Transformers London Sneak Peak Report, Spoilers

Earlier today, a few lucky Transfans around London got to go to a sneak preview of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. They were able to win tickets via various contests that Paramount UK was running. Blog reader Ali was one of those few and he provided the below pictures of the momento tickets he recieved for the occasion (thanks!). His report is mostly spoiler free but consider this a warning just in case.

Before the film started the lady briefly spoke about it and how were not able to put up a review up until Monday. She also mentioned we were the first to view the fully completed version; the one that was shown in Japan wasn’t fully complete.

Well first impressions it definitely packs a punch, jam packed in every sense - the story, action, definetly more robots, more humour but some of the humour was dragging a bit and not needed e.g. Sam's roommate Leon. The robots look awesome and you can actual see more detail in transformation, in particular keep an eye out (not that I think you'll miss it) for Ironhide's first transformation & Demolisher and also the fight scenes are much more detailed. Definitely glad I’m watching it at the IMAX and would recommend IMAX over regular cinema especially for this film, Michael Bay wasn’t lying. Those actual IMAX scenes are going to look AWESOME. The sound quality wasn’t as great and I’m mentioning this because there were times where I missed lines times & couldn’t understand what was being said, the Odeon cinema in Leicester Square is setup more like a theatre and kinda ol skool.

Things I can remember about the robots... everyone mentioned more or less is in the film, the twins start off as the ice cream trucks then they upgrade. Alice transforms. I remember seeing Bonecrusher, but no voiceover. More Decepticons come down but are not named; I can’t remember extra voiceovers for any Autobots or Decepticons. ...I know you'll enjoy it, everyone was clapping when the film was finished, I definitely am looking forward to going to watching it at the IMAX, you know what they say second times a charm.

In addition, Ali reports that three of the four IMAX scenes are the Demolisher scene, forest fight, and Devastator.
For those looking for more spoilers, below is a report from TFW2005. Thanks to Scalan15 for the link. Highlight to read.

To answer many frequent questions
- NO Barricade in movie
- No explanation why Megan Fox puts the white dress on and holds the flowers, just does it for no reason it would seem
- No explanation what the Twins reformat from the Ice Cream truck, they just do it in the hanger
- Bikes do NOT combine (you only see the rider ladies once and one bike is killed at end or badly shot)
- Optimus/ Jetfire combination NOT permenant, one whole booster ripped off fighting with Megatron and the Fallen. Prime tears rest off at battles end
- Jolt appears out of nowhere 1/2 way into film on the runway (as does Ratchet) and you old see Jolt one other time from what I could see. Never a main shot or close up of him. His hands sizzle electricity like the SW Emperor. He must have less than 5 seconds screen time
- There are LOADS of constructicons, after Devastator has combined you still see Mixmater and Long Haul loads, plus others
- Bonecrusher from 1st movie appears in truck mode
- You do see Soundwaves head but he never transforms. Voice is Welkers G1 Megatron voice
- The "Blackout/Grindor" bot is never explained, just appears, slightly different head to Blackout though
- Sideways only seen for robot for split second then back to car, then Sideswipe cuts him in half longways
- FINALLY a shot of Optimus turning into the truck!
- Megatron is a triple changer, you see him as robot, tank and a jet. Jet looked like tank but with flat wings, hard to see
- Mixmaster is triple changer, robot, truck and weapons platform. Uses platform mode twice at the end
- Shot of the protoforms arriving, some reused footage from first film. Some first film footage used with more prototforms added

Best Lines from the film
- The Twins "That hurt" - "It's an ass kicking, it's supposed to"
- The Twins "Maybe he's just a pussy!"
- The Twins when they see Devastator "Look at that mother f*BANG*"
- Jetfire (when hanger doors won't open) "Oh bollocks!"
- Jetfire "I'm too old for this crap!"

The good
- SUPERB Special effects, truely amazing
- The music score is great again, some lovely chior pieces
- Optimus is solid, really kicks ass - As does Bumblebee when he tries!
- Action, action, action!
- Some lovely moments between Starscream and Megatron

The bad
- Sam's mum getting stoned - Really annoying pointless scene
- Alice - Pointless character and waste of screentime
- And I am very, very, VERY sorry to say - Devastator. Totally pointless him being in the film. He doesn't get involved in the final battle and Simmons bringing him down is very WTF, by far Devastator biggest let down in movie
- When Sam dies and goes to Autobot heaven - WTF???

Stuff different from trailers
- Bumblebee never says "what is your purpose Sam" like in the Showest footage - I might be wrong about this one
- Some of the Showest sections are different takes in final film
- The military guy saying "Looks exactly like a truck" not in movie

End spoilers

Transformers 2 Tokyo Premiere Video, Spoilers (Updated)

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen has made its official worldwide debut in Tokyo, Japan with the "human" cast and director Bay in attendance. There was also a rather smoky filled and "dramatic" appearance by Bumblebee that probably wouldn't fly in the states. In addition, below are a few spoilers about the film from someone at the premiere as they write about a few plot beats and the Transformers voices, look, and how used in the film. Thanks to Marduk for the video link and Bas for the spoiler link.

Update: Pictures of the cast from the premiere. Long story short, the ladies looked amazing and Shia needs to shave that mess off his face. Not sure what is next on the premiere train but assume it is the London Premiere on the 15th. TFormers GettyImages


Below are spoilers, now in invisio-text so highlight to read. I would have done it to begin with but honestly didn't thing it revealed anything that wasn't already pretty obvious from the trailers, novels, and comics but comments here and elsewhere indicate that was a false assumption.
Spoilers:

Ok guys just got back! Don't have much time to post, don't wanna miss the train but here's some quick stuff.

Movie was incredible, I liked it much more than the first! More action, more robots, less humans! Though there are some lame sexual inuendos like Wheelie humping Megan's leg.

Anyway, Bay and the actors came right into the theater and introduced the film. I was tempted to scream "Don Murphy Stooges #1" but I didn't want to get led out by security!

The VA thing in the credits was way too fast, sorry guys. The Fallen was Todd something. Welker does voice Soundwave, and Devastator too. Devastator has one line, screaming his name. Soundwave only has a few lines but he speaks English. But he never comes down to earth and never turns into a robot. Bleah. Very little screen time, but at least he doesn't get exploded which leaves things open for the third movie.

Mostly English, not much cybertronian.

The Twins were lame. As in the "bust a cap in you ass" stereotype. I could've done without them.

Jetfire was comic relief. He has a British accent and reminded me of a Monty Python character. He doesn't "combine" with Prime in the normal sense, he gets fatally wounded and rips out his spark, killing himself so Prime can use his parts.

Wheelie is nothing like G1 Wheelie. He kinda reminds me of Rattrap.

Lots of kitchen bots. One was a Samurai too. Bludgeon?

Only named Constructicon is Rampage, and he is red.

Megatron is revived by some Constructicons and "The Doctor."

