The Cybertronic Spree - A Transformers Band

Stumbled across this band called The Cybertronic Spree that performs cover songs in some pretty great Transformers costumes with an emphasis on the Transformers: The Movie (1986) cast. Below is their latest video posted to their YouTube channel. They do tend to perform at various conventions so might get a chance to them live if interested.

A Legend Passes - R.I.P. Stan Lee 1922-2018

Spider-Man, X-Men, Fantastic Four, The Avengers, Hulk, Iron Man, Black Panther, Inhumans, Daredevil, Thor, Sandman, Sinister Six, She-Hulk, Wasp, Ant-Man, the list just goes on and on. All co-created by on man - Stan Lee. In effect, Marvel Comics existed because of the prolific imagination of this amazing person. Today, we lost a true legend. Stan Lee passed away today at the age of 95 leaving behind a legacy unlike any other. A legacy of great imagination married with conveying great responsibility while reflecting the imperfect world we lived in so can marvel at it all. His creativity, his approach to story telling has inspired and will continue to inspire generations.

Without Stan Lee, Marvel Comics probably would have not existed and without them we would not have the foundation of story, names, and personalities that Transformers was built on when Hasbro took a bunch of mostly unrelated toys from Japan and hired Marvel to help create a story around them.

Make a Soundwave Bluetooth Boombox

I Like To Make Stuff channel has returned to Transformers (see previous TF related vids here) to make a very large bluetooth boombox that looks like Soundwave's Generation One alt mode.

Two Making of Transformers Props Videos

Sadly the movie news front remains quiet. In the meantime here are two videos from "I Like To Make Stuff" that are Transformers centric. The first is large version of Optimus Prime's gun while the second is a large version of the Matrix of Leadership. (via TFormers)

Avengers: Infinity War Trailer

Yeah I know its not Transformers related but not a whole lot of new to report on that front. Besides, its the Marvel Cinematic Universe coming together to prevent Thanos from assembling his Infinity Gauntlet (aka get powers to rewrite the universe as he sees fit) with what looks to be an epic scope and budget. Avengers 3, aka Avengers: Infinity War, hits theaters on May 4.

Paramount Loses China Company Deal

Paramount Pictures and Huahua Media have formally ended their financing partnership the two companies announced on Tuesday. The partnership, estimated to be worth $1 billion if it had run its course, was used to fund around 25% of the cost for Paramount movies in return for a piece of the profits over three years. Transformers: The Last Knight and Ghost in the Shell were the first (and I think only) movies made under the partnership. Both movies performed well below expectations and were considered barely profitable by most industry estimates. The decision was basically forced on Paramount as Huahua's loss in confidence in the relationship was for them to simply stop making payments to Paramount.

“The actions we are announcing today establish a financing model that is better aligned to Paramount’s new strategic approach to film production,” Gianopulos said in a statement. “Our focus on a more balanced slate — a mix of big, broad-audience films and more targeted and co-branded films made with greater fiscal discipline — demands a more flexible and tailored financing model going forward.”

Technically Paramount could have sued to enforce the contract (but would have to do it in China as a US judgement is unenforceable) but remember China is a communist country so from their perspective Huahua is "owned" by the Chinese government so in effect Paramount would be suing the government for breach of contract and expecting that same government to find in Paramount's favor, a highly unlikely scenario that could also have side effects such as blocking Paramount movies from being shown in the country. Considering the growing importance of the Chinese market is for Hollywood's profit margins, it makes more financial sense to simply take the hit and move on.

As for its impact on future Transformers films, the likely catalyst for why the partnership even occurred, it is doubtful it will have any. The new five year deal with Hasbro probably already insured the franchise's future. Also the Bumblebee movie's $70 million budget already indicates Paramount was already making moves to cut costs of future Transformers movies.

Five More Years of Paramount and Hasbro Partnership

It seems the odds of a Transformers 6 took a significant jump in its favor as Paramount and Hasbro have signed a new five year deal to produce movies and other stuff based on Hasbro brands. Deadline claims it "expands" on the existing deal but then writing the "terms of the deal were not disclosed" so its not real clear what, if anything, might have changed. There is no mention of exactly what properties, movies, or television shows that the pair are already under consideration.

“Paramount has been a valuable partner of Hasbro’s for more than a decade, and we’re looking forward to taking our relationship to the next level,” said Brian Goldner, Chairman and CEO, Hasbro. “Storytelling, in its many forms, is revolutionizing our business and differentiating Hasbro in all sectors where we operate. We look forward to collaborating with the talented team at Paramount to create powerful new stories for kids, fans and families globally.”

