Posts with tag michael bay
Posted Jun 19th 2008 2:02PM by Erik Davis
Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Fandom, Newsstand, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels
.jpg)
She's been voted the
number one sexiest girl in the history of the universe times twelve by every single magazine that ever existed ... but what people
really want to know is: How do you direct someone that hot? Well, thank heavens for dudes like
Michael Bay, who's just made the difficult task a whole lot easier for future directors (aspiring or working). While speaking to
MTV about
Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen,
Megan Fox said this of Bay's slick directorial skillz: "His main note to me is just to look hot; so I try my best." Nice. What would we do without directors like Bay who really cherish the female character and what she means to the overall finished product? Bravo! Give this man an award.
In other
Transformers 2 news, Fox also told MTV that they're "on locations in some really exotic places" and "it's just going to be a badass movie." Perhaps her most interesting quotes, however, had to do with the on set re-writes of the script. She says, "You know, we've been having script meetings, and we've been reworking the script, because they wrote it fast because of the writer's strike. And, we've just been going through and trying to do some character stuff for Shia and myself in the middle of this crazy world that they're in."
Fear not, a lot of filmmakers work on the script while they're shooting, so I'm sure everything will turn out just fine in the end. And hey, as long as Megan Fox looks hot, right?
%Gallery-21443%
Posted Jun 5th 2008 12:32PM by Erik Davis
Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, RumorMonger, Fandom, DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels, Images
(Above: Transformers 2 filming in (and blowing up) poor Pennsylvania.)
Update: Paramount announced that the official title for
Transformers 2 will be
Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen.
And then there were two ...
Iron Man 2: I'm not sure how
Coming Soon and
IESB managed to ask the same exact questions to
Iron Man director
Jon Favreau (perhaps they're dating and, like, read each others' minds), but that's what it looks like from here. Both sites visited the set of
I Love You Man, starring Paul Rudd and Jason Segel, where Favreau was starring in a supporting role. But who cares about that when we've got
Iron Man 2 to talk about!?
According to Favreau, he still isn't signed on yet and negotiations with all the actors are ongoing. Of course, he's interested in directing both
Iron Man 2 and
The Avengers, but because Marvel scheduled the films a year apart, he feels it's literally impossible for him to do both. Favreau also discusses the many potential storylines that could exist in such a sequel, but notes that it's hard to talk about any of this because Marvel is extremely busy prepping the debut of
The Incredible Hulk (which we'll talk about in another post). Check either site for much more from Favreau.
Transformers 2: For the first time in a couple hundred years, Pennsylvania has become the cool place to be. Oh yes, that's because
Transformers 2 is causing all sorts of mayhem -- with their blowing up of a steel factory, sending hundreds of Asian extras running through the streets of make-believe China. (Is it me, or should Michael Bay receive an Oscar nod simply for making Pennsylvania pass off as China?) Tons of photos from around the set have popped up online over at
TFW2005 (see one above).
After the jump: Did someone say
Star Trek sequels?
Continue reading Fanboy Bites: 'Iron Man 2', 'Transformers 2' and 'Star Trek 2'
Posted Jun 3rd 2008 2:02PM by Erik Davis
Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Fandom, DIY/Filmmaking, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels, Images
.jpg)
The entire movie nerd world set up camp in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania yesterday as
Transformers 2 began production. A number of websites boasted their own exclusive images from the set of the sequel -- most of which contained blurry shots of helicopters circling the Bethlehem steel complex where shooting is taking place. The outside of one building wears some glowing, neon Chinese lettering -- leading many to believe the complex is, in fact, doubling for some sort of old plant in a Chinese city (or the largest take-out Chinese joint we've ever seen).
A few images popped up over on
JoBlo (see one to the right), and their "on the scene guy" says there were "4 Apache helicopters, as well as 2 choppers with Chinese lettering and the word 'Police' in English. Both of those choppers had cameras on them." For awhile, said helicopters circled the plant before doing some "take offs and landings."