Sideways never transforms, he is cut in half by Sideswipe in the first battle scene in car mode. Sideswipe is cool. Ravage is cool too.

There was a bot that looked like Blackout but he was not named. Blackout himself was never revived so I can't say it was him. He did not speak and was not named in the credits. In fact in the last battle scene there were tons of, well, "repaints," basically reused animation. So even after Devastator forms, there are still constructicons running around. And some Protoforms. I even saw a truck that looked like Bonecrusher...though I never saw him in robot mode. Scorponok is in the final battle too and is killed by Jetfire in about 2 seconds.

There are three motorcycles, but they appear to be named collectively Arcee. Not much screen time/lines for them anyway.

The term "Matrix of Leadership" is used, it's a key that operates a device to draw energy from the sun.

End spoilers.

Botcon: Bay Presents ROTF Footage

Yesterday, during the Botcon Awards (no idea who won what), Michael Bay himself introduced clips from Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Cool move on his part since he didn't have to make the trip. Sadly no video but below is the description from Seibertron.com. Spoiler warning. Thanks to G0M3Z for the heads-up.

With our anticipation at its highest level, the attendees of Botcon roared into cheer as the first clip of the movie started. The footage started with John Turturro and Sam's roomate in the middle of a construction zone looking on to a group of construction vehicles surround them. The constructicons were revealed when Mixmasters Decepticon symbol is shown and Scavenger begins to transform. At the same time the other constructicons move closer to form Devastator!!!

Scavenger literally forces all the other constructicons into the gestalt ala Scorpion in Mortal Kombat [I think he means that "Come Here!" with chain grab move - ed]. Tuturro then runs with Sam's roomate when the scene cuts to Sam and Mikaela running from Rampage.

Rampage begins chasing Sam's father when Sam jumps in front of him to draw his attention. Sam then says "Wait, it's not them you want. It's this, the MATRIX!" He then holds up an item and continues to coax Rampage when Bumblebee arrives. The battle begins.

Rampage and Bumblebee fight ferociously with Bumblebee getting the better of Rampage when Ravage enters the fray. Using his hip cannons he blasts Bee and jumps on his back. Bumblebee then forces Rampage to the ground when Rampage lunges for Sam and takes Ravage and tears him apart piece by piece.

Bumblebee then rips Rampage's arm off and decapitates him.

Bay Talks Shia, Fox; New Voice Cast Member

LA Times has posted an interview with Michael Bay has he discusses his ongoing work editing the movie and working with Shia LaBeouf. The writer, Geoff Boucher, was even able to view about 25 minutes of footage from the film. We also learn that Tom Kenny (the SpongeBob Squarepants voice) has been cast in the film. As who is not specificed but it sounds like Wheelie. Below are snippets from the article, which can be found here.

He showed me a comedy sequence with the Witwicky family getting young Sam (Shia LaBeouf) ready to go off to Princeton University. There was a lot of "empty nest" humor with Sam's mom, Judy (Julie White), and dad, Ron (Kevin Dunn), and then the house is all but leveled by an unwelcome metallic visitor. The scene has a lot of humor in it but Bay said the film, overall, is darker than its 2007 predecessor. "This one," Bay said, "is less quippy."

There was the first scene in the film for the nubile Mikaela Banes (Megan Fox) and of course she was wearing very little and posed like a grease-monkey hottie on a garage pin-up poster. "Of course we had to get that out of the way," Bay said with mock resignation. There was plenty more of Fox in seductive mode and a romantic rival as well -- at Princeton, a curvy mystery girl [Alice, played by Isabel Lucas] pounces on Sam in his dorm-room but there's something a little alien about her. Maybe it's the nasty steel tail that suddenly emerges from under her skirt like a scorpion's stinger.

"People I've shown this to instantly feel like, 'Hey, I know that family, they’re fun to watch.' It’s like when you watch a favorite TV series, there are things about familiarity you like and it can be satisfying. There are other benefits from doing it a second time. Movies do take a life. Things spark and take a life, things you thought would be important drop away and a tone is set. With the sequels, you know the tone. That’s a huge thing."

There was also a section of the film in a Princeton classroom with a leering Lothario of a professor (Rainn Wilson) who has a run-in with new student Witwicky, who is suddenly a sputtering genius thanks to his encounter with a powerful shard of alien technology. Bay based the sleazy Wilson character on a randy film instructor he remembered back at his alma mater, Wesleyan University, who wore leather pants and had a whispered reputation for seducing coeds.

He showed me a sequence with a cranky new Autobot [Jetfire] with a lot of stylized personality (think of a windy old geezer with the metallic equivalent of a braided beard) and he mentioned that the smaller robots will be a key part of this film. Tom Kenny (the star voice of "SpongeBob SquarePants") and ubiquitous voice veteran Frank Welker are on board and I think little kids in particular are going to seize on this movie. "Jeffrey Katzenberg gave me advice once. He said it's great to have little characters with these big huge voices," Bay noted of some of the manic little bots.

"Shia came in and auditioned and he was this little skinny kid. ‘Dude you’re like this action king!’ he was so giddy and he wanted to be in action movie so bad. I told him, ‘All right, all right, just calm down.’ I instantly loved his acting because he is disarming, he is great at improv. He’s got this everyday kind of guy that thing. He’s much more charismatic in this movie, too. He’s coming into his own. He’s a smart actor. You sometimes have to push him when he doesn’t believe it. He’ll go through a dark period. With actors you’ve got to be a psychologist. You have to see the darkness coming, especially with funny actors. I can see it coming on and I have to say, ‘Shia…’ and pull him aside. I explain it to him and he’ll come out of it. And then he’ll say, ‘You’re right, you’re right, I was in that mood…’ The reason is they're scared of things sometimes. It’s not easy being an actor and putting yourself out there.”

On Fox: "I brought Megan in when I was producing a different movie and she auditioned for a two-day part. We gave the role to someone else but I remembered her when it came to this movie. There were a lot of young women that auditioned for ‘Transformers,’ but she got it. She was very junior as an actress. There was a chemistry thing, though, between her and Shia. She’s vastly improved over the last one."

Thanks to Mcat and Austin for the link.

RoTF Comic Adaptation Preview #2

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Movie Adaptation #2 will be hitting newsstands on May 28th and IDW has provided a sneak peak here. Including bits is a look at the Nemesis (Decepticon flagship, counterpart to the Autobots Arc from G1 cartoons), a few corny lines from Megatron (that I hope isn't in the movie unless the line reading is just kickass), and bits of Sam looking foolish in class as Wheelie spies on Mikaela. Thanks to ghola-tleilaxu and DeceptiFreak for the heads-up.

Rise of the Decepticon Book Montage

Below is a video that shows a montage of images from a child's book called Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - Rise of the Decepticon. I guess you could call it spoilers since it does show stuff that the junior and adult novelizations have already revealed in greater detail. Of note are some of the characters used for some sequences do not match the novels completely, again showing how different script versions are sent out for these adaptations. Another note, the additional "red-shirt" Decepticon doesn't necessarily have to be a Constructicon in the revival of Megatron. Thanks to Yoboy for the link and his friend that did the montage.

