Transformers 2 Movie: Revenge Of The Fallen

Sweepstakes: 'Transformers 2' Movie Prizes

2009-06-24T07:07:00.000-07:00

Enter now for your chance to win prizes in our @ The Movies section's sweepstakes in conjunction with Hasbro Toys, to celebrate the release of the science fiction adventure "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen."

Hasbro, the creator of the original toy line, is ready for the second live-action "Transformers" movie adventure with a whole new line of toys based on "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen." In the film, (Shia LaBeouf) again joins with the Autobots against their sworn enemies, the Decepticons. Michael Bay directs from a screenplay written by Ehren Kruger & Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman.

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action violence, language, some crude and sexual material, and brief drug material, "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" opens in theaters and on IMAX screens nationwide June 24.

The Sweepstakes
One Grand-prize winner will be selected at random to receive a Bumblebee Voice Mixer Helmet; a Bumblebee Plasma Cannon Arm Blaster; a Leader Class Optimus Prime action figure, a Leader Class Megatron action figure; two action figures from the following assortment: Voyager Class Optimus Prime, Starscream, Demolisher or Ironhide; and a Human Alliance Bumblebee with Sam Witwicky action figure.

[The grand-prize package in our Hasbro "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" movie sweepstakes includes, clockwise, from top left: a Bumblebee Voice Mixer Helmet; a Bumblebee Plasma Cannon Arm Blaster; a Leader Class Megatron action figure; a Human Alliance Bumblebee with Sam Witwicky action figure; and a Leader Class Optimus Prime action figure.]
Hasbro Images
The grand-prize package in our Hasbro "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" movie sweepstakes includes, clockwise, from top left: a Bumblebee Voice Mixer Helmet; a Bumblebee Plasma Cannon Arm Blaster; a Leader Class Megatron action figure; a Human Alliance Bumblebee with Sam Witwicky action figure; and a Leader Class Optimus Prime action figure.
Two first prize winners will be selected at random to receive a Leader Class Optimus Prime action figure or a Leader Class Megatron action figure; a Human Alliance Bumblebee with Sam Witwicky action figure; a Voyager Class Optimus Prime, Starscream, Demolisher or Ironhide action figure; and two Robot Heroes two packs

Two runner-prize winners will be selected at random to receive a Voyager class Optimus Prime, Starscream, Demolisher or Ironhide action figure; a Deluxe class Sideways, Sideswipe, Rampage or Breakaway action figure; and a Robot Heroes two pack.

The contest runs June 18, 2009, through July 1, 2009. The contest is for U.S. residents only. For a complete set of contest rules, click here.

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AUTOBOTS and DECEPTICONS storm toy aisles prior to Hasbro's new live-action TRANSFORMERS movie invading theaters this summer

2009-06-23T07:06:00.000-07:00

TORONTO, Jun 18, 2009 (Canada NewsWire via COMTEX) ----DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Pictures Film Elevates the Excitement

and Action from 2007's Blockbuster TRANSFORMERS Movie

This summer, the colossal battle between the AUTOBOTS and the DECEPTICONS continues when the "ROBOTS IN DISGUISE" once again invade movie theaters around the world. TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN, from DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Pictures, in association with Hasbro, debuts June 24th, 2009 and continues the saga of the 2007 Worldwide blockbuster film that finds two warring factions of robots colliding in a major battle on planet Earth.

On May 30th, Hasbro launches its new line of movie-based TRANSFORMERS toys that capture the action and excitement of the new film. Fans will love the new action figures showcasing popular characters like OPTIMUS PRIME and BUMBLEBEE in multiple scales - with many featuring lights and authentic sounds and phrases from the movie. Kids can pretend to be a TRANSFORMERS robot by wearing the new BUMBLEBEE MOVIE VOICE MIXER HELMET that lets children mix their own voices with music and includes "tune-in radio phrases," just like BUMBLEBEE. To complete the fantasy, kids can pretend to battle the DECEPTICONS with the new TRANSFORMERS MOVIE BUMBLEBEE PLASMA CANNON. This awesome arm blaster converts from BUMBLEBEE'S robot arm to his plasma cannon and features lights and signature TRANSFORMERS sound effects. And, long-time fans will be thrilled with one of the most powerful DECEPTICONS, the new TRANSFORMERS MOVIE CONSTRUCTICON DEVASTATOR figure, a monstrous robot that combines six vehicles into one giant robot.

For 25 years, Hasbro has provided kids with hours of MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE action with their figures that convert from robot to vehicles and back again. Legions of boys around the world grew up creating fantastic adventures and battles set on both the planet CYBERTRON and Earth that featured the heroic AUTOBOTS - like OPTIMUS PRIME and BUMBLEBEE - clashing with the evil DECEPTICONS, led by MEGATRON. The toys' popularity reached new levels with the release of the first live-action TRANSFORMERS movie, cementing the toys and the brand in the upper stratosphere of pop culture.

About HASBRO

Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE:HAS) is a Worldwide leader in children's and family leisure time products and services with a rich portfolio of brands and entertainment properties that provides some of the highest quality and most recognizable play and recreational experiences in the world. As a brand-driven, consumer-focused global company, Hasbro brings to market a range of toys, games and licensed products, from traditional to high-tech and digital, under such powerful brand names as TRANSFORMERS, PLAYSKOOL, TONKA, MILTON BRADLEY, PARKER BROTHERS, CRANIUM and WIZARDS OF THE COAST. Come see how we inspire play through our brands at http://www.hasbro.com. (C) 2009 Hasbro, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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PRODUCT HIGHLIGHTS

The 2009 Transformers Movie Line includes the following toys
available on May 30, 2009

TRANSFORMERS MOVIE FIGURES

(Approximate retail price: Starting from $15.99; Ages: 5 & up; Available:
Beginning May 30, 2009 with additional waves throughout the summer)

For more than 25 years, TRANSFORMERS action figures have been known for
their "MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE" play pattern, with robots converting into
vehicles, and then back to robots again. This summer, TRANSFORMERS movie
action figures featuring the new film's most popular characters will be
available in three scales: DELUXE, VOYAGER (larger scale), and LEADER
(largest scale and includes lights and sounds). DELUXE includes 24
characters, VOYAGER will offer 11 characters, and LEADER will feature
three, including OPTIMUS PRIME and JETFIRE.

BUMBLEBEE MOVIE VOICE MIXER HELMET

(Approximate retail price: $49.99; Ages 5 & up; Available: May 30, 2009)

In the 2007 TRANSFORMERS movie, BUMBLEBEE was a scene-stealer and an
instant favorite among kids and long-time TRANSFORMERS fans. Now, kids
can pretend to be the fun-loving AUTOBOT character BUMBLEBEE with a role-
playing helmet. The toy allows kids to mix their voice through a
"radio" - just like BUMBLEBEE - and also features realistic robot battle
sounds and radio tune-in phrases to add authenticity to the play
experience.

TRANSFORMERS MOVIE BUMBLEBEE PLASMA CANNON

(Approximate retail price: $49.99; Ages 4 & up; Available: May 30, 2009)

The ultimate companion to the BUMBLEBEE MOVIE VOICE MIXER HELMET, the
TRANSFORMERS MOVIE BUMBLEBEE PLASMA CANNON allows kids to strap on the
blaster and defend the Earth against its evil invaders. Features
electronic lights and sounds.

TRANSFORMERS MOVIE POWER BOTS

(Approximate retail price: $34.99; Ages 4 & up; Available: May 30, 2009)

Designed to enable easy play for younger fans, TRANSFORMERS MOVIE POWER
BOTS are 10-inch robot-only versions of favorite TRANSFORMERS characters.
These large-scale, chunky action figures include lights, sounds and
battle features. This summer, Power Bots styled after Bumblebee and
Megatron from TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN will join this exciting
and unique line.

The 2009 Transformers Movie Line includes the following toys
available after July 26, 2009

TRANSFORMERS MOVIE MEGA POWER BOTS

(Approximate retail price: $49.99; Ages 4 & up; Available: July 26, 2009)

Taking POWER BOTS to the next level with a second mode for "mega" action!
Robots include OPTIMUS PRIME and DEVASTATOR. When the DEVASTATOR POWER
BOT figure is face down, he appears to be six different vehicles, but
when standing upright, he is the monstrous DECEPTICON DEVASTATOR.

TRANSFORMERS MOVIE HUMAN ALLIANCE

(Approximate retail price: $49.99; Ages 5 & up; Available: July 26, 2009)

For the first time, the new TRANSFORMERS MOVIE HUMAN ALLIANCE collection
allows kids to play with the human characters alongside the TRANSFORMERS.
When the TRANSFORMERS are in vehicle mode, the human figures fit inside
and can go along for the ride. When the TRANSFORMERS are in robot mode,
the human figures can be positioned at different battle stations. Three
different characters will be available in 2009 - complete with a 2 1/4-
inch human action figure - including BUMBLEBEE and friend Sam Witwicky.

TRANSFORMERS MOVIE CONSTRUCTICON DEVASTATOR

(Approximate retail price: $129.99; Ages 5 & up; Available: August 2009)

The largest and most powerful foe the AUTOBOTS will encounter in this
summer's TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN is sure to be DEVASTATOR, a
monstrous DECEPTICON robot made up of six separate construction vehicles
known as the CONSTRUCTICONS. The TRANSFORMERS MOVIE CONSTRUCTICON
DEVASTATOR allows kids to re-create the film's awesome action sequences.

TRANSFORMERS R.P.M's MINI-VEHICLES SINGLE PACKS

(Approximate retail price: $5.99; Ages 3 & up; Available: August 2009)

When TRANSFORMERS characters are "ROBOTS IN DISGUISE," they take on the
look of some of most contemporary vehicles in the world, such as the
Chevrolet Camaro Concept, Ford Mustang and GMC Topkick. For the first
time ever, Hasbro offers mini-vehicles of TRANSFORMERS characters that
allow kids to engage in the classic play pattern of racing cars across
the floor, as well as on play sets and tracks. The robot version of the
character is featured on the underside of each non-converting vehicle for
kids to easily identify the characters unique to the TRANSFORMERS
universe. Twelve mini-vehicles will be available in single packs in 2009,
and include MUDFLAP/Chevrolet Trax and SKIDS/Chevrolet Beat (pictured).

TRANSFORMERS R.P.M's DEVASTATOR TRACK SET

(Approximate retail price: $49.99; Ages 5 & up; Available: August 2009)

Created specifically for the new TRANSFORMERS R.R.M.'s line of mini-
vehicles, the TRANSFORMERS RPMs DEVASTATOR TRACK SET provides fast, mini-
vehicle play within a dynamic track set by leveraging the iconic battle
and high stakes drama found in the new movie. The track will bring
DEVASTATOR to life and enable fans to re-enact the climactic movie battle
between the AUTOBOTS and DEVASTATOR.

source

'Transformers' blasts back: Another Michael Bay direct hit

2009-06-22T07:05:00.000-07:00

By Anthony Breznican, USA TODAY

In Michael Bay's sandbox, everyone is a toy soldier.

Deep amid the luminous dunes of New Mexico's white gypsum desert, the filmmaker's deeply sunburned battalion of crew workers constructed a set to resemble a sandblasted Egyptian town beside a massive ancient temple.

This is where Bay and his moviemaking army prepared to shoot the climax of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, and when the film makes its debut Wednesday, moviegoers will see only a portion of the epic battle.

The rest of it happened behind the camera:
FIND MORE STORIES IN: Pearl Harbor | Transformers | Shia LaBeouf | Speed | Michael Bay | Megan Fox

GRATEFUL GIBSON: Tyrese's life transformed by role
VOTE: Pick your favorite Transformer in our reader design contest

The long, lonely road to the movie's set starts at Holloman Air Force Base and stretches arrow-straight for miles through the scrub-filled vastness into Army territory. Roughly a square half-mile of sand has been cleared of unexploded artillery on the testing range to make room for the Egyptian set.

The sky is clear, but overhead there is screaming thunder — fighter jets, low and loud, rip by on training missions. A giant, weathered sign on the side of the road reads: "Maximum Speed Limit In the Great State of New Mexico — Mach 10."

Swiftness is a virtue on the Transformers set, too. It's early morning, and Bay already has Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox running for their lives as packs of dynamite go off behind them. Geysers of dust and debris spew into the air and pepper Bay and his bank of television monitors with chunks of foam designed to look like rocks.

Soldiers toting machine guns surround rocket launchers at the crest of surrounding dunes, stained black with soot after days of shooting battle scenes.

Amid the structures in the village is a crashed Black Hawk helicopter and a pair of M1 Abrams tanks with cannons large enough to shoot slugs the size of fire extinguishers tipped toward the horizon. Gathered around the tanks are scores of off-duty military personnel, hired as extras.

The filmmaker, then 43, is watching the action unfold on a bank of TV monitors. He's wearing an Autobot ball cap, pulled low to shade his eyes from the sun, and a Decepticon T-shirt, perhaps symbolic of which side of the robot battle is closest to his heart.

Duhamel joins Bay to watch the replay. "This really is your sandbox," he tells the director. "And we are kinda like your toys."

Bay gives a smirk, but seems preoccupied by his screens. When the actor leaves, the filmmaker confides, in an uncharacteristically soft voice, a story from when he was a kid.

"I made home movies that way," he says, still looking at the replays on the screen. "I'd do little firecrackers on the train set. … I actually set my bedroom on fire once." He smiles and rolls his eyes. "The fire department came. It was a little Super 8 movie where the aliens invaded."

But the sound and fury that as a grown-up have earned him $2.6 billion in worldwide ticket sales only got him into trouble then. "That wasn't fun," he says. "I got grounded. Two weeks."

Constructive criticism

Critics have never given Bay much respect, and aren't likely to start now — not that a lack of Oscars and accolades has hurt his swagger. Bay acknowledges his movies aren't deep, but he is proud of his rock'em, sock'em style of popcorn filmmaking. "It just makes you feel good, makes you smile. It's such a guilty pleasure," he says.

There is undeniable craftsmanship and imagination in Bay's cinematic eye-candy, but his movies also are, in an offbeat way, personal works of self-expression. The filmmaker is big and boisterous, hot-headed one moment, silly the next, prone to wisecracks, and ready to turn serious when the situation is dire — just like his films. Both also have a softer, sentimental side.

While his style might not have been the best fit for such true-life stories as Pearl Harbor, Bay seems to have found his niche with Transformers, a testosterone fairy tale where good and evil are clearly delineated and Bumblebee, a teenage boy's first car, doesn't only open the world to him, but helps him save it.

When he's on the job, however, sentimentality takes a back seat to intensity. He is direct and blunt — though often kids around a little, too.

After watching a scene in which Duhamel tries to rescue Fox from her hiding spot beneath a blown-out wall, Bay stops the action and runs out to coach the actor.

"Take her hand this time. When you ran the last time, you ran away like a (expletive) girl and left her!" the director says.

Duhamel sarcastically thanks Bay for the constructive criticism — in full view of a visiting reporter.

Bay says to the journalist, in an even louder voice: "You'll be doing me a (expletive) favor if you print that!" Then laughs. Duhamel just shakes his head.

There is more than a week of filming to be done before the action moves to the actual pyramids in Egypt. But before the set is abandoned, Bay would like to see some of it destroyed for real with cameras rolling.

The U.S. Department of Defense agreed to partner with the filmmakers, seeing Transformers as a morale-booster for troops who get to participate and a training opportunity. Army liaison Lt. Col. Gregory Bishop tells Bay that the Army is happy to let tank crews practice target shooting on the set.

Bay's face brightens. "Live rounds?"

Bishop shakes his head. "No, training rounds. Inert. They're dead rounds. But they shoot, and you just pyro-up the house, Hollywood-up the house, and make it blow."

Bay squints one eye. "Can we shoot one live round?"

Bishop is unbending: "You're going to make it look better than what we could do."

"Maybe," Bay concedes. "But it would look cool."

Bay gives it one more try, explaining his philosophy. "I mean, when I was doing (a commercial for) Victoria's Secret, I had Petra Nemcova and Heidi Klum in the bathtub together. The company was like, 'Mike, Mike. We can't use this, we can't use this.' And I'm bent over the camera saying, 'Uh, OK, let's just see what it looks like.' "

The director flashes the most devilish of grins. Ultimately, Bishop wins out.

Months later, Bay says the dummy cannon shots were plenty good. "Let me tell you, you have never heard such a wallop," he says. "You can't imitate that digitally — the dust and the fire. It's just more of a PahhOOOOOmph!"

The heat really is on

On the set in 105-degree desert heat, Bay seems to be solar-powered. As the day goes on, he becomes only more animated. And he isn't opposed to doing some heavy lifting.

The time comes to collapse a giant column on the temple; a Decepticon will be added later as digital animation, pushing it over to crush LaBeouf's and Fox's stunt doubles. The columns are about four stories tall, as thick as grain silos and made out of wood and plaster.

After it succumbs to the power of explosives and crane cables, a school-bus-sized slab has to be removed.

The skinny Bay gets under it with 17 other crew workers to haul it off, like ants carrying a half slice of bread. "This is how they did it, huh! Don't you think? This is how they built the (expletive) pyramids!" Bay says, cheering his soldiers on.

They take a circuitous path; colored flags all around them mark packs of dynamite, wired beneath bags of cement mix (which makes an appealing dust plume when they blow). The pyrotechnics crew has been preparing for the day's big finale shot, meant to simulate a bombardment by B-2 Bombers.

Mike Wever, the special-effects technician and bomb triggerman, surveys the explosive-planting.

"Whatever Bay wants is what we try to give him," says Wever. "Sex is sex, dialogue is dialogue, but what people want is special effects. Bayhem, that's what it's called. That's what I like to call it. Whenever we do a Michael show, it's a new level of Bayhem."

Wever warns to stay away from the 14 large, white plastic garbage cans placed around the temple. They are full of gasoline and wired to explode for the finale shot.

Activity soon reaches a fever pitch. The bombs are set, the actors are ready. About 10 cameras are rolling, one on a helicopter hovering above. Tanks and soldiers aim their weapons at invisible mechanical invaders.

Bay storms around the set aligning soldiers and war vehicles, clearing the town of all visible film equipment as they prepare to shoot. All of the guns will be blazing, and bombs will be erupting into a great wall of fire, as LaBeouf, Fox, Duhamel and Gibson race from their hiding place to behind friendly lines, scampering between the stomping feet of gigantic Decepticons.

Burly grips haul around armloads of rubber machine guns. Others set up smoke canisters and rig stuntmen to fly off tanks when they are shot.

There's a race to finish before sunset, but a craft services worker shows up with a pickup full of fresh pizzas. He is swarmed by the crew, until Bay hops off a golf cart he is steering and hollers: "Get those (expletive) pizzas the (expletive) out of here!"

End-of-the-day shoots are always tense. The moment just after the sun sets creates a uniquely haunting light, and Bay prefers to shoot his big action scenes in the very limited time. Almost a dozen cameras are rolling — one of them on a helicopter above.

Bay is visibly nervous. Before settling behind his monitors inside one of the mock buildings, he watches as a water truck and firefighting crew roll down the sand road and hide out of sight behind a wall.

And the 'Action!' begins

The director bites his lower lip and says, in that uncharacteristically low voice: "I'm gonna burn my set down."

The emergency equipment is in place to prevent such a disaster; the loss of the set would be devastating for the production.

Everything is in place — action! The cameras are rolling, the actors are running. The helicopter thrums overhead, and the scores of military extras are machine-gunning the shape-shifting robots supposedly marching toward them. When the actors are clear —KAR-ROOOOM!!!

The dynamite packs explode, and those plastic garbage cans of fuel vaporize, sending their contents skyward in a great, billowing tidal wave of fire that momentarily makes twilight as bright as high noon.

Bay and his crew are cheering, high-fiving, cursing joyfully and bear-hugging each other. Even the scorned pizza man would have felt the love.

But then the wall of black smoke clears, and the temple and adjacent buildings come into view. The tops are fully engulfed in flames.

The joyful curses turn serious. Bay watches as the firefighters race to the rescue, getting the blaze under control — just like the scene that played out in his bedroom with fireworks, a train set and a Super 8 camera.

But this time, he won't be grounded.

source

The Sneak: Transformers 2

2009-06-21T07:04:00.000-07:00

TRANFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN

(12A) 147mins

THE rule Michael Bay applied to his Transformers sequel is if the original made £350million then don't, er, transform it.

Stunning ... Megan Fox

DreamWorks LLC and Paramount Pictures.

Understandable as that is, this re-run of the previous thrills and spills displays a disappointing lack of ambition.

Shia Labeouf's heroic Sam again finds himself holding the key to a powerful energy source being sought at all costs by baddie robots the Decepticons.

And goodie robots the Autobots again kick rear spoiler as they seek to protect Sam.

A US bureaucrat again fears the Autobots are the problem, there is a replica shoot-up at the Witwicky household and, yes, our first view of Megan Fox is from behind in her hotpants.

Most of the male teen audience would have asked for their money back if Bay hadn't shown that shot of Fox, who plays Sam's girlfriend Mikaela.

A lot of tongue-in-cheek fun is had with Fox's sex goddess status.

A cute little enemy robot tries to hump her leg and in another scene she dresses in a burka.

It's silly moments like this and some spectacular visual effects which earn Transformers 2 three hats. Without them it would have been unbearable.

Hero ... Shia LaBeouf

Just like Gordon Brown, this film outstays its welcome. There is no need for a movie based on a kid's toy to last two and a half hours.

Bay again weighs the featherlight plot down with unimportant, annoying characters.

The worst offender being Sam's college dorm mate who is forever wimpering that he doesn't want to die. The Sneak was hoping he would.

Also, for anyone unfamiliar with the various robots in disguise, it is very difficult to tell the goodies and baddies apart.

They are though, at least, a welcome relief from all the nerdy nonsense about keys, matrixes and symbols that dominate the climax.

What started out as mega fun, finishes as a mega drag.

BEST LINE: A mini robot telling Mikaela "You're hot, but you sure ain't too bright."

BEST CHARACTER: Bumblebee, the sports-car-turned-robot, has more depth than the human cast.

FAMILY RATING: Mild swearing and violence.

BUM NUMBNESS: It'll hurt your bot.

Rating: Three hats.

source

'Transformers' Stars Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox On Their Favorite Robots

2009-06-20T07:02:00.000-07:00

'Some of the coolest action sequences and set pieces I've ever seen in a movie is with Devastator,' Fox says.

By Larry Carroll
Views 1,108

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BEVERLY HILLS, California — Do you spend your evenings sleeping under Bumblebee bedsheets? Have you ever gone into a drive-thru wearing an Optimus Prime mask? Well, it might finally be time for some new toys.

"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" storms into theaters June 24, bringing with it a slew of brand-new robots in disguise. Recently, we caught up with the human stars of the movie — and got the scoop on their favorite freewheeling co-stars.

Megan Fox on Devastator - "Devastator is a really cool robot because he's a Constructicon, and we didn't have a Constructicon in the last one," explained the actress, who plays sexy Mikaela Barnes in the film series. "He's just massive. And the damage he does, it's mind-blowing to watch it. Some of the coolest action sequences and set pieces I've ever seen in a movie is with Devastator."

Shia LaBeouf on Scalpel - "There's an interrogation scene, it's just me on a table surrounded by five robots — one of whom is inside of my mind," LaBeouf said of his favorite scene in the film, which revolves around a small, spider-like Decepticon who can transform into a microscope and goes by the nickname "The Doctor." "[Another robot] is looking at my thoughts on a board. And I'm being held down by another one who is holding my arms, and another robot's holding my legs as I am talking to a doctor robot."

Ramon Rodriguez on Ravage - "Ravage is a good one that people are going to love to see what he can do — in the cartoon, he used to come out of Soundwave," remembered self-professed "Transformers" geek Rodriguez, who joins the series in the sequel as Sam's friend Leo. "Soundwave was this guy who had a tape cassette, and he would let out a bird that would fly like a spy, and he would also let out this tiger. So [Michael Bay] implemented the tiger in the movie, and the tiger can do a bunch of different things ... people are going to be really excited to see that kind of stuff, that he's actually bringing some of the old original ones back."

