Friday, September 21, 2012

Bay: Transformers 4 Set After Dark of the Moon

In an interview with the Huffington Post to promote his Doritos contest, Michael Bay discussed his upcoming movie Pain & Gain and provided a few more details about Transformers 4 including why he returned to the franchise and when it is set. The full interview is here.

Highlights:
- Movie set after Transformers: Dark of the Moon
- Peter Cullen will be back as the voice of Optimus Prime
- No indication on what other character may return (be really surprised if Bumblebee didn't)

Transformers relevant part:
And the [Doritos contest] winner gets to "work with" you on "Transformers 4." What does that mean?
It's not going to be doing my laundry. They're going to be working on the set in some capacity.

That would be disappointing if they won and, after all that, wound up doing your laundry.
No, no, no. It's a good opportunity for someone to really see how it's done. When I was young, aspiring to do what I did, I would have killed for something like this. There's nothing better than real-life experience.

Why do you want to do it? I was under the impression that you were done after "Transformers 3"?
I thought I was done. Then the ride came out [at Universal Studios Hollywood] and the two-and-a-half-hour lines. And then you're thinking, Oh my God, someone's going to take this over. And you start doing a lot of soul-searching. Like, OK, I'm about to do a little movie, "Pain & Gain" ... and the studio says they want to restart the franchise. And someone could come in here and screw it up, you know? So I'm thinking that if I do this last one, we set it on a new footing, we change a lot of things -- but we keep the history of the three in place. But we broaden it so it can be set up and be carried on -- it would have a better chance for survival, I guess. You know?

Right.
So it was just one of those things. It's like, when you look what's going on in the film business with the franchise frenzy right now, why is Cameron doing two more "Avatar" movies? Why is Peter Jackson doing three more "Hobbit" movies that are in the same world as "Lord of the Rings"? When you have a franchise, it's very hard to give it up.

So with the plot of "Transformers 4," it's not like the other three movies didn't happen? It's not a reboot?
No. We're basically taking from the history of where it was -- or where we left it in Chicago. And we're going to carry it on from there.

I spoke to Peter Cullen at Comic Con earlier this year. He said he doesn't know if he's going to be back as the voice of Optimus Prime or not. He'll be back, right?
Of course! Of course.

But if you got rid of Peter Cullen, people would be extremely upset.
Listen, when I heard his voice, it gave me chills.

Do you still feel that way? That people don't believe in you, as far as a smaller movie is concerned?
They wanted me to do something bigger. There are not a lot of people who do these big movies. So that's why you have to twist their arm a little bit to do this. So I basically said, "All right, I'll do 'Transformers 4,' we'll do this little movie -- we'll do both."

Is that how it happened? That was the deal?
Well, it's kind of like a little bit here and there, you know? They would have done it. [Paramount chairman] Brad Grey says, "We'll make whatever you want."

But it helps that you're doing the fourth "Transformers"?
But it's also that I'm friends with the people at the studio. It's exactly like I said: it's just from the heart. You don't want to leave "Transformers" in bad hands. Do you know what I'm saying? So we can set it up in the right way so it can kind of continue on.

28 comments:

  1. Good to Optimus will be back

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  2. I was so upset about the rumor Optimus Prime wouldn't be back. It's not an exaggeration I would have skipped the film without him.

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  3. Bumblebee better be back! He's my favorite!

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  4. Don't fail us again, MB!

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  5. While it will be good to see new Transformers and cast I couldn't imagine Trans4 without Optimus or Bumblebee. It doesn't matter how many times you see them they're the best they're timeless, lets face it Optimus and Megs are eternal, I couldn't beleive the way the almighty Megs was belittled in the last two films and then beheaded it should not have ended that way they should have exiled him or sent him to another planet or something anything but that, terrible. Now Bay is saying this will probably be his last and thats coed for I'll be back. You cant blame him after all it is Transformers directors would kill to get there hands on the franchise. Transformers is an incredible franchise, it goes on forever there is 25 years of mytholigy and stories and they havent even scratched the service yet.

