Thursday, May 28, 2009
Transformers Choose Your Side Launches
As part of the international marketing for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, a UK based website called Transformers Choose Your Side has launched. Interestingly enough the site is set up for five different countries which you can choose by clicking the flag above Bumblebee. The countries are USA, United Kingdom, Australia, France, and Germany. The content it self remains the same but interesting to see the same site in different languages or cultures (like the date order).
The fan site invites visitors to express their allegiance to either Autobots or Decepticons, through a variety of creative and compelling content including site skins for Twitter, Myspace and bebo, desktop downloads and a profile pic creator. The ‘transmitter’ and ‘banner builder’ are two personalised applications that you can embed on your social network, blog or site to deliver the latest news about the movie direct to you and your subscribers.By default the website opens to the Autbot-centric content, but just click the link at the bottom to switch to the Decepticon stuff.
Botcon, TF2 Toys Press Release and Gallery
Botcon started today in Pasadena, California and for those lucky attendees they will get a chance to look at and probably purchase toys from Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen toy line. To mark the occasion, Hasbro has issued a press release. For the rest of us, you will just have to make do with the gallery of 112 Hasbro provided images here. At least until the official release date of Saturday morning.
PAWTUCKET, R.I.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The 2009 TRANSFORMERS fan convention, which is in Pasadena on May 28 to 31, is destined to be one of the biggest and most exciting TRANSFORMERS gatherings ever! In addition to celebrating Hasbro’s TRANSFORMERS brand’s 25th anniversary and anticipating the June 24th debut of DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Pictures Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, new toys and merchandise from the second movie in the franchise go on-sale from coast to coast beginning Saturday morning, May 30th.
The convention, which is known as “BotCon” (with syllables taken from the two TRANSFORMERS factions AUTOBOTS and DECEPTICONS), is annually the largest official gathering of TRANSFORMERS fans in the world and is open to both TRANSFORMERS collectors and non-collectors — and the young and young-at-heart.
BotCon will be held at the Pasadena Convention Center located at 300 East Green Street in Pasadena, Calif., and will be open to the public on May 30 – 31. Special activities are planned on May 28 – 29 for attendees who purchase multi-day packages.
On Saturday, May 30th, kids ages 5 to 14 will be able to participate in the TRANSFORMERS Challenge, which will award prizes based on how quickly kids can convert TRANSFORMERS toys from robot mode to vehicle mode. Kids may qualify in the preliminary round from 9:30 a.m. to 11:15 a.m., with the fastest competitors moving on to the semi-final and final rounds that will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. All kids participating will receive a TRANSFORMERS toy, and the fastest kids in both the senior and junior age division will receive a HasbroToyShop.com gift card worth $500. Official rules are posted on www.BotCon.com.
Additionally, BotCon attendees will have the opportunity to learn how to draw TRANSFORMERS characters from Hasbro’s designers, see toys in the new 2009 TRANSFORMERS toy line, buy, sell, and trade TRANSFORMERS toys from throughout the franchise’s 25-year history at more than 200 tables of merchandise, and attend panel discussions and seminars led by TRANSFORMERS experts. Special activities for kids will be held throughout the weekend in the Hasbro booth.
For fans not able to make it to southern California this weekend, they can head to their favorite toy retailer and be among the first to purchase the new toys based on the upcoming movie TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN.
TF2 Ticket Pre-Order Next Week?
Site reader Ally reports that her local theatre will start the pre-sale of Transformer tickets next week rather than the June 10th release date.
I just wanted to give you heads up that my local movie theater is selling Transformers tickets as early as next Friday so who knows when they are going to be going on sale in other areas. Maybe you should have a memo or something to alert other fans to check their local movie theater as well =).Just as she advises, be sure to check your local theatre in the next week or so as each chain may have their own pre-order policies and dates.
RoTF The Album Track List
MichaelBay.com has revealed the official track list for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Soundtrack. Thanks to commanderalphanl for the link.
Burbank, CA - Warner Bros. Records will release the soundtrack to the hotly anticipated feature film Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen on June 23rd — the day before the film, the sequel to the 2007 Oscar-nominated summer blockbuster Transformers , hits theaters nationwide.