Tyrese on Sideswipe - "I love the new Corvette," grinned the car-loving actor who plays USAF Sergeant Epps, referring to an Autobot fighter who employs swords in battle. "That silver Corvette in the movie is crazy! It's a Stingray; I love the car, and I love the way he looks when he transforms. I [loved] Bumblebee on the first one because I love the car and I just love the character of Bumble — but I think my new favorite is this Stingray Corvette, man. I got to have that car in my collection when it comes out!"

Check out everything we've got on "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

Movies have transformed Tyrese Gibson's life

2009-06-19T07:03:00.001-07:00

By Kelley L. Carter, USA TODAY
LOS ANGELES — Every day Tyrese Gibson admires a framed photo that sits on his desk at his Los Angeles office.

In it, his two acting heroes Will Smith and Denzel Washington are posed together. Each time he glances at it, he's reminded of why he's so picky with film projects.

VOTE: Pick your favorite Transformer in our reader design contest

Gibson's dream is to create a career that combines the best of Washington's and Smith's — a mix of gut-wrenching acting and explosive adrenaline-rush projects.

"Denzel works really hard and keeps a lot of people on edge on movie sets because he's so focused and he expects the best from everybody," Gibson says, pointing to Washington in the photo.
FIND MORE STORIES IN: Brad Pitt | Angelina Jolie | Denzel Washington | Transformers | Tyrese

"And Will, his approach has been very global: to be the biggest movie star in the world," he says, placing the photo back in its spot.

"I definitely want to be Tyrese," he says. "But if I had it my way, my goal would be to try to be somewhere in the middle of those guys."

Gibson's on his way.

The 30-year-old actor returns to the big screen Wednesday in the hotly anticipated Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. He reprises his role as Air Force Technical Sergeant Robert Epps, who has recently been promoted to master sergeant.

The action film is a departure from Gibson's previous work. With the exception of 2003's 2 Fast 2 Furious, Gibson has performed in smaller films such as 2005's Four Brothers and 2006's Waist Deep.

"I always want to be associated with something that's going to have people feeling good, motivated, have people walking away saying 'Man, I thought my life was rough, but it's nowhere near as rough as that,' " he says. "What you decide to do in these films does have an impact on the people."

Being a part of the big-budget Transformers franchise has allowed the actor and singer to pursue other projects. He sings a Babyface-penned duet with Jewel on the Transformers soundtrack, and he'll produce an upcoming reality TV show about firefighters for BET. Gibson's company, HQ Entertainment, also will produce a new comic series with Image Comics called Mayhem.

Gibson says that when he first signed on for Transformers, he had no idea it would perform as well as it did. Worldwide, it was the highest-grossing non-sequel movie in 2007, earning more than $708 million.

He shakes his head for a few moments in disbelief, thinking about the possible magnitude of the sequel.

"This is a real monster right here," he says. "I believe that people are going to love Transformers 2. I think the chemistry among the cast is so much better in the sequel. Everybody had a job and we all came there to do it. I really believe that people are going to walk away enjoying this movie."

In his office — which many days doubles as his home — the divorced dad of 1-year-old Shayla allows his eyes to fall over the relics of his career. There are pictures of him with A-listers (Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and Luther Vandross, to name a few) on a wall of fame near his in-office studio. Framed movie posters and notes from famous friends decorate the place.

"It's only by the grace of God that I've been able to go from a 30-second commercial when I was 16 to somehow figuring out a way to still be relevant in 2009. To show up and hear any kind of screams and have anybody happy to see me is a very big deal," he says.

"All I wanted was to be able to go shopping and spend over $50 a month on clothes for school and get this phone number of a girl who lived up the street. I had no goals. I just can't get used to it. And I don't want to."

source

9 Fresh 'Transformers 2' Photos Emerge

2009-06-19T07:00:00.000-07:00

Starscream and Megatron fighting, Optimus Prime standing beside a sphinx and Sam Witwicky speaking to Jetfire are among the new pics found for 'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen'.
9 Fresh 'Transformers 2' Photos Emerge
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On the last days leading to the theatrical release of "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen", Paramount Pictures have let out a series of brand new images from the "Transformers" sequel. The fresh photos are counted nine in all, and two of them come out exclusively via USA Today.

The two pictures published by the paper exhibit Optimus Prime standing tall beside an Egyptian sphinx as well as Sam Witwicky talking to Jetfire with Mikaela Banes, Agent Simmons and Leo watching from the side. The other seven photos include a closer look at twins Mudflap and Skids, the rooftop battle between Starscream and Megatron, and a capture of half-burned Sam.

"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" is set a year after the end of the 2007 blockbuster "Transformers". It follows Sam Witwicky and Mikaela Banes as they become the target of attack by Decepticons due to Sam's knowledge over the origins of the Transformers and their ancient history on Earth. Battling the Decepticons' effort to capture Sam, Autobots unite with U.S. military and an international coalition to fight back the villains' attack.

Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox return as Sam and Mikaela respectively. They are joined by several original cast, including Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson and John Turturro, as well as new additions, such as Isabel Lucas, Ramon Rodriguez and Rainn Wilson. This movie has been pushed forward to see a June 24 U.S. release.

Transformers 2: Cool New Images & A Dumb Rumor

2009-06-19T06:57:00.000-07:00

We are less than a week away from the premiere of one of the most anticipated films of the year, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

In preparation for the grand opening, we’ve seen an astonishing amount of marketing materials popping up everywhere. Today, several sites are posting some new images for the movie so we’ve chosen some of the best ones for you to see.

But first, let’s talk about a strange rumor…

You may have heard the ridiculous rumor that Michael Bay would not be doing Transformers 3. For some reason, a lot of sites were jumping all over this with no justification. We’ve known for months that Bay wanted time off after this to make a small movie, which we wrote about a while ago, then he’d likely get back to the robot franchise afterwards. For that reason, we didn’t jump on the rumor but so many others did that it got a little out of hand and the explosive director quickly addressed it personally.

In response to the idiocy, Bay said this on his forums:

“Hah,

Love press how they spin. Never said it - just wanted a vacation is more to the point. And no I don’t read the good or the bad reviews.”

Do we really think that five days before the big premiere, he’d quit the franchise? This will probably be the biggest money maker of the summer, if not, the entire year. Bay also gets a strong royalty on all Transformers movie toys sold as well.

Now, to the good stuff. Check these images out and see what you think:

Michael Bay’s favorite characters: The twins Mudflap and Skids

Starscream and Megatron fight for leadership of the Decepticons

Continue through the pages for more close-ups of these images and other new pics…

Transformers 2 Movie | New Transformers 2 Posters & Info

2009-05-15T01:18:00.000-07:00

Today we have some new character posters for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen as well as some tidbits of information from one of the writers, Alex Kurtzman, who discussed the movie in an interview with the LA Times.

The posters are colorful and not that great. Most shots of the characters featured in the promotional items have been seen before and they don’t appear in very high quality. They’d make great posters for kids who are fans of the movies though.

Check them out and see what you think:

The character renders look like they’re from the video game tie-in as opposed to the movie. I like the actual star in Starscream’s name logo, very creative.

In other news, Alex Kurtzman discussed the sequel with LA Times and started by talking about the main character, Sam, moving into the next stage of life and the challenges that accompany that.

“The first movie was about a boy and his car and finding his adulthood and freedom. Now Sam [Shia LaBeouf] is going to college and facing both leaving home and the challenge of a long-distance relationship with Mikaela [Megan Fox],”

That’s not what we care about. Fortunately he quickly moved on to the important stuff:

“It’s about the return of the Decepticons and particularly a character named ‘The Fallen’ who has a deeper history with Earth than any of the Autobots knew about. He blames humanity for his fall, so he has come back to exact revenge”

Well, that certainly sums up where the title of the film came from. In the interview, they also discussed the fan-favorite character of Soundwave and asked whether or not he’ll turn into the classic microcassette recorder or turn into some vehicle like the other bots. Kurtzman responded by saying he doesn’t transform into either and that he couldn’t reveal anymore. In closing, Kurtzman said this:

“It’s going to be the mother of all robot-on-robot violence”

That’s good news.

What do you think of the posters and what Kurtzman had to say?

If you haven’t seen the cool new Transformers 2 trailer that was attached to X-Men Origins: Wolverine this weekend, definitely check that out too.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen opens June 24 2009.

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Transformers 2 Movie | Summer Movie Preview: Look for blockbuster action and arty fare

2009-05-14T01:09:00.000-07:00

Media critic Tom Maurstad is busy reviewing new movies, so he's letting his alter egos handle the summer movie preview.

It's time for our annual look at summer movies. To provide a discussion about those whiz-bang-pow spectacles, we present an e-mail exchange between esteemed film critic T. Alfred Maurstad and pop-culture enthusiast Tommy Boy Maurstad.

Tommy Boy: Let me kick off this exchange because summer is my season. Summers in Texas are long and hot and summers in the theater are loud and flashy – and that's just the way I like them both. Movies in the winter, like the weather, turn cold and gray with everyone looking for their Oscar nomination. But in the summer, art takes a back seat to entertainment.

T. Alfred: You say that as if it's a good thing; the two don't have to be mutually exclusive, you know. And I reject your premise that the summer movie season is a celebration of flash and a dead zone of substance. If you'd stop updating your Facebook page or playing Call of Duty long enough to notice, you'd see that things are changing. Summer isn't just about boom-pow-crash, anymore. There are some good movies opening.

TB: Please. You say "good movies," and I reach for my remote control. You and certain Hollywood producers can try to rewrite reality, but it won't change. It takes more than a summer release date to be a summer movie. The new Terminator movie with Christian Bale, Terminator Salvation, is a summer movie. The new J.J. Abrams-directed Star Trek is a summer movie. A movie about Julia Child starring Meryl Streep (Julie & Julia)? That is absolutely not a summer movie.

TA: You cautioning me about rewriting reality? That's rich. What about the way Hollywood has transformed summer into an ever-expanding season? Summer used to be three months – June, July and August. Now the first "summer" movie, Wolverine, has already opened and we're only to the first weekend in May with "summer" movies like Citizen Game (a futuristic horror-thriller centered on a deadly video game) and Whiteout (based on a graphic novel and starring Kate Beckinsale) scheduled to come out through September. We're approaching the point of year-round summer.

TB: From your keyboard to the Hollywood gods' iPhones. Summer movies are about spectacle-making, not about intricately detailed character-driven storytelling or award-winning actors finding an infinite variety of ways to convey the realization that life is hard. If I want that, I'll watch cable TV. What I want from my summer movies is to be wowed. I want the giant dorsal fin slicing through the ocean in Jaws; I want the White House blowing up in Independence Day. Show me something I haven't seen before or done so much bigger and better, I don't care that it has been done.

TA: I'll grant you that there's a strong, even primal desire for the kind of experience you're talking about, maybe even more so this summer with the economy still slumping. A trip to the movies for a two-hour escape may be as close as a lot of people come to a vacation this summer. It's just the mindlessness of so much of this summertime cinematic spectacle; I'm not so much wowed as wearied.

TB: I've already mentioned Terminator Salvation – a prequel that's set in the future, how postmodern cool is that? – so I'll just rattle off some of the other summer movies I'm waiting for. I wasn't all that crazy about the first Transformers movie, but that doesn't mean I won't be there on opening day for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. That should be a pure eye-candy adrenaline rush. And my inner nerd can't wait to see the Harry Potter saga conclude with The Half-Blood Prince.

TA: Oof, that's another thing about summer that we hadn't mentioned – it's the season of sequels, although have you noticed? The numbers have disappeared from the new installments' titles. It's not "Transformers 2" or "Terminator 4." Hollywood has replaced numbers with colons, as if they don't want you to be reminded of how many of these they've made. Just the franchise name. Movies really have become brands.

TB: Yeah, isn't it great? In that spirit, I can't wait for J.J. Abrams' rebooting of maybe the greatest brand name in pop culture, Star Trek. Early buzz is through the roof. I can't wait.

TA: Uh-huh, may the force be with you or nanu-nanu or whatever it is you people say to each other. I'm looking forward to Chéri , the new Stephen Frears (Dangerous Liaisons) movie that has a gloriously 50-year-old Michelle Pfeiffer taking up with a 19-year-old man-boy (Rupert Friend). And while Cameron Diaz is usually in your kind of summer movie, she's starring in My Sister's Keeper, based on Jodi Picoult's beautiful novel about a mother forced to make some terrible choices trying to save her daughter with cancer at the expense of her other daughter's sanity.

TB: Whoo-hoo, can't wait; nothing says summertime fun like cougars and cancer. I'm also both eager and anxious at the prospect of Quentin Tarantino's new movie, the World War II adventure, Inglourious Basterds, starring Brad Pitt. I hope it will be great; I'm afraid it will be awful. But I can't wait.

TA: Here's the funny thing: After all the pointing and counterpointing over summer movies, I know that the movie each of us is most looking forward to seeing is the same one, Public Enemies.

TB: Absolutely. That's the movie of my summer: Johnny Depp as public enemy No. 1 John Dillinger and Christian Bale as Melvin Purvis, the FBI agent who tracks him down. Machine guns blazing, all those fedoras and old cars flying – how can it not be great?

TA: And don't forget Michael Mann directing. The director who went from making Miami Vice on television to some of the most stunningly designed and brutally beautiful crime films ever made. You see? Art and entertainment can come together, even in the summer.

TB: Fine. This one time, you're right. Now bring on the spectacle.

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Transformers 2 Movie | Movie trailer roundup: Terminator Salvation, Transformers 2 footage and....G.I. Joe?

2009-05-13T01:08:00.000-07:00

The American blockbuster season is upon us and T4 and Transformers 2 are shaping up for a clash of the killer robot films. Who will win? Check out the latest footage, including the new G.I. Joe trailer (with French subtitles!). Go Joe!

Transformers 2

This is the final trailer release for Transformers 2: Revenge of the fallen and it looks as though Michael Bay is showing off more of the same in the sequel...similar doosmday plot, bigger robot destroyers, more Bumblebee awkwardness and more over-the-top action scenes to poke a stick at. Audiences will no doubt love it and it'll make over a billion dollars worldwide. Autobots roll out!

Release date in Aussie cinemas: June 25th

Terminator: Salvation

McG's re-imagining of the Terminator series continues to look better and better with every piece of footage released. In particular, these new TV spots (6,7 and 8) - seem to indicate that audiences will get to see more of the early terminator models (the ones glimsed upon in T1 and T2). This already looks much better than the travesty that was Terminator 3.

And, with the rumours of Arnie making a cameo at the end of this film (via CG de-aging technology ala Benjamin Button), we're very excited for the next installment of the series.

Release date in Aussie cinemas: June 4th

G.I Joe: The Rise of Cobra

The second official trailer of popular 80s comic and TV toyline has been released. It looks as hokey as we imagined, especially when its directed by Stephen "Van Helsing" Summers. But with added French subtitles, fans of the material will probably find this a good way to spend a couple of hours in the cinema.

Interestingly enough, Aussie actor Sam Worthington was originally signed to start in this flick, until scheduling conflicts with James Cameron's Avatar made it too difficult to go ahead with. Lucky for him, he scored the co-lead in T4 instead - not a bad swap.

Release date in Aussie cinemas: August 6th

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Transformers 2 Movie | Transformers, Marvel, Hot Toys, Star Trek, GoW & More At BBTS

2009-05-12T01:06:00.000-07:00

Hi - Here is a quick update from http://www.bigbadtoystore.com about a variety of new preorders and more new arrivals:

NEW PREORDERS

TRANSFORMERS MOVIE II - PREVIEW FIGURES Hasbro has just given us the go-ahead to list several movie 'preview' figures. We will have the full wave 1 movie selection in stock and ready to ship on May 30th, so be sure to check back then for many more items. Preview figures currently listed are Deluxe Bumblebee and Soundwave, Leader Optimus Prime, and Bumblebee role-play Helmet & Blaster - take a look here: http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/menu.aspx?menu=1913&company=3

FANSPROJECT SUPERION APPENDAGE ADD-ON KIT This awesome new add-on kit gives your Superion the fists and feet he deserves. The coolest feature of these add-ons is that they also turn into Fast pack, armor and radar disc for the figures in jet mode. This set is priced at $44.99 - take a look here: http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=FPJ10005&mode=retail

HOT TOYS RESIDENT EVIL / BIOHAZARD 5 FIGURES Another awesome pair of figures from Hot Toys. Chris Redfield and Sheva Alomar each come with a wide variety of weapons, cloth uniforms, and tons of detail. Preorders are currently listed at $169.99, pricing may drop slightly in the future depending on distribution methods on these figures. http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/menu.aspx?menu=588&company=148&category=1952

MARVEL LEGENDS 2009 TWO-PACKS WAVE 1 SET This exclusive set of Marvel 2-packs features Iron Man/Female SHIELD Agent (Maria Hill), Kree Warrior/Skrull Warrior, and Nick Fury (w/optional head)/Hand Ninja. We have the preorders listed at $10 off MSRP at $79.99 - take a look here: http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=HAS17068&mode=retail

TF CLASSICS TAW-01, 01S, 01B GOD SWORDS A company called Perfect Effect has designed some very cool giant swords compatible with TF Classics Prime, Magnus and Nemesis. Each sword can also be converted from gigantic sword, to a more regular sized sword with extra pieces used as a shield and wings. The swords are $69.99 each: http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/menu.aspx?menu=943&company=752

X-MEN ORIGINS WOLVERINE HOT TOYS MOVIE MASTERPIECE FIGURE We don't have an image of this figure yet, but its safe to say that Hot Toys will exactly capture the likeness of Wolverine from the new movie. Preorders have been set at $169.99 - pricing may come down later. http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=HOT10215&mode=retail

MAN-THING 18.5" COMIQUETTE The latest to join Sideshow's line of Marvel collectibles is the monstrous Man-Thing Comiquette. Each piece is individually painted and hand-finished, each with its own unique quality and detail that is the trademark of a handcrafted Sideshow Collectibles Comiquette. Complete with LED light-up eyes and towering over 18 inches high - Preorders have been listed $30 under MSRP at $469.99 http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=SSC10724&mode=retail

TERMINATOR REPLICA LEATHER JACKETS Using all original surviving resource material, Arnold's jacket has been re-created exactly as it was worn on screen. The jacket features police grade leather with zip-out cold weather, custom printed lining and sew-in label celebrating the 25th anniversary. It also incorporates all the safety features of today's motorcycle jackets to ensure realism and protection. Preorders for sizes Medium to XXL have been listed at $249.99 here: http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/menu.aspx?menu=2009&category=5631

GX-47 ENERGA Z - MAZINGER Z PROTOTYPE SOUL OF CHOGOKIN FIGURE EnergerZ the prototype model for MazingerZ makes its grand appearance in the all new anime series, "Mazinger Edition Z: The Impact!". In this all new Chogokin, EnergerZ's signature motorcycle pilot seat on head and slope back (cape/ramp via which the motorcycle climbs to the head) are recreated in precise detail. Entirely new tooling and design from GX-7E. Preorders have been listed at $63.99 http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=TOY10337&mode=retail

QUEENS BLADE REVOLTECH FRAULEIN REINA This is the first figure in a new Queens Blade based line of Revoltech figures. Reina looks fantastic and is priced at $36.99 - take a look here: http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=KAI10220&mode=retail

BOWEN MARVEL STATUES Three new versions of Hulk have listed as well as a new Angel Statue - take a look at the new figures below, Bowen continues to do great work:

13" RETRO GREY HULK STATUE http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=BWD10184&mode=retail

15.5" MAESTRO HULK STATUE http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=BWD10185&mode=retail

17.5" PLANET HULK STATUE http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=BWD10186&mode=retail

12.5" ANGEL IN RED COSTUME STATUE http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=BWD10183&mode=retail

WORLD OF MMA CHAMPIONS SERIES 4 Sets and singles are available for the fourth set of fighters from MMA - the set is $89.99 and includes one each of: Cung Le, Dan Henderson, Fedor Emelianenko, Gina Carano, Matt Serra, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/search.aspx?search=mma+04

TERMINATOR: SALVATION KNIFE REPLICAS Each knife measures 8" in overall length with a 3.6" 440 stainless steel blade. The handle features black G10 overlays and a leather lanyard wrap. Complete wih rigid nylon fiber sheath and a metal collector's box. http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/menu.aspx?menu=1838&category=5623

NEW GOEMON MOVIE MASTERPIECE FIGURES - CHACA & SAIZO Two more characters from the upcoming Goemon movie have just been listed at $149.99 each. Take a look at Chaca and Saizo as well as the previously listed Goemon below: http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/menu.aspx?menu=1988&category=5597

STAR WARS 1/4 SCALE PREMIUM FORMAT COUNT DOOKU The Count Dooku Premium Format figure captures every detail of the corrupted former Jedi, standing confidently with his uniquely curved lightsaber drawn. Each piece is individually painted and finished to exacting standards, each with its own unique quality and detail that is the trademark of a handcrafted Sideshow Collectibles Premium Format Figure. http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=SSC10725&mode=retail

TRANSFORMERS EXCLUSIVE ULTRA CLASS DARKWIND & COUNTDOWN A couple nice new exclusive repaints have been listed at $49.99 each - take a look at them here: http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=HAS17085&mode=retail

http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=HAS17086&mode=retail

STAR WARS EXCLUSIVE DISTURBANCE AT LARS HOMESTEAD BOX SET This cool playset features the Moisture Farm and 4 characters - take a look here: http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=HAS17087&mode=retail

HOT TOYS TRUETYPE 1/6 SCALE CAUCASIAN NARROW SHOULDERS FIGURE This updated body style is apparently the version used in the new Hot Toys Joker Deluxe figure. Preorders are only $29.99 per figure so its great for customizing - take a look here: http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=HOT10212&mode=retail

MICHAEL JACKSON - "BAD" VINYL FIGURE Another cool Michael Jackson figure back from the days when he was on top of the world - this vinyl figure is $67.99 and stands over 6" tall http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=YAM10423&mode=retail

FRANK CHO'S JUNGLE GIRL - DIAMOND EYE EDITION Sculpted and Painted by Tom and Joy Snyder, based on Frank Cho's cover from JUNGLE GIRL SEASON ONE #1! The Jungle Girl Statue is one of Dynamite's most ambitious projects! Based on the cover art to the premiere issue of Dynamite's series, Frank Cho himself has meticulously art directed the piece, and he hasn't let any detail escape his artistic eye. http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=DYF10014&mode=retail

EVEN MORE NEW PREORDERS: --DBZ SON GOKU YOUNG VERSION VCD http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=MED10334&mode=retail

--ROBOT SPIRITS GUNDAM EXIA http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=TOY10334&mode=retail

--ROBOT SPIRITS AKATSUKI - HEAVY WEAPON & WING TYPES http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/menu.aspx?menu=1405&category=3826

--DIE-CAST SDX COMMAND GUNDAM http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=TOY10338&mode=retail

--SAINT CLOTH MYTH - LOST CANVAS PEGASUS TENMA http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=TOY10339&mode=retail

NEW ARRIVALS

GEARS OF WAR - SERIES 3 This series includes the GoW2 version of Marcus Fenix, a COG soldier, Palace Guard, and two new Locust Drones: Cyclops and Grappler. The set of 5 is in stock now at $69.99, various singles are also available and we have a few of the Gold Lancer variant Marcus in stock as well. http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/search.aspx?search=Gears+Of+War+7%22+Figures+-+Series+03

STAR TREK MOVIE TOYS The new Playmates figures for the upcoming Star Trek movie are starting to arrive. In stock now are the Enterprise, Bridge, 3.75" figures, and 12" figures. Other items will be arriving soon - take a look here: http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/menu.aspx?menu=1843&company=80

ROLLOUT COMMAND TRAILER In stock now at $109.99 - this set of regular and nemesis trailers fits perfectly on classics prime. Each trailer opens up in a fairly intricate fashion and also includes a 6 wheeled roller. http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=BSTT10004&mode=retail

MASTERPIECE STARSCREAM - G1 COLORS In stock now at the reduced price of $79.99 - this is one of the greatest versions of Starscream out there, be sure to pick one up if you don't have it in your collection yet. http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=TAK10812&mode=retail

ENCORE IRONHIDE & RATCHET PRICE DROP We were able to take advantage of clearance pricing on these and have dropped our price to just $21.99 each for Ironhide & Ratchet - We have a variety of other deals on the Encore menu as well, take a look here: http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/menu.aspx?menu=1357

GREEN LANTERN BATTERY PROP It's what fans of Green Lantern have wanted for years - Green Lantern's Power Battery cast in metal! Comes with a "one-size-fits-most" (size 10) metal Green Lantern ring that lights up the lantern for 30 seconds when the ring is pressed against the face of the lantern. A resin stand is also included to display the Green Lantern ring when it's not in use. In stock now at $309.99 http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=dcc10591&mode=retail

STAR TREK RETRO BRIDGE SET Maintaining all the features of the original release, transport your eight-inch retro cloth figures with the turn of a dial, or explore the galaxy with interchangeable view screens! Featuring the classic fold-up design - in stock now at $49.99 http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=DMC11009&mode=retail

MLB SPORTSPICKS 2009 SERIES 1 (SERIES 24) In stock now at $10.99 each are: Rodriguez, Rollins, Jeter, Becket, Fukudome and Hunter http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/menu.aspx?menu=499&category=5099

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Transformers 2 Movie | Moviemakers banking on blockbuster season

2009-05-11T01:05:00.000-07:00

Hollywood is not waiting until July 4 to get into the heat of summer movie season, with six major releases set to hit the screen this month.