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  6. I herd that before, I don't trust Bay he keeps telling us this is going to be better than the last and what do we get the same results,stupid toilet humor, supermodel girls,army guys, and stupid humans. If Bay spends more money on the Autobots and less on the army and the supermodels maybe we have a decent movie.

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  7. I agree Bay just can't get enough of that dumbass toilet humor just goes way overboard, half the movie was so goofy. You dont know if the movie was good or goofy. I had it with this goofball shit I want a movie with substance, a little humor is ok but very little. Transformers is a noble brand and people want a great story not a halfass one and why doesn't he ever have good actors, all shia does is say no no no no and Megan Fox and Rosi do nothing but screem "SAM!!!". Everybody tells Bay about these problems but he never changes his approach we want alot more and longer death matches and better character development and focus more on the Transformers themselves .

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  8. Some people complain when they see these comments.they say that a movie of transformers gets boring and we need human screen time so people can relate to them.

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  9. So it's going to be a huge mess. Instead of the promised reboot.
    It will be a direct sequel with or without the messed up original cast that Transformers3 got.
    Hasbro sold less toys for Transformers3 because that movie had serious deadly issues.
    Michael Bay managed to screw up practically all the humans characters.. all the work and characters development done for the first two movies was trashed.

    1) The worst possible topmodel so-far-from-hot cast as the new girlfriend breaking the whole romance in the first two movies and replacing it with a silly lame fake romance. And the topmodel couldn't act even a little bit.

    2) Sam's parents were turned into useless characters. On the second movie the bond with them was stronger than on the first movie.. Bumblebee saving them and Mikaela from Decepticons.. All of that completely gone and trashed. It seemed like Michael Bay fired the actors playing Sam's parent too other than Megan Fox.. because yes the actors appeared on Transformers 3 for a quick scene but that was a really pointless scene that butchered the characters completely instead.

    3) Sam Witwicky character on Transformers 3 ... turned into a jerk more or less. Really. Him and Carly played by the topmodel just didn't work a little bit on screen. And the character didn't look himself at all anymore. That is not character development, that is just more bad writing.

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  10. 4) Let's talk a bit about Autobots too? Well, they screwed them up completely too. On Transformers2 all Autobots fight endlessly more than on the first movie against Decepticons, the scenes are epic.. Optimus goes all Gundam fighting style in the Forest Battle scene with amazing visuals.. On Transformers3 they just surrendered to Decepticons. And all the scenes looked pretty basic, short, too quick fights, just plain lame.

    5) Then the other serious big issue: Decepticons. On Transformers2 they were all strong, big, heavy and badass more than on the first movie.. on Transformers3 they all looked lame and weak. And Megatron that gets order or even bother listening to the weak Carly in one of the lamest scenes of the whole movie? What the heck was that? Worst possible writing ever. They butchered all Decepticons characters on Transformers3. What a mess!

    6) And then.. CGI and action scenes. Cheap, cheap, cheap. Re-used shots, re-used CGI models. No new outstanding never-seen-before scenes at all. Very short fights. The whole final battle in a Chicago with no humans anymore.. a way cheaper version of the first movie amazing battle in Mission City, indeed. That on the first movie was done right. On Transformers3 ? Not at all. Just lazy.
    Then how comes Justin Lin on Fast & Furious 5 managed achieving outstanding absolutely top-notch high-speed car chasing action scenes and Michael Bay on Transformers3 just even didn't try at all?
    Yes, the highway action scene.. a death.. a huge mess the production did there,indeed. But still nothing else was planned not shot for the movie after that got practically scrapped. The shortened highway fighting scene of the first movie still looks way better than anything seen on the third one.