The film's director and executive producer Michael Bay asked Warner Bros. Records' multiplatinum rock band Linkin Park to provide the sonic backdrop to the live-action robot fantasy film. Not only did the band write and record the film's theme song, entitled "New Divide," specifically for the soundtrack, they were also asked by Bay, Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer, and award-winning composer Steve Jablonsky to contribute to the score. "New Divide" is currently available for purchase on iTunes.
Transfomers: Revenge of the Fallen: The Album also features music from Green Day (who contribute "21 Guns" — a song from their new album 21st Century Breakdown), Taking Back Sunday, The Used , The All-American Rejects, Cavo, The Fray, Staind, Nickelback, Cheap Trick and more.
In addition to the original soundtrack, Warner Bros will be releasing Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: The Score, which will also be released on June 23rd.
The track listing for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: The Album is as follows:
1. Linkin Park "New Divide"
2. Green Day "21 Guns"
3. Cavo "Let It Go"
4. Taking Back Sunday "Capital M-E"
5. The Fray "Never Say Never"
6. Nickelback "Burn It To The Ground"
7. The Used "Burning Down The House"
8. Theory Of A Deadman "Not Meant To Be"
9. The All-American Rejects "Real World"
10. Hoobastank "Don't Think I Love"
11. Staind "This Is It"
12. Avenged Sevenfold "Almost Easy"
13. Cheap Trick "Transformers™ The Fallen Remix"
TF2 Game Cullen, Welker Video
Gametrailers.com has posted another video for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen The Game, this time focusing on Peter Cullen (Prime) and Frank Welker (Megatron) as they discuss working on the game. The video includes footage of Prime and Megatron and new shot of Devastator. Thanks to commanderalphanl for the link.
Transformers: RoTF Multiplayer Video
From Joystiq, a video that shows off multiplayer game play from Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen The Game along with comments from the developers. The footage includes Optimus, Ironhide, Starscream and many others as they tear into each other.
CGI Combined Optimus and Jetfire, Mixmaster
Yesterday we saw the artwork of what the combined mode of Optimus Prime and Jetfire could look like and now today, as found by S250, here is the CGI version of the mode along with Constructicon Mixmaster. Overall it look extremely powerfully by giving Optimus an armored look complete with jetpack for flying. Thanks to Simbatron and Thirston for the heads-up.
Update: Here are the original links to JetPrime and Mixmaster pics on TFG2.com as they had the images first. Thanks to lonegamer for the links.
RoTF Retail Posters
Thanks to site reader Luis, below are some pictures he snapped with his camera phone of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen posters that showed up at Sports Authority. They retail for $5.99 and show off Bumblebee, Megatron, and the main Autobot and Decepticon characters. Probably just a matter of time before they show up everywhere.
K-Mart Transformers Guide Book
K-Mart Australia has a Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Guide Book that shows off the first wave of toys for the movie. It includes brief character profiles and images of the toys. The guide can be found here or the PDF version here. Note the prices are in AU values. Thanks to Andrew for the link.
Also I have read that Wal-Mart may start offering the toys starting 5PM on Friday but that has not been confirmed.
Burger King RoTF Toys Preview
dorfsquest over at TFW2005 has posted a sneak peak at the Burger King's plans for their promotion with Transforrmers: Revenge of the Fallen that starts June 22nd. The 8 Kids Meal toys oddly enough do not seem to actually transform. As for the "Stacticon", it turns out it is a double cheeseburger with BBQ Sauce and bacon. Seems like it will be pretty good.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
TF2 The Game Hands-On
Joystiq.com has posted a hands-on preview of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen The Game along with additional screenshots. For those going to Botcon this weekend, there will be a playable build of the game for attendees but bring something to read for the long lines.
The article describes a tutorial in single-player mode with Starscream or Ironhide as your teacher depending on faction choice that covers the basics of control, targeting, and so forth. One complaint they cited was that transformation is not just clicking a button, instead you have to hold down a button. As long as holding it, you’re in vehicle mode, let go and your back to robot mode which can be a problem during certain game moments.