Times-News movie critic Lane Blevins says one of those May features, the reboot of the legendary science fic tion series “Star Trek,” could be a major money-maker for the industry’s biggest period. But he thinks the new adventures of Kirk and Spock won’t be the number one movie of the summer.

“ ‘Transformers 2’ is going to be hard to beat,” said Blevins of the sequel to the 2007 movie based on the Hasbro toy line that made $319 million worldwide.

“In a time where the economy is the way it is, movie companies are going for sure bets, remakes, reboots. And you’ve got to spend money to make money, and they’re spending a lot of money to make this one.”

“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” is scheduled for a June 24 release.

The search for blockbusters began this weekend with the debut of “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” with Tony-award winning actor Hugh Jackman reprising his role as the indestructible comic book mutant.

“Star Trek” comes next on May 7, followed by the sequel to “The Da Vinci Code” called “Angels and Demons” on May 15 with Tom Hanks.

A possible cameo from former “Ter- minator” and current California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger could be coming in “Terminator: Salvation” on May 21. Warner Brothers Pictures is keeping mum on whether the former star is in the new installment of the franchise that made Schwarzenegger a household name in the 1980s with his “I’ll be back” catchphrase.

The month closes out with another sequel, “Night at the Museum 2: Escape from the Smithsonian,” on May 22 and the next Disney/Pixar animation feature “Up” on May 29.

That’s the same day one of Blevins’ sleeper picks for Summer 2009 comes out: “Drag Me to Hell.”

“There is a lot of buzz behind this horror movie, and that is unlike some summers past where there hasn’t been that really scary feature to point at,” said Blevins of the feature directed by Sam Raimi, who directed “Spider-Man.”

The other pick Blevins has for box office success is “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” the latest in the series from the successful J.K Rowling novels that will conclude in two more years with “The Deathly Hallows,” the final book in the series that is being split into two movies by Warner Brothers.

“The audience and fan base is built in. They moved this movie from December of last year so it could open this summer. I hope it is worth the wait,” Blevins said.

Other notable movies Blevins says should pack movie houses during the period include:

• “Land of the Lost,” opening June 5. Funnyman Will Ferrell brings the Sid and Marty Krofft live action hit from Saturday mornings in the 1970s to the screen.

• “Year One,” opening June 19. Featuring a screenplay written by writers from the hit TV show “The Office,” this comedy set in the world’s primitive phase stars Jack Black and Michael Cera.

• “Public Enemies,” opening July 1. Johnny Depp stars as America’s first public enemy number one, John Dillinger, in this mob drama.

• “Bruno,” opening July 10. Sacha Baron Cohen’s follow-up to his Golden Globe-winning role as “Borat.” Similar to that performance, Cohen stars as an Austrian TV host who puts his interview guests in uncomfortable situations.

• “Funny People,” opening July 31. Adam Sandler has a neardeath experience in this laugher spawned by current comedy genius Judd Apatow, who wrote “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” and “Knocked Up.”

• “G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra,” opens Aug. 7. Paramount is going for the retro fan set with this feature, hoping baby boomers who played with the action figures in the ’60s and those who watched the syndicated cartoon in the ’80s will flock to theaters to see it on the big screen.

An economy stuck in a recession has no negative effect on the movie industry, according to figures provided by Exhibitors Relations, a Los Angeles firm that tracks box office figures.

In the first four months of 2009, movie ticket sales are up 14 percent over last year, with moviegoers spending $2.9 billion in the first quarter, including the best January and February sales on record.

“Even in these down times, people are still going to movies. It’s the cheapest form of entertainment out there. The idea that you can get escapism for $8 to $10 is still a great deal,” said company spokesman Jeff Bock.

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District 9 Trailer Kicks G.I. Joe Trailer’s Ass. Today in Film Bloggery 05/01/09

2009-05-10T08:45:00.000-07:00

The reactions to the new G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra trailer are, as expected, pretty negative. But it’s almost as if bloggers had their write-ups pre-written, because the thing is not that bad. Maybe I just have low expectations and so therefore wasn’t expecting much to begin with, but considering all the crap that movie blogs get excited about on a regular basis, I’m dubious. Those criticizing this trailer so harshly are obviously just going along with the fashion of trashing on this movie. I’m not saying it looks good, but I might actually prefer to see this than, say, the new Transformers sequel.

And if District 9, which does indeed look amazing via its new trailer, is actually “this year’s Cloverfield, then I might also prefer to see G.I. Joe than that, too. Of course, if we go by trailers alone and not presumptions, the little-known-about District 9, which appears to be a faux-documentary sci-fi flick, completely wins the fight over our summer moviegoing dollars. And I’m certainly not alone in seeing the Peter Jackson-produced movie as the champion today. Let’s compare the responses to each trailer, from the usual suspects:

Alex Billington of First Showing thinks G.I. Joe looks even worse than X-Men Origins: Wolverine:
this is the epitome of big dumb action movies. Normally I can sit back and enjoy this kind of crap on ocassion, but this time this just looks so bad, that I’m not sure I’ll even be able to enjoy it at all. Try again next time, Stephen Sommers.
He has much greater interest in District 9:
Now this is the trailer I know I’ve been waiting to see forever!…Let’s just say that you need to watch this trailer, as it’ll surprise a lot of you, since no one knows what to expect. Could this be the next Cloverfield?
Mark Graham at Vulture feels the trailer for G.I. Joe “disappoints on a few levels:”
Not only is there no glimpse of Joseph Gordon-Levitt in his heavily anticipated performance as the Cobra Commander, but it sounds to us like Sienna Miller just might have decided to speak in her normal British voice instead of the exaggerated Russian accent that we’ve come to expect from the Baroness. Oh, the horror!
And while he’s the one who makes the comparison to Cloverfield, he believes District 9 “could end up being one of the sleeper hits of the summer.”
it’s not that we think you’ll need to ingest a full bottle of Dramamine…What we’re referring to is the fact that this film not only combines documentary-style filmmaking with an outrageously awesome sci-fi premise, but also that it was stealthily produced on a relatively low budget.
Mark at I Watch Stuff makes some negative comparisons between G.I. Joe and some other disappointments:
Classic Stephen Sommers. No substance, all poorly computer-generated lack of style.

Where are all the ridiculous vehicles and weapons? Pretty much all I saw was a modified Hummer and the underwater city from The Phantom Menace. They’re missing the whole point of G.I. Joe. It’s not about jumping around in Halo suits
His comparisons for District 9 are more positive:
makes it seem like it’s a mixture of the extra-terrestrial-coexistence film/TV drama Alien Nation, a little Independence Day, and apartheid, but also likely better than all of those things. Particularly apartheid.
Devin Faraci at CHUD is so in love with the G.I. Joe trailer that he seems to be joking. But he’s apparently not:
It’s like this new trailer for Paramount’s GI Joe was cut just for me. They open with a shot of Cobra’s evil underwater headquarters. I LOVE THIS. And it turns out that Cobra’s evil weapon is some kind of green super-rust? I AM IN.

I’m not even kidding.
He seems much more geniune about the District 9 trailer:
District 9 looks terrific. That said, if I was working on the V reboot series I’d be a little worried. And if I was Gale Ann Hurd, I’d stop talking up a remake of Alien Nation. It looks like Blomkamp may have slam dunked this.
John at The Movie Blog seems to want to say he likes the trailer for G.I. Joe, but he just can’t, probably because of the trendiness to be negative, and so he comes up with a whole list of reasons why he thinks it will “suck balls:”
Let me set the record straight right off the bat. I am not a G.I. Joe hater at all. I am hoping this movie rocks…And no matter how much I hope, how much I cheer, G.I. Joe will (in my opinion) suck a great and powerful suck of epic proportions. And dear heavens I hope I’m wrong… but I don’t think I am.
Meanwhile, at the same site, Rodney doesn’t expect much from District 9 either. From a comment he writes on his own post:
this feels a lot like a really done fan film to me, and though it might be a good premise (which I think the documentary style interviews are a good fit for) I am just not seeing anything that makes me WANT to see this.

My interest is purely from a “Why is PJ all up about this guy” point of view. If I tripped over this on my own, not knowing his PR history, I likely woudln’t have even talked about it.
John Scott Lewinski at Screen Rant warns that the G.I. Joe trailer may cause “CGI fatigue:”
the tone so far looks to venture a little too far into camp. The action comes off way over the top, while the CGI skirmishes look not too far removed from the “one per half-hour” frame rate of the original animated series. The great war between the defenders of freedom and international terrorism is just looking a little childish in these trailers — in an era when we’re fighitng the real thing every day.
In his headline for the District 9 trailer, though, Screen Rant’s Rob Keyes says it “looks amazing.” More from his reaction:
While we haven’t seen much news on the upcoming film, Screen Rant reported at the beginning of April what the movie is all about and it sounded very interesting to say the least. Now, we finally have the official trailer for District 9 and it’s really damn cool.
Neil Miller at Film School Rejects sees G.I. Joe as being a potential guilty pleasure:
this film has potential to be some good old fashioned fun for the 12-year old inside all of us. It certainly appears to be aimed at a younger audience (even younger than say, Transformers 2), so take that into consideration…let it be known that I am personally still giving this flick the benefit of the doubt based on the cool factor I’m seeing in the first two trailers.
But again, he’s much more excited about District 9:
The effects in the trailer look quite good, and while it may not be as flashy as a Star Trek or Transformers it may still be the most intelligent and thought provoking science fiction film of the year. Well, second most anyway… go see Moon!
Ryan Adams at Awards Daily has a good defense for why he’s actually excited for G.I. Joe:
I can honestly say I like the way cinematographer Mitchell Amundsen shoots action flicks. Transporter 2, Transformers, Wanted. No matter what you think of these movies plotwise, shotwise they gleam with a wet sexy gloss.
He has a much simpler, yet possibly more excited, reaction to the District 9 spot:
Yikes, gorgeous production design. This is shaping up to be a platinum year for sci-fi.
Erik Davis at Cinematical is, like me, dubious of other bloggers’ reactions to G.I. Joe:
A lot of these web guys make me laugh; some of them think Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is Epic OMG FTW Awesome, but then crap on G.I. Joe by calling it silly, lame and a waste of time. Truthfully, it’s apples and oranges to me — they’re both big-budgeted boxes of popcorn entertainment that don’t promise to be anything more than “Wow, that looked pretty cool.”
Unfortunately, he hasn’t yet written anything on the District 9 trailer.

Now it’s your turn to compare the two. First up is G.I. Joe, followed by the trailer for District 9:

source

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Did Hans Zimmer Help With The Transformers 2 Score?

2009-05-08T08:44:00.000-07:00

It’s already established that Steve Jablonksy is scoring the upcoming Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, as he did with the first film. He gets the title ”Original Music” all to himself in the credits, which is kind of surprising considering the size of film this is undoubtedly going to be (following suit from the first).

However he’s clearly not going to be going at it entirely on his own…

Jablonsky is actually part of famous film composer Hans Zimmer’s (The Dark Knight, The Simpsons Movie and the two Pirates sequels, amongst many others) team Media Ventures, and the two of them work together all the time. So quite logically it seems that Jablonsky is getting a helping hand from Zimmer with keeping the music production side of things on track. Here’s what Jablonsky had to say recently:

“…I am [still] the composer on this film. It has all gotten rather complicated. The film is BIG, and now that we’ve got Linkin Park involved, Hans has kind of been helping me keep the production on track, because I’m so focused on writing the score at the moment.”

Jablonsky mentions Linkin Park as they are reportedly working on a new song with him for Revenge of the Fallen - if you remember, a version of their song “What I’ve Done” was used in the credits of the first movie. Just to expand on his overall thoughts of the score, here’s what Jablonsky added:

“In a nutshell, Michael Bay sent the new Linkin Park song over to my studio. Hans and I had a listen, and we both thought it was really cool, and it might be interesting to try incorporating some of those elements into the score. So we got the guys from the band down to the studio and talked about how to do that. They’re all really cool guys and really excited about adding some of their sounds to the score.”

Of the things which the first Transformers did right, the score was one of them. The score to Michael Bay’s movies are usually reflect the movies themselves - they are loud, brash, in-your-face and the furthest thing away from subtle as you could imagine (see Armageddon, The Rock and Pearl Harbor as prime examples of this). But for some reason that wasn’t so with Transformers, or at least not to the same degree.

I don’t think the score to the sequel will differ drastically from the first movie, so at least we’re pretty much guaranteed that something will be good about it…

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen will be released on June 24th.

Source: FirstShowing.net

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Tyrese Gibson Talks 'Transformers 2'

2009-05-06T08:42:00.000-07:00

Tyrese Gibson, who plays Master Sgt. Epps in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, told a group of reporters that he filmed his final shots for the June 24 release only this past Wednesday.

"Yeah, we did some new scenes, some new shots, got to the set around 10 this morning," Gibson said in a group interview. "Today we officially wrapped Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen. Any missing pieces there were, we picked them up today. They're going to go ahead and put it in the chop shop and put the magic around it and go ahead and add it into the film."

New ‘GI Joe’ Movie Trailer is Rockin

2009-05-05T08:40:00.000-07:00

Paramount sure is busy these days. I just got done posting their “Transformers 2″ trailer. Now we’ve got their new full theatrical “G.I. Joe : Rise of Cobra” movie trailer they’ve just released, and let me tell you guys. It’s rockin the action thing to the max.We also see that Channing Tatum has been very busy this year with doing the “Fighting” movie, and now co-starring in “G.I. Joe” which is going to be one of the biggest films of this summer.

This trailer starts with an underwater scene. Then moves over into the desert. After that, the action starts to unfold with a big rocket missile knocking down a huge tower. The G.I. Joe team is assembled where we Channing’s character, Duke. They’ve also got comedian, Marlon Wayans in this thing as “Ripcord”. Next the team is given their new accelerator suites. Then the heavy action starts with sword fights,cars flipping through the air,machine guns firing,and a whole bunch of stuff getting blown up. Yeah, this is some high budget film action at it’s best.

Movie : G.I. Joe : Rise of Cobra
Release Date : August 7,2009
Studio : Paramount Pictures
Cast : Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Christopher Eccleston, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Byung Hun Lee, Sienna Miller, Rachel Nichols, Ray Park, Said Taghmaoui, Channing Tatum, Marlon Wayans, Dennis Quaid

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Top 10 summer movies

2009-05-04T08:39:00.000-07:00

From ‘Wolverine’ to ‘Bruno,’ SP picks what to see—and what to avoid

Wolverine
James Fisher

If it wasn’t already an iffy Spike Jonze film from 2002, “Adaptation” would be the perfect title for a movie about the 2009 summer movie season. The next few months offer big-screen updates of vintage TV shows (“Star Trek,” “Land of the Lost”), bestselling novels (“Angels & Demons,” “My Sister’s Keeper”) and memoirs (“Julie and Julia”), and not one but two cartoon/comic-book/action-figure properties (“Transformers,” “G.I. Joe”). Throw in the usual glut of sequels and a handful of romantic comedies that certainly feel as if we’ve seen them before, and you’ve got the most déjà vu-inspiring summer ever.

In the pages that follow, we run down the 10 most anticipated films of the season, and rank their expected entertainment value on a scale of 0-4 bags of popcorn. You’ll also find info on 15 other movies of note. Release dates, as always, are subject to change.

1. X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE

STARRING: Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber
THE PITCH: Jackman reprises his role as Logan, the brooding, quick-healing highlight of the “X-Men” franchise for this prequel that explores his violent past. Schreiber plays Logan’s half-brother, also known as Sabretooth; Ryan Reynolds, Taylor Kitsch (“Friday Night Lights”), Dominic Monaghan (“Lost”) and, uh, will.i.am play other mutants.
OUR TAKE: We’re not sold on the unwieldy title, which implies other “X-Men origin” movies to come—is anyone holding their breath for the wooden James Marsden to return with a Cyclops origin flick? Otherwise, see our review on page XX. (In theaters now.)—Kevin Forest Moreau
3 BAGS OF POPCORN

2. STAR TREK

STARRING: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto
THE PITCH: A young, attractive cast, a visionary director (J.J. Abrams of “Lost” and “Alias” fame) and a sleek, sexy sheen—if anything can revive the moribund “Star Trek” movie franchise (which, let’s face it, peaked with 1982’s “The Wrath of Khan”), our money’s on this “Batman Begins”/“Casino Royale”-style reboot.
OUR TAKE: Quinto (Sylar from “Heroes”) certainly looks born to step into Leonard Nimoy’s boots as Spock, and we’re looking forward to a James T. Kirk who doesn’t talk. Like. This. Bonus: Atlanta’s Tyler Perry plays a Starfleet admiral. (May 8) —K.F.M.
4 BAGS OF POPCORN

3. TYSON

STARRING: Mike Tyson
THE PITCH: James Toback’s surprisingly emotional documentary provides an introspective look into the controversial boxer’s journey from unknown criminal to international superstar—and (almost) back again. The film features commentary from a vulnerable Tyson, revealing what makes him tick, as well as archival footage from throughout his career.
OUR TAKE: A look into the mind of a celebrity fighter who bites ears in the ring, gets face tattoos and yells things like, “I’ll f**k you ’til you love me”? Sign us up.
(May 15) —Calvin Son
3.5 BAGS OF POPCORN

4. TERMINATOR SALVATION

STARRING: Christian Bale, Bryce Dallas Howard
THE PITCH: Bale (“The Dark Knight”) takes over from Nick Stahl (who?) as John Connor, now all grown up and leading humankind against SkyNet and its unstoppable Terminators in the post-apocalyptic near-future of 2018. Howard, Sam Worthington, Common and Helena Bonham Carter lend the film a credible sheen (although we question casting elfin Anton Yelchin as badass Kyle Reese).
OUR TAKE: Here’s hoping “Salvation” is less reliant on the franchise’s twisty timeline than the intriguing “Sarah Connor Chronicles.” Bottom line: It can’t do more damage than 2003’s uninvolving “Rise of the Machines.” (May 21) —K.F.M.
3 BAGS OF POPCORN

5. UP 

STARRING: Christopher Plummer, Edward Asner, John Ratzenberger THE PITCH: The latest animated Disney-Pixar venture follows a 78-year-old balloon salesman who decides to satisfy his hunger for adventure by tying thousands of balloons to his house and flying away to South America. Only one problem: An overly optimistic 8-year-old Wilderness Explorer has stowed away for the trip. Select theaters will screen the movie in digital 3-D.
OUR TAKE: Does it really matter? Pixar could make a movie about milk going bad and everyone and their mother would line up to see it. And it’d probably rock. (May 29)—C.S.
3 BAGS OF POPCORN

6. LAND OF THE LOST

STARRING: Will Ferrell, Danny McBride, Anna Friel
THE PITCH: Has-been scientist Dr. Rick Marshall gets sucked into a space-time vortex, along with his assistant and a redneck survivalist, sending them into an alternate universe with dinosaurs and mysterious creatures. After befriending a primate named Chaka, the group attempts to find a way back in what’s supposed to be a funny journey.
OUR TAKE: Following the typical Ferrell formula, it’s Will Ferrell playing a washed-up something-or-other in some decade past—except now there are time machines and horrible computer graphics involved. No thanks. (June 5) —C.S.  1 BAG OF POPCORN

7. PUBLIC ENEMIES

STARRING: Johnny Depp, Christian Bale
THE PITCH: Michael Mann follows up 2006’s bizarre “Miami Vice” update with this look at Depression-era bank robber John Dillinger. Echoing his 1995 film “Heat,” which cast Robert De Niro and Al Pacino on opposite sides of the law, Mann enlists Bale as Dillinger’s pursuer, real-life FBI agent Melvin Purvis.
OUR TAKE: The current economic mess can’t help but invest the proceedings with an air of timeliness, and a charismatic Depp sticking it to the banking industry sure sounds appealing. But whether “Enemies” resonates with the public ultimately comes down to the usually dependable Mann and his A-list stars. (July 1)—K.F.M.
3 BAGS OF POPCORN

8. BRUNO

STARRING: Sacha Baron Cohen
THE PITCH: The “Borat” mastermind is back, except now he’s Bruno, the flamboyantly gay Austrian fashionista, also of Cohen’s “Da Ali G Show.” With the success of “Borat,” the bar’s been raised in terms of Cohen acting as controversial, crass, and un-politically correct as possible. And judging from how many times he gets hit in the trailer, there are plenty of angry prank victims—which is a good thing.
OUR TAKE: Are you kidding? We’ve had our tent set up in front of the theater for weeks. We just hope “Bruno” doesn’t spawn as many horrible impersonations as “Borat” did. (July 10)—C.S.
4 BAGS OF POPCORN

9. HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE

STARRING: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson
THE PITCH: Boy wizard Harry Potter begins his sixth year at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where he faces a new teacher, new potions, new dangers pertaining to He Who Shall Not Be Named (psst! It’s Voldemort), and new hormone-related complications. Be ready for surprises; the screenplay is said to take some serious turns from the book.
OUR TAKE: Did we just say hormones? This is the one everyone’s been waiting for. Crud—does this mean this one won’t make sense if we haven’t been keeping up?
(July 15)—C.S.
3 BAGS OF POPCORN

10. INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

STARRING: Brad Pitt, Diane Kruger
THE PITCH: A squad of Jewish-American soldiers sticks it to the Nazis in occupied France during World War II.
OUR TAKE: Like Guns N’ Roses, Quentin Tarantino started out with a bang but has gradually settled into a too-comfortable existence creating bombastic but ultimately empty works that approximate but never really approach the brilliant mayhem of his early genius. (He even has his own bloated double-sized “Use Your Illusion” in the too-long “Kill Bill” series.) So we can’t help but wonder if this long-promised spectacle will prove as clamorous and anticlimactic as last year’s “Chinese Democracy.” (Aug. 21)—K.F.M.
2 BAGS OF POPCORN

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Paramount Releases New ‘Transformers 2′ Movie Trailer

2009-05-03T08:36:00.000-07:00

I just got an email from Paramount Pictures today stating that they’ve released another trailer for their big epic “Transformers” sequel film entitled, “Transformers : Revenge of The Fallen”. In this trailer we see a lot more action,and I just don’t mean from the transformers. Although,there is a lot of transformer action as well. I’m talking about that hot little Megan Fox. They show some clips of her that would turn the gayest man on the planet, straight. Brian Austin Green, how did you mess that up ? Anyways, I digress.