“Hasbro has an enormous array of exceptional brands, so this expansion of our relationship is incredibly exciting,” said Paramount Pictures Chairman and CEO, Jim Gianopulos. “We look forward to working with Brian Goldner and Stephen Davis and the Hasbro and Allspark teams to create extraordinary film properties for all audiences.”

Extreme Costumes' Movie Bumblebee Cosplay

Below is a video that provides a look at a near 1:1 sized cosplay costume built by Extreme Costumes and shown for the first time at the New York Comic Con last week. The sucker is almost detailed enough that they could have used it as an actor or at least a stand-in while filming the movies.

HasCon's Transformers, Rest of Schedule Revealed

Coming this September 8-10 in Providence, RI near Hasbro HQ is their replacement for Botcon. Called HasCon, the family friendly convention is designed to celebrate (and sell) all things Hasbro. Like any good convention that means fans get to go to panels to discuss the behind the scenes and stories related to the creation of their favorite toy from the company, including Transformers. Click for the entire convention schedule.

Merry Christmas from BW Megatron

David Kaye continues his now traditional yearly holiday greeting as the voice of Beast Wars Megatron. Merry Christmas to all!

Writer's Room Members for Hasbro Cinematic Universe Revealed

Hasbro has announced the members of its Hasbro Cinematic Universe Writer's Room that they hope will kick off a slate of non-Transformers movies based on their properties. The list is impressive with a diverse writing style group with backgrounds in movies, TV, and comic books. The goal is to create story ideas for a unified universe of movies for G.I. Joe, Micronauts, Visionaries, M.A.S.K. and ROM toy lines.

Members:
Akiva Goldsman - oversee the room (A Beautiful Mind)
Brian K. Vaughn (Ex Machina, Y: The Last Man [how is this not a TV series?], Saga, Under the Dome)
Michael Chabon (The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Spider-Man 2)
Nicole Perlman (Guardians of the Galaxy, Captain Marvel)
Lindsey Beer (Kingkiller Chronicle)
Cheo Coker (Luke Cage)
John Francis Daley & Jonathan Goldstein (Spider-Man: Homecoming)
Joe Robert Cole (People vs OJ Simpson, Black Panther)
Jeff Pinkner (Fringe, The Dark Tower)
Nicole Riegel (Dogfight)
Geneva Robertson (Tomb Raider)

You may have noticed that this room has a higher female component then is normal for..well any Hollywood project really. That is because while these properties have traditionally been aimed at boys, Hasbro is hoping to avoid doing that this time around. “Female empowerment is a central theme through a lot of these properties and one of the reasons we wanted diverse voices,” [said Hasbro CCO Stephen Davis].

Clearly Akiva Goldsman took his Transformers experience and learned from it. The dozen writers blow what was assembled for the Transformers Writers Room out of the water. Brian K. Vaughn's writing history alone is responsible for most of the boom but still. This group has a very strong emphasis on imagination with most of the writers previously displaying a strong sense of story structure and character development. By contrast the TF writer's room had a very strong emphasis on spectacle with a dash of story structure and character development skill. Sounds overly critical and unimportant but that reverse and incorrect emphasis is how you get something like Batman v Superman. To put it more bluntly, spectacle is easy. Story and character is hard. This group makes the hard stuff look easy. Considering the properties they are tackling have languished for nearly 30 years (and often for good reason), it is going to be interesting to see what comes from their ideas over the next few years. The first meeting of the group will occur on Monday.

Hasbro Signs Deal for Transformers Attraction in China

Deadline is reporting that Hasbro has signed a deal with China's DMG Entertainment for "Transformers Live" attraction in an unspecified city in China by 2017. One of the executives involved said "Transformers Live will be a cross between an action-adventure spectacle, a theme park attraction and a theatrical show. Fans will experience intense action, beautiful visual moments, an emotionally engaging story, lots of humor and rousing music." Disney, Dreamworks Animation and Universal are all planning to open theme parks in China over the next few years so things like this will probably continue with Hasbro and other Hollywood franchises, especially since China is estimated to surpass the United States in box office revenue by 2017.

Merry Christmas from BW Megatron

In a now yearly tradition (think five running but not sure), the voice of Beast Wars Megatron David Kaye has posted his yearly Merry Christmas video in the voice of the character. Merry Christmas to all!

Hasbro Cinematic Universe Officially Announced

While this isn't Transformers news, I figure 70s and 80s toy fans might find it interesting. Hasbro has revealed they are planning the Hasbro Cinematic Universe for five of their properties. This universe currently does not include Transformers. The properties are G.I. Joe, Micronauts, Visionaries, M.A.S.K., and ROM. It isn't clear if this means five movies, a single movie or some combination in between. GI Joe 3 is already in the very early planning stages so my guess is it would like be a gateway to one or more movies of the other properties. This is what Akiva Goldsman was pulled off of scripting Transformers 5 to lead the Hasbro Writers Room for. I have fond memories of M.A.S.K. and GI Joe but the others are just names I have heard. If I recall they were not really that successful at the time so their choice for a return is an interesting one on Hasbro's part. I am also curious to see much they will re-invent the lines from scratch as it seems that long dormant properties of Micronauts, Visionaries, MASK, and ROM are essentially blank slates for them to do whatever they want.