Additionally (and if you're really into watching blurry helicopters fly through the air), another dude captured the scene on video and posted it up on YouTube (via
Superhero Hype). You can check out that video after the jump. Finally,
MTV claims
Matthew Marsden has joined the
Transformers 2 cast as a member of the British Special Forces. Watch out: The British are coming!
Continue reading 'Transformers 2' Begins Production: OMG, It's a Helicopter!
Posted Jun 2nd 2008 4:32PM by Erik Davis
Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, RumorMonger, Fandom, DIY/Filmmaking, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels
Okay, maybe we're exaggerating just a tiny bit with that number. Actually, word has it there could be up to 20 more robots in the sequel; this based on a throwaway line written by Roberto Orci on
Don Murphy's message board. He says, "I'd love and think we could almost barely manage ten on each side, with some front and center and others as more supporting." Really? 20 robots? I had a hard enough time differentiating between three robots in the first flick -- now they're gonna go ahead and shove 20 at us. 20! How will
Shia LaBeouf (poor kid) find a way to "shack up" with
Megan Fox when he's got 20 robots to deal with?
JoBlo spoke to
Michael Bay at the MTV Movie Awards last night where the director said that "this really feels like a cool sequel ... and it's not one of those bullsh*t sequels. This one stands on its own; the script. And the first one set up a bunch, so you're allowed to have more fun with this one. More robots. More personality from the robots."
Transformers 2 begins production today in Pennsylvania.
What do you think about all these robots? Is 20 too much or too little? And should I even be complaining about a
Transformers movie with too many robots?
Posted May 29th 2008 10:02AM by Elisabeth Rappe
Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Casting, Fandom, Newsstand, Dreamworks, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels
After weeks of rumors, centering mostly on Jonah Hill,
The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed the cast of
Transformers 2. Joining the j
ust-announced Rainn Wilson, and the already confirmed LaBeouf, will be Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson and John Turturro.
Of course, director Michael Bay is returning to helm it, as well as the original writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, who are joined by Ehren Kruger.
No word on story details yet, but filming has already begun in Los Angeles. It will move to Pennsylvania, and then overseas. Photos have been cropping up on the Internet already, though largely of scaffolding and trucks at this point.
Continue reading The Gang is Back for 'Transformers 2'
Posted May 28th 2008 9:48AM by Erik Davis
Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Casting, Deals, Fandom, DIY/Filmmaking, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels
I'm not sure what a
Rainn Wilson is or whether this robot was featured in the old
Transformers cartoons, but from what people have told me, it looks like a real goofy guy with glasses. Yes,
MTV Movies Blog reports that during a sneak screening of
The Rocker, Rainn Wilson outed himself as a professor in the highly-anticipated sequel. Not just any professor, mind you -- but "a professor that turns into a car that turns into a robot." Of course, he's kidding about that. Right? Is he? Michael Bay is awesome!
The addition of Rainn Wilson and the fact they
wanted to bring on Jonah Hill means Bay and Co. are definitely piling on the jokes for this second installment. That is unless they're looking to tone down Wilson's shtick; kinda how he played a regular old teacher in
The Last Mimzy without throwing out lines like, "Gots to do your homework home-skillet." The film, which is supposed to start filming next month, is currently setting up camp in Bethlehem, PA, home to, well, people from Pennsylvania.
What do you think about Wilson joining the team?
Transformers 2 is due out on June 26, 2009.
Posted May 13th 2008 11:32AM by Jessica Barnes
Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Paramount, Tech Stuff, Dreamworks, Remakes and Sequels
If you're anything like me, you have completely given up on the next installment of
Transformers having even a whiff of plot, and instead you are just going to sit back and enjoy the spectacle. Speaking of, it looks like it's going to be quite the show, too. The keen eyes over Comic2Film noticed that in the Dolby News release for ShoWest 2008,
Transformers 2 was
listed as a 3D film slated for 2009.
There have been plenty of updates for the film lately, but unfortunately most of them turned out to be
smoke and mirrors -- just ask
Teresa Palmer. But, a 3D release could be the real deal, even though we haven't heard a peep from
Michael Bay on the matter. Kind of surprising, too, considering he is
not the kind of guy who likes to keep quiet about these sorts of things.