Again we see Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) , and his interactions with the Transformers. It shows him going off to college,and trying to hold a long distance relationship with Mikaela Banes (Megan Fox). Then quickly things start to go haywire for Sam while in class. He eventually finds out that he is more involved with the Transformers than he was previously aware of.

We see boats exploding,Transformers transforming a lot, strange ancient symbols,and huge “Transformer” fight scenes all while Sam tries to figure out what the symbols mean,and what the Decepticon Transformers want from him. This trailer has way more in depth action scenes than any of the other ones. This is the best movie trailer from the franchise to date.

Movie : Transformers 2 : Revenge of the Fallen
Release Date : June 26,2009
Studio : DreamWorks Pictures (Paramount)
Cast : Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, Kevin Dunn, Julie White, John Benjamin Hickey, Ramon Rodriguez, Isabel Lucas, John Turturro

Summer Movies: A New 'Trek' Frontier Seeking Out Hip Young Fans

2009-05-01T07:31:00.000-07:00

By Susan Dunne, The Hartford Courant, Conn.

Apr. 26--American pop culture decided a long time ago what a stereotypical "Star Trek" fan was: a socially maladjusted 30- or 40-something male who haunted conventions wearing pointy ears, spoke fluent Vulcan, collected action figures and went to parties attended by dozens of guys just like himself, but no women. William Shatner poked fun at his fans on a hilarious skit on "Saturday Night Live." A movie, "Galaxy Quest," parodied the fanboy culture, and a documentary, "Trekkies," poked loving but nonetheless sharp fun at them.

J.J. Abrams is upsetting the paradigm this summer. The overlords of the timeworn "Star Trek" franchise hired the "Mission Impossible III" director to go after a hipper, millennial audience with the new "Star Trek." Abrams chose a hot young cast to portray the fledgling versions of the crew of the Starship Enterprise, and to tell the background story of how our beloved space pilots came to be.

Handsome Shatner look-alike Chris Pine, 28, is Kirk. Exotic-looking Zachary Quinto is Spock. Karl Urban is Dr. McCoy. Goofy Simon Pegg is Scotty. "Harold and Kumar" pothead star John Cho is Sulu. Anton Yelchin is Chekov. Zoe Saldana is Uhura. The first trailer, released online months ago, is full of action, 'tude, jokes, majestic music and a disrobing young hottie.

"Star Trek" is bound to be the monster hit of the summer. No other film has its instant brand recognition and, more important, its youth appeal, unless you count the ÃƒÂ¼ber-youth appeal of " Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince." " Angels & Demons," the sequel to "The Da Vinci Code," probably will do well, too, but Tom Hanks is 52. The traditional key to success in the summer is youth, youth, youth.

(Paramount Pictures is so sure of the success of "Star Trek" that the studio green lit a sequel last month.)

Quentin Tarantino has a new movie coming out, too, "Inglourious Basterds." That'll score high on the hipster scale, as will Sacha Baron Cohen's "BrÃƒÂ¼no."

The following is a partial list of upcoming films and their release dates in May through August. Each weekend's big-budget "tent pole" film will stay where it is. Other, smaller films may be rescheduled, and some will be deleted. Ratings are listed for films that already have one.

May 1

--Battle for Terra -- In this animated story, citizens of a distant planet rebel when they find out that Earthlings plan to take over, because Earth is no longer habitable. Aristomenis Tsirbas directs a voice cast that includes Evan Rachel Wood, Brian Cox and Dennis Quaid. PG.

--Ghosts of Girlfriends Past -- Matthew McConaughey is haunted by all the women he has dated while he attends his brother's wedding. The ladies include Jennifer Garner, Lacey Chabert, Emma Stone, Christina Milian and Amanda Walsh. Mark Waters directs. PG-13.

--X-Men Origins: Wolverine -- Gavin Hood, who won an Oscar adapting an Athol Fugard novel ("Tsotsi"), now is adapting Marvel Comics' spinoffs into films that probably won't win anything. From a Hollywood (translated: purely commercial) standpoint, this is a smart move. Hugh Jackman stars in this back story of the X-Man. PG-13.

May 7 --Star Trek -- In addition to those stars mentioned above, the ever-popular Tyler Perry gets to play the president of the Starfleet Academy, and the older generation is represented by Ben Cross, Winona Ryder, Bruce Greenwood and (live long and prosper!) Leonard Nimoy. Conventional theaters and IMAX. PG-13.

May 8 --Next Day Air -- UPS delivers a package of illicit drugs to the wrong address. This really happened in Texas in January, and the recipient called the cops right away. In the movie world, nobody is ever that smart, so all sorts of comic mayhem ensues. Benny Boom's movie stars Donald Faison, Mos Def and Mike Epps. R.

May 15 --Angels & Demons -- Ron Howard's sequel to "The Da Vinci Code" has Tom Hanks trying to protect the Vatican against a terrorist act. The international cast includes Israeli Ayelet Zurer, Scotsman Ewan McGregor, Swede Stellan SkarsgÃƒÂ¥rd, German Armin Mueller Stahl, Russian Elya Baskin, Dane Nikolaj Lie Kaas and Italian Cosimo Fusco. PG-13.

May 21 --Terminator Salvation -- Christian Bale stars in this latest installment in the "Terminator" franchise, as he does battle with a homicidal army. McG's film also stars Anton Yelchin of "Star Trek," Bryce Dallas Howard and Helena Bonham Carter.

May 22 --Dance Flick -- Pushed back from winter release, this "Save the Last Dance" knockoff is directed by Damien Wayans and stars a lot of Wayanses. PG-13.

--Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian -- The Smithsonian wants to glom onto some of that sleepover party money that the Museum of Natural History has raked in since "Night at the Museum" came out. Ben Stiller is back as the security guard, Robin Williams is back as Teddy Roosevelt, Owen Wilson returns as Jedediah. Amy Adams is Amelia Earhart, Eugene Levy is Albert Einstein and Jonah Hill is a fellow security guard. Conventional theaters and IMAX. PG.

May 29 --Drag Me to Hell -- The coolest title of the summer is on a movie made by a maestro of cool, Sam Raimi. It is one of the first recession-themed movies of 2009. Alison Lohman stars as a bank officer going to evict an old woman who has defaulted on her mortgage. En route, Lohman becomes possessed by an evil spirit. It also stars Justin Long and David Paymer. PG-13.

--Up -- Any Pixar movie is a cause for celebration, but this one is in 3-D, a first for the studio. It's about a man who ties a bunch of balloons to his house, and floats off to see the world. He doesn't realize he has taken on a stowaway. Peter Docter and Bob Peterson direct.

June 5 --Away We Go -- Sam Mendes directed this movie in New Haven, Thomaston, Wilton and Woodbury. It's about a couple expecting a baby who travel around looking for the perfect place to settle down. Written by Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida. It stars John Krasinski and Maggie Gyllenhaal. R.

--The Hangover -- Justin Bartha, Bradley Cooper, Jeffrey Tambor and Heather Graham star in this story about some groomsmen who lose the groom on a boozy trip to Las Vegas. Todd Phillips directs. R.

--Land of the Lost -- Will Ferrell stars in this film version of the old TV show, in which people stumble upon a land filled with dinosaurs, and also with people called Sleestaks, who are dangerous. Brad Silberling directs.

--My Life in Ruins -- Call it "My Big Fat Greek Vacation." Nia Vardalos plays a guide leading tours in Greece, who finds romance. Donald Petrie's comedy also stars Richard Dreyfuss and Rachel Dratch. The screenplay is by Bristol native Mike Reiss. PG-13.

June 11 Tetro -- Francis Ford Coppola directs a story about artistic ambitions among an Italian immigrant family in Argentina. It stars Carmen Maura, Maribel Verdu, Vincent Gallo and Klaus Maria Brandauer.

June 12 --Imagine That -- Eddie Murphy stars in another recession-themed movie. He plays a financial-world big shot whose career is going down the tubes, so he retreats into a fictional world in his daughter's imagination. Karey Kirkpatrick directs.

--The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 -- Tony Scott directs this remake of the 1974 thriller about a hijacked New York subway train, which will take on a new interesting dimension in a post- 9/11 world. Denzel Washington, John Travolta, John Turturro, James Gandolfini and Luis Guzman star.

June 19 --The Proposal -- A woman with a good job in the United States doesn't want to be deported back to Canada, so she looks for an American man to marry her. Who'd a thunk it: people wanting to stay in America for economic reasons. Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds star, along with Mary Steenburgen, Craig T. Nelson and the eternal Betty White. Anne Fletcher directs.

--Year One -- Harold Ramis directs a comedy about two cavemen ostracized by their tribe, who set out and have adventures of their own. Jack Black is perfectly cast as Zed, along with his cave-chum Michael Cera's Oh.

June 24 --Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen -- Michael Bay directs a sequel to the 2007 toy-based thriller, whose plot is incomprehensible to non-fans, and needs no explaining to fans. Megan Fox, Shia LaBeouf and Josh Duhamel star. Conventional theaters and IMAX.

June 26 --My Sister's Keeper -- Nick Cassavetes directs an adaptation of a novel by Jodi Picoult, about a teenage girl who was conceived solely to provide bone marrow for her leukemia-plagued sister, and who starts to rebel against her limited life. Cameron Diaz, Alec Baldwin and Abigail Breslin star.

July 1 --Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs -- Carlos Saldanha directs another installment in the animated prehistoric-animal comedy franchise, with Manny, Diego, Sid and that scrappy little Scrat.

--Public Enemies -- Johnny Depp is John Dillinger, Channing Tatum is "Pretty Boy" Floyd, Giovanni Ribisi is Alvin "Creepy" Karpis and Stephen Graham is "Baby Face" Nelson in Michael Mann's story about feds in the '30s going gunning for the big criminals.

July 10 --BrÃƒÂ¼no -- Sacha Baron Cohen plays an Australian fashionista traveling in America, in his latest movie that catches innocent people unaware. Former reality show regular Trishelle Cannatella also stars.

--I Love You Beth Cooper -- Chris Columbus directs Hayden Panetierre as the prettiest girl in a high school. After the dorky valedictorian declares his love in his speech, she decides to reward him with a wild night.

July 17 --(500) Days of Summer -- Now there's a title to strike terror into the hearts of parents everywhere. But it's not about kids. Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt star in a story about a woman who doesn't believe in love, until it happens to her. Marc Webb directs.

--Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince -- The sixth installment in the boy wizard saga inspired by the novels of J.K. Rowling. Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson learn more than they ever thought they wanted to know about Lord Voldemort. David Yates directs. Conventional theaters and IMAX.

July 24 --All Good Things -- A great cast -- Frank Langella, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Ryan Gosling, Kirsten Dunst and East Hartford native Diane Venora -- star in this story about a detective looking for a missing person. It was filmed in Bridgeport, Waterbury, Stratford and Shelton. Andrew Jarecki directs.

--G-Force -- We promise, this is the only guinea pigs-vs.-billionaires movie you'll see this year. It's the story about an elite unit of rodents assigned to search and destroy an evil mogul. Doing the voices in Hoyt Yeatman's film are Nicolas Cage, Penelope Cruz, Steve Buscemi, Bill Nighy and Will Arnett.

--Orphan -- Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaard play a couple who adopt a little girl after losing their own baby, only to discover disturbing things about their new child. Jaume Collet-Serra directs.

--The Ugly Truth -- This was shoved back from winter release. Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler star in a romantic comedy about a cynical woman and a Lothario out to get her. Robert Luketic directs.

July 31 --Funny People -- Adam Sandler plays a comedian who is dying. He decides to take a young comic under his wing and teach him all he knows. Raunch king Judd Apatow writes and directs this surprisingly poignant premise. It also stars Seth Rogen and Eric Bana and, as themselves, Sarah Silverman, Andy Dick and Norm McDonald.

--They Came From Upstairs -- Is this a real story, or a figment of the characters' imaginations? Does it matter? Ashley Tisdale stars in a story about a bunch of kids who find aliens have invaded their vacation house, and they have to save their parents, and the world. It also stars Doris Roberts, Kevin Nealon and Andy Richter. John Schultz directs.

Aug. 7 --G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra -- This is another movie whose plot is incomprehensible to non-fans, and needs no explaining to fans. So let's not try. It's got a good cast, though: Dennis Quaid, Channing Tatum, Marlon Wayans, Sienna Miller, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Said Taghmaoui, Christopher Eccleston and, as the President of the United States, a British guy, Jonathan Pryce. Stephen Sommers directs.

--Julie & Julia -- Meryl Streep portrays Julia Child. 'Nuff said, we're there. Nora Ephron directs this adaptation of Child's memoir, "My Life in France." Stanley Tucci portrays Paul Child, and Amy Adams plays a woman who cooks every recipe in Child's cookbook. It also stars Jane Lynch, Mary Lynn Rajskub and Vanessa Ferlito. Leave it to a female director to make a film with lots of good roles for women.

--Shorts -- Robert Rodriguez directs a story about a magic rock that grants wishes, and the scheming that starts in a neighborhood when one boy finds it. It stars William H. Macy, James Spader, Kat Dennings and Jon Cryer.

When In Rome -- Kristen Bell stars in Mark Steven Johnson's romantic comedy about an American tourist in Rome who fishes some coins out of an enchanted fountain, causing a whole bunch of men to fall in love with her. It also stars Josh Duhamel, Danny De Vito, Anjelica Huston, Jon Heder, Dax Shepard and Will Arnett.

Aug. 14 --Bandslam -- West Hartford native Josh Cagan wrote the story for this film about a high school outcast, a high school dream girl and their bonding over their love of music. Vanessa Hudgens, Lisa Kudrow and Alyson Michalka star in Todd Graff's movie.

--District 9 -- Aliens land in Johannesburg and blend in with the population. Director Neill Blomkamp is from Johannesburg, and once made a short film with that premise.

--The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard -- Another one pushed back from winter release, it stars Jeremy Piven as a famous singer who is called into action-hero mode. Neal Brennan directs.

--The Perfect Getaway -- David Twohy directs this story about a couple vacationing in Hawaii when psychos are running around killing people. It stars Steve Zahn and Milla Jovovich.

--Post Grad -- Alexis Bledel stars in this story about a woman who graduates from college, moves back in with her parents and then tries to figure out what to do next. It also stars Carol Burnett, Michael Keaton and Jane Lynch. Vicky Jenson directs.

--The Time Traveler's Wife -- Robert Schwentke's adaptation of the novel by Audrey Niffenegger has Eric Bana's character traveling through time involuntarily, and having a passionate affair with Rachel McAdams's Clare. It also stars Ron Livingston, Stephen Tobolowsky and Arliss Howard. PG-13.

Aug. 21 --Inglourious Basterds -- This has the same title as a 1978 Bo Svenson movie, but it doesn't appear to be a remake, and I guess it remains to be seen what the misspellings mean. Quentin Tarantino directs a story of bravery and camaraderie among resistance fighters in Nazi-occupied France. It stars Brad Pitt, Maggie Cheung, Daniel BrÃƒÂ¼hl, Diane Kruger, Cloris Leachman and, in the summer's weirdest casting, Mike Myers.

Aug. 28 --The Boat That Rocked -- Richard Curtis directs a comedy about a pirate radio station floating in the North Sea in the 60s. It stars Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy, Emma Thompson, Rhys Ifans and Kenneth Branagh. R.

--Final Destination: Death Trip 3D -- Will we ever get to the final "Final Destination"? The producers seem determined to prevent this. David R. Ellis directs a story about Death, who gets vengeance against those who try to dodge him.

--H2 -- Rob Zombie, who remade " Halloween" in 2007, is now remaking "Halloween 2."

Transformers ROTF Co-Writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci Say The Sequel Is Darker.

2009-04-29T08:15:00.000-07:00

Is the Transformers Franchise going Dark for success?

Sci-Fi wire had the interview with the co-writers of one of the biggest franchise releases we will see this summer.

"Actually, I think you'll find that it has all the same tone of the first movie," Kurtzman said. "The story's a little smoother, and it's a little bit darker, so it does dip in there a little bit, but it has all the same humor, if not more than the first movie."

What could this mean? Could maybe Prime not make it through this next one?

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RSVP For The 20 City Transformers 2 Trailer Premiere Event

2009-04-28T08:12:00.000-07:00

Posted on Friday, April 24th, 2009 at 2:10 pm by: Peter Sciretta

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Paramount Pictures has released the official list of RSVP e-mails for the 20 city Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen trailer premiere which is taking place on April 29th. If you live in one of the 20 cities and would like to attend the event, send an e-mail your your name and information.

The trailer is attached to a one-time screening of Michael Bay’s 2007 film Transformers. Paramount is also holding a costume contest - come dressed as your favorite Autobot or Decpticon to enter to win a trip to Los Angeles for the premiere of Revenge of the Fallen in June. The movie will be presented in IMAX in the five top markets: New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago and Toronto. No word on if the new trailer will also be presented in IMAX at the selected theaters, but if it is, it might be the first time we see Transformers footage, shot in IMAX, on the IMAX screen.

Click on the flyer above to see the e-mail addresses that you need to RSVP to. Please note that seating is not guaranteed and is available on a first come, first served basis. So arrive really early. Full list of cities/theaters after the jump.

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Update on 'Transformers 2' Trailer Premiere in 20 Cities

2009-04-27T08:09:00.000-07:00

Paramount Pictures have let out the RSVP e-mail address for the 20 cities 'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen' trailer premiere event.

More info on how to attend the "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" trailer premiere in 20 selected cities has been shared. Paramount Pictures, via Slash Film, have released the official list of the RSVP e-mails to the special event. The e-mail address for each city listed can be seen in the flyer for the event.

It should be noted that seating is not guaranteed and is available on a first come, first served basis. Transformers Live Action Movie Blog, which has sent an RSVP of its own, confirmed the matter, posting the reply to its RSVP. "Thanks for the RSVP for the special screening of TRANSFORMERS. The screening is FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE," the reply message read. "PLEASE ARRIVE EARLY, as this RSVP is to establish an accurate head count and does not guarantee seating. No one will be admitted once the screening begins."

Aside from the RSVP news, Slash Film also noted that there is a change done for the Dallas screening. The screening for "Transformers" in which a new trailer to the action fantasy's sequel will be attached will no longer take place at Cinemark Movies 17. It has been moved to Studio Movie Grill Royal Lane. Still, the screening schedule remains the same. The full list of cities/theaters for the screening has been outed earlier.

"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" is set a year after the end of "Transformers". It follows Shia LaBeouf's Sam Witwicky and Megan Fox's Mikaela Banes as they become the target of attack by Decepticons because of Sam's knowledge about the origins of the Transformers. This DreamWorks action movie will blast off in U.S. theaters on June 24, but before then, its new trailer will hit the big screen attached to "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" and "Star Trek".

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How Hasbro Is Getting Movies Made About Its Toys

2009-04-26T08:08:00.000-07:00

Mattel More Reluctant to Hand Over Brands to Hollywood Talent

by Claude Brodesser-Akner

Published: April 23, 2009

LOS ANGELES (AdAge.com) -- As cash-strapped consumers spend less, Mattel and Hasbro have been feeling the pain in their toy chests. Last week Mattel, the world's largest toy maker, posted a first-quarter loss of $51 million dollars. At No. 2 Hasbro, first-quarter profit was down 47% compared with the same period the year before, to just more than $19 million.

The final touches are being made on a superhero-comedy script based on the long-defunct, elastic-limbed muscleman, Stretch Armstrong.

But thanks to markedly different Hollywood strategies, things may get a lot better a lot sooner at Hasbro. In an April 20 conference call with analysts, Hasbro's CEO, Brian Goldner, said with two summer blockbusters afoot -- a "Transformers" sequel and a GI Joe movie -- Hasbro expects overall increases in sales and earnings this year.

While both toy companies own scores of iconic brands and have aligned with top Hollywood talent agencies in the past couple of years -- Mattel with Creative Artists Agency, Hasbro with William Morris after a stint at Creative Artists -- Hasbro has been more aggressive about rolling the dice and transferring its properties to celluloid.

Hasbro is pursuing a strategy of finding long-term studio homes for its brands and involving top writers and directors early on in the creative process, while Mattel has taken a property-by-property approach that is far less trusting of Hollywood talent -- and has yielded far fewer potential film projects so far.

Hasbro has already had success dusting off its "Transformers" franchise, and GI Joe, another once-popular brand, will blast into theaters this summer, also via Paramount Pictures. But what's truly remarkable is how many other Hasbro properties are being developed with major Hollywood talent.

Peter Berg ("Friday Night Lights," "The Kingdom") is in negotiations to adapt the Milton Bradley naval-warfare game Battleship for the big screen.
"National Treasure" screenwriters Cormac and Marianne Wibberley are in negotiations to write a script inspired by Parker Brothers' Ouija; "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" director Michael Bay will produce.
"Bruce Almighty" screenwriter Steve Odekerk is putting the final touches on a superhero-comedy script based on Kenner's long-defunct, elastic-limbed muscleman, Stretch Armstrong.

What these and other fast-coalescing Hasbro titles have in common (see "Tinseltown Showdown") is that they're set up at Universal Pictures in a six-year deal brokered by the William Morris Agency in February 2008.

At the time, Hollywood was skeptical of basing feature films on narrative-free entertainments such as Ouija. But William Morris agents Rob Carlson and John Fogelman had persuaded Hasbro to decamp from Creative Artists and sign at their agency in late spring 2007 by promising a great deal more than just a press release: They would get Universal to agree to make at least at least four movies based on Hasbro properties in six years. And if the studio didn't take steps toward making those movies, Universal would have to pay Hasbro millions of dollars in penalties.

Mr. Fogelman, an agent for 18 years, is also a toy scion: His grandfather was one of the founders of Tyco, which was the third-largest toy company in America when it sold to Mattel in 1997. As such, he knew well that a toy maker could molder in a movie studio attic if precautions weren't negotiated beforehand.

"Historically, Hasbro had 'GI Joe' set up at Warner Bros. for 20 years [in the 1970s]," Mr. Fogelman said. "So Hollywood just gobbled up that intellectual property and then tried to figure out the script."

To skip development hell, William Morris recruited Bennett Schneir, an executive who had spent the past dozen years working for director Robert Zemeckis on movies such as "Cast Away" and "The Polar Express," to serve as Hasbro's Hollywood point man. His job: identify top writers and directors to connect with Hasbro properties.

But why was Universal persuaded by Hasbro's pitch?

"I think what were seeing in the world at large is the power of brands distinguishing themselves," said Universal Pictures Chairman Marc Shmuger, who was previously the studio's marketing capo. "As we're gripped with fear and anxiety, we look for something we can rely on and trust. Look what just happened when we brought back the original cast of 'Fast and Furious.' And so the value of brands has changed, and with the value of brands changing, what the owners of the brands want to accomplish changes too."

Hasbro's Mr. Goldner said, "I quickly realized they value brands like we value brands."

Mr. Goldner's strategy was to "reinvent, reignite and re-imagine" Hasbro brands such as Stretch Armstrong by delivering "immersive entertainment experiences" developed by Mr. Schneir, and then relaunching the toys.

But Mr. Schneir said whether a certain toy or game might make a great movie is better determined by "creative stewards" such as Mssrs. Odekerk and Berg than by suits like himself. As a result, "there's a real enthusiasm and excitement to work with these brands," Mr. Schneir said.

While Hasbro has thrown open its gates to directors and writers, Mattel has been far more wary.

