Dreamworks Released By Paramount

Paramount Studios has released Steven Spielberg and his team from their contracts paving the way for Dreamworks to jump ship and form a new studio in a partnership with Reliance ADA Group. From LA Times:

Reliance will invest $550 million in equity for a 50% stake in DreamWorks and has been working with JPMorgan Chase & Co. to borrow an additional $700 million. The new studio is seeking total capitalization of $1.25 billion to satisfy a business plan to make as many as six pictures a year.

However, on Friday, after a DreamWorks lawyer told Paramount that DreamWorks had signed its equity partnership agreement with Reliance, the studio immediately released the DreamWorks principals from their contracts.

Paramount also gave permission to Spielberg to take "without delay" all of DreamWorks' approximately 150 employees. But it is not clear how many of them Spielberg and Snider actually want, nor is it clear whether Paramount intends to keep any of the DreamWorks staff.

Spielberg and Snider also have Paramount's blessing to bring along any of the production deals that they currently have at DreamWorks, which include arrangements with actor-director Ben Stiller; director Sam Mendes; husband-and-wife filmmakers Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald; writer-producers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman; partners Tom Pollock and director Ivan Reitman; and former Disney Studios executive Nina Jacobson.

Hanging in the balance are hundreds of DreamWorks movie projects that are owned by Paramount. Spielberg has earmarked about 40 projects in which he wants to stay involved as director and/or a producer.
Spielberg probably will continue to produce some movies for Paramount, including additional sequels to last year's hit "Transformers." The second film, "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," is currently in production and due out next summer.

DreamWorks' split from Paramount means that Spielberg essentially has to start a company from scratch the way that he, Geffen and Jeffrey Katzenberg did 14 years ago when they set out to create a media giant involved in movies, television, music and interactive games.

So there you go Steven Spielberg will remain executive producer of the Transformers franchise for the foreseeable future.

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Accident on Transformers 2 Set

TMZ is reporting that Transformers 2 set experienced an accident when a tech receieved second and third degree burns during special effect.

A special effects technician received second and third degree burns on his right hand and upper right thigh, while attempting to add fuel to a special effect fire.

We're told the tech grabbed the wrong container -- one containing gasoline instead of the diesel fuel -- and the on-set medics and ambulance responded, taking him to the hospital for treatment.

Sources tell us all stars from the movie were on set at the time of the accident.

Best wishes to the technician who is hopefully healing well. Thanks to Katie for the info.

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Taylor Glad Not In TF2

It looks like Rachael Taylor has taken the "I am an artist!" road when expressing her relief at not being asked back for Transformers 2, at least that is my read of the article posted on MTV.

As Maggie Madsen, the Aussie actress played a computer analyst who was just as much eye candy as she was tech-smart. And while that was a “great experience,” Taylor said, it’s “not quite what I want to do” and it would defeat the purpose of becoming a better actor “if I was just going to become a ‘Transformers’ girl.” (Is that like being a Bond girl, with less prestige?)

“There’s a line in ‘Bottle Shock,’ ” her current film in theaters, “how ‘from hardship comes enlightenment,’ ” Taylor said. “Bill Pullman is talking about wine — the grape has to struggle and the dirt has to be dry for the wine to be good — but that’s a lovely metaphor for all artists, actors, painters, candlestick makers. There needs to be struggle, conflict and evolution.”

To transform herself, she said, she needs to do roles that aren’t quite as easy for her as “Transformers” was (in which she retained her native accent). ” ‘Transformers’ was important and defining for me because it taught me about what kinds of movies I want to make and the kind of actor I want to be, and I have a long way to go before I become that actor,” she said.

Which means no more blockbusters for a while. “It’s in independent film where I’m closer to becoming that actor,” she said. “So I’m going to stick to that world for a while. I have to earn my stripes. I don’t believe in winning the sprint. I would prefer to win the marathon. So I dodged a bullet there. Or a robot.”

