RSS 2.0 - News feed for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Autobots roll out on DVD & Blu-ray October 20th!

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 00:00:00 PDT

By Shannon Nystedt
movieset.com

The battle for Earth continues in this action-packed blockbuster from director Michael Bay and executive producer Steven Spielberg. When college-bound Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) learns the truth about the ancient origins of the Transformers robots, he must accept his destiny and join Optimus Prime and Bumblebee in their epic battle against the Decepticons, who have returned stronger than ever with a plan to destroy our world.
If you didn’t get a chance to watch Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen when it was in theaters, now’s your chance to watch it in the comfort of your own home on October 20th when the film is released on both DVD & Blu-ray.

Check the details out here.

Transformers sequel sets Wednesday opening record with $60m

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 00:00:00 PDT

By John Hazelton

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen grossed $60.6m on its first day of North American release, according to a preliminary estimate from Paramount, making it the biggest Wednesday opener ever.

The Paramount-DreamWorks sci-fi action sequel started screening just after the stroke of midnight on Wednesday (June 24), and the first day figure includes $16m for its late-night showings. Over the course of the day the film played in 4,234 theatres.

The $60.6m gross beats the current record for an opening Wednesday, the $44.2m earned by Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in July 2007. And if confirmed it will rank as the second biggest opening day overall, after the $67.2m achieved last July by The Dark Knight (which opened on a Friday) but just ahead of the $59.8m taken by Spider-Man 3 (also on a Friday) in May 2007.

The powerful start puts the sequel, again directed by Michael Bay and starring Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox, on course to achieve the biggest five-day North American opening starting on a Wednesday. The current record-holder is Spider-Man 2, with $152.4m. (The biggest five-day opening starting on any day is the $203.8m scored by The Dark Knight.)

Kodak offers $5,000 reward for Flower Kid's identity

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 00:00:00 PDT

By Richard Lawson
Defamer

Have you heard the tragic tale of the Boy With the Yellow Rose, the teen who was swatted

away by Megan Fox as he tried to hand her a flower? Well now the hunt is on to find the lad.

A kindly major international corporation called Kodak (they make portraiture devices) has intervened and offered REWARD MONEY for the identity of the would-be swain:

"Kodak will offer $5,000 to the first person who can provide verifiable information that enables Kodak to make this connection happen. Kodak will also cover travel costs for the young man and his family to help allow destiny to take its course, and provide cameras for him to capture the moment."

Read the full article here.

Transformers sequel snags $16-million from midnight shows

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 00:00:00 PDT

By Pamela McClintock
Variety

Paramount's "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" grossed an estimated $16 million in midnight runs, the best gross ever for a film opening on a Wednesday.

And it's the third highest midnight gross of all time after "The Dark Knight" ($18.5 million) and "Star Wars: Episode III-Revenge of the Sith" ($17 million). "Dark Knight" had the advantage of opening on a Friday. "Revenge of the Sith" opened on a Thursday.

"Transformers 2" opened in roughly 3,000 runs at 12:01 midnight on Wednesday.

Read the full article here.

INTERVIEWS: Head to your local Chili’s like the actors from 'Transformers: Revenge for the Fallen'

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 00:00:00 PDT

By: Germain Lussier

Not only were the special effects and budget really big on Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, so were the on set parties.

This according to Tyrese Gibson who said after the filming he would throw massive parties during the shoot, including one with 5,600 people on an aircraft carrier.

“There was just so much energy on the set. Michael runs a really tight ship. He just keeps everyone on the edge and at full-throttle. Man, I'd think, if I don't throw a party, I'm going to go crazy right now,” said the singer turned actor who plays USAF Master Sergeant Epps in the film.

That interesting, but ultimately pointless, information was the norm at the online press conferences for Transformers held on June 19 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills.

In the absence of Shia LaBeouf (who was booked doing television interviews), the biggest gets were director Michael Bay and LaBeouf’s co-star Megan Fox. They were joined by Gibson and fellow actors Josh Duhamel, Kevin Dunn, and Ramon Rodriguez. Another more technical panel included co-writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura and visual effects supervisor Scott Farrar of ILM.

