Barricade In The Wild

A few pics have shown up on FilmSchoolRejects.com that shows pics of several Barricades on a car trailer. The Saleen Mustangs were seen in Culver City, California. Currently production is supposed to start in June and there have been no indications that the script has been finalized.

Its possible that some filming has already started but considering the determination that Bay has in hitting his release date, it wouldn't surprise me if this is pre-prep to make sure that on day one the cameras are ready to go on whatever action sequence that is being filmed in the area. Thanks to Slushie Man for the link!


Edit: Corrected a few idiotic grammatical errors on my part and re-upload the third pic since it wasn't displaying correctly.

Paramount and DreamWorks To Split?

For about a year now there have been off and on rumors that Steven Spielberg has been displeased with the joining of DreamWorks and Paramount, which would lead to him leaving the company. Now the rumors are changing that DreamWorks is leaving Paramount. This is relevant because Transformers and its sequel (exec produced by Spielberg) are currently being financed under a joint Paramount/DreamWorks partnership.

According to the NY Times, the problem is apparently the power that Steven Spielberg wields in the company. Any project that he is attached to, no matter how small, gives him complete control on how the projects are used. This gives Spielberg "enormous leverage in any negotiation over taking the projects elsewhere." Considering that "elsewhere" is usually just another Viacom owned property, it is really a pissing contest.

Basically Viacom and Paramount executives wants to be able to tell Spielberg how high to jump and currently they can't. If there is anything that is more important to business executives then money, it’s the chain of command (i.e. chain of who kisses my ass and inflates my ego) and Spielberg disrupts that chain.

The split remains in the rumor stage and already DreamWorks has proven vital to Paramount's bottom line having brought several successful projects to the table. More then likely Viacom will try to work out the kinks rather then risk DreamWorks moving to a competitor and taking future potential future franchises with it.

How this impacts Transformers II is it simply doesn't. Its property is too important and too good a source of revenue to allow studio issues to rock its boat. Because the contracts have already been signed and pre-production started with the budget set (whatever it is, guessing $200 million), even if the split happens tomorrow TFII will remain a joint project between Paramount and DreamWorks.

G1 Prowl vs Soundwave

A fan made CGI film (kind of Beast War season 1-ish) that has Prowl taking on Soundwave and his cassette friends. Also a brief appearance from Barricade. Thanks to Radames for the link.

Fan Made Versus Fights

The below videos have absolutely nothing to do with Transformers. I am just cross posting from my other blog because I thought they where great. Sadly the Transformers II news front remain bleak. Clearly Bay has learned from his first go around.

Monty Oum has so far created three films that created some excellent over the fights between franchise characters going at in ways you will never see in games. Physics are put on hold, people can't die, and an explosion in your face is just annoying.

The first video is Monty Oum's first effort, depicting Metroid's Samus Aron going at it against Halo's Master Chief. The next two movies are the first two parts of a five part epic that involves the various female characters from the Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts franchise versus the Dead or Alive ladies. You can see with each movie just how much better and better the animator is getting and how jaw dropping the action is becoming. Click the titles to go to Gametrailers.com and read the creator's comments on each movie. Enjoy!

Samus Aron vs. Master Chief


Dead Fantasy I


Dead Fantasy II

Extended Cut of Bay's Verizon FiOS

Bay has released the extended cut of his Verizon FiOS "awesome" ad. Basically a few more Transformers shots and explosions have been added. The previous version can be found here.

Transformers G1 Ads

The information about Transformers 2 is far and few between so in the meantime is more TF related video to amuse you. The first video is ad for Transformers watches (don't recall seeing em stateside) and the other is another TF watch that I still own but think I lost the strap for. Nice to see commercials of any era remain boring and silly. (source)

Transformers Zippo Lighters

I am not a fan of smoking but these Japan only Zippo lighters look pretty sweet. The run is a numbered limited edition of 300 for 12,000 yen ($120.00). More pics can be found here. I am not sure what sites online (if any) are selling them.

Transformers Twisted Toyfare Theatre

Toyfare has created a goofy and funny version of the "Death of Optimus Prime" using various Transformers toys.

Bay Scouting Egypt

Nelson, Michael Bay's site admin, has provided a brief update on the director's movie scouting activities "Sources tell me Bay was scouting in Egypt this past week." The what, whys, and so forth remain a mystery. This is in addition to his scouting Washington DC and Philadelphia. (source)

Transformers 2 In Philly?

According to philly.com, apparently Transformers 2 could be filming in Philadelphia. From the site, "Philly's burgeoning film industry might be in for another big-budget transformation. Director Michael Bay, scouting for the sequel to Transformers, was spotted yesterday on the campuses of the University of Pennsylvania and Girard College." Sounds like Spike Witwicky goes to college before more Transformer havoc interrupts his education. Personally I recommend the University of Georgia campus, but I biased. (source)

Optimus Prime Dancing

Masterpiece Optimus Prime showing the evolution of dance. It’s actually amazing to watch because it shows just how posable the toy is and I can't help but wonder how many hours it took to put the video together.

Transformers Animated Online

If you are interested in Transformers Animated but have not got around to watching them when they are on the Cartoon Network, they are now available online for a limited time.

You can find the episodes on Toonami Jetstream. To access go to the website, click "search" and type in "Transformers". The first five episodes currently available will show up in the results. Thanks the Shaun P for the information and link.