Transformers 2 is scheduled to start filming
on location in Pennsylvania this June, but everything is going to hinge on whether or not the
SAG strike can be averted. A 3D release does make sense if you think about it, especially since the only way to top the FX of the first film is to have them flying off the screen at the audience this time around. (Yay! A monster truck is flying toward me at 150mph! Ain't this fun!)
Weigh in below and let us know if you think 3D is the way to go for our robotic friends, or will it just be an excuse for Bay to spend even more time on the FX and even less time on the script?
[via
Comic2Film]
Posted May 8th 2008 10:02PM by Eric Kohn
Filed under: New Releases, Movie Marketing, Cinematical Seven, Columns
.jpg)
Whether or not shows like
Aqua Teen Hunger Force or
The Simpsons succeeded in translating their television dynamics to the big screen depends on your point of view, but the release of
Speed Racer this weekend raises a more specific question about the viability of turning an animated series into a live action spectacle on the big screen.
The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and
Underdog both suggest how this goal can go wrong -- namely, by imploding on its absurd conceits. You may disagree with the inclusion of some of the following titles, all of which culled their material from animation, but it's fair to say that each of them takes its subject matter at face value, allowing the natural ingredients of the original sources to remain intact. Well, maybe not
Super Mario Bros., but that one is a special case (fire away, if you must). Until somebody makes an
Animaniacs movie with real actors, I'm sticking to this list.
1. Popeye (1980)
Robert Altman's offbeat ode to the famous Fleisher cartoon starring the spinach-eating strongman and his darling Olive Oil is the great misunderstood work of the director's career. Robin Williams and Shelley Duvall manage to bring utterly ridiculous characters into a realm of believability that you could never imagine when watching the show. Suddenly, Popeye made sense -- goofy, almost surreal sense, but sense nonetheless -- in the real world. Thanks to veteran adult cartoonist Jules Feiffer's screenplay and a soundtrack so catchy Paul Thomas Anderson borrowed from it twenty years later in
Punch-Drunk Love, the classic status of
Popeye can't be denied.
Continue reading Cinematical Seven: When an Animated Series Goes Live Action ... and Gets it Right
Posted May 8th 2008 2:30PM by Erik Davis
Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Casting, RumorMonger, Fandom, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels
.jpg)
Things seem to be getting a tad confusing over on the
Transformers 2 front. As of now, Michael Bay and his team plan to begin production in early June ... IF there isn't an actor's strike. (I know, another strike -- we're sick of 'em too.) Regardless of what might happen, they still need to cast this monster -- and that's where all this he said/she said is coming into play. Not long ago,
Jonah Hill was rumored to be in negotiations for a part opposite Shia LaBeouf, but that's
no longer happening. Now, if Michael Bay is to be believed, Australian actress Teresa Palmer is no longer in the film and was never considered in the first place. This is odd, because we were under the assumption that Moviehole (who
first reported the casting) actually spoke to Palmer and SHE confirmed her own involvement.
Over on
his personal blog, however, Bay denies everything. In a very brief statement, he says: "No we have stopped negotiating with Jonah, and Teresa Palmer was not considered for a role." Um, okay. If you say so. To further complicate the situation,
IGN now reports that another Aussie actress,
Isabel Lucas, has been cast in the role of Alice in
Transformers 2. This bit of news comes via her management agency, Meissner Management, who list the actress as having that role. She's relatively new to the block, and will have parts in the upcoming vampire flick
Daybreakers, as well as the HBO miniseries
The Pacific.
No official word on Palmer or Lucas, so we'll have to wait and see if Michael Bay has anything to say about these latest rumors. Cute girl, though, I'll give her that.
Posted May 7th 2008 11:32AM by Jessica Barnes
Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Casting, Paramount, Dreamworks, Remakes and Sequels
I can't be the only one who's just a little relieved that
Jonah Hill has dropped out of negotiations to star in
Transformers 2. Hill is riding high on the comedy wave, and while a big-budget summer flick is always a career booster, it's not like
Michael Bay is known for his comedy.