Each character has a primary weapon, secondary weapon and special ability that are toggled through by hitting the left trigger. The special abilities attempt to reflect the character so Ratchet can heal nearby troops, Prime can take damage for others, Megatron can instant kill and Ironhide fires automatic rocket fire.
First player objectives vary depending on faction. For example the first level objective was to kidnap scientists (by smashing their building) and taking them to a pin. Multi-player mode has a 4 v 4 battle (which I assume will be online also) that seems balanced. For example tiny Bumblebee can hold his own against Grindor because of his speed allows him to dodge attacks and do quick hit and runs. Other modes include Deathmatch (Autobots vs. Decepticons), control points and capture the flag. Of note is death now has a time penalty in returning to the action as have to wait for a countdown and them plummet to the ground as a meteor before rejoining the fight.
Ironically, the most improved part of the game are the transformations, which look terrific. If you jump off a building and transform into an auto or a jet on the way down, you'll either hit the ground with wheels screeching, or rocket off into the sky -- pretty thrilling stuff. A couple of the characters, like Sideways, are armed with sniper rifles, allowing you to grab a good vantage point and take a few shots before zooming off to a new spot. Translation: kablam, transform, roll out, transform, shoot again.
TF2 Beat GI Joe for DOD Support
In an article from Stars and Stripes, Transformers 2 "beat" G.I. Joe when it came to securing support from the Department of Defense in terms of volume of assistance in terms of equipment, personnel and sites. It is an interesting article but parsing it the DoD was not playing favorites, Transformers 2 just made greater use of the military possibilities then G.I. Joe, probably due to the greater experience of Bay and his team. The full article is here.
“They wanted MRAPs just at the time Secretary Gates made a decision that emphasis would be placed on getting MRAPs to the combat zone as quickly as possible, so unfortunately we couldn’t help them with that,” Ogilvie said.
That pretty much ended the conversation until much later, when filmmakers asked and received permission to film at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif., he said.
Meanwhile, the “Transformers” filmmakers had been allowed to film helicopters, tanks, a submarine and an aircraft carrier, said Philip M. Strub, director of entertainment media.
The disparity does not mean “Transformers” painted a more flattering portrayal of the U.S. military than does “G.I. Joe,” Strub said.
“The difference has less to do — in many respects — with us than the filmmakers,” he said. “I mean I think in the case of ‘G.I. Joe,’ looking back, I think we feel that the filmmakers belatedly realized that we could have provided more support.”
In contrast, Strub persuaded the “Transformers” filmmakers to include the Navy and Marine Corps in their portrayal of the military so that the Defense Department could give them more stuff to use, he said.
TF2 Adaptation Preview #3 with Combined Prime
IDW has posted five pages for the next issue of Transformers: RoTF Adaptation #3 issue that is coming out next Wednesday. Issue 2 comes out tomorrow or info suggests that the entire trade may already be available at Target. The preview is here. The best part is the cover by Josh Nizzi (who designed Long Haul for the movie) that shows the merge of Optimus Prime with Jetfire that looks fantastic. While I wasn't impressed with the toy, I am looking forward to the CGI look of the combined mode. Thanks to Diego for the heads-up. Oops, removed the prequel references.
NYC Transformers Billboard
It looks like the Transformers 2 marketing campaign that started at the Luxor, moved to an LA building and now in New York City with a billboard of Optimus Prime on Broadway and East Houston Street. Thanks to Josh for taking and providing the picture.
RoTF At LA Film Festival
Attendees to the LA Film Festival that runs from June 18th-28th will have a chance to see Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen a few days before anyone else, assuming you have enough money anyway. According the emailed flyer, tickets are exclusive to Fast Pass ($1000-$800), Industry Pass ($600-$500), and Discovery Pass ($300-$400) holders attending the festival. Exact date, time and location for the movie was not provided but festival tickets start going on sale May 29th at 10AM. For details hit LAFilmFest.com. Thanks to Sergio for the info.
