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What happens when the sequel to a successful franchise goes on to earn over $1 billion in worldwide box office? You make another sequel, says Hollywood law.
Such is the case with Transformers: Dark of the Moon, which easily outperformed the other comic book movies of the summer, prompting the producers to claim that there will be "a second trilogy" that will not be a reboot. However, franchise star Shia LaBeouf has publicly stated that he does not want to return for a potential Transformers 4, while director Michael Bay admitted to MTV in June that he's finally going to make the low-budget, dark comedy Pain & Gain "next", making Bay's involvement questionable.
No problem, says Transformers actor Tyrese Gibson, who recently told MovieWeb that both Bay and LaBeouf will be back for more.
a billion dollars changes everything >> Posted 09.22.11 by Ryan -
Both director Michael Bay and star Shia LaBeouf apologized for the crappiness of Transformers 2 and promised Transformers: Dark of the Moon would be better. Or at least suck less. So far it looks like they succeeded, barely.
"...the movie that fans have been waiting for, critics have complained about, and box office receipts are ripe to reward. Sure, it's still big and bloated, made even more elephantine by the spectacle savant's new love affair with 3D, but it works. The story is simplified and consistently moves forward."
— Bill Gibron, Onion AV Club"...hardly a fleet production, but here [director] Bay makes his best, most flexible use yet of all the flamboyant bigness at his command: Computer-drawn characters and human actors seem to occupy the same narrative for once."
— Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly"A considerably better modulated, more bearable experience than Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen..."
— Justin Chang, Variety"...a work of ineffable soullessness and persistent moral idiocy..."
— Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune"...a visually ugly film with an incoherent plot, wooden characters and inane dialog. It provided me with one of the more unpleasant experiences I've had at the movies."
— Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times"...a techno spectacle that is spectacularly empty."
— Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter -
Previously there were two types of moviegoers in the world: those who knew the moment a new Transformers movie was announced that they'd be in the theater opening weekend, and those who knew just the opposite. But after the first two Transformers, there's now a third group: people on the fence about these flicks, even if the third promises to be the biggest one yet.
For this week's Transformers: Dark of the Moon release, fanboys don't need convincing and film festival-goers can'tbe convinced. But what about the rest of us, that on-the-fence third group? Well, here are five reasons why it may be worth shelling out one more time for the Autobots.
What are the 5 reasons? >>
Posted 06.29.11 by reelz -
After loads of TV spots, clips, and trailers, Paramount is releasing one final trailer before Transformers: Dark of the Moon enters select theaters Tuesday night. Offering some last-minute peeks at the action and robots in director Michael Bay's third Transformers movies, the trailer is your final look at the sequel before it opens nationwide on Wednesday... Or until the next trailer.
watch the trailer >> Posted 06.28.11 by Ryan -
A new preview clip has arrived online for a movie that Shia LaBeouf has called "the greatest 3-D film ever made."
In an interview with The LA Times, LaBeouf offered enormous praise for the upcoming Transformers sequel, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, which is his third movie with director Michael Bay.
We took the 3-D cameras out of the Avatar stages and put them on the head of a dude jumping out of a plane in Chicago while a building is exploding. For real. Four or five dudes actually. It's the greatest 3-D film ever made. It's an amalgamation of ideas from Jim Cameron, Steven [Spielberg] and Michael.
watch the clip >> Posted 06.24.11 by Ryan -
As evidenced in the first trailer, part of the plot behind Transformers: Dark of the Moon involves the 1969 U.S. moon landing being a cover to investigate the crash landing of Autobot leader Sentinel Prime. Unfortunately, this information isn't immediately shared with the surviving Autobots, something which does not make Optimus Prime a happy robot.
The latest TV spot for director Michael Bay's third installment in the Transformers franchise explores the moon landing conspiracy, and shows more new footage of the attack on Chicago, which has Lt. Lennox (Josh Duhamel) leading the human resistance against the robots.
watch the trailer >> Posted 06.08.11 by Ryan -
Paramount Pictures has released the first photo from its upcoming sequel, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, and shows franchise star Shia Labeouf with Transformers newcomer Rosie Huntington-Whiteley taking cover behind a school bus. The photo lacks a little in terms of action, but is the first look into director Michael Bay's sequel since a Super Bowl TV trailer debuted in February.
The photo isn't the only Transformers-related occurrence over the last several weeks. Leonard Nimoy was recently brought out of retirement by Bay to voice Sentinel Prime, Optimus Prime's predecessor that was recently featured on the cover of Empire Magazine, and whose wrecked body was shown being discovered on the moon in the Dark of the Moon teaser trailer.
Bay "scared" to ask Nimoy? >> Posted 04.11.11 by Ryan -
Entertainment Tonight visited the Chicago set of Transformers: Dark of the Moon and has revealed a behind-the-scenes look at the upcoming sequel, as well as interviews with Tyrese Gibson, Josh Duhamel, Patrick Dempsey, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Shia LaBeouf and director Michael Bay. LaBeouf calls Dark of the Moon the "best Transformers movie we've made," while Huntington-Whiteley explains how her addition to the franchise has created a love triangle. Bay, meanwhile, explains how he cast Huntington-Whiteley (after Megan Fox was dropped from the sequel) and how this Transformers is more of an "espionage" story.
watch the video >> Posted 10.30.10 by Ryan -
Director Michael Bay surprised fans when he announced that he had cast highly respected actors Frances McDormand and John Malkovich for his upcoming Transformers 3. The roles the actors were to play was not mentioned, but Malkovich spoke to HitFix about his role, explaining that his work on the movie was "all just scene work" with only "one explosion." To no one's surprise, Malkovich, who played the villain in Jonah Hex, described his character as "a jerk."
I play a guy called Bruce Brazos, who's just a loudmouth, kind of business man who's Shia [LaBeouf]'s character's boss. Who's just a jerk, and a kind of a loud one. But [a] fun character. Nice. It was fun. Very, very enjoyable, just with Shia, Rosie [Huntington-Whiteley] a little bit, and with John Turturro. So, for me, it was a blast.
Bay has apologized for the criticism of the previous sequel, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, and has promised a "better" Transformers 3. LaBeouf has also said that Transformers 3 will not disappoint, adding that the upcoming sequel will feature "a lot of death, human death."
Posted 10.04.10 by Ryan -
Despite poor reviews, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was an inarguable hit last summer, scoring $402 million domestically. What also can't be argued, is that it sucked. Transformers fans have been quick to contest the quality of the Transformers sequel, and even Shia LaBeouf admits that he "wasn't impressed with what we did" in Revenge of the Fallen.
Now director Michael Bay is getting in the apology act. In a recent set visit, Bay talked to USA Today about the failures of Revenge of the Fallen.
More Michael Bay Mea Culpa >> Posted 06.11.10 by Ryan