If you want to view the individual page images they can be found here. Thanks to Phil for the link.

RoTF Official Novelization Spoilers (Update 2)

"Brundok" over at TFW2005 has received a copy of the official adaptation novel (i.e. "adult") for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. As expected, the novel is a more detailed version of the junior novel summary from the other day and appears based on a later version of the script but again Bay could have made any number of changes during production and post production that the novel will not reflect.

Brundok finished the book. The full details spoilers are here with a few details below to add to the junior novelization summary (highlight to read). Thanks to Alyssa for the link.

- The Arcee bikes have individual robot forms and do have the ability to form one robot.
- Two websites that will participate in the ARG promotion this year, one is www.therealeffingdeal.com that is run by Leo Spitz, Sam's roommate. The other is www.gianteffingrobots.com run by RoboWarrior, i.e. Simmons. Currently the passwords to log into either site are not known.
- Sam's mother has a close encounter with brownies with a little something extra so that should be a hilarious scene.
- Ravage has a re-enter mode because he breaks off of Soundwave, a satellite in Earth orbit. He steals "the shard" (two pieces of the AllSpark? Still confused on how Mikaela has one and NEST has one) from NEST.
- The Doctor, three Constructicons and one other descend to revive Megatron. The "red shirt" Decepticon is sacrificed for parts so the Doctor can re-assemble Megatron and revive him with the shard.
- The fight with Megatron, Starscream and Blackout ends with Optimus Prime going into "status lock." This is another Beast Wars concept that indicates heavy damage or low energy. Think of it as the Transformer version of a coma.
- The scene in the trailer of Sam drawing the "language of the Primes" on the ground is him talking to Jetfire to get more info on The Fallen.
- Ransack is in the novel, apparently one of the Seekers created by the Primes (created to find appropriate suns for the Sun Harvester).
- In this version, The Fallen kills all the the Primes but one escaped with the Matrix and sealed himself and his brothers in an unknown tomb. Optimus, the last decendent of the Primes, is the only one that can stop The Fallen.
- In Petra, the room "found" by the fighting Twins is the fused bodies of the 12 ancients, one with an outstretched hand holing a pile of black sand.
- Scene from trailer with the Insecticon is part of Sam and Mikaela's attempt to get to Prime with the Matrix. Ripping him aparts alerts the Decepticons to their location and the chase begins.
- Devastator forms from 7 Constructicons, not six, in the novel.
- A 'Con, carrying Sam's parents captured in Paris, threatens to harm them if he doesn't turn over the Matrix. Bumblebee attacks the Con as Sam and co escape. This is probably the seen between BB and Rampage or Scrapper in the trailer.
- Skids is sucked into Devastator's mouth but bursts through his right eye. Like a video game boss battle, do to size and slowness, staying underneath the monstrosity keeps everyone safe.
- "A pogosticking 'Con is bouncing around destroying everything in sight." (A new character I guess.)
- The Fallen teleports into the battle while Devastator moves toward and onto the Pyramid containing the Sun Harvester. Fallen also seems to have telekinetic abilities to go with his teleportation skills.
- Simmons provides Devastator's coordinates to the Navy so they can fire a new Rail Gun. Yep at some point Lennox says/writes "Bring the Rain".
- Jetfire destroys a 'Con, Skorponok attacks Jetfire wounding him with a blow through the chest and gets his head removed for the effort.
- Megatron, in tank mode, is the one that blasts Sam into unconscience where he speaks to the Primes. Matrix reforms, used on Prime to revive him, Jetfire sacrifices self to Prime can merge with his parts and fly, and Fallen activates the Harvester.
- Devastator hit point blank by rail gun and broken into component parts, Prime breaks the Sun Harvester and confronts Fallen, Megatron and Starscream. Prime precedes to own him, asks for Megatron's help who ignores him. Fallen opens a portal to escape, Prime yanks him back but Starscream and Megs use it to escape.
- Spire from Harvester rammed by Prime (with jetpacked assistance) into the Fallen, killing him. Matrix retrieved from device. Battle won.
- Optimus: "I know one thing. Whatever it may hold, it is a future we'll meet together. Our Planets, our races, united by a history long forgotten, yet to be discovered." Tilting back his head, he peered up at the sky and through it, to the stars beyond."
- Epilogue: Back on the Nemesis Megatron waits for himself to repair. He goes back to the cargo bay as the lights flicker on. Megatron peers at the numerous sarcophagi, hold protoforms all Loyal to Him! "Arise"

End spoilers. Please keep the comments civil.

Comic Movie Adapation Preview

IDW has posted five pages from Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Movie Adaptation #1 issue that will be out in comic stores starting May 20th. Unlike the novels, the comic adaptation doesn't need the same lead time so it is probably based on a more current version of the film script but not necessarily the final cut of the film. In a way the various adaptations provide an interesting look at how a film script evolves over time.

The pages can be found here and they do provide a few spoilers. It provides additional confirmation of the Ice Cream Truck being the Twins, suggests that Arcee is all three bikes that share a single mind, and that Stratosphere (who in the movie is probably just a plane, not a TF) has a role in the sense that he provides the air transportation to drop Optimus in position to take on Demolisher. Thanks to ghola-tleilaxu, Phil, and Gregory for the link.

RoTF Junior Novelization Spoilers

"Cth" over at TFW2005 has posted a summary of the The Last Prime and junior novelization of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. This does not include the official novelization that is coming out in the next week or so which would probably have more details. Below is a very spoiler filled portion (which you have to highlight read) but the full and detailed and story spoiling summary is here. The novelization does conform to most of the information we have but in some areas it does diverge slightly, to be expected since novelizations are usually based on a late draft of a movie script that doesn't reflect changes made just before, during or after production.

The links reference set reports and the like that seem relevant to the description. It is not complete as just did a skim of all the previous posts to find them but figure at least somewhat useful in making connections about the film.