GameSpot TF2 The Game Interview
Gamespot has posted an interview with Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen The Game Creative Director Chris Tremmel. He discusses the multi-player mode of the upcoming game and its various play modes. Of note is the continued Blackout vs. Grindor debate, this time with a tick for the Grindor side as that is how the character is referenced in the interview. Thanks to Adam for the link.
News "SkidFlap" Theory
Marco found an interesting theory regarding The Twins on IMDB.com (usually not all that reliable for unreleased films).
"The AutoboTwins were each specially designed to as a reflection/half of the other: Skids has an oversized left arm/eye and Mudflap has an oversized right arm/eye; Skids's face is composed of the top part of the Autobot face and Mudflap's face is composed of the bottom part; and both their feet are of the same mould."Marco took the two face images of Skids and Mudflaps and superimposed them on each other. Result is rather interesting and seems to prove that they are reflections of each other.
More Fan Made Trailers
Here are two more trailers that combine various Transformers trailers and TV spots that combined with solid music results in re-edits as good, if not better, then the orginials.
The first was found by RY and does a great job of editing to the music (which kicks in at the 1:29 mark) and the second one was created by TIMtationX and combines clips from the first and second movie together for one trailer. For the second video below, the song is Let It rock by Kevin Rudolf featuring Lil Wayne (thanks Scott for the info).
Click here for another trailer that merges lines from the cartoons and music from the Matrix with a trailer.
Movie Still Galleries
Its seems that a few Transformer galleries have popped up online. Except for the awesome picture of Optimus Prime from Collider, most are not really new. I was aware of the Prime pic yesterday but was hoping that was an indication that more "exclusive" images would pop up on other sites but that didn't happen. Here are a few galleries that people have found. Thanks to commanderalphanl, skidz180, Scorpio, Thirston, Ronnie, and others for the links.
Widescreen Vision Megan Fox Interview
German site Widescreen Vision has posted an interview with Transformers 2 star Megan Fox. Below are a few segments from the article. The site is in German so click here to read it as translated by Google. Since a computer translation, it can be a somewhat choppy but good enough to get the point. Thanks to Michael for the find and the translation link.
The first part presents itself as a vehicle Mikaela trained Schrauberin. If it is this passion in Transformers 2 continue to go after? [I think this is asking, "does the character continue her passion for cars?"]
Yes, it works in the continuation in a motorcycle shop, repaired Ducatis. I have in the film in several scenes Motorradfahren [ride motorcycles?] what I did in fact can not. During the filming, I was always accelerate from behind (laughs).
[gist: I have several scenes where I ride motorcycle but is not me as I don't know how.]
How has your life changed since the success of Transformers?
It is mad: Before Transformers I had never seen a proper film. I was an absolute greenhorn and paniced before every scene. Sometimes I stood around like petrifies and brought no word out (laughs). Meanwhile, the course changed. A big change for me was also that I suddenly the whole world as well. Before I owned Transformers not even passport.
[gist: I had no film experience...sometimes to scared too speak...got to travel the whole word...didn't own a passport before movie]
Transformers - The Revenge was filmed in Egypt and others. How did you like it?
The pryamids are the hammer! They told me that we have the first film crew since 1930which here was allowed to rotate on the spot. I do not know if that's true, but nevertheless, this location is something special for me. I spoke with Scott Farrar, our special effects man of ILM, that the pyramids is one of the last great mysteries of our planet. Until today we do not know exactly how they are in front of thousands of years have been built - with simple ropes and tree trunks. Unbelievable!
[gist: amazing that pyramids have stood for thousands of years and even today we are not sure how they built them]
Is it true that you had to grow Transformers 2? [Did you have to gain weight for the movie?]
Yes, but only because I, for my previous film Jennifer's Body had removed 15 pounds. I was downright skinny, it was no longer healthy. Michael Bay has given me therefore a cake diet prescribed. The best diet that I've done. (laughs)
[gist: Using a cake diet prescribed by Bay, I regained the 15 pounds I lost for my previous movie.]
Which is your favorite Transformer?
Devastator. The guy just destroyed everything around them.