As long as there is plenty of Transformer action, not particularly concerned with who plays the hot blonde role (currently Isabel Lucas). I will miss the hot Australian accent. Kind of a bit thankless though as I seriously doubt she would have the opportunities she has now if not for Transformers. It’s not a talent thing (I am sure she has plenty), it is an "I saw you in such and such and thought you would be great for this" thing that drives much of Hollywood casting. Often one role opens the door to the next one. Something that Rachael would be very wise to remember.

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Beijing 2008 Transformers Like Commercial

TFormers.com found the below commercial from Stadium Astro for the Beijing 2008 Olympics that clearly seems inspired from Transformers complete with complicated mechanical transformations and noises. The alt modes almost seem Cybertronian to me.


Update: Here is another Stadium Astro ad found by Iceburn from March 2007 that pre-dates any publically seen Transformers footage.

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Transformers 2 Set For IMAX

ComingSoon.net is reporting that Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen will return to the IMAX next summer. However, unlike the first film which experienced a near two month delay before showing up on the IMAX, this time Transformers 2 will be released on the same day as the film released conventional theaters on June 26th, 2009. I just need to remember to reserve those tickets way in advance for those probable midnight showings. Thanks to Chris for the heads-up.

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Transformers Stays With Paramount

According to Bloomberg, Steven Spielberg is edging ever closer to a deal with Reliance Entertainment to take his toys and leave Paramount. However, even with the new deal some of his toys will have to remain behind including the Transformers franchise.

"Movies that Spielberg already is developing at Viacom will remain at Paramount under pre-negotiated terms that compensate the director for each project, the person said."

I don't know if this means if a Transformers 3 is produced that keeps Spielberg on as executive producer or not but for Transformers 2 nothing changes.

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Megatron A Tank?

Chud.com is reporting that sources are telling them that Megatron does return in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. However, he doesn't come back in his Cybertronian jet mode but as a tank and he joins the Autobots in stopping the The Fallen.

Last week MTV essentially reran a story we ran months ago, but with different sources: yes, the villain in Transformers 2 is The Fallen, the Satan equivalent Transformer from the recent comic books. Now I'm coming at you with new TF2 news: Megatron is coming back.

OK, I don't think there's a soul out there who will be surprised when Megatron returns in Transformers 2*. If the current incarnation of the script follows the beats of a previous incarnation (which did not feature The Fallen), Megatron may be getting brought back by the Autobots, who need him to conquer the new menace. But I've learned that this time he won't be that weird alien jet. This time he's a tank.

Megatron apparently was a tank in the Transformers Generation 2 comic or toys or something (I don't know, I just looked it up on Wikipedia and I still don't get it), so this has some precedent. I imagine this is as close as we'll get to seeing him be a gun, since the movies appear to eschew the sort of size shifting antics that the comics and cartoons embraced.

As pointed out above, thanks to the general dislike over gun toys, Megatron has had multiple different alt modes over the years, including a car mode. The most common though remains the tank mode thanks to the big cannon which allows a little nod to his G1 incarnation.

Despite the precedent though, I have my doubts that this is a true. I don't know it just doesn't ring right. Seems like a lot of bother to try and set up Megatron as a huge bad guy and then soften him up for a sequel when there are much better things to be done with him. However, since we know nothing of the story any theory is valid and this is just another to add to the pile.

The above artwork is from Prowler974.
(source)

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Shia's Injuries Added to TF2 Story

Michael Bay sat down with an interview with Access Hollywood in support of Shia LaBeouf. He says that Shia had drunk earlier that day but during the accident was not drunk and it looks like the hand injury will be incorporated into the movie.

“You’re gonna see — that’s gonna go away,” Bay said. “That’s fresh news… He was not drunk. He was drinking hours and hours before.”
Shortly before 2:30 AM, another driver ran a red light, according to authorities who confirmed LaBeouf is now not being investigated for causing the crash.