"We like to make sure there's a story that lends itself to the motion-picture genre," said Barry Waldo, VP-worldwide entertainment and consumer products at Mattel. He added: "We don't like to take a brand, lock it up at a studio, and hope that the creative minds can come up with the answer. That's a very scary proposition. ... And the studios respect us for bringing a property to them that's not merely a white sheet of paper that says, 'We don't know what to do with this, but please, help us make a movie out of it.'"

Mattel has announced only three film projects -- one of which insiders say will likely remain in neutral for a while: After "Speed Racer" spun out with producer Joel Silver last summer, Warner is likely less to take another lap with Mattel's car-themed "Hot Wheels."

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A Transformers Game Not Based on the Movies?

2009-04-25T08:06:00.000-07:00

Activsion's enxt big game may have an original story

It seems that no matter how good the Transformers movie games are, they'll always be flawed by the fact they're based on the movies, their constrained by the boundaries of the films storyline. But what about a game not based on the movies?

Activision is working on a Transformers game due for release in 2010. Which makes sense, since they like to exploit their franchises, and exploit them annually.

But there's no Transformers movie due in 2010. Which means the game - apparently being worked on by Activision's newly acquired High Moon studios, the team behind the Bourne Conspiracy game - won't be based on either of the movies.

Which could be good! It could mean High Moon will be given the freedom to come up with their own levels and design decisions. It could also mean that, without a movie to cash in on, they could go and make a Transformers game based on, oh, Gen 1. Or the original film. Or even Beast Wars.

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Seek, and you might find

2009-04-14T03:00:00.000-07:00

In animal scientist Temple Grandin's most recent book, Animals Make Us Human, she discusses the "blue ribbon emotions" her colleague, neuroscientist Jaak Panksepp, believes guide human and animal behavior.

These primary emotions (typically rendered in all caps) are RAGE, FEAR, PANIC, LUST, CARE and PLAY. All animals need to experience the positive emotions, and too much of the negative ones leads to all sorts of neurotic behavior.

Perhaps the most interesting of these emotions is SEEKING, which Grandin says is "the pleasure of looking forward to something really good" as opposed to "the pleasure of having something good."

Grandin says SEEKING is such a gratifying emotion that researchers long misidentified the SEEKING system as the brain's "pleasure center." SEEKING - the positive side of wanting, anticipating and being curious about something that's coming up - feels great, even better than actually having the thing.

That's why coming attractions always seem better than the movies themselves. If SEEKING is as good as it gets, then we can't help but be disappointed in the actual experience. (Cue Peggy Lee: "Is that all there is?")

And so, with the cinematic flotsam of the first quarter of 2009 mostly out of the way and with the highly anticipated Watchmen now in theaters, it's a good time to look forward to movies that sound far more interesting than they probably will turn out to be.

For instance, Kyle Newman's Fanboys has finally made it into limited theatrical release, and it should pop up in Arkansas theaters within a few weeks. Chances are either you know a lot about this movie or you've never heard of it. Set in 1998, it's about a group of allegedly grown-up friends who have never outgrown their childhood fascination with Star Wars. Their SEEK systems are being stimulated by the impending release of George Lucas' Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, but they've reason to suspect that one of their number - a cancer victim - won't make it to opening weekend. So they drive across the country on a quest to break into Lucas' ranch and steal a print of the film.

The reviews have been mixed, with some critics observing that Phantom Menace didn't live up to its hype either. Still, I get as many queries about when this benighted, low-budget feature is coming as I do all the other movies mentioned here combined. Maybe soon. Maybe never. Don't get your hopes up either way.

Even James Cameron seems to understand the problems of elevated expectations - while he's been emphasizing the incredible technical complexity of his mysterious years-in-themaking project Avatar (scheduled for a Dec. 18 release), he's also said that he doesn't know if it "will be a great film from a narrative and critical standpoint." What he's promising is that the movie will "be an experience unlike other movies," and that its use of motion capture and 3-D technology will be cool. Having been knocked out by the 3-D effects in Coraline, I'm anxious to see how Cameron raises the ante.

A friend who pays attention to such things considers Coraline the biggest advance in special effects since Cameron's Terminator 2, but the real question raised by the approach of Terminator Salvation is whether Christian Bale's famous intensity (as evidenced by the recently leaked recording of his salty tirade against a hapless crew member) will translate into a brilliant performance. Were it not for the presence of Bale I wouldn't be holding out much hope for this McG-directed installment. It's scheduled for release May 21.

On the other hand, we were more excited about Monsters vs. Aliens (March 27) before we saw its now ubiquitous trailer; Planet 51 (Nov. 20) and Pixar's Up (May 29) may be better animation bets, and I'm hopeful Planet 51 will become my favorite Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson movie.

I'm not especially psyched about Race to Witch Mountain (March 13), which looks, from the trailer, like a banal remake of the forgettable 1975 Disney movie Escape to Witch Mountain. That's not to say it won't be great - I like to wait until after I've seen a movie before reviewing it- but it doesn't do much for my SEEK system.

But that's beside the point - I admit to being intrigued by X-Men: Origins: Wolverine (May 1), even though I haven't really cared much for the series to date, simply because Liev Schreiber is playing Wolfie's nemesis Sabretooth. I understand a lot of comic geek types are upset with Schreiber's casting because they think of him as an intellectual actor. Well boys, Hugh Jackman only looks big on the screen - Schreiber has personally assured me he could take Hugh in a street fight.

The less I say about Star Trek (May 8) the better. But I will say that Chris Pine, the new James T. Kirk, was the worst thing about Bottle Shock, a charming movie with a couple of weak spots. He should do better with this role.

A lot of people are looking forward to Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen (June 26), but very few of them are middle-aged movie critics. That doesn't really matter very much, considering that Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox are back, now does it?

The same might be said for

Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince (July 17), which was pushed back from December. Normally that's not a good sign, but the built-in Potter audience ensures a robust opening weekend, and the fans are enthused by the trailer. So it'll probably be another sturdy installment in the series, which ought to end with next year's Deathly Hallows. Right?

I can't believe we've actually come to this, but G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra opens on Aug. 7. I'm more interested in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds, (Aug. 21). Sure, it'll be sadistic and ultra-violent and saturated with movie brat brio and a genuine love for the form.

I'm also still interested in The Road, John Hillcoat's take on the Cormac McCarthy novel, even though it still doesn't have a U.S. release date (it is scheduled to open in Argentina on June 18 and in Finland in October, which can't really be counted as good signs). Another project deferred from last year, Joe Wright's The Soloist, with Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Foxx, is scheduled to open on April 24.

I can't imagine better casting than Benicio Del Toro as The Wolf Man (Nov. 6). And I can't imagine how a Martin Scorsese film, with Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Michelle Williams, Max von Sydow, Patricia Clarkson, Emily Mortimer and Jackie Earle Haley could misfire. So I'm penciling in Shutter Island (Oct. 2) as my pick to click (even though I've heard the Dennis Lehane psychological thriller on which it's based is "practically unfilmable").

I'm also wired for Michael Mann's Public Enemies (July 1), which stars Johnny Depp as John Dillinger and Christian Bale as Melvin Purvis.

Looking even further down the road, I'm really excited about what North Little Rock native Jay Russell will do with Steve Niles' graphic novel Wake the Dead, which should surface in the summer or fall of 2010. And then there's the Farrelly Brothers' The Three Stooges, which may or may not star Johnny Depp as Moe Howard and Sean Penn as Larry Fine. While the Farrellys reportedly have no idea who to cast as Curly, Mel Gibson would seem to be the obvious choice.

I'd SEEK that one out.

Geek Daily: New 'Prince of Persia' and 'Wolverine' Photos, Green Lantern, and Megatron

2009-04-13T02:59:00.000-07:00

The weekend may have belonged to Watchmen, but a few geek tidbits managed to make their way online for Monday. The best comes by way of ComingSoon.net, who caught up with The Green Lantern producer Donald De Line. He denied they were casting Hal Jordan as young as those Anton Yelchin rumors suggested. Jordan will be in his "late '20s, early '30s."

In the category of "eye candy" comes these two new photos of Jake Gyllenhaal as the Prince of Persia, courtesy of The Huffington Post and residing now in the gallery. These aren't no paparazzi shots, these are the real candlelit deal:

Gallery: Prince of Persia

SuperheroHype.com also has a new photo of Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool, and the official X-Men Origins: Wolverine site has been updated with new character bios and downloadables. The best part? When you go there, Wolverine says his catchphrase. My heart jumped in my chest a little. I won't deny it.

Gallery: Wolverine

Meanwhile, Michael Bay was revealed to be a big fat liar. Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen cowriter Robert Orci confirmed on TFW2005 that Megatron returns. Hugo Weaving double-confirmed it to Adelaide Now, and hinted how the character might return: "I think in the last one, doesn't Optimus Prime pick up a little bit of, a little shard of the cube, or the thing that's left, and he takes it with him. Maybe there's something there... but I don't know." Bay was then forced to confess on his official website: "Okay cat is out of the bag. Megatron is back -- but you will only get to see him from the long lost past. We go way back in time as this movie explains the mythology of the Primes. He is not a tank like everyone suggests, but an alien vehicle. But sadly he does not has much screen time." Should you believe him? That's up to you.

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Cramer: Pick Up Some Hasbro at $20

2009-04-12T02:58:00.000-07:00

Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE: HAS) shares opened lower despite positive comments from CNBC’s Jim Cramer on his Mad Money Lightning Round. The hedge fund manager turned television star believes that everyone is giving up on the toy business and that has created a great bargain in Hasbro’s stock. Cramer recommended that viewers get in a little bit here and then buy more when it goes below $20 per share.

Fitch agreed with these sentiments when it upgraded Hasbro’s stock earlier this year. The ratings agency noted the firm’s leading position in the traditional toy industry with revenues of $4 billion and an improving operating performance. According to Fitch, metrics were also strong with total debt-to-EBITDA at 1.1x and EBITDA-to-interest at a healthy 14x. Meanwhile, the company’s performance in a very difficult fourth quarter was also better than expected.

Hasbro also has very strong liquidity as exemplified by its high cash balances and free cash flows averaging $392 million over the past two years and an unused $300 million revolver that will not expire until 2011. Moreover, Hasbro has no debt maturities until 2017 while management’s goal is to maintain leverage at 1.5x and double digit interest coverage. Combined, these were the reasons cited for the ratings upgrade by Fitch earlier this year.

Going forward, many analysts expect top-line weakness amid slower consumer spending. However, many estimates are already set so low that Hasbro may be able to continue beating earnings estimates given the strong movie slate including GI Joe, Transformers 2, and Wolverine that should help improve results in 2009 and 2010. Shares of Hasbro moved down $0.27, or 1.22%, to $21.80 per share in early trading.

Hasbro provides children’ and family leisure time and entertainment products and services, including the design, manufacture and marketing of games and toys. Its offerings include a variety of games, including traditional board, card, hand-held electronic, trading card, role playing and digital versatile disc (DVD) games, as well as electronic learning aids and puzzles.

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Hasbro looking for Costumed TF fans from SDCC

2009-04-11T02:57:00.000-07:00

Monday, March 9th, 2009 10:42AM CDT

Hey everyone,

Seibertron.com received the following message from Hasbro's PR firm, Hunter PR. They're looking for a couple of fans that appeared at San Diego Comic Con last year. If you know how we can get a hold of them, please reply to this post so that we can forward your information along to Hasbro.

Hello,

I’m reaching out to you – the Transformers fan and collectors community – on behalf of Hasbro’s Transformers brand team in hope that you may be able to assist with a somewhat unusual request.

At this past year’s Comic-Con in San Diego, there were two costumed fans in attendance dressed in homemade Transformers movie character costumes – Optimus Prime and Bumblebee. We would like to contact these individuals re: the upcoming ‘09 BotCon in Pasadena. Without knowing their names, we’re obviously having trouble reaching these two fans. And while I know there were many costumed Transformers fans in attendance, I’m told that these two individuals really stuck out, because each of these movie character costumes were very, very good – including metals components, etc.

Would you happen to know either of these fans? If so, please share their name and/or contact info.

Thanks much!
Joe Moscone
Hunter PR

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Transformers ROTF Deluxe Bumblebee And Soundwave Bios

2009-04-10T02:56:00.000-07:00

Sunday, March 8th, 2009 5:32PM CDT

eBay- If you just can't wait to grab these two early release figures before they hit retail, a few weeks in advance of the first retail wave, you can check out each of these auctions for them.

But what's even better, is that the seller, yayabeee, has included quite a few package images that include each characters bio.

You can view the auction for Movie Soundwave, and Movie Bumblebee by clicking on their names, and also you can see a gallery of the auction images by checking out the thread here.

You can see a couple of photos showing the bios below.

"Bumblebee- Having chosen to stay with Sam after the battle for the Allspark, Bumblebee made arrangements to be close to him at all times. It's been a pretty good deal. He gets regular detailing, and as much high-grade fuel as he needs, plus he gets to spend time with Sam and Mikaela. His vocal processors still aren't fully up to snuff, but he and his friends communicate just fine. If he ever misses the action of battle, he can always give Ironhide a call and they can go Decepticon hunting. "

"Soundwave- Stationed in orbit above Earth, Soundwave swiftly taps into every satellite in range. Within minutes, communications, data traffic, weather information, and high-resolution spy photography flood his sensor net. The spill of data fills him with pleasure, and one by one, the humans' systems come under his complete control. From his seat on high, he is in position to control the destiny of mankind without their knowledge...or to run their civilization into the ground.

-Launching "Ravage" missile."

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Who Watches Who Walks Out of "Watchmen"?

2009-04-09T02:55:00.000-07:00

My Tribune colleague Chris Borrelli caught "Watchmen" over the weekend at the Davis in Lincoln Square, and while no two audiences respond to anything the same way...and plenty of people love the film...

...

Here's Mr. B.:

Never have I seen as many people walk out of a movie as I saw during a Saturday showing of “Watchmen.”

The couple behind me argued for 45 minutes about who was who and what was happening and why is that man blue and was this scene happening now or did these events happen in the past and, holy crap, why are we now on Mars; eventually, they gave up and laughed their way through the exit doors. (And they were not shushed.)

A father seated in front of me, accompanied by antsy young boys, shifted uncomfortably with every splatter of brain; he sank lower into his seat at the arrival of a nude Dr. Manhattan’s fully exposed Little Dr. Manhattan then gathered up his stuff and bolted during the fairly explicit sex between Night Owl and Silk Spectre in the back of the Owl Mobile – or whatever it’s called. (The movie is rated R.)

It’s hard to say exactly when the trickle became an exodus – but maybe a quarter of the theater walked.

Indeed, it appears this phenomenon is not unique to Chicago: An extensive report on Popten.net described “mass walkouts” of a New York screening; and corey3rd on hollywood-elsewhere.com claims one-third of his audience bolted, too.

So did you notice an unusual number of walkouts at your screening? Or was the audience riveted? Howling in laughter? Snickering? Or stone silent and still, wrapped up in the story? Let us know.

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Column: 'Shopaholic' requires too much faith on too little credit

2009-04-08T02:54:00.000-07:00

"Confessions of a Shopaholic" is a difficult movie to stomach if you are of any of the following persuasions: a New Yorker, a compulsive shopper, a reader of a financial magazine, a person in credit card debt, a person without a job, a small-apartment dweller or someone who is not gorgeous. Taking place, as it does, in "movie New York," with its glittering two-roommate lofts and glamorous magazine offices, "Confessions" requires the kind of suspension of disbelief that would get a screenwriter for an Astaire/Rogers movie fired.

The lasting image is Isla Fisher in an enormous walk-in closet in Manhattan, having just become internationally famous and complaining to her beautiful roommate that another rich and famous magazine writer has everything. Well, who doesn't?

The shopaholic, Rebecca Bloomwood, is a young magazine reporter with massive credit card debt who lucks into a job at "Successful Saver" magazine after a single drunken night of joblessness. She's an instant success, becoming famous in a way that few writers who avoid sexy vampires ever become, and falls in love with the handsome editor of the magazine, who also loves her. In the middle of that there might be a movie, but all of this happens in 45 minutes. No time for conflict.

Eventually her debts catch up to her and she's caught in the debt collector's horn-rimmed sights, but only long enough for the handsome editor to rescue her. It's a movie about how movie heroines are impervious to harm, without a whit of even the most basic will-they-won't-they romantic comedy suspense. The climactic auction wanted only Mickey Rooney to become an "Andy Hardy" let's-put-on-a-show finale.

Fisher is a capable comedian, falling all over herself a little better than the usual romantic comedy leads in those obligatory I'm-a-beautiful-klutz moments, but the script, adapted from the chick-lit standard of the same name by Sophie Kinsella, gives her little to do when she's not tripping over things. Most of the time she's a shrill, insecure presence in the center of scenes, forced to make something up or say something she doesn't understand to keep up the charade of her financial expertise. Julie Hagerty and John Goodman, among other excellent comedic character actors, don't have much to do either, but they do it well. That's the movie, writ small: some good parts, in the form of cameos and set-pieces, but little in the way of form or plot to make a movie out of them.

Like its heroine, "Confessions of a Shopaholic" escapes substantial trouble because there's nothing substantial about it -- it's a mess, but it's the kind of mess that's so light it floats out of the way of any real criticism. What's there is poorly constructed and manages all the verisimilitude and emotional depth of "Transformers," but as a picture about shopping and lucking into a lot of money and a hot guy it's hard to muster 500 words about it, let alone a thousand.

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Today, 'Watchmen,' and 'Attack Of The Show'

2009-04-07T02:53:00.000-07:00

Well, if you'd like to see the appearance, you can. It's ready to embed, and it's below for your viewing pleasure. I can only ever watch about 11 seconds of myself on camera before I get up and run shrieking from the room, so I can't really discuss the appearance itself. I'll say that the experience of doing this sort of thing remains just plain weird. I like all the folks at G4. Good group, and they've had me on frequently over the years to discuss things. They even had me on to make the official announcement when I left Ain't It Cool to come work here at HitFix. When they call, if I'm available, I work it out. I like to help them if I can.

Honestly, when they called to ask if I wanted to come in to talk about "Watchmen," that's all I needed to hear. Sure. Happy to do it. It was only when they sent over a fact sheet that I realized what I'd committed to. I didn't realize David Poland was going to be on the show with me. There was a moment where I reeeeeeeeeally debated not going.

[more after the jump]

I take great issue with the way David has categorized and portrayed my work over the years. I think he's been openly untrue when writing about me, and no matter how many times I've corrected him on certain factual things, he continues to sell his manufactured rap on me because, at this point, that's what he does. He's dug his heels in, and no matter what, he's never going to back off the things that make him wrong. It's been so personal for so long that I have a real problem with civility. There are only so many times you can shake it off when someone writes very personal, very direct attacks on you and your character. And sure enough, I found it uncomfortable to a huge degree to have to sit and wait for the appearance with Poland, and then even to have to small talk afterwards. Overall, while we were on the air, I think all of that sort of went away, and I focused on just engaging in the conversation with Kevin.

A few points.

I have a hard time being patient with talk about box-office, especially on this film. I don't care how much money the film makes, because there's no sequel. There's no spin off. There's no nothing. This was it. Big weird arthouse superhero movie. And they made it. So no matter what, the movie exists, and the other longer cuts exist, and so that's that. What it earns would matter to me if I was getting a piece of it, or if I treated box-office like a statistic that means anything about either (A) the quality of a film or (B) people's affection for that film. And it's not. Box-office is about marketing and scheduling and luck. That's it. The quality of a film and how people feel about that film... that's time. Only time can really shake out the way a film lives or dies, survives or fades. Box-office doesn't mean anything, which is why I don't write about it and why I tune out most of what's written about it. I understand it... but I don't care.

I hate film reviews or film reviewers that use the word "you" over and over in a review. "You don't care about these people. You don't care what happens to them. You don't engage emotionally." Really? Is that an order? Stop telling me what I'll feel. Stop telling me that my reaction is a given. It's not. You may feel it is narcissistic to use the word "I" in a film review; I think it's the other way around. I review a film by expressing what my experience with it is and what my understanding of it is. Whether that's worth anything to you or not is up to you. But when a reviewer uses "you" in a review, it's like they're telling you that they know better than you do, and here's how you should feel... or you're wrong. It's obnoxious.

I love when people throw around numbers that they've decided are real, and there's just no budging them. Talking about budgets is a sucker's game, because I guarantee you that unless you got a number from someone in the actual accounting department, someone with an eye on the actual final total, most of the numbers you hear people discuss are fiction. I wish we'd had longer to get into it, because I'd love to hear David Poland tell me, for the record, what "Watchmen" cost. And "Terminator Salvation." And "Land of the Lost." And "Transformers 2." Because I guarantee his guesses, the numbers he'll use when writing all of his "journalism" for the rest of the year, will be the same exact creative fiction, based on the guesswork and gossip of others, as the numbers he'll attack and belittle when writing about his competitors. David's "Watchmen" budgets of $150 million and up are fantasy-land. Even before the film was a legal hassle, the costs were pretty tightly controlled on the film, and one of the reasons it took forever to get someone to pull the trigger is because every single dollar was negotiated and fought for. The fact that people think this film cost $150 million or more is a good sign for Snyder, who has the ability to make his films look like they cost more than they do. I don't write about budgets precisely because it's like counting sand grains in the desert. Everything's in flux, and unless you have absolute control over those sand grains, it's just empty effort.

And finally, I don't believe the ultimate goal of all drama is to make me "care" about characters, and I don't think the only benchmark of success in a story or a narrative is whether or not I identify with the people I'm watching. I don't care if I like anyone in a story... I just want to be interested. Poland goes on and on about how "you don't care about anyone," but I still don't see how that's even an absolute negative. So what? I'm not really going to empathize with a godlike naked blue energy being, but I'm interested in him. And that's enough. When did every critic in America become a lame development executive giving notes? "Can you try to make his arc more dramatic so he's more likable and we like him more? Maybe have him do things people like. That way they'll like him. I'd like that." Puh-leeeeze.

When Poland says that "Blade Runner" appealed to a lot more people than "Watchmen," it's a completely bizarre and incorrect thing to say. At least "Watchmen" had a big first weekend. "Blade Runner" was a movie that should have had that first big blast when it opened. After all, here's Han Solo and Indiana Jones, in his first big SF adventure movie away from those series, right? And... it turns out... it's a movie... about a mumbling guy with a bad haircut who lives in a city where it rains all the time and he gets his ass kicked by a bunch of girl robots for a while. Then the bad guy dies. The end. And that didn't even open. That movie stiffed from day one. That summer, "Blade Runner" and "The Thing" both died. Just belly up. And I'm sure people could have written articles on those Monday mornings after release, slamming the films, damning the studios for the choices to make them, second-guessing the filmmakers. I'm sure it would have been easy. But it also reduces the entire conversation about film to a tally sheet.

And that's what I don't like. At all.

So I don't think you can "win" an appearance like today's. I just know that I managed to not yell at David, and I think I made my points clearly, and I'm pretty sure they said the name of the site a couple of times. So mission accomplished.

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No variety in this list of the summer blockbusters to watch

2009-04-06T02:52:00.000-07:00

Hair apparent ... Tom Hanks's drowned cat 'do gets another outing in the Da Vinci Code followup, Angels and Demons

Diminishing returns are to the Hollywood summer blockbuster what suspense is to Hitchcock, high heels and hospital scenes are to Almodóvar or scandalous overpricing is to popcorn. With a handful of exceptions, the high point of a tent-pole picture's existence is the first teaser trailer, or even the first teaser poster – the moment when avid fandom can project onto that nearly-blank canvas the wondrous, expectation-surpassing movie that will never be. Then comes the overcooked buildup, the disappointing release and the even more disappointing sequels. Cue Sideshow Bob-style shudder.

This year, diminishing returns seem to apply not just to individual titles but to the industry's entire slate. Of the 15 titles selected by Variety as the summer blockbusters to watch, at least two-thirds are retreads of established franchises, whether as sequels, spin-offs or remakes.