[gist: I like destruction on a massive scale :P ]
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Clearer TV Spot #5
Thanks to Mike and the quick thinking of his six year old son, here is a better quality recording then before of the fifth TV spot for Transformers 2. Also thanks for letting me know. The direct link is here or view below. Hopefully soon the HD versions will be released by the studio, surprised that hasn't happened yet.
One Shall Stand Transformers 2 The Game Trailer
Activision as released a new trailer for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen video game that shows off some game play and lots of cinematic. The trailer is named "One Shall Stand" for the famous line (at least for Transfans) from the animated movie. Below is the embed or a larger version is here. Thanks to Scalan15 for the link.
M&M's Transformers Site Open
M&Ms has updated its website (a week late) for their tie-in promotion with Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. The content is noted with colored circles near clickable objects. Currently the site has the first trailer, trucker "translations", and trucking "missions" to unlock Transformers content with codes. Below are the codes I am using, no guarantee will work for all.
The first mission involved finding five symbols on a Transformer breastplate. The code I got t was 7DDM7 which opened up a PDF of various Transformers CGI images (a few below). One of them included "Blackout" which is adds fuel to the argument that the gray Decepticon fighting Optimus is that character resurrected. Also note the red M&M in Barricade costume.
The second mission was finding three symbols in YouTube videos. The code after that mission was 5XYZ7. The code provided four wallpapers of various screen resolutions of Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Starscream and Megatron along with their M&M counterpart.
The third mission is three trivia questions specific to the first movie. The code for that mission is 8TPM4. The last code provides T-Cube, a widget for the desktop that provides Transformers trivia.
The site also has a percentage that indicates the amount of "Strawberried Peanut Butter Candies" in a vault. I assume the higher the number, the more content that might become available.
Toys R Us Transformers Preview Night
Select Toys R Us stores are planning a preview night for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen toys for May 29th at 9:00pm according to MaxGoof. The toys themselves officially debut on May 30th. The list of stores participating can be found here.
More Devastator Legends Pictures
AcToys has provided some close-up images of the upcoming Legends Devastator toy that has not been confirmed for stateside release but likely will be, exactly when is unknown. Sure it isn't as detailed as Supreme Devastator but if the price is right, it could be worth it. Thank to dinoraw and Scorpio for the links.
Scout Class Ejector and Gravity Bots
More toy images for your enjoyment. First up is a new scout class toy called Ejector that has the alt mode of a toaster. The toy looks like the robot used in the Mountain Dew commercial from last year but since there is a scene in the movie where kitchen appliances are altered by the AllSpark fragment it makes you wonder if he makes an appearance there too. The pictures are from The Arker with a few more on TFW2005.
In addition, if you’re interested in the Gravity Bots line and the related bios, a gallery of images can be found here. Thanks to Dinoraw, Scorpio and Katie for the links.
Scout Ejector Bio
Born mindless and driven by the heat pulsing in his tiny body, Ejector knows nothing but how to burn. Even when he was a simple toaster burning things was what he did best. Now that he's got a simple mind of his own, and flamethrowers to go with it, he lives to torch everything around him.
Figure King Transformers Toy Images
Toy World has posted scans of the July issue of a Hong Kong magazine called Figure King that featured an article on Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen toys, related merchandise and other Transformer plans such as Design Label and Alternity toys (stuff plan on starting to cover once the movie is released). Below are the pages I liked most and the full gallery is here. I am especially digging the Legends Devastator and while not a smoker I wouldn't mind having one of those lighters. Thanks to Phil for the link.
Human Alliance Skids in Packaging
As hinted at in yesterday's Human Alliance Sideways images, The Arker has now posted their images of the Human Alliance Skids with Mikaela. Like the other toys, these are designed to allow the figure to fit in the car and on the robots shoulder. In addition, Mikaela can fit on Deluxe Arcee as a rider. Over all not bad looking. [via TFW2005]
Human Alliance Skids Bio
Autobot Skids likes to think of himself as pretty capable, but the fact is Mikaela is a better driver then he is. With her behind the wheel, and him concentrating on squeezing every last bit of power out of his engines, even the fastest, most powerful Decepticons have trouble keeping up.
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