According to Entertainment Weekly, "negotiations between Jonah Hill and Dreamworks have broken down, and the
Superbad star is no longer expected play a sidekick to Shia LaBeouf in the upcoming sequel from director Michael Bay."
Bay and company are expected to start production on
Transformers 2 this summer at
the University of Pennsylvania, which fit with early reports that Hill would be playing Sam Witwicky's (LaBeouf) college roommate. Now that Hill is out of the picture, maybe a little co-ed co-habitation could be in his future since
Teresa Palmer signed for an unnamed role last week.
There were no details about why Hill chose not to sign on the dotted line, but I'm sure a lot of fans are glad that he did. Unfortunately it's not all good news coming from Hill's people; instead of starring in
Transformers 2, he has agreed to appear in the
follow-up to
A Night at the Museum -- so now I don't know what to think. As crappy as
Transformers 2 might turn out to be (and there is a good chance it could be pretty darn crappy), it would definitely be a step up from
A Night at the Museum 2. Or maybe not.
What do you think? Should Jonah stick to the simple comedies without all the big-budgeted effects?
Posted Apr 30th 2008 11:02AM by Jessica Barnes
Filed under: Action, Casting, Paramount, RumorMonger, Dreamworks, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels
Either Erik has missed his calling as a casting agent, or maybe he just knew something we didn't. A few weeks ago, Erik oh-so casually
mentioned that
Jonah Hill would be perfect for the new comedic sidekick role in
Transformers 2. Entertainment Weekly now
reports that Hill is in early talks to play sidekick to
Shia LaBeouf (early speculation is that he will play LaBeouf's college roommate) in the follow up to the summer blockbuster. I might not have been a big fan of the so-called comedy in the first
Transformers flick, but at least if Hill does sign on, he'll be able to pull off some snappy rapport with LaBeouf.
Remember,
Transformers 2 is still a Michael Bay film; and as to be expected, the man has not been able to shut up about it. Proving that sometimes too much self-promotion really can be a bad thing. Originally, Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci and Ehren Kruger had been hired to write the script, and the tone was going to be "darker, and moodier." Unfortunately, Bay couldn't keep his hands to himself, and he has since proclaimed that
he has written the script, and that it is awesome. Something tells me if Bay is in charge, we are going to have a lot more jokes about robots peeing on each other. If nothing else, it will dovetail nicely with Hill's love of body-fluid humor.
Continue reading Jonah Hill in Talks for 'Transformers 2'
Posted Apr 14th 2008 2:32PM by Richard von Busack
Filed under: Celebrities and Controversy, Fandom
Ooo-wee, that Uwe makes good copy. Happily, those who have responded to the petition to get Uwe Boll to step away from the camera now have more than one force of opposition: a second petition to keep Dr. Uwe in his current line of work. Cinematical's Erik Davis caught the beleaguered Boll's plea for support on April 9, and yet another fan has responded: Lauren Brenner of Greyface Media is the sponsor behind this noble petition: "after all, he's better than that hack Scorsese." Boll couldn't have said it better. (In case you were wondering, the first pro-Boll petition is here, and so far there are almost 4,000 signatures.)
Oh wait, he did: he's not a bleeping retard like Michael Bay, and he isn't making the same bleeping movie again and again like Eli Roth, as the good doctor was saying ... So far, four cineastes have signed this (hopefully 100% on-the-level) petition. Now, are these four names going to count against the 194,000 so far who who have signed the
Stop Dr. Uwe Boll Petition? I know those looking for a 2009 release of
In the King's Name Again, Already will want to add their email addresses in hopes of being solicited by hapless Nigerian ex-ministers of finance and providers of natural sex herbs. Thanks to Glenn Creamer for this tip.
Which side are you on: Pro Boll or anti Boll?
