Serenity to appear. . . on Cybertron?!?

POSTED BY: Cybersnark
UPDATED: Monday, April 18, 2005 14:26
VIEWED: 4439
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CYBERSNARK

Friday, February 25, 2005 1:58 AM

I just heard second-hand (but from a source that I have no real reason to distrust on this) that an article in the latest Wizard Comics magazine reports that Zoic will be handling the effects in the upcoming live-action Transformers movie. (Which, given the fame of Firefly and Galactica, virtually ensures some kind of cameo/in-joke.)

For those of you not keeping track of TransFan developments, here's what I know:

"Confirmed:"
-Tom DeSanto (X-Men) is the producer and the man who got the ball rolling.
-Don Murphy (League of Extraordinary Gentlemen) is also producing.
-Steven Spielberg is on-board as EP ( )
-The movie is G1 (i.e., Transformers of the 80s; no Beasts [as awesome as a Beast Wars movie would be, IMHO, this ain't it], no Minicons, no wierd plot-macguffiny energon).
-Optimus Prime is in his G1 semi-truck body.
-Megatron will not be a gun.
-The core cast of Transformers will be kept small (both to allow more character focus and to keep CGI costs managable).

Rumours with >50% chance of accuracy:
-There will be no size-changing (Soundwave and his peeps will not turn into a tape deck and cassettes). (This one came from DeSanto himself.)
-Original series voice actors Frank Welker (Megatron, Soundwave) and Peter Cullen (Optimus Prime, Ironhide) are "almost certainly" aboard. (This one comes from Murphy.)
-Megatron will be a tank or artillery piece.
-Famous Transformer comics writer Simon Furman will be a consultant.
-No Dinobots. (DeSanto again.)
-Despite the absence of the Dinobots, Grimlock will likely be present (he's Furman's favourite character).
-There will likely be a trilogy, or at least a sequel (Grimlock's appearance might be moved to "Episode II," to focus the first one on Optimus & Megatron).

More news as it develops.

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We applied the cortical electrodes but were unable to get a neural reaction from either patient.

THEGREYJEDI

Friday, February 25, 2005 2:02 AM

If this is true...

SCORE!

------------------------------------------------------------
Chief Engineer - USS SereniTREE.
http://www.jed-soft.com Gamer Rigs, Budget Prices
http://tomeofgrey.blogspot.com
Real Fans Wait - 09/30/05

CYBERSNARK

Friday, February 25, 2005 3:49 PM

New information (actually, old information that I forgot in my first pass):

-The first drafts of the script have been turned in by (apparently longtime TransFan) John Rogers ("Catwoman," "The Core").
-Rogers has moved off to another project (nothing terminal, he just ended up double-booking himself), and has been replaced by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman ("Alias," "Xena," and several upcoming movies).
-No director has yet been hired (this is related to the Peter Cullen and Frank Welker rumour; it's the director who will have final say, but Cullen & Welker are both willing [even eager] to do the job).
-The release date has been pushed back to Fall '06 (it was supposed to be Summer).

Rumour:
-The old-school ratcheting transformation sound effect will be present (so says Rogers).

All the behind the scenes news seems positive; everyone involved is a fan of the franchise in some form or another (yes, even Spielberg "knows the mythology").

I've also mixed up Murphy and DeSanto; a couple of those rumours I attributed to DeSanto actually come from Murphy. I'm editing my earlier post to correct.

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We applied the cortical electrodes but were unable to get a neural reaction from either patient.

TOMANTA

Friday, February 25, 2005 4:14 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Cybersnark:

-The first drafts of the script have been turned in by (apparently longtime TransFan) John Rogers ("Catwoman," "The Core").

This is not good news. This is not good news at all... [Especially Catwoman. No respect to any of the mythology...]

But first draft doesn't mean much. Someone better can do the rewrites.

"Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government."

CYBERSNARK

Saturday, February 26, 2005 6:25 PM

Well, apparently Catwoman had EPs, studio suits, and Halle Barry pulling the strings. Plus they apparently wanted to avoid any potential Batman crossover. But yeah, it sucked.

Which of course doesn't say anything about this script. Compare John Logan's scripts for Gladiator (brief cutscenes to stitch the gore sequences together into something resembling a plot) and Star Trek Nemesis (insightful, deep, and intricate character drama).

That said, it is kinda reassuring that they're giving TV talent a chance to break into movies (the duo has done three movie scripts, but they're all in production, nothing released yet).

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We applied the cortical electrodes but were unable to get a neural reaction from either patient.

SOUPCATCHER

Monday, February 28, 2005 8:50 AM

Apparently, Spielberg is going to announce the director in the next week or so. (the very last question in the interview - link to article from hsbr genome page).
http://www.darkhorizons.com/news05/warworlds.php

OPTIMUS1998

Monday, March 7, 2005 11:17 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by TheGreyJedi:
If this is true...

SCORE!

Oh it's true allright! read largeish write up about it in the latest issue of Toyfare ( toy mag put out by wizard)

and i'm just extatic at the possibilities!!

...May have been the losing side, Still not convinced it was the wrong one.

NERVOUSPETE

Monday, March 7, 2005 11:38 AM

Actually, I very much enjoyed 'The Core'. It was silly, true, but it had a surprising ammount of character and some quite witty dialogue.

And it had me considerably more thrilled than any other disaster movie I can remember. I thought it was a taut piece with a cunning McGuffin.

But I suspect that Spielberg's 'War of the Worlds' will become my all time fave disaster movie when it comes out.

Catwoman, of course, is completely terrible.

Hurrah/Bah response from me, then.

Pete

"If you can keep your head whilst others... eurgh! Ack! I've spilt my ink! Ugh! Ink on my trousers! Agh! Ink on my shirt! My only hope! The window! Aieeeeee!" (Falls to death)
- Jonathan Nash

CYBERSNARK

Tuesday, March 8, 2005 2:49 PM

Another point on Rogers' resumé: he's the guy who created (well, did the TV treatment, AFAIK it was Chan's idea) The Jackie Chan Adventures. Y'know, that animated show that Adam Baldwin is on?

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We applied the cortical electrodes but were unable to get a neural reaction from either patient.

TOMANTA

Tuesday, March 8, 2005 3:30 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Cybersnark:
Another point on Rogers' resumé: he's the guy who created (well, did the TV treatment, AFAIK it was Chan's idea) The Jackie Chan Adventures. Y'know, that animated show that Adam Baldwin is on?

I didn't know Adam was on that show. I might have to actually watch it if I catch it on again.

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"Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government."

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