In the sequels and spin-off category there's Hugh Jackman reverting from top-hat-and-tails to whiskers and claws in X-Men Origins: Wolverine; Christian Bale doing franchise duty again in Terminator Salvation; further entries in the Harry Potter, Ice Age, Transformers and Night at the Museum series; and, perhaps worst to contemplate, another turn round the block for Tom Hanks's drowned-cat 'do in Angels & Demons, sired by The Da Vinci Code. In terms of adaptations, there's JJ Abrams's space-babies take on Star Trek; Will Ferrell in a remake of the famously shoddy fantasy TV series Land of the Lost; and a live-action version of GI Joe, partly inspired by the moolah the first Transformers film raked in.

That the studios lean heavily on brands and formulae that have proven profitable is hardly news but it's still dispiriting to see quite so derivative a slate of titles lined up for the summer. So far, the signs are that the economic downturn need not spell disaster for the film industry: box office is actually up. Just like in the Great Depression, right? Yes and no. For all the stories about the Depression being the making of the movies, the early 1930s were highly troubled times for box-office takings. It was only later on, when audiences' means and desires meshed more neatly with Hollywood output, that the golden age kicked in. Perhaps this summer's titles will prove to be the equivalent of well-made comfort food, offering familiar pleasures that audiences appreciate. Over the longer term, however, the industry is likely to have to come up with something new that chimes with the times.

This could be where the few non-franchise titles on Variety's list come in. A couple of them could also fit into the comfort-food category, but in an imaginative, revisionist kind of way. Michael Mann's Public Enemies and Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds are knowing takes on established genres with adult male appeal and period resonance: the gangster picture that took off in the Depression and the war movie that arguably succeeded it. And the Disney-Pixar feature Up – about a man whose house achieves lift-off with balloons – should benefit from the Pixar studio brand; indeed, it is perhaps the only studio brand with audience appeal comparable to that of, say, Universal horror or Warner Bros gangster flicks of the 1930s.

The final two films on Variety's list are comedies: Judd Apatow's latest, Funny People, starring Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen as present-day standups, and The Year One, Harold Ramis's Monty Python-style stone-age/Biblical spoof starring Jack Black and Michael Cera. A couple of years ago, it's questionable whether such comedies would have found a place in a blockbuster list. But although they have traditionally been overlooked as both box-office and critical darlings, comedies are cheap to produce and blessedly escapist. At their most successful, there are few other genres that please studios and audiences more. A period of economic strife just might be what's needed for them finally to take their well-deserved place in the sun.

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HASBRO Answers Seibertron's Questions

2009-04-06T02:51:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, March 10th, 2009 5:30PM CDT

Hasbro- The first question submissions for 2009 have been answered. Seems we get a repeat answer when we asked a question related to one of our previously submitted questions, and a very frank answer to one for you movie line collectors!

"1.) Can we expect more store exclusive Generation 1 repaints of movie figures like the new Corvette Sideswipe into Generation 1 colors? Any hints to drop for us on which characters will receive Generation 1 style repaints (Devastator?). Can we expect premium style repaints with the ROTF line of figures as well?

-Whenever we redeco a figure for a store exclusive, one of our first inclinations is to go back and see if there is a way to bring the figure closer to a classic character, especially if it apears unlikely that the figure will be released in those colors otherwise. With Revenge of the Fallen, there are quite a few characters to choose from that have some fairly obvious alternative color schemes that are on our short list of potential items. Premium items are also on the short list because we are are sometimes able to offer a higher number of paint applications on figures if they are offered as store exclusives. While we can't provide exact details on any upcoming G1-based or Premium figures, rest assured that we will be making them whenever they make sense.

2.) Recent confusion with IDW's and HASBRO's answers gives us conflicting information. Will IDW's character Drift be getting his own toy, or not? Would it be a part of UNIVERSE or some other special line? How about other comic original characters getting toys like Impactor or Jhiaxus, which are not repaints? In the back of the Transformers Spotlight Vol 2 Graphic Novel, there is a great design for Nova Prime, which could be made as a toy, any chance of it being made?

-Every year as we develop our toy line, we try to fit in characters that make sense for the brand. With that said, every character, new and old, are always up for disussion. We certainly would love to make a toy after IDW's Drift and will do our best ot fit him into the line at the right time.

3.) Will there be toys of these new Season 3 TF: Animated Characters? What of the rumor that Season 3 is the last season of Animated? Any hints on what is the next on tap after the ROTF line is done, with the supposed end to Transformers Animated?

-There will be new toys of season 3 characters throughout 2009. Unfortunately, we cannot speak to any rumors regarding the animated series at this time."

There you have it, answers to some of our very important questions. Sorry if yours was not submitted this time. Please be sure to re-submit a new question the next time we have the opportunity.

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Frank Welker Returning for Transformers 2?

2009-04-05T02:51:00.000-07:00

Director says he might have cartoon voice actor join the cast.
by Jim Vejvoda

March 10, 2009 - Here's some good news for all those fanboys who were peeved that voice actor Frank Welker wasn't hired to voice Megatron in the live-action Transformers movie: he might be lending his voice to another Decepticon in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

Welker voiced Megatron in the 1980s animated series, but was replaced by Hugo Weaving in the 2007 film. Now Transformers 2 director Michael Bay has revealed on his blog that "I think I'm going to pursue Frank on Soundwave." Welker also voiced that character on the TV show.

Soundwave's cronies Ravage and Laserbeak are also expected to appear in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

Hugo Weaving recently confirmed that he'll be back as the voice of Megatron in the sequel, which opens June 24.

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Thor, Justice League, Transformers 2: March 11th Comic Reel

2009-04-04T02:49:00.000-07:00

THOR

There's new casting rumors about the two lead roles: for the God of Mischief, IESB claims that Josh Hartnett has met with director Kenneth Branagh and wants to give the role a shot because he's never played a villain (Slevin Kelevra doesn't count).

Not enough? Okay, how about this for a Thunder God (if Latino Review is to be believed): standing six foot four, having a meal with Branagh in Los Feliz, it's actor Alexander Skarsgard! Branagh and two unidentified men ate with Skarsgard at Blair's Restaurant, but maybe it was just a friendly meeting between a Shakespearean actor and a statuesque Nordic man. Maybe.

Release date: July 16, 2010.

JUSTICE LEAGUE

We may yet see Common as Green Lantern, if we can believe what director George Miller told MTV. "I'm still attached to the film," he said. "Warner Bros. is waiting to develop the other characters a little bit and then bring Justice League together. After the success of ['The Dark Knight'], it's well known that they will develop the other characters and then bring them together in 'Justice League.' That's a fair way down the track."

No release date announced.

TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN

Fans were disappointed that Frank Welker wasn't chosen to play Megatron and made their voices heard on director Michael Bay's message boards. His response? "I think I'm going to pursue Frank on Soundwave." 'Nuff said.

Starring Shia LeBeouf, release date: June 24, 2009.

IRON MAN 2

Staying in the realm of heavy metal, Superhero Hype has the first set photo from the Marvel minded movie sequel.

Starring Robert Downey Jr. and Don Cheadle, release date May 7, 2010.

SMALLVILLE

If you're ready to see a second fishnet-clad DCU guest star, you should check out this gallery of set photos at Kryptonsite.

Next episode: "Infamous," March 12, 2009.

DRAGONBALL EVOLUTION

How about seven new pieces of video from the manga adaptation from points around the globe?

Dragonball Evolution: Chi Chi vs Chi Chi @ Yahoo! Video

Starring Justin Chatwin, release date: April 8, 2009.

X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE

If you like spoilers, this updated early review at We Are Movie Geeks should do the trick for you.

There's also a new trailer for the video game based on the movie at Superhero Hype.

Directed by Gavin Hood, release date May 1, 2009.

READY FOR YOUR CLOSE UP?

If you have the scoop on anything related to comic book movies, TV adaptations or just want to give us a truck full of cash, no questions asked, drop us a line and let's coordinate. You can choose an alias if you'd like, or be mentioned by name -- we honor requests for anonymity. Broadcasting live from Los Angeles, this is your humble scribe Hannibal Tabu saying thanks for your time and indulgence, and The Hundred and Four has got them African drums and them space age rhymes, man!

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Transformers 2's Soundwave May Sound Familiar

2009-04-03T02:48:00.000-07:00

Peter Cullen may not be the only 1980s Transformers cartoon veteran to arrive on the big screen, if a message board post from Revenge of the Fallen's Michael Bay is anything to go by.

Responding to an interview with Frank Welker - the voice of Megatron and Soundwave in the original cartoon, amongst others - Bay wrote

I think I'm going to pursue Frank on Soundwave.

Sudden stunningly-last-minute decision or well-orchestrated reveal to drive the fanboy faithful wild? Who knows, but at least the Michael Bay forum regulars got excited at the news:

Michael is the shiznit!! ask yourself this.. have u been BAYporized?

An Interview with Welker, and One Last Plea to Michael [Shoot For The Edit]

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Welker to voice 'Transformers 2' villain

2009-04-02T02:46:00.000-07:00

Michael Bay has revealed that he wants original Transformers star Frank Welker to voice a villain in the robot sequel.

Welker, who lent his vocal talents to the character Megatron in the animated series, was passed over for the 2007 movie adaptation in favour of Hugo Weaving. His co-star Peter Cullen was recruited for Optimus Prime.

Writing on his Shoot For The Edit website, Bay said that he will "pursue" Welker for the role of Soundwave, a robot who shape-shifted into a cassette player in the original cartoon, in Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen.

Bay last week admitted that Megatron, voiced by Weaving, will return for the sequel.

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The Verdict: Megan Fox Goes Underwater and Tron 2 Spoilers

2009-04-01T02:26:00.000-07:00

Megan Fox Heads to the Comics
Sorry fellas, it's not Wonder Woman or Sinderella, Naked Queen of Bondage Island. In Jonah Hex she'll play a gunfighter opposite James Brolin, and in Fathom she's a champion swimmer and marine biologist (riiight) who finds out she's part of an underwater race.
Verdict: I seem to be the only guy on the planet who's not particularly wowed by Megan Fox. But for the rest of you, there's sure to be lots of swimming. So there's that.

Tron 2 Spoiled by AICN
Ain't It Cool News has the latest from the Vancouver set of the Tron sequel, including a heap of spoilers. Here's one, etiquette be damned: Flynn has a seven-year-old son named Sean. How's that for a bombshell? Oh, for the rest, go here.
Verdict: I loved Tron too, but I'm hardly on the edge of my seat for this one. And now I'm going to look a fool if he doesn't have a son, or he's called Billy.

Stretch Armstrong: The Motion Picture
Next up on the block with Transformers, G.I. Joe, and Monopoly? That's right, Stretch Armstrong, the amazing toy that ... stretched. At this rate I'm holding out for the ball and paddle biopic. Where did paddle meet ball, anyway? And how did the elastic get in on the act?
Verdict: I know Hollywood wants to cash in on any speck of nostalgia they can, but this is just getting sad.

Watchmen as a Saturday Morning Cartoon
Check out HappyHarry's clip of Watchmen as an '80s cartoon (go here and click "Watch This Movie!"). Fine, this is a joke, but you know someone at Warner Brothers is watching it, thinking "Hmmm." (Sorry, "Hurm.")
Verdict: I could watch this show all day. Granted, Watchmen seems to have split the audience in half, and I'm heavily on the "liked it" side. But come on, "Rorschach's friend to the animals -- yeah, when he's not clowning around!" Gold.

Wow, They Weren't Kidding About the "NeverEnding" Part
People of a certain age may remember The NeverEnding Story, a movie about a boy and his magic dog-dragon thing with a neverending theme song by the lead singer of Kajagoogoo. It spawned two sequels, but after 1996's NeverEnding Story III, it looked like whoever came up with the title had finally gotten his comeuppance. Of course, now studios specialize in dredging up old semi-hits, and this one's next.
Verdict: Compared to this, Tron 2 will be like The Godfather I. There will come a day, in the not too distant future, when every single movie, television show, and infomercial of the '80s will have been remade. And then we'll move on to the '90s. Who's up for a Cop Rock movie?

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Are Geeks Losing Their Cool In Hollywood?

2009-03-31T02:25:00.000-07:00

Sorry, geeks, but it looks like I have some bad news for you. Your days of glory may be coming to an end.

The 00s have been extremely kind to you. Ever since Spider-Man's record-breaking box office run back in 2002, you've held your own kind of superpower, one with much more practical real world uses than the ability to sling webs. You've been wielding the awesome power of being the most coveted demographic in Hollywood. From X2 to 300 to Iron Man, you've been setting trends and turning films into pop culture crazes. You've had the biggest movie stars in the world begging on their knees for your attention at Comic-Con every year. And thanks to Heath Ledger's performance in The Dark Knight, you got to see your favorite movie of the year get invited to the ultimate cool kids' party, the Oscars. But I'm starting to worry that it may be all downhill for you from here.

My fear for you started this past Monday, when I read that Watchmen had made $55 million in its opening weekend. This is by no means a weak performance, but it's certainly lower than what was expected. And when you take into account all the hype -- the heavy advertising, the dramatic legal battle, the threats to boycott X-Men Origins: Wolverine if Fox prevented the film from being released this weekend -- that number really should've been higher. A lot higher. You geeks promised we were all going to love this movie. You told us it would be an outrage and a travesty if the studio battle prevented us from seeing it. You even got me to read a graphic novel for the first time in my life out of anticipation for this movie. But those opening numbers, the mixed reviews, and the 64% grade it got at Rotten Tomatoes are telling me that you geeks may have steered me wrong this time.

I'd be more forgiving if I thought you had something else cool to show me coming up soon, but the truth is you really don't. Wolverine might be promising, but you don't need to be a geek to enjoy Hugh Jackman. Star Trek looks like it might be cool, but "Trekkie" is still a dirty word in mainstream culture. Also, I'm so over the idea of Spider-Man 4, and it hasn't even begun shooting yet. The Dark Knight had me ready to pledge my undying allegiance to the kingdom of geekdom, but you can only watch a DVD so many times and it looks like we're going to have a long wait for the sequel. Who knows if Christian Bale will even come back for it now? The fame you geeks brought him has led to bigger and better movie roles, but it's also been a huge headache for him and he could be feeling a little resentful about that. You're going to have to face the fact that Batman might not be around to save you the next time you get shoved into a locker. (Editor's Note And don't even get us started on Transformers 2 or G.I. Joe ...)

I'm sorry if I sound a bit harsh here, but I've really enjoyed our time together and feel I owe it to you to be honest. Everyone who's ever enjoyed a stint of popularity eventually has to learn the tough lesson that it can and will be taken from you on a moment's notice. No one can stay popular forever, not even if you do have superpowers.

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411 Fact or Fiction Movies/TV 03.13.09: Week 168

2009-03-30T02:24:00.000-07:00

Will Last House On The Left be better than the original? Is Terminator: Salvation the summer movie people are most looking forward to? Is anyone surprised by Dancing With The Stars enduring popularity? 411's Leonard Heyhurst and Larry Csonka debate these and other subjects in week 168 of 411 Fact or Fiction: Movies/TV!

Hello! Welcome back once again to the 411 column sure to set nerves on edge, Fact or Fiction!

This week marks the two-year anniversary of my taking over the column. Hooray, me! I'd like to thank everyone that has made this possible, from my higher-ups here at 411, to all the staffers that take part week to week. It's been a lot of fun to be sure, and I hope that all feel the same way.

To mark this momentous occasion, I managed to wrangle up a couple of big guns this week. Leonard Heyhurst, who was the man who hired me on to 411 in the first place, and Larry Csonka, 411 co-webmaster and a man you don't want to mess with. Let's see what they have to say for themselves…

1. You expect Last House On The Left will be better than the original.

Leonard Heyhurst: Fiction. It's rare that a remake is as effective as the original, especially in the horror genre. While the remake does look interesting from the trailers, going more for suspense than ‘torture porn.' However, in this case, the original was a very raw, very brutal horror film for the period. This actually looks like it might be a step back from that. Technically speaking, it probably will be a better movie, but it won't be as groundbreaking and won't develop as strong a cult following. This will be just another installment of trying to use a familiar name to make dough.

Larry Csonka: Fiction. Yeah, I am just burnt out on the whole remake, reboot, reimagining of shit lately. It seems like every other news post I make in movies is about a remake, reboot, reimagining of SOMETHING! Leonard hits the nail on the head. Technically and special effects wise, sure it likely be vastly be superior, but I cannot see it eclipsing the original.

Score: 1 for 1

2. While you think that NBC's new series Kings has an interesting premise, it won't be enough to get you to tune in.

Leonard Heyhurst: Fact. There's not a lot of current television I watch, unless it's on USA. Kings does look different from anything else on television right now and very creative. That right there will probably doom it to an early death. I don't NBC has done a great job in explaining the series, because I doubt many could tell you what it's about. If they can't do that, they won't want to watch it. It's sad that rarely the original survives the television landscape.

Larry Csonka: Fiction. I will agree with Leonard on a few things. I don't watch a ton of current TV, sure I have my shows, but for the most part I like to stick to my VDD collection of shows, which is always growing. I will also agree that it does look different that just about anything else currently on TV, and while that MAY doom it to an early grave, I will tune in. Sure it may suck, there's a good chance of it. But I am interested to see the modern day take on the monarchy that they have planned. I think that it will be clear after an episode or two if it will work or not. Actually I will likely have my opinion after the two-hour premiere. But there is enough to get me interested to check it out.

Score: 1 for 2

3. Terminator: Salvation is the summer movie you're most looking forward to seeing.

Leonard Heyhurst: Fiction. I'm looking forward to Inglorious Bastards, Star Trek and Public Enemies more. Terminator: Salvation does look exciting and a new turn in the Terminator series that might prop it up for another trilogy. Christian Bale's blow up on the set won't hurt it much, as the old saying goes any publicity is good publicity. Yet, I think this might be too loud and too reliant on special effects. Remember how low tech the first one was. True the second one was filled with cutting edge technology for the time, but it was integrated into the plot. Blowing up robots for the sake of blowing up robots does not a great movie make, see Transformers.

Larry Csonka: Fiction. Nothing against Terminator: Salvation, and I agree with Leonard again in that it looks interesting and will likely serve to begin a new trilogy of films. Hell I am looking forward to the movie and will actually go and see it when it comes out. But for me, the film I am looking forward to the most is the new Star Trek film. I am a self-admitted Trekkie. I own the movies, and I own almost all of the series on DVD as well. I don't have high hopes for the new version as much as I am interested to see how they work it. That has me interested and that is why I am looking forward to the film so much.

Score: 2 for 3

Switch!!!

4. You're still amazed and surprised by Dancing With The Stars enduring popularity.

Larry Csonka: Fiction. Not at all. While some may, the show offers a lot of things to many people. Fist of all you have the reality show buffs. While it isn't the Real World or Survivor, it is an interactive show that pulls people in and causes them to form an attachment, which makes them vote. Secondly you have people that like dancing. My mother in law loves the show and follows it like a religion, as do many friends her age. Thirdly they play to several demographics, like adding in sport stars. This gets ESPN and other outlets to cover the show, hence giving it more promotion and attention. That partially gets a guy like me interested. But what gets me and many others is the HUMILIATION factor. Who doesn't want to see someone that is or was famous make an ass out of themselves? So no, I am not amazed at all that the show is still popular.

Leonard Heyhurst: Fiction.I really have to agree with everything that Larry said. It's a show that engages and filters into the popular conscious on many different levels. If I can look into my crystal ball, I think we might be on the other side of the show's peak popularity. Looking at the cast list this year, there wasn't one person that piqued my interest. Even last year, I was intrigued by Ted McGinley, Susan Lucci and Cloris Leachman. They also seem to be falling into very specific categories with who they get. There's always a former NFL player anymore, a hot chick, someone they know who will be a train wreck. So, no, I'm not surprised by the popularity, but the ride won't last forever.

Score: 3 for 4

5. You would like to see a biopic of the pioneering rap group N.W.A.

Larry Csonka: Fact. As a musician, I usually am interested in bio films on popular musicians. Also, I really enjoy bio pieces overall. I love the biography channel and am always catching shows on there. And then you take a group like N.W.A with such a rise and fall story, and the interest level goes up. Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, and Tomica Wright will all be a part of the production of the film. This will either prove for a very true telling of the story, or revisionist history, which is my only concern.

Leonard Heyhurst: Fact. I don't know a whole lot about this project. I do agree with Larry that having the members of the group and others close to the group involved could be a good or bad thing. Usually this leads to revisionist history, because people want to look good and some things are just too painful or embarrassing to reveal. The recent Notorious was cited to be pretty decent and interesting by reviewers, if not a cut above, and this will probably turn out the same way. To return to the original question, yes, I would be interested in seeing such a film due to the history, controversy and musical importance of the group.

Score: 4 for 5

6. You don't have high hopes that Race To Witch Mountain will be any good.

Larry Csonka: Fiction. For a few reasons. First of all I liked the old Witch Mountain films, they bring back some good memories of watching them with my mother. Secondly, sue me, I am a fan of The Rock Dwayne Johnson. While all of the movies he has been in haven't been great, I have personally enjoyed his performances, as he makes the best out of a bad situation when need be. I have checked out all of his movies, and the man just delivers good performances. And finally, to kind of go back to point number one, I am looking forward to checking this out with my daughter. She loves The Rock as well, The Gameplan is a HUGE hit with her, and when she saw the commercial for the film, she immediately wanted to see it because of him. It may not be a GREAT film, but I am sure it will be good and that Hana and I will have a good time watching it.

Leonard Heyhurst: Fiction.Once again, I have to agree with a lot of what Larry said. For what the movie is intended to be, and that is a fun family targeted action adventure film, it should be at least serviceable. Disney
always puts a technically good product together and Johnson always does his best no matter the project. He's instantly likable and charismatic and there is something about him that oddly children can relate to. I look for Witch Mountain to do well enough at the box office to launch a sequel and other similar movies with Johnson. Is an Apple Dumpling Gang not far off in the Rock's future?

Final Score: 5 for 6

Bonus Non Fact or Fiction Question: What is your favorite movie of all time?

Larry Csonka: TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE. This was a hard one. I am a huge fan of The Godfather, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and too many films to name to be honest with you. Since I work from home, I watch a ton of movies, some good and some bad. But recently, Hana wanted to watch Transformers, cartoon Transformers. So I introduced her to a film I hadn't seen in some time, TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE. Not only did numerous childhood memories come back to me, but sharing the experience with her was so great. You would have thought that this was the coolest thing to ever happen to her the way that she reacted to the movie. So while it may not be the greatest film of all time, it has become my favorite, again, just because Hana loves it so much. We now watch it at least once a week.

Leonard Heyhurst: My favorite all time movie is The Color of Money. The script is by my favorite screenwriter, Richard Price. His key assets are smart and specific dialogue, which really shines here. Every character speaks differently, but all with a unified feel of the "world" in which they inhabit. Phrases are turned in such a way that nearly every word out of Eddie's mouth is quotable. The mantra of the movie is said by him early on, "pool excellence is not about excellent pool." It's that type of simple logic that fills the movie and is the wit of Eddie's wisdom.

Paul Newman finally won an Oscar for reprising his role of Eddie Felson from The Hustler. A sympathy win or not, Newman underplays to a fantastic degree and conveys so much in body language and facial expression, even when you can't see his eyes behind rose-colored glasses. Newman's facial reactions when Vincent is trying to talk Julian into another game early on are priceless. One can see his amusement and the wheels in his mind turning.

This is one of Cruise's best performances as it plays up his natural qualities, namely being a smarmy dork who you know would be dangerous if he had a clue. Then at the end when he gets one, Cruise turns that twinkle in his eye and grin on his face to something almost scary. Cruise and Newman have nice chemistry between one another. Every film has a turning point and that chemistry really helps to set off the one here, which occurs where Eddie and Vincent are playing each other in the run down pool hall. The dialogue and direction are pitch perfect, but it's how Newman and Cruise deliver their lines and play off of each other that clues one into the fact that the film is about ready to take a shift. Eddie is starting to get the old feeling for the game back, while Vincent's natural cockiness and mean streak starts to creep through.

