First Look at the Creation of the Dinobots from Transformers 4 Blu-ray Release

Now that we know the September 30th release date Transformers: Age of Extinction, here is our first look at the "Creation of the Dinobots" special feature that will be on the Blu-ray release of the movie.

Transformers: Age of Extinction Blu-Ray Release Date and Details

A bit of a news drought but finally some new to report. Several months ago several retailers released a look at their exclusive additions of Transformers: Age of Extinction for Blu-ray when it came out in theaters. What was missing was a release date and details on the special features of the release until now. The Blu-ray/DVD release date is September 30, 2014 with an early video on demand release of September 16 but note those usually do not include special features and cost the same $20 as the physical disc version which will also come with a digital download.

The movie will come in the usual configurations Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack (4 discs), Blu-ray Combo Pack (3 discs), and DVD (1-disc), with one these configurations being part of the exclusive versions for Amazon's Limited Edition Giftset with Grimlock and Optimus Statue, Target's Transforming Optimus Case, Wal-Mart's Transforming Bumblebee case, and Best-Buy's Steelbook case. Of note is the IMAX footage only comes with the 3D version of the movie. On regular HDTV's this means that for those few IMAX scenes the black bars along the top and bottom of the movie would temporarily disappear. Basically not worth it unless you already have the 3D TV and player setup to begin with.

No mention on length but the special features seem like a nice variety of behind the scenes information. Hopefully they focus more on show and tell with a whole lot less sales pitch for the film to those that are watching the feature because they already bought it as tends to be the habit with almost all special features (about only exceptions I can think of are the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit films). Full details below.

Michael Bay Remains Undecided on Directing Transformers 5

In an article with USA Today, the actor talks about his summer of success's with Transformers 4 and three producing efforts in movies and TV doing very well. As part of that he continued to not definitely answer the question on whether he would be directing Transformers 5 or not. He continues to lean to "not" saying "There's kind of a new chapter, a new direction in movies I want to make. I have a lot of stories to tell. And it's about flexing new muscles." Then again he outright said he was not directing Transformers 4 until Paramount likely significantly upped his payments for doing the movie. The previous three films netted him an average of $75 million and I would not be surprised if that number climbs to $100M for TF4. Hard to ignore that kind of money for a job that is already his until he decides otherwise. Basically until an official announcement is made, I am just assuming the next Transformers 5 film is being directed by Bay.

Linkfest - Dinobots and More

If last few years seemed like 3rd parties focused heavily on combiners, it seems this year has become about the Dinobots as at least three or so companies are prepping their own Dinobot homages. In that realm we have galleries for not Computron, not Swindle, not Sky-Byte, and early look at the not Throttlebots combiner. On the official products front, Takara is working on their take of the Sega Genesis Transformer and a new paint job for Evasion Mode Prime. Hasbro has released images of some of their Angry Birds Transformers line and a look at some TF4 exclusives. In the licensed products realm, Hot Toys is releasing their take on Optimus Prime while Prime 1 Studio has movie inspired busts in the works along with a large and expensive Starscream statue, and Kubrick is releasing their own Bearbrick Transformers. In addition have a look at apartments that kind of transform through creative use of space. On the review front, a look at 28+ toys that have been released or about too. A few favorites include a look at Generations Jetfire, iGears new design of the Seekers, not Skullcruncher, Guardian, not Sludge and a Dinobot combiner.

Transformers 4 Crosses $1 Billion in Box Office

The executives at Paramount and Michael Bay are probably very pleased right now as Transformers: Age of Extinction is the first film of 2014 to cross the $1 billion threshold (and 2nd film of the franchise to do so). The landmark was reached mostly due to very strong international sales of $763.8M in sales where $317M was from China alone. Ironically, TF4 achieved a franchise low in the United States with box office sales at $241.2M. The new landmark is to beat Dark of the Moon's $1.12B worldwide total (so another $100 million) but that doesn't really matter as the main goal was reached. No weekend breakdowns as TF4 dropped out of the top 10 in the States. On a somewhat related note, Guardians of the Galaxy (great movie) broke all expectations and came within sniffing distance of TF4's $100M best weekend of 2014 with a US total of $94M.

“Along with the immensely talented and versatile Mark Wahlberg, the great Steven Spielberg as executive producer, and a superb cast, he created a powerful re-launch of this franchise. This tremendous accomplishment – to be the first film of 2014 to earn over $1 billion at the box office – proves once again that Michael is a world-class filmmaker at the top of his game," said Grey, whose studio last week extended and expanded its deal with Bay.

Hidden Costs of Transformers 4 Chinese Success Story

An article from The Hollywood Reporter look at the hidden costs of Transformers: Age of Extinction's success in the China market. The movie ended its three week run (limited by law in China for foreign films) at a record breaking $317 million. On paper that sounds great but it turns out that Paramount might be lucky to recover even 25% of that total ($79.25M). Part of that is because around 50% of the gross is split between the studio and China. Another reason is what sounds like a system designed with graft and payouts in mind. "In China, there are often multiple parties involved [in film projects]," says one executive, citing as an example director Zhang Yimou's upcoming film Coming Home. "There must be 20 different companies involved in the movie, though it's all financed by one company," he adds. "It's incredibly labyrinthian and impossible to understand."