I used to laugh at the
Star Wars geeks who were aggrieved because "
Han Shot First", and spent God knows amount of time bitching about George Lucas changing it in the
Special Edition. It was ridiculous that Lucas would change the scene where it made no goddamn sense, but compare that to the hours Star Wars nuts have spent going off about it.
People have been going off about the new Transformers Movie based on the original 80s cartoon, directed by Michael Bay & produced by Steven Spielberg. The first news about the movie that upset fans was that Bumblebee was going to be a Chevrolet Camaro instead of the Volkswagen Bug that he was in the cartoon. Then things got taken to whole other level when it was revealed that Optimus Prime was going to have "flames". Some comparing it to director Joel Schumacher putting nipples on Batman's batsuit.
Well new pics have brought about more bitching. Get ready to go very OT...
To me, the original Transformers cartoon & toys are such an integral part of my childhood. I remember my mother having an ice cold Coke ready for me after getting off the school bus, so I could sit in the floor & watch the show. I have so many memories of getting out of school on a friday & having my father waiting to take me to get a cheeseburger at McDonalds, and if I was really really lucky, he would have a Transformers toy as a present. I lost my father to stomach cancer when I was 10, but it's funny how those "little things" are what sticks with you.
From the reaction the news of this movie is getting, I'm not the only one who has a strong emotional reaction to all of this. Fans of the show got happy news when it was finally reported that Peter Cullen, the original voice of Optimus Prime will again be the voice for the movie. However, some of the changes to the characters have pissed off people to the point that you have adult males in their 20s & 30s writing comments like this...
...IM SO FUCKING ANGRY I WOKE UP FROM A GOOD DREAM BECAUSE IT WAS RUINED THINKING ABOUT THIS SHIT! This movie is NOT Transformers, and it NEVER WILL BE Transformers. No matter how much of Bay's signature blowing shit up they put in it, and how many times we see a car or tank or t1000 or arbitrarily placed mecha-scorpion turn into a giant robot, this is no longer the movie we were looking for. Even if they put the transforming noise in it (which they probably won't) it STILL won't be Transformers! In fact, I hope the DON'T put the transforming noise in the movie, because if they did that would be the biggest public FUCK YOU that the studio could give to fans... except for maybe fucking over the look of all the fans' favorite characters.... oh, wait.... they did that. THANK GOD the G.I. Joe movie that was in pre-production a couple years back just vanished.... i would hate to see THAT slice of my youth pissed away as well...
It was announced by screenwriters
Bob Orci and Alex Kurtzman on Friday which character would appear in the movie.
Soundwave will not be in the movie. No Dinobots. No Constructicons.
Here's pics of what the Transformer are going to look like in the movie, and then what they looked like in the cartoon for comparison...
Autobots
Optimus Prime
(Peterbilt semi-truck) *A long-nosed cab fashioned with red/black-flames artwork has been seen on set; discussion with Bay representatives seems to affirm this is indeed Optimus Prime's alternate form. On G4 channel's Attack of the Show, an interview with Lorenzo DiBonaventura confirmed that Optimus was scaled to be 32 feet in robot form, and definitely a semi in auto form. Orci described Optimus as like a noble king, similar to King Arthur.
Bumblebee
(Chevrolet Camaro, later reformated as 2009 Chevrolet Camaro) A beat-up Chevrolet Camaro as Bumblebee (the sighting of both an older-model Camaro and a Saleen-modified concept Camaro suggests that Bumblebee will get an upgrade at some point during the movie). Bumblebee is the underdog character and a scout for the Autobots, as well as the most connected to the humans.
Also...
-Ironhide (Black GMC Topkick pickup truck pictured above) Autobot Ironhide has apparently replaced the controversial choice of Arcee in the February 2006 draft of the script. He is believed to be a modified GMC Top Kick C4500 4WD Crew Cab. A picture of Ironhide in this alternate form has surfaced on the internet. Ironhide is described like a classic cowboy, always the first into battle, and has a strong friendship with Optimus.
-Jazz (Lamborghini Murcielago) Kurtzman described Jazz as a "rock-and-roll" type character and incredibly stylish.
-Ratchet (Green emergency vehicle based on the Humvee design pictured above) An emergency response vehicle, Ratchet was mentioned during pre-production by Murphy several times. His believed vehicle type has varied from ambulance (his original G1 type) to fire-rescue to search and rescue vehicle. Recent alleged photos of the actual vehicle appear to be an emergency vehicle built from the Humvee (AM General, who produced the original military Humvees, had many variants and this could be one of them or a custom-made truck for the movie). Ratchet's role is that of Autobot medic.
Decepticons
A Frozen Megatron?
(Rumoured to be an alien jet or a tank) Megatron will be presented personality wise as an exact opposite to Optimus. An explanation as to why he started the war will also be at hand...
...Michael Bay has confirmed that the movie starts out with a battle on Cybertron. It then moves to the Arctic Circle where a man accidentaly chips away a massive sheet of ice, then falls into the abyss. He then falls on a robotic hand that is half in- half out of ice. The man looks up and a face, appearing to be fixed into a scream, is seen in the ice. The man looks on the shoulder, on which the Decepticon emblem is seen.
Starscream
(F-22 Raptor) Starscream is described as always looking to best Megatron, and will be insulted at least once by him.
Scorponok
(Mechanical Scorpion) - A mechanical scorpion appropriately named Scorponok (first mentioned in an interview with director Michael Bay on Ain't It Cool News; a newspaper article in the Northwest Florida Daily News confirms a scene between the military and a large mechanical scorpion). Scorponok will be the closest to his Beast Wars incarnation, as well as an example of animal Transformers.
Blackout
(MH-53 Pave Low) - A Special Ops helicopter. Originally to be Soundwave after early CG cinematics were shown at San Diego Comic Con in 2005, but this was changed to become another character after Hasbro allegedly made it known that they wanted Soundwave to have a musical device mode. In early drafts of the script this character was named Grimlock, then according to Murphy was named Vortex (after the helicopter-mode Combaticon)). His name has now been confirmed as Blackout (a name used by a helicopter Decepticon in the recent Transformers: Energon toyline), and he can disable enemies with EMP-like blasts.
Barricade
(Saleen-modified Ford Mustang Police car) - Barricade is the Decepticon scout/hunter, hiding among the humans disguised as a symbol of authority. He does not appear to be based on any specific Generation 1 character, though there have been several Transformers characters bearing this name in the past.
Also...
-Bonecrusher (Buffalo (mine protected vehicle)) - Bonecrusher's name was confirmed early on when a photo of a military mine-clearing vehicle with the name tampographed onto it was leaked early on. Subservient to Megatron, he is described as being the closest to a Constructicon as they could get in the movie.
-Brawl (Tank) Although original reports suggested that this character would be named "Devastator," it was specifically cited that this was an example of a character whose name was not finalised. He is now confirmed to be named "Brawl," a suiting name as his tank mode resembles that of the original Combaticon Brawl down to having a triple-barreled tank turret. He is described by Kurtzman as being the "pissed off" Decepticon.
-Frenzy (Rumored to be a Boombox) - Originally scripted to be Soundwave, he was supposed to be a boombox that transformed into a human-sized robot; extreme fan backlash over the character has led to the character being renamed and Soundwave being held over until a sequel, where Murphy said "...we can get him right." The character was rumored to be renamed Soundbyte, but this has recently been dismissed by official sources. The character has now been renamed Frenzy as a homage the G1 character who was a minion of Soundwave. His role in the film is that of a spy among humans for the Decepticons.
Movie Trailers
Transformers
Casino Royale
The Grudge 2
Children Of Men
Ghost Rider
The Fountain