The cinematography is smooth as silk with a real snap and flow to it. Early in the film there's a shot of Vincent breaking a rack that zooms in slightly that has a seamless jump cut to a zoom on Eddie. It's timed so tightly with the sound and motion of the break that the two shots have such a flow into each other. That's just masterful workmanship. The film is constantly dark and smoky, but never dank and so black you can't see the backgrounds. There are lesser directors who have no idea how to light just right to get that clarity of visual while still obtaining the right mood. A lot of critics at the time thought that Martin Scorsese's direction was a little flat, but I think it works well and is one of his most understated efforts. He knows he has a strong script and actors and lets them stand alone while doing the little technical things that allows both elements to shine.

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Which Actor Plays Two Roles In Transformers 2? (Sadly, It's Not Megan)

2009-03-29T02:21:00.000-07:00

A ton of new Transformers 2 spoilers may fill you with dread. But luckily, there's also an awesome Fringe scoop. Plus Lost/Heroes clips, and the best upcoming Smallville moments. And a Doctor Who tidbit. Spoilervana!

Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen:

Are you ready for a double dose of John Turturro in the new movie? Not only is he back as the angry Agent Simmons, but he also voices a new Transformer, a robot that's old and broken down, and who loses screws and bolts at every move. (Fans speculate this is going to be Jetfire.) The movie starts out at Gyzeh, Egypt, long ago, before the pyramids were built, and ends up in the same place, in the present day, with a huge Autobot-Decepticon fight. And in between, we'll learn how the pyramids were built.

Also, Michael Bay says he wanted to include two "stupid Transformers," Skids and Mudflap, who are always bickering. But they do something heroic at the start of the movie. And Bumblebee has become more serious, and doesn't want to leave Sam's parents' garage. [TLAMB]

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Transformers Throws Wrench Into Kendra's Wedding Plans

2009-03-28T02:23:00.000-07:00

Getty Images

We know in Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen, that Decepticons forces return to Earth to kick humanity's butt.

But will the movie also wreak havoc on Hank Baskett and Kendra Wilkinson's wedding?

This is the question Celebuzz has been fretting about since speaking to Transformer-maniac Baskett about his June 27 nuptials.

One little detail he hadn't thought of when choosing that blissful wedding weekend—it's opening weekend for his beloved franchise. Transformer week coincides with Kendra wedding week.

"We were talking and I noticed Transformers 2 comes out before our wedding," Baskett laments. " I was like, 'Oh jeez, do we have to choose the rehearsal dinner on that night. I have to go see Transformers.'"

"I'm one of the biggest Transformer fans there is. Kendra hates it. But I have the shirts, I have every toy. When I was a kid I said, "Man if I ever get rich I am going to buy every Transformer there is.'"

Not surprisingly, this discussion had a predictably sad ending.

"I guess I'll have to wait until after our honeymoon to see Transformers," Baskett laments.

Oh Optimus Prime, help us!

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John Turturo Voicing Jetfire in TRANSFORMERS REVENGE OF THE FALLEN

2009-03-27T02:20:00.000-07:00

TRANSFORMERS REVENGE OF THE FALLEN is coming and I personally cannot wait!! Yes I love the giant f***ing robots damnit!

Via a translated REVENGE OF THE FALLEN article in the French magazine "Première Ciné Live," Michael Bay's forums Shoot For The Edit had some info posted about co-star John Turtoro, our favorite Agent Simmons, voicing the Decepticon turned Autobot Jetfire - well I assume it's Jetfire.

The article reads (this is translated remember, the grammar isn't perfect) -

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 Turturo 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 vehicules 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 Turturo, 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 forbidded it.

Turturo will try to run from an imaginary Decepticon.

Michael Bay says: “I had the idea of these two stupid Transformers, Skids ans 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 Turturo voicing him.”

The description we have of Jetfire for the sequel is as follows - It has been confirmed that Jetfire will be appearing in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen as an Autobot. He will continue to be an SR-71 Blackbird and will be able to combine with Optimus Prime. Jetfire is portrayed as an aged Decepticon who becomes an Autobot due to his wounds and old age. He is seen with a cane of sorts (which is formed by his vehicle mode's landing gear) in the film's teaser trailer, whilst being attacked by Scorponok.

So John Turturo is voicing Jetfire I would have to assume right? Awesome.

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Dial H for History: The Avengers Switcheroo: What Does It All Mean?

2009-03-26T02:19:00.000-07:00

So as you might have seen yesterday, Marvel announced a shuffling of its Avengers film lineup, which has been scheduled to put geeks on life support from 2010 to 2011.

For those needing a score card, the original Marvel schedule:

IRON MAN 2 - May 7, 2010
THOR - July 16, 2010
THE FIRST AVENGER: CAPTAIN AMERICA - May 6, 2011
THE AVENGERS - July 15, 2011

And now, the revised schedule as it currently stands…

IRON MAN 2 - May 7, 2010
SPIDER-MAN 4 - May 6, 2011
THOR - June 17, 2011
THE FIRST AVENGER: CAPTAIN AMERICA - July 22, 2011
THE AVENGERS - May 4, 2012

Now you might be asking — what does that all mean? Well, I’m glad you asked, Gentle Reader! I think a major part of all this is the fact that one of Marvel Studios’ flagship franchises is not like the others: Spider-Man. While the Avengers flicks are all nestled in with Marvel Studios and Paramount, lonely Spider-Man (as always) is an outsider, as Sony will let the rights for the seminal superheroic cash cow revert only after hell freezes over.

For those of you who don’t remember, superhero movies have also seemed to dominate the summer schedules (see Lionsgate’s Christmas time Hail Mary with the Spirit if you don’t believe me). The original Spider-Man came out May 3, 2002, and Spider-Man 3 hit theaters almost five years to the day after the first film came out, on May 4, 2007. Iron Man staked out that same weekend turf a year later on May 2, 2008, utterly destroying its only competitor, Made of Honor. (Sorry about that, McDreamy.)

Well, here’s the problem. With Marvel and Paramount calling the shots for all the movies, the initial schedule seemed fine. But Sony has a little bit of leverage to mess with things: (A) Spider-Man is the biggest superhero film franchise of all time, with the trilogy totaling nearly $2.5 billion in sales worldwide, (B) the three pillars of the franchise — Sam Raimi, Tobey Maguire, and Kirsten Dunst — have been notoriously finicky about doing a fourth film (especially after the disappointingly-reviewed third film), and both Sony and Marvel doesn’t want to screw around with a winning formula.

So with Spider-Man now shoehorned into the schedule, Captain America has been — wait for it — put on ice until July 22, 2011. Curiouser and curiouser — isn’t Captain America a shoe-in for a July 4th opening?

There’s a reason for that, as well. His name is Harry Potter.

Now, would you rather get completely flat-tired by a movie that comes right after you, or would you like a chance to do the flat-tiring? The original schedule placed Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part Two and Avengers on the same weekend, and this reshuffling certainly had something to do with this. I think Marvel knows that out of all its films, Captain America is the biggest gamble: by operating as a World War II-era prequel, this has few of the familiar hallmarks of a superhero film, and currently doesn’t have big names like Kenneth Branaugh attached.

Indeed, the fact that this movie is meant to be a prequel to a bigger film already shows that out of all the Avengers slate, this is the most expendable. Of course, the further you push back these summer blockbuster films, the less and less likely you’re going to strike gold — so in this case, I think Marvel is making an effort to take the bull by the horns by putting Captain America one week after Harry Potter, but still saving its nest egg for a clearer, franchise-free season. (That said, it could also get murdered the same way that Speed Racer did, coming one week after Iron Man.)

There’s another misconception here, as well — the 4th of July weekend. As I mentioned earlier, most superhero movies have actually taken the early May slot as opposed to the 4th. That said, genre films have had the largest draws when they do come out: Spider-Man 2 still holds the highest 4th of July grosses in history, and Will Smith vehicles like Independence Day and Hancock did quite well for themselves. (Terminator 2 even came out on a 4th of July weekend.) While it’s unclear what will come out that weekend, it’s obvious the studios are circling around something. Whether it’s a Transformers or Pirates of the Caribbean-style franchise remains to be seen. (UPDATE: 3/17/09: Yep, I called it. Paramount just announced that the third Transformers movie is coming out on July 4th weekend 2011.)

Something else to consider, though, is the Iron Man-Dark Knight Effect. What does that mean? Iron Man was a comparatively lighter, more simplistic kind of blockbuster. It came into theaters about two months before the Dark Knight, which gave it a good eight or so weeks to clean up before getting siphoned by the Dark Knight hype. There is a strong chance that Thor — which, based on Marvel’s comments, seems to be the Next Big Thing for the Marvel movie machine — will do the same, being an underdog to Harry Potter’s obvious commercial appeal. (That said, look at split films like the Matrix or Pirates of the Caribbean — the third films were panned after audience momentum plummeted with a crummy first act.) I think in this case, Marvel is trying to use Spider-Man to alley-oop with Thor before Harry Potter comes out, and then to have Captain America make a token effort to stop the beast before it gets too strong.

(Wow, fantasy novel analogies mixed with sports. I confess, I am a geek!)

So the real questions still remain: is Marvel trying to shoehorn in too much into one summer? Will the time they allot to each of these films give them a chance to shine, or will each film get run over by the one following it? Will Harry Potter pull a rabbit out of his hat and destroy his numerous genre foes? We’ll have to wait and see.

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Autobot Tattoo for Megan Fox? (Updated)

2009-03-25T02:32:00.000-07:00

It appears that Megan Fox may be sporting a new tattoo, the Autobot logo, if the cover image from the next issue of Empire Magazine is to be believed. The image (left) is one of the best I have seen of her in a while with the topless look and hair extensions. She is no stranger to tattoos as the poem on her ribs and especially the Marilyn Monroe tattoo on her lower right arm which probably caused the Transformers 2 costume and make-up departments more than a few headaches in covering consistently for Bay's action sequences.

Despite Fox's love of tattoos I doubt this is the real deal. I think it’s either a Photoshop or a temp tattoo. Part of the reason is because she just doesn't strike me as a Transfan. For her it is just a job and you don't get tattoos of a job. She loves the comic series Fathom so would believe a tattoo from that more. Besides, the tattoo is too small and in too standard a location. She likes tattoos you can't miss and feel compelled to ask about and she would probably throw a new tat on the inner thigh, top of her foot or some other unusual location that you normally don't find them. At least it makes for a nice change of pace from toy pictures. Hopefully the actual interview, assuming it has Transformers 2 content, will be made available online soon.

Update: To probably the surprise of no one, the tattoo is faked. As Seibertron.com found out, the picture is modified from an old issue of Rolling Stones Japan. I was hoping it was at least new as recent pictures of Fox have no been as good as the older ones, not sure why. Best guess is she has lot too much weight (yeah too much of anything is never good). Sigh, we need some real Transformers news so sexy but pointless crap like this isn't even worth posting about. Thanks to Selective Realism for the link.

Megan Fox On The New Empire Cover

2009-03-25T02:30:00.001-07:00

With Wolverine, Star Trek & more

The new issue of Empire is poised to hit shelves, and it's a doozy. Our cover star is Transformers 2's aptly-named Megan Fox, leading the collection of the hottest upcoming stars in Hollywood today. But that's not all in this month's issue.

We have an exclusive look at Coraline, the ace new stop-motion animation from Nightmare Before Christmas director Henry Selick and genius author Neil Gaiman. We've been hanging out around CERN in Geneva with Angels & Demons, slashing through the bull to bring you the future of the superhero movie with Wolverine, and talking to JJ Abrams about a certain S. Trek movie.

Click cover to enlarge

Add in Charlie Kaufman, Sam Raimi, Tron past and present and a feature on William Castle, and you've got a jam-packed issue.

The new Empire is on sale Thursday 26. Click here for your exclusive sneak preview of what's inside the issue.

Helen O'Hara

John Turturro Plays Two In Transformers 2

2009-03-25T02:18:00.001-07:00

Agent Simmons, the dumbest character of Transformers and possibly one of the worst film characters ever is brought back as a main character in the sequel, Revenge of the Fallen. He of course is played by John Turturro.

They must really love Mr. Turturro because now it’s being reported that he is playing a second character in Transformers 2 - Or should I say voicing.

A user on the official Michael Bay forums read some interesting information from the French movie magazine Première Ciné Live and was kind enough to translate it for us. In it, we have some potential plot spoilers from some set reports as well as a hint of Turturro voicing the character, Jetfire.

Jetfire (also called Skyfire in the original Transformers cartoon) is a flyer with the Autobots. It was not always that way, as Jetfire has history with Starscream and was part of the Decepticons for a stint before switching over to the good guys. In the film, Jetfire takes the vehicular form of an SR-71 Blackbird. Coming full circle, it was rumored late last year that in the film Agent Simmons users some sort of radiation tracker to locate the Blackbird at some point in the film.

I paraphrased the loosely-translated quote so it actually makes some sense (as well as corrected an enormous amount of typos) [Spoiler Alert]:

Set: Egypt, in front of Kheops Pyramid, stands an ancient 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 follow 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 vehicules 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 Turturo, back as the always-angry Agent Simmons has a scene involving him climbing up a few stones running from some Transformer (to be CGI-inserted in later). This hasn’t been done for 30 years as Egypt had forbidden filming on the pyramids as a result of too many accidents.

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 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.

I’m already worried about this movie with how he describes the two new Autobot twins. When we got our first look at the twins from Transformers 2, I described them as looking stupid with their disproportionate faces and now we know that’s exactly what they are. What a great decision to include these characters over of any of the unused original lineup from the cartoon…

So, what do you think of John Turturro’s characters?

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TRANSFORMERS ROTF: Two Voice Actors & Transformers Revealed - PLUS Plot SPOILERS

2009-03-25T02:15:00.000-07:00

Original Megatron Frank Welker will voice one Transformers villain...

Frank Welker, the man who voiced Megatron in the original animated series, as you know was not chosen for the 2007 movie adaptation of Megatron in favor of Hugo Weaving. His co-star Peter Cullen however was, thankfully, recruited for Optimus Prime.

Michael Bay has recently revealed that he wants Frank Welker to voice a villain in the sequel Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen.
Bay said that he will pursue Welker for the role of Soundwave.

Soundwave was a Decepticon who shape-shifted into a cassette player in the original cartoon. In Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen he will become a satellite.
Bay also has admitted that Megatron will be back for the sequel, for those of you that did not know already.

The article can be found at: http://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a149293/welker-to-voice-transformers-2-villain.html?imdb

This second bit is about the other character. This was found on screenrant.com
it is more rumor than confirmed, but the reasoning is pretty solid.

John Turturro, who of course played agent Simmons of Sector 7 in the first film, has been found to be voicing a Transformer as well as reprising the Simmons role in the sequel.

A user on the official Michael Bay forums read something interesting from the French movie magazine Première Ciné Live and translated it for the forum. It revealed potential plot spoiler as well as who Turturro may be voicing, Jetfire.
Jetfire better known as Skyfire in the original Transformers cartoon is a flying Autobot. Jetfire in the film is disguised as a SR-71 Blackbird.

In the original cartoon Skyfire was a Decepticon who was a close friend of Starscream. He and Starscream came to Earth On a mission to explore prehistoric Earth, Skyfire was lost in a storm. Starscream searched, but there was no sign of his comrade, and assumed he was destroyed. He returned home.
Millions of years later, after the Autobots and Decepticons had begun their war on Earth, the Decepticons found Skyfire, encased in a block of Arctic ice, ala Captain America, and revived him. Skyfire joined them due to his friendship with Starscream, though he disliked their methods. When Skyfire's compassion led him to disobey Megatron, Starscream turned on his friend. Skyfire then left the Decepticons and joined the Autobots.

This is a paraphrased version of the quote from screenrant.com
Spoilers!

This is not in my own words, I’m just reposting it.

In Egypt- In front of Kheops Pyramid, stands an ancient 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 follow 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.”

The article goes on to report that Michael Bay says “There is also an old Transformer, who loses screws and bolts at every move and it’s John Turturro voicing him.”

He also goes on to say that two Autobots Skids and Mudflap, are basically the comic relief of the movie. And Bumblebee has become a bit more serious in the second film as well.
Well that’s it. You can check out the rest of the article here at http://screenrant.com/john-turturro-plays-transformers-2-rob-6112/

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What You Didn’t Notice in the New Transformers 2 Trailer

2009-02-28T01:25:00.000-08:00

Things go by so fast in the new Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen movie trailer, that you’re likely to miss some things. Here are a couple cool things we noticed while going frame by frame. For instance,did you see the motorcycle-transforming Transformers? How about The Fallen? Or Jetfire? And what was that bug thing? All this and more after the jump.

Remember the scene where a Decepticon burst through a building and down an alley with Autobots in pursuit? Did you notice that the Autobots were actually Transformers with Motorcycle alt modes?

That’s right, Arcee. Here is a concept drawing of the Transformers that was created but never used for the first film. Looks like they finally figured out how to bring Arcee to life on the big screen.

Or how about the red O&K/Terex RH400 Hydraulic Mining Excavator that transforms into the Decepticon known as either Scavenger or Demolisher.

This is just one of the six Constructicons that combine together to form the massive Devastator. You see him in a later clip destroying helicopters at the Asian power plant (this is the film’s opening sequence).

And that’s also him, destroying some Asian highway before Optimus shows up and jumps on the Constructicons neck.

And what exactly is that fly-sized Decepticon bug that Sam pulls apart? Is it an Inseticon?

And in the desert sequence, that is Scorponok…

…who is attacking Jetfire.

And last but not least, we get to see the main villain. The title character from the film - The Fallen appear in the desert out of thin air after a collection of lightning hits the ground.

You might reccognize his mug from the film’s official teaser poster.

Did you see anything else cool that we might have missed? Discuss it in the comments!

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Transformers 2 Teaser Trailer: Now In Higher Quality!

2009-02-28T01:17:00.000-08:00

The first version of this Transformers 2 trailer had the illegally-shot-in-a-movie-theater quality, but now we have the official Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen teaser trailer in all its Decepticon-loving glory.

We also have Sunshine Cleaners for $15. That's a good deal. You'd pay the same in the movie theater but this way you can do it from the comfort of your own home and miss the pivotal scene when the cameraman runs to the can. It's no big deal. Alan Arkin kills a dude and the crew has to cover it up. Simple.

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Transformers 2 Trailer Now Online

2009-02-27T01:34:00.000-08:00

The Fallen is about to take his revenge
Source: Yahoo! Movies

The first teaser trailer for Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen – which had previously only been available to US cinemagoers over the weekend who, in the ultimate good news/bad news joke, had to pay to see Friday The 13th to access it – is now online. And when Michael Bay said that this one was bigger than the original, he wasn’t kidding – this thing looks massive.

Watch the new Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen teaser trailer.

After all, it starts with a series of meteors – presumably bearing the Decepticons, including Soundwave, the cat-like Ravage and the Constructicons – falling to earth, just as Optimus Prime and his pals did in the original film. But this time, their arrival seems a little more focused, as they smash into a fleet of US aircraft carriers. The war has begun?

The trailer is a teaser – the movie’s not out until June – so there’s no real story details to get our teeth into (and anyone who says that there might not be any story detail to get our teeth into… stow that attitude!). Instead, we get a series of jaw-dropping images as the Decepticons wreak havoc on Earth. Buildings, including the Pyramids, will get trashed. The Constructicons will form Devastator, a robot so large that it makes Optimus Prime look like Jimmy Krankie. But there's still no sign of The Fallen himself, a robot so evil it will make Megatron look like... well, Ian Krankie.

And, as all sequels seem to be contractually obligated to be, Revenge Of The Fallen appears to be darker, with the stakes seemingly raised for Shia LaBeouf’s Sam Witwicky, his dad (Kevin Dunn), Megan Fox’s Mikaela, and of course Optimus Prime, who gets seven shades of shit knocked out of him at one point.

But enough of our blathering – see for yourself. Of course, fans of the original will love it. Bay-haters won’t find anything to change their minds here. But, based on the visuals and the promise of mindboggling Bayhem, we have to say that this looks like summer’s biggest movie, hands down.

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Transformers 2 trailer goes online…

2009-02-27T01:33:00.000-08:00

Here is a link to a nicer version.

The money shots are almost identical to the Super Bowl spot, so there isn’t much new to add. The trailer is almost entirely composed of said money shots, without a trace of narrative or storyline (I didn’t notice any music and there are only two brief dialogue scenes). It certainly looks scarier, darker, and much more intense than the campy original (allegedly what Michael Bay is aiming for). This also seems to be more of a ‘how would the world react if this really happened’ movie, which will automatically be superior to the contained and introverted original story. I kind of like the idea of a horror film involving murderous giant robots. Anyway, even if I hate the movie as much as I hated the original, it’ll still likely be worth taking in one viewing in IMAX for the sheer scale of this thing.

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"Transformers 2": The Movie That Should Be Awesome

2009-02-26T01:24:00.000-08:00

If you haven't seen the trailer for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen yet then you have missed an amazing thing. The movie trailer is packed with some great shots and leaves you wanting more: explosions, giant robots and Megan Fox—so why shouldn't it be good? We shall soon see, but in the meantime, here is an official trailer for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

As you can see, if they're blowing up an aircraft carrier then it has to be awesome. We can all only hope and wait to see where they decide to go with this movie. At least we get to see Megan Fox running.... Ahhh, isn't that just worth the $8.00?

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Percy Carey: Watchmen vs. Transformers 2

2009-02-26T01:11:00.000-08:00

[Each Wednesday, Complex columnist Percy Carey a.k.a. MF Grimm dives into the world of comic books with industry interviews, reviews and more.]

Who will be crowned 2009’s #1 movie?

The Watchmen has been in the public spotlight for so long due to disagreements and legal battles that it should be renamed Kramer Vs. Kramer 2. The most important question is, Will it satisfy the devoted fans of the graphic novel created by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons? It had better, because loyal fans of the Watchmen are really crazy! (It’s true) Watchmen fans are even crazier than hip-hop fans in violence (such as when a rap show is wack, or the Source Awards). The only thing more violent is an unsatisfied Star Wars nerd (They will kill you), so if the Watchmen movie sucks, the loyal Army of Alan Moore will rip every last theater to shreds and there won’t be a place on earth where director Zack Snyder will be able to hide (not even Doctor Manhattan will be able to save your ass, Zack)…

One element Watchmen has over Transformers 2 so far is a killer theme song, and seeing as the soundtrack for Transformers 2 is in the hands of that #2 agency (I can’t remember the name of it), they’ll probably fuck it up (I hope not). Look, you guys know the story about the graphic novel. The Watchmen, right? If not, then go buy the book—I’m not going to sit here and type it out for you (go to your local comic book store or Barnes & Noble and stop being such a cheap ass…it’s a great read).

I think it’s bold to make a 160 minute film (but I’m also a guy who created an 60 song triple CD, so who am I to talk huh?). And I’m not sure how true this is, but I was informed that Alan Moore refused to allow his his name to be used in connection with the Watchmen movie, and has given his share of his the money made from the film to his graphic novel partner Dave Gibbons (if this is true then Alan Moore is either : (a) The best friend in the whole wide world. (b) Out of his motherfucking mind, or (c) both choices of a and b combined. To play it safe, I’m going to go with choice (c). Anyway, how do you guys think it will match against Transformers 2: The Revenge of The Fallen?