- The Allspark created the first 13 Transformers called the Primes. Needing energy, they created the Matrix of Leadership which powers the Sun Harvester. This in turn takes energy from the sun so the Primes vowed not to take that energy from a sun that provides life to its worlds after finding life on Earth via early man.
- One of the Primes, The Fallen, wanted the power to himself so the other Twelve hid themselves and the Matrix from him.
- NEST (Nonbiological Extraterrestrial Species Treaty) searches for Demolisher and Sideways in Shanghai. The team of Ironhide, Sideswipe, the Twins, Lennox, and Epps find them. Sideswipe stops Sideways. Demolisher (with explosions), defeated, says The Fallen providing the Autobots with something they didn't know before.
- US, explained the Mission City fight blamed on a robotics company. Meanwhile Sam packs for college and Mikaela is uneasy about a long distance relationship. While packing the Allspark shard falls, burns through the floor and activates six appliances, which Bumblebee destroys by destroying the kitchen. The shard is given to Mikeala who stores it in her father's shop, which Wheelie sees.
- At Nest HQ, discussion of Shanghai and other tops leads to Soundwave discovering location of Megatron. Ravage and the Doctor are sent to retrieve the shard from NEST HQ (not sure how got form Mikeala to there).
- Sam, not at college meets Leo who is a conspiracy nut that runs www.therealeffingdeal.com whose competitor is Robo Warrior. Sam meets Alice, they go to a party and Sam starts seeing symbols. Bumblebee's car alarm goes off, two leave in him. BB got Sam to take him to meet Optimus at a cemetery so stops the car and douses her with antifreeze. Sam told shard has been stolen and they still need his help.
- Ravage and Doctor take shard and use it to reboot Megatron (trailer indicates this is completely changed).
- While in Prof. Coulon's class (Rainn Wilson), Sam starts speed reading, ranting Einstein being wrong and so forth. Gets kicked out of class, goes to the library and find a book on his grandfather.
- Megatron, once revived goes to Mars and meets Starscream and the Decepticons waiting there with the Nemesis (Decepticon ship, counter to the Ark from the G1 days). The two talk to the Fallen about re-creating the AllSpark using the Sun Harvester and Matrix which Sam now has the location of. Megs and Starscream leave with 15 additional Decepticons for Earth to find Sam.
- Back to Mikaela who find Wheelie spying, befriends him, find out why he wants the shard and goes off to find Sam. She walks in just as Alice making a move to kiss Sam. Alice reveals her pretender status and starts chasing after Leo, Sam and Mikaela (the Frenzy-like robot, all the car footage from Princeton). A chase ensues and they stop Alice by smashing her between the car and a pole.
- Drive off, now getting by a helicopter (Blackout) and then cornered by Megatron and Starscream in a factory. The Doctor is about to torture Sam for info when Optimus and Bumblebee comes to the rescue. The fight between Megatron and Prime moves to the forest area outside the factory where Starscream and Blackout join the fight. Prime takes on all three, the fight ends after Megatron severely wounds Prime with a spike from behind just before being chased off by Ironhide, Ratchet and the Twins.
- Unable to find the hidden Sam, Soundwave broadcasts a message from Megatron saying either give up Sam or cities start getting destroyed. Sam's parents on vacation in France, see the message (and later attacked).
- Trying to learn more from the Sam's symbols, they contact Robo Warrior who turns out to be Simmons working at his mom's deli. Sam, somehow, knows that Megatron wants a new power source already on earth that the Autobots don't know about because it pre-dates them. Mikaela still has Wheelie so the question him and learn that 10 Seekers are on Earth and he helps them find Jetfire.
- Jetfire translates the symbols and uses his ability of wormhole transportation to bring everyone to Egypt and gives them the background on the Sun Harvester and Matrix and that a Prime can only defeat a Prime (the Fallen). Prime is still wounded but the Matrix could heal him.
- While Prime is being brought to Egypt by Lennox, Sam and co think the Matrix is in a tomb (Petra). It is found behind a wall after a whole is accidently put into it (by the Twins). The Matrix, now dust, is collected into Sam's sock.
- Autobots attacked as they try to get back to Prime's location, Fallen appears on the scene, Constructicons form Devastator and Megatron determines the location of the Harvester (the Pyramid).
- Meanwhile, Sam gets nearly blown up and knocked out. He dreams of the 12 Primes, they give him a speech about destiny and he comes to with a reformed Matrix which he plunges into Prime, both repairing Prime and passing on his knowledge.
- Fallen teleports in, grabs the Matrix, teleports to the Pyramid and powers up the Harvester. Jetfire sacrifices himself to provide the parts Prime needs to get back to fighting shape which Ratchet helps facilitate.
- Simmons provides the Navy with Devastators coordinates, essentially destroying him. The Harvester fires towards the sun, Prime deflects the blast, hitting Megatron and Starscream who later escape. Optimus fights Fallen, using the parts of the harvester as a bludgeon. The Fallen teleports to escape but Optimus uses the Matrix to stop him and toss him into a new wormhole, defeating him.

End spoilers. Please keep the comments civil.

Shia Talks Energon

In an interview with IESB, Shia LaBeouf discusses how the movie is better then the first, how the character evolves and the college theme. Below is the segment regarding Energon, but the full interview can be found here. Thanks to MetalAnsWer for the link.

Q: How does your character change? How does he evolve from the first movie?
SL: Well, Sam saved the world the first time, right? So just imagine Brad Pitt going to Trader Joe's to go get a granola bar. If you save the world you have a real problem trying to buy a granola bar, you know? So, like, anywhere you go, you're the guy who saved the world. And you're trying to go to college and have like a normal life. And as you know college is a humongous, humongous deal for kids who didn't enjoy their life in high school because it's a chance to start over. And Sam was this nebbishy, neurotic, dorky kid in high school who fell into the most ridiculous situation.

The movie starts two years later from where the last one left off. He's on his way to school to start a new life, to get away from his parents, to get as far away from his parents as he can because he's stifled and feels like most kids do who have extremely protective parents. He's sheltered. And on top of that he's got Bumblebee living in his garage, who is his guardian. And he's just sick of having guardians. He's trying to create his own world and create his own personality free from other people's input. And he goes off to college and when he gets to college he starts having problems, meaning he starts having these spastic fits of information where like his great, great grandfather, Archibald Witwicky, starts having these visions. These things just start popping up into his head. And he's seeing symbols and comes to find out the symbols are a map which lead to Decepticons, or the Autobots to the Energon source that is still being held here on Earth.

Decepticons and Autobots need Energon to create armies, to revive fallen comrades, to create new worlds, to create armies - to do everything. It's their main resource. And the little bit that's left here, the only way to find it is through this map and the only way to use the map is through my mind. And so they stop my little stint at college to handle business.

Official Transformers 2 Story Synopsis?

Latino Review has posted what could finally be the official story synopsis for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. The synopsis is from the May/June 2009 issue of Creative Screenwriting where they interviewed Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman. Sounds legit too as it supports pretty much everything we think we know about the movie. Thanks to The Chief for the link.

When the story begins, the Autobots and the military have been waging a secret war against the Decpticons. As more of the giant robots continue to resurface, though, it becomes apparent the Transformers have been part of Earth's history for longer than they'd led mankind to believe. One group of bureaucrats even womders if the Decepticons are only appearing because of the Autobot presence. Desperate not to leave Earth undefended, Optimus Prime turns to Sam and asks him to become a human advocate, someone who will convince mankind that the Autobots should be allowed to saty. Sam refuses to believe he can help, though, wanting to go to college and live a normal life - as normal as possible with the strange thoughts and visions that have haunted him since being exposed to the All Spark's primal energies two years earlier. Alas, Sam's refusal will have harsh consequences for himself, the Autobots and possibly the entire world. The Decepticons fallen leader, Megatron has been resurrected and brings with him an ancient evil from the Transformers own history.