    So what should we expect?
    Paramount cutting the budget tells everything already.
    The production including Michael Bay everyone knows that they did a lazy work and messed up the franchise badly.
    But the problem is that they seem to have no clue about what they are doing anymore. They will keep going down the same route instead of fixing their mistakes.
    Transformers source material includes time paradoxes too.. everything could be fixed. Time travel would work perfectly if done right. It would give a Back To The Future vibe to a Transformers4 movie too. It would allow Michael Bay to fix his mistakes.
    But he won't do it. He will just hope that higher 3D ticket prices or an all new cast will save the movie from collapsing.
    Transformers3 led to less DVD/Blu-Ray discs sales and rentals than the first two movies and less toys sold by Hasbro. Yes, due to expensive 3D ticket prices it looked the bigger success for the franchise boxoffice wise but Paramount and Michael Bay know that that is not the case. Transformers3 didn't work and wasn't more loved by people than the first two movies. Not at all.
    Otherwise Paramount wouldn't be cutting the budget in the first place if they were so confident to have done a really good work on the 3rd movie.

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  11. Aredo for President9/22/2012 11:13 AM

    @ Anonymous 9/22/2012 10:42 AM

    You have been cutting and pasting the same comments since the day Megan Fox got canned. I suspect half of your basement's walls are covered with pics of Fox, the other half with pics of Bay covered in red inked profanity.

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  12. @ Anonymous 9/22/2012 10:42 AM

    I think the way you portray yourself as the ultimate authority, portray your opinion as fact is pretty arrogant.
    You think ROTF was a great movie; I think it was a flaming pile of shit. You know what? We're both right.

    No one associated with the production has ever said Transformers 4 would be a reboot; actually they've gone out of their way to emphasize it will exist within the continuity of the 1st three movies.

    I personally could care less what the budget will be...just because you spend more money making a movie doesn't mean it will be any good. Green Lantern, Terminator Salvation, Battleship and John Carter cost more to produce than any of the Transformer movies and they were all poorly received by audiences. Transformers (2007) was the cheapest of the 3 movies but is generally regarded as the best.


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  13. @Anonymous 9/22/2012 12:38 PM: a childish reply is not going to turn your babbling into truth, and I would be the arrogant one? You even lie negating that the production said that Transformers4 would have been a reboot.. it happened not so many months ago, you know?
    And you telling that the budget doesn't matter.. maybe you work for the production then? Or you are just a little kid.
    @Aredo for President 9/22/2012 11:13 AM: Don't know who you are or you you think I would be. That is just beyond childish. You give me nicknames of whoever you hate the most based on what? Your assumption is just wrong. I never used such a nickname. You have no clue who I am. Get a life.

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  14. @Anonymous9/22/2012 12:38 PM: the first Transformers movie is far from the cheapest. They had to spend a lot more than the official $150million budget. That surely didn't include all the R&D necessary to create the new CGI algorithms needed for the movie. Just like it happened to Matrix movies, there they had to spend a lot more than what the official budget shows.
    Audiences nowadays are on crack. Clearly. Transformers3 is a lazy product. Many people recognized that only after having watched the movie in theaters following the studios marketing hype, unfortunately. In fact Paramount sold less DVD/Blu-Ray discs and Hasbro sold less toys. That is a fact.

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  15. http://www.aceshowbiz.com/news/view/00051618.html

    Director Michael Bay has opened up about his vision for "Transformers 4". Speaking to Los Angeles Times' Hero Complex, the "Pearl Harbor" helmer stated that his fourth "Transformers" film is not going to be a reboot though admitting that the pic will have "a new cast," and he's "moving on to something different."

    "It's not a reboot, that's maybe wrong," he said. "I don't want to say reboot because then people will think we're doing a Spider-Man and starting from the beginning. We're not. We're taking the story that you've seen - the story we've told in three movies already - and we're taking it in a new direction."

    Bay explained further, "But we're leaving those three as the history. It all still counts. I met with the writer before I went off to 'Pain and Gain' and we talked about a bunch of ideas. We let that simmer for a bit. He's been thinking about stuff and now we're getting back together next week to see what we've got and to see if it gels."

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  16. I think that transformers 4 should focus on the characters of the past 3 films and a new generation of younger transformers.Maybe in a future where carly and sam have son spike whitwickey who takes on the bond and adventures with the transformers.I think the storyline should focus on historical common tranformers mythiology.I think the a good storyline would be how Optimus prime eventually die's and give the Matrix of leadership to Rodimus prime,How Megatron turns in to galvatron.How Ultra magnus became apart of the team and how Unicron is involved in everything.I basically think TRANSFOMRERS 4 storyline should be similar to the G1 movie only bigger and bolder a couple changes and a epic climax.

