Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Clarification About Wheelie and Wheeljack

For those upset about the red Ferrari not being called Mirage, this post might just be considered a pile on before it’s all said and done with news about Wheeljack. In a Shoot for the Edit thread called "Clarification", Nelson decided to clear up the confusion on who the buddy team is in the movie.

He wrote, "For some time now, I've implied through some of my post that Wheelie's sidekick was the Mercedes E550 (the E550 is a whole different character). It's not. My bad, my apologies. Brains is Wheelie's buddy. And what's Brain's alt-mode you ask? You'll have to wait and see. He later added, "I've read all the scripts in two languages. I got my two robots mixed up, plain and simple. Move on." This bit of info aligns with the comic and novel adaptations which revealed a character called "Brains" that is about the size of Wheelie.

Now this is where the aggravation comes in for some for he once again decided to muddy the naming waters he comments about the blue Mercedes, "Has Bay confirmed it's Wheeljack?" This was followed by, "Here's your problem: you keep assuming the packaging and novels are the end all, be all. People assume they dictate Bay what storyline to follow, what to name characters, etc. Until anything is officially confirm here or by Bay in the press, all bets are off."

It is important to note he didn't deny the name, simply pointed out that it has not been officially confirmed by Bay in some form or fashion. The name was verified by the leaked comic book adaptation a few weeks ago and also used in the novel. As we already learned with the Ferrari (and really back in TF 1 with Devastator/Brawl) is that what the final draft of the script says and what Bay decides by the end of post-production isn't necessarily the same thing.

As always keep in mind that the script the adaptation writers are working off it is produced more or less at the same time as production begins and getting ready for publication around the same time as post-production without them being informed of any changes that may have occured in that time. Since the Transformers are pure CGI creations, Bay has a whole lot of flexibility in changing certain details (like their name) of new characters right up to the end as all it is in most cases a is simple change in dialogue. Remove or shorten a few lines from the first two movies and we wouldn't know the names of most of the secondary Transformers characters outside of the toy packaging. Arcee's name was mentioned once, Sideways never, Brawl as subtitle text, Soundwave once, the individual robots of Devastator never, and so forth. For all the weight the names get from Transformers fans, really the secondary character names are incidental to the movie and probably most important to Hasbro for the assist they provide in toy sales.

Speaking of Hasbro, have you noticed that we really have not seen the line-up of toys regarding the Ferrari or the Mercedes? Most of the other Autobots already have either hit toy shelves or images have leaked in some form or fashion but not these two. A single matchbox car isn't proof compared to the multiple versions of the other characters that we have already seen. That tends to indicate that while Hasbro was informed too late for them to come out with the initial wave, they might have had enough time to make sure the packaging matched the movie to avoid the brand confusion that occurred with the Brawl/Devastator toys.

So the question once again becomes, what is the name of blue Mercedes-Benz E550, aka "Einstein"? Does he remain Wheeljack and if not what is it really?

25 comments:

  1. If he's not Wheeljack and they change it to another name like Mirage changing to italian name. Let me guess Mercedes is a german car. so Im guessing he's gonna be a german character name and accent? Mirage is now Mario and Wheeljack is what Hitler? WTF? Bay you must hate the fans of TF to do these things. Kill off characters with out a death scene like Barricade, and now the Twins and renaming TF that don't make sense like Devastator and Brawl and now Wheeljack and Mirage? I wonder if Bay and all his people have ever seen a TF comic or television episode. Don't let us down.

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  2. The guy has also claimed the firetruck isn't Sentinel Prime (Before BSing "the script I read said Ultra Magnus"). He also did say exactly that Wheeljack "wouldn't have that name in the movie."

    It's all BS misinformation to get unwarranted hype from the movie. We already know all the names and twists it'll throw at us, this is just a way to have something seem unknown.

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  3. i've known nelson for the past 4-5 years. he is a twat.

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  4. autobotsideswipe035/31/2011 7:10 AM

    WTF another name change?? Please, Nelson, can you stop with these things? It's driving us fans off! All of us had already accepted the names Mirage and Wheeljack (I think) in the movie, and now you're telling us that they have been changed?? Come on! Names don't really spoil us so just spill it. If they are Mirage and Wheeljack, stay as they are in the movie. And please, stop dropping characters that didn't really die in the 2nd film, like The Twins. I know they are annoying in the previous movie, but I assure you, they will be redeeming theirselves in the 3rd movie (I read the novel). So please, don't remove them in the final cut. What effort is that they used the Chevy Sparks on set, and after, they will delete them in the final cut?? What gives. I don't feel any hatred about the twins, I just want characters to stay because they didn't really die.

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  5. Hasbro has final word on what the names of the toys they will sell. As fun as it is to hate bay for these decisions. Hasbro actually has first and last word.

    Secondly, it must suck to make a film based on something fan boys claim to own. I mean how much fun must it have been to make Battle LA. Do what you want, when you want. Fanboys love getting off on hearing character names on the big screen. Grow up.

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  6. Nelson Shmelson...just some paid sh!t disturber ...not worth my time...

    C'mon TF3 !!! :D !