"All great sequels have an incredibly frightening bad guy," says Kurtzman, amending their earlier list of traits, "who challenges your hero in a way that is unique," They found such a character in the comic-book Transformers mythology, a primordial creature known only as The Fallen. "He was one of the first Transformers. He was Lucifer. He was the fallen angel. And it just felt like a great place to come from."

Story Spoilers from ShoWest? (Update 3)

In the new theatrical trailer thread, an anonymous post reveals some potentially spoiler information about the Transformers 2 story based on information they got at ShoWest. Normally I don't post these but in this case the information is consistent and logical enough with the information we have that it makes me wonder if it is not legit. At the very least it will probably lead to a lively (and hopefully insult free) discussion in the comments. I have edited the post a bit (mostly using bullet points) to make it easier to read. My comments are in brackets [].

I work in the effects industry but I am not affiliated with this film. We do have an online community (member only) where we discuss various projects around the various studios. I have some knowledge about some of the robots in the shots from the trailer.

- The robot with the "loose" treads is called Scrapper. Hence the reason he is "fist" fighting with Bumblebee.
- The yellow robot is Rampage.
- The helicopter is Blackout. You could see it at the ShoWest if you were there but more now with a HD feed of this trailer you can see that Blackout has rust on him just like Megatron does. Blackout is mostly intact.
- The robots crashing into the aircraft carrier are the Constructicons. Many people believed it was members of Starscream's air force but as you can see from the video there are no robots present. We saw an additional scene where Long Haul and Mixmaster are destroying the ship from within and end up ripping the hull of the carrier in half.
- What I was told is Soundwave has been scanning vehicles and when the Decepticons come to earth they fly by him in space and receive their alt mode on the way down. [Strategically and story wise, this is a genius idea]
- This is why Long Haul, Scrapper, and Mixmaster are as their alt modes over Megatron. Brawl and Bonecrusher do not return. They use Brawls parts to reform Megatron underwater (tank tracks and fitted with a particle cannon that Soundwave provides.
- Soundwave is only seen in the trailer as one of the 4 robots down in the ocean. By the way if you think Long Haul is huge Soundwave is about 6 feet taller. The other plot point is the cold and pressure does not affect their bodies like the humans thought they would. Two Decepticons give up their sparks to revive Megatron and Blackout who we find out is 3rd in command behind Starscream.
- Michael Bay made Soundwave's role as Megatron's most trusted friend (aka bodyguard and secretly unknown to Starscream as the real number 2) hence the recovery effect by the Decepticons.
- Mixmaster and Megatron can semi-fly in the film but not much. Megatron has back rockets and Mixmaster has the spinning gears turbines under his arm shields (cement mixer barrel) that he uses a few times. Mixmaster has a lot of screen time. [This would explain how Megs "swimming" up so fast and how Mixxy gets on the bridge]
- We saw a short 5 second shot where Long Haul stomps on Jazz's corpse underwater. [Sorry but I have not and still don't think Jazz returns and I could see this being Bay's definitive statement on the matter]
- There are 5 other jets that fly with Starscream but have not been named at the time of the show. I do not know the type of aircraft.
- Barricade is the one crashing into the library but isn't seen.

We saw more of that shot at the ShoWest show in private. Finally the major spoilers is as follows so look away if you don't want to know.

Remember when Michael Bay said Ravage does something no other transformer does? Well Alice is Ravage. Well they kinda gave it away when they said she had a tail and a tongue. Ravage is really small like a real jungle cat. He is sent to kill Sam but realizes Sam has information about The Fallen so he tries to get it from him. Once she turns on Sam and comes after him then she shows who she really is and Barricade shows up to help. Enough said. Now I said enough but hey there was 300 plus people at the ShoWest after party. I am out. Enjoy Revenge of the Fallen because a lot of great lads at ILM and DD did the work. [This is an elaboration on a plot point that video and story leaks indicated and Orci indirectly verified]

Update: To add to the above, a post from a possible DreamWorks employee confirms some of the above and denies other. It has a tinge of the realistic to it and is convincing enough to make it worth posting. As always though, all of this remains unproven but very interesting. Some edits made for clarity, my comments in brackets.

This is a shock to us here at Dreamworks. We are NOT asking you to remove this info [maybe a few months ago we would have] but we will clear some up for you. I will say that most of the info is correct but some is not.
- The robot that is fighting Bumblebee is NOT "Scrapper" because if you look closely he is seen by the wall [yellow bot] when Shia & Megan jump from the blast of Starscream. We aren't revealing if the red bulldozer has a name just yet. Around 10 bots will be nameless.
[Could this be Overload, the 7th Constructicon recent articles mentioned?]

- 2 Decepticons do NOT give up their spark for the return of Megatron. It is just one. If you look through TF mythology this won't come as a surprise. This character willingly sacrifices himself.
[I believe this is a reference to Beast Wars series which created the Spark concept and made them transferable. Who does the sacrificing? If Blackout does comes back, does a Decepticon also die for him?]

- A lot of people speculate that the tank tracks on Megatron are from Brawl--they are NOT. His tank tracks are Cybertronian metal and that is the reason most of his body has rust but the tracks do not. He is built from deceased Decepticons but not from the Laurentian Abyss. There is a double-meaning to the name Long Haul (think back to his F.A.B. toy bio)

- Isabel's character is NOT a human form for Ravage. I will not say who but think back to the videos I am sure you have seen with the crew & the puppet-like minion. Ravage actually has nothing to do with the college aspect. Soundwave enlists someone else for that job. All I can say is this...Ravage is far too big [unlike the info you have] to be Isabel.
[This does not discount that Alice is not a pretender, just not a skin for Ravage but another un-named Transformer such as the Frenzy-like creature. Mass wise, Ravage does seem way too big.]

- There isn't a character in the film named "Gridor" because it indeed is Blackout. We had that toy made because we weren't going to show him until this final trailer and we felt if the toy was leaked with that name [we were right] it would ruin the surprise. Mike insisted on the scene with him in it for the Vegas footage. Fans will indeed see a Blackout toy after the release of the film.
[Looks like Blackout, attacks like Blackout, if sounds like Blackout, must be Blackout, but why the white coloring?]

- Starscream does have re-enforcements however there are only 3 that accompany him. They also use the same scanning technique. If you remember, we had an original artwork with Soundwave in his satellite mode where meteor bots are flying by. Ehren came up with the idea like Teletran-1 for the Autobots. This is but one of the many things Soundwave adds to this film. Mike loved this idea because it saves time on having each individual bot scan & transform.
[This is a genius idea because now very little screen time has to be wasted on getting Decepticons in an alt mode, they just literally do it on the fly and go right into the main story]

- That was a secret of ours however, one of our biggest secrets is now revealed regarding Barricade. As Mike would say...the cat's out on that one. The crew knew the cop car would draw attention on set hence the reason there wasn't a confirmed set-picture---the car is CGI for roughly 3 seconds before a transformation to robot form occurs.
[We already knew Barricade was back, just not how he would be used]

- The rest of the info is indeed accurate along with the info on Jazz. We knew a lot of people wanted him to show up but if everyone returned it defeats the purpose of having tragedy in the franchise---same with Brawl & Bonecrusher.