Michael Bay just made it in time for his conference, reportedly coming to the hotel straight from a plane that originated in Moscow. He was quick to let everyone know, on numerous occasions, that Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is “summer fun. It's a robot movie.”

But being as none of the robots were in attendance (we’ll get back to them in a minute), we were left with the actors who had to interact with them. Though he spoke the least of anyone on the panel, being the newest member of the cast, Ramon Rodriguez (who plays Sam’s roommate Leo and can also be seen as Denzel Washington’s colleague in “The Taking of Pelham 123”) told one of the best stories.

Rodriguez is one of two actors who get to interact directly with Devastator, the evil Decepticon who is made up of seven already giant robots to form one HUGE one. (ILM’s Scott Farrar said that those scenes were the biggest ILM has ever had to create and one of the shots literally made a computer explode.) In the scene shown in the trailer where Devastator is sucking up sand, Rodriguez had to hold on for dear life and popped his shoulder.

“We were shooting the Devastator scene and I had to hold onto this pole. Michael Bay thought it would be a really good idea to bring out two fans that blow 100 miles per hour each and put them right in front of my face. I had sand, soot and dirt blowing right in my face. I had two guys behind me with wires attached to my ankles, pulling me. Not enough yet. We need cars. So we brought two cars and he literally had them attached to a hydraulic crane, flipped literally inches above my head. They guys were yanking at the tables and, yeah, on one of the takes my shoulder popped out and we continued rolling. That was probably the shot you used. Thank you, Mike,” Rodriguez said.

Then there’s Megan Fox. Oh Megan Fox. In person, she is even more beautiful than she is on screen – if that’s possible - but also seemed much more restrained than she did in a recent Entertainment Weekly feature. She discussed how “Transformers” has given her the ability to do films “I don't even feel like I deserve to be a part of” like the upcoming comic book adaptation “Jonah Hex” and how she had to force herself to watch the film by drinking “an entire glass of champagne so I could get through the sitting of it.”

But the best story, at least for the guys out there, was the one about how Michael Bay made her try on all of her outfits while he was in the process of auditioning several, young male actors.

“I had like 18 different outfits. It was white jean shorts and then a pink belly shirt. Light motorcycle boots. I was wearing them and Mike was selecting them in the process of auditioning,” Fox said.

Unfortunately, girls don’t get a similar scene that was conceived specifically for them.

“Tyrese offered to be introduced in the second movie by doing a shirtless carwash scene with Optimus [Prime], but Mike didn't go for it,” Josh Duhamel said.

But, as Michael Bay said again and again, this is a robot movie. And one of the major issues people are going to have with Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen are the Autobots known as The Twins, Mudflap and Skids, voiced by Reno Wilson and Tom Kenny respectively. They play a major role as the film’s comic relief and Bay spoke about the soon to be controversial characters.

“I wanted two kinds of younger Transformers. But with those two guys, we used the guy who played SpongeBob and another actor. What's interesting is that, when you work with voice-actors, especially with The Twins, they did a lot of improv for their parts. We liked their improv and, from there, we would animate to their stuff. When you're doing character animation and you're building the character, it's not like an actor where you shoot the scene and you've got it and you move on. With animation, you get the dialogue and then some animation and then a bit more of the dialogue and you keep going back and forth and it just builds until you have the shot you want. I just wanted something that would appeal to younger kids that seemed to really gravitate to those two characters. It's like ‘The Little Engine That Could’ with the Devastator scene,” Bay said.

Here are some other geeky side notes that came out of the press conferences.

- Decepticon Soundwave (the boom box/cassette tape guy from the original show) plays an integral part in this film. And though actor Frank Welker, who originally voiced the character in the cartoon, returns, Soundwave’s deep and distorted voice doesn’t. Screenwriter Alex Kurtzman confirmed that they had that voice in the film for a long time during production but ultimately had to change it. “We actually tried it. We had his voice like that for a long time. What we found in the mix was that it was impossible to understand what he was saying.”

- Most of the actors and even the director, as of June 19, had yet to see the finished movie. The reason? It wasn’t locked and ready to go until the previous Saturday, June 13. That’s roughly 10 days before it opens to the public.