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  7. Actually if the Mercedes/Einstein bot ends up not being Wheeljack i'll be happy with it. The head design looks freaking retarded. Why an alien lifeform would look like Albert Einstein just because it's extremely intelligent is actually pretty stupid. They should have followed TF: Prime and used the original Wheeljack design. Hopefully they'll get him right when the do the reboot as well as a couple other characters. Doing the twins as sportscars Sunstreaker and Sideswipe would have been significantly better than dumb and dumber. At least Optimus and Shockwave were close. Don't get me wrong i like a lot about the action sequences and visual effects of the movies, but after growing up in the 80s I wish they had paid more respect to some of the characters.

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  8. ACCORDING TO THE NOVEL THE BLUE MERCEDES IS JUST SIMMONS RIDE

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  9. This is the only blog I read so I'm not clear on who "Nelson" is. An someone tell me? He sounds like a horrible little worm. Just reading the little blurbs that are posted on here give the impression that he is just an awful human being.

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  10. That troll could well be right ...this may turn out to be a shit movie ! ..Italian robots, Einstein robots, , a sidekick for wheelie( we wanted to get rid of wheelie not give him a friend)...ridiculous storyline( i read the book and comic)...come on..its the last of the series Bay..use some sense.

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  11. I hope it turns out to be Wheeljack. :T

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  12. @2nd Anonymous: Here is your answer about the Sentinel/Ultra Magnus incident:
    http://www.shootfortheedit.com/forum/showthread.php?9185-Clarification&p=178527&viewfull=1#post178527

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  13. @"Anonymous said...
    This is the only blog I read so I'm not clear on who "Nelson" is. An someone tell me? He sounds like a horrible little worm. Just reading the little blurbs that are posted on here give the impression that he is just an awful human being.

    5/31/2011 1:25 PM "

    He's an asshole! yup, he's an ass

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  14. @Anon 1:25pm: If this is the only blog you read, you'd already know who Nelson is. He's an administrator of the Shoot for the Edit forums on Michael Bay's website.

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  15. Who said they are doign a reboot of Transformers? Sure most movies end up being a reboot but I haven't heard any kind of confirmation on that anywhere.

    Nelson is some little idiot that works on the Michael bay website. From what I gather he's just a lackey.

    I don't really understand why Nelson is saying these names are wrong. They throw a fit when spoilers get out as it is. So they say they don't want us to know this stuff. Fans get evidence of a name and it turns out to be wrong why are they correcting us on that? Surprised they aren't just letting us wait till we get to the movies and find out.

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  16. I dont know whats worse, all this misinformation or the NFL Lockout.

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  17. Iridescent music video sneak peek
    -https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=0eLkEP1c4NY

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  18. why botter with this? thanks to the chlidren´s book we already know that the mercedes is wheeljack and that the ferrari is mirage... so WTF with the false informations? haven´t they know that the novel, the childrens book and other stuff are already on the street?

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  19. You ladies and gents crack me up. Ok lets see what other characters where there that matched a red and blue car. I mean bay hasnt made up any names that went at some point in time used in the original transformers movie or tv series, so theres a few each car can be. Benz, could be-Wheeljack,Prowl, Blur, mirage(because he was Blue/white in G1), Bluestreak, etc Ferrari, could be-Hot Rod/Rodimus, Hot Shot,Windcharger, etc. u get my drift. SO lets just wait these next almost 4 weeks and see how this plays out because out of all the movies this one has kept most of the characters under wraps.

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  20. man frick Nelson. I was watching a clip of the Dark of the Moon video game. At one point, Ironhide gets a message from another autobot, giving him combat tips. Ironhide then says "Thanks for the tip Wheeljack"

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  21. All I have to say is that if the Einstein bot turns out to be Wheeljack, hopefully they can use the remaining time they have before the movie has to be completely done, if any, to fix the CGI model of Whelljack's head to bear a greater resemblance to the original Wheeljack, or the TF Prime Wheeljack.

    If they can't fix the head design, I'm all for him not being named Wheeljack at all.

    OFF WITH HIS HEAD!!!

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  22. Bay, Nelson, and Hasbro you guys need to stop the BS and get your S*it together. If your gonna f*ck us fans with stupid changes. QUIT! Give the job to someone else who is a true fan who knows about the show and comics to do this movie and toys. Stop being lazy and stop giving the kids what they want. TRUE TF FANS are now the teens and adults. Make us happy. No kid knew what TF was until they put the 1st movie out. DONT F*n Screw this movie up. If you don't want to take this movie seriously, give the job to someone who TRULY cares!

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  23. Vader Prime, thank you. Glad to see i'm not the only one who thinks this "Einstein" design for wheeljack is super lame.

    @Anon 4:54, I cannot confirm a reboot either but Bay has given multiple interviews saying it will likely be rebooted when the next film is directed by somebody else. I would highly doubt a new director/producer combo would continue off of the current franchise especially if the ending seems to wrap it up. Who knows, hope for the best. A better story line and more robots (that interact with each other, not show up just to get destroyed) would help.

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  24. knew all of u "fans" were gunna hate the third, oh well

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  25. So we saw this car in two different scences in the movie....he did not transform or nothing was mentioned about this car? What happened? I need insight!!

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