I'm sorry if any info has been spoiled for you but the great thing about our dedication to this film was for each and everyone of the fans out there. We listened to all the good & bad comments over the past couple of years. Enjoy the film!!

Update 2: The plot gets a little more interesting as the orginial poster comments on the the above which was a comment on his first post and adds a few more potential story details. Honestly these two posters are not really opposing viewpoints, at most the differences come down in identifying what Constructicon is which and who Alice is the Pretender of.

Hey all of you. I am the poster from last night that provided the information that I am surprised has grown so much. I just wanted to respond to the guy that claims he is from DreamWorks. I have a feeling this guy is a fake. Industrial Light & Magic and Digital Domain are doing the visual effects for this film. DreamWorks and Paramount are making it. This guy is talking like he is sitting in on the visual effects sessions which only the writers, producers and director would do. Plus he is stating that quote:
"That's right, some big secrets were revealed that we didn't want published, so what I am going to do is confirm them for you. Then add a bit more that you didn't ask to hear because we want to keep it tight lipped around here. --DWE"

Now why would someone who works for DreamWorks start confirming secrets and add a bit more if they want to keep it tight lipped? Also without Michael Bay's permission and all cast members have to sign a contact not to release information.. I do not work for DreamWorks as I stated last night nor did I work on Revenge. I am friends with people at ILM and DD and our company was one of many that attended ShoWest. I am not under contract to keep my mouth shut because like I said I have nothing to so with the production. They sign as DWE meaning DreamWorks Entertainment. There is no division under that name. It is only DreamWorks Pictures and DreamWorks Animation SKG. I suspect this is someone trying to toy with the information I have provided. I don't really care either way.
[All valid points, personally I thought DWE meant DreamWorks employee]

I am myself a huge fan of Transformers and just thought I would volunteer the information I was made privy to at ShoWest. I would love to provide information as to who I am but just in case it may get me or someone at ILM or DD in trouble I shall remain in the shadows. Like I said there were 300 plus people at the ShoWest after party so I felt it was safe to tell you guys what I know.
[Also like more information, so volunteering is good but people are going to muddy the waters which is easy to do until the movie comes out.]

I am just posting this last time so if you see anymore posts claiming it is me then don't believe it. If you need straight facts or get a 100% confirmation then take the word of Roberto Orci or Alex Kurtzman over some guy claiming to be from DreamWorks.
[Couldn't agree more, if doesn't come from official channels, it remains under the speculation category.]

In closing I will say I sent a email this morning to someone in the know to clarify about the changes on Scrapper and Rampage and I was told is the yellow bot chasing Sam is Rampage but he was changed from the toy seen as the yellow Rampage to the a wheeled construction machine and his head was moved to that robot model. Look at the head of Rampage on his toy box on this site and then look at the scene with Sam jumping off the roof and you will see Rampage has the same head as the toy but is another mode. Scrapper was given his body, color changed, and a different head for the film. Same thing was done with Demolishor from the movie to the toy itself (different colors).
[Hasbro production means toy designs had to be locked about a year ago to get the engineering and manufacturing done in time for the movie. ILM and Bay are not under any such restraints so they can make adjustments right up to the very end so this is very plausible.]

Another tidbit and a spoiler is as follows..
So it was mentioned by the DWE guy about the shots of the Frenzy like creature on Sam's dads Saturn car being Alice. Well after Sam gets chased by Barricade and Ravage and Bumblebee shows up to fight them off right as Sam's dad arrives and they get attacked by this creature who is with Barricade. They escape and drive home which isn't far from the college but the creature is hanging on the car. That is when more of these creatures attack their house and hurt his dad and that is the scene where Bumblebee crashes through the fence to save them. From here they go to see Simmons and find Prime aka the graveyard scene. The scene where Bumblebee is dancing in the garage and the house damaged outside is because Bumblebee accidently falls into the side of the house and that is why Sam is kind of cold to him in the garage about how he isn't coming to college with him after his dad lets him have it.

Update 3: DWE replies to the above. I edited it to specific story stuff but you can find the full post in the comments.

...however I must add another clarification:
Trust me when I say this......all of the toys that associate with the major classes [SCT, FAB, DLX, VOY & LDR] will be named correctly. The name "Grindor" is only for the F.A.B. toy and that's it. There will NOT be any mix-ups...I can give you my word. Ehren has been VERY adamant about this fact as well---he will be the first to say that he's the ultimate "fanboy"

To be honest we haven't read a post from one person yet that has the ending figured out [not to say that someone doesn't know it...we just haven't read it] but the fans on this blog as well as the others are VERY smart at picking up details.

Megatron returns..I never said who he gains the spark from.
Alice is a pretender..all you know is that it's not Ravage.
The seekers were obvious..I didn't say who the 3 were.

I hate to do this again but as you know Sam & Mikaela have a long-distance relationship and the info you were given in the 2nd update is also incorrect to an extent. The college Sam attends is an east coast university so the school and his house would NOT be in a close proximity to each other [that should give it away right there]

If you remember [I'm sure you do--who am I kidding] the coloring book revealed a "kitchen crew" of drones. They do NOT appear while Sam is enrolled in college. Those two points in time do not intersect during the film.

[The Spark] DOES NOT come from Soundwave. Trust me when I say this as well...Bob, Alex, & Ehren did justice to the original character & the visual effects on him are AMAZING. I will go out on a limb here and say that when you see & hear the new Soundwave you will NOT look at the original in the same way. Those 3 men & Mike listened to the fans. You will LOVE this rendition of him [unless you are rooting for the Autobots]

Christmas Mural Re-Visited

The new ShoWest Footage reveals confirmation of a leak from last Christmas that showed a damaged mural and no idea what behind it. As seen below, it is clearly the same mural. Based on the footage, it appears this is occurring at Petra, Jordan. We know the Decepticons are looking for the AllSpark fragment and Sun Harvester. What could the Autobots be searching for? Thanks to Katie for putting it together. To view the images of what is behind that mural, click here. Early guesses were the Fallen but the images don't match and besides he is in another dimension.

Defiance #4 Movie Spoilers (Updated)

The concluding issue four of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Prequel Defiance arc came out this Wednesday and it provides a few details and spoilers for the upcoming movie. The arc is the story of what started the Transformers Civil War that eventually reached Earth in the first movie. I have not read the copy so the information is from Seibertron and TFW2005.