Posted Feb 25th 2008 12:40PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Comedy, Horror, Casting, RumorMonger, Remakes and Sequels
When an established character or film is finding new life in a remake, I find it very, very rare that I'm ever agreeable, let alone impressed, with who the casting honchos come up with. The last time I oohed, it was over Christian Bale in
Batman Begins -- because my friend and I had spent one long car ride casting every superhero with their perfect actor/actress counterpart, and Bale was our
Dark Knight pick. But this time, I didn't come up with the replacement, and while it's just a very vague rumor, I wouldn't mind it being fact.
A
Cinema Blend source says that
Michael Rosenbaum has been lunching with
Michael Bay. The assumption: this could mean that he's talking with the director about the upcoming
Nightmare on Elm Street remake. It's a huge guess, but it's one I'd be quite happy with. Oh yeah, and Rosenbaum is the baldie Lex Luthor in
Smallville.
While I don't watch the show, I can completely see the actor take over Robert Englund's shoes -- and this is coming from someone who adores the series -- ever since I found my kid self at a
Just the Ten of Us taping with a whole slew of
Nightmare cast members. I loved the humor mashed in with creepiness and some absolutely ridiculous deaths -- like Brooke Theiss' demise by bug.
I think Rosenbaum could make it work, but what do you think?
Posted Feb 22nd 2008 11:02AM by Jessica Barnes
Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Deals, Sony, Distribution
Only one short day ago, talk
surfaced of a bidding war that was taking place over
Roland Emmerich's latest flick,
2012. Emmerich had presented the flick to various studio bosses and let's just say they liked what they saw. Cut to one day later and
Variety reports that Sony has emerged victorious, and they are now the proud new owners of Emmerich's apocalyptic flick.
2012 was inspired by the Mayan doomsday prophecy that some unspecified 'change' was afoot and as a result, the world would come to an end in 2012. Emmerich wasn't the first person to come up with the idea of making a movie out of this story. Michael Bay had also made some moves towards
his own flick based on a book by
Communion scribe,
Whitley Strieber. Heck, even Nickelodeon got in on the action and pitched a kiddie version of the end of the world story. But we haven't heard a peep out of those projects, so it looks like Emmerich's film might be the only one left standing, especially since Bay is hard at work on
Transformers 2.
So despite what you might think of some of his earlier endeavors, Emmerich does have the distinction of being one of the few filmmakers that can finance a film on his own terms before even approaching the studios. This is probably what makes him so very popular with the bosses.
2012 is still a long way off (it will hit during the summer of 2009), so if you can't wait to watch Emmerich blow something up, at least you can look forward to March 7th when
10,000 B.C hits theaters.
Posted Feb 20th 2008 1:02PM by Jessica Barnes
Filed under: Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Deals, Scripts
I don't want to be mean, but if Roland Emmerich wants to keep the buzz going on his sci-fl flick 2012, he'll be lucky if he gets to make a deal before the advance reviews for 10,000 B.C. start flooding in. Variety reports that the "doomsday" director has started a bidding war for his next project; the apocalyptic adventure flick 2012. The film will be based on the Mayan doomsday prediction that the world is set to end in 2012.
The whole 'end of the world' thing seems as popular as ever; Nickelodeon is even toying with the idea of a kid's flick that uses that same premise (c'mon kids, let's head to movies and watch civilization become extinct!) Last spring, Michael Bay had also considered directing a film based on the book, 2012: The War for Souls by Whitley Streiber for Warner Bros. Emmerich's project, however similar it might seem, will not be using Streiber's book. Instead, his spec script was written in collaboration with Harald Kloser, who also worked with Emmerich on B.C.
According to Variety's sources, "Studio toppers read the script Tuesday, and indications are that nearly all of them were interested enough to meet with Emmerich and reps Wednesday to hear his budget projection and creative aspirations." Of course, you can't help but wonder if the studios desperation for new projects in the wake of the writer's strike might be the source of their enthusiasm. Well that, and the fact that like it or not, Emmerich seems to be able to rake in the box office. Never underestimate the power of a good opening weekend, I guess.
How do you think Emmerich will destroy New York City in this one?
Next Page >
