue Carpet

Plejada, a Polish site (I think) has posted a video with brief interviews with the cast of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen at the London premiere as they walk the blue carpet. The interviews include Ramon Rodriguez, Shia LaBeouf, Tyrese Gibson, Michael Bay and Megan Fox. John Turturro was there but he did the press conference thing and generally appears to prefer avoiding the spotlight.

Click here to watch the video. Thanks to Hanna for the link.

New ROTF Clip - Kitchen Bots Attack

New clip from Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is now online fro a Danish website that shows more of the kitchen bots as the AllSpark fragments brings them to life and they start attacking Sam. The clip can found here or below. I spotted a blender, vacuum, microwave and toaster, what other kitchen appliances did you see transform? Thanks to Alex for the link.

Revenge Dawns in the United Kingdom and Japan

Today is the day that Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen premieres in theatres for the general public starting with the United Kingdom and Japan. So from all of us in the rest of the world...sod off :D

Feel free to let us know what you think of the movie in the comments. Also try to note if there is any scenes during or after the credits and who the voice cast is for the various Transformers.

Note that comments are likely to contain spoilers (will approve them as opportunity allows).

Transformers 2 Talk Show Schedule

The U.S. promotional part of the Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen marketing machine has begun with Ramon Rodriguez appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live last night (thanks aunit2011). Ramon's is the first of five total stops for the cast on that show.

The schedule, subject to change:
Th 6/18: Ramon Rodriguez - Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC)
Fr 6/19: Shia LaBeouf - The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien (NBC)
Tu 6/23: Isabel Lucas - Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC)
Tu 6/23: Tyrese Gibson - Chelsea Lately (E!)
We 6/24: Josh Duhamel - Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC)
Th 6/25: Megan Fox - David Letterman (CBS)
Th 6/25: Shia LaBeouf - Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC)
Th 6/25: Shia Labeouf - Live with Regis and Kelly (syndicated)
Fr 6/26: Megan Fox - Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC)
Fr 6/26: Megan Fox - Live with Regis and Kelly (syndicated)
Mo 6/29: Josh Duhamel - Live with Regis and Kelly (syndicated)

TV Spot #20

Another new TV spot, #20, has hit the airwaves. Consider it a spoiler warning as its essentially the entire sequence of Sideswipe's entry at the expense of another character. Thanks to Thomas and djbigtymebeats for the HD link and Mauricio for the embed below.

TV Spot #20

London Premiere ROTF Press Conference

Below are five videos that show the press conference for the London premiere of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen on June 16th, 2009 that TheTransformers.net has posted. The conference was attended by Michael Bay, Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, and John Turturro. Overall it is pretty interesting as they discussed many different aspects of shooting the film such as shooting in Egypt, the special effects and Shia's various injuries. In also, I found more blue carpet footage of the cast.

I finally decided to do something slightly more useful with my YouTube channel and as part of that created a playlist for the 11 videos (5 for the conference, 6 for the blue carpet) as an alternative to posting all 11 at once which can get clunky. Give it a try and let me know if this works better. Thanks to Hitman450 for the link.

ROTF The Game Opening and Breakway Training Clips

The clips keep coming for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen The Game as two more have been found by Sideswipe80. The first clip shows the opening cinematic and a training stage for Bumblebee and the second clip has Breakaway undergoing his own training in the sky.

Transformers: BD-Live Breakdown

IGN.com has posted a detailed breakdown of the new Transformers content (in addition to existing content) that is appearing on BD-Live for Blu-ray owners of Transformers the first. Some of it has already made its way to Youtube. Thanks to Brian for the link.

Revenge of the Fallen Scene: "We're Gonna Die"
This intense scene begins with a car chase as Sam (Shia LaBeouf) and Mikaela (Megan Fox) are chased by a Decepticon in the form of a helicopter, which latches on to the car and carries them away. When it finally lets go, they break through a roof into a warehouse where another destructive robot finds them.

Revenge of the Fallen Scene: "Shanghai"
This scene follows Capt. Lennox (Josh Duhamel) and his team of soldiers (including Tyrese Gibson) through a military siege of a building in Shanghai where more robots in disguise are waiting.

Revenge of the Fallen Scene: "Adobe Hut"
Megan and Shia are trapped in a hut while Decepticons (including Constructicons and Ravager) search the desert outside. But their discovery of a tiny spy robot is their undoing. It ends with an impressive stunt as the two jump from the roof of the building as it's being torn apart.