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  17. I want Bumblebee to return And try to get Shila and rosie back.
    I want Transformers 4 like transformers the movie.

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  18. I think the CGI in the first movie was the best. There were parts in all the movies that I liked but of all 3 ROTF was the worst. I still kind of like the 1st one the best although I liked Trans 3 I thought it was a blast but I do agree Bay has to calm down on the toilet humor but I dont know if he will, but who cares if you like the movie or hate the movie it only matters to you.

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  19. I would cry if Peter Cullen didn't return, could you imagine. Makes you think, after him and his outstanding legacy who could replace him, almost too scary to think about.

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  20. There's not enough correct rumors, official announcements and leaked info to give an accurate picture of just how good/bad TF4 is going to be. I'm not exactly liking the idea of TF4 being set after TF3, because all the major Decepticons are dead, so who's gonna replace them?

    Hopefully Bay can refrain from the goofy (borderline inappropriate) humor this time around.

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  21. @Anonymous 9/22/2012 10:05 PM: ILM did their best work on Transformers2. Transformers1 was just a beta version to test their new algorithms. The quality of textures and detail of renderings on Transformers2 is outstanding and so much higher.

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  22. I'm going to save judgment until the summer of 2013 because then you know we have a year until Trans 4 and thats when shit starts happening. We will have a better idea of the cast and start finding out about new Transformers but I agree with 11:37PM Bay has to chill on that goofy toilet humor. Being that Bay is getting rid of the original cast Iwould imagine that it could be set in the future then he can go in a different direction and he did talk about going more into space so maybe thats what he meant about it being set after DOTM but like I said we wont start getting the picture until the summer of 2013,we'll get some tidbits hear and there but until then we can talk about what we would like to see but thats about it.

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  23. @ Anonymous 9/22/2012 2:49 PM

    If you have any evidence that the production ever stated Transformers 4 would be a reboot then share it...if you have any evidence that the production budget for Transformers (2007) was more than 150 million then share it. If you call me a liar then prove me one now by posting links to back up what you say or prove yourself a liar.


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  24. Maybe Bay should actually read his own comments.."and the studio says they want to restart the franchise. And someone could come in here and screw it up, you know?" ummmmaybe he forgot the lame story in Revenge, how much of a wuss the Fallen was, the lack luster fight vs. the Fallen, & the creation of the Twins. In DOTM using Rosie, creating the Dreads(even worse than the Twins, i thought) the lack of an awe inspiring sceen, like Blackout landing or Optimus vs Bonecrusher in the first movie or the the beginning of ROTF(i still get chills when i watch the Optimus air drop) in DOTM the Optimus fly-in could've been epic but it was shot WAY TO FAST & of course Shockwave having no lines and being a bigger wuss than the Fallen.

    And this comment..."You don't want to leave "Transformers" in bad hands. Do you know what I'm saying? So we can set it up in the right way so it can kind of continue on." First of all I now feel it's already in bad hands just because Bay admitted the mistakes that were in ROTF and Bay actually said he was sorry & silly me I belived him and was totally pumped for DOTM, that was untill I saw it the only thing that saved that movie was Sentinel Prime(even tho we only got a quick, half ass transformation from robot to fire truck) & Leonard Nimoy doing the voice acting...I have NO faith that Bay will turn this around and set this movie up correctly for the next guy to take over.

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  25. Agreed three strikes and your out Bay time to pass the torch.

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  26. And love him or hate him he puts buts in seats and will continue to do so and there is a seat for you to. But come on man Sentinal looked like an old man in a weird space suit, I thought soundwave looked badass, I liked it when he Transformed and held Rosie hostage, that was a cool Transformation.

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  27. the movies are great. i like optimus prime. I can't believe that Optimus lost his arm in the movie.

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