“I spoke to him yesterday in the hospital,” Bay said. “His two fingers are pretty mashed, but we’re figuring out a way to shoot around it, kind of write it in the story.”

“We had a little heart to heart the week before when he bought a brand new motorcycle and I [said] ‘Dude! You cannot ride that motorcycle! If you crash, you put 1,500 people out of work,’” the director recounted. “He said, ‘Ok, I won’t ride it, I won’t ride it, I’ll just drive my truck.’”

“The kid really has his head together and you know, he’s only 22,” Bay said. “He’s doing a great job on this movie. He’s really matured since the last one and I love working with him.”

I hope Shia has a speedy and good recover. I especially hope he has good pain killers (but avoids getting addicted to them) as he is about to feel every little bump that occurs anywhere near that hand for the next several months. You don't realize how many times in a day you get bumped by people and things on a daily basis until you start feeling every single one.

One month probably isn't enough to recover to the point that Shia can actively participate in action scenes and stunts. Considering that probably Shia's most action intensive scenes have yet to be shot, Bay and his team have a lot of logistical reworking to do. Bay likes to have his actors in as many stunts that is safe for them, but in this case his options are pretty limited as it wouldn't take much to re-damage Shia's hand even a month later. I guess time will tell on how this plays out. Thanks to April for the link.

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Shia Injury Effects TF2 Schedule

Varity has confirmed that Shia LaBeouf's hand injury and month break to recover has effected the shooting schedule for Transformer: Revenge of the Fallen.

A DreamWorks insider said there was no work stoppage on "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" -- a follow-up to last year's global box office hit -- but added that rescheduling has proven to be a logistical headache. Scenes featuring co-star Josh Duhamel had to be moved to this week to work around LaBeouf's absence. Another person familiar with the situation said, "Everyone had to adjust their schedule."

Despite DreamWorks' insistence that shooting was not halted, another source close to the project said at least two days of filming were lost on the big-budget tentpole.

The film's director, Michael Bay, declined comment.

I guess Varity doesn't read Bay's forums or they would know he did comment on the accident. I bet he was livid by the two day delay though. Whether you like him or not, Bay does rightfully take pride in getting his work done on time and on schedule and Shia accidentally disrupted that. Two days probably represents about a million if not more in expenses. This probably explains why it appears that San Pedro is the site of sets that look similar to Bethlehem as those type of scenes would involve Josh, Tyrese and new cast member Matthew Marsden but not Shia and Megan. Thanks to Chris for the link.

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Bay Comments on Shia's Accident

Michael Bay has posted on his forums about Shia LaBeouf's accident. While Shia was driving drunk, the accident was the result of the other driver running the red light which led to injuries including one on his left hand that required surgery and will sideline the actor for the next month.

Transformers - Revenge of the Fallen :

The car crash with Shia is unexpected, but we are still filming. The movie has not shut down - there is plenty to do without Shia. The shooting is also going great - I'm having a blast making this movie! Shia will be back soon and we wish all wish him a fast recovery.

Michael Bay

I guess that means that the schedule did have to be altered to accommodate Shia's injuries. I wonder what changes where made and did any of them include stunt or slight story adjustments. I am a big fan of "Sh@# happens" but hopefully Shia will not invite greater frequency of that by driving drunk again. Thanks to Rich for the link.

The hilarious picture above is courtesy of Jester of the Motormaster, Tumbler, Trailbreaker, and Jetfire creations.

