Film School Rejects » Big Fucking Robots

Michael Bay Says ‘Haters Beware,’ Promises More Robots

Dr. Cole Abaius — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 15:31:41 +0000

Just yesterday, a friend of mine was looking through the DVD and Blu-ray collection here at FSR Headquarters and asked if we had the original animated Transformers movie. It made me think, “They made a Transformers movie?” Then it dawned on me that they made a live-action one, too, and that they’re making a sequel to it. Funny how things sort of sneak up on you.

So I did some research, and apparently Transformers 2 comes out THIS SUMMER.

After that not-altogether-unpleasant surprise, I stumbled upon Michael Bay’s own forum where the filmmaker harangues fans and foes alike, and his latest post is from their premiere in Japan where the film is just barely, barely still unfinished.

But Bay did make some promises about the flick, namely that there would be 42 robots total, and that they’d look even better than the first film. The money quote, here:

It has been a long hard road, but really fun one to travel. What you will notice that is strikingly different than Transformers 1, is the level of animation detail. The robot characters (42 in all), you really can feel empathy for them. What is also very different is the sheer scale of the movie. We have been very tight holding back much of the best imagery in commercials and trailers.”

Judging by his earlier misinformation campaign, and the very new prospect of studios covering their asses after putting so much material in trailers, this could be just blown smoke, but that probably doesn’t detract from the fact that there’s 42 big fucking robots in the movie.

Bay also touted the innovation of creating a 4k animation for IMAX’s 70mm film. Apparently, Optimus Prime will appear to-scale, standing tall on a 50 foot screen. That’s right, fans who were already wetting themselves, Optimus Prime will be his actual size in front of you in the theater, towering over you like a false idol tempting you to bow down and worship. And most of you probably will. Although that means Devastator will still be around 1/30th scale.

Bay finished up the post with the best sign off of all time – “Haters beware.”

I’ll consider myself bewaring.

What do you think?

Geek Out: ‘Transformers 2′ Devastator Revealed

Dr. Cole Abaius — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 03:25:15 +0000

Feel free to geek out. I’ll wait.

I realize that my disdain for all things Michael Bay has spilled over into that poorly scripted, badly acted, but CHOCK FULL OF EXPLOSIONS blockbuster featuring giant fucking robots. So feel free to mock me for not falling out of my chair with excitement that a toy has been revealed.

So the giant mass chasing Optimus Prime at the end of the most recent trailer is just part of the beast that is The Devastator.

But…I’m honestly underwhelmed. Not just because I’m not a total fanboy for Transformers, but because the robot looks a little bit like the end result of an episode of Pimp My Power Ranger.

What do you think?

Is This Megatron Concept Art from ‘Revenge of the Fallen’?

Dr. Cole Abaius — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 22:29:08 +0000

We got a news tip from a faithful reader who directed us to the website of artist Josh Nizzi – an artist who just so happens to be working as Senior Illustrator for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

Which is what makes this find (which you can click on to largify) so exciting:

My best guess is that it’s Megatron because of what appears to be a Fusion Cannon Right Arm, but I’m not the in-house expert on Transformers, so I could be wrong.

It may or may not be concept art for the film. It seems likely that it’s another example of Nizzi’s comic book cover art, especially since it’s done in a very similar style (including the placement of his signature).

But even if it’s not concept art for the film, it’s a very, very cool look at what a main member of the art crew is capable of when working within the film’s universe. And his main website is definitely worth perusing for a bit if you dig this particular style of artwork. The guy’s got serious talent.

Update: I got this email from Josh Nizzi himself that reads partially:

That’s a cover I did for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: Defiance #4 comic. I was surprised that they released it as is – they blacked out a large part of the cover for issue 3 when they showed it and didn’t show issue 2 at all.

I finished working on the film back in the fall and I’m doing 12 covers for the movie related comics.

So it’s definitely not official concept art for the film, but still totally cool.

Experience Bayos: Video from the Set of Transformers 2

Neil Miller — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 17:22:27 +0000

Almost like clockwork, Paramount and Dreamworks are doing everything in their power to not let us forget about the production of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Sure, it doesn’t hit theaters until June 26, 2009, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t dedicate ample page space to it every day for the rest of 2008. Today’s update comes via an exclusive set of videos on Wal-Mart.com. The videos were included as part of a special promotion with the special edition Transformers DVDs that were sold, the ones that included Bumblebee and Optimus Prime heads. Those who bought the DVD can head over to Wal-Mart’s website and enter in the code AllSpark62609 and gain access to a new video every single week.

But, as that seems like a lot of trouble, we have received the videos directly in order to share them with all of you. The first video isn’t from the sequel, but a cool little feature put together by the folks over at Industrial Light and Magic, a.k.a the guys who get to have all the real fun creating the actual robots. Have a look for yourself:

[See post to watch Flash video]

And now, the first official video from the set of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. It features shots from the first day of shooting, as well as Michael Bay explaining his new footware to the crew:

[See post to watch Flash video]

This Transformer Would Have Cost a Billion Dollars a Minute

Neil Miller — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 14:45:00 +0000

It is quite possible that you have already seen the image above, which was released by conceptual artist Tim Flattery on his personal website last week, but it is worth us mentioning anyway. Why? Because we are huge Transformers fans, that’s why.

As well, we here at Film School Rejects feel that it is important to always look back at what could have been, leaving us free to second-guess every single film that comes out… Alright, that isn’t true — we just think this image is really damn cool. And as much as we wished that Michael Bay would have included the Transformer above, which appears to be some sort of aircraft carrier. I don’t care what its name is, or whether it is a good guy or a bad guy — it’s badass. To see it and 14 other great concepts that didn’t quite make it into the 2007 blockbuster, head over to Tim Flattery’s website.

For coverage of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, just click right here.

Film School Rejects » Big Fucking Robots

Michael Bay Says ‘Haters Beware,’ Promises More Robots

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Geek Out: ‘Transformers 2′ Devastator Revealed

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Is This Megatron Concept Art from ‘Revenge of the Fallen’?

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Experience Bayos: Video from the Set of Transformers 2

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This Transformer Would Have Cost a Billion Dollars a Minute

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