'Transformer' Robots May Appear in Film

AP ^ | ANTHONY BREZNICAN

[Sir Gawain]

'Transformer' Robots May Appear in Film

 

Jun 12, 11:13 AM (ET)

By ANTHONY BREZNICAN

LOS ANGELES (AP) - The shape-shifting "Transformer" robots from the 1980s may soon be using 20-something nostalgia to fuel a Hollywood movie.

The Hasbro Inc. (HAS) toy company has teamed with the production company Angry Films to create a live-action version of the popular cartoon series that ran from 1984 to 1987, about a group of alien robots who disguise themselves on Earth as common vehicles.

"The basic thing is that if you've been going to the comic-book festivals and seeing all that stuff, the '80s kind of came back last year in a huge way," Angry Films producer Don Murphy said Wednesday.

"We figured the technology had finally caught up to the point where we could actually show an 18-wheel truck turning into a giant robot," added Murphy, who also helped make the upcoming comic book movie "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen."

The story of "The Transformers" centers on a war between two mechanized armies - the heroic Autobots, led by the red tractor-trailer Optimus Prime, and the evil Decepticons, ruled by the gigantic silver gun Megatron. Seeking new sources of energy, both factions crash-land on Earth.

Although the "Transformers" toys have changed over the years - from animal shapes to the current series of futuristic machines - Murphy said the movie would be based on the original lineup.

The 1980s Hasbro toys, which the cartoon helped turn into a money-machine for the company, have recently been reissued by the original Japanese manufacturer, Takara Co. A recent comic book based on "The Transformers" and a DVD of the original cartoon series have also become best sellers.

Murphy and his producing partner, Tom DeSanto, whose credits include "X-Men" and "X2: X-Men United," are still in the early stages of the "Transformers" movie. The project has not yet settled at a studio and no potential release date has been set.

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On the Net:

http://www.hasbro.com/

[scourge]

Oh great, another waste of 70 million dollars.

[Lockbar]

Amazing! This is hugh!

[Green Knight]

Sez you! I'm looking forward to this. Besides, why should you care? Not like it's your tax money that's being spent.

Hopefully, though, the movie'll be good. The last couple of Transformers series' have been complete and utter dreck (From Beast Machines to Armada). The only redeemable thing about Transformers these days are the Dreamwave comics and the G1 DVD releases.

[B-Chan]

Next up at the OctoPlex: Davey & Goliath: EXTREEEEME!

[Brett66]

I'm stil hoping for a Battletech or Mechwarrior movie.

[newgeezer]

Whats truely and amazingly hugh is that this isnt in Brakeing News. Than every one could see it.

Im totaly series.

[scourge]

If somebody wants to throw away good money on brain bubble gum, more power to them. I just think there's other great stories out there they could make into movies, but because those stories don't already have a guaranteed audience, they will never see the light of day. Didn't mean to ruffle your feathers.

[csvset]

Here's a link to a Quicktime clip of a "mechanical man" and Goliath.

Here

[BushCountry]

O.K. I will bite. What great untold story is there?

[Sir Gawain]

Did you know your screen name is also the name of a Transformer?

[scourge]

How about "Bill & Hill, the whole shocking story" or about a true to life movie about the entire history of the mid-east, how what is happening today, really got started. Any movie I can walk out of not feeling dumber than when I walked in.

[Green Knight]

Well, look at it this way. When I was 6 years old, there were two people in the world who I looked up to. The first was Ronald Reagan. The second? Optimus Prime. A cartoon character, I know, but for a fictional character, he was a hell of a hero (I've sometimes wondered if Todd Beamer from Flight 93 watched Transformers when he was younger, too, since Optimus Prime frequently said "Let's roll"). From what I understand, the actor played him as a combination of Captain America and John Wayne. I don't think it was a coincidence that I looked up to both Optimus Prime AND Ronald Reagan. It'd do kids today some good to see a hero like that, so long as he's portrayed as he was in the 80's.

Plenty of good stories to be told, yeah, but that doesn't mean that this one can't be told, either.

BTW: The Once and Future King is an example of a great story that needs to be made on film, and from what I've heard, it IS gonna become a movie. I am SO looking forward to that one!

[BushCountry]

Guy complains about a movie being made about the Transformers -- His 2 cents worth.

I respond -- My 2 cents worth.

His screen name is the same as a Transformer -- Priceless.

[Green Knight]

A 2-hour movie on the complete history of the Middle East? Is that even possible? What you want to see should be a documentary on the History Channel, not a feature film. Who wants to pay $8 to go see a history lesson?

[scourge]

No, but I think the guy your named after would make a better story then the guy I'm named after.

[BushCountry]

Bill & Hill will never sell to the public (at least our version of the truth).

The history of the middle east is so complex. The movie would have to be 100 hours long to do it justice.

Let's face it as long as the libs are in charge of movie making we are not going to get any near the truth of any subject. That is why I prefer fanasty.

[Terpfen]

Screw Transformers; when are we going to get a modern Gundam flick that doesn't suck? G-Saviour was terrible.

[scourge]

I guess that's my point.

[Sir Gawain]

This is the correct Scourge. I only found the Japanese version for an image.

btw, he was like some kind of retarded flying boat. lol