Update: It seems that despite all the teasing for Shia's drunk driving, he was behaved responsibily after the accident despite being hurt:
According to Access Hollywood, witness Brian Perrulli reports "Shia was tending to the other people in the car, signing over information, like insurance and stuff and basically, I overheard the guy tell him, ‘You should just get out of here and go,’ and Shia said, ‘Nah man. I gotta deal with this. My license plate, it’s my car. I don’t wanna go, I gotta deal with this.’” Brian claims he heard the man from the other vehicle, who has not yet been identified, say he would cover for Shia. “The guy Shia hit told him, ‘You should get outta here,’ and ‘I never saw you.’ He said, ‘I never saw you,’ and Shia said, ‘No, man, I gotta stay here and deal with this. It’s my problem”. The Brian guy went on to say Shia did not seem intoxicated, “He looked more disoriented and shocked more than drunk. I wouldn’t have thought he was drunk."

Hopefully this will be the last bit of news on the accident unless new info comes out about its impact on Transformers 2 production.

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Spielberg Potential Move to India

The Herald Tribune wrote an article on Spielberg's probably hop in bed with Indian company Reliance ADA Group. They wondered how money rich Hollywood or New York couldn't have simply worked out something especially since he continues to prove his ability to make money with the current box office take of $743 million for Indiana Jones 4.

One possible reason is the 20% cut he gets for his movies from the gross. That means he gets paid before expenses (cost of the movie, advertising, etc) is removed to determine profit. He must be highly motivated to want Transformers 2 out on time, probably even more then Bay is.

That expense combined with the cost of the talent, never mind the movies themselves and suddenly his projects are not as valuable to the bottom line focused studios and public companies that can not justify the expense of a Spielberg deal to their shareholders.

Another concern is DVD sales are dropping (only 3.2 percent though) which is making potential Spielberg investors think that long term return will not be as high. It use (and really still is) the case where even if a movie tanks at the box office, DVD sales can still make a film profitable. Also since Spielberg likes a mix of blockbuster (money printing machines) and prestige films (that bring in Academy Awards, but tend to lose money) makes his per movie hit profit hit rate not worth it.

As for why Spielberg may be looking overseas - control. American investors will demand a say in what films are made, better return on their money, how they are advertised and so forth. Reliance is not as likely to make demands, basically they will allow Spielberg to conduct and make movies as Spielberg has been doing over the last three decades.

A deal hasn't been signed so final determination on what, if anything, will happen with the Transformers franchise is unknown. Thanks to Charl_Huntress for the link.

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Transformers Influence in Knight Rider?

AICN posted a promo video of the new Knight Rider series that was show at the San Diego Comic-Com panel. A little less then a minute into the promo Kitt does a Transformer like transformation from a truck to car, with mechanical folds and the like. No robot mode but it’s nice to see the Transformers influence spread. The promo suggests a more kinetic series then the TV movie. I was going to check it out just because Deanna Russo is hot but the series might actually be entertaining too.

Nope, still no TF movie news from SDCC. Hopefully something will pop-up tomorrow.

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Top Movie Villians

Yahoo! Movies has compiled its list of top movie villains to commiserate the release of The Dark Knight (fantastic movie). Transformers baddie Megatron made the list at #4 despite his mostly cameo appearance and showing up just long enough to kill Jazz and then die.

A robot that shrinks down into a handgun that other robots have to hold to shoot? Not exactly a threat to the planet. So it's no surprise that the leader of the Decepticons was given a new "alien jet" vehicle mode for the movie. Not that he needed to turn into something to wreak havoc; he tears poor Jazz in half with his bare hands.

You can read the details here. Thanks to Chris for the link.

The list in order:
1. The Joker - The Dark Knight
2. Darth Vader - Empire Strikes Back
3. Lord Voldemort - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
4. Megatron - Transformers
5. Davy Jones - Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
6. Agent Smith - The Matrix Reloaded
7. Dr. Octopus - Spider-Man 2
8. The Wicked Witch of the West - The Wizard of Oz
9. General Zod - Superman II
10. Magneto - X-Men: The Last Stand
11. Khan Noonien Singh - Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
12. T-1000 - Terminator 2
13. The Queen - Snow White and the Seven Dwarves
14. The One Ring - The Lord of the Rings
15. Syndrome - The Incredibles
16. Satan - South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut

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Paramount Drops Financing Deal

In the news to me category, it turns out that Paramount Pictures had a $450 million, 30 movie film deal with Deutsche Bank. That deal included Transformers 2, GI Joe and Star Trek. Apparently Paramount has changed its mind "The deal terms had evolved to a point where they were unattractive when compared to alternative sources of financing available to Paramount," said spokeswoman Patricia Rockenwagner. The termination of the deal doesn't affect current movies in production, just future ones in the works.