- President Obama gets name dropped in the film and there’s a simple reason for it. Michael Bay told the story. “I was walking in a Vegas airport and he was walking -- by himself -- carrying a hanging bag over his shoulder. This was after I had just seen him at the beginning of his campaign. I said, ‘Hey, I saw you the other night and liked what you had to say.’ I introduced myself and he said, ‘What do you do?’ and I said, ‘I'm a director.’ He said, ‘What movies?’ I said and he said, ‘Oh, you're a big-ass director. I've seen a bunch of your movies.’ That's why I decided to put him in.”

- And if any fans want to party like they are the stars of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, head to your local Chili’s. That’s where much of the actor’s time was spent while on set in New Mexico because, according to Megan Fox and Michael Bay, because that was the only restaurant around.

‘Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen’ review

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 00:00:00 PDT

By: Germain Lussier

Michael Bay's robotic brawl, 'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen', opens nationwide June 23

EXPECTATIONS

What I’d Seen - Big ass robots, big ass explosions and a little tiny story. That’s what the trailers for “Revenge of the Fallen” have been selling: action that’s bigger and better than ever. And while of course there would be a story in there, it didn’t seem as important as the robots and a half naked Megan Fox.

What I’d Heard - Trade reviews and international critics all seemed to agree. This is a huge, epic action movie with incredible special effects and not much more. Basically, they just said it was a bigger version of the first one. That’s fine with me.

What I Wanted - A film comparable to the first “Transformers.” What made that movie so successful was that the giant f’ing robots didn’t become the focus for a good 30-45 minutes. In the meantime there were some great character moments. I wanted at least some of that to go along with my metal on metal clashing and fireballs

Megan Fox reprises her role as Mikaela Banes in 'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen'

EXPERIENCE

What Turned Me On - Optimus Prime. The leader of the Autobots is even more kick ass this time around and has an incredible one on three battle in the forest that has to be seen to be believed, especially in full IMAX. Plus, fans of the first film are rewarded as the experiences the characters had in the original result in an unspoken trust throughout this one.

What Turned Me Off - Unfortunately, much more than turned me on. First, the film is wildly uneven. It goes from deadly serious to goofy, then has goofy moments in the middle of serious ones and extraneous sequences that really should have been cut (two words: Kitten Calendars). Second, the script peppers in several moments that are such obvious rip offs of films like “The Matrix,” and “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” that it just begs of laziness on the part of the writers. Take those things, add in an abundance of cheesy one-liners, several very annoying and terribly voiced Transformers and an almost too confusing plot and the stretches between the admittedly awesome moments become almost intolerable.

Read the full review here.

NEW video interviews with Megan Fox and Shia LaBeouf!

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 00:00:00 PDT

Buzz continues to grow for Michael Bay's second Transformers instalment, and now, to help highten the hype, New video interviews can be found of Transformers Stars Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox!

Find out what your favorite young celebrities have to say about being part of one of the most iconic movie franchises.

Shia LaBeouf Interview - Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen video clip

Megan Fox Interview - Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen video clip

TRANSFORMERS GETS OFF TO A SOLID START OVERSEAS

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 00:00:00 PDT

The opening of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen in Japan and the U.K. raked in an estimated $20 million -- beating the opening take for the original movie by 71 percent, according to Britain'sEmpire magazine. Reviewing the film in the London Independent, critic Nicholas Barber wrote that the movie "is the pretentious, nonsensical, sexist, jingoistic, militaristic, CGI-dependent, product-placement-packed, hectically edited, punishingly loud, wearyingly long, eye-wateringly expensive, and, I predict, phenomenally profitable exemplar of everything that is most repulsive about Hollywood today." In theMirror, David Edwards wrote similarly, "Big, loud and definitely not clever, it's a giant, lumbering idiot of a movie that, were it not for all the explosions, would send the most devoted action fans to sleep." The movie, which opens domestically on Wednesday, had been greenlit by John Lesher and Brad Weston, who were ousted from their positions on Friday and replaced by Adam Goodman. Moreover, Paramount'sTransformers release came at about the same time it was reported that director Michael Bay had sent a hotly worded letter to top Paramount executives, including Lesher and Weston, complaining about the publicity campaign for the movie. "I cannot figure if this is a cash issue with your company? Is there some clever idea why we are not spending? I'm not sure," he said. Meanwhile, Viacom, the corporate parent of Paramount, has denied increasing speculation that it is negotiating a sale of the studio -- possibly to competitor Universal. "Paramount is not for sale," a Viacom spokesman told theNew York Post.