In this first three issues, a relic (the sarcophagus Megatron bows before) is found during an archaeology dig on the planet Cybertron. At this time Megatron is leader of the military and Optimus (not yet Prime) is essentially his assistant and director of the dig. Due to the influence of The Fallen, Megatron claims the relic as his own. The Fallen continues to build on Megatron's ambition until he declares martial law and forms the Decepticons and orders the arrest of Optimus and his friends for treason.

So now to the movie related points of interest:

- The Fallen and his "brothers" (13 total perhaps?) were born on the same planet as the AllSpark (its own origins unknown).
- The AllSpark's power was limited but could be restored by harvesting the energy of a sun.
- The first Cybertronians (including Jetfire) were created to find an appropriate star while the Sun Harvester is built on another planet (Earth).
- The Fallen wanted the AllSpark power for himself but his brothers turn the tables and trap The Fallen and themselves in the sarcophagus
- After the brothers are trapped, a pyramid is built around the Sun Harvester.
- The Fallen influences Megatron to form the Decepticons to use the AllSpark to find the Sun Harvester and activate it so he can be released (alluded to in coloring book pages).
- Optimus Prime forms the Autobots to stop Megatron and his followers from freeing The Fallen.
- As part of the war, the AllSpark is sent into space where it lands on earth due to it detecting the Sun Harvester on the planet (and thus the beginning of the first movie).

Update: Small update, changed the cover photo in the top left to much better variant cover for the issue. To bad there wasn't a scene like that in the first movie.

ShoWest Transformers 2 Footage Description (Updated)

AICN's Quint was in Las Vegas when Michael Bay accepted the Vanguard Award. As part of that, a scene and action montage was shown. I think one part is going to make people cringe but "the action makes the first movie look like Driving Miss Daisy."

The full scene was Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox going into Sam’s parent’s garage to talk with Bumblebee, who is, apparently, still having trouble with his voicebox. He’s able to cough up a few staticy words, but still communicates mostly through pop songs (lame).

Shia tells Bumblebee that he’s going away to college and can’t bring him along. Freshmen aren’t allowed to have cars at his college, apparently, and Sam doesn’t need protection anymore anyway, he says.

As he talks with Bumblebee, Fox is outside… we see that the Witwicky house is being repaired… so I take it this isn’t too long after the first one or there was a bit of action that happened prior to this clip.

Anyway, Fox stips out of her black leather pants and jacket, revealing a dress… Prom? Something. But Megan Fox stripping is a-okay for whatever reason.

Back in the garage, Bumblebee isn’t taking the news well, dramatically crying (window-washer liquid) and waving his arms. This could have actually been fairly emotional. LaBeouf is playing the scene that way, but the robot is so over the top I don’t know if it was supposed to be a comic scene or not.

So, the scene wasn’t all that great, but the montage of action was fucking awesome, as I’m sure Bay would say. We get a look at the Devastator (massive and pretty sweet) knocking the hell out of Optimus. The shot is from far away and Optimus is fighting in a large, open grass field in bright daylight. He’s hit and sails through the air towards us, hitting the ground and rolling to a stop right at the camera. He sits up and spits out something metal (robot tooth?).

There were quick flashes of a lot of cool action. There was a Decepticon with giant saw blades that cuts a car in half, splitting up Shia and Fox. There was a shot of a decepticon bug being forced into Shia’s mouth… another shot was of a transformer fly that Shia has pinched between his fingers… and a lot of quick big action scenes… a transformer that is two giant wheels, ‘splosions, etc, etc.

Looks like more of the same so if you hated the first movie you probably won’t like this one much more, but I hear that the action makes the first movie look like DRIVING MISS DAISY… and that Bay learned a few lessons from the first, focusing on the robots more than the humans this time out. I hope so.

Update:Coming Soon has also posted a description of the footage.

Sam opens the garage door to see Bumblebee in robot form hitting himself in the head trying to get his voice back. Sam tells the robot that he wants to talk about college, to which Bumblebee starts playing The Pointer Sisters' "I'm So Excited" and dancing around, but Sam tells him that he's not going to which the robot gives a heavy groan. Sam gives him a long speech why it's best Bumblebee doesn't accompany him, while Mikaela runs outside and starts to disrobe (Yowza!)... no wait, she's just changing outfits. Bumblebee isn't happy and he starts spraying water from his head as if he was crying. Sam explains that he wants to go to college and experience it like a normal guy, but that Bumblebee will always be his first car, etc. As he finishes his sentimental speech, Sam turns and opens the garage door and Mikaela is standing there in what appears to be a wedding dress holding a purple bouquet of flowers.

After that dialogue scene, what followed was a two minute montage of some of the robot action from the movie giving glimpses of almost all the Autobots and Decepticons we'll be seeing as well as The Fallen, most of them on screen slightly longer than the footage seen before. To be honest, it was cut together so quickly that only a diehard mega-fan might be able to see it and name every robot or figure out exactly what was going on. Regardless, it looks like Bay has done it again and anyone who liked the first movie should be suitably impressed with the sequel.

Alliance #4 Has Movie Spoilers?

The last issue of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Prequel Alliance mini-series came out yesterday and it provides a few possible spoilers for the movie. As TFW2005.com summarizes, here is information that ties directly into the movie:

- McClaren Robotics is a front to provide clean-up for the Transformers existence. If that name sounds familiar, way back in July, it was noted that Steve Tom was cast as the CEO of the company.
- The comic recreates a containment unit for the AllSpark that looks very similar to the promo pic that USA Today published (pic 6) late last year.
- Five new Transformers (panels below) are revealed: Corvette Centennial (Sideswipe), three motorcycles (Arcee, Chromia, ?), and if look carefully can see that mysterious Ice Cream Truck (The Twins first alt mode before becoming Chevy Beat and Trax?).

The last image above is just to show that the comic ends right before the movie begins - with the NEST on the hunt for Demolisher in Shanghai, China. The ice cream truck has caused all kinds of debate but I am still leaning towards it being Skids and Mudflap in disguise as they attempt to hunt Decepticons. I know many think the writers of the comic series are not working off the movie script but I think they are, the only real question is are they working off the shooting draft or an earlier version. Take it how you wish but for me, I am following my simple rule that all Hasbro sanctioned tie-ins are canon until they movie contradicts them. Thanks to an anonymous source for the panel pictures from Alliance #4.

Ask Orci: Nimoy Voicing A Transformers 2 Character?

Time for another summary of Transformers writer Roberto Orci's Q&A threads on the Don Murphy and TFW2005 forums. It is about two weeks worth of answers and covers early plans for Transformers I, mostly cryptic comments on Transformers 2 story lines, will the writers return for Transformers 3 and potential voice for The Fallen. My comments are in parenthesis.

Will Barricade's disappearance be explained in ROTF?
Explained is a very specific kinda word... implied may be more like it

Will you guys seriously rethink about staying on?
Time for fresh blood!