I am guessing they know they got mega hits on their hands and the money they are going to give back to the bank versus what they could have kept without the financing deal was pretty darn big. Usually financing deals are to help soften the blow if a picture fails. Thanks to Chris for the link.

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Transformers, Spielberg Leaving Paramount?

The rumors continue to mount that Steven Spielberg and his DreamWorks partners plan to jump ship and start a new independent studio (like DreamWorks use to be) with the help of Indian conglomerate Reliance. If a deal is signed, the goal is to make 30 films over five years.

Currently a distribution deal exists with Paramount through the end of the year but after that Spielberg and company (David Geffen, Stacey Snider, etc) can leave and take the "DreamWorks" name with them. He can then form the new company with the existing name or start a whole new brand. It is expected that a deal will be made by the end of the summer.

What impact will this have on Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen coming out next year? At most, the impact you will see will be what title card might show up at the beginning of the film and no anything else. Paramount shared the cost of Transformers 1 with DreamWorks, more then likely they are doing the same with Transformers 2. Between that ownership stake and the Spielberg leaving rumors over the last couple of years, there are probably contracts in place that protect Paramount. Besides, budgets have been allotted, plans have been made and to de-rail them now would not financially be worth it for anyone. Since Michael Bay probably has Final Cut stipulation in his contract, studio interference is a non-issue anyway since he can take or ignore their wishes as he sees fit.

As for future sequels, its all comes down to who owns the movie rights to the films. Are they owned by Hasbro and lent to DreamWorks/Paramount or are the rights completely or partially owned by one of the movie studios since Transformers was a co-production between DreamWorks and Paramount. It’s even possible that while Spielberg will be able to take the DreamWorks name with him, he will not able to take some of his toys with him such as DreamWorks existing library and current deals (which might include Transformers). If that is the case then Paramount would essentially become sole owner of the franchise, with the control that brings since the protection of Spielberg as executive producer would likely end. Don't under estimate how much studio interference the involvement of Spielberg and Bay in the franchise probably prevented (for good or bad depends on your point of view).

It is also possible that ownership would transfer to the new studio. I am not sure if that is a good thing or not as the cost of a third Transformers film would be beyond the budget of a fledging studio (even with Spielberg at the helm) resulting in a need to share the costs. Other then likely delaying the work on a third film by a few years, the result of that relationship could be a boom or a bust depending on the people (and money) involved.

The absolute worse case scenario is lawsuits where movie rights ownership has to get decided in a court of law. That could bog down the franchise for years. Hopefully whatever Spielberg decides the contracts involving Transformers protects its future. Thanks to Chris for the link.

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Fake Transformers 2 Synopsis on IMDB

IMDB.com has up a fake synopsis for Transformers 2 that basically touts the return of Megatron seeking revenge. According to Defamer.com this synopsis is from XXX: State of the Union director Lee Tamahori as a pitch to Paramount. Pic below also from Defamer, as IMDB will probably be modified at a later date and worth saving the current description for posterity.

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Mark Ryan Hints At Transformers II Prequel

Mark Ryan, the voice of Bumblebee in Transformers, had an interview with sknr.net talking about working on Transformers and also hinted at a DVD special feature, "I recently recorded more material for the DVD release of the film. It has to do with the Prequel that will set up the second film."