Megan Fox talks About the Flower Kid Photograph and Explains What Happened

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 00:00:00 PDT

Collider
By: Steve Weintraub

It was one of the weirdest and funniest photos to hit the Internet last week not involving a kitten. Perhaps it was sent to you or you found it on a popular news site like Digg or Reddit or maybe you saw it on one of the popular celebrity gossip sites. But just in case you didn’t, it features the beautiful Megan Fox and a teenage boy trying to hand her a flower.

Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub had the opportunity to talk with Megan Fox about the photo.

Click here for Megan's explanation.

3 NEW Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Clips!

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 00:00:00 PDT

Brand-spanking new Clips from Michael Bay's 'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen' have just been released, and you can check em' out here! Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox are back to help the Autobots take down the Decepticons a second time, but this time they're facing something even more terrifying than the late great Megatron.

Check out the New Clips here.

6 NEW Transformers stills!!

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 00:00:00 PDT

Anticipation for Michael Bay's second Transformers movie is building and MovieSet wants to help! Check out SIX new stills from the upcoming Action/Thriller!

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen arrives in theaters June 24th, 2009.

Click here to chek out the stills.

Transformers sequel threat to Star Trek

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 00:00:00 PDT

By Quinn Bender

movieset.com

Paramount is still one week away from releasing Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, but if advance ticket sales are any indication the sci-fi/action film is poised to claim the summer's top spot, toppling even the mega success of Star Trek.

Fandango is reporting Michael Bay's Transformers represents 45 per cent of their current sales, outpacing both Star Trek and the original Transformers in advance ticket sales at the same point in those films' sales cycles (one week before release).

"For nearly two years - since the last Transformers opened - this new movie has been one of the most highly-anticipated films among fans on our site," says Rick Butler, Chief Operating Officer of Fandango.

As minor point of interest, Fandango also surveyed nearly 2,000 moviegoers planning to see Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Among the findings:

88% of respondents said they are fans of director Michael Bay; 66% of them picked Transformers as their favorite Bay film.
77% of respondents say they were fans of Transformers when they were kids; 68% of those fans watched the cartoon series, while 61% played with the toys.
45% picked Optimus Prime as their favorite Transformer; 21% picked Bumblebee; 4% picked Megatron.
62% of respondents are 18-34 years old; 63% are male.

Fandango also found 36 per cent of moviegoers picked Transformers star Megan Fox as the sexiest female star of the summer.

Megan Fox Piles on The Pounds For Transformers

Thu, 4 Jun 2009 00:00:00 PDT

Megan Fox is doing her bit to promote curve — she’s fattening up a bit for her movie roles.

The actress says Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen director Michael Bay always orders her to put on weight for her role as Mikaela Banes, because he finds skinny women a distinct turn-off.

"...He’s been traumatized by them for some reason in the past. So I always try to put on eight to ten pounds before but then once I get into filming I don’t have time to work out because we’re working like, 16-hour days. So I’m always the fattest I’ve ever been when making a Transformers movie..."

Read the full article here.

Showbiz Spy
By: Adam

Interview: Michael Bay, master of the 'huge canvas'

Sun, 24 May 2009 00:00:00 PDT

Bay is back in the ring on June 24 with his eighth film, " Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," which many industry observers expect to surpass the first "Transformers" film, which grossed a staggering $708 million worldwide in 2007. "The pre-tracking is huge," Bay said of surveys of audience interest in the movie that stars Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox and an army of two-story alien robots.

He rolled his eyes, though, contemplating the last-minute labor that needs to be done. "This one," he said, "is barely going to make it to theaters. You have no idea how complicated my life is."

The 44-year-old chuckled about his stress level, which fits his industry reputation as a director who thrives on pressure and adrenaline. Bay makes huge movies with high concepts and so many explosions that you expect the filmmaker to reek of cordite when you shake his hand.

