Transformer Films
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The first of the Transformer films was released in 2007. It was a live-action film, yet based on the toy line of Transformers. The film features Sam Witwicky, who was the teen who became involved in the deadly war between the “good guys”, the Autobots and the “bad guys”, the Decepticons. Both of these alien robot factions can disguise themselves through transforming into machines that we see every day.
The Decepticons were trying to gain control of the All Spark, which was the object responsible for the creation of their robot race. They wished to use All Spark to build their own army using machines on Earth.
The idea of the 2007 Transformer films production was introduced to the writers in a 2003 treatment. Aircraft and vehicles were loaned to the cast and crew by General Motors and the military of the United States. This helped the production team to save money in filming costs, and added a lot of reality to the movie’s battle scenes.
Hasbro was very into promoting the film, and they made deals with many companies. The blitz of advertising included comic book prequel releases, a viral marketing campaign, and product placements through eBay and General Motors.
The Transformers movie was a success at the box office, although critics had a mixed reaction to the redesigns made to the characters. Some reviewers also felt that the film focused too much on the humans, giving the robots less air time. The film grossed about 709 million dollars worldwide. It also was nominated for awards for best sound editing, best visual effects and best sound at the Academy Awards.
2009 marked the release of the action film Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. It was produced by Steven Spielberg
and directed by Michael Bay. This movie is a sequel to the Transformers movie of 2007, and the second in what is now a series. The plot again revolved around the human Sam Witwicky, who was caught in between the Autobots and the Decepticons’ ongoing war.
The Decepticons are hunting Sam, as ordered by The Fallen, their trapped leader, who wants to gain revenge against Earth. To do this, they need to find and activate a machine to provide an energon source for the Decepticons, which in the process would destroy all life on Earth.
The movie had deadlines that were endangered by possible upcoming strikes by the directors’ and the actors’ guilds, but they managed to wrap the filming in proper time. This was due in part to the script treatment and previsualization by the writers, Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci and Ehren Kruger.
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This film was also a box office success, but also had negative reviews by critics. In a time period of less than one month, this film surpassed the earnings of the first Transformers movie.
Transformers Dark of the Moon is the current working title for the next film in the Transformers live action series. It will also be produced by Spielberg and directed by Bay. The movie is slated for release in July 2011. The humans in the movie will be represented by the same actors as in the last two movies, with the exception of the actress who played Mikaela, who is reported to be unavailable.
Alternately, it has been stated by her agents that Bay decided not to use her role in this movie. Sam will get a new female interest in the third movie. Two of the three writers are not returning, but the third writer, who was new to the series last movie, will return for continuity.