Main parts of the interview:

GVK: How did you get involved with “Transformers”?
MR: I have done 10 years in theater, some have said I have had a varied career, and I look at it as a shotgun blast of creativity. I got a call, it was all very secret and I was not even sure what I was reading for. I was not to learn the lines given to me, simply come in and read them. Since I did not know the project, you have to come in with your take and hope your personality and talent are right for the job. I actually read 5 characters doing the same scene at different times.

GVK: What sort of prep work did you do once you had landed the part?
MR: I did not see the television show when it aired in the U.K. as I was doing a lot of acting at the time so I came into it very fresh. I went online, did research, and talked to friends and fans of the show to get a take on the characters.

GVK: You were the onset voice for the characters during filming, what was that like and was it difficult acting against virtual elements?
MR: It was a lot of fun; I fed lines to Shia who was acting against giant poles with lights on them. Shia is very funny and spontaneous, and is actually very good at what he does as Michael would explain the scenes to us, and we had to imagine that the poles were gigantic robots, and make sure to really allow the characters to come through.

GVK: During the studio process of recording the voices, was Michael Bay present?
MR: He was there every day; often he was the only person there. It was the most fun I had, as during post production, Michael would shoo people from the studio so we could get the lines down. Michael likes to have fun and he has a very cheeky, child like humor to him. He would say a line and then ask me to say it like he just did, only to make it funny.

GVK: Did you see a complete script while filming or did you just have your lines?
MR: The script on set changed a lot. One day I noted some new lines in, and thought that it would change the plot in a dramatic way. Michael was very guarded on the
project as they had a computer hacked and someone got a copy of the script as well as some of the graphics for the film.

GVK: Since you did all the voices on set, how did you end up being Bumblebee?
MR: I got a call saying I was doing the Bumblebee character, and I said I do not believe I have done the lines for that. Since I had recorded many voices and lines in studio, they played me back a recording and sure enough, it was me doing the lines that came to be Bumblebee. When I had read them, they were not assigned as lines to Bumblebee, and since I had not read that he had his speech restored in the
script, it was a pleasant surprise.

GVK: Did you get to work with Stephen Spielberg at all?
MR: No, I would have liked to, but I think Stephen is a very smart director. When I was doing King Arthur, I saw Jerry (Bruckheimer) twice. Stephen is very wise in that he has hired a good Director and lets him do the job that he was hired to do, without interfering with his work. Michael was very good and really did very well with the film.

GVK: What were your thoughts about Bumblebee being a Camaro over a Volkswagen?
MR: Having not seen the original show when it first ran, I did not have an emotional connection to him being a Volkswagen. When I saw the Camaro shot though, I said “that isn’t Herbie that is one sexy beast”.

GVK: You also do all the voices in the video game, what was that like and did you use lines from the film or all new lines?
MR: I had a lot of fun with Iron Hide, and some of the other odd voices. We had a mix of lines as well, old and new.

GVK: Final question, have you heard anything about a sequel or been asked to be a part of future films?
MR:(Chuckles), funny you should say that so I will tell you what I can. I recently recorded more material for the DVD release of the film. It has to do with the Prequel that will set up the second film.

(source)

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Transformers 2 Already Greenlit?

According to reports on various websites, the sequel has already been greenlit. Which seems a bit early without a script. Nor any clue on sales. Chances are, based not only on all the reviews and anecdotal evidence, this is going to be a grandslam sales wise. Usually studios wait until the first weekend to approve these things.

I hope its true but so far the "proof" has just been "I think I saw on ET that the sequel has been greenlit!!!". No indication of who said it to who in the program. It could have just been speculation. Hopefully the Michael Bay blog or one of the producers will pop up online and confirm or deny the news. Even better would be YouTube footage.

The box office sales will ultimately make the final decision but with the so-so reviews of Die Hard 4 and Harry Potter until a week later, Transformers is about to have 10 or so days of box office ownage. With previous confirmations of the cast locked for sequels and scripts being discussed, a sequel is pretty much a foregone conclusion.

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