Read the full interview here

The Los Angeles Times
By: Geoff Boucher

Linkin Park return to 'Transformers' film soundtrack

Wed, 13 May 2009 00:00:00 PDT

Linkin Park have once again contributed to the soundtrack of a new 'Transformers' film.

'Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen' opens on June 24, and it will be soundtracked by the new song 'New Divide'. The song will receive its worldwide radio premier on May 18, and be immediately available from iTunes thereafter.

Linkin Park vocalist Mike Shinoda said in a statement:

"...The opportunity to be creatively involved with one of the most anticipated films of the summer is pretty excited. It's one thing to shoot a video that matches sound and vision, but making music that's built for the big screen is a completely different challenge, and we ran with it...."

Read the full article here.

NME
By: NME staff

Tyrese Gibson to Score Music for 'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen'

Mon, 11 May 2009 00:00:00 PDT

Tyrese Gibson, who plays Robert Epps in "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen", plots to craft a new song for the film's soundtrack. He even mentions to make a duet with fellow singer Jewel Kilcher in the yet-to-be-titled track.

Despite his plan to make music for "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" soundtrack and his schedule of releasing a new single, Tyrese has no desire to rush in cooking up new materials for his next album. "NO ALBUM will follow.....,"

Read the full article here

Ace Showbiz

LaBeouf opens up about accident, injury

Mon, 4 May 2009 00:00:00 PDT

Shia LaBeouf could choose to fling a defiant, if not entirely functional, finger at fate after his hand was permanently damaged in a July car accident.

Instead, the "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" actor tells Playboy he's at peace with the injury.

"...I can't zipper my zipper or button my shirt without extreme pain," he says in the magazine, hitting newsstands May 15. "But I chalk it up as my own (fault). These things had to happen. This accident is what I needed in my life. I'm not in control. For the first time, I can admit that and know that..."

Read the full article here

The Arizona Republic
by Suzanne Condie Lambert

World Premiere of TRANSFORMERS REVENGE OF THE FALLEN in Japan on June 8

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 00:00:00 PDT

According to Japanese site eiga.com, the world premiere of TRANSFORMERS REVENGE OF THE FALLENwill be held in Japan on June 8 in Tokyo at Roppongi Hills.

Head over here for details, but it's in Japanese so good luck with that. Google translator does an ok job at translating.

The article says director Michael Bay and stars Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox will be in attendance at the event.

Japan is also getting the film days before North America, as it is set to release there on June 20.

Tyrese Gibson Q&A

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 00:00:00 PST

Female First has interviewed Tyrese Gibson on his latest role in 'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen'. Gibson talks about how much driving was involved in his role, breaking the rules and his ultimate thrill of escaping traffic and annoying random drivers on the road. He also talks about having his dream car, a Bentley GT Coupe, and what attracted him to the part of Sergeant Epps. The musician turned actor goes on to talk about the asian influence of the second installment, the international reinforcements, and his dream to work with Michale Mann. 'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen' is out in theaters June 26th.

"... With Michael Bay and Transformers 2, the camera is on me more. He’s got me doing way more stunts and hero moments. Everybody knows that I’m training every day on the set. I’ve got my trainer with me every day. It’s just a different experience, a different focus, everybody’s noticing it and I love it, you know. It was all a part of what me and Will have talked about..."

Read the full interview here.

Writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci - Transformers 2

Fri, 23 Jan 2009 00:00:00 PST

Firstshowing has interviewed writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci on one of their biggest movies of the upcoming year. The writers talk about resisting the film at first and referencing their favorite sequels like Superman II, Empire Strikes Back, Aliens - to form the standards they intend on bringing back with Revenge of the Fallen. They also talk about the timeine in connection with the writers' strike, Michael Bay's influence on the script, and doing on-set work without violating their commitment to the writers guild. 'Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen' is out in theaters June 26th.

"... the first movie was such a big success and then it was like let's just make another one. For us, I think the credibility that we would've lost — forget with the world, but just with ourselves — to saying yes before we really had a good idea, would've been really disappointing..."

Read the full interview here.