I was just informed that Transformers 2, instead of being released on Friday June 26, 2009, it will be released on Wednesday June 24, 2009 (two day head start). I love the original Transformers animated series and animated movie, so I was very biased going in to see the live action movie. But I was amazed and pleased looking at Megan Fox (excuse me, I meant the special effects), but I must say Shia LeBeouf held his own as Sam Witwicky and since then he’s become one of my favorite actors and a good friend of mine (Shia’s father and I are going to create a rap album together. And yes, he can really flow). The bottom line is that Transformers 1 was a great movie (I don’t have time to sit here and and type it out go to Netflix or Blockbuster and rent it, stop being such a cheap ass). Transformer 2 seems on point, but when the meteors land near the pyramids, I wonder if you were thinking what I was thinking? I’m happy to hear Jetfire is in Transformers 2, but will he be enough to stop the Fallen? We’re about to find out how sweet revenge really is. How do you guys think it will do against The Watchmen? Holla atcha boy

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Video: GM shows off Autobot lineup from Transformers 2

2009-02-25T05:06:00.000-08:00

General Motors has released a new video showcasing the vehicles that will star as the Autobots in the upcoming sequel to last year’s Transformers movie. The new movie will be called Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and it is set to open across the U.S. on June 26.

The latest teaser clip shows a total of different Chevrolet vehicles as well as the Optimus Prime truck and a smaller GMC Topkick pickup.

The Chevrolet Autobots featured in the clip include the recently revealed Corvette Stingray concept (Sideswipe), Chevrolet Beat (Skids), Chevrolet Trax (Mudflap), Chevrolet Volt (Jolt), and the upcoming Chevrolet Camaro (Bumblebee). Optimus Prime, incidentally, is the Peterbilt 379 full-size truck, while the GMC Topkick seen in a few shots is the character Ironside.

Click here to see a previous trailer of the movie that was shown on Super Bowl Sunday.

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Marvel extends royalty deal with Hasbro

2009-02-25T01:23:00.000-08:00

(Reuters) - Media company Marvel Entertainment Inc said Hasbro Inc will retain toy-licensing rights for its characters until 2017 in an deal that guarantees Marvel $100 million in royalties and gives it the potential to earn up to an additional $140 million.

The deal will allow Hasbro, the No. 2 U.S. toymaker, to continue to make toys and games based on new Marvel and Sony Corp-owned Columbia Pictures theatrical releases, as well as Marvel's portfolio of superhero characters, which includes Spider-Man, Iron Man and X-Men.

Marvel has licensed theatrical rights of Spider-Man, its most popular character, to Sony.

The additional $140 million in royalty guarantees is contingent upon the release during the extension period of Marvel character-based films that satisfy certain criteria.

Marvel's current agreement with Hasbro runs through 2011.

This year, Hasbro plans to launch products based on the May release of "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," a movie from News Corp's 20th Century Fox that is based on Marvel characters.

In 2009, it will also sell toys based on the "G.I. Joe - The Rise of the Cobra" and "Transformers - Revenge of the Fallen" movies.

The agreement will be a plus for Hasbro, which has an edge over larger rival Mattel Inc in the market for movie-related toys.

While Marvel has no self-produced films scheduled for 2009, it has two films, including a sequel to its successful "Iron Man," slated for 2010.

Marvel shares closed at $25.31 Friday on the New York Stock Exchange. Hasbro closed at $23.80.

(Reporting by S. John Tilak in Bangalore, Aarthi Sivaraman in New York; Editing by Vinu Pilakkott)

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The Film Feed: Episode 02 - Revenge of George Lucas

2009-02-24T01:22:00.000-08:00

Last week we officially launched The Film Feed, the new official podcast of FS.net, and the guys are back again today for the second episode, so tune in now! In this episode of The Film Feed, hosts Will, Clark, and Sean discuss the merits of a Stretch Armstrong movie, the ultimate baddie from Transformers 2, and whether or not the world needs another Superman movie. They also dissect this week's trailers, including Angels and Demons, The People vs. George Lucas, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, and Inglourious Basterds. They then wrap it up with a review of this month's choice remake - Friday the 13th. Enjoy!

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Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen

2009-02-24T01:07:00.000-08:00

The robots in disguise return for a second dose of mechanical carnage this summer in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Set for release on the day marking the 25th anniversary of Transformers, director Michael Bay and executive producer Steven Spielberg team up again following the massive global success of Transformers in 2007. They reignited interest in the much-loved franchise once confined to 2-D animation by pumping $150 million into a live action spectacular featuring eye-popping CGI. A box office haul of more than $700 million worldwide later means the robots in disguise will be back in June in an even more action packed cinematic event.

Bay has attempted to be tight-lipped over plot details for Transfomers: Revenge of the Fallen, but details are slowly coming out with the release of the first trailers and a comic book series in the States. “The Fallen” of the title refers to both Megatron being taken out of action in the first movie as well as a new Decepticon character called The Fallen featured in the initial trailers battling with Optimus Prime. Megatron is said to make a re-appearance after being awakened by Scorponok’s spark, most likely transforming into a tank in reference to his upgraded Galvatron form most famously seen in the 1986 animated movie. These two main villains will be joined by Starscream who returns to Cybertron to assume command of the Decepticons and lead a force to capture Sam Witwicky (LaBeouf) who has learnt secrets of the origins of the Transformers on Earth. Huge battles and use of the Egyptian pyramids suggests there will be an air of mystery in this sequel.

Action is promised from the start, unlike the slow burning first hour of Transformers, giving helmer Bay the chance to let his flamboyant direction run wild. The a Cloverfield-esque trailers show scenes of destruction as the Decepticons attack Earth while the humans shout a lot and look bewildered by all the robotic mayhem going on around them. The cast of Transformers returns, including Shia Labeouf, Megan Fox and Matthew Marsden, however there are numerous Transformers making a debut appearance in this live action version building on the select few seen in 2007. One fan favourite given a big screen makeover is Soundwave, here re-imagined as a satellite rather than his traditional tape recorder. The Constructicons will also be making an appearance as seven robots join to form a giant robot, although original Constructicons Bonecrusher and Devastator who featured in the first movie will not be part of the group. Jazz will also return in a new form along with others including Bumblebee, Ironhide, Sideswipe, Scorponok, Barricade and Sideways to make up about 40 transformers in the whole movie.

Fans of the original cartoon will be relived to hear that the original score will be introduced after being left out in 2007 to many complaints from the audience and many scenes have been shot in IMAX format to provide maximum impact from the explosive action scenes. A lot is riding on Revenge of the Fallen as it is expected the Autobots will be pushed into a dire situation ahead of an expected third movie to complete a trilogy and perhaps feature Unicron. An exciting prospect which Bay seems intent to oversee himself – he decided against making a movie before this one in case someone else took over - and, by the look of the trailers so far, he is set on delivering effects-laden epics.

UK Cinema Release Date: Friday, 26 June 2009

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New 'Transformers 2' Trailer Hits the Internet and Theaters to a Lot of Buzz

2009-02-23T01:19:00.000-08:00

With a New Movie Trailer, 'Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen' Creates Even More Excitement for Fans

Transformers 2 just released its first full length trailer to the internet and theaters, and it is creating a lot of buzz for the movie. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is the follow-up to the Transformers movie from 2007 that re-introduced the changeable robots to a new generation
New 'Transformers 2' Trailer Hits the Internet and Theaters to a Lot of Buzz
of fans. With a lot of action, and a film that was very well suited to sell more toys, Transformers brought in a ton of money, and proved to be quite a success for Michael Bay and Executive Producer Steven Spielberg. Now Part 2 is about to take theaters by storm this summer.

The Super Bowl was the first real glimpse of the new film, where the creators gave a 30-second look into many of the action sequences that will take place in the film. It also revealed quite a few new Transformers that will make their way into the new movie, and probably re-write a lot of the ways that the characters were looked upon back in the cartoon. It looks to be a much more violent film than the first one, and it also seems that they are going for an almost "scary" element rather than a slap-stick version of violent robot fighting. This could entice a new group of film-goers, but at the same time may scare a few away as well.

The newest trailer for Transformers 2 is a 2 minute 17 second look at the film, which doesn't exactly present a whole lot of new material that will blow away fans, but pieces together the quick snippets that had been used for the 30-second Super Bowl advertisement. It gives a few more looks at new bad-guys (Decepticons), but very few insights into what this movie is actually about, or where they plan on taking the storylines. The trailer for the Transformers 2 film is located at the bottom of this article if you are interested in taking a look for yourself.

‘Watchmen’ & ‘Wolverine’ Spoilers, ‘Iron Man 2’ & ‘Scott Pilgrim’ Casting News: It’s The Back-Issue Bin!

2009-02-23T01:05:00.000-08:00

There’s a “Watchmen“-savvy grand finale this week, as Saturday’s special episode of “Spoilers” (airing on MTV at 8 PM EST) will debut new footage, interviews and behind-the-scenes peeks at Zack Snyder’s much-anticipated, live-action adaptation, as well as first looks at “Star Trek,” “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” “Land of the Lost” and “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.” But that’s not how we started the week, is it?

- While much of the US was taking a Presidents Day break, we were getting our geek on and bringing you Toy Fair 2009 news from Manhattan — and if you look closely, you might even find a few movie spoilers among the toys we showed you, too!

- We counted down the hours until “Spoilers” by giving you a peek at the must-see Q&A with the “Watchmen” director, and behind-the-scenes commentary from MTV News’ Tim Kash (who embarked on a quest to find The Comedian’s pin) and Kim Stolz (who did everything she could to avoid Dr. Manhattan’s skyscraper).

- We even connected with one of the online world’s geek elite, Wil Wheaton, who gave us his impressions of “Watchmen,” while My Chemical Romance told us their “Watchmen”nstory.

- It was a particularly busy week for video, with two “Watchmen” TV spots and five new “Watchmen” clips, a trio of new “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” trailers, and an exclusive clip from the “Wonder Woman” animated feature.

- But “Watchmen” wasn’t all we were talking about this week, as the last few days were filled with “Iron Man 2″ casting troubles and our first peek at the cast of “Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World”.

It was a busy one, but it only gets better this weekend! Be sure to tune in Saturday at 8 PM for MTV’s “Spoilers” (and check back here on Splash Page after the show airs for all sorts of exclusive content) — you’ll be glad you did!

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Transformers 2: Bumblebee II Camaro Gets A Close-Up

2009-02-22T05:05:00.000-08:00

Cleaning out our memory cards this morning, we realized we hadn't run anything on the rest of the Chevy Autobots unveiled in Chicago. Hooray for me, right? Without further ado, here's the Bumblebee "II" Camaro.

Although we already showed you how Chevy put together the big Bumblebee statue, we wanted to get a chance to satisfy my robogasmic desires (destroying some of our commentariat's hopes to never see another word written about this movie) with a few shots of the new-and-slightly-more-Mad-Max-ish Bumblebee II Camaro from Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen. Sure, we've already given you the new "Sideswipe" Stingray Corvette Concept, but no love's yet been given to one of our most valued commenters. So, voila, below are our shots of this yellow bowtied Camaro-Transformers tie-in love.

Below that, we've also re-run the "How To Build Bumblebee" shots. In case you missed them.

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Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen trailer

2009-02-22T01:08:00.000-08:00

When we're not reporting on the latest political issue or interviewing a famous film or music star, here at Seven we like to put up our feet and watch the coolest new films out there. Along with the new Terminator Salvation film starring the fantastic Christian Bale, one of the movies we're most looking forward to in 2009 is the new Transformers movie, Revenge of the Fallen. In our opinion, Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox starring in a Michael Bay directed movie that is executive produced by Steven Spielberg, and also features some really cool cars that turn into robots = amazing film.

Check out the trailer for Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen below.

Weekend concerts and movie trailers

2009-02-22T01:04:00.000-08:00

If you're wondering what to do this weekend, head on over to The Red Room in Kennewick this Saturday.

Mwanza, Brazen Layver and Run From Cover will be performing, beginning at 8 p.m. and you'll be sorry you missed it.

All three bands embody a new sound that the metal/rock-filled Tri-Cities should eagerly welcome. Nothing is wrong with heavy metal, punk or rock, but nothing is wrong with switching things up, either.

Each band has a full sound that is concert-quality. If you want to be blown away for under $10, The Red Room is the place to be.

The event will also be Run From Cover's EP release. Their album is $6 at the show and definitely worth picking up, otherwise it drops for $8.

If you're not feeling their sound, head on over to The Parkade for Front Toward Enemy, the Oregon metal band that has more ambiance than one would think. The group packs an intensity that is needed to fill a Kennewick bar at 9:30 p.m., but diversify their sound so that you're not stuffed in a bar with metal heads alike.

If you miss Front Toward Enemy, they'll be back April 3, so don't cry yourself to sleep just yet.

In case you missed the trailers, a preview for Transformers 2 is out now and you can catch the HD version on YouTube.

Along with the slapstick, in-your-face, gratuitous nudity type of movies that end up being more funny than you thought they'd be, such as Grandma's Boy and Beerfest, are Fired Up! and Miss March. I must admit, Miss March did get me to chuckle, especially during the fire truck scene. But I'll probably wait for it to come out on Comedy Central...

And whatever you do, don't look up the Dragonball trailer... it'll just make you more depressed than you already are about the uber-popular anime...

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Transformers 2 - Revenge of the Fallen, full version trailer!

2009-02-18T05:00:00.000-08:00

The first teaser video of the soon-to-be-released Transformers 2 - Revenge of the Fallen flick was released in conjunction with the super bowl last month, however the video was a rather short one which only lasted for 31 seconds. Thanks to YouTube, you can now watch the full version of the trailer (2 minutes and 15 seconds), apart from another video released by GM showcasing some of the cars used in the sequel. The action-packed trailer was recorded with a hand-cam, so expect an average video quality. Anyway, please continue reading to watch the trailer, enjoy!

Full-Length Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen Trailer Is Here!

2009-02-15T04:58:00.000-08:00

The full-length trailer for Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen has just popped up on YouTube which is currently attached to prints of Friday the 13th. Check it out below!

Optimus Prime and the rest of the Autobots return for the live action follow up to Michael Bay's 2007 blockbuster Transformers, nationwide on June 24.

Transformers 2: Product Placements (Not) In Disguise

2009-02-15T04:57:00.000-08:00

GM will be well-represented in the upcoming Transformers sequel, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Four new bowtie-badged concepts have found their way onto the big screen, including "Sideswipe," an Autobot who is a dead ringer for the Corvette Stingray concept shown above.

The major product placements are a coup for GM, who is hoping to repeat its success with product placement in the first film. That movie starred a 2010 Camaro as Bumblebee, and GM's already sold 20,000 of those -- though we fear the GMC TopKick may suffer the same fate as Ironhide. The other concepts in the new film are the Chevy Volt, Trax, and Beat -- the last of which is very similar to the preproduction Chevy Spark. Viewers need not worry, as all the cars are on the right side of the great Autobot-Decepticon battle.

Chevy North America VP Ed Peper and GM Global Design VP Ed Welburn highlighted the concepts at the Chicago Auto Show during a ~~live movie trailer~~ press conference Wednesday. Best news of all for the recently bailed-out company? "It didn't cost us a thing," according to Peper.

According to sources from GM and the Transformers production team, the collaboration was borne from mutual admiration. The Detroit News reports that the Stingray had it's Schwab's Drug Store moment when director Michael Bay spotted the provocative concept in a GM design studio and begged the General to let the 'Vette come to Hollywood.

A last-minute addition to the film was "Jolt," a blue Chevy Volt that skirted the original audition process when GM pulled some strings. "We put him in before production started, during the mad dash to get a shooting draft ready," screenwriter Roberto Orci told Transformer World 2005. "But we always knew we WANTED to put him in from early on when we saw the design and realized it was a truly unique car."

The Beat and Trax are the automotive equivalent of Alec and Stephen Baldwin, starring as Skids and Mudflap, respectively. The hot hatches debuted together in 2007 along with the Chevy Groove which, like Daniel Baldwin, is mysteriously absent from the film.

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TRANSFORMERS REVENGE OF THE FALLEN Teaser Poster - UPDATE It's Official and Michael Bay Comments!

2009-01-28T06:29:00.000-08:00

A poster has appeared on eBay with what is being tauted as "Transformers 2 Movie Poster Advance." Is it an official poster or fan art? We shall see, check it out below!

Click on the image to see the actual eBay auction.

TRANSFORMERS REVENGE OF THE FALLEN opens in theaters June 26!

Here's a bit of the item description from the auction -

"Welcome to the auction of a absolutely guaranteed original rolled mint condition or at least near mint condition American 2009 advance 1 sided one sheet size 27 by 40 inch movie poster for TRANSFORMERS : REVENGE OF THE FALLEN . The film stars Megan Fox, Shia LaBeouf, Josh Duhamel, Rainn Wilson and John Turturro. ADDED FOR NO ADDITIONAL MINIMUM BID IS BOTH THE PROTECT AND DESTROY ADVANCE STYLE MINI SHEETS FROM THE FIRST TRANSFORMERS MOVIE RELEASED IN 2007."

UPDATE!! It's official! Yahoo! Movies just released the poster as an exclusive - posted below plus Director Michael Bay had a few comments,

Okay it's time to turn up the heat on Transformers - Revenge of the Fallen. We've waited low in the weeds letting all the summer movies get their stuff out. We've seen the great year end movies, and watched the upcoming clips of the upcoming summer fare. We've seen certain movies coming out even try to duplicate Transformer size robots in their ads. Please, come on.

Well, I promise you we will rock your world with Transformers 2. The fans wanted ROBOTS KICKING ASS - well we got it. Today we are releasing the teaser poster and soon the onslaught will continue with a steady drum beat until June 26th.

I'll keep you informed.

Bay
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Revenge of the Fallen Movie Prequel: Alliance #2 Comic Cover

2009-01-27T06:27:00.000-08:00

Chris Mowry (w) • Alex Milne (a) • Milne, Josh Nizzi (c) The official prequel to next summer’s TRANSFORMERS movie continues! The AUTOBOTS and humans team-up for an important mission. When their guard is let down, STARSCREAM returns to settle a score with the DECEPTICON known as WRECKAGE. The ramifications of their battle not only spell the end of Sector Seven, but possibly the life of an AUTOBOT as well. Unknown to the parties on Earth, a mysterious DECEPTICON makes his appearance, and leads the way for a new invasion of our planet!

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Transformers: Revenge of the CANDY!

2009-01-26T06:26:00.000-08:00

Paramount and or Hasbro are already gearing for the Merchandising mania. If the first movie was any indicator, we should be seeing lots of new stuff to come our way this second time around. Like this deal with M&M Mars for Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen CANDY!

Thanks to JayPee of the 606studios.com forms, who works in buying and wholesaling and ran across the Transformers Promo and posted images for us to see.

The images show licensed packaging for Transofmers: Revenge of the Fallen M&Ms candies and a Snickers candy bar.

The M&M's are "Strawberried Peanut Butter" flavor. The M&M Twins are shown having their usual good time with various robot parts stuck all over them. According to the package, there this is "7 OF 7." We may be seeing 6 other package variants as well.

The Snickers bar, labeled "Nougabot Bar," said to be a regular Snickers with nougat is yellow. Mmmmmmm, yellow.

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More Than Meets the Eye: The Fallen Revealed in Transformers 2 Poster?

2009-01-25T06:20:00.000-08:00

Paramount has served the web a nice high-res version of the Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen teaser poster for us to scrutinize now that Yahoo's 24-hour exclusivity window has shut.

At first I didn't see anything really "new" in the larger version save for more details and mechanical parts. I was going to publish it as a high-res version update and nothing more.

Then I stopped by The Transformers Live Action Movie Blog, one of my favorite resources for Transformers movie news, and noticed they have posted an "enhanced" version revealing the entire head of this mysterious new Transformer character.

Giddy with geek-ticipation, I threw Paramount's version into Photoshop and started tinkering with brightness and contrast. It took less than 15 seconds to remove the black fade and reveal the head. When that happened a theory came to light.

My first reaction to the poster's initial unveiling was this character is The Fallen. He's framed above the tagline "Revenge is Coming" and the name of the movie is "Revenge of The Fallen." Then I thought otherwise and jumped on the Jetfire bandwagon figuring why would Bay and company reveal a mystery character in the first teaser poster?

Now that I've had a good look at the new enhanced high-res poster I'm convinced we are looking at The Fallen. Whether The Fallen and Jetfire are one in the same is inconsequential. This guy is The Fallen and here's the evidence I have to back up this geek driven claim.

Photo #1: (click to enlarge) is the enhanced high-res teaser poster. Each of the next images will refer to this image for comparison.

Photo #2: This is the Decepticon logo. It looks a lot like the head of this character, don't you think? That's the obvious comparison but there may be some relevancy that isn't coincidental.

Photo #3: This is King Tut's sarcophagus. Why include this image? I was intrigued by the horizontal "vents" on either side of the new character's face when first seeing the teaser poster. With the enhanced image above, we can see those vents or ribbing run from above his head right down to his torso. They also bulge around the shoulders and taper at the head... just like King Tut's sarcophagus.

Also take a look below the character's head. The neck/upper chest area is shaped and etched similar to King Tut's beard.

Photo #4: Next we have more from ancient Egypt: heiroglypics. Take a look at these, then look back at the teaser poster at the joint where the horizontal ribbing connects to the head. There are markings there that could easily pass for Egyptian heiroglypics or ancient Decepticon language. Maybe one influenced the other.

Photo #5: This is the cover for the Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Movie Prequel: Defiance #1 comic book that ties directly into the film. In what is considered a flashback sequence, Megatron is seen bowing before a shard of "something" with a face engraved into it. Take a close look at that face, then look back at the enhanced teaser poster above.

Photo #6: This the connecting the dots photo. The firs two parts are from The Transformers Live Action Movie Blog comparing the face on the shard to the background image on the toy packaging. I've added this character's face below each so you can compare for yourself.

Now lets connect these clues with some other known facts and see what we come up with.

Bay has stated Megatron is not returning in Transformers 2 which opens the door for The Fallen to rise as a new adversary
Megatron once worshiped The Fallen
The Fallen's head looks like a Decepticon symbol
A portion of Revenge of the Fallen is set in Egypt with filming taking place on and around the Pyramids
The new character's head resembles an ancient Egyptian sarcophagus
He has potential Egyptian/Decepticon markings on him
Sam carries knowledge of the Transformers' past and the Decepticons want him *alive* to retrieve this knowledge

Using these clues my theory goes like this: The Fallen character is in fact on the teaser poster. He is the genesis of the Decepticons, not Megatron, and has been buried on Earth for thousands of years under or around the Pyramids at Giza. The Fallen and possibly other Transformers had a hand in constructing the Pyramids as well as influencing Egyptians during their stay (echoes of Stargate).

The knowledge Sam carries is the history of the Decepticons and The Fallen and will lead Starscream, Soundwave and their minions to The Fallen's tomb. When The Fallen is awakened and seeks his "revenge" he may be more than Starscream and gang bargained for.

source

‘Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen’ Action Figure Images Leaked

2009-01-24T06:18:00.000-08:00

A whole slew of amazing hi-res photos of Ransack and Depthcharge (both in robot and vehicle modes) have just been posted over at the-arker.com. Click on the images below for direct links to these galleries!

ORIGINAL STORY

Amid the fervor and speculation surrounding the unveiling of the Transformers 2 movie poster, a few additional images have found their way online. Thanks to the efforts of the guys over at tformers.com, fans can now begin clearing shelf space to in preparation for Hasbro’s upcoming action figure line from the film. Unofficial images have surfaced of Sideswipe (in robot and vehicle mode), Depthcharge (robot mode) and Ransack (robot mode).

It appears that, following the first movie, these ‘bots are going through a bit of an update. Ransack is known to fans as first being an Insecticon and later a F4U Corsair. In the Revenge of the Fallen line, his robot mode appears to be a WWI-style biplane.

Depthcharge is a throwback to the ‘Beast Wars’ era and originally transformed into a robot manta ray. This time around, his vehicle mode appears to be a boat.

Throughout his history in Transformers, Sideswipe’s vehicle mode has always been that of a sports car. This is unchanged in Revenge of the Fallen, as he appears to be a concept Corvette.

You can find more unofficial images of these figures over at tformers.com!

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