Just to be clear, what is your reason for not writing it? If the other main players comes back and they don't see a need for fresh blood, then why would you?
Not clear who is coming back yet, but the main reason we would move on is because we risk getting stale and comfortable. If you only sing one song for too long, you miss the opportunity to sing news songs. We'll see.
(It should be noted that Orci and Alex Kurtzman both indicated they would not return to write Transformers 2. TF3 is three years away so plenty of time to change their mind again. Honestly, usually this kind of talk in Hollywood translates to "how much will you pay me to return?" as don't want to appear to eager.)

who thought of the name for the movie? you, michael bay, alex, or someone else?
Alex.

how many fans do you think saw past Michael's "no Megatron" announcement? And second, is he aware that his comment about Megs only appearing in a flashback kind of contradicts Hugo Weaving's hint that the Allspark shard has something to do with Megatron's resurrection?
god love him
(Probably good idea to not answer directly.)

Did the fallen enslave the Egyptians to build the pyramids (which actually are space bridges)?
Hmm. Getting warm

Did the Egyptians seal the fallen within his own design?
Also very warm but not quite.

Did you ever intend for Blackout and Brawl to speak?
Yes.

Would you consider a giant battle in the Grand Canyon?
We actually had a giant battle in the Grand Canyon in the very first draft of the first movie.

Is there really still time to add stuff and how much stuff can be added at this point?
On the first movie, we were re-writing dialogue until about 2 weeks before release!

can you let us know how many Autobots can fly in the movie?
very few
(So basically 1 or more. My guess is only 1 and that is Jetfire.)

I know very early in development Mike Bay said that there would be a geriatric robot. Was it already set there and then that Jetfre would be that bot, or did you and the writers/Bay decide later that Jetfire would suit that type of character?
We decided Jetfire would fit after the idea came up to have a geriatric robot.

Would you consider this movie the "Empire Strikes Back" of the Transformer movie line (dark, feeling of hopelessness, crazy reveal/twists/turns)?
yes

Bay mentioned in passing that about 40 bots are in the movie. Sound about right or less/more?
sounds about right

Will The Fallen have any dialogue?
Yes.

Can you name the 3 scenes that were filmed in IMAX format?
Yes.
(The danger of asking closed questions.)

Will Prime survive the movie?
Prime's spirit can never die.
(Nice non-answer, no details but gives a sense of impending doom for Prime).

Did you decide to not have Megatron renamed Galvatron for the general audience?
yes.

Similarly, did you intend Sideways (Audi R8) to be Barricade?
We'll see

which of the 2 movies was more difficult to get along with the story.
Movie 1 was the hardest thing have ever worked on. Period. Nobody could imagine what it was, everyone thought it was just a silly cartoon or a toy commercial, the studio wasn't sure if the robots should talk, we had to come up with a story that would attract someone like Bay, and we had budgetary constraints that made it necessary to generate a significant human story which was counterintuitive to some Transfans. By the second movie, the paradigm of the franchise was clear.

what are your feelings towards the idea of Leonard Nimoy doing the voice of the Fallen?
Would love it. I actually talked to him about it, given the odd coincidence that he is Michael Bay's cousin through marriage, but fan outcry has also put Welker in the running.
(Who to support? Quite a conundrum for Transfans. Nimoy is the iconic Spock of Star Trek and part of Transformers past as the voice of Galvatron (and Unicron) for 1986's Transformers: The Movie while Welker is was the voice of Megatron, Galvatron, Soundwave and many others.)

Coloring Books Gives TF2 Spoilers?

Image scans of a Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen coloring book may provide a few spoilers for the movie. The various images suggests that Agent Simmons is critical in stopping Devastator, contradict Bay's recent statement of Megatron only appearing in flashback, Sam's dad is going to be less then pleased with what happens to his lawn, the sliver plays an important part in the story and retains the AllSpark's power, Wheelie's wandering loyalties (see bio) causes problems for Mikaela, and the Decepticon's go to Egypt to retrieve an "ancient machine" that is aimed at the Sun.

Below are a few pictures but the full gallery can be found here. Thanks to Chris for the link.

Turturro Voices Jetfire?

In a translated article by Djeeloo on the Shoot for the Edit forums, from French magazine Premier Cine Live, is an indication that John Turturro (Agent Simmons) will be the voice of Jetfire. Also, signs are not good for Transfan love for the Twins. Thanks to Richard for the link. Slight edits have been made to the original post.

Set: Egypt, in front of Kheops Pyramid, stands an ancient 30’s palace built for King Faruk’s guests.

At “Action”, Shia runs through the yard, stops at the doorstep and hits the door with his shoulder. Megan Fox, John Turturro and Ramon Rodriguez come next and hurry inside the building.

Shia heads up, shout a few words at an imaginary Bumblebee, and gets in. Three cars, the Camaro, the red TRAX and the green BEAT, start quickly and stop a bit further away to look out. The three vehicles are driven by black-suited (and thereby “invisible”) stuntmen behind the smoked glass.

At the end of the day, the crew moves to the third and smallest pyramid, Mykerinos. John Turturro, back as always angry agent Simmons, has to climb up a few stones. This hasn’t been done for 30 years: Too many accident occurred and Egyptians had forbidden it. Turturo will try to run from an imaginary Decepticon.

Michael Bay says: “I had the idea of these two stupid Transformers, Skids and Mudflap. They’re twins who can’t stop bickering, but they do heroic things at the beginning of the movie.

Bumblebee, on his side, has become more serious. He doesn’t want to leave Sam’s parents’ garage. There is also an old Transformer, who loses screws and bolts at every move. And it’s John Turturro voicing him.”

The movie will start at Gyzeh, Egypt, long before pyramids were built, and will end at the same place nowadays, with a huge fight between Autobots and Decepticons.

It’s said that we’ll learn in the movie how pyramids were built. Does it involve any Transformer?

The article is in line with the USA Today article and pictures from last year. Now the "old Transformer" (and voicing) has not officially been identified but Jetfire's bio describing him as having "ancient strength" seems to indicate he is the likely culprit.

Megatron Leader Class Toy Plus Bio

Joining Optimus Prime and Jetfire as the final Leader class toy is Megatron as revealed by The Arker via Seibertron.com through two galleries. While writer Roberto Orci already confirmed it, if he had not, this would be the final nail in the coffin to verify that Megatron returns for the sequel. Even better, the pictures show off Megatron's bio, providing a few secrets about the movie. Below the bio are a few pictures but full galleries are here and here. For unknown reasons, the website chose to hide the face of Megatron. Overall, this I like this version of Megatron better then his previous incarnation. Thanks to Cenjor for the link.

Rebuilt with parts cannibalized from other Decepticons, Megatron rises once again to lead his army. Though the AllSpark destroyed him once, he can now feel its power coursing through his circuitry. It calls him to seize his rightful place as ruler over the puny planet on which he was imprisoned and destroyed, and from which he will launch his conquest of the universe. Optimus Prime is all that stands between him and victory, and the Autobot leader has done a poor job of hiding himself. At long last, Megatron knows exactly where his enemy is, and he has power enough to destroy him.