RIP George Coe

Long time character actor George Coe died July 18th at the age of 86 with a career that spanned more than 50 years. For today's fans you might remember his voice as Wheeljack/Que in Transformers: Dark of the Moon but more likely as Woodhouse on Archer. His voice over work included roles in video games (Star Wars: The Old Republic, Guild Wars 2, The Elder SCrolls V) and in cartoons (Legend of Korra, Star WArs: The Clone Wars). When acting he as appeared on a wide genre of shows be it Grey's Anatomy, Supernatural, Curb Your Enthusiasm and many more including the first season of Saturday Night Live. He also received an Oscar nomination for short film in 1968. Condolences to his family.

James Horner 1953-2015

Oscar winner and decades long composer James Horner died Monday when his plane crashed near Santa Barbara. The composer, probably most famous for the score to Titanic, was 61. He probably wasn't world famous but should have been for his music was some of the greatest created in the modern era. His scores include Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (whose queues continued to be use for decades after), Avatar, Aliens, A Beautiful Mind, An American Tail, Fields of Dreams, Apollo 13, The Rocketeer, and many more. Some of my favorite music includes his scores including Searching for Bobby Fischer, Glory, Bicentennial Man, and Braveheart. He really was one of Hollywood's great composers and a loss to music in general. I know this isn't Transformers related but I was a huge fan of this music composer and you may be too even if don't realize it if check out his list of film scores. Condolences to his family.

Free Digital Copy of Transformers 1 from Google Play

For probably today only (3-5-15), Google Play is offering a free digital copy of the first Transformers movie from the Google Play store. To redeem you will need a Google/Gmail account and either a credit card or Pay Pal account tied into the account. However, nothing is charged. The idea is probably to encourage those that have not done that will go ahead and add a payment record of some kind to facilitate future impulse buying. Personally I recommend doing it anyway because every few months Google Play offers a free movie and about once a month a free album. Any case click here to add Transformers to your Google Play digital collection.

Transformers Humble Bundle 2 Charity Available Now

For the second time Hasbro and joined with Humble Bundle to create a DRM free Transformers comic collection to benefit the Hasbro Children's Fund. Available from now until Wednesday, March 11, 2015 at 11am Pacific you can get nearly the entire current run of Transformers/Transformers: Robots in Disguise #1-37 and Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye #1-34 assuming you decide to go at least $5 above the donation average. At a value of $155 you can't beat the deal. These purchases are not tied into Comixology or other online retailer.

If ordering I recommend creating a Humble Bundle account first and then log in before donating. That way it automatically ties your purchase to your account to re-download if need to in the future. After donating you will receive an email that directs you to the site to download the books in your preferred format. If interested in the .cbz format of the books, the readers I use is ComicGlass for iPad/iPhone, Cover for Windows 8 and Perfect Viewer for Android. If go with epub format, Play Books from Google will probably more that meet your needs in most cases and includes syncing across devices.

The press release is here. The donate for the Transformers Humble Bundle 2 click here.

The Return of the Go-Bots?

It looks like Hasbro is looking to finally make use of the Gobots. The company has filed for a new Go-Bots trademark for "distribution of motion pictures, ongoing television programs" and "Toys, games and playthings, namely, toy vehicles and accessories for use therewith".

The franchise was created by Tonka in 1984 which had rushed developed the franchise to compete with the sudden success of Transformers by licensing the toy designs from Bandai (so basically the toys not good enough for Hasbro to license when developing Transformers). The franchise was acquired by Hasbro in 1991 when Tonka took on too much debt when it purchased the now defunct toy company Kenner in 1987. Since the 80s toy designs were owned by Bandai, only names from the franchise have appeared here and there in various other toy lines and Transformers toys over the years.

Even if Hasbro owned the toy designs, I don't see them bothering to re-create the 80s version of the Go-Bots in any form. I suspect this new trademark application is to create a new line of toys with a TV cartoon/commercial series. The movie aspect is just tacked on because why not, the line could be enough of a success to warrant it. I could see it as a sub-line of Transformers, maybe directed at kids but really with such a generic name more likely is it will be a completely different idea with a gimmick that has nothing to do with transforming. Thanks to Silver Knight for the link.

Epic Movie Explosions for the New Year

Here is an epic explosion super cut from Screen Junkies (with multiple use of Transformers scenes) to ring in the new year. Happy New Year!