"From the set of Revenge of the Fallen: Day 1"
An exclusive inside look from the first day of filming on location in Bethlehem, PA. As the crew sets up, they express their excitement for the beginning of the shoot. Director Michael Bay gives them a little pep talk before getting to work, telling them that this is "one of those movies that can really help make a lot of kids dreams around the world." He also brandishies a Nike shoe with the promise, "I'm going to be up all your asses." We also see some of the shooting of the first shot in the movie, which involves a motorcycle chase. There's also a few effects shots and some pretty fiery explosions. Basically, your average day on a Michael Bay set.

"From the set of Revenge of the Fallen: A Day in the Shade"
Described as "a comical look at the differences between Megan and Shia's on-set treatment," this is exactly as advertised. We see a few members of the crew holding umbrellas and fanning Fox with handheld fans, while LaBeouf stands in the sun, smirking at the camera. She protests that it's because she's dressed in a full leather jumpsuit. Uh-huh.

Transformers Deleted Scene: "Maggie and Glen Introduction"
A deleted scene introducing the characters played by Rachael Taylor and Anthony Anderson from the original film.

Transformers Deleted Scene: "Fig Death"
We see the deleted death scene of ACWO Jorge "Fig" Figueroa, played by Amaury Nolasco, from the original film.

Fly on the Set: Pentagon
On the set filming of the Pentagon Military Command Center.

Music and Mayhem
Renowned special effects house ILM deconstructs the blockbuster action of Transformers.

Metal in Motion
Special effects tests and early robot animation.

Stunts 101
An in-depth look at the stunts in Transformers.

Choose Your Weapon
A fly-on-the-wall glimpse into the selection of weapons and how they were used by the film's soldiers.

The Man in the Ice
From design to production, watch the Arctic come to life on various sets in Los Angeles, Calif.

Voices
The voices behind the Autobots and Decepticons.

Audition Tapes: Megan Fox
Watch Megan's original screen test as she reads a scene from the final film.

Two Days In Review

It has been a busy day few days in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen news with 22 posts in two days so here is a link fest to make sure you’re up to date. As always though, don't forget to check out the archive section on the left side just in case you might have missed something.

TV Spots and Clips
TV Spots #17-19, New Clip - Three more spots and clip from BD-Live content.
Two Transformers I Deleted Scenes - Two scenes deleted from first movie
Transformers Sightings - Part of viral campaign, Transformers sightings around the world

Premiere Reports and Images
Russia Premiere Videos - Five videos of Bay and cast walking the carpet in Moscow
CGI Twins - Computer generated images of Mudflap and Skids
Movie Stills - Images from the movie, focused on the real stars - Transformers

Music
The Touch in TF2? - Shia Labeouf sings, says The Touch may be used in the movie

Interviews
Bay Quiting Franchise? No - There is no direct quote stating he is quitting. Bunch of baseless sensationalism.
Third ET Transformers Segment - Another segment from the TV shows where Tyrese talks nicknames
Writers On Writing Transformers 2 - Orci and Kurtzman talk about writing and working on the script post strike.
Film Weekly's Bay Interview - The director talks shop, budgets and expanding his horizons.

Video Games
Two Demo Clips - Two more clips showing off the game in action
Art Director, Producer Interviews - Supposed to be interview with two people that worked on the game

Toys
Alliance Bumblebee Review - Another take on the Alternator-like toy.

Various
Bay Makes Guiness Record Book - Bay talks filming the movie and made it in the book for largest explosion
Obama Mention - Bay mentions how he met Obama and incorporated him into the movie.
Transformers 2 Fun Facts - Bunch of info about the technical achievements of the CGI for the film.
Transformers 2 Outselling Star Trek - Movie is outperforming Trek in pre-sales, I expect it to blow by Treks worldwide total in 7 days.
Official Site Updated - Check it out for new games, wallpaper and other activities.
Transformers 2 Tickets Contest - Click the link for details on a contest to win Fandango tickets
Nascar No. 18 Transformers Paint Job - Gallery of images of the car painted in Revenge and M&Ms paint scheme.
GM's Transformers Relationship - Value in the companies relationship with Transformers

Bay Not Quitting Transformers 3

Over at MichalBay.com forums, the man himself responds to the press report that he was quitting the franchise.

Hah,

Love press how they spin. Never said it - just wanted a vacation is more to the point. And no I don't read the good or the bad reviews.

What annoys me is how the blogosphere spread this press report without even bothering to pay attention to the fact that they never actually quoted him saying he was quitting. The article was full of quotes except for the most critical part which should have been a huge red flag. Makes me wish I had got hold of the story before going to bed, just to make the "I told you so" more satisfying. Thanks to Kenney and Ali for the heads-up.

Transformers Movie Stills

More movie stills have been released to the web by Paramount, this time many of them focused on the real stars of the Revenge of the Fallen, the Transformers. Below are the new images to me. The cool Twins image to the left is from IESB.net, to get the full huge HD image, click here. The first two images below are from the GM Autobot site and the rest of the images were found in IGN's TF2 Gallery. In addition, MichaelBay.com has posted a zip file of all the new wallpaper that was added to the official website, click here for that. Thanks to Captainclueless, Chris, Adrien, and Brian for all the links.

Remix of The Touch in Transformers ROTF?

MTV has posted an amusing video that shows Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen star Shia Labeouf singing the Touch and saying "There is a remix and its in the movie. Who would have thought that. I have been fighting that since forever. It's one of may favorite songs of all time." Did Stan Bush's efforts pay off? I will believe it when I hear it next week.

CGI Twins Images

TFG2.com has posted another set of CGI images of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen characters, this time for Mudflap and Skids. Overall, I am not much of a fan of their design but maybe that will change after seeing what ILM does with them.

Bay's Film Weekly Interview

MichaelBay.com has posted a six and half minute sound interview from The Guardian with Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Director Michael Bay with Film Weekly. Nope this doesn't not cover the baseless rumor that he is quitting the Transformers franchise but he does once again say he does want to try other genres beyond blockbuster films. Since only sound, I shrunk the box down, just click play in the middle.

As for the interview, he covers comparison made with Jurassic Park, core themes (sacrifice and heroism), the pressures of dealing with such a big budget film and working on budget. He also said the marketing campaign is budgeted at $100M so the cost of the film is $300 million. The ballpark figure for a studio to reach profitability on a film is the cost of the film x 2 so once the film break $600 million, the profits begin. Thanks to Brian for the link.

GM Provided 67 Vehicles for Transformers 2

In an article with USA Today, Bay and GM briefly discussed the relationship between the two as GM provided the production with 67 cars total that was a combination of prototype, concept and real cars.

"They were responsible for building the cars, and I was trying to get my check because we built the cars, fronted them the money, and they were late on paying us," Bay says. "I was like, 'We better get our check fast before they go bankrupt.'

Chevy won't reveal what it cost to provide cars, but spokesman Steve Janisse says 67 vehicles were used, and 52 of those were "non-salable," specially built prototypes used for testing, engineering and display.

While participating in a movie may seem counterintuitive given GM's hardships, the company says Transformers could be a big help. "Although we've significantly reduced spending around all promotions, and in this case we did not pay any placement fee, we still need to market and sell cars and trucks," Janisse says. "We know this is a good investment — that it interests people in Chevrolet and ultimately drives people to check out our vehicles."

Most of the 22,000 2010 Camaros put on the market last month were pre-sold, Janisse adds, with interest fueled by the design's use as Bumblebee in the 2007 film.

Bay says the cars themselves become like celebrities, something he witnessed while shooting in a remote part of the Middle East. "The money they spend is pennies for the amount of goodwill. Bumblebee is one of the most famous cars in the world," the director says. "Literally, we're in this poor little town in Jordan, and all these kids surrounded (the car). They all knew Bumblebee's name."

Viral: New Transformer Sightings

The Transformers 2 viral websites TheRealEffingDeal and GiantEffingRobots have added more Transformer sighting that have been caught on camera.

Robot in Egypt - As the image shows, the shadow of a robot indicates something is inspecting the top of the pyramids in the Valley of Kings, Egypt.
Beware Killer Toys - What was thought to be a remote controlled plane turns out to be something else.
Leo Goes to College - Leo records a going to college message (just in time to meet new roommate Sam).
Fireworks Sighting - A New Year’s celebration leads to a Starscream sighting?
Rooftop Spotting - Cute girl plus camera equals guy not looking where he should be.
When Is a Motorcycle Not a Cycle - How annoying would it be